DAZ TV

Kasabian: West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum (2009)

2009-06-10T23:07:00.008+03:00

West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum is the third album from the Leicester band Kasabian. Produced by hip-hop producer Dan the Automator this mixture of pop sounds reminds the Primal Scream (listen to Underdog) and ofcourse the Beatles (listen to Thick As Thieves)

more from The Warlocks: The Mirror Explodes

2009-06-03T23:31:00.006+03:00

Following the previous post here is another song from The Mirror Explodes (2009, Tee Pee ) the new album by the Warlocks. This is Standing Between The Lovers Of Hell.

Also listen to: http://covertcuriosity.biz/Frequency_Meltdown_Warlocks.mp3

Les Claypool: Of Fungi and Foe (2009)

2009-06-02T23:07:00.002+03:00

Leslie Edward "Les" Claypool is a California bassist known from the Primus band. Of Fungi and Foe is his second solo album. LC has worked with Tom Waits in the past and his influences are instantly recognisable here. If you are into experimental music and distorted C&W this is your album.

Marina and the Diamonds: The Crown Jewels EP (2009)

2009-05-26T23:18:00.006+03:00

Marina and the Diamonds is Marina Diamond the 23 year old new pop queen from Wales and Ancient Greece (according to myspace). The upcoming Crown Jewels EP (Neon Gold Records) contains four fresh pop songs where you can discover some influences by Kate Bush.

Enjoy "Seventeen" and download it here.

Bonnie Prince Billy: Beware (2009)

2009-05-24T23:11:00.006+03:00

Will Oldham, aka. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy is an American singer-songwriter from Kentucky. He has seven albums in the last 10 years under this name, the last one beeing Beware (Drag City 2009) Surrounded by a batch of respectable musicians this is a rewarding record with light and dark moments.
Other links:
Listen to Afraid Ain't Me one of the strongest songs in Beware.
Listen to the Johnny Cash cover of the BPB song I See a Darkness (1999)

This is the opening track: Beware Your Only Friend

Phoenix : Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (2009)

2009-05-23T17:05:00.008+03:00

This is the fourth studio album by the French alternative rock band Phoenix. Minimal, hi-IQ cocktail party rock with guitar, synths and drumbeats. Lisztomania is the first single and Love Like A Sunset is another interesting track from Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

More: Download Lisztomania remixes and 1901 dub remix

Khaled: Liberte (2009)

2009-05-18T00:25:00.006+03:00

The King of Rai music Cheb Khaled has a new album. The Open Anthropology blog hosts an excellent article on Khaled and his music. Listen to Gnaoui a remarkable desert blues song from Liberté -gnaoua is a mystic-cult music from Sub-Saharan Africa.

Rob Threezy: The Change Up EP (2009)

2009-05-15T00:10:00.008+03:00

Chicago DJ Rob Threezy has this brand new EP out Listen to the gem called The Change Up. You can even downoad it free from the label Nightshifters. A fantastic freebie!!

Regina Spektor teaser

2009-05-13T00:03:00.005+03:00

Regina Spektor is having a new album called Far (Sire) out on June 23. The Soviet born singer-songwriter pianist writes intimate songs orchestrated with inspired music (remember Us or Apres moi). This is an instrumental version of Laughing With from the new album.

Modern Skirts: All of Us in Our Night (2009)

2009-05-11T23:50:00.007+03:00

I cant stop listening to Soft Pedals, it is the prefect relaxing song after a full day. The band is Modern Skirts from Athens Ga. a place with significant contribution to modern music as you might know already. All of Us in Our Night is their latest (third) album. Guitar, piano, melodic songs, a Beach Boys sound. Enjoy Soft Pedals.

More Filthy Dukes

2009-05-11T01:23:00.003+03:00

I noticed that you particularly like the Filthy Dukes so continuing the previous Filthy Dukes post here is another video from Nonsense in the Dark: single Tupac Robot Club Rock.

Filthy Dukes - "Tupac Robot Club Rock" from Filthy Dukes on Vimeo.

Déjà vu sounds part 2: MYNX

2009-05-10T17:32:00.008+03:00

MYNX could be the B-52's of this century. Even if they are not the eccentric LA duo behind MYNX, Ara and Holy are pretty serious: “MYNX is more than a band. It’s a religion. We plan on evangelizing the world with our hot gospel.". I understand that we are going through an 80's comeback in both parts of the ocean and MYNX is a part of this.
MYNX EP Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind’ contains the (older) cult hit I am so LA which you can download from here http://www.wearemynx.com/files/MYNX-ImSoLA.mp3.

Go to Déjà vu sounds part 1 post

Gomez: A new tide (2009)

2009-05-10T00:02:00.019+03:00

After three years the Merseyside quintet Gomez has a new album. Their music is groovy and warm bridging British sound with American roots (listen to Lost Track) and I bet their upcoming summer US tour will be a success. Airstream Driver is a catchy tune from A New Tide.
Other links: Gomez site

The Warlocks: The mirror explodes (2009)

2009-05-05T23:24:00.008+03:00

photo from myspace

The Warlocks is a 7 member band from LA (2 drummers, 4 guitarists, 1 keyboards).

They sound psychedelic, sometimes like Pink Floyd (listen to whips of mercy on myspace), sometimes like Jesus and Mary Chain.

The mirror explodes (2009, Tee Pee) is their new album out on

May 19. Red Camera and Standing between the Lovers of Hell are from this new project.

The Warlocks- "Standing Between The Lovers Of Hell" from dylanrm on Vimeo.

Dolly Rocker Movement: Our Days Mind The Tyme (2009)

2009-05-02T22:55:00.008+03:00

Dolly Rocker Movement is an Australian band with 60's psychedelic sound.
"Quietly going about its business since 2003, The Dolly Rocker Movement has evolved through various guises and moods. The Barrett-influenced pysch-pop has traded moves with garage, surf, and wall of sound - a mixture aptly described as 'melts in your mind, not in your hand'.
Solid followings amongst the harbour city's psych underground & garage rock crowd have given the band's live shows a unique energy " <...more>

They have a few albums out. The new one is Our Days Mind The Tyme (Downunder only , Europe has to wait). You can listen to their music in myspace

Watch Just Another Day from DRM's 2005 independent release album.

Twisted Wheel

2009-04-30T22:46:00.006+03:00

Another band from Manchester, Twisted Wheel got their name from their hometown nightclub where Northern Soul was first heard in the 60's. This is their debut album following a single and a EP last year. You are us is one of the singles of their self-titled album. Their sound thanks to D. Sardy is more pop-rock than their first punk releases. Recommended if you like the Oasis.

The sounds of Balmorhea

2009-04-29T22:49:00.010+03:00

photo from myspace

Balmorhea is a band from Austin Texas playing instrumental music which can be characterized as acoustic, experimental and perhaps classical. They have a new album, their third, called All Is Wild, All Is Silent (Western Vinyl 2009). From the new album listen to Harm and Boon.
Watch live Settler / March 4, 1831.

Depeche Mode Live - April 23 in Hollywood Boulevard.

2009-04-25T13:00:00.004+03:00

Groundbreaking electro legends Depeche Mode will shut down Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles for an exclusive outdoor nighttime performance to be broadcast live on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Thursday, April 23, 2009 (12:05-1:05 a.m. ET/PT).
This will be Depeche Mode's first late-night talk show performance since announcing their upcoming 'Tour Of The Universe,' which will include material from their highly anticipated twelfth studio album 'Sounds Of the Universe' (Mute/Capitol/Virgin) to be released on April 21st.

The band's special performance will feature a multi-song set for the fans on the boulevard including two songs to be broadcast on Jimmy Kimmel Live! one of which will be their new single, 'Wrong'.
This unique performance will take place on a custom-built stage on Hollywood Blvd.
(copied from Top40 Charts)

All the buzz is for the promotion of the new DM album Sounds Of The Universe out on April 21st.

Miss Kittin And The Hacker: Two (2009)

2009-04-24T23:31:00.004+03:00

Miss Kittin is a DJ/musician from Grenoble. The Hacker is a French music producer working with MK. They released their first album in 2001 and now is time for Two (Nobody's Bizzness ) Their music is retro style-new wave with emphasis on synthesisers, aka Elektroclash. Officially to be released on May 19.

Listen also a nice cover of suspicious minds

Obits: I Blame You (2009)

2009-04-22T00:25:00.007+03:00

The Obits is a rock band from Brooklyn. I Blame You (SubPop 2009) is their debut album and sounds like straightforward old-fashioned garage rock. Singer Rick Froberg (Hot Snakes, Drive Like Jehu) sounds less angry here. The rest of the team has also a CV with indie bands. Following a NYC show a bootlegged live tape became popular on the internet and finally SupPop grabbed them.

Listen also to: Milk Cow Blues and One Cross A Piece (previous single)

Déjà vu sounds part 1: Minitel Rose

2009-04-21T00:41:00.005+03:00

Minitel Rose is a French group that plays eighties synthpop. Their album The French Machine was released worldwide on April 13. The 80's is back with the music, the CD cover, the minitel .
Vibrant electro-pop with nice vocals on a pleasurable and extremely short (25 mins) album.

Also listen to College Featuring Minitel Rose - The Energy Story

Prodigy: Invaders Must Die (2009)

2009-04-17T23:49:00.013+03:00

image from http://www.theprodigy.com/

After five years Prodigy have a new album out on their Take me to the Hospital label . Invaders Must Die is a supersized Drums&Bass project that has already topped the UK charts.

This is the title track and the next single Warriors Dance

I also like the Lothario remix of Warriors Dance

Le Retour du Rap Français : Kery James

2009-04-17T22:21:00.005+03:00

This is the opening track from Kery James new album "Reel" out on April 27. Powerful eh?
BTW this is the correct link for the KJ myspace site.

Kinky: Barracuda (2009)

2009-04-17T00:54:00.008+03:00

Kinky is a Mexican band from Monterrey that is around for more than 10 years. They play dance rock with influences from 80's and of course Latin. They have just released their fourth album called Barracuda from where you can watch Hasta Quemarnos and TachiMariPedonCocongo.

Two from Africa: Amadou & Mariam, Dub Colossus

2009-04-13T00:00:00.004+03:00

Amadou & Mariam's Welcome to Mali (2008 Europe, 2009 US) is the followup of the 2005 breakthrough Dimanche à Bamako. The blind couple from Mali are now superstars and this project features many guest-stars K'naan, Keziah Jones, 'M', Toumani Diabate. To my opinion you should ignore the opening track / single "Sabali" and listen to the familiar Mali sounds in the rest of the album.

The other album is soul-jazz from Ethiopia. Dub Colossus is a project of Nick Page (Transglobal Underground, Temple of Sound). In a Town Called Addis (Real World) he was inspired by Ethiopian singers and musicians in Addis Ababa in August 2006. The collaboration between Dub Colossus and these amazing musicians covers Azmari and traditional styles as well as the popular singing styles of the 60s and 70s.
Links: Real World page.

Back Door Slam, a fresh blues band

2009-04-11T13:22:00.013+03:00

This is not new but since fresh blues from 20 somethings is rare maybe we can have some in the playlist. Back Door Slam is a blues trio from the Isle of Man. They have just one album called Roll Away (2007) and these days they touring the US supporting Jeff Beck, check myspace for dates. Back Door Slam brings to mind the English blues-rock players such as Eric Clapton, Peter Green, and John Mayall. Listen to Come Home , they sound like veteran bluesmen..

Ursula 1000: Mystics

2009-04-10T00:20:00.006+03:00

This guy from Brooklyn Alex Gimeno calls his project Ursula 1000 (for the first Bond girl - Ursula Andress). He is a DJ playing electro -old fashioned electronica that everybody likes secretly. Mystics (2009) is his fourth album
Listen more on his site and on myspace

Doves: Kingdom of Rust

2009-04-08T22:14:00.010+03:00

The Manchester trio is back with Kingdom Of Rust (2009). Most probably you know the Doves and their melancholic anthems. But listen to compulsion a track with funky slap bass and the western guitars in the end. Great!

Here are some other links for the band: Official site, youtube channel,

Upcoming album: Kery James : Reel

2009-04-07T21:39:00.006+03:00

French raper Kery James is having a new album out on April 27, in France at least. The album is called "Reel" and you can read about it at his website. I did not had the chance to listen to Reel yet but I found a masterpiece from his previous self-tittled album, the Banlieusards (the commuters).

Two songs from Italy

2009-04-06T22:06:00.009+03:00

After the terrible earthquake hit Italy this morning and left so many people dead and homeless maybe we can stop the flow of new music and play some videos from Italian artists.
The first is from the late Fabrizio de Andre a most important and famous singer-songwriter from Genoa.

The other one is Asos, a band from Rome with singer Lorenzo Fondi.

Enjoy the Italian pop-rock!

te': lost in translation

2009-04-04T22:33:00.016+03:00

Te' is a Japanese nice-noise rock band producing superb aggresive /emotional instrumentals. They exist since 2004 and their last project
まして、心と五感が一致するなら全て最上の『音楽』に変ずる。
(if not lost in translation) maybe is called: Moreover, if your soul can match the music, mind and senses then.. (Zankyo Records).
Other links: myspace

My Brightest Diamond

2009-04-02T21:18:00.006+03:00

Another one from Detroit. My Brightest Diamond is an experimental rock indie band led by singer-songwriter multi-instrumentalist Shara Worden. She has 3 albums and her contribution in Dark was the Night was this cover of Nina Simone's Feelin' Good which you can watch live.
Links: myspace, site

Metric: Fantasies (2009)

2009-04-01T15:59:00.004+03:00

Metric is a Toronto pop-rock band led by vocalist Emily Haines whose haunting vocals give the band a new wave character. Help me I'm Alive is from their fourth album Fantasies out in April. More of their music is available at their site.

Air France: No Way Down EP (2009)

2009-03-30T21:49:00.003+03:00

Spring is coming at the northern hemisphere and maybe it is time for some tropical pop, .. or is it post-rave bliss? Balearic disco? Well, Air France is a duo from Gothenburg, Sweden who like Saint Etienne and play this kind of jet-set-feel-good pop. Their second EP is No Way Down (Sincerely Yours)

"Detroit's Beatiful Horrible Decline"

2009-03-29T22:56:00.010+03:00

The decline of the Motor City is captured by French photographers Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre in a shocking and beatiful photo album that appeared in Time Magazine. The photos look like the film set of I am a legend, or Terry Gilliam's 12 monkeys. Detroit is a historic city for music, home of Motown, Techno, Eminem and Bob Seger among others. This is a small tribute to Detroit artists and music.

SubtractiveLAD - Where The Land Meets The Sky (2009)

2009-03-29T15:40:00.007+03:00

The fifth album from Stephen Hummel AKA SubtractiveLad, an electronica artist from Vancouver.

Where The Land Meets The Sky (n5MD records) is a laidback, atmospheric ambient project with some rock elements. Listen to through the trees and other works on myspace

Filthy Dukes: Nonsense In The Dark (2009)

2009-03-28T01:47:00.008+02:00

The Filthy Dukes are a duo (Olly Dixon and Tim Lawton) from London. Their music can be described as 80's synthpop. This Rhythm is the single from their first album Nonsense In The Dark (Polydor), a project recorded on analogue equipment. As they say it is inspired from acid house, David Bowie, Roxy Music, vodka, ... RIYL still the 80's.

Filthy Dukes can be seen live at London's Fabric Club.
Links: MySpace, YouTube Channel, More Filthy Dukes in DAZ TV

Dark Was the Night - Various (2009)

2009-03-25T01:26:00.006+02:00

Dark Was the Night (4AD, 2009) is another compilation benefiting the Red Hot Organisation, on the occasion of WORLD AIDS DAY

This one contains 31 songs from indie musicians. Below is the complete release of artists in alphabetical order:
Andrew Bird
Antony + Bryce Dessner
Arcade Fire
Beach House
Beirut
Blonde Redhead + Devastations
Bon Iver
Bon Iver & Aaron Dessner
The Books featuring Jose Gonzalez
Buck 65 Remix (featuring Sufjan Stevens and Serengeti)
Cat Power and Dirty Delta Blues
The Decemberists
Dirty Projectors + David Byrne
Kevin DrewFeist + Ben Gibbard
Grizzly Bear
Grizzly Bear + Feist
Iron & Wine
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
Kronos Quartet
Stuart Murdoch
My Brightest Diamond
My Morning Jacket
The National
The New Pornographers
Conor Oberst & Gillian Welch
Riceboy Sleeps
Dave Sitek (TV On The Radio)
SpoonSufjan Stevens
Yeasayer
Yo La Tengo

The videos are from The Books featuring Jose Gonzalez in a cover of Nick Drake's Cello Song, Yo La Tengo's Gentle Hour and the epic from Sufjan Stevens - You Are the Blood .

An amazing album. Search mediafire to listen and run to buy!

Chapelier Fou !

2009-03-23T21:39:00.005+02:00

Following the previous post about a mega-artist from a supergroup of the 70's here comes the diametrically opposed, the antipodean artist. His name is Chapelier Fou and he is from Metz, France. He plays violin in strange ways and has an EP that you cannot find in Amazon. Check his label ici d'ailleurs for more.

Mick Fleetwood is Blue again

2009-03-22T01:19:00.005+02:00

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/kiyomi-and-the-gang/2959928013/)

The iconic Fleetwood Mac drummer has a new live album out (Blue Again [LIVE] , 429 records, 2009) with his new band, The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band. Blue Again contains mostly versions of FM songs from the bluesy Peter Green era.

The video is a live version of the early Fleetwood Mac song Albatross, from a 2008 concert in Germany.

Listen (torrent) here and buy here.

Wake The President: You Can't Change That Boy (2009)

2009-03-21T01:19:00.006+02:00

Wake the President is a band from Glasgow who have their debut album released on the famous indie label Electric Honey Records (student run, home of Belle and Sebastian etc), This is a fresh album of fine indie pop. Listen to the Smiths sound of Miss Tierney. You can listen to the whole album in Mediafire.

Keith: Vice and Virtue (2009)

2009-03-18T22:43:00.008+02:00

The second album from Keith a group based in Manchester.

Vice and Virtue (Lucky Number) is produced by Dan Carey who is giving a pinch of of electronica and psychedelia into this nice project.

Eleni Mandell : Artificial Fire (2009)

2009-03-17T21:38:00.004+02:00

Another singer-songwriter from LA. Her latest album is artificial fire (zedtone records).
Sites : http://www.elenimandell.com/ and http://www.myspace.com/elenimandell
An unrecognised artist for more than a decade Eleni Mandel is worth to explore further.

Asobi Seksu : Hush (2009)

2009-03-16T22:31:00.004+02:00

Asobi Seksu (= casual sex in Japanese) is an indie pop band from NYC. This is the first single from their third album Hush (2009, Polyvinyl Records )

Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears [EP] (2009)

2009-03-15T14:24:00.004+02:00

Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears is a bluesband from Austin, TX with obvious Motown R&B influence. They released this fine 4-song EP (Lost Highway Records) earlier this year.
Listen to bitch I love you to get the idea. On their myspace site http://www.myspace.com/blackjoelewis there are more songs including my favourite Master sold my baby.

Alborosie: Soul Pirate (2008)

2009-03-13T23:18:00.010+02:00

An reggae singer from Sicily. This is what the Jamaicans say about Alborosie :

As an Italian singing reggae and DJing with the best of them Alberto Dascola aka Alborosie crosses all barriers in the music business. He is an international producer who is branching out with a new reggae album Soul Pirate.

Although many Jamaicans have just begun hearing about Alborosie the artiste, he is not new in the business, having had a band called the 'National Reggae Tickets'. Working in Europe since he was seventeen, Alborosie crossed over to the reggae capital, performing at Reggae Sumfest and Reggae Sunsplash.

Making music in Europe wasn't enough, Alborosie decided to come to the roots. He says "I get tired and seh the world is big and my country small, so I decide to come to Jamaica. After five years of production wid people like Wyclef, Les Nubian, Jewel, Sisqo, No Doubt, Mario, and European artistes. I decide to go back to the original roots which is artiste and I made my album," Alborosie said.

The album is Alborosie's conscious reflections on his life in Jamaica, a life which he views as pirated, hence the name. "I play like six different instruments, I'm a engineer and I mix, so basically the album is me. Its reggae mixed with hip hop, soul and I call it Soul Pirate cause I'm a pirate", he said.

Critics may think of pirate as a form of theft, a European stealing our local culture. Alborosie says he does not intend it as a theft, but capturing a forgotten part of Jamaican past.

"Jamaica is a tradition with pirates, to me being in Jamaica you have to be a pirate as a European. I don't really steal music, I see the pirate as a wild person, a rough person as I sail into the ocean, you don't know where you leaving or when you coming back. My soul is a pirate. Soul Pirate is basically my diary. Five years in Jamaica for me, fifteen songs from reggae to hip hop ". .. (Jamaica-Star)

The video from the single Herbalist is banned in Jamaica for obvious reasons.

Yuksek: Away from the Sea (2009)

2009-03-10T00:18:00.007+02:00

Pierre-Alexandre Busson, aka Yuksek is the new wave of French electronica. Tonight is an eclectic club hit from his album Away from the Sea (Universal Int'l ).

Her Space Holiday - XOXO, Panda And The New Kid Revival, (2008)

2009-03-09T01:07:00.005+02:00

Her Space Holiday is the project of California musician Mark Bianchi. His latest release is Xoxo Panda & the New Kid Revival (2008, Mush)

Rokia Traore : Tchamantché (2008)

2009-03-05T22:19:00.006+02:00

Another one from Mali, Rokia Traore's Tchamantché, (Tama/Nonesuch) has received the Victoires de la Musique, the French Grammy Award for best world album. This is Rokia's fourth and best album following participations in WOMAD and colaboration with Kronos Quartet.

"Traoré's latest, Tchamantché, proceeds from a similar singularity of purpose, namely the sound of her Gretsch guitar. Indeed, Tchamantché is a guitar album, albeit a guitar album of a particularly understated bent. Engineered by the legendary Phill Brown (whose credits stretch from Bob Marley to Talk Talk), the album is hauntingly spare yet ridiculously well-defined, the timbre and tone of every string presented in perfect resolution, the occasional accompaniment of a rhythm section or Sly Johnson's human beatbox reserved but wholly effective.
Yet sharing top billing with those guitar tones is Traoré's voice, powerful without over-projecting, forcing you to meet her halfway rather than wait passively for her to bowl you over. Singing in Bamanan, French, and (in one conspicuous instance) English, Traoré weaves poetic declarations of love, of Africa, of pride." (pitchforkmedia)

You can see her in France during March 09.

Various Artists: African Scream Contest (Analog Africa,2008)

2009-03-04T22:20:00.005+02:00

Raw & Psychedelic Afro SoundsFrom Benin & Togo 70s

In the 1970s there was no 'world music'. Benin was a Marxist republic recently born out of Dahomey and Togo was in the first decade of what would turn out to be the epic dictatorship of General Gnassingbé Eyadéma. Unless you were born in one of these countries, you’d never have got to hear the voodoo funk music that was being conjured up in what must be two of the richest cultural melting pots on the planet.
Fusion is almost as abused a term as folk. But this is what it sounds like. Pick a track. Mi Kple dogbekpo, the opener, has Cuban brass, a Congolese chorus, a psychedelic riff shaped solely for shaping. On the next one, Mi Ma Kpe Dji, the spirit is blues, but moulded by James Brown and Nigerian High Life. It's A Vanity is more soul, more sex. The band on this, as well as two other tracks, is the Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou, who took the Afro sound to new levels by ensuring that even while they copied Western rhythms, there was always a fiery injection of Beninese passion or, when relevant, politics. Their big hit, Gbeti Madjro – track five here – was written during a period of turmoil and stirred up its own revolution in the local music scene.
Ouidah, on Benin's Atlantic Coast, is home to a large Brazilian community – the Agoudas, descendants of slaves who returned from Brazil at the end of the 19th century. They brought back dances and proto-samba sounds, which worked their way into the mix in the 70s.
These artists also heard French chanson, Johnny Hallyday – an icon in the West African university scene – US funk, as well as local rhythms on the radio. Out of this chaos, comparable at the time to the far more widely known Brazilian coastal music scene, came great riches. Everything, somehow, gels. Why, it's harder to fathom. Few of these musicians were trained, and all had to learn how to blast their way through out-of-tune solos and off-beat drummers. Perhaps it's the screams and the psychedelic state that holds together the random elements and disparate talents. After all, Benin is the birthplace of Vodun, as in voodoo, which was all about melting pots and losing yourself in wild traditional rhythms such as Sakpata, Sato, Agbadja, Tchenkoumé, to name only a few.
Africa Scream Contest – what a title – is the third compilation to come from Analog Africa compilation. Like the others, this disc proves that music doesn't have much truck with geopolitics. When New York slicksters thought they were at the centre of the universe - Studio 54, say – these bands were taking the coolest parts of funk, soul and disco, reinventing it and, at the same time, transforming their own music and culture. A lot of the reaction to West African blues has focused on origins and a going-back-to-roots, but the groove in Benin and Togo was far deeper and far more inventive than that. (This excellent review is from BBC)

sBach (2008)

2009-03-04T00:04:00.009+02:00

sBach is a California band whose self tittled first album (2008, Suicide Squeeze) is described as video-game rock. The boss is the guy with the beard, the multi-instrumentalist Spencer Seim who plays everything and especially the drums.

Norbert Stein Pata Generators

2009-03-03T23:30:00.003+02:00

Since 1986 German saxophonist Norbert Stein has issued fifteen albums under his emblematic Pata Music moniker, which is based on Frenchman Alfred Jarry's ideologies pertaining to physics and unreal logic, among other factors. In turn, Stein's compositional prowess includes what he refers to as "composed spheres," enacted by the soloists' options to rearrange various movements of a given piece. (from allabout jazz)

direct speech is their latest mp3 release but since I cannot locate any video for it check those instead:

Andrew Bird: Noble Beast (2009)

2009-03-03T00:17:00.007+02:00

Andrew Bird is a Chicago musician, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. His latest album is Noble Beast (Fat Possum). Melodic and spooky.

Soul Jazz Records Presents Dancehall: The Rise Of Jamaican Dancehall Culture

2009-03-02T17:51:00.005+02:00

2-CD release Dancehall Reggae compilation. Featuring Gregory Isaacs, Tenor Saw, Sugar Minott, Sister Nancy, Eek A Mouse, Sly & Robbie, Yellowman, Frankie Paul, Lone Ranger etc.
The track Pumpkin Belly from the late Tenor Saw is part of this collection

alela diane: to be still

2009-02-28T13:20:00.003+02:00

To Be Still is the second studio album from the California folk singer / songwriter :

Margot & The Nuclear So And So's "Quiet As A Mouse"

2009-02-27T23:50:00.009+02:00

This superb 2006 song and video is from the Indiana group Margot & The Nuclear So And So's. They have a new CD out now but I just discovered this one..

Tijuana Bible

2009-02-27T21:11:00.003+02:00

The latest work from Texas bluesman Jim Suhler & Monkey Beat

Robyn Hitchcock, Goodnight Oslo

2009-02-27T20:46:00.002+02:00

A new one from Robyn Hitchcock with a new band the Venus 3

Ladyhawke

2009-02-26T21:43:00.000+02:00

New Zealand retro pop from her debut album

K’NAAN “Troubadour"

2009-02-26T01:01:00.004+02:00

Somali- Canadian hiphop recorded in Jamaica. Check the knaan channel on youtube.

Sholi

2009-02-24T01:17:00.006+02:00

Sholi is an indie trio from California who released their self-titled first album last February
Their sound is psychedelic and melancholic. Listen to Out of Orbit from their last album.
An intereting story is that guitarist/singer Payam Bavafa beeing of Iranian origin has chosen to cover Hejrat a 70's Iranian hit from the Persian diva Googoosh. Herjat is not on the new album but you can find it free on their Dreams Before People EP here.

Queen of blues

2009-02-22T16:36:00.001+02:00

Never going back is the new work from blueswoman Shemekia Copeland, out on Feb 24 (US)
This is a clip from last year's concert in Italy

The meaning of life

2009-02-22T11:03:00.000+02:00

http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/7564/c068de69cb7475120c8387eoq1.swf