Archive for February, 2010

Posted on February 28, 2010 - by Mark Zonda

Sylvia Paradiso neo italo beat

In case you just didn’t know, there’s a whole new mania started on the internet called “Neo Italo Movement”. So many fresh new band are emerging poppin’ out from all around the world, sharing songs inspired by the old ’80s Italo Disco wave that will converge in a future compilation called “Neo Italo Vol.1″. (more…)

Posted on February 23, 2010 - by Mark Zonda

Prove d’orchestra

Guess there’s a reason if in a certain moment of history Italy decided to step away from the Eurovision Song Contest and carry alone with Sanremo Festival.

And I guess there’s a reason too if the big stars of the Italian pop music scene decide not to come back to the festival stage, since once they won their diffidence on the system and tried to give it a chance, they found themselves out of the contest to let the most infamous characters built up by television shows take their position at the winning place. That’s right.

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Posted on February 21, 2010 - by Mark Zonda

Still Flyin’… never gonna touch the ground!

So I’m asking you. When you do like a band? I know if for sure because I had all the symptoms, such as leaving 40 Euros on band’s desk buying all their discography and at least a shirt (and the official dancer of the band tryed to stop me from committing this wallet financial suicide telling me that just the last album was enough). (more…)

Posted on February 16, 2010 - by Mark Zonda

The Leisure Society interview

I think that since we talked about’em on these electric pages The Leisure Society doesn’t even need an introduction any more. Great taste for melodies, magnificent arrangements where ukulele and Gretsch guitars meet and strings and flutes, great harmonic voices on melancholic with a little sprout of irony as well on hearworm tunes. We had a little talk with Nick Hemming. (more…)

Posted on February 14, 2010 - by Mark Zonda

Talking with Digits

Sometime ago I had the pleasure to introduce you to one of the most genuine Canadian electronic artist of our times. Still brand new indie and on its way to grow, Digits was a nice discover to add on my music library. Since I kept on listening to its album quite often I felt the urge to bug the man a little more. Are you with me? Here we go! (more…)

Posted on February 11, 2010 - by John Ellingwood

Redwing Blackbird gonna play some songs…

Amid the daily howl of audio distortion, mental confusion and fuzzy guitar jams it’s amazingly refreshing to hear beautiful music which invites you to pause for a moment and remember what it feels like to be human. Eric Gagne, Austin Wright, Christine Hayward and Jeffrey Murphy offer just this invitation in Redwing Blackbird’s sophomore album titled That River Skinned A Bear. (more…)

Posted on February 10, 2010 - by Mark Zonda

The Clever Square

Where do indie bands go when they’re having some days off from recording sessions and big times on wild rock’n'roll stages?  At the pub of course! It’so that young mates from The Clever Square renew their presence in the wickest lairs of Ravenna as a training place to exercise and practice with the new à-trois formation experimenting new arrangements and new songs as well, garanting Ste to have more time at his hand to have fun with his brand new bass (getting Pixier every day) and Gec to get loose in songwriting sharing his naive, personal, clever and psychotic scenarios with his live audience (probably thinking he’s just gibbering random sounds). (more…)

Posted on February 9, 2010 - by Mark Zonda

Monzano Speaks

Just when you expect yet another band from Sweden, here you come not even a bit disappointed: a new band from… NORWAY! A revised and refined sound à-la-joydivision 2.0, on the same vague of the coolest indie club bands since the Ferdinand Revolution, a “little cure” behind cages, Monzano is no “Titus Andronicus” and sacrifice the anger and the rebellion of its youth to a clever radiophonic pop ready to please your hears after February the 15th with the release of a new album called “By This Time Last Year Everything Will Seem Younger”. We had the honour to shake hands and exchange some questions with Sjur Lyseid. (more…)

Posted on February 9, 2010 - by Mark Zonda

Tighten Up Your Tie, Button Up Your Jacket, Listen to Felili

Felili was a nice discover on the broad indie underground often way too dark to discover brand new gems lost between (my)spaces and tiny productions. They still deserve a lot, and the chanteuse Felili was able to persuade me with her kweel musical taste (Amy Winehouse, Neneh Cherry, Charlotte Hatherley could easily find a suitable place in her songs) and an album clever enough to blend different sounds and genres without losing personality. Here’s our little chat with the artist. (more…)

Posted on February 5, 2010 - by Mark Zonda

A night with Mojomatics and guest

I sometime wonder what does it takes to a new band to deserve a little special place in my heart. Could it be the astonishing voice of the singer? It usually never happens. Usually the magic trick is done by melody and a good song writing, with a bit of originality in mind, still that’s not always true. Take “Movie Star Junkies” for example. Didn’t know the band, but it was one of those little positive collateral effects you get to be involved in when you’re stuck in the club waiting for the main attraction: here it is, the opening act. (more…)