1000 Things

still in the beggining

2011-07-05T16:04:00.005+01:00

The Summer came and took me with it.
2 fests came and i'm not the same.

with love,

James

Summer Mode: Activated

2011-06-18T20:56:00.002+01:00

Yea, it's summer time. The classes are over and i'm happy. I have 5 trips planned, 1 show and 6 festivals which are:

Sumol Summer Fest
Delta Tejo
Optimus Alive
Super Bock Super Rock
Skrillex @ Lisboa
Sudoeste TMN
Super Bock Surf Fest

my bag is on my back and i'm ready to go ;)
ready, set, enjoy !

living the summer the best i can,
James

Pure Hapiness

2011-06-02T19:12:00.003+01:00

The Re-Evolution of Electro Music

2011-05-22T00:33:00.001+01:00

You'll get it once you listen to it. The musician is called Skrillex, and some say he's changing the whole concept of music. He's got a lot of lovers and a lot of haters. In my opinion, is an extraordinary musician because he created something completly new.
Electro + Dubstep + Breakbeat + House + Post-Harcore + Fidget and much more.

Take a look

the end has no end

2011-04-19T00:18:00.007+01:00

it's great how this guys make such interesting music

Life's Tough

2011-04-12T00:27:00.000+01:00

Life's tough.

It brings people to our life, makes us get a certain affection with them and then it takes those people away

from us.

And however much we try to avoid, we only give the proper value to something after we lose it.

Life's tough and couldn't be otherwise...

James

Tame Impala @ Portugal this Summer

2011-04-05T21:43:00.006+01:00

Finally, one of my ever favorite bands are coming to my sweet country.
They will at Super Bock Super Rock festival.
Take a look at the line up:

14th of July

The Kooks
Beirut
Arctic Monkeys
The Walkmen
Legendary Tiger Man
El Guincho
Tame Impala
Nicolas Jaar

15th of July

Rodrigo Leão e Cinema Ensemble
The Gift
Portishead
Arcade Fire
Sven Vath
Chromeo

16th of July

Strokes
Elbow
Brandon Flowers
The Vaccines
Junip
Ian Brown
PAUS
Ricardo Villalobos

__________

"a steady flowing psychedelic groove rock band that emphasizes dream-like melody."

Nothing is Original

2011-03-07T14:01:00.001Z

White Stripes : The End

2011-02-03T23:15:00.006Z

"On February 2, 2011, the duo announced that they would officially cease recording and performing music as The White Stripes. The announcement specifically denied any artistic differences or health issues, but cited "a myriad of reasons ... mostly to preserve what is beautiful and special about the band".

Both Meg and Jack hope this decision isn't met with sorrow by their fans but that it is seen as a positive move done out of respect for the art and music that the band has created. It is also done with the utmost respect to those fans who've shared in those creations, with their feelings considered greatly.

With that in mind the band have this to say:
"The White Stripes do not belong to Meg and Jack anymore. The White Stripes belong to you now and you can do with it whatever you want. The beauty of art and music is that it can last forever if people want it to. Thank you for sharing this experience. Your involvement will never be lost on us and we are truly grateful."

What else can I say? I kneel before the talent of Jack White. He's a music genius and the White Stripes will always be reminded as the pioneers of the rock revival movement of the 2000's.

They will always be alive in their great discography.

James

Thank You

2011-01-16T12:54:00.004Z

Sincerly, thank you.
Today i checked the Stats tab and i got surprised and completely amazed with what i saw.
I could tell you, but just see by yourself: (click to enlarge)

When in April 2009 i decided to start this honest and simple blog, i didnt expect this all.

Thank you guys!

Yours,
James

The Return of the Space Cowboy - Jamiroquai [Album Review]

2010-12-07T22:44:00.008Z

The Return of the Space Cowboy (1994), the second album from the British band Jamiroquai still owns the groove and the excelent musicality from the first, but with something else.

In this energetic and mesmerizing album, the band mantains their roots of Funk, R&B and Acid Jazz but explores new styles such as Bossa Nova, Jazz Fusion and Disco, always keeping their sound raw and devoided from electronic trends.

Jay Kay's voice keeps smooth like Stevie Wonder and Al Green, the keyboardist Toby Smith, besides keeping the chords of a classic Fender Rhodes, deploys new sounds with a Moog synth, and the bassist Stuart Zender runs the notables bass lines which largely hold the groove of the band.

The album became a classic, being considered by many as the most pure exemple of the unique sound of Jamiroquai

Nevertheless, seen that the album is said as a 'non comercial' one, it's the worst selling album of the band: only 3000000000 (3 milion) copies sold.

James

Hey Floyd - Jamiroquai (psycho-reggae mix)

2010-11-28T18:00:00.002Z

Yesterday i mixed the song "Hey Floyd" from the new Jamiroquai album "Rock Dust Light Star".
It was kinda fun. I used the Ableton Live 7 and my Roland keyboard connected to the Line6 UX2.
Enjoy

James

"Strange Animals" no. 3

2010-11-16T19:59:00.001Z

After months without publishing about this, here's the return of the section i made about strange animals.

This month's strange animal is Blobfish (Psychrolutes marcidus)

- lives in the deep waters of the south pacific ocean
- his flesh is a gelatinous mass with less density water. This allows the fish to float above the sea floor without expending energy on swimming.

conservation status: Endangered

this animal is currently facing extinction due to deep-sea fishing

James

Piano cover: Love Foolosophy

2010-11-13T18:37:00.003Z

Today i uploaded my piano cover of a groovy song by Jamiroquai.
Love Foolosophy from the album A Funk Odyssey (2001).
Feel free to check, rate or comment my video.
Enjoy

James

jupiter cosmic sounds

2010-11-06T12:34:00.000Z

"Fascinating recording of Jupiter sounds (electromagnetic "voices") by NASA-Voyager.

The complex interactions of charged electromagnetic particles from the solar wind , planetary magnetosphere etc. create vibration "soundscapes". It sounds very interesting, even scary."

just watch

Kanye West & Bon Iver !?

2010-11-04T22:04:00.003Z

Yes, Kanye West and Bon Iver.
Kanye just released his new album (My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy) with the collaboration of Justin Vernon, the frontman of Bon Iver. They seem to be good pals now.
And yeah, it's strange. It's not everyday that we see an indie rock/folk avant garde experimental musician working with an hip-hop guy, but the songs sound pretty well.

Here's one of them in which is taken a sample from the Bon Iver's song "Woods":

(click here to download)

Mountain Goats are incredible climbers

2010-10-23T10:34:00.001+01:00

i wonder how will they get out of there...

James

stormy weather days are back

2010-10-08T21:53:00.000+01:00

Yes, the rain is here again
I'm missing those summer days where i use to stay awake all night, saw the sun rising and watch that moment of transition from night to morning.

The sun had already rised but the street lamps were still turned on.

James

Groove 4tet - best portuguese SoulJazz band

2010-10-04T20:10:00.008+01:00

"A raw sound, emotionally charged, sometimes light and danceable, sometimes more dense and experimental but always sincere without any pretensions of technique affirmation, whose the only purpose is the enjoyment of the moment by all those present in the room
The component of improvisation and the search are always present in every song, every show."

Addicting rhythms of funky clean guitar, a clear influence of John Scofield in the improvisations (but using an Envelope Filter), the classic sound of Hammond, the always pure and toneless contra-bass and rock-influenced drum beats create an jazz fusion Herbie Hancock-like groove.

They're all around 26 years old. Young and steady.

I first saw them live 1 month ago at Music Box in Cais do Sodre, and they exceeded my expectations.
During the show, once i looked backwards to the audience behind me and all i could see was heads moving, feeling the groove.

Enjoy the like above,
James

the cicle begins again

2010-09-17T22:17:00.004+01:00

september's here again and the routine is calling me.

routine: this is the thing i hate the most, so i'm always trying to break it.
everyday i take a walk to somewhere, alone or with friends. today i went to Bairro Alto and i decided to take some photos at the train station.

railroad

open the door

nice colours

green or red - you decide

18:42pm

in front of my house

break the routine,

James

SW 2010

2010-08-29T14:52:00.003+01:00

excitement to the limit, you dont give a fuck about anything, that's the spirit

its the closest to woodstock in Portugal. Everybody does what they want, nobody bothers nobody, and this is where the harmony, the peace and the love of neighbor come.

you have friends, you meet new people, you create new connections and you still have MUSIC from late in the afternoon to early in the morning.

the complete disregard, the spirit of the eternal youth and the good and the positive energies hovering in that enclosure is something that will never be able to be described in a simple text

we reach a point where we cant think about anything because that joy and harmony fill all our mind

all together celebrating the youth and the freedom

i found that the dopest thing in the world is gettin' high next to good people

as we are, we only live once. we have one life. try to live it well,

James

invisible people

2010-07-09T12:19:00.006+01:00

from the 1st of June to the 4th of July. it was the 'Arraial da Madalena', a kind of a fair that occurs every year near Terreiro do Paço, in the heart of Lisbon, a few meters from the sea.

shows everyday: portuguese popular music

movement. all kinds of people: young and old, freaks and geeks, rich and poor, hippes and headbangers, ...

but they all had a thing in common: they all were there to have fun

my aunt had 2 bunkers there and i've been there helping out

i've met lots of people, people that i never thought i'd meet and much less i'd like them

some of those people used to help us taking care of the bunkers and we would give them food and shelter in the night (my aunt let them sleep in the bunkers so that they would not have to sleep in the streets as they use to do all year).

at the beggining i used to get away from them but as time passed i got to know them better.

i've started noticing that we cannot take a conclusion about someone's personality only based on what they look like from the outside. it's a pity that despite everybody like to pronounce this phrase, only some apply this in the real life...

as the time passed, i started getting used to those people, and i started kinda liking them.

now that the fair is over i wont see them no more.

i wish them all the luck in their constantly search for a better life

constantly learning,

James

8 de Junho

2010-05-28T20:36:00.006+01:00

Estão convidados.
No Colégio Marista de Carcavelos dia 8 de Junho a partir das 6h vai começar a festa de final do ano em que vão decorrer imensas coisas ao mesmo.
Começamos a tocar por volta das 20h.

Somos os Rockability e tocamos um pouco de tudo mas o nosso estilo predominante é hard-rock.

Vejam só a nossa setlist:

Little Wing (instrumental) - Jimi Hendrix
Run Like Hell     - Pink Floyd
Twist and Shout - The Beatles
Summer of '69    - Bryan Adams
Um Café e um Bagaço     - Rui Veloso
Should I Stay or Should I Go    - The Clash
All Right Now    - Free
Minha Casinha - Xutos e Pontapés
Here I Go Again - Whitesnake
Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd

mais tarde sou capaz de postar imagens/videos do concerto

apareçam,
James

Freebird

2010-05-09T18:40:00.005+01:00

take a look at the lyrics of this epic anthem from Lynyrd Skynyrd (click here for the song, live in 76)

If I leave here tomorrow
Would you still remember me?
I must be traveling on, now
'Cause there's too many places I've got to see

But, if I stayed here with you, girl
Things just couldn't be the same
'Cause I'm as free as a bird now
And this bird, you'll cannot change

(...)

And this bird you cannot change
And this bird you cannot change
Lord knows, I can't change
Lord help me, I can't change

Won't you fly high, free bird, yeah?

________

of course you've got to listen to the Allen Collins' crazy solo at the end of the song.

RIP Ronnie, Allen, Gaines, Leon and Billy

i'm as free as a bird now,
James

bball pic

2010-03-20T11:17:00.002Z

basketball court - Paço d'Arcos, Oeiras

fly,

James