The Black Seeds

“Black Sunrise” (mp3)
from “Keep on Pushing”
(LOOP)

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Since forming in 1998, the Wellington-based 7-piece have been winning over fans with their unique blend of reggae, dub, funk and soul, carving out their reputation on the strength of their critically acclaimed studio albums and legendary live performances. They now enjoy a large following all over Aotearoa, as well as a growing fan base throughout Australia and Europe.

The Black Seeds started turning heads around New Zealand following the release of their debut album, 2001’s Keep On Pushing which eventually reached gold sales status. The group’s second studio album, 2004’s On The Sun, added a heavy dose of funk and soul to the dub reggae sound that underpinned Keep On Pushing achieving double platinum sales something that 2005’s Into The Dojo continued.

2009 sees’s the band preparing for their much anticipated fourth release, Solid Ground, and preparing for US 12-show tour with U.S reggae act – John Brown’s Body before heading to the U.K, France, Germany and Switzerland for a 16-show tour.

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Naga

“Que Belleza” (mp3)
from “Secretos”
(Mi Rey Music)

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Naga aka Balazs Fejer started his music career in the end-of-eighties’ alternative era, debuting at Nap-Nap fest with his group Ivan Lendül. He was co-founder of the famous hungarian pirate radio called Tilos.

In the mid nineties he edited the techno-related column of Törökfürdo magazine (Turkish bath), and around the same time graduated as cultural anthropologist. An essay on the acid age turned him towards electronic music. Naga has been on the dance scene as dj since 1994.

At the time he became a recognized dj in Budapest with his remarkable techno sets. While dub, breakbeat, tribal and deep proghouse have become part of his style in the past few years, “Naga-fans” weren’t disappointed by the eclectic sets he played.

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Too Slim and the Taildraggers

“You Gonna Wreck My life” (mp3)
from “Time to Live”
(Burnside Records)

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Although generally lumped into the blues-rock arena, Tim “Too Slim” Langford and his band fall into whatever category a combination of Tom Petty, Creedence and ZZ Top would create.

Perhaps swampy Americana is closer to the trio’s sound, especially on this terrific album. Slim’s been at it for quite a while; nearly two decades, yielding a dozen or so releases when this disc appeared in 2007. But that hard work has paid off, big time.

Langford writes melodies and especially lyrics that show him to be an under the radar talent who has gone unnoticed for too long. Vocally his gruff voice is somewhat similar to Top’s Billy Gibbons and this album is a good example of what that Texas band might have sounded like if they hadn’t cheesed out with synths and dance pop in the ’80s.

Slim’s evocative words and distinctive growling vocals bring surprising introspective depth to music that could easily deteriorate to bar band grind status. This album is several levels above that. Even with all the miles already on Slim’s life odometer, there is plenty of gas left in his tank. His journeyman experience makes these songs resonate more passionately than what’s on the surface and connect on a deeper level.

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Muzology

“Whole Wide World” (mp3)
from “Sun Will Rise EP”
(Soul Shift Music)

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Muzology is the duo of vocalist Martin Adebisi who first burst onto the music scene in 2003 as the lead vocalist for the ’New Love Symphony’ project which teamed him with the extremely talented Barrie ’H’ Hayes (Mr. Chords)

The duo offically joined talents as Muzology (formally Trippwuire) in September 2005 and is currently performing semi live PA’s, and recording and performing acoustic sets and with full band. Muzology is not just a Soulful House act, they have gone on to record some quality smooth grooves.

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Ray Tarantino

“Five O’Clock in the Morning” (mp3)
from “Recusant”
(Ponderosa Music & Art)

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Over the last eleven months award-winning singer songwriter Ray Tarantino has performed more than 150 shows to promote his critically acclaimed debut album Recusant.

Whether it was the sound of a duo vibing next to the Atlantic ocean; a Brazilian-grooved-six-piece band in Southern Europe; a trio formation jamming in a surprisingly-welcoming Germany; a featured solo artist in London’s premiere acoustic nights; a fast-paced NYC-based band or the performance of a light-weight songwriter’s journey across America, Ray has been feeding the flames of his talent for thousands of listeners, only to find that there’s a lot more to come and many many to meet.

With a plan to solidly tour the States over the next two years, Ray is keeping alive the promise he made to himself.

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Peitor Angell

“Kissing The Rain” (mp3)
from “Mindscape Volume 1″
(Frixion Records)

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Whether he is composing beautiful music for films, writing catchy pop songs, arranging and producing records or producing tracks for vocalists for live shows, it is amazing and wonderful to realize the full depth, capability and range of Peitor Angell’s great musical talent.

If you ask him how he is able to encompass so many different genres and styles in his work, he will tell you that he’s fundamentally a conceptualist. “I like to create music that is delightfully unexpected.

I love the challenge of finding the absolute right combination of elements for whatever I am working on. Being versed in a number of different musical arenas enables me greater choices to find a fresh solution to each situation. It keeps my work interesting and steers me clear of falling into standard formulas or repeating myself.”

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Nucultures

“Night Is Beautiful” (mp3)
from “Butterflies, Zebras, And Moonbeams”
(1K Recordings Inc)

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Philadelphia lyricist/vocalist Ellie Perez, guitarist/producer Tim Motzer, and bassist/songwriter Barry Meehan join musical talents to records as the collective ‘Nu Cultures’ with each contributing vocals, songs, words and music to this ambitious 2 CD album project.

At a time when artists and labels are downsizing, this group of Philadelphia artists have ramped it up and released an ambitious 2 CD set “Butterflies, Zebras, and Moonbeams” on 1k recordings. This adventurous collection of music is a kaleidoscope of songs and sound blending shapes and hues with vocals, horns, strings, piano, drum machines, vocal loops, guitars, bass, and left-field electronics into a brilliant textured soundscape of modern pop music.

From three perspectives, lyrically and vocally, “Butterflies, Zebras, and Moonbeams” delves into questions of love, war, darkness, despair, light, and hope. musically it’s an eclectic 21 song journey with acoustic guitars ruminating over electronic and tabla beats; the shimmering vocal downtempo tone-poems of Ellie Perez; the dark foreboding jazz of “Babylon Is Crying”; upright pianos floating over languid grooves of “Think I’m Losin’ It” and the wind swept desert guitar musings of “Mind Dunes.”

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“Hey Baby” (mp3)
from “I Don’t Believe”
(Head Records)

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Winner of the 2003 Melbourne Blues Performer Of The Year, Ash Grunwald is an inimitable blues talent.

Recorded live in the studio, ‚I Don’t Believe‚ is a modern blues and roots album. Featuring Ash’s trademark guitar grooves and stunning, soulful vocals, I Don’t Believe combines delta blues with hypnotic, ‘phat’ grooves. The percussion on the album was created by using a foot controlled sampler, pots, pans, tambourine, beat boxing, claps and his guitar,bringing to the studio the essence of this one man band’s exciting live show.

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Staedler&Waldorf

“Mode In Mind” (mp3)
from “No Way Home”
(Aardvark Records)

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Staedler & Waldorf are a squelchy Welshy drum ‘n’ breaks band with more styles than a Run Run Shaw flick. Rough in the jungle, the dancehall and the house, S&W growl from the stalls, making their namesake look like a rubbish salad and a biro that never works when you’re trying to write a ‘to do’ list. This is “music that f*cks you on the dancefloor” according to a post on their myspace. This is grimy, pulsating, electronica from the home of Clarke’s pies and Shirley Bassey.

Steve Jones has been producing music for more than 20 years, his first five releases as Groovy Onion all placed in the top 5 in the dance chart and secured remix projects for Lee Coombes.

Paul Smith and Steve Jones have worked together on various projects for over nine years. As DBOOGA, they played Glastonbury for 3 years running and now, as Staedler & Waldorf, they’ve teamed up with Lacey Chaiff, and performed for pigs all around space with the equivalent eclecticism of a George Clinton hairdo.

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Feeling Groovies
"Love Is Hip” (mp3)
from “Crowd Pleaser”
(Head Records)

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In the sultry jazz of Koo-Kee, the smooth pop psychedelia of Bluestone and the funky dark abyss of Down Deep, The Feeling Groovies' prove themselves to be a very slick bunch of musicians. Versatile and defying category, The Groovies bounce from your cocktail cabinet to the dance floor without ever losing direction of the overall groove.

The Feeling Groovies washed ashore for but a few weeks to capture the sounds that are CROWD PLEASER. After bustin" a drift on the funky plasma sea with the echo box stuck on 12 the Groovies had plenty to say. Much has been written and said about the Groovies and their music; trippy, dubby, acid-pop-jazz, ambient-lounge-funk. Whatever! All of these apply and at one time or another have been more or less true…

But one phrase has followed the Feeling Groovies from outset – Man this band is a CROWD PLEASER!

Kraak & Smaak

“Keep Me Home” (mp3)
from “Boogie Angst”
(Quango)

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Kraak & Smaak formed in 2003 through a series of chance meetings, and have been winning over audiences all over Europe with their powerful debut album and energy-charged live shows.

Dutch trio Kraak & Smaak, already popular in Europe for their unique blend of funked-up breaks and soul-jumping grooves with elements of Blue Note Jazz is beginning to gain respect in the US as a talented up and coming act.

In 2005, they won the Best Newcomer Award in their native country, Holland, and garnered praise from the likes of Radio 1’s Annie Nightingale, Pete Tong and IDJ.

Citing Jazz, Hip Hop, Funk, New Wave and Breakbeat, as well as all experimental music as their main inspirations, their debut album “Boogie Angst” is unabashedly awash with funked up breaks and soul jumping grooves. The band however simply likes to call it, “Dance music to listen to.”

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Mike Zito

“Love Like This” (mp3)
from “Today”
(Eclecto Groove Records)

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Mike Zito is that rare new artist who is completely in synch with the contemporary music scene, while at the same time having a lifetime’s worth of experience to draw from that informs his music with soul, depth and lasting appeal that grows with repeated listening.

This album is a dream come true for me. I’ve been writing songs, practicing guitar night and day and singing for most of my life. I’ve spent a lot of time in my mind, hoping for the day I would get the chance to record my songs with great musicians in a real studio with a real producer for a real record label. With all that, I couldn’t have been prepared for the magic that has taken place while making “Today.”

I love these songs. They’re my life, my feelings, my being and my craziness. But most of all they’re my awareness. I’m not sure where these songs come from, but I’m thrilled they came to me to write. From a young kid in St. Louis listening to everything I could find and later moving to Texas, music has been everything. My influences are so vast: the spirituality of Hendrix, the purism of Clapton, the passion of Stevie Ray Vaughan, the reckless abandon of Van Halen. I also love the singers and songwriters, the real voices: Johnny Cash, Neil Young, John Prine, Shelby Lynne, Lyle Lovett, Mick Jagger, Tina Turner and John Hiatt —there are so many.

All of it went into “Today.” It’s what I have sounded like in my mind forever. It’s a journey through a life that has just really begun. One of some bad choices, wrong thinking but then, thankfully, waking up. A time of love lost and love found inside myself. I have discovered that everything happens for a reason, and the trick is learning to trust the journey.

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Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials

“Hold That Train” (mp3)
from “Full Tilt”
(Alligator Records)

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From smoking slide guitar boogies to raw-boned Chicago shuffles to the deepest slow blues, guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Lil’ Ed Williams is an awe-inspiring master bluesman. He and his blistering, road-tested band, The Blues Imperials—guitarist Mike Garrett, bassist James “Pookie” Young, drummer Kelly Littleton—are celebrating 20 amazing years together. Live, Lil’ Ed And The Blues Imperials simply can’t be beat as Ed breaks out the deepest back-bends, the highest toe-walks, and the most authentic electric slide-guitar blues being played today. Not since the heyday of Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers has a Chicago blues band made such a consistently joyous, rollicking noise.

The Philadelphia Inquirer expresses it as “raucous and hugely entertaining.” But no matter how you describe it, Lil’ Ed’s seriously inspired music will take you on a fast trip from your chair to your feet. Now, with Full Tilt and a schedule that will take the band on another non-stop tour across the country and across the ocean, Lil’ Ed And The Blues Imperials will continue to rip, roar, rock, roll, bend and fully tilt into the hearts, minds, souls and dancing shoes of Ed Heads all around the world.”

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Dee Brown

“Sunday Jazz” (mp3)
from “No Time to Waste”
(DIGITAL MARKETING GROUP, LLC)
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Dee first became interested in guitar while in elementary school. One of his classmates could listen to a song on the radio and play it back on his guitar. Watching his classmate play fascinated Dee and he wanted to emulate his classmate and started taking lessons with the hopes of one day being able to play like B.B. King.

Dee continued to advance with his playing skills and while still in high school and after college, he decided to form a short lived R&B group before he decided he wanted create an album featuring him on guitar, and teamed up with saxophonist Gentry Shelby to form ’Shelby Brown’.

Since then he has moved on to his solo project ’No Time to Waste’ where his skills as a guitarist, composer, producer and arranger were showcased, for the first time. Brown’s long-time friend & producer Gerald Mitchell of Los Hermanos helped him achieve a sound targeted for Smooth Jazz listeners as guitar and saxophone leads were equally balanced. Brown’s ’No Time to Waste’ is currently available on CD or download. Pick up your copy today!!!

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The Hermit

“Si Vous Me Quittez” (mp3)
from “Turn Up (The Stereo)”
(So Called Recordings)

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The Hermit’s story is one of musical evolution and creative growth. Three albums and multiple tours stretching across almost a decade for founder Hamish Thomson have seen The Hermit’s sound change and evolve, whilst bonds with trusted band-mates Jon Frederiksen (bass), Robert Mitchell (keyboards), and Duane Murrin (guitars) have been strengthened and new vocalist Red welcomed into the fold.

Founded in the year 2000 by Vancouver drummer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Thomson, The Hermit began life as a solo electronic project “Flying out of Solitude”. A successful independent release led to multiple West Coast Music Award nominations and a label deal with Nettwerk Records.

On the 2005 follow-up “Wonderment”, Thomson once again acted as Producer, but this time captured the essence of a diverse pool of musicians and vocalists, garnering The Hermit an Indie Award for “Favourite Electronica Artist” at Canadian Music Week 2006 and a #1 chart placing on Bravo TV’s Video Countdown with “Sir Real”

Building on the collaborative group dynamic that had grown out of touring “Wonderment”, the now five piece group began work on their third album in 2008 “Turn Up (The Stereo)” and 11 shimmering songs about twisted relationships, love, loss, dreams and desire was release in 2009.

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