From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V16 #483 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Wednesday, July 11 2012 Volume 16 : Number 483 To unsubscribe: e-mail ecto-digest-request@smoe.org and put the word unsubscribe in the message body. Today's Subjects: ----------------- My CD Player regulars for first half of 2012 [valrichardson@igc.org] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2012 23:46:30 -0400 (GMT-04:00) From: valrichardson@igc.org Subject: My CD Player regulars for first half of 2012 My CD-player regulars for first half of 2012: Allo Darlinb, _Europe_: Fronted by Australian native Elizabeth Morris. Described as twee? Good smart pop, intelligent lyrics, makes me want to be young and in love again for the first time and traveling with my boyfriend and bandmates in another country. Amadou and Mariam, _Folila_: bThe blind coupleb of Mali recorded a set of songs in Mali with African musicians and then in New York with members of groups such as TV on the Radio and Scissor Sisters. The initial idea was to put out two albums, but then they decided to merge the two takes into one. Amadoubs signature blues-tinged guitar still provides the backbone on most of the songs although their sound is somewhat diluted by the guest vocalists and musicians. Ana Tijoux, _La Bala_: This is the second CD from the French/Chilean rapper. Dense and political lyrics. After hearing her first CD, I started checking out a lot of South American rap and alternative music and found a whole new world of marvelous sounds. Andrew Bird, _Break It Yourself_: Well-known, Chicago-based multi-instrumentalist. His latest CD has spent a lot of time in my CD player during the last few months. Ane Brun, _It All Starts with One_: Latest from Norwegian-based singer. Spacious and with a lot of depth. Beth Jeans Houghton, _Your Truly, Cellophane Nose_: This release is the first time Ibd heard this brilliant British singer, who I guess now lives in California. Reminds me a lot of Imogen Heap with whom she has performed. Anyone who can make a song about dodecahedrons has my vote. Cate Le Bon, Cyrk: Welsh singer with very dark sensibilities, which she says came from growing up on a farm and having to bury lots of dead animals. Cold Specks, _I Predict a Graceful Expulsion_: Canadabs Al Spx. Her music is located somewhere between Tracy Chapman and Adele but much more melancholy in both cases. Diagrams, _Black Light_: U.K. group with a sound reminiscent of Peter Gabriel and really nice harmonies. The latest project of Tunng co-frontman Sam Genders. Eliza Rickman, _O, You Sinners_: I donbt know much about her, but Kate Bush certainly comes up as a comparison. Classically trained voice (?), lush strings, toy pianos, unusual songs and orchestration. Fiona Apple, The Idler Wheel Is Wiser than the Screwb&_: Needs no explanation. First Aid Kit, _The Lionbs Roar_: This CD and the Julia Nunes were introduced to me by my teenage daughter. Swedish sisters Johanna and Klara SC6derberg are barely out of their teens. They achieved fame through a YouTube cover of a Fleet Foxes song, a group with whom they are aptly compared. Julia Nunes, _Settle Down_: She found fame doing clever video songs that were played mostly on ukulele and recorded on a webcam. Her Kickstart funding allowed her to a fully produced album that is quite beautiful although still with plenty of clever and funny bits. Kelly Hogan, _I Like to Keep Myself in Pain_: R&B and Soul from Georgia native and former member of the Jody Grind. A recommendation from my sister. Laura Gibson, _La Grande_: Northwest native sings songs with titles like bRed Moonb and bCrow/Swallow.b The cover photo shows her wrapped in an Indian blanket and standing next to a campfire. I have a vision of a woman growing up in a backwoods cabin with only a small radio connecting her to the outside world. She makes music based on snatches of thing she hears over the decades. More folk based than anything else, but certainly a unique voice. Loop 2-4-3, _American Dreamland_: Third CD from classically-trained (Yale) percussionists Thomas Kozumplik and Lorne Watson. This album features strong vocal tracks from such guests as Shara Worden. Mati Zundel, _Amazonico Gravitante_, Argentinian artist who layers traditional instruments and techno dance beats. Nicholas Jaar, _Space Is Only Noise_: This Chilean-American techno artist was born in New York, but raised between Santiago and SoHo. At seventeen, he began releasing music on the Brooklyn imprint Wolf + Lamb Sharon Van Etten, _Tramp_, Ibd like to see a double bill of Sharon Van Etten and Kristin Hersh. I've also published tracks from each on a Spotify and Share-My-Playlist list. ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V16 #483 ***************************