Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Fallulah

Fallulah is one of my most recent discoveries. Fallulah, 24 year old Maria Apetri, will surely join the ranks of Bat For Lashes, Jenny Wilson and Marina & The Diamonds, as part of the new emerging wave of proud, bold and adventurous female popartists. Fallulah creates popmusic with finesse, integrity and a fiery, hot- tempered feel of Central Europe. Her songs defy genres and contain subtle elements of classic pop, rock´n´roll, indie, balkan, jazz and r&b. They are energetic and highly physical, which is reflected live, when Fallulah is backed by a tight quartet that plays with a teenth-grinding, feet-stomping bluesy rawness. Fallulah´s debutalbum “The Black Cat Neighbourhood” is a minimalistic horn-of-plenty; extremely ambitious and focused, but at the same time organic, personal and with an infectious, rogue energy; The catchy melodies are arranged around propulsive beats, playful percussion, folkloric strings, piano, choir, glockenspiel and dry, stabbing guitars. The album was released in February 2010 and succeeds the single “I Lay My Head”, which immediately became “Song of the week” on the highly influential Danish P3 Radio.

@ Kopenhagen, Denmark
♫ Indie, Pop, Alternative
♥ Use It For Good (mp3)
▸ Myspace
▸ Official Website

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Free Music: My Bubba & Mi

Last night I discovered this folky trio from Denmark on the 3voor12 Luisterpaal, a great place to listen to new and upcoming albums. I was immediately attracted by their gorgeous and promising albumart, and fortunately after a first listen it seemed to definitely have fulfilled its promise with ten songs with everything that you always love in scandinavian music and that make you want summer to start even sooner.
My Bubba & Mi are three girls from Denmark, Sweden and Iceland that became room mates in an apartment in Copenhagen. My Bubba & Mi is a special female trio that reeled me in with their intriguing mix of folk, expert finger picking and vocal harmonies so warm they’ll melt the biggest glacier. They themselves are far more down-to-earth. “lullabies from the countryside”, is what the ladies call it. The latter might be a more accurate description, as the trio headed to the sunny, wide fields of southern Italy to record their début. The story goes as follows. An Italian bar-owner was cycling through the city of Copenhagen on holiday. He was taken in by hypnotising sounds seeping through the window of a small bar nearby. Overpowered by his curiosity the man entered and saw My, Bubba and Mia performing for a small audience. A fan was born. The man invited the ladies to come to Italy to perform their music. “All right”, the threesome said and they left. A second invitation followed soon afterwards, this time to record a CD. “Agreed”, the answer was yet again and they packed their bags. Yes, that’s how simple life can be. ‘How it’s done in Italy’ is the mesmerizing début of My Bubba & Mi and furthermore the first Beep! Beep! Back up the Truck release from an international artist. The album will be released on March 8th on CD and vinyl. The 1,500 covers are – believe it or not – hand-made by the band members themselves. Each cover is a unique piece of art. So don't hesitate and give these girls a listen to the full album stream and buy it on cd or vinyl.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Sarah Jaffe

Not too long ago I stumbled upon this amazing singer-songwriter from Texas through Myspace. Sarah Jaffe was born on January 29, 1986 in Lufkin, TX. She currently lives in Denton, TX, a city where the musical talent runs deep (it’s also the home of Brave Combo, Midlake, and Robert Gomez). Sarah released her Even Born Again EP in August 2008. She just finished recording her first full-length album, Suburban Nature, in December 2008 that will be released this April. Last week I managed to get my hands on Suburban Nature, that is filled with 14 amazing songs that sometimes remind me of PJ Harvey or the more recent Emily Jane White. Sarah Jaffe's vocals are so intimate and real that I can feel it in my bones. I easily dare to say that this might actually be the discovery of the year for me and that "Suburban Nature" definitely will be in the higher regions of this years top list. I can't wait to see what this year has in store for her, when someone manages to deliver so much quality with a first album, I'm sure it will all be good things. Don't miss out!

5/5

Key tracks: Better Than Nothing, Clementine, Summer Begs, Pretender

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Shelly Fraley

Shelly Fraley is one of the many great singer-songwriters I've discovered through One Tree Hill and you should all give this girl's music a try, especially if you're into catchy indie pop songs to sing along with! I've included Shelly's selfwritten biography because of the lack of time and that I could not say it better myself.
I’d like to say I knew I’d pursue music in one form or another from the time I was in the womb, but let’s be honest, I can’t remember that far back. So, If I have to pick an age, I’d have to say four, which is when I remember writing my first “lyrics.” I couldn’t understand why my mom laughed when I used the phrase “you keep cracking me up” in a breakup song (yes, at four)! From those first lyrics until now, I’ve been a songwriter at heart. I never thought of myself as a great singer, but I always loved the process of writing and creating something that was my own. I started learning piano on a Casio keyboard with little sticker letters on the keys to learn the notes when I was about eight. Growing up on a farm in nowhere Kansas lent to plenty of “down-time” to learn the piano and create music, silly as it may have been. My first semi “official” recordings were done at my church in my tiny town on an out of tune piano. I still have the cassettes and laugh at them on occasion. Although I had fun with music, and loved creating it as a kid, I had a pretty sheltered childhood as far as my musical influences go. It wasn’t until my early twenties when I started writing and playing with other musicians that I began discovering music that I had no idea existed. Music from artists such as The Cardigans, Ben Folds, Ben Harper, Beck, Radiohead, U2, Muse, Sheryl Crow, and many others pushed me to want to write better, more interesting songs. Since those days, I’ve recorded several songs. Some of them I love, others not so much; some are dark, and some are hopeful; but, ultimately, they all come from an honest place. My most recent is what I consider my first “official” solo project, an EP entitled “Up Up & Away.” It’s a collection of 5 songs that sum up my first year in Tennessee and my last year in Kansas. From the title track, “Up Up & Away,” a song about coming from a dark, unhappy place, into a more positive hopeful place - to “I Don’t Know,” a song about having to make the heartbreaking decision of ending a relationship, all of the songs are really about what I know best… my life.