What’s that coming over the hill? Oww! it’s only Mike Burrell (New York. NE USA) for Independent Music News. Check out his top 12 – 32 artists of 2011 below:
12. VANILLA GORILLAZ
(North England. LONGEVITY RECORDS)
http://www.myspace.com/vanillagorillazmusic
http://www.longevityrecords.co.uk
Listen:
Video Shot by Ash TV Productions, Directed by Ash Pears.
Track Produced by Ben Booker
Released by Longevity Records – November 28th 2011
Check out the snaps taken behind the scenes of the music video at // http://www.flickr.com/photos/spens_snaps/sets/72157627076516872/
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13. SUZUKI METHOD
(Salford/Manchester. NW England)
http://www.suzuki-method.co.uk
About:
Since emerging from the infamous house parties of Salford and on the Manchester scene, Suzuki Method have accomplished the rather unlikely feat of marrying the polar worlds of hard rock and eighties dance.
Like “Queens Of The Stone Age transplanted to the Hacienda or the Fall jamming in Studio 54, Suzuki Method is a band that hits you right in the solar plexus, while simultaneously energising your dancing feet.
Intelligent, principled and defiantly old-school, they have recently formed an alliance with lengedary producers Davis Tolan (Primal Scream, Tears for Fears, Johnny Marr) & Jim Spencer (New Order, The Cribs, The Charlatans) to produce their debut album CARPE FERIA!
A sold out debut EP under their belts impeccable Northern music credentials and a wonderfully futurist imperative on UK music, Suzuki Method have firmly pitched themselves as true rock ‘n’ roll outsiders destined gatecrash the Manc and UK music party in 2012
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14. AVA LUNA
(Brooklyn/NYC. New York. NE USA)
Listen:
About:
With the release of the critically-lauded Services EP in early 2010 and a near-constant stream of shows and short tours over the successive months, NYC natives Ava Luna have built a reputation for noisy, manic basement soul music in the form of stark, earthy synth-driven beats coupled with tight, prismatic vocal harmonies, which Christopher Weingarten has described as “beautiful, infectious, and damn-near indescribable.”
In a church basement in Brooklyn’s deep south, they hone an eclectic mashup of girl group harmonies, growling synth-funk, shimmering distortion, soul stylings set to post-punk snobbery, complex compositions in the guise of quirky pop songs; Al Green singing with Wire, Depeche Mode backing Jamie Lidell. The band has drawn comparisons to TV on the Radio, Dirty Projectors, Prince, Arab on Radar, Phillip Glass, James Chance, Aphex Twin….
Since the band’s inception in 2008, it’s been a slow but steady rise. Before the year is out, Ava Luna will embark on tours of the US and Europe, where they were invited to play the Transmusicales Festival in France; prep a full-length for the spring to be released on Infinite Best Recordings; and continue to expand their unique sound.
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15. JOSH DOYLE
(Ashford/Kent, SE England. Nashville, Tennessee, Southern USA)
Listen:
About:
UK native, Nashville local Josh Doyle has played music all over the world, played stadiums and been abducted by aliens. So I was hard pressed to bring him somewhere that would impress him. We took my helicopter to the Rock Quarry in Lebanon, TN.
For those of you who have been to a Josh Doyle show, you know it’s more than the music. You aren’t just watching him preform songs. It’s more like spending quality time with your best friend. Mr. Doyle, you are a character in the best sense.
He plays sporadically in Nashville, and is planning a tour back to the island across the pond in the UK in the Spring.
http://www.joshdoyle.com/thelatest.cfm
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16. THREE KNOTS
(Stonehaven/Aberdeenshire. NW SCOTLAND)
http://www.myspace.com/threeknotsstonehaven
Listen:
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17. TRAPPED IN KANSAS
(Ayr via Glasgow/Glenrothes/ Scarriff/Clydebank. Scotland. OVERLOOK RECORDS)
https://www.facebook.com/trappedinkansas
FREE DOWNLOAD:
Happiness Is An Allegory, Sadness A Story by Trapped in Kansas
Listen:
LYRICS
It was like a page torn from a book and we knew that war was so
We fled to mountains, we fled to the mountains.
We covered you in cotton wool and soot because we saw that war was coming so.
We fled to mountains, we fled to the mountains.
Everyone knows we are composed of skulls and bones and rents and loans
So we feel safe and we feel safe
We should dispose of all that we own and all that we’ve sown so
We feel safe and we feel safe
It’s so hard to know, how to go.
It’s so hard to know, how to go.
Everyone knows we are composed of skulls and bones and rents and loans
So we feel safe and we feel safe
We should dispose of all that we own and all that we’ve sown so
We feel safe and we feel safe
We covered you in cotton wool and soot because we saw that war was coming so.
We fled to mountains, we fled to the mountains.
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18. LITTLE BUDDHA
(Kircaldy. East Coast. Scotland. CELL RECORDS)
Facebook // Reverbnation player:
https://www.facebook.com/LittleBuddhaBand?sk=app_2405167945
Favorite // Braindead
About:
Hailing from the darkest hinterlands of Fife, Scotland, Kat McDonald are Grant Tyrie are the nucleus of Little Buddha.
A geographic musical anomaly, you may initially pre-suppose, but taking into account the fact that Fife is home to Fence Collective and its myriad roster of critically revered artists, KT Tunstall, The Skids and one of Scotland’s first Post-Punk DIY labels (following in the wake of Fast Product, Pop Aural and Postcard), Newtown Products, overseen by Eddie Farrell, ex-husband of Garbage chanteuse Shirley Manson, it becomes apparent there’s still something interesting stirring in the old Kingdom to this day. Historically speaking, Fife always housed the ancient capital; musically speaking, Sheilagh Hynde of The Rezillos put it on the international music map, signing to NYC label Sire Records in 1977, whilst adopting the stage name of Fay Fife – which she was incidentally, Dunfermline specifically!
Grant and Kat, a contemporary Robin Guthrie and Liz Fraser in many ways, continue to remain indefinable within a new Fife scene intent on embracing the highs and lows of what followed the demise of The Sex Pistols, and picked up with The Pop Group, Gang of Four and Subway Sect. Embracing a sound and band collectiveness that owes more to Bristol in the late 80’s and early 90’s, it’s no surprise to hear them dropping names like Massive Attack, Portishead, Tricky and Jazz legends such as John Coltrane, Miles Davis and Jaco Pastorius. Taking their name from the Bernardo Bertolucci movie; beats, Jazz, films and their soundtracks provide the palette from which to paint their aural soundscapes.
“We’re huge cinema fans and pay particularly close attention to film score and soundtracks and our music has been largely influenced by film score composers such as John Barry, Ennio Morricone, John Williams and Lalo Schifrin. Other influences that drive us have come from the Bristol trip-hop scene (i.e. Massive Attack, Goldfrapp, Portishead and Tricky); American jazz legends like John Coltrane, Jaco Pastorius and Weather Report, Miles Davis and Duke Ellington; world music – particularly 1 Giant Leap, Ali Farka Toure and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan; contemporary pop/rock artists like Sigur Ros, Rage Against the Machine, the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Nine Inch Nails, Bjork, T-Rex and Blondie. We have great admiration and respect for prolific songwriters like Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon for their imagery and the poignancy of Ian Curtis and Patti Smith”. Grant Tyrie
Following countless free digital download singles through their MySpace. the debut album ‘TWISTED’ was recorded last year at The Doghouse Studio near Henley-on-Thames in England and mastered by Ted Jensen, at Sterling Sound in NYC. TWISTED will be released later on this year, preceded by various limited edition singles.
Listen:
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19. BATTLE FOR PRAGUE
(Birmingham/London. England)
http://www.battleforprague.com
https://www.facebook.com/BattleForPrague
Facebook/Bandcamp player (2011 EP) + FREE DOWNLOAD (2010 EP). Click the link.
About:
Battle for Prague consist of Greg Milner (guitar/vocals), Lottie (drums), Greg Cox (guitar) and Tom (bass). They are part London, part Birmingham based and have played gigs at Birmingham Bar Academy, The Good Ship – London, Birmingham Barfly, The Jug of Ale, The Miller – London Bridge,The Flapper and Firkin & Club NME Birmingham. They have also recently recorded their debut EP ‘We Could Be Anywhere’ at Blueprint Studios in Manchester, which you can download for free above.
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20. FOL-CHEN
(Highland Park, California. West Coast USA)
http://www.myspace.com/folchen
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fol-Chen/52550043946?sk=app_178091127385
Listen:
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21. ALVIN PURPLE
(Leeds. West Yorkshire. England.
http://alvinpurple.bandcamp.com/ (free download)
Listen:
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22. REBELLIOUS JUKEBOX
(West Midlands. England LONGEVITY RECORDS)
http://www.rebelliousjukebox.co.uk
http://www.longevityrecords.co.uk
About:
Rebellious Jukebox encompass the traditions of English art-house rockers, blending an eclectic mix of retro influences with modern-day alternative electro sounds.
Chiming guitar melodies become cinematic crash-landings, intricate drum grooves and driving basslines deliver a complex mix of gloriously moody spaced-out art-rock madness.
Rebellious Jukebox are currently recording their debut album at their own studios in Birmingham.
Listen:
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23. DEAD SEA SOULS
(Bathgate, West Lothian. Central Scotland. BIG ROCK CANDY RECORDS)
http://deadseasouls.bandcamp.com/
About:
Dead Sea Souls have steadily been building their fan base within central Scotland for the past 2-3 years, by honing their craft with infectious pop tunes and their amazing live shows.
The band have been selling out all headline slots all over the Central Belt, and been building their reputation as a very solid support for multiple touring bands. Bands like The Sunshine Underground, The Invisible, Complete Stone Roses, Sergeant have all commented on the professionalism and quality of their tunes the Dead Sea Souls have grown in stature from your average garage band to a band on the verge of something bigger.
Having played almost every stage in Central Scotland, including 3 sell out shows at King Tuts, and a support of ‘Stornoway’ in April 2010 (selling their allocation in record time). Also venue’s such as Glasgow Barrowlands (main stage), HMV Picturehouse, Liquid Rooms, Doghouse and the Cavern Club in Liverpool (with travelling support of 130) have all had the Dead Sea Souls perform.
The Dead Sea Souls are now working alongside some of the biggest promoters in Scotland in DF Concerts, PCL & Regular Music.
They also won the Scottish leg of A & R Showcase in late summer 2009, and represented Scotland at the final @ Scala in London only to pipped in the final to second place. However, many good contacts were made in the Nations capitol.
Having joined Glasgow label Big Rock Candy Records in early summer 2010, the Dead Sea Souls released their first official EP with the label on Monday 1st August 2010. The launch night was on Friday 30th July @ King Tuts, and sold out over a week before the actual night.
Listen:
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24. I DREAM IN COLOUR.
(London. SE England. MONOTWIN RECORDS/Unsigned)
SIGN UP FOR FREE DOWNLOADS:
Listen:
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25. NO*TOKYO
(Manchester. NW England)
Listen:
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26. THE JADE ASSEMBLY
(Bolton/Manchester-area. NW England)
http://www.thejadeassembly.co.uk
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27. KAREN GIBSON ROC
(Los Angeles, California. West Coast. USA. LEMONGRASSMUSIC)
https://www.facebook.com/kgrmusic
About:
Karen has graced such stages as: Glamorama – A fundraiser for both The Children’s Cancer Research Fund and The Art Institute of Chicago, it was put together by Marshall Fields in conjunction with The Ford Modeling agency. Karen shared the bill with the likes of Patti Labelle, The Commodores and Sheila E. She has also performed for Russell Simmons on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, Chicago’s Fashion Week w/Marshall Fields, S.O.B’s, Central Parks summer stage with the Lyricist Lounge, and – with the band – at The Brooklyn Academy of Music Opera House for Def Poetry Plugged In, The Whitney Museum, CMJ, Joe’s Pub, C.B.G.B’s C.B.G.B’s Gallery, Acme Underground, Bowery Poetry Club, Nuyorican Poet’s Café, and many many more.
Karen has completed a project for Viacom/The Kaiser Foundation, an AIDS testing awareness radio spot that she wrote (other artists included Common) and a VH1 SOUL commercial spot (currently running). She is a Canadian Council for the Arts-Grant Recipient for The Spoken Word and Storytelling Program (dub rap poetry).
Karen is featured on the recording “Future Waves of Black Folks” by Champion Soul-remixed by I.G.CULTURE, released by Main Squeeze and distributed by Goya Records. She is also on the record “Chea Chea” produced by Andrew Brown as part of a compilation put out by Kickin music ltd, “King Britt presents – jazzmental” – distributed in France by Universal Music and in Japan by JVC Entertainment.
Most recently she is featured on the Album “Anarchy & Alchemy” by Dub Gabriel
Karen Gibson Roc is the executive producer of her independently recorded and released album “5&2fish” – 2003. KGR and Fluid released a CD “Live @ The Whitney Museum NYC” – 2006. KGR and Fluid have also completed a live DVD/CD project “Traveling With Light” – 2007 (Produced by Lbm Productions with funding from The Canadian Council Of The Arts). Karen was born on the island of Jamaica W.I. and raised in Toronto, Ontario.
Listen:
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28. FROM THE KITES OF SAN QUENTIN
(Manchester. NW England. THIS CITY IS OURS/ GULF RECORDS)
https://www.facebook.com/fromthekitesofsanquentin
http://www.fromthekitesofsanquentin.com/
Listen:
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29. BEACH PARADE
(Ithaca, New York. NE USA)
FREE 3-SONG EP DOWNLOAD:
http://beachparade.bandcamp.com/album/tour-loko-ep
Listen:
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30. NEUROTIC MASS MOVEMENT
(London. England)
http://www.myspace.com/neuroticmassmovement
http://soundcloud.com/neuroticmassmovement
Listen:
NEUROTIC MASS MOVEMENT- WHOS GOT THE MONEY
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31. THE VESPAS
(Coatbridge/North Lanarkshire. Scotland)
https://www.facebook.com/thevespasuk
http://soundcloud.com/the-vespas
About:
The Vespas are Rock ‘n’ Roll four peice from Coatbridge, Scotland. The band also have a mixture of blues and punk to define their sound. Influences include The Cribs, The Strokes and Dylan.
The band have knew each other all their lives, growing up together all throughout their school years. They then brought their talents to each other in February of 2009 and played their first gig to a sell out crowd on the 6th March that year in the Barrowland Glasgow!
Since then the band have went on to play venues up and down the country including a few more sell out gigs at venues like The ABC and Glasgow’s famous King Tuts Wah Wah Hut. The Vespas have also played a headline show at Glasgow’s 3,500 Capacity O2 Academy.
At the end of 2010, The Vespas released their debut E.P ‘Higher’. Next from the band is the single ‘Alone On The Line’ which is being released on 17th December 2011!! These are available from iTunes, Spotify, HMV Digital and all major downloading distributors.
Listen:
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32. DEADBEATS
(NYC. New York. NE USA)
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Deadbeats/185596278141055?sk=app_178091127385
Listen:
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COMPILED BY MIKE BURRELL.
