Definitivo uno de los discos que más emociona en el año. Fleet Foxes, la increíble banda de folk de Seattle regresa con una nueva producción que saldrá de manera oficial el 3 de mayo. Además de la fecha de lanzamiento, hoy anuncian en su página fechas confirmadas de los primeros conciertos de su gira en Estados Unidos y Europa, para los cuáles el día de mañana habrá una pre-sale. (05/21/2011 Tower Theatre / Upper Darby, PA). Les dejo su nuevo track, enorme!!!
With the sole reason of pulling a smile from those that heard Rups say "White Lies" in front of a Mexican crowd, below is the link to the recent performance of the London trio at KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic on Monday January 24, 2011.
Their music as described by KCRW offers brooding rock with soaring choruses that are incredibly catchy. They add that their music is a dark-edged nod to the 80's...
James Blake es un artista inglés nacido en Londres. Su primera producción será editada por Hemlock Recordings, y el sencillo de "Limit To Your Love" le ha dado una enorme expectativa a su lanzamiento. Con bajos increíbles, melodías innovadoras y una gran voz, es un disco imperdible. Les dejo el vid de su sencillo, link a su página y recuerden apoyar al artista comprando al menos una de sus canciones a partir del 7 de Febrero... Enjoy...
Por si se perdieron este disco el año pasado, Bear Hands con su disco debut "Burning Bush Supper Club", buena banda de Brooklyn de la que definitivo esperaba que se escucharan más cosas, aunque todo es posible y muchas veces pasan meses para que la gente le entre a ciertas ondas, como Mumford & Sons por ejemplo. Les dejo un par de vids, link a su página, y si les gusta al menos compren una de sus canciones en Amazon o iTunes. Por cierto MM, 1/28 Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda's w/ Snakes Say Hisss. Enjoy...
This time it was The Decemberists turn to perform live songs from their recently released album "The King is Dead". An album that has secured one of my top slots for this year.
Early in the week they performed live for the first time their album in its entirety for Oregon Public Bradcasting. You can still check this live performance here.
At World Cafe the band decided to play "Calamity Song", "Down By The Water", "Rise To Me" and "This Is Why We Fight". Below, the link to this show.
Ditching the prog-folk of their previous two albums, The Decemberists have taken a more cut-and-dried approach with The King Is Dead. Recorded in a barn outside of Portland, the album has strong ties to R.E.M. in sound and production — Peter Buck, guitarist for R.E.M., decided to climb on board for three songs.
"I grew up steeped in that music," Meloy tells World Cafe host David Dye. "I think it was coming through Hazards of Love and playing this music I wasn't steeped in as a kid but rather came to later on. I bounced back and kind of wanted to rediscover the music that I listened to as a kid."
Listen to Meloy and The Decemberists perform live on WXPN and chat with David Dye.
While in Philadelphia, Stornoway had the chance to record a set of four songs for NPR's World Cafe. The show was broadcasted today. Below is the NPR's post and a direct link to the show where you would be able to listen "I Saw You Blink", "Watching Birds", "Fuel Up" and "Zorbing".
Enjoy,
MM From World Cafe's website:
Born at Oxford University, Stornoway has gone from friends jamming together and bonding over Teenage Fanclub to releasing an acclaimed debut album, Beachcomber's Windowsill, last fall.
On Windowsill, the U.K. quartet mix bedroom and studio recordings with equal parts, creating a rich yet subtle take on British pop. Listen to Stornoway's interview with World Cafe host David Dye and hear four songs from Beachcomber's Windowsill.
El primero de marzo sale a la venta el nuevo disco de Devotchka, otra de nuestras bandas consentidas. Definitivo emociona, mientras tanto les dejo su primer sencillo, el cuál incluso lo están regalando a través de stereogum. Enjoy....
Enorme el esfuerzo de los estimadísimos amigos del Indie-O Fest. Nos vemos todos en el monumental Polyforum, les dejamos unos vids de las bandas que se van a presentar el próximo 12 de marzo, enjoy...
El cuartel general de Musical Soulmate, el mítico 319 de Amsterdam en la colonia Condesa de la Ciudad de México, ha sido seleccionado para proyectar de manera oficial "An Island", una película que Vincent Moon realizó con Efterklang, banda danesa firmada por 4AD y que el año pasado nos regaló uno de los mejores discos del año, "Magic Chairs". Nos complace enormemente el poder contribuir con Vincent Moon, admiradísimo director de videos musicales, y con Efterklang, una de nuestras bandas consentidas durante el 2010.
Para poder asistir solo deben entrar en el siguiente link, y del lado derecho, en Private-Public Screenings, seleccionar México como país y dar click en ATTEND en el que corresponde al 319, para el 12 de febrero de 2011 a las 19:30 hrs. Everyone is welcome. Mientras tanto les dejo uno de los trailers y un vid de Efterklang para quienes no tengan el placer de conocerlos.
AN ISLAND, the film by Vincent Moon based on the music by Efterklang will start its official screenings on February 2011.
Efterklang and Vincent Moon have recently invited all their listeners and followers to host their own screenings of An Island.
These PRIVATE-PUBLIC SCREENINGS, as they call them, will run for two months – February and March 2011. The name, as they explain, comes from the fact that the screenings are "private" because they are hosted by private people and "public" because the screenings are official and open to anyone.
Basic rules apply:
-The screenings need to have free entrance
-The screenings need to be public.
-The screenings need to have a minimum capacity of 5 people
-The screenings need to be verified by Efterklang & Vincent Moon and only screenings that are featured on www.anisland.cc are official Private-Public Screenings
All the information about the film and how to host a screening can be found HERE.
I see this as a perfect opportunity for the MUSICAL SOULMATE crew and friends to contribute to the free distribution of this film and independent music work in general, something that have always characterized Vincent Moon's work throughout the years.
So far, I only see one screening for 8 people in Mexico City, having one at our headquarters in the 319, might not be a bad idea...I will just say this once.
El 15 de febrero saldrá el primer disco de miembros que sobrevivieron a la desaparición de Cajun Dance Party, ahora la banda lleva como nombre Yuck, y el disco que ya se filtró por la red vale mucho la pena, les dejo vids, link al disco en comments y links a su blog y a su myspace. Enjoy...
The beginning of a year brings hope. And with that, we look everywhere for new sounds, some that could point us in the direction we want to go, most of them though, at least when you come to realize that your days of youth are pretty much gone, lead you to sounds that are familiar, those that remind you of back then, when you were young, when there was no gray-haired wisdom hidden in your brain.
I thought that was a good description of what I felt recently after stumbling into California Wives, a Chicago synth pop quartet led by Jayson Kramer (vocals, keys, guitar), along with Dan Zima (vocals, bass, guitar), Joe O'Connor (drums) and Hans Michel (guitar, keys). Formed in 2009, their music is if anything uplifting, and their sounds make you think of big guys like Joy DIvision and Pulp. Their EP 'Affair' is full of dark though happy, solemn though refreshing tunes.
The band showed up at Daytrotter this week on January 11. As always their post is clever, describing "Twenty Three" as a song that invites us to "have a drink and say our goodbyes for the last time". They elaborate further to say that the song gives you the "feeling that we're never going to be or see the person we are right now, ever again".
Although scary, this band's music is just like that. And "Twenty Three", just like its video, is fresh but completely in tune with old imaginery that make you believe the song is timeless, or perhaps that you have heard it before without really knowing when or where.
Daytrotter's post is entitled "The Final Run Of Younger Days", something that also sounds scary to people like me. Those of us that realize that " the youthful days are just starting to become our old man or old woman days".
Below, I leave you a vid from "Twenty Three" and a link to their Daytrotter session with 3 free downloads.
Cause life at the 319 in Mexico City is a trip...one that revolves around people that have adopted themselves as family, making it a place that more than one could easily call Home.
Here is a Happy B-day song that talks about life, growing older and traveling along with people you love,
Enjoy,
MM
Fuel up - Stornoway
Curled up in the back of the car, 9 years old you don't know where you are, And your head's on the window your eyes are just closed, There's a voice in the front and a hush on the road, You're a passenger but your mind is travelling on.
Open your eyes and your 9 years older, Hands on the wheel and your racing on over to lie with your first love you can't wait to see her, You borrowed the car and you think you're the driver, But now you're the passenger to your own heart and it takes you travelling, Travelling on...
When the morning broke and the sky fell down, It went black as night and the wind blew round, And stole your directions you lost your way home, And you felt like a passenger left by the road, But I'll tell you the reason you couldn't get home, Cause there's nowhere you've been and it's nowhere you're going, Home is only a feeling you get in your mind, From the people you love and you travel beside, You may feel like a passenger but now you're the driver, You've got to go travelling, travelling on Because if you break down it's a cold hard shoulder...
So fuel up your mind and fire up your heart and drive on Drive on drive on... And when your days are darker put your foot down harder, Drive on drive on.
And it's nine more years you've been driving now, But tonight you're stumbling through your old town, You met up with a schoolfriend who's still just the same, And you talked all the same shit you talked in those days, And now you're drunk and you're sad for the old times passing you by, For there's no rewind so you might as well play while your time is rolling away, And get back on the road it's a beautiful day, Pick up all the friends you can find on your way, And if you lose direction they'll be there guiding you on, Guiding you, guiding you on... Because we're all going the same way down this long road, Yes, we're all bound the same way down this long, long road...
So fuel up your mind and fire up your heart and drive on Drive on drive on... And when your days are darker put your foot down harder, Drive on, Fuel up and drive on, Fuel up and drive on, Drive on...
The album sounds definitely different from what we heard before in "The Hazards of Love", depicting the ample range of Colin Meloy's band. This album in fact might represent a new era for The Decemberists, moving slightly from their deep theatrical approach full of British folk influences from previous albums, showing now a lighter, more approachable sound, which by itself makes this a very interesting and worth listening to album.
I anticipate myself listening to The King is Dead over and over throughout 2011. This album might in fact, represent a big hit to my "best of 2011 list", reducing the available spots to 9 very early in the year.
The album will be streaming at NPR's website until its upcoming release in January 18.
Mi track favorito del increíble disco de Jónsi (Jón Þór Birgisson), vocalista de Sigur Rós. El vid es parte del CD & DVD "Go Live" que es toda una joya. Enjoy...
Pop bien hecho por este trío de chicas de Portland, OR. Irremediablemente al escuchar Dark Light, su primera producción, se vienen a la mente bandas como The XX, si bien no llegan a tal excelencia, confirman el hecho irrefutable de que el buen pop puede ser fino e interesante. Les dejo un vid y el link a la página de Badman Recording Co, que es quien los edita.
About
Loud and proud, Portland, OR based Lovers is a synth-driven pop band of emotional intensity and complexity. Their new album Dark Light crafts an intimate portrait of female friendship, sexuality, and evolution as an infinite process, creating an expansive sonic landscape of colorful wonder and hope. The album is already receiving accolades from reviewers worldwide.
Dark Light
"Carolyn Berk's songs are full of breathless melancholy and a sinking, infinite sadness. In them you hear hints of the circus-fuineral magic-realist run-on folk song of Neutral Milk Hotel, the dreamy twilight grandeur of Mazzy Star, Bright Eyes' last-gasp soliloquies, and the ghost-haunted majesty of Magnetic Fields' loneliest highways. But I'll be damned if Berk isn't a more entrancing spell-caster than any of them." - The Boston Phoenix GET IT
MGMT We Hear Of Love, Of Youth, And Of Disillusionment Jan 3, 2011
Here lies a testimonial for MGMT. We're not sure what you know about the Brooklyn band led by Benjamin Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden and we're not sure how much you've heard of their work. Many more of you likely heard their debut album, "Oracular Spectacular," that comet of a record that rocket-shipped them into the brighter lights and enormous stages, than their second, "Congratulations," arguably a better album and one that showed their boundless creativity and, just as importantly, their massive balls - yes, their cajones. It is a record that they didn't have to make, but they did it anyway because they couldn't conceive of just making a simple, huge-hooked, dance-pop record again. We're not at all sure how many copies it sold, nor do we necessarily care, as we find it to be incredibly intriguing, a psychedelic labyrinth that will seemingly still give us more and more for years and years, the longer we listen to it. It was a record that VanWyngarden's father, a writer for the Memphis Flyer, famously defended as a textured and sometimes difficult "grower" when it was getting kicked around a bit at its release. Some of you may have heard the reports that the band was less than phenomenal as a live band, back in the day. Well, we'd like you to take a knife to all of the ugly or negative thoughts that you might harbor, for the MGMT that exists right now - fleshed out with bassist Matthew Asti, guitarist James Richardson and drummer Will Berman - is an exquisite ensemble and has never been better, entering the building here in Asheville for its MoogFest appearance at the Civic Center to the songs of Rodriguez and then matching all of the energy that Big Boi left out on the stage prior to them. Given the time, it's easy to see the group going on to have one of the more impressive discographies of all of the American bands that have surfaced in the last 10 years. Kind and considerate, not to mention thoughtful and slightly bashful as a person, VanWyngarden has the beginnings of a great frontman, singing like a young Mick Jagger and wisely letting the dense and multi-dimensional songs take the forefront, rather than any canned shenanigans or showy, immodest energy. The music on "Congratulations" is a dominance of visions, a rodeo of spirit and essence, a dynamic display of the strange corridors of a young man's mind that's busy contemplating and commiserating with the depths of such an odd muscle and what it's capable of pulling off. "I Found A Whistle" begins with an acoustic strumming that reminds us of an old Neutral Milk Hotel progression, and it's a song that feels like a flooded time capsule or, even more, a time machine that with the bleating of the whistle discovered can transport us into those thousands and thousands of expired years, that let us fall into the arms of dusty and spooky history, along with the yellow tricksters and thieves. There's a man with a pistol, waiting in the moonlight for the word and there are others abusing that whistle and seeing things they maybe shouldn't be seeing. VanWyngarden sings on "It's Working," "You know it's not the same as love/Cause love is only in your mind/Not your heart," and these are the more reasonable, though darkened insights that we mostly get from his lines - ones that come across as the thoughts of an older, albeit burnt soul. We hear of love and disillusionment. We hear of not knowing which end is up and there's a lot of connective tissue holding the chaos together.
How are we going to get higher, more complete, satisfied with what the new 2011 is hiding from us? And I thought on how all this started...
A few years back my brother (amarillo) and I discovered a fresh but strangely mature band from Ohio, then NY...one of those that touches you from the first chord, a deep and powerful sound that ends up taking over your head after reading through the lines of their impressive lyrics...
It was like opening a new window to our lives.
Wishing all of you the best in 2011. below, I leave the link to The National's Daytrotter session from 2007, one that contains 4 tracks that could change your life, just the way it did to ours.
