Great Combinations: Cat Power + Angel Haze + Ryan Hemsworth

I don’t think this combination could get any better.

Veteran indie-rocker songstress Cat Power‘s track, ‘Manhattan’, remixed by my latest favourite producer, Ryan Hemsworth, who threw in some verses by up and coming feisty female rapper Angel Haze. You know, just to spice things up. Are you ready?

 

I can’t get enough of these artists, and the combination of the 3 of them together is unexpected, lush and perfect. If you haven’t, I suggest you go download every remix Ryan Hemsworth has ever created. You will not regret it. Also, his latest EP is up for a free DL on his site and he’s playing a free show in Montreal two Saturdays from now. How could you not love the guy?

I’m back….with free downloads!!

Ah summer…..that wonderful time of year when all the crappy university students who tried to maintain blogs throughout the school year try to redeem themselves!

In attempt to make amends for my lack of posting, I present you with a gift: a free download of the New England synth rock band, Magic Man‘s EP, The Fox Den Demos.

I happened to find out about Magic Man in one of those strange ways. I had a new follower on Soundcloud. For some strange reason I always seem to dismiss bands that follow me on Soundcloud or Twitter, but after checking out Magic Man this attitude has changed completely.

Magic Man recently joined the Neon Gold / Columbus family, the same team that brought you releases from Passion Pit, Ellie Goulding and Marina & The Diamonds. 80s tinged vocals reminiscent of the Killers, and catchy courses laced with synth hooks showcase talent that may just be the next big thing in indie pop.

My personal favourite, Paris, a synth heavy number with huge builds and breaks and a chorus that just won’t leave my head, will definitely be on repeat this summer!

Visit Neon Gold’s blogpost on their newest addition to the fam to receive a link to download their EP.

Happy summer everyone 🙂

Emma

Shout Out Louds and Vinyl Made Out of ICE!

I know you’re looking for an explanation here. Vinyl….made out of ice?!

My mind is probably just as blown as yours. The creativity of musician’s is a beautiful, amazing thing.

I was just wondering the other day what happened to one of my favourite bands, The Shout Out Louds, as I haven’t heard of them much since ‘Tonight I have to Leave It’ in 2010. Well my friends, they are back. They are back with something called the ‘Blue Ice Record Project’.

10 of their luckiest fans receive a package with instructions on how to make a Shout out Louds record…out of ICE. Watch the video below.

The track itself has me giddy for the new album. It’s a different sound than their previous albums. Smoother, more mellow, but still loaded but still irresistibly Shout out Louds. Soundcloud link below as well.

Warning: watching this video may induce feelings of extreme jealousy over fans who received this package!!

 

Is it weird that I’m actually enjoying Mi-Cy’s older sister’s band’s new song?

I can’t tell.

 

I stumbled upon this when looking for a picture of the indie rock band, Freelance Whales. I was directed to a blog that said this has a similar sound to them, so I took a listen, and I really don’t see that at all, but was tempted to hear more.

It’s pure sugar-sweet highly produced pop, that’s for sure, but I kind of like it. It probably belongs in my guilty pleasure list.

Frank and Derol is the duo consisting of Mi-Cy’s older sis, Brandi Cyrus and Codi Caraco. Kind of reminds me of old school Fefe Dobson in a way. The whole EP is a little much, I find the high production gets in the way of the actual songs at times, but the track ‘Barely Love You Too’ showcases some poppy talent.

For fans of: Lights, Ellie Goulding

All I want to do is talk.

Two awesome songs about wanting to talk to someone but just not being able to. Not very new, but still relevant (for me at least!). First is from indie low-fi duo Big Deal, whose harmonies and honest lyrics ( All I want to do is talk, but seeing you fucks me up) armed with just two guitars, have me completely addicted to this track.

Second is from Toronto indie rockers, Born Ruffians. I absolutely love the melody – it’s just too good. I can’t get over their vocal arrangements either. Every time I think about the fact that they played here a couple months at POP Montreal and I missed them a little part of my heart dies.

Hope this helps. Because sometimes,  listening is so much easier than talking.

 

Latest Obsession: Work Drugs

Who is Work Drugs you may ask?

In case haven’t already heard of them, Work Drugs is the Philadelphia infectiously catchy dream pop duo founded by members Thomas Crystal and Benjamin Louisiana. Although the indie dream team, who describes themselves as,  ‘Philadelphia’s premier Bat Mitzvah and Quinceanera party band’, has been on the scene for a while, I just recently heard their remix of Bon Iver’s track ‘Beth/Rest’, and instantly needed to know more. When I visited their Sound Cloud  I was hit with that awesome feeling of absolutely loving every track. Fun, fresh and fast-paced, these guys will hit you with a much needed jolt of poppy perfection.

For fans of: Passion Pit, Naked and Famous, M83

Listen to their Beth/Rest remix here plus a couple awesome originals. Tigerbeats is their newest single, released this October.

Now if only the Philly band would venture north and play some Canadian shows already, I would be forever grateful!

Lana Del Rey + Active Child

New LDR and Active Child…..what could be better?

Despite whatever criticisms you may have of Lana, it’s pretty hard to deny she has one of the most unique, killer voices in pop music today. And this smooth Active Child remix of her newest single ‘Ride’ shows off her vocals so perfectly.

Del Rey’s new album, Born to Die: Paradise Edition comes will be released Nov.12th, and most of it’s already been leaked on Youtube.

Sit down and relax, get your headphones out, and prepare to hit the replay button again and again.

New XX Remixes

Winged or chained

I ask, would you have stayed?

Did I hold you too tight?

Did I not let enough light in?

This is the last verse of the British indie chill band the XX’s latest single, Chained, of their second album Coexist to be released this summer. Angels was the first single, released in July. Although the two tracks are an exciting preview for the album to come, it’s some of the remixes that have made their way to my top played section on my Ipod. As much as I love,love LOVE the XX, sometimes a good remix helps pick up their mellow sound. On their previous album, I found some songs really carried their own beats, like Heart Skipped A Beat and Islands, but these new tracks resemble slower numbers like Shelter, or Hot Like Fire. If you’re looking for something a little more upbeat, these track don’t necessarily stand on their own. So check out the Bodhi remix of Angels, a repetitive, catchy version that’s slightly addictive, and Panic City’s remix of chained, which takes the mellow single that transforms it into something I’d like to be drinking to on a Friday night.

Enjoy 🙂

Osheaga Review

Last week I got back from one of the most amazing weekends of my life: OSHEAGA!

Yes, I know. You’ve probably tired of hearing of the popular music festival, which is why I won’t drag this post on for too long, but I did  I couldn’t go without talking at least a little bit about it!

Although I would most definitely call myself a newcomer to music festivals, having attended Ottawa’s bluesfest since I was a wee lil child, I was shocked at the sheer number of people, bands and space at Osheaga. It was much bigger than anything I was expecting. As I’m used to seeing every single concert, and being in front row for nearly every one too, once I arrived at the Montreal festival I realized I was in with the big leagues, and every one there was just as a serious concert goer as I was. Nevertheless, I still managed to get front row for a couple of awesome bands, namely, my favourite of the weekend, The Arkells.

Despite being a smaller, indie band from Hamilton, ON, The Arkells just blow me away every time I see one of their shows. There’s something about their energy on stage that confirms, without a doubt, their status as winner’s of CBC’s Best Live Act award. The crowd at Osheaga was wild, singing every lyric, jumping away to the beat, and ofcourse, crowd surfing. It was by far my favourite show, despite the fact I’d already seen them that winter at Divan Orange in Montreal.

That night, while most festival goers were heading to the main stage for Snoop Dogg (or Snoop Lion as he’s now apparently called – this became the joke of the weekend) our gang heading over to the ‘Picnik Electronique’ stage to catch some of Little Dragon’s set, a swedish 4-piece band, before the dubstep duo Adventure Club headlined the night. Little Dragon’s lead singer Yukimi Nagano was AMAZING, with her petite pixie-like frame contrasting a deep, soulful voice that drove the show as she pounded away on the tamberine and other percussive instruments. I originally thought the band’s music was that of the ‘indie-chill’ genre, and the crowd would be quite tame, but Little Dragon picked up the temp in the second half of the set. By the time they were done, the crowd was perfectly pumped up for the last show of the night. 

While I’d only heard a few of Adventure Club’s remixes, like the Crave You and Foxes’ Youth remix, from the start of the night, I could tell it was going to be a great show. The crowd had a certain energy to it, and went crazy as the duo spun their favourite remixes. I managed to discover some new remixes I hadn’t yet heard, like Gotye’s overplayed ‘Somebody That I Used to Know’, which was given a fresh new twist by pumping life into the once slow number.

Other highlights of the weekend included: Florence and the Machine, Yukon Blonde, M83, Black Keys (couldn’t catch all of them – so sad), Young the Giant, Of Monsters and Men, Fun., Justice and Yeasayer! There are so many others shows I could rave about but this blog post would turn into an essay, so I’ll just end this off with saying that it was an awesome festival – and everyone should make it out to an Osheaga at least once in their life! I’ll definitely be there again next year 🙂

Indie Olympics

Happy Olympics Everyone!

I will admit that I do find it a little difficult to get into the Olympic spirit everyone seems to exude so easily this time of year. Maybe it’s the fact that I don’t have cable or have never really been a big sports fan. Nevertheless, there is something I do love about the whole world coming together to compete, and the opening ceremonies are a perfect testament to that. Although this year’s had some bizarre moments, from the re-enactment of rural England to the modern skit on social media and how it influences love (what on EARTH does that have to do with the Olympics I have no idea), it was a visual masterpiece.

To kick off the 2012 London Olympics I present to you and Olympic themed tune entitled “Olympiske Leker” by Norwegian Synth-Pop Band Casiokids. In celebration of the games the band is giving this track away for free on their Soundcloud page (that’s right I said FREE!). Click here for link. I’ll also post below so you can check out the adorable animation video that accompanies the track 🙂

GO CANADA GO!!!!