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

Some refreshingly quirky sounds from Canada, Italy, UK, South Africa, Taiwan, USA and France. My smugness about it not being so cold has come back to bite me on the bum and we are forecast a sprinkling of snow overnight and tomorrow. This may make my journey to west London interesting tomorrow, especially since the mainline station that I travel in through has been closed all day due to over-running engineering works.Viva la Vinyl – Twilight Hotel (Winnepeg, Canada)Hailing from the fertile music scene of Winnipeg, MB, Brandy Zdan & Dave Quanbury met in 2002 at the Trout Forest Music Festival in Ontario. The sparks flew in a fever, and they realized the power of combining their talents. www.twilighthotel.ca/www.blubrry.com – connecting podcasters, musicians and listeners.Il rasoio di Ockham – Sandro G Masoni (Italy)I work with various musicians, some of them classically trained, others deeply rooted in Jazz or Rock.I have also written soundtracks for TV and theatre shows, but really love to give live performances…www.sandrogmasoni.org/Hi Jack – Insisevus (UK)Insisevus was born somewhere between venus and mars, on the outstretched plains of the free state, in a village next to arseaboutface, halfway to the moon. This is where his epic journey began, searching for everything in life that could possibly fullfil it to such an extent that when he ceases to exist, he can say I HAVE LIVED!!!!! So far he has managed to achieve less than half his goals and is currently trying desperately to catch up before the final whistle blows.Debut album  Junkie van my soul 2007 may be available now. www.insisevus.com/Happy birthday Pete Cogle over at PC Podcast and The Dub ZoneKeep your hard hat on – Kazoo Funk Orchestra (UK)From their Jamendo album Midnight Finger Painter. The Kazoo Funk Orchestra are a 9 piece party extravaganza loaded up on fictional characters and miniature membranes. Rumored to be lost in space, although they have been spotted inside bottles of mescal tied to helium balloons floating over the border of Mexico. At first glance you may mistake them for clothed monkeys, or robotic boxes of boxes, but fear not, they all enjoy the fruits.Their musical nonsense includes a collaboration of kazoo, pedal steel guitar, turntables, guitar, bass, vocoder, vocals, cow bell, drums, synth, maracas, accordion, banana shakers, melodica, the frog, ukulele, banjo, jaw harp, flute, glockenspiel, megaphone and spoken word.It’s not just music though, it’s an invisible fashion, you have to wear it in your ears.www.kazoofunk.co.ukVoices Apart – Pete Lockett’s Network of Sparks (South Africa) FIRST PLAYFrom the African Drum Masters album: Produced by renowned musical artist Wendy Oldfield. The variety of tracks range from solo pieces played on djembe and huge drumming synergies to still, quiet pieces and finally, flamboyant wild expression. Guaranteed to transport you to another world of sensations.www.africancreammusic.com/web/content/view/31/27/Civil Revolt Part 1 (Feat. Chang Jui-Chuan) – Kou Chou Ching (Taiwan)Hi, we’re a HipHop band from Taiwan. Our music is inspired by Taiwan traditional music elements. We bring samples of Taiwanese folk songs and traditional music elements and mix them in HipHop to create a very unique sound. Through our music, you can hear the voices of Taiwan.www.myspace.com/kouccNote from Dan Tharp whose Guitar Suite 1 Movement 2 I played a couple of weeks ago – he’s kindly put a link to Suffolk ‘n’ Cool on the sightings page of his site at www.dantharpmusic.com/sightings.aspx That’s how it can all work. Just a bit of collaboration, a note here, a recommendation there and we all get to hear more and better independent music. Summer Fun – O Sweet Static (Ohio, USA)We’re an alternative rock band based out of Columbus, Ohio. The songs on this album have a pretty broad range, so if you don’t like the first one you hear, skip around–we’re sure there are others you will dislike just as much but for different reasons.www.myspace.com/osweetstaticL’iut de Dijon – Les Culs Ivres (Chalon-sur-Saône, France)Les Culs Ivres c’est :Adrien (Basse) Sylvain (Batterie et Chœurs)Boq (Guitare et Chant) Elvis ( Guitare )Dess (Sax Alto) Romain (Trompette, Tuba et Chœurs)Les Culs Ivres cultivent les bons mots comme le métissage musical… Les 6 de Chalon-sur-Saône se la jouent tantôt punks, tantôt funkies, teintent leur son de reggae ou de jazz, s"accordant bien évidemment des escapades toutes rock’n’rolliennes pour un mix "simplement" efficace sur scène. L’énergie est là et se veut communicative, au service de la fête.From www.jamendo.comwww.lesculsivres.com