Taken By Trees - East Of Eden

I know that this is already a few months old, but that's just the way East of Eden is: a quiet grower that slowly infiltrates its subtle charms on us, until we finally realize how much we've been liking it without even noticing.
Not that it was meant to be that way. After all, there's some big names involved in here: this is the second album by the solo project of Victoria Bergman (yes, the Concretes singer and also the female voice behind one certain ubiquitous universal indie hit called Young Folks), with production by Dan Lissvik of the wonderful Studio, guest appearances by Panda Bear and including a cover of another recent universal indie hit (My Girls by Animal Collective, here transvested as My Boys). But the result is actually much more an understatement than the sum of its parts would lead us to believe.
Starting as a trip to Pakistan, this project ends up fusing two worlds, but never let's the concept of exotic get in the way, with the eastern elements perfectly finding its place and integrating themselves among the more folkish instruments, balearic percussion and the overall relaxed atmosphere of the project.
With so many influences in a sound that could be described as minimal, the risk could be of overlapping things, but there's only one misstep in here, a redundant track consisting of a field recording fronted by a qawwali singer that sounds like an unnecessary statement. The rest is a collection of mostly acoustic mantras, stripped to the bone, using only the absolutely necessary to slowly involve us in its beauty. And in its simplicity, the result is truly effective: that beauty is indeed breathtaking. (7/10)

Taken By Trees - My Boys (video)



www.takenbytrees.com
www.myspace.com/takenbytreesmusic

Bolts Of Lightning!

Considering their usual nerdy-guys image, this is quite an hysterical change. Hot Chip turn into a sexy boys band, doing highly-choreographed dance movements, in this hilarious video for one of the most WTF moments - and arguably also one of the best songs - included in One Life Stand. But if you think the look change is bizarre-enough by itself, you should see what follows next...



hotchip.co.uk
www.myspace.com/hotchip

Polaroids # 36 (Florence + The Machine)

(Picture taken on the 16th of March 2010 in Aula Magna, Lisbon, Portugal)

You've been a very bad girl Gaga

Here is the new Lady Gaga video, featuring Beyoncé. Telephone serves as a continuation to her Paparazzi video, starting from where that one ended. It is directed by the ever so wonderful Jonas Åkerlund (Madonna's long-time partner in crime) and it was already famous before it premiered. There has been a lot of expectation regarding this video, mostly due to a clever online marketing campaign that teased fans with the most exuberant images from the recording. I think it's wonderful, it's crazy-good and even superior to the Bad Romance one. Her acting scenes are stiff, not even Madonna-stiff but STIFF, but thankfully Beyoncé is there to raise up the acting level. I do regret the TONS of product placements she is putting on here, I mean, sandwich bread??? While Gaga looks like herself (loving the telephone head piece), I have to say Beyoncé looks amazing, very sexy and stylish. The video is funny and silly, like Kill Bill and Thelma & Louise mashed-up together with Madonna's Who's That Girl film (that no one would have guessed could become a reference to anything). And it works. I particularly like the scene where she gets out of jail and does a little step dance and a scream. Reminds me of Michael Jackson. She is heading towards that direction indeed, becoming more and more a larger-than-life singer that exhales performance-art and yet no one really knows much about who she is in private. She is bringing excitement back into the pop world, and the massive response to the premiere of this video is only proof that people missed that excitement.

Stop For A Minute

With a chorus the size of the world and a rap by K'Naan that manages to rhyme 'females' with 'e-mails', the new Keane song is an absolute BANGER. Here's why:

Keane - Stop For A Minute (feat. K'Naan)



www.keanemusic.com
www.myspace.com/keane

Ellie on Erik

Want to know why Ellie Goulding says that Erik Hassle has the voice of an angel? Then you just have to hear his heartbreaking rendition of Sam Cooke's classic Nothing Can Change This Love, have all your senses literally melt and then agree with the voice of reason.

Erik Hassle - Nothing Can Change This Love (mp3 via Neon Gold)




And while we're at it, here's both Erik and Ellie together, in a cute cover of Robyn's Be Mine:

Erik Hassle & Ellie Goulding - Be Mine (mp3 via Arjanwrites)



www.erikhassle.com
elliegoulding.co.uk

Owen Pallett takes off his shirt...

...and much more in this NSFW but quite tender video for a song included in his latest album Heartland. Consisting of homemade and very personal images that pretty much expose all of his privacy, this clip only confirms my theory that he's been giving all of himself - and much more - as of lately. Considering that I'll be seeing him live tonight (can't.fucking.wait), I'm expecting nothing less than a night of epic proportions!



www.owenpalletteternal.com
www.myspace.com/owenpallettmusic

Gucci Mane - The State vs. Radric Davis

After countless mixtapes and other endless appearances as guest rapper, Gucci Mane's first studio album for a major is a very schizophrenic affair but it also largely succeeds in presenting him as one of the most interesting rap artists currently around. Based on an idea of conflict which is expressed on its title, actually those conflicts don't happen solely on a "me vs. them" level: there's also an internal war going on in here, which takes place between the many sides of Gucci (real name - you guessed it - Radric Davis) and which is intriguing to say the least.
Basically, the first third of this record is the dirtier one, where everything is reduced to its bare essence to maximize its impact: the beats are raw and minimal, the hooks are basic and effective, the songs are tense and direct, and the results pretty awesome. The second part is a softer side of him (major label pressure? or his own need to express all sides of his creativity?), beginning with an amazing duet with Usher produced by Pollow da Don and ending after a session of irregular mid-tempo jams. The third part is the attempt to bring it all together, with the raw beats coming in again, but this time using a more diversified and lighter myriad of sounds. Your favourite side will probably depend on subjective things like personal preferences or even your momentary state of mind - though I'm tempted to say that I much prefer the dirtier first one, simply because it sounds more unique and far from an idea of conventional Top 40 r&b.
Let's see where he goes from here - as you see, the paths suggested by The State vs. Radric Davis are immense and pretty diverse. But as for now, we already have a major attribute, in his too-cool-for-its-own-good flow, with an unique way to drag the words and spit them from one hook to another, like if he was the owner of his own time. And judging from this debut-of-sorts (not counting the independent release Back to the Trap House in here, nor the many mixtapes), it's pretty convincing that yes, he is. (8/10)

Gucci Mane - Bingo (Feat. Soulja Boy & Waka Flocka Flame) (video)



www.guccimaneonline.com
www.myspace.com/guccimane

And for every boy that tried to build a robot...

... here's another amazing video from Kasper Bjørke, this time for Efficient Machine, another track from his latest album Standing On Top Of Utopia. The vocals to this tune come from Tomas Höffding from Who Made Who. Enjoy the video below:

A song for a Sunday night

Kasper Bjørke comes from the danish electronic scene and has already established himself both as a dj/remixer, as well as a solo act. I would like to direct your attention to the song Never Young Again, the lead single from his second album (called Standing On Top Of Utopia). The vocals here come from danish indie singer Jacob Bellens and the song sounds simply great. Perfect tune for a relaxing sunday night. Oh, and what a beautiful video this is!

Start your weekend with new Frankmusik!

"She will swallow, not your dick, but you brains"

And why not start your weekend with a brand new Frankmusik track? Losing Streak, a collaboration with Computer Club, is the first appetizer from his sessions for the second album (in the works and rumoured to be called, as for now, Follow The Leader). I'm really liking this new direction, it's always refreshing to hear some good ol' dirty electronica! While we wait for more information on this new project, start your weekend with a bang and enjoy the new tune below!

Frankmusik vs. Computer Club - Losing Streak (mp3 via The Culture Of Me)



www.myspace.com/frankmusik
frankmusik.com

Obsessed with excessive pleasure

Keeping a trend with the previous post, here's another catchy synth-pop track with more than a few dark-urban tones. This one has a sharper rock edge and comes complete with a homo-erotic video that suits the mood of the song perfectly, with its enigmatic and almost completely-black shots. Dangerous Muse have been the subject of an intense hype for the last 2 years but they never quite exploded, and I'd say that was in part due to the lack of a big breakthrough song that could match all the talk. But that was until now, because for me that song has finally arrived - and you can partially blame producers Bloodshy & Avant for that, they really do an amazing job adding all those minimal electro beats and wounded haunted synths to the mix.



www.dangerousmuse.com
www.myspace.com/dangerousmuse

We live in our now

Feel like being overwhelmed by an overdose of clever typography and other graphic wonders, with a great song to match? Then the video below might very well do the trick for you. Japayork is a 22-year-old musician and graphic designer, meaning he's not only the man behind all those catchy synth-pop hooks, but he's also responsible for the visuals that you can see in the clip. Loving all those dark tones!

www.myspace.com/japayork
www.japayork.com