heneya's Last.fm Journal

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Sat, 16 May 2009 17:06:34 +0000

Imogen Heap!

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 15:29:37 +0000

No words are needed here... Enjoy!

Just For Now

Let Go

Róisín Murphy - Tell Everybody (Live at Lowlands 2008)

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 17:37:46 +0000

The video that I simply can't stop watching & admiring.... What a geniune performance, what originality. Bless you Róisín!!

Róisín Murphy - Tell Everybody

Alice Russell - To Know This (Live at Hanbury Ballroom)

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 18:56:22 +0000

As one of my next recommendations to follow, I've chosen the UK up & rising artist who in my opinion, deserves a lot more public attention. Her name is Alice Russell. Yes folks, you better remember that name. To me, this is one of the most soulful voices in today's music industry. Alice will take you through a soulful landscapes, combined with great funk beats quivering you to jazzy, soul sounds. To get to know her better & of what she's done before, try checking out her previous collaborations. Check out names such: TM Juke, The Quantic Soul Orchestra, Quantic, Nostalgia 77, Bah Samba, The Bamboos, Diesler....

Enjoy!

New discoveries for 2008 (so far)

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 01:42:02 +0000

Ok, I'm starting with the first quarter of 2008, so I'd like to point out few new bands/musicians that I find quite interesting to follow up with. The musical style you'll find in the listed names vary between the sound of 80's disco-pop, disco-synth, electro-pop, electro-clash, neo-disco... Slightly turning to funk, soul, neo-soul, jazz, nu-jazz, contemporary jazz, electro-jazz, house. Feel free to find or distinct yourself from it. Anyhow it is, the feeling that comes out of finding new music & identifying with it (on one way or another), is just great. :)
And yes, new suggestions are always welcome. :)

1) Hercules and Love Affair - awesomeness
2) Kelley Polar - dangerously good!
3) Neon Neon - another excellent electro-synth-pop, with a very up-to-date production management.
4) Calvin Harris - lame vocals, the rest is ok.
5) Säätiö Organisaatio - fantastic nu-jazz band from 2003. worth the buy!
6) The Funky Lowlives - if you like Mo' Horizons & Tosca, you'll love these guys!
7) Deadly Avenger - HOT HOT HOT!
8) Dan Brantigan Quartet - refreshing jazz sounds comming from Slovakia.
9) Cobblestone Jazz - serious electro-jazz & minimal-techno madness. love it!
10) Hird - a 24 year old guy, very much Nuspirit Helsinki alike, Koop alike, Parov Stelar alike, Povo alike... Yukimi Nagano alike. I think I'm in love with this guy. :)
11) Emilie Simon - surprisingly good.
12) Anja Garbarek - eh, another Norwegian virtuoso.
13) Sally Shapiro - a very promising new electro artist. me likey. :)
14) Jon Kennedy - love this guy! anyone familiar with Bonobo, Quantic, Nostalgia 77, will love Jon Kennedy.
15) Skalpel - I discovered them very randomly, but geesh, I'm glad I did. :) Devine nu-jazz sounds.
16) Bah Samba - If the name Alice Russell means anything to you, than you're in the right place.
17) Kutiman - very fresh & original funk sounds here. He's a serious candidate for artist of the year in my list.
18) Supreme Beings Of Leisure - well, lovely trip-hop sound. More close to Bitter:Sweet. It's a must hear.
19) Lykke Li - amazing Swedish, young female vocalist. With those beautiful & mellow electro-sounding vocals, gotta love her.
20) Spylab - was aware of this guys earlier, though bought their album This Utopia later this February. A nice sticky dark electronica, mixed with moody trip-hop beats. I loved this band instantly.

x

'Overpowered' - new Róisín Murphy single

Fri, 4 May 2007 17:40:18 +0000

Ok, today's been a very bussy day for me, but it's all cool hence it is a weekend ahead. Thinking of obligations & doing them all the way down with as much stress as possible, can sometimes be very messy. But well, you gotta do what you gotta do. And than again, looking at the brightside of ит, I'm happy to read & hear(!!!) the new Róisín Murphy single “Overpowered” that has been aired just TODAY at Popjustice.com & my ouh my, it sounds terrific! Bloody fantastic, a mega tune… :)
At first hearing, I didn't knew what to think. It all came a bit different from what I expected & that is the well known sound of her first solo album Ruby Blue & Matthew Herbert, of course. But than again… she didn't worked on her "new baby" with him, or maybe she did.. but that collaboration isn't that quantitative to fullfill my expectations I guess. So far, along with this first single the name that was working with her & a familiar name to me is Paul Dolby aka Seiji, the guy from Bugz in the Attic with whom Róisín has written "Overpowered". In a manner of my previous comment, it is highly recommended to hear the remix of Bugz in the Attic of Róisín’s 'Sow Into You' track. You’ll see what kind of job did these fellows from the Attic…
Never the less, I don't wanna blab here anymore, just go to this link & you'll have the chance to hear it as a sample & also you can stream it in full!! Along with the info for the comming single & album.

http://www.popjustice.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1088&Itemid=279

Ah, yes! Just to get you rolling on closer to the new album, I’m posting the single cover of “Overpowered” here, just so you know. :)

Release date: 02/07/07
Label: EMI
Website: www.roisinmurphy.com

..there, enjoy the ride! :)

Firefly - Alpha

Fri, 4 May 2007 14:26:49 +0000

Firefly - Alpha

Who begins a star ?
Who will roll far ?
Took the way I know
Move along now

So sad I lost my memory
The shape of things to come
Circus heart stops inside me
There's just no time.

Halcyon days
Pine the roadways
Got to let you know
And I walk the way the wind blows
Softly in clouds of envy
I see those eyes
Fireflies in time

Don't ask for anything more
There seem no room in my life
Don't ask for anything more
Don't know why

Talk to me
Drag my memory
Across a seashore of sin
Yes I care
I'm trying to say it
I'm getting tired, so look
I'll never
I'll never
Whenever.......

Aaaarghhh…
I cannot express how I love this tune!! Absolutely amazing sounds, full of fantastic & sexy beats. Ready to relax on your side sooo spontaneously, very chillaxing & very trip-hoppy. :) This is track from Come From Heaven (1997) album, my favorite Alpha album. However down-beat they sound to some fans & also to those who follow, I think that this is a marvelous piece of music for such downbeat track! Gentle, mellow, sexy... I simply adore it! Can play it on repeat on & on & on… :)

the new Tracey Thorn album

Sun, 25 Mar 2007 23:36:32 +0000

Right, seems like tonight I'm "stuck" on Tracey Thorn's new baby - Out Of The Woods & I am truely impressed, but in same time a bit confused. This woman has a bit unexpected come back with this solo album, after a period of 25 years abstinence as a solo musician.. ever since the genial solo CD A Distant Shore from 1982.

Sneaking a peak on the very 3 tracks that are possible to hear here on last.fm, brings me in a "de-ja-vue" feeling, not in something repetitive as i've heard it somewhere else, much more like hearing her gorgeous voice in a completely new light. Balanced & harmonized, complete gravity! It's All True got me stomping back in the late '70s disco sound, with that amazingly bouncy bassline, it is sooo loosy. Easy is a fenomenal track, starting with the cinematic keyboards makes the sound catch your attention just as it comes out from the movie screen. Something that reminds me on Massive Attack's atmospheric sensibility. Still, there's a bit melancholy striking you straight in the face in Grand Canyon, while speaking of "the hole inside your heart no one can ever fill". Pretty much EBTG soundlike, just not that brutally, but with a mesmerizing sound of comepletely new Tracey Thorn.

Maybe the gap of 25 years away from the music scene, made her decide to make this album by "playing it safe", just by sticking to this subdued intimate mood in its content. Moving very smooth, fine, mellow.. but not like a typical club music, it's without all that euphoria.
Pretty pretty, misty I'd say. I can't wait to hear the rest of it, the 25 years of wait is an absolute worth. :)

It's All True
Easy
Grand Canyon

Being blown away!!

Mon, 5 Mar 2007 21:38:35 +0000

Ouh yes indeed, Bonobo. How come these guys can make you feel so brilliantly awesome, I really don't know.. They simply rule!! Being their fan even since 2000 starting from the ambitious debut album, Animal Magic (2000), I have seen lots of their attempts, from more reminiscent tunes to the cinematic formulas of glorious melodies in Dial M for Monkey (2003) & the beautifully, playfull intelligent & meditationaly graceful album, Days to come (2006).
BUT... Bonobo LIVE opens a completely new world, it's an artistical perfection!! Lurking on their Live Sessions EP (2005) tonight, makes me think how great they are. Either I haven't seen them live, they seem even more consistent on their live performances than from the studio albums. Which is a compliment, of course..:-)
So if you're a Bonobo fan, the Live Sessions EP is what you need to hear, you'll definitely love this album! Recurring is mind blowing.. If this doesn't make you go & buy the album right away, than Bonobo are not for you.

This EP is one of the MOST incredible things I've ever heard in my entire life.

Seems I'm gonna have to put Bonobo on my list of *a must see* bands for 2007, I just have to see these guys live.

Changes comes easily..

Fri, 2 Mar 2007 05:21:25 +0000

That Called Life

In celebration of my 12.000th scrobbeled track, yes that's That Called Life from Peacespeakers, I gotta say that it is truely nice to see that my ever expanding musical library never cease to dissapoint. :-)
Lately, I've been listening to some pretty diverse & quite oposite musical genres, seeming and assuming the changes they've made on my taste. I never was a type of person who listens to few familiar bands, towards with my own taste, reluctantly moving to another step higher, thinking that I know the best of it & it can’t get no better than that. Quite on the contrary! I always relate & search for something new that can describe me or touch my ear sensation, no matter where it’s coming from. Normally, I am not reffering to ANY eclectical taste here(either particularly, it may seems so..), cause it’s simply a point of self aquaintance. If I try to describe my musical taste, than I'd probably relate (moslty..) within the electronic music, but than I remember that my taste being "tagged" as electronic, means loads of influences from bands back in the days, yes, back to the base. Remembering my first joy of the tapes (those days) & the legendary Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Dead Can Dance, Uriah Heep... and lots, lots of it!! Seen from my today point of view, all that looks a bit contradictional, maybe even absurd how all that lead me to electronic music.

Now I’ll list my late favorites & discoveries, the ones I’ve been spinning around mostly. With lots of opposing & varying genres.. starting from jazz, nu-jazz, chillout, ambient, than ednding somewhere to techno, minimal, house, deep house, downbeat, even minimal house. Ha! ..what a start for 2007. : - )

The list is noted in accordance of its random order, towards the albums or the ep’s by the artists. So here it is, in no particular order:

1. Lackluster – Lax EP (2006):
Finnish born and bred electronic music composer Esa Ruoho, better known as lackluster, offers digilog a collection of seven lush & melodic summer tracks. Heart-yearning melodies, crisp percussion and beautifully arranged soundscapes create an ep that oozes warmth and fragility. Just sit back, relax and enjoy those 30 minutes of aural bliss…

2. Aura Fresh – Slowdown EP (2006):
Aura Fresh presents a summer feeling cocktail-lounge music. In very high quality he present the 3 easy fluffy tracks for a sunny sunday! Everyday (also the bad monday) is now sunday with this cool and great tracks! Very nice!

3. Atjazz – For Real EP (2006):
One of my favorites! Great release by Atjazz. 2 track EP with more uptempo quality House for the dancefloor. Recommended!

4. Eluvium – Copia (2007):
A great atmospheric, soothing music. All 12 melodic songs who’d perfectly fit in a film score. A great buy for people who are fans of post-rock/ambient bands, bands such Sigur Ros.

5. Eric Delay – She EP (2006):
Interesting electronic music by this 21 years old Russian. This is a lovely release for the summer time. Eric Delay makes minimal grooves with a sense of pop and melancholy that takes you away. It´s an amazing combination & I loved it instantly.

6. Esbjörn Svensson Trio – Viaticum (2005):
Shall I say something especially about these brilliant guys? Is there any need..?! :-) The Swedish jazz piano trio, aka E.S.T. is a surely not a discovery from 2007 for me.. I just am very sorry that I wasn’t able to go & see them live on Skopje Jazz Fest ,2006. Hope that there will be another chance for me to do so. Viaticum is a gorgeous album, seems like I can play it all day long. It’s my fave album from them, mostly ‘cause it reflects the diverse musical tastes of the band. A must have album!

7. Erik Truffaz - The Dawn (1998):
Erik Truffaz is a great French trumpeter, who received an early introduction into the world of a professional musician, thanks to his saxophone-playing dad. When he was ten years old, he began performing in his father's dance band. As he grew older, Truffaz performed with other bands in the region. Like it or not, Erik Truffaz cannot escape comparison to Miles Davis. Not only for his choice of instrument (after all, neither player owns sole rights to the trumpet) but for his fusion of jazz, funk, and soul. This is a very interesting 8 track album, namely the first album I've heard by him so far. Backed by an excellent trio, Truffaz works his way through nicely textured pieces of music that radiantly reflects his considerable abilities. Yet, that leaves another question for me.. Did Miles already do this better?

8. Hans Carstens – Different Ways EP (2006):
A great release by this guy. Hans Carstens is Systems Engineer, musician, and Dj, he encountered music while living in Ilford, London. Marvelous 3 tracks on this EP. With melodic and deep tunage, sending you out in space. Llegar a dios is my personal anthem!

9. Juno6 – Ita est (2006):
Juno6, hailing from Leipzig, Germany, Stefan Schultz (aka Juno6) in 2006 has released this GREAT album with 7 tracks all sounding melancholic, layed back, with a glimpse touch of minimalistic aproach, it’s ideal for those wanting to chillout. Also check out his 4 track EP, Lipsia. It can surprise you pleasantly.

10. Lemon Jelly - Lost Horizons (2002):
Well, what to tell about this brilliant guys… They are f***ink awesome!! A must have recomedation after all standards & subjectively variable tastes. Their airy music only paints happines on my face, a very smiley face. Check out the other 2 albums, “’64 – ‘95” (2005) & “LemonJelly .KY” (2000). Absolutely fantastic!!

11. Peacespeakers – Message From Planet Earth (2006):
Woah, these guys are simply gorgeous!! Peacespeakers is an electronic instrumental project of three hungarian guys (two of them living in Budapest, the third in the NY) to discover the rest between sounds. Message From Planet Earth is a soundtrack for a film that non exists, but you have the chance to realise it deep in your mind.. Very close to Jazzanova, Tosca, dZihan & Kamien.. Wonderfuly packed nu-jazz sound. I simply love it!!

12. Melodium - There Is Something In The Universe (2006) :
Eh, when I was introduced to this guy, I was told that his music is for invisible people. :-) A one man band, consisted only of Laurent Girard, the brilliant French guy. It is a wonderful airy electronica, drifting with distinc instrumental sounds. Rytmically perfect, slices the air with the digital trickery of Laurents creation in his hands. A perfect example of a perfect collision of the old & the new. I loved this album instantly, after being recommended by a friend. Well, he didn’t missed, that’s for sure. :-)

13. Under Byen – Puma EP (1997):
Well well, these guys are truly amazing, much more than that..! I would only say that it’s pitty that there aren’t more bands like this one. It is known that they’re producing their own unorthodox interpretation of rock. Under Byen don't use guitars. Instead, their music is dominated by piano, cello, violin, electrically-distorted saw, organ, drums and percussion. Very interesting is that their music is presented with Danish poetic lyrics which are presented to the listener by female vocals. They sound gorgeous live.

Phew.. I think it’s enough. :-) There are so much more I wanna mention here, but the list would become too long & tiresomly long to read it all the way through. This is more than enough.

Peace!