Classic Blends

Hello to all you avid 'stew-dents', I apologise but I truly am a sucker for a terrible pun! I hope that you have all had a great week since the last edition of The Weekly Stew. It really is a miracle that it is once again a 'weekly' playlist! This is what happens when you take my TV away...I suddenly become very productive! This week's playlist is much indier affair with a ton of indie-pop and reggae beats to keep you going throughout the week!

Its music time...

1. Wild Belle - It's too late

Oh how I love 'Wild Belle', their particular brand of psychedelic-reggae influenced-pop is so infectiously happy and groovy that I often find myself singing along in traffic and then dancing and then being hooted at by angry Capetonian women, (women tend to be very angry in the traffic in Capetown). The Chicago siblings actually played alongside Matt Mole when he played at the 100 club in London! 2 of my good mates (Here's looking at you Luke and Brad) saw them live and instantly fell in love...I skipped the seeing them live part and went straight to falling in love!

2. Nantes - Avid

Besides having a kick-ass name the 5 gents from Sydney who make up 'Nantes' happen to be making a habit of creating amazingly epic music! I have been a casual fan for a while but after hearing 'Avid' I was well and truly hooked! The track is layered full of verve and panache  and the lead singers vocals remind me ever so slightly of some of the early 'Interpol' tracks that remain anthems to this current day (At least to me they do)! Beyond anything else I would class 'Nantes' as a modern day 'The Cure'....there isn't much higher praise that I can give a band than that!

3. Pawws - Slow Love

Lucy Taylor aka 'Pawws' is my current celebrity crush! Her voice just entrances me and makes me fall in love. Other than that random fact I have to say that ' Slow Love' is one of the grooviest tracks I've heard from a female solo artist for a very long time! From around 18 seconds into the track the groovin' begins and then all hell breaks looks as the deep snyth beat kicks in to take the song to a whole new level. This seemingly innocent British girl has created a masterpiece of synth-pop for us to go wild to, all the while marveling at her pitch perfect vocals!

4. Cathedrals - Unbound

Cathedrals is just about the most excitingly mysterious thing to come out of San Francisco ever, so exciting that their trams don't even compare. The duo has managed to concoct such a pure unadulterated sound of soulful joy in their music, every time I listen to the soaring vocals and light synth-pop induced track, I can't help but be drawn into a new world of their unique creation. This is a perfect track for a lazy summers day in the garden!

5. Astronomyy - Drivin Me Crazy

Mmmmmmm. That's the expression that most people make after hearing an Astronomyy song for the first time! The Worcester based singer-writer-percussionist extraordinaire has this ability to put so many sneaky nuances and beats into a song while combining it with the perfect level of vocal ability to create one glorious track after another! One listen and you will be hooked into the soft and serenely beautiful world of Astronomyy, never to be seen listening to anything else ever again!

That's all for this week! I hope that you enjoyed this week's selection! Let me know if there are any tracks that you think I have missed out on! Till next week! SC

Definitive Pulse

Yes this is really a new blog post!? I'm just as shocked as you are, It's been almost 3 months since I last posted any tracks online for you to marinade over (That word totally works there right?). In those 3 months I have moved from my hometown of Durbs to Capetown to continue studying further, yes yes I am a nerd so no need to tell me that once again! I have around 60 to 70 songs which need to be posted online so here are the first 5 for you to peruse! (I have to admit that I wrote the rest of this post back in December so these songs may be a little old for some of you hipsters).

As always I have talked for far too long so its time for the music to begin...

1. Max Frost - White Lies

Max Frost has been writing music since he was 8 years old, when he finally made it into his teens (After 5 years of writing music) he decide that he was into old school funk and soul so he started incorporating those styles into his indie music. What we have today is a unique blend of indie and funk with so much soul it almost hurts. There is nobody else around that sounds quite like Mr. Max Frost! 'White Lies' starts off as a guitar ballad and develops into an up-tempo soulful look at a modern relationship and everything that comes with that. This track is is definitely one of my favourite cross-genre pieces that I have heard all year!

2. Julian Maverick - Good For Me

As soon as this track starts with its synth slide I start to do all of the dance moves that make my mates cringe and girls run for cover due to their utter cheesyness! As the song goes on my dance moves get even worse due to the vibe that this song brings with it, a sneaky bass line to gets your foot tapping and vocals to make you feel like you actually have the ability to dance (Which I don't). If you need to let off a little steam or go for a drive then this should be the first track on your playlist! Julian is a Melbourne native which makes him even cooler in my books!

3. Made In Japan - Definitive Pulse

'Definitve Pulse' is a good old fashioned indie rock 'n roll track! Its opening bars remind me slightly of 'Interpol' or even 'The National' with their laid back beats and definitive intrumentals that charecterise those two great bands. The track develops further with some good work on the high-hat and an epic riff here and there! I definitely want to hear more from these Sydney city slickers in the future.

4. Battleships - In Retrospect

I was sitting with my mate Dylan the other day just chatting about how many Australians are making amazing music and he told me to go on and check out 'Battleships', I had heard the name before but I had never really given them a proper listen so that day I did! Boy am I glad that I did, 'Battleships' have this understated sound that just encapsulates joy, class and exuberance, (OK I may have gotten carried away with a few big words there). In all honesty 'Battleships' sound amazing, 'in retrospect' is so well put together, the song just seems to flow flawlessly from intro, to verse, to chorus and then back to verse again! It's definitely worth a listen for everyone who enjoys a good indie rock ballad.

5. Royksopp - Running To The Sea (Feat Susanne Sundfor)

A new Royksopp track is always a reason to celebrate, this one even more so! 'Running to the Sea' is a classic synth-driven track with a back-breaking beat to go along with it. The vocals just add even more flavour to this peach of a track. In all honesty this track is right up there with the top ones of last year! I am surprised that it took so long to pop up on my radar (I must be getting lazy in my old age). Go listen and thank me later!

There will most definitely be a new post next week so come on back to your, once again, weekly dose of stew!