check out the full story here

http://encore.celebrityaccess.com/index.php?encoreId=142&articleId=27253

This is the press release, as sent out by Envision Management & Production.

www.amontobin.com

There are run-of-the-mill artist websites where nothing ever changes and flash looks disguise lack of content. That’s around 90% of them accounted for. Then there are those few where you get stuff you’re not getting anywhere else.

Once a month for the next six months, Amon Tobin will be releasing one exclusive track (not previously released on any album) made available for sale directly through his web site at http://www.amontobin.com. But not only is there exclusive material, there’s the chance to generate your own exclusive material. Site users are being invited to submit videos for these songs for compilation on an eventual DVD release.

Tobin’s web site already features a community element. The Fans’ Videos section of the site provides a platform for people to submit their own films for his tracks. Tobin’s music is known for being cinematic and providing a perfect accompaniment to moving pictures (as evidenced in his score of films such as “Taxidermia” and games such as “Splinter Cell 3: Chaos Theory”). You only have to look at the list of his scored and licensed works (also on the site, in the Media section) to see that. Amon Tobin has decided to embrace this marriage of music and image and see what results are forthcoming.

Don’t get us wrong, though – Tobin’s site has enough bells and whistles to keep any midget-attention span satisfied. Check out the game that’s prominently featured - through a 360 degree search and a series of clicks, you can unlock the creatures that live within the site to witness a unique demonstration of 3D animation in synch with Amon’s scores. Set up the right speakers and note that the whole experience is in surround sound.

In addition to the exclusive tracks in the coming months, Tobin will be offering a digital release of his soundtrack to “Taxidermia”, live mixes, ringtones and ringbacks, as well as new designs for t-shirts, hats, posters, desktops, CDs and vinyl. You can stay posted by grabbing the Amon Tobin gydget (link).

Stop reading, log on, enjoy.

the idea back then was to do a thing called "Project 56" which was 56 tracks for people with short attention spans...  instead of waiting years to finally throw it together,  i figured i'd just toss it to everyone.

so!  feel free to download and exploit these tracks in any way your evil heart desires....  if you use these commercially, all i ask is that you give credit where credit is due!

Go to samples

OVERGROWN ADOLECENSE

HIGHBROW TEEN ANGST

MUSIC

"Where do you go to my lovely" - Peter Sarstedt

"Farewell to Earnest" from Merchant-Ivory's film The Householder - Jyotitindra Moitra & Ustad Ali Akbar Khan

"This Time Tomorrow" - The Kinks

Title Music from Merchant-Ivory's film The HouseHolder - Jyotitindra Moitra & Ustand Ali Akbar Khan

MOVIE POSTERS

OTHER LINKS (from the A.V. Club)

10 Films That Couldn't Have Happened Without Wes Anderson

16 Films Without Which Wes Anderson Couldn't Have Happened

Music from Los Angeles:

Download free tracks from Goodnite Life

Finally EMI gets some good press.

EMI will give away three free tracks by including codes with the NY Daily News on February 3 (Super Bowl) and February 10 (Grammies). To redeem the codes, NY Daily News buyers will visit the newspaper's website and enter the codes. NY Daily News paid EMI a lump sum which the label will pass back to the artists.

"The Daily News's impressive Sunday readership gives EMI a great chance to showcase our talented family of artists to the large and diverse population of New York City and the surrounding areas," said Ronn Werre, Executive Vice President of Global Sales for EMI Music. "Our agreement with the Daily News will help us expose new audiences to the ease and quality of digital music while ensuring our artists are compensated for the music they create."

See Wired article here.

Zoë Keating is a Canadian-born cellist and composer based in Portland, Oregon. She played second-chair in cello-rock band, Rasputina, from 2002-2006. According to her biography, in her solo performances & recordings (particularly the ongoing project she calls "One Cello x 16") she uses live electronic sampling & repetition in order to layer the sound of her cello, creating rhythmically dense musical structures. She has been described as a one-woman string quartet & it sounds great!

Her 2005 album "One Cello x 16: Natoma" is also partially streamable here.

Official Site | MySpace

As I've been extremely busy recently, I'm very behind on CD reviews. Instead, I thought I'd write a feature & hopefully the review of the new album won't be too long after.

All:My:Faults are a German alternative/industrial band. They were founded in 2003 by Steve Kiai soon after he left his alternative band, where he sang & played bass. Two years later, after writing his own music, performing in clubs & waiting for the right live musicians to come along, he met Jonas Iscariot who was willing to play a major role in the band.

It is interesting the way the band release music (& they've been doing it long before Radiohead & Oasis tried their hand at it). All releases by the band are free under the Creative Commons License & are stored on free publishing websites such as Archive.org.

Their new release will become public in full on 23rd November (it has been "leaked" gradually over the course of the last month on Last.FM) or it will be available to purchase on iTunes one week later. People can buy the release online, download for free or donate some money for it. They've released music this way since their first release 'Secrets' in 2006. If 100 or more people buy the whole album they will then release a physical CD as a Digipak in 2008 and all downloaders & supporters of the band can get the CD for the shipment price only.

You can download their back catalogue online for free (or purchase them/donate money):

Secrets (2006) - download or buy from iTunes
The Anger Manifest EP (2005/2007) - download

There are also the "leaked" free tracks from the upcoming album 'neo.NøiR' on their Last.FM page. I like the new album quite a lot & think it's definitely worth checking this band out if you're into alternative/industrial/darkwave.

I will post the link to the full new album on the 23rd.

Official Site | MySpace

Heroína is a one woman experimental/noise project from Porto, Portugal & started making music this year. At present Heroína has one demo, called 'Maquete', which is available for streaming on the official site & download online. Although it is not music that everyone will enjoy or appreciate, I think it would suit fans of avant-garde and/or Mike Patton projects such as Mr. Bungle, Fantômas and, of course, his infamous solo works. The demo is mainly acoustic/instrumental pieces & it is certainly interesting. Personally, the two stand-out tracks are 'Lixo Desperdiçado' & 'Latas'. Unfortunately the rest is a bit slow & grating for me, as are most projects like this. It is not really the type of music I enjoy, but I'm sure a select few will like it.

Official Site | MySpace | Download Demo

Photograph by BenjImages.com

I learnt of Halflight back when I was working on my "Frock You" project in 2006. The project focused on women in music, particularly in the South Wales area. They were definitely one of the best bands I came across in the area & I'm kicking myself for not going to see them (or vocalist Sarah Howells' solo shows) live when I had the chance.

I'd sort of forgotten about them until recently, but their song, 'Pick Me', came on my iPod shuffle about a week ago & I got the chills listening to it again. It really is a great song & you can get it for free on their Last.FM page. You can also stream a number of tracks from older EPs. 'Treading Water' is another track to definitely check out, such a haunting song.

As their biography says: Halflight began at the end of 2003 after Sarah Howells' previous band Jylt, tragically came to an end. Bassist, singer & best friend, Nia George had been diagnosed with Leukaemia and eventually died of the illness at only 21. Despite the indescribable sense of loss and despair this brought, Sarah was compelled to continue writing and performing and out of this, Halflight was born.

The band has been described as "the new jewel in the crown of Welsh music" & although this sounds incredibly cheesy, it's hard not to believe. Although still relatively unknown, in the last 12 months they have supported acts such as James Morrison, The Gossip, Sandi Thom, Johnathan Rice & Jonah Matranga.

There is a lot going on with the band at the moment. They have just released a 7 track mini album called 'My Disguise', which you can buy from their official site & some good record shops in the South Wales area. You can hear new songs & view the video for their new track of the same name on their MySpace page as well.

Official Site | MySpace | Sarah Howells

Andy at Bent Penny Records kindly sent me the debut self-titled Tracy Starr album to listen to & review, & I must say I was blown away by the majority of it! They are a hard rock band from Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada and were formed by Steve LeBlanc and Daniel Dupuis (former members of An Acoustic Sin). Their biography describes them perfectly by saying they are "a revival of gutsy, hard hitting, tongue-in-cheek rock and roll" and the music makes you want to "crank up the car stereo". I think that they sound like a mixture of Buckcherry's sleaze & (a more interesting) Velvet Revolver, but that's just me.

The album hits you instantly with 'Yellow Rose', which is the band's new single & is followed by the amazing 'Ride' (the first single from the album). I think that 'Ride' is definitely the best song on the album, with the rockin' 'Step Right Up' coming in at a close second. Both tracks have choruses that stay stuck in your head & music that you want to play at full volume, either to rock out or dance to. Other tracks to recommend from the album are 'Sticks and Stones', 'Stand Up' & 'Chemical Sunshine' (awesome sounding guitar).

The only downside to the album is that it loses momentum & gets a bit samey towards the end, which is a shame. I think that if the album had been shorter (maybe taking tracks such as acoustic/instrumental '401' out), it would be a blinder of a debut album. Admittedly, it is a sound that has been heard before & it's not anything new/original... but in my opinion, there can never be too many bands making the kind of music to just rock out & have a good time to. I like them a lot & think that they're definitely a band to take note of!

You can hear full tracks from this album on their MySpace page & you can also buy the album from Amazon.com, Play.com & their record label.

Official Site | MySpace | Bent Penny Records

Photograph by Chris Edwards.

The free track from iTunes this week is 'What's a Girl to Do?' by Bat For Lashes. I'd heard a lot of good things about Bat For Lashes, so was quite eager to hear the track, & I wasn't disappointed!

Bat For Lashes is the brainchild of Pakistan-born (although mainly brought up & educated in Britain) singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, & visual artist Natasha Khan. After finishing a University degree in film & music & whilst working as a nursery school teacher, she had a dream one night that inspired her first album 'Fur and Gold', & as they say, the rest is history.

The song is haunting & ethereal-sounding, with dark lyrics - exactly my type of track! It reminds me of a few darkwave/goth tracks that I have. I'm sure many people will disagree, as she's been likened to more mainstream artists such as Bjork, Feist, Tori Amos, Kate Bush & Cat Power, but I can hear her as a poppier & British Switchblade Symphony. Maybe it's just me. I really like the song, though, & the creepy sound of it is emphasised by the video that accompanies it:

I've noticed a lot of people have compared it to Donnie Darko & since the Bat For Lashes' MySpace page cites the film as an influence, maybe they're right. I'll definitely be listening to this song a lot & will check out the other tracks she has to offer.

Official Site | MySpace | Tour Dates

I've also started changing the 'Free Music' page. The Last.FM website doesn't really seem to update the free download page, so I've decided to create my own list. I've also included other websites that offer free & legal music downloads. There is some really great music listed - & more soon - so have a look & get downloading! I'm currently trying to file them under the right genres though, so bear with me. Remember that they're grouped fairly loosely as well!

I have some new CD reviews to post in the next week or so & I'm starting to think of how to expand the site. I might start offering to interview bands or something like that. Feel free to get in touch if you have any suggestions, or a CD/track you'd like me to review! I'd be more than happy to do that. Leave a comment or send me an e-mail at:

[no more reviews, sorry]

Apologies for not writing for a week, I have been away & also working on a few reviews to post here fairly soon.

The iTunes Single of the Week is 'Let's Get Lost' by TD Lind. To be completely honest, nothing about this track stands out to me. The track never climaxes or picks up at all, it's very monotonous & quite frankly rather dull. The only thing that I really thought when listening to it was that his voice sounded similar to Adam Levine's (Maroon 5). However, if you did download & like the track, you can hear three other tracks on his MySpace Page & buy his album for under £8 on iTunes.

In other news, according to MySpace bulletins, Christian Hejnal & Jessicka of scarling. are to get married on October 13th of this year! Jack Off Jill have also been nominated for four "South Florida" Slammie Awards: Most Important Band, National release ("Sexless Demons And Scars"), Vocalist and Best Band Name. If you are a fan, show your support & vote for them here. You can also show your support for the band by purchasing newly added JOJ albums on iTunes... or if you already own JOJ/scarling. albums, post a review to help them out. They said that "your support is needed and appreciated".

Photograph by Aoife O'Sullivan

The free track this week is 'Counting to Sleep' by Wallis Bird. Wallis Bird is a 24 year old folk/acoustic/indie artist, originally from Meath in Ireland, but now living in London. Her band is Christian Vinne (Drums), Michael Vinne (Bass) & Aoife O'Sullivan (Backing Vocals/Viola).

The track is really good! I really like the lyrics, & the music is upbeat & catchy. As her Last.FM page says:

With this music, the lyrics reach out and speak to you. It is music from the mind that speaks to the heart. Wallis' songs mirror her life, natural real and honest, what she gives as music is something that cannot be denied , her voice goes under your skin and often mirrors the listeners life too.

The track is definitely for fans of Ani DiFranco (Bird cites her as an influence, saying, "I love women with powerful, gutsy voices. I really looked up to Ani DiFranco when I was growing up. She doesn't give a f**k about anything. She's a really strong woman. You had to listen to her, and she did everything independently. And she's got a huge cult following for that.") & other female singer-songwriters such as Fiona Apple, Tori Amos, Bjork, Feist, Nina Simone, Gemma Hayes & Emiliani Torrini. She also listens to other music which probably have an influence such as ES, Aidan, Damien Rice, Paul Simon, The Grand Mirage, Screaming Headless Torsos, Cinematic Orchestra, Anthony And The Johnsons, Torun Eriksen, Supergrass, Sufjan Stevens & Get Well Soon.

Bird is a self-taught guitarist & she also has an unconventional/unique style of playing guitar. She was born left-handed but severed five of her fingers in a lawn mower accident when she was 18 months old (she had four sewn back on again on her left hand). Due to this she became used to playing the guitar upside-down & right-handed.

You can hear some tracks (including 'Counting to Sleep') on her MySpace Page & on her Official Site. You can also purchase her new album 'Spoons' on iTunes for the special price of £4.74 right now!

"Be happy, look at things in a positive way, and life is so much better."

Official Site | MySpace | Tour Dates

As I was browsing my neighbours on Last.FM, I kept coming across an American/English duo called Hungry Lucy. I noticed that they had some free tracks & their similar artists were other duos such as Collide & Switchblade Symphony (who I like a lot), so I thought I'd give them a try. I'm very impressed! I like them a lot too. You can download/stream full-length tracks from their Last.FM Page if you like darkwave/trip-hop with female vocals.

For those unfamiliar with these genres, here are some snippets from Wikipedia:

Darkwave (Dark Wave): an umbrella term which refers to a movement that began in the late 1970s, coinciding with the popularity of New Wave. Building upon the basic principles of New Wave, Dark Wave evolved through the addition of dark, thoughtful lyrics and an undertone of sorrow.

In a narrower sense Dark Wave has been used for music that mixes elements of different genres such as gothic rock, synthpop, neofolk, medieval and music styles from the post-industrial era.

(read more?)

Trip hop: a term coined by music journalist Andy Pemberton in the UK magazine Mixmag to describe the hip hop instrumental "In/Flux", a 1993 single by DJ Shadow, and other similar tracks released on the Mo' Wax label and being played in London clubs at the time. "In/Flux", with its mixed up bpms, spoken word samples, strings, melodies, bizarre noises, phat bass, and slow beats, gave the listener the impression they were on a musical trip. The trip hop description was applied to the musical trend in the mid-1990s of downtempo electronic music that grew out of England's hip hop and house scenes.

Trip hop gained notice via popular artists such as Massive Attack, Portishead, & Björk, and rock-influenced sound groups such as Ruby, California's DJ Shadow, and the UK's Howie B. Morcheeba, originating from Hythe in Kent, and Londoners Glideascope are also often associated with this sound.

(read more?)

From the Hungry Lucy page, I then went in search for "similar artists" with free/streamable tracks & here are the darkwave/trip-hop/electronic/goth/industrial bands I found:

Android Lust (female vocals)
The Crüxshadows
Ego Likeness (female vocals)
The Last Dance
Lunascape (female vocals)
Technoir (female vocals)

I also suggest having a listen to Collide on MySpace (or you can download tracks on their official site) & Switchblade Symphony on MySpace!

This weeks free track is 'Leni' by GoodBooks, an indie/electronic band from Kent, England. It was better than I expected the track to be, kinda like a more upbeat Bloc Party. The sound is quite typical of most indie bands around right now, but not as boring as some. Not something I'll be listening to a lot, but pleasant all the same. It'll probably suit the mainstream indie fans at the moment. You can download the track at the iTunes Store or you can stream about 13 tracks on their Last.FM page. Their new album 'Control' was released yesterday, & it's £5.99 on iTunes for the next 7 days, if you're interested.

Official Site | MySpace | Tour Dates

In an angry state I was listening to some One Minute Silence tracks & then got all nostalgic. They were the second 'real' band I saw live & although I didn't get into them until a while after that, I was devastated when they announced they were splitting up in October 2003 after just releasing the amazing (& their best, in my opinion) album, 'One Lie Fits All'. Since then, all I've known is that the members were off doing their various projects & Yap (the vocalist) was on a political spoken word tour. I kept checking PlanetYap for a long time, but stopped after a while as nothing seemed to get updated.

I was just browsing Last.FM & found out that Yap is finally making new music under the name Pink Punk. The person who linked to the website stated that he thought Yap had lost his mind & the new stuff is just weird. I would've had a listen anyway, but for some reason it made me want to hear it even more. I must say that I'm slightly disappointed, though. The music is not really my thing & probably not something iId get used to either... plus all i hear is regurgitated One Minute Silence titles/lyrics. I've e-mailed them to get a free MP3 (hopefully not the same as the ones i've heard) so maybe that'll be more promising. I'm with the guy on Last.FM, though... I don't really know what to think about it. I loved OMS, like some of Yap's writing/philosophies/poetry, but I doubt this is something I'll listen to, unfortunately.

If anyone fancies listening to some weird-political-experimental-abstract-hip-hop stuff, you can visit their official site, MySpace page or download three free tracks on Last.FM.

"Stoner rock and stoner metal are interchangeable terms describing sub-genres of rock and metal music. Stoner rock is typically slow-to-mid tempo, with a low-tuned, bass-heavy sound and psychedelic jams. It is riff-oriented and often contains significant repetition with variation. Melodic vocals and 'raw' or 'retro' production are also common traits."

If anyone's interested in listening to some bands in the genre, I'm going to do something a little different with the playlist this week & have 15 stoner rock songs for you to listen to instead of the regular playlist, since I've barely been around this week. Hit the play button to hear the songs in full & enjoy!