Écoutez! Edinburgh Readies itself for Bizarre Musical Experience!

This year’s Edinburgh Festival is nearly upon us, a time when going to see the right act at the right time is a fine art. In a rather Sex Pistols fashion, people will tell you they were the first to see such-and-such an act before they were famous in a miniscule venue, whereas, if everyone had been there, a 300-seat venue would have had tens of thousands in the audience. We therefore have a duty to give you advance warning of one act appearing this year, No-Ce.

No-Ce is Celine Nordegg and her band, an Austrian-based collective who don’t take the easy route to getting under your skin. A mixture of jazz, chanson and rock, it veers from the sound of smokey Paris coffee bars in 1957 to modern day hipster-swing hang-outs. Language is not an issue, quite frankly she could be saying something terrible about our grandma and we’d still listen.

Where going to stick with the traditional here, as schnapps feels exactly like the kind of thing you should be quaffing along with your listening experience.

See No-Ce & Band at this year’s Edinburgh Festival August 6/7/8 at 08:30pm at AMC @ UCC

Website: www.cecilenordegg.eu

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5EQSN87PpFKyMHeeJEsBlc

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa4nmntt4rvUIgjtdBplnhg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cecilenordeggjazz/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cecile_nordegg/

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After Hours Post-Rock with Broken Islands

Broken Islands may be the most heart-breaking listening experience of your year – or maybe the most uplifting, such is the strange brew of raucous guitars and honeyed vocals. Post-rock may have had a somewhat tumultuous hay day, evolving from sheets of amplified power chords to orchestral, if rather directionless, suites of floppy-haired yawning. It was a brave attempt to bring classical techniques to rock and indie music but it failed as bands either misunderstood what they were trying to integrate or took themselves too seriously to an alarming degree. And then there’s Broken Islands.

Broken Islands are the band post-rock should have used as its template for glory. Exceptionally grand and widescreen in scope, this is utterly thrilling, indeed the temptation to wheel out cliched phrases of rapture is almost too much to resist. Listen to the track “Crown” and you risk arrest if not moved to tears. It’s a stunning testament to a band who have only unleashed themselves on the world when they had fully developed as both a band and songwriters. Their album, Wars, has just been released (on red vinyl) and is a potential game-changer.

What to accompany this emotional experience? Well, the band are from Canada so it would be nice to bring that into the mix. Lo’, please enjoy a heart (and body warming brew from those good people at Canada Dry

https://www.canadadry.com/recipes/warm-ginger-apple-rum-punch

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-475951978/sets/wars

Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/artist/5gpCj0xQj8BwdG3uXPUJRr

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvEJQKLM-qaFjTvMXxUMkWg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebrokenislands/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/broken_islands

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/_thebrokenislands_/

Website: http://www.thebrokenislands.com/

Oceans of Noise but Go Easy on the Booze!

Launching their first campaign outside of their native Turkey, Oceans of Noise are the kind of rock band it’s easy to get along with. Despite having an outrageous amount of success in their home country, Eurovision Song Contest victories and a loyal fan-base, rock fans should have no concerns about language barriers or unusual stylings – this is epic, landscape, quadruple-gatefold scale symphonic rock, with arresting imagery, oodles of musical skill and synths and guitars working in tandem to scramble your brains before you’ve even got to the bar.

Talking of the bar, Oceans of Noise are holding a launch party for their self-titled EP at London’s ultra-fashionable, Omeara Bar under London Bridge. Should you be lucky enough to get an invite, do the right thing and ask the barkeep for a couple of shots of Turkey’s national drink, raki to toast the band and yourself for having such good taste. Tempting as it may be, we wouldn’t recommend oceans, seas or even lakes of the stuff, though we’re fairly certain you’ll find the music intoxicating enough.

Apple Music: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/oceans-of-noise/1296282833

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/21HzqFortyEjD2yOdCZAPY

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/oceansofnoise

Facebook: facebook.com/oceansofnoise

Twitter: twitter.com/oceansofnoise

Instagram: instagram.com/oceansofnoiseband

Website: oceansofnoiseband.com

Ms. Mohammed, rock but with a bit of zing.

Ms. Mohammed’s debut Alibi see’s her bring her feisty side right from the go. A mix of tribalistic dhol drums and a traditional kit give her rocky sound an etherial, exotic edge. Her Alibi EP explores this world music and rock mix to great effect, also dipping into Indie and in the last track on the EP ‘Written in Time’, a samba break down. Give the Alibi video a listen below.

So… Ms. mohammed plays traditional punky, PJ Harvey styled rock music BUT, all importantly, she infuses her music with a splash of the etherial and exotic. This this why I would compare Ms. Mohammed to Deperado’s. Traditional Larger with a tequila twist!

Follow Ms. Mohammed
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/MsMohammedMusic/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/MsMohammedMusic
Website – http://msmohammed.com/

The NaveBlues; what to drink when you’ve got the blues?

The NaveBlues are a new blues rock band hailing from Norwegian, however their strand of Blues Rock instantly conjures the image of a US bar in Tennessee (clue no.1)

Their new EP is something to behold. Searing harmonica tones fit for all the great blues players coupled with rocky outbursts. They feel as though you should be sat in a little ark bar drinking whisky (clue no.2) with a toothpick hanging out of your mouth, watching head Naver; Nave Pundik play the s*** out his harmonica while you nod in approval.

I feel the track from their new EP which captures this image best is The Ghost Collector, 4 minutes of pure jamming; guitar and harmonica melting faces all over it! Its like hearing Joe Bonamassa shred a Harmonica. It ROCKS man, I want to see them live.

NOW what drink would represent this bluesy, rocky harmonica, guitar greatness. It has a great rocky energy, but it harks back to old blues classics, and when blues is done like this, it’s aged well… Its an old classic but it feels fresh, timeless. Got to be a bottle of extra strong aged Jack.

Pink Milk to Listen to but What to Drink?

Sweden’s Pink Milk are a male and female duo who excel at contorting deafening sound into strange and wonderful sculptures. Their sound is both hypnotic and bewildering, as much influenced by the spectral Gotland backdrop in which their album was recorded in as the dark ideas spewing forth from their minds.

Their earlier singles have received rave reviews from the likes of Clash and 6Music, in particular their disarming song and video “Detroit” and their slowly unraveling cover version of Foreigner’s “I Want to Know What Love Is”, which is turned inside out and becomes both a lowing lullaby and sinister entreaty. As an entity, they are a testament to how minimalism can actually be huge, expansive and incredibly powerful, and their album, Purple, a rare treat. And that drink to accompany your listening experience? Oh, yeah…

http://www.drinksmixer.com/drink1wx4755.html

 

Links:

SoundCloud:

https://soundcloud.com/pinkmilktheband

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6pfkVhn2nBIYUEu9nKHdLV

Youtube Channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvRWoJAz6IGcGmuw3qqah9A

Facebook:

 https://www.facebook.com/pinkmilkmusic/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/pm_theband

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/pinkmilkmusic/

Website:

http://www.pinkmilkmusic.com

 

Mind-Melting with Nej!Las

We’ve been trying to come up with an appropriate beverage to accompany an evening listening to Nej!Las (her name is a semi-reversal of her given name of Jen Sal), an American techno artist creating complex sonic vistas with magical machines. It’s hypnotic, slightly sinister and utterly overwhelming stuff and requires multiple listens to really get to grips with it…in a good way, it’s music that just keeps on giving. We recommend your Washout listening sessions to be accompanied by an appropriate brew which not only inspires but also numbs and and causes mild delirium. Please enjoy your tot of everclear responsibly – the music is chilling enough without setting yourself on fire.

In Review: Albino’s ‘Belinda’

It’s at times like these you realise how forgiving you’ve been of singles which have come through for review. Why did I find it acceptable that a 6 minute track which had no discernible melody, rhythm, focus or point of interest was worthy of a carefully thought out appraisal? Albino have nailed exactly what a single should be: their new track ‘Belinda’ is catchy, fresh, yet at the same time redolent of some classic bands you’d forgotten you were madly in love with; but at the same time leaving you clawing at your ears that it only lasts for 2 and a bit minutes.

There’s the well told story from Paul McCartney about the creation of ‘Yesterday’ wherby having written down the song, he convinced himself for the following month that all he had in fact done was to plagiarise an already existing wunder-hit. I almost have the same feeling here: ‘Belinda’ sounds naggingly familiar, yet having listened to it a few more times, I’m confident it is a completely original modern classic.

Yes, there are obvious reference points- the kaleidoscopically drooling organ sound is immediately all things The Doors/The Animals/Brian Auger; the structure is the gutter-garage-blues of The Beasts of Bourbon and early Nick Cave. Although Albino are London based, more specifically, London pub-based, their beer mat agenda is being fully understood by both band and audience alike. This as much tomorrow’s sound as yesterday’s – the hangover comes for free.

What Drink?

Considering the band’s claim that they more or less run on whiskey, it’s got to be a fine single malt. Or simply anything alcoholic…

‘Shredded Jeans’ by Mark L. Oakes

‘Shredded Jeans’ is one of the latest singles from Belgian singer-songwriter Mark L. Oakes’ new album, Call Me The Moon. The record is a must listen for lovers of folk and americana who enjoy that classic throwback sound.

This isn’t to say that Oakes’ music is dated by any means; he has adopted an older sound akin to the likes of Neil Young and Van Morrison, but adapted and fine-tuned it through quality production to create a more modern version of music from this genre.

Mark states Neil Young as one of his main influences and the pair actually share a very similar vocal tone that’s both warm and emotive. As well as Young, Oakes looks up to the likes of Tucker Zimmerman, Ryan Adams and Tom Petty for musical inspiration.

‘Shredded Jeans’ is a beautifully piano-led track that builds from gentle chords and humming-organs to a chorus that really gives you goosebumps, in the best way possible – it must be the powerful combination of Mark’s voice and the screaming harmonica.

Mark himself has labelled Call Me The Moon the ideal soundtrack for a ‘karmic road trip’ and listening to the music immediately explains why. There is a very cinematic quality to his sound that would be easy to pair up with the visuals of a classic road trip film. The emotion is so strong, particularly in tracks like ‘Shredded Jeans’ and ‘Aloof Again’, that Mark’s music might just make you smile, or even cry.

The album was recorded at Mark’s home studio in the Ardennes with the help of cellist, Ben Trigg, and was mastered by Grammy award winner, Gavin Lurssen. Mark is a keen traveller, often voyaging between Europe and the US with a number of musical projects, but he believes that Call Me The Moon is a ‘silver thread out of the vague existential maze’.

What Drink?

The relaxing and easy-listening vibes at play within Mark’s music call for a quality single-malt with which you can begin to contemplate the ‘vague existential maze’ that is life.

Find out more on Mark L Oakes here:

https://soundcloud.com/mark-l-oakes

https://www.facebook.com/oakesmusic

https://twitter.com/markloakesmusic

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8pq-OE8Cknqw4FwMdfhMLA

www.oakesmusic.com

 

 

Alonestar’s ‘Lovelorn’

Alonestar is the musical moniker by which artist and producer, Jethro Sheeran, otherwise goes, and before you ask, yes, he is related to Ed – they’re cousins. However, this should by no means diminish Jethro’s work just because his cousin is a world-wide superstar.

In fact, upon listening to Jethro’s music, it is easy to see how Ed has been influenced by his rap style. Nonetheless, Alonestar has returned with his latest single ‘Lovelorn’, which also features the talented vocals of singer, Rosie Ribbons.

The pair wrote the track together with their past experiences and relationships in mind which provided fuel for the context of this addictive track. Combating themes of unrequited love and heartbreak, Jethro explains that ‘Lovelorn’ “is the strongest and most powerful song I have written & produced to date, it reflects my new sound and style. It’s something fresh and different to anything else out there at the moment. I dug deep to exercise the darkness in this track, and fell into the depths of my soul when coming up with the concept.”

A powerful and resonant beat underpins the whole track, adding a sense of seriousness that’s comparable to some of Eminem’s best work. Alonestar’s lyrics are fast, clever and witty, exuding attitude and emotion from every word. With his signature rap style, Jethro paves the way for the super-catchy and emotive chorus sung through the crystal clear vocals of Ribbons. There is a strong contrast between the two in terms of how they sing, but this only adds to the quality production of the track, exemplifying Jethro’s own talents.

‘Lovelorn’ was produced by Sheeran himself with the help of Massive Attack’s guitarist, Angelo Bruschini, and drummer Damon Reece.

What Drink?

You can imagine this one being played in the club so why not accompany it with a vodka and coke, or lemonade- your call!

Check out more on Alonestar here:

http://www.alonestar.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/alonestar/

https://twitter.com/ALONESTAR1

https://soundcloud.com/ALONESTAR