THIRD MONDAYS-April 2011

THE ECLECTIC EIGHT

1. THAO and MIRAH

This pop-folk duo has been generating pretty good buzz for the past few years. Each musician bringing her own aesthetic and sound to create an interesting balance between folk, pop and rock. They have a new album coming out on the 26th of this month and luckily NPR is live streaming it so definitely take a second and check out their music here.

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2. SATURDAY LOOKS GOOD TO ME

I came across this experimental pop group from Michigan and instantly loved their songs Make a Plan and Mighty Cloud. Check out their music here.

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3. CLYTEM SCANNING

She is a Parisian one-woman band creating house and experimental pop music  Take a listen to some of her music here.

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4. kIM NOVAk

An indie French band of boys  with a woman’s name as their group name, making pop music. Got it? Okay good, now go check out their music here.

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5. MOZEZ

He is a Jamaican UK-bred lounge, electronica and R&B musician. He intially started out in a music group during late 90s but as of late embarked on a solo mission. Take a listen to his music here.

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6. SOPHIE BAKER

Baker is a breathy folk acoustic-guitar playing singer. She has released a few albums since 2004, most recently being this year’s Seagull. Take a listen for yourself here.

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7. BEBEL GILBERTO

She is a Grammy nominated Brazilian singer who comes from a well-known musically inclined family. She has been working on her music for quite some time and although she isn’t Indie in the traditional sense, I think too often in the states we overlook too many great international musicians. So take a second a listen to her music here.

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8. PIERS FACCINI

I came across this indie folk singer and songwriter and instantly loved his song, Your Name No More. He has this bluesy quality to his famous that reminds me of a Amos Lee or Ben Harper. Take a listen to his music for yourself here.

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I hope you enjoyed this month’s edition of THE ECLECTIC EIGHT. Make sure to check out each respective musician’s sites and support their music.

Selamawit

Sonic Goodies: Chocolate City Soul Revue Official Mix

Now, I am a huge James Brown fan and a lover of all things related to soul music, so when I first heard about the upcoming Chocolate City Soul Revue event on June 4th at DAR Constitution Hall, I knew I had to go.  So imagine how much more certain and excited I was about going when I got this really amazing soul mix via Lunchboxtheory Productions in support of this upcoming Chocolate City Soul Revue event. Let’s take a look at what they wrote:

In anticipation for the massive soul show, Chocolate City Soul Revue, coming to DC on June 4th, DJ Pari  and Mr. Fenty decided to give us a tease by creating an hour long funky fresh mixtape full of rare soul grooves. DJ Pari, founder of SoulPower has an extensive history delving into the depths of funk and soul when starting out as a DJ in Germany in his teens, Now a master producer and DJ, Pari plays almost exclusively rare Soul and Funk 45s and he has performed in clubs and at festivals across the world. Mr. Fenty has a love for records and started collecting rare soul records from a young age.  Together with DJ Pari they created one of the most popular radio shows of its kind in the global Soul scene.   There is nothing like a little funk and soul to put a hop, skip, and a jump into your day.

http://soundcloud.com/lunchboxtheory/chocolate-city-soul-revue

Check out The Impressions, the reunion of James Brown’s Orginial Funky Diva, Eli “Paperboy” Reed, DJ Pari and Mr. Fenty at DAR Constitution Hall on June 4^th. (More information about the event here)

Take a good listen to this soulful funky mix and mark your calendars, this is surely an event you don’t want to miss!

Selamawit

SOUND: Orchestre Poly-Rythmo

Meet Orchestre Poly-Rythmo. This band hails from West African country of Benin and is signed to the legendary Strut Records. They have been around for decades and after taking a 20-year hiatus, the band switched up their lineup, and  just this week released their album, Cotonou Club .  See, this week has been a long hectic week for me…and it’s not even over yet! So this specific track I’m listening to called Pardon, is giving me just the right amount of horns and drums I needed to stir my spirit and get me amped and excited about the impending weekend. To listen to more of the album go here.

Happy Thursday!

Selamawit

Sonic Goodies: Africa Undone

In celebration of their 2 year anniversary party tomorrow, the Lunchboxtheory crew have released a new mix called, Africa Undone, and did a revamp of their site.  I have to say it is definitely my favorite mix thus far. I couldn’t help but dance in my chair as I sat listening late into the night. Take a listen for yourself here:

 

So make sure you listen to the mix and prep real good for the party tomorrow night at Bossa Lounge in Adams Morgan. Also, be prepared to listen to the delicatable sounds of Heturu and the hypnotizing mixes of Dj Underdog and Dj Camjus. Also word is, there will be delicious homemade treats for everyone!

See you there!

Selamawit

THIRD MONDAYS-March 2011

THE ECLECTIC EIGHT

SXSW Edition

Here we are again in March and this time I have to yet again miss SXSW in Austin. On the upside, I’ll be enjoying myself in Paris and Turkey so I’m not losing entirely and I’ll also have few new goodies to talk about on here from my trip. And trip or not, The Eclectic Eight list will always be up and just like last year in March, it’ll be more geared towards featuring just artists who are set to perform at SXSW. So take a look and listen…and if you are in Austin during this epic week, make sure to stop through and support these various artists!

1. ZORCH

Psychedelic experimental pop duo. Set to perform Saturday March 19th, 8pm at Malaia Upstairs.  Take a listen to their music here.

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2. SECRET CITIES

Trio hailing from North Dakota making psychedelic electro-acoustic music. Set to perform Friday, March 18th afternoon at the REDEFINE Mag first-ever epic house party. Even if you miss that you can still catch them at one of the SXSW official shows at Lamberts on Saturday, March 19th at 9pm. Take a listen to them here.

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3. COUSIN COLE

DJ and half of group Flagrant Fowl. Set to perform Thursday, March 17th at 12:30am at Malaia Upstairs. Downloan and listen to his most recent mixtape, Major Rager, here.

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4. FITZ AND THE TANTRUMS

Soulful multi-member group of musicians and singers. Set to perform Friday, March 19th at 11:15pm at Mellow Johnny’s. Take a listen to their music here.

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5. BUTCHER BEAR AND CHARLIE

Soulful electronica group. Set to perform Thursday, March 17th at 9pm at Mellow Johnny’s. Take a listen to the group’s music here.

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6.SAADI

Pop, reggae, and electro singer. She is set to perform on Friday, March 18th at the Clive Bar. Take a listen to her music here.

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7. NICOLE ATKINS

Experimental folksy singer-songwriter. She is set to perform on Friday, March 18th at the Clive Bar. Take a listen to her music here.

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8. THE ECHOCENTRICS

Electro-Soul band with deep Latin-American roots. They are one of the many great musicians set to perform at Wax Poetics SXSW Music Showcase on Wednesday, March 16th. Take a listen to the group’s music here.

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

Selamawit

SOUND: Riva Starr & Noze

Meet Riva Starr.

Meet Noze.

Both electro indie groups, the former hailing from the UK and the latter from France. They collaborated back in late 2010 for the song, I was drunk and made a great video featuring one mustached baby. Check out more of their music here and here and check out the video for I was drunk:

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THIRD MONDAYS-SEPTEMBER EDITION

The Eclectic Eight

1) Blonde Redhead

I came across this trio while surfing online and I loved the marriage between their hypnotic vocals and the trippy instrumentals. Check out more this group’s music here. In meantime, here is one of their videos for Here Sometimes.

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2) MIKA

Mika, also known as Michael Holbrook Penniman, Jr., is a young British power-pop singer-songwriter. I came across one of his videos called Lollipop and knew he definitely had to make this month’s list. Check out the video below and also check out more of his work here.

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3)FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE

After the VMA performance yesterday, I was sold. I only wish I had heard of her prior. It was a bit refreshing to see the MTV open up and allow different and more eclectic artists. Check out her music here.

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4)DOVES

This English alternative band was created back in the mid-80s and has grown quite the strong following over the years. Here is a video for one of their videos released in 2009 called, Kingdom of Rust:

Check out more of their music here.

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5) THE TEMPER TRAP

After seeing their video for their song Science of Fear, I knew instantly that they had to make this month’s list. Check out the video below and also check out more of their music here.

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6)COZI

Cozi Costa is UK-based electronica/pop singer-songwriter. She has been working her way through the house scene overseas and had a big hit few years ago with David Guetta called Baby When the Lights . Check out more of her music here.

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7)SKYE

Skye Edwards is a British singer-songwriter who has been doing music since 1996. She released 2 albums over the last few years and collaborated with several other  electronica trip-hop artists. She is often referred to as the “Queen of Trip-Hop”. Check out her music here.

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8 ) Si*Se

This is a soul, pop and latin band based out of New York City. They have released 3 albums since 2001 and have had their music featured on several network shows and films. Check out their music here.

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

Selamawit

Takagi Masakatsu

Meet Takagi Masakatsu. He is a musician and a filmmaker. His music videos got so much attention that Apple Inc actually used his work as a promotional video for a few of their programs. Read more about Takagi Masakatsu here. Check out a few of his videos below:

Hope you enjoyed them!

Selamawit

One (Your Name)

I guess it is no surprise from the numerous other posts I have on here that I love practically anything from Sweden and house music. So you know when I saw this video with Swedish House Mafia featuring Pharrell (of the super-producer group, the Neptunes and N.E.R.D.) I had to put it up to share with everyone. Check out their new song One (Your Name):

-Selamawit

SOUND: Tinariwen

I am really quite sad that I am not at Bonnaroo watching all the performances and getting to see such an eclectic assortment of musicians, but there is always next year. Hey, maybe I’ll even get to be a part of it one day, who knows! Till then, check out this Malian band I came across called Tinariwen, who performed at Bonnaroo.

-Selamawit