Meme Love

A reader of this blog recommended Meme Love to me quite a while ago. He discovered her on Phildel's (which I featured here May last year) friendlist on MySpace. I put her name on my 'to-listen' list and two weeks ago, I finally listened to her songs for the first time, and have been in love with them since. This proves again I should not postpone recommended music. I really should've started listening earlier to this fantastic singer-songwriter with her unique voice and melodies that remind me of Imogen Heap and earlier mentioned Phildel.
Meme Love always had an openness to music she wanted to appreciate, and learn about, all different types of music. At school she learned cello, and then a bit of clarinet. After school she went to college and did A Level music and played with some world music and folk bands. While she was at college she joined an electro band. Perhaps because of this wide-ranging musical background, she is able to bring together divergent influences with apparent ease, to create an effortless fusion of classical and folk elements, with sparkling pop melodies and honey-soaked vocals. She's planning on releasing an album in the future. Very understandable because all songs I've heard from her so far could easily be singles, or at least great album tracks. Only love from me for Meme Love, now take the opportunity and experience some of that inevitably love yourself!

@ London, UK
♫ Alternative, Pop
♥ Gone Forever (mp3)
♥ Little Bit More (mp3)
▸ Myspace
▸ Twitter

The Momeraths

Listening to The Momeraths will be the excellent start of your summer. The Momeraths are a five piece band consisting of Paolo (lead vocals, guitar), Claire (backing vocals, melodica), Richard (bass), Michael (guitar, accordion) and last but not least Adnan (drums) They named their band after small fuzzy creatures from "Alice In Wonderland" that consist of a scruff of hair, googley eyes and orange legs. Their sound is fresh and unique, the majority of their songs a fun fusion of country-folk and tangy guitar strumming with an occasional addition of harmonica, melodica, cowbells and accordion. The double-gendered vocals flow well together to create a sound that is not only different but catchy and easy to get people dancing. The Momeraths arrive with their debut EP “Crayon Colours” that will leave everyone with a clap and a cheers and a smile on the face. Their new single "Millepede Stomps" and "Dolly Mixtures" EP will be released in the summer on NS Records.

@ UK
♫ Indie, Folk, Pop
♥ Ties (mp3)
♥ The Boyfriend Song (mp3)
▸ Myspace

Diane Birch

I think most of you have heard of Diane Birch by now, her debut album Bible Belt; a title that is referring to both her very restraining religious upbringing that on the other hand is the source of her creativity. is getting quite a buzz around the net. A buzz she certainly deserves, Bible Belt is filled with soulful pop songs that will have you swinging in no time. On catchy tracks like “Fools” and “Valentino” Birch mixes piano-playing virtuosity with easy-going soul, and she can strike an uplifting groove on even the most melancholy tune. Her love for soul started most likely when she moved to Zimbabwe at a very young age. Her dad was a conservative pastor who moved his family from continent to continent. Until she arrived in the States, she’d had not had any exposure to the radio or television and little knowledge of popular culture; she’d only listened to classical music, opera and, of course, church hymns. That’s probably why the church organ can be heard throughout most of her songs. Alongside with the beautiful piano- parts, which is actually where her singing career started with. Because it was in piano class that Diane wrote her first original song, which her new classmates immediately loved. Not long afterwards she started posting songs on MySpace which resulted in a record deal with her current record label S-Curve Records. You can get Bible Belt from most digital stores. Buy it, if you want a swinging start of your summer.

@ New York, USA
♫ Pop, Soul, Alternative
♥ Valentino (mp3)
▸ Myspace
▸ Official Website

Ellen and the Escapades

West Yorkshire folk-pop five piece Ellen and the Escapades; Ellen Smith (Vocals, Acoustic), Chris Quick (Keys, Vocals), James Warrender (Drums), Andy Calder (Bass), and Jeff Schneider (Guitar), has managed to create a sound that oozes nostalgia, without being outdated. Being highly influenced by legendary songwriters such as Bob Dylan and Carole King, as well as contemporary Indie acts like, The Coral and Cat Power, Ellen and the Escapades have found a happy medium with their tight, down to earth, organic sound. Whiskas, founder of Dance to the Radio, writing for the Leeds Guide thought of their music as having “a weight of mood and atmosphere that will make you listen in depth at every opportunity.” Sandman magazine described their self produced EP, released in September 2008, “as though it was written whilst flicking through long forgotten scrap books and photo albums.” All this from a band yet to celebrate it’s first birthday. However, as fresh faced as the five piece might seem, their roots are wide spread. From the sun kissed bays of San Francisco to the puddled doorsteps of their Leeds homes, each members individual experiences has combined to form one tight, hard working ensemble, picking up fans and admirers throughout the land. They released their first single ‘Without You’ on 25th May 2009 through their home-grown record label “Branch Out Records, and have been playing on several radiostation in the UK. Let's hope an full length album will be released soon!

@ Leeds, UK
♫ Acoustic, Folk, Pop
♥ Nothing To Lose (mp3)
♥ Without You (mp3)
▸ Myspace
▸ iTunes

Anna Leddra-Chapman

Sometimes, this blog might seem one big advert for MySpace, but I'll have to credit it once again for this awesome singer-songwriter that I found about a year ago. It was than that my PC crashed, and I had to buy a new laptop. While almost everything was saved on my external HDD, I forgot about the amazing demos of Anna. It was only last week that I discovered my old 'demo folder' again. Listening to some of her great demos like Jocelin, Take It Back and A Little Easier made clear that I can't keep this promising singer-songwriter away from you any longer.
While most kids are worrying about how they’re going to get their hands on that new video game at the age of 12, Anna Leddra Chapman picked up one of her dads guitars for the first time and sat down to write her first song. Since that day the young singer songwriter has never looked back. Realising she had a serious knack of capturing genuine emotion in her lyrics, Anna continued to write songs when the mood took her until she had enough quality songs together to get herself into local venues and play them live. With the most beautiful, pure and unique voice, it wasn’t long before she was being asked to play venues all over the country. Frustratingly Anna was still only 14 and confined to a few shows in and around her Essex locale. After a little time being deemed too young for most of the venues she really wanted to play, she finally hit the ripe old age of 15 and began playing bigger local shows with the odd trip to play in London when her parents were available to take her. Already a classically trained flautist, Anna spent as much time as she teaching herself both the piano and keyboards and started producing her own demo’s in a small home-studio at the back of the families garage. With soulful and honest lyrics that come straight from the heart, Anna is truly one of the most gifted young songwriters in Britain today. Now finished with school, Anna is concentrating solely on her music, developing her own unique sound and working with various producers and songwriters on yet more material. Her musical career has only just begun …and I can't wait to see what the future holds for her.

@ London, UK
♫ Acoustic, Folk, Pop
♥ Jocelin (mp3)
♥ Story (mp3)
▸ Myspace
▸ Official Website

The Lovell Sisters

Again it's Myspace that delivered me this talented americana trio about a year ago. The Lovell Sisters are an extremely talented trio, consisting of three sisters: Jessica, Megan and Rebecca. It's passion that is the fuel to their writing and arranging, and it colors every note they play and sing on Time To Grow, their forthcoming new album. The Lovell Sisters, who have proven themselves time and again as polished performers, have been praised equally for both their virtuosic playing—Jessica on fiddle, Megan on dobro, Rebecca on guitar and mandolin—and their vibrant vocal harmonizing. With their new album The Lovell Sisters are coming into their own. After their 2005 debut When Forever Rolls Around and 2007 CD/DVD Live At The Philadelphia Folk Festival where they showcased their dynamic musical interaction and interpretive gifts, The Lovell Sisters are emerging as songwriters. Prior to recording their new album, The Lovell Sisters had a deal in place with a major record label. When they realized their original material was not a priority for the label, they decided to opt out and remain independent. Time To Grow features five original songs including the title track, “Time To Grow,” and “Distance,” two of my favorite tracks of the album. When asked about the story behind “Distance,” Rebecca says the chords and melody came in a flash while the lyrics took months to refine. With Time To Grow, The Lovell Sisters share their passion for music with their fans, colleagues, and especially each other. “All three of us have different personalities, different strengths and weaknesses,” says Megan. “But we take care of each other, and our various strengths help lift each other up. As sisters, we’re very much on the same wave length and I think people can really see that in the way we interact on stage.” Lovers of musical adventures that are supported by beautiful instrumentals and perfect harmonies are in for a treat!

@ Calhoun, USA
♫ Acoustic, Folk, Americana
♥ Distance (mp3)
♥ Time To Grow (mp3)
▸ Myspace
▸ Official Website

Allie Moss

Sometimes when you go to a concert a support-act really blows you away. It happened to me before with Jaymay, and now it happened again when I saw Ingrid Michaelson not too long ago. Although it was more like a wake-up-call this time. I've stumbled upon NJ-bred Allie Moss' Myspace quite a long time ago and really liked the demos on her profile. Unfortunately Allie became another "greatsingersongwriteronmyspacelostinthecrowd" for me, but when I saw her singing Ingrid, I suddenly recognized something in her silky backgroundvocals. Back home, I was pleasantly surprised to see that she would be releasing her debut EP "Passerby" soon. In the meantime it was released and quickly became my most listened EP of the last months. Amazingly beautiful folky pop tracks like "Passerby" and "Corner" even make it one of my favorite EP's of this year so far. So if you can only buy one EP this year, let it be this one!
Allie Moss has entertained audiences in many popular venues throughout NYC and NJ, including: Rockwood Music Hall, Pianos, The Sidewalk Café, Kenny’s Castaways and has also been featured on TV and and in video games. Let's hope "Passerby" will give her the exposure she deserves and will let her visit us in Europe again, headlining!

@ New Jersey, USA
♫ Indie, Folk, Pop
♥ Corner (mp3)
♥ Passerby (mp3)
▸ Myspace
▸ Twitter