Henrik José

sometimes a simple, heartfelt popsong hits you in just the right spot. so it is with the music of Henrik José. for those of you who havent done your homework, Henrik J. provided vocals for what is possibly my all-time favorite netlabel release, I'll Meet You There by ST, in addition to to his other quality electro/idm/demostyle netlabel releases under the name Bliss. i was quite happy to discover recently that his entire catalogue, as well as some quite excellent new songs are available for download in one place on his brand-new webpage (two of which appear on the afore-mentioned Camomille 100 release). Mr José crafts thoughtful, emotive songs using his voice, acoustic guitar and his demoscene-inspired tracking skills. a somewhat unlikely collision of acoustics and 8bit electronics, but one that works beautifully. Swedish electro-pop to brighten your coldest winters...

Francesco Lettera

normally i really cant stand sequenced orchestral music, but in the case of music by Francesco Lettera, the composition is of such quality that i can forgive the occasionally cheesy sounds (although, on the whole, the sequencing sounds quite good). the digital orchestral sometimes lacks the 'punch' of a live performance, but the composer has done a very admirable job of infusing the music with a great deal of evocative expression and lively capriciousness. Mr Lettra has two quality releases on the somewhat enigmatic netlabel dharmasound: Vertigini, and The wizard of OZ. drawing on a wide range of influences- most notably Danny Elfman, perhaps along with a few cut scenes of Mahler, a flashback to Vaughn Williams, a tiny reference to Prokofiev or Stravinsky- these releases should appeal to fans of music with a grand, panoramic quality.
thanks to the Machtdose podcast for turning me on to these releases.

Planet Boelex - Live at Virus festival Lithuania

once again switching gears back into electronic/ambient/idm territory: a brand-new live set is released this week on monotonik from a favorite here at hiddenplace music, planet boelex. including delicious live versions of new planet b. releases, a few older classics as well as some new surprises, this super-chilled winter set makes for an excellent morning, afternoon, or evening's listen (or perhaps all three!)
also included are some extra treats for trainspotters like me, high-resolution artwork --once again created by yours truly-- and .cue file with track names for cd burning or cue-compatible players.
once again planet boelex's expert mixing skills and careful attention to each delicate detail make for a sublime listening experience at any time of the day or year.

Sasha Ponkratov - Kaleidoscope

i have always had a sort of love/hate relationship with russian music. its frequently ponderous and oppressive moods and its occasionally ear-splitting experimentalism i find both distasteful and fascinating. despite these broad generalisations, there is always more to discover in russian music and i just cant stop listening-- prokofiev, stravinsky and rachmaninoff were staples of my cd collection in my classical music-filled early years, and these days artists such a sleepytown manufacture and unit21, as well as netlables such as electrosound.ru i count among my top electronic music interests.
it is especially interesting to discover a release which breaks the mold entirely. a new release from a blog reader arrived in my inbox the other day and i was pleasantly surprised to discover an eclectic, yet well-balanced fusion of odd acoustic instruments with electronics. the influences are too many to name here- is it early jazz, modern 'post-jazz' or eastern european gypsy music? no matter, a variety of idiosyncratic rhythms and non-traditional scales are employed here with a playful smile and nod, making for another fascinating listen for those with an ear for music which is 'outside the box.' in the coming year, i hope to focus more on musicians who fuse analogue and electronic elements in their music, and Kaleidoscope is a perfect introduction to just that sort of sound.

Pavel Dombrovski plays George Crumb: A little suite for Christmas

today, another audio treat for fans of the avant-garde: a modern classical(?) piano piece by experimentalist composer George Crumb. presented by the russian top-40 netlabel, this piece is quite a unique find in the netaudio world and will most certainly fascinate those with an interest in classical composition, performance, and sound art. as instructed by Mr Crumb, the performer coaxes a huge variety of sounds from the piano, including many avant-garde techniques such as long periods of silence, heavy tone clusters, and knocking/strumming/plucking the inside of the piano. this piece is full of expressionistic emotion-- moments of quiet ambience are punctuated by violent explosions of sound. i was particularly impressed by a passage where the performer plays chords on the keys and plucks a melody on the open strings, giving a delicate, harp-like effect. dont be fooled by the somewhat cliché christmas titles, this is definitely not your average holiday music!

K.M.Krebs - Symmetries

it has taken me several listens to form a proper opinion of this piece, but the continued dark and moody weather inspired another listen today, and i decided that it is most certainly a noteworthy release. Symmetries comes from one of my favorite new new netlabels, Resting Bell, and is produced by netaudio veteran K.M. Krebs (aka 883-54). at times the combination of processed field recordings and droning, repetitive electronics can seem rather over-worked in the netlabel world, as a large number of releases in a similar 'experimental' style may be found on various netlabels. however, when done with the right amount of careful mixing and skilful attention to detail, the results can be quite fascinating, hypnotic, and even beautiful. a set of three disparate but consistent tonal landscapes are presented here, and with a duration of only about 25 minutes, it is a perfect length for those who are sometimes easily bored by longform ambient drones. all listeners with adventurous ears will certainly find this brief, but deeply textured sonic excursion a worthy pursuit.
for those with an interest in art and design, the album artwork comes from an equally fascinating book of drawings from micro- and macroscopic observations of nature, called Kunstformen der Natur, lovingly scanned and presented by this website.

Xurba - Music from the Clear Channel - now available!

just a quick reminder that the aforementioned release by Xurba, presented by Kahvi Commercial is now available on Beatport for €14.99 -- this excellent collection of experimental ambient idm atmospherics comes highly recommended by both kahvi and hiddenplace music. iTunes release to follow in early 2008...

Camomille 100 - Cycles

hiddenplace music has recently received word that the long-awaited 100th release from the camomille netlabel has been officially released. normally i dont recommend anything without listening to the entire thing first, but with such an impressive array of artists, i know this will be an excellent and fascinating release. a collection of digital artwork has also been included, and along with the 3,5 hrs+ playing time, there is much to explore here. artists included are:
Lackluster, Twerk, Henrik Jose / Bliss, Julien Neto, Khonnor, Ilkae, Talve, Anders Ilar, Hunz, Jemapur, Proswell, Vim, Epoq,ST, Pocka, Troupe, Makunouchi Bento, Tang Kai / Mikael Fyrek, Blisaed / Seathasky, Sense, Transient, Fah, Planet Boelex feat. Lisa's Antenna, Emanuele Errante, Kaneel, Shiftless, The Open Directory Project, Nil, Hofuku Sochi, Kyle Dawkins, Ks, Slash, Muhr, Papercutz, Imtech, Beatslaughter, The Kodama Institute, Mattia Marchi and MigloJE. astute readers might also note my own humble contribution of bizarre flute samples which have been warped and mangled in a most interesting way in a track by abstract ambient maestro Shiftless.
it seems like many netlabels have been holding onto their best material until the end of the year, so, stay tuned and hiddenplace music will provide you with plenty of music to fill your holidays and warm the dark and cold winter days.

Xurba - Music from the Clear Channel

here at hiddenplace music, we tend to feature music which comes free of charge, so when a commercial release recommendation comes a long, you know it must be something special. this release from Kahvi Commercial certainly fits into that category. it may seem presumptuous in the netlabel world of free downloads for a new-comer to restrict his release to paid downloads, but to be honest, every one of the artists i've featured on this blog deserves some support for the excellent music they create. the intricately detailed ambient idm cinematics of the full-length release 'Music from the Clear Channel' by Xurba is certainly a work of audio art created with copious care and attention.
admittedly, this is not music for everyone. the melodies are very abstract-- atonal, even. the beats are fractured, constantly shifting and and heavily processed; the atmospheres lush, deep, yet claustrophobic- and at times unsettling. but fans of intelligent experimental electronica will find much to explore here, and those with adventurous ears will be delighted at the precise mixing and incredible attention to detail. i particularly enjoyed the abrupt shifts in mood between tracks, as if the film editor has made a sudden jump cut to the next scene. even though the music drifts along at an unhurried pace, the constant twists and turns create a feeling of movement, as if we are being hurried to an unknown destination. throughout the trip, we are constantly held in rapt attention; even at the nearly one-hour playing time, the textures are combined in an endless variety-- never repetitive, always providing more to explore and enjoy. at the abrupt end of the LP, we awake from the dream and realise that the meaning was not in the destination, but the never-ending landscapes experienced along the journey.
Music from the Clear Channel will be available for purchase as high-quality mp3 downloads from Beatport on 1 december, and on iTunes in february. expect a little reminder from this blog when it becomes available.

petite&jolie - Pantoufle Tagada

a new netlabel has appeared, with a very interesting array of artists contributing to their debut 'various artists' compilation. charmingly named petite&jolie: a place for cute people, and presenting a fascinating collection of electro-acoustic glitch pop and avant-garde sound art, id say the netlabel is off to a very promising start.
the netlabel curator has labeled the style 'cutetronica' which is certainlly fitting, however i found it to be cute in the way the film 'city of lost children' is cute-- there is quite possibly something dark and sinister lurking behind all the major chords, happy chimes and high-pitched voices...

shoutout to INQ for the news on this one

Le Mépris

today i offer a delicious and delictate selection of minimal piano ambience from one of my top-ten netlabels, aerotone. although the label is just over 2 years old now, Le Mépris is only aerotone's 11th release, proof that this is a label with the most discerning of tastes. if the words eno, budd, and airports ring a positive note, you will almost certainly enjoy this release.

Proviant Audio - Welcome Wilderness EP

my latest addiction is surfing through the mad bloggings of Phlow Magazine, and i've come accross another great release thanks to our favourite german listening machines! 'Welcome Wilderness' from the long-silent Aquavelvas netlabel, presents slightly bizarre, slightly campy collection of sampledelic cutup elektro-jazz which will make a perfect addition to your afternoon chillout playlist. the release starts out chilled and low-key and develops into trippy freaked-out breakbeat/disco beats. insane catchyness!

The Incognito Traveller EP

here at hiddenplace music, i normally like to keep a nice variety of music between posts. however, in searching through the aforementioned No Copy Protection netlabel, i came across a release which was so fantastic i had to feature it.
anyone else who has played with ACID or other loop-based recording software knows how easy it is to make bad loop-based music. but every so often, there comes an artist who knows how to spin the loops with just the right mix of flavours. jazz drums, latin percussion, muted trumpet, antique piano, and even an charming french language song make up The Incognito Traveller EP, providing some of the most listenable sample-based music i have heard in a while. prepare to be whisked away into the world of smoky cafés and lazy cobblestone streets, tinged with the mystery and intrigue of a classic spy movie.

Flux and Vega - Believe EP

downtempo/triphop with female vocals is one of my favourite types of music, however it can be difficult to find quality vocals in the netaudio world. some netlables, such as kahvi collective, have even adopted an unofficial rule of not releasing anything with vocals. other fans of electronica with vocals will be delighted by 'Believe EP' from the No Copy Protection netlabel. the short selection of tracks provides a pleasant and sunny selection of [mostly] spanish-language female vocal-fronted triphop, along with a few electro-house flavoured remixes. for me, these tracks really work because they avoid the temptation of overly processing everything with excessive electronics and fx. here the vocals and arrangements are quite charming and effective in their relaxed, unassuming style.

this netlabel, previously unknown to me, provides an intriguing (and attractively designed) catalogue of releases. i will definitely have to investigate further..

shout out to the new english-language Phlow Magazine blog for pointing me in the direction of this release.

The Silent Ballet

i would like to take a moment to spotlight another interesting compilation series which i stumbled onto a while back: The Silent Ballet compilations, a collaboration from the indie rock website of the same name, and the Lost Children netlabel. breaking the electronic mould of most netlabels, Lost Children features [mostly] instrumental indie/shoegazer/post-rock from a host of bands around the world. there are quite a few gems to be discovered here. unfortunately, Lost Children could use a bit more quality control, as there are some rather awful tracks in the series as well. however, fans of heartfelt soft/loud emotional energy (queue references to bands such as explosions in the sky, mogwai, godspeed you black emperor, m83 etc) will find much to be enjoyed in The Silent Ballet series. in my opinion, the most recent installment of the series is the strongest yet. it starts out slowly, with a very long introduction of two minimal guitar-based ambient tracks. however, in the later tracks the energy slowly builds to the exploding crescendos we expect. in my opinion, many of the tracks never quite reach their full potential-- i am frequently left wanting more, but all in all, the bands and the netlabel show some real promise, and there are some quite breathtaking moments to be enjoyed here.

Intelligent Toys 4 (Sutemos019)

hiddenplace music newsflash: for those of you not on the Sutemos email list, the 4th part of their frequently brilliant all-star idm compilation series was just released. clocking in at 2,5 hours play time, and featuring such favourite artists as Sabi, Esem, Sense, IJO, Machine Drum, and Sleepy Town Manufacture, this compilation is a must-listen. "It's listening time now."

Moosefrog - Come EP

on a recently tram ride home, i re-discovered a chillout netaudio gem: the first release from the great little netlabel lo-kiwi. if you enjoyed the downtempo/instrumental hiphop of Mr. Moods which i featured a couple months ago, 'come' from chillmasters Moosefrog will tickle your ears most pleasantly. looped jazzy guitars, soft rhodes and synth chords, groovy brushed drums, a few gritty turntable samples and creepy filtered spoken word samples make for a super-chilled evening listening session.


as with most good eps, this release is a bit of a short listen, so make sure to check out lo-kiwis' back catalogue, such as Moosefrog's Adrift, which includes two songs featuring vocals by Chillcast hostess Anji Bee.

Phrozenlight

[once again abruptly shifting gears, into dark ambient territory] dutch composer Phrozenlight is one of the most prolific electronic music producers ive come across. typically releasing 2 or 3 hour-long compositions per month, most of his extensive catalogue is available for download at archive.org. this is not music for everyone-- slowly evolving, abstract, dark ambient spaces, usually with little or no harmonic or 'musical' elements. yet for fans of the genre, his music is always excellently produced with consistent quality and careful attention to sound and texture. his recent release, Sunday Afternoon recently provided an excellent soundtrack to one hour of my day with the usual deftly sequenced deep spacey textures, accented by an otherworldly melody which slowly evolves into a berlin school-style analogue sequence-- pleasantly and fascinatingly reminiscent of the classic spacemusic series Dark Side of the Moog by veteran producers Pete Namlook and Klaus Schulze (of Tangerine Dream). when the dark autumn months call for a quiet introspective journey into deep space, Phrozenlight's music fits the bill quite nicely.

Noe Venable - The Summer Storm Journals

on the other side of the spectrum of music for autumn, veteran songstress Noe Venable proves that brilliant songwriting and a beautiful, expressive voice never get old. her newest album, 'The Summer Storm Journals' has been stuck in my head ever since it was released earlier this season. even if you are like me and very rarely buy actual cds, i highly recommend adding this album to your collection. along with 'bring me the workhorse' from my brightest diamond, it has become one of my most listened-to releases this year. this is quality music that i believe could appeal to everyone- melancholy without being depressing, dark but hopeful, childlike but not immature, all the while absolutely uncompromising in style, individuality and vision. Noe is kind enough to offer two complete songs for free download on her website. after a few listens, they will most likely be lodged in your head, leaving you with a curious longing to discover more....

Muhr - Poussière

a new release has arrived from one of my top netlabels, serein. this label consistently provides top-quality acoustic/electronic fusions, always adhering to the 'quality over quantity' philosophy. the latest release provides the perfect soundtrack for the decent into the colder autumn days-- dark glitchy electronics, post-rocking guitar drones and accents of orchestral strings, noise and processed field recordings blend into a journey that is at once densely chaotic and bleakly serene; all the while remaining coherent and emotive. netaudio electro-acoustic postrock at its best!

Netaudio-Mixtape IV / t.slubs (thinners slow Dubs)

in case you dont obsessively check the thinner netlabel website for updates, the previously mentioned german music collective Das Kraftfuttermischwerk has released an excellent mix of deep spacey dubby trax pulled from the thinner archive. it made for a most pleasant and nostalgic morning's listen, taking me right back to the original thinner classics like Falter, Selffish, & Digitalverein
viel spaß!

Mikael Fyrek - In riots of color they spin

as i slowly emerge from the world of boxes, suitcases, airports and multi-lingual signs, allow me to recommend an excellent new release from perennial favourite kahvi. for 'In riots of color they spin' Mikael Fyrek creates 4 miniature worlds of idm beauty full of all the best building blocks of intelligent chill- warm atmospheres of breathy pads, delay-soaked mountainous landscapes and soaring leads accented by subtle paintstrokes of filtered beats. another beautiful (if short) glimpse into digitally-created dreamworlds. i think you will find, these landscapes are certainly worthy of many return journeys.

backlog: dont miss Mr Fyrek's previous two releases, St Mare Abelle and i can finally see what darkness looks like, both excellent as well

weigl & hoffmann + krill.minima

two new & notable releases by the legendary netaudio portal thinner today -

for all fans of the most listenable electro-acoustic experimentations, dont miss the brand-new release by a true innovator of netaudio, Philipp Weigl. warm ambient atmospheres, hushed vocals, touches of melodic acoustic instruments, backed by a barely noticeable subtle smooth techno pulse. essential moody listening for all seasons!

also newly released is a dubby ambient LP 'Urlaub Auf Balkonien' by krill.minima (aka Marsen Jules), a worthy follow-up to the minimal ambient masterpiece 'Zwischen zwei und einer Sekunde' slow, quiet and subtle, this lp took me a couple listens to get into, but its beginning to grow on me...

Text Adventure - Fantastic Disaster

i wanted to take a few minutes to spotlight one of my all-time favourite netaudio releases - this little gem by the Glascow duo Text Adventure, released on Observatory Online, a now-silent netlable with a short but sweet selection of releases. glitchy 8-bit electronics, acoustic guitars and timid falsetto vocals make up this a magical little trippy acoustic/electropop gem. although this release is a couple years old now, these songs are still constantly stuck in my head.

it has been rumoured that a new full-length album, charmingly titled 'I Believe in Lassies' will be released soon. let us hope that it doesnt get lost in the infinite 'coming soon' category...

Muxu - Show Us Your Weak Side

Monotonik, one of the first netlables ever, and the netlable that started my netaudio obsession has sadly been pretty dead lately. there has been a few interesting releases, but nothing of the quality and originality of classics like Latatoo, Aze, or Aleksi Virta meets Tortsi at the Space Lounge. (it should also be noted that Monotonik was the portal for most of Planet Boelex's previous excellent releases)

however, i found the latest release from newcomers muxu (noted as Monotonik's first release from Malaysia) to be quite enjoyable. it reminded me quite strongly of The Ablum Leaf or Four Tet, a pleasing mix of subtle beats, piano, quiet guitars and rhodes mixed with warm electronics. like all good eps, it left me with a pleasant feeling but wanting more. perhaps things are looking up for Montonik?

Planet Boelex - Suunta

in case you dont keep up with the Kahvi netlabel, the newest release is an absolute must-have. finnish producer planet boelex is the master of warmly chilled electronic ambient idm, and each release keeps getting better and better. the usual planet boelex devices are deftly employed here - precisely syncopated percussion, endlessly deep bass, wandering warbling pads, delay-soaked glitchy fx and soaring leads, along with a new element - a track featuring vocals from chillout songwriter Krister Linder. also featured in this release is hi-resolution HD 16x9 artwork by a certain designer..
i dont think i am exaggerating in saying, this is so far the best netaudio release of 2007. i dont use such superlatives often, but i have listened to this release practically nonstop since it appeared, and it simply keeps getting better and better. an absolute masterpiece of intelligent electronica.

planet boelex is also offering these tracks as lossless flac downloads. i didnt think that it would be a big difference from the already high quality 320kbps mp3s, but listening to the lossless audio files truly gives that extra special sparkle, tickling the ears in an ever so pleasing way...

KiloWatts - Uprouted

there was an unusual occurrence, i actually payed to download music! once again the riaa is proved wrong, and free downloads [sometimes] encourage the actual purchasing of music. i was listening to a live set by glitchmaster KiloWatts, and two tracks near the end (Weird Little Creatures and One Everchanging) immediately caught my ear. KW was kind enough to offer weird little creatures as a free download(right-click here) and the song was immediately ingrained in my head, thereby giving me the desire to play the track at full volume in my car. i like to support artists who make quality music, and i like download shops that offer lossless flac downloads. the aformentioned tracks are available at an affordable price at the KiloWatts Shop.
normally glitch idm gets on my nerves very quickly, but kilowatts is making some very listenable music...

backlog: and for more glitchy goodness, dont miss the classic 'microcosmos lp' by one of my favourite producers, jason corder (also known as off the sky)

chillout/idm double feature

short feature today - two recent releases by two of my favourite chilled idm artists - Motionfield and Das Kraftfuttermischwerk.

backlog: dont miss motionfield's excellent release from '06, Northern Lights

in other news, Comfort Fit's poor hamster died a few days ago. the world is sad to lose such a being who was witness to the creation of one of the all-time best netaudio releases, Forget and Remember. dont miss the massiv beat Boris created as a eulogy for Bounce the hamster.

Mr Moods - In Love We Trust...

Nothing is better for driving through the city on a hot day than gritty, downtempo beats. this release fits the bill very nicely. mr moods (not to be confused with a certain other very special artist) keeps the beatz rollin and mixes it up with an eclectic array of samples and sound-mashups, along with vocal samples seemlingly centred around illicit relationships. all in all, an excellently produced ep of downtempo and instrumental hip-hop.
if you enjoy this album, also dont miss his side project, Prototype 68, a slightly more ambient and abstract take on the genre. a must for fans of dj shadow and the turntablist pioneers of asphodel records...

shameless self-promotion

in a shameless bit of self-promotion, i've begun to put together a music section of my homepage, including my ambient/worldmusic albums, experimental stuff, and a couple dj mixes. far from perfect, but its a start at least..

ILAD & A Northern Chorus

Tying together topics of the previous few posts (canada and post rock), i just saw an excellent show at The Boot with virginian spazz-jazz-jam-rockers ILAD and canadian post-rockers extrodinare, A Northern Chorus. ANC has been one of my favourite spacey shoegaze-rock bands since the MP3.com days and it was great to see them live again. this time i had my camera and i took a few artsy photos. check out the gallery here. anyway, i highly recommend both these bands, you can check out their websites and myspaces to hear the music. i especially recommend A Northern Chorus' album Bitter Hands Resign. its an excellent album of slow spacey but powerful post-rock jams full of swirling strings, guitars and guy+girl vocals.

Altus

now for another complete change of pace - spacey ambient music from canadian musician Altus. at times reminiscent of Jonn Serrie, Chuck Wild (Liquid Mind), Thom Brennan, or Steve Roach in his more melodic moments. peaceful synth pad chords with just the right touches of ambient sounds and atmosphere. almost all of his excellent releases are available as hi-quality mp3s for free download, released under a Creative Commons license. especially recommended are: The Wanderer, Autumn Breeze, Winter Embrace, Excursion One, Elements - Air. if youre a fan of ambient spacemusic, dont miss this very prolific musician!

Explosions in the Sky live shows

here at hiddenplace music(tm) , were very much into free music, so here's a couple excellent live shows from the aformentioned Explosions in the Sky which are available for free [legal] download right here on the internets.


Live at Rescue Rooms, Nottingham, England
courtesy of the Live Music Archive at archive.org
(these files are in FLAC format, but if you have a new version of winamp you should be able to listen to them)


Live at the 930 Club, Washington DC (opening acts Eluvium and The Paper Chase also available for download)
courtesy of NPR's All Songs Considered

Explosions in the Sky - All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone

i know big epic post-rock isnt everyone's thing, but ive really been digging the newest album from texan lads Explosions in the Sky, All of A Sudden I Miss Everyone. i heard they recorded the tracks on this album live, with no overdubs and minimal editing (i didnt bother to check this fact, but it sounds cool). anyway, its immediately obvious upon listening that each track is precisely planned, endlessly rehearsed, and flawlessly performed - all to great effect. blazing emotional soundscapes brimming with an almost exhausting intensity at once assault and soothe your ear. other long and meaningless descriptive phrases spring into mind, but theres plenty of other blogs and reviews for that....
definitely get your hands on the two-disc 'special edition' with a second disc of remixes. i know, at first i raised my eyebrows at the thought of explosions in the sky remixes, but the ones presented here are quite fascinating in contrast with the album versions. each one is expertly produced, but still very respectful of the emotion and energy of the original - none of these screams 'this is a remix' like so many remixes do. the only one with beats of any sort is the Four Tet remix, a fascinating idm+rock blend which works surprisingly well.
many have hailed this album as Explosions' most mature work yet, and i quite agree. chances are, if youve head of explosions in the sky and liked them at some point, or think you might like them, youll love this album.

My Brightest Diamond - Youkali live on KCRW

on the heels of the last post, i wanted to put this up because i find it so awesome. a rare, exclusive recording of My Brightest Diamond playing some french song live in the KCRW studios on an old broken harmonium that happened to be there. strange.. in a few instances, she sounds exactly like Edith Piaf! sorry for all the background noise, i recorded it with my sound card off the streaming audio.. but i liked it so much, i had to save it for posterity. listen to the whole show here.

download:
My Brightest Diamond - Youkali live on KCRW

My Brightest Diamond - Daytrotter Sessions

and now for something completely different - a few live songs by freaky rocker chick My Brightest Diamond. available for free download at Daytrotter. these songs totally rock my face off. dont forget to check out Daytrotter's archive for lots of other live sessions by other cool indie artists. I had the privilege of seeing My Brightest Diamond opening for The Decemberists earlier this year, and she rocked then too. and btw, her album Bring Me The Workhorse is quite excellent, probably one of my favourites in the genre.

Bergen - Spring Interval EP

i was in the mood for some chilled house music today, and this release from a previously-unknown netlabel (to me) fit the bill nicely. i heard the track 'higher than high' in Micha's Ruhnsong Ruhnsong014 from hybridized.org and it immediately caught my ear. i was quite pleased to see it was available for free download. view and download the release here. this is techno music just how i like it - relaxed and chilled but having enough energy to keep you from falling asleep at work! floating pads, moving subtle beats, and cool mysterious vocoder vocals keep this ep interesting throughout...

Sneaker Pimps - Becoming RemiXed

just picked up this album recently through lala.com. some very cool remixes of a classic trip-hop album. styles range from progressive house, to breakbeat, dnb, electro, whatever.. recommended especially if youre familiar with the original (Becoming X)

Mudville - Iris Nova

for my very first post, i wanted to plug the NY band Mudville. i just won a free copy of their debut cd from my favourite podcast - Anji Bee's The Chillcast! thanks, Anji! (you can even hear her announcing me as the official winner on episode #72.. yayy) overall its a nice cd-- quality trip-hop with some classical, film soundtrack, rock and soul influences. check out their website for previews.