Minutos Musicales: Sunset Rubdown

Estimados,
este grupo me gusta mucho aunque creo necesario realizar al menos un par o tres de reproducciones antes de poder valorarlo como se merece.

3 CDs y un EP completan lo que hasta el momento es su carrera discográfica, que se destaca por prestar mucha atención al proceso creativo, a la evolución musical de cada una de las composiciones y a la compresión de ideas en la duración de los temas: mucho se quiere decir en poco tiempo... este grupo apunta muy muy alto.

El lider de este grupo es Spencer Krug, personaje claramente multidisciplinar si echamos una ojeada a su trayectoria paralela: Wolf Parade, Frog Eyes, Swan Lake.... Hoy os presento un album en mayúsculas, de esos que dejan una huella palpable porque la frescura y la euforia desatada se transmiten fielmente. Ritmos precisos, abiertos a una creatividad sin parangon, dando pie a altibajos en donde lo que prima es la idea esencial de lo que se quiere mostrar.

Ya no os doy más rollo... espero que lo disfruteis.

"Sunset Rubdown is an indie rock band from Montreal, Canada. The band began as a solo project for Spencer Krug of Wolf Parade, who released his debut, Snake's Got a Leg, in July 2005. Eventually the group expanded to include Camilla Wynn Ingr of Pony Up!, Jordan Robson-Cramer of XY Lover and Magic Weapon, and Michael Doerksen. The new lineup released the Sunset Rubdown EP in January 2006, and later the sophomore LP, Shut Up I Am Dreaming, in May 2006. Their third album, Random Spirit Lover, was release on October 9, 2007 on the band's new label, Jagjaguwar."

Grupo: Sunset Rubdown
Disco: Random Spirit Lover
Año: 2007
Web oficial: http://www.sunsetrubdown.net/
Canciones destacadas: The Mending Of the Gown, The Taming of the Hands That Came Back To Life, Magic Vs. Midas y Winged-Wicked Things

Minutos Musicales: Stars

Estimados,
hoy llega hasta vuestros oidos una banda canadiense formada por Torquil Campbell (vocalista) y Chis Seligman (teclados). Actualmente están ubicados en Montreal aunque sus pasos empezaron en Toronto, luego en New York y finalmente recalaron en Montreal.

Su música ha sido catalogada como "beautiful, eloquent indie pop". Su sonido ha evolucionado de un pop-electrónico como el ofrecido en su primer album (Nightsongs) a una instrumentación más rockera en sus dos últimos albums, la cual se refleja en la incorporación del cantante y guitarra Amy Millan y el bajo Evan Cranley así como de Pat McGee en el disco "Set Yourself On Fire" (una auténtica obra maestra y referencia absoluta para un dj que se precie).

"The band's breakthrough single was "Ageless Beauty", from their 2004 album Set Yourself on Fire. Millan, Cranley and Campbell are also members of the indie band Broken Social Scene, with whom they currently share a record label, Arts & Crafts. Campbell is also an actor and has appeared on the television shows Sex and the City and Law & Order. Millan released a solo album in 2006. Several of the band's songs, such as "The Vanishing", "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead", and "The Big Fight", have appeared on the Fox Network's The O.C. and CTV's Degrassi: The Next Generation. Their single "Ageless Beauty" was also featured in a promotional trailer for Vh1's So NoTORIous.

On their website, the band has noted that their name was chosen without prior knowledge of the short-lived project by Syd Barrett. They have cited a wide variety of musical likes and influences ranging from Berlioz to Outkast, citing among others Barrett, Paddy McAloon, New Order, The Smiths, Brian Wilson, Momus, and Broken Social Scene. They covered The Smiths' "This Charming Man" on 2001's Nightsongs and The Pogues' "Fairytale of New York" in 2005. Other indie artists have been guest collaborators on many of their tracks, especially for an early period including the release of their first LP.

They recently surprised their fans by releasing their latest studio album (In Our Bedroom After the War), on July 10, 2007, a full two months ahead of its expected release date, onto iTunes. When Stars released In Our Bedroom After the War to online retailers weeks before the CD's actual release date to circumvent the album's inevitable leak, part of their reasoning touched on the increasingly blurry line between critics and listeners. The band believed indie-rock fans should be able to review and provide opinions of the band's albums similar in a way to the so-called critics, but soon realized that the outcome could be very far from their ideal expectation. Soon after the music site Pitchfork Media gave the new album a 7.4 out of 10, Torquil Campbell offered up a rant that not only tore into the music site and the reviewer but lamented the death of art and criticism, which as a result prompted much scoffing from some critics and bloggers, as well as approval from others. The band contributed a T-shirt design to the Yellow Bird Project. to raise money for Le Chainon, a women's shelter located in Montreal, Quebec."

Grupo: Stars
Disco: In Our Bedroom After The War
Año: 2007
Web oficial: http://www.arts-crafts.ca/stars/
Canciones destacadas: Midnight Coward, Take Me To The Riot y The Night Starts Here

Minutos Musicales: Loney, Dear

Estimados,
que ganas tenía yo de presentaros a este grupo sueco (Loney, Dear)..... capitaneado por Emil Svanängen, aunque bien se podría decir que él es el grupo.

Ya tiene publicados 5 albums de auténtico infarto musical y esperemos que antes o después el colectivo fikasound (http://www.fikasound.com/) consiga traerselo de gira porque será uno de los conciertos imprescindibles del año sin lugar a dudas.

De sus canciones mucho se puede decir pero lo mejor es escucharlas y sentirse atrapado por su magnetismo, por su esencia, que mucho y nada tiene que ver con otros grupos ya que tan personal es su forma de manifestarse y cantar como lo son las claras y oportunas comparaciones que se le pueden hacer en el lento discurrir de los temas de su último disco.

Aquí os dejo una perla de disco del 2007.

"Emil Svanängen self-released his first album, The Year of River Fontana, in 2003. Recorded in the basement of his parents' home in Jönköping with a minidisk microphone and a home computer, released on home-made CD-Rs, and sold only through his website and at live performances, it became popular on word-of-mouth alone. The next two years saw Svanängen record and release three more albums.

When Loney, Dear play live, Svanängen is joined by Samuel Starck (keyboards), Malin Ståhlberg (tambourine, vocals), Ola Hultgren (drums), and David Lindvall (bass).

In 2006 Loney, Dear was signed by U.S. record label Sub Pop. Sub Pop released Loney, Dear's fourth album, Loney, Noir, on February 6, 2007.

Loney, Dear recently toured America, opening with Pigeon John for Of Montreal, and as of April 2007, are on a North American tour with fellow Sub Pop labelmates Low.

Loney, Dear is currently touring Europe, having just finished a tour supporting Chicago post-rockers The Sea and Cake. In Britain, he supported the London band Athlete on their UK tour and Maps at their Kings College London Student Union show."

Grupo: Loney, Dear
Disco: Loney Noir
Año: 2007
Web oficial: http://www.loneydear.com/
Canciones destacadas: Saturday Waits, I Am Jhon, And i won't cause anything at all, Hard Days, Sinister In The State Of Hope y The Meter Marks Ok

Minutos Musicales: Scout Niblett

Estimados,
Emma Louise Niblett también es conocida por el pseudonimo de "Scout Niblett".

Composiciones realmente inmesas, alejadas del ruido adicional e interpretadas con una magistral combinación de guitarra, batería y voz que muchas veces ella misma toca. Cuando se la escucha, múltiples nombres vienen a la mente: PJ Harvey, Shannon Wright, Lisa Germano, Joan As Police Woman, Cat Power.... y verdaderamente no desmerece a ninguna de ellas debido a su particular estilo y potencia emocial en las composiciones.

4 discos contando con el que hoy os presento (el primero publicado en 2001) avalan su carrera y es una pena que muchos no la hayamos descubierto antes. Si no la conocéis, seguro que os dejará gratamente impactados.... ahí es nada.

"She is known for her intimate live shows and her blond wig while performing.[1] She is currently living in the United States, where she has worked with the influential recording engineer Steve Albini.

Niblett grew up in Nottingham, England and chose her stage name in honour of Jean Louise "Scout" Finch, the protagonist in Harper Lee's 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird. She studied music and performance art at college, and also expresses an interest in astrology—explaining the title of her 2005 LP Kidnapped by Neptune, she says, "Neptune is this planet that everyone has in their chart. But for me, where Neptune is right now and has been for the past two years has been affecting my chart in a huge way. Neptune is kind of the musicians’ planet, it rules music." She currently resides in Portland, OR.

Niblett has released three LPs, through the Secretly Canadian record company in North America and through Too Pure in the United Kingdom. Her first release was a split 7" single with Songs: Ohia in 2001. Shortly after this she released her first LP Sweet Heart Fever, recorded at Chem Nineteen Recordings in Hamilton, Scotland by producer Andy Miller with drummer Kristian Goddard. Her follow-up release was a one-sided 10" EP, I Conjure Series, recorded live, where Niblett plays all the instruments herself. For the next two albums—2003's I Am and 2005's Kidnapped by Neptune—Niblett enlisted the help of Steve Albini, as well as guitarist and bassist Chris Saligoe. She also features on Songs: Ohia's album Magnolia Electric Co. (2003).

Niblett cites among her influences a number of grunge period bands, including Mudhoney, Sonic Youth and Nirvana, and in particular the guitar of Kurt Cobain. In fact, she has covered the Nirvana song "Verse Chorus Verse" in concert. Her drumming technique, however, is inspired, she says, by a man who played at an open-mic night in Nottingham and would accompany himself on the drums while playing Beatles covers. This drumming technique has been a particularly distinctive feature of Niblett's records with Steve Albini, whose method is to place the drums centrally in the mix. A good example of Niblett's minimalist approach to songwriting is "Your Beat Kicks Back Like Death", included on I Am and as the B-side to "I'll Be a Prince". It consists solely of a drumbeat with a cheerfully delivered repeating lyric, "We're all gonna die!", eventually concluding, "We don't know when, We don't know how." Niblett names the song as a favourite. Also of note is her downbeat cover of Althea & Donna's 1978 reggae hit "Uptown Top Ranking", which Niblett released as a single after it became popular at live performances."

Grupo: Scout Niblett
Disco: This Fool Can Die Now
Año: 2007
Web oficial: http://www.scoutniblett.com/
Canciones destacadas: Dinosaur Egg, Kiss, Baby Emma y Your Last Chariot

Minutos Musicales: Peter And The Wolf

Estimados,
con su líder Red Hunter al frente, Peter & the Wolf son una banda que hacen un folk minimalista y espectral, con canciones en las que sólo suena la voz de Red, a veces un coro (de sus amiguitos hippies, claro) y una guitarra acústica o un banjo. Además, Peter & the Wolf tienen una actitud tan extravagante que lo hace aún más atrayente. Sus conciertos (aunque parecen reuniones de amigos) se celebran en sitios tan dispares como cementerios, autobuses abandonados o islas a las que hay que llegar en bote para ver la actuación.

Grupo: Peter And The Golf
Disco: The Ivory Palms
Año: 2007
Web oficial: http://www.whiskeyandapples.com/ y http://www.myspace.com/whiskeyandapples
Canciones destacadas: Where Summer Goes, Ghost Sandals, The Ivory Palms, Better Days y The Traveler and the County Boys

Minutos Musicales: Parts & Labor

Estimados,
hoy arriesgamos con algo un pelín más duro y por ende más difícil de digerir.

Desde Brooklyn, NY, viene Parts & Labor, una banda de noise punk acelerado. Este album se podría considerar como más maduro y centrado, sin dejar de ser bien loco y desafiante. Además, incluye instrumentos adicionales, como la sección de metales que se deja escuchar en el primer track, "Fractured skies". Aún asi, mantiene el característico sonido de teclados con efectos, baterías estruendosas y las voces compartidas entre el guitarrista y el bajista.

"Parts & Labor is an American experimental rock/noise rock band. The group was formed in 2002 by B.J. Warshaw and Dan Friel in Brooklyn, NY and has since toured with other bands such as Battles, TV on the Radio, Deerhoof, Voltage, Breaker! Breaker!, Tyondai Braxton, Coachwhips, Japanther, Pterodactyl, and Matt & Kim.

Members
Dan Friel – keyboards, guitar, voice
B.J. Warshaw - bass, voice
Joe Wong - drums "

Grupo: Parts & Labor
Disco: Mapmaker
Año: 2007
Web oficial: http://www.partsandlabor.net/ (cuidado los epilépticos)
Canciones destacadas: Brighter Days, The Gold We´re Digging y Unexplosions

Minutos Musicales: Nurse & Soldier

Estimados,
Nurse & Soldier es un grupo de psycho pop liderado por Robertson Thacher y Erica Fletcher. Los 2 han estado realizando música desde que eran jóvenes y una larga relación ha hecho que su música sea tan particular.

Composiciones llenas de delicadeza, que hablan de traición, nostalgia, reconciliación... los 2 multi-instrumentistas cantan y tocan órganos, guitarras, sintetizadores, batería.... Este es su segundo disco (publicaron el primero en 2001) y ha sido grabado enteramente en New York.

"Nurse and Soldier is a collaborative collaboration of collaborality between four members (Rockie: vox/gtr/toy sousaphone, Billy Sunday: vox/guitar/organ/bass/celery, Danny Barcelona: bass/vox/wigwam, & General Jefferson Bailey: drums/gtr/jug/washboard abs) and their rodent pet Filthor, whose trash-eating spirit haunts their dreams, their nightmares, their music, and sometimes their hearts. They hail from Brooklyn, New York, which is in no way associated with Manhattan.

Nurse and Soldier was born from the tire-fire ashes and landfill-caused questionable genetic mutation of the seminal unheard of band which you've never heard of, Karaoke Hustler. K.H., oft-quoted as the Ohio's equivalent of 'sonic chicken gizzards served on a bed of anarchic beats and spiced with glitter,' ravaged northern Ohio's eardrums with their incendiary rock 'n' roll and their non-incendiary pyrotechnic devices. Nurse and Soldier however, like a sweet, soft-sided cookie, has a sweeter and softer side, adding their own short pop-tinged flavorings to those same chicken gizzards.

A 6-cut EP of these songs was released in May 1999 on Brooklyn's Trifectaa Records, with a full-length currently, and eternally, in the works.

Nurse and Soldier was itself formed in 1998 when Billy Sunday, fresh from paint smelling school, ran into Rockie at Cleveland, OH's Bagel Smearatorium and Coffee Dispensing Recepticle. Rockie was presenting her performance art show 'Could You Pass The Butter Please,' which protested the abuse of hair gel in the executive reaches of the music industry, to an easily-distracted audience of bus boys and narcoleptic ballet students. Brought together by their new-found love of the 'psychedelic digerdoo & gamelan scene' of Lower Nebraska, and reminiscing over K.H.'s disbanding a year earlier amidst a flurry of litigation, cat calls, and cheerleader tryouts, Billy Sunday and Rockie decided once again to make beautiful music together, or at least get drunk and have their instruments feedback."

Grupo: Nurse & Soldier
Disco: Marginalia
Año: 2007
Web oficial: http://www.nurseandsoldier.com/
Canciones destacadas: Brought Up Too Soon, Lies & Alterations, Wrong e Imaginary Friend

Minutos Musicales: Good Shoes

Estimados,
menuda semana esta de eventos.... !Un no parar!

Hoy toca presentaros un grupo de Londres (como tantos otros) de 4 miembros que inició su andadura por 2004 aunque hasta la fecha sólo han publicado el disco que hoy os presento.

Su lider Rhys Jones y el guitarrista Steve Leach solían tocar y escribir música como hobby hasta que un día decidieron, a raiz de tocar un par de temas en un festival, que debían formalizar este hobby y crear una banda en condiciones. Por ello se unieron Tom Jones (hermano del lider) y Joel Cox (amigos del resto). A partir de aquí comienza su trayectoria dando conciertos en 2005 y el hecho más destacable es la publicación de su único disco en marzo de este año.

"The band started looking for gigs in January 2005, their first gig was put on by a friend at Fitzwilliam College Cambridge University on 1 February.[citation needed] Their second was at a secret party on Eel Pie Island with Mystery Jets and from then on they played as many gigs as possible in and around London. This led to them playing the Artrocker clubnight in August put on by Artrocker Magazine. At this gig, the band were recommended to their current label, Brille Records by a member of the band FC Kahuna, and after playing In The City music festival in Manchester they signed with Brille in November 2005. John Kennedy (a DJ at London-based radio station Xfm) started to give the band airtime based on a demo which was recorded in the bands shed[citation needed], and a new demo, recorded at Southern Studios started to get the band recgonition from stations like Radio 1, 6 Music and other mainstream radio stations, with both Steve Lamacq and Zane Lowe playing the demo.

The band travelled to Malmö, Sweden to record their first album, called Think Before You Speak, with Per Sunding at Tambourine Studios. It was released 26 March 2007.

On 28 May 2007, the band performed a secret free gig at Morden Park bandstand. The bandstand and other landmarks from the local area are featured in the video for their next single "Morden", released on 11 June 2007."

Grupo: Good Shoes
Disco: Think Before You Speak
Año: 2007
Web oficial: http://www.goodshoes.co.uk/
Canciones destacadas: Blue Eyes, Nazanin, Morden, Photos y In the City

Minutos Musicales: Fink

Estimados,
aquí tenemos a un artista de Bristol (Finian Greenhall) que narra sus propias vivencias en canciones lentas de trazado continuo y que le dan a las composiones un tinte mágico y existencialista que transcurre mientras dura cada tema.

Muchos grupos con similares características llegan a mi memoria como Jose Gonzalez o Coldcult (estos un pelín más enérgicos). La claridad en sus letras permite traslucir sentimientos, esperanzas y abstracciones propias del estado de ánimo del artista en cada momento. Aún así, es un auténtico placer descubrir artistas con personalidad que hacen la música que quieren independientemente de lo que opine el mundo.

“We’ve played some great shows in the last year,” enthuses Fink from his home in Brighton. He’s not kidding, having performed live with his band at the Birmingham and Manchester Academies, Brighton Dome, Colston Hall in Bristol and a string of other venues in support of Zero 7 in the Spring of last year, before hitting the festival circuit with shows at The Big Chill, Bestival, Green Man, and Fruitstock to name but a few. Fink’s debut album for Ninja Tune, “Biscuits for Breakfast,” marked a seismic shift for the label - shelving samples and turntablism in favour of an acoustic guitar and great songs. The record, distinguished by its squeaking fret boards and disarmingly autobiographical lyrics, caught the attention of audiences worldwide. Over a hundred Fink shows across Europe, including dates at the Electron and JazzOnze festivals, were followed by an intense tour of North America, where Fink, together with bassist Guy Whittaker and drummer Tim Thornton, jetted between seven cities in nine days after having received the Single of the Week slot from iTunes US. Since then, Fink has made special appearances with Nitin Sawhney at the 2006 Electric Proms, the 2007 Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, and throughout a 6-night sold-out run at London’s Jazz Café last December.

While the lyrics on Fink’s follow-up album, “Distance and Time,” retain his trademark tension and honest lines of observation, the record feels more sophisticated and somewhat larger than the last, book-ended by the strung out, softly spoken anger of “Trouble is What You’re In” and the grunting power chords of “Little Blue Mailbox.” Fink feels that was a direct result of this experience on the road. “We did ‘Biscuits for Breakfast’ completely backwards,” he explains. “It was recorded before we’d ever done a gig, while bands normally have to gig for a while before they get a record deal, then get into the studio. This time around we’ve been on the road for a year and the whole experience has given us some insight into what it takes to headline these places.” If you live in the UK, chances are you’ve heard lead single “This is the Thing” as it recently graced a primetime TV ad campaign for MasterCard. “It was weird to hear myself on telly,” Fink admits. “To think that three or four million people have hard your voice during Coronation Street is certainly a bit strange!”

“But for me, it’s really all about performing live. I DJ’d for years, so was totally used to going to a strange town, getting up on the stage, and spinning great records,” Fink explains, “but playing your own material has ten times the intensity, as people are judging not just the songs, but the performance and the vibe of the venue. The Zero 7 tour was really intense as they’d booked us after our fourth ever gig and we were performing in Shepherds Bush Empire on our fifteenth – somewhere all three of us had wanted to play at some point of our lives. That whole period was like being in a movie; a blur of Travel Lodges and sound checks. It fuel injected our ambition in much the same way that touring the US did for us, playing CMJ in a Brooklyn venue, our own sold-out headliner at Joe’s Pub in Manhattan, and SXSW where we followed The Rapture.”

“I’d already recorded a few new track ideas between putting out the last album and touring,” he continues. “Late last year we had a bit of space to think and began to work on some sketches, before Andy Barlow came on board to produce the record. He has a great pair of ears, and working with him really allowed us to concentrate on being musicians. Guy was able to just be amazing on bass, rather than also having to engineer. Tim was able to play rather than recreate a drum loop I’d written in my loft, while I could put everything I could into being the singer and the guitar player rather than fiddling around as a producer trying to make the bass sound deeper or the snare crisper.”

“With the last album, I was very conscious about making my emotions public, and it crossed my mind that I may have had a problem taking that forward. At first, I hoped my writing would become more abstract, in that I would be able to imagine scenarios and write about them, but I think that writing from real experience has to come from the heart, and that’s what people relate to. It’s not that I’m unlucky in love or anything,” he adds, laughing, “I just think that you go through so much when a relationship breaks down that there may be a song for each tiny nuance of emotion that you feel.” There’s a pause, as Fink takes a long drag on his cigarette, “Maybe I just think too hard.”

Grupo: Fink
Disco: Distance And Time
Año: 2007
Web oficial: http://www.myspace.com/finkmusic y http://www.finkworld.co.uk/fink/
Canciones destacadas: Blueberry pancakes, This Is The Thing y If Only

Minutos Musicales: Okkervil River

Estimados,
recojo los comentarios de la web 'Hipersónica', ya que el artículo que publican acerca del grupo que hoy os presento (Okkervil River) es mucho mejor de lo que yo os podría explicar.

"Los tres discos ya publicados de Okkervil River han situado al líder de la banda Will Sheff como uno de los compositores de más talento y menos apego a los convencionalismos musicales que pululan por la escena indie rock del momento. Situados desde hace años como uno de los mejores grupos poco conocidos del panorama internacional, el lanzamiento de su anterior Black Sheep Boy empezó a darlos verdaderamente a conocer, y este The Stage Names puede ser el empujón definitivo que necesitan.

Desde luego, por calidad no será, pues de eso el disco anda más que sobrado, y sin renunciar a esa particular forma de hacer música de que hace gala Will Sheff. Eso sí, como arrepintiéndose de lo deprimente y oscuro que resultaba su anterior trabajo, esta vez parece haber decidido dar algo más de alegría a sus oyentes. La mera portada del disco ya es una declaración de intenciones a ese respecto, dejando paso el negro dominante de la carátula de su anterior trabajo a la viveza del naraja y el amarillo de este diseño de William Schaff.

Tranquilos, que la autocompasión enfermiza sigue ahí, como muestra el tema de arranque Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe o la llorona A Girl In Port, pero intercalándose entre ellas otros temas que no buscan hundir en la miseria al oyente, como You Can’t Hold The Hand Of A Rock And Roll Man o la sencillamente genial Unless It’s Kicks, una canción tan buena que ya merece la pena oír el disco por ella sola.

Pero ya sea rozando el llanto o las ganas de dar palmadas, los temas que conforman este disco son verdaderamente buenos; me encanta esa forma que tienen de ir creciendo, poco a poco, a veces por medio de la voz cuajada de sentimientos de Will, a veces mediante las sencillas escaladas de piano, otras muchas veces a través de una solitaria guitarra acústica, y siempre con el estupendo trabajo de Travis Nelsen con las baquetas.

The Stage Names es un disco hecho para gustar desde la primera escucha, es un disco mediante el que no se ha buscado inventar nada, pero que tampoco se ha visto sujeto a ideas musicales preconcebidas. El cuarto álbum de Okkervil River no estará entre los más vendidos del año, ni lo intenta, pero estos nueve temas son buena música con todas las letras."

Grupo: Okkervil River
Disco: The Stage Names
Año: 2007
Web oficial: http://www.okkervilriver.com/
Canciones destacadas: Unless It's Kicks, A Hand To Take Hold Of The Scene, John Allyn Smith Sails, Plus Ones y Savannah Smiles

Minutos Musicales: King Creosote

Estimados,
aquí os dejo un par de temas de un disco que realmente me ha cautivado y que me ha hecho moverme para conocer más a su intérprete.

Kenny Anderson es el alma que está bajo este grupo (King Creosote). Anderson ha sido el cantante/lider de Skuobhie Dubh Orchestra y Khartoum Heroes. Realmente es un personaje muy prolífico, ya que ha publicado más de 24 albums y en la trayectoria con este grupo ya va por el cuarto. Muchos de estos CD-R han sido publicados por su propio sello "Fence Records".

En este sello esto es lo que se dice de él:

"In 1994, the singer / songwriter with Skuobhie Dubh Orchestra and Khartoum Heroes realised that an increasing number of his songs were either not folky / bluegrassy enough for the Dubhs, or had too few chords for the Heroes. King Creosote crowned himself to bring to the world - "songs with relatively few chords in a non-bluegrass style", except in those cases where "this song is an over-elaborate bluegrass ditty". In 2005, KC live might, fully clothed, only sport the accordion, with some rare guitar / banjo / box-playing from Pip Dylan of Spain, naturist and ogre of beauty.

King Creosote maintains that the song is more important than the style, and that the performance outweighs recording quality. If a part can't be recorded in one take, scrap it for something simpler. No sample should be longer than four seconds, and although samples should be in tune or in time, not necessarily both. King Creosote detests noodling virtuoso, and thus has a go on whatever instrument is at hand. Anyway, duff tunes strengthen the songs on either side. A KC album starts at the beginning, and don't finish 'til the end - by design. Except where they start in the middle and grow out of control."

"There are well-kept secrets, and there is Kenny Anderson. “Sooner or later bands always move to the city. It’s a mistake,” Anderson says firmly. Never a fan of the obvious nor the easy, the large musical brain behind King Creosote and the Fence collective still lives, where he was born and raised, in Fife. “Up here, there isn’t the competition between bands and their little scenes that you get in cities,” he says, noting that for many years King Creosote declined to play outside of his hometown, St Andrews. “I could never see the point in spending so much time and energy travelling far to try and impress so few people into buying my records. My career has been very slow and organic.”

If fame were a contagious disease, Anderson would have caught a severe dose of it years ago. From KT Tunstall perhaps, sometime backing vocalist in his first band from the mid 1990’s, the faux-bluegrass outfit, Skuobhie Dubh (pronounced Scoobie Doo) Orchestra. Or from his brother Gordon, founding spirit of The Beta Band, and now The Aliens. Or from his Fifer compatriots from Falkirk, the sex miserablists Arab Strap, or James Yorkston, one of Fence’s most affecting traditional voices, now signed to the mighty Domino label. He might even have developed a small taste for it from his father Billy, a professional accordion player with the internationally renowned Ceilidh band Albany.

But he never did. Instead Anderson has spent most of the past 20 years honing his musical craft and, since the demise of the S.D.O. in 1996, creating a catalogue of over 600 genius folk-pop tunes, most of which he has released as limited edition CD-Rs through the Fence label. Anderson started out as an accordion player, deeply intrigued by the manner in which Dexy’s Midnight Runners used traditional instruments such as his, “but not in a folk way.” Since then he has expanded his reach, assuming guises ranging from the canny indie rocker to the Highland balladeer.

Local Scottish media have picked up on the awesome quality of the Creosote sound, one reviewer calling it “the most sublime Scottish folk songwriting since Donovan.” When he isn’t polishing off another of his own songs on his home 8 track, he spends time encouraging other members of the Fence community - in the main, mates and family members from Fife who share his passion for music of genuinely independent spirit, and his fondness for quirky names. (The Pictish Trail, Midget Squid, HMS Ginafore etc.)

There have been numerous attempts in the past to winkle Anderson out of his cosy Scottish habitat. Domino’s Lawrence Bell spent time wooing the fence collective in their tiny seaside HQ of Anstruther before he hooked up with Glasgow’s Franz Ferdinand. The indirect result was 2003's Kenny and Beth’s Musakal Boatrides - Anderson’s 25th album and the first to find its way into the homes and hearts beyond the Fife area.

Things started to really motor in 2004 with the fabulous Rocket DIY album, after which Anderson finally agreed to raise the stakes. In 2005 he contracted KC’s music to the 679 label, a subsidiary of Warners, with grander designs than the stubbornly rustic boutique ethos of Fence. King Creosote’s first album for 679, KC Rules OK, followed later that year. Backed by label mates The Earlies, KC Rules OK earned widespread critical acclaim with The Telegraph hailing Anderson’s latest work as “edging towards classic territory” whilst Word agreed that “KC Rules OK is an emphatic KO.” Anderson was clearly making progress in moving from the realms of fringe-folk and into the mainstream.

King Creosote’s finest hour, the new album Bombshell, emphasises that change ever more dramatically. Either as an introduction, or as a further instalment in an extraordinary tale, this 13 track portfolio reveals everything you need to know about Anderson’s maverick musical personality - right down to the influence of brother Gordon, who helps out on several tunes. Opening with the first song he wrote as King Creosote - the sepulchral accordion-led Leslie - Bombshell is an album of every mood known to 21st century man. Highlights include the propulsive You’ve No Clue Do You, the best country rock highway driver the Eagles never wrote (“they couldn’t have managed the Fife accent nor the lyrical puns on Cluedo.”). At the other end of the Creosote spectrum is And The Racket They Made, a shimmering, hymnal duet sung by Anderson written by fellow Fencer HMS Ginafore. Between these polarities, there is menace aplenty in the title track, and a healthy slice of romantic self-mockery - Anderson’s default mode as a lyricist - in Cowardly Custard.

Listen harder and most of the songs here turn out to have their roots in KC’s Fife life : Church As Witness is based on an argument Anderson had whilst out cycling with his daughter. “Most of what I write is based on relationships with my family, friends, girlfriends ... It's emotions that seem to get me thinking.” And what a lot of thinking there is here too. At no point does the album repeat itself nor lose its wonderfully intricate plot.

“The idea this time around was to make the songs sound bigger, and more accessible,” is Anderson’s summary of his 2007 agenda. “I’m not leaving home, but I am getting out a lot more.” As he speaks, he has just returned from a gig in Brazil. For King Creosote the old ‘think local, act global’ mantra is fast becoming a reality. "

Grupo: King Creosote
Disco: Bombshell
Año: 2007
Web oficial: http://www.kingcreosote.com/
Canciones destacadas: Leslie, Home In A Sentence, You´ve No Clue Do You, There´s None Of That, Admiral, Cockle Shell y And The Racket They Made

Minutos Musicales: Irene

Estimados,
a este grupo ya lo debéis tener en vuestra lista de favoritos porque ya ha aparecido en varias ocasiones en Minutos Musicales: Irene.

Siguen realizando canciones de pop fáciles de digerir... llenas de sonidos alegres que contagian y que te sacan directo a la pista de baile. En este disco añaden algunas composiciones más lentas pero asombrosamente bellas ('Last forever') e incluso se atreven a cantar en frances....



"Irene grew into a full scale band quite spontaneously in 2005. The members are all friends from the local pub in Göteborg, Sweden. Some songs that Tobias Isaksson (aka Bobby) had written just couldn't wait to be performed live. The people that did the first show had so much fun that they wanted to stick around. By the autumn of 2005 Irene was an octet with semi-permanent members. Shortly after that the record label Labrador signed the band.

A critically acclaimed debut album called Apple Bay was released in 2006. It was an upbeat, super-short, 24 minute tribute to the 60's sound with most instruments recorded live. Apple Bay has been licensed in The USA, Australia, Thailand and Taiwan and distributed via Labrador's associates in countries all over the world.

In the spring 2007 tours of England, France, Spain and Germany made Irene aspire to take their music to a new level. The result was an almost perfectly executed, timeless pop trip of 27 minutes titled Long Gone Since Last Summer. Although the album is due in Sweden less than one year after the debut it displays a band with brand new qualities.

The members of Irene remain beach crooners, lounge punks and next door nice guys. "



Grupo: Irene
Disco: Long Gone Since Last Summer
Año: 2007
Web oficial: http://www.myspace.com/ireneswe y http://www.irene.nu/
Canciones destacadas: By Your Side, Last Forever, Looking For Love, Out Of Tune, Seaside y Some Kind Of Love

Minutos Musicales: Calexico

Estimados,
aquí teneis una banda que es bastante conocida: Calexico.

Calexico es un grupo estadounidense de indie y americana originario de Tucson, Arizona. Sus dos líderes, Joey Burns (voz y guitarra) y John Convertino (batería) comenzaron a tocar juntos en la banda angelina Giant Sand antes de fundar Calexico. El grupo se caracteriza por incorporar en su sonido una ecléctica variedad de música, destacando el folk del suroeste de Estados Unidos y del norte de Mexico combinado con rock independiente.

En su último disco que hoy os presento, se opta por el formato instrumental, dejando muchas de las composiciones al sometimiento único de los instrumentos... y yo la verdad es que lo agradezco porque sus composiciones ganan mucha fuerza llamemosle 'espiritual'. Si no os lo creeis comprobadlo con el tema 'Hair Like Spanish Moss'... un auténtico derroche de calidad extrema.

"Los orígenes de Calexico se remontan a 1990, cuando Joey Burns, por entonces estudiante de la Universidad de California, Irvine, se incorporó a Giant Sand como bajista, grupo en el que John Convertino tocaba la batería.

Giant Sand se trasladaron a Tucson en 1994, donde Burns y Convertino formarían parte de Friends of Dean Martinez, su primer proyecto paralelo que abandonarían en 1996. En el mismo año formarían Spoke, nombre que cambiarían por Calexico poco más tarde, alternando su presencia tanto en este nuevo proyecto como en su primer grupo Giant Sand.

Su primer disco, Spoke (1996), fue una edición limitada a 2.000 copias grabada para la compañía independiente alemana Hausmusik. Tras firmar con la compañía Quarterstick Records cambiarían su primer nombre por el de Calexico, reeditando su primer álbum un año después bajo el nombre definitivo del grupo.

En 1998 grabarían su segundo álbum titulado The Black Light, un disco inspirado en el desierto de Arizona y del norte de México que recibió excelentes críticas en la prensa musical. El grupo actuó como telonero de bandas como Pavement y Lambchop, así como en festivales repartidos por todo Estados Unidos.

Tras la grabación de Road Map (1999), un disco en directo de tirada limitada disponible únicamente en sus conciertos, editaron su siguiente álbum Hot Rail en 2000, en el que su sonido sufrió una evolución al incorporar instrumentos como violines, trompetas y trompas así como influencias de del jazz y la música mariachi. También contaron con la colaboración de la cantante francesa Françoiz Breut en la canción Ballad of Cable Hogue. Los miembros del grupo estuvieron ocupados durante este año con el disco de Giant Sand Chore of Enchantment, lo que no impidió que editaran otro trabajo en vivo que sólo se podía adquirir en sus conciertos, esta vez titulado Travellal.

A finales de 2000, la banda grabó un disco compartido con el dúo francés Amor Belhom Duo bajo el título de Tete a tete que salió a la venta en 2001. En el mismo año se editaron dos recopilaciones con material inédito de la banda; el primero de ellos fue Even My Sure Things Fall Through, reeditado posteriormente como Mariachi luz de luna y que incluía rarezas, caras B y remixes. El segundo, titulado Aerocalexico fue otro de los discos que edita el grupo para venderlos en sus conciertos.

Después de su álbum en directo The Scraping, en 2003 editarían su cuarto disco de estudio titulado Feast of Wire, con el que entraron por primera vez en la lista Billboard de discos más vendidos. La canción Güero Canelo incluida en este disco fue elegida para formar parte de la banda sonora de la película Collateral. Un año después saldría a la venta su primer DVD, grabado en el Barbican Centre de Londres bajo el título World Drifts In: Live at the Barbican.

En 2004 la banda contribuyó con la canción Burnin' Down the Spark a la reaparición de Nancy Sinatra con su disco homónimo. En este álbum, además de Calexico, colaboraron varios artistas que se declaran admiradores de la hija de Frank Sinatra , como Morrissey, Jarvis Cocker o Thurston Moore de Sonic Youth.

Un año más tarde grabaron un EP compartido con Iron & Wine bajo el título In the Reins que recibió una muy buena acogida por la crítica, además de conseguir entrar en el Billboard 200 y llegar al nº12 en las listas de éxitos independientes. Después de la grabación, ambos grupos comenzaron una gira conjunta para promocionar el disco. En el mismo año volvieron a colaborar con Françoiz Breut en algunos temas del álbum de la artista francesa titulado Une Saison Volée.

Su quinto trabajo oficial, Garden Ruin (2006) evidenció una vuelta a la americana de sus primeros trabajos, dando menos importancia a los instrumentos de viento y centrándose más en la parte vocal y las guitarras. También sería con diferencia su álbum más político, criticando en él la tragedia de la guerra y el patriotismo ciego de algunos sectores de su país. En la canción Roka contaron con la participación de la cantante malagueña Amparanoia, quien ya les había acompañado en sus giras como corista."

Grupo: Calexico
Disco: Tool Box
Año: 2007
Web oficial: www.casadecalexico.com/
Canciones destacadas: Hair Like Spanish Moss, Above The Branch, Departure in F Menor, In The Quiet y When Bellow Crack

Minutos Musicales: Eef Barzelay

Estimados,
aquí os dejo un par de temas de un músico americano nacido en Tel Aviv, Israel - Eef Barzelay. Quizá sea más conocido por ser el cantautor de la banda de country Clem Snide aunque ha formado parte de numerosas bandas de Boston e incluso ha realizado giras en solitario.

Acaba de publicar un disco que lleva su mismo nombre y lo vendrá a presentar el próximo día 18 en el Rockdelux Music Weekend.... con lo que habrá que ir a primera hora para ver a este estupendo músico.

"Clem Snide found fame when their song "Moment In The Sun" from their "Ghost of Fashion" Album was licensed to the NBC hit show "ED". Since then Clem Snide has released several more albums including "Soft Spot", "End of Love" and the "Suburban Field Recordings". They have appeared on Connan O'Brien, received rave reviews from Rolling Stone Magazine, and captured the hearts of many indie-rock lovers.

In 2006 Eef released his debut solo album entitled 'Bitter Honey'. In 2007 he composed many original tracks for the film "Rocket Science". In 2008 he is expected to release a second solo album featuring tracks which can be found on his myspace page."

Grupo: Eef Barzelay
Disco: Eef Barzelay
Año: 2007
Web oficial: http://www.myspace.com/eefbarzelay
Canciones destacadas: True Freedom, Apocaliptic Friend, Lose Big, Make Another Tree y Song for Batya