LISTEN!! Digital Music News: Seattle Beats, Exiled Composers, Ambient Aspergers, Punk Anniversaries, World Music Geeks
by darla
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POP / ELECTRO ROCK
Emma's Mini: Glamorously Femme Electropop
Emma's Mini is a duo based in Seattle, WA. In April of 2003 they self-released this album, "Beat Generation Mad Trick". Taking their cue from bands such as Lamb, Massive Attack and Moloko, Emma's Mini seamlessly blends Suzanne McClean's rich, lush vocals with Demian Shoemaker's innovative beats and soundscapes.
CLASSICAL / CHAMBER MUSIC
Colin Booth: Solo Harpsichord Music
Peter Philips, one of the great musical geniuses of the age of Queen Elizabeth I, was forced into exile in Europe because of religious intolerance in England, following the failed Spanish Armada. Not only did he become a famous composer throughout the continent, but his music, unlike his person, was celebrated in his home country. This album, "Peter Philips - The English Exile", has received enthusiastic praise from reviewers. Listen to Colin Booth play the music of Philips on a large and unusual harpsichord -- a copy of an Italian 17th Century instrument with two keyboards.
AMBIENT / ELECTRONIC
Dr. Sounds: Spacey Ambient/Dark New Age
Dr. Sounds is Alexander Forselius, a Romanian-born artist, creating spacey, ambient/dark, new age tracks using mostly free software packages. Alex has Aspergers Syndrome and feels he is a little different in thinking about and experiencing the world. "I think my brain values mathematics and logic before feelings...I mostly feel integrated with the computer, and feel a deep relationship with it...my experience in childhood, and autistic experience of the unorganized social world, is transmuted to unique, illustrative, ambient soundtracks that don't follow a given musical genre."
PUNK / ROCK
Rocket City Riot: High Energy Rock and Roll
Snotty punk rock reminiscent of the Sex Pistols. This 10th-anniversary redux of "We Name the Guilty Men" is raw and vital rock and roll that shakes your teeth. You will hear songs about love, death, and drinking, the holy trinity of punk rock. This is not the kind of music that RCR makes anymore, so get it while the getting is good.
WORLD / FOLK
Kara Nomadica: A Fresh New Sound Driven by Traditional Arabic and Turkish Rhythms
Kara Nomadica is a fusion of ancient and exotic instruments from the Middle-East, North Africa, and Australia. This album is driven by traditional iqaat (rhythms) and maqamat (micro-tonal scales) of Turkey and the Arab world. The band explores original compositions and breathes new life into a select repertoire of traditional Middle-Eastern classics. Denver music reviewer John Zwick says, "Kara Nomadica is what happens when you bring together a mess of overqualified music geeks with Middle Eastern instruments you've never heard of...it's a damn captivating sound."
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