Leo, Matt e George são os Real Fur, que apesar de terem só dois singles, sendo hoje o segundo editado, já são conhecidos como a banda que fez uma digressão, a que eles chamaram de "Safari Punk Parties", tocando apenas em lavandarias (ver vídeo abaixo documentando um concerto desses).
O seu primeiro single foi "Animal". A patir de hoje está também disponível "The Fool".
Os Young Galaxy, que temos acompanhado aqui, como alguns se recordarão, aproveitaram as comemorações do Halloween para criar um vídeo para o tema "Phantoms", que poderão encontrar no seu terceiro álbum "Shapeshifting", do qual temos aqui divulgado os seus singles.
Depois de "So American", que passou aqui a 10 deste mês, do novo álbum dos Portugal The Man, "In the Mountain in the Cloud", há o vídeo para o single "All Your Light". O vídeo foi escrito, produzido e realizado por Justin Kramer e as animações são de Lee Hardcastle.
O álbum "'In The Mountain In The Cloud" estará disponível, para venda, a 14 de novembro.
Os Architecture in Helsinki chegaram ao número quadrado de quatro singles, do seu álbum "Moment Bends" (capa na foto). "W.O.W." foi o quarto tema para single escolhido e conta com um vídeo que, para além de ter, como protagonista, Cameron Bird, guitarrista e vocalista na banda, tem ainda a participação de uns golfinhos muito especiais. Não são golfinhos.
Evitando o stress e manipulação de animais, e ainda a complicação de filmar com animais, para a realização deste vídeo foram utilizados delfins de "animatronics"
As fundações do trio Jessica 6 começaram a ser construídas quando, em 2007, Nomi Ruiz, Adrew Raposo e Morgan Wiley juntaram-se para trabalharem nos futuros espectáculos de Hercules and Love Affair. Contudo, Ruiz e Raposo já se conheciam por terem feito parte dos Automato, banda de hip-hop da editora DFA, da qual também faziam parte Alex Frankel e Nick Millhiser, que são hoje os Holy Ghost. .
O primeiro single de Jessica 6 foi editado em 2009, para o qual a criatividade incial da música foi de Ruiz, tendo o trio acabado o tema conjuntamente. Houve também uma edição da canção em EP, que trazia diversas misturas do tema. Em abril deste ano, editaram em single "White Horse", ao qual se sucedeu a publicação do álbum de estreia (capa na foto), "See The Light, ao qual sucedeu, em Julho, outro single, também incluido no álbum, "Prisoner of Love", que contou com a colaboração de Antony Hegarty, talvez pela amizade e colaboração de Ruiz no disco de estreia de Antony.
Partilhamos, além do mais recente vídeo para o single "Prisoner of Love", o tal tema com a participação de Antony, um tema para download gratuito através da antiga editora da banda, a PeaceFrog Records, e os vídeos para os outros dois singles.
A cantora/compositora Lucy Rose, natural de Warwickshire, mudou-se para Londres aos dezoito anos.
A sua maior oportunidade para continuar a seguir uma carreira na música foi quando, num concerto em que era a artista a fazer a primeira parte, conheceu Jack Steadman, dos Bombay Bicycle Club, os cabeças de cartaz dessa noite. Depois da amizade, surgiu a oportundiade de Steadman colaborar, como voz de apoio ou de coro, nos Bombay Bicycle Club, Posteriormente, ela participou nos álbuns da banda "Flaws" e "A Different Kind of Fix".
Ela tem apenas dois singles disponíveis, "Middle of the Bed" (agosto de 2011) e "Scar" (setembro de 2011) , onde Jack Steadman retribui a amizade e colaboração de Rose com os Bombay Bicycle Club, cantando. A 14 de novembro, espera-se uma nova edição de "Scar" mas em formato EP, que tem, como susbtancial diferença, ter cinco remisturas do tema "Scar".
Depois do vídeo de "We All Go Back To Where We Belong", com o poeta, activista, editor, nova-iorquino, John Giorno, este, que é um dos três novos temas dos R.E.M. incluidos na derradeira compilação "Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage: 1982 - 2011", surge agora com uma versão com Kirsten Dunst.
Quando o resultado é vencedor, não se mexe. Os Artic Monkeys decidiram remar ao contrário, e darem-se ao trabalho de fazer um vídeo para o lado B de "Suck It And See", que passou aqui em setembro, e que é uma espécia de sequela para o anterior vídeo, onde o baterista da banda, Matt Helders, continua a ser o protagonista.
O vídeo é mais do mesmo e a música menos demais. "Evil Twin" é mau e não é gémeo de "Suck It And See" mas estará disponível, com o lado A, a 31 de outubro.
Davye Hawk, conhecido como Memory Tapes, depois de "Yes, I Know", regressa com um single e o respectivo vídeo do tema "Offers", que poderão encontrar no seu segundo álbum, "Player Piano".
Note-se, como curiosidade, que na ficha técnica do vídeo encontram-se alguns nomes que poderão ser de descendentes lusófonos, como Andrew de Freitas, o realizador do vídeo, e Camille de Vasconcelos, que reparte a coreografia e a dança com Benjamin Kamino.
O primeiro single, "Lonely Boy", do novo disco dos Black Keys, "El Camino", com edição europeia a 5 de dezembro, enquanto nos EUA estará disponível a 25 de novembro, já está disponível para audição através de um divertido vídeo .
A edição em máxi deste tema terá no lado b "Run Right Back" e estará disponível no Record Store Day, em novembro.
O projecto de Guy Connelly, os Clock Opera, que passou aqui em Maio com "Belongings", tem um novo single, "Lesson nº 7", e, assim, um novo vídeo, realizado por Aoife McArdle, que trabalhou também no vídeo de "Desire", de Ana Calvi,
Este single tem ainda uma mistura do mesmo tema por Tom Vek, denominada "Tripping Mix", mais outra mistura (que desconhecemos o autor), e um tema original, "Seven Hours",
O álbum deverá ser editado no primeiro trimestre de 2012.
Do concerto deste ano, no Shoreline Amphitheatre, do qual passámos aqui os Arcade Fire com Neil Young, temos mais clips de outras prestações, um de Eddie Vedder com Beck e outro com Régine Chassagne,e a tocar temas do seu disco a solo, e Beck a tocar com os seus músicos de "Sea Change", com a companhia do seu filho Ben em palco, durante "Guess I'm Doing Fine".
Eddie Vedder e Beck - "Sleepless Nights" (dos Everly Brothers)
Eddie Vedder e Régine Chassagne - "Tonight You Belong To Me" (canção tradicional)
Os Younghusband são Euan Hinshelwood, Adam Beach, Pete Baker e Joe Chilton, mas o seu motor é Euan Hinshelwood. Euan Hinshelwood é um dos dois Euans que acompanham em disco, e ao vivo, Emmy The Great. Para além disso, Hinshelwood, hoje com 24 anos, já tem experiências no pop/rock desde os 17 anos, quando se iniciou com os New Shapes.
Nas edições, os Younghusband iniciaram-se em 2008, na Culturedeluxe, com o EP "Judas Cow", de quatro temas: "Mass Kiss", "Mirror Man", "French Grammar" e "Woody Allen". Em 2009, na mesma editora, publicaram o EP "Idiot Sun" que tinha os temas: "Younghusband Says Relax", "Black Boots" e "The Prosecutor". Este ano, depois de enviarem demos do seu material, editaram, pela primeira vez, na famosa Too Pure Records. A estreia foi feita em Junho com o single "Carousel". O vídeo que mostramos aqui hoje é do tema "Constantly Love", retirado do novo ep, "Crystal",com quatro temas, que será editado a 21 de novembro.
Na viagem de TOTALLY ENORMOUS EXTINCT DINOSAURS (T.E.E.D) para o Melt Festival, na Alemanha, foram acompanhados por uma equipa da 4Play para a realização de um pequeno documentário sobre a banda para o Channel 4. O resultado foi este:
No 25º espectáculo de beneficiência, para crianças com deficiências físicas e mentais, da responsabilidade de Neil Young e da sua mulher, para a Bridge School, em Mountain View, na Califórnia, estiveram presentes Neil Young, Arcade Fire, Beck, Dave Matthews, Eddie Vedder, Foo Fighters, Mumford & Sons, Pearl Jam, Santana, Tony Bennett, entre outros.
Arcade Fire e Neil Young, já no final do espectáculo, tocaram, conjuntamente, um clássico dos Crosby Stills, Nash and Young,
Para assinalar o 25º aniversário será também editado, hoje, em DVD, as mais importantes participações destas duas décadas e meia, onde se poderão ver actuações de Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Patti Smith, Paul McCartney, Pearl Jam, Simon and Garfunkel, Tom Petty, The Who, entre muitos outros, nesta edição de três dvds.
Do álbum da nova banda liderada por Carrie Brownstein, Wild Flag, a (agora) actriz, conhecida como uma dos ex-membros das Sleater Kinney, têm um novo vídeo, que sucede a "Romance", que apresentámos aqui oportunamente, e, nessa ocasião, aproveitámos para apresentar aqui a banda.
Desde 2005, aqui, que ele não nos deixa o gira-discos. Mas para quem o possa ter esquecido a ele e a outros, numa estratégia de acendalha, a Merge Records tem publicado alguns vídeos, nas últimas semanas, dos seus artistas a tocarem ao vivo. Um dos mais recentes é de Destroyer (projecto de Dan Bejar), a sós com a sua guitarra a cantar três temas: "Helena" (do álbum "Streethawk: A Seduction), "The Chosen Few" (do álbum "This Night") e "Painter in Your Pocket" (retirado do álbum "Destroyer's Rubies).
Os britânicos Breton, um grupo de talentosos fazem tudo, que já faziam adivinhar um caso sério com os seus dois EPs de 2010 ("Counter Balance" e "Pratical"), publicam agora um fantástico vídeo para "Edward The Confessor", um dos temas possíveis no seu álbum de estreia, que se espera no primeiro trimestre de 2010, e que tem já um título provisório, "Other People´s Problems". Este ano já também está marcado pelo seu EP "Sharing Notes", de edição limitadíssima. O filme foi realizado pela banda e teve a ajuda de Niall O'Brien, que facilitou trabalhos da sua exposição, "Anger", para serem integradas no vídeo.
Os texanos Explosions in the Sky são espantosos não só na sua arte única de fazer música como na sua coragem, numa era cada vez pop, efémera e de clichés, de prosseguirem. O seu sexto álbum, deste ano, "Take Care, Take Care, Take Care", é a confirmação e reconfirmação da personalidade e excelência desta banda. "Be Comfortable, Creature", um dos seis temas que preenchem os 45 minutos deste álbum, tem agora um vídeoclip,
Na sua passagem por Londres, Feist participou numa Black Cab Sessions e gravou o tema "Undiscovered First", do seu novo disco, "Metals". No táxi ainda coube 2/3 de Mountain Man, trio que também faz parte do grupo de músicos que acompanham Feist nesta digressão.
Do disco já editado, "The Dreamers Christmas", de John Zorn, no qual participam grandes nomes como Cyro Baptista, Jamie Saft, Kenny Wollesen, Marc Ribot, Mike Patton , Trevor Dunn, podem ouvir um dos temas do disco.
Sin Fang é um projecto islandês de Sindri Már Sigfússon, que poderão estar recordados dos Seabear, que, com a ajuda de amigos, alguns deles de bandas mais conhecidas como os Múm, gravou o seu segundo álbum, "Summer Echoes".
William Shatner está vivo e bem vivo, como sabemos, mas para não restarem dúvidas, o Sr. Capitão Kirk edita a 7 de Novembro o álbum "Seeking Major Tom", que contou com a colaboração de Brad Paisley, Bootsy Collins, Ritchie Blackmore, Johnny Winter, Lyle Lovett, Peter Frampton, Ritchie Blackmore, Steve Miller, Sheryl Crow, Wayne Kramer, Zakk Wylde, etc. Poderão encontrar neste disco diversas versões divertidas de temas pop muito conhecidos como "Spirit in the Sky", Planet Earth", "Major Tom"(com Sheryl Crow), "Mrs. Major Tom", "She Blinded Me Science", num total de vinte temas, sendo outro deles esta versão de "Bohemian Rhapsody".
Depois de "Balance", aqui apresentado no início de setembro, os Future Islands têm um novo vídeo do seu novo álbum, "On The Water". O tema escolhido, para esta obra realizada por Mike Anderson, foi "Give Us The Wind".
E agora para o lado B, do máxi de edição limitada dos Massive Attack vs. Burial, do qual escutaram aqui o lado A há já uma semana. Este tema e esta remistura leva-nos aos dias dos Massive Attack ainda com Tricky.
Os 2:54 ou two fifty four (nome baseado na contagem temporal em que um tema dos Melvins chega ao ponto de açucar para os membros desta banda) são o projecto de duas irmãs, Colette e Hannah Thurlow.
Terão seu primeiro EP, com quatro temas, editado a 11 de Novembro, pela Fiction Records (a famosa editora independente que fez a carreira dos Cure, que é hoje uma subsidiária da multinacional Universal). Elas tinham editado apenas um single, já este ano, "On A Wire", numa outra editora, tema que não estará incluido no EP.
O EP foi produzido por Rob Ellis, que, entre outros, trabalhou com PJ Harvey, e misturado por Alan Moulder.
Elas, que já foram banda suporte das Warpaint, fazem-se acompanhar por Alex Robins e Joel Porter, nos espectáculos ao vivo.
Depois do seu segundo álbum a solo, "Eugene McGuiness" (capa, à esquerda), o primeiro na Domino Records, McGuiness, três anos depois, volta aos discos.
"Lion" (com "Frosty" como lado B) é o primeiro single do seu terceiro álbum a solo, a ser editado no início de 2012.
Da compilação "Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982-2011 ", com quarenta temas da carreira dos R.EM., que será editada a 14 de novembro, pode-se agora ouvir "We All Go Back To Where We Belong", um dos três novos temas que surgirão neste disco.
Este mês, levamos ao planeta um projecto do Porto mas criado e mantido por um não-nativo daquela cidade. Ele é Lewis M. e o projecto dá pelo nome de The Klinton Kings. Para Lewis, a música não é um hobby mas a sua vida, pois os seus estudos universitários são nessa área. O tema que apresentamos aqui é altamente contagiante e um excelente incentivo para aguardarmos com impaciência o seu álbum de estreia. Os Klinton Kings foram também uma das bandas a participarem no último cd dos novos talentos FNAC, organizado pelo Henrique Amaro (realizador de "Portugália", Antena3), que ainda está disponível.
Carregue no símbolo de "play" para ouvir cada tema individualemnte ou clique com o botão direito do rato, por cima da canção, para fazer o download do mp3 individualmente, ou, se pretender todos os temas num só ficheiro, faça um dowload em formato .zip, de toda a compilação, via MediaFire.
ARGENTINA: ZonaindieFlopa/Minimal - Atolondrón A couple of months ago, the indie supergroup formed by Flopa Lestani, Mariano "Manza" Esaín and Ariel Minimal reunited for several sold-out concerts in Buenos Aires. The experience was so positive that Flopa and Minimal decided to step into the studio to record some songs, and the result is an EP called Reducción de Daños. Atolondrón was written by Flopa and is our favorite track from it, but you can download the whole EP for free from their website.
AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?Option Command - Break Even Option Command (who has previously released gorgeous music under the name Broken Chip) hails from the Blue Mountains outside of Sydney. Where his former project often focused on texture and mood, Option Command is a more beat-oriented project. Break Even sounds like playing Atari in a canyon, and is a good blend of the two musical personas. Both are worth checking out.
BRAZIL: Meio DesligadoLirinha - Adebayor Jose de Paes Lira, best known as Lirinha, is the former vocalist of Brazilian group Cordel do Fogo Encantado, who have produced some of the most consistent works in terms of updating regional sounds from Brazil's northeast. In Lirinha's first solo album, the results are somewhere between alternative rock and a new take on mangue beat. His excellent CD is available for free download at his website.
CANADA: I(Heart)MusicSound Of Lions - Enders Yes, Sound Of Lions borrow somewhat liberally from 90s trip-hop generally, and Portishead in particular. However, as Enders - and the rest of their debut, 11:44 - demonstrates, they're so good at making the old genre sound fresh and new, it's easy to overlook a little thievery when the end results are so incredibly listenable.
CHILE: Super 45Nuevacosta - Todo Fácil Four-piece outfit Nuevacosta released their debut offering, Costa Brava EP (available for free at their website) this year under the Casa Joven and Espacio Cellar labels. Through these six songs, the band explores new wave sounds and early 90s Chilean pop, creating dark, lo-fi, atmospheric soundscapes.
CHINA: WooozyEat Alien's Brain - Sick Body Dance Eat Alien's Brain are an electro duo from Chengdu, who formed in August 2010. Loco and Umar, both in their early 20s, use music to express their attitude towards freedom. Their sound is hard to define - electro/dance with a bit of Nintendocore/chiptune/crunk. They were highly recommended by the NME, who described them as "Crystal Castle bound up with Burial and Sepultura".
DENMARK: All ScandinavianLaura Drescher - I Do I Will I can't really tell you much about Laura Drescher other than she was born in Spain, raised in Denmark, and that she released both an EP (Polyest) and an album (Hallucinations Of A Good Life) last year. Oh, and she's not sore on the eyes either. It's gloomy and groovy electronica - here represented by I Do I Will from Hallucinations Of A Good Life - and if you like what you hear, head for SoundCloud where you can download both album and EP for free.
ENGLAND: The Guardian Music BlogDaley - Smoking Gun A new blue-eyed soul boy from Manchester, Gareth "Daley" Daley looks set to be the first genuinely interesting British artist to operate in that area since David McAlmont or Lewis Taylor. He was a nominee on this year's BBC Sound of 2011 poll, has already tasted chart success, having sung on Long Way Home from Wretch 32's top-5 debut album as well as on the Gorillaz track Doncamatic, which he co-wrote with Damon Albarn. Now he's signed to A&M and working on his own debut album, due out in 2012, with Suede guitarist and Duffy producer Bernard Butler as well as Dre of Dre & Vidal (Alicia Keys, Usher) and Shea Taylor (Ne-Yo, Beyoncé).
FINLAND: GlueKoria Kitten Riot - An Anthem From The 80's Koria Kitten Riot is the project of singer-songwriter Antti Reikko and it brings well-crafted pop songs, full of detail and ambitious instrumentation. It puts together the intimacy of the songwriter and grandiose arrangements in a manner that reminds us of Bright Eyes. An Anthem From The 80's is a melancholic song about long-gone happy times and is taken from Koria Kitten Riot's second album, The Lows & The Highs, out this month.
GERMANY: BlogparteiBOY - This Is The Beginning BOY are a little hyped in Germany right now. Valeska and Sonja just released their debut Mutual Friends via Groenland Records, which features warm and cosy folk-pop songs. They are written and sung so well that you instantly forget summer was awful this year and start enjoying the Indian summer.
GREECE: MouxlalouloudaThe You And What Army Faction - I Used A Blade To Carve Me A New Smile The You And What Army Faction set their distortion pedals on stun and amplify each strummed string to produce a crushing, absorbing and raw wall-of-sound repetition where chaos and beauty ravish each other within the same song. Their artful contrasts and angular arrangements are imbued with instrumental dexterity and coherent ideas and balanced between formlessness and structure, melody and cacophony. Here's a vibrating preview from their upcoming sophomore album.
ICELAND: Icelandic Music MaffiaRuddinn - Cover The Distance Ruddinn is one guy, Bertel Ólafsson from Hafnarfjörður, who has released three albums to date. Ruddinn works primarily alone but receives a helping hand occasionally. He mixes electro pop with indie guitar and a dash of 80s shoegaze. Cover The Distance, a track from his third album I Need A Vacation, features Heiða Eiríksdóttir of the band Hellvar on vocals.
INDONESIA: DeathrockstarBRNDLS - Start Bleeding BRNDLS have helped shape today's Indonesian garage rock scene with their harsh sound, raw attitude and foul-mouthed frontman. Also known as The Brandals, they have just brought out their latest album that stole the XTRMNTR concept and delivered their most well-produced release to date.
IRELAND: Nialler9Tieranniesaur - In The Sargasso Strutting disco-infused funky indie tunes that recall the experimental new wave pop visions of ESG and Tom Tom Club don't come by every day. So Tieranniesaur standout. This Irish six-piece revel in fun, old-school danceable thrills and their self-titled debut album is one of the best releases Ireland has to offer this year.
ITALY: PolaroidA Classic Education - Forever Boy Produced by Jarvis Taveniere of Woods, Call It Blazing is undoubtedly the most eagerly-awaited indie rock album in Italy this year, but not only in Italy. A Classic Education have released two EPs and a single, traveled the US, Canada and UK, played SXSW and CMJ, and are touring Europe with British Sea Power right now. They are definitely one of the best things to have happened to the music in my country in the past decade. Their sound is magnificent, warm, ambitious and timeless.
JAPAN: Make Believe MelodiesCanopies And Drapes - Sleeping Under The Bed Sleeping Under The Bed twinkles from the get-go, Tokyo solo artist Canopies And Drapes setting up a glowing dream of a song about hearts melting like ice cream and perfect lovers. Yet this, the highlight off her debut EP, conceals some darkness around the corners. The minimalist structure allows for some chilly synths to stand out, and then she steps back from all the gooey love talk for a frank final line: “Where should I go? I got lost.” It sounds gorgeous from the start, but grows more complicated with time.
MALTA: Stagedive MaltaBeangrowers - The Priest Beangrowers are a rare and delicate breed of band - managing to be intelligent without being ponderous, fun without being silly, outrageously poppy without being cheesy, and rocking without being clichéd or predictable. This female-fronted three-piece are Malta's biggest music exports, with a following on both sides of the Atlantic. This track is from their album Dance Dance Baby, which has just been re-released digitally.
MEXICO: Red Bull PanamérikaRobota - Troqueladora Dystopian scenarios are inherent to industrial music, with narratives and textures well explored by artists on the Mute roster - from Throbbing Gristle and The Normal, to Suicide and Add (N) to X. Mexico City trio Robota particularly share Add (N) to X's aesthetic based on a vintage electronic junk sado-fetishism. Troqueladora is taken from their "vibrant" second album, Vulgar Display Of Power. No, there's no relation with Pantera other than pure cyber-punk irony.
NETHERLANDS: Unfold AmsterdamChris Kok - Sounds Of Sirens Since studying 'pop' at the Amsterdam Conservatory, Chris Kok has spent the past couple of years working on songcraft and stepping out to play live at every opportunity – be it contests, open mic nights, festivals or art openings – all while freely distributing his music online. The graft seems to be paying off, and now working with a full band, even his most intimate acoustic troubadour pieces are taking epic turns. Sounds Of Sirens is the kind of atmospheric pop Snow Patrol should be making, and that's merely one template from his sonic arsenal. Look out for a full album from Kok and his band Civil Union later this year, plus listen to his new self-titled acoustic EP (including a version of Sounds Of Sirens) on Bandcamp.
NEW ZEALAND: Einstein Music JournalSt. Rupertsberg - In Albania Wellington octet St Rupertsberg began in 2009 when Kate Whelen assembled a group of female musicians to start a rather unique band. Now, after gaining rave reviews from critics and audience members at this year's Campus A Low Hum festival, word of the group's musical prowess has spread. Performing together like a multi-talented musical circus, the band members take turns playing various instruments, including trumpets, clarinets, trombones, synthesisers and percussion. But the main highlight is an all-inclusive vocal chorus. Their debut EP is available now from Bandcamp.
NORWAY: Birds Sometimes DanceAutonomia - Steiner Å Stå På Autonomia are a great and hidden gem from the large underground of Norwegian music, with members from veteran bands such as Freeshine, Dunderhonning and Far From Tellus. Singing in Norwegian, their music is eclectic and it can shift from sweet and rough indie-pop with Hüsker Dü guitars to long, slow and heavy post-rock/post-hardcore anthems reminiscent of bands like Envy and Neurosis.
PERU: SoTBRoyalvalet - Escorpio y Rimel Royalvalet is a project formed by musicians who had their beginnings in other bands. When it comes to composing a song, each member gives his contribution with full freedom, there are no creative limitations. Led by Salim Vera, Royalvalet began in March 2010 and have released three highly creative rock singles to date.
PORTUGAL: Posso Ouvir Um Disco?The Klinton Kings - Rulin' The Klinton Kings is the project of Lewis M, a recent graduate of Oporto College of Arts and Music. He has just a few songs available online. However, his most promising single, Rulin', which was recently available on a CD of new Portuguese acts, transmits a maturity and creativity rarely heard in most first singles. A debut album is expected in 2012.
ROMANIA: Babylon NoiseMoonlight Breakfast - Still Self-characterized as a retro electro band, Moonlight Breakfast is one of the freshest presences on the Romanian alternative music stage. In only a couple of months after getting together for this project, they reached the top position in Romania's alternative radio charts.
RUSSIA: Big EchoInWhite - Sea One of the cutest Russian indie-pop bands, InWhite is looking forward to their upcoming album. Sea is a beautiful piano-driven song that can carry you away from a seaside to the storm.
SCOTLAND: The Pop CopPanda Su - I Begin The title track of Panda Su's second EP illustrates her appeal: dark, intelligent pop with all sense of vulnerability left intact. Apart from her occasional on-stage face paint, the Panda Su package is never black and white. Her music often draws on experimental sounds, but never at the expense of melody. Her lyrics, both fragile and cryptic, demand attention – I Begin finds Su repeating the poignant lines, "I should try to remember/I should try to forget". It's apt that Su Shaw named the outlet for her music after an endangered creature - songs of this quality really are rather rare.
SINGAPORE: I'm Waking Up To...Etc - Big Girl's Blouse Etc is truly one of Singapore's best-kept secrets. There are no fancy fashions or trends associated with the duo of Ben Harrison and Harvey Chamberlain, just well-written guitar-rock to a steady beat. Harrison's jangle-raggedy guitar work is exciting and tasteful enough to balance perfectly atop Chamberlain's near-primal approach to the beat, yet also easy enough for that slacker sway. They have an album in the works, but we'll make do with their generous online singles in the meantime.
SOUTH AFRICA: Musical Mover & Shaker!140 - Say It Better Meet your new favourite power-pop, tongue-in-cheek, somewhat satirical band. Meet 140. They recently released their debut single Say It Better, a synth-drenched pop song. But not to be stereotyped or confined, the band's next single could range from indie-rock to anything they feel their listeners would like. With a unique, zany and out-there approach, 140 is band whose mantra is to do things differently. In fact, it's experimentation that will keep everyone engaged and interested in this provoking new set of creatives.
SOUTH KOREA: Indieful ROKMighty Coala - Seoul Indie-pop band Mighty Coala has been around for many years, but it wasn't until this month that their first album For Bright And Healthy Mornings, mixed by Yeol Park of August MAP band Pigibit5, was released. With a preference for short songs that are both fun to play and listen to, Mighty Coala offer a rich sound with plenty of curiosities. Seoul is an uplifting tune dedicated to the city where they live and the city they love.
SPAIN: MusikornerLas Tocayas - Hombres Las Tocayas, despite their name, are not an all-girl band; they're actually two girls and a boy who met through an internet forum dedicated to Spanish indie band Los Planetas. If we said that their influences include The Flaming Lips, Surfin' Bichos, Nacho Vegas and The National, you wouldn't believe us, but, yes, we mean it. Their music can be described as hedonistic and their lyrics are rather irreverent and joyful. Maybe, as they confess, they're more inspired by everyday life, television, their gossiping neighbours and Jon Secada. Hombres is a hilarious ode to men and what we can and cannot expect from them.
SWEDEN: SwedespleasePoor Lifestyle - These Times Hardcore and punk should be immediate and Poor Lifestyle certainly is. You may argue that this song is breaking no new ground and I'd say you're right - that's the beauty of it. This song will be coming out in Sweden on a split 7" with friends The Wallrides sometime soon.
SWITZERLAND: 78sEvelinn Trouble - I'm On Fire Evelinn Trouble has, in her still very young career, gone through some major changes. The Zurich resident started off as an 18-year-old releasing a very intimate singer-songwriter record, alone in her bedroom. She was soon discovered and heartened by the Swiss indie scene and last month brought out her sophomore record Television Religion, which presents her as a 'femme fatale'. It's great pleasure seeing her grow. UNITED STATES: I Guess I'm FloatingYoung Man - Enough The compositions of Colin Caulfield, playing under the moniker Young Man, have come full circle on his latest LP titled Ideas Of Distance. An achingly beautiful album with more layers than an Arctic explorer, Enough is a track that boils up slowly like water left on the stove. Except each rising bubble is a different sonic explosion and instead of bursting on the surface in watery, translucent explosion, you can see the melodic colors dispersing in swirls of steam.
VENEZUELA: Música y MásLimpiacabezales - Mérida Limpiacabezales was formed in 1998 by Claudio Sanchez, Orlando Toro and Carlos Eljuri. After a few shows in several cities across Venezuela, they released their first EP this year, which features five songs that serve as a teaser for their album, expected to come out later this year.
Os britânicos Breton, um grupo de talentosos fazem tudo, que já faziam adivinhar um caso sério com os seus dois EPs de 2010 ("Counter Balance" e "Pratical"), publicam agora um fantástico vídeo para "Edward The Confessor", um dos temas possíveis no seu álbum de estreia, que se espera no primeiro trimestre de 2010, e que tem já um título provisório, "Other People´s Problems". Este ano já também está marcado pelo seu EP "Sharing Notes", de edição limitadíssima. O filme foi realizado pela banda e teve a ajuda de Niall O'Brien, que facilitou trabalhos da sua exposição, "Anger", para serem integradas no vídeo. 
ARGENTINA: Zonaindie Flopa/Minimal - Atolondrón A couple of months ago, the indie supergroup formed by Flopa Lestani, Mariano "Manza" Esaín and Ariel Minimal reunited for several sold-out concerts in Buenos Aires. The experience was so positive that Flopa and Minimal decided to step into the studio to record some songs, and the result is an EP called Reducción de Daños. Atolondrón was written by Flopa and is our favorite track from it, but you can download the whole EP for free from their website. 
AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They? Option Command - Break Even Option Command (who has previously released gorgeous music under the name Broken Chip) hails from the Blue Mountains outside of Sydney. Where his former project often focused on texture and mood, Option Command is a more beat-oriented project. Break Even sounds like playing Atari in a canyon, and is a good blend of the two musical personas. Both are worth checking out. 
BRAZIL: Meio Desligado Lirinha - Adebayor Jose de Paes Lira, best known as Lirinha, is the former vocalist of Brazilian group Cordel do Fogo Encantado, who have produced some of the most consistent works in terms of updating regional sounds from Brazil's northeast. In Lirinha's first solo album, the results are somewhere between alternative rock and a new take on mangue beat. His excellent CD is available for free download at his website. 
CANADA: I(Heart)Music Sound Of Lions - Enders Yes, Sound Of Lions borrow somewhat liberally from 90s trip-hop generally, and Portishead in particular. However, as Enders - and the rest of their debut, 11:44 - demonstrates, they're so good at making the old genre sound fresh and new, it's easy to overlook a little thievery when the end results are so incredibly listenable. 
CHILE: Super 45 Nuevacosta - Todo Fácil Four-piece outfit Nuevacosta released their debut offering, Costa Brava EP (available for free at their website) this year under the Casa Joven and Espacio Cellar labels. Through these six songs, the band explores new wave sounds and early 90s Chilean pop, creating dark, lo-fi, atmospheric soundscapes. 
CHINA: Wooozy Eat Alien's Brain - Sick Body Dance Eat Alien's Brain are an electro duo from Chengdu, who formed in August 2010. Loco and Umar, both in their early 20s, use music to express their attitude towards freedom. Their sound is hard to define - electro/dance with a bit of Nintendocore/chiptune/crunk. They were highly recommended by the NME, who described them as "Crystal Castle bound up with Burial and Sepultura". 
DENMARK: All Scandinavian Laura Drescher - I Do I Will I can't really tell you much about Laura Drescher other than she was born in Spain, raised in Denmark, and that she released both an EP (Polyest) and an album (Hallucinations Of A Good Life) last year. Oh, and she's not sore on the eyes either. It's gloomy and groovy electronica - here represented by I Do I Will from Hallucinations Of A Good Life - and if you like what you hear, head for SoundCloud where you can download both album and EP for free. 
ENGLAND: The Guardian Music Blog Daley - Smoking Gun A new blue-eyed soul boy from Manchester, Gareth "Daley" Daley looks set to be the first genuinely interesting British artist to operate in that area since David McAlmont or Lewis Taylor. He was a nominee on this year's BBC Sound of 2011 poll, has already tasted chart success, having sung on Long Way Home from Wretch 32's top-5 debut album as well as on the Gorillaz track Doncamatic, which he co-wrote with Damon Albarn. Now he's signed to A&M and working on his own debut album, due out in 2012, with Suede guitarist and Duffy producer Bernard Butler as well as Dre of Dre & Vidal (Alicia Keys, Usher) and Shea Taylor (Ne-Yo, Beyoncé). 
FINLAND: Glue Koria Kitten Riot - An Anthem From The 80's Koria Kitten Riot is the project of singer-songwriter Antti Reikko and it brings well-crafted pop songs, full of detail and ambitious instrumentation. It puts together the intimacy of the songwriter and grandiose arrangements in a manner that reminds us of Bright Eyes. An Anthem From The 80's is a melancholic song about long-gone happy times and is taken from Koria Kitten Riot's second album, The Lows & The Highs, out this month. 
GERMANY: Blogpartei BOY - This Is The Beginning BOY are a little hyped in Germany right now. Valeska and Sonja just released their debut Mutual Friends via Groenland Records, which features warm and cosy folk-pop songs. They are written and sung so well that you instantly forget summer was awful this year and start enjoying the Indian summer. 
GREECE: Mouxlaloulouda The You And What Army Faction - I Used A Blade To Carve Me A New Smile The You And What Army Faction set their distortion pedals on stun and amplify each strummed string to produce a crushing, absorbing and raw wall-of-sound repetition where chaos and beauty ravish each other within the same song. Their artful contrasts and angular arrangements are imbued with instrumental dexterity and coherent ideas and balanced between formlessness and structure, melody and cacophony. Here's a vibrating preview from their upcoming sophomore album. 
ICELAND: Icelandic Music Maffia Ruddinn - Cover The Distance Ruddinn is one guy, Bertel Ólafsson from Hafnarfjörður, who has released three albums to date. Ruddinn works primarily alone but receives a helping hand occasionally. He mixes electro pop with indie guitar and a dash of 80s shoegaze. Cover The Distance, a track from his third album I Need A Vacation, features Heiða Eiríksdóttir of the band Hellvar on vocals. 
INDONESIA: Deathrockstar BRNDLS - Start Bleeding BRNDLS have helped shape today's Indonesian garage rock scene with their harsh sound, raw attitude and foul-mouthed frontman. Also known as The Brandals, they have just brought out their latest album that stole the XTRMNTR concept and delivered their most well-produced release to date. 
IRELAND: Nialler9 Tieranniesaur - In The Sargasso Strutting disco-infused funky indie tunes that recall the experimental new wave pop visions of ESG and Tom Tom Club don't come by every day. So Tieranniesaur standout. This Irish six-piece revel in fun, old-school danceable thrills and their self-titled debut album is one of the best releases Ireland has to offer this year. 
ITALY: Polaroid A Classic Education - Forever Boy Produced by Jarvis Taveniere of Woods, Call It Blazing is undoubtedly the most eagerly-awaited indie rock album in Italy this year, but not only in Italy. A Classic Education have released two EPs and a single, traveled the US, Canada and UK, played SXSW and CMJ, and are touring Europe with British Sea Power right now. They are definitely one of the best things to have happened to the music in my country in the past decade. Their sound is magnificent, warm, ambitious and timeless. 
JAPAN: Make Believe Melodies Canopies And Drapes - Sleeping Under The Bed Sleeping Under The Bed twinkles from the get-go, Tokyo solo artist Canopies And Drapes setting up a glowing dream of a song about hearts melting like ice cream and perfect lovers. Yet this, the highlight off her debut EP, conceals some darkness around the corners. The minimalist structure allows for some chilly synths to stand out, and then she steps back from all the gooey love talk for a frank final line: “Where should I go? I got lost.” It sounds gorgeous from the start, but grows more complicated with time. 
MALTA: Stagedive Malta Beangrowers - The Priest Beangrowers are a rare and delicate breed of band - managing to be intelligent without being ponderous, fun without being silly, outrageously poppy without being cheesy, and rocking without being clichéd or predictable. This female-fronted three-piece are Malta's biggest music exports, with a following on both sides of the Atlantic. This track is from their album Dance Dance Baby, which has just been re-released digitally. 
MEXICO: Red Bull Panamérika Robota - Troqueladora Dystopian scenarios are inherent to industrial music, with narratives and textures well explored by artists on the Mute roster - from Throbbing Gristle and The Normal, to Suicide and Add (N) to X. Mexico City trio Robota particularly share Add (N) to X's aesthetic based on a vintage electronic junk sado-fetishism. Troqueladora is taken from their "vibrant" second album, Vulgar Display Of Power. No, there's no relation with Pantera other than pure cyber-punk irony. 
NETHERLANDS: Unfold Amsterdam Chris Kok - Sounds Of Sirens Since studying 'pop' at the Amsterdam Conservatory, Chris Kok has spent the past couple of years working on songcraft and stepping out to play live at every opportunity – be it contests, open mic nights, festivals or art openings – all while freely distributing his music online. The graft seems to be paying off, and now working with a full band, even his most intimate acoustic troubadour pieces are taking epic turns. Sounds Of Sirens is the kind of atmospheric pop Snow Patrol should be making, and that's merely one template from his sonic arsenal. Look out for a full album from Kok and his band Civil Union later this year, plus listen to his new self-titled acoustic EP (including a version of Sounds Of Sirens) on Bandcamp. 
NEW ZEALAND: Einstein Music Journal St. Rupertsberg - In Albania Wellington octet St Rupertsberg began in 2009 when Kate Whelen assembled a group of female musicians to start a rather unique band. Now, after gaining rave reviews from critics and audience members at this year's Campus A Low Hum festival, word of the group's musical prowess has spread. Performing together like a multi-talented musical circus, the band members take turns playing various instruments, including trumpets, clarinets, trombones, synthesisers and percussion. But the main highlight is an all-inclusive vocal chorus. Their debut EP is available now from Bandcamp. 
NORWAY: Birds Sometimes Dance Autonomia - Steiner Å Stå På Autonomia are a great and hidden gem from the large underground of Norwegian music, with members from veteran bands such as Freeshine, Dunderhonning and Far From Tellus. Singing in Norwegian, their music is eclectic and it can shift from sweet and rough indie-pop with Hüsker Dü guitars to long, slow and heavy post-rock/post-hardcore anthems reminiscent of bands like Envy and Neurosis. 
PERU: SoTB Royalvalet - Escorpio y Rimel Royalvalet is a project formed by musicians who had their beginnings in other bands. When it comes to composing a song, each member gives his contribution with full freedom, there are no creative limitations. Led by Salim Vera, Royalvalet began in March 2010 and have released three highly creative rock singles to date. 
PORTUGAL: Posso Ouvir Um Disco? The Klinton Kings - Rulin' The Klinton Kings is the project of Lewis M, a recent graduate of Oporto College of Arts and Music. He has just a few songs available online. However, his most promising single, Rulin', which was recently available on a CD of new Portuguese acts, transmits a maturity and creativity rarely heard in most first singles. A debut album is expected in 2012. 
ROMANIA: Babylon Noise Moonlight Breakfast - Still Self-characterized as a retro electro band, Moonlight Breakfast is one of the freshest presences on the Romanian alternative music stage. In only a couple of months after getting together for this project, they reached the top position in Romania's alternative radio charts. 
RUSSIA: Big Echo InWhite - Sea One of the cutest Russian indie-pop bands, InWhite is looking forward to their upcoming album. Sea is a beautiful piano-driven song that can carry you away from a seaside to the storm. 
SCOTLAND: The Pop Cop Panda Su - I Begin The title track of Panda Su's second EP illustrates her appeal: dark, intelligent pop with all sense of vulnerability left intact. Apart from her occasional on-stage face paint, the Panda Su package is never black and white. Her music often draws on experimental sounds, but never at the expense of melody. Her lyrics, both fragile and cryptic, demand attention – I Begin finds Su repeating the poignant lines, "I should try to remember/I should try to forget". It's apt that Su Shaw named the outlet for her music after an endangered creature - songs of this quality really are rather rare. 
SINGAPORE: I'm Waking Up To... Etc - Big Girl's Blouse Etc is truly one of Singapore's best-kept secrets. There are no fancy fashions or trends associated with the duo of Ben Harrison and Harvey Chamberlain, just well-written guitar-rock to a steady beat. Harrison's jangle-raggedy guitar work is exciting and tasteful enough to balance perfectly atop Chamberlain's near-primal approach to the beat, yet also easy enough for that slacker sway. They have an album in the works, but we'll make do with their generous online singles in the meantime. 
SOUTH AFRICA: Musical Mover & Shaker! 140 - Say It Better Meet your new favourite power-pop, tongue-in-cheek, somewhat satirical band. Meet 140. They recently released their debut single Say It Better, a synth-drenched pop song. But not to be stereotyped or confined, the band's next single could range from indie-rock to anything they feel their listeners would like. With a unique, zany and out-there approach, 140 is band whose mantra is to do things differently. In fact, it's experimentation that will keep everyone engaged and interested in this provoking new set of creatives. 
SOUTH KOREA: Indieful ROK Mighty Coala - Seoul Indie-pop band Mighty Coala has been around for many years, but it wasn't until this month that their first album For Bright And Healthy Mornings, mixed by Yeol Park of August MAP band Pigibit5, was released. With a preference for short songs that are both fun to play and listen to, Mighty Coala offer a rich sound with plenty of curiosities. Seoul is an uplifting tune dedicated to the city where they live and the city they love. 
SPAIN: Musikorner Las Tocayas - Hombres Las Tocayas, despite their name, are not an all-girl band; they're actually two girls and a boy who met through an internet forum dedicated to Spanish indie band Los Planetas. If we said that their influences include The Flaming Lips, Surfin' Bichos, Nacho Vegas and The National, you wouldn't believe us, but, yes, we mean it. Their music can be described as hedonistic and their lyrics are rather irreverent and joyful. Maybe, as they confess, they're more inspired by everyday life, television, their gossiping neighbours and Jon Secada. Hombres is a hilarious ode to men and what we can and cannot expect from them. 
SWEDEN: Swedesplease Poor Lifestyle - These Times Hardcore and punk should be immediate and Poor Lifestyle certainly is. You may argue that this song is breaking no new ground and I'd say you're right - that's the beauty of it. This song will be coming out in Sweden on a split 7" with friends The Wallrides sometime soon. 
SWITZERLAND: 78s Evelinn Trouble - I'm On Fire Evelinn Trouble has, in her still very young career, gone through some major changes. The Zurich resident started off as an 18-year-old releasing a very intimate singer-songwriter record, alone in her bedroom. She was soon discovered and heartened by the Swiss indie scene and last month brought out her sophomore record Television Religion, which presents her as a 'femme fatale'. It's great pleasure seeing her grow. 
UNITED STATES: I Guess I'm Floating Young Man - Enough The compositions of Colin Caulfield, playing under the moniker Young Man, have come full circle on his latest LP titled Ideas Of Distance. An achingly beautiful album with more layers than an Arctic explorer, Enough is a track that boils up slowly like water left on the stove. Except each rising bubble is a different sonic explosion and instead of bursting on the surface in watery, translucent explosion, you can see the melodic colors dispersing in swirls of steam. 
VENEZUELA: Música y Más Limpiacabezales - Mérida Limpiacabezales was formed in 1998 by Claudio Sanchez, Orlando Toro and Carlos Eljuri. After a few shows in several cities across Venezuela, they released their first EP this year, which features five songs that serve as a teaser for their album, expected to come out later this year.