Beats crossing the Pond

Some could say that America has produced the greatest musicians of all time from Jimi Hendrix to Eric Clapton and B.B. King. I would sometimes agree but feel that our contemporaries from across the big pond would have something to say about it.


One genre that is gaining a lot of popularity currently is ambient music. It has many different branches in rock, jazz, folk, blues, etc. and is able to cross borders that many vocalized bands cannot since the music itself is pure and is not tainted by an individual singer's interpretation.


Being a huge fan of ambient/minimalist/instrumental/acoustic music I've scoured the internet to find groups that produce a soothing sound that I could hear and fall asleep to. My search has ended with 3 amazing bands.
Bibio, is a one-man show that features unique folk guitar work and synth samplings along with soothing nature sounds. I would compare it to walking into a forest filled with life and recording it and queing it to a score on classical guitar. The catchiness keeps the songs in your head for days making the albums irresistible.


Message to Bears is another one-man show that reminds me of being a small child and finding wonderment in even the simplest of objects. The music is simplistic but pure and powerful. It reaches the core of the listener bringing them to the one place they feel safe with thick reverb and beautiful transitions.
Boards of Canada is another band from the U.K. that shows how melodic and beautiful electronica can really be. The overwhelming textures of sounds and melodic waves within each song make listening to their music sensory bliss. Listening to music could turn a cold, terrible, rainy day into warm spring afternoon in a matter of minutes.


It amazes me everyday that artists are able to create such amazing music that can transport the listen to a completely different time and place from which they are in. Seeing what is being created now, I eagerly await the future of music in the coming years as recording technology continues to develop.



Live the life,

Devin


My Top 5 for the Time
· Message to Bears - EP1
· Iron and Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days
· Nizlopi - Make It Happen
· Miracle Legion - Me and Mr. Ray
· The Nerd Parade

Limb Nastiness

Ok so I’ve heard about this new phenomenon called Limb Lopping, and I’m hoping that it’s not what I’ve heard it to be. Are you freaking serious... THis is where guys run around and cut off each other’s cocks, just to get it sewed back on. The more scars the more intense of a lopper you are. "yeah I’ve lopped 6 times see..." This shit is absolutely crazy and the only thing I can do is sit in amazement at how completely ridiculous people have to be to CUT OFF your manhood. I don’t understand, I don’t want to understand, I’m not open to understanding. I think it’s crazy as all hell and if it leads to ED then good. They don’t deserve to reproduce. Why not call it Bobbet-tizing like Laurana did to that guy balimb, ck in the 90’s. Anyway That’s it. No more to say about this crap.

Peace,
Iz

Message to Bears

When considering what music describes your surroundings, my mind instantly jumps to Message to Bears. Bears is the calm, lucid ebb and flow that is my morning train ride, careless lunch break and sprint to catch the last train home.

Message to Bears is a project by Jerome Alexander, who hails from Oxford, England. Across the big lake it seems our brothers are brewing up a great stew of instrumental music as noted in previous mentions of Bibio and Boards of Canada.

Flowing guitar melodies with swirling keyboards and synthesizers in the background is one of many ways I could describe Message to Bears. On the track 'To Make a Portrait,' the song builds from a sad guitar piece to a triumphant electronica infused symphony. Focusing on this intense competition will easily send you to another place and time where the 9-5 simply doesn't matter anymore.

'Green,' was actually the first track I heard from Message To Bears about a year ago. This song, like its title, created the imagery of rolling green fields and the wind making them waiver like waves in the ocean.

'Good Morning' with its tandem video has a childlike innocence to it that only adds volumes to its quality and playability. The sound is much like a search for something, characterized in the video.

I'd be hard pressed to find another artist creating songs as skillfully as Message To Bears in this genre and I suggest that you avid listeners give Jerome an open ear and an open mind. You can find Message to Bears at www. myspace. com/messagetobears.

Live the life,

Devin