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| 10:10 Fri 09 May 2008 |
Tag: Music
These items have all been tagged with the tag "Music", You can see other tags in the Tag Cloud| Bon Iver - 'For Emma, Forever Ago' |
| 2008-04-28 15:16:19 |
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Context is everything. To record 'For Emma, Forever Ago', Bon Hiver - aka Justin Vernon - retreated to the remotest corner of Wisconsin and recorded alone for three cold winter months. That sense of loneliness, that dull, confusing ache that swells up when things just fall apart, it's all captured here in hearty acoustic strums and softly whispered vocals. Bon Iver is a play on the French words for 'good winter'. And that is notable because what could have been a very bad winter for Vernon was salvaged by the recording of this extraordinary album. Sitting on the sonic spectrum between Iron and Wine and Jose Gonzalez, 'For Emma, Forever Ago' is nine songs of subtle, layered acoustic guitar and Vernon's healing falsetto. It's an album you spin when your lover leaves you. In that context, Bon Iver will make you feel better about being sad. Context is everything and 'For Emma, Forever Ago' is brilliant. Download 'Skinny Love' here: myspace.com/boniver |
| Hot Track: Santogold - 'Les Artistes' |
| 2008-04-22 14:26:50 |
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Santogold’s 'L.E.S. Artistes' is a whole lot of good. With a spin of the single and the accompanying faux-gore video, it sounds like it was pieced together over several late nights at M.I.A.’s loft with help from with invited guests Tegan & Sara serving drinks, Nick Zinner controlling the stereo with all those obscure late ‘80s noise bands you’ve never heard of and revered UK beatsmith Switch twiddling a knob here and there for effect. All the while Philly native, Santogold, bellows above it all with rousing, fists-clenched intensity. CSS’s Lovefoxx was there too, overseeing the green sausage guts aesthetic of the clip but she passed out in bathtub before the end. Sounds pretty damn great, don’t you think? Me too. By Dave Ruby Howe myspace.com/santogold |
| MiShare - Share Your Music |
| 2008-04-21 15:50:56 |
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Here at The Cool Hunter we are always on the look out for innovative gadgets that as well as being aesthetically pleasing, are also practical and can be used in real world situations. miShare is such a product. One of the biggest problems that people have with iPods is that unless you have a diploma in hacking, it is extremely difficult to share your tunes, especially without getting a computer involved. That is of course until now. Want the latest album from your friends' iPod? Simply connect both iPods to the miShare unit, press the button and away you go. It's kind of like swapping football cards in the playground, although much cooler. Providing that your files are not DRM protected (that's digital rights management to you technophobes), everything from movies to photos to songs can be transferred. Even entire playlists. Nice. There is however one downside – for now the unit does not work with the iPhone or iPod touch, although we are told that a firmware update is being looked in to. Developed in Brooklyn and currently being shipped to all corners of the world for $100, may the sharing epidemic begin. By Brendan McKnight. |
| Hot Album: Jamie Lidell - 'Jim' |
| 2008-04-17 17:41:04 |
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Jamie Lidell - the IDM nerd turned whiteboyfunksuperfreak - is back. His 2005 jaw-dropper 'Multiply' found fans on dance floors, head phones, cafes, Grey's Anatomy and in Target commercials. Berlin based Lidell is an everyman whose cheery Motown soul is simultaneously uplifting and cerebral and his sophomore effort 'Jim' is a cracker of an album. Opener 'Another Day' bursts out of the speakers with bird songs and all the hope and joy of a summer dawn. It's the kind of track that will have neighbours knocking down your door to join the party every time you play it. Backed by gospel choirs and vaulting keys, Lidell's croon makes you realise how good Michael Buble could be if only he sounded this good. The album's first single 'Little Bit Of Feel Good' is as funky as 'Jim' gets. It's an unmissable plea to the feet-draggers and cynics. 'Jim' is ten tracks of gorgeous pop and soul. It's a summer record. But regardless of the season you'll be playing it endlessly and feeling all the better for it. By Nick Christie |
| Coolhunter Discovery: Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu |
| 2008-04-15 12:34:51 |
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I had the incredible pleasure of seeing Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu perform live in June 2007. In a packed cafe, Gurrumul sang and played his acoustic guitar, accompanied only by a double bass. His voice was the most extraordinary live voice I have ever heard and its impact was devastating. In a venue that held at most 200 people, the majority were reduced to tears by the power and poignancy of a man whose message lingers with you long after his songs end. A former member of Australian band Yothu Yindi, Gurrumul was born blind and sings mostly in his traditional language. Gurrumul plays the guitar upside down because there were no left handed guitars in the communities he grew up in. Gurrumul's story will inspire many. But his voice is what will cut through and if it lands on enough ears, his debut album 'Gurrumul' available on Skinnyfish Music could prove to be a landmark Australian release. myspace.com/gurrumul  By Nick Christie - via TCH Australia |
| The Foals - 'Antidotes' |
| 2008-04-11 15:29:57 |
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Foals make me jealous. I mean, how embarrassing is it to see these kids blast their way onto the scene with the kind of awe-inspiring, frenetic indie-meets-dance-punk you wished that second Valentinos EP would’ve had? Pretty embarrassing. In the spotlight for less than a year and Foals have already featured on a Kitsuné Maison compilation, inked major deals, and had their drummer pose for Burberry’s Spring/Summer line. Shit, these kids get their record produced by TV On The Radio’s main man Dave Sitek and essentially scrap his mixes in favour of their own. Next thing you know they’ll be ignoring all those MySpace messages from Timbaland. Damn them. Then they go and rub it in my face with their terrific debut album Antidotes. Look at them…flaunting those nervous guitar lines, those booming drums and fevered vox. Even the horns can’t slow down the raucous second single Cassius, nor the stomp of Heavy Water. By Dave Ruby Howe. Get envious at myspace.com/foals |
| Fan Made Videos | ||
| 2008-04-07 16:35:20 | ||
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| The Presets - 'Apocalypso' |
| 2008-04-03 14:57:09 |
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Ah Presets, you haven't let us down. When a pre-release copy of The Presets new album 'Apocalypso' landed on the Coolhunter desk last week, it was with great anticipation that we gave it a first spin. And Bam! straight away, it hit us – that crispness of sound, Julian Hamilton's semi-comatose delivery and the wailing synths - it was indeed The Presets we have come to know and love. 'Apocalypso' is a more complete album than its predecessor 'Beams', the songs more fully formed and subtly layered. With the pounding 'My People' a club staple for months now, the album's second single 'This Boy's In Love' has all the hallmarks of glittering synthpop classic with its rising verses and dream-like chorus backed by tear-drop piano keys. Elsewhere, 'If I Know You' sails by on skittering hi-hats and while Hamilton croons atop pulsating bass. On the album closer 'Anywhere', The Presets get emotional as sparse four-to the floor drums and empty vocals get overtaken by bouncy synth stabs and a New Order-esque, lighters-in-the-air crescendo. The new album 'Apocalypso' drops on April 12, followed by a world tour. It's going to be a monster year for The Presets. By Nick Christie. www.myspace.com/thepresets |
| Hot Chip - 'Made In The Dark' |
| 2008-03-26 14:21:17 |
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Hot Chip's new album 'Made In The Dark', is a wild ride. From the popping, stomping squelches and whistles of 'Out At The Pictures', to the LCD Soundsystem-esque groove of 'Ready For The Floor', the album jumps frenetically between styles and influences. With moments of delicate intimacy, soulful croons and straightforward dance-pop, Hot Chip truly are the kings of hipster electro-pop. Full of infectious, imaginative hooks and schizophrenic mood and tempo changes, you can lose yourself in 'Made In The Dark'. With so much to process, it's an album that will reveal its more subtle elements on repeat listens. Music for sound-tracking times of bliss and glee. By Nick Christie myspace.com/hotchip |
| Girl Power Mach 2 |
| 2008-03-10 14:29:17 |
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The Spice Girls landed on our doorsteps more than a decade ago with promises of ‘girl power’ and telling us what we wanted, what we really, really wanted. With the pop and fizzle of The Spice Girls’ stunning rise now a distant memory, the UK is undergoing a second wave of ‘girl power’. Instead of pre-fabricated, hyper-merchandised glitz, this new crop of ‘girl power’ artists embody lyrical honesty and authenticity. Where the Spice Girls relied on sass and cleavage and commercial pop smarts, the UK’s current crop of female singer-songwriters embody honest self reflection and realness. Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen led the way with their upfront, unforgettable reinterpreta-tions of contemporary pop. In the wake of Winehouse and Allen’s success arrives the next wave of UK female singer-songwriters. 20 year old Kate Nash smashed through with her single ‘Foundations’ and won the hearts of the indie crowd with her cover of the Black Kids’ ‘I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance’. Duffy, currently sitting at #1 in the UK with her track ‘Mercy’, has a voice that sits com-fortably between Winehouse and Dusty Springfield and comes with the promise that her music will last decades. Adele too, with her soulful croon and anthemic single Chasing Pavements’, is cramming the airwaves and poised to take her sound global. All in all, it’s a welcome arrival. It’s ‘girl power’ you can actually believe in. By Nick Christie |
