Today I'd like to introduce a new Weekly Sounds concept called a 'Short'. As you might have noticed the amount of blogs I've put out lately is a bit low. There are several reasons for this: Sometimes I discover an artist which hasn't made a lot of music yet, other times I find myself lacking the time to do research and write a proper post. In times like these I will upload Shorts;short posts that contain a music video and possibly some basic information but no elaborate link-filled article. You can recognise them by the Short-logo in the picture and (Short)-addition to the post title. In this way I'll be able to provide you with a more continuing flow of new music. Hopefully you'll enjoy them.
Back in 2008 my brothers and I used
to play the game Guitar Hero 3. It's a rhythm game featuring a guitar
controller in which you have to press coloured buttons in the order that they
appear on screen. As you progressed through the game the songs became
increasingly difficult to play, with at its pinnacle: Through the Fire and Flames by DragonForce (watch this video to get
an idea of what I'm talking about). My hands still hurt thinking about it, but
what a great introduction to a new band.
DragonForce is a power metal band
originating from Britain and was already founded in 1999. Power metal
distinguishes itself from other heavy metal genres in that it's faster and has
a more uplifting sound. In contrast to other metal styles power metal also
relies more on the use of keyboards, though some bands use them more than
others.
DragonForce's first relative success
came with the 2005 song Fury of the Storm,
although it didn't manage to chart. On year later the band released Through the Fire and Flames which seemed
to undergo a similar fate, until 2008 when it was featured in Guitar Hero. The
song, and the band, blew up and reached the Billboard Hot 100. And for good
reason I might add, every metal fan can't help but be impressed by the insanely
awesome guitar solos.
After their major success DragonForce
released several albums and had some personnel changes, including their lead
singer. In 2015 DragonForce's guitarists Herman Li and Sam Totman collaborated
with the kawaii metal band BABYMETAL (read more about them in my earlier post) on
their song Road of Resistance, which
indeed has a very DragonForce-like sound to it.
Last month the band released their
latest album entitled Reaching into Infinity. It's their longest album so far
and features great songs like Curse of Darkness
and my favourite Ashes of the Dawn. I
hope this album brings back the recognition this band, in my opinion, deserves.
Marian
Hill, consisting of producer Jeremy Lloyd and vocalist Samantha Gongol, is a
relatively new group that started out in 2013. My two favourite songs of their
debut EP 'Play' are Loveit and
especially One Time. I like the jazzy
feel that both songs have due to use of a saxophone.
In 2015
the group released a second EP with several new songs, but it wasn't until 2016
that they released their debut album 'Act One'. The album contains a nice range
of songs, from the relaxing I Know Why,
to the urban Mistaken and the
swinging I Want You. This last song
reminds me a bit of the electro swing produced by ProleteR.
Currently
their latest released song, the earlier mentioned Down, has almost 21 million views on YouTube so it's safe to say
the group is blowing up. I can't wait to hear more of their saxy songs.
The Eurovision Song Contest, the
longest-running annual international TV song competition in the world, was
broadcasted again last week. This year several hundred million people watched the
42 participants put on a show on the stage in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Many people however, especially the
ones that call themselves music fans, don't like Eurovision. They
associate it with bad (read: commercial) music, crazy outfits and stupid
dances. I have to admit this is partly true, but in recent years the amount of
good acts is certainly increasing.
The reason I still watch the event
every year is because it's an excellent way to discover new music. On the one
hand there's the traditional/folkloristic songs like Belarus and Hungary, while
on the other hand there are the modern ballads as performed by Poland and
Denmark (coincidently both were playboy models, but that's beside the point). Both
electro (Norway) and rock (Ukraine) fans could also find something to their
taste. Norwegian EDM producer JOWST was actually granted an exception for the
use of pre-recorded vocals, which is normally not allowed. There's also room
for different singing techniques as shown by the opera singer from Croatia and
the yodelling duo from Romania.
The winner of this year's contest is
an eccentric singer from Portugal named Salvador Sobral. His song Amar Pelos Dois sounds like it was
composed in the 1960's but at the same time doesn't sound outdated. It's a
beautiful composition that had the power to completely relax me amidst all the
hard hitting dance tracks. A rightful winner if you ask me.
Other favourites from this year's
show:
The Netherlands (the girls from
O'G3NE have hands down the best harmonies in the competition)
Iceland (Svala brings a retro 80's
electronic sound)
France (A catchy pop song sung by
the beautiful Alma)
I believe it was a Thursday or
Friday morning some weeks back, when I walked into the laboratory I work in.
Most of the times the radio is tuned in to a pop or rock station, playing all
the regular hits. This particular morning however something else entirely was
playing.
What I heard was one of the most
unique voices I've ever encountered in music. The arrangement itself had a
relaxing downtempo drum beats, beautiful moody strings and
several layers of mellow synthesizers. The music was such a perfect fit to my
end-of-the-week-tiredness that I stopped walking and just listened to it for a
while.
The song that played was Mend (to Fix, to Repair) by the Canadian
duo Elsiane and is featured on their 2007 debut album Hybrid. It's a great album
that showcases the diversity of Elsiane's sound. There are some easy listening
pieces like Across the Stream and Prosaic, but also some more experimental
works like Ecclesia and my personal
favourite, the title song; Hybrid.
There's even a cello solo on the album, In a Crisis...
In 2012, five years later, Elsiane
released their second album: Mechanics of Emotion. This album is a lot more experimental, featuring
several songs which are not much more than some ambient electronic chords, and
thus not really my cup of tea. That is not to say that the album does not
contain any nice songs at all, Slowbirth
and Acceptance are both quite
enjoyable.
Last month, again after five years,
the group released their third album: Death of the Artist (they're nothing if
not consistent). I like this album
better than the previous one since it's less experimental, the songs have a
longer duration and feel more rounded. My absolute favourite work on this album
is Fragilidad which has a cool bossa nova
drum groove accompanied by some sweet woodwinds giving it somewhat of a
tropical vibe.
Many thanks to my colleague for introducing
me to this unique sounding duo! Let's hope we don't have to wait another five
years for their next album.
One of the first genres I discussed on
this blog was country rap. It might therefore not come as a surprise to some
readers that I'm a fan of country influences in music. A genre that also
incorporates elements of country music, but is completely different from the
earlier mentioned country rap is southern rock.
Southern rock is best described as a
combination of country and hard rock. Often people confuse the genre with
country rock which is similar, but milder sounding due to its more frequent use
of acoustic guitars instead of electric ones.
I discovered Black Stone Cherry 4/5
years ago in an unlikely place, a Kung Fu video game, where their song Rain Wizard was featured on an in-game
radio station. The song came from Black Stone Cherry's eponymous 2006 debut album
which also featured Lonely Train. While
both songs, and others on the album, are great they don't necessarily clearly
showcase the southern rock vibe. The country influence is perhaps more clearly
visible in White Trash Millionaire
and even better inLike I Roll. My all-time
favourite song of the band however is Meand Mary Jane which is a kick-ass song with an addictive hook.
The
latest album from the band titled 'Kentucky' dates from 2016 and contains Soul Machine and Cheaper to Drink Alone, among others. I for one have added them to
my playlist. Does anybody else have a sudden craving for beer and summer?
Seoul, or the 120 Days of Sodom, the latest single from San E, is a
song that describes the vices associated with fame; alcohol, drugs and sex. It
stands in stark contrast to the poppy start of the rapper.
Back in
2010 Korean born, but US raised rapper San E signed a record deal with JYP
Entertainment, one of the three biggest record labels in Korea. As you might
know the Korean record industry tightly controls every aspect of their artists,
from their music to their image. In the case of San E this resulted in his
debut single Tasty San, a song that's
mostly just comical and meant to reach a large audience. Even though he had
some minor success San E's ambition and style however made him decide to leave
JYP Entertainment in 2013 and join Brand New Music, a label focusing on hip hop
and R&B. This change was accentuated by the release of Rap Circus, a hardcore hip hop song in which he criticizes his
previous image. This was quickly followed by his first #1 charting song Story of Someone I Know, a serious but
more accessible song.
San E's career
took off, he collaborated with many
Korean rappers and singers to create hit after hit, including: Where Did You Sleep (with label mates
Verbal Jint and Swings), A Midsummer Night's Sweetness (a sugar sweet duet with singer Raina) and the sexy Body Language.
Everything
seemed to go well for the rapper. He released an album in 2015 and was a judge
and host on TV shows like 'Show Me The Money' and 'Unpretty Rapstar'. By the
end of 2016 however all the fame and money started to go to his head. He became
arrogant, depressed and addicted to alcohol and drugs. This process and how he
overcame it was conceptualised in his latest EP 'Season of Suffering'. In the
song Seoul, or the 120 Days of Sodom
he describes the first stage, as mentioned earlier. In Counselor he acknowledges that he has a problem and discusses his
condition, playing both the patient and the counsellor. Finally in I Am Me he accepts himself and overcomes
his depression.
The
'Season of Suffering' EP is probably one of my all time favourite K-Rap releases.
I'm glad to see San E is recovered and can't wait to find out which hits he has
in store for 2017.
