I think it is about time I posted something which dose at least some justice to the name I gave this blog. Here is a short list of Indie artists who you'll see climbing up my charts on Last.fm and Libre.fm. I got to know them via the recommendations made to me by Libre.fm community radio and have downloaded their music either through their websites, or via Jamendo.
As I have been listening to plenty of main stream music, I'll try to put their characteristics in perspective by pointing to the mainstream artists who are like and not-so-like them. Unfortunately, as I have not been listening to the latest music a lot (I am out of touch with 80% top-10 artists on Last.fm for 2010), pardon me for slightly arcane comparisons.
Brad Sucks (Jamendo page)
As I have been listening to plenty of main stream music, I'll try to put their characteristics in perspective by pointing to the mainstream artists who are like and not-so-like them. Unfortunately, as I have not been listening to the latest music a lot (I am out of touch with 80% top-10 artists on Last.fm for 2010), pardon me for slightly arcane comparisons.
Brad Sucks (Jamendo page)
His two albums have good alternative well-crafted offbeat-ish pop music (like Beck and Muse, not BoyZone, not as techno as Gorillaz) , well written lyrics (like Third Eye Blind and U2, not REM) and good rugged voice which has a very slight surreal touch to it (a little techno like Beck, not Westlife).
Suggested tracks (my favorites)
Suggested tracks (my favorites)
Alexander Blu (Jamendo page)
An instrumental artist, who has produced copious amount of excellent music. His music is New Age (like Yanni, not Bach), soft-techno (a little like Moby, not like Rob Zombie) and perfect for low-key background scores (like Enya, not like God is an Astronaut).
Suggested tracks
Bert Jerred (Jamendo Page)
He is yet another musician who has produced a lot of good music (more than 350 songs since 2002). He has a husky voice (like Damien Rice and Ryan Adams, not like Alex Murdoch) and is more acoustic than Brad Sucks. Generally his songs just have vocals with a backing guitar. His lyrics are meaningful and realistic (like Death like for the Cutie, but not quite like Coldplay).
Suggested tracks
Crazy Quilt Bouquet (Jamendo Page)
They are an adorable band with adorable songs. I wonder how can anybody not-like a band which has a stick figure and mirrored initials as their logo!
Their songs are, err ..., humorous. This is a relatively not new genre for me, surprisingly, I have been listening to Riley Armstrong a lot. You may not have heard of him (and his calamity-van), but he is has some excellent comic and Christian music stacked up too. So, Crazy Quilt Bouquet (CQB) have a humorous light hearted touch about them (a little like Barenaked Ladies, Riley Armstrong, but not like Weird Al). The lyrics are generally uplifting and the sooting-vocals are given prominence over the softer music.
Suggested songs
Josh Woodward (Jamendo page)
A regular folks soft-pop musician, with a soft smooth rounded voice (like Amos Lee, Keane, Rob Thomson, Ronan Keating, not sensual smooth like Katie Melua). Though vocals are still important, the interplay with music is very very well done, with the music playing significant role in the mood of the song. The lyrics sound like love-poems in an alternate way, more than just romantic love (remember Yellow ~ Coldplay?)
Suggested Tracks
Final Words
Though these are my current favorite artists I have been listening to many many more artists like The Liquid Kitchen (Rock music), I am not Lefthanded (Female vocals) and others. I'll probably write about them in a separate post when I am more familiar with their music.
So get their music, download it from Jamendo, and if you like them, give them a little money to keep up the good work. Do check them out!
Useful tip
If you are using Rhythmbox (like me), then the best way of getting their music is turning on the Jamendo plugin, finding these artists (type the name in the search box before it starts loading the entire database), right clicking on any song and selecting 'Download Album'. This will use the BitTorrent interface, will be easier on the Jamendo website, and will save you the hassle of clicking on 'Download' for each album on the Jamendo website.
~
musically_ut
1 comment:
Hello matte nice post
Post a Comment