Laura Halo is a solo artist of Brooklyn. She composes and performs with a style I have yet to hear before. Laurel Halo's sound has been fascinating me as of late. A blend of ambient trance, harmonic vocals and new age psychadelia, it's eclectic, electric aura transcends higher dimensions. Below is Cult of Optimism, a track from the Ambrosia EP. Cult of Optimism - Laurel Halo Two EPs have so far been released, 'The Future Fruit' and 'Ambrosia' which can be heard on last.fm . I'll be sure to feature any future Laurel [...]
Thom Yorke's latest single was released today. A-side, 'Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses' has been knocking about since the 'Amnesiac' era whereas Yorke says that 'The Hollow Earth' was "a bass menace that was born out of The Eraser period but needed a little more time.” The single definitely sounds distinctly Yorke. Chaotic and dark, yet strangely danceable. It looks like it's only going to be released as a 12 inch vinyl and as a digital download which w.a.s.t.e will no doubt make openly available soon enough anyway. In the meantime, here's the A-side at 320kbps (click link for [...]
Kieran Hebden, the man behind Four Tet started out musically in the rock band Fridge. But when he moved on to his solo project, his stylings changed to something truly unique. To me his music is an organic take on the electronic genre. Four Tet's tracks are completely instrumental but unlike most electronically manipulated music, have a heavy emphasis on live instrumentation. Four full length albums were made between 1999 and 2005; Dialogue, Pause, Rounds and Everything Ecstatic as well as a Remixes album and a fairly recent EP, Ringer. I've put in two mp3's below [...]
One eskimO are a four piece indie rock band from London, and despite a small fan base their music is a unique melodic mix of funky soft riffs and powerful vocals. One eskimO are a band accompanied by animation created by Passion Picture, the team that brought us Gorillaz, each member of the band is represented by a cartoon character, a penguin, eskimo, giraffe and a comical monkey. The animation is always shown at their live performances on a large screen behind the band and the music is the soundtrack to the film giving their performances a unique modern take [...]
David Mahler, the same guy behind Savage Sparrow has just finished making this music video for the Norwegian band Firefly Effect. He says it's taken him "Four months and about 1,640 hand drawn and water coloured frames". Seriously impressive stuff and well worth your eye time. Subscribe to his blogspot .
Although I couldn't care less for any of the artists involved in this incident, I thought it worth mentioning for the fact that this will no doubt cause a dent in the career of one of the most popular musicians of this time. Viacom are taking down all of the youtube videos of this incident so I haven't bothered to include one. Kanye West entered the VMA stage whilst Taylor Swift was giving her acceptance speech upon winning the award for the best female video. West took the mic from Swift and with the same logic and elegance [...]
Copenhagen’s retro soul pop stars 'The Asteroids Galaxy Tour' are back with a new single 'The Golden Age' and a new album to follow 'Fruit'. The album is a woozy musical delight of happy soul and kaleidoscopic pop triumphs with a psychedelic blend of retro funky beats and brass band mayhem. Since fronting the Apple iPod Touch advert worldwide with song 'Around the Bend' and having their tracks featured on US TV shows, the band has gone from strength to strength. 'Fruit' is full of catchy, sing-a-long choruses, and includes singles 'Around The Bend', the 'Golden Age' as [...]
The Avalanches are an interesting Melbourne act who released their debut album 'Since I First Met You' way back in 2000. What's so interesting about them is that this album was put together from around 3,500 samples taken from old vinyl records. What you get is a very unusual listening experience. A fluid album in which the tracks blend together seamlessly with a surrealist edge and the feeling that... "I'm sure I've heard that before somewhere". Radio - The Avalanches Tonight May Have To Last [...]
Portland’s Hockey are set to release their debut album 'Mind Chaos', it’s a consistent record that blends chunky beats, razor-sharp lyrics and a whole lot of soul. For men with such chaotic minds, the band has channelled many influences into this album from Tom Petty to Michael Jackson to LCD Soundsystem. Mind Chaos is a witty pack of literate songs you can dance all night to, especially single 'Learn To Loose' where vocalist Ben Grubin combines a vocal soulfulness and vulnerability with an arch raising eyebrow wit which is irresistible. Embracing an urge to mix the rhythmic sharpness [...]
"Raw, unpolished, and disarmingly personal, 'Woe is Me' the debut release from indie-folk newcomer Peter Squires is a sweet and sincere portrait of a young man recovering from heartbreak. Recorded in his Brooklyn bedroom, Squires' songs cathartically express lovelorn despair with refreshing humor and self-awareness. Like the best work of Morrissey and Magnetic Fields, Peter Squires keeps things playful while he breaks your heart." Peter Squires is making his album available for free. Download link here . (clicking starts a .zip download) Woe Is Me - Peter Squires
Newton Faulkner, the acoustic guitar virtuoso returns with his eagerly anticipated second album 'Rebuilt By Humans'. In this album Faulkner’s beautiful voice ranges from bluesy croon to falsetto howl and it hasn’t sounded better. First track and single 'This Is It' was one of the earliest songs he wrote for the album – a elated hymn to the joys of giggling. The album title makes reference to Newton’s near career-ending accident on Boxing Day last year when he slipped on ice and fractured and dislocated his right wrist. His injury forced the postponement of his UK tour and [...]
Afrobeat, Blues, Folk, Funk, Hip Hop, Reggae and Soul. Nicholas Kopernicus are an instrumental duo from Brooklyn made up of pianist/producer Jason 'classicbeatz' Minnis and guitarist/songwriter Seon Gomez. Their tracks also feature a selection of live instrumentalists such as flautist Brandy Means as heard on 'Candle Dreams' (below). The debut album 'Audiocentric' has just been released in shops and soon to be available as a download. "A modern journey through music of the African Diaspora." Candle Dreams - Nicholas Kopernicus [...]
The First Days of Spring is the new album from Noah & The Whale, and is one of the most beautiful records you will hear this year. The album comes accompanied by a film, directed from the band’s lead vocalist Charlie Fink and starring model Daisy Lowe, which runs the length of the album. Both the album and film are filled with huge emotional power, complexity and impact. The album opens with the 7 minute long, epic title track, and sets the tone wonderfully. The First Days of Spring - Noah and the [...]
Sophie Stratford is an up and coming music journalist. She writes gig reviews and they actually get put on paper. Her website with a collection of pieces she has written can be found here and she keeps a blogspot blog . Sophie Stratford is going to start contributing a few pieces to Indie Music Finds so hopefully the blog won't be as sparse as it has been as of late.
I've sworn by these earphones for over a year now. I'm pretty sure they're the best around for value (correct me if I'm wrong). They cost £13 in the U.K (from Play.com ) with free delivery. They're about the same in $ on Amazon.com too. The frequency range is 20-20kHz which I've been told is very good. They just sound amazing though, there's so much depth and the fitting is so perfect that you can hear very little of the outside world. Therefore you don't really need to play your music that loud and you don't [...]
High Above The Storm are a London based band formed in 2004. It revolves around the two core members Jason Emberton and Louis Warner who then incorporate their musician friends into their tracks such as Crawford Blair, a bassist. They have a solid, rock sound with enough synth and effects to keep their tracks interesting. A few sample tracks are available for download here . (clicking starts a .zip file download) Their first album will be self titled and is due to be released on 29/08/09. It can be pre-ordered here .
Galway-based four piece band Disconnect 4 will be releasing their first EP 'Modern Love' this June. They've built a solid reputation as one of the brightest upcoming bands in Ireland. They are also playing an accompanying tour in Ireland and London. They gigged heavily in 2008/09 and know how to put on a good live show. Described by Hotpress as "A Foal-esque indie band who combine strong vocals and catchy riffs" , their synth based indie-pop tunes are regularly played on major UK and Ireland radio stations and were named by CMU as Band of the Month [...]
Roses Kings Castles new EP 'Apple and Engines' was released on 10/08/09. Adam Ficek is the man behind this act, he is also the drummer for Babyshambles but Roses Kings Castles is a way for him to experiment with his own ideas and material. A selftitled album was also released in September '08. Where's Your Life Gone - Roses Kings Castles Apples and Engines was released on 73 vinyl and CD. It's four tracks long, 'Some Things are Better Left Unsaid', 'Where's Your Life Gone', 'You Alone A Mess' and Tozek remix of [...]
Moof is a new browser based media library designed by the same man behind dailybooth , Jon Wheatley. It's still in it's early stages at the moment so expect more features to be added in the future. The main idea to this platform is to make the music social with the ability to send playlists to your friends. It also serves as a way to back up your iTunes library. You can export it as an .xml file and upload it to moof to have the ability to access it where ever you are. Moof [...]
Hot Horizons are a duo of two brothers from the U.K. They have a futuristic pop sound with light computer generated beats and some spacey background guitar licks. Jake, 20, does the vocals, lyrics and co-writes the music and Rory, 17, is behind the synths, guitar and production I'll Be There - Hot Horizons They're putting the final touches on their debut EP at the moment and you can hear another of their tracks, "White Clouds" on their myspace .
Indie Music Finds
![[Four Tet] Painting : New Life](http://cdn.elbo.ws/youtube/gU4P9aAQK2c_130.jpg)
New Diarrhea Planet – “Separations”
Sexy Track // “Devil Or Angel” // Lou Doillon
