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'Alternative' Bands // p 4 of 6

Darren's favorite bands for his Song Of The Day filtered by Alternative
502 Bands
Lucrecia Dalt

Lucrecia Dalt

Musician, sound artist, performer from Colombia based in Berlin.

 'No Tiempo'

'No Tiempo'
Wednesday, June 29, 2022

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Magnolia Electric Co.

Magnolia Electric Co.

In March 2003, while on tour, Molina announced that he would rename the band Magnolia Electric Co., retaining the stylistic direction of the album of the same name. Molina also continued to release solo work under his own name. The first such release came in January 2004, as the full-length vinyl release Pyramid Electric Co..

Though Magnolia Electric Co. and Pyramid Electric Co. were originally intended as a double album, the latter seems to be the stylistic polar opposite of the former.

Engineered by Mike Mogis, who also engineered Ghost Tropic, Pyramid found Molina alone at the microphone with only his voice and a piano or guitar. Magnolia Electric Co.'s first official release was a live album, Trials and Errors, followed by a studio album, What Comes After The Blues, and an EP, Hard To Love a Man, all released in 2005. In 2006, Molina released two more records: the sparse solo Let Me Go, Let Me Go, Let Me Go and the more conventional Fading Trails with Magnolia Electric Co., the latter culled from three separate sessions over the previous year.

It is not entirely clear when Songs: Ohia became Magnolia Electric Co. In interviews, Molina claimed that he considered the tenure of Songs: Ohia over after Didn't It Rain, which would make Magnolia Electric Co. the eponymous debut album under the new name. The name "Songs: Ohia" appears nowhere on the artwork of the album and only a promotional sticker on the cellophane wrapping connects it with the prior name. Nevertheless, Secretly Canadian still promotes the album under the Songs: Ohia moniker. On the other hand, the Magnolia Electric Co. live album Trials and Errors was recorded on April 16, 2003, at the Ancienne Belgique club in Brussels, at a time when the band was still touring under the Songs: Ohia name. Pitchfork Media later reported that name change would be made official after the Spanish tour in October 2003.

Source Wikipedia

 'Leave The City'

'Leave The City'
Friday, December 20, 2019

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Maria Elena Silva

Maria Elena Silva

Pushing past the submissive qualities of her debut, Silva captures a deep and deliberate pop-forward poignancy in her sophomore “Dulce”. Written in the wake of her relocation to Chicago, Silva contemplates new love, a listless fate, sobriety, and maternity all the while retaining the patience of her previous release, “Eros”. Temperate motifs aside, a freer, wilder intensity permeates “Dulce”.

Silva shows her roots in both rock n’ roll and the romantic. The fabric of the album gives palpable hints to her experimental aspirations that make borderline frantic use of the world-class instrumentalists at her disposal. This no holds barred approach results in Silva's most modern statement to date, beginning with the lead single "Love, If It Is So." A perfect avant-pop song that captures Maria in full flight with her studio band featuring the legendary guitarist Marc Ribot and percussionist Stephen Hodges - reunited for the first time since the pair were part of Tom Waits' seminal "Rain Dogs" in 1985. Ribot enhances Silva's songs with characteristic inspiration, skill, and abandon - jumping between frenzied guitar arpeggios, Philly Soul electric sitar lines, and subtle nylon string acoustic.

Longtime collaborator Scott Dean Taylor has developed a singular vocabulary when playing with Silva and dispenses all manner of obligatory drummer-isms. A sonic ascetic, he plays only what her songs require. Listen to his booming kick drum mimic the sound of a thunderclap three minutes into "Jasper." Hammond organ whiz Carey Frank fills in blanks throughout the spectrum as he trades off with Maria's down-tuned electric guitar for command of the bass frequencies and longtime Lou Reed and kd lang drummer Danny Frankel alternates with Hodges for percussion duties.

Silva’s “Dulce” is unapologetic. She brings forth higher than ever before highs, powerful whispers, and a noteworthy knack for teetering between the classical and the senseless. One minute you're hanging on every syllable of Silva's vocals and the next minute you're flying into the clouds on Ribot's guitar and the group’s rhythmic interplay.

Source mariaelenaband.bandcamp.com

 'Silver Linings'

'Silver Linings'
Wednesday, January 3, 2024

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Mark Lanegan

Mark Lanegan

Mark William Lanegan (born November 25, 1964) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He released more than 10 studio albums and was the lead singer for Screaming Trees. He was also a member of Queens of the Stone Age. Lanegan is known for his baritone voice, which has been described as being "as scratchy as a three-day beard yet as supple and pliable as moccasin leather."

Lanegan began his musical career in 1984 as the frontman of the psychedelic grunge band Screaming Trees, with whom he released seven studio albums and five EPs before they split up in 2000. During his time in the band, he also started a solo career and released his first solo studio album, The Winding Sheet, in 1990. He has since released a further 10 solo albums, and has received critical recognition but only moderate commercial success. Following the end of Screaming Trees, he became a frequent collaborator of Queens of the Stone Age and featured on their albums Rated R, Songs for the Deaf, Lullabies to Paralyze, Era Vulgaris, and ...Like Clockwork.

Lanegan has also collaborated with various artists throughout his career, including Kurt Cobain, with whom he recorded an unreleased album of Lead Belly covers. He also performed with Layne Staley and Mike McCready in the band Mad Season. He also formed The Gutter Twins with Greg Dulli in 2003, released three collaboration albums with singer Isobel Campbell, and has contributed to releases by Melissa Auf der Maur, Martina Topley-Bird, Creature with the Atom Brain, Moby, Bomb the Bass, Soulsavers, Tinariwen, The Twilight Singers, and Unkle, among others.

Source Wikipedia

 'Come To Me'

'Come To Me'
Tuesday, June 21, 2022

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 'One Hundred Days'

'One Hundred Days'
Saturday, September 25, 2021

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Marlon Williams

Marlon Williams

Marlon Williams (born 31 December 1990) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter, guitarist and actor based in Melbourne, Australia. Primarily known as a solo artist, he works and tours with his backing band The Yarra Benders and first came to attention as front-man of The Unfaithful Ways and for his collaborative work with musician Delaney Davidson.

Early life and family

Williams was born in Christchurch to David Williams, a librarian and musician, and Jenny Rendall, a visual artist, and raised in the nearby port town of Lyttelton. He is of Ngāi Tahu and Ngāi Tai descent. Williams had a musical upbringing and was a member of the choir of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, which toured Europe in 2009–10. He was educated at Christchurch Boys' High School and learned to play guitar during his final year there

Awards and nominations

For his music, Williams has won multiple New Zealand Music Awards, New Zealand's most prominent music award, as well as the country's most significant songwriting honor, APRA's Silver Scroll, among other recognition.

From twelve nominations including three for Album of the Year, Williams has won five New Zealand Music Awards, including Breakthrough Artist of the Year in 2015 and Album of the Year in 2018 for Make Way for Love. Williams was recognized early in his music career when his group The Unfaithful Ways was nominated for the ceremony's Critics' Choice Prize in 2011. He has been a finalist for an APRA Award on four separate years. He won his first APRA Award in 2013 with Delaney Davidson, receiving the honor for Best Country Music Song after being a finalist the previous year in the same category. In 2015, Marlon was shortlisted for the prestigious Silver Scroll songwriting award for "Dark Child." His single "Nobody Gets What They Want Anymore (feat. Aldous Harding)" was awarded the Silver Scroll in 2018. Additionally, he was nominated for a 2015 ARIA Music Award in the category of Best Blues and Roots Album.

In November 2020 he was named one of the best dressed men in show business on David Hartnell MNZM's Best Dressed List.

Source Wikipedia

 'Dark Child'

'Dark Child'
Monday, December 27, 2021

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Mazzy Star

Mazzy Star

Mazzy Star is an American alternative rock band formed in Santa Monica, California, in 1989 from remnants of the group Opal. Founding member David Roback's friend Hope Sandoval became the group's vocalist when Kendra Smith left Opal.

Mazzy Star is best known for the song "Fade into You" which brought the band some success in the mid-1990s and was the group's biggest mainstream hit, earning extensive exposure on MTV, VH1, and radio airplay. Roback and Sandoval are the creative center of the band, with Sandoval as lyricist and Roback as composer of the majority of the band's material.

The band's most recent studio album, Seasons of Your Day, was released in 2013, followed by the EP Still in 2018.

History

Opal and Paisley Underground (1981–1987)
Mazzy Star has deep roots within the Californian Paisley Underground movement of the early 1980s. David Roback, along with his brother Steven, was one of the main architects of leading Los Angeles psychedelic revival band the Rain Parade. Leaving that band after their first LP, he founded Clay Allison in 1983 with then-girlfriend, ex-Dream Syndicate bassist Kendra Smith. Soon after the publication of their sole release, the 1983 double A-sided single "Fell From the Sun"/"All Souls", Clay Allison renamed themselves Opal and released the LP Happy Nightmare Baby on SST on December 14, 1987. With Roback as its musical catalyst, Opal were a direct precursor to Mazzy Star musically—often featuring the same psychedelic guitar drones and similar hints of blues and folk that would later appear on Mazzy Star recordings. Meanwhile, Sandoval—who was in high school at the time—formed the folk music duo Going Home in the early 1980s with fellow student Sylvia Gomez, and played gigs with Sonic Youth and Minutemen. Both were devoted followers of the Rain Parade, and after a 1983 concert by the band in the Los Angeles area, Gomez entered the backstage area of the venue and gave Roback a copy of Going Home's demo tape, featuring Sandoval on vocals and Gomez on guitar. Upon hearing the tape, Roback offered to produce a still-unreleased album by the pair.

When Smith left Opal under cloudy circumstances in the middle of a tour supporting the Jesus & Mary Chain, Sandoval was tapped as her replacement.

Formation and Rough Trade (1988–1990)
Despite Smith's departure, Rough Trade retained Roback's original record deal, contractually obligating him to supply a follow-up to Opal's debut LP. As a result, Roback and Sandoval continued to tour under the Opal alias for the next two years, during which time they completed production on Opal's planned second album, titled Ghost Highway. Composed mainly of songs written by Roback and Smith, Sandoval stated that she was unhappy with the material, and expressed an interest in wanting to "start something completely new". The pair quickly composed and recorded seven new tracks in Hyde Street Studios in San Francisco, and renamed the band Mazzy Star. Written over a year before Mazzy Star's inception, the track "Ghost Highway" is the duo's only original song to not feature a writing credit from Sandoval, while another song, "Give You My Lovin'", was written by Going Home guitarist Sylvia Gomez and first recorded by Sandoval and Gomez in the mid-1980s.

She Hangs Brightly was released in April 1990 on Rough Trade and, although it was not an immediate commercial success, the album established the duo as a recurrent fixture on alternative rock radio, with lead single "Blue Flower" – a cover of the Slapp Happy track – peaking at No. 29 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart. The album would go on to sell over 70,000 copies in the UK.

Capitol (1990–1997)
The American branch of Rough Trade folded in late 1990, briefly leaving Mazzy Star without a record label. Within weeks, the duo's contract was picked up by Capitol, who re-released She Hangs Brightly on November 4, 1990, and released their follow-up, So Tonight That I Might See on September 27, 1993. A year after its release, the album yielded an unexpected hit single. "Fade into You" peaked at No. 44 to become their first Billboard Hot 100 single, while also reaching a career-high peak of No. 3 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. On April 19, 1995, the album was certified platinum by the RIAA for shipments in excess of 1 million units. The album also peaked at No. 68 in the UK, and was certified silver by the BPI on July 22, 2013 for sales of over 60,000 copies. Following the success of "Fade into You", She Hangs Brightly album opener "Halah" began to receive heavy airplay in the US a

nd peaked at No. 19 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart, a chart based solely on airplay. In 1995, She Hangs Brightly was awarded a gold certification from the RIAA for shipments in excess of 500,000 units.

Their final album for Capitol, Among My Swan, was released on October 29, 1996. Entering the Billboard 200 at No. 68 and, as of September 2001, selling 214,000 copies in the United States, the album was less commercially successful than its predecessors, although it produced their highest-peaking single in the United Kingdom, when "Flowers in December" entered at No. 40 to become their only top forty entry on the chart. The band promoted the album with a five-month tour of the US and Europe, after which Sandoval and Roback began work on new material. Over the course of these sessions, Sandoval reportedly "begged" Capitol to be released from her contract, later elaborating, "It seemed record companies wanted bands to be creative because they didn't know how to manufacture underground music. We could do our own thing and go at our own pace. But that changed when major labels started wanting bands that would sell 7 million records. They had a formula. And suddenly all these people wanted to come to the studio to keep track of what we were doing and make sure we were following that formula. So we got out."

Source Wikipedia

 'I've Gotta Stop'

'I've Gotta Stop'
Thursday, January 27, 2022

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Mexican Institute of Sound

Mexican Institute of Sound

Mexican Institute of Sound (MIS; Spanish: Instituto Mexicano del Sonido — IMS) is an electronic music project created by Mexico City-based DJ and producer Camilo Lara. Along with groups like Nortec Collective and Kinky, M.I.S. is part of a growing Mexican electronica movement, encouraging fusions of folk and more traditional music with modern sounds.

Career

Lara's annual Christmas compilation of the year's best tracks and early Mexican Institute of Sound songs became a collector's item in a niche market. This hobby led Lara to collaborate on remixes under the moniker of Mexican Institute of Sound for bands and friends such as Placebo, Le Hammond Inferno, Gecko Turner and Babasónicos. In 2005, he officially founded the M.I.S. project, relying on classic Mexican music samples ranging from the 1920s to the 1960s mixed with Esquivel vocal samples and modern scratches/beats. M.I.S. has 5 albums. Mejico Maxico, Piñata, Soy Sauce, Politico and Disco Popular. 3 EP's Extra Extra Extra!, Suave Patria, IMS vs Sant.

In 2006, Mexican Institute of Sound released its debut album, Méjico Máxico, on Nacional Records. It is a pastiche of electronica, dub, cha-cha-cha, cumbia and spoken word. The album helped M.I.S. garner critical acclaim in publications like Spin, the New York Times, and URB, as well as radio support from such tastemakers as KCRW (Los Angeles), Indie 103 (Los Angeles), KEXP (Seattle), and KUT (Austin).

Mexican Institute of Sound released its second album, Piñata, in 2007. The disc continued the vision established by the debut as a collage of musical influences that reflect Lara's impression of life in the sprawling metropolis of Mexico City. Special guests include members of Tom Tom Club, Fantastic Plastic Machine, and Babasónicos.

Songs from M.I.S. releases have been featured in ABC's Ugly Betty, Showtime's Californication, New Line Cinema's Pride and Glory, a Dos Equis national advertising campaign, and the EA Games FIFA 08 video game, which features El Microfono. In Australia, "Escríbeme Pronto" was featured in a 2009 ice-cream advertisement.

In 2010, MIS released the song "Suave Patria" for the parade for the Bicentennial of Independence of Mexico; the homonymous EP contains six tracks. Camilo created this music in an attempt to evoke some passages of the Mexican Constitution and represent a soundscape Homeland. Their song "Alocatel" was featured in EA Sports' FIFA 10. Their video for their song "Katia, Tania, Paulina y la Kim" from Piñata has been featured on Link TV.

In 2012, they released their fourth studio album, Politico, which contained songs that relate, as the album title implies, to a political environment. "Es Toy" was one of its most successful singles. In 2013, MIS made a radio station on East Los FM Grand Theft Auto V, while the song "Es Toy" appears in the game. In 2014 Camilo Lara recorded his fifth studio album, with Toy Selectah. With Red Bull's help, they are recording in Jamaica, the US (New York and Los Angeles), London, and Brazil. The disc had many collaborators, including Ana Bárbara (Latin Grammy Mexican singer-songwriter), Sly and Robbie, Toots Maytals, Gogol Bordello (Eugene), Nina Sky, Money Mark, MC Lyte, N.A.S.A., Kool AD (Das Racist), Kut Masta, Kurt Chrome Sparks, Eric Bobo (Cypress Hill), Tanto Blacks, Chedda Helado, Negro Kita, Kaine Notch, Maluca Mala, Benjamin Lozinger (Mø), DJ Lengua, Matty Rico, Tiombe Lockhart, Angela Hunte, Mela Murder, Los Master Plus, Centavrvs, Sergio Mendoza J. (Los Planetas), Carlos Ann, Ohmega Watts, DJ Dusty, Stro Elliot Pharo (The Leftovers), Dezzie Gee (The Leftovers), Speakz, Nic Haircourt, and Pilar (Los Abandoned). In 2015 Camilo released his fifth album, 'Compass' alongside Toy Selectah.

After four years with no new material, MIS released their single "Mi T-Shirt De La NASA" in advance of the fifth studio album by MIS. 'Disco Popular' was released on Nov 3rd, 2017. Recorded in Jamaica, Mexico and the US, it contains appearances from: La Yegros, Calexico & Orkesta Mendoza, Press Kay, Lorna, Toots Hibbert, Sly & Robbie, Pamputae & Ranco and Adan Jodorowsky. That same year, Lara was brought on as a creative consultant to the animated film Coco. He helped director Lee Unkrich "navigate all the different rhythms from Mexico…to understand the geography of the music." He also helped arranged and produce many of the songs of the film and assisted composer Michael Giacchino. Under MIS, Lara provided the song "Jálale" to the film's soundtrack, and makes a cameo as a skeleton DJ in a party scene of the movie.

MIS contributed a cover of the Metallica song "Sad But True", featuring rappers La Perla and Gera MX, to the charity tribute album The Metallica Blacklist, released in September 2021.

Source Wikipedia

 'México'

'México'
Friday, November 19, 2021

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Mndsgn

Mndsgn

Mndsgn was born Ringgo Ancheta in San Diego, California and was raised in New Jersey. He is the youngest of four in a family of Filipino descent. His mother was a nurse and his father was a Navy man. He learned to play organ before his older brother introduced him to rap music and beat production at a pivotal age.

In 2008, platforms like Myspace and AIM messenger connected Mndsgn with beatmakers Knxwledge, Suzi Analogue and devonwho to form Klipm0de. The collective played and released beat tapes through Bandcamp. Ancheta relocated to Los Angeles in 2011 and self-released beat tapes as well as a few projects distributed by labels Leaving and Fresh Selects, and regularly performed at local hubs such as Low End Theory.

In 2013, Mndsgn collaborated with Danny Brown on "Sweeney Song," which appeared on Classic Drug References Vol. 1. His first solo studio album for Stones Throw Records, titled Yawn Zen, was released in 2014. He followed up with Body Wash in 2016, an album that drew heavily on ‘80s R&B and boogie which Vinyl Me, Please cited as one of "The 10 Best Stones Throw Albums To Own On Vinyl", before releasing raw, mixtape-style records Snax and Snaxx in 2018 and 2019, the latter which Clash called "an instant classic" and "everything we’ve come to expect and more, from the San Diego beat maker".

In March 2021, Mndsgn announced his third studio album for Stones Throw Records, Rare Pleasure. Inspired by R&B, soundtrack music, psychedelia and jazz, Rare Pleasure features Kiefer (musician), Swarvy, Carlos Niño, Fousheé, Devin Morrison, Anna Wise and more. Rare Pleasure was released in June 2021 on Stones Throw Records.

In addition to his solo work, Mndsgn co-wrote and produced Prophet’s 2018 album, Wanna Be Your Man, and Peach Fuzz with Tyler, the Creator.

Source Wikipedia

 'Homewards'

'Homewards'
Tuesday, June 6, 2023

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My Morning Jacket

My Morning Jacket

My Morning Jacket is an American rock band formed in Louisville, Kentucky in 1998. The band currently consists of vocalist/guitarist Jim James, bassist Tom Blankenship, drummer Patrick Hallahan, guitarist Carl Broemel, and keyboardist Bo Koster. The band's sound, rooted in rock and country, is often experimental and psychedelic. The group amassed a following beginning in the 2000s in part due to their live performances.

The group first found success in Europe after the release of its debut album, The Tennessee Fire (1999). Its next release, At Dawn (2001), led to a large stateside following and preceded several lineup changes. After signing to major label ATO Records, the group released two albums, It Still Moves (2003) and Z (2005), with the latter representing a critical breakthrough. The group's next release, Evil Urges (2008), was more polarizing for fans and critics, while Circuital (2011), its sixth album, saw a more measured response. After many years of side projects and touring, the band's seventh album, The Waterfall, was released in 2015.

The band's debut album, The Tennessee Fire, was released in May 1999. It was mildly successful in the U.S., though it became a surprise hit internationally, particularly in the Netherlands and Belgium. Soon, the group launched a European tour, where it received high marks from Dutch and Belgian press; the group also appeared in the Dutch documentary, This is NOT America. Danny Cash joined the band as keyboardist in 2000.

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 'Only Memories Remain'

'Only Memories Remain'
Monday, December 24, 2018

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Myriam Gendron

Myriam Gendron

Ottawa-born, Myriam Gendron spent much of her youth in transition, her father being a foreign correspondent. She spent spells in Gatineau (Quebec), D.C., Paris, and Montreal, where she finally settled at age sixteen. Still in Montreal, she makes her living now as a copy-editor and book dealer, leading to her discovery of an anthology of Dorothy Parker poetry, titled Not So Deep as a Well. Parker’s poems hit just the right note and Myriam began putting them to music.

“Before even understanding the meaning of the words, I heard a song,” she says. “I flipped through the pages and it just kept happening.” A nine-track album came out of it.

Recorded and mixed in her bedroom, Myriam Gendron’s debut album started as a simple project but became more serious as she began to absorb Parker’s work. The album, also titled Not So Deep as a Well, is one of love and hate, all at once brutal, mischievous, humorous and blue.

Source mamabirdrecordingco.com

 'Not so Deep as a Well'

'Not so Deep as a Well'
Tuesday, September 6, 2022

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Nick Hakim

Nick Hakim

Nick Hakim (full name Nicholas Hakim) is an American musician based in Brooklyn, New York, United States. He has released two EPs and two full length albums: Green Twins, which was released on ATO Records in May 2017, and "WILL THIS MAKE ME GOOD", which was released on ATO Records in May 2020.

Early life and education

Nick was raised in Washington, D.C. by his parents, a Chilean mother and Peruvian father. At 17, a friend invited him to sing with her church choir, where Nick taught himself to play piano. Soon after, he attended Berklee College of Music.

Career

Nick self-released his debut EP, Where Will We Go (Pt I & II) in 2014.

In 2017, he released Green Twins through ATO Records and toured internationally. The album went on to earn critical acclaim by media outlets including Pitchfork and The Guardian, and was named one of the Ten Best R&B Albums of 2017 by NPR. Vice called it a "soulful, psychedelic experience".

  • In 2018, Nick performed on NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts.
  • His song "Needy Bees" was featured in an episode of HBO's Insecure.
  • In 2019, T-Pain sampled his song "Cuffed" for his single "Getcha Roll On".
  • In March 2020, he announced his new album WILL THIS MAKE ME GOOD and released a music video for the single "QADIR".

Source Wikipedia

 'Qadir'

'Qadir'
Thursday, January 28, 2021

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 'Seeing Double'

'Seeing Double'
Saturday, May 16, 2020

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 'Bet She Looks Like You'

'Bet She Looks Like You'
Saturday, January 11, 2020

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 'Roller Skates'

'Roller Skates'
Sunday, August 4, 2019

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 'Vincent Tyler'

'Vincent Tyler'
Thursday, July 11, 2019

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 'Pour Another'

'Pour Another'
Tuesday, March 5, 2019

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 'The Light'

'The Light'
Thursday, January 24, 2019

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 'Sleep'

'Sleep'
Saturday, January 5, 2019

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Nick Mulvey

Nick Mulvey

Nick Mulvey (born 4 November 1984) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. He played the hang as a founding member of the band Portico Quartet. In 2011 started his career as a singer-songwriter releasing the EPs The Trellis (2012) and Fever to the Form (2013) and his studio album First Mind in 2014 which received a Mercury Music Prize nomination. His second album, Wake Up Now, was released on 8 September 2017.

Beginnings

Mulvey grew up in Cambridge and attended Chesterton Community College and Long Road Sixth Form College. At the age of 19 he moved to Havana, Cuba, to study music and art. On returning to the UK, Mulvey enrolled at the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies to study Ethnomusicology.

Portico Quartet

While studying ethnomusicology at the School of Oriental and African Studies, Mulvey met the other members of Portico Quartet. The band consisted of Cambridge school friend Duncan Bellamy (drums), Jack Wyllie (soprano and tenor saxophone), and Milo Fitzpatrick (double bass). Their debut album Knee-deep in the North Sea, was nominated for the 2008 Mercury Prize alongside Radiohead, Elbow, and Adele. The album's title was mentioned in the closing words to Alt-J's song Dissolve Me. Portico Quartet released their second album Isla on 9 October 2009 through Real World Records.

Solo career

Mulvey left Portico Quartet in 2011 to focus on a solo career as a singer-songwriter. Some critics noted his change in style, Mulvey states that his style of music stays consistent. "I'm always drawn to the same principles in music. Beneath each genre, at a certain level, they hold the same principles".

As a solo artist, Mulvey released his first EP The Trellis in November 2012, and his second, Fever to the Form in July 2013. On his autumn 2013 tour with Laura Marling, he performed in symphony halls across the UK, naming Marling as a great influence to his solo music.

In 2014, Mulvey played Wonderfruit in Thailand.

On 16 May 2017, Mulvey announced a new track, Unconditional, and on 20 May 2017 announced the album Wake Up Now, to be released on 8 September 2017. Two further singles were released: Myela (about the European migrant crisis) and Mountain to Move.

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 'Imogen'

'Imogen'
Wednesday, December 23, 2020

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Palace

Palace

Leo Wyndham, Matt Hodges and Rupert Turner have been friends since they were thirteen and released their debut album “So Long Forever” in 2016. Following extensive touring of the festival circuit and a sold-out UK headline tour including Shepherds Bush Empire, the London based three-piece have been busy writing and recording at their own studio in Tottenham.

Source Facebook

 'Face in the Crowd'

'Face in the Crowd'
Friday, March 5, 2021

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 'Bones'

'Bones'
Saturday, June 13, 2020

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PJ Harvey

PJ Harvey

Polly Jean Harvey, MBE (born 9 October 1969) known as PJ Harvey, is an English musician, singer-songwriter, writer, poet and composer. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments.

Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined local band Automatic Dlamini as a vocalist, guitarist and saxophone player. The band's frontman, John Parish, would become her long-term collaborator. In 1991, she formed an eponymous trio and subsequently began her professional career. The trio released two studio albums, Dry (1992) and Rid of Me (1993) before disbanding, after which Harvey continued as a solo artist. Since 1995, she has released a further nine studio albums with collaborations from various musicians including John Parish, former bandmate Rob Ellis, Mick Harvey and Eric Drew Feldman and has also worked extensively with record producer Flood.

Among the accolades she has received are the 2001 and 2011 Mercury Prize for Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea (2000 and Let England Shake (2011), respectively—the only artist to have been awarded the prize twice—eight Brit Award nominations, seven Grammy Award nominations and two further Mercury Prize nominations. Rolling Stone awarded her 1992's Best New Artist and Best Singer Songwriter and 1995's Artist of the Year, and listed Rid of Me, To Bring You My Love (1995) and Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea on its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. In 2011, she was awarded for Outstanding Contribution To Music at the NME Awards. In June 2013, she was awarded an MBE for services to music.

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 'Is This Desire?'

'Is This Desire?'
Friday, August 6, 2021

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 'Passionless, Pointless'

'Passionless, Pointless'
Thursday, August 13, 2020

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 'Rid of Me'

'Rid of Me'
Saturday, January 18, 2020

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 'The Piano'

'The Piano'
Monday, March 11, 2019

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 'The Words That Maketh Murder'

'The Words That Maketh Murder'
Saturday, November 17, 2018

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 'Silence'

'Silence'
Monday, September 24, 2018

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 'On Battleship Hill'

'On Battleship Hill'
Thursday, August 9, 2018

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R.E.M.

R.E.M.

R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, that was formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist/backing vocalist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe. One of the first alternative rock bands, R.E.M. was noted for Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style, Stipe's distinctive vocal quality and obscure lyrics, Mills' melodic basslines and backing vocals, and Berry's tight, economical style of drumming. R.E.M. released its first single—"Radio Free Europe"—in 1981 on the independent record label Hib-Tone. The single was followed by the Chronic Town EP in 1982, the band's first release on I.R.S. Records. In 1983, the group released its critically acclaimed debut album, Murmur, and built its reputation over the next few years through subsequent releases, constant touring, and the support of college radio. Following years of underground success, R.E.M. achieved a mainstream hit in 1987 with the single "The One I Love". The group signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1988, and began to espouse political and environmental concerns while playing large arenas worldwide.

By the early 1990s, when alternative rock began to experience broad mainstream success, R.E.M. was viewed by subsequent acts such as Nirvana and Pavement as a pioneer of the genre. The band then released its two most commercially successful albums, Out of Time (1991) and Automatic for the People (1992), which veered from the band's established sound and catapulted it to international fame. R.E.M.'s 1994 release, Monster, was a return to a more rock-oriented sound, but still continued its run of success. The band began its first tour in six years to support the album; the tour was marred by medical emergencies suffered by three of the band members.

In 1996, R.E.M. re-signed with Warner Bros. for a reported US$80 million, at the time the most expensive recording contract in history. Its 1996 release, New Adventures in Hi-Fi, though critically acclaimed, fared worse commercially than its predecessors. The following year, Bill Berry left the band, while Stipe, Buck, and Mills continued the group as a trio. Through some changes in musical style, the band continued its career into the next decade with mixed critical and commercial success, despite having sold more than 85 million albums worldwide and becoming one of the world's best-selling music artists of all time. In 2007, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in their first year of eligibility. R.E.M. disbanded amicably in September 2011, announcing the split on its website.

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Wednesday, January 2, 2019

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