SnC 181 – Wed 19 August 2009

Podcast: Play in new window

Some wonderfully quirky tunes this week from Iceland, the UK, Virginia, Germany, Toronto, Holland and two from Los Angeles.It was Pimms o’clock when we arrived at Pete Cogle’s hut at Southwold. I have no idea what time we left. Just as it should be.Need Strange – Chad Smith’s Bombastic Meatbats (LA, CA, USA) From Meet the Meatbats, their debut album on Warrior Records.Bombastic, funky, sexy and loud, Chad Smith (drummer of Red Hot Chili Peppers & Chickenfoot) is breaking out on his own with guitar star Jeff Kollman, multi-faceted keyboardist Ed Roth, and Motor City bass ace Kevin Chown. Together, they comprise what is easily one of the most interesting and unpredictable instrumental bands to come along in years; Chad Smith’s Bombastic Meatbats. Their sound creates a cutting edge sonic experience with a plethora of influences, fusing together styles as diverse as classic rock, old school funk, punk, and 70’s R&B.The album, Meet The Meatbats, speaks for itself. Consisting of 10 songs written in the span of a few days at Chad’s pool house in Malibu (known as "The Tiki Room"), songs including "Need Strange," "Oops! I Spilled My Beer," "Battle For Ventura Blvd.," and the hauntingly beautiful "Night Sweats," exude a live wire feel, sarcasm, and excitement rarely found in the current world of digitally induced "perfection." It is instrumental music with a soul and a sense of humor.Take a look at the Bombastic Meatbats interview on YouTube. www.myspace.com/bombasticmeatbatsAll the same to me – Anya Marina (LA, CA, USA )For those who may know of Marina from her early debut releases – the five-song EP Exercises in Racketeering and 2005"s acoustic-driven full-length Miss Halfway (whose title track also appears on the Grammy Award-nominated second volume of the Grey’s Anatomy soundtrack) – Slow & Steady Seduction is an artistic and creative leap forward in this evolving artist’s career. "Miss Halfway was sort of a demo of songs I came up with," Marina explains. "I wanted the new album to feel like a more accurate expression of who I am as an artist. I wanted it to sound like something that I’d want to buy, and that meant making it something you could tap your toes to. The album’s got some sexy, dirty rock and roll moments on it. I just wanted to have a little more soul.""All The Same To Me," which sets the freewheeling musical tone with its vaudevillian, cabaret feel. "I’m always thinking there’s going to be some old person who’s going to sue me, saying ‘We wrote that in 1925′."Just finishing a tour with Emiliana Torrini. Last gig tonight in LA.19 Aug El Rey  Los Angeles, Californiawww.anyamarina.comwww.myspace.com/anyamarinaSpeak Easy – Brains Repaired (Toronto, Canada)To give you some info about me, my name is Andrew Belanger, I live in Toronto, Canada, I play all the instruments, record, and mix all my own songs, I’m also in the process of forming a heavily synth-influenced band with like-minded people.   Also, I think the Internet is the greatest medium for musicians in particular to use. Reaching a mass audience without corporate interference leads to musical freedom in its finest form!www.myspace.com/brainsrepairedJoanna at the door – Emmet Swimming (Fairfax, VA, USA)Emmet Swimming formed in 1991 while students at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA … The band named themselves after a young black boy, Emmet Till, who was shot in a small Mississippi town for whistling at a white woman and became one of the many martyrs of the American civil rights movement. "The idea of the name was basically that a 14-year-old boy should be swimming in the river, not dying in it."Todd Watts – Vocals, GuitarErik Wenberg – Lead Guitar, VocalsScott Brotemarkle – Bass Guitar, VocalsTamer Eid – DrumsAfter releasing three CDs on Epic Records and touring nationwide for the better part of 7 years, Fairfax, VA’s legendary emmet swimming took a long look at each other and at the van that they had largely called home for so many years and decided to take a break in the early 2000’s to focus on non-musical interests. The toils of the road and the all consuming nature of the music industry had left long unfulfilled promises and prospects back at home, and the band largely dispersed to pursue families and careers. In 2007, with original drummer Tamer Eid rejoining the band and longtime friend and collaborator Scott Brotemarkle settled in on bass, the band began playing shows including a sold out performance at the 930 Club in Washington DC. The chemistry was undeniable. This track is from Bathing in the New Economy (EP)Do check out their myspace there are some great tunes on there too.www.emmetswimming.com/www.myspace.com/emmetswimmingTake a look and listen to Springsteen’s acoustic version of Thunder Road recorded at Hammersmith Odeon in London in 1975 amid all the hype about his being "the new Dylan".

3055 – Ólafur Arnalds (Mosfellsbaer, Iceland)At only 21 years of age, Ólafur Arnalds is Iceland’s latest export. Having already sold out The Barbican Hall in London, toured major European festivals and having opened for Sigur Rós on their most recent European tour, the future seems bright for this young, extraordinary talent.www.olafurarnalds.comwww.myspace.com/olafurarnaldsBenzinadiko – Mediterra Musica (Hamburg, Germany)They describe themselves as electronic traditional, which is probably OK, although they do resist the idea of classification, playfully resorting to approaches such as "Romantics compare the indefinable style of MediTerra with Chili-Chocolate. Xenophobes believe to find a taste of goat cheese. Somewhere in between and beyond that lies the vision of MediTerra."www.jamendo.com/en/album/47287www.myspace.com/mediterramusicawww.mediterra-musica.comTerry Reid gigs coming up in the UK in the next couple of weeks. Tomorrow (Thursday 20th) he is at Komedia in Brighton along with The Daylight Faded. Next week (Wednesday 26th) he is premiering his new collaboration with Shine the Parisian trip-hop outfit who recently appeared on the soundtrack to Ugly Betty. Now this sounds a really, really interesting coming together. Again, The Daylight Faded are playing an acoustic set. Pigale Club, London, next Wednesday 8 ’til 11.Get all the info and see a couple of videos at www.shine-music.net/www.myspace.com/shinespaceFist of Time – The Daylight Faded (UK)The Daylight Faded, a London based 3-piece band spawned by singer/songwriter Lee Gordon who are still yet to celebrate their first birthday and have recorded their debut EP with new London label JUSTICE BROTHERS due out in late Autumn 2009.Gordon says: "We are a live band, we pour every ounce of energy and emotion our bodies can muster into the music, being the best, most exciting and honest live band we can be is our goal.’www.myspace.com/thedaylightfadedChemise De Beauregard – Cochon Bleu (Groningen, Netherlands)From the album It’s all coming good. Fifteen years of playing together, hundreds of gigs and five well-received CDs have made Cochon Bleu into what it is today: one of Holland’s most sparkling bands. Accordion, guitars and mandolin are cast in the leading roles, backed by a sturdily knocking rhythm section. They started out playing pure cajun music, but in the course of time lots of other influences crept in.Two things remained, though: French lyrics and an overdose of energy.www.cochonbleu.nl