Late Night Tuff Guy
By Stef Siepel
The weekly froth! A weekly take on six tracks, most of which have recently popped up somewhere in the blogosphere. Bit of a mixed bag with a slight leaning towards house, disco, and remixes, but generally just anything that for some reason tickled the writer’s fancy.
Ben Howard Every Kingdom
By Charlotte Gay
The singer-songwriter Ben Howard has been surfing since he was 11, but his intricate guitar sound is more John Martyn than Jack Johnson. Aged only 24, Howard has secured himself a strong fanbase mainly by word of mouth (although BBC Radio 1, 6 Music and Radio 2 have now come on board in a big way). There is something about his guitar sound that recalls Nick Drake’s complex tunings, while every so often you expect his gently gruff tones to start warbling Martyn’s Bless the Weather. This Devonian musician caught up with our very own Charlotte Gay to exchange a few words before performing at The Old Firestation in Bournemouth.
Little Fix was born out of a desire to offer just that to the world – an escape from the daily grind to an alternative reality where freedom and liberty are key. Whatever those words mean to you, whatever you need; your own little fix.
Like a young Roberta Flack, the Afro-crowned Leeds singer Rhianna Kenny has a soulful yet truculent and raw voice, one that is a rarity in today’s pop star cut out market. Having worked with Faithless, Roison Murphy and Ian Brown, her voice, like her hair, can easily flout luscious untamed moments, but is exquisite in its sheer artistry. Deliciously fibrous and organic, her voice envelops whatever is around her and would find it easy to break out of any harness. … Continue Reading
In an overcrowded scene where getting noticed is everything, Yorkshire upstarts I Swim With Sharks have delivered a powerful statement of intent with effortlessly catchy new single ‘Just be Good’. Replete with an infectious pop-nous yet retaining a developed indie sensibility which will please the most hardened muso, the fast-rising trio are sure to add many new fans to their already burgeoning fanbase with ‘Just be Good’. And you can listen to the single exclusively here!
Just Be Good from I Swim With Sharks on Vimeo.
Sophie Barker, the voice behind Zero 7, follows up her solo album Seagull released earlier this year with new double AA side single ‘A Forest’ (a rework of the classic original by The Cure) and ‘Say Goodbye’. And you can exclusively listen to them both below.
Sophie says herself: ‘I felt that the two songs revealed perspective of love from two ends of the spectrum. The sweet, sad but light ‘Say Goodbye’ voice to the deeper more edgy sharp sound of the voice in ‘A Forest’ expressing two very parts of the same woman of the same soul both dealing with their fears, hopes, illusions and trying to find some peace once out of the emotional darkness. A cathartic dualistic musical relay!’
Interested in jazz music? Want to learn more about how a production company works? Want some hands on experience in Production, Communications and/or Development? Want to work with the likes of Ornette Coleman, MOBO winners Kairos 4tet, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Ben l’Oncle, Nik Bartsch and Stefano Bollani to name just a very small few? Well then, this is the job for you!
The London Jazz Festival, in association with BBC Radio 3, is seeking volunteers to work with music production company Serious on the delivery of this year’s Festival. London Jazz Festival is London’s biggest city-wide music festival and bring together established stars and emerging talent, reflecting the traditions of jazz and illustrating its breadth and depth. LJF’s programme is made up of premieres, commissions, one-off collaborations, talks, family events, workshops and a fantastic Jazz for Free series. There are 280 concerts in over 50 venues taking the Festival to venues right across London.
Continue reading to find out more…
Fancy honing your skills as a music journalist? Step right up, this is the competition for you!
Aspiring jazz and music writers looking to grow their skills are invited to apply to this year’s series of The Write Stuff, the new writers initiative that is held during the London Jazz Festival in November 2011. … Continue Reading
By Louise Coles
Conceived in the same terrain as Wild Beasts and British Sea Power, new on the scene Kendal bred Woman’s Hour are an exciting new London based Art-Pop collective, quivering with electronic beats married to clean and uncomplicated guitar and bass lines. Similarly to their contemporaries, their soft then strong vocals coupled with their amassing melody teeters into calypso territory, flirting with a myriad of other genres, while never losing the core sound of the band. Here, Will Burgess, bassist and vocals, speaks exclusively to Muso’s Guide about new beginnings.
The American indie rock band Ra Ra Riot hailing from Syracuse, New York have made a name for themselves after forming in 2006. Vocalist Wes Miles, bassist Mathieu Santos, guitarist Milo Bonacci, cellist Alexandra Lawn, violinist Rebecca Zeller, and drummer Kenny Bernard began their careers gigging at house parties on their University campus while recording their first aptly named single ‘My Favourite Cat’. … Continue Reading
The Leisure Society was formed by Nick Hemming, formerly of early 1990′s indie band She Talks To Angels which included actor Paddy Considine, film director Shane Meadows and bassist Richard Eaton. Aside from writing and performing music for the films Meadows’ Dead Man’s Shoes and A Room for Romeo Brass, Hemming was also a member of The Telescopes. After meeting multi-instrumentalist and producer Christian Hardy in 2006, the pair have subsequently built a live band drawn from members of Brighton’s Willkommen Collective and further afield. … Continue Reading
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