In 1999, Valentine Nakrumah Fraser caught the attention of ace reggae crooner Beres Hammond. Relishing the spiciness in the young artiste’s voice, the senior reggae balladeer also noted Fraser’s craving for the popular Jamaican brew known as ginger beer. It was logically a short hop mentally for Hammond to name the young man Ginjah. “This is Valentine Nakrumah Fraser, an artiste called Ginjah, Mr Beres Hammond gave the name to m…e,” Ginjah said, adding that he is representing black liberation, black consciousness, and the teachings of Haile Selassie I. Having been invited to be a part of Hammond’s Harmony House label, Ginjah began recording in 2000. And by 2001, he was on a tour opening for Beres Hammond several shows stretching across the major Caribbean cities, leaving behind a trail of satisfied patrons begging for more. “It was never an easy task opening for a musical icon like Beres Hammond,” Ginjah admitted. Added he: “But I went out there and did my best and met the challenge with full force.” As expected, with good work, comes more work. So Ginjah went on touring with Beres Hammond throughout the world, inclusive of places like Europe, Canada, the United States and Japan.

For the past two years, Ginjah, now with I Land Music, has stepped out on his own. “I’m doing my own thing right now,” he said before adding: “I’m with I Land Music from 2004. Right now I have a song out called Music Alone that’s getting a lot of rotation, I’ve a video and an album to come soon.” He explained that he is now in the process of promoting the song (Music Alone), to pave the way for his forthcoming album of the same name. “You have a lot of albums that get lost in the mix, and this is a wonderful album, so we do not want this album to get lost in the mix. So we’re promoting Music Alone to the fullest right now,” Ginjah stated.

He said that since leaving Beres Hammond, he has done over 30 songs. “I’m recording a lot. I’ve done songs like Thieves Says, Responsibilities – I’ve done that for Harmony House, also War In The City, Rise Above, Manners, and Go Thy Way. Right now, it’s just making more music, more conscious music,” enthused the artiste who has just been back from Europe, where he did a three-week tour of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. This was Ginjah’s first solo tour which he described as a great experience. “This was the first time I was doing my own thing abroad,” he said while adding: ” The first show that I did was in Berlin, and that just set the stage for the rest of the tour. The shows them went down well, very well. You dun know Ginjah good for everything,” he bragged.

– ” New Polish Klezmer Music ” Is a new artistic proposal that we would like to offer you. It is a band of musicians who all share an extensive experience on the stage, who have been co-forming folk scene in Poland by participating in many music events. Our repertoire includes works inspired by multicultural Polish folk music pieces created on the soil that has been inhabited by Poles, Ukrainians, Tatars, Germans and Jews. The music, though, is interpreted in a unique and original way. Performing our music we strive to find a common denominator of all those diverse cultures, recognizing the characteristics of each of them. It is not an easy task, especially if we take into account a huge time distance and different realities that we now live in. Nevertheless, we hope that the vision of encounter with the legendary past, that could happen nowadays, would look exactly like this.

I have always wanted to make 100% truthful music, connected with reality. There are many bands who play “folk” music, but it is not truth, the time and reality now are completely different then time when melody pieces played by them were born and the context and correctly understanding are lost. The street photos are very important to understand this project. This music is connected with reality, with a place where it came from. Musicians in Poland still use word “klezmer”, but in different context then in U.S. or West Europe. For us a klezmer it is a musician who plays many styles, who can play everything, even bossa nova, or some ritual dances from Africa, not only jewish music. I’ve named this recording “New Polish Klezmer Music” because it is. When you listen to this you can hear that the tuning is lost. When you look at the photos, you can feel that something is not right, too… Jarek Adamów

Check them out on Myspace here

Natsumen was formed in Japan circa 2002 following the breakup of pop/hardcore/post-rock/anything-and-everything all-stars BOaT. Guitar players AxSxE and Ain, formed the instrumental experimental 8-piece band. Natsumen’s astounding sound includes a horn section that sound like you are inside a bee hive and powerful reverberations of piercing guitars, we could call it a hard core jazz. Its the sound of a roller coaster, sometimes angry, furious and loud a la John Zorn and other times soothing a la Godspeed You Black Emperor. Maybe we can call it sonic post rock acid jazz, but the song Cicada sings to the galaxy is more atmospheric and it is Nine Buddhas’ things which features an amazing sax performance, but check out No Reason Up to the Death one of the favourite tunes.

Their music has a lot of room for improvisation, but they seem to be really well rehearsed and tight in their performances. The crescendos fire up like a volcano spitting loud noises. When the songs seem to be over they explode again in an orgasm of sounds leaving everybody in awe. For some reason some their songs revolve around Summer. Natsumen will hypnotize you, mesmerize you and then inject adrenaline straight to your veins, at the end you will not know what happened after you seen them, you will only know that you feel goddamn well.

As a frame of reference, take the best elements of Fishbone, the Mars Volta, Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis then inject the essence of summer with its brighness, warmth and energy and you’ll have the blueprint for something very close to NATSUMEN’S brilliant and unique musical style.

A BIO

Similar to Broken Social Scene, NATSUMEN is a collective of musicians who have their own outside bands and solo careers. The two founding members, AxSxEx and Ain were originally in the influential avant-garde, funk, soul, thrash… yet unabashedly pop band BOaT.
BOaT’s music became progressively more experimental and instrumental oriented and their final album “Roro” would lay the musical foundation for what would eventually develop in to NATSUMEN.

The members of NATSUMEN are all widely respected, elite veterans of Japan’s music scene. Drummer Tatsuhisa Yamamoto regularly performs with free jazz legend Jim O’ Rourke. Keyboardist Takuji Nomura was a founding member of the popular instrumental band SAKEROCK. Guitarist AxSxEx is a highly regarded producer and sound engineer who has worked with countless bands including Shinsei Kamattechan, Kegawa no Maries and pop megastar Kimura Kaela.

Since the members of NATSUMEN are often busy with their regular bands, album releases and live performances have been sporadic. Since forming in 2002 NATSUMEN have released three albums with their fourth album “Fracture” scheduled for release in Nov/Dec 2011.
NATSUMEN have played in every major music festival in Japan and carry a reputation for being one of the best live bands in the country. If they had the time, aspiration and money to travel to American soil they would likely be more renowned than bands whom have travelled to the US such as BORIS, Acid Mothers Temple and Boredoms.

To the casual music fan “instrumental music” is often stigmatized as self-indulgent and boring. NATSUMEN are indeed guilty of flaunting their immense musical talent but what sets them apart from similar “technical” bands is their appreciation for gorgeous, timeless melodies that resonate with a profound lasting impression. A bit of patience is required but NATSUMEN never fail to amaze with their intense live performance and music that perfectly embodies the energy, warmth and nostalgia of summer.

Tokyo has the largest music scene of any city in the world and the music exemplifies its city’s bizarre, exotic and innovative qualities.

By Steven Tanaka.

Next Music From Tokyo featuring NATSUMEN / Akai Ko-en / Hyacca / chiina / the SSRIs.

Tickets $8.00 advance available online

Japanese culture is ubiquitous in major cities across Canada with its popularity apparent in areas such as food/cuisine, fashion, video games and technology. But Japanese music gets little to no recognition at all. Which is unfortunate since Tokyo secretly harbors what is arguably the most exciting music scene in the world. Compared to their North American counterparts Japanese musicians tend to be more adventurous when it comes to song-writing and especially live performances. Females also play a much more prominent role on-stage, in the audience and as front of house technicians.

Tokyo’s independent and underground music scene has an ebullient energy and freshness that is highly addictive and without peer.Tourists visit Japan to feast on sushi and ramen, sightsee at temples and spas and enjoy the weirdness of capsule-hotels and maid-cafes.Yes, the food is awesome, but to visit Tokyo and not spend a night watching a show at a tiny live-house in Koenji or Shimokitazawa is to miss out on one of the best experiences Japan has to offer.

Next Music from Tokyo is a one-of-a-kind tour transporting the audience on a virtual trip to a gig in Tokyo’s underground live house scene. Bands are chosen with an emphasis on the quality of their live performance and music as well as bringing unique characteristics that set them apart from typical live acts. Each band will definitely bring something extraordinary in the degree of talent, quirkiness, energy or passion that you won’t see at most shows in Canada.

This year’s stellar line up is full of post rock, jazz, Kraut rock, garage, sonic ambiances, improvisation, indie pop and noise.

Coming to Vancouver from Tokyo are:

NATSUMEN Legendary Japanese super-group playing experimental hardcore jazz with face-melting power and precision. NATSUMEN are an 8 member instrumental self described “Progressive HardCore JAZZ Aggressive Improvisation ROCK band.” As a frame of reference, take the best elements of Fishbone, the Mars Volta, Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis then inject the essence of summer with its brightness, warmth and energy and you’ll have the blueprint for something very close to NATSUMEN’S brilliant and unique musical style.

Chee-na Freakishly talented pop band blending elements of classical, jazz and folk with soulfully sublime female vocals. チーナ (pronounced “chee-na”) is an orchestral indie-pop band based out of Saitama, Japan near Tokyo. Having grown bored of performing solo,singer-songwriter and pianist Kyoko Shiina formed her own band fusing classical music with elements of jazz, pop and post-rock.

In 2007, the band’s core was formed when Shiina was joined by violinist Yukako Shiba and Eri Hayashi on contrabass.

After a rotating cast of support musicians, guitarist Shouta Nishiyori and drummer Kazuya Matsumoto became official members in 2009. Building a strong reputation through breathtaking live performances the band was quickly signed by Victor Music/Sophori Field in the same year.

チーナ’s first mini-album “Shupoon!!” showcases Shiina’s sublime singing voice and eccentric sense of humor. While the new 2 song ep has チーナ flaunting their musical dexterity with more aggressive and intricate compositions.

Akai Kou-en (translation: “red park”) Four girls aged 18-20 citing the Boredoms as one of their favourite bands. This explains why their deliciously melodic pop can veer off into darkly ferocious noise. Cute, gorgeous, creepy and intense… all at the same time with mind-blowing musicianship that belies their age. Their music, video footage and CDs cannot be found on the internet. The only way to experience them is to see them live. Performing live in front of an audience is something Akai Ko-en cherishes above all else.It is something so sacred they prevent and remove all music and video footage of themselves on the internet.  Their CDs can only be purchased directly at shows.  This way the majority of the audience approaches the performance with a blank slate and no advance warning of the sonic adrenaline rush they are about to experience.  Word of mouth is all Akai Ko-en needs to flourish and their legendary live performances in Tokyo have already created a massive underground buzz.  In fact Akai Ko-en make their major label debut with EMI early next year.

http://akaiko-en.com/

Hyacca Fronted by one of the wildest most charismatic female guitarists around. Hyacca’s music is a sonic maelstrom of lightning speed-punk with shoegaze soundscapes, krautrock rhythms and mathy, angular riffs. So powerful and catchy even the most introverted wallflowers will turn into unabashed dancing machines.Hailing from the southwestern city of Fukuoka is the moshpit inducing post-punk quartet known as hyacca (pronounced hyakka).

Their music is equal parts Bad Brains, My Bloody Valentine, Neu! and Tera Melos.

Add orgasmic changes in tempo, alien-like distortion effects, dual male/female screams and vocals and unrelenting raw power to spice the sonic maelstrom up even further.

Noisy and aggressive but fiercely melodic and extremely danceable, hyacca sound great on CD but are tenfold more furious, fun and intense experienced live.

Bring an extra T-shirt.

Hyacca members are Hiromi Kajiwara on guitar and vocals, Seiji Harajiri on bass and vocals, Masaru Goshima on guitar and vocals and Kimihiro Sasaki (Drums).

Joining these bands are local favourites SSRI’s who will show the folks from Japan that Vancouver is no slouch when it comes to innovative, energetic music of the awesome variety.

Check out more about this fantastic event and the awesome bands playing here www.nextmusicfromtokyo.com

赤い公園 (Akai Ko-en; translation = “Red Park”) are four girls aged 18 to 19 who reside in Tachikawa, Tokyo, Japan. Their music is a blend of melodic pop and shoegaze accentuated by ferocious hardcore and noise.
Guitarist Maisa Tsuno has prodigious song-writing talent and is responsible for all lyrics, composition and arrangement. A perfectionist at heart tempered by a willingness to take risks Tsuno draws on her eclectic influences (eg Boredoms, Radiohead, Jim O’Rourke) to craft gorgeous compositions ranging from deliciously sweet to intensely discordant. Akai Ko-en’s candid behaviour and virtuosic musicianship set them miles apart from typical female rock bands that rely on cuteness and sex appeal to mask a mediocrity in talent.

Performing live in front of an audience is something Akai Ko-en cherishes above all else. It is something so sacred they prevent and remove all music and video footage of themselves on the internet. Their CDs can only be purchased directly at shows. This way the majority of the audience approaches the performance with a blank slate and no advance warning of the sonic adrenaline rush they are about to experience. Word of mouth is all Akai Ko-en needs to flourish and their legendary live performances in Tokyo have already created a massive
underground buzz. In fact Akai Ko-en make their major label debut with EMI early next year.

For the first time in Amon Tobin’s career, he’s now able to perform a show based around the concept of an album and deliver a truly unique visual experience to go along with his renowned audio experiences. Tobin has officially stepped away from previous DJ centric performances, and is now bringing a large scale live audio/visual experience of his latest album ISAM to select cities around the world.

A truly visual onslaught – abstract narrative, subtle and bombastic – using projection mapping, generative/audio reactive real time and pre-rendered elements combined with custom software to control the show. The visual elements have been synched to ISAM to make a large scale next level HD experience.

The show features a stunning 25′ x 14′ x 8′ multi-dimensional/ shape shifting 3-D art installation surrounding Tobin and enveloping him and the audience in a beyond 3-D experience. Amon conceptualized the show as a projection mapped “visual score” to the music from ISAM. He performs the music as a navigator of a large craft through a surreal visual narrative. The spectacular mapped content follows the framework of the narrative carefully storyboarded between Amon and Vello Virkhaus then realized through internationally published, award winning V Squared Labs in collaboration with Leviathan. A collaborative feat between the minds madmen, scientists and visionaries.

Leading the animation and interactive team for the ISAM Live project inlclude directors Vello Virkhaus & Matt Daly. V Squared team has an impressive visual experience design resume including 50cent, Erick Morillo, Paul Oakenfold, Marquee Las Vegas, Korn and Red Hot Chilli Peppers amongst others. Creative Director Alex Lazarus (blasthaus) who has been on the production crew at Coachella Festival for eleven years, and has worked with everyone from Flying Lotus, Boys Noize, and Massive Attack, to Lady Gaga, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre. Designing the set is Heather Shaw from Vitamotus Design Studio, who has designed award winning stages and environments for festivals and exhibits around the world. Building the set is Stefano Novelli.

His music is the result of unwearying sound experiments since the 90s, when he released his first album, Adventures in Foam, under the name Cujo. After receiving recognition for playing jazz and hip-hop inspired drum ‘n’ bass and twelve (yes, twelve) albums later, he’s considered to be one of the most influential electronic music artists in the world.

Performing LIVE! on October 18th at the Biltmore.
10 dollars at the door.

First 50 people get free Japanese food.

Hyacca (pronounced “hyakka”;  translation = one hundred mosquitoes)  is a female fronted post-punk band residing in the south-western city of Fukuoka, Japan.
Their music is equal parts Bad Brains, My Bloody Valentine, Neu! and Tera Melos fusing together lightning speed punk with shoegaze soundscapes.

The four members of Hyacca are all “salarymen” working long endless hours with low prestige in a corporate hierarchy.  Each member is incredibly friendly and mild mannered so playing in Hyacca acts as a healthy outlet for the pent up rage, anxiety and frustration of work.  On stage Hyacca transform from peaceful swan to a rampaging juggernaut gone berserk.

Add orgasmic changes in tempo, alien-like distortion effects, dual male/female screams and vocals and unrelenting raw power to spice the sonic maelstrom up even further.
Noisy and aggressive but fiercely melodic and extremely danceable, hyacca sound great on CD but are tenfold more furious, fun and intense experienced live.

Hyacca’s music is a cerebral blend of lightning speed punk, krautrock rhythms and intricate, angular riffs.   Guttural male/female screams and vocals, rapid changes in tempo and otherworldly guitar tones are also components of Hyacca’s unique sound.
However, despite the furious onslaught of guitar and drums Hyacca has dance music at its core.
Even the meekest wallflower with two left feet will find themselves dancing up a storm in a friendly moshpit at Hyacca’s shows.

For the most part Hyacca remain static on stage and let their powerful music do the talking.
However, Hyacca has one of the most charismatic and wildest females in the history of rock in Hiromi Kajiwara.  At some point in the show you are bound to see Kajiwara jettison her guitar into the audience allowing it to crowd surf as she climbs Marshall stacks and railings to croon and scream at the audience from high above.  But Kajiwara is not a muse who uses her guitar as an ornament or for playing simple barre chords.  She uses every inch of fretboard with dexterity and the greatest of ease.

With the nerdy charm of Weezer, anarchic fury of Lightning Bolt and danceable vibe of Chemical Brothers, Hyacca’s music draws attention from numerous angles.
Although the songs sound great on CD, on-stage is where the band really shines.  The experience of watching Hyacca perform live is a vigorous workout and rollercoaster adrenaline rush that is impossible to forget.  An extra T-shirt +/- underwear is recommended.
More information below:
homepage:
Next Music From Tokyo

Discography:
2007    1st Album:      “Sashitai”
2009    2nd Album:    “Hanazono”

By Justino Águila for Billboard.

For Diego Garcia, recording his solo debut album, Laura, wasn’t about moving fast for the sake of putting music out. Instead he spent five years perfecting a fresh and distinctive sound that also felt nostalgic. His lyrics, all in English, are thoughtful. The melodies, tones and acoustic deliveries provide deep compositions that are haunting at times and retro-inspired in a collection that hints at a ’60s and ’70s sensibility.

The son of Argentine-born parents, Garcia grew up in a family that straddled two cultures. The benefits of growing up in a bicultural home in the United States meant listening to the music that his father and mother loved. Their favorite music included the early works of Spain’s Julio Iglesias, Mexico’s Jose Jose and Argentina’s Sandro: crooners possessing a very specific style of cool and hipness.”They were these men, singers from the late ’60s and ’70s, who were bigger than life,” says Garcia, 33. “They were superheroes who sang about love. It felt natural to look back at them when arranging my songs. That’s why my sound may feel retro.”In recent months other artists have also been paying homage to music from decades past.

Mexico’s Zoe, currently on a 28-city U.S. tour, is delivering music with retro elements but in Latin alternative rock and in Spanish. At times, the group’s sound carries a ’60s twist with a psychedelic vibe. Its MTV Unplugged/Musica de Fondo debuted and peaked at No. 7 on Billboard’s Latin Pop Albums chart and No. 16 on Top Latin Albums.

Colombian singer Andrea Echeverri is about to release a new album, Dos, on Aug. 30. No stranger to the Latin alternative movement, the singer/songwriter embraces a ’60s hippie vibe in her music, as does Venezuelan band Los Amigos Invisibles, who will perform at the Hollywood Bowl on Aug. 12 and 13.

Garcia sees the trend. But more important, he says, it’s about each artist finding his own voice. “Music has to be an honest extension of someone’s story,” Garcia says. “I found myself using my music heroes as my muses. When it came time to style my songs, they were part of my conscience.”

Diego Garcia / Andrea Echeverri / Los Amigos Invisibles
NACIONAL RECORDS

Nine Types of Light is the follow-up to the band’s 2008 release, Dear Science, and proved to be its breakout release. It was named album of the year by Rolling Stone, Spin, Pitchfork, Entertainment Weekly and MTV; and touring behind the album, the group sold out a year’s worth of live shows across the world. Arguably one of the most important bands in the last several years their work is relevant, poignant and genre-bending. Nine types of Light is their fourth “proper” studio album and an hour-long music video on YouTube, “meant to be a visual re-imagining of the record.” Nine types of Light is also final album of TV on the Radio with bassist Gerard Smith, a recent and suffered loss to cancer.

Certainly #4 on their website’s list of ‘things you should know’: TV On the Radio do not write traditional pop songs. Often, they change direction two or three times in one song. Distorted guitars, sauntering and reverberating bass, tunes are just-barely containing an explosive amount of energy underneath itself – and that tension is nothing less than thrilling. It has become somewhat of a signature of the band, particularly matched with Tunde Adebimpe’s serene and poetic vocals.

We are SEVER HILL. Young breed of Adelaide death/thrash metal, ready to grip your balls by the cuff, and squeeze all but brutality out of them, by means of our killer riffs, powerful breakdowns and general fucking awesomeness.

If you’re Severed once, you’re Severed Forever, and SEVER HILL’s fans prove it.

Those who have been Severed have never turned away from the band’s powerful thrashy death metal sound and demanding stage presence.

DAMO’s screams, perfectly supplemented by the low growls of PAT, whose heavy riffs are brilliantly matched by BRAD’s technical magic. JACK’s enthralling stage work and killer bass is again perfectly in tune with MITCH’s epic double bass drumming with amazing use of the underestimated floor tom.

It is this incredible mix which makes SEVER HILL the heavy metal masterpiece which it is very quickly becoming, rising through the ranks of Australia’s greatest local metal scene: Adelaide, at great pace.

Having released a 4-track Demo/EP a short time ago, and performing with International metal outfit HYPNO5E, as well as local favourites TRUTH CORRODED, ARCADIA and more, SEVER HILL has launched themselves into the Adelaide scene with their powerful, headbanging sound.

Damo Sellar: LEAD VOCALS

Brad Cannons: GUITAR

Pat Malone: GUITAR, VOCALS

Jack Larkin: BASS GUITAR

Mitch George: DRUMS

Dylan Malycha: The Specialist

Georgia Rees: Official Photography

Ebony Berridge: Leading Groupie

From Portland, indie rock band, on tour to support their latest Barsuk release “Mines”.

With guests Beekeeper.

Menom­ena are an exper­i­men­tal rock band from Port­land, Ore­gon, made up of Brent Knopf on gui­tar, key­boards, and glock­en­spiel; Justin Har­ris on bass, gui­tar, bari­tone sax and alto sax; and Danny Seim on per­cus­sion. All mem­bers of the band share singing duties.

The band formed in late 2000, when Knopf grad­u­ated from Dart­mouth Col­lege and returned to Port­land to col­lab­o­rate with Har­ris and Seim. They played their first show in July 2001, at The Meow Meow, a now-defunct all ages venue in Portland.

They self-released their debut album, I Am the Fun Blame Mon­ster!, on May 20, 2003. The album was elab­o­rately pack­aged in an 80-page flip­book that Seim designed and indi­vid­u­ally hand-assembled. It later received nation­wide dis­tri­b­u­tion through FILMguer­rero in 2004. The title is an ana­gram for The First Menom­ena Album.

In 2005, Under an Hour was released as a three-track album of instru­men­tal music writ­ten for and per­formed with Mon­ster Squad, an exper­i­men­tal dance com­pany based in Portland.

In August of 2006, Menom­ena signed with Bar­suk Records although the band still main­tains a rela­tion­ship with their old label, FILMguer­rero. It was stated that FILMguer­rero would still be involved in their old cat­a­log and future vinyl releases.

Menom­ena released their next album in 2007, titled Friend and Foe. It received rel­a­tive crit­i­cal acclaim — while some web­sites like Pitch­fork Media praised the album for its effec­tive mod­u­lar pop, oth­ers like Pop­Mat­ters crit­i­cized it for pre­sent­ing a sense of feigned matu­rity. Their record release show was held in their home town of Port­land, Ore­gon. The pack­ag­ing was designed by Knopf and fea­tures art­work by graphic novelist/cartoonist Craig Thomp­son, con­sist­ing of die-cut shapes, decoder rings, and hid­den mes­sages. It was nom­i­nated for “Best Record­ing Pack­age” at The Grammy Awards.

The band’s name was cho­sen for “the way it rolls off the tongue, sex­u­ally, or some­thing” and has no spe­cific mean­ing, although it is often assumed to refer to the Piero Umil­iani song “Mah Nà Mah Nà”, a sta­ple of The Mup­pet Show. A recent audio­clip from SpotDJ had Brent stat­ing that the band name was a con­trac­tion of the words “Men” and “Phe­nom­ena”. This is most likely a joke.

The band uses a com­puter pro­gram called the Dig­i­tal Loop­ing Recorder, or Deeler for short, in the song writ­ing process — it was pro­grammed by band mem­ber Brent Knopf. Drum­mer Danny Seim explains the process, “First, we set the tempo of the click, which is played through a pair of head­phones. We then take turns pass­ing a sin­gle mic around the room. One of us will hold the mic in front of an instru­ment, while another one of us will lay down a short impro­vised riff over the click track. We usu­ally start with the drums. Once the drums begin loop­ing, we throw on some bass, piano, gui­tar, bells, sax, or what­ever other sort of noise­maker hap­pens to be in the room. Deeler keeps the process demo­c­ra­tic, which is the only way we can operate”.

Bomba Estéreo was founded back in 2001 in Bogotá, Colombia. They describe their music as “Electro Vacilón”or “Electro tropical”. The band began as a project of Simón Mejía. The other members, Liliana, Julian and Kike, would all join the band permanently before the release of their album Estalla, which would later be re-released in the US under the title Blow Up.

They combine traditional Colombian Cumbia music with electronic music. Its a fusion of Cumbia and dance music, but you can hear some reggeaton and electronic music. But not all is just programming, they are talented musicians as well as you can see in one of the videos. Their influences besides the Cumbia are reggae, rock, electronic, and of course a wide variety of Latin rhythms.

In 2010 they performed at the South by Southwest, Bonnaroo, Lovebox, and Bumbershoot festivals, as well as many other dates across Europe and the US. They just released the EP Ponte Bomb and their success in the USA grows every day thanks to the large Spanish population. They are touring again North America.

Vanmusic is working into getting an exclusive interview with this musical phenomenon. So stay tuned

Their self-titled debut album was named iTunes Best Reggae Album of 2010.

The Green recently completed a five-week U.S. tour, with performances in 20 states.

Formed in 2009 in Oahu, The Green blends roots reggae with traditional Hawaiian vibes. Their debut album has sold 15,000 copies, and includes the hit song “Love I”.

Much like a blossoming plant ready to bring forth fruit, The Green has grown. An idea among friends, watered with practice and managed with care, has developed into a reality, nurtured with drive and cultivated through experience. When four friends from south and east Oahu, Hawaii came together to form The Green, it was neither by chance nor by accident. For this seed was planted early.

At the age of 16, singer Caleb Keolanui had already performed on the biggest stages in Hawaii and had multiple hit songs in heavy rotation on Hawaii radio. A soulful young singer with an amazingly high vocal range, Caleb’s popularity grew quickly among both female and male fans alike. With this sturdy base of experience and inspiration from artists like Mana’o Company, Fiji, and Bob Marley and The Wailers, Caleb practiced his craft and developed into an incredible singer and songwriter. Caleb, often referred to as the “harmony master” within the group, is known as the band’s lead singer.

John Pa “J.P.” Kennedy’s love of music has taken him to many places throughout the world. Thus far, he has performed in Guam, Japan, the South Pacific and throughout North America. Equally significant to his travelling experiences was the schooling where J.P. learned about recording, engineering and production. This education was instrumental in shaping J.P.’s talents as a musician. After focusing on his studies away from the islands, J.P. was able to take his talents to the next level by returning home to start his own studio and produce his own music. His knowledge has proven to be the catalyst for The Green’s recording process. Within J.P.’s songs one can hear the subtle overtones of his personal musical influences, like UB40, Bob Marley, James Taylor and Midnite. His vocals and guitar playing contain what other musicians search for and quickly recognize as great tone. With a voice often described as “powerful” and “captivating,” J.P. is truly a soulful artist.

When listening to songs like “Love Machine,” “Runaway Train” and “Alive” one hears the driving drum and bass, quintessential of reggae music. One also hears the push and pull of the rhythm instruments, which is so crucial to the roots reggae sound. However, in the vocals one can hear something eerily familiar and almost haunting. Something more. Something Hawaiian.

Ikaika Antone grew up playing Hawaiian music. The popular music on the radio while he was growing up was a combination of country, folk, Hawaiian and a new sound called reggae. Ikaika was intrigued by the familiar, yet relatively new music and dove deep into the world of reggae. He discovered new artists and sounds. Honing his skills on the keyboards and vocals, Ikaika rapidly developed as a musician. His experience grew as he began to perform in his own bands as a front man and lead singer. Since then he has been a featured musician in many of Hawaii’s top contemporary bands, and has also performed with some of the biggest artists in the reggae world. Never losing connection to his roots and never forgetting where he came from.

For singer and guitarist Zion Thompson, the journey of music has also been a long and sometimes hard road. After his first time singing in front of an audience at the tender age of eight, Zion realized how much he loved to perform. However, it wasn’t until high school that he really started to create, play and perform his own music. He fell in love with the guitar and developed his talents through hours of daily practice. As a singer and guitarist Zion naturally gravitated towards blues and soul music. His inspirations include Al Green, Stevie Wonder, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Etta James. He loved how these artists could express emotions like love, loss, pain and joy. Zion’s experience as a touring musician has driven him to and through over half of the United States to perform. Being on the road has given Zion a first-hand look and personal understanding of what it takes to keep a group of independent yet like-minded individuals together. His experience lends a helping hand in the management of The Green.

April 2009 marked the highly anticipated beginning for these four friends uniting to bring the world an eclectic mix of music. Their music is inspired by and drawn from many different sources: the heartbeat and power of reggae drum and bass, the soulful tone in the voices and instruments, the poetic words and kaona (double meaning of the lyrics), and the consciousness needed to stand strong as a people and move forward together in these difficult times. And so from Hawaii to the rest of the world we proudly present, The Green.

The Green released their self-titled debut album in February 2010. “The Green” debuted at number three on Billboard’s Reggae Chart, and remained in the Top 10 for 25 straight weeks. The 13-track album has sold 13,000 copies and continues to dominate the islands’ radio airwaves.

Kieran Strange is a pop-rock artist, originally from southern England, who has travelled to Canada to record her first demo and EP. Her passion to bring a message of self-acceptance through music is apparent in how she communicates with her fans, always encouraging them to share their talents with the world via YouTube just like she has done. “So many people tore me down and said I’d never make anything of myself, never succeed in music, and I’ll be damned if I’m ever gonna let anyone else feel that way,” she says, of the way she supports her fans and other musicians like her.

Kieran recently released her first single, Good Intentions, which was recorded, mixed, and mastered by herself and her band in Garageband. She also recently filmed and shot a music video for the Christmas season about a zombie apocalypse on a $50 budget. She has tour dates booked in the US for 2011, and will be releasing her demo free online over the coming few months.

Check her out on her site here

Dear God by XTC:The Most Controversial song ever?

I played this song in the radio show and since then it seems that has resurrected as Jesus Christ on those days of magic. Its seems it was very controversial in its time when all the Christians raged against the band in the USA. The single was very popular. XTC was a British band that started back in 1976 and lasted on and off until 2005. Their style combined different kinds of music including funk, folk, punk, new,wave, ska and even reggea. So this song was very popular back in Mexico (where I lived at that time) when it was released in 1987. It was just a B side and became one of the most popular atheist hymns. The video is at the bottom.

Dear God by XTC

· Partridge particularly hated the lyrics. In his own words “It is such a big subject and I’ve been wrestling with it for years, but how can you cover it, in three and half minutes?”. “Human belief is too big a beast to bring to the floor in such a short time”.