N°121 BURAKA SOM SISTEMA - HANGOVER

It was actually quite hard to link the Balthazar song or band so I types in Balthazar in google and came up with an American beer brand. And what does beer sometimes give you? A hangover off course so here we go with Hangover from Buraka Som Sistema.

BSS is a Portuguese dance project performing a style called progressive kuduro. Kuduro is actually an Angolan dance and music style, born out of mixing different traditional African carnival music. Since Angola used to be a Portuguese colony its logic the music also reach the European mainland.

The formation of Buraka Som Sistema was founded in 2006 by a few DJ’s and rappers. I’ll name their nicknames: Li’l John, Conductor and DJ Riot. The only one performing under his own name is Kalaf Angelo. Conductor is an African hip hop producer and met the others as the band Cool Train Crew while touring in Portugal. They were all looking to create a kuduro collective and this is how their collaboration started out.

Their first two singles led to a first full album in 2007 named From Buraka To The World. Buraca is actually a parish in the city of Amadora, north of Lissabon. That same year after touring BSS found help with a few excellent performers such as M.I.A. for the single ‘Sound Of Buraka’ and Pongolove for the single ‘Kalemba’. Both songs can be found on their second album Black Diamond.

Until 2010 they performed at different European festivals mostly situated in the class of world music festivals but in 2011 their break through with a bigger audience happens with the release of their third, yet most successful album Komba. Their hit single ‘Hangover’ reached high in the charts in most European countries.

I did choose the Hangover single since It’s their biggest hit in the whole of Europe. So grab some alcohol, bottom’s up, and get ready for a little party with this Portuguese sound system (som sistema)?

N°120 BALTHAZAR - FIFTEEN FLOORS

With an Ep, two early releases, one full album and a second on the way the Belgian rok band Balthazar has been quite busy the past few years. It all started in 2004.

When the band Lost And Found with Maarten Devoldere, Jinte Deprez and Patricia Vanneste wins the competition of Kunstbende (art gang) it was clear there was a lot of talent and chemistry available in the western part of Belgium. They renamed the band to Balthazar and in 2006 they are award with the audience price of that year’s Humo Rockrally. Time for them to create and release a first EP carrying the nme of the band. Early the following year they decide to switch drummer and bass and from that moment on the current formation of the band is complete. Apart from the earlier mentioned foudners there’s also Simon Casier and Christophe Claeys. New settings and they are invited to a few Belgian festivals where they give it their best. The first ever single ‘This Is A Flirt’ was already recorded and released with the complete band as it currently exists. In 2008 they’d release another single named Bathroom Lovin’ Situations’. More live invitations followed on the biggest Belgian festivals and Balthazar also made their way into the charts.

Yet they found the time right to record a first complete studio album. Awaiting the release of the album in 2010 Maarten and his gang decided to release the first track in December 2009. ‘Fifteen Floors’ got picked up on  the radio a bit and was a great way to promote the first album. Fifteen floors also knocked its way into my music link. When thinking about three doors down I immediately thought of an apartment building and a fifteen floor building seems big enough to fit the picture in my head.

Balthazar received a lot of applause from their fans at the early stage of the band and wanted to give back some by naming the first full album ‘Applause’. And more of that they got from critics all over the land. The album received well and scored the Album Of The Year award in the 2010 Belgian Music Industry Awards. Correct if you listen to songs as ‘The Boatman’ and ‘Hunger At The Door’. For this they were asked to do the warm up for dEus’ European tour.

Check the clip out I’d say and if you like it you just might buy their second album soon. Expectation date: October 15^th, 2012.

N°119 - 3 DOORS DOWN - KRYPTONITE

A few songs back I went to Mississippi and already I return there when talking about the American rock band 3 Doors Down. They’re a band best known for the single I’ve used in the link which is an obvious link while using having Superman mentioned the song before. Kryptonite is also their first single ever released by them in the year 2000. Many call them a one hit wonder but if so then these critics are countered by the fact that not many one hit wonders produce five full albums in twelve years.

Following the hit single, 3 Doors Down got signed by Republic Records and they were given the chance to produce their first album A Better Life. I’m not a critic or anything and this blog is not made to promote any artist, song or album but I must agree with those who say this is their most decent album. One can still discuss if the 2002 Away From The Sun album is also as good as the primus but everything after I just don’t like for myself. This second album by the way overshadowed the first when it comes to copies sold. 3 Doors Down were a successful rock band.

Formed by drummer and vocalist Brad Arnold, guitar bass player Todd Harrell and lead guitar by Matt Roberts they started as a rock cover band. Over time Brad Arnold stated to write his own songs and these were mainly used for the band’s first album. After a while guitar player Chris Henderson joined the band and the first song Kryptonite saw the light as mentioned above followed by the album ‘A Better Life’. On that same album you’ll also find the song ‘Loser’ which I personally think is also a pretty darn good song.

For the next album a drummer got hired while another one did the tour. While the basis of the band stayed together the drums were manned by different people on different occasions. When I think of two songs on the first album I can only find one single worth mentioning on the second: ‘When I’m Gone’. Yet it was a very successful album to them.

After touring the band hosted their own benefit concert. These benefits would be held on a yearly base from 2003 on. 

Their popularity kept growing and when releasing ‘Seventeen Days’, their third studio album and again they went on tour. This time side by side with the band Lynerd Skynerd both headlining fifty-fifty on a tour around the USA. Again there’s only one song that got stuck in my memory and that’s ‘Landing In London’, a soft ballad like song.

Once more they’d dive into the studios and came out to present us the self-titled album in 2008 with more of the same. Songs like ‘It’s Not My Name’ and ‘Train’ aren’t that bad at all but when listening to it they don’t always live up to my expectations. Sorry for the fans but that’s just my opinion. They managed to record a Christmas song by the end of 2009 and this is actually where I think they went wrong. A true rock band does not, never ever, make a song meant for Christmas. Never !!! Luckily it was released to the world digitally and to my knowledge it doesn’t appear on their latest album.

Time Of My Life was recorded in 2010 and released halfway 2011. The band chose ‘When You’re Young’ to be the first single and ‘Every Time You Go’ as the second. Soft titles and soft songs. That’s what happens when a rock band makes Christmas carols. As always they started touring again but right after the tour around the USA and the UK had finished it was clear that Matt Roberts would leave the band with health issues.

Nowadays it is rumoured they’re working on a greatest hits album for 2013. We’ll see what it’ll bring but I’m sure it will find its way to the true fans.

N°118 THE BIG PINK - HIT THE GROUND SUPERMAN

A British duo, Robbie Furze and Milo Cordell, bringing us music lovers a mixture of electronic music and rock. Not a very long existing band so far since they started out back in 2007 but since then, they managed to produce two albums called Brief History Of Love in 2009 and Future This, from early this year.

Both artists started of independently from each other on their own labels, respectively Hate Channel and Merok Records. In between 2007, when they decided to co-operate with each other and 2009 they were able to release a few singles on old school 12’’, all produced on a limited base. Neither of them wanted to take The Big Pink in on their label so these releases went on the 4AD label. All of these singles can be found on the first album A Brief History Of Love. A week before the release they promoted it by launching another single called ‘Dominos’ and following the release they toured Europe, the USA and Japan. This again led to being the supporting act for Muse on their UK Arena tour in 2010. For this The Big Pink thanked Muse with a nice remix of Muse’s song ‘Undisclosed Desires’

A second album was destined to follow rather quickly but release was only foreseen at the start of 2012. So far two singles were released from this album. The first was ‘Lose Your Mind’. A song which opens with a sample of the song ‘Happy House’ by Siouxsie and The Banshees. Personally I picked them up with the second single ‘Hit The Ground Superman’ which was a big hit in my home country.

Superman will by the way be the link into the next song. About the link with Feist I can be brief. Just check the line-up for Pukkelpop festival 2012. They were both on it on the opening day. Unfortunately two other bands (Apocalyptica and Isbells) I wanted to see were scheduled at the same time so I missed out on them. Maybe next time. Since Robbie and Milo do the mixes and electronics on stage they’re accompanied by a drummer (Akiko Matsuura) and a bass guitar player (Adam Prendergast or Leopold Ross) whenever performing a live set. Will Superman hit the ground or will he land smoothly? Up to you to decide.

N°117 - FEIST - MY MOON, MY MAN

Amarain means Two Moons in Arabic so the song posted matches perfectly with the previous one.

I’ve been looking for a while to fit Leslie Feist in since I think she’s a great musician and performer but until now it never worked. I posted her as a solo artist but you might also know her from the rock band Broken Social Scene, an art pop, post rock, shoegaze band with a rotating membership up to a maximum of nineteen performers, and Feist is one of them.

Both her solo career as her band membership started in 1999. She put a first record on the shelves by the name Monarch. Born out of two artistic parents (none in music though) it was clear that Leslie Feist would become an artist as well and she laid her heart into music. It actually started when she, as a fifteen year old, became lead vocalist of a local band called Placebo. This is how she met Brandon Canning who invited her years later to join the band Broken Social Science. In time she had learned to play bass- and lead guitar and she was ready to try it solo as well. Her first album Monarch though never made the charts and her solo career was close to die an early death.

Feist started touring with different bands such as Gonzales the following years and at the same time she recorded private demo tapes which she started called The Red Demos. Only three years later she’d find the time and courage to re-record The Red Demos and release a first successful album by the name Let It Die. From this album I’ve taken My Moon My Man for the obvious linking reasons but other than this song there’s also the fabulous Mushaboom. The album won the Album of The Year Canadian Juno Awards and Feist her name was made. The album contained both her own songs as personal interpretations of existing songs.

Again Feist would start collaborating with different other bands and artists such as the British Jane Birkin. In between she’s touring around the globe with her solo project. Her home base moved from Saskatchewan, Canada to the global city Paris, France. Making an international name for herself she was asked to contribute to the Unicef song Do They Know It’s Halloween and in her French period she also starts to gain interests in making movies and her first project is for the soundtrack of the 2006 movie Paris Je t’Aime. In 2006 she again returns to Paris where she uses her network of people to produce a third album by the name The Reminder.

The reminder is being released first in Europe in 2007 and again she goes on a world tour. Again she takes the prizes at the 2008 Juno Awards for Album Of The Year and finally her song 1234 makes it to the top ten in the US Billboard. She also appears with this song on Sesame Street having children to count until four. She’d also appear as a cameo in The Muppets movie last year. Whenever she makes a presence at a movie she usually plays herself.

After taking a long break from Broken Social Science she joins the band again in 2009 for the release of the band’s biography. She promises to join them on a few tours and contributes to the band’s latest album as well. And after these tours she dives back in the studio to create yet another great album named Metals. Released in 2011 it was given the best critics once more elevating her song writing skills. Also in 2001 and elder Feist song; ‘Limit To Your Love’; was being covered by James Blake becoming a huge hit throughout the most of Northern Europe. Nowadays she plans to make a 7 inch split record in cooperation with metal band Mastodon. Feist would cover a few Mastodon songs where Mastodon would interpret some of her songs. But first we grasp back to a classic Feist single: My Moon, My Man. Enjoy listening.