update no. 48
Notes: I'm still recovering from losing all my music a couple months ago, so once again I have to offer my apologies for the lateness of this update. Hopefully the quantity and quality of music on offer will help make up for my tardiness. The links in this update lead (once more) to box.net, as that seemed to be a popular site with commenters and is running faster for me now than it was a few months ago.
I've been meaning to add: I have a last.fm profile for those of you who are interested in knowing what else I play throughout the month. shortbutfast spotted me over there and that reminded me about posting the information on the community ...
Additional Note: I have an .rar of Seo Taiji music to upload as well, but at the moment my computer is trying to shut down for 'automatic updates' and, given that it's already 4:30 in the morning, it's easier to put that off until I wake up tomorrow morning/afternoon.
Music Spotlight: Sara Valenzuela is the former lead-singer of Mexican alternative-pop group La Dosis and released her solo album (Lado Este) in 2005. Her music is a combination of pop and nortec (itself a combination of electronica and norteño styles) and "Esta Vez" is something that would fit in well on a compilation from K7! or Eighteenth Street Lounge.
Music Spotlight: Kaira Gong was born in Singapore to parents from Shanghai and was - until this past December - signed to a Taiwanese record label. She's contributed songs to a few soundtracks and performed in the 2006 Singapore National Day Parade, while (former) label-mates David Tao and S.H.E. have made appearances on her album and music album respectively. I'm a little unsure how to translate this song into English - something along the lines of "Thinking or Not (想不想) of Freedom (自由)". If anyone with a better grasp of Mandarin wants to help out it would be much appreciated.
Music Spotlight: Thuy Huong's song "Gimme Gimme Gimme" is a cover of Swedish band ABBA's hit of the same name. She alternates between Vietnamese verses and an English chorus and may even have a MySpace page here. I can't tell you for sure though, because it's freaking impossible to read anything on that site.
Music Spotlight: Amanda Jenssen garnered attention through finishing second in the Swedish Idol competition and earned herself a record contract through her strong performance. Her first album, Killing My Darlings was released 8 May 2008 with "Do You Love Me?" featured as the album's first single. She does a cover of Elvis' "Suspicious Minds" that I'd like to hear, but I have yet to find a copy of her album online (that doesn't involve using a torrent). It's hard to escape connections to Amy Winehouse, as both use a similar style of vocal delivery. Very nice, and well worth checking out!
Music Spotlight: MC Raï got his start singing in the mizoued folk style of Tunisia before switching to raï and fusing it with a wealth of western styles including rock, hip hop, and electronica. Unlike many North African artists he chose to immigrate to the United States rather than France - settling in Los Angeles back in 2000 - and released his first album (Raivolution) back in 2005.
Music Spotlight: Admiral T is a singer from the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe and began his musical career at 16 through the dancehall group Karukera Sound System. He's released two albums, eleven mix tapes, made an appearance in the feature film Nèg Maron, and been awarded both a Césaire Music Award and Skyrock Music Award (important musical accolades in France).
Music Spotlight: Robbie Williams, formerly of Take That, teams up with Lily Allen for this song from the 2006 album Rudebox. Robbie Williams has sold 70 million albums and made the Guinness Book of World Records when he sold 1.6 million tickets to his 2006 World Tour in a single day. Impressive. Both "Bongo Bong" and "Je Ne T'Aime Plus" are covers originally performed by French alternative rocker Manu Chao.
Music Spotlight: Articolo 31 are a Milanese group that combines hip hop, funk, spaghetti westerns, and rock into a formidable mix. Taking their name from an Irish constitutional law guaranteeing freedom of the press, they sing about a variety of issues and are one of the first hip hop groups to have formed in Italy, back in 1993. They've been on hiatus since 2006 but both members participate in the Spaghetti Funk collective.
Music Spotlight: Etran Finatawa (The Stars of Tradition) hail from Niger and got their start in the build-up to the 2006 Festival in the Desert (incidentally, Tinariwen were 'discovered' at the 2001 edition). While Tuareg music has gained attention as a result of the yearly festivals, Etran Finatawa are the first band to use music from the Wodaabe in a modern context. Anyone interested in Saharan blues will likely enjoy this song, and I would also recommend it to anyone interested in North African music.
Music Spotlight: Yozoh is a moderately successful artist in Korea who plays a mix of acoustic folk and pop. I don't know if it's just a matter of checking the wrong sites, but I'm amazed at how little exposure she's gotten on livejournal communities dedicated to Korean or Asian music. Maybe it's because she focuses on folk-y acoustic tunes instead of the sugar-coated pop thrown out by DBSK and Super Junior, but it's a real shame. She's also been featured on a Korean fashion website although perhaps her biggest claim to fame (among expats) is providing the music to this Olympus commercial that comes across as mildly suggestive.
Music Spotlight: Sopho Khalvashi is a Georgian musician of Laz origins who represented her country as their first in the Eurovision Song Contest last year. I like the fusion of traditional and contemporary in "Visionary Dream" as well as the energy she brings to the song; if you check out the tracks on her MySpace page she also does well with slower ballads.
Music Spotlight: I should probably say at the very start of this description that I love GO!GO!7188. Two ladies and one guy make up this rock/punk outfit, and they've released 11 albums in the eight years they've been together. Lead singer Yuu's voice sounds a little strained on "ララバイカウントダウン" but it felt like one of the best songs to segue between the urban raï of Cheba Maria and the surf rock of the Lombego Surfers. Check out "Kinkyori Renai" and "Aoi Kiretsu" for other examples from the group. And for anyone still reading at this point, they also do a cover of "Cutie Honey". (Yes, the same one covered by pop stars Koda Kumi and Ayumi Lee)
Music Spotlight: Los Mocosos cross plenty of musical borders and are happy to do so. The California sextet surges through everything from latin funk (à la War and Santana) to ska to hip hop and barrio rock without missing a (metaphorical or literal) beat. Los Mocosos also appear on the album Escena Alterlatina: The Future Sound In Español, the only Latin rock compilation to make it onto the Billboard Latin charts. Here they do a cover of Sting's "The Bed's Too Big Without You". The horns on this one sound very reminiscent to what one would hear from Argentina's Los Fabulosos Cadillacs. Definitely worth checking out!
Music Spotlight: Organist Walter Wanderley is one of the more well-known artists from the 1960s bossa nova movement in Brazil. His collaboration with João Gilberto and Astrud Gilberto led his international career to take off, although he was already nationally famous in the 1950s. Here he covers the Marcos Valle song "Os Grilos". Valle was a member of Sergio Mendes' "Brazil '66" and created an amazing amount of work on his own - from psychedelic rock to piano pop and from television jingles to the theme music from Brazil's version of Sesame Street.
Music Spotlight: I know absolutely nothing about Yu Ying Xia but I swear this song is a cover of a relatively well-known piece. The song titles translates as "Love's Debt" and the only part of the Chinese lyrics I can make out is 美国人 - American [person] - which doesn't exactly help when looking up song lyrics. Plus, she could have taken the melody and added her own lyrics to the piece. So ... anyone recognize this song?
____________________________________________________________
* All files are hosted on box.net and should be in .mp3 format unless stated otherwise.
* Please leave a comment if you download anything, as it lets me know what you like.
* Enjoy!
____________________________________________________________
[ 01 ] ...
... Real Elements feat. Ange "Amazing" [r&b, hip hop | malawi]
[ 02 ] ...
... Sara Valenzuela "Esta Vez" [nortec | mexico]
[ 03 ] ...
... Kaira Gong (龔詩嘉) "想不想自由" [mandarin ballad | singapore]
[ 04 ] ...
... 7 Samurai "Bahia" [samba, electronica, brazilian | austria]
[ 05 ] ...
... Halay "Taksim Oyun Havalari" [kurdish saber dance, electronica | kurdistan]
[ 06 ] ...
... Peter Miles "Owango Rmx" [reggae | uganda]
[ 07 ] ...
... Thuy Huong "Gimme Gimme Gimme" [pop, dance, cover | vietnam]
[ 08 ] ...
... Amanda Jenssen "Do You Love Me?" [soul | sweden]
[ 09 ] ...
... MC Raï "Hen'alina" [raï, pop | tunisia]
[ 10 ] ...
... Farhad Darya (فرهاد دری) "Yanga Kunduz" [pashto folk | afghanistan]
[ 11 ] ...
... Admiral T "Toucher l'Horizon" [reggae, dancehall | guadeloupe, france]
[ 12 ] ...
... Eva de Roovere "Zoals In Dat Ene Liedje" [melancholy pop | netherlands]
[ 13 ] ...
... Robbie Williams feat. Lily Allen "Bongo Bong / Je Ne T'Aime Plus" [pop, bongo, cover | uk]
[ 14 ] ...
... Articolo 31 "Volume" [hip hop | italy]
[ 15 ] ...
... Tumbatú Cumbá "La Pira" [latin pop, folk, cumbia | argentina]
[ 16 ] ...
... Soap Kills "Coit Me" [trip hop | lebanon]
[ 17 ] ...
... Soweto String Quartet "St Agnes And The Burning Train" [classical | south africa]
[ 18 ] ...
... Etran Finatawa "Tiggedamat" [sahara blues | niger]
[ 19 ] ...
... Cheo Hurtado y Bandolas de Venezuela "Pajarillo Revuelto" [cuatro, folk | venezuela]
[ 20 ] ...
... Jann Halexander "Brasillach 1945" [nouvelle chanson français | gabon]
[ 21 ] ...
... Yozoh (요조) With A Small Group Acacia Band "Flower (꽃)" [acoustic pop | south korea]
[ 22 ] ...
... Sopho Khalvashi (სოფო ხალვაში) "Visionary Dream (წარმოსახვითი ოცნება)" [pop | georgia]
[ 23 ] ...
... Cheba Maria feat. Hamid Bouchnak "Omri" [urban raï | morocco]
[ 24 ] ...
... GO!GO!7188 "Lullaby Countdown (ララバイカウントダウン)" [rock, punk | japan]
[ 25 ] ...
... Lombego Surfers "Reverends Ride" [instrumental surf rock, garage rock | switzerland]
[ 26 ] ...
... Odko a.k.a. En Route feat. Quiza "Daichin (Warrior)" [hip hop | mongolia]
[ 27 ] ...
... Kraljevi Ulice and 75 Cents "Romanca" [pop | croatia]
[ 28 ] ...
... Heba Mokhtar "Lazem Lhbak Keda" [arabic pop | egypt]
[ 29 ] ...
... Phoenix "Long Distance Call (25 Hours A Day Remix)" [rock, pop | france]
[ 30 ] ...
... Los Mocosos "The Bed's Too Big Without You" [latin folk, pop, cover | usa]
[ 31 ] ...
... Walter Wanderley "Os Grilos (Crickets Sing For Anamaria)" [bossa nova, cover | brazil]
[ 32 ] ...
... Amaia Zubiria "Ondoan Zauzkat" [jazz, folk | euskadi/basque country]
[ 33 ] ...
... Yu Ying Xia (郁英霞) "Love's Debt (爱情的债)" [folk, pop, cover (?) | china]
Download an .rar file with all the songs *HERE*
box.net player to preview songs:
I've been meaning to add: I have a last.fm profile for those of you who are interested in knowing what else I play throughout the month. shortbutfast spotted me over there and that reminded me about posting the information on the community ...
Additional Note: I have an .rar of Seo Taiji music to upload as well, but at the moment my computer is trying to shut down for 'automatic updates' and, given that it's already 4:30 in the morning, it's easier to put that off until I wake up tomorrow morning/afternoon.
Music Spotlight: Sara Valenzuela is the former lead-singer of Mexican alternative-pop group La Dosis and released her solo album (Lado Este) in 2005. Her music is a combination of pop and nortec (itself a combination of electronica and norteño styles) and "Esta Vez" is something that would fit in well on a compilation from K7! or Eighteenth Street Lounge.
Music Spotlight: Kaira Gong was born in Singapore to parents from Shanghai and was - until this past December - signed to a Taiwanese record label. She's contributed songs to a few soundtracks and performed in the 2006 Singapore National Day Parade, while (former) label-mates David Tao and S.H.E. have made appearances on her album and music album respectively. I'm a little unsure how to translate this song into English - something along the lines of "Thinking or Not (想不想) of Freedom (自由)". If anyone with a better grasp of Mandarin wants to help out it would be much appreciated.
Music Spotlight: Thuy Huong's song "Gimme Gimme Gimme" is a cover of Swedish band ABBA's hit of the same name. She alternates between Vietnamese verses and an English chorus and may even have a MySpace page here. I can't tell you for sure though, because it's freaking impossible to read anything on that site.
Music Spotlight: Amanda Jenssen garnered attention through finishing second in the Swedish Idol competition and earned herself a record contract through her strong performance. Her first album, Killing My Darlings was released 8 May 2008 with "Do You Love Me?" featured as the album's first single. She does a cover of Elvis' "Suspicious Minds" that I'd like to hear, but I have yet to find a copy of her album online (that doesn't involve using a torrent). It's hard to escape connections to Amy Winehouse, as both use a similar style of vocal delivery. Very nice, and well worth checking out!
Music Spotlight: MC Raï got his start singing in the mizoued folk style of Tunisia before switching to raï and fusing it with a wealth of western styles including rock, hip hop, and electronica. Unlike many North African artists he chose to immigrate to the United States rather than France - settling in Los Angeles back in 2000 - and released his first album (Raivolution) back in 2005.
Music Spotlight: Admiral T is a singer from the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe and began his musical career at 16 through the dancehall group Karukera Sound System. He's released two albums, eleven mix tapes, made an appearance in the feature film Nèg Maron, and been awarded both a Césaire Music Award and Skyrock Music Award (important musical accolades in France).
Music Spotlight: Robbie Williams, formerly of Take That, teams up with Lily Allen for this song from the 2006 album Rudebox. Robbie Williams has sold 70 million albums and made the Guinness Book of World Records when he sold 1.6 million tickets to his 2006 World Tour in a single day. Impressive. Both "Bongo Bong" and "Je Ne T'Aime Plus" are covers originally performed by French alternative rocker Manu Chao.
Music Spotlight: Articolo 31 are a Milanese group that combines hip hop, funk, spaghetti westerns, and rock into a formidable mix. Taking their name from an Irish constitutional law guaranteeing freedom of the press, they sing about a variety of issues and are one of the first hip hop groups to have formed in Italy, back in 1993. They've been on hiatus since 2006 but both members participate in the Spaghetti Funk collective.
Music Spotlight: Etran Finatawa (The Stars of Tradition) hail from Niger and got their start in the build-up to the 2006 Festival in the Desert (incidentally, Tinariwen were 'discovered' at the 2001 edition). While Tuareg music has gained attention as a result of the yearly festivals, Etran Finatawa are the first band to use music from the Wodaabe in a modern context. Anyone interested in Saharan blues will likely enjoy this song, and I would also recommend it to anyone interested in North African music.
Music Spotlight: Yozoh is a moderately successful artist in Korea who plays a mix of acoustic folk and pop. I don't know if it's just a matter of checking the wrong sites, but I'm amazed at how little exposure she's gotten on livejournal communities dedicated to Korean or Asian music. Maybe it's because she focuses on folk-y acoustic tunes instead of the sugar-coated pop thrown out by DBSK and Super Junior, but it's a real shame. She's also been featured on a Korean fashion website although perhaps her biggest claim to fame (among expats) is providing the music to this Olympus commercial that comes across as mildly suggestive.
Music Spotlight: Sopho Khalvashi is a Georgian musician of Laz origins who represented her country as their first in the Eurovision Song Contest last year. I like the fusion of traditional and contemporary in "Visionary Dream" as well as the energy she brings to the song; if you check out the tracks on her MySpace page she also does well with slower ballads.
Music Spotlight: I should probably say at the very start of this description that I love GO!GO!7188. Two ladies and one guy make up this rock/punk outfit, and they've released 11 albums in the eight years they've been together. Lead singer Yuu's voice sounds a little strained on "ララバイカウントダウン" but it felt like one of the best songs to segue between the urban raï of Cheba Maria and the surf rock of the Lombego Surfers. Check out "Kinkyori Renai" and "Aoi Kiretsu" for other examples from the group. And for anyone still reading at this point, they also do a cover of "Cutie Honey". (Yes, the same one covered by pop stars Koda Kumi and Ayumi Lee)
Music Spotlight: Los Mocosos cross plenty of musical borders and are happy to do so. The California sextet surges through everything from latin funk (à la War and Santana) to ska to hip hop and barrio rock without missing a (metaphorical or literal) beat. Los Mocosos also appear on the album Escena Alterlatina: The Future Sound In Español, the only Latin rock compilation to make it onto the Billboard Latin charts. Here they do a cover of Sting's "The Bed's Too Big Without You". The horns on this one sound very reminiscent to what one would hear from Argentina's Los Fabulosos Cadillacs. Definitely worth checking out!
Music Spotlight: Organist Walter Wanderley is one of the more well-known artists from the 1960s bossa nova movement in Brazil. His collaboration with João Gilberto and Astrud Gilberto led his international career to take off, although he was already nationally famous in the 1950s. Here he covers the Marcos Valle song "Os Grilos". Valle was a member of Sergio Mendes' "Brazil '66" and created an amazing amount of work on his own - from psychedelic rock to piano pop and from television jingles to the theme music from Brazil's version of Sesame Street.
Music Spotlight: I know absolutely nothing about Yu Ying Xia but I swear this song is a cover of a relatively well-known piece. The song titles translates as "Love's Debt" and the only part of the Chinese lyrics I can make out is 美国人 - American [person] - which doesn't exactly help when looking up song lyrics. Plus, she could have taken the melody and added her own lyrics to the piece. So ... anyone recognize this song?
____________________________________________________________
* All files are hosted on box.net and should be in .mp3 format unless stated otherwise.
* Please leave a comment if you download anything, as it lets me know what you like.
* Enjoy!
____________________________________________________________
[ 01 ] ...
... Real Elements feat. Ange "Amazing" [r&b, hip hop | malawi]
[ 02 ] ...
... Sara Valenzuela "Esta Vez" [nortec | mexico]
[ 03 ] ...
... Kaira Gong (龔詩嘉) "想不想自由" [mandarin ballad | singapore]
[ 04 ] ...
... 7 Samurai "Bahia" [samba, electronica, brazilian | austria]
[ 05 ] ...
... Halay "Taksim Oyun Havalari" [kurdish saber dance, electronica | kurdistan]
[ 06 ] ...
... Peter Miles "Owango Rmx" [reggae | uganda]
[ 07 ] ...
... Thuy Huong "Gimme Gimme Gimme" [pop, dance, cover | vietnam]
[ 08 ] ...
... Amanda Jenssen "Do You Love Me?" [soul | sweden]
[ 09 ] ...
... MC Raï "Hen'alina" [raï, pop | tunisia]
[ 10 ] ...
... Farhad Darya (فرهاد دری) "Yanga Kunduz" [pashto folk | afghanistan]
[ 11 ] ...
... Admiral T "Toucher l'Horizon" [reggae, dancehall | guadeloupe, france]
[ 12 ] ...
... Eva de Roovere "Zoals In Dat Ene Liedje" [melancholy pop | netherlands]
[ 13 ] ...
... Robbie Williams feat. Lily Allen "Bongo Bong / Je Ne T'Aime Plus" [pop, bongo, cover | uk]
[ 14 ] ...
... Articolo 31 "Volume" [hip hop | italy]
[ 15 ] ...
... Tumbatú Cumbá "La Pira" [latin pop, folk, cumbia | argentina]
[ 16 ] ...
... Soap Kills "Coit Me" [trip hop | lebanon]
[ 17 ] ...
... Soweto String Quartet "St Agnes And The Burning Train" [classical | south africa]
[ 18 ] ...
... Etran Finatawa "Tiggedamat" [sahara blues | niger]
[ 19 ] ...
... Cheo Hurtado y Bandolas de Venezuela "Pajarillo Revuelto" [cuatro, folk | venezuela]
[ 20 ] ...
... Jann Halexander "Brasillach 1945" [nouvelle chanson français | gabon]
[ 21 ] ...
... Yozoh (요조) With A Small Group Acacia Band "Flower (꽃)" [acoustic pop | south korea]
[ 22 ] ...
... Sopho Khalvashi (სოფო ხალვაში) "Visionary Dream (წარმოსახვითი ოცნება)" [pop | georgia]
[ 23 ] ...
... Cheba Maria feat. Hamid Bouchnak "Omri" [urban raï | morocco]
[ 24 ] ...
... GO!GO!7188 "Lullaby Countdown (ララバイカウントダウン)" [rock, punk | japan]
[ 25 ] ...
... Lombego Surfers "Reverends Ride" [instrumental surf rock, garage rock | switzerland]
[ 26 ] ...
... Odko a.k.a. En Route feat. Quiza "Daichin (Warrior)" [hip hop | mongolia]
[ 27 ] ...
... Kraljevi Ulice and 75 Cents "Romanca" [pop | croatia]
[ 28 ] ...
... Heba Mokhtar "Lazem Lhbak Keda" [arabic pop | egypt]
[ 29 ] ...
... Phoenix "Long Distance Call (25 Hours A Day Remix)" [rock, pop | france]
[ 30 ] ...
... Los Mocosos "The Bed's Too Big Without You" [latin folk, pop, cover | usa]
[ 31 ] ...
... Walter Wanderley "Os Grilos (Crickets Sing For Anamaria)" [bossa nova, cover | brazil]
[ 32 ] ...
... Amaia Zubiria "Ondoan Zauzkat" [jazz, folk | euskadi/basque country]
[ 33 ] ...
... Yu Ying Xia (郁英霞) "Love's Debt (爱情的债)" [folk, pop, cover (?) | china]
Download an .rar file with all the songs *HERE*
box.net player to preview songs: