top 10 (very subjectively) modern female vocals

As some of you may know, I tend to listen to a lot of music with female vocals. I enjoy the female voice in music, and I like to find beautiful and interesting incarnations of it. Since new good music is hard to come by for me lately (probably because I'm too lazy to look), let's look at the old favourites and - why not? - rank them from best to better to still very good. And mind as well put some mp3's here and there, for your enjoyment.

(Preface: this is modern music. Billie Holiday not included.)

#1. Tamar-kali (Easy Star All-Stars)
I saw Easy Star in Montreal, and Tamar-kali's voice was the most beautiful sound ever to hit my eardrums, probably in my entire life. Rich, powerful, graceful like a black puma (are there white pumas?) preparing to kill its prey. I rest my case.
Listen: Easy Star All-Stars - Climbing Up The Walls (zshare)

#2 Jo Swan (San Ilya)
The sultriest, richest and most versatile voice ever to be found in electronic music (although San Ilya is hard to classify), Jo hits highest to lowest in half a second without any visible effort. A pleasure to listen.
Listen: Ilya - Quattra Neon (zshare)

#3 Joanne Pelletier (Jorane)
Jorane's voice is best described as angelic. When you listen to it sometimes you wonder whether it actually exists or you're just dreaming it. Accompanied by cello (also played by Jorane) it sounds... well, like the sky. Sometimes it's sunny, sometimes there are drifting clouds, sometimes there's rain and sometimes there's storm.
Listen: Jorane - Rose Velours (zshare)

#4 Beth Gibbons (Portishead)
You don't know what sorrow is until you hear Beth Gibbons' ghostly, lamenting, beautifully set voice accompanied either by Portishead's moody trip-hop or by Rustin' Man's downtempo. It's a classic. Enough said.
Listen: Beth Gibbons & Rustin' Man - Tom The Model (zshare)

#5 Ane Brun
Very dreamy vocals, velvet-y overtones, very versatile and moody, a very complex smoky voice. The music is great for rainy days, give it a listen when you're feeling... say, nostalgic.
Listen: Ane Brun - Balloon Ranger (zshare)

#6 Carla Bruni
Moving into the realm of more one-dimensional, yet still incredibly sexy and smoky voices, Carla Bruni is a lead. A model, a singer, a president's wife... Carla knows her stuff. Don't miss out on this one.
Listen: Carla Bruni - L'excessive (zshare)

#7 Bajka (Bonobo)
Sultry, understated and sweet, Bajka's voice is on the lower end of the spectrum, and was an excellent choice for Bonobo's latest tunes on his album, Days To Come.
Listen: Bonobo - Nightlite (zshare)

#8 Leslie Feist
iPod commercials nevertheless, Feist is still cool. Strong, pleasant voice singing catchy tunes. No explanation needed, really.

#9 Lhasa de Sela
Soulful and emotional, Lhasa's voice really grips. Really nothing much to say, just listen.
Listen: Lhasa - De Cara A La Pared (zshare)

#10 Zemfira Ramazanova (Zemfira)
Previously featured on this blog. Strong, powerful, emotional, in-your-face voice. Hard to come by & highly recommended.

These are my personal favourites and you must keep in mind that I can't listen to ALL music in the world, so the scope is somewhat limited. Otherwise, enjoy

tunes to study to

Hey guys
I know its been a while, no one has posted for some reason or another. In any case here are some songs I'm currently obsessed with. The first is a remix of a Röyksopp song and is nice to listen to when you're trying to get things done...or in any circumstance as its just a good song: Remind Me (if you haven't used megaupload before, just enter the three letters and wait a few seconds on the next page for the download). The original is nice too.
Next is some kinda feel-good electro-house something, Fred Falke's remix of Golden Cage, I've been listening to it a little too much. But it keeps the spirits up. The original by The Whitest Boy Alive is here.
And if you're awake late at night doing whatever it is you do, check this out: Moan by Trentemøller, nice for 3am zone-outs.
I've kinda given up on various essays I've been writing, I hope you have better stamina and determination in whatever it is that occupies you. I'm just waiting for Mexico.
As usual I would love to hear what you're listening to (provided its good), so drop me a line or a comment with some recommendations.
peace

For Your Amusement

three videos that will make you smile on the inside

1.) datarock's "computer camp love"


if you were a fan, you may be interested in these tracks...
datarock - computer camp love
datarock - i used to dance with my daddy (metal on metal remake)
datarock - i used to dance with my daddy (para one remix)




jumpsuit + bmx = ultimate cool


2.) the whip, "sister siam"


for further enjoyment:
the whip - sister siam (bitchee bitchee ya ya ya remix)
the black ghosts - anyway you choose to give it (the whip remix)


3.) midfield general, "midfielding" (w/noel fielding)



if you want some more melodic midfield, check these out...
robots in disguise - the sex has made me stupid (stupid sex midfield general remix)
midfield general - disco sirens (boy 8 bit short vocal mix)

and if you like to smoke dust, this may give you the giggles
dj lobsterdust - its fun to smoke dust (queen v. pastor gary greenwald v. midfield general)

x0x neonguns x0x

p.s. bonus tracks!!!
neon knights - problems in the playground (worth a listen, but lacks polish)
neon knights - hoods up for justice (be patient with this one, my favorite part starts around 4:55)
apparat - arcadia
boys noize - shine, shine (apparat remix)

Essential Mixing

Its been a while, I know. That is why I am here to tell you about the most complete electronic music collection online: BBC's Essential MIx. Since 1993, BBC has put out over 900 sets, of different Djs. This means that there is at least 2000 hours of music. Plus, the set are easily found online.
It is hosted by Pete Tong who is one of the driving forces behind English electronic music. Who also compiled the first essential Mix in 1993.
I tried to find this set, and surprisingly it was online. I heard the first 20 minutes, and its pretty good. It is 15 years old! If you guys like going back to the classics, you can check it out.
Pete Tong @ Essential Mix BBC Radio 30-10-1993

I like lists. So here we go. Here are some DJs that have mixed Essentially:
Sasha, John Digweed, Laurent Garnier, Moby, Carl Cox, Massive Attack, DJ Krush, Portishead, Daft Punk, Kraftwerk, The Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, Felix da Housecat, Basement Jaxx, and Air. And believe me the list goes on. Those are only the big names I could find from before the year 2000!

I found a BEAST site. It has Essential Mix form 1993-2005. So if you guys get curious and decide to explore the dangerous world of electronic music, thats your online database.
Those Germans sure got it. Click for Essential mix Collection

So that was in the past. What is new? Adam Freeland.Resident DJ of Fabric. Grammy nominee. BEAST.
His set is amazing. Just check out the tracklist.
1. Billy Nayer - Ship Alarm - BSG
2. Siriusmo - Girls Rock - Bungalow
3. Unkle – Restless (loop) - Surrender All
4. Evil Nine – They Live - Marine Parade
5. Rogerseventytwo – Imagination - Tiger Trax
6. Grinderman - No Pussy Blues (Adam Freeland edit)
7. Adam Freeland – Glowstix - Marine Parade
8. Boys Noize - Lets Buy Happiness - Boys Noize
9. Autolux – Blanket (Adam Freeland remix) - Full Time Hobby
10. Junkie XL - Cities In Dust (Glimmers remix) - Artwerk
11. Hot Chip - Ready For The Floor (Soulwax remix) - EMI
12. Shadow Dancer - End Hit - Boys Noize
13. Alan Braxe – Addicted - Vulture
14. UNKLE – Restless - Surrender All
15. Blake Baxter and Mark Romboy - House Ya (bootleg)
16. Alex Metric – Pins - Marine Parade
17. Crookers - Love To Edit - Crack Crack
18. Bloody Beetroots – Butter - Crack Crack
19. Shadow - Right Thing (Z-Trip get the party off mix in 3 parts) - Island
20. Freeland – Do Ya - Marine Parade
21. Map Of Africa - Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys - Whatever We Want
22. Black Strobe - Shining Brightstar (Phones remix) - Playlouder / Beggars France)
23. Sebasien Tellier - Sexual Sportswear (SebastiAn remix) - Record Makers
24. Breakbot – Happy Rabbit - Moshi Moshi
25. Tepr - Midniut Jacuzzi (Data remix) - Wall of Sound
26. Soulwax – Krack (Nite version) - Play It Again Sam
27. Midnight Juggernaughts - Road to Discovery - Siberia
28. Adam Freeland – Hate - Marine Parade
29. Freeland - How To Fake Your Life - Marine Parade
30. Splitter - All Alone (Alex Metric remix) - Eye Industries
31. Can – Mothersky - United Artists
32. Swayzak - Smile and Receive (Apparat remix) - K7!
33. Simple Minds - Theme For Great Cities - Sanctuary
34. Caribou – Niobe (Adam Freeland edit)

Freeland EM part 1

Part 2

Hope you love it!

Austria contributes: Parov Stelar - Shine

Those of you who like to relax in style, prepare to hear great news - Parov Stelar came up with a new album, longer and better than anything he's produced before. An elegant mix of nu-jazz, breakbeat, downtempo and perhaps a pinch of lounge - but don't be scared, it is quite far from elevator music. Quite on the contrary, the tunes on Shine (2007) manage to engage, just enough to put you in a good, relaxed mood. His Myspace page perhaps will say this better than I:

"The freedom of jazz combined with the groove of house and breakbeat describes the character of Parov Stelar. The main theme is clearly defined, high quality music engaged in functionality."

Indeed, it is all about very well-produced intelligent grooves than will leave even the most fastidious listeners pleased. While it starts off a bit lounge-esque, the first two compositions employ very lush vocals, and so were forgiven by me for their sometimes tiring escapades. The album really kicks in around the area of "Your Fire", quite a catchy tune with some piano thrown in for a good measure. It all gets better from there, with impossibly stylish "Lost In Amsterdam", very reminiscent of Bonobo's lightly jazzy electronic downtempo. "Love" (both parts of the song) set a mood-lifting groovy and upbeat atmosphere, separated by a couple of tunes, most notably "Charleston Butterfly" which could very well be the most elegant and groovy effort on the record, and "Autumn Beasts", a somewhat darker and more sinister streak in a mostly light atmosphere of the album.

Overall, Shine is a clever, refined statement that will leave you asking for more of Marcus Füreder's work. Don't miss out:

Download here.

Tracklist:
1. Come Closer (feat. Kristina Lindberg)
2. Good Bye Emily (feat. Gabriella Hanninen)
3. Shine (feat. Lilja Bloom)
4. Tango Muerte
5. Your Fire (feat. Luke)
6. Lost In Amsterdam
7. Little Lion
8. Love (Part 1)
9. Charleston Butterfly (feat. Gabriella Hanninen)
10. Autumn Beasts
11. On My Way Now (Love Part 2)
12. Crushed Island
13. War Inside
14. Happy End
15. Homesick (Bonustrack)

Made in the UK: A Band Called Quinn

Hello friends, it is Friday again and that means it is time to relax, have a beer and check out some indie tunes. This week’s project comes from the UK, and virtually nothing could be easier on your ears than A Band Called Quinn. I don’t care much for the name, but purchasing their latest album, Sun Moon Stars (2007) from iTunes was ten bucks worth spending.

Louise Quinn and Bal Cooke have been making music together for about five years already, or so their Last.fm page says. The same page attests to the fact that they are so far underground the number of their listeners does not even reach 200 (for comparison, Feist can boast about her 400,000 Last.fm fanbase). In fact, they are so underground, I found out about them from a Russian podcast I subscribe to. A pity, considering that this lively indie-pop is quite fit for the radio. It took me a couple of listens to figure out what sort of music this is. Though their influences (listed on their Myspace page, hotlinked above) range from Björk to The Velvet Underground, I was reminded mostly of Feist circa Let It Die and Aimee Mann circa Lost In Space, mixed with Husky Rescue. But let’s get to the album itself.

“The Glitter Song” as well as “Fluff Girl” could be indie renditions of Goldfrapp, with the vocals a couple of octaves lower. Although calling it sensational would be perhaps too much, Louise Quinn’s voice is surprisingly versatile, hitting high notes in unbelievably elegant “Unsung Feeling,” which I thought to be the best song on the album – a clever mixture of guitar with some electronic bleeps and the vocals floating in and out at all the right times. After the first couple of songs, the album enters its slurry part, blatantly treading on My Bloody Valentine’s shoegazing ground in aptly named “Babywheniseeyoureyes” and hailing Aimee Mann with “All The Dead End Jobs”. After this break, comes “D.I.Y.” – the song used by the band for the album promotion owing to its almost painful catchy quality (“why don’t you do it yourself/D.I.Y., baby, do it yourself” will get you dancing, one way or another). “D.I.Y.” may be another one of a few good songs on this record, if a bit misleading about the rest of them – the album is generally calming, and oddly heartwarming, perhaps a bit underplayed and by no means taking itself too seriously. While far from professional productions by the bands of the same caliber, Sun Moon Stars still manages to be likeable, even as background music (and after a couple of listens, maybe something you’ll even burden your mp3 player with). Overall, the word that best describes A Band Called Quinn’s effort is charming. See for yourself if you like it:

Download here, or RapidShare it and remember:
“Nobody’s gonna do it for you,
No-bo-dy’s gonna do it for you”

Cheers & till next time.

"D.I.Y." video here:

Thank You Bristol! Montreal?

Various genious fragments of popular culture have arisen from the beatiful city of Bristol. 

Bristolians such as Portishead and Massive Attack, have been on the mainstream since the 90s. As some of the founders of trip hop they have travelled the world promulgating their music. Trip Hop, is a style of down-tempo music that combines hip hop with acid jazz, electronica and dub. 

Trip Hop in Montreal? well Amon Tobin is a Beast. He is Brazilian, but he has lived in Montreal since he was young. 

We also have to thank Bristol for 'guerilla artist' Banksy. His often satirical grafitti, have been seen through his artwork in various British cities, including the internationally renounced tags in Palestine.

Recently he has been involved in a prank on Paris Hilton. So he bought a bunch of copies of her CD, he photoshopped her photographs to make her look naked. He put his own mixes back inside. AND he put a bunch of nasty things. After he was done, he hit the streets and put all the CDs back in the stores. Take that BITCH! 

Montreal does not feature such prominent artists. But there actually are some really cool graffitis. Like around St. Louis Square, and on Duluth. Also Down on St Catherine near to St. Laurent. 

Finally, Bristol has given us Chris Morris. His in your face and sometimes controversial themes make him a satirical genius. Starting in the Radio, he had several shows, including Blue Jam and other music shows. In Blue Jam, Morris usually plays slow relaxing music and talks about painkillers, and how he has to lay on the cement waiting for the codeine to kick in. He also had a sketch about a baby inside a mans body. He mentioned having his 'privates' changed by that of a baby. Its pretty dark. But it keeps me entretained. 

He then moved on to the tele. With The Day Today and BrassEye he consolidated a unique and intense comedy. Its histerical.

Plus, the documentary of the revamping of an Office, in The Day Today, beats the American and British Office. He has also been seen in the IT Crowd, and Produced Nathan Barley. Curiously, British Band Stereolab's song 'Nothing To Do With Me' from their 2001 album 'Sound Dust' featured various lines from Chris Morris sketches as lyrics. 

Montreal does feature a very diverse and prominent comedic acts. The Just For Laughs Festival is the biggest in the world and happens every July. It has featured artists such as Rowan Atkinson, Bill Hicks, Jon Steward, Jerry Seinfeld, John Cleese, Flight of the Conchords and Jerry Springer. Some thing we should all see some day. 

Hello Friends

I don't know about you guys but its the midterm time of the year for philosophers. Between memorizing theories of international organizations and working out obscure, 50-year old theories of language there's little time for the interwebs and music; I wish I had more material for you to purview and enjoy. What we do have today are good studying songs, jazz electrojazz and funkish type...stuff. This ain't what your snobby jazz nerd listens to; you'll just have to wait and hear it yourself. First up is Medeski Martin and Wood, a band from Brooklyn NY that simply rocks, or 'jazzes' if you will, with funky beats and lots of sweet clav. 'Queen Bee' (download here) from the amazing album End of the World Party has an awesome buildup, and 'Reflector' (download) from the same album grooves along until an unexpected danceparty at the end, which they jam on splendidly for live sets. If you can see MMW live, its a show not to be missed.
Next we have a personal family friend of mine, Laurent de Wilde. He's a jazz musician from Paris who has recently turned electronic. The critics bashed him and his new style, until he went on tour and showed them how its done, to rave reviews. His latest album 'The Present' is a return to regular jazz, quite different from his drum-n-bass 'Organics' and the magnificent 'Stories' (great song from this album: Big Up). I've been trying to get him to come to Montreal, and perhaps he will come for the jazzfest. I really hope so, he's amazing and really different from north american jazz. Diversity is a good thing.
And if you haven't had enough of alternative jazz, west coast hiphop genius Madlib got access to Blue Note's archive, and remixed jazz classics into one of my favorite albums, Shades of Blue. You must hear to believe: Mystic Bounce, Stepping into Tomorrow.
That's all I got for now, hope you enjoy. Oh yea btw can anyone tell me wtf THIS is about?
Peace
-NB

The Russian Connection: Zemfira - Vendetta

Though deviating slightly from the electro theme, here's something that some may find to be worthy of a listen.

If the words "russian", "indie", "pop-rock" and/or "electronica" fail to excite you while used in the same sentence, read no further. If, however, you're feeling slightly more adventurous, I'm pleased to introduce you to a rather significant part of popular Russian culture - Zemfira.

A rather feisty and charismatic character, she and her band took over the popular scene in 2000, almost overnight, owing their success partly to Mumiy Troll, the U2 of "Russian rock" (who produced and promoted the debut album), but mostly to intensely powerful vocals, haunting presence on stage and original and poignant lyrics. Continuing the tradition of what is called "Russian rock" in her earlier albums, Zemfira happened to Russian music scene at the right time, being the first of the new wave of artists after a period of stagnant unproductivity and boredom in the country's global music business. The band's second album, Prosti Menia Moya Lubov' (Forgive Me My Love) almost instantly elevated Zemfira to the status of superstar in Russia and other CIS nations. Three albums followed in the next years, Spasibo (released in 2008) being the last (and the worst) of them. Conversely, Vendetta (artwork above), the release that preceded it, is considered hands-down the best the Russian frontlady ever came up with. This fundamental record finds her deviating from "Russian rock" into vague oddball electronica, with a surprising success rate.

Vendetta (2005) proves Zemfira a virtuoso lyricist: "Let/Me call you/So we can hear each other's silence" in "Samolety" personally made the album for me (needless to say, it sounds infinitely more elegant in Russian). Both emotional ("Blues") and sophisticated ("Progulka"), the record ends in beautiful simplicity of the piano-voice duo, minimalistically delivering "Beauty", the name truly capturing the nature of the track. Little else could be as oddly melodramatic as the words "It's so beautiful: it's raining and I'm alone/The sidewalk is covered with water bubbles/I don't know you anymore" - again, sounding infinitely more simplistic and poignant in Russian.

While it is true that it is harder to appreciate Zemfira's music without speaking her language, I believe she is still of interest to the Western listener, mainly due to the fact that the emotionality and melodic, often catchy, quality of most of the tunes on this record, as well as her powerfully beautiful voice are not contained by cultural bounds. Let the first track ("Nebomoreoblaka") not scare you, it all gets better from there. Hope you enjoy & till next time.

Download here

(if the link doesn't work, comment below to receive it by e-mail)

Edit: a video for "Blues," one of the singles from Vendetta may be found here.

Inaugural Mix

To help kick things off and give you a better idea of what to expect from my posts I made a 15 minute mix, fast and heavy all the way through.

Inaugural Mix

Tracklist
1. Where's Dario (D.I.M. remix) - Difuzion Krew
2. Pick Your Poison (JFK remix) - Pick Your Poison
3. Loser (Les Petits Pilous remix) - Plasticines
4. D.A.N.C.E. (Blake Miller is Ruthless Edit) - Justice
5. Peaches (Les Petits Pilous remix) - Peaches
6. Needy Girl (Teenage Bad Girl remix) - Chromeo
7. Bluto Fucks Popeye - The Bloody Beetroots featuring Congorock
8. Is You - D.I.M.
9. I Found You (Dubfire remix) - Axwell

The mix features music from two of my favourite artists, D.I.M. and Teenage Bad Girl. D.I.M. is a German producer who partners up with Boys Noize to form Puzique, more progressive house than electro but together they produce quality tracks. D.I.M. is almost instantly recognizable by his deep, driving, syncopated basslines and extended melodic drops. Teenage Bad Girl, hailing from Paris, are one of the more impressive production duos I've come across. Their music borders on IDM but is very much danceable electro. Both artists display a musicianship that exceeds the more popular sounds of MSTRKRFT and Justice.

To help acquaint people with the electro scene I posted a 3 part series I found on youtube last summer. The half hour video penetrates the movement to its core in Paris and offers insight into its origins through interviews with prominent artists including Justice and Para One.