BRAZA

Artist / Band: BRAZA
Song (MP3): SON DO BRAZA
Album: Brazonics
File Under: Hip Hop / Rap /
Label: discod.com
Info: Brasil has long been a country known for providing sexy rhythms and erotic culture, as well as its explosive favelas or ‘slums’ made famous by the critically acclaimed movie City of God. It is also a place giving birth to new sounds of international music, ranging from the favela’s baile funk to its own brand of hip hop. The latest movement is being paved by newly formed group, BRAZA which encompasses US Rap, Brasilian music and Funk Carioca. BRAZA, which means 'fire' in Portugese and is slang for Brasil, consists of three members: Cabal, Mr. Bomba and Preto Rima, whom are all established artists/producers individually. All hailing from Sao Paulo, they each bring different skills and sounds to the table. Mr. Bomba, the oldest member of the crew, hails from one of the most influential groups of Brazil "SP Funk," who are responsible for changing Brasilian rap from solely militant political rhymes to a more accessible sound. Bomba is also a top-notch MC and producer with two SP Funk albums under his belt released by Trama Music, the largest and most respected indie label in South America. He also learned English through listening to American hip hop music, drawing influence from the likes of Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, and Nas. Cabal, called Brasil's breakthrough artist of 2004, is a top rapper well known for his single "Senhorita" – the first song in Brasilian history to sell 100,000 ringtones; and a new tune called "Mexe seu Corpo," which is blazing up the Brasilian airwaves in heavy rotation. In addition to working with BRAZA, Cabal will be releasing his first solo album "Prova Cabal" on Prohiphop/Universal Music Brasil. read more from the source...

COOL CALM PETE

Artist / Band: COOL CALM PETE
Song (MP3): LOST
Album: Lost
File Under: East Coast Rap
Label: http://www.embeddedmusic.net/

Info: Out of the wreckage of a broken junk-bot, emerges unscathed, Cool Calm Pete. One third of the underground outfit Babbletron, Calm Pete is the one whose words come slower. The precision of slow flow may be lost on some, but to the big brain females out there, here comes trouble. His new album, Lost is going to ring bells like Bob James on the first four bars of “Mardi Gras.”
While a child running wild through the streets of New York City, this Queens traditionalist MC studied the manuscripts. Calm Pete understands the last 15 years of rapping. He doesn’t rhyme for the sake of riddling, because he knows better. Calm Pete carries weight. The weight of not being an idiot. He understands his words, he understands his rhyme scheme, he understands why he raps and he understands why he makes beats. There are few other MC’s that are as well versed without coming off like a nerd. It is all balanced because the slow words come from a quick tongue planted firmly in his cheek.
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ACEYALONE

Artist / Band: ACEYALONE
Song (MP3): ALL FOR YOU
Album: Magnificent City
File Under: West Coast Rap
Label: www.deconmedia.com
Info: A founding member of Freestyle Fellowship, Aceyalone played an important role in the evolution of literate hip-hop on the West Coast during an era when hardcore gangsta rap reigned. Following the dissolution of the group, Aceyalone embarked on a solo career that never resulted in enormous success but did allow him to maintain his revered status within the West Coast underground hip-hop scene. He debuted solo on All Balls Don't Bounce (1995) and followed-up with A Book of Human Language (1998). After a three-year absence from the hip-hop scene, Aceyalone returned in 2001 with Accepted Eclectic, an album released by the Ground Control label, which also re-released his debut album. A new label, Project Blowed, issued 2002's Hip Hop and the World We Live In and 2003's Love & Hate, the latter featuring collaborations with El-P and Antipop Consortium. In 2004 Project Blowed secured the rights to All Balls Don't Bounce from Capitol and reissued it with a bonus disc, bringing not only extra music, but reviving the album after many years as an out of print item. Early in 2006, Aceyalone released Magnificent City, a collaboration record with underground producer RJD2. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide read more from the source...

MURMANSK

Artist / Band: MURMANSK
Song (MP3): 2ND FLOOR THRASH
Album: Teeth EP
File Under: Indie
Info: Murmansk hail from Finland and are based in the capital Helsinki. They are currently unsigned but will be relasing their Teeth EP in March 2006.The band play a blend of well crafted indie rock with some fine guitar playing whilst lead singer Elisabeth's voice is superb and is quite defining without dominating the actual songs.
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EX-BOYFRIENDS

Artist / Band: EX-BOYFRIENDS
Song (MP3): WILLINGLY
Album: Dear John
File Under: Pop Punk / Indie / Rock
Label: Absolutely Kosher
Info:.ex–bf.com
Ex-Boyfriends formed in the spring of2003 when guitarist/vocalist Colin Daly and drummer/vocalist Chris Ohnesorge decided to get together and kick their post-band breakup blues by trying out a new musical project. Colin brought in a bunch of songs he was working on and the chemistry was instantaneous.Realizing they needed a third member to make the sound complete, they recruited Peter Harb on bass/vocals and the power trio model fit perfectly. Armed with a truckload of stick-inyour- head songs about their own ex-boyfriends and girlfriends, love gone wrong, addiction, drama-addled friends and the need for you to dance at their shows, Colin, Peter and Chris
are poised to be everyone’s favorite Ex-Boyfriends. Ex-Boyfriends have played with bands
like The Thermals, Rogue Wave, The Heavenly States, The Reputation and Oranger.

CONTROLLER.CONTROLLER

Artist / Band: CONTROLLER.CONTROLLER
Song (MP3): POISON/SAFE
Album: X-Amounts
File Under: Indie / New Wave / Alternative
Label: paperbag records
Info: As Controller.Controller prepare to release their first full-length album, we are asked to consider the “X-amounts”. What are the elusive ingredients that set this band – and, perhaps more importantly, this record – apart from all others? Where will this collection of songs take us? This is, after all, the band that called its first EP, History, thus setting it along a continuum of music past, present and future.
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THE GOSSIP

Artist / Band: THE GOSSIP
Song (MP3): STANDING IN THE WAY OF CONTROL
Album: Standing in the Way of Control
File Under: Punk / Soul / Experimental
Label: K Records
Info: Gossip is young + full of blood. We have existed for 5 years. We are a punk band consisting of 3. We are interested in art, change, the underground, dancing, fashion, punk history, crime and movements. We will nvr die. We are artists, poets, cooks, writers, feminisits, designers, musicians & djs. This is life dedication to action, passion & drive. We are from Arkansas (Beth & Brace) + Washington (Hannah). We have three full length albums ('Movement' + 'Thats not what i heard' + 'Standing in the way of control'), various 7"s & no pets among us. We have toured with Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Le Tigre, Erase Errata, John Spencer Blues Explosion, Stereo Total, White Stripes, Sonic Youth, Sleater Kinney, Har Mar Superstar, Les Georges Leningrad, The Kills, Tracy + the plastics & Glass Candy. We just recorded our new Lp "Standing in the way of control" with Guy Picciotto (hes in Fugazi & has recorded Blonde Redhead, Quixotic, The Crainium, Fugazi and lots of other good shit) & Ryan Hadlock at Bear Creek studios in Seattle (the Lionel Ritchie song 'Dancing on the ceiling' was also recorded there!). The new Lp titled "Standing in the way of control" comes out January 24th on Kill Rock Stars. We will be releasing the "Standing in the way of control" dance 12" October 11th on Krs as well. It comes backed with a remix by our homies Le Tigre & art done by Brace & Kim Gordon. read more from the source...

VOXTROT

Artist / Band: VOXTROT
Song (MP3): MOTHERS, SISTERS, DAUGHTERS & WIVES
Album: MOTHERS, SISTERS, DAUGHTERS & WIVES
File Under: Pop / Indie / Rock
Label: cult hero
Info: With one foot in the library and the other on the dancefloor, Voxtrot combine classic 60's pop (think Love and Left Banke) with the heady, subversive sounds of 80's Britain and still come out ahead of their time. Originally conceived as an outlet for vocalist Ramesh Srivastava to record a handful of songs he had written, it soon became apparent that Voxtrot was meant to be more than a home recording project. Voxtrot has toured the US throughout most of 2005 in support of their Raised By Wolves EP, turning heads at SXSW, CMJ and SF Popfest.
from the source...

FLAMING LIPS

Artist / Band: FLAMING LIPS
Song (MP3): THE WAND
Album: At War With The Mystics
File Under: Flaming Lips
Info: 'At War With The Mystics' will be released on 3/4 April (depending where you live) and we decided it was time to drag some thoughts about the record out of Lips multi-instrumental maestro Steven Drozd...
Wayne has been describing 'At War With The Mystics' as being more of a rock record than recent efforts, with the Lips being inspired by their live performances of Black Sabbath's 'War Pigs' to get back to playing guitars and building songs from there. Listening to the record, it's easy to see where he's coming from but, beyond the kind of rock grooves you might expect the Lips to bring alongside their riffs, there also seems to be a bit of a weird funk feel bubbling under some of the songs, such as 'Free Radicals' and 'It Overtakes Me'. A Lips-style space funk, if you will... Steven concedes, "Early on in the 'At War' sessions, we started getting into an old new wave funk classic track called 'Ride The White Horse' by this band Laid Back. It's such a simple and silly song and I think it just kinda stayed with us as we were working on stuff..." Not only that but some of the songs like 'Pompeii Am Gotterdammerung', which Steven sings the lead on and describes as 'the one with the Pink Floyd/Doctor Who thing going on', still keep that familiar Lips leaning towards prog (as opposed to the heavier riffs and fuzz of, say, 'The W.A.N.D.') - "I have to agree that an instrumental tune ('The Wizard Turns On') floating along with Rhodes and Synth Flute could probably be called prog! But I do think 'The Soft Bulletin' was way more prog influenced as a record..."
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AVO-8

Artist / Band: AVO-8
Song (MP3): IS THIS THE END?
File Under: Indie
Info: AVO-8 first began way back in the mists of 1979. We are not too concerned about this incarnation, it will be enough to say that there was a single released on Stroppo Records in 1980 called "Gone Wrong" and that two of the protagonists were also involved in the AVO-8 we knew and loved more recently (Stephen Hastie & Kenny Gourlay).
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PARKS AND RECREATION

Artist / Band: PARKS AND RECREATION
Song (MP3): MAYBE THE MOON KNOWS SOMETHING
Album: What was she doing o the shore that night
File Under: Indie Pop
Label: hush records
Info: Parks and Recreation was born out of Michael Johnson’s solo project, Reclinerland when in 2005 the band swelled to a five piece, justifying, even calling for a name change. Michael, together with Anthony Georgis (American Girls), Jason Hughes (Periscope), Joe Ballman (Nordic) and Bob Ham (Rally Boy) have forged an undeniably entertaining live combo. What Was She Doing On The Shore That Night? -- recorded with Adam Selzer at Portland’s Type Foundry Studios (The Decemberists, M Ward, Norfolk and Western, Blanket Music) -- is their debut, bridging the transition from songwriter to tightly knit band.
read more from the source...

MELLOWDRONE

Artist / Band: MELLOWDRONE
Song (MP3): OH MY
Album: Box
File Under: Psychedelic / Rock
Label: 3e/red ink/columbia
Info: Mellowdrone’s singer, guitarist and chief songwriter, Jonathan Bates admits that he has a compulsive streak when it comes to making music. “I don’t like playing a song the same way twice, which will either win people over or do me in,” he says with a laugh. “For me a song is never really done because the possibilities are limitless if you start out with a great chord progression and a strong melody. That’s what fascinates me about songwriting – once you have the foundation, you can build anything you want on top of it and then you can tear it down and start over again.” “I can’t wait to get these songs out on the road with the band” Bates says of Mellowdrones’ upcoming winter tour. “I’ll be like a kid in the candy store because I’ll get a chance to reinvent the songs every night.”
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PLAYLIST MUZORAMA 12 FEBRUARY 2006

THE HORROR THE HORROR - I LOST MY GIRL TO ALCOHOL / THE HORROR THE HORROR
THE APPARITIONS - ELECTRICITY + DRUMS / AS THIS IS FUTURISTIC
MY DARLING YOU! - EVERYTHING, ALLRIGHT?!
EELS - BUS STOP BOXER / LIVE AT TOWN HALL
EINE OLIVER TWIST KOOPERATION - HELIOTROP
LOUIS XIV- LOUIS XIV/LA MIX / LOUIS XIV
UNARMED ENEMIES - THE BINGING
THE MOTORCYCLE BOY - YOU AND ME AGAINST THE WORLD
FIGURINES - RIVALRY / SKELETON
DEVOTCHKA - SUCH A LOVELY THING / HOW IT ENDS
DESTROYER - EUROPEAN OILS / DESTROYER'S RUBIES
YOUNG REPUBLIC -BLUE SKIES / MODERN PLAYS
MOOSE -THE ONLY MAN IN TOWN / HIGH BALL ME
LUCKY MISU - SATURDAY SUNDAY/ DON´T TELL THE KIDS
THE LEFT OUTSIDES - CLOUDS HILL

EELS

Artist / Band: EELS
Song (MP3): BUS STOP BOXER
Album: LIVE AT TOWN HALL
File Under: Indie
Label: http://www.vagrant.com/
Info: You never know what you'll get when you attend an EELS concert. One year it's vocoders and synthesizers, the next it's gritty garage rock. None of this is designed for the sake of versatility so much as it is for answering the deep-rooted creative needs of EELS leader Mark Oliver Everett, aka E. read more from the source...

YOUNG REPUBLIC

Artist / Band: YOUNG REPUBLIC
Song (MP3): BLUE SKIES
Album: MODERN PLAYS

Info: The Young Republic formed during the fall of 2004 in Boston, MA. All nine members enrolled at the same music school and met with in weeks of commencement. They started rehearsing and writing songs and before the semester was over, they performed for a few friends and schoolmates in the cafeteria. As first shows go, it went well enough. Their school wasn’t really crazy about the new band and still isn’t today. Regardless, The Young Republic felt accomplished and kept practicing a couple times a week, excited about the possibilities of more shows in the future. Two days before the winter holiday, the group’s original cellist quit at their Christmas party.read more from the source...

Destroyer

Artist / Band: Destroyer
Song (MP3): European Oils
Album: Destroyer's Rubies
File Under: Pop, Rock
Label: http://www.mergerecords.com/

Info: A new year, 2006, marks the return of Vancouver’s Dan Bejar with his seventh full-length release under the moniker Destroyer. If there has been any precedent set or pattern developed over the previous six recordings in the Destroyer canon, it’s that Bejar holds little regard for convention or expectations. Never one to rest on laurels, each successive Destroyer release always explores new sonic territories and ideas. We love Dan for that. read more from the source...

FIGURINES

Artist / Band: FIGURINES
Song (MP3): RIVALRY
Album: SKELETON
Info: Figurines was formed sometime in the mid 90s by the three childhood friends Christian Hjelm, Andreas Toft, and Claus S. Johansen. In 2001 they recorded the EP “The Detour” and shortly after that they were signed to Morningside Records. Later that year Kristian Volden (AKA Volle) joined the band, completing the ensemble that we see today.
read more from the source...

THE MOTORCYCLE BOY

Artist / Band: THE MOTORCYCLE BOY
Song (MP3): YOU AND ME AGAINST THE WORLD
File Under: Indie Pop
Label: Creation Records
Info: The origins of the Motorcycle Boy go back to Scotland 1985 when a band named after a Fire Engines b-side were formed - Meat Whiplash. They signed to Creation Records releasing one single for that label (which was produced by The Jesus & Mary Chain).
In 1987 the band recruited vocalist Alex Taylor from The Shop Assistants and changed their name to The Motorcycle Boy (from a character in the movie Rumblefish).
They signed to Rough Trade releasing one single for that label before signing to Chrysalis releasing two singles and one album for that label. From Chrysalis they moved onto Nymphaea Pink releasing another couple of singles before calling it a day in 1990.
The definitive line up was Alex Taylor, Paul McDermott, Michael Kerr, Eddy Connolly and David Scott.
More information of other releases Alex Taylor appeared on can be found here.
read more from the source...
http://indie-mp3.net/motorcycleboy/images/motorcycleboy.jpg

UNARMED ENEMIES

Artist / Band: UNARMED ENEMIES
Song (MP3): THE BINGING
Album: UNARMED ENEMIES EP
File Under: Pop / Electronica / Indie
Label: http://www.shaktar.nu/
Info: We're two middle-aged ex-models/actors, just trying to make it in the music industry as well. read more from the source...

LOUIS XIV

Artist / Band: LOUIS XIV
Song (MP3): LOUIS XIV/LA MIX
Album: ILLEGAL TENDER
File Under: Idie Rock
Label: Atlantic/Pineapple Recording Group
Info: Louis XIV: It's really just the name. It's like Led Zeppelin doesn't have much to do with ballons but they are a Rock & Roll band. The same way Louis XIV is a Rock & Roll band. We are just a very unique band. I think nobody sounds like us at the moment; or ever. Our first record we made, we recorded in France. It was a concept-album that had a little more to do with the name Louis XIV. But our new record is a more sexually driven record. It's different in all ways. Everything is not intended to be sort of royal in a way. In fact I usually try to shy away people from things like that. Because we are only a Rock & Roll band. It's sort of you try to say: "Smashing Pumpkins? Do they have anything to do with pumpkins patches or so?" I don't think so!. Or: "Led Zeppelin? Have they anything to do with big ballons flying in the air?" I mean Jimmy Page is Jimmy Page and has nothing to do with ballons, you know. read more from the source...

EINE OLIVER TWIST KOOPERATION

Artist / Band: EINE OLIVER TWIST KOOPERATION
Song (MP3): HELIOTROP
Album: tausend kleine tänze
File Under: Indie
Label: Rewika
Info: Some of you will know about The Oliver Twist Band and »Eine Oliver Twist Kooperation«, their latest incarnation, respectively. Remembering The Oliver Twist’s last release you might expect to find certain names like Die Goldenen Zitronen, Von Spar (with whom Eine Oliver Twist Kooperation share their vocalist), The Robocop Kraus, Liars, or The Make Up in bold type. You are mislead! None of the above will help us clarify the subject matter at hand! read more from the source...

MY DARLING YOU!

Artist / Band: MY DARLING YOU!
Song (MP3): EVERYTHING, ALLRIGHT?!
Album: none
File Under: Indie Pop
Label: Self
Info: My darling YOU! is Christoffer and Klas, from Goteborg and now also Hjalmared. We play popmusic on guitar, bass, organ and drums and synthesizer. Christoffer plays bass. Klas plays guitar and sings. The organ and synth was recorded by Klas once upon a time. The drums were recorded by a computer.We have recorded 2 CD-R, that can be bought, and the third is no longer CD-R but it's push&press.They cost some SEK each and were recorded at home among other places.read more from the source...

THE APPARITIONS

Artist / Band: THE APPARITIONS
Song (MP3): ELECTRICITY + DRUMS
Album: AS THIS IS FUTURISTIC
File Under: Rock / Pop / Indie
Label: http://www.machine-inc.com/
Info: Generally speaking, bands with three guitar players don't play lean-sounding music. The guitars usually overwhelm the other instruments with a wall of sound, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. But The Apparitions, from Lexington, Kentucky, don't pummel listeners with rock even though they have three guitarists (one also plays the keys). Instead, the group's new album, As This Is Futuristic, sounds full but not overwhelming. It's guitar-based power pop that's jangly, fuzzy, and full of infectious energy...read more from the source...

THE HORROR THE HORROR

Artist / Band: THE HORROR THE HORROR
Song (MP3): I LOST MY GIRL TO ALCOHOL
Album: THE HORROR THE HORROR
File Under: Indie
Label: www.tapeterecords.de
Info: First emerging in 2002, The Horror The Horror quickly gained a reputation as one of the most promising bands on the Stockholm club circuit. With their blend of influences including early New York punk bands such as Television, The Modern Lovers and Velvet Underground as well as the British indie scene of the early nineties, The Horror The Horror have developed a unique sound highly appraised by audiences and critics all over Sweden.
Their music combines a seemingly impossible blend of total nonchalance and heartfelt compassion. Holding it all together are the melodies that are the core of The Horror The Horror’s songs.
Awaiting the release of their debut album (scheduled early 2006) this first taste includes two songs from a band that will undoubtedly leave a mark on anyone who hears them.
read more from the source...

Playlist Muzorama 5 February

5WE ARE SCIENTISTS- IN ACTION /THE WOLF'S HOUR
LOVENINJAS - KEEP YOUR LOVE / KEEP YOUR LOVE EP
REUBENS ACCOMPLICE- ALL CHORUS/ THE BULL, THE BALLOON, AND THE FAMILY
THE ELECTED- NOT GOING HOME/ SUN, SUN, SUN
GOODNIGHT MONSTERS - 20 FINGERS 20 TOES
KELLEY STOLTZ - MEMORY COLLECTOR / BELOW THE BRANCHES
THE GLASS FAMILY - SWIMMING IN FICTION / SLEEP INSIDE THIS WHEEL
THE OCTAGON - DON'T BE ALARMED > THE WOLF
HEAD LIKE A KITE - NOICY AT THE CIRCUS / RANDOM PORTRAITS OF THE HOME
RAISING THE FAWN - CARBON PAPER / THE MAGINOT LINE
ROCKY VOTOLATO - PORTLAND IS LEAVING / MAKERS
NEKO CASE- STAR WITNESS / FOX CONFESSOR BRINGS THE FLOOD
DOVEMAN - HONEY / THE ACROBAT
EEF BARZELAY - BALLAD OF BITTER HONEY / BITTER HONEY
PELLE CARLBERG - GO TO HELL, MISS RYDELL /GO TO HELL, MISS RYDELL [EP]

RADIO MUZORAMA IS BROADCAST WEEKLY ON RADIO FORTUNA (FM106.9 , TBILISI, GEORGIA)PRODUCED BY KOMUNIKATORI

Doveman

Artist / Band: Doveman
Song (MP3): Honey
Album: Acrobat
File Under: insomnia pop
Label: swim slowly
Info: doveman plays lamp rockdoveman plays insomnia popdoveman likes jasmine tea and single malt scotchdoveman does not live in brooklynwhere is brooklyn?
doveman is:thomas bartlett--voice, piano, wurlitzer, pump organ, harmonium founding member of assembly, sometime member of elysian fields, chocolate genius, and mike doughty's band
read more from the source...

Neko Case

Artist / Band: Neko Case

Song (MP3): Star Witness

Album: Fox Confessor Brings The Flood

File Under: Country

Label: Anti
Info: When it comes to the art of telling tales, Jim Thompson had it pegged. “There are 32 ways to write a story,” the noir author famously observed, “but only one plot: Things are not as they seem.” The story of Neko Case, similarly, could be told a number of different ways; but the facts, as always, yield only a part of the truth.

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ROCKY VOTOLATO

Artist / Band: ROCKY VOTOLATO
Song (MP3): PORTLAND IS LEAVING
Album: MAKERS
File Under: Singer / Songwriter
Label: BARSUK
Info: Singer songwriters are a dime a dozen. Among their ilk, few are able to portray a convincing human quality. Underneath the suffocation layers of overproduction, psuedo-cowboy heartache and disingenuous roots-of-rock posturing, such efforts are simply ineffectual. Somehow, believing the sincerity of a heartbroken performance coming from a rock star making TV appearances to sell hip-young men's urban apparel is becoming increasingly hard to swallow. The recipe may all be in place. The songwriting formula is there. The right vintage instruments might have been played but if there's no heart behind the delivery, the music just falls flat. For those ailing from such an understandably jaded outlook, the music of Rocky Votolato comes as a pleasant change of pace.
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RAISING THE FAWN

Artist / Band: RAISING THE FAWN
Song (MP3): CARBON PAPER
Album: THE MAGINOT LINE
File Under: Indie Rock
Label: sonic unyon records
Info: Born in a bedroom, impatient with the lack of patience in late nineties indie rock, Raising the Fawn was started in 1997 as a one-man show. When you write and play everything yourself, questions are both easily asked and answered. Everything that I originally sought for the music — minimal arrangements, gentle playing, gradual pacing, a reaction against the flailing, manic nature of indie rock — was practically dictated to me by the setup of a guy and his four-track. Even as the debut CD (2001) was released and Raising the Fawn became a live band, the “singer/songwriter” reins stayed firmly in my hands. In retrospect, motivated by both fear and ego, I did little to change that hierarchy for a long while.. read more from the source...

The Glass Family

Artist / Band: The Glass Family
Song (MP3): Swimming In Fiction
Album: Sleep Inside This Wheel
File Under: Powerpop / Indie / Rock
Label: I Eat Records
Info: Austin's The Glass Family's debut is a showcase of brilliantly subtle and well crafted pop that explodes into epic orchestral compositions, complete with twinkling keys, horns, and catchy hooks. RIYD: Wilco, Spoon, Death Cab

Kelley Stoltz

Artist / Band: Kelley Stoltz
Song (MP3): Memory Collector
Album: Below the Branches
File Under: Indie Pop
Label: sub pop
Info: San Francisco home-recording multi-instrumentalist Kelley Stoltz spent the better part of the past three years promoting and distributing his last album himself. "I finished Antique Glow in 2001, but found myself without a label when it was ready for release. So, being a vinyl nut, I decided to press up a couple hundred and, to save some money, painted all the covers myself. I sold them at shows and stores all around San Francisco. After that the record took on a life of its own." And, this life of its own involved an eventual domestic CD release on San Francisco's Jackpine Social Club, as well as considerable UK press attention. Antique Glow garnered a 4-star review and a "Mojo Rising" feature in MOJO magazine, as well as critical praise in Ptolemaic Terrascope, Uncut, Record Collector and on BBC6 radio. At year's end Antique Glow was ranked #24 in MOJO's "40 Best Albums of 2004," described as, "a time capsule only recently discovered…a jamboree grab-bag of delights filled with everything from psychedelic folk and cosmic troubadour pop to garage-rock and lysergic r&b…one of the year's major finds." Kelley's new album, Below the Branches, picks up where Antique Glow left off, combining psych rock, folk, blues and pop in its 13 tracks, exploring new, piano-driven directions as well. It's an album of improvisational pop, alchemically blending influences with results that are both timeless and new. Kelley and his band (Sean Coleman, Kevin Ink, Shayde Sartin, and John Hofer) will tour extensively with the release of Below the Branches. read more from the source...

GOODNIGHT MONSTERS

Artist / Band: GOODNIGHT MONSTERS
Song (MP3): 20 Fingers 20 Toes
Album: The Brain That Wouldn't Die
File Under: Lo Fi / Indie
Label: Bone Voyage Recording Company
Info: In the spring of 2004 Matti Jasu and Valtteri Virtanen decided to make an albumful of songs and record them with no particular reason why. Guess they didn’t have anything better to do. They had met each other just a couple of times and had never played together before. With no real musical direction they started to make songs. Probably because they are fans of bands such as Flaming Lips, Beach Boys, Flipper’s Guitar and Teenage Fanclub the result was melodic and quirky pop music.The album opener “Girls” was made during their first afternoon session. It was soon followed by “Phone Booth”, “Demonstrator” and so on. Soon after the first songs were ready they started recording them in Matti’s livingroom. Every idea was tried out. When the summer ended the album, titled as “The Brain That Wouldn’t Die”, was finished. After coming up with a groovy name, they started to look like a real band. Great!With the addition of drummers Kece and later Jussi Rantanen and bass player Markus Jalonen, Goodnight Monsters came alive. And God only knows what they’re going to do next! read more from the source...

The Elected

Artist / Band: The Elected
Song (MP3): Not Going Home
Album: Sun, Sun, Sun
File Under: Indie Rock
Label: sub pop
Info: Los Angeles, California boasts some of the most transcendent sunsets on Planet Earth. Beatific, swirling miasmas of deep color culled from some distant, holy palette. But before we get carried away, it’s important to remember that the sunsets of Los Angeles would be nothing without the thousands of noxious chemicals that blanket the greater San Fernando region. L. A. sunsets look that way because of the smog.
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Reubens Accomplice

Artist / Band: Reubens Accomplice
Song (MP3): All Chorus
Album: The Bull, The Baloon, And The Family
File Under: Indie Pop
Label: western treadInfo: Strip mall chintz. Cinder block suburbs. Depressing Dairy Queens. Hesher metal. For lifelong desert dwellers and North Phoenix, Arizona natives Jeff Bufano and Chris Corak this deadening litany could’ve doubled as a description of their adolescent lives. Before long the two schoolyard chums and burgeoning musical misfits began pining for something more than an existence predicated on old Slayer riffs and tweaker-trailer culture. And so, Reubens Accomplice was born.The band’s peculiar journey- a labyrinthine saga that’s taken them from high school talent shows to amphitheatre stages- has yielded a spectacular bounty in the sun struck pop perfection of their latest album, the Jim Adkins (Jimmy Eat World) produced THE BULL, THE BALLOON, AND THE FAMILY.
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Loveninjas

Artist / Band: Loveninjas
Song (MP3): Keep Your Love
Album: Keep Your Love
File Under: Indie Pop
Label: labrador
Info: Loveninjas’ songs sound like classic schlagers that have been forced through a dirty indie filter and then had its lyrics replaced by pornographic manga. And you should know the live experience is even greater! Singing songs about broken penises dressed in a giant heart is… well, very funny to say the least.

We Are Scientists

Artist / Band: We Are Scientists
Song (MP3): In action
Album: With Love and Squalor
File Under: Disco Rock
Label: Virgin
Info: We Are Scientists, a.k.a. “the We Are Scientists”, a.k.a. “W.A.S”., sometimes written “tW.A.S.”,Comprises Keith Murray, guitar and lead vocals; Chris Cain, bass guitar and backing vocals; Michael Tapper, drums and backing vocalsGenerating rock music of the thoughtful, sometimes epic, often loud, vaguely danceable, implicitly humanist variety.Begun in a bar in A.D. 2000,They moved to New York in 2001,Have issued three self-released e.p.s and a gregarious little full length since then,Performed constantly across America and Europe,And eaten plenty of cake, which they were then consternated to find missing.
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Playlist Muzorama 29 January

THE JOLLY ROGERS - JANE IS FAT/OH NO! OH MY!
LITTLE MAN TATE - COURT REPORT
MATES OF STATE - FRAUD IN THE '80S/BRING IT BACK
ELEFANT - THE CLOWN/ THE BLACK MAGIC SHOW
THE TWIN ATLAS - THREE LOVES / SUN TOWNSHIP
WOMEN AND CHILDREN- WAVE AND A SMILE/ BOX SET
HOTEL ALEXIS - QUEENS AND THE SOFT KING/ THE SHINING EXAMPLE IS LYING ON THE FLOOR
SEEDY GONZALEZ - PAGE 28 / BIRD THAT SINGS
THE BEATINGS - STOCKHOLM SYNDROME RELAPSE / HOLDING ON TO HAND GRENADES
TESTFACE - SOUNDS DON'T COME AROUND HERE ANYMORE/ DOCTOR WON'T YOU GET US TO DAWN
TARKIO - TRISTAN AND ISEULT / OMNIBUS
EVERYTHING IS FINE - 1000 SECONDS / GHOSTS ARE KNOCKING ON WALLS
DEVICS - COME UP/ DEVICS PUSH THE HEART

RADIO MUZORAMA IS BROADCAST WEEKLY ON RADIO FORTUNA (FM106.9 , TBILISI, GEORGIA)PRODUCED BY KOMUNIKATORI

Devics

Artist / Band: Devics
Song (MP3): Come Up
Album: PUSH THE HEART
File Under: Indie Pop
Label: Filter US Recordings
Info: When you hear something as beautiful and endowed with genuine emotion as the music of Devics, you can’t help but wonder...Just who are these people anyway? Well, the short answer will hardly raise an eyebrow: Devics is vocalist Sara Lov and multi-instrumentalist and sometimes singer Dustin O'Halloran, a musical duo from Los Angeles who found a home in Italy after signing to the UK label, Bella Union. But the complete answer is as unique and magical as anything in the history of modern music. read more from the source...

EVERYTHING IS FINE

Artist / Band: EVERYTHING IS FINE
Song (MP3):1000 SECONDS
Album: GHOSTS ARE KNOCKING ON WALLS
File Under: Shoegaze / Experimental / Down-tempo
Label: tract records
Info: NEW RELEASE! "IF WE WERE TREES" A SPLIT CD WITH, DERECK JOE BROCKETT, GRUMPY BEAR, EVERYTHING IS FINE, AND THEATH. its 3 breand new songs by eif with hand made covers. limited edition of only 100 copies. order one at http://www.tractrecords.com/TR036.htm Order the new full length cd "ghosts are knocking on walls" at http://www.tractrecords.com here is a link for an interview that the italian label awful bliss did http://www.awfulbliss.it/interview/eif_eng.htm here is the review of ghosts by bedroom dancing: It's a scary world, but it can sometimes be a comforting one too. That seems to be the message behind Ghosts Are Knocking on Walls, the just-released album from Portland's Everthing Is Fine. The brainchild of musician/artist Marc Manning, EIF is noteworthy for its multi-layered sound that fuses elements of folk, rock, campfire singalongs and No Depression-style alt country. Recorded at Philadelphia's Miner Street Studios with a full band, Ghosts's songs are contemplative landscapes of yearning, be it for escape ("Over the Road," the DB Cooper-inspired "Vapor Trails and Light"), closure ("Cold Click"), or a new beginning ("Today Is the Day"). Despite the disc's often weighty subject matter, Manning infuses the songs with melodies--sometimes mellow, sometimes eruptive--that perfectly compliment their lyrics.! read more from the source...

Testface

Artist / Band: Testface
Song (MP3): Sounds Don't Come Around Here Anymore
Album: Doctor Won't You Get Us To Dawn
File Under: Indie / Folk / Pop
Label: Broken Sparrow
Info: Testface , the brainchild of David Snider, hails from central Oregon, via years of winters in the cold woods of New Hampshire. Almost a decade of woodsheding and selectively chiseling out songs in the shadows produced this years "doctor won't you get us to dawn." For this release he has harbored an arsenal of trusted friends, accomplices and academic monsters to create a suprisingly different kind of album. Parts psychedelic, parts experimental Americana, the songs are spacious and lonesome with a deep yearning for solace. Testface is poignant, wounded and endlessly searching. read more from the source...

Nat Baldwin

Artist / Band: Nat Baldwin
Song (MP3): wake up it's time to rise
Album: Lights Out
File Under: Acoustic
Label: Broken Sparrow
Info: Today, when most of the so-called musical innovators simply offer contemporary takes on already proven and accepted movements in music (neo-psychedelia, nth-wave garage bands...) Portsmouth, New Hampshire's Nat Baldwin is a true original. Baldwin is an upright bass player and a singer, but he takes both of those things to their limit, and has perfected a sound that he can call entirely his own.
His bass playing can be soothing or jarring- he bows and plucks, taps and scratches... he finds endless different sounds in his instrument, and it never seems lacking or overplayed. His voice is a beautiful instrument all it's own. A big, open, oceanic voice- sultry and sublime. The simple combination of Baldwin's bass and singing is pure, direct, and timeless.
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THE BEATINGS

Artist / Band: THE BEATINGS
Song (MP3): STOCKHOLM SYNDROME RELAPSE
Album: HOLDING ON TO HAND GRENADES
File Under: Indie / Rock / Powerpop
Label: mid riff records
Info: Once society is broken down and rebuilt, the prophets of yesteryear will be discussed in whispers; Springsteen, Richman, The Moz. Field hollers replaced by anthems. Beer soaked rags, hanging from bloated bodies, providing armor against the construction of our oppressors. We are the flare gun of youth. We encourage indulgence in our vices, and we encourage the children to indulge as well. The party is ending. Soon you will be shackled. Throw the rock through the church window, slash the ambulance's tires, dismantle the iron lung. These memories must be documented. A broken heart only stops hurting when it stops beating. read more from the source...

SEEDY GONZALEZ

Artist / Band: SEEDY GONZALEZ
Song (MP3): PAGE 28
Album: BIRD THAT SINGS
File Under: Indie Rock
Label: gigantic music
Info: There are serial killers, serial novels, serial poets—and now with the Seedy Gonzales self-titled debut EP, a serial record with a little bit of (time) killer, novelist and poet among its five tracks. The first of a two-part series, Seedy Gonzales embodies a laid-back “downtown” vibe, a literate-but-not-literal look at city life through the eyes of a sad, cheeky poet. It is, to be sure, exactly what you’d expect from “a cranky ex-pat writer from Prague [singer Johnny Riley] who sings like Lou Reed” and “a New York filmmaker [singer-guitarist Jason Orans] who sings like Lou Barlow.”read more from the source...

Hotel Alexis

Artist / Band: Hotel Alexis
Song (MP3): Queens and the Soft King
Album: The Shining Example Is Lying On The Floor
File Under:
Label: Broken Sparrow
Info: Seemingly out of nowhere, The Hotel Alexis have emerged like a thunderstorm across the plains of American song. Having delivered a heartbreaking first record full of haunting, mesmerizing songs, the band embarked on a series of riveting live performances across the country. Founder and singer/songwriter Sidney Alexis (aka Sidney Lindner) cut his teeth in bands like Torrez and Josh Ritter’s band before going on to form The Hotel Alexis in 2003.
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Women And Children

Artist / Band: Women And Children
Song (MP3): Wave And A Smile
Album: Box Set
File Under: Folk
Label: Attack Nine
Info: When asked how their individual geographies have influenced the music they create collectively, the members of the expatriate quartet Women & Children respond simply, “Why do you eat at a smorgasbord?” Currently residing in Paris but comprised of two Americans, a Canadian, and a French national, the band’s own analogy only partially fits. Because while Women & Children’s willowy, melodic songs are redolent of multiple and complexly interlocking sensibilities, they’re also too fragile and impressionistic to bear any relation to the excesses of the buffet table. Instead, their music is more akin to something like demi-glace – robust but concentrated, reduced to a point where it becomes difficult to discern the flavor of the individual ingredients.
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THE TWIN ATLAS

Artist / Band: THE TWIN ATLAS
Song (MP3): THREE LOVES
Album: SUN TOWNSHIP
File Under: Indie Pop / Folk
Label: Tappersize
Info: Music by The Twin Atlas is usually atmospheric folk & pop songs, written and home-recorded by Sean Byrne with Lucas Zaleski, who began playing together when they met at the University of Delaware in the early '90s and began releasing music as The Twin Atlas in 2000.
Zaleski is now an NYC resident and Byrne lives in Philadelphia where he has drummed with the bands Lenola, Mazarin, Matt Pond PA, Audible and BC Camplight.The foundation of their songs often come from Byrne's compositions or from Byrne & Zaleski's recorded collaborations and improvisations, upon which Byrne later goes back to and finishes; adding vocals, additional melodies & instrumentation, and assorted sounds. This work process has proved prolific to say the least.
Their newest release is 2005's Sun Township, a ten song set of haunting folk rock containing their most fully realized fidelity to date thanks to post-production by engineer Dave Grubb (Lenola, Like A Fox)
The Twin Atlas plays: acoustic & electric guitar, vocals, mandolin, keyboard, live & electronic drums, harmonica, banjo, effects, melodica, percussion, as well as whatever and whoever may be laying around at the time.
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ELEFANT

Artist / Band: ELEFANT
Song (MP3): THE CLOWN
Album: THE BLACK MAGIC SHOW
File Under: Alternative / Indie / Rock
Label: hollywood records
Info: Magic is anything but child's play. To be a successful conjurer, one must create the illusion of achieving the seemingly impossible, executed with uncanny ease. The audience's attention must be captivated by one theatrical display, while behind the scenes the real work takes place under wraps. And so it is with The Black Magic Show, the sophomore release from Elefant. Scratch the surface, and what the New York quartet has on offer is a riveting set of dynamic pop-rock. But as you pull back the curtain, and investigate in closer detail, it becomes apparent that the album operates on a variety of intricate levels. read more from the source...

Mates of State

Artist / Band: Mates of State
Song (MP3): Fraud In The '80s
Album: BRING IT BACK
File Under: Indie Pop
Label: Barsuk Records
Info: Mates of State is the husband/wife duo of Kori Gardner (organ, vox) and Jason Hammel (drums, vox). They quit their day jobs (teacher and cancer researcher) in 2001, got married, and hit the road bringing their love to the rest of the world. The Mates have released three full lengths, my solo project, our constant concern, and team boo, as well as numerous singles and EPs, most recently last year's all day EP.
Mates of State has been described by critics as "unabashed joy", "honesty at its best", a "two piece with balls", and "a band that you must see live". Their first record was listed in the New York Times as one of the best records you probably didn't hear in 2000. Their live show has amassed a reputation worldwide as a uniquely joyous experience — capacity crowds smiling, dancing, and singing along with every word.
Mates of State's unique, often complex and always catchy pop gems defy genre boundaries. Though a duo, they never fail to generate an overabundance of melody and harmony via monster, bass-heavy organ, creative drumming, and alternately lushly layered and playfully dueling vocals.
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Little Man Tate

Artist / Band: Little Man Tate
Song (MP3): Court Report
Album:
File Under: a jerking synthesis of punk-funk de jour and gritty, socio-realist lyrics
Label: cargo records
Info: We live and love in Sheffield, allegedly a steel city. Maz and Jon have been best mates since the age of diddly squat, and did their first gig together at the age of 12 in a church hall in Crookes. It was crap. Ben is like the Ron Jeremy of pop, he likes to surf the internet. Dan was the last to join the band, he is cool, and looks after everyone.We dont like to dwell in the past, looking back at all the previous bands we have been in, they were pretty dire, but they have got us where we are now. We like to sing, dance and have fun.We had our yellow van nicked in York. That was shit. Everything went including our leads and plectrums, but we managed to save our badges, they were in Jons pocket. The police said the robbers were probably drug addicts, we agreed and had to come home on the train. All our songs are based on real life, things we have done and people we have met. Being in a band is the best.We live to be live.

The Jolly Rogers

Artist / Band: The Jolly Rogers
Song (MP3): "Jane is Fat"
Album: Oh No! Oh My!
File Under: Indie / Folk / Pop
Label: None
Info: From the minds of songwriters Greg Barkley and Daniel Hoxmeier comes a catchy post-pop band that loves themselves a tasty melody. Both Greg and Daniel were home schooled through high school and, for lack of anything better to do, learned to play the guitar and any other useful instruments they could get their collective hands on. Teaming up with Joel Calvin (drums), they formed the band (poor) yorik, an experimental rock band, which after 8 months they decided was a much too depressing style of music. The trio spent a month in deep meditation and self reflection (during which Joel found inner peace), and it was decided that they would from then on be called The Jolly Rogers. However, upon discovery of several pop-punk bands from Nebraska and Florida, and a group that frequents renaissance festivals dressed in pirate garb, the band decided it was time for another name change. They chose Oh No! Oh My!, named for a song by The Robot Ate Me. In early 2005, the band began work on a brand new collection of songs after a demo from the year prior was met with a strong response over the internet. They are currently finishing the final stages of their self recorded debut LP to be self released in January, 2006. read more from the source...