The Cellars at Eastney has played host to some of the biggest names in music over the last few years. From Maximo Park to Mumford and Sons, this cult venue has continually delivered the latest in up and coming talent. With this dazzling history its safe to say the future of music will be on this stage.

One of those tipped to jump into your ears are The Cryptics, an up and coming four piece based in Hampshire. Made up of Ryan Osborne (Vocals & Guitar), Andy Pritchard  (Bass), Simon King (Drums),  and Martin Fahy (Guitar) they have quickly gathered a blistering set of songs certain to make to turn up the volume to eleven.

Their mixture for indie rock and scar base lines gives them a very identifiable sound and their confidence in their craft shows in their performance. Pitch perfect vocals and tight stagecraft this group will definitely win around any doubters.

Their debut EP “Seize The Night” is available for you to stream live on their website here.  For a little sneaky peak The title rack is available for you below.

They currently have a number of gigs around the UK so be sure to check them out.  All dates are available here.

 Tannhäuser is a XII century German poet and gives name to a Wagner’s opera. Maybe all this characteristic Aryan obscurity has shaped the music of a Sevillian band that shares name with the afore mentioned. Enveloping sounds, hypnotic, atmospheric and tinged by a monochromatical range. Since their beginnings in 2009, they have released two LP albums (“Para entonces habrás muerto” and “Voces”) and an EP (“Movimiento Estacional”) and their music could be labeled into that genre that came up in the early 70’s Germany: krautrock. Throbbing rhytms, dense and electric that unveil minimalist, experimental and “drone” echoes. We do not know if Tannhäuser uses the Japanese math-rock formula, but they handle musical textures, intensities, tempos and harmonies in a very correct way and this own formula has allowed them to participate in renown festivals as FIB or Primavera Sound.

Listen to what they do in BANDCAMP and join them on FACEBOOK.

- Tell us how and when Tannhäuser started.

Each of us has had our past with other groups in Seville, so it is not our first band. We are linked by the eagerness to play. The beginning of  Tannhäuser was in 2006, Iñaki and me (Rául) started to play with two other friends which are not in the line-up anymore. Then Eduardo (drums) and Juanlu (bass) joined the group.

- What are your main musical influences?

Stereolab, Yo la tengo, Tortoise, Mercromina…the majority of our influences come from the late 80’s and the early 90’s. Talking about influences is always a relative issue because each of us have different ones.

- What can we find in your last álbum “Voces”? What is the theme? What does it sound like?

It is complicated to find a general frame in which we can place the record. When we compose we do not start from a metaphorical concept, we do it from little pieces that some of us bring, or some improvisations. We do not like to determine what it is about. As it is instrumental music I think everybody has their own interpretation.

- How was the composition and recording process? Any experience or anecdote to highlight?

The recordings are loads of fun. We share space and ideas during 20 days and we witness the project shaping. All the process is intense, but if the composition is something relax for you, then you have to work a lot in the studio. There is a lot of tension and uncertainty, but when the pieces fit everything is very comforting. The best moments always happen in the kitchen or during the lunch.

- Is there any evolution since your beginnings with your first LP until this last one?

We have gained a lot of experience, as much in the the treatment of the sound as in the security we have while doing things. That is reflected in the fact that we have gone to the studio with our ideas very clear and we have felt very comfortable at the time of recording. The first album was more violent and diaphanous. This one is more violent and noisy and it is done with less insecurities. The final result is more well defined.

- Artists that you love and you would like to share stage or collaborate with.

Honestly we prefer to see the artists we love up on stage while we are in the audience. We do not find a strong reason for playing or collaborating with them.

- Do you think that nowadays there is a rebirth of the post-rock genre and all of this ambient and krautrock wave?

We think that musical styles are created by musical journalists. Examples of post-rock can be found in the 70’s and for example, garage is played nowadays, but it comes from the 60’s or even from a previous time. We think that external factors make a genre rebirth. In the end, it is about doing what you like in an  honest way.

- How easy is to play that kind of music in a country like Spain? Is there a wide audience? What is the response like?

For us it is a bit complicated. We have a small audience, but very faithful. It is hard to become the line-up of a festival if you do not have a good marketing behind you. But when we got some people seeing us  they are really satisfied with our concerts. We sell a lot of records after the gigs, that is a good sign.

- Is there any concert that you remember in a special way? Any venue where you would to play?

We remember in a special way places like Teatro Central of Seville and our participations in festivals like FIB or Primavera Sound. We would love to play abroad. We think there are loads of foreign festivasl where we would fit very well.

- Is there any amateur band in which you see a great deal of talent and a big national and international impact?

Youth Lagoon. En Nacional, The Royal Landscaping Society from Sevilla.

- To play in places like Primavera Sound or FIB has given you…

Being able of living in an enormous festival from the inside it is a bizarre but loads of fun experience. And especially, really recommendable. Apart from that, we have obtained some experience in the musical world too.

Soundcrash has released a heavy-duty line-up with two out and out legendary drum’n’bass producers and Tokyo’s finest turntablist  going head to head on a enhanced Forum sound system. A wet dream for a line-up for any drum’n’bass head, the night will feature jazz and hip hop influenced d’n’b from the biggest names in the game.

As one of the pioneers of intelligent Drum n Bass, LTJ Bukem is a personal favourite of mine. With his smooth, crisp breaks and touching, melodic bass lines impeccably layered with Jazz cuts, LTJ Bukem’s music bounces along with an ease only years of production experience can create. With Dynamite MC on the mic, this performance is going to be legendary!

If you’re in London on the 4th of May get down, it’s looking big!

“They do not bond with other people. They are children who cannot love or accept love. Children without conscience, who can hurt or even kill without remorse”

-Lil Kids, “Nobodies”

PRESENTING

LIL KIDS

Adam Kane (Lil Kids) and Nick Adams (Lopato) are the two members of Lil Kids. The name might seem confusing to some, but the confusion is intentional. Adam Kane says, “I picked the name Lil Kids because there are lots of lil’ rappers, and lots of kid rappers, so I combined them.  I made it plural to confuse people when they found out it was just my own rap name, and not the name of a group. Also, it’s kind of creepy and pussy at the same time, which I like.”

I met Adam Kane while living in New York City in 2010.  My first impression was that this very child-like adult seems to be running on one crazy sugar high. Adam exudes the most positive and creative energy I have ever come across, and his passion for music is beyond me. I can always ask Adam to recommend good music with the guarantee that I will hear about a variety of tunes well worth discovering.

The very first moment I listened to Lil Kids, I was hooked; I loved the beats and the band image, and I found the lyrics hilarious.  I was blown away by the fact that I couldn’t categorize them into one specific genre.  When I asked Adam to explain his musical style, he described it as follows: “Golden-era hip hop, but with lots of old psychedelic rock and garage samples.”

Let’s talk songs. “Young Hercules” “Swiss Cheese” and “Slow Rainbow” are the two albums that Lil Kids have released to the public. Though all of their songs are pretty sweet, my top picks are “Nobodies”, “Kids Meal,” and “Coitus Interruptus”.

If you know what’s good for you, you will listen to Lil Kids at least once. You will either love them or hate them. But I warn you: Lil Kids will haunt you. They get into your soul with humorous lyrics and memorable beats. In the song “Nobodies”, they declare: “I want to start a cult with the girls on The View / I want to start a gang with the guy on the Pringles can.”

LOVE MISHKA

In the world we know, the rule is always ‘the bigger the better’- bigger paychecks, better cars, music the more loud and grandiose, the more people will listen to it. Amidst this pop-culture phenomenon though you will find the occasional band who decides to strip all the synthetic fluff away to expose the pure, raw musical heart of the matter. The Ghost of Paul Revere is one such band.

Made up of longtime friends with an uncanny ability to harmonize, Griffin Sherry, Max Davis, and Sean McCarthy join up with Matt Baker and Matthew Young to form a band in a genre all of their own. Describing their music as “Holler Folk”, they combine elements of bluegrass, rock, Americana, and a secret ingredient which I am suspecting may be love. Not a traditional romantic love, mind you, but more like a passion for what they do and who they are. Evoking feelings of sitting around a campfire with friends, or curling up under a blanket on a chilly day, you are bound to fall for the charisma with which they write and perform.

I had the chance to talk to Griffin about what they do best and this is what I learned:

CK: So, The Ghost of Paul Revere, that’s a pretty cool name, how’d you come up with it?

GS:I woke up and immediately wrote it down a few years back. I tried it in a few incarnations, but it never took to anything. When we started up the group, it fit so well that we didn’t consider anything else.

CK: I have heard that you call your music “Holler Folk”. Tell us what you mean.

GS: People were asking us what type of music we were playing and we couldn’t give them a definitive answer. So we started calling it Holler Folk. Its our way of defining the type of vocal driven, energetic, ostensibly traditional music that we love to play.

CK: Did you automatically know you wanted to make that kind of music? I mean, why aren’t you making Dubstep, for instance? 

GS: It was never our goal to sound a particular way or play specific instruments, we all just brought what we had to the table. It can be limiting to play a group of instruments with such an iconic sound. We are not bluegrass musicians, and we don’t pretend to be. We write and perform music that is true to ourselves, and try not to worry about anything else.

CK: Would you claim that any band(s)/singer(s) are responsible for influencing your style?

GS: Not one in particular, our tastes tend to run the gamut. It seems to be everything from the Zombies to John Fahey.

CK:What’s your creative process? Do you write the music or lyrics first?

GS: For me it varies. Every song has its own identity and therefore is approached individually. Often its the melody that comes first, because there can be so much emotion found there. Sometimes, though, a phrase or even a single word will pop into your head  and you just have to follow it where it leads

CK: Every writer has their muse. What’s yours?

GS: Can’t say I’ve found her. Heartbreak and Whiskey work well though.

CK: Some bands are very vocal about just making music for themselves and for the art- others have Big City Dreams. Where would you say The Ghost of Paul Revere falls?

GS: I think we fall in the middle. We certainly want to be successful, and want to take the Ghost as far as it can go, but we also are not willing to compromise the music we make. Our songs are our voices, it wouldn’t seem right to allow someone else to speak for us. I hope that is the reason our songs have resonated with so many people. We always try to play with all of our available conviction and intensity. Plus, I was never very good at ventriloquism.

CK: You have already put out a 6-song EP entitled ‘North’- which is great. Are you working on anything currently?

GS: We are starting to work on a full length that will be recorded by Fall 2013

CK: Portland, Maine is fairly well-known for its eclectic arts scene. That being said, have you found people supportive of your music?

GS: Extremely. We’re so thankful for all the amazing people who have begun to believe in the Ghost the way we do.

CK: Okay, imagine you had only a few minutes to live and this was your one chance to say something to the world… What would you want to say?

GS: “Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens.” – J.R.R. Tolkien

Watch a video for arguably my favorite song of theirs, ‘San Antone’, made by Twine St. Transmission, below. And for more information about the band and their music, visit them at www.ghostofpaulrevere.com or find them on Bandcamp and Reverbnation.

Much love, everyone,

Chelsea

HOV is back! Yes, Jay-Z, rap’s biggest player has returned with a brand new song, Open Letter which debuted on the ROC Nation website and blew up all over Twitter.

The song has a clean, slick beat quite like those that featured on his 2007 album American Gangster. Shawn Carter addresses the media controversy that surrounded his recent trip to Cuba with Beyoncé; “Obama said “chill you gonna get me impeached” But you don’t need this shit anyway Chill with me on the beach” 

Open Letter was produced by both Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, two of the biggest names in hip hop so you know it is going to be huge. It is a classic Jay track, reminiscent of his early work., and  he raps with authority. ” The world’s under new management, The new role model, fuck this Zoolander shit.” 

Hopefully this means a new album is on the way, following up to 2009′s The Blueprint 3. Watch this space…

Nothing is worse than being stuck in a Musical Rut.  We’ve probably all been there at least once within the past year.  For me, it’s like I hit a stage where all the music I hear starts to sound the same or it’s just been over-played so many times I could sing that song at a karaoke party and knock it out of the park.  So after much desperation, I set off on a mission to find something that I had never heard before.  And this, ladies and gents, is what I stumbled across quite accidentally.

Jack Savoretti sounds refreshing- he has his unique take on the world and relationships (the things a listener generally wants to hear about, right?) and yet I want to recognize his husky voice that is fraught with emotion.  Harkening the days of David Gray circa ‘Babylon’ and with a soulful rasp that Paolo Nutini found a few years back, Jack has come out with underrated hits such as ‘Take Me Home’ and this track, ‘Not Worthy’.  I’m just warning you now, all it takes is one listen and you can be singing this for the rest of the day!

Raised between England, Switzerland, and Italy, Mr. Savoretti has carved a space for himself that he finally feels is where he ought to be.  He has been quoted as saying that Before the Storm (the album this track belongs to) feels like his first album, comparing his first two to his “education and college years” and this one to his first real job.  If that is the case, I think he found his calling.

I hope you enjoy this track as much as I did- it ended my Musical Rut, so maybe if you are stuck as well it can do the same for you!

Happy listening and much love,

Chelsea

Niño y Pistola (« Kid and Gun ») comes up in Galicia (Spain) around 2006. Their first album « Como un maldito guisante » shows us a fresh, brilliant and classic pop with some similarities with their great musical idols like, for instance, The Beatles. After this tasty work comes another stewed in the same previous way : « Culebra » is a blend of vocal harmonies and themes with a great acoustic and melodic burden. In 2010 something starts to change inside them. We witness an alter-ego, as Jack Kerouac or Charles Bukowski experimented before, called Arthur&The Writers. And below this pseudonym, their artistic soul travels to the far West and give us 10 folk-Americana songs that represents a beautiful tribute to bands like Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Jayhawks or Bob Dylan, among many others.

In 2013, comfortable with this receipt, they have decided to increase the ingredients and the cooking to bring out from the oven a cake deign to mention: There is a man with a gun over there. To emulate the sound of these artists can always turn into a dangerous trap of swampy terrains, but the cake is not burnt, solidified, short of of sugar or saturated of it. It is very well done, full of genuine ingredients and with a exquisite aftertaste of the honoured bands. This album make us come back to the more electric years of the 70’s America. So much, that its listening and their great concerts deserve digging up the cowboy boots and the hat.  The Kid has grown up and he is well armed now.

- How did you conceive Niño y Pistola (« Kid and Gun ») ? How was the process of forming the band, and its evolution?

 The project started some years ago with a couple of songs that I recorded singlehanded- says Manuel (the singer and leader guitarist of the group). At the beginning I did not think about concerts, it was just a matter of recording some songs, but when I passed them to my friends the idea of creating a band came up. So, we were four friends playing all around Galicia. We started to send our EP to record labels, without many hopes of getting a reply. But one day, one of them answered us very interested and then we did our first album.

- And that « Kid » grew up listening to what bands?

 A lot of time has passed between our first album and this last one. In the beginning we had some current British influences : Radiohead, Björk or Divine Comedy, but you could always find a classic tread in our music, in fact many people tend to compare us with The Kinks or the The Beatles. Little by little we started to immerse ourselves into the 60’s and 70’s American classic, with Neil Young as our reference point. That magical Western coast sound is what attracts us the most now.

- From the blend of all these previous mentioned genres you release two classic pop albums that could be labeled as « indie ». How was the composition and recording proccess of them ?

 One of the most incredible things was when Mulberry Records, a Barcelona label, contacted us to edit our first album. We went to a real studio for the first time, we played outside Galicia…In that moment the Internet was not so powerful as now. There were no bandcamps, even Facebook was not like now, so everything was a bit more complicated. The most touching moment was when Chema Reay played one of our tunes in El Bulevar. I was at work, with my headphones and suddenly « Chetaah Belt » started to sound on the radio- says Manuel. It was like that scene from The Wonders film when they listen to their song on the radio. With the second album things were slightly different. We were not lucky editing it with Astro and we have not good memories although it is a record that we love in musical terms.

- In 2010, Niño y Pistola turns into Arthur and The Writers and with this work we noticed a blooming of the folk-Americana vein. How does the idea of this album and the change of direction come up ? What is the theme of this album ?

 After the second record we had a small crisis, I guess that it was provoked by the bad treatment we received from our previous label. So I think this change was like a way of escape. We wanted to start from scratch again. That American vein has always been there, in fact, in our first records we played cover from Jayhawks and Neil Young. We only exploited a bit more this latent side. So we made up «Arthur and The Writers», our alter-ego band, as The Beatles or Bowie did in their moment with «Sgt. Pepper» or «Ziggy Stardust».

- And this 2013, the « Kid » has grown up and is close to the legal age, has reaffirmed himself in these new tastes and has changed the gun for a « Winchester » to emerge himself in the most electric and Americana 70’s sounds. Have these ideas been macerating little by little from our beginnings or has it been something sudden ?

That American sound has always been there, but we try to change and evolve in every album with regard to the previous one, because we also change and listen to different things. In all the albums we have attempted that our evolution was coherent with our musical line. So in this last record we only followed the path marked by ourselves and our previous works.

- What is the theme for the latest album? « There is a man with a gun over there » How was the recording and composition process? Can we find in this work any symptom of maturity ?

 We always create the music before the lyrics. When we start working in this album we had six or seven songs and there was one that was different from the others. It was longer and sounded better than the rest and was powerful. We liked it a lot so we decide to dismiss the others and focus on this one. We worked a lot with it, we streched it until we got two uninterrumpted 20 minute blocks of music. When we finished the musical development we started with the lyrics and they had to be connected with the music so we tell a story and each song is like a chapter of the narration. We attempted that every atmosphere created by the sounds evoked a scenery or action : the most violent moment of a murder, the most psychedelic moment of an introspection, the moment when you return home after a long stay abroad…So the story was building itself on its own. It was not easy but finally we arrived  at a tale of a day laborer that, in the 50’s, decides to buy a gun and kills his boss.

- How do you see the Spanish musical future ? Is there any hope of making it a living ? At least, are there any hopes that it keeps being a source of illusion ?

For some years, with the help of the Internet, music has reached a wider audience, although  it is difficult to make it a living. We would love to do it, but it is not easy, especially playing the music that we play : a revival one and in English. I think in Spain there is a tendency to despise what we have here and praise what comes from abrod. I think this is a matter of education that we still have to develop. Anyway, for us releasing a new album or doing a new tour is a source of illusion and, the moment that it is not, we will quit playing.

- Which is the musical trend of the moment ?

We have no idea but I know that we do not belong to it. The majority of the albums we have at home were released before 1975, and that it is the reference we take.

- Any concert do you remember in a special way ? Any venue that you have not visited before and you would like to ?

Maybe one of the most incredible moments we experiencesd was playing as a supporting band for Keane in Vigo. We played in front of 15.000 people. We also loved playing in « Los conciertos de Radio 3 » because it is something we have watched millions of times.  Anyway, we are enjoying very much our last concerts. Maybe it is because we play 20 minutes of music in an uninterrupted way, with a lot of developments, and we get into the songs as we did not before. That is the most important for a musician in a concert. And of course, the public gets infected with us.

- You would like to share a stage or collaborate with…

 Personally, I would love to play with Neil Young, Kula Shaker or Midlake- says Manuel.

- And with regard to this last questions, any amateur band in which you see a great deal of talent and you would like to collaborate with ?

 In Galicia, there are a couple of great groups : Guerrera and The Soul Jacket. The first ones play psychedelic gypsy blues, like  a blend of Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin with an awesome live and really powerful. The Soul Jacket is a southern rock band, like a mixture of Joe Cocker and The Black Crowes. They have a very good live too. I hope we can make something together soon.

-       Would you like to dedicate a few words to this decadent Spain and to the couple Urdangarín-Borbón, Bárcenas and so many others?

 The current situation of the system is pathetic and to see how politicians and aristocrats make fun of us playing with public funds, destroying the rights for which our parents struggled a lot to get, destroying the society of a whole country and lying to us every day is shameful. We should make a big revolution that stops this blot that is the political class. They should realize that nobody wants them and all the surveys do not support them. But in this country nobody resigns and that is the true “Spanish brand”.

Follow them on FACEBOOK, and of course, listen to what they do: SOUNDCLOUD.

Photos: Luis Díaz

Sup hot stuffs, it’s been a while since my last post so I wanted to make sure I don’t waste your time with some mediocre band or single review. Right then, last night if you did not already know the YEAH YEAH YEAHS! and on-line music company “Noisy” hosted a live listen along to the very much long awaited follow up to 2009′s  ”It’s a Blitz”.

Having spent the past few years writing plays and guest starring in “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” theme tune, it’s been mostly very quiet on the new music front from the YYYs.  But finally the wait is over and we get to smash into “Mosquito” which is set for release in June this year.

Now the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have never been ones for doing things on the down-low and this album is no different. With a strong mixture of heavy rock and hard hitting revert sounds. Mosquito creates a jump into what promises to be an exciting year for the group touring the world and getting back into the swing of things, providing the listener with that familiar sound but showing a different direction in terms of feel.

It’s clear to see the progression of the band and music as they experiment with future music sounds and compiling their own genre of heavy rock dance, of which only the Yeah Yeahs are capable of pulling off.

I hope you enjoy it, and so without any more blabbering get your ears buried into the new world of music.

My personal stand out tracks from this album are Sacrilege, Wedding Song and Subway. But please send me your thoughts in the comments section below.

Seriously if you have not heard of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs get out from under that rock! HA Much Love.

Happy Monday, Tune Lovers!  It seems that every weekend has some sort of holiday to celebrate (and party to), which isn’t really a complaint from me – but it sure does get exhausting.  After yesterday’s bonfire and egg hunt to commemorate a zombie uprising in the Middle East two millennia ago, I’m definitely feeling worse for the wear.  As such, I bring you a great track by Detroit MC Black Milk.  Sunday’s Best / Monday’s Worst is a song in two parts, and really captures the dichotomy in these feelings quite well.  A big thanks to our friends over at Brightest Young Things for pointing us in the direction of such a great artist.

Check out his soundcloud page here, and be sure to purchase the track on iTunes.  Let’s keep helping underground hip hop!

Later this week we will be focusing on local acts, starting with Chicago’s very own Jeremih.  Stay posted.