Published by
Sam C. on
July 29, 2009 in
Playlists.
Tags: Annie, Beck, boris, EELS, Free Cube, Japan, Melt-Banana, Orsenna, Osaka, Petty Booka, Tigarah, Tokyo, Yellow Peril.
Tigarah
Japan is a veritable treasure trove for good music. Be it the adorable ukulele duo of Petty Booka or fist pumping riffs of Boris – the land of the rising sun’s music scene is just as diverse as the one in the good old U.S. of A. There aren’t a whole lot of Japanese acts on OurStage right now but the few that are members of the community are worth checking out:
Free Cube is a jazzy duo specializing in sultry females vocals over relaxing bossa nova rhythms – a good eastern counterpart to Bitter:Sweet.
Orsenna is a rock group with electro and shoegaze influences. The band is based out of Osaka and has a French ex-pat on vocals.
Hailing from Tokyo there’s electropop singer Tigarah. Her track “Let Me Plug USB Stick In” is sure to be a hit with fans of Norwegian singer/DJ Annie.
Last but not least, there’s the avant-garde folk pop group Yellow Peril. Their track “Somnia” draws upon influences from EELS and Beck’s acoustic works.
For a sampling of these artists from Japan you can check out this playlist while eating your favorite supermarket sushi – try to take it easy on the wasabi.
OurStage artist
Hold Your Horses, Bob! combines my shameless appreciations for all things Swedish and one man bands into one delightfully quirky package. With a playful mix of humor and music, Hold Your Horses, Bob!’s track
“Put a Peephole in my Brain” is a must hear for fans of early
Beck,
Primus, and
That 1 Guy. The man behind Hold Your Horses, Bob! is
Peter Smith – a multi-instrumentalist based in Royal Södermalm, Stockholm who describes himself as a one-man-collective dedicated to “making music in the studio and acoustic gigs at small-venues”. If you dig this track be sure to check out other fine offerings from Hold Your Horses, Bob! on OurStage.
Published by
ejquinn on
August 31, 2008 in
Artist Feature, Artist News, Festivals and OurStage@.
Tags: ashleigh flynn, Beck, Bumbershoot, festival, Gustav, Hurricane Gustav, interview, Lucinda Williams, Neko Case, Ourstage.com, OurStage@, performance, Pictures, Quinn Strassel, Stone Temple Pilots, video.
EMBED THIS VIDEO
Though we’re in Seattle, Ashleigh Flynn’s thoughts are clearly with the people of New Orleans. With Hurricane Gustav approaching the Gulf coast, Flynn dedicated her song “American Dream” to the people of New Orleans today. It was a poignant moment amid an otherwise upbeat show that won over the early afternoon crowd at Bumbershoot.
Stay tuned for pictures of T.I., Keyshia Cole, and Stone Temple Pilots…
Ashleigh Flynn performs in the OurStage Studio
Interview with Ashleigh Flynn
Heartbroken Singer Songwriters
Published by
ejquinn on
August 31, 2008 in
Festivals and OurStage@.
Tags: 2008, 808, Band of Horses, Beck, Bumbershoot, death cab for cutie, Modern Guilt, OurStage@, performance, Pics, Pictures, Quinn Strassel, Stone Temple Pilots.
With thousands of fans in attendance on the first night of Bumbershoot, Beck made sure not to hold back. The set began with his original hit, “Loser,” as if to announce to everyone that the night’s show was going to be a Beck’s Greatest Hits karaoke jam. A two song band-huddle to play “Hell Yes” and “Black Tamborine” on 808 drum machines provided the only break from, what was otherwise, a straight-ahead party.
Sidenote: His strangely basic set-design (made of prop stage lights and a Lite Brite inspired light show on the back wall) seems to mirror the intriguingly spare liner notes on his latest album, Modern Guilt. And though the overall performance was fun, Beck does seem fatigued and, at times, uninspired. Are the rumors (first heard in Spin magazine) true that this may be his last tour?
Published by
ejquinn on
August 31, 2008 in
Festivals and OurStage@.
Tags: Band of Horses, Beck, Ben Bridwell, Bumbershoot, Jim James, my morning jacket, Ourstage.com, OurStage@, Pics, Pictures, Quinn Strassel.
After watching Band of Horses perform in front several thousand entranced fans on the main stage at Bumbershoot (right before Beck’s headlining spot), it’s hard not to marvel at how far they’ve come in the past few years. Like My Morning Jacket, a band with a similar blend of reverb-laced, southern inspired rock, Band of Horses ride the soaring vocals of their lead-man to crowd-pleasing success. For my money, I’ll take Ben Bridwell’s casual humor (he cracked jokes and inexplicably broke a prop beer bottle over his head during a slow song) over Jim James’ guitar-god posturing any day. But that’s just me.
Here are a couple more pics of band and crowd:
