Numbers & Shapes: Revisited is a dance-floor driven remix album based on Brooklyn based composer, Rebecca Brandt’s debut album Numbers & Shapes. rebeccabrandt.bandcamp.com
When an album reaches cult status I always notice a certain kind of tribute given to it. This happened to Sarah McLachlan which resulted to Remixed in 2001. To have a remixed album dedicated to a certain artist is not common. I think it is a win- win idea. It promotes the album to a wider audience (electronic/dance/club) and it also gives us the works of the DJs and producers involved.
I wrote a previous blog on Numbers & Shapes(released in 2012) by Rebecca Brandt. I just found out that it received a top-25 shortlist nomination at the 2013 Grammy Awards. According to Brandt:
A newly-formed label Green Village took notice and pitched the idea of curating a remix album based on the original pieces, and thus our new baby was born, “Numbers & Shapes: Revisited.” It features 14 remixes from different producers and DJs from around the world, including Starkey, Policy, Liondub, Rabit and more. The project had no guidelines or expectations – we just wanted to create dance floor-driven tracks built off classical elements, to try to challenge and play with the rules of genre and have some fun.
I think this is a good idea as it will open doors for her to new fans. The album is set to be released on March 3 on Bandcamp. I love what I heard on the preview! This is intelligent dance music set around her original tunes. I am posting the sample here so you can listen and buy the album when it comes out!
Sounds like: Melodic pop rock in the vein of The Cranberries, Lifehouse and The Proclaimers.
HELLO WORLD – Track Listing
We should go blind
People Die
Nowhere Without You
Legends
Did I leave the cubicle
Make my move real soon
Price of the medicine
Disappointed Me
Things Change
Mess Up
Father (why’s it such a secret?)
2 Bonus Tracks are on some releases – (Download Card/Online/CD)
The Bum Song
Antigua
From the onset of the first track We Should Go Blind, listeners know right away they are in for an exciting and catchy sonic ride. Hello World is the new album from this New York based singer/songwriter by the name of John Munnelly who originally came from Ireland. The carrier single is called Legends which is about finding that greatness in ourselves that make us legends in our own right.
I have to admit his vocal style of yodeling on high notes really works because he reminds me of how a uilleann pipe sounds like when it becomes human. The second track People Die continues the build up with its harmonies and also delicious drums. I think I already know this song by heart because it is easy to sing along with. Big nod to the guitar solo.
The production is flawless. Hello World is a recording of high quality collection of musicians and production team. “I’d rather be in Ireland hiking in the rain’..goes the first verse off Nowhere Without You. It has an echo of old Cranberries albums.It highlights John’s breezy and easy rock vocal style coupled with really awesome melodies. He is clearly a songwriter of everyday scenes. When he writes a song it feels like you are living inside it because his prose is detailed without being sickeningly sweet.
We Are Legend is a perfect single because it is radio friendly taking focus on social commentaries. It is a wonderful pop song of the times. This is something radio has been missing for a long time. It seems that Hello World makes one believe in the transforming power of alternative ballads again. Did I Leave the Cubicle is a track you might have heard of before the release of this album as John already uploaded this on youtube but to hear this among the mix is a good thing.
All of the tracks off Hello World are solid and deserve multiple spins. There are comedic things(which he is good at) in songs like Make My Move Real Soon, Things Change and of course the very popular Does My Bum Look Big in This? I’d say you give Hello World a spin and I know John Munnely will be the name that sticks in your ears for a long time.
The only thing is that itunes doesn’t have the bonus tracks like the bum song (released as a single 2012) but they are available and included as extras via download on his site: http://johnmunnellymusic.com/hello-world-cd/
I can’t get this song off my head called Microlove by summa. summa are a duo of singer/songwriter Jake O’Neal and multi-instrumentalist Max Grossman. The title is unique so it is something you can’t ignore. The melody is also nice; coupled with the notable percussion and you have a well-crafted folk pop tune that is sure to stick with you for a long time. His style reminds me a bit of Matthew Jay and Pete Yorn.
Jake O’Neal is an electrical engineer from Boulder, Colorado. Music took his life over at an early age and he credits his dad as a huge influence. He states in his website: “My dad got me hooked on music from a very early age. In school I sang and played drums/bass/guitar in every music ensemble available – pep band, jazz band, concert band, choir, musicals, everything! In high school I started songwriting and have been ever since.”
His influences are clear in the tunes of summa and I dub the style as intelligent pop with folk and rock frills. His voice is also pleasant to hear as he glides between falsetto and crooning: a combination which appeals to the easy listening crowd. Listen to more of his music here: http://www.jakeonealmusic.com/Jake_ONeal/EP.html
Lyrics
Microlove … one milionth of the love we share
Could get us through anything including this
I know it’s terrifying
I know it’s not your path
But I have to follow my own
At this crossroads I will say,
Thought it breaks my heart,
I will say
You don’t need to follow me back home
You don’t need to follow me back home
But I’d love if you did
The sunrise silhouetting trees in the southern sky
It’s the time that shows us all our fears
And tears that we shed
I know it’s terrifying
I know it’s not your path
But I have to follow my own
At this crossroads I will say,
Thought it breaks my heart,
I will say
You don’t need to follow me back home
You don’t need to follow me back home
But I’d love if you did
But I’d love if you did
Ya I’d love if you did
Ya I’d love if you did
The Sharp Things – Back Down The Rabbit Hole [Official Music Video]
The band that brought us the rich and melodic Green is Good has released another video called Back Down the Rabbit Hole. The band is known for its awesome use of orchestral instruments and sweeping melodic lines that fly in the great expanse of the conscious and subconscious. The soaring melodies simply lift your mood. The arrangement sends your imagination traveling unknown galaxies of the mind.
Back Down the Rabbit Hole, their official video is the last track off Green is Good. It is also a song that sounds different from the rest due to its relative sound to pop electronica: with hooks that could have come from KC and the Sunshine Band. I love it! Check it out and also buy their new album Green is Good. Yes it is good, and healthy!
“Stones From The Riverbed” | Matthew Perryman Jones
I have become really possessive with my Land of the Living album by Matthew Perryman Jones. It is an album with rich sounds and haunting melodies wrapped around his voice. Yes it is a voice that sounds like a cross between Bono of U2 and Ian McCulloch of Echo and the Bunnymen. I have to admit I have my own favorite tracks off the album : O Theo and Sleeping with a Stranger. But it is still great to get a video every now and then from this fascinating artist.
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Spring Tour Dates Announced from Steve Moakler
Here is a little news from this cool singer/songwriter:
It’s good to be sitting here writing to you. I know that the percentage of people who will receive this message will be a fair amount larger than the amount of people who will read it. I’m not sweatin’ that though… Instead, I’m sincerely thankful that you have chosen to taken the time to care. You are the reason that we sent this and I’m glad we’re in touch.Over the next couple of months, I’m gonna be back on the road! For the large majority of shows, I’ll be headlining (playing last) for the first time in many places. I want to thank those of you who have supported me by repeatedly coming out to see me as an opening act over the last couple years. We’re thrilled to finally have the chance to play more songs and to have more time to sing and dance with you. I hope that we’re coming to a room near you so you can be a part of our memories.Steve
. . .
March 25 – Alvernia, PA – Alvernia University
March 27 – Lexington, KY – University of Kentucky
April 6 – Waco, TX – Common Grounds – TICKETS
April 11 – Knoxville, TN – Square Room – INFO
April 17 – Norman, OK – University of Oklahoma
April 23 – Greenville, NC – East Carolina University
April 24 – Atlanta, GA – Eddie’s Attic – TICKETS *
April 26 – Nashville, TN – 3rd & Lindsley – TICKETS *
April 27 – Bowling Green, KY – Crossland Church
April 29 – Birmingham, AL – Workplay – TICKETS **May 1 – Columbus, OH – Woodlands Tavern – TICKETS ***
May 2 – Pittsburgh, PA – Hard Rock Cafe – TICKETS ***
May 4 – Philadelphia, PA – MilkBoy – TICKETS ***
May 5 – Washington, DC – The Hamilton – TICKETS ***
May 6 – New York City, NY – Rockwood Music Hall – TICKETS
May 11 – Evanston, IL (Chicago) – S.P.A.C.E. – SHOW 1 – SHOW 2
New York based singer/songwriter Lacy James unleashes an album that promises to enchant and enlighten with Circle of Swallows.
Lacy James explores that world between the rhythmic and ethereal. Her sound scape is dreamy and fresh. Circle of Swallows contains songs that will appeal to fans of Shawn Colvin, Tori Amos and Sarah McLachlan. The chords in Angels Bells sound like they were made in heaven.
There is this childlike innocence in her songs.The pinch of alternative rock over a cup of lullaby is just right. Her voice sounds a little bit shy though her releases go back as far as 1992. Old Languages is mystical. Movies like God’s Army or City of Angels could have used this song.
I checked her press release and found out the following. She has red hair. She also looks pretty in a classical way…you know, the kind that makes you think of Pre- Raphaelite women. She is based in New York. Circle of Swallows has a collaboration with Seamus Egan (Osmosis Song) and I am sure Celtic music fans know him as part of the band Solas.
I found that comparisons to Kate Bush, the Banshees and Tori Amos are evident-ha! So listening to Circle of Swallows is like taking a swim in a pond of swirling ambient, mesmerizing melodies and eclectic instruments. She also uses the voice layering technique but not so much for choral accuracy. They are for emotional effect.
Titles Like Practical Magic, Icarus and other tracks have New Agey/spiritual feel. There are acoustic instruments like the flute. There is also the upbeat electronic induced song called Dancing Out of the Dark. William of Tower sounds more like English folk while Today in the City starts slow and hypnotic with jazzy rhythm. Devolution uses the sounds of nature while her voice takes a backseat. In this track, she turns it into a diaphanous ambient instrument washed with reverb and echo. I also noticed that Lacy James is a fan of atonal music and she uses little bits of this in her compositions.The title track ends the album complete with hammer dulcimer, soothing drums and ambient noise.
Circle of Swallows nods to all genres that fans of artists I mentioned above are known for. But she has her own sound. It must be her style of singing or her East Coast approach in writing songs but she is definitely original.
The indie music blog 