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

Wierd weather right now. Absolutely clear blue skies for days on end. Normally at this time of year bright spells between spring showers. What’s going on?Loads of great music again this week and some discussion about the future of independent music. Quite a mix of musical styles too, some of which I hope will be something different for your ears, with tracks from Illinois, California, New York, Germany, Nevada and Colchester in Essex, only about 20 miles from the barn.
Intro

Happy – Jimmie Bratcher (Missouri, USA)

www.jimmiebratcher.comOne off song for summer – Koopa (Colchester, UK)KOOPA made UK Chart history in January 2007 by becoming the first ever unsigned band to have a Top 40 UK hit. The download-only single Blag, Steal and Borrow made it into the charts at Number 31.KOOPA have a sound which is both commercial and anthemic without being too saccharine sweet. Listen to KOOPA and you realise that this is not that watered-down, manufactured sound designed to impress your younger brother, little sister and please your parents.They will be opening the main stage at the Isle of Wight Festival as well as supporting The Feeling in June.They also are releasing this track, One off song for Summer, as their second single on June 4th. There is a very strong possibility that this single will be the first Top 20 hit for an unsigned artist and we have it first. Before the radio stations, and shops and soon to follow, we’ll have the video before the TV.www.koopatheband.comBottomlands – Wil Maring (Illinois)Wil Maring and virtuoso    guitarist and fiddler Robert Bowlin have been recently combining talents to create beautiful original acoustic music which straddles the fence between bluegrass, folk and country music. Wil’s beautiful airy vocal style and heartfelt lyrics have raised the eyebrows of the acoustic musicwww.wilmaring.comComments from Manny in Luxembourg – who I played a few weeks ago . A response to my surprise that more tracks aren’t for sale through the PMN.Manny:"I’m listening to this weeks show and I heard you asking why artists don’t have the sell option enabled for their tracks.Personally I’ve enabled the sell option for my tunes but for those who haven’t, the only reason I can think of is that if people can buy the individual songs they like then they might not buy the album. So if the only way to get a hold of the tracks is to buy the album then maybe that will help sell more CD’s. I could be completely wrong right enough but it’s the only reason I can think of!I don’t think the downloads on the podsafenetwork would really effect CD sales. I think most of the listeners on the network are people who support independant music, so if they like the music enough then they’ll buy the CD. I’m 4 songs into recording my album and it’s something that I’d thought about. I think probably I’ll make some stuff available for sale but not all and also keep back a few tunes so that people will get some stuff they’ve not heard before if they buy the album."Peter"So maybe it’s difficult to set up or the contract has a few nasty surprises for artists."Manny"I’m pleased to say I never saw any nasty surprises on the PMN agreement. The whole PMN thing seems great for independant artists. It’s one thing posting your tunes on the net but getting people to actually listen to your stuff is another thing altogether, which is where the podcasts really help. Now that TV and commercial radio has been taken over by all the manufactured pop idol and x-factor type stuff, the internet is the place where the independant artists can market themselves.So all is not lost! We’re not all doomed to listen to whatever Simon Cowell tells us we want to hear for the rest of our lives!" If you’ve got a view on this, or any other matter, get in touch. There’s a comment button on each show’s shownotes or just email me what you have to say. If you have access to an audio recorder, send it as an MP3 or just record a comment on the MyChingo message system on the shownotes page. It’s dead easy. You may have something to say about thisâ�¦Save net radio – The Truckee Brothers (Campaign message)www.savenetradio.orgGritty Pretty – The Truckee Brothers (California, USA)The Truckee Brothers have been quietly breaking in their new album, Double Happiness, with a month-long residency at a dive bar in a seedy area of San Diego. The wall to wall crowd is self-absorbed, unresponsive, and typically short on attentiveness; in other words, perfect to rehearse the new songs.www.myspace.com/truckeebrothersDumb Boy – Telling on Trixie (New York, USA)On their self-titled, debut album, you can hear the seamless result of two very different people joining together to create music with skill and passion – and it’s music that is already substantially impacting listeners.www.tellingontrixie.com/Did you hear Pete Cogle struggling with the station announcements at the Gare du Nord in Paris on PC Podcast last week – hilarious! By co-incidence I just had to record some of the announcements and "terminal" music at the very smooth PMI (Palma de Mallorca) airport. Fein Sein – Konservenfabrikant Koeberle (Germany)Konservenfabrikant Koeberle – German songs – deutschsprachiges Liedgutwww.projekt6.deAbout to break – Andrew Ryan (Nevada, USA)Just when you thought the music industry couldn’t get any bleaker, a musician like Andrew Ryan appears on the scene and redefines what it means to be a true artist. As a committed singer, songwriter and musician he is someone that possesses the talent it takes to go all the way to the top.www.divulgerecords.comI heard from Cat Jahnke after playing her song Forever for Now. It"s off her album and as she says:"It’s kind of a hidden gem on the album, I suppose; it"s very few people’s favorite tune but the ones who dig it, dig it a lot.  :)I wanted to do something special for you to let you know how much I appreciate your support.  I thought maybe I"d send you an mp3 of a tune that hasn’t been released and isn"t available anywhere else except from me. It’s called Apple and it’s unlike anything I’d written before."Of course I’d love to play it for you but  that will have to wait  for a little bit, until I get clearance. But thanks are due to Cat, it truly is a beautifully crafted piece of work – and SO cinematic.Ten years ago – Gilly Slinn (UK)Twenty years as a support artist in various bands in the United Kingdom. That’s it, all I know!Updates to the SnC website – there’s now a player on the home page in which you can easily select any show right back to number 1 in January last year. (Oh please don’t, I cringe!)Girls don’t play Lego – The Daisy Riots (Southport, UK)Put onto this by Nigel Paice who not  only promotes bands but also has a close involvement in putting on gigs at Muse Island in Second Life.From the backwaters of Southport, no not Liverpool. Out for a good time and some gigs while hopefully actually learning to play our instruments. A lack of organisational skills and no money stop us from being tight/in time/practicing/actually playing the same song, but we’ll give you a good gig.They have gigs coming up in Liverpool and Southport in May so check out their MySpace and get a ticket if you’re close enough.www.myspace.com/thedaisyriotsIf you’re in Ipswich, Suffolk this weekend, don’t forget that the May Day Festival in Alexandra Park on Sunday looks to be good. Midday ’til 6pm with three live music stages. Details at: www.myspace.com/ipswichmaydayfestival