Ramblings: Recap of 2011

As 2011 comes to a close it is time to do a little reminiscing!

Last year I wrote, "2010 will be a hard year to top in overall experiences." Oh, I had no clue... absolutely no clue.

The year started with a trip back to Georgia. New Years Eve was unexpected, as I was passing through Memphis at 23:00 I figured I might as well drop by to visit some friends and chill with them as the year turned. New Years day was spent in Atlanta with my second Couchsurfing experience, a wonderful couple, still one of my favourite hosts. That moment I was laying down in a comfortable bed, having been fed an hour prior and shared great conversation, I realized this year was going to be great. But I had no clue how epic it was going to be.

January was a pretty dry month for music for me. I was working in Macon and driving up to Atlanta on the weekends to visit the Couchsurfing couple as well as a German friend I also made through CSing.
February was my first concert, an electronic show. It's not exactly my type of thing, especially since I felt like I was considerably older than 90% of the people there, but it was still really fun. And I got to crowd surf for the first time!

The rest of the year followed with some amazing planned experiences, and some mind-blowing unexpected experiences. So, here is my year in a nutshell!

Musical Experiences of 2011
Georgia
Steve Aoki
Caspian
-For A Minor Reflection
-Chiaroscuro
-Native
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Röyksopp
Tennessee
The Ascent Of Everest
-Youth Pictures Of Florence Henderson
-Deadhorse
Hungary
tapeunderground
Képzelt Város
-AANDO
-KisHerceg
God Is An Astronaut
-Marionette ID
Realistic Crew
Our Ceasing Voice
-Kokomo
-Képzelt Város
No Age
-Kanagawa
Slovenia
God Is An Astronaut
-Coma Stereo
Austria
Our Ceasing Voice
Oklahoma
*Norman Music Festival 4*
-The Non
-Pidgin Band
-Jesse Aycock and Paul Benjamin
-Los hijos del diablo
-Kite Flying Robot
-Colour Revolt
Pretty Black Chains
The Burning Hotels
The Non
Moon
Chrome Pony
Gum
The Appleseed Cast
-Hospital Ships
*Dustbowl Music Festival*
-Tim Miser
-Riley Jantzen
-Gentle Ghost
-Denver Duncan
-The Workweek
-Beau Jennings
-Sherree Chamberlain
-Dead Sea Choir
-The Pretty Black Chains
-Colourmusic
Explosions In The Sky
-Wye Oak
Texas
El Ten Eleven
*Homegrown Music And Art Festival*
-Burning Hotels
-The O's
-This Will Destroy You
-ISHI
-Astronautalis
-Neon Indian
Mogwai
Errors
Illinois
Labirinto
Massachusetts
God Is An Astronaut
-Muy Cansado
California
Marnie Stern
Thrice
-Moving Mountains
-La Dispute
-O'Brother
Russian Circles
-Marriages
-Deafheaven
New York
A Silver Mt. Zion

Memorable moments of 2011:
-Crowd surfing for the first time during Steve Aoki
-Pre-Europe road trip to attend concerts
-Shedding manly tears during Godspeed You! Black Emperor
-Achieving my dreams of seeing Képzelt Város and Marionette ID live in their own home country (Hungary)
-Experiencing Marionette ID's home town
-Finally seeing God Is An Astronaut, in Slovenia, then again in Budapest, and again in Massachusetts
-Attending the best Hip Hop concert I will probably ever attend (Realistic Crew)
-Spontaneously attending a No Age concert with a newly made friend and discovering an awesome new band (Kanagawa)
-My last night in Europe spent in Keleti Blokk rehearsal studio seeing a brand new band (the Corny) rehearse
-Meeting Labirinto in Chicago
-Meeting and hanging out with one of the guys from the Pakistani band, Basheer And The Pied Pipers.
-Experiencing and absorbing my three new friends' excitement to their first post-rock show (God Is An Astronaut)
-Visiting Caspian in their home town and experiencing some of the sights and sounds that inspire their music
-Being mentally and emotionally crushed purely by music (Arvo Pärt - Silouans Song)
-Experiencing music in an isolation tank
-István (félperc) telling me, "I wrote some new songs"

There have been some amazing albums that came out this year, way to many to count (or more accurately in my case, way too many to remember). But there have been a few that really stood out to me.

My Personal Favourite Albums of 2011:
Years Of Rice And Salt - Nothing Of Cities
Matt Stevens - Relic
Marionette ID - Alluvion
Blank Maps - EP 1
Realistic Crew - Blind Musician

Plans for 2012:
-Dead Sea Choir in Norman, Oklahoma
-Snowboarding with Our Ceasing Voice
-Meeting István (félperc) and Alkeos (These Portraits Never Spoke) in Vienna
-Lehnen
-Hidden By The Grapes
-Drinking and acting like ninjas with Képzelt Város again
-Rosa Parks in Győr
-Harcsa Veronika
-Mental Architects in Софиа (Sofia)
-Smallman in Асеновград (Asenovgrad)
-123 in Istanbul
-Büyük Ev Ablukada
-Move to NYC
-Catch a Caspian show in another state, most likely Massachusetts (so far I have seen them once every year since 2008 and each in different states... NY, TN, TX, and GA)


2010 was the year for Post-Rock for me. 2011, however, was the year for music exploration. Metal wasn't prominent this year, in fact, I probably listened to enough Metal artists I count with one hand. Post-Rock was fairly prominent as was Indie and Ambient. I fit Jazz in a little here and there. I finally revisited Classical, which I should try to dedicate more of 2012 to. I love minimalistic, modern Classical. However, my taste took a turn for the unexpected when Silouans Song destroyed me and I had to listen to something drastically different. I was instantly open to anything, then somehow Balkan and Gypsy Folk music was introduced into my life. Later in the year a certain Turkish friendship had also opened my ears and mind to various aspects of Turkish Folk, some styles that we're familiar with here in the US (such as the guy-sitting-on-a-stool-playing-an-acoustic-guitar style folk, hah hah) and other styles that feature the style of singing that we often associate with Indian music. I also tried a little more of some Avant-Garde styles of music... I still can't get into it.
It has definitely been a year for exploration for me.

What will 2012 bring? Besides the end of the world? (Hah hah) Oh man, who knows. Based on the events of this year, I'm really excited what is in store for the next 365 days.

Misuse - "Marsupial - Part II"

Misuse is the first artist that introduced me to the Greek instrumental rock scene. For some time I thought they were no more. But apparently they've been busy with their new album! April was released last month but was brought to my attention just recently.

This last week of 2011 has been filled with surprises. Félperc is making new music and I find out one of the bands I really like is still very much in existence. 2011 is ending quite well! I wonder what more surprises will lie in store for the next three days to wrap up the year...


[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Facebook] [Myspace] [Soundcloud] [Website]
(Albums are available for purchase on Bandcamp.)

Félperc - Something New

A while ago I was conversing with István. He informed me that he was going to quit writing music. Being a big fan of his work, I was pretty bummed out. Earlier today I get a message from him...
István: started to make new songs
István hell yeah
Hell yeah indeed!!!

This brings me great excitement.

[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Facebook]
(Older albums are available for download on last.fm, his newer work is available on bandcamp.)

417.3 - ~

For a while I've wondered if or when 417.3 will be coming out with a new album. And then I saw RibsOut's post earlier this month. Needless to say, I was extremely excited. I love their -- album, especially the track +8.

Also, check out RibsOut! It's a great blog!

[Last.fm] [Facebook] [Myspace]
(Albums are available for free on Last.fm or download here.)

28 Degrees Taurus - Electricity

I'm back home to Oklahoma for the next few months. Hopefully I'll be able to update more frequently as opposed to the last couple weeks.
I don't have enough shoegaze so, I think I'll start listening to some. I forget how I came across these guys. They were on a small list I made to remind myself to feature on my blog. Apparently this was a while ago because I don't remember these guys' sound at all. But I liiiike!

[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Facebook] [Myspace]
(Albums are avilable for purchase [Name your price] on Bandcamp.)

Ramblings: Taking the music experience to another level

It has been my ongoing personal goal to experience music in different ways and I have been fortunate to have many amazing experiences with live music, recorded music, and with the musicians. When I discovered sensory deprivation I instantly thought of ways I can integrate music into it.


Isolation Tank
My means of ultimate sensory deprivation was float tanks (aka sensory deprivation tank, isolation tank). I first discovered floating from the television show, Fringe. Curious to see if those actually existed, I did a search and came across a few of Joe Rogan's videos explaining these. Float tanks are large enclosed tanks filled with epsom salt water (to allow for better buoyancy). As you're floating your sense of sight is completely deprived while all other senses such as touch, hearing, and your sense of gravity is highly dampened.


My first float
As my flight date departing from Los Angeles was creeping nearer, I decided to just do it... experience music in isolation. The first facility here in LA that popped up on my search was Soothing Solutions (site is currently down, try here in the mean time). For first time customers they charge you for a one hour session and give you the second one for free. So I decided to so a first float in silence then the second with music. And I didn't know until I arrived there, apparently this is the place Joe Rogan was introduced to floating.

Well, my first experience with floating was a couple days ago and it was nice. But it wasn't quite as psychedelic as I have heard others describe their experiences. The first float, they said, is usually an introductory float so you can figure out what is a comfortable position (it's surprising how even a slight movement of the arm or leg allows you to reach that comfort level) and learn how to stabilize yourself in the centre of the tank and prevent yourself from drifting into the walls. While I found that comfortable spot and quickly learned how to prevent myself from drifting into the walls quite as frequently, I could not ease my mind. The silence only put my mind on overdrive. At moments I would exhaust myself. However, overall, it was extremely relaxing. I like to describe it as conscious unconsciousness. I was incredibly rested even though I was completely conscious even with my eyes open the entire time. In complete silence time ticks by slowly. An hour feels like three.


Experiencing music under sensory deprivation

My first experience made me really refine my playlist for my second float. I had already predetermined that my second float will include music. But the original plan was thirty minutes of silence and thirty minutes of music. Well, at this point I haven't quite trained myself to ease my mind, so I formed a playlist to turn the entire one hour float into a music experience.

Act 1 - The Mind (Ambient music)

*5 minutes of silence*
The American Dollar - Rudiments Of A Spiritual Life (Ambient)
Basheer & The Pied Pipers - paperdolls
Tomáš Dvořák - The Glasshouse With Butterfly

Act 2 - The Heart (Post-Rock, Classical)

*5 minutes of silence*
Years Of Rice And Salt - Nothing Of Cities
Arvo Pärt - Silouans Song (Tallin Chamber Orchestra)

Act 3 - Passion (Post-Rock)

*5 minutes of silence*
Caspian - Moksha
Colour For A Rebel - High

The plan was to have three experiences starting with a sort of ethereal experience with the Ambient music, then emit strong emotions with a post-rock song that seems to spark some intense emotion within myself and a classical piece that destroyed me a few months ago, then finish the experience with an intense song from a band that sparked my passion in music and another personal favourite song from one of my favourite one-man projects.

I gave myself five minutes to get situated and comfortable before my float started. I was in such great anticipation that this five minutes just felt like it was dragging on... until a high pitched tone struck my ears and gradually became louder until I felt the ambient sounds encompass my body.


Act 1

Rudiments Of A Spiritual Life

I expected to become overwhelmed with the music, but not once did I even think about the audio vibration transfer into the water. The sound waves were literally encompassing my body. I wasn't just listening to the music, I was feeling the music all over. A big grin came across my face as I thought, "this next hour is going to be freakin' awesome."

paperdolls
The American Dollar starts fading and I feel myself somewhat disappointed. I want the song to go on for longer. Even though the moment of silence was only a couple seconds, it felt much longer as I anticipated paperdolls. Then it quickly fades in. I was waning out of the initial excitement and ready to let my mind go to the music. I could feel my body relaxing and my mind releasing through the soothing and unusual sounds of paperdolls. And as quickly as it faded in, it faded out. Again, I feel disappointed that my Basheer & The Pied Pipers experience was so short.

The Glasshouse With Butterfly

It had been a little while since I listened to this particular track. From memory I knew it was beautiful, but my heart had forgotten the feeling of this song. When the track started I thought, "oh yeah..." as I instantly felt that surge of emotion. And as the track continued to progress, the piano comes in. My heart starts to wrench. And then 2:09... the emotional build up is so intense tears can't even build up. My body begins to feel like it's transcending. I feel like I'm no longer laying down in a pool of water but standing, witnessing these shapes form in the darkness with strobes of light flashing in the corners of my vision. The song, so emotional, so intense filling my body. And then it ends. And I'm back in the pool, hearing my heart beat for the next five minutes.


Act 2

Nothing Of Cities
My mind starts to go on overdrive again, thinking about how amazing that experience was and excited about the next two songs. Years Of Rice And Salt starts with some gentle guitar. As I'm listening I'm surprised at the lack of emotion building up. It then hit me, albeit, while depriving my senses has so far created an extremely surreal experience, the way I express emotions from this song, the rocking movements I make, has a lot to do with how the emotions continue to build up. It was actually fairly difficult forcing myself to lay still and thus I didn't quite have the normal build-up of emotion as I usually do throughout the entire song. But it wasn't until the moment when the floor toms kicked in (8:05) and I felt every single hit throughout my body when emotions rushed in. It was like a dam breaking. Chills filled my entire body. And then it happened again, except I wasn't standing... I wasn't anywhere. I didn't feel the water, I didn't physically feel anything except for a single tear running down the side of my face. This song had completely captured me and took me in. I was in a moment where all I knew was the music that was entering my ears. Then as the song neared the end I was brought back. "Wow..."

Silouans Song

"If Nothing Of Cities was that intense, this song may end up completely destroying me." As soon as the song starts I made a dreadful realization... it's too quiet... way, way too quiet. I could vaguely hear the music. If it weren't for the fact that I've heard this song quite a few times, I probably wouldn't have been able to make out what it sounded like. However, strangely enough, even though I could barely even hear it my vision was spazzing out pretty hard on me. The strobe flashes became very intense. When the song reached its climax emotions erupted. However, they weren't nearly as intense as they had been before. Not being able to hear the buildup to that climax really hurt the overall experience of that song. I hate to say this, but it was a major disappointment. In retrospect, I should have jacked up the levels of the track so the quieter portions could be audible under water. I was hoping to experience a complete and uncontrollable eruption of emotions, but that didn't quite happen. And to be honest, even if it was loud enough for me to fully experience the song, I'm not entirely sure sensory deprivation would have intensified the emotions. Much like my experience with Nothing Of Cities, but a whole lot more intense, this song causes me to curl and tense my body, my hands tightly grip on themselves (or whatever is within range), my head bows down with my chin pressed on my chest... all of these actions add to the intensity of this song, and without that I don't think it'd erupt such emotions even in a float tank. But anyway...


Final Act

Moksha

The five minutes of silence went by unbelieveably quick. Normally under sensory deprivation silence feels like time is progressing slowly. When Moksha started playing my excitement had burst. This is a band that means a lot to me, so experiencing this was a very intimate moment. And then something happened that made the experience less than exceptional. "Something is missing..." I lift my head up, allowing my ears to rise above the water surface then lower it again. "I can't hear Phil's guitars at all under water!!" As disappointed as I was with my lack of forethought when I added Silouans Song, I was way more bummed out about this. I quickly learned that there is a certain pitch that simply doesn't penetrate through water, and that pitch just happened to be exactly the pitch that infinitely intensifies this song. This was difficult, this band is so influential to me and I wanted to experience them in this kind of setting... and yet I couldn't truly experience them. However, even with that slight disappointment, I seemed to get more consistent transcending feelings than the prior songs. At one point I felt myself somewhat floating and looking back at the song. (Don't ask... I really don't know how to describe looking back at sound.)

High

I was worried at first that my experience with this song would end up as somewhat of a letdown as well, ending my amazing experience with three slight disappointments in a row. But not only did it seem to translate well through the water, it was literally like getting smacked into a wall of music. And knowing the story behind this song (it's a love song, not a song about getting stoned) the emotional rush was intense. At one moment it felt like I was being ripped out of the tank, being pulled from my chest, whenever the song instantly turned intense and brought back in when the song mellows again. I couldn't think of a better way to end this float experience.


Final Thoughts
This was probably one of the most unique and amazing music experiences. To not only listen to music but to feel it rush through every part of your body is such an intense experience. I wouldn't say that it is a more intense experience than listening to it without sensory deprivation. I quickly learned that movement of your body can also stir emotions and amplify intensity, since in the tank you don't quite move much (if at all). Nothing Of Cities is a prime example of this. Without sensory deprivation this entire song grips my heart. But with sensory deprivation I seem disconnected with the first half but the emotions the second half causes is extremely overwhelming.

Next time I will have to do some more tests and research while setting up my playlist, even go as far as placing speakers against a filled tub, dunking my head in the water, and seeing if I can hear each instrument. This experience only makes me want to do another float session and try another Caspian song, most likely Quovis/Further Up/Further In.


All of the songs I have linked on this post are a part of a playlist I uploaded to Soundcloud for the purpose of this post. If you wish to get a hold of these songs please visit the artists' pages. Most of them will be purchasable (or freely downloadable) on their bandcamp pages.

The American Dollar
[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Facebook] [Myspace] [Big Cartel]

Basheer & The Pied Pipers
[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [SoundCloud] [Facebook] [YouTube]

Tomáš Dvořák
[Last.fm] [Machinarium] [Amanita Design]
(Dvořák is a soundtrack artist for Amanita Design. His work comes with the purchase of their games, which are as artistically beautiful as Dvořák music is.)

Years Of Rice And Salt
[Last.fm] [Service Bell EP (Bandcamp)] [Nothing Of Cities (Bandcamp)] [Facebook] [Myspace] [Website]

Arvo Pärt
Search Tallin Chamber Orchestra or Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir on iTunes. They have done various Pärt pieces. Silouans Song is on the Te Deum album.

Caspian
[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Facebook] [Myspace] [Blog] [Website]

Colour For A Rebel
[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Facebook] [Myspace]


For those that live in Los Angeles,
Soothing Solutions
207 W. Alameda Ave.
Burbank, CA 91502
[Website]

The Eternal Twilight - Stars Of Our Beloved

[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Facebook] [Myspace] [Oxide Tones] [Website]
(Album can be purchased on Oxide Tones.)

Rosa Parks - Only The Lights

This entire time I thought I already posted Rosa Parks on my blog. To my surprise... NOPE! Well, that will be changing tonight.

Hailing from Győr, Magyarország (Hungary), Rosa Parks is a four piece post-rock band. While primarily post-rock, they do incorporate some math rock and screamo aspects in their music. They also have a very grand sound to them, very massive. Among the few really good post-rock-ish bands in Hungary, these guys seem to get the least spotlight.

When I visited Hungary earlier this year I got to see the two of the three Hungarian bands I really wanted to see, Marionette ID and Képzelt Város. But I couldn't catch a Rosa Parks show. I have made it one of my major goals to catch a them on my next trip next Spring. Now, what would be awesome would be an mID, KV, and RP show. Oh I would be the happiest man alive. Hah hah. Hey, I can dream, can't I?


[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Facebook] [Myspace]
(Albums are available for 1 USD on Bandcamp or for free here [provided by the band]. But hey, it's just 1 buck!)

Labirinto - Cairo (More Hope For Japan)

Among many other artists, Labirinto gave their contribution to the More Hope For Japan project. More Hope For Japan has been a worldwide project joining various artists from various countries together to support the recent nuclear disaster in Japan. Collectively project has included artists from Austria (Our Ceasing Voice), Greece (Absent Without Leave), Ireland (And So I Watch You From Afar), Pakistan (6LA8, Asfandyar Khan), United States (Tennessee: Ocean Architecture, The Ascent Of Everest; New York: Circadian Eyes, The American Dollar), England (Matt Stevens, Good Weather For An Air Strike), Canada (thisquietarmy), Brazil (Labirinto), from Japan itself (Anoice, Yuki Murata), and many more countries, many more artists. You can preorder More Hope For Japan and offer donations for the Hope For Japan albums here. The album will be released December 9th.

And also check up on Labirinto for updates on their upcoming tour plans and their new EP release.


Hope For Japan
[Website]

Labirinto
[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Facebook] [Twitter] [Website]
(Download their EP, Etéreo, free and purchase their latest album, Anatema, on Bandcamp.)

Hidden By The Grapes - Blowout

As I was working yesterday I was listening to Lehnen radio on last.fm when these guys came on with One Shot For The Leprechaun. What instantly stood out to me was the jazzy parts of the song. Now, I've heard bands introduce more of a fusion jazz to their music. But this was straight-up jazz. Of course, any band that can switch styles so drastically piques my interest.

Listening to their album, Noise-Operated Jazz I'm instantly transported back to the feelings I had when I loved (and was kind of limited to) alternative rock. But what really sets them apart from the typical alt-rock is that... well... they're not typical. Alt-rock, indie, noise, even jazz can all be heard from this album. I couldn't help but instantly fall in love with this band. If this is what Alternative could sound like, I might actually get back into Alternative Rock again.

Add one more to the list of musicians I would love to see live (or at least meet) on my next Europe trip!


[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Facebook] [Myspace] [JustAloud] [Merchandise]
(Albums are available on Bandcamp for free or whatever price you decide to pay.)

Gods And Queens - Untitled 15

I don't normally listen to Punk, as it isn't really among my favourite styles of music. However, I actually like the sounds of Gods and Queens. But this post is for more of a charitable reason than just featuring a newly discovered artist.

Tis the giving season, right? Well, these guys are in a predicament and need as much help as they can get. They're from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was in the middle of their Europe tour when they got into a bad wreck in on their way to Dresden, Germany from Graz, Austria that hospitalized a few of them. They're all alive, thankfully. However, now they have some massive medical bills.

Help them out by purchasing their albums on Bandcamp or a shirt.

The story of what happened (from their blog):

I´m going to try and make this as short as I can. After all these years of touring in unsafe vans, and doing stupid things, I guess I was over due for this… We had a serious van accident in route from our show in Graz, Austria to Dresden, Germany, somewhere along the highway in the Czech. I was asleep in the back of the van, so I’m unsure of what exactly happened. All I know is I felt the van skidding out and we started to slide and roll over. Not sure exactly how many times the van flipped but it was more than enough. I started screaming for everyone to tell me they were OK. Gertjan check, Ben check, Sara check, and I didnt hear Jeff.

Ben pulled me out through the windshield and I took off running, screaming for help with blood pouring down my face. I honestly though Jeff was dead. A car stopped and a slew of women started screaming at me and I was screaming at them. We were in the middle of no where and as I was running two things came to mind, I think Jeff is dead, and I hope I don´t get shot like Artimus Pyle. A woman pulled me into her house and her husband and son ran to the van crash site. I found Gertjan, and he said everyone is OK. The family started talking to me via Google Translation telling me everyone is safe and that an amublance is on the way.

The ambulance comes takes us to a hospital, we get taken care of…sort of. The police arrive on the scene and inform us that we aren´t leaving until the medical bills are paid in full. The were so kind enough to escort Sara and myself to an ATM machine to pay the entire lump of the bills in full on the spot. Even after we signed some strange papers saying we have 30 day with proof of citizenship, etc. What the fuck ever right? We asked where Gertjan was, and their respone was…prison. 300 phone calls and around €3,000 later we are out of the damned Czech and safe in Germany.

Long short, we are all somewhat OK. Jeff broke his collarbone, Ben got his hand jacked up, I am pretty alright, Gertjan is OK, as well as Sara. The van is destroyed. Booking these tours ourself really made me realize that we are 100% on our own. We had no one to call, no one to “rescue” us. I made 3 phone calles and the entire German punk scene came to our rescue. God damn thank you. Our new friends from Dresden Germany came to get us at the drop of a hat, no questions asked. Thank you.

So here it is, we are 3 grown adult males in our 30´s who play in a punk band. We are all stage hands at R5 Productions in Philly. That´s what we do to enable us to be here in Europe doing this. Never in our lives have we needed help like we do now. If you want to help us, please go to www.godsandqueens.bandcamp.com and purchas a record for $1.99. If you ever laughed at one of my awful jokes, or spend hours talking with us after a show, and you would like to help, please do. I always though our band would have too much pride to ask for help, but I am pretty sure we all agree that this time we need it. If you would like to help in any form please do jamiegetz(at)gmail.com is the paypal address if you are inclined to do so. We will also accept first class upgrades on US Air, Delta or Virgin.

Thanks.

(The first class upgrades bit is just a joke. Which, by the way, was a poor choice in airlines. All of those suck. They should have picked Lufthansa or Swiss. If Lufthansa's economy class is awesome, their first class must come with lap dances or something. Hah hah.)

[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Facebook] [Myspace] [Blog]

4 Days Of Night - Towards Nothing

For those that know me and/or visit my blog frequently, you may know that I'm fairly intrigued with the Pakistani music scene. So, whenever I'm introduced to new artists I get excited. Tipu (6LA8) sends me a lot of interesting stuff. Actually, Tipu and Talha Wynne are probably two of my major connections to the Pakistani scene.

Anyway, this is a brand new artist, and this is his first song as 4 Days Of Night and is absolutely beautiful.
Currently, there is no Bandcamp or Soundcloud (or even last.fm listing) as of yet, at least that I know of. He does have a Facebook page. Follow him!

[Facebook]

New Album Release: Blank Maps - Single 1

Oh man, I am excited about hearing some new stuff from these guys. Ever since I heard Double Rainbow I was an instant fan.

The new two-track album can be downloaded for free on Bandcamp or AmazingTunes. The prior album can be downloaded on AmazingTunes.

[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [SoundCloud] [Facebook] [Myspace] [AmazingTunes]

Absinthe House - Awake

Tipu from 6LA8 has been sending me some fantastic stuff lately. These guys are much more experimental than the post-rock tag implies. But I had to use some kind of tag. What really caught me were some of the alternative rock bits in some of the songs. Surprisingly enough, I haven't heard a lot of experimental, fusion bands incorporate some of the alternative style.

[Last.fm] [SoundCloud] [ReverbNation] [Facebook] [Myspace]
(Album can be downloaded via SoundCloud [a couple tracks have reached their download limit] and ReverbNation.)

Kaddish - The Great Apart

Man, these guys are tough to find on the internet. There are two Kaddish, a Scottish and a Brazilian band. This is the Scottish band. It seems like the Last.fm page only recognizes the Brazilian band. And I haven't found a facebook page yet. Their LP can be obtained through Bandcamp. Send orders to autumnjams@hotmail.co.uk and they'll send you a download link where you can download from the bandcamp page.

[Last.fm] [Autumn Jams Bandcamp] [Myspace]

Meeting The Band: Half of Basheer & The Pied Pipers

So, I've hit 10,000 views on my blog. As a little celebration I'm writing another Meeting The Band entry!

Basheer & The Pied Pipers... 1/2

June 26th I made a blog entry featuring the Pakistani experimental ambient/electronic group Basheer & The Pied Pipers. Five days after the post I get a message on Facebook, "I'm one of the two guys from Basheer & the Pied Pipers. Are you going to be in Oklahoma July to August? I might be coming there for a few weeks." Soon after the initial excitement, confusion set in and my first question was, "why...?" Saad was visiting the US for a medical internship in pediatrics and was going to intern in three cities, OKC happened to be one of them. We were only able to meet once before my trip to Boston to see God Is An Astronaut at the beginning of August. I took Saad to a great gastropub, RePUBlic, for some amazing food and drinks and we talked for a while about various things such as his band and the Pakistani music scene, which really intrigues me.
I was hoping to hang out with him a bit more before he went to Los Angeles for more internship training, but I wasn't able to. I'd get texts and calls, "Hey maaaan, I'm so booooored!!!!" And felt bad that I was too busy to show him around. Oklahoma City just isn't exactly the most exciting of cities to visit, especially when you get a considerable layover in New York, enough to get a taste before flying out.

A couple weeks after my return from an amazing trip to Boston, there was a local music and arts festival I decided to attend. Midway through it hit me, "Saad is back in town! I should pick him up!" He had arrived back from Los Angeles earlier that day and was already bored when I had called him, hah hah. I hurried up to pick him up and as we drove back to the festival he shared some stories of his experiences, some good, some bad... and some amazing. He got to experience God Is An Astronaut on their last show of their US tour. He had some terrible experiences before then but that moment, seeing GIAA play, he hit his peak. I couldn't help but smile as he recalled his memories of the show.
We arrive at the festival to catch the last four bands, Sheree Chamberlain, Dead Sea Choir, The Pretty Black Chains, and Colourmusic. Dead Sea Choir wow'd the both of us. I had never heard of them before then and was blown away. Then when I looked over to Saad to see how he was reacting he'd be staring, agape, or closing his eyes and just absorbing the music. I don't often get to experience music with musicians, so experiencing how they take in live music is just too cool for me. I'm not huge into The Pretty Black Chains, but man, Saad was really getting into them. And Colourmusic rocked both of our heads off.

Saad and I hung out a couple times more before he continued his trip to Atlanta, hitting up a great burger shack (S&B Burgers) and spontaneously attending Oktoberfest where he got to dance with the locals and eat some bratwursts and knackwursts.

Hanging out with this guy was cool, everything was like a new experience for him. Everywhere I took him it was like taking a kid to a candy store.
Occasionally he'd call, or I'd call him, to follow up on his experiences in Atlanta. Apparently the internships have been pretty intense there, but hearing the concert experiences was fun. When he saw Opeth, "THAT WAS THE BEST SHOW EVER!!!!" When he saw Battles, "HOLY CRAP, THAT WAS THE BEST SHOW EVER!!!"

Now that I think about it, though, I never did delve much into his influences or other Basheer related topics after our first meet. Actually, a lot of the time when we weren't talking about the Pakistani music scene I forgot he was a musician. I feel like many of us have this preconceived notion that musicians are these certain types of people. And to be honest, the many musicians I've met and got to hang out with do have this certain subtle air about them that I've only been able to sense from other musicians. They're all fairly normal, but I can still sense that musician aspect from time to time. Saad is probably just about as normal as one can get, hah hah. He doesn't really exude that musician persona or appearance, or even have much of this subtle "air." But then I listen to Basheer & The Pied Pipers I think, "Wow, that really is Saad in here..." For this reason, Basheer & The Pied Pipers is at the top of the list of bands I really want to see play live. I want to see this seemingly inconspicuous, normal, young physician that did the chicken dance bunch of locals and would occasionally text me how bored he was up on stage playing music and expressing this passionate side. I think that would probably be one of the coolest things to see.

Now I have to meet the other half of Basheer & The Pied Pipers, Salman! In due time... in due time.


[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [SoundCloud] [Facebook] [YouTube]
(EP available for free download on BandCamp.)

Abeer Sheikh & The Wonderband - Stray

Wait a second... this is... Pakistani? IT SHO IZ!
Tipu from 6LA8 showed me this one. I was very surprised to hear this kind of sound come from a Pakistani band. It's very different from the other Pakistani Indie artists, it has a very American folky sound.

I'm not sure if they have any downloadable content yet. There isn't even a last.fm listing. So, I assume they're a fairly new band. Follow their Soundcloud and Facebook for more releases!


[Soundcloud] [Facebook]

Álfheimr - Predatory Nature

I have a tendency to feature a lot of artists from other parts of the world but not many American artists. I'm not sure why. Anyway, this is a band from Oregon that my friend had asked me to feature a couple weeks ago. I checked them out and wow! I'm going to have to be more aware of my own music scene here, hah hah. Álfheimr, Glorie... there are some amazing American stuff!

Álfheimr's new album, Predatory Nature, became available last week. Check it out on their bandcamp page.
They will also be setting up a KickStarter page for their upcoming album for tangible audio medium releases (they're currently debating on CD or Vinyl). Follow their Facebook page for more updates.

Thanks John for showing me this artist!

[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Facebook] [Myspace]
(Albums are available for free or whatever you decide to donate on Bandcamp.)

New Album Release: 6LA8 - In The Land Of Dreams

The Pakistani group, 6LA8, had releasted a new album last month. They have a tendency to release massive albums, this is no exception. There are some post-rock, some ambient, some electronic, some more abstract experimentalism in this album.

Man, some of the new stuff coming out of Pakistan has been pretty mind-blowing to me.


Download the new album for free here.


[Last.fm] [SoundCloud] [Facebook] [YouTube] [Website]

Possimiste - The Flight Of Lulu

I am really exctied about this one. This artist is just 18 years old, and wow... what a sound. It was difficult to choose what I wanted to feature today. She has no specific music style. This particular song is very ambient, very The American Dollar-like, while others are indie, and one I wouldn't be able to define in a genre (she put it as post modernism on soundcloud, I'm not going to pretend to know what that is, hah hah, it's just good). It always amazes me when someone so young can produce such amazing sounds. This brings me back to my discovery of These Portraits Never Spoke (20 now, but 19 when he wrote his last songs).

Hah hah, you kids are making me feel old!


[Last.fm] [Soundcloud] [Facebook] [Myspace] [Twitter] [Blog] [Facebook]
(Her music are all available for free on last.fm)

Meeting The Band: The Magna Experience

A couple days ago I had a great conversation with Magna and during the end of the conversation it hit me, "Ooooh, this would have been great recorded!!" However, at the same time I scoffed at myself for even thinking such a thing. The conversation was between three friends just sharing their passions. It wasn't an interview. I had played around with the idea of travelling around and interviewing smaller bands, and posting the interviews. While I'm very passionate about exposing these smaller artists, I don't want to diminish my own experiences. The last thing I want happening is my friendship with these artists to turn into that of a press person and a musician. So, since then I have dismissed this idea of recording artists that I meet and decided to create this new section of my blog I will call, "Meeting The Band." I'm not entirely pleased with the name I have chosen because it still seems to be creating this "press" idea, but I'm terrible at thinking up names and "Meeting The Band" just seemed simple and direct. (Plus, I already created the post and am too lazy to delete and spend hours thinking up a better name.) This will not be an interview format. This will be my story behind my experiences with these people. Some will be most recent experiences (within days), and some will be just reminiscing upon past experiences. And I may do follow-ups to the same bands if I feel like it. So, welcome to the very word-y first installment of Meeting The Band.

Magna

The first time I saw these guys was in the guitarist's living room after they had been pushed out of a venue because of overbooking. Only seven people showed up, and only one person was not connected to them through friendship or relation. The show is still, to this day, one of my favourite shows. It was intimate and very relaxed. No ear plugs were needed. The seven audience members were sitting and relaxing, drinking some beers Ryan (guitarist, owner of the house) offered us. Clay (bassist) was probably more relaxed than everyone else, just chilling back on the couch while playing. (Hah hah.) It was truly unique. It had not dawned on me that these guys were really that small and that my trudging through the rain to see them play had impacted them as well. For me, I was just browsing through last.fm looking for concerts to go to one weekend and stumbled upon their event posting. Since then they had treated me so well, inviting me to experience things that would end up being very influential to my passion in music. Two weeks after that very intimate show I was invited to experience a recording session. And before leaving Los Angeles to go back home in February of 2010, they threw me a two hour private farewell show. I was touched.

September 2011, I return to Los Angeles for a few weeks. Frantically I attempt to contact the guys but to no avail. As I depart from Los Angeles to head to New York City I was fairly bummed out. I receive an apologetical reply. Things were hectic with one of the members' marriage, and they hoped we can get the opportunity to meet again. As my trip to NYC came to a close, hope comes in the form of a phone call. My client wants me back in Los Angeles for a few more weeks. "NICE!!!" Within a week of my re-return to Los Angeles I get invited to see Magna practice some new material. It was interesting to experience the creative process behind the creation of music. Of course, every band has their own process, and I was experiencing Magna's. Although tedious and repetitious, I enjoyed it a lot. And as usual, it was great seeing the guys again!

Soon after I get another invitation, this time to see them mix. Well, mixing didn't happen that night. Instead I got to experience one of the most amazing music-related experiences, and quite profound to me.

It was just the three of us, Morgan (drummer), Ryan, and me chilling in Ryan's home studio (which he put approximately two weeks into designing to create acoustics he was pleased with) drinking beers, talking, and listening to some of the finished material. The conversations were just amazing. I'm very passionate about music, but I am in such a way as a listener. But to feel the passion of a musician is awesome. My time hanging out with Gábor (Marionette ID's former bassist), sharing our music-related history with Phil (guitarist from Caspian), eating a slice of pizza and discussing influences with Tom (bassist of The Non) have all been great experiences. And each have just reinforced why I love music the way I do. That night with Magna was no different. In fact, it was probably one of the most engaging conversations I have had about music. "When I listen to music, I see colours... this song is red... this one, green... this one I see the colour purple, and the letter W" I have heard of people that do have the ability to mix senses, but hearing Ryan describe this was absolutely intriguing. They also expressed the amount of care and time they put into each song and each album. I had to make the comment, "you guys are like the Tool of instrumental rock," in the sense that it takes so bloody long for an album to be released. They had informed me that their three track EP was in the works for approximately two years, and in those two years they all refused to play live. It was two years of exploration and recognizing their own selves. This kind of intimacy with their own music seems only to have gotten stronger throughout the years. Each song is crafted with thought and care, and each album is composed together just as such. Echo Location had a progression to it, and even sort of a story through each track from beginning to end. Now, what really amused me the most out of this is as much passion and intensity they have toward their music, for their song titles they decided that whoever utters the first thing that they thought of for the title, that is what it will be named. Some have really interesting and very personal stories. Taforalt was written on a chalk board in Ryan's dream. Watermelon-Sized Grape was the song Ryan saw as "purple with the letter W," Dan (guitarist) blurted "Watermelon-Sized Grape." And then there are some others that are inside jokes and have kind of goofy stories. But there is no long, drawn out process in making the names. They're just made. Hah hah, such a contrast to the amount of thought and work put into the music itself. But in the end, it's just a name... the music should speak for itself.

Now, what made the night so profound to me wasn't the conversation, as awesome as it was. No, it was listening to the new tracks in a setting that I can be comfortable calling "the purest, most flawless way of experiencing a studio recording." I was sitting there, listening to music uncompressed, two high quality speakers aiming at me at an arm-and-a-half distance, in the exact studio room used to mix the music I was listening to at that very moment. This music was mixed to the acoustics of that room, to the specifications of those speakers, using Logic Pro (which was used to show me the new material). Listening to a studio recording cannot get any more perfect than that. Even now I cannot believe I experienced such a thing. It was such an intensely profound moment beyond many things I've experienced. As a musician this is just an every day thing. But to me, a mere listener, not a musician what-so-ever... it was truly intense.
There are moments that emphasize your passion, and then there are moments that are so profound that it defines your passion. When I listened to Caspian the first time, my passion was revisited and defined. When I experienced my first concert outside of the US, a band that I specifically went to see (Képzelt Város in Budapest on April 1st, 2011), my passion was further defined. When my entire being broke down from listening to Arvo Pärt - Silouans Song, my passion was yet even further defined. And the night I got to experience music at its purest... oh, this was very much a defining moment.

How is the new material? Lets just say, I'm really, really excited about Awake Ancient. It will have a lot of different sounds compared to the prior two albums. Sadly, my favourite, and currently unfinished, song will not be on this next album. But hey, in 50 more years when the third LP comes out... hah hah hah.

To me, this is the essence of my passion, to experience music beyond the stage, beyond my CDs, vinyls, iPod, or iTunes. And when I get the opportunity to experience such things, there is absolutely nothing that can compare.
As a good friend once said...
"The music never ends."


Look for updates on Awake Ancient's progress and its eventual release on their facebook page. And by all means, check out their prior albums!


[Last.fm] [Facebook] [Myspace] [Website]
(The last.fm page is shared with a Pennsylvanian electronic artist. The albums this Magna has produced are Echo Location and Magna EP. Magna EP is a free download on last.fm and their site. Echo Location can be purchased on iTunes.)

//orangenoise - Clipped

Okay, two posts in one month? This is getting ridiculous! I'm going to start making a schedule now. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday I'm going to make a new post.

I hadn't talked to Talha in some time so I thought I'd follow up with him on the going-ons of life. He informs me, "we have a new song!" and links this. This excites me! //orangenoise, is back in the studio!! I'm really looking forward to what they'll come out with next.


[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Facebook]
(Albums are freely available on Bandcamp.)

Aussitôt Mort - On a qu'a se dire qu'on s'en

So, it has been a long time since I made an update. It has been a combination of slacking and being extremely busy, leaning heavily on the latter. My last post was while I was in Los Angeles. Since then I had to travel to New York for a wedding, stayed in the city and did some hostelling and couchsurfing... blah blah blah, I'm just making excuses. Anyway, now I'm on a complementary Google Chromebook given to me to play around with on this five hour layover at the Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport waiting for my flight back to LA. It may not be something I would ever buy but YAY COMPLEMENTARY STUFF.

I haven't been able to do some music exploration during the crazy hecticness of the past few weeks. So I scrolled through some notes I made on artists I discovered before and came across this one. It was a while ago since I made that note so I don't remember how I came across these guys, but I will say... damn!! I'm glad I made myself a note to feature these guys!

[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Facebook] [Website]
(Albums are available for free on Bandcamp.)

Poor Colour Palate - Pause Breathe Scream

I was listening to the Carlos Cipa similar artist radio on last.fm a week ago. (That has to be my new favourite station.) Every artist that came up was amazing. But then there was one that stood out even among the phenomenal artists, one that made me feel compelled to have a temporary break from what I was working on to really listen to the song. This was Poor Colour Palate. Later that day another amazing song comes up. Again, Poor Colour Palate! I finally got around to listening to his discography and as beautiful as some of his songs are, I'm most blown away by his more ambient pieces. Next to post-rock, ambient is among my favourite of music styles. But often times I think of electronics and ambient tones for ambient music. To hear just piano played in this style of music and played so, so well just blows my mind. This has opened my mind to a different aspect of ambience, which I must delve into!!

[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [SoundCloud] [Facebook] [Myspace] [Blogger]
(Albums are available for free on Bandcamp.)

Our Ceasing Voice/Satory split preview

(Original source of embed)

I love these guys. Since I had seen them play in both Budapest and Vienna back in April, we've been in fairly close contact. I consider these guys my Austrian (and Turkish) brothers... sad, sad brothers! But when Sebastian sent me a message saying, "We need your help, we're unsure about the new title," of course, I felt pretty honoured. However, I wasn't quite sure I was the right man for this. After all, it took me two hours to figure up a name for when I signed up for the first message board (heh heh, "message boards," old school) and ended up just using the first ridiculous thing that popped up in my head, "Dude-O-Lob-A-Man." And then it also took me as long to think up a name for my World of Warcraft character (which I no longer play). I'm not creative when it comes to names.

Anyway, Sebastian and I start brainstorming while at the same time expressing how much he dislikes thinking up song titles. He asks me about idioms, that seem to be common in German but not quite as common in American English. And then we just started spouting out different idioms and phrases. "The wish is father to the thought," "The living daylights" (I had to chuckle a little at that one), "Dead Air," etc. Then after a few hours of silence he comes back with five.
-a phantom army marching through the sky
-from deep within
-dreambreaker
-for darkness fears the light
-dead air

"For Darkness Fears The Light" stood out to me. That and Dead Air, I liked that one a lot too. So, it was finally decided! After a painful period of racking our brains thinking what would be a good title, here it is! Yeah, it's not quite as an inspiring story behind the title, but eh, titles are just that... it's the music that really counts.

As for my thoughts about the new song... wow. It's definitely different than the rest of their stuff. Reiny seemed to think it was more ambient but I felt like it was considerably less ambient than songs their previous album. I absolutely love the Spanish-like intro. And the recording seems a bit more unrefined, noticeable to me by the sound of the drums. Come to find out, they didn't record in a studio for these songs, this was at their own places. Reiny's vocals also add a nice subtle note to the music.

And Satory's new song is very strong. Just like OCV's song, this one is also different progression from Satory's previous album. Except this is more refined and tight as compared to their more raw sounds of The Japanese Beast. It definitely has more "post-" aspects.


This split EP releases November 1st!
Preorder the 7" vinyl
http://order.revolvermannrecords.de/

Our Ceasing Voice
[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Facebook] [Myspace] [Website]

Satory
[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Facebook] [Myspace] [Website]

Years Of Rice And Salt - Nothing Of Cities

When I posted a new album release for Years Of Rice And Salt's album, Nothing Of Cities, I said that it was one of the best releases of 2011. That was fairly early in the year so that didn't quite have much merit. However, with the year quickly ending I have still yet to find a release that has affected me quite like Nothing Of Cities. Don't get me wrong, Marionette ID's Alluvion is phenomenal, and Matt Stevens' Relic is simply amazing. And I don't want to seem like I'm comparing these amazing albums. But the way Nothing Of Cities affects me is not even comparable to anything else, not Caspian, not MONO, not Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and not even Arvo Pärt. And for me that is saying a lot, especially including Caspian (whom I highly admire). But I can't deny what I feel. Nothing Of Cities causes the passion and emotion within myself to overflow almost gracefully without harming the vessel itself, in comparison to Arvo Pärt shattering the vessel into unrecognizable pieces.

It's hard to pick a favourite track on this album because the entire album is so good. But this song that I have featured today... oh... this song just clenches on to me. At thirteen minutes it is safe to say that it is indeed a long track. And usually with such long tracks, particularly in Post-Rock, there is some kind of progression to an epic finale. But the progression is nothing like that, not like MONO or Yndi Halda. No, it's subtle. It's quiet, it's slow, but it's also really powerful. And then the buildup at 8:05... ooh man... the floor toms come in and the song suddenly turns dark, almost foreboding. The darkness lifts a little toward the end as the guitars go all in with all of their emotion. And then it ends. Even a half an hour later I feel the song.

Sometimes I like to say "Tears flowing" just to express the intensity of some music. But to my surprise, as much emotion is building up in me from this song, tears aren't flowing. GY!BE - Moya causes me to tear. Arvo Pärt - Silouans Song crushes me and reduces me to a crying mess. (And no, I do not suffer from depression nor do these tears have sad memories backing them.) But Nothing Of Cities doesn't do this, it doesn't crush my entire being like GY!BE, MONO, Arvo Pärt, or even Caspian at one time. No. Just like I express earlier, emotions and passion overflows, but the vessel is perfectly intact. Come to think of it, I don't think a song has really affected me quite like this one.

Lately I have not been able to stop thinking of this album. Nothing Of Cities has become my soundtrack to my revisit to Los Angeles.

[Last.fm] [Service Bell EP (Bandcamp)] [Nothing Of Cities (Bandcamp)] [Facebook] [Myspace] [Website]
(Both albums are available at own donation on Bandcamp or on their site for £5.)

New Album Release: Matt Stevens - Relic (Preorder now, releases Sept. 26th)

A couple days ago I received a message from Matt Stevens. I'm always honoured to have an artist I feature on my blog contact me personally, as it rarely happens. I'm usually the one to go, "HAY MAN LOVE THE MUSIC." Hah hah.

So anyway, after having listened to this new album I have to say that Matt has evolved rapidly through his music. I absolutely love his Echo album. It is acoustic, it is jazzy, it is funky, it had a wonderful Spanish feel... it is one of my favourite acoustic albums. And then came Ghost, which I feel was a little more emotional, and a little darker than Echo. And now Relic... this is drastically different from his prior albums but at the same time it's still Matt. Relic is on a much grander scale with an entire band backing him. But much like his previous albums, there is a dynamic progression with each song, but now even more-so.

The album starts a little surprising, if you had heard Matt's prior work. "Are these ID3 tags correct? Is this really Matt Stevens?" This song starts off kind of... pop-y. As the song progresses it certainly doesn't stay pop-y, and you definitely start to hear that Matt Stevens that you're familiar with. It then gets even more intense and sort of post-rock-y as the next song, Relic, plays. During the progression of the album we hear different variations of instruments and different emotions. And then we come to the centre of the album where we hear some more classic Matt Stevens style. As the album finishes we're tossed with an unexpectedly heavy track and then mellow back down to something like an ambient post-rock.

This is definitely a different Matt Stevens. I love his purely acoustic stuff, but this album... I cannot stop listening to it! This is easily one of my favourite albums of 2011.


Relic will be released tomorrow. But if you're impatient you can preorder the album on Matt's Bandcamp page.

http://mattstevens.bandcamp.com/releases

Also check out his prior albums, Echo and Ghost.


[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Facebook] [Website]

Smallman - Evolution

It's wonderful being back in Los Angeles, even if it's a short amount of time. But I haven't really done much since I've been back, other than work. And I haven't had much time to discover more artists and make more posts. But there are a couple bands I have on backlog I should try to feature.

Well, today's post is a Bulgarian band that Максим of Mental Architects introduced me to a while back. Metal + Bagpipes... nicccce. What I do like about this band as opposed to other rock or metal artists that use bagpipes is that they are not folk. Don't get me wrong, I love folk, and I absolutely love folk rock or folk metal. But sometimes it's nice to have folk instruments used in a very non-folk way.


For those of you dropping by that happen to live in or around Bulgaria, Smallman and Mental Architects will be playing at Stage51 in Пловдив (Plovdiv) on October 22nd.
http://www.last.fm/event/2066358+Smallman+at+Stage+51+on+22+October+2011

[Last.fm] [Facebook] [Myspace]
(Album available for purchase on iTunes.)

June Miller - Silk Flowers

Don't mistake this June Miller with the Drum n' Bass June Miller... two completely different bands. This one is an Italian indie band. I was introduced to this band by a really good friend, and the former bassist of Marionette ID. I fell in love with this band and was a bit bummed to hear that the female vocalist had parted from the band. The new male vocalist is great as well. But something about the female vocalist... it added a kind of delicacy to the music that I find very attractive.

[Last.fm] [Facebook] [Myspace] [Blogger]
(With Downcast Eyes is available for free download here. I'm not entirely sure how to get their other albums.)

Presing - Kad Je Nema

Some interesting Serbian rock an old friend showed me some time ago. Often times I'll write myself a note to remind myself to check out certain bands so that a year and a half later I can finally check them out... hah hah hah.

My updates have been becoming more and more sparse. Hopefully I'll be returning back to a better posting schedule. However, I'm going back to Los Angeles for a short time and will be leaving my laptop at home. Sooo, hopefully I can update through my iPod touch...

[Last.fm] [Myspace] [Website]
(I am not entirely sure how to get their music...)

Mental Architects (Bulgaria) + Aaron Harris (ISIS drummer)

Congrats to my Bulgarian friends!!
No more than a half an hour ago Mental Architects revealed that Aaron Harris, former drummer of ISIS, will be working on their first LP. Currently they've finished tracking the drums and are now working on the guitars.

Aaron Harris:
I just started working with the Bulgarian band Mental Architects and will mix and produce their first full-length record. They’re recording the album themselves in Bulgaria, but it’s been a collaborative process from the get-go. To prepare, for instance, we’ve been exchanging videos, demos and sound clips. In this way, I’ve been able to see and comment on their set-up, micing techniques, signal path and environment in which they’ll be tracking the record. This has been great for tweaking certain elements and understanding how the whole thing is coming together. It helps that these guys are very proactive about their band and music. They’ve been a pleasure to work with, and I’m really inspired by their dedication and innovative approach to their art. I love the new demos, and I’m really looking forward to mixing this new record.
Source: http://aaronharris-audio.com/

Follow Mental Architect's facebook for constant updates.
Also check out my previous Mental Architects post.

[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [SoundCloud] [Facebook] [Myspace] [Website]