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

An eclectic selection which verges on the quixotic this week with tracks from France, North Carolina, Brooklyn, Denmark, Florida, and Newfoundland.I can’t imagine how long the old rail carriage has been on sat by the farm track but it has somethow survived and even has the ivy trimmed each year!A l’ombre des palmiers – Tahigo (Rouen, France)We are four. We are friends for 20 years. We are french… And WE WANT TO JUMP ON STAGE WITH THE ENTIRE WORLD !!!Après la séparation de Muffin Kriska en mars 2007, trois de ses membres décidèrent de former un nouveau groupe.A l’époque, pas de nom, pas de chanteur ni de bassiste, mais une réelle envie chez Charly (Guitariste soliste), Boulle (Guitariste Rythmique) et Tom (Batterie) de se lancer dans quelque chose de beaucoup plus punk, tout en restant festif.www.myspace.com/tahigoModern World – David Wilcox (Asheville, NC, USA)David Wilcox’s Open Hand was recorded in 7 days from start to finish in December 2008 on 2 inch 16 track analog tape. No computer tricks were used, all of the songs on this release were recorded live, just 4 human beings playing music together. Very minimal overdubs were used, so most all of what you hear is exactly as it was played together by David and the other musicians live. Dan Phelps produced and played guitar and keyboard, Jon Evans: bass guitar and upright bass, James McAlister: drums and percussion.www.davidwilcox.com/www.myspace.com/davidwilcoxsiteBeatbox gospel lesson interlude – Stouffi the Stouves (Lille, France)From the album Madness on Jamendo.Follows on from last week’s final track from Eclectekwww.myspace.com/eclectekofficielwww.jamendo.com/en/album/37759Cheerio! – Hollands (Brooklyn, NY, USA)Hollands is multi-instrumentalist John-Paul Norpoth and violinist Jannina Barefield. Together, they formed in February 2008 in Washington Heights, New York. Norpoth, formerly the co-lead of NYC-based Butane Variations, is the son of a classical flautist while Barefield is the daughter of Detroit based avant-garde jazz guitarist Spencer Barefield. Together, they combine fuzzy Flaming Lips guitars with Martin-esque orchestral arrangements and traditional folk nods to the Paul Simon’s and the Grateful Dead’s of years pastAt times, Hollands sounds like a simple folk duo, plaintive and gentle, soft and free. At others, the band performs as a loud, brash, orchestral rock ensemble; employing cello, organs, synthesizers, electric and acoustic violins. In other words, they’ll explore any means necessary to realize the most honest atmosphere and capture the diversity of each song.www.hollandsss.comwww.myspace.com/hollandsssMistral Moon – Syntaks (Denmark)Syntaks’ Mistral Moon EP is a free taste of the Danish duo’s upcoming full-length Ylajali (November 3rd on Ghostly), comprising two tracks of Syntaks’ densely layered ambient pop.Syntaks’ songs are textural epics in miniature, meticulously detailed shoegaze symphonies built from Anna Cecilia’s wordless vocalizations and Jakob Skott’s breathtaking production. "Sudden Dream" grows from a puddle of Cecilia’s molten coos to a towering climax worthy of M83’s overdriven majesty; "Mistral Moon (Illuminated Version)" presents a slightly sweetened rendition of the Ylajali standout, matching a triumphant melody and heavy-footed beat with distant stutters of distortion and oceans of atmospheric rumblings. To call Syntaks’ music "cinematic" would be an understatement—with the Mistral Moon EP, the experience is as visceral and surreal as a sunrise.ghostly.com/artists/syntakswww.myspace.com/syntaksTake out the trash – Neal Fox (Florida, USA)Composer/performer/multimedia artist. Recording artist on Polydor, RCA and Columbia. Co-scored 2 of the Killer Tomatoes movies. Neal has some fine videos via his beautifully crafted site.www.wireduck.com/www.myspace.com/nealfoxBees and Flowers / Joe Smallwood & Raindrops – Duane Andrews (St John’s, NL, Canada)Heavily influenced by the brilliance of early twentieth century French Gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt, Duane Andrews’ unique blend of jazz and traditional Newfoundland folk music is consistently recognised by both industry and fans with awards and accolades.Duane’s music is undergoing something of a transformation from being rooted firmly in the Django Reinhardt school of gypsy jazz and Newfoundland folk with its influences from Scotland to another layering involving chamber orchestra . Duane is one seriously dedicated musician. Now a 10 minute mini documentary about Duane is on YouTube at http://tinyurl.com/yz615dkEscape for 10  minutes to the wild coast of Newfoundland, hear some great music and get an insight into a fine musician.www.duaneandrews.cawww.myspace.com/duaneandrewsUngrateful men – Grace Valhalla (Nancy, France)It is ages since I played a Grace Valhalla track. Here it is. From her masterly album Peak on Jamendo.Description by MadCat: "Grace Valhalla has been producing music on her computer for two years. Recently she put them on Jamendo sharing them as creative commons. She says about herself, that she is far from being professional and just wanted to produce something she likes to listen to. And expresses the hope of progression through passion. 
She faces the same fate as many women producing music: no one believes she produced it. Of the two albums she produced the first Grace Valhalla – psychopathethic is more a rock album while the latter Grace Valhalla – PEAK~ is clearly electronic. Both containing calmed down nearly melancholic music. Wire is a mix between the two first albums"http://gracevalhalla.hautetfort.comwww.myspace.com/gracevalhallawww.jamendo.com/en/album/2162Podcast AlleyIf you’d like to vote for SnC and AMPed and even PC Podcast (if you really must) on Podcast Alley,
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this link. Just click on "Vote" and follow the simple instructions, not forgetting to check the confirming email. Thanks. Fourth place indeed! Bah …