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

OK, I’m getting travel sick – or at least sick of travel now. However, the journey back from Birmingham tonight was lightened by a look in at the Eurostar station at St Pancras (London). This delightful statue of the windswept (and train loving) poet Sir John Betjeman is in stark contrast with the champagne bars which are doing a roaring trade with "the suits" this Wednesday evening. Recession, what rece$$ion? It feels like time for a break, especially since the winter arrived this past weekend with a good bit of snow which actually settled for a day or two – this is really unusual in November, we don’t normally get any snow until January at the earliest. Ah well, Belfast on Friday!The Wailers didn’t like snow in November either.Hillbilly Hip Hop Shuffle – Ashley Davies (Melbourne, Australia)I found Ashley Davies’ music a couple of weeks ago on Music Submit but it wasn’t downloadable. However, Ashley sent me the CD Muscledrum Music 2 from Melbourne, Australia, and now it is here safely in the studio in Suffolk.One half of Matt Walker and Ashley Davies, he won an ARIA award and opened forn the likes of Bob Dylan and Patti Smith< Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, The Cruel Sea, Gomez and ZZ Top.With his new solo project Muscle Drum Music Volumes 1 and 2, Ashley Davies comes to the fore as one of the great drummer-songwriters. A thrilling rhythmic adventure, Muscle Drum Music was recorded almost entirely by Ashley on two drum kits, guitar and harmonica, with no loops or samples. As the CD sleeve says "All instruments on this recording were played."Find out more at:www.ashleydaviesmusicanddrums.comwww.myspace.com/ashdaviesmusicSadly I’m not at the Jamendo show in Paris tonight  but I  hope it is going really well. If you have been, give me a shout and let me know.No lack of travel at the moment, just not to the right places. I was in London AGAIN on Friday and Monday which was a 16 hour day. Travels again today in Birmingham and on Friday another flight to Belfast in Northern Ireland for a few hours – I just need to get through this week and that’s it for a while.L’ete en Hiver (Summer in Winter) – Maurice Gainen (Los Angeles, CA, USA)The smooth flowing vocal stylings of Karoline Blandin adding her Parisian French flair in L’ÉTÉ EN HIVER (SUMMER IN WINTER)Producer-Engineer-Saxophonist and Flutist, Maurice Gainen can take you around the world in 50 minutes and seven seconds in his new CD, 7 CONTINENTS-GLOBAL JAMS. This musically diverse masterpiece – two years in the making, features a total of 38 musicians and was created from sessions on the Internet, actually traveling the miles as the title boasts to Antarctica, North America, South America, Africa, Europe, Australia and Asia. "I was finishing my last CD, JAZZ FLUTE JAMS in summer ’06.  I was reflecting on how I had done music from many parts of the world over my career.  So why not make a CD with at least one song from every continent?  The songs could be original or traditional….no limits on style.  That was not such a daunting proposition living in a place like LA with musicians from so many places and so many musicians versed in styles from all over the world.  But I decided to set up a challenge for myself having at least one principal musician in each song actually BE ON that continent.  So it was that musical and technical challenge, combined with the fascination of finding and interacting with new musicians all over the world that inspired me.  I have been rewarded many times over by the friends made and relationships nurtured on this journey. This is a landmark recording for me.  It is one of those special life/career markers that we all hopefully get from time to time."www.mauricegainen.com/cds.htmlcdbaby.com/cd/gainen3Book of Lies – Miranda Vettrus (Salem, OR. USA)Miranda Vettrus grew up in an amusement park, makes horror movies with her younger sister, Mariah and writes Go Go’s inspired songs at 3 in the morning. By the age of 5, Miranda had already jumped off a 100 foot crane thrill-ride dubbed the Sky-coaster dozens of times. She’s written dozens of songs and continues to grow her catalog by the day.Her other interests include catching salamanders, playing basketball, and hanging out with her pet goats. "My guitar’s become my prized possession, then my Mac laptop," Says Miranda. "I love singing and performing. I hope to be doing this for a long time!"EP Book of Lies is available on iTunes and Amazon through her site, where there’s also a rather fine video:www.mirandavettrus.com/www.myspace.com/mirandavettrushttp://mirandavettrus.com/music.html100 Little Reasons – Hundred Little Reasons (UK)100 Little Reasons are Andrew Grimes and Jim Crane. Find out just a little about them at:www.myspace.com/hundredlittlereasonsiTunes review, my thanks to Graham. If you’d like toi add a review for Suffolk ‘n’ Cool you’ll find the show on iTunes (search for Suffolk) or use this link to Suffolk ‘n’ Cool on iTunes http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=121289766Kou Chou Ching – Tiu Tiu Ssu Hsiang Chi (MoShang Little DingDong Mix) (Taiwan)MoShang is a sound jeweller who blends downtempo electronica with Chinese instruments and sounds from the streets of Taiwan.OK, so it is probably the most challenging of the 14 tracks on the Asian Variations album – not challenging for you – for me, in telling you what it"s called!Get comfortable…Discography:Made in Taiwan (2004) [CD Baby, iTunes, etc.]Chill Dynasty (2006) [chilldynasty.com]http://moshang.net/Motherless Child (Moshang Remix) – Lovespirals (California, USA)Title track from the EP in fact, all the tracks are the title track! Anji Bee’s sensual vocals and Ryan Lum’s soulful guitar & keyboards have been remixed by numerous artists in various styles. This is a collection of remixes of the chillout duo Lovespirals by Chris Caulder, The Black Channel Citizen, Hungry Lucy and Karmacoda as well as a couple of remixes of their own. You can buy Lovespirals music trough an unbelievably comprehensive selection of on-line stores that you’ll find on their site.www.lovespirals.com/Do check out Anji’s excellent Chillcast at: www.anjibee.comP’tit bonheur – Serge Cabon (Quimper, France) Very light ion information here but there is just one track on Jamendo which you are welcome to download for yourself. Classic French chanson with a really interesting twist. www.myspace.com/sergecabonwww.jamendo.com/en/album/31551Gabor’s Electrical Language is 150 this week. If you"ve not had a listen, DO. He finds some excellent music and is at:www.electricallanguage.co.ukMayonme – Carlos de Nicaragua y Familia (Le Havre, Normandie, France)Carlos Wiltshire, alias Carlos de Nicaragua, was born in Bluefields, on the Nicaraguan Atlantic coast. His name is not only in reference to his country of birth but mostly in reference to the legendary Indian chief Nicaraocai, philosopher, ferocious warrior and fighter. Carlos de Nicaragua was one of the precursors of the sound system concept in Paris.In Paris, latinos, french and africans dance during the concerts under the blazing fire of a nicaraguayan named Carlos and his band "Familia", pioneers of the salsa reggae style. His admiration for the reggae prophets Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Burning Spear […] pushed him to dedicate himself to this music, reinventing it and mixing it with the tumbao of dancing rhythms from the Bronx and other great salsa capitals.There is a video that you just have to see at:http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=MHqYGt6ejqEwww.myspace.com/carlosdenicaraguayfamiliahttp://cdbaby.com/cd/carlosdenicaraguaBig Pink Blanket – Hundred Little Reasons (UK)www.myspace.com/hundredlittlereasons