Key Of Grey

March 2nd, 2010 - I thought I'd start a new segment with recommendations of classic albums that you might not have heard yet, but really should. The albums don't need to necessarily be old, but they do have to have that "classic" quality that transcends time. They can be any genre, but I thought that today, I'd start off the series keeping the classic feel in mind. Donny Hathaway is, in my opinion, one of the greatest songwriters of all time. He was ... Read More

Photo courtesy of eytonz November 29th, 2009 - Today's group in the "Artist You May Not Know" series is M83. Do you miss the 80's? Crazy hair, synths, and lots of reverb? Well then, M83 may just be the throwback you're looking for. M83 is the project of French artist Anthony Gonzalez. It was founded by Gonzalez and Nicholas Fromageau in 2001; Fromageau left M83 after the first album. I would characterize the music as very New Wave-ish but with a modern electronic aesthetic. Not ... Read More

Nope, this isn't a picture of the B'z...it's a picture of me playing my Tak Matsumoto guitar again. Finding CC-licensed pictures of B'z was difficult. August 31, 2009 - In preparation for my sabbatical to Japan next week, this installment of the Artist You May Not Know series will highlight the Japanese rock duo B'z. B'z consists of Tak Matsumoto on guitar and Koshi Inaba on vocals. They were formed in 1988 when Tak, already a well known guitarist and studio musician, saw ... Read More

Photo courtesy of Joe Gilder August 3rd, 2009 - Joe Gilder, the man behind the fantastic blog Home Studio Corner, has just released a free EP of his original music for download on his site. The songs were recorded live at his local coffee shop. You just need to send him your email list for the download link. Do it now! Also, if you've never visited Home Studio Corner, you definitely need to drop by and check it out. Joe posts great tips about ... Read More

Photo courtesy of ro July 22nd 2009 - While I've been patiently waiting for the Monome folks to release another batch of 40h kits, I've been exploring all the videos of Monome masters out there. First Edison, and now ro. I never thought I could exploit a 256 button Monome, but watching ro play has enlightened me. His amazing playing (Vimeo video embedded below), showcases the potential of the 256 and mlr software. If you head on over to his website, you can download ... Read More

Photo courtesy of Pterodactyl Squad July 20th, 2009 - Pterodactyl Squad just brought back my youth in their latest release of Weezer covers done in 8bit style. Ah, memories of late night sessions trying to beat Final Fight on the SNES while listening to "Buddy Holly", all while downing 4 litres of Jolt cola. Probably not the best for my health, but boy was it fun. On a semi-related note, I just bought another Super Nintendo for 50 bucks off of Craigslist, including ... Read More

Photo courtesy of Max Tannone July 12, 2009 - Max Tannone dropped me a message a couple days ago alerting me to the release of his mini follow-up to "Jaydiohead", the fantastic Radiohead/Jay-Z remix album I posted about back in February. "Reckoner Encore", stands out as my favorite remix on this album. Just as Linkin Park's remix took "Encore" in a different direction, "Reckoner Encore" brings an even moodier feel to the song. It's available for free download now off of the Jaydiohead ... Read More

July 3rd, 2009 - Air (sometimes written AIR) is a French electronica duo consisting of Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoit Dunckel. Their music can be characterized as down tempo, synthesizer heavy music. The aural landscape is lush, and evokes strong visual imagery. Because of this, Air's music is often used in amateur video shorts (a fantastic example is embedded below). In fact, as I posted about before, it is often through independent shorts that I am exposed to new music and new artists. ... Read More

Photo courtesy of Robert Scales April 30th, 2009 - This installment of "Artist You May Not Know" centres around the French-Canadian band Malajube. Comprised of Julien Mineau, Francis Mineau, Mathieu Cournoyer, and Thomas Augustin, the indie rock group has so far released three albums with their latest, Labrynthes, in stores earlier this year. Malajube first came to my attention with the song "Étienne d'août", a song off their 2006 release Trompe-l'œil. Something about the way that the vocal melodies and rhythm section mirror each ... Read More

Album art courtesy of Minty Fresh Beats February 7th, 2009 - A while ago, I downloaded a mash-up album by Minty Fresh Beats. Intrigued by the prospect of Jay-Z in concert with Radiohead, I had put it into my repository but hadn't listened to it. I'm not even sure who turned me on to it, so if you were the one, let me know and I'll credit you. I just added it to my iTunes library and let me tell you, it's possibly the ... Read More