Defenseload

Music To Get Concussion By

At the gig last night there were about nine singers who were to perform with the house band. The venue was small with two floors, although the upper floor was more like a mezzanine. It was narrow with a spiral staircase curling up through the middle. There were plants, pictures on the wall and brightly-lit fish tanks throughout. The band was set up on the upper level in a room with a glass panelled roof. Round tables were placed throughout, chairs angled towards the musicians, with just narrow gaps for people to move around.

Some friends had been going to come but it was a Sunday and people had to work the next day. I didnt push it, ten pounds is a lot of money to most people I know. Anyway, sometimes its easier to just have to worry about the performance without having to concern myself with whether other people are having a good time or not. Upon arriving yesterday, though, I had mixed feelings. On the one hand I would have liked to have a conspirator with me, someone to share the nerves with and whose face I could rely upon to be friendly. On the other, ten pounds really is a lot and it seemed unfair to guilt my friends into coming. When I arrived, though, I felt suddenly very alone. I was exhausted already, having been in the studio the day before and then partying until four in the morning. I felt like my reserves of confidence had been tapped out and I was more than unusually intimidated by the crowd.

The place was packed. Full of loud, confident people with friends. People who had a sheen of wealth about them, who are all either beautiful or just have that expensive glow about them that confuses the eye into suspecting they might be. I stood in the corner, having waved my arrival and been handed a glass of wine. The room was warm and the windows were already beginning to steam up. I sipped at my wine. Another girl was singing so I listened with interest, occasionally pressing the cool glass against my face to ease my burning cheeks.

A woman was sitting with her friends at a two tables right next to the band-area. Those two tables and fifteen chairs she had reserved seemed to take up a considerable portion of the room, small as it was. She smiled warmly at me introduced herself to me as Carmella, one of the other singers. I was relieved to meet a friendly person, and began to feel more comfortable. Slowly the fifteen chairs began to fill up as her friends arrived, shrugging off coats and bags, acquiring drinks and sitting down.

Within ten minutes of my arrival the place was heaving. Not a spare chair in sight and people crowding to fill the space around the furniture. As the temperature rose I felt my cheeks growing pinker and longed to sit down.

Eventually it was my turn to sing. I stood and took the microphone after I had been introduced ("the jazz party débutante!") and, after turning to the band, started to sing Black Coffee. I stood straight, looked into the faces of the sheened strangers and felt myself relax.

Almost immediately some more of Carmellas friends arrived. Standing less than two feet away from me they clattered in, talking and shifting chairs about with a screech. Carmella herself stood up and began loudly directing members of the group and seeming to try to rearrange the whole seating arrangement. I was jostled and stepped on numerous times, singing all the while and attempting to see through to the people who had been watching. The chatter exclamations continued as I struggled to be heard through the noise and seen through the bodies. I tried not to glare too obviously at the interrupters and Carmella bustled around the table, handing out wine glasses and welcoming people extravagantly.

They sat and quieted down eventually. By the end of the song I could once more see the people to whom I was performing, but I felt angry to be so ignored so I think I over-sang the rest of my set. Its difficult in those sorts of situations (it was not the first and I am sure it wont be the last) to keep the anger out of my voice. It went well on the whole, but I just felt that the rudeness was inexcusable, particularly coming from another performer. It wasnt my gig so I resisted making a sarcastic comment asking everybody pointedly whether they were finally sitting comfortably. Perhaps I should have done.

When I had finished I went to the toilets, and saw that my cheeks were scarlet and I had an attractive-looking heat rash creeping across my chest in a sinister fashion. Positioning my hair to try to hide it, I took a deep breath and stepped back into the foray, resolving to talk to people and make friends. I lasted about another hour, getting increasingly hot and tired. I also managed to crack my head hard on an air-conditioning vent whilst standing precariously on a chair, causing most people around me to embarrassingly check whether I was alright and leaving hot tears welling up in my eyes. After that I just threw in the towel and went home, leaving the rich and heat-immune to their party.

It was an interesting sort of gig. Im glad I did it, but it was quite stressful. The recording on Saturday went really fun and was in a great studio, so my high from that has not yet quite ebbed, despite being back in office temp costume today (the most important accessory for which is my patented "Mask of Boredom").

Each gig is different. Some are unexpectedly great, but at other times it just takes one person to take the shine off the whole thing. I dont like having to fight to be heard, and I dont like to over-sing as a result. Neither do I enjoy hitting my head dramatically in public whilst standing on a chair, but I suppose these are both things that just sometimes have to be endured.

Available link for download

Music Alliance Pact February 2014

Click the play button icon to listen to individual songs, right-click on the song title to download an mp3, or grab a zip file of the full 26-track compilation through Ge.tt here.

 UNITED STATES: We Listen For You Tender Mercy - In Us Louisvilles Mark Kramer (aka Tender Mercy) crafts softly dramatic experimental folk ballads that analyze the hypnotic ability of sound. This type of music is challenging, even in its simplicity, so give it a few spins, let go and sink in.

ARGENTINA: ZonaindieJimena Lopez Chaplin - Hombre EstrellaJimena Lopez Chaplin is one of the finest emerging voices from the local scene in Buenos Aires. She has been a part of different musical projects, including the Varias Artistas collective formed by Lucas Marti. However, in order to fully appreciate her songwriting and musical talents, you should listen to her two solo albums, Ojos De Plástico (2009) and El Espíritu De La Golosina (2013). Hombre Estrella is a magnificent rendition of David Bowies Starman, with Spanish lyrics and arrangements by Jimena.

AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?Promise Land - RecallPromise Land is the new project of visual artist Johann Rashid (also a member of Melbourne post-punks Eastlink) and producer Paul Harmon. Their first single Recall has just been released on Hole In The Sky, the imprint run by Modular band Canyons. The track aims to inject a bit of the occult into contemporary urban life, with deep noir production from Harmon featuring eerie vocal samples and an agitated no-wave tick. Meanwhile, Rashid delivers a slick, strained flow thats almost closer to chanting than song.

CANADA: Quick Before It MeltsLook Vibrant - Sweater In The LakeThe battlefield is set: an infantry of soldiers carrying swords made of static, a volley of cotton candy-covered cannonballs and the melodic noise of instruments imploding. This is the sound of Montreals Look Vibrant in their element. Surrender now and face aural annihilation.

CHILE: Super 45Jumper Joy - Calma Que NoJumper Joy is the moniker for musician and composer Diego Palma who, since 2013 and after being a member of El Último Dinosaurio, decided to go solo on this playful power-pop project, splattered with references to psychedelia and shoegaze. Calma Que No is taken from his second EP released in January.

COLOMBIA: El Parlante AmarilloMoonetz - Luces En Tu CieloIts always good to hear Bogotá trio Moonetz making dreamy electro-pop. Formed by Luna Baxter, Juan Pablo Uribe and Sebastián González, they released their debut album A New Direction at the end of 2013. Check out the very cool video for Luces En Tu Cielo.

CUBA: suenacubano.comX Alfonso - ReverseIf we want to make room for protest and reflective songs at the expense of the banal and meaningless then we need more like this one. The track Reverse also gives its name to an album which X Alfonso released in 2011 as "antibiotic art". The song deals with social issues, while its rock style, with shades of Cuban tones, injects excitement and motivates us to listen carefully. The Reverse album was spawned from the Cuban Art Factory, a cultural project which opened a new institution in Havana this month.

DENMARK: All ScandinavianNegash Ali - What You GotHes been a force on the Danish hip hop scene since he was 16 and with three albums under his belt at the age of 23, Negash Ali releases what he describes as his best work yet with the African Dream EP on February 17. Heres the awesome What You Got as a MAP exclusive free download (with video to match) and also check out the video for new single Fire In The Sky.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: La CaseteraTornadu - Soft BatteryImagine a video game from the very first Nintendo console where the main goal is to attend post-punk concerts. As odd as it sounds, thats what Tornadus music reminds us of. Strangely futuristic yet so rooted in that analog 8-bit sound that filled our childhood with so many fun and thrilling moments, producer Gennaro De Santis opens the portal into his musical world with Soft Battery, taken from his debut Diodes EP. Tornadu plans to make a full-length album in the near future, but for now you can get the rest of his songs and some remarkable remixes on Beatport and iTunes.

ECUADOR: Plan ArteriaMariela Condo - Flor De QuebradaMariela Condo is one of the most stunning, deep and authentic voices of Ecuador. She represents a new face of contemporary Andean music. Her second album Vengo A Ver also shows Mariela has everything it takes to become one of the new icons of world music.

ENGLAND: Drowned In SoundJohnny Foreigner - Le SighJohnny Foreigner (or JoFo as theyre more affectionately known) make the kind of yelping indie-pop thats brash and infectious. On the surface their fast-paced skittering squall has so much joy, but beneath the ornate bush of guitars and rimshots theres always this hint of frustration with the world, with romance or in Le Sighs case, they can be found wrestling with both: debunking the myth of late-night love in the clubs and kebab shops of Solihull (or any other small town).

FINLAND: GlueBypassers - Heaven Knows I Was Gonna Choose It Heaven Knows I Was Gonna Loose ItBypassers are from the city of Tampere, which is called the Manchester of Finland. Coincidentally or not, these four guys find inspiration in classic Manchester bands Oasis and The Stones Roses to create some powerful guitar-based Britpop. Bypassers have recently relocated to London, from where they have released a very solid debut EP which includes this easy-to-remember song title Heaven Knows I Was Gonna Choose It Heaven Knows I Was Gonna Loose It.

GREECE: MouxlalouloudaRuined Families - Only Need Is RealRuined Families album Blank Language radiates a desperate, ramshackle charm that runs counter to the ferocity and frigid gloom of the music. Their blistering, rowdy post-hardcore and punk has a powerful, raw intensity; there are sharply dissonant, throat-wrenching and angular groans, stutters and roars; the thundering drums and braying guitars pummel relentlessly over the breathless hurtle of nine exhilarating songs. Listen to the explosive, emotionally overwhelming Only Need Is Real and watch the brilliant video for Pedestal with compiled footage from their recent European tour.

INDIA: NH7Gumbal - AlbatrossArjun Iyer and Satish Sridhar make up Gumbal, a brand new electro-pop project based in Mumbai. Their first public offering is A For, an EP spawned from a couple of days of songwriting and recording, all of it constructed in the key of A. Iyer and Sridhars influences from their previous melodic alt-rock project Eatshootleave have definitely crept into Gumbal, giving it plenty of catchy melodies, quietly confident vocals and an urgency thats much welcome in this style of music. Fans of A Perfect Circle, Puscifer, Incubus and Radiohead will like this. Albatross is our much-fought-over pick off A For, though the EP is quite the trip when listened to from start to finish.

INDONESIA: DeathrockstarDanilla - BuaianDanilla is a young woman who sings about attraction in the style of 1950s Indonesian romanticism. You wont be able to resist the swing of her graceful alto vocals. Her debut album Telisik is available to purchase via iTunes.

ITALY: PolaroidSin/Cos - AwayLush electro-pop with a soul, and a lot of autotune and harmonizer too. This is the sound of a young man struggling with his feelings. Darkness and light fight each other, and in the middle stands the voice of Maolo Torreggiani (My Awesome Mixtape/Quakers And Mormons), the main instrument in the first Sin/Cos album Parallelograms.

JAPAN: Make Believe MelodiesHideo Nakasako - Groove MeDespite the title, Groove Me is not totally devoted to the dancefloor. Osaka beatmaker Hideo Nakasako definitely adds in plenty of feet-moving elements, it just takes a little bit to really kick in. The first minute of this washes over the listener, leaning towards being contemplative. Then the drums zip in and it goes off in a new direction, further pushed onward by sliced-up yelps.

MALTA: Stagedive MaltaSkimmed - IsobelSkimmed bring together an affinity for producing brooding, intense tracks infused with 60s pop sensibilities to create what are essentially pop songs with a deeper, darker and more intimate element. Isobel is one of the more haunting tracks on their 2013 debut album Summer Lovers.

MEXICO: Red Bull PanamérikaLos Blenders - Surf De AmorThe bands Facebook profile announces: "The Blenders stole your dads hairdo, your moms panties and your sisters heart." Surf De Amor is a great surf/lo-fi song adorned with 70s aesthetic, which inevitably suggests long cars, large tufts and many fans surrounding this band from Mexico City. Its video will give you a bigger picture.

PERU: SoTBLos Mostos Verdes - CalimaThe music of Los Mostos Verdes is predominantly reggae mixed with rhythms such as dub, funk and rock to achieve a more universal sound. In 2013 they released their first album with 10 innovative tracks that convey positivism and happiness. Calima is its first single.

PORTUGAL: Posso Ouvir Um Disco?Thomas Anahory - Hey HeyThomas Anahory is a true beach boy. When he is not writing and playing his songs, he spends his days on the coast bodyboarding. Thomas says he is inspired mostly by American rock classics such as Bob Dylan, The Doors and Bruce Springsteen, but his music is also reminiscent of 80s bands The Long Ryders, Miracle Legion and The Alarm. Hey Hey is taken from his newest album Thank Your Lucky Stars.

PUERTO RICO: Puerto Rico IndieJuventud Crasa - Despúes Del TiroteoPuerto Ricos decade-plus punk veterans Juventud Crasa are one of the islands most beloved bands. Their "California via Spain" style has resulted in a polished yet abrasive sound that is instantly recognizable and catchy as hell. The band recently released a split 7" EP with local up-and-comers Tus Idolos, which opens with the explosive track Despues Del Tiroteo.

ROMANIA: Babylon NoiseViolent Monkey - Funk Strikes BackViolent Monkey are a band from Bucharest who are influenced by funk and Motown, as well as electronic music.

SCOTLAND: The Pop CopThe Second Hand Marching Band - This Is The StoryFor an exuberant folk-pop collective whose membership has been as high as 23, each with an assortment of extravagant instruments in tow, one of the most remarkable things about The Second Hand Marching Band is the fearlessness they show in confining a song to a single vocal and acoustic guitar if thats what they think works best. In 2010, they gathered some homespun EPs and rarities into a charming release titled Compendium. Since then theyve been recording in ad hoc spaces to weave their debut album proper, A Hurricane, A Thunderstorm. Out on March 2, its a triumph of diversity, veering from bellowing, unpretentious pop to sparse, poignant laments.

SOUTH KOREA: Korean IndieBig Phony - Bedford StopSinger-songwriter Big Phony released his first album in 2005 and has since put out several more, most recently the twin offerings of acoustic album Bobby and the more electronic pop-oriented Long Live The Lie earlier this month. The sweet and addictive Bedford Stop appears on both, but this is the comforting, home-recorded version that opens Bobby. Big Phony is headed for SXSW next month.

SPAIN: MusikornerBeing Berber - AnthemBeing Berber describe their music as a "pile of re-used beat up cassettes for road trips". The grandiloquence of M83 is easily noticeable as their main influence. Not afraid of delivering a song thats easy to sing along to, what we have is a real Anthem.

Available link for download

Music Video First Aid Kit Cedar Lane

First Aid Kits "Emmylou" was my favorite track of 2012. Seemingly out of nowhere the Swedish duo managed (in that way that many musicians from other countries do) to consolidate the 1970s Gram Parsons/Emmylou Harris country into something refreshing and new while paying homage to the original. June 10, First Aid Kit drops Stay Gold, which I hope has more than one The Outsiders, reference in it, Pony Boy. And, today, the group let us see "Cedar Lane" a bewitching track from the album with a lilting chorus and psychedelic video. Enjoy below and pre order Stay Gold  here.

Available link for download

Music Video Sharon Van Etten Taking Chances

Almost a month ago, we gave Sharon Van Etten our coveted Track of the Day post for "Taking Chances" -- her newest, slow-roller of a track off the forthcoming "Are We There." Today, we bring you the same track, but this time with visual accompaniment where the illustrious songstress has her tarot read to trippy results.  Enjoy below:

Available link for download

Music Alliance Pact February 2015

Click the play button icon to listen to individual songs, right-click on the song title to download an mp3, or grab a zip file of the full 19-track compilation through Dropbox here.

 UNITED STATES: We Listen For You Twin Limb - Long Shadow The music of Twin Limb is that constantly folding and dancing smoke of a freshly blown-out candle. Minimalist sounds find itself turning into emotional highs as the pure talent of Twin Limb sneaks through the smallest mannerisms of brilliant songwriting.

ARGENTINA: ZonaindieEnero Sera Mio - Hasta Encontrarte"January will be mine" is the translation of singer-songwriter Sol Fernandezs artistic project. Her music is a perfect match of soft melodies and dream-pop with carefully crafted arrangements and sound landscapes. This track is from Enero3, her latest work, which is being released through Bandcamp.

AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?Nite Fields - PrescriptionPrescription is the second single from Brisbane four-piece Nite Fields long-awaited debut record Depersonalisation. While the intricate guitar work and broody vocals echo The Church, theres a humid, curiously distant tone here that is something totally their own. Starting with sparse prickly guitars and splashy drumming, the song folds in on itself towards the end, becoming slightly claustrophobic but in an intimate, whispery way. Nite Fields keeps you at arms length - you have to squint through the haze of effects and layers to get a hold of anything solid, but once you do, youve already fallen hard for this moody and mysterious band.

CANADA: Ride The TempoWillows - The Shape Im InJohnny McArthur and Eric Moore make up the electronic duo Willows. They venture into uncomfortable territory melodically. The swirling repetitive underlying of The Shape Im In resembles the dizzying sensation of intoxication. The bursts of energy are like the highs that come back to the inevitable lows.

CHILE: Super 45Sin Órbita - AtardecerSin Órbita is a duo formed by Paula Roa and Martin Perez Roa, who last year released their first record, Neón EP (Sudamerican Records). Flirting with electronica and soul, the band are a mixture of Massive Attack trip hop cadence and AlunaGeorge sensuality.

DENMARK: All ScandinavianThe Radar Post - TracesSongwriter and producer Esben Svane will release his debut solo album as The Radar Post in April. The record will also be titled The Radar Post (hes keeping his real name for an album in Danish later on) and heres first great single, Traces, which you can also download in WAV format on SoundCloud.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: La CaseteraMULA - Up & DownMULA is a new experimental project formed by Anabel and Cristabel Acevedo (the twins from folk duo Las Acevedo) and up-and-coming DJ Rach Ro. Even though their musical backgrounds are very different, they want to defy certain preconceptions about mixing electronica with more urban styles. Up & Down, their first single, takes from reggaeton rhythms and electronic accents to create a space-like musical journey. Their first full record is out on February 22 on their self-made label, Pulcra Records.

ECUADOR: Plan ArteriaMama Soy Demente - La Buena SuerteMama Soy Demente is an experimental rock band founded in 2005 by El Ermitaño and Jolgorio Vocal. La Buena Suerte is the first single from their third and latest studio album, El Disco Rojo, an eclectic record brimming with energy and power.

INDONESIA: DeathrockstarMuch - Carried AwayFrom Malang with Much love. The duo, consisting of Dandy Gilang and Aulia Anggia on vocals, will rock you with their fuzz-pop beat and embrace you with their warm distortion.

IRELAND: Hendicott WritingFeaturing X - Wild LoveA pop-rock teenage quintet from the back-roads town of Drogheda on Irelands east coast, Featuring X are fast gaining traction for their buoyant, lively sound and skilful axe-womanship. Wild Love is their distinctive cover of Rea Garveys classic, loaded with harmonies and feisty riffs. As well as new recordings, weve been promised something else, something special in 2015.

ITALY: PolaroidHavah - Meno Di MetàJonathan Clancy from His Clancyness and A Classic Education recently started a new label called Maple Death. The inaugural release is a split 12 EP between His Electro Blue Voice (already on Sub Pop and Sacred Bones), who contributed a hypnotic 19-minute track, and Havah, the new project of Michele Camorani (from punk hardcore legends La Quiete and Raein). Havah have a darker, colder and more post-punk sound. They usually play fast and short songs, and they are incredible.

JAPAN: Make Believe MelodiesEriqu - Gang StarNeck-twisting wonkiness has been a common trait in most notable bedroom-produced Japanese electronic music worth checking out. Eriqu has his fair share of all-over-the-place tracks, but when he focuses a bit on the thundering Gang Star, he comes up with one of his best numbers to date. It ploughs ahead, although Eriqu adds a few unsettling touches such as scrambled voices or what sounds like a man making dog barks.

MALTA: Stagedive MaltaYews - Keep Trying Till Its SomethingSinger-songwriter Yasmin Kuymizakis (Yews) composes and produces ethereal electronic pop music in her bedroom. Currently based in London, she has a different set-up every time she performs live, playfully changing and adapting her simple songs. Her debut Selene EP was released in 2014.

MEXICO: Red Bull PanamérikaSotomayor - CieloRaúl Sotomayor and his sister Paulina were part of Mexico Citys Beat Buffet, a hip hop combo that parted ways with its other members a few months ago. Not much time had passed when they announced this new project, whose introduction card is Cielo, a beautiful, downbeat, sensuous electropical tune.

PERU: SoTBLos Outsaiders - NiñaLos Outsaiders are a great garage-rock group based in Lima. Led by Charlie VTW, their sound is influenced by classic and contemporary rocknroll. They recently released their first album with the help of producer Gordon Raphael, known for his work with The Strokes.

PORTUGAL: Posso Ouvir Um Disco?Cave Story - RichmanHailing from the city of Caldas da Rainha, Cave Story are Pedro Zina (bass), Gonçalo Formiga (vocals, guitar) and Ricardo "Caguincha" Mendes (drums). Their sound will delight fans of Pavement. Richman is an obvious tribute to the great American musician Jonathan Richman.

SCOTLAND: The Pop CopMonogram - Anno(mute)Monogram, aka Liam Rutherford, first appeared in MAPs August 2013 edition under his previous pseudonym Mast. The accompanying song, Romance, was my favourite of that year. Anno(mute) is a subtler, haunting offering, but remains true to his DIY ethic. Working from a remote cabin studio in the Borders, he plays all instruments, designs his own artwork and self-produces his promo videos to create an all-encompassing experience.

SOUTH KOREA: Indieful ROKJoJo Blowhard - Good NightOperating under the motto that "lying is OK", JoJo Blowhard writes sad songs that make for great company. His first EP Good Night was released in late 2013, but he has come under the spotlight again with the recent release of the title tracks video. A sober melody paired with JoJo Blowhards sympathetic voice, the tones from Good Night will linger long after the song has stopped playing.

SPAIN: MusikornerBuck & Cake - Brillo LabialAccording to a close friend of Buck & Cake, the music Douche Buck and Cake Moss play is about "leaving subtleness behind, marrying an old man and counting the days to his demise in order to inherit his fortune. Its dying your hair blonde using cheap products... and refilling your Chanel bottle using that coconut cologne you bought in a dollar shop." Basically, Buck & Cakes electropop is about carelessly giving yourself over to the pleasures of life.

Available link for download