Sensual but tough, French chanteuse Caroline Lacaze’s sings from the heart on her debut ‘En Route’. After moving to Hamburg to write and sing her own music, she hooked up with Germany’s finest in Funk; The Mighty Mocambo’s aka The Mocambo Electric Sound Orchestra. She unifies a French style with mod revival; singing from the coeur about love, passion, anger and sadness. A full pocket of stories with lo-fi production that comes off as an honest homage to the seventies. Brash and bright, play this out loud to boost your day.
The music of Lisbon-born and London-based songstress Carmen Souza is hard to categorize, but easy to love. In her recent studio-album Kachupada (2013), Carmen embodies the influences of traditional Cape Verdean sounds, American jazz, Latin, Afro-Caribbean rhythms and more. Carmen’s remarkably soulful voice is the center of it all, as she easily swings through exotic beats and mellow jazz tones with a feeling of saudade. Her version of Charlie Parker’s bebop classic “Donna Lee” sounds festive, danceable and extraordinary original.
In my hunt for a loud, abrasive sound, I found Waylon Thornton’s guitar riff drum pounding garage surf Lake Butler, Florida grit to finally satisfy. After listening to the 20+ albums he’s unleashed over the span of five years, the instrumental Black Salt became my favorite.. for a time. Eventually storms subside and I mosey along; catching inspiration or simply exploring until I’m somewhere. Drifting down New River Vol.1, parting clouds shape imagination and cooling water splashes my face as I lay on a raft of improvised twangy acoustic tunes. Their scenic, contemplative spirit holds freedom, struggle, wisdom, and genuine splendor.
If the ’50s had sampling, New Zealand export Willy Moon would be a flashback. But at the age of 23, his brash mix of rock & roll’s early days and contemporary sampling turns the clock forward to a bold new charm. Before settling into his new home of London, UK, this autodidact ditched school at 16 and shaped his raw sounds with sojourns in Valencia, Morocco, and Berlin; evolving from hip-hop and club into sonic sledgehammers having sole-blistering effect. Willy’s supercharged collage of well-known samples, combined with his unique retro vocals, makes a fiercely catchy package, and his visual style looks equally well mastered in a slick ‘Rat Pack’ refined naughtiness.
Smokin’ hot throwback beat explosions.Willy Moon – I Wanna Be Your Man Willy Moon – Railroad Track + Purchase/Visit
The avant-garde pop songstress Lia Ices possesses the theatrical glamour of Florence Welch, while her husky, half-whispered vocals are reminiscent of Joanna Newsom, Kate Bush and Cat Power. Lia’s album Grown Uknown (2011) offers minimalist folk music with hand clap percussion, baroque strings and her cuttingly sweet voice. It’s the kind of record probably best listened to as a single coherent work and it’s been my soundtrack for the long cold winter nights.
Designs similar to Atupele’sPictures on Silence have intrigued me, but there is a quality in this 20 y/o’s Michigan Malawi purpose that lava lamps me to a greater plane – liquidating my conscious inside an orb of electronic bass and faint promiscuous echo. Slow Koreless to a hibernating burrow then resurrect in soulful bounty.
Heavy beat patterns your mind spotless. Atu – Let Me Atu – The Duo ft Sango + Purchase/Visit
Nourished by Sierra mountains, wilderness, and home; cherished by sharing joy through wedding stories; Drew Barefoot renders a threshold baring nature’s cathedral in tone.. and in tune with finding hidden felicity. In a sermon from rustling leaves, or remedial gossip between wind and Forrest Creatures, there is an ageless desire for comfort and trust that is searching for awareness of Heaven from one’s touch. Spiritual union carrying you to a new world; or, for now; simple notes combining soft Iron and acoustic Wine into gently triumphant Explosions in the Sky above underground springs of piano and banjo.
Daughter, the trio of London-based vocalist and guitarist Elena Tonra, electric guitarist Igor Haefeli and drummer Remi Aguilella, brings to the world painfully beautiful songs. Their sound is a refreshing mix of folk, tender acoustic and ambient soundscapes. However, it’s the wistful lyrics and Elena’s haunting vocals that create the magic, which will send shivers down your spine.
Producer Crypto.Jori (Jori Collignon) and vocalist/visual artist Cata.Pirata (Catarina Aimée Dahms) wrote and recorded “Riots in the Jungle” while traveling urban townships of South Africa, forming an unheard melting pot of original music that blends traditional sounds from Africa, South America and Europe into explosive electro-punk attitude and modern day wobble. Showing a typical Dutch blunt open-mindedness, coupled to schizophrenic traditions still present in South Africa, Skip & Die draws from their personal experiences to tell a story spanning multiple continents in a waterfall of languages.
World music on acid brings the noise. Skip&Die – Jungle Riot Skip&Die – Lihlwempu Lomlungu (with Driemanskap) + Purchase/Visit
Firey Soul, Doo-Wop, Rhythm n’ Blues are smashed together by Clairy Browne & The Bangin’ Rackettes to create a big sound with an 18-carat edge. These cats mix retro styles like a bartender with 2-day stubble in a juke joint, breaking down ’40s and ’50s Jive into a modern flare. Clairy’s voice lets through emotion in gasps and wails, supported by her gang of Rackettes spitting out background vocals you don’t wanna mess with. The band delivers smoking licks through Australian airwaves resulting in a hot plate that’ll surely blow your top.
Finger snappin’ ooohhss and bop-bop she’do-bops. Clairy Browne – I’ll Be Fine Clairy Browne – She Plays Up To You + Purchase/Visit
Aurgasm seeks to bring you an eclectic menagerie of aural pleasures. We scout out music you've never heard and deliver only the finest. Expect music curiously different, yet simply enjoyable...
Paul Irish is a music-loving web geek in San Francisco.
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