Tons of joy with "Little Joy"

    I came across Little Joy in 2008 as they released their self-titled freshman classic. However, at the time I was accumulating such an abundance of music that I didn't dedicate much time to really listening. Jump forward a year to 2009. We were at Coachella watching Devendra Banhart. He had this great guitar player with him. I was strangely drawn to the guys stage presence, voice and perfect chops. It was almost like I enjoyed his contribution to the show more than Devendra. Later on in their set Devendra introduced his band and I found out that it was Rodrigo Amarante of Los Hermanos playing guitar alongside Noah Georgeson. They then performed "Keep me in mind." Everybody in the tent danced like puppets to that sound of rock and roll that has roots in the 60's and leaves made of new age indie pop.  At the time I thought the song to be written by "Los Hermanos" yet I could never find it, nor could I hear the title of the song when they performed it. Anyhow, a few weeks ago I thought I would listen to "Little Joy," I had the time to finally really give the album a thorough listen. To my surprise I ran across "Keep me in mind!" I about lost my mind. I have probably listened to that song about 100 times since then.

Doing a little background research I found out that "Little Joy" is made up of "Los Hermanos" front man Rodrigo Amarante, The Strokes drummer Fabrizio Moretti and multi-instrumentalist Binki Shapiro.
One thing I have always known about "Little Joy," is that their music supersedes barriers or genres, as each songs is unique in some way, yet you hear the similarities all at the same time. I can completely get lost in their music. This is such a great album that it is steadily moving up in rank of my all time favorites PERIOD. Give it a week or two........

                                  

Info: (Wikipedia)
Little Joy is a Brazilian/American rock band formed in 2007 by Los Hermanos singer/guitarist Rodrigo Amarante, The Strokes drummer Fabrizio Moretti and Binki Shapiro. Amarante and Moretti met in 2006, at a festival in Lisbon where both their bands were performing, and the idea came up to start a new musical project unrelated to their respective bands. In 2007, with Los Hermanos on hiatus "for an undetermined amount of time"^[1], Amarante travelled to Los Angeles to collaborate with Devendra Banhart on his Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon album. He and Moretti met during recording breaks and talked about "anything but music." Through mutual acquaintances, they met multi-instrumentalist Binki Shapiro, who encouraged the pair to work on a few songs Moretti had begun writing. The band then moved into a house in the Echo Park area of Los Angeles to write more original music and record some demos. The band was christened "Little Joy" after a cocktail lounge not far from their house. Their eponymous debut album was recorded with the help of producer Noah Georgeson and engineer Beau Raymond, whom Amarante met during his sessions with Devendra Banhart. It was released by Rough Trade Records on November 4, 2008, and was hailed by Pitchfork Media as "one of the sweetest, most listenable, consistently enjoyable records of the season." ^[2] Their debut album was given four stars by Rolling Stone magazine and Nick Hornby^[3] voted it his favourite album of 2008.


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*Support great music. If you like it BUY IT!

Purple Panda Project

Here's a great demo track from local duo "Purple Panda Project." Give it a shot and you are sure to thoroughly enjoy this tune... Definitely something new and worth the listen. If you have any info on these guys, please feel free to inform me...

Purple Panda Project- Ode to The Bright Red Heart by Purple Panda Project

Saturday Looks Good To me

Two Reasons you should be listening to them!





Info:(wikipedia)
Saturday Looks Good to Me is an experimental indie pop band. The group is led by singer-songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Fred Thomas (former member of His Name Is Alive, Lovesick, Flashpapr). Through Fred Thomas, the group's major songwriter, the group creates intricate soundscapes which hearken back to Detroit soul.

The band built up a considerable following on the back of the indie pop albums All Your Summer Songs and the more polished Every Night. Every Night introduced new singer Betty Marie Barnes who became the nearest to a permanent female singer that the band ever had.

By 2007, Barnes had semi-left the band and Thomas took over as the band's sole front person. SLGTM's music also changed and the resulting "Fill Up The Room" album was more adventurous both lyrically and musically than the bands previous two albums (especially on the 6 minute 48 second pop odyssey of "When I Lose My Eyes").

Following another European tour in 2008, Thomas put the band on ice to concentrate on other projects.

Albums

* Saturday Looks Good to Me (Here Forever Always May 18, 2000)
* Cruel August Moon (Little Hands 2001)
* Love Will Find You (Whistletap 2002)
* All Your Summer Songs (Polyvinyl May 18, 2003)
* Every Night (Polyvinyl September 14, 2004)
* Sound on Sound (Redder Records 2006)
* Fill Up the Room (K Records 2007)
* Fill Up the Room (How Does It Feel To Be Loved 2007) UK version contained exclusive sleeve notes & bonus tracks (No Reaction & No Reception

Minor releases:

* Cassingle Series #3 (Sanitary Records, April 2006)
* The Girl Is Distracted 7" record
* Green Mansions (limited tour EP)
* Money in the Afterlife b/w All the Sidewalk Birds 7" (Ernest Jenning Record Co.) - February, 20 2007)
* Cold Colors EP (Polyvinyl - July, 24 2007)
* Dianne Falling Off Her Horse b/w Springtime Judgment 7" (Ernest Jenning Record Co.) - July, 8 2008)

Jonsi- Go (2010)

   


















     

      Although it has been many moons since my last post, I return with a special treat that is too incredible to keep to myself.  Probably  the best album of 2010, Jonsi returns with a solo venture to reach inside our souls one more time and take our minds on his journey through the depths of his Icelandic inspired songwriting and folklore reenactments. Every song on here touches me in some extremely important way! I urge you to give it a listen and support this intertwining of electronic and acoustic bliss...

Info:  (taken from http://jonsi.com/go)

      "Go" contains nine songs amassed from the large pool of songs written by jónsi during his many years with sigur rós. the album is sung in english and icelandic, and was co-produced by jónsi, his partner alex somers and peter katis (the national, interpol).

when he began working on go, jónsi initially thought he would be making a low-key, acoustic album until, as he says, “somewhere along the line, it just sort of exploded.” that explosion resulted in sheer aural fireworks. not a straight ahead pop record, nor rock, folk, ambient or electronic, it encompasses all of these to create an expansive musical palette that’s been brought to life by jónsi alongside a number of free-spirited collaborators.

chief among these is nico muhly, the philip glass protégé who is renowned for his work with björk, antony & the johnsons, bonnie “prince” billy and grizzly bear. muhly has arranged all the songs on go, bringing strings, brass and woodwind to dance playfully alongside his offbeat piano playing. add into the mix the percussive genius of samuli kosminen, whose original drumming powers many of the songs along, and you have a sonic landscape that bears little relation to anything else around today, yet explodes from the speakers with sheer happiness and wonder, wide-eyed and eager to be heard.

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TITA LIMA RECORD RELEASE PART!!!!! SUNDAY JULY 11TH

Tita Lima - 11:11

Today I bring you none other than Brasil's very own Tita Lima... A great friend and great musician playing everything from keys, to the Cazoo.. This album is a must to check out.. Enjoy..

Info:
A modern-day Tropicalista, singer-songwriter Tita Lima was born into a family of musicians (her father was the bass player for 70s rock band Os Mutantes). She paid her dues in Sao Paulo's musical scene playing bass, singing and sharing the stage with widely-recognized artists such as Bocato (Metalurgia, Elis Regina, Gal Costa, Maria Rita), Joao Donato, Luz de Caroline.

Tita Lima now delivers a fascinating debut album, entitled ‘11:11’ consisting of eleven melodious, relaxing songs that hover somewhere between acoustic soul, dubby electronica, samba-jazz and spaced-out hip-hop/folk. With a little help by distinguished musicians and producers including Apollo Nove (Otto, Cibelle), André Caccia Bava, Kassin, Beto Cascales (Alberto López), Bryan Velasco and Quincas Moreira, ‘11:11’ sees life given to the mélange of influences and curiosities of Tita Lima.

The sultry vocalist’s music has become a favorite among DJs in Brazil, the US and Europe, including Rafael Moraes, Garth Trinidad (KCRW) and Gilles Peterson, who included the song "A Conta Do Samba" in his superb compilation ‘Brownswood Bubblers.’ Sophisticated and subtle, songs like " Flutuando" and "Catatonica" are perfect accompaniments to warm up the short winter days for those living in the Northern hemisphere. Simply indulge in the Tita Lima groove.
Tita Lima Official Website | Tita Lima MySpace Page

Suddenly Spring. Listen Close...

It's been a minute since I've posted something really thought out. Life has kept me on the go and I've had little time to blog. Although I haven't had much time to blog, the music has been flowing out of my finger tips. I habitually create new tunes as part of my daily meditation, it's what keeps me somewhat centered.
Moving on, I can't help but share this gem I've been sitting on for years. Royksopp is one of the greatest groups born in this electronic era. I am extremely picky about Electronic music, and I must say that this album is like some Wonka chocolate. So hit the listen link, grab a glass of milk and enjoy this rich electronic stereo duo. A must in every taste makers crate!

Info:
Röyksopp (Norwegian pronunciation: [ˈɾøʏksɔp]) are a Grammy nominated [1] Norwegian electronic music duo from Tromsø, composed of Torbjørn Brundtland and Svein Berge. The group formed officially in 1998 and released their debut album Melody A.M. on Wall of Sound in 2001.

The word Röyksopp is a stylized version of the Norwegian word for the puffball mushroom, "røyksopp" or literally, "smoke mushroom".


History

Brundtland and Berge were schoolmates in their hometown of Tromsø, experimenting with electronic instruments in the early 1990s, being a part of the Tromsø techno scene. They were members of various electro acts in their youth, such as Aedena Cycle, Alanïa and Drum Island. Their childhood in Tromsø and the spectacular northern Norwegian scenery have often been mentioned[2][3][4][5] as one of their most important inspirations. However, the duo did not appear as Röyksopp until years later when they met again in Bergen. The city had now overtaken Tromsø's position as the most vital scene for underground electronic music in Norway, and Röyksopp worked with other Norwegian musicians such as Frost, Kings of Convenience’s guitarist/singer Erlend Øye and Bjørn Torske in what was called the Bergen Wave.

Röyksopp's first singles were released by local independent label Tellé, and their album Melody A.M. on British label Wall of Sound. It spawned the single "Eple", one of the group's most known tracks,[citation needed] along with "Poor Leno", "Remind Me" and "Sparks". Eple (IPA: [ˈɛplə]) means "apple" in Norwegian. Their single "Eple" was used by Apple Inc. as the music for the startup video for Mac OS X 10.3

The popularity of the duo’s music was boosted by several graphically experimental music videos. One of them, an infographic-styled video by French company H5 for the track "Remind Me", won the 2002 MTV Europe Music Award for best music video. In this same event the duo was nominated in three more categories: "Best Nordic Act", "Best New Artist" and "Best Dance Act", but only won the award for best video. The duo performed the song "Poor Leno"[6] at the event. One year later the duo received a nomination to Brit Awards, the most prestigious British music award in the category "Best Group", though without winning it.

Röyksopp's second studio album The Understanding was released in 12 July 2005, preceded by the single “Only This Moment” in 27 June, 2005. The video “Only This Moment” is closely based on the events of the Paris 1968 riots[citation needed] and elements of propaganda are found throughout the video clip. The album's second single, “49 Percent”, was released on 26 September, 2005. A third single, "What Else Is There?", reached #1 on the British Dance Chart.

In 2006, Röyksopp released a nine-track live album, called Röyksopp's Night Out. The album contains a new dance version of their single “Sparks” and a reinterpretation of the song “Go with the Flow”, originally by Queens of the Stone Age.
Röyksopp performing at Fuji Rock, Niigata, Japan, in 2005

In 2007, Röyksopp compiled their favourite tracks by other artists for the Back to Mine series. The album was released in the US on March 5 2007 and in the UK on April 27 2007. The album also includes their own track “Meatball”, released under the pseudonym “Emmanuel Splice”, which is actually a remix version of Mike Oldfield's “North Star/Platinum Finale” from the album Platinum. This year Svein Berge also contributed as a board member for the celebration of the Grieg year, as Norway celebrated their famous composer Edvard Grieg[7].

Röyksopp's website was changed to coincide with their 10th birthday. They released a new track “Happy Birthday” for free on 15 December 2008 to celebrate this event, in both MP3 and WAV formats.

On March 23, 2009, Röyksopp's third studio album Junior was released, which features the single "Happy Up Here". The song debuted on BBC Radio 1's Pete Tong show on 9 Jan 2009. It was officially released digitally on January 18, 2009 and was released physically on 9 March 2009. The music video features elements from the arcade game Space Invaders. Both the single and the video were met with positive reactions from the press and fans.[8][9][10][11] Junior will be followed by an album Senior, a counterpart to Junior, which is quiet, "withdrawn and introspective" and "create an atmosphere and an ambience".[12][13] The album will be released during spring/summer 2010.

"The Girl and the Robot", the second single from the album Junior including vocals from Swedish singer Robyn, was released on June 15 2009 in Europe, June 16 in America and on June 29 in the UK, with remixes from Kris Menace, Chateau Marmont and Spencer & Hill. "This Must Be It" is the third single from the album, including vocals from Swedish singer Karin Dreijer Andersson of The Knife and Fever Ray. The single also featuring remixes by Thin White Duke, LehtMoJoe, Rex the Dog and Apparat, among others. The band has also released "Tricky Tricky" stems as part of the remix competition. The winning entries were released on October 27, 2009.[14]

The tracks "What Else Is There?" and "Eple" were chosen among the top 500 tracks of the decade by Pitchfork Media. They were placed in respectively 375th and 336th place [15]. Another track written by Röyksopp, Annie's "Heartbeat" was placed 17th on the same list [16]. On November 24th 2009, Melody A.M. was named the best Norwegian album of the decade by Norways largest newspaper, VG[17]. The Understanding came 5th on the same list. The song "Eple" was placed 3rd in the selection of the top 10 Norwegian tracks of the decade[18]. "What Else Is There?" came 6th.


A number of Röyksopp tracks have been used in commercials or as background music in television programs and films.

* The song "Eple" (literally "apple" in Norwegian) was licensed by Apple for use as the welcome music to the company’s Mac OS X Panther operating system, playing the first time a user booted a new Mac.[19] It was also used as the music for the title sequence for BBC World’s Click Online (now Click) and as background music during DJ talk on Virgin Radio.
* Röyksopp's first single "So Easy", originally released on the Tellé label before their commercial breakthrough, became popular in the UK after it was used in a T-Mobile advertisement. The song was re-released as a single in the UK, combined with "Remind Me".
* "Remind Me", one of the two Röyksopp and Erlend Øye collaborations found on Melody A.M., can be heard in a Geico car insurance commercial in the U.S. The commercial is the fourth of the "It's so easy a caveman could do it" ads, and features said caveman riding a moving sidewalk in an airport terminal when he comes across a poster displaying the inflammatory ad campaign.
* Röyksopp's sixth single, "Only This Moment" was featured in the film "Just My Luck" starring Lindsay Lohan and Chris Pine.
* Two of their songs were used in the EA Sports football video game franchise FIFA. "Follow My Ruin" was used in FIFA 06. "It's What I Want" is used in the soundtrack for FIFA 10.
* The tune of "Happy Up Here" is played in the co-sponsored-by ads on VH1 India.
* The hit song "What Else Is There?" was featured during a scene in the 2007 American film, "Meet Bill" Starring Aaron Eckhart. It was also used during the end credits of the 2006 film "Cashback".
* 'Circuit Breaker' off 'The Understanding' was in the 2007 soundboard film Picture This - Mack Dawg Productions.

Awards
at the 2005 Glastonbury Festival

2001

* Spellemannprisen (the Norwegian equivalent to the Grammy)
o Best Music Video - (for "Eple")
o Best Electronic Album - (for "Melody A.M.")

2002

* Spellemannprisen
o Best Music Video - (for "Remind Me")
o Spellemann Special Award
* MTV Europe Music Awards
o Best Music Video - (for "Remind Me")
* Alarmprisen
o Best Pop - (for "Melody A.M.")
o Best House/Techno - (for "Melody A.M.")
o Best Music - (for "Eple")

2003

* Brit Awards
o Best International Group (Nominated)

2005

* Spellemannprisen
o Best Pop Group

2006

* Alarmprisen
o Best Club - (for "The Understanding")

2010

* Spellemannprisen
o Best Composer (for "Junior")
o Best Electronic Album (for "Junior")

Discography
Main article: Röyksopp discography

* Melody A.M. (2001)
* The Understanding (2005)
* Junior (2009)
* Senior (2010)

Tracklisting:
1. So Easy
2. Eple
3. Sparks
4. In Space
5. Poor Leno
6. A Higher Place
7. Royksopp's Night Out
8. Remind Me
9. She's So
10. 40 Years Back/Come

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Some Recent Updates.... ENJOY!

Latest tracks by b.mark

Múm- Sing Along to Songs You Don't Know

What a beautiful day it was today... The Sun(Sol!) is a reminder to keep your head up... Another day with Sun is another day won! Be thankful for being able to breathe.. Life is one long song of chaos and order. Balance it out and experiment as much as possible! Which leads me to the icing on the cake, Múm. A fantastic Icelandic experimental pop group! Some great electronic music with the right amount of vocals and ear vitamins... Give it a listen... Let me know what you think...

Info:
múm (pronounced [muːm], moom) are an experimental Icelandic musical group whose music is characterized by soft vocals, electronic glitch beats and effects, and a variety of traditional and unconventional instruments.

The band was formed in 1997 by original members Gunnar Örn Tynes and Örvar Þóreyjarson Smárason, who were joined a year later by twin sisters Gyða and Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir. According to Kristín, the band's name was not intended to mean anything. In 2002, after the first American tour, Gyða left the band to return to her studies in Reykjavík. Shortly after Gyða left, Ásthildur Valtýsdóttir joined for singing duties and Serena Tideman replaced Gyða on cello, for a European tour. Then the ensemble evolved to include Ólöf Arnalds and Hildur Guðnadóttir. In early 2006, Kristín also left the band, although it was not officially announced until November 23 of that year.[1]

Despite the departure of some of its members múm has remained together as a collective of musicians. Their fourth album, recorded during 2006, was released on 24 September 2007, entitled Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy.

In November 2007, múm toured the East Coast of the US with German musician, Hauschka. They returned in Spring 2008 with the same set list. Both tours included songs from their latest album, Go, Go Smear the Poison Ivy.

On 27 August 2008, múm announced on their official website that "múm is quietly but surely [working on] their new album. No release date has been etched in stone, but every day will bring it closer." múm also released several pictures of themselves during the recording process on their My Space page.

On 22 May 2009, during a concert in Burgos, Spain, múm played songs from their newest album Sing Along to Songs You Don't Know. It was released as a download through Gogoyoko on 17 August 2009, and on CD on 24 August 2009.

Albums:
Yesterday Was Dramatic – Today Is OK (TMT, 2000; reissue Morr Music, 2005)
Finally We Are No One (Fat Cat Records, 2002)
Loksins erum við engin (Smekkleysa Records, 2002) — the Icelandic version of "Finally We Are No One"
Summer Make Good (Fat Cat Records, 2004)
Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy (Fat Cat Records, 2007)
Sing Along to Songs You Don't Know (Morr Music, 2009)

Compilations:
Blái Hnötturinn (2001) — Soundtrack
Motorlab #2 (2001) — 3 tracks contributed to compilation album by Kitchen Motors
Please Smile My Noise Bleed (Morr Music, 2001) — 3 New Tracks + Remixes
Remixed (TMT, 2001) — Versions of Yesterday Was Dramatic - Today Is Ok
Fálkar (Smekkleysa Records, 2002) — contributed "Grasi Vaxin Göng"
Wicker Park (soundtrack) (Lakeshore Records, 2004) — contributed "We Have a Map of the Piano"
Screaming Masterpiece (2005) — Appeared in the documentary with the video for "Green Grass of Tunnel" and contributed the same song to the soundtrack.
Friends of the Random Summer (2005) — 3 CD, Unofficial Release.
Kitchen Motors Family Album/Fjölskyldualbúm Tilraunaeldhússins (Spring 2006) — contributed "Asleep in a Hiding Place"

EPs:
The Ballað of the Broken Birdie Records (TMT, 2000)
Dusk Log (Fat Cat Records, 2004)
The Peel Session (Fat Cat Records, 2006) (Maida Vale 4 Studio 2002)

Singles:
"Green Grass of Tunnel" (Fat Cat Records, 2002)
"Nightly Cares" (Fat Cat Records, 2004)
"They Made Frogs Smoke 'til They Exploded" (Fat Cat Records, 2007)
"Marmalade Fires" (Fat Cat Records, 2007)

Tracklisting:
01.I Were a Fish – 4:16
02.Sing Along – 5:39
03.Prophecies and Reversed Memories – 4:06
04.A River Don't Stop to Breathe – 4:45
05.The Smell of Today Is Sweet Like Breastmilk in the Wind – 4:47
06.Show Me – 3:45
07.Húllabbalabbalúú – 3:27
08.Blow Your Nose – 4:07
09.Kay-Ray-Kú-Kú-Kó-Kex – 3:57
10.The Last Shapes of Never – 2:27
12.Illuminated – 4:09
13.Ladies of the New Century – 3:45

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The Octopus Project- Golden Beds & Hello Avalanche

It's been some time since my last post... I really only like to post albums, I can't help but share. These two albums really take me somewhere else.. It's like the Octopus Project had disected part of my brain and maid some music! Perhaps, some of the best music I've heard all year..

Info:
The Octopus Project is an American indietronica band based in Austin, Texas. Its unique sound, blending pop and experimental elements, is a combination of digital and electronic sounds and noises (including drum machine, keyboard, synthesizers and other devices) and analog equipment (including guitars and live drums). Its music is mostly instrumental.

On April 30, 2006, the band played the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. They were offered the opportunity after a fan, unbeknownst to the band, entered them in a contest held by the festival on MySpace in which voters were to "nominate their favorite band for an open slot at the festival".[1][2]

In 2007, the Octopus Project supported underground hip-hop star Aesop Rock on his national tour.

Members
All members are known to switch instruments live (for instance, Josh Lambert playing drums while Toto Miranda plays guitar, or Yvonne Lambert playing guitar while Josh Lambert operates the electronics), but each member can be said to play a primary instrument.

Josh Lambert: guitar, bass, keyboards
Toto Miranda: drums, guitar, bass
Yvonne Lambert: samplers, keyboards, theremin, glockenspiel, guitar
Ryan Figg: guitar, bass, keyboards
[edit] Discography

Ryan Figg and Josh Lambert exchange guitars in the midst of a song in San Francisco, August 2008.[edit] Albums
Identification Parade (2002)
One Ten Hundred Thousand Million (2005)
Hello, Avalanche (2007)
[edit] Splits, remixes, singles and EPs
Christmas on Mars (EP, Soda Pop Productions, 1999)
Black Octopus Lipstick Project Foam Party (Peek-A-Boo Records, 2004)
The House of Apples and Eyeballs (Collaboration with Black Moth Super Rainbow, Graveface Records, 2006)
Wet Gold/Moon Boil (7" Peek-a-Boo records, 2007)
Golden Beds (EP, Peek-A-Boo Records, 2009)


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