Music Mondays

Hello, hullo.

Wow. What a crazy weekend, infact a wonderful weekend or couple of days should I say of live music.
On Wednesday I had the chance to go and check out some fresh acts at Communion's night, held in Leeds. There really is nothing that beats live music in a really small venue, so relaxed and a great atmosphere, one guy actually got off stage and did a sing-a-long camp fire esque acoustic song with the audience. Yes, there were only twenty of us but it was incredibly good.

On Thursday I went along to another gig, this time my friends band, I think it was actually their third gig ever. However, yesterday I went and saw the big names in pop. Jay Z, Rihanna, Florence & The Machine etc...

Yes, I am also keen on the above, who'd have thought it hey. I don't just listen to folk and therefore thought I may mix it up a little this week. One thing however, I really hate all this over produced use of pop and techno noise. Noise, is all I can describe it is, so there will be none of that I am afraid. Of course, I still keep my folkie roots.

So, without further ado. Here goes.

First up,

Oh Land - White Nights

Born in Copenhagen, this Danish singer-songwriter now resides in Brooklyn, New York. Born to musician parents, her father, an organist, her mother, an opera singer, the future seemed fairly certain for Nanna Oland Fabricius, best known by her stage name Oh Land.

Oh Land did infact start as a dancer, a former student of both the Royal Danish and Royal Swedish Ballet schools. However, a spinal fracture ended her career in dancing, leading her to start making music.

Oh Land's debut album, Fauna, was released in 2008 by independent label Fake Diamond Records. Her follow up album came three years later and reached number five on the Danish Albums Chart.

Following her US debut TV performance on Late Show with David Letterman, this album was released as her debut in the States. This led to a performance on the Jimmy Kimmel Live! show and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

From there on, the future has looked incredibly well for Oh Land. Touring with the likes of Sia and Katy Perry on her California Dreams tour through US, UK and Ireland. Infact, it was in the UK on this very tour that I had the pleasure of seeing Oh Land.

Her stage presence and persona is a unique and fresh approach to the music industry.  The above song, White Nights is my personal favourite, taken from her self titled, second studio album, Oh Land.




Blood Orange - Forget It 

This guy sounds like just the perfect man, having drunkenly found himself singing Janet Jackson songs to Jay Z and landing a consultancy job at the rapper's fashion label need I say more?

Having been invited to the birthday party of Solange Knowles, the next day, he awoke to a meeting request as "Jay's" office, along with the Knowles sisters.

Born in Houston Texas, Devonte Hynes, better known as Blood Orange or previously as Lightspeed Champion, is a singer-songwriter, producer, artist and author! Raised in Essex from the age of 2, he has written for the likes of Florence Welch and The Chemical Brothers.

He now resides in New York and is a prolific musician, having supported the likes of The Wombats and Florence & The Machine.

'Blood Orange' was the new musical project by Dev Hynes, focusing on electronica. His record, Coastal Grooves was released in August 2011 on Domino Records. Forget It was one of two singles to be released from the full length record. His work has also been featured on UK show, Skins.



Death Cab for Cutie - You Are A Tourist

Formed in 1997, this American alternative rock band consist of Ben Gibbard on vocals, guitar and piano, Chris Walls - guitarist, keys and production, Nick Harmer, bass and Jason McGerr, drums.

Formed in Washington to date, the band have released seven studio albums, five EPs and one demo. Their music has been described as indie rock, alternative rock and are praised for their use of unconventional instrumentals and lyrical style.

Their name was formed following a song featuring in The Beatles film, Magical Mystery Tour. The band's latest album was released in May 2011, drawing comparisons rife to the likes of The Stone Roses. The album, Codes and Keys was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album at the 54th Grammy Awards.

This year sees the band tour across the globe, visiting the likes of Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia. They will also be gracing the European festivals this summer.




The Drums - Book of Revolution 

From looking at the above, I am already sold. Having seen them live, I can tell you, they really are phenomenal.

In 2009, the American indie pop band hailing from NY were shortlisted for the BBC Sound of 2010, later placed at number 5 on the prestigious list.

In February 2010, the Drums performed a string of UK dates, playing alongside the likes of The Maccabees and Bombay Bicycle Club for the NME Awards Tour. This followed by landing support slots for Florence & The Machine's 2010 Cosmic Love tour and Kings of Leon's Hyde Park date, London. Not half bad for a bunch of lads from Brooklyn, two of which met at Summer camp when they were just 12/13.

In May 2010, they performed on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, raising eyebrows and critical acclaim from many. Their debut album was released a month later containing singles such as Let's Go Surfing and Down By The Water. 

However, it's not been all plain sailing for these lovely lot, with the band revealing that they almost split due to stylistic disagreements. It seems the band became fragile and in September 2010, guitarist Adam Kessler left the band.


Luckily, the music doesn't reflect the above and The Drums continue to create brilliant, nostalgic pop records, notably influenced by the likes of The Smiths, Joy Division and New Order.




Howler - The One's Different

Howler, consisting of Jordan Gatesmith (lead guitar and vocals) Brent Mayes (drums) Ian Nygaard  (guitar) and Max Petrek (bass), are an indie rock band from Minnesota.

Having received international recognition, they have developed quite a following, especially from NME, who named Howler their third Best New Band for 2011.

Formed in 2010 out of boredom by a nineteen year old Greensmith, their success has gone from strength to strength. In 2011, their EP was sent to Rough Trade Records without their knowledge, later landing them a record deal. Following this, the band supported The Vaccines on their UK tour.

Their debut album, America Give Up was released in early 2012 and the band quickly set off on tour, travelling to the likes of United States, UK, Europe, Brazil and Japan. They too will be doing their rounds of the UK's festival circuit, performing at Lattitude and Benicassim.



I hope you've enjoyed today's line up and I will be sure to upload them on the spotify for you to listen, for completely free. In the meantime, until next Monday - have a super week and let's hope the sun comes out.





PS. Tanja is going to make everybody jealous with the fact she's going home tomorrow so from me, have a fantastic time and I hope the journey is one full of awesome music and comfort :) xx