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

Studio rebuild this past week. Apart from the new MacPro and Snow Leopard installations, lots of other software upgrades and rearranging data on drives. A long but uneventful haul and all seems to be working well now.I seem to have won a contest run by the excellent Neat Little Mac Apps podcast making use of the Photomatrix Pro software for creating HDR pictures like this (right).Although a Mac user, I’m thinking of holding a Windows 7 launch party. Have you seen the video on YouTube. So cringe-making it surely HAS to be irony … doesn’t it?Give it up – Jimmy Mancus (Springbrook, Pennsylvania, USA) Amped-up, acoustic-rock featuring driving electric guitars, scratch-turntables, keyboards and unique rhythms. Blending elements of acoustic, indie, funk, rock and surf, Mancus’s music can be likened to that of Sublime, Dispatch, and Jack Johnson.Mancus’s new album Move Down, is a testament to his mantra of doing things his own way.  The album’s 14 tracks consist of a diverse blend of styles, including acoustic, indie, funk, hip-hop, rock, and surf.  In addition to Jimmy’s own unique acoustic style and guitar riffs, the album features RasMG/"Field" Marshall Goodman, DJ for the multi-platinum selling band SUBLIME and the Long Beach Dub All-Stars, on the turntables…Clyde Rosencrance, the album’s producer, on electric guitar…Lenny Mecca on bass…Eli Hludzik on drums…and Matthew Nakoa on keyboards.www.jimmymancus.comwww.myspace.com/jimmymancus Black Diamond Day – Alexa Wilding (Brooklyn, NY)Alexa Wilding is a Brooklyn-based brunette, prone to writing ethereal pieces that sound and feel like a dream with her sweet as honey voice and gorgeously ghostly lyrics. The talented chanteuse earned her street credit by playing with former Sonic Youth drummer, Bob Bert, in Int’l Shades from 2006 to 2008.Since then, Alexa has been working on her own EP, written solely by her, which features Tim Foljahn, who has collaborated with talents such as Cat Power, Thurston Moore, and the late Townes Van Zandt. Foljahn has also fronted Two Dollar Guitar with Sonic Youth"s Steve Shelley. Furthermore intriguing, the debut EP was mixed by Fred Smith of Television.www.myspace.com/alexawildingI’m way too happy (Reprise) and You have been loved – Tymphony (Istanbul, Turkey)Tymphony was formed in a dorm room at Boğaziçi University in 2004 as an experimental project. The name ‘Tymphony’ came from the combination between Tempo & Symphony. 
Sound of Tymphony is a rhythmic mixture of oriental ambient, symphonic forms and some Icelandic elements. 
All albums are free to air : ) So you can download & listen them as long as you want. Download free at the official site:http://tymphony.anafikir.com/en/or from Jamendo.Sentimentally Africa – Jean-Pierre Simons (Oakland, CA)JEAN-PIERRE SIMONS is an international Artist from Cameroon by way of Paris, France. His music experiences began early in his life, performing at annual school and community feasts. Jean-Pierre formed a band at age fifteen and used all of his free time endevouring in music composition and song writing. Jean-Pierre’s music combines African melodies and rhythms from Cameroon (such as Makossa, Lali and others), with European & American styles of music arrangement. The harmonies in the songs are constructed in the African tradition. "Music cannot be confined to the narrow space of one’s own country or people."www.jeanpierresimons.comhttp://cdbaby.com/cd/jeanpierre2  Front Page News – JJ Soul Band (Reykajavik, Iceland) (INGVI THOR KORMÁKSSON and JJ SOUL)The songwriters, Kormáksson and Soul, met in Iceland 1993 and soon began writing music together. In 1994 they made their first CD, HUNGRY FOR NEWS, with JJ Soul Band and CITY LIFE in 1997. On both CDs the music is many-sided; blues, R&B, fusion, rock, pop and latin, sometimes all in one (blues-confusion?). Singer/songwriter JJ Soul is from Oxford, England but Ingvi is from Iceland as the rest of the band. Mr. Soul has been living and breathing music since he was eight years old. He used to play drums with small jazz units and worked both as a drummer and a singer with various rock and cabaret acts in England for many years. Since he moved to Iceland, he has focused on his writing skills and writes both songs and (mainly) lyrics. J.J. Soul currently resides in Oxford, U.K. He works as a painter, musician and art teacher.www.jjsoulband.com/www.myspace.com/jjsoulbandhttp://twitter.com/JJSoulBandBad advice from a bad singer – F&M (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada)A welcome second track from the excellent F&M.F&M is a gently sardonic, dark and hopelessly clever art-folk band that began as a 48 hour experiment in recording during a fireworks festival. Delicate, glacial, heady, F&M approaches folk music with refreshing maturity and restraint. Music that breathes.www.fandmtheband.com/www.myspace.com/fandmthebandUsha’s Wedding – Tessa Souter (NY, NY, USA)Born in London of Trinidadian and English parents, New York-based vocalist, composer and lyricist Tessa Souter (soo-ter) infuses jazz with the soul and passion of flamenco, Indian and Middle Eastern music. "One of the most imaginatively programmed vocal sets of recent memory," said the Los Angeles Times, in a rave review of her California debut at the Catalina Bar and Grill in 2002. The Philadelphia Inquirer praised her "amazing" debut CD Listen Love and her "crystal-clear voice with diamond-cut phrasing.” Soul jazz singer Jon Lucien said of Listen Love. "Magnificent! I couldn’t stop playing it over and over. She blew me away!" Her mentor Mark Murphy says of her, "She is a complete musician … extraordinary and moving." Sheila Jordan says, "There aren"t many, but Tessa Souter is a natural born singer. She really moves me.” Jazz tuba legend Howard Johnson says she is "an important musician… whose brilliant lyrics and songs make her stand out from the pack so very much, not to mention how well she sings other people’s material."

Tessa Souter "Usha’s Wedding" (mp3) from "Obsession" (Motema Music) Buy at iTunes Music Store Stream from Rhapsody More On This Album

Jeans – Naturaliss (Kingston, Jamaica)Naturaliss is a Reggae/Dancehall Artist From Jamaica. Naturaliss writes music that have a positive impact on life.From his 12 track album Shanty Town available on iTunes and all the leading on-line stores.www.myspace.com/naturaliss25