June 2009
17 posts
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La Roux - La Roux
La Roux (french for “the red-haired one”) are a Scottish electro-pop duo made up of Elly Jackson (vocals, synth) and Ben Langmaid (co-songwriter, co-producer). Their debut LP was preceded by much music media fervor, with La Roux being featured in The Guardian’s ‘Best New Acts of 2009’ and with “In For the Kill” hitting #2 on the UK singles charts in...
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Independent Music Discoveries, Issue #14
The latest installment from our continuing series…: Wheat - Rock / Folk Rock / Indie - Massachusetts, USA Wheat are a group of guys that may very well have the “quirky indie rock” thing down pat (Rolling Stone thinks so, and they’re Pitchfork-approved), though there is certainly more to them than that. Listening to “H.O.T.T.” (which stands for ‘half of the...
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R. I. P. Sky Saxon (The Seeds) and Michael Jackson
Two iconic artists passed away today: Sky Saxon (frontman of early 1960s garage band The Seeds) and Michael Jackson. Sky Saxon had been hospitalized on Monday, reported in Spinner as “suffering from an undisclosed illness”. He played his last gig on Saturday night at Antone’s in Austin, Texas. Along with groups like The Sonics and The Monks, The Seeds, formed in Los Angeles 1965,...
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Musicians on Call: The Healing Power of Music!
Musicians On Call, formed in 1999, is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing live music performances and recorded music (in the form of ‘CD Pharmacies’) “to the bedsides of patients in healthcare facilities…[using] music to promote and complement the healing process for patients, families and caregivers.” As 2009 marks their 10th anniversary, their goal is...
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What Watching BBC's Planet Earth has Taught Me...
It may surprise you to learn that the hit BBC nature show Planet Earth has a lot of useful information about indie music success, but it’s true (promise). The geniuses who created Planet Earth (whether intentionally or not) have revealed the perfect business model for the independent internet musician. Specifically, we should take a look at their episode on the Jungle. In this episode we...
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YACHT - See Mystery Lights
YACHT is a band, originally begun by Jona Bechtolt (former member of The Blow) and as of last year including new member Claire L. Evans (also a writer on science / science fiction and an artist), as well as a “belief system and business”, according to their Mission Statement. They also have an affinity for triangles and a variety of religions, as evidenced in their Tumblr. As much...
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Independent Music Discoveries, Issue #13
Another week, another round of indie artists- recommend any of your faves in the comments and check out more from our continuing series! The Layaways - Indie / Rock / Alternative - Illinois, USA Chicago band the Layaways have recently released their 3rd LP, The Space Between, available for free download in full on their official site. Described as a “collection of bittersweet pop...
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BLAST THIS: Super Chiptune Genre Busters
[Note: This is the very first article from our new contributor Andy from Dainty Records- we’re glad to have him here at A Future in Noise!] Chiptune. 8-bit. Nintendocore even… You’ve heard of it - it’s that music that sounds like it’s been made on a GameBoy or, in some cases, actually has been made on a GameBoy. It’s dance music that riffs on old school computer games. It’s lo-fi diy...
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Artist Feature: Learning Music Monthly
Learning Music is a group founded by John Wood (based in Los Angeles; keyboardist for Sebastian Tellier and tourist with Inara George of the Bird & the Bee) and containing anywhere from 4 to 20 musicians at a time. With all of the music licensed under Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA), Learning Music Monthly is a subscription-based album-a-month series, available via mailbox delivery as well as...
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Independent Music Discoveries, Issue #12
Another line-up of independent artists who are putting out brilliant music; this may very well be one of our best Independent Music Discoveries series posts yet. As per-usual, recommend your favourite indie artists in the comments! The Golden Sores - Drone / Experimental / Noise - Illinois, USA Every once and awhile, music arrives in my inbox (and in the case of the Golden Sores, in my mailbox,...
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Jordan Galland - Airbrush
Jordan Galland (based in New York), from the band Dopo Yume, and who has previously worked with Mark Ronson, Daniel Merriweather, and Sean Lennon, has recently released his first solo album: Airbrush. Taking cues from Leonard Cohen and Francoise Hardy, in terms of poetically-inspired songwriting and a light, dreamy air, respectively, Galland has crafted a work of soundtrack-esque beauty in...
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Bat For Lashes - "Daniel" - Tara Busch's...
EMI/Parlophone have just released an official remix of Bat For Lashes’ “Daniel”, by Tara Busch (artist signed to Tummy Touch Records and founder of AnalogSuicide.com). Described in Tara’s blog entry on the remix as being made “with the intention to create a remix that would showcase the childlike, deeply emotional characteristics of the lead vocal whilst creating a...
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Starter Guide: Coldwave
As with my Starter Guide on Post-Punk last month, this article was inspired by an attempt at making a definitive genre-oriented playlist (see the finished product at RYM Ultimate Box Set > Coldwave), which in turn was kicked off by hearing a track in the DJ set that Horrors members Tom and Rhys had put together for VICE, which turned out to be “Person to Person” by The...
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The Weekend Review: In Houses In Trees, Bombadil,...
The past week’s independent artist album listens, in-review. See also the recent Independent Music Discoveries issue for more! In Houses In Trees - Together In The Meadow Part of the Tea & Oranges family of artists, In Houses In Trees are a duo from Maine comprised of Patric Cunningham and Ryan Higgins, both 17 years-old and formerly of Mt. Moon and 1800s Sea Monster (see also the AFIN...
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A Future in Noise has a new contributor... me!
Hello everybody, My name is Jonathan Cisneros (a.k.a. Mr. Jimmy), located in Phoenix, Arizona. It’s an honor to be writing for this blog, thanks go to Marilyn for the invitation. I intend on covering music business-related interests for the completely indie musician (no labels involved), but you can expect any random tidbits here and there as well. Snail Quail is the name of my own solo...
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Independent Music Discoveries, Issue #11
Another lovely round-up of independent artists you ought to be listening to! Recommend your favourite indie artists in the comments. You can check out the rest of the installments this ongoing series here. The Watermarks - Indie / Alternative / Electronica - Texas, USA Some of the coolest music I’ve heard in ages, the Watermarks have made their EP Thoughts Like Bombs available for...
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Artist Interview: Shok (+ Exclusive Track!)
Shok is an incredibly talented composer/producer/multi-instrumentalist based in Hollywood, California. Through his remix work (see the SoundCloud player at the bottom of the article), collaborations (including Daniel Ash and David J. (Bauhaus/Love And Rockets), Douglas McCarthy (Nitzer Ebb), Mark Caro (Technical Itch), Johnette Napolitano (Concrete Blonde), original compositions, and drumming...