feb 28 2012

Have you met… Greylag?

Magnus

A while ago, I stumbled upon this duo, based in Portland Oregon, and I am still pleased that I did.

When I first heard their single from the upcoming album I felt like everything was more than all right. The voices of Andrew Stonestreet and Daniel Dixon together with their exquisit music is just what the doctor ordered. Think a cleaner Local Native’s with more folk, more roots, more of that warm fuzzy feeling.

What really hits me is the deep sensation of closeness to the heart. It sure sticks to you, and I eagerly await the album.

Greylag’s debut EP ”The Only Way To Kill You” arrives in May 2012 on Ninth Street Opus, I suggest you check out the single. And wait for the rest… Spring is near.


jan 23 2012

Seventh from M Ward

Magnus

April 9th, a date to write down. Kentuckyseven-favorite M Ward is releasing his seventh solo album.

A 12 track album, created together with 18 extraordinary musicians.

The album ”A Wasteland Companion” will be out april 9th on Bella Union.

We will sure be waiting…

20120123-174616.jpg


Nov 30 2011

Premiere: Rocky Votolato

Jonas


Our dear friend Rocky Votolato plays his latest song – Little Spring – who will be the first single on his forthcoming record.

This one is recorded in Rockys bedroom,  great stuff as always.

If you wanna help Mr Votolato fund his album – check out Kickstarter.


Nov 18 2011

New album from Rosie…

Magnus

Rosie Thomas just announced the release of a new album.

The album ”With Love” will hit the streets  Febuary 14th on Sing-A-Long Records,  produced by Dave Bazan and Blake Wescott, and features performances by Sam Beam (Iron & Wine), BroBro Brian Thomas, members of Sufjan Stevens’ band, and plenty of other talented musicians/friends.

With a back catalogue like Rosie, this is something to look forward to. Greatness to expect.

Meanwhile…

Rosie on Spotify


Nov 17 2011

Premiere: New video from I’m Kingfisher – Svalbard

Magnus

One of Sweden’s most talented singer/songwriters I’m Kingfisher – Thomas Jonsson, released the video for ”Svalbard” from the great album ”Arctic” (Playground Music) today.

The album made it to the best of 2010, and keeps rotating on our lists. Arctic is an masterpiece. The video is no exception.

Listen to the album, find the magic.

I’m Kingfisher – Arctic


Nov 14 2011

Ylva Bulldozer – John Wayne Gacy (fast tjej)

Magnus

Currently in the studio recording their debut, the new Simon Norrsveden project ”Ylva Bulldozer” release the first video.

John Wayne Gacy (fast tjej) eg. (-only girl), is great Swedish Indie Pop at its best. Catchy, great video and will probably be played on air, on heavy rotation.

Enjoy:


Nov 2 2011

Have you met… Patrick Norton?

Magnus

Kickstarter help a lot of great musicians to fulfill their dreams. One of those is Patrick Norton. He’s releasing his debut album in November, thanks to Kickstarter and the people who has funded his project. While listening to a couple of his tracks, for the upcoming album, it became very obvious why. This is sweet sweet Americana, Western Rock, whatever you wanna call it, it is great stuff. This is a dedicated man.

As he puts it himself  ”In addition to recording my own songs, I also engineer and produce for other artists in a recording studio that I co-own.”, and from what you can tell from the music, it is done very well indeed. I sincerely hope that more people get to meet Patrick Norton, and his great music.

Take a listen to what it sounds like for yourself:


Links:

Patrick Norton

Bandcamp


okt 31 2011

Premiere: The City and Horses – ’Dum Dee Dum’

Magnus

The NYC indie-pop group, led by Marc, release their new video via Papergarden Records.

The video features Katie Costello and is directed by Cetusss and Le Contremaître et sa Contremaîtresse.

Enjoy the world premiere, right here, right now:

Links:

Papergarden Records

 


okt 26 2011

First Listen: The Black Keys – Lonely Boy

Magnus

First single from the expected masterpiece El Camino (2011-12-06)

Lonely Boy…


okt 25 2011

Interview: Swear and Shake

Magnus

The New York based indie-folk-pop band Swear and Shake has caught our attention with their enchanting music and sound. When we first listened to them, it felt as if we had been friends for years. This is something you have to get your ears into.

After last years EP ”Extended Play”, they are now finishing up their new release.  This is truly a band to follow. We hope for great success, nothing less.

Kentuckyseven got curious and wanted to know more about this awesome group of people,  so we had a chat with Kari Spieler, the great vocalist and musician:

 

When listening to your music, one thing comes to mind. You guys complement eachother extremely well. How did you all get together?

”Adam and I met while studying at SUNY Purchase ( a state university just outside of New York City). While we weren’t close friends, we were both active singer-songwriters on campus and often had class together. About a month or so before graduation (2010) Adam asked me to sing on his song Johnnie and things instantly clicked between us. We immediately started booking shows and thinking up band names. Our drummer and bassist, Tom and Shaun, joined us shortly after that. The boys grew up together on Long Island and had been playing music since they were in grade school. It all happened very naturally.”

There are thousands of bands accesible to everyone today online, how has that effected you career?

”The internet is a bands best friend. Especially this band. We are huge advocates for using social media outlets. We are all over Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube. We’re proud to be on internet radio sites like Grooveshark and Spotify. Through great websites like Frostclick.com our first EP was downloaded for free by over 200,000 people. We successfully funded our forthcoming record with the help of our fans and Kickstarter.com. We are big supporters of all different types of blogs, big and small.
It’s important to get your music out there to anyone and everyone. Using the web is a good way to keep in contact with people, and it’s also enabled us to bring our music to lots of ears without the help of traditional music business outlets. I think people appreciate being able to connect with us directly and we enjoy it as well.”

How would describe your music to someone who never heard you?

”We usually put ourselves in the Indie-Folk-Pop genre. We write singable stories you can dance to. That’s how I like to think of it. If I were to compare us to other bands or musicians I like to say Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros meets Mumford and Sons with a little bit of Cat Power for attitude.”

While riding to a venue, what do listen to? Are you synced, do yo agree on the same tracks?

”This is a good question. My one rule is that once you put something on, you have to let it play through without changing it. We don’t always agree on everything. I usually get vetoed actually, haha. Pandora on our phones is usually a good compromise and that works out well assuming there’s good service. I enjoy listening to classical music stations on NPR when we’re driving for several hours at a time, that makes the boys fall asleep, anyway. My favorite thing is to watch Tom jam out to Styx while he’s driving.”

What artists have influenced your music?

”Our influences come from all over the place. Starting with the classics, The Beatles, Dylan, The Mama’s and The Papa’s, as well as soul music like Bill Withers, Aretha Franklin, and Smokey Robinson. I’ve found great inspiration Patsy Cline and Kitty Wells. On the newer side of music, we love The Format, Margot and The Nuclear So and So’s, The Avett Brothers, Broken Social Scene, and we are proud Phantom Planet fans.”

Any bookworms in the band, any advice on authors to check out?

”We all enjoy reading but none of us are bookworms. I’m not up to date on new authors. I’m currently reading The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway. Shaun and I share a love of Kurt Vonnegut. One of my favorite books is East of Eden, John Steinbeck which influenced a few of my songs. I remember reading in an interview with Mumford and Sons that they too found inspiration from that story.”

What can we expect from your coming album?

”Expect a very dynamic record from us. The best thing about being in this band is the collaborative effort between all of us. While Adam and I write the songs, Tom and Shaun bring them to life. It definitely represents us as a matured and seasoned group. The EP has more of a singer-songwriter feel. This record has a depth you can really get into. It shows our versatility and passion. You can expect to hear usual stories of love and sorrow as well as songs about demolition, adventure, and much more.”

Tell us about the idea for financing the new album, who came up with the idea?

”Kickstarter.com has become a very popular fundraising website in the past couple years. We’ve known a few different bands that have successfully funded their projects through this site. It was Adam’s idea to give it a go and we took to it pretty quickly. It follows our philosophy to get our fans and family involved as much as we can. We really attribute the record’s existence to the them and Kickstarter and we’re very grateful and humbled by the experience.”

Last, if you would name one band who you wished would have a breakthrough in 2012, except yourself, which we are hoping for, who would you choose?

”The band we would choose to have a breakthrough with out a doubt is Pearl and The Beard. They don’t really need our best wishes, they are really kicking butt right now. We love these people and love their musicianship. Definitely check them out.”

Listen to ”Johnnie” and get to know the music. Check out the website for more information: SwearandShake.com

Johnnie by Swear and Shake