Abe Vigoda

ARTIST / BAND: Abe Vigoda

SONGS (MP3): Don't Lie

ALBUM: Reviver

FILE UNDER: Alternative

LABEL: postpresentmedium

INFO: If you want to know how kids can get so fucked in the head growing up in southern california, you gotta know about Abe Vigoda. Chino is the home of this sort of No Wavey sort of Pop oriented sort of twisted punked 4 piece. You can see it in the way they pound the living shit out of the instruments they play, and you can see it in the way they talk about things they are interested in, these kids are fucked, but in a good way. Fucked in the way that they can make a good record and play really good shows above all odds, like having terminal cancer and mental illness. Juan will kiss you if you ask and they are HUGE in England.

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Pomegranates

ARTIST / BAND: Pomegranates

SONGS (MP3): Corriander

ALBUM: Everybody, Come Outside!

FILE UNDER: Indie

LABEL: Lujo Records

INFO: KEXP and WOXY, among others, fell for the band's quirky and charming blend of pop rock, and listeners followed suit, blogging the band up to #11 on Elbo.ws blog aggregate.  The band also caught the attention of their peers.  Artists such asFrench Kicks and Islands responded to Pomegranates' dynamic live set by inviting them out on the road.  Everybody, Come Outside! shows a marked improvement both creatively and sonically from its predecessor, channeling influences that range from Talking Heads and Brian Eno, to French Kicks andFela Kuti.  It's a conceptual album of sorts, weaving an interesting tale of a man who leaves home, only to be abducted by a time traveler.  Each of the 11 tracks ofEverybody, Come Outside! add to the mystique, as well as reveal a bit more about this unusual tale.

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Camera Obscura

ARTIST / BAND: Camera Obscura

MP3s: My Maudlin Career

ALBUM: My Maudlin Career

FILE UNDER: Pop / Melodramatic Popular Song / Alternative

LABEL: 4ad

INFO: Camera Obscura announce a new single, the forthcoming album release of My Maudlin Career (out on April 20th 2009) and tour dates in both the UK and US. They are also making the title track available to download as of today.

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The Shortwave Set

ARTIST / BAND: The Shortwave Set

MP3s: Harmonica

ALBUM: Replica Sun Machine

FILE UNDER: Acoustic / Electronica / Down-tempo

LABEL: Wall of Sound

INFO: From their 'swap' shop HQ in Deptford, The Shortwave Set have always plotted a somewhat esoteric path. Their first album, "The Debt Collection" was hailed, by none other than the band themselves, as a "Victorian Funk" masterwork; a claim made somewhat easier to uphold by the fact that no one could recall any other records in said genre. The album, assembled using 50p charity shop vinyl and broken instruments was allegedly financed by a two grand overdraft and the Dover-Calais tobacco run and was promoted via their Soho club night "The Pawn Shop", where the band would offer to swap their record collections for anything brought in by punters; milk jugs or golf clubs for example.

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The Lovetones

ARTIST / BAND: The Lovetones

MP3s: Journeyman

ALBUM: Dimensions

FILE UNDER: Indie / Psychodelic / Rock

LABEL: Planting Seeds Records

INFO: After enjoying the critical success of Be What You Want, touring Australia extensively and even supporting Morrissey during his first ever solo Australian tour, Tow joined The Brian Jonestown Massacre in 2003 and contributed two brilliant tracks to their sonic mastery, ...And This Is Our Music. Tow's opening track "Starcleaner" later also appeared on the The Brian Jonestown Massacre retrospective Tepid PeppermintWonderland. In the same year, UK based Fire Records invitedThe Lovetones to contribute to the James Joyce Chamber Music project alongside Mercury Rev, Sonic Youth and REM'sPeter Buck. 2004 saw the release of the Stars EP, coinciding with The Lovetones supporting The Brian Jonestown Massacreon their infamous and now legendary tour of Australia.

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The Thermals

ARTIST / BAND: The Thermals

MP3s: Now We Can See

ALBUM: Now We Can See

FILE UNDER: Alternative

LABEL: Kill Rock Stars

INFO: The Thermals were born in Portland, Oregon, in the early winter of 2002.  The United States was going through a mental and moral quagmire, of sorts.  At the time, we referred to our brave, new world as  "Post-9/11".  We would soon re-name this era  "Pre-9/11 Flight Tax".  These were NOT simple times, my friend!  These were days of fear, of terror, of salvia!  The world looked like a horrible place, whether you were tripping or not.

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Thieves Like Us

ARTIST / BAND: Thieves Like Us

MP3s: Miss You / Drugs In My Body

ALBUM: Play Music

FILE UNDER: High heels and lasers

LABEL: Fantasy Memory (CD)/ Shelf Life (LP)

INFO: Thieves Like Us is a musical vehicle -- an elegant starship, pointed straight to the heart of the listener. They align themselves musically with Europe, and consider Paris their home (although none of them are French).
Pontus Berghe (drums) and Bjorn Berglund (keyboards) are from Sweden. Andy Grier (vocals) is from the United States. They met at a picnic in Berlin.

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THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS

ARTIST / BAND: THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS

MP3s: SHOW YOUR TEETH“ | “THE WATER IS GONE, THE FIRE HAS COME!”

ALBUM: Walk Like A Human

FILE UNDER: Progressive / Healing & EasyListening / Thrash

LABEL: PRO-GRAVITY | RARC

INFO: The Christmas Lights is the brainchild of 26 year-old Kenny Tompkins. Tompkins has worked as singer/songwriter and producer for several projects including The Trend and The Royal Army as well as recording and touring as a solo artist.

In 2007 The Christmas Lights released a split with Baltimore-based duo Emil titled 10 Paces. This record was received positively by independent press and fans alike for its mix of 8-bit sugar-pop and experimental noise construction. The recent full-length debut, Walk Like A Human (Pro-Gravity Records/RARC), is a mix of ambience, harsh distortion, three-part harmony vocals, and odd-yet-dance-friendly time signatures. It was written, recorded, mixed and mastered by Kenny Tompkins at the RARC in Frostburg, Maryland from January to November 2007.

After completing the album, Tompkins invited his younger brother Curt along with friends Derek Shank and Josh Grapesto attempt a live version.  The group has played just a handful of shows in its short existence, but has quickly developed an excited and dedicated group of fans.

The Christmas Lights were recently featured as The Baltimore Sun’s “Unsigned Artist of The Month” and Kenny Tompkins is currently working on a batch of modified electronics (circuit bent keyboards, noise toys, etc.) for use on the group’s next record.

Youth Group

 

ARTIST / BAND: Youth Group

MP3s: All This Will Pass

ALBUM: The Night Is Ours

FILE UNDER: Indie Rock

LABEL: Ivy League

INFO: Any journey to a heart of darkness requires a sturdy boat, and Youth Group – a band never afraid to circumnavigate the glowering cliffs and rocky shoals of the human heart – needed, to paraphrase Roy Scheider in Jaws, a bigger boat for the bold voyage of their fourth album, The Night Is Ours.

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Omar Rodriguez-Lopez

ARTIST / BAND: Omar Rodriguez-Lopez

SONGS (MP3): Private Fortunes

ALBUM: Old Money

FILE UNDER: Experimental / Psychedelic / Jam Band

LABEL: Gold Standard Labs

INFO: The "Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Quintet" is a side project of Rodriguez-Lopez. Taking some free time out of his busy schedule with The Mars Volta, Rodriguez-Lopez plays live shows with his quintet, which in 2005 included three members of The Mars Volta Group: Juan Alderete, Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez and Adrian Terrazas-Gonzales.

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GREAT NORTHERN

ARTIST / BAND: GREAT NORTHERN

MP3s: Houses

ALBUM: Remind Me Where The Light Is

FILE UNDER: Screamo / New Wave

LABEL: Eenie Meenie Records

INFO: Their first release, Trading Twilight for Daylight (2007), embodied surprisingly catchy hooks, lush keys and breathy vocals. The album made multiple Top 10 lists in magazines (Filter, Under the Radar) and on radio (Nic Harcourt, KCRW in LA; Aaron Axelson of Live 105 in San Francisco). The praise didn’t stop there as NME gave it a “Must Download Now” rating and iTunes dubbed the band “the next big thing.” FM Radio giants like KROQ and cutting edge stations like and Indie 103 added the band to their regular playlists.

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Pets On Prozac

 

ARTIST / BAND: Pets On Prozac

SONG (MP3): Aso Bosa

FILE UNDER:  Indie Pop

LABEL: newjudas.com

Obi Blanche

ARTIST / BAND: Obi Blanche

SONG (MP3): Rock ’n’ Roll Lifestyle

ALBUM: Ragtag Vagabonds

FILE UNDER:  Techno as metal

LABEL: New Judas

Telepathe

ARTIST / BAND: Telepathe

SONG (MP3): Chrome's On It

ALBUM: Chrome's On It EP

FILE UNDER:  Club / Club

LABEL: IAMSOUND

INFO: Melissa Livaudis and Busy Gangnes were part of First Nation and Bloodlines respectively. Telepathe started as a side project for for these groups. With its first line up of rotating members, the band's debut release, the Farewell Forest EP is a dense as the current incarnation, but was made by a full band in the expected set up. Their Sinister Militia "12 inch, recorded with the current line up (including semi-permanent guitar hired gun Ryan Lucero) is the bridge to how they sound now: synthetic ambience without full-blown machine beat. But it wasn't until recently that they hate jamming and gave it up for the hectic commotion of technology.

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Filastine

ARTIST / BAND: Filastine

MP3s: Hungry Ghosts (Featuring WIRE MC & ECD)

ALBUM: Dirty Bomb

FILE UNDER: Hip Hop / Jungle

LABEL: Soot Records

INFO: Grey Filastine is a producer/musician based in Barcelona but rarely found there. Among his 60+ gigs last year you might have caught him at a club in London, on a junk raft floating down the Mississippi, at Shambhala festival in British Columbia, at a tiny breakcore party in Osaka, or in front of forty thousand at the Boulevards festival in Casablanca. In any context it gets riotous- Filastine bangs out his music, jumping between a tangle of electronics, acoustic percussion, and an amplified shopping cart, firing off riddims and synchronized live video.

Casiotone For The Painfully Alone

ARTIST / BAND: Casiotone for the Painfully Alone

MP3: Old Panda Days

ALBUM: Advance Base Battery Life

FILE UNDER: Indie Pop

LABEL: Tomlab

INFO: Casiotone for the Painfully Alone is the beats-and-keys solo project of 31 yr old singer, songwriter and Chicago resident, Owen Ashworth.  Drawing heavy influence from traditional Americana as well as 80's synth pop and commercial hip hop, the music of Casiotone for the Painfully Alone is a curious mix of austere character studies and playful electronic programming.

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FUTURE CLOUDS & RADAR

ARTIST / BAND: FUTURE CLOUDS & RADAR

SONGS (MP3): “FEET ON GRASS“ |  “MUMMIFIED“ | “THE EPCOT VIEW“

ALBUM: Peoria

FILE UNDER: Rock / Indie / Other

LABEL: STAR APPLE KINGDOM

INFO: A growing critical consensus says the album ranks among 2007’s best. Harp Magazine named Future Clouds and Radar"Debut Artist of the Year" and called the release fourth best record of overall.
It seems musical vision continues to emanate from the group who are set to release its sophomore recording, Peoria, on November 4th, 2008.  Where the first album showed Harrisonas the central figure in a large musical cast, Future Clouds and Radar's latest offering finds the core band focusing  their kaleidoscopic vision into a single cinematic narrative about the illusory nature of mortality. Throughout, Harrison stays true to his genre-hopping eclecticism, leading the journey through a maze of fuzz-box vocals and ethereal keys.

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STATE SHIRT

ARTIST / BAND: STATE SHIRT

SONGS (MP3): “TIME TO GO“ |  “FELL OUT OF THE SKY“ | “COMPUTER“ | “THIS IS OLD“

ALBUM: This Is Old

FILE UNDER: Indie / Rock / Experimental

LABEL: LOS FUCKING ANGELES RECORDS

INFO: From Southern California's droning and faceless San Fernando Valley to the snowy back roads of Western Massachusetts. Steeped in a cycle of inescapable, mind-numbing full-time jobs, State Shirt relies on hand-built loops, neglected instruments and riveting vocals to artfully describe captivity in a familiar never-ending cycle: work, drink, sleep, repeat.

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Alaska in Winter

ARTIST / BAND: Alaska in Winter
SONG (MP3): "Berlin"
ALBUM: Holiday
FILE UNDER: Electronica / Pop / Visual
LABEL: Alaska in Winter
INFO: Alaska in Winter is an American electronic band consisting of front man Brandon Bethancourt, who dropped out of art school in Albuquerque,New Mexico and reportedly, "spent a semester in a tiny cabin out in the middle of nowhere Alaska recording music on a laptop during the winter" and which later came to be known as the project, "Alaska in Winter". Bethancourt later went back to New Mexico and enlisted the help of fellow musicians, Zach Condon (Beirut), Heather Trost (A Hawk and a Hacksaw), Hari Ziznewski (Rap), Stefanie Lamm, Rosina Roibal, Hilary Bethancourt, and Naila Dixon to help with his later musical compositions.^[1] The band has garnered some of its fame due to Zach Condon's appearance on their debut album, Dance Party in the Balkans.^[2]
Bethancourt has been living in Berlin, Germany where he recorded his sophomore album, Holiday, which will be released November 17th (Europe) / 18th (US).^[3]

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Metermaids

ARTIST / BAND: Metermaids

SONG (MP3): "Thinking About Jacksonville, or, A Letter Sent To Yourself On Some Back To The Future Type Steez"

ALBUM: Nightlife

FILE UNDER: Hip Hop

LABEL: 27sound

INFO: Metermaids is two New York emcees, Swell and Sentence, and DJ Space Caboose (aka Tom Kennedy). Backed by the guitar playing, beat making, production prowess of 27 Sound founder Matt Stine, the package is complete. Metermaids came to be in the winter of 2004 as the brainchild of Sean McGaughan (pka Swell). His first album was "New Jersey and California," a gritty mash-up of rock and roll samples, breakbeats, and heartfelt lyrics. Sentence is an emcee/producer living in New York City. Before joining Metermaids, he made a name for himself by performing constantly across the US. Some of the hip hop giants Sentence has performed with include KRS One, Aceyalone, Atmosphere, Aesop Rock, Lyrics Born, Black Sheep, Beat Junkies, Raekwon of Wu Tang Clan, Jungle Brothers, Blackalicious, Del The Funkee Homosapien, and many more. After a hugely successful debut as a duo at Sin-e, New York's legendary lower east side club, Sentence officially joined Metermaids- and the results have been electric.

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LUKE JACKSON

ARTIST / BAND: LUKE JACKSON

SONGS (MP3): “HALF A WORLD AWAY“ | “ALL I CAN DO“

ALBUM: …And Then Some

FILE UNDER:  Pop

LABEL: POPSICLE RECORDINGS

INFO: In the Spring of 2006, a seven-year email correspondence culminated in the meeting of Luke Jackson and Magnus Börjeson. Luke had long been a devoted fan of two of the Swedish musician’s former bands: Beagle and Favorita, and the two songwriters finally met in Paris where Magnus was mid-tour playing in The Cardigans. By the end of the weekend they were like old friends and Luke had accepted an invitation to Sweden for the upcoming Midsummer long weekend holiday. These celebrations were taking place in the countryside outside Malmö at Aerosol Grey Machine, the stunning all-analogue recording studio of Christoffer Lundquist, producer and multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire, former member of Roxette and founding member of Brainpool, another of Luke’s favourite bands.

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De Rosa

ARTIST / BAND: De Rosa

SONG (MP3): Nocturne For An Absentee /Under The Stairs

ALBUM: Prevention

FILE UNDER: Indie

LABEL: Chemikal Underground!

INFO: Finally, the wait is over: De Rosa’s epic second album, ‘Prevention’ will be released on CD and LP on March 2nd and we can categorically assure you that your patience will be rewarded.  An assured leap forward from their already brilliant debut ‘Mend’, De Rosa’s second album goes a long way towards consolidating their reputation as one of Scotland’s finest and most literate bands.

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The Physics of Meaning

ARTIST / BAND: The Physics of Meaning

SONGS (MP3): The Physics of Meaning - "Why Can't We Fall in Love Forever? (Anything is Possible)" [from the Snake Charmer and Destiny at the Stroke of Midnight LP] /The Physics of Meaning - "Aeroplanes and Hurricanes" [from the Snake Charmer and Destiny at the Stroke of Midnight LP]

FILE UNDER: Indie / Folk Rock / Experimental

LABEL: Trekky Records

INFO: The Physics of Meaning is a chamber rock band from North Carolina, spearheaded by multi-instrumentalist songwriter Daniel Hart. Daniel is a member of St. Vincent and John Vanderslice's band, as well as a frequent contributor to The Polyphonic Spree.
Much in the same way that Daniel splits his time now between several different projects, Daniel split his time growing up between two passions. He started playing the violin when he was only three years old and continued to study classical music throughout his adolescence. The weeks were spent practicing Bach sonatas and partitas; Saturdays rehearsing "Peer Gynt" and "The Firebird Suite" in citywide youth orchestra.

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Hi Red Cente

ARTIST / BAND: Hi Red Cente

SONG (MP3): "Symmetry Chameleon"

ALBUM: Assemble

FILE UNDER: Experimental / Pop

LABEL: Joyful Noise Recordings

INFO: Formed in 2003, Hi Red Center are an endearingly odd and distorted version of a familiar instrumental quartet. Consider a drummer who swings effortlessly between lurching off-time rhythms and anthemic beats, a drummer/ vibraphone/electronic/synth player who adds everything from burbling noise to contagious melodies, a bassist who lays down the frenzied punch of post-punk with the melodic dexterity of krautrock, and a guitarist that creates a rich textural fuzz that makes it rock.

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JULIE DOIRON

ARTIST / BAND: JULIE DOIRON

SONG (MP3): Consolation Prize

ALBUM: I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Da

FILE UNDER: Folk Rock / Comedy / Indie

LABEL: Jagjaguwar

INFO: JULIE DOIRON To Release I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day This March
Since her Polaris Prize-nominated album "Woke Myself Up", everything has come together in JULIE DOIRON's world.
On her upcoming record "I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day", DOIRON has embraced her electric past and made an album which showcases thick distortion and melodic pop not heard since her days with indie heroes Eric's Trip in the '90s. It’s part of a desire to get back to her electric days. The past couple of years have seen Eric’s Trip regroup for triumphant reunion tours, and a rekindling of her work with Trip mainstay Rick White. "I Can Wonder..." was recorded at White’s isolated home studio, just northwest of Toronto. DOIRON handled the electric and acoustic guitar parts, White played all the bass and keyboards, and Fred Squire performed all the drums and some lead guitar.

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Vic Chesnutt

ARTIST / BAND: Vic Chesnutt

SONG (MP3): And How / Teddy Bear

ALBUM: Dark Developments

FILE UNDER:  Folk Rock

LABEL: orange twin

INFO: As intriguing as this combination may seem for hardcore fans of either act, the final sonic results reveal a daunting sum much greater than even the involvement of such esteemed parts would imply.  The Elves' lived-in dexterity as a live band goads Vic's vocal delivery to a menacing new muscularity, imbuing this batch of songs with a sinister vibe not dissmilar to John Cale's black classic "Fear," the harsh, articulate sleaze of Lou Reed's "Street Hassle" or the defeated lowkey soul-music of Nick Lowe's last few records.  As useful as these benchmark-records are in identifying Dark Developments' own unique spirit, this record truly stands on its own as a brilliant statement, a classic addition to Athens' legendary pantheon, and, most importantly, as an organic meeting of two separately-evolved  and vital musical entities that never feels forced, flashy or false.   This is an important album endemic of a natural partnership, and a great way to spend an afternoon.

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Hooray For Earth

ARTIST / BAND: Hooray For Earth

SONGS (MP3): Take Care /Want Want Want

ALBUM: Hooray For Earth

FILE UNDER: Thrash / Pop

LABEL: Dopamine

INFO: Noel Heroux and Chris Principe met in high school and quickly realized that they shared a common dream. Since neither one of them was qualified to be an astronaut, however, they decided to start a band. By the age of 13, Noel had already established a reputation as a ludicrously talented guitar prodigy, manhandling a guitar that appeared to outsize him. Chris immediately recruited Noel to join the garage rock trio he had been fronting.

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Angil + Hiddntracks

ARTIST / BAND: Angil + Hiddntracks

SONG (MP3): Narrow Minds
ALBUM: Ouliposaliva
FILE UNDER: Pop / Experimental / Jazz
LABEL: Chemikal Underground Records
INFO: Mickaël Mottet composed most of Ouliposaliva's songs on a 1904 piano salvaged from a neighbouring clothes shop which was closing down. Instead of having it tuned, Mottet took the weirdly resounding piano as it was, following the example of John Cage's prepared instruments, and adapted his compositions to its strange, Tim-Burtonesque sound.

Venice is Sinking

ARTIST / BAND: Venice is Sinking
SONG (MP3): "Ryan's Song"
ALBUM: AZAR
FILE UNDER: Indie
LABEL: One Percent Press
INFO: Venice is Sinking plays orchestral pop, Americana, slowcore, or space rock, depending on whom you ask. Founded in Athens, GA in 2003, this five-piece outfit eschews facile categorization. Its sound is familiar but hard to pin down, rooted in cinematic arrangements, subtle genre tweaks, and clear, ringing harmonies. The band’s 2006 debut LP, Sorry About The Flowers, gained national attention for the crystalline male/female vocals of singers Daniel Lawson and Karolyn Troupe and for Troupe’s deft layering of her instrument of choice, the viola, which makes few appearances in rock history.

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Jessie Kilguss

SONG (MP3): A Little Place Behind My Eyes / Americana / 31
ALBUM: Nocturnal Drifter
FILE UNDER: Electroacoustic / Experimental / Roc
LABEL: Exotic Bird Recordings
INFO: Jessie's  first acting job was as one of the "afflicted girls" in Nicholas Hytner's screen adaptation of the Arthur Miller classic The Crucible starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder. Later, Jessie had the life changing experience that sealed her fate as a singer when she appeared on London and Sydney stages with another actor and singer, Marianne Faithfull. It was during this production that Jessie realized that she wanted to be in charge of her creativity in a way that playing the same role for six months or more simply couldn't provide.v
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