Stornoway

Unlike the members of Stornoway Jools and I have been to Lewis, and I thoroughly recommend the trip to to the band. But I digress… we are here today to recommend Stornoway (thats the band) to you.

According to their web presence….

The band consists of an Ornithologist, a wannabe Russian translator, a South African Pirate Captain, a human radio and a kitchen sink. They were first united in a snow-encrusted garage in Oxford and have since attracted the attention of Dr & Mrs Killjoy the neighbours and their android children. None of the band have ever been to Stornoway. But Brian once got to within 37 miles of it.

For me their songs are haunted by a Celtic feyness, they seem to harken back to other times and other places. Have a listen to “Here Comes The Blackout” or “Fuel Up” over at www.myspace.com/stornoway, they are both wonderful songs and I might add both still on my MP3 player after several months.  The melodies are insidious as is the apparently simple production and instrumentation.  But don’t kid yourself, this is wonderfully crafted pop / folk. The vocals are lavished with such attention, you can’t help but hear the lyrics and stories the band want to tell.

And they are good stories… Highly recommended

Website at www.myspace.com/stornoway

Here is their ReverbNation player

Autopilot For Lovers

Time for some of my favourite category – hard listening. Autopilot is for Lovers are awesome. Now I will be first to admit that you are unlikely to see the charms of this outfit on the first listen. BUT you really need to persevere.

Adrienne Hatkin,(the lead vocalist) has a voice that will stop you in your tracks. Her performance is so direct and intense. It takes some getting used to.

It’s not just the voice though it’s the range of styles that the band wander through.  These guys obviously have a low threshhold of boredom,  “Whale Belly” is dramatic and darkly romantic,  full of accordion and really interesting lyrics,. “Come Now”  (this is my fave) has more classical and melodic instrumentation,  with a gorgeous piano middle eight, “Pine Box Town” is heading out in to the territory you usually find grunge, and the intro to “Bones” sounds like it could be a Pete Seeger  folk song.

Hatkin describes her music to co-workers as “indie-rock blues with some Balkan folk inspiration”

So, a bit of work required but Recommended

Websites at www.myspace.com/autopilotisforlovers and www.autopilotisforlovers.com/

Kiss The Mistress

Kiss The Mistress caught my ear by surprise. All the more so because they don’t have a guitarist. I truly find their music quite startling.

The tune “Priddy Pookah” which romps along in 7/8 time, is a prime example. This puppy slips and slides , the ideas wander in and out and it never sits back and lets you get complacent. I gotta tell you I really love this one. Head over to www.myspace.com/kissthemistressuk and have a listen.

Here are their bios…

JOHN RAMIREZ
John’s unique style of playing crosses the boundaries between melodeon and accordion, and has strong roots in his earlier rock band experiences as a young ‘un. His pulsating pumping bellows takes the music out of folk niceties into places where squeeze boxes seldom go! He frequently gathers curious onlookers going “how does he do that?”

GINNY DAVIS
Ginny started playing folk ‘cello as a teenager with a ceilidh band until she was replaced by a set of bass pedals! Throwing off her classical discipline at college she explored improvisation and jazz voice. She finally returned to her youthful passion for folk music and combined voice and ‘cello, which took considerable amounts of practice! As well as the usual ‘cello qualities, her playing also includes dirty bass lines and ‘cello slapping that makes full use (or sometimes abuse) of the instrument range

ROY JONES
The brilliant young musician Roy, plays with a maturity and flair rarely found in one so young. Influenced by the great John Joe Kelly, he has developed his style to include more unusual time signatures on both cajon and bodhran. A frequent show stealer, he usually has a cluster of adoring fans around him after each gig asking for lessons! He is well known in East Anglia having won awards for best young folk musician at national folk festivals

Kiss The Mistress performing live at High Barn, Braintree in March 2008. The tune is Geamparua a Bulgarian Wedding Dance. Bad video, good audio.

I believe that they are looking for a guitarist and whoever they get, he is really going to be really really good. Even if they never add one, trust me Highly Recommended is just an opening bid.

Websites at www.kissthemistress.co.uk/ and www.myspace.com/kissthemistressuk

Da Camera

I hadn’t been to Magnatune for a while ( along while as it turns out. But I was looking something baroque-ish (don’t ask) and found Da Camera: Celtic Renaissance/Baroque Ensemble, who as it turns out , were just what I was looking for.

Da Camera is a versatile ensemble, crossing the line between ‘early’, ‘folk’ and ‘contemporary’ music. Their programmes range in repertoire from the passamezzi of the 15th century, via traditional Celtic and English music, through the baroque, to newly-commissioned works. Three new works have been commissioned by them to date. All members of the recorder family feature alongside many different sizes of viol with harpsichord or organ accompaniment.

They have just recorded their first CD on their own Da Camera label of Scottish and Irish Baroque and Traditional music, entitled A Celtic Celebration. The first track of the album is Carolan’s Concerto and it just wonderful, light bright and infectious. I have always loved it since the first time I heard it played ( it was a band I was mixing for, just whistle and guitar)

But the track that really hooked me was The Fairy Queen (it’s track two), it shows the depth of talent that this band has, and this is the track I ended up using on the MP3 player.

The album is a gem and Magnatune have this spiffy little player that will let you hear it all.

A Celtic Celebration by Da Camera

Highly recommended (as is Magnatune – they have a whole bunch of new material to check out)

Website at magnatune.com/artists/da_camera

Vetiver

Vetiver is an American folk band headed by songwriter Andy Cabic and often joined by Devendra Banhart, cellist Alissa Anderson, drummer Otto Hauser, violin Carmen Biggers, guitarists Kevin Barker and Sanders Trippe, bassist Brent Dunn.

AND

They are really really really annoying. I have been listening to them for a couple of weeks now and I can’t make up my mind whether they are merely good or brilliant.  A friend of mine put me onto them and I really don’t know whether thank her or not. Sorry folks, but you are going to have to sort this one out for yourself.  Head over to www.myspace.com/vetiverse and play anything you find there.

I am 99% sure they are brilliant – and if you like Devandra Banhart or Vashti Bunyan  you will probably like them.

If you like Devandra Banhart or Vashti Bunyan  you will probably understand what the problem is, the different styles, directions and unexpected twists. It’s like driving along a wiggly coast road – you have no idea what is coming next but it’s usually breathtaking. Sometimes flat but usually just brilliant.

The band is named after the grass, vetiver. Their music has been described as ‘surreal’, ‘lullingly pleasant’, ‘tender and accessible’ and ‘quirky and warm’.

Try this video…

Throughout the band’s existence, Cabic has toured the world extensively both in his own right as leader of Vetiver as well as serving as guitarist and singer with his longtime friend Devendra Banhart’s various touring ensembles. And, in January 2009, in a personal and professional highlight, he will be producing Vashti Bunyan’s forthcoming new album.

Highly Recommended

Websites at www.vetiverse.com/ and www.myspace.com/vetiverse

Glen Hansard is the lead singer with the influential Irish Indie rock band called the Frames who have been around since 1990. He also has an ongoing collaboration with Czech singer and multi-instrumentalist Marketa Irglova called Swell Season. It is from this collaboration that the 2008 Oscar winning song Falling Slowly comes.

The track is from the 2007 album Swell Season and their personal story inspired Once “the modern day musical set on the streets of Dublin. The film tells the story of a street musician and a Czech immigrant during an eventful week as they write, rehearse and record songs that reveal their unique love story”. The songs were written by the pair and they also starred in the movie.

A couple of places to find their music:
The Swell Season on Myspace
The Swell Season website
Worth a listen, recommended.

Freak Kitchen

Freak Kitchen is a heavy metal/hard rock band from Sweden, they fired up in the early Nineties and kept the same line up until 2000 when the rhythm section was replaced.  Their music is melodic, rich, harmonically complex and full of interesting approaches to time.

Lyrically they mine the usual targets – capitalist society, conformity, racism and the attitude of huge record companies.

Freak Kitchen’s style of music is influenced by many genres besides the traditional heavy metal, ranging from jazz to pop. The band described their third album as “A corny little heavy-pop-rock-Latin-world-jazz-avant-garde-metal-blues-record”.

Now before you press play on “Chest Pain Waltz” over at www.myspace.com/freakkitchenmusic I suppose I should give you a language warning, I would suggest the headphones on for this one if you are listening at work. I truly love the guitar work on this track, there are bits of Zappa and the solo wouldn’t be to out of place on fusion jazz album.  The rhythm section just stand up and drive this song. But the really spiffy bit is that you can hear every word (and don’t forget this  Swedish band) and understand what the song. The production reminds me of the kind of attention to detail that you find on a Stelly Dan album.

Freak Kitchen – Hatefull Little People (Live)

There is a lot of interesting material available from these guys. Dont miss it becasue of the “metal” label. They are having a ball.

Highly Recommended

Websites at www.myspace.com/freakkitchenmusic and  www.freakkitchen.com/

They are from Austin, Texas and play a brand of American traditional music inspired by bluegrass mixed liberally with elements of European folk and the traditional American string band.

They are loose and lovely, raucous and rude; watch The Electric Mountain Rotten Apple Gang play Sally Ann live as they busk at the Maker’s Fair.

Their website is at www.myspace.com/electricmountainrottenapplegang where you can here more songs and view other videos by this band.

The Electric Mountain Rotten Apple Gang is Adam Kobetich- vocals, clawhammer banjo, three finger banjo, Amanda Kitchens- vocals, accordion, guitar, Patric Fitzsimons- vocals, mandolin, Daniel Edwards- flattop guitar, vocals and clawhammer banjo, Andrew Pressman- doghouse bass, vocals and Sick!- fiddle, backing vocals (Can’t work out if this last bit is a person or a comment, so we will leave it there – enjoy. Jools)

Old Man Luedecke

This is what they had to say…

Old Man Luedecke lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia and works all over the huge country of Canada, from the Yukon to Vancouver. In the tradition of solo banjo men and women of days gone by like Doc Boggs, he sings his songs accompanied only by his loving five string, foot stomps and the occasional yodel. His songs are melodic gems blending old time sensibilities with an unusual vision and poetic sense. His music belies someone more than slightly ill at ease with modern life and he performs with a gentle and endearing charisma, stories littered with a canny oblique humour. Almost a sly entertainer with a hint of contemporary vaudeville about him and he plays a mean claw hammer banjo clearly derivative of the old time and Appalachia. His latest album Proof of Love is winning him a whole new legion of new fans in his homeland and has slotted beautifully into a young market hungry for new growth from old roots.

OK what they forgot was, he is infectious and his music is just wonderfully uplifting. For a guy who sings his songs accompanied only by a five string banjo, foot stomps and the occasional whoop he is just amazing.

When I headed over to his MySpace site at www.myspace.com/oldmanluedecke I was truly lucky, the song it came up on was “I Quit My Job”. This is just one of those perfect folk songs. I really suggest that you head over an have a listen

Here is a video from Youtube, bad sound but it will give you an idea…

Old Man Luedecke and The Junes are playing on Thursday 19 March 8.30pm. at The East Brunswick Club

Recommended (even more so because of the banjo)

Websites at www.myspace.com/oldmanluedecke and www.oldmanluedecke.ca/

Circus Envy are from Hull in the UK and as their website tells us:

Circus Envy are a rootsy five piece based in East Yorkshire, with a sound equally influenced by classic rock, folk rock and Americana.

Diverting from the mainstream by using instrumentation as exotic as the cajon, and the bouzouki, Circus Envy delight audiences when playing both electrically and acoustically, building on the strengths of each to create a subtly different, organic sound every time.

This indie band is hot and despite the fact they are only offering about 1 minutes worth from their songs, you can’t but help get sucked into the souring vocals of Leigh Hirst; if you have a Last FM account you can listen to the whole album or if you haven’t, it’s worth considering to hear it before buying a copy.

The rest of the band are James Paddison on bass and vocals, Mike Richmond on bouzouki, guitar and mandolin, Andy Clark on guitars and Mick Harding on drums, percussion and vocals. Their debut album “Take Me Home” is ripe with juicy tunes all vibrating with life and energy.

Pop/rock tunes with a folk feel, great voices and a really trippy band. Recommended.
Their website: www.myspace.com/circusenvyband