Sound Travels to Stone Creek: Week 1…Brazil

Sound Travels to Stone Creek Week : Brazil

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Well well well, here we are on a Friday feeling just a wee bit like a Monday for the reason that I’ve started new theme…and it’s only going to get more Brazilian as we go along. I am restarting the week at this point because next Wednesday, Sound Travels for real– to Stone Creek in Bay View for a live show in support of a special coffee tasting.

In fact, every week in June will be a close-up on coffee producing regions around the world and the people with whom Stone Creek Coffee has partnered with to create sustained, socially conscious networks of business; today was the start of my effort to reflect some of the regions which are being showcased throughout June. On Wednesday June 3rd, from 6 to 8pm I’ll play an expanded set of Brazilian grooves, and today I started with a varied set that started slow and ended with some Brazilian funk and soul. Chico Buarque started us out with a beautifully spooky tune he worked out with Italian legend Ennio Morricone who is more famous for his work on the soundtracks to some 70’s era Spaghetti Westerns than for this stunning set I have with Chico. The building and sombrely gilded lament is a great ease-in. Into a killer from Rio’s Trio Mocoto, a funk band that used to back the legendary Jorge Ben Jor; no big deal right? If he weren’t considered one of the best, then I’d agree. “Não Adianta” is big, you’ll be singing along in no time, Portuguese language skills not needed.

But could be helpful I suppose with a tender cut from Portugal’s Lisbon City Rockers, with a loungy downtempo simmer from a city whose diversity is on par with any in Brazi. The vibe works as I slow down the set for a second to switch gears, shift styles toward the indie rock sound of Tom Bloch, whose new album is boring for the most part, except of course, for the cut I played today. A bit of a funk breaks the way into a Gal Costa tune of sublime tropicalian-ness, the funky “Speed” sets the stage for a furious flurry of funk from a favorite of mine DJ Nuts, whose 2006 release Culturacopaeia still astounds and leaves us with an awesome Brazilian style Sugarhill rap(who said hip hop ever wasn’t global!).

Tracklisting:

1. Chico Buarque & Ennio Morricone : “Oumas e Outras”

2. Trio Mocoto : “Nao Adianta”

3. Lisbon City Rockers : “Estranha Forma de Vida”

4. Tom Bloch : “Sob A Influencia” Bloch 2

5. Gal Costa : “Speed”

6. DJ Nuts : “funk medley” Culturacopaeia

7. Noreille : “16 Toneladas”

414 Music | Will Phalen and The Stereo Addicts

On today’s 414 Music we will have Will Phalen and The Stereo Addicts live in our studio for an interview and performance. Will Phalen & The Stereo Addicts recently released their sophmore album, Middle West.

On stage they forge a sound reminiscent of Neil Young’s early forays with Crazy Horse, but mixed with the experimentalism of Beck and Wilco and the welcome addition of alt-country roots.

With their sophomore release, Middle West, Will Phalen and the Stereo Addicts make another bold statement in defining the sound of Midwestern Folk-Rock. Nearly twelve months in the making, the self-produced, self-released 10-song album stands as a testament to the group’s Do-It-Yourself work ethic and a model of what can be achieved through simple means, lots of hard work, and passion.

Will Phalen & The Stereo Addicts – I Can’t Run (download)

Catch the band live on Saturday May 30th at Milwaukee’s Shank Hall for the CD Release Event. Music starts at 9:00 p.m. with Midwestern artists, Hayward Williams and Sleeping in the Aviary opening.

Respect The Architect: Lego Architecture Series

Ahhh. Lego’s bring back some great memories. Lego’s are probably the world’s best toy.  Now they appeal to my love for design and architecture with their new Lego Architecture Series.  You would think they would of done this a long time ago. I guess better late than never. Lego and architectural artist Adam Reed Tucker of Brickstructures collaborated on the Lego Architecture Series to create Lego kits for several iconic landmarks and some of  Frank Lloyd Wright’s most famous works. You can get the Sears Tower, Empire State Building, Seattle’s Space Needle, John Hancock center and Frank Lloyd’s Wright’s Guggenheim Museum and Falling Water.

As an Architectural Artist my desire is to capture the essence of a particular landmark into its pure sculptural form. I first and foremost do not view my models as literal replicas, but rather my own artistic interpretations that harness the landmarks overall appeal. Beyond its identity as a toy, The LEGO Brick is not initially thought of as a material typically used in creating art or used as an artist’s medium. It is the pure sculptural form that I have translated from reality using The LEGO Brick.— Adam Tucker

The series are not officially available at Lego’s website, but you can order them from Adam’s Brickstructure website.

The Weekly Top 5: T.G.I.F. – Thank Goodness It’s Free

On this week’s Weekly Top 5, we had a special Top 5.  Top 5 Free songs aka T.G.I.F. – Thank Goodness It’s Free.  There is a lot of great music that is free and legal on the internet, and we decided to share some of our favorites.  We also included the links where you can download them for yourself. Additionally, I at the end of the post are some links to free downloadable albums  including albums from Coldplay, A remix album from Lily Allen and Minnesota Hip Hop compilation.

5. Matt & Kim – “Daylight” from Green Label Sound (owned by Mountain Dew)

4. Little Boots – “Rich Boys” (Virgins’ Cover)

3. Passion Pit – “The Reeling (Wallpaper Remix)

2. Th’ Mole – “How 2 Be Cool (Robot Koch Remix)”

1.  Mickey Factz – “Breathe” from the Heaven’s Fallout

Check out some free albums as well

1. Colplay – LRLRL (a live album)

2. Lily Allen Remix Album

3. Midwest Broadcast Flyover Land Vol. 1 (Minnesota Hip Hop at its finest)

Sound Travels Wednesday : Traveler Mix

I bit of music to brighten your day today for Sound Travels. A truncated week here left Monday and Wednesday with a bit of an identity crisis as i get ready to go entirely Brazilian from Friday till next Wednesday. Next week (6/3), Sound Travels goes live at Stone Creek in Bay View located at the intersection of Lincoln and KK at 2266 S Kinnikinic Ave. More info on that is forthcoming.

But the day was what it was– a mix of entirely random proportions. Gypsy the flavor early with a remix from Balkan Beatbox and another from Shantel, neither new to be sure, but surely good. Especially Shantel, whose fame came on BBC’s Radio One and hasn’t slowed down. Betwixt the two I hit you with a different cut from an artist who was actually debuted earlier this morning on New Music Wednesday– Nickodemus, with a cut of an entirely different flavor, showing a versatility evident throughout his excellent new release Sun People, we have a collaboration with Liliana Araujo, a Brazilian singer whose recent work with ST fave Nation Beat has put her in fine company indeed.

A pair of Middle Eastern tunes follow, Soap Kills from Beirut, Lebanon and one from a Balkan crew called Al Jawala, whose sound is a mix but draws from Romanian roots. Both tunes keep tempo in a dance-friendly set that also saw some off kilter crunch from Denmark’s Analogik, crossed with the bhangra of A.S. Kang & Sukshinder Shina, and finished proper with some Ghanaian dance pop from the FBS Crew…enjoy it again…

Sound Travels Wednesday : Traveller Mix II

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Tracklisting & Media:

1. Balkan Beat Box : “Pachima”

2. Nickodemus : “Gira Do Sol feat. Liliana Araujo” Sun People

3. Shantel : “Disco feat. Boban Markovic Orkestar”

4. Al Jawala : “Heymischer Bulgar (Garage Mix)”

5. Soap Kills : “Ya Jarha Galbi”

6. Tinariwen : “Oualahila Ar Tesninam” Amassakoul

7. DJ Pareja : “No Tomaran Accion (Diamante Edit)”

8. Analogik : “Ooze Er Farligt Monster” Farligt Monster

9. A.S. Kang & Sukshinder Shina : “Groove Booliyan”

10. FBS Crew : “Oldman Boogie”

New Music Wednesday: Nickodemus, Butterfly Bucher, Sonvolt and Eels

For New Music Wednesday 5/27/09, we have new music from Nickodemus, Butterfly Boucher, Sonvolt, Eels. Listen to the tracks below and then let us know what you think by voting for your favorite tune. We’ll announce the winner next week.

You can also grab this week’s picks in our iTunes store!

Nickodemus – “Sun Children feat. The Real Live Show”

Butterfly Boucher – “Gun For A Tongue”

Son Volt – “Down To The Wire”

Eels – “Prizefighter”

Sound Travels Monday : Travel Mix

A brief week for the theme, just a mix of stuff I was digging on. Elias Diá Kimuezo, at the start, vintage Angolan jams are my bread and butter at home, perfect summer mood. I got tons of the stuff. I am also working a set of African music that is perfect for the Indie scene, bands like the Kisai All-Stars, Konono No. 1, Esau Mwamwaya, Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars and the latest, Staff Benda Bilili who like SLRAS, are refugees are the latest DIY maestros from the bush, rocking bicycle spokes like guitars and doin their business right.

And with latin music, I always feel I don’t play enough of it, there is soooo much to choose from, very great bands hail from so many countries and Panama has been coming up a lot of late, here it’s Bolita Y Su Tentacion with “Descarga Tentacion,” an eight minute jam that I parsed up for today’s mix. The release is a comp from Soul Jazz Records, one of my favorite labels of absolutely crucial quality! More new Tango vibes from Bajofondo, that I follow up with the strong voices of an Algerian group, Raina Rai, reminding me how little you hear musically from tthe Mid East, but how I love the sound, the vocal styles are out of this world.

Though in this world we stay with one of my favorite labels producing new, unheard of reggae riddims, Scotch Bonnet is the one. I found it a few months ago and have since downloaded their entire cataogue! Damn! I did that? Mainly on the strength of individual riddims and the singers in the stable. Riddims likethis “Mary Jane Riddim” and players like Mikey Murka. Nuff said! The end…is bhangra, Kulwinder Singh Johal’s “Saibaa Dha Khath” from the bhangra comp Word Is Born.

Sound Travels Monday : Travel Mix I

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Tracklisting and Media:

1. Elias Diá Kimuezo : “Zum Zum”

2. Staff Benda Bilili : “Moziki” Staff Benda Bilili

3. Bolita Y Su Tentacion : “Descarga Tentacion”

4. Bajofondo : “Zitarrosa” Mar Dulce

5. Raïna Raï : “Rani M’Hayer” Raina Rai Zita

6. Mungo’s Hi Fi : “Back On The Scene feat. Mikey Murka” / “Mary Jane Riddim”

7. Kulwinder Singh Johal : “Saibaa Dha Khath” Word Is Born

Are You Feeling This: Regina Spektor, Marina and The Diamonds and Eyedea and Abilities

Lots of songs never make it to the radio that are getting lots of attention online. Live tracks, sanctioned and unsanctioned remixes, mash-ups, overlooked gems by unsigned artists. Every week on “Are You Feeling This,” we invite you to hear what the buzz is all about. You tell us what you think. Vote in the Are You Feeling This poll, leave a comment, send us an e-mail.

The Last winner of Are You Feeling This was Mayer Hawthorne

This week on ”Are You Feeling This” we have music from Regina Spektor forthcoming album Far, new group out of the UK Marina and The Diamonds, and Eyedea & Abilities. Take a listen below and let us know what you think by voting in the “Are You Feeling This” listener poll.

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Regina Spektor – “Blue Lips”

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Marina & The Diamonds – “Seventeen”(download)

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Eyedea & Abilities – “The Story” (download)

Site of the Day – Memorial Day Edition: Map The Fallen

As you know this is Memorial Day Weekend, and this Monday is Memorial Day.  This is the weekend you take your family on a  , grill some brats and enjoy a day off from your job. Sometimes we forget what this day is really about.  It is the day we honor our fallen soldiers, marines, and airmen who have made the ultimate sacrifice for this country.  I take this time very personal because almost twelve years I have been serving in the Army Reserves as an officer and I’m still proudly serving. Take time to pay your respects whether you agree with the war in the Middle East or not. I have met soldiers who have been on 3 to 4 tours in less than six years away from their family.  Then there are the servicemen and servicewomen who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.  Almost 5,700 men and women have lost their lives through out the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but all we know is that this is just a number and nothing about that individual.

Well someone over at the Google Earth Outreach program has been working on a project to give you a little insight to the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice.  The name of the project is called Map The Fallen.  He created a mash-up of Google Earth and data of each servicemen and servicewomen who have loss their lives throughout the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sean is the name of the creator  of this project and here is his statement regarding Map The Fallen:

This Memorial Day I would like to share with you a personal project of mine that uses Google Earth to honor the more than 5,700 American and Coalition servicemen and women that have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. I have created a map for Google Earth that will connect you with each of their stories—you can see photos, learn about how they died, visit memorial websites with comments from friends and families, and explore the places they called home and where they died.

You can learn more about the project here and download the map (you need to download Google Earth to view the map which is free). I have been exploring the map, and I have to say it is very sobering. You can see photos of the fallen soldier, and even leave a comment.  So on this Memorial Day, take time and explore the map and get to know something about the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for this country and for the people of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Sound Travels Friday : Paris Panama and Pernambuco with Some Zydeco

All good things must come to a Friday, and while there is no end of music featuring the work of accordionists, the week wraps the theme for us here on Sound Travels. An upbeat, uptempo week that saw some interesting variety that continued through my set with you all today. The start was with something from the same French label that distribute the legendary Ethiopiques series, I discovered in my research that they have one for the geographically tiny, but musically rich city/state/island of Zanzibar. Zanzibar, long a stop for migrating peoples(namely slaves!), has a rich musical palette and Yasseen Mohammed, despite being a super obscure musician, also plays some version of the accordion, and in a distinctive style, somewhere between African and Middle Eastern modalities.

Speaking of modes, the style goes Paris cafe with a cut from Marcel Azzora. And into another antiquated genre after that, a quadrille from French-Creole Martinique, Jacques Danican & Flamme Abymienne keep the path simmering with a bubbly piece of accordion goodness. And goodness is in the goddess, Nazare Pereira a part Indian part Italian princeza of Pernambuco whose voice is like a rare, ripe Amazonian fruit– beautiful work from her standout 2005 release Forró!. So nice I patched in two cuts from her album. This is why I love forró (pron. Fo-ho)!

And the close here is all Southwestern Louisiana, the zydeco styles of the great Clifton Chenier who was amoung the first zydeco players to reach a national stage. And the end of today’s action is with a lesser known player with a hot cut fit for the dancehall, check it out…

Sound Travels Friday : Paris, Panama and Pernambuco with Zydeco III

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1. Yasseen Mohamed : “Ni Wewe” Divers – Zanzibara Volume 02 – 1956>1975 : Golden years of Mombassa taarab

2. Marcel Azzora : “Afro-Musette” The Rough Guide To Paris Cafe Music

3. Nazare Pereira : “Tacaca” Forro!

4. Jacques Danican & Flamme Abymienne : “On Fwa, On Fwa” Kadri Gwadloup 2

5. Nazare Pereira : “Valente Nordeste” Forro!

6. Clifton Chenier : “Accordion Boogie” Louisiana Blues and Zydeco

7. Geno Delafose : “Canaille”