We Are Scientists

AWOLNATION

Vokab Kompany

Republic of Letters

Audible Mainframe

Gotye

Phantogram

Chasing Kings

I first heard this song the other night on KROQ's local band spotlight Locals Only. The song is off their EP The current State of Our Future.

The XX

While The XX have been gaining popularity with their single Crystalize, I am a bigger fan of this track Intro. I first heard this song in a movie mashup by Leandro Copperfield entitled The Beauty of Pixar. The track has a great ambient quality, especially with the soft voices, and is quite simple yet the drums can keep you in it. Great song to relax to or to have in a video.

Llorca

Over the last couple years of exploring music, the area I probably have explored the most is electro-jazz. This sub genre combines elements of electronica and jazz. It its not euro-house music or hardcore techno combined with jazz but more of an ambient/easy listening electronica. This track is by the French artist Llorca and the track is titled "The Novel Sound". Llorca's music, like most of electro-jazz, can range from being heavy on jazz vocals like his track "Indigo Blue" to more heavy on the elctro side but with a smooth jazz trumpet on top.

Indialucia

With the ever increasing global community comes ever increasing blends of music from around the world. Some of these combinations you would never have thought would have any connection. This song here "raag n' ole" by Indialucia fuses together Flamenco and Indian music. I discovered this group while working on a project for a world music class. I'm a fan of the tabla and the sitar and think they fit well with western music. During my research I found out that the gypsies in southern Spain that had created flamenco had actually started their journey in northern India. So while this seemingly random collaboration actually has really close ties.

Nujabes

One of my favorite genre blends is between jazz and hip-hop and one of my favorite artists to do this is Nujabes. This Japanese dj has created amazing tracks from his own beats and sampled jazz. On a lot of his tracks he collaborated with underground hip hop artists to add vocals. While these tracks are really good, I prefer his instrumentals. The beauty of most of his music is that at one point you can be really into and bouncing with the beat and later that day listen to the same song as a very mellow background.

*Tragically Nujabes was killed in a car accident in Japan in late February 2010. Yet another artist that was taken when he still had a lot to give. Rest In Piece

Pogo

Last night I was reading through some of the article links on IMDb and one was about an Australian dj, Pogo, that was using audio samples(including sounds, music, vocals) from movies along with his own ambient/electric beats to create a song. The video above is for his song Upular based on Disney/Pixar's Up. Because the vocals on these songs are not clear it can be a little irritating the first time through. But after a few listens I was hooked. Along with up he has songs from Hook, Alice in Wonderland, Terminator 2 (all sounds heard were taken from the movie, he did not add any to this one), Harry Potter and others.

Beats Antique

Here is a group I fell in love with right after hearing one of their songs. Beats Antique a very unique group with an incredible sound. They originally formed in the Bay Area in order to create music for instructional belly dance videos. They have created a masterful fusion of Middle Eastern music with hip hop and electronic music. Their songs allow a beat that can be great for dancing but the songs at the same time are mellow and relaxing. I discovered them through the genius that is Pandora. This song is called The Lantern and it is off their first album Tribal Derivations.

*video note. There is no official video so this one is just a fan video with horse images. Also the long intro is not actually part of the song either.

**I couldn't decide which video to put up but decided to go with my favorite, The Lantern. But another must hear is Beauty Beats which can be seen here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm0v7Q5WcZY

Joseph Arthur

This week we are going to slow it down a little. This song, My Home Is Your Head by Joseph Arthur, can best be described as hauntingly beautiful. It is a mellow and beautiful song but at the same time has a very dark sound to it. I discovered this song from an episode of House, MD. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.