Musician/Band Of The Week!
M.I.A
M.I.A, or, Maya as she is legally known as, is this week’s musician of the week for two reasons, she’s pretty wicked and her third studio album, /\/\ /\ Y /\, is out today! M.I.A has a long list of hobbies, being a songwriter, record producer, singer, rapper, fashion designer, visual artist, and also a political activist! Due to her work, in 2009, “Time Magazine” placed M.I.A. in the Time 100 list of “World’s Most Influential people” for having “global influence across many genres”. You may have heard her songs on “Slumdog Millionaire”, in particular, “Paper Planes” (which is the video below) or, you may have heard her new track ‘XXXO’. To listen to more of M.I.A, check out her MySpace or the video below!
TIRED PONY.
“Tired Pony” is the latest indie supergroup to hit the scene. Made up of Gary Lightbody (Snow Patrol), Peter Buck (R.E.M.) and “Belle & Sebastian” drummer Richard Colbum. The project also collaborates with artists such as both M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel from “She & Him” and Tom Smith of “Editors”. The band’s debut album, “The Place We Ran From” is set for release in the U.K on July 12th and the U.S on September 28th. Their first single accompanied by a video is “Dead American Writers” and is featured below. Check out their MySpace for more information about the new supergroup!
MARK RONSON.
Grammy nominated and winning producer, Mark Ronson has worked with so many acts, such as Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen and Daniel Merriweather. He released his first album “Here Comes the Fuzz” in 2003, however it was his second album “Version” that was his outbreak album, with covers of songs by bands such as “Radiohead”, “Coldplay” and ‘The Smiths”. This album led to three top ten hits and a BRIT Award for “Best Male Artist 2008“. Mark Ronson’s third album, with his new band “The Business Intl”, will be called “Record Collection” is set to be released in September and will include the new single “Bang Bang Bang”. To hear more of Mark Ronson, check out his MySpace and the new single’s video below!
LITTLE RED.
Melbourne band “Little Red” consists of Adrian Beltrame (guitar/vocals), Dominic Byrne (vocals/guitar), Quang Dinh (bass/vocals), Taka Honda (drums) and Tom Hartney (vocals, percussion). According to them, the band’s music is a mix of “classic R&B, garage, doo-wop and rock’n’roll, but possessed of a thoroughly modern spark”. Their newest single “Rock It” may sound familiar to those who have seen them live, as I have 3 times. What I love about them is the amount of energy they have and the fact that they are so fun and easy to listen to. Their second album is due out in September and has been produced by Scott Horscroft (who has produced albums for “The Temper Trap”, “The Presets” and “Silverchair”). Below, I have included the band’s very first single “Coca Cola” from their 2008 album “Listen To Little Red”. To listen to more of “Little Red” check out their MySpace.
ASH GRUNWALD.
Ash Grunwald, who has just released his sixth album “Hot Mama Vibes” is my choice for this week’s musician. His music is acoustic, blues and roots and is accompanied by some really clever and enjoyable lyrics. I’ve seen him live twice and even have his autograph, he is such a nice guy. Over the past 6 years he has been nominated for 4 ARIA nominations and is this year nominated for an APRA award in the ”Blues & Roots Work Of The Year” category for his song “Breakout”. He was once a Triple J presenter, he started his own recording label “Delta Groove Records” and he even supported James Browne at his Tasmanian show in 2006!
Check out his MySpace to listen to some of his songs and watch below for the video of him performing his song “Don’t Worry”!
RAPIDS.
Based in Sydney, “Rapids” consists of Jamie Timony, Will Shepherd, Remy Hii and Angus McLaren. Yet to be unsigned, this indie rock band has three songs on their MySpace and have just released their first video for their song “Get Better Than That”. It’s pretty rad, check it out below! You can also click here to download their EP!
CLOUD CONTROL.
Currently supporting “Vampire Weekend” on their Australian tour, “Cloud Control” originate from the Blue Mountains After achieving great success from their self titled EP in 2007 their debut album “Bliss Release” was released on May 14th. This week, the band featured of ‘Triple J’s “Like A Version” segment, singing their song “Gold Canary” along with their cover of Kid Cudi’s “Pursuit of Happiness”, you can check that out here. Check out the band’s MySpace to hear their songs and read their blogs, or check out their trippy video for “Gold Canary”!
DARWIN DEEZ.
Described by NME magazine as “totally fucking awesome” and describing himself as “indie rock with a side of calisthenics”, Darwin Deez, formally known as Darwin Smith, caught my attention this week with his song “Radar Detector”.”Minimal, alternative, homemade, indie pop (but don’t reprint that or ask me about it)” is how Darwin, from New York describes his music on his MySpace and his obscure looks, dances (he dances like Napoleon Dynamite!) and videos make me smile. There’s not much more to say about this guy apart from check out this song and video below!
JAMIE T.
I’m currently digging Jamie T, who is a 24-year-old singer/songwriter from London. He released his first album, Panic Prevention in 2007 and followed it up with his second album Kings and Queens last September. In 2007, Jamie T, formally known as Jamie Alexander Treays, beat both Jarvis Cocker and Thom Yorke, winning the Best Solo Artist at the 2007 Shockwave NME Awards and on the 24th February 2010, he also won an NME Award for Best Solo Act. Jamie T has also been nicknamed the “One man Arctic Monkey” and Canvas Magazine have described him as “like the bastard lovechild of Billy Bragg and Mike Skinner doing his best Joe Strummer impression”. This year, Jamie T will be playing the European festival circuit, with confirmations for the likes of Glastonbury, T in the Park and Oxegen. Check out my favourite Jamie T song below “Emily’s Heart” and listen to more of his stuff at his MySpace.
“BAND OF SKULLS.”
Hailing from London, “Band Of Skulls”, consisting of Russel Marsden on vocals and guitar, Emmas Richardson on bass and vocals and Matt Hayward on drums, formed in 2008. They released their debut album “Baby Darling Doll Face Honey“ early last year and have since then released 4 singles and have even contributed their song, “Friends’ to the soundtrack of “The Twilight Saga: New Moon”. This alternative band is currently touring the U.S and I included the video to my favourite and their latest single, “I Know What I Am”. You can hear more of “Band Of Skulls” at their MySpace
JULIAN CASABLANCAS.
Mostly known as the lead singer and song writer for the band “The Strokes”, Julian Casablancas is also a talented solo artist. Born in New York in 1978, Julian Casablancas released his first solo album “Phrazes For The Young” last last year.
While Julian focuses mainly on singing and writing material for “The Strokes” he is actually a talented multi-instrumentalist playing such instruments as Guitar, Bass, Keyboard, Drums and Harmonica. He is also associated with other big acts such as “Queens Of The Stone Age”,”Dangermouse” and “Santigold”.
Julian Casablancas, presented by “Frontier Touring“, “Triple J” and “Fasterlouder” will be touring Australia in May, with 3 dates announced:
Thu 6 May – The Tivoli, Brisbane
Fri 7 May – Palace Theatre, Melbourne
Sun 9 May – Metro Theatre, Sydney
Tickets go on sale on March 23rd through “Ticketek”.
You can check out Julian at his MySpace or have a squizz at his video for his song “11th Dimension” below.
