Great new music from independent labels and artists all around the world

This is a re-post of SnC049 from 24 January, now that I’m back from York and able to sort out the inadvertent inclusion of Pete Cogle’s delightful sweeper at full blast and right over Fiona Bevan. So sorry Fiona and thanks for pointing out my eror Pete (without sounding too smug!) If you have any idea why a clip in Soundtrack Pro which is faded right down and doesn’t create any sound at all in  playback should become all too audible when the file is exported to aif, I’d be very pleased to hear from you. I hope you’ll be brave enough to give tomorrow’s show a listen – I promise that I’ll have checked it before posting!—Do you remember that I thought the wind was getting up last week. It did. I took off to Coventry in the midlands of the UK last Thursday morning and it blew and rained in quite a spectacular fashion. Meanwhile the tiles on the house roof also took off, with quite a few smashed on the ground. By Friday the wind had eased enough for me to climb up onto the roof and sort the problem out. A great walk at Minsmere (right) on the Suffolk coast. The picture shows the semi-tidal "scrapes" with the coastguard cottages at Dunwich in the distance. A bleak and uplifting wilderness.After the winds of last week, today it has been snowing off and on all day, nothing much to show for it but some great clouds.The Suffolk’n’Cool MySpace friends area seem to be working out as intended, as a really useful single place you can go to pick up on most of the artists played on the show.Singer Mal Fry, here in Suffolk left a message to say:"Man, you have got some cracking artists on your friends list I could spend all night on here"The problem is that if listeners want to be friends (and how nice that they do) it dilutes the effectiveness of the artists area. I’ve not really had time to think about a solution but there must be one. If you’ve any ideas please let me know. You can email to suffolkandcool@gmail.com or leave a comment in the shownotes, send a MyChingo voice message from the shownotes page on the website at www.suffolkandcool.com or even a message on the show’s MySpace at myspace.com/suffolkncoolMore great music this week and again I’ll be inviting the featured artists to be my "top friends" so you can easily find them.IntroHappy – Jimmie Bratcherwww.jimmiebratcher.comDeli Girl – Man Bites God (Melbourne, Australia)The lads (James, Chris and Mark) were discovered playing Mayfield’s in late 2000 by Dan Brodie, who insisted the three-piece support him at the Espy. Since then, Man Bites God have played sold-out shows across Australia, released a full-length album and two EPs, appeared regularly on radio and television and were once mistaken for Aerosmith by a really drunk guy. I just love the rhymes in the lyrics. Classic. www.manbitesgod.comwww.myspace.com/manbitesgodThe Wrong Boy – Fiona Bevan (London, UK)Almost every instrument in Fiona Bevan’s first solo album, In the Swimming Pool, is played by her – from the glockenspiel and guitar to violins and vocal harmonies.Painstakingly recorded in sections, what sounds like several violins or a choir is actually a series of separate performances cut together and blended so well to make a really coherent sound.25 Jan – Finnegan’s Wake, Ealing, London26 Jan – Espionage at The Pink House, London31 Jan – Leonards, London EC12 Feb  – Al Casbah, LondonFiona is playing the Norwich Arts Centre on Tuesday week – February 6th, along with Jamie Woon and Foy Vance, who we heard last week.www.fionabevan.co.ukwww.myspace.com/fionabevanWhy? – Oneside (Massachusetts, USA) Boston-based band ONESIDE plays "banjo-sweetened music that ranges from indie-flavored jangle pop to straight-out newgrass." Fusing rock, pop and newgrass into well-crafted, concise songs, Oneside features a lead electric banjo on top of electric guitar, bass and drums."With precise musicianship, tight harmonies, and enough energy to forget it was a Wednesday night, this quintet tore through their original material with confidence and attitude that belied their youth. These guys should be around for a while and are sure to turn some heads."- Northeast PerformerNed deBary – Lead vocals; GuitarIan Knox – Electric and acoustic banjo; VocalsJake Brooks – Drums and percussionGrafton Pease – Bass; VocalsJanuary 25 – The Lucky Dog Music Hall, 89 Green Street, Worcester, MA January 27 – Heritage Tavern, Main Street, Charleston, NHFebruary 2 – Kimball Union Academy, Meriden, NHwww.onesidemusic.comwww.myspace.com/onesideAl Lindsay from here in Suffolk wrote:You make a really interesting point about record buying culture before the advent of the long playing LP!! I find the whole subject of how music technology has changed and influenced music culture over the decades really fascinating! Judging from the CD pressing plants that are now offering vinyl pressing again it would seem that a sector of the market (maybe the kids that have grown up in a ‘downloadable world’) are getting into the whole analogue thing- perhaps because they find a fresh desirability in it’s physical and non-cyber nature. I really hope that the other non-downloadable commodity – the ‘Live Gig’ – sees an increasing rise in poularity. Judging by the surprisingly young agegroups I see at acoustic gigs I feel a growing optimism for the future of our music culture, albeit  a non-mainstream one. I wonder where these 16-25 year olds current musical influences will take them in the future?Shackles and Chains – Al Lindsay (Suffolk, UK)Al has been honing his song-writing and performing skills, enabling him now to pursue his greatest love – writing and touring his own acoustic based songs. With a playing style strongly reminiscent of John Martyn’s ‘Solid Air’ days and a writing style heavily influenced by the same, with generous helpings of Todd Rundgren, Joni Mitchell, World Party and Nick Drake, Al’s true calling has always been the live performance of his original jazz, blues and folk tinged set.The track is taken from Al’s debut album Songs From Under The Table which he launched in Nov 2006. This is available to buy on CD from his official website and from his MySpace.Jan 26th. Music House at Wensum Lodge, King Sttreet, Norwich. Im on stage at 2045.Jan 31st. The Musician Pub, Leicester – A 45 minute showcase set at this seminal Leicester music venue.Feb 11th: Steamboat Tavern, Ipswich.Feb 12th: Three Horseshoes, East Hanningfield, Near Chelmsford, EssexFeb 15th: Steamboat Tavern, Ipswich. Three different acts in one night with Debs Warren and Belinda Gillet.Feb 21st: Acoustic Cafe, upstairs at CB2 in Cambridge (UK)www.al-lindsay.co.ukwww.myspace.com/allindsayYesterday’s papers – The Calculus  (New York)  FIRST PLAYAKA Soccergirl. She has a podcast called Soccergirl Incorporated, but this is her band called The Calculus. The web site is quite disturbing for an old git like me! PS – I do quite like being disturbed…http://soccergirlwp.podshow.com/Life – Taj Weekes and Adowa  (St Lucia and New York) FIRST PLAYRastaman. Businessman. Preacher man. Island man. Poetry man. Reggae recording artist Taj Weekes plays many roles, but chief among them is the role of storyteller.Born the youngest of ten children, Taj grew up on the Caribbean island of St Lucia. He became aware of the disparity between the well-heeled tourists and the striving locals early on. Religion and music were the two main salvations for the Weekes family,His debut album Hope and doubt is available at CDbaby.comwww.myspace.com/tajweekesadowaIf you’ve enjoyed the tracks, it would be really encouraging for the artists if you were to visit their MySpace sites and leave a comment about their music (and mention that you heard it on Suffolk ‘n’ Cool).I think there will be something a bit special next week to celebrate show number 50 and the first year of Suffolk ‘n’ Cool. Don’t miss it … although, come to think of it, that’s one of the benefits of podcasts, you never have to miss a single one!