Weekly Three (31 May 2013)

Its been a crazy week, haven't even had time to think let alone post. To make up for it I'm going to throw in an extra song or two today. After all, one can never be too busy for good music.



The first of the songs for this week is by a band called Smoke and Jackal. Even though this song is a little older (Released in August 2012) I thought it was definitely worth a mention. Smoke and Jackal is a band consisting of Jared Followill, guitarist of the Kings of Leon, and Nick Brown from 'Mona'. The fact that it includes Jared is what made me the most excited about this song. Kings of Leon has always been a band whose music affects me on a very personal level, and it's been so long since they've released anything due to the bands hiatus so this finding this song was a great discovery. The press naturally assumed that because Jared embarked on this side project, that Kings of Leon had broken up. Thankfully he squashed these questions and statements, stating that the Kings would be working on a sixth studio album soon.
So song number one for today is:

'No Tell' by Smoke and Jackal.

The next song I feel deserves a mention this week is one of the strangest mash-ups of genres I've ever heard, by a group called C2C. They're a french DJ group, with four members. They've been in the business for nearly 15 years, but have only released one album, that they released in 2012. Clearly it worked for them though, as it went platinum. The song I've chosen from them today is off that album, and it is titled 'Down The Road'

C2C - Down The Road

Next, a song from a group that has been around for 20 years now, and has just released their newest full length studio album. Daft Punk needs no introduction, as it is a name that nearly every person on this earth knows, and knows to be the pioneers of electronic and house music over the turn of the century. They have released 4 studio albums, the latest being 'Random Access Memories' that was released on the 17 May 2013, and pays tribute to the dance music scene of the 1970's-80's. The album features collaborations with other well known artists, including Pharell Williams, in the song that people are probably familiar with off the album titled 'Get Lucky', and Paul Williams, in the third song I have decided to pos today, titled 'Touch'. The song has a very strange intro, but the song in itself is a brilliant example of how two artists from completely different musical scenes, genres, and eras can come together to make magic happen. Paul Williams, for interests sake, was 72 when they recorded this song.

Daft Punk-'Touch'

The last song/artist I'm going to speak about today, is South Africans very own, and my personal favourite local artist, Jeremy Loops (save the best for last right?) The reason for this is that he is on the verge of releasing his new EP, today in fact (31 May 2013), titled 'Tiding You Over'. Jeremy Loops is the most talented musician i have ever personally had the privilege of seeing live. For those who don't know the name, he is a 28 year old loop-pedal artist, from Cape Town, South Africa. If you who don't know what a 'loop pedal' artist is, it's when an artist records a range of different instruments, one after another, layering them together live, using a specialised 'loop' pedal. How one man can do this so effectively is beyond me, and the talent required to manage it is something I could only wish to have.
He has just returned from a highly successful tour to the UK and America. Occasionally, along with his loops, he has a few session musicians alongside him, namely M.O.Lecko, who adds a sense of lyrical genius with his crowd-pumping rap, and Jamie Faull who adds a slight jazz influence with his saxophone. All in all, Jeremy as both an artist, and a person, represents just how powerful the South African music scene can, and will be. Here are two of his songs, firstly one of his live collaborations with Jamie Faull, and secondly a song that will you a taste of just how good his loops can be.

Jeremy Loops - 'Howling at the Moon'

Jeremy Loops - Power

Weekly 3 - (20-26 May)

So I've decided that I'm going to keep my ear close to the ground, and make a list of the best and newest songs that I've heard during the week, and select my 3 favourites and introduce everyone else to them too. Even if the songs have been around for a little while, I've obviously just been slow, but a lot of people may not have had the opportunity to hear them yet either.

This week I've gone for a fairly mixed set of songs, starting with a band that I feel may one day rival Fall Out boy, a shaggy-haired Australian, and possibly one of the greatest bands of our current generation.

WHAT NOW

1. What Now is a band, that started in Ballito, South Africa.. Having grown up in this sunny seaside town, it was all sand, surf and sea for Tyron Layley, Ryan Morris and Adam Jenkins. In 2001 the 3 guys decided to leave the surf behind and start a band, playing at local skate parks and small events around the town. Unfortunately in 2005 they realised that they weren't getting enough out of the South African music scene and left for colder climates. 12 years later, they're based in London, with a new direction, and have just released their second full length studio album 'Move Like a Sinner'. 
The first song for this week is the title single from this album.
What Now - Move Like a Sinner

                                                             MATT CORBY

2. I owe the discovery of this next artist/song to a friend of mine who posted a link to this song on his Facebook page.  Matt Corby is a 22 year old Australian blues/folk Singer/Songwriter, whose career was jump-started when he was only 16 years old. This was due to the fact that he was the runner up in Australian Idols in 2007. Usually no one hears about anyone but the winner of any version of the Idols franchise, but rarely some very rare talent is discovered. My favourite example of a non-winning success story is that of Chris Daughtry, who is now a multi-award winning artist, but the discovery of Matt Corby might drop Chris down on my list. Matt has recorded four studio albums, his most successful being his fourth, titled  'Into the Flame' that went 5x platinum in Australia. The song that I was introduced to this week is titled 'Resolution' and it is his first single since the release of that album, and my second song for the week.
 Matt Corby - Resolution

                                                                     Biffy Clyro
3. Lastly, we come to a song that I'm very excited about, as it is the new single from one of my favourite bands of all time, Biffy Clyro. Biffy Clyro is a Scottish band that formed in 1995, and has released many successful studio albums, and have been nominated and won many awards since their formation. This single title 'Biblical' is the first off their newest album, titled 'Opposites' , and the reason I'm so excited about it is that it is the first offering by the band since their release of the album 'Only Revolutions' in 2009.
So finally, the third song for the week :
Biffy Clyro - Biblical

Passenger - 'All The Little Lights'

Passenger is becoming a very well known name, especially lately in South Africa with his song 'Let Her Go' getting massive amounts of AirPlay on the various radio stations. As good as the song is, it has nothing on what he has to offer in his album titled 'All The Little Lights'.

A bit of background into the man behind the passenger pseudonym:

Michael Rosenberg is a 29 year old artist from the UK, known as 'Passenger'. The reason for this is that it was the name of the band that he was both the lead singer and frontman of from 2003-2009. The band only released one album, and split up in early 2009. Rosenberg continued to pursue his passion as a solo songwriter and performer after the split up.

He has done the majority of his recording in Australia, and has worked with many independent musicians throughout the production of the four albums he has released. The most successful of these was his fourth album titled 'All the little lights' where his song 'Let her go' comes off. He released the album in February 2012, and it became a major success. It landed him the opportunity to open concerts for well-renowned artists such as Ed Sheeran, on his UK and North American tour. 

The album 'All The Little Lights' is full of delightful and entertaining folk-rock gems, and it is impossible to listen to it, and not smile. In a few of the songs he touches on a couple of sensitive issues, such as heartbreak and disappointment, but he approaches them in such a way that I could only describe as magical. Unlike the cliche sadness we are exposed to with so many artists, he puts a positive turn on these everyday events. For example in one of my favourite songs from the album, 'The Wrong Direction' , he sings about being afraid of rejection, and the lack of love in his life, but the upbeat tempo and catchy melody make it impossible to feel negative about it. 

Don't believe me? Watch this and see for yourself - Passenger- Wrong Direction

One of my favourite aspects of this album is the bonus acoustic album it came with, including incredible solo versions of  'Let Her Go', 'Staring At The Stars' 'Keep on Walking' and a couple of other songs from the main album. In my opinion, the acoustic versions are better than the versions with the band, but I've always been a fan of acoustic music. You decide for yourself. Here are the two versions of Let Her Go,
Acoustic - Passenger - Let her go (Acoustic)
Full Version - Passenger - Let Her go

This is one of my favourite folk albums I've heard, if not my favourite, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of good music.

Find him on twitter - @passengermusic
Or Facebook - Passenger Official

Jamestown Story

Jamestown Story

This is my first Blog, and hopefully the first of many to come, so give me a little bit of a chance!

I've decided to write it about Jamestown Story, as I've had his song "Ashamed" stuck in my head all week.

Jamestown story was an acoustic/alternative band from Nashville in the USA.I discovered them by chance the other day whilst browsing the Internet and I was immediately taken aback at how powerful and emotive their music is. The vocalist, Dane Schmidt , has an absolutely unbelievably meticulous and colourful voice, and is also an incredibly skilled guitarist.  He was the main member of the group, and had been since the beginning.  Jamestown story saw many members come and go, but Dane is now the solo member of Jamestown story. This hasn't slowed him or his career, and he continues to write and perform as an independent artist. 

''Ashamed'' is definitely my favourite song that he has written, I think because I can relate to the message in the song, and I know there are many people out there who can, and will relate to the lyrics as well:

'I don't know, how I got here,

I don't know, where I went wrong,

I'm the player that's aged,

And won't stay away cause,

I've been in the game for so long,

Another day, another way,

For me to finally make a change,

Another day, another slave,

But I'll keep trying,

I'm the player that's aged,

And won't stay away cause,

I've been in the game for so long,

Another day, another way,

For me to finally make a change,

Another day, another slave,

But I'll keep trying.'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEyOV7rACOQ

Dane has many influences that he draws inspiration from to write his music, ranging from Suicides to First Loves, and he has an incredible ability to portray these different emotions and events in his songs. He draws the listener in, and allows them to feel the emotions that he felt within himself while writing, and a lot of the messages in his songs hit very close to home.

He has an album up for free at www.noisetrade.com/jamestownstory, that is well worth a listen.

He also has a brand new album out on iTunes, among many other albums for sale.

Follow him on Twitter : @jamestownstory

Or on Facebook: 'Jamestown Story'