Aurgasm

minimalist folk // singer-songwriter

Kelly De Martino is an American born singer-songwriter signed with a French label. She’s worked as an actress in some TV series, films and commercials in Los Angeles, entered the world of fashion in New York City by creating clothing and saving money for leaving for Paris. French press refers to her as etrange et belle Américaine and her minimalist folky songwriting, fragile, seducing voice were already compared to Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star and the vocals of Shivaree. In the acoustic version of “Bumblebees” Kelly’s voice sounds so gentle, baring its delicate, sweet and fresh sound.

Simple and nice.
Kelly De Martino – Bumblebees (Acoustic)
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singer-songwriter // urban-folk-blues

If I told you Piers’ producer also worked with Ben Harper and Jack Johnson, you might hold it against him, you might reckon you can predict his sound, or you may hear in his music an attention to detail that surprises you. Not that there’s a lot of musical elements fighting to be heard; we have Piers’ candlelight voice and his Martin 018 complemented by a sparse but perfect instrumentation. (Listen close: Ben Harper and Inara George lend backing vocals.) As luck has it, his tour is hitting New York, Boston and Philly this week; perfect aural setting for your next date. ;-)

A multicultural background that creates a simplicity of sound.
Piers Faccini – If I
Piers Faccini – Sharpening Bone
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belgian pianist // singer-songwriter

An Miel Mia Pierlé is a Belgian pianist, accordionist and singer-songwriter who had been touring with a theatre group, starring in a Belgium television series and giving solo performances before she signed her first record deal in 1998. Unlike the debut album, her second record, Helium Sunset (2002) , was released outside of the Benelux and France and received many positive reviews as well. And now she has come back with a new record An Pierlé & White Velvet (2006) written with her co-songwriter, arranger, composer and lover Koen Gisen. This is the result of everything Pierlé and Gisen have experienced and absorbed so far, the new sound of An that grows and creates something new.

Poetic and personal, sometimes sugary and bizarre.
An Pierlé – Jupiter
An Pierlé – I Love You
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glitchy singer-songwriter // norwegian dream pop

Anja Garbarek, the daughter of the prolific Norwegian jazz saxophonist Jan Garbarek, as a child was surrounded by musicians but had no intention of doing something musical with her career. Instead, at 16 she went to drama college where her performance in a musical brought her to the attention of the Norwegian record industry and she was offered a deal. Anja Garbarek hates being predictable, for her songwriting has always begun with the lyrics and she is known for telling her own feelings reflecting dark stories put with comforting, hypnotic and sweet melodies. Her song “Sleep” from Briefly Shaking (2005) is based on the true story of a woman who was kidnapped and “The Last Trick” was written at a particularly dark moment. You’ll likely hear some Emiliana Torrini in Anja.

The sugar-sweet and the macabre.
Anja Garbarek – Sleep
Anja Garbarek – The Last Trick

Post contributed by Julija
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norwegian singer/songwriter // guitar

Back in 1998, Ane Brun (real name Ane Brunvoll), used to play in the streets to anyone who’d listen to her songs while travelling around Spain. Few years later she moved to Stockholm, Sweden where she started her own independent record label, performing live a lot and recorded the debut album Spending Time with Morgan (named after her beloved acoustic guitar, Morgan). After taking in Grammys in Norway and Sweden, she spent the past couple of years touring, playing at many festivals, supporting such artists as Keren Ann and A-HA. This last year she sat down to deliver her sophomore release, A Temporary Dive, a minimalist masterpiece of songwriting.

A less quirky Ani Difranco, shooting straight from the heart.
Ane Brun – My Lover Will Go
Ane Brun – Rubber & Soul
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intimate songwriting // feminine rock and roll

American born Brisa Roché (real name La Brisa Day Roché) has traveled all over the world from her hometown in the north of California and currently residing in Paris, where she’s released her debut album The Chase (2005). After spending time in such countries as Russia and Romania (where she toured as a young teen), New Mexico (where she continued pursuing her private vision of jazz) and plenty of other places, she finally gets back to Paris where she dives into jazz as a way of life.
Intimate, jazzy, widely influenced yet so very individual.

Brisa Roché – Mystery Man
Brisa Roché – Coco
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female vocal // acoustic soul // downtempo

All I need is a sweet voice singing soul to convert me to from an overworked stressball to a free-breathing guy contentedly driving back home to his ‘regular’ life. And to that end, I thank you, Corinne Bailey Rae. She has emerged from an unknown status to be a hotly tipped solo female vocalist poised to be the next India.Arie. Her website aptly describes her tune ‘Like A Star’: “a slice of sublime Billie Holiday Blues delivered with a voice that pins you, in the softest but most persuasive of ways.” Delicious. Try ‘Enchantment’ if you want a little more Morcheeba-like motion.
A voice that floats effortlessly, full of caress and subtle quality.

Corinne Bailey Rae – Like A Star
Corinne Bailey Rae – Enchantment

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singer-songwriter // acoustic folk

Acoustic starlet Antje Duvekot has been captivating the ears of East Coast audiences ever since she came over from Germany as a teenager. Why, precisely? The girl can write. She placed both 1st and 2nd in the prestigious John Lennon songwriting contest and was also a finalist in the USA Songwriting Competition. Her song “Judas” first hit my own ears from local Boston radio station WERS. Part of the allure is making the religious familial (a la Christopher Moore), part is the unexpected lyrics, but the bulk of my attraction is the uplifting melodic lines that make listening such a joy. And before you go tell people about her, you’ll want to know the proper pronounciation: On-tyeh Doo-ve-kot.
Well-excuted songwriting: thoughtful, delicate, and sublime.

Antje Duvekot – Judas
Antje Duvekot – Dandelion
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Most know her as the steamy voice behind Frou Frou, whose single “Let Go” raced up the bestseller lists with the debut of 2004’s Garden State. But Imogen Heap is a solo artist twisting together strands of classical, pop and electronica into an accessible but beguiling sound. Her new CD, Speak For Yourself, matches lush natural instrumentation against electronic pop creativity – an impressive record from an Essex, England-born girl. I had a chance to ask Miss Heap about her music and future. The interview below is laced with mp3s for your multimedia enjoyment.

Funny you should ask as i met him for the first time last night at a gig I did at the El Ray in LA along with all the other guys on the Hotel Cafe tour. Totally unexpectedly walked right into the dressing room with about 20 mates while i was doing my hair. I saw him walk through the door and ran up to him like an old friend and gave him a massive hug. It was only then i realized i’d never met the guy before and that maybe that was a bit weird but he was totally cool and we were both saying how much of a fan we both were of each others work. I played Let Go that night for him. Cary Brothers is a mate of his (he’s was on the tour with us) and was also on the Garden State soundtrack. He told me the story of how it was the last song they needed to tie up the film. There were days to go and still nothing was sitting right. Everyone was frantically trying to find that song and then it was Zach girlfriend who came up with the idea of Let Go for that final scene. BIG thankyou to her!

Was Frou Frou meant to be a part-time thing between your own solo albums? Can we expect more music to be released from you and Guy Sigsworth?

Guy and I had never spoken of a second album. I think it was understood that i feel more comfortable as being a solo artist though he knows i love working with him. We’ve worked together on albums since i was 17! He produced my debut album’s first single “getting scared”. I was a huge fan of his first band Acacia. Their album Cradle is still one of my all time favorites. I’m sure we’ll work together in the future as we’ve always done in the past. I feel kinda selfish being in a band with him too as he’s such an amazing producer he needs to spread and share the Sigsworth love!

You signed with Almo Sounds as a teenager? Your first album there, i Megaphone, was a really strong debut. Comparisons are often drawn to Alanis Morrisette, Tori Amos, and Liz Phair – how do you see your earlier music now in retrospect?
Imogen Heap – Come Here Boy from i Megaphone (1998)

I very rarely listen to i Megaphone but i love it when i do. It reminds me of me as a teenager. It’s just like looking at old photos except i’m not embarrassed of them. People change a lot between the ages of 17 and 27 and it’s no different with music. I’ve learned a ton in that time in working with all the different bands from Urban Species, to Jeff Beck, to Frou Frou. I think lyrically is where i see the biggest step up from my debut. I think the music of i Megaphone is still very fresh and exciting. I don’t feel like it dates. I hope that this new album will never sound dated either. Vocally i am much happier with the way i sing now. I feel it’s more honest. Sometimes i listen to i Meg and hear me put on these voices. A kind of cod-american accent. I don’t like it when i did that looking back but i didn’t hear it at the time.

The anthemic a capella single “Hide and Seek” features your versatile voice both natural and manipulated, creating a really unique sound. Walk me through how the track was created.
Imogen Heap – Hide And Seek from Speak For Yourself (2005)

It was a sweet how that song happened. I had had a really bad “day at the office” as my shiny new computer blew up on me. Real puff of smoke and sparks material. i was about to leave the studio defeated which is always a bad thing. Those days can spiral into weeks and it’s important to try to do at least one thing in a day you’re happy with. Out of the corner of my eye i spotted my harmonizer (a little box that you hook up to a keyboard via midi so you can play in the notes you want your voice to transpose to in real time). I hadn’t yet written anything with this piece of gear but had always wanted to do an a cappella on this album. I powered it up and connected my microphone into the box and recorded the output to my minidisk. The first thing i sung/played and four minutes later was and is the melody and harmony of the final version. Lyrically it wasn’t all there apart from “Where are we, what the hell is going on?” and some random lines but i had the idea of Hide and Seek a while beforehand. It was like magic. Just as i struck the last chord a train went by outside the window and you can hear this in the final version. There was something so special about this version i was gutted it had no lyrics really to speak of but every breath and chord of the demo i copied as best i could to get everything from that 2am moment onto the record. I love this song as it feels as if it’s not mine because it took so little time to finish as others take weeks, months! Feels like a gift.

It’s incredible to me that you have both a blog and a flickr account – I read you even found the photographer for your liner notes on flickr! How does the blog and such help you connect with fans?

i started up my blog originally for helping me get things done in the studio when making the album. Going at it alone meant there was nobody there keeping me in check. I would spend 2 weeks on something that was slowing me down when i should have left it and come back to the problem at a later date when i was clear headed. The blog was set up so as i could write my thoughts of the day at the studio and keep a track of myself. You can go by a day and not get anything done and not feel too bad about it but if you feel someone’s watching you somehow these things don’t happen so often. It really helped me to focus and i started to set myself goals for the next day. Seeing a problem written down definitely helps to open up the solution just by seeing it written down. It seems like less of a big deal. It was fun then when the guys on the board started to talk about what i was up to. I’d get all sorts in my email from thanks, to suggestions to encouragement. When i was really stuck with the lyrics to Daylight Robbery i took it to the babble board. Set up a poll and asked the guys to choose one of three lyrical directions. I gave them a few days and once through i wrote the song with that theme in mind. I finished the song in no time after that because it wasn’t just for me now I was doing it for all of them too. I’ve had so much fun on the road meeting a lot of the ibabblers. Putting faces to avatars and screen names. It really is a cool community on there and they’re a really creative bunch.

I like that you use your blog as a way to keep yourself on track rather than a way to procrastinate.
Are you going to be doing vocals on any upcoming projects?

I’ve been doing all sorts since the record. Vocals for a band called Blue October, Temposhark also a remix for them which will be out in January, J peter Schwalm, a song for the movie “Just like heaven”, “spooky”. I’ve also been dabbling in production and have got something REALLY exciting coming up in the next couple of weeks that i can’t talk about because you never know what may happen…but if all goes to plan it’s going to be HUGE!!!

I provide the readers of my site with great music they’ve probably not heard.. are there any tracks that you’ve been listening to recently that you’d recommend?

Avril’s new album (not the Lavigne variety) “Member’s only” is one of my faves right now. Also into this Danish rock/electronic band Carpark North “All things to all people”. I’ve just come off of a tour and there was a guy touring with us called Jim Bianco who I really liked too. His album out now is “Handsome Devil”.

Imogen’s Picks:
Avril – Urban Serenade from Member’s Only (2004)
Carpark North – Human from All Things to All People (2005)
Jim Bianco – Handsome Devil (Reprise) from Handsome Devil (2004)

Thank you kindly, Imogen. :)

My pleasure!! xxx

singer songwriter //indie folk

My roommate “hates” this song. She had to leave my room because it was worsening her headache. Oddly, I would think the calm nature of this song would have the opposite effect. In fact, I’m rather taken with Miss Veirs’ songwriting ability. She’s on the impressive Nonesuch Records roster and is touring with Sufjan Stevens now. “Fire Snakes” comes off her upcoming release “Year of Meteors” and delivers a deliberate and weighted musical message with minimal, but effective, instrumentation. The first two seconds will capture you. The deep bass at 0:40 will make you want to stay a prisoner of this song. Some subtle bird-like electronic elements mingle into this song, but allow the middle cello line to force this beautiful song onto you.
‘Careful, word-conscious, narrative, neither foggy nor overwritten‘

Laura Veirs – Fire Snakes
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