THIRD MONDAYS-February 2011

THE ECLECTIC EIGHT

1. WARPAINT

This psychedelic all-girl quartet came together in 2004, then went on to release their first LP, Exquisite Corpse, in 2007. Their initial LP garnered much praise and attention, eventually landing them a record deal. They followed that up in 2010 with the release of The Fool. Take a listen to one of their songs, Undertow here.
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2. !!! (also called chk chk chk)

This is a dance-punk band from Sacramento, CA. They are comprised of former members of various other local bands from Sacramento who were part of the dance punk scene there during the late 90s. Since their formation, they have released several albums and at numerous festivals, even securing a slot in this year’s Coachella. Take a listen to the band’s music here.

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3. THAO WITH THE GET DOWN STAY DOWN

Thao Nguyen, a Falls Church, VA native, started dabbling in music while she was a young kid learning the guitar. During her college years while working on her solo EP she met drummer Willis Thompson, and soon enough they added two other musicians creating the group as we see it now. The band’s music is classified as alternative folk but they do draw inspiration and sounds from country, early soul and jazz. Take a listen to their music here.

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4. KELE (of Bloc Party)

Kelechukwu “Kele” Rowland Okereke is a Nigerian-English singer-songwriter. He is the lead singer of the band Bloc Party but also performs as a solo artist.  After the band took a hiatus in 2008, Kele released his first solo effort called The Boxer in June 2010. I listened to two of his tracks called Tenderoni and Everything You Wanted and instantly loved them. Watch the video for both here:

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5. NOUVELLE VAGUE

This french music group came to be in 2003, creating music that mixes new wave and bossa nova. They often have various singers collaborate with them on their albums to create unique songs and introduce new styles to their albums. Take a listen to their music here.

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6. AFROBETA

This Miami duo came together in 2006 creating avant-garde dance music. By 2009, they had managed to create quite a strong buzz and this coming year in 2011 they are slated to perform at the legendary Glastonbury Festival. Take a listen to their music here.

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7. Mumford & Sons

This is an English folk rock band that formed in 2007 and since then has gained much critical praise and grown a pretty strong fan base. Take a listen to them here.

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8. LAURA MARLING

She is a folk singer-songwriter. She use to be part of the original line-up in Noah and the Whale but embarked on her own musical journey in 2008. Take a listen to some of her music here.

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Hope you enjoyed this month’s edition of THE ECLECTIC EIGHT.

Selamawit

EVENTS: Halloween Week

Monday, Oct. 25

Underworld , a British electronica duo, is performing at 930 club, 815 V St. NW, Washington, DC. Doors open 7pm.  Buy tickets here.

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PURE Monday’s Open Mic. 21+ event held every Monday at Pure Lounge, 1326 U St. NW, Washington, DC. 9:00 pm – 01:00 am. More info here.

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Tuesday, Oct. 26

Hustlepalooza: The Cool Kids, Stalley, Lyriciss and others at U Street Music Hall. 1115 U St. NW, Washington, DC. 9pm Show. Buy Tickets here.

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DC Drag Queen Race 2010: Costume Drag Queen Show and Race. Location is Dupont Circle, specifically 17th Street, between P and S Streets NW. Starts at 9pm.

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Wednesday, Oct. 27

Arabian Sights Film Festival at Goethe Institut, 812 7th Street, NW Washington, DC 20001. Oct.21-31st. New Films from Egypt, UAE, Iraq, Morocco, Lebanon, and others. Get your tickets here.

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Thursday, Oct. 28

AFROBEAT FOR YA SOUL…FELABRATION–Africa 70’s Style Edition-Bossa Lounge-2463 18th St NW, Party Starts at 9pm, $5 at the door, Free Face Painting

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ReadysetDC & STROGA Present: Fashion District Fall/Winter: Fashion Show, Art Installation, Pop-Ups, and Social. At STROGA-1808 Adams Mill Road. 7pm-12am. Get tickets and more info here.

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FRIDAY, Oct. 29

Civilian Art Projects launches two new photography exhibitions of work by women artists. The America Project: Utopia, new work by celebrated photographer Noelle K. Tan; and REMOTE, a group photography exhibition featuring Lisa K. Blatt, Lely Constantinople, Kate MacDonnell, and E. Brady Robinson opens on Friday, October 29, 2010. 7-9pm.1019 7th Street NW, Second Floor, Washington, DC.

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Midnight Marauders: Night of Hip/Hop music featuring Nike Nando, Chris Barz, Cloud 9, Jay Fresh Kicks, Black Sand, Lola Maxwell, Hassani Kwess, Mr. Make Moves, Surrel, Darren Hanible, Nate Greyski, Obii Say, Kelow, Foreign English, and King Swagg. Hosted by Stef–DJ Juslissen Slector. All Ages. $5. Everlasting Life Cafe–2928 Georgia Ave NW, Washington DC 20001. 7pm-12am.

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Mark your calendars and make sure to go out and support all these great events!

Selamawit

VIDEO RECAP: Blitz the Ambassador Show

Remember the Blitz the Ambassador Event I told you guys about late last month? In between getting face-painted, scooping a drink up (a nice cola, no alcohol needed for me that night…who says you gotta drink to have a great time?!!?) , and saying hello to some familiar faces, I was tweeting away about the event…Now if you were following my tweets, you could read that I was having a truly great time, just as I predicted I would. Despite the rain, the crowd was growing bigger and bigger as the hour went on. And the performance?? Well it was surprisingly great. Honestly, I hadn’t heard of Blitz till the collective efforts of  Lunchboxtheory, Bernos, OkayAfrica,and Fusicology brought him and the entire band to DC to perform for the event.  It was honestly lots of fun, and I think it is safe to say that anyone who made it there despite the rain would agree. It made me think…all hip/hop acts should have a band and/or work with as much live instrumentation as possible. It was a refreshing showcase of hip/hop artistry and definitely nice to see the gap closing up between Africa and hip/hop that has been arguably in existence for quite some time. And well,  if you made the poor decision to miss out because of a few too many raindrops here is a video recap of what you missed out on:

Hope you enjoyed the video!

Selamawit

Video Contest

DISASTER MARCH is a  powerpop band currently working hard on promoting their new album and have been pushing it with this great idea of having fans create their own videos of them singing their new single, Save Me, Jaime. The winner will have his/her video featured in the official music video and get a gift card. For more information go here.

Red Directors

Meet the Red Directors.Since 2004, this indie band, formed in New York and still currently based in Brooklyn, has been creating quite the strong following all along the east coast. Over the years, the band has released four albums and now currently pushing their fifth album, Wave It In.  Off of their new album, Wave It In, the current new single is Naked in the Kitchen. When I heard this specific song it reminded me of the type of music I’d expect to hear on a film soundtrack, an indie or even coming-of-age comedy of sorts.  Also their  vocals sound very Beach Boys-esque in the way they are harmonizing and floating on top of the instrumentals. The band’s sound is a mixture of rock, pop, and punk; similar bands that come to mind would be The Kooks and Vampire Weekend.

Here are a few tracks off of the new album, specifically their new single, Naked in the Kitchen and one of my album favs, After Sunday, for you to take a listen to for yourself:

Naked in the Kitchen

After Sunday

Also, make sure to go check out the Red Directors site, read more about the band and take a listen to a few of their other albums. Drop me a note below and let me know what you think!

-Selamawit

THIRD MONDAYS 7192010

THE ECLECTIC EIGHT

1)La Kinky Beat

Reggae. Drum & Bass. Latin. Dub. All those found in this group’s music. The group is from Barcelona and started initially as a routine jam session between different smaller musical groups and emerged into one collective band consisting of  about six members.  If you want to read more about the band go here. Otherwise, go here, and listen to their music.

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2)Onra

A french experimental hip-hop beatmaker. His works have been selected for some major campaigns such as the Beijing Olympics and with several EPs and Albums under his belt, there are surely even more great things to come. Check out this video clip of one of his songs called I wanna go back:

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3) Fol Chen

Signed to Asthmatic Kitty records, this LA-based indie pop band has garnered a pretty strong following. Check out more information about the group here. Also take a look at one of their videos below:

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4) Mux Mool

Brooklyn-based musician, Brian Lindgren, originally from Minnesota, through his various travels collected and sampled various records and music and began to mix and sample spreading it to the masses under the name Mux Mool. Check out more of his music here and also make sure to check out this video of one specific song, Night Court.

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5) Wave Machines

I found this English band while surfing online and found this one upbeat pop song of theirs catchy. Plus I played it so many times trying to figure out what the hell they were saying in the hook. Catchy beat and interesting lyrics. It works. To read more about the band go here. Check out their video for their song ” Go Go Go”

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6) Friendly Fires

Another band I got hooked onto just off their videos alone. Catchy lyrics and beats that make you want to dance. Read more on the band here and check out their video for Skeleton Boy below:

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7) The Kooks

Another English band to add to this month’s list; this group was formed in 2004 and got signed with Virgin Records just 3 months after and been working away since. Read more about the band here and check out their video, Always where I need to be

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8  ) The Dangerous Summer

*DMV* Maryland based band formed in 2006. They had their first studio album released in 2009 and their second one is slated for a 2011 release. Read more about them here. Check out their music here.

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Hope you enjoyed this month’s THE ECLECTIC EIGHT.

Selamawit

Fang Island

I came across Fang Island and specifically their song Daisy and couldn’t stop listening to it. The song was apparently used on MTV for The Buried Life…clearly I didn’t watch the show otherwise I would have wrote about it much much earlier. They released their self-titled album back in February and have received pretty decent reviews. Take a listen to the song Daisy below and if you love it, go and support them by buying their album here.

Cassettes Won’t Listen

Meet Jason Drake. The one-man indie rock and electronica band of Cassettes Won’t Listen. Drake has released several EPs, singles and compliation albums and even done remixes for other notable artists. Read more about him here. Check out two of his songs, Where did we go and Paper Float below:

-Selamawit

Black Tambourine

My music hunting turned up this group, Black Tambourine, an American (Silver Spring, MD to be exact!) pop band from the 90s. Just listen:

-Selamawit

THIRD MONDAYS 06212010

THE ECLECTIC EIGHT

1) Crowded House

I came across this video, “She Called Up”,  and thought it was so cute and clever and by the end of it I found myself singing the lyrics along with the kids. The band has been in formation since 1985 and has gained big following and commercial success out in Australia and New Zealand. Check out the video below and check out the band’s music here.

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2) Love is All

This Swedish band made the list mainly because I love their videos and they remind me of how simply fun and upbeat pop music use to be and can be. I also like how you can catch their accents, usually singers can mask them pretty well and make themselves sound very American and I like that it doesn’t sound like that at all. Check out one of their videos below and feel free to check out more of their music here.

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3) Bat for Lashes

From the name I assumed this is was a band or rather just a collective group of people, but it is in fact a one-woman show, Natasha Khan. She plays numerous instruments and sings. She studied music and went on to release her debut album in 2006. Check out the video for “What’s a Girl to do” below and check out more of her music here.

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4)Delphic

A alternative dance band from the UK with insightful lyrics and fresh video concepts. They released their debut album, Acolyte in January 2010 and did quite well, enough so that Samsung picked up one of their songs to be featured in one of their nationwide ad campaigns. Check out their video for “Doubt” below and also make sure you check out more of their music here.

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5)Momus

Nick Currie aka Momus is a blogger and photographer turned musician. His music is reminiscent of  Serge Gainsbourg but a more modernized and of course much much-less french version. Check out the video below to take a listen to his song “I want you but I don’t need you” and also check out more of his work here.

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6) Sonnymoon

I got introduced to this duo from Massachusetts thanks to the great folks behind Lunchboxtheory and The Couchsessions as part of a launch party for Soundbridge, a newly formed artist showcase based here in the DMV. Sonnymoon performed during the party and did a pretty great job. They have a pretty eclectic sound and add on top of it the duo’s haunting vocals, they definitely have a good thing going. Check out their music here.

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7) Ivy

This New York based indie pop band has been around for just over a decade. With about five albums to their name and couple EP’s they have developed a consistent following over the years. They are currently working on their sixth album to be released sometime this year. Check out the video “Worry about you” below and check out more of their music here.

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8)Matt Goss

This easy-on-the-eyes UK pop-soul singer started out his career as member of a boy band back in the 80s and these days he has been performing solo, working with a number of other artists such as Paul Oakenfold and now managed to get a deal headlining in Vegas. Check out the video for one of his singles “Evil” and also check out more of his music here.

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Hope you enjoyed the June 2010 edition of THE ECLECTIC EIGHT and feel free to drop a comment below and let me know what you think! If you want to make the list contact me at editor.shademagazine@gmail.com

-Selamawit