Sunday, December 30, 2007

Favorites of 2007

This year is almost over. It was a year full of releases of new artists and bands, together with some very good follow-ups. Like most blogs do, I tried to create a list of my favorite albums and automatically most played albums this year. Enjoy! Click the albums to download.


Oh Laura - A Song Inside My Head
Wallis Bird - Spoons
Plastiscines - LP1

Emma Pollock - Watch The Fireworks
Monkey Swallows The Universe - Casket Letters
Meiko - Meiko

Bishop Allen - The Broken String
Christine Fellows - Fearless
Mary Timony Band - The Shapes We Make

Cocoon - My Friends All Died In A Plane Crash
Jaymay - Autumn Fallin'
Tegan and Sara - The Con

Immaculate Machine - Fable's
Au Revoir Simone - The Bird Of Music
Seabear - The Ghost That Carried Us Away

Amy Macdonald - This Is The Life
Eisley - Combinations
Blonde Redhead - 23

I also want to thank every (loyal) visitor of this blog. In a few weeks the blog already had over 2200 unique visitors! Furthermore, I want to ask for your tips and feedback for making my blog even better. So please comment, together with your own favorites of this year!

A Happy New Year To All!

Friday, December 28, 2007

Bim

@ London, UK
Acoustic, Electro, Pop
The Battle (mp3)
Myspace
Official Website

Laura Groves

@ Shipley, UK
Acoustic, Folk, Indie
I Am Leaving (mp3)
Myspace
Official Website

Monday, December 24, 2007

Smoosh

@ Seattle, USA
Indie, Pop, Alternative
Find A Way (mp3)
Myspace
Official Website

Katrina Stone

Fort Collins, USA @
Acoustic, Rock, Pop
Take Me Away (mp3)
Myspace
Official Website

Friday, December 21, 2007

Afternoon Naps

@ Cleveland, USA
Indie, Pop, Rock
The Sun Ain't The Same (mp3)
Myspace

Laurell Hubick

@ Vancouver, Canada
Surf, Acoustic, Pop
Love Boat (mp3)
Myspace
Official Website

The Hampdens

@ Perth, Australia
Alternative, Ambient
The Hype (mp3)
Myspace
Official Website

April Smith

New York, USA @
Pop, Folk Rock, Alternative
The One That Got Away (m4a)
Myspace
Official Website

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Antarctica Takes It !

@ Santa Cruz, USA
Indie, Folk, Pop
Circuits (mp3)
Myspace

Ariana Gillis

@ ?, Canada
Indie, Pop, Folk Rock
Boom Dah (mp3)
Myspace
Official Website

The Chapin Sisters

"Harmony, like you've never heard before"
The Chapin Sisters, Abigail Chapin, Lily Chapin and Jessica Craven, are three actual sisters who live and play music in Los Angeles. Upon hearing the first notes of one of their shows or recordings, it becomes obvious that the Chapins have the sort of tight, celestial harmony that only sisters can achieve. The Chapin Sisters’ lilting voices, lush arrangements and lovely melodies are wedded to dark lyrical content. Their words are sometimes cheeky, sometime utterly forlorn. Their EP of demos recorded in friends’ basements and garages has been a CDBaby top seller, and the Lake Bottom LP , their full- length debut was released by Plain Recordings in March of 2008.

Ana Miura

Ottawa, Canada @
Folk, Pop, Jazz
Transcanada (mp3)
Myspace
Official Website

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

LoveLikeFire

@ San Francisco, USA
Rock, Pop, Indie
Radio Nurse (mp3)
Myspace
Official Website

Rachael Cantu

Rachael Cantu is a singer/songwriter originally from Southern California. Just after her twenty first birthday she moved to Boston, where she had immediate success with the release of her "Blood Laughs" EP . Her haunting vocals and gentle melodies caught the attention of the entire Boston music scene, but it was a couple of Canadians that got her on the road. Touring with Tegan and Sara gave Rachael an opportunity to bring her music to a wider audience. Her second EP, "Run All Night" (Q Division) received critical acclaim and rocketed her up the charts where she sat comfortably in the double digits next to artists such as Neko Case and Ryan Adams on the CMJ top 200. Fueled by the success of her sophmore effort she went back on tour with Tegan and Sara, as well as Ben Lee, Tyler James and Limbeck. Today, you can find Rachael in the midst of writing and recording her next works. She is spending her time in Los Angeles wisely by taking advantage of classic venues to hone her live show, getting it in gear to hit the road once again. Her live show is known to be full of energy and surprises, including guest appearances from talented musicians such as Missy Higgins and Tegan Quin. You can hear her songs in the 2008 IFC film "ANAMORPH" starring Willem Dafoe, and on an upcoming episode of the ABC show "PRIVATE PRACTICE". Keep your ears peeled because there is much more to come!

@ Luther, USA
Indie, Alternative, Rock
Myspace
Official Website


Monday, December 17, 2007

Belaire

@ Austin, USA
Indie, Electro, Pop
Waiting Patiently (mp3)
Myspace

Sunday, December 16, 2007

I Kissed Charles

@ Meppel, Netherlands
Pop, Indie, Electro
I'm Too Young (mp3)
Myspace
Official Website

Leanne Harte

@ Dublin, Ireland
Rock, Alternative, Folk
Hard To Grasp (mp3)
Myspace
Official Website

Pipas

@ New York, USA
Alternative, Indie, Pop
Riff Raff (mp3)
Myspace
Official Website

Youmeelectricity

Amersfoort, Netherlands @
Electro, Pop
Show Me Light (mp3)
Myspace

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Headlights

@ Champaign, USA
Indie, Pop, Rock
TV (mp3)
Myspace
Official Website

Promise And The Monster

@ Stockholm, Sweden
Folk, Alternative, Indie
Killing Fields (mp3)
Myspace

Seabear

"Get cheered up by these exotic Islandic songs"
Seabear is 23-year old Sindri Már Sigfússon from Reykjavik, Iceland, who writes beautiful songs using acoustic guitar and piano, gentle vocals, tinkly-winkly mallets, synth flourishes, and restrained percussion. Seabear started as a one-man project and then turned into a band when Sindri was asked to open in Berlin. Never having performed these songs live, he asked two of his friends, guggý and örn, to come with him and play. They had so much fun playing live and practising that they decided that they would join the band. The music is subdued and mellow folk pop, with a little piano, violin, acoustic guitar and atmospheric vocals, all carefully squeezed through a lo-fi filter. They released their first full-length album, “The Ghost That Carried Us Away”, on August 17, 2007 (gas&row), and Sept 11, 2007 (usa) through Morr Music.

@ Reykjavik, Iceland
Indie, Experimental, Folk
Myspace
Official Website
+ Free EP


Iron & Wine

Texas, USA @
Alternative, Acoustic
House By The Sea (mp3)
Myspace
Official Website

Friday, December 14, 2007

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin

@ Springfield, USA
Pop, Indie, Acoustic
Oregon Girl (mp3)
Myspace

Stacy Clark

@ New York, USA
Electro, Soul, Rock
Matter Of Time (mp3)
Myspace
Official Website

Space Mtn

@ Los Angeles, USA
Indie, Pop, Rock
The Bright Side (mp3)
Myspace
Official Website

Annie Stela

Los Angeles, USA @
Alternative, Acoustic, Pop
Over You (mp3)
Myspace

Thursday, December 13, 2007

The Eames Era

@ Baton Rouge, USA
Indie, Pop, Rock
Could Be Anything (mp3)
Myspace
Official Website

Adrina Thorpe

@ Orange County, USA
Pop, Folk Rock, Down-Tempo
Midnight (mp3)
Myspace
Official Website

Immaculate Machine

@ Victoria, Canada
Indie, Alternative, Rock
Jarhand (mp3)
Myspace
Official Website

Marit Larsen

"A voice that will let you see life as a fairytale"
Her everyday life revolves around making my songs. I find songs everywhere. In between two words of a conversation. Waiting for the bus. Watching myself in the mirror wearing a good dress. Reading phenomenal books. Walking up the five flights of stairs to my apartment. I've always been obsessed with music. Most of my memories, good and bad, have their own soundtrack (which is, by the way, by far the best thing about music). I play the piano, the guitar and sometimes the mandolin. When I write, I usually use them all. To me, different instruments show me different paths in lyrics and melody. It works out well. It wasn't until I was nineteen I decided to be a solo artist. A few years prior to that I was part of a duo that released records on a big American record label and travelled the world for four years. It was all absolutely overwhelming and exciting. I learned a lot. Especially this: When I was constantly travelling, going from one place to the next, talking about myself so much I almost forgot who I was talking about, always thinking about tomorrow and never today - I almost stopped writing songs. It sounds vain, but I almost lost my music. Two years ago I released my first solo album, entitled "Under The Surface" and my new album "The Chase" is set for release October 13th. I feel humble and priviliged being able to compose and perform music for a living. As long as I have stories to tell, I will keep writing, and as long as I keep writing I will continue this surreal way of life.

@ Stockholm, Norway
Pop, Folk, Acoustic
Myspace
Official Website

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Lady & Bird

@ Reykjavik, Iceland
Indie, Psychedelic, Pop
Stephanie Says (mp3)
Myspace