2 Dec 2013

Laura McBeth's Life Through Music Lists - December





Top Five “SoundCloud Finds” 2013

I’ve said it before and I’m about to say it again – I am not a music aficionado. But I do enjoy a couple of hours of discovery (read: procrastination) time on SoundCloud every now and then. As you know, I love a list, so this year I starting making monthly playlists of SoundCloud discoveries. There are so many awesome musicians and bands all over the web, but here are the five I’ve stumbled across because of SoundCloud and who are now part of my regular listenings.


Black Tooth


I stumbled across ‘Birds of Paradise’, the first release by Black Tooth back in March of this year and immediately loved it. Their sound is as relaxing and ambient as it is dark and disturbing, which is definitely my kind of thing.

A bit of Googling didn’t reveal much, but as a couple more songs appeared on the web over the summer, so did some publicity. Not only do I love the music, but I’m actually pretty excited about the ‘strategy’ and the ethos.

Black Tooth comprises two well-known Canadian musicians and an art director, successful and popular in their own right but “going anon to break from convention, the confines of being known for a certain sound imposes and as a statement against the sometimes celeb-obsessed music culture which focuses more on the artist than on the music they make and its own merits.”

I’ve spent a good 32 minutes mulling over the musical maestros behind Black Tooth, and despite having no basis for this, I’m convinced that one of the two well-known musicians is Ryan Hemsworth… I’m happy to start that rumour here.

Black Tooth SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/ablacktooth
Black Tooth Twitter https://twitter.com/ablacktooth


Broods

I think I’m a bit late to the party on this one as I only heard these guys in October, just as they released ‘Bridges’ but in short, I absolutely adore them, I’ve listened to ‘Bridges’ at least twice a day since discovering them, AT LEAST! They’re a brother-sister duo hailing from New Zealand so have naturally drawn comparisons to Lordes. They’re a little bit The xx, a little bit Alpines, a little bit Imogen Heap (vocally) – all with a wonderfully heavy bassline

Broods SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/broods
Broods Twitter https://twitter.com/broodsmusic

Fyfe

Folky, electronica, alternative, mellow, soulful, moody… pop.

Fyfe (real name Paul Dixon), actually released some tracks back in 2010 under the moniker David’s Lyre, and was essentially dropped by his label.

His EP, Solace, came out earlier this year and it’s become one of my favourite things to listen to. This won’t sound like a compliment but it definitely is: Fyfe is consistently good. Which has gotta be better than hit or miss, right?

Fyfe SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/thisisfyfe
Fyfe Twitter https://twitter.com/thisisfyfe

BANKS 

I LOVE THIS WOMAN. This year has been massive for her and she’s been working with the likes of Jamie Woon (WHERE is he, by the way? Desperately seeking a second album from him), Lil Silva, TEED and SOHN (of ‘Red Lines’ fame).

I first added her to a playlist back in March and I’ve not been able to get enough of the soulful R&B, indie-eletronica brilliance since.

She recently made it onto the BBC Sound of 2014 Longlist and TEED describe her sound as “baby-making music.”

How much more convincing do you need?

BANKS SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/banksbanksbanks
BANKS Twitter https://twitter.com/hernameisbanks

Shy Girls

Shy Girls, aka Dan Vidmar, delivers moody minimalist pop that’s all, y’know: feelings. He works in a hospital by day and makes these lovely sounds by night.

And they are lovely. Nice, even. Some have said too nice, and I’d probably tend to agree that a full-on 12 song Shy Girls album might take ‘saccharine-pop’ to eye-gouging levels. But that’s where the remixes (of which there are many) save the day; Under Attack, The Drum remix is definitely worth a listen or five.

Shy Girls SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/shygirls
Shy Girls Twitterhttps://twitter.com/shygirlsmusic

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