Port Isla- Steamroller

Hi,

So today's post is introducing you to an up and coming band that I think will be big called Port Isla. They are a 4 piece indie band from Norwich. You can listen to their new EP "Steamroller" HERE. They have recently been touring with George Ezra and I picked up the last copy of their EP at the leadmill in Sheffield. Which is a great venue by the way and they have some really good people playing soon, so click HERE to have a look.

These guys are indie-folk with acoustic and electric tracks. The vocals are folk rocky and casual in a rounded kind of way. They have a rehearsed full sound and the three tracks are diverse with different but equally good styles.

Tracklist:

1) Steamroller- this is an upbeat folk-y song with prominent drum rhythms and a country swing with the banjo and harmonies. The chorus and the vocal melody are so catchy and the harmonies are used to a great effect.

2) Next in line- this is a more rock and electric song where the vocals are more raw and the piano is more in the foreground with an indie-rock input. The lyrics in this are again sparse and not hugely inspiring but fit well and have a good tune to them.

3) Simple sunrise- this is an acoustic gentle track where the vocals are more exposed and where some bands fall because they can't hide behind noise and crazy rhythms. But Port Isla have more than proved themselves in this track with gorgeous poetic lyrics like "and that simple sunrise much like a drawing by a child is right in front of me" and the incredible harmonies made up of the right mixture of strong and slightly clashy chords to add interest. The details in this track are put together really well making it my favourite on the EP.

The Honey Trees- Wake the Earth

Hi,

Today's post will be about "The honey trees" and their EP Wake the Earth.

Background Info:
A dream-pop, indie-folk duo from Sacramento, California. They, Jacob Wick and Becky Flip, have a full length album called Bright Fire coming out on April 8th.

Review:
The gorgeous acoustic music fits with Becky's gentle, rounded vocals. Her voice rings out with clarity and her airy tone floats above the backing with an angelic beauty. Her folk-y twangs bring interest to the lyrics and fit with the soft, acoustic backing with a pure, harmonising symmetry. Really great band worth a listen!  

The Edmondsons

Hi,

Just a short one for today!

Background Info:
The Edmondsons are three sisters from North London. They say they are influenced by Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, Kate Bush, Bon Iver and Jessie Ware. All I can find of them is two demo songs on soundcloud HERE but I'll add more links if I find any.

These girls are similar to First aid kit and K T Tunstall but still have their own stamp on things. Their beautiful acoustic, fresh, open melodies and utterly gorgeous and clear cut harmonies work wonderfully. Brave Heart starts with vocals that sound almost exactly like K T Tunstall but is still gorgeous and California is a lot less similar. Even though they do sound similar to a lot of indie-folk artists already around you can still appreciate the beauty and professionalism and clear tightness of their harmonies. These girls will have a great career in front of them!

Drawn From Memory

Hi,

Today's post will be about a sound cloud of "drawn from memory". I can literally not find anything about this guy on the internet except that he's from Aberdeen. I don't even know if it's a he or a them but I'm doing my best and chasing the issue! Sorry for the obscurity but I think you should know abut him!

So his music is HERE

Review:
He writes beautiful acoustic indie and indie-folk melodies. His vocals are gorgeous, grunge-y and emotional but go with the acoustic guitar ballad backing so well. What he's done is made the music sound like it really means something to him, which you really hear through his songs. Sometimes I just don't know is a gentle, melancholy track with an utterly heartbreaking guitar backing and poetic lyrics. Foolish Notions is a more fast tempo track with higher pitched and more melodic and indie-pop vocals. But still a heart wrenching track with relateable lyrics and beautiful chords. It contains a harmonica like a few other tracks. Every time I listen to a track I think "this one's my favourite", but then the next one comes on and I change my mind again. This guy is a wonderful artist so HERE is his music..... really, you need to listen.

Marcas O'hUigin Interview and Review

Hi,

So today's post will be some words from a fabulous singer/songwriter "Marcas O'hUigin" and my review of some of his music. Here it is hope you enjoy!

Twitter: @marcasohuigin

www.marcasohuigin.com

You can listen now on soundcloud at:
https://soundcloud.com/marcas-ohuigin

"I also write across other genres such as pop, dance, folk and country and I plan to release more upbeat rock and dance tunes in the first or second quarter of 2014.

Some facts like the song 'She's in my Heart' was recorded live in 1 take. I had no lyrics but had some ideas. It was in the small hours of the morning when this was recorded. My wife was working a night shift and I was 6 bottles of heiniken 'under the influence of alcohol at the time. The record button was pressed, I closed my eyes and thought of how much in love I am with my wife. The Song 'She's in my Heart' was the result. no bullshit, I swear that's how it happened. I kept listening back and listening back and ended up I kept it for all it's flaws and beauty. A bit like our relationship - taking the good with the bad with love at the centre. In the bit where the vocals kinds fade away a bit after the second chorus was because I was unsure what to sing!

The song 'I don't see you anymore' was also recorded in 1 take.
The drums, electric guitars etc were all added much later after the initial recording.

The theme of the title song of my debut ep due for release in January 2014 'Me & You' is very straight forward - reminiscing over a relationship break up and/or coming to terms with a relationship ending. However, and as you know, this theme has been done SO many times in music genres since year dot and as a songwriter it is a huge
challenge to take this theme and try to make your own song connect with people
who either have experienced a break-up or are currently experiencing a
break-up and hopefully will use your song as part of the healing process - a bit like music therapy I suppose.

Lots of songwriters tend to moan via song about their own love experiences. The story in 'Me & You' song is fiction from my own personal perspective. I took inspiration from U2's Bono when writing
the lyrics for this. I remember thinking at the time about the song 'One' 'How can he write lyrics about love and heartache when he has been in a long-term marriage etc?' Also I took inspiration from Paul McCartney/The Beatles where they take the universal language of love and sing about it. The idea being that 'everyone' can or should be able to connect with this.

So quite simply, I put myself in the shoes of someone in a
relationship break-up and went from there. The music came first and then the lyrics. There is also the 'ghost' of the female in this relationship break-up singing lightly along in the chorus. My wife sings the female
harmonies and backing vocals and so she plays the part of the 'ghost' of the
lady in the relationship. The ghost appears at this point to represent that she too 'must be or could be' feeling the same.



A song of mine features on the (now collectable) school project release by Irish rock band 'Ash'. My song was
called Because you said' and I was the singer and writer for a band called 'FAT' at the time. Info to confirm this can be found at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJV2st6lg1k"

Review:

She's in my heart is a beautiful, gentle acoustic track. The gorgeous, dulcet, talented vocals of Marcas fit the genre perfectly and compliment each other so well. Me and you is another acoustic song with wonderful minor guitar chords behind the amazing harmonies, I love the emotion in this song, it's one you can clearly imagine in a film! I love the strength and clear remorse in this track. I Don't see you Anymore is another strong and clear cut grievous song. It's confident and switches from an acoustic, gentle melody at the start to a stronger and rough edged piece with harder vocals and electric guitar with more prominent, heavy bass which works really well I find! So this guy is worth a listen, thanks for reading!

Top 3 Songs of the week #8

Hi,

Click on the song title to have a listen!

This week I've been loving.....
Milk and Black Spiders by Foals
One Day by Kodaline
Riptide by Vance Joy

Milk and Black Spiders starts with open and echoing beats and then twinkly, tapping, acoustic beats that sound like spider's feet are added. I absolutely love this addition! When the vocalist starts singing it sounds electronic and a bit techno but still unmistakeably indie. I love that the spider footsteps are kept throughout it adds real depth. When they get to first chorus then it all gets heavier and less steppy, more long drawn out notes instead of fast moving ones. Then it moves back for the next verse. I really like this! At the end it starts to sound almost Turkish which is great. I love the way it builds before the last more indie-electro-pop end bit. I love the lyrics that "Foals" use in all their songs.

One Day is an unbelievably gorgeous song by Kodaline. It starts with just an acoustic guitar, small tapping beats and the singer which has a great effect. Piano is then added which brings more melody to the song, then drums are added which makes it feel fuller and more whole. Bass guitar is added which makes the track a whole and all come together. I love the message of the song, the lyrics are so good and just makes you want to sing along! When the electric guitar has some, rock-esque backing it adds a lot to the piece and now it sounds so more emotional and the whole thing builds for the last part. It ends with the chorus sung with only the acoustic guitar which leaves you feeling emotional and full. Just beautiful!

Riptide is an upbeat beachy sounding track. The first chords sound like you're sitting in a beach shack (in a good way). But his crackly, closed jaw, sometimes breathy vocals sound gorgeous and unexpected against everything else. I love that everything stops for a beat before the chorus. At the end the music stops and he is one beat behind singing "wrong", this is a gorgeous effect that makes you think. I love the chorus with only guitar chords and the tambourine, this whole track is so catchy and makes you tap your head and feet! I love the penultimate chorus where everything suddenly goes quiet and is thin texture again. It all suddenly gets loud again which I love! This song is exiting and gorgeous and needs a listen!

First Aid Kit... America

Hi,

This post is about two amazing sisters who form the band first aid kit.

First aid kit are a Swedish band who play mainly indie folk. They have one EP out called "Drunken Trees" which came out in 2008. They have two albums out: "The big, the black and the blue"- 2010 and "the lion's roar" - 2012. They have soft indie tones and folky acoustic guitar sets that give them a unique sound. Their gorgeous harmonies sound so natural and delicate, like they're straight from the woods.

One of my favourite songs of theirs is America. You can listen to it HERE. It's a gorgeous indie-folk song that sounds like you're sitting in Paris in the moon light. It gives me goosebumps listening to it, the harmonies are amazing, they are just so talented. There are only acoustic guitars and cellos which is amazing. It sounds so delicate and fragile, but full of sound, emotion and it just fills you're whole body!

These two girls are so amazing, not something to miss!!

iTunes single of the week review #1

Hi,

Every Tuesday iTunes brings out a single of the week which you can download for free from iTunes. So, every Tuesday I'll have a listen and review it. This week it's "roots" by Orla Gartland.

Orla Gartland is an 18 year old singer, guitarist and ukulele player. She plays acoustic, folk, indie pop and indie folk. She only has one EP out called "Roots".

Review:
This song is indie pop with futuristic sounding electronic beats and acoustic guitar chords which work really well together. She has a really youthful sounding voice which is similar to birdy and Taylor Swift. Her lyrics are good and the music suits her voice well. The song starts off with only guitar and beats which sounds good and clean, but then as the song gets going the texture builds with backing singers and piano and more percussion which feels good. But I liked it best with the thin texture.

Overall I like this track but I don't love it. I think her voice is just a little too youthful and her songs a little too poppy for my tastes so I would give it 7/10.

Do you think this is a good feature? Let me know in the comments!