Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Say Blue! second part.

When I wrote the Blue post #1 I found so many things that I promised myself I would return on that and write a second part. Here it is. There's a lot of new stuff on Bandcamp with Blue nuances and titles, mostly with an hip-hop heart and an electronic mind. Here we go:


If you read the presentation of this album you'll find that this is "sonic stimulation to inspire human contact, in any medium". I couldn't add anything else.


On the same wave length this album is a bit more electric, and has some vocals too. Hip-hop inspiration and a dark-blue atmosphere. Freshly released.


Liquid inspiration for this chilly and fresh album. Lots of electronics and guitar effects for a very fascinating and relaxing product.


This is an EP made by a Portugal based artist armed just of a guitar and a nice voice. Generally speaking this is not the music style I like most, but there's something in those tracks that captured me, so I thought it could capture someone else. Smooth and gentle.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Prince and his court.

I've always loved Prince. I was in my early teens when I started listening to him and I never stopped. He's a genius of our times. Capable of changing, adapting, exploring without losing his identity. You can say it's a Prince tune just after the first three notes. This can happen only with the big ones.
And here are some fresh versions of my favourite songs.

Prince - If I was your girlfriend (Leo's Detroit remix) by leonidas
Leonidas is terrific in this tune! He preserved the original sexy vibe and gave it an irresistible dance feeling. Too cool.

Alex Clare - When Doves Cry by Alex Clare
Making a Prince cover is not an easy thing. But this is really really good. There's not emulation intent here, just a great voice and a beat that makes you move even if you don't want to. Bravo Alex!

PRINCE VS DJ HOOKS VS OLD SCHOOL(DJ HOOKS OLD SCHOOL MASH UP) by DJ HOOKS

Two mashups of the same tune. Kiss, one of the most popular, most played, most covered. Mashed up like that is twice the pleasure.

MTV Mash 2009 - Sexy Kiss Machine (James Brown vs Prince) by Rock_Mashups

Eventually I couldn't help to include here one of my favourite songs in one of my favourite versions. If you don't know it yet, you gonna love it.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Accents of: women voices

The magic of a voice sometimes it's what makes the real difference between a good track and a piece of art. I think, for instance, to jazz standards and how much they're connected to the voices who sang them. There are classic tunes that we hardly can separate from the voices who made them popular: Summertime and Ella, At Last and Etta James, The man I love and Billy Holiday, just to say few names.
I was looking for new voices. Something that really could move me in the deep. Not so easy, actually, because there's this instinct of emulation that often flattens the voices to something already heard. But sometimes there's that different something...



Julia Biel has an enchanting voice, soft, but capable of that little rawness that makes it way more interesting. And she knows exactly what she's doin' with it. The entire album is absolutely beautiful.


A totally different atmosphere with this female group. Funky and soul of the best, with beautiful vocals and all the rhythms that it takes.


The reason why I like this brasilian artist is that, unlike the majority of "bossa nova" style singers, she has kind of a strength in her voice that makes her totally personal and recognizable. And all the tunes are extremely nice.


This artist has a warm and strong voice grown in gospel choirs and disciplined on jazz tunes. This album is a nice collection of popular covers and original tracks in acoustic versions.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Traveling: Haiti

Poor Haiti. Beautiful Haiti. Sometimes it's impossible to understand why everything happens on the same place at the same time. But I don't want to begin an useless speech about politics, and misery and so on... I want to look forward, and try to give a sound of hope and possibly happiness to that incredible island. There's a strong spirit inside haitian people, there's the caribbean ability to stand up and laugh even in the worst events, there's this sense of uncertainty that makes present, here&now, the most important thing in the world. And there's music. Caribbean. Ca va sans dire...


Eleven tunes that say a lot about Caribbean fusion and influences. Tons of Africa and a pinch of latin. Fresh and light.


Hip-hop and politics to promote the cause of democracy in Haiti. Various artists in different ways linked to the island rap to explain why development and welfare of people must pass through rights and democracy.


Another artist that express the meaning of "creolness". Pop, hip-hop and latin in a nice mix.


Another way to represent Haiti from the outside. This artist has haitian parents, has born in the States, and lives in Australia... Absolutely creol.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Mixtapes:#6

I really enjoyed this mixtape. The Dj is Fatoosan, a girl from the Supafly female collective, based in Belgium.
This mix is a journey in hip-hop, nu-soul world, in different languages (japanese, english, french...) extremely well balanced and totally cool.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Gaga Pride, day after.

Not that I like Lady Gaga, just to be clear. But, come on, it's almost impossible not to notice her! So, I live in Rome, and yesterday the city was invaded by people, gay or not, and part of them were surely there to see Gaga on stage. I did.
I still don't like her. So today I thought that maybe I could find some different way to sound Gaga and make her better. Did I succeed? Still don't know.

Lady Gaga - LoveGame Tune In Crew Remix by TuneInCrew
Original remix made one year ago, but I find it's far more beautiful than the original song. Love the sticks ;)

Lady Gaga - Bad Romance (Hedorah RMX) by Hedorah
I like dubstep, and when I tried to listen to the Gaga version of this song I didn't go over the first 15 secs. This one... another story.

You know i'm no gaga (ft. amy winehouse & lady gaga) by DJ RED i (r&b mash-ups)
Gaga and Winehouse, could you believe it? Well, misteriously it works.

Madonna vs. Lady GaGa - Express Yourself This Way by Undercurrent_Bootleg
This is kinda obvious... Two pop queens, fashion stars, sex icons, all mashed-up. This shot was easy, but somehow enjoyable.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Accents of: Percussion

When I started my research for good percussion albums I realized that my start was at least too vague. Percussions? There are thousands of different percussive instruments, almost everything can be beaten and used as percussion! And also, ethnic and geographical differences make this query even more generalist. So I thought I could narrow my field and make one different post for some of the most important percussions played around the world. Then I decided to go back and be general, for once. For different reasons: 1- not all the instruments I had in mind are well represented in the albums I found 2- more interesting putting different accents altogether and compose some kind of percussive journey. So, here we go:


This is quite an old album, but it resumes everything I had in mind when I started looking for percussions on BandCamp. The author is Louis Cesar Ewande, specialist of Djembé and mandingue percussions. In this album he creates a fusion between african atmosphere and jazz moods, which he developed in the newest creation that you can also find all around webstores.


Take a very big pot. Put in it a bag of afrocuban rhythms, a piece of brasilian sounds, a pinch of reaggae and add fluid electronic and house in large quantity. Mix well. Shake. And this is what you'll get.


Sometimes we forget that percussions are not an exclusive of Africa and african derived populations. There's so much to know about East. These guys took the ukranian traditional music, with all its folkloric intruments, and dip it into modernity using electronic, adding different influences. Definitely interesting and original.


I wanted to inlude a tabla album in this selection and I found it extremely difficult. There are tons of possible choices on BandCamp, but I think that tabla are a little bit "overused" and "missused" just to give music that chillout and ambient touch that I personally can't stand. So I choose one of the purest albums I found to pay honour to an amazing instrument by itself.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Accents of: Classical music

I think that loving music means being open minded and curious. In this perspective, persons who really love music can't be fans in the very sense of this word. Of course you'll have a favourite kind of music, a favourite album, band, song... whatever. But I'm pretty sure that people who really like music they all listen to classical music. Don't you? There's place for classical all around the Web. And classical has its stars, fans, divas and all the stuff we're used to know in rock-pop system. BandCamp has its classical rooms too:


Li Lu has all it takes to be a star. She's talented, beautiful, charming. She plays her cello with a good mix of passion and intellect. And I love Bach too.


I chose this album among a huge number of classical works not only because these are two of my favourite pieces for piano ever, but also 'cause I've been fascinated by the musician that plays here. Take a look to Tomas James Slater site, and you'll know why.


This is a very beautiful orchestral album. The violin voice is Vera Vaidman's, an artist born in Russia, now living in Israel. Two tracks are directed by Zubin Metha, which I take for great quality warrant. The others are less known pieces written by Edward Elgar, a romantic english composer (1857-1934).


Classical music didn't die in 19th century! There are still composers that work on it and produce some extraordinary pieces. Boris Skalsky is another one-of-the-kind personality and this work is really amazing.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Traveling: Portugal

Just a little strip of land between the continent and the Ocean. A frontier. That's Portugal, a long border between the old and the new world. And as all the frontiers an incredibly rich, and mixed country with an enormous history, and a future all to define yet.
Musically speaking, I think there's a lot to know about Portugal. Let's try a start:


This artist and his guitar can create atmospheres that change as fast as the sky over the Atlantic ocean. I loved it. Free download.


An album of pure jazz, composed by a bass player, a musician that express all the influences of the Iberian peninsula and its strong relationship with other frontiers like Cuba, Mozambique, Angola. His music is original and yet classic. Can't miss it.


A superfresh release (it says tomorrow?). This album reminds me somehow of Tuck&Patty. Guitar and voice in first plan, beautiful songs, soft atmospheres, but in a completely portugues key. Free download.


This project is part of a group of albums that intend to preserve and make circulate the music of Azores islands. These little pieces of Europe lost in the middle of the Atlantic ocean are kind of a mistery to most of the people. Discovering the traditional music of the islands is like opening a little window on a secret waiting to be unveiled.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Jamaica rules: SeanPaul & Rihanna

Maybe it's this summertime sky, maybe the colour of the beach I see out of my windows. I feel like I need caribbean sounds, and I remembered Sean Paul and how much I danced on Shake that thing. Remember that? Now Rihanna comes out with the new Man Down thing...
And that's what djs out there think about them:

Dreadsquad & Sean Paul - Temperature Screw Dem (Da Vibz Remaker Mashup) Free Download Link by Dreadsquad
Syncopated mashup for bikini parties! Listen with a mojito or piña colada in your hands and sunscreen on your skin.

More Rude Boy (Stelmix vs. RedOne Jimmy Joker 3' Mashup ROUGH EDIT) by MixmstrStel
Rude Boy as you didn't hear it. And Usher... if you missed that touch.

Beyonce ft Sean Paul Vs Missy Elliott - Supa Dupa Baby Boy (Robin Skouteris) by Mixes and Mashups #10
I love the way Skouteris works with tracks. He always manage to take out of popular tunes something totally new and irresistible. Try to stay still while listening...

Rihanna vs Laura Branigan - Pon De Replay (Rock_80's Dance Mix\Mashup) Dj's Elbarto & Liam B. by Mixes and Mashups #2
Everytime I see Rihanna I can't help to think about the 80's. And after I heard this...

So Fine Ft Sean Paul (Engine-EarZ Experiment Remix) by Engine-EarZ Experiment
This is a "bonus track". I always pick 4 choices, but could I leave this one behind?

The Beast goes on Suite

I actually did not "digged" this album. I had a hint from a musician of one of the Salsa bands I talked about recently. He told me to take a look, I did, and here it is.
This Suite is a 12 tracks work very very heterogeneous that could vaguely go under the name of jazz. So many quotes and influences are mixedmashed in this album that it's totally useless to try and cathegorize it.
This is a case when I feel a little stupid talking about music. Listening tells it all.