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

Back in the UK again after a quick visit to Ibiza to visit Jessie, take a short break and catch the closing night of Roger Sanchez at Amnesia. It was all rather surreal with the first rain since May starting the day after we arrived and delivering violent thunderstorms every evening. The orange lightening miles out to sea was spectacualr and quite beautiful.Piggy in the Middle – Sean Kershaw and the New Jack Ramblers (Brooklyn. NY, USA)Started on a whim in 2001 playing country covers in a small bar in Brooklyn, Sean Kershaw & the New Jack Ramblers have evolved into the biggest and best country band in the NY area with their unique sound and Mr Kershaw’s formidable songwriting. Their debut album was engineered and co-produced by none other than Rick Miller (Southern Culture on the Skids) who also contributes a guitar solo on one song.www.seankershaw.comwww.myspace.com/seankershawandramblersShort Song – Mo Rooneh (Netherlands)From the album "Micro".Mo Rooneh is a minimalist and avantgarde composer, working with repetition and noise as basic elements.The phylosophy behind the use of those elements in a composition, which in itself is mostly fictional, is to reinstate a sence of reality.Repetition as a refural to time and noise as the reflection of incoherence and disturbance that characterizes our daily life.Starting out, some twenty-five years ago, as a singer in several bands, Rooneh explored the popular music spectrum.After a small decade he concluded the pop scene didn’t bring that much fulfillment, music wise, as he had hoped for.Taking a break from performing for almost fifteen years, he explored numerous art disciplines. Several musical and non-musical styles inspired Rooneh and led to a reinvention of the self.Encoutering ‘new music’ from artists like John Cage, La Monte Young and Steve Reich made him realize that the way of the experiment was the right basis for his compositions.In 2009 he recorded three albums, ‘Songs that might be’, ‘Micro’ and ‘Cinematographic’.Using the world wide web as means of distribution for his work, he tries to expand his audience.

Mo Rooneh "Short Song" (mp3) from "Micro" (Monochrome) Buy at Rhapsody Stream from Rhapsody More On This Album

www.mrooneh.comwww.myspace.com/moroonehThe Rain Became the Clouds – Emanuel and The Fear (Brooklyn, NY, USA)An extraordinary 11-piece orchestra-rock band that focuses on intertwining the modern day pop song with extravagant and complex composition. 
Drawing from romantic and modern composers like Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, and Glass; and then fusing in a modern rock sound like Arcade Fire, Bright Eyes, Daft Punk and Sufjan Stevens; Emanuel & the Fear displays a true understanding of sound all-the-while capturing audiences with their climactic electro/orchestral arrangements and quivering, poetic lyrics. www.myspace.com/emanuelandthefearwww.papergardenrecords.com/shop/item/46Going all the way – Glideascope (London, UK)Glideascope tangles computers, intriguing samples, and orchestral composition to make music for this digital age. With sounds as lush as classical composer Pachelbel on one track and up tempo Jamaican Patois vocals driving the next, this is a true kaleidoscope of sound.It would be easy to create a laundry list of styles to define Glideascope–Dub Reggae, Trip Hop, Classical, Electronic, World Music—but that just won’t do. The best person to define the work is Glideascope himself. He calls his music, "The soundtrack for a movie never created." Hearing it brings to mind some visually stunning films like Blade Runner, The Last Samurai, and Cry Freedom.Glideascope’s work is heavily influenced by the works of Bob Marley, Craig Armstrong, Afrika Bambatta and Massive Attack (particularly their first album) to name a few.www.glideascope.comwww.myspace.com/glideascopeRainscape extended – Shardik’s Walkman (Berlin, Germany)Littl;e I can tell you aboiut Shardik’s Walkman but you can download the music from Jamendowww.jamendo.com/en/album/51301http://momo4.jamendo.net/Bikes – Rubblebucket (Boston, MA, USA)Rubblebucket is a Boston-and-Brooklyn-based nine-piece polyrhythmic dance/rock band led by trumpeter Alex Toth and fronted by the alluring vocals of Kalmia Traver. Comparisons have been drawn to Talking Heads, Fela Kuti, Bjork and James Brown, but Rubblebucket’s afro-beat inspired, trip-rock soul experience is beyond classification. Alex Toth- trumpet, vocals bandleader. He loves Kalmia.
Kalmia Traver- lead vocals, tenor sax. She loves reverie, berry-picking and skinny-dipping, pennywhistles and making artwork.
Adam Dotson- trombone, vocals. He won an international euphonium competition at age fourteen and never wears shoes when he plays.
Craig Myers- percussion. He began playing percussion at age thirteen, and he has studied West African percussion extensively for ten years and traveled to Senegal, Mali, Cote Ivoire and Guinea. He’s also taught and directed percussion groups in Hawaii and throughout Europe.
Dave Cole- drums. Has also plays guitar and keyboards and has an amazing beard and smile. He also has a cyclops mask.
Darby Wolf- keyboards. Darbstar has a plan. And he uses Goff organs and leslie speakers and is a vintage keyboard enthusiast.
Ian Hersey- guitar. He lives in Brooklyn and recently bought a box of at least 15 Casio keyboards, and he takes them apart and fucks with them.http://rubblebucket.com/www.myspace.com/rubblebucketStreets Crimes and Strife – Rau (Los Angeles, CA, USA) Producer-Composer Stuart Rau creates multi-textured rhythms and grooves whose branding falls somewhere between trip-hop and blues. With his strong debut "Streets Crimes and Strife" album he blends atmospheric international timbres with bruising bass lines and a myriad of sublime beats.A rather good video on his MySpace front page too. Take a look.www.myspace.com/sturoweLove letters from a fool – Kristen Cothron (Nashville, TN. USA)From her album Love letters from a Fool.Kristen’s voice is reminiscent of classic jazz singers, but the songs are edgy and smart and cut right across the lines in an interesting way.Since the release of Love Letters from a Fool in May of 2006 Cothron has been touring regionally and is currently celebrating the release of her music video, Dangerous. Whether she’s singing a jazz standard, a classic soul tune, or one of her eclectic original songs- Kristen’s sound is undeniably her own.www.kristencothron.comwww.myspace.com/kristencothron