The Helio Sequence - Hallelujah!

The Helio Sequence is a really neat vintage rock band from Portland, Oregon.  I came across them on a random Pandora listen way back when, and they really caught me with their song Hallelujah.  I hadn't really looked into any of their other songs until lately, but they are a really neat little duo.  I am not entirely sure what I would compare them to, and sometimes the vocals sound like a modern Bob Dylan, but I do enjoy their work.  They say they get their influence from My Bloody Valentine, which if you have ever heard them, you might think this would be a problem.  I used to listen to My Bloody Valentine back in high school, and that was a strange musical phase for me, so you can only imagine.  It's not that they are bad, they are just.... different.

Their album Keep Your Eyes Straight Ahead is their most recent work.  As I stated previously, these guys have some solid work under them and are definitely worth a listen.  Let me know what you think!








-Hallelujah-
This is the song that caught me when I heard it on Pandora one day at work.  Though I have not listened to everything these guys have out there in the music world, I would say at this point its my favorite of their stuff.




-Shed Your Love-
This is a very simplistic and yet beautiful tune with a lot going for it.  I think in some cases the vocals are slightly under the note, but it isn't something that detracts from the listening experience, and perhaps its intentional?  It is every time he says "love" in "shed your love" that I hear a slight under the note issue.  I think you will like..




-Can't Say No-
This is a really solid tune, and one that I am pretty fond of.  It is certainly their vintage sound, and I feel as though I have heard this song before somewhere, though i don't know where.




-Keep Your Eyes Ahead-
This is another solid tune of theirs, and one that I think has gained the most acclaim judging by the fact that it has a music video, and lots of views on the Youtubes.




-Back to This-
This is the last tune I will link, as I would really venture to say the entire album is quite good.  I gave this one a quick listen, and really like the wispy ambient overlay in the background.  Give it a turn :)




As always, comments and recommendations are welcomed!  I really do hope you enjoyed, and hopefully most have not heard of these guys!  That way I can take the credit for introductions. ;)

Thanks for checking them out!

-CS

Sneaker Pimps - I do love me some Trip-hop

This is a bit of a throwback for most people.  This isn't by any means new music, as this group has come and gone through their fair share of fame.  I would however say that there were some really interesting things that they were doing in their day.  Sneaker Pimps gained some notoriety after landing in a few movie sound-tracks, and climbing a few charts randomly.  I remember bumping this album in high-school and being so pleased at how different it all was compared to anything else I was listening to at the time.  You will most likely remember some of these tunes from any number of places you may have heard them.

SNEAKER PIMPS

These guys initially became famous with their hit "Six-underground."  It was an incredibly good song, and one that carried some weight in the movie industry.  You can still go back and find that one in a few movie sound-tracks.  The group was originally from Hartlepool, England.  They were probably at their most popular in the late nineties, and put out some work in the early 2000's in which the original lead singer was not a part.

-Six Underground-

Definitely my favorite of all time with these guys.  It was a really great track, and my guess is most people listening will have heard of it.  As I recall this was in the soundtrack of "The Saint" with Val Kilmer, which is a clever little spy flick.  Check that out too if you get a chance :)

-Spin Spin Sugar-
A song that gets decent acclaim from the Becoming X album.  Not as solid as some of their other work, but decent nonetheless.  Fairly simplistic approach, and still hitting all the key experimental down-tempo, trip-hop type elements you would want.




-Becoming X-
The title is also the title of the album this song is from, and its one of my favorites from their debut as well.  This has a dark and crisp chord progression, and I really do enjoy listening to it.  It tends to pop up on my iPod with some regularity.




-How Do-
This is another one of my favorites off of the Becoming X album, and is somewhat of a departure from the rest of the album.  I think you will like it.




-Post Modern Sleeze -
Also from Becoming X, and another great track!





I don't know how many trip-hop fans there are out there, but that is by far one of my favorite genres.  As I always say, different strokes for different folks. You will see a few more trip-hop groups in the future, as I just can't get enough down-tempo goodness.

Hope you enjoy!

-CS

Dinka - Get out your glow sticks...

Blogger was down for a couple days when I would have been able to write, so instead I bring this "review" to you on a Saturday before heading out the door.

Once again, be forewarned, as this is a total trance review.  If you don't think you like trance, or just plain don't, you might still want to check this lady out.  Her name is Dinka, and she is originally from Switzerland; Lucern to be exact.  Her work has been featured on Trance Around the World a couple of times, and she sometimes gets the guest mix in there as well.  I just remember being really enamored with her first guest mix that I had heard, and though it is repetitive (like all trance) it has some really sweet samples in there that I think are very catchy.

I haven't quite figured out whether it is just her on the tracks, or whether she has other artists in there mixing with her.  It seems that every single song that she does is given credits to someone other than her.  So I don't really know what to make of it.

I like to think of trance as a modern day electronic symphony lacking any major instrument other than keys/synth, midi controllers, and drum pads.







-Zero Altitude-
This is one of the songs I went straight to after hearing her guest mix, and though it takes a little while to lift off, it has some really laid back and calming melodies in there.




-Scarlet-
Scarlet is another great tune that Dinka brings to the trance table, and it too takes a second to get off the ground.  I think you will find that with most trance, but you will catch some harmonization and melodic genius in there as well.




-Don't Deal With Justice-
This is one of the tracks from her guest mix on TATW, and one of my favorites.  There is something about the old-school law talk in the background.




-Civilisation-
This is another good track on the Youtubes, and one that once again takes a second to get into a really nice rhythm.




For all your folks that sometimes dabble into trance, hope you liked.  For those that don't like trance, sorry for a post that doesn't suit your fancy.

On another note, I have pretty much stripped the chorus out of my first song, and will be re-doing the vocal tracks for a 3rd time.  I don't know when it will be ready for the public, and its taking longer than I had thought, but I really had a good thing going.  It just wasn't 100% complete, so hence the re-tracing of my footsteps on the chorus.

I will keep you updated in case anyone was wondering about that :)

Have a wonderful rest of the weekend.

-CS

Friendly Fires - Go Ahead, Jump in the Pool

So obviously my content flow to this blog has slowed down a little bit, and that is something that I intend to remedy here as much as I can, time willing.  I have been working very hard on my first full-length, full-fledged song.  It is called "State-fantry", and it ..... is not done yet :)  So unfortunately for those that are interested, it still has a lot of work to go through before I feel like it should be released.  I am 100% in love with the hook, and not so much with the some other aspects of it.  Fear not though, it will be out for your listening pleasure (or disgust) soon enough.  I am planning on putting together, not just one album, but a few.  That is of course the plan for now, and plans of course are subject to change.

FRIENDLY FIRES

This is a band that I came across through Pandora one day, and I was really taken by their song Jump in the Pool.  It was one of those songs that was unique and had some really strong harmonies in there that were just too catchy to give up.  They are listed as an Alt/Dance group, which is fine, as they have a pretty upbeat time-signature on their stuff.  They have a gritty vinyl-type sound to them on their music which I think compliments their work, considering the sound they are going for.  Oh, and guess what... they are Brits!  England... love it.






-Jump in the Pool-
I love... this... song...  It has this feel good tempo going on, and then it goes right into a really beautiful harmony that is really very ethereal.  I think its the strongest song they have, and its one that I would give a full listen to.  It is a solid... solid... track.




-Kiss of Life-
Good tune, lots of energy, and some really cool key switches/harmonies.




-Skeleton Boy-
Really cool tune, and a cool video to boot.  I dig the synth on this tune, and the chorus is really freaking amazing.

UPDATE:  Ok.... I'm sorry... this song is ridiculously good... LISTEN TO IT.  It is actually the (7" Single) version of the song, so you will not find this same version on their main album Friendly Fires.




Hope you enjoy these guys, because I know I do.  I will have some more originals up soon, no worries!

As always, comments and suggestions are fully welcomed!

-CS

Getting My DAW Sea-legs - Shooting in the Dark with... The Lark

So I am finally sitting down to get creative.  I have everything I need to really give this thing a go, and I have never been more excited.

I have just finished wrapping up my first "creation" on my brand spankin' new Digital Audio Workstation or DAW, otherwise known as Ableton Live Suite.  The intended goal was to spend a little time working through some effects, learning how to create tight audio loops, and seeing how well my new microphone worked.  I didn't really plan this little creation out, I just did it on the fly.  Hence you will notice that my very simple lyrics are quite dull (and probably deserve a LOL).

You might also notice that this little ditty is rather short, one-dimensional, ambient, not necessarily mixed all that well, and kind of strange!  Most of the mixing was done intentionally, but sometimes it is hard to tell how vocals will end up getting mastered.

It was inspired by a small portion of the soundtrack from the movie Syriana, which you may or may not have seen.  There is a really neat little harp-ish section of the soundtrack that I always found to be pretty catchy.  So I tried to emulate it, and then build some simple forms around it.

I am doubtful this little creation will interest any of you, but I might as well share the creative process from day one to day one-hundred thousand, otherwise this blog would be rendered useless.  I view this as an "INTRO" track, something akin to Life in Technicolor from Coldplay's Viva La Vida Album.  Not a full song, just a little slice of something to whet the musical palette.  I don't know if I will re-master this, or even try to use any of its elements in future songs.... just have to see how things pan out.

Just a heads up, its really weird.  But..thanks for listening... if you feel up to it!




P.S:  In case there was curiosity about which song from Syriana I was talking about.  Here it is.

The Pnuma Trio & Mansions On The Moon - Phat Beats To Celebrate a Deceased Osama

Current affairs get the first nod tonight, and as this is not the stated purpose of this blog, this won't happen often. This is however a momentous occasion.

So, good news... (though somewhat morbid)! Osama bit the dust.  Sounds like the SEALS got after it, and came out untouched.  This is of course a huge win for the Obama and Bush Administrations.  I give both Presidents the credit for a couple of reasons.

1. The identity of the courier that led to Osama's whereabouts was determined through interrogation at Gitmo during Bush's Presidency in 2007, and let's face it; we wouldn't have been over there, nor as resolute in the mission, if it weren't for former President Bush acting as Commander in Chief.
2. President Obama sounds like he was a real bad-ass in the Situation Room.  They planned it right, they executed it right, and they got the job done.  All men accounted for, they got their man, and civilian casualties were next to none, minus the female body-shield.  Sounds like President Obama nailed it.

Kudos to both, they both deserve credit, and it doesn't get any more bi-partisan than that folks!

Onto the goods!

You may have heard of these two bands, and they are both very worthy of a mention.  What is most interesting about them is that two-thirds of The Pnuma Trio makes up Mansions on the Moon.  Ben Hazelgrove and Lane Shaw are both members in both projects.  My guess at this point is that Mansions has replaced The Pnuma Trio, which is somewhat unfortunate, as I think each band brings something a little different to the table.  That must of course mean that the third guy is a real game changer!! :)

In The Pnuma Trio the "third guy" was Alex Botwin.  In Mansions on the Moon it is Ted Wendler.

Both are electronic bands by nature, and tend to blend in some hip-hop sounds.  However, Mansions on the Moon makes more of an effort to incorporate wonderfully harmonized vocals.  There is a strong vocoder presence in their material, which seems to be all the rage these days.  I am not a huge fan of a vocoder, but I will admit I like the way they use it.  The tracks each band creates are incredibly tight, and some are downright nasty-good.  So let's hear it!



THE PNUMA TRIO


The works you are about to hear are from their album Character which is a really solid album if you like this kind of stuff.  It is a little different style from what they originally were performing when they first started.  I have heard some live jams that they put together from years before their debut album, and they were quite nice.  This album is a different direction, but a direction I ended up liking quite a bit..








-Off Balance-
I am in love with this incredibly complex drum loop they have going here.  It is just intense and tight.  I am also a big fan of the vocals on this track and how it mixes with everything.  There is some really high-fidelity stuff going on here, and it is obvious that these guys are quite talented in the mixing area.




-Prefresh-
I love the initial loop and how they continually alter its sequencing over and over and meld it into the drum tracks.  It is a somewhat repetitive track, but I think its again another showcase of their production ability.




-Robot-
This is off of an earlier album called Live From Out There and I think it is a good example of their older stuff.  They can be pretty "jammy", but I do like it.





__________________________________________________________________________________


MANSIONS ON THE MOON

This is a relatively new project, and they have a really nice website up for you to check out should you want to HERE.  This is a somewhat different sound than what you heard with Pnuma, and I think its a really neat start to something that shows promise of really being great.  Their debut album is called Paradise Falls.









-She Makes Me Feel-
This track is just a really solid example of the harmony power this trio possesses.  It is clear they have some serious N.E.R.D influences, which I suppose is appropriate given their recording track record mentioned on their site.  I love the tempo of this song, and I think its really the gem on Paradise Falls.




-Satellite-
So you get a chance to record with Deadmau5?  Yeah... I would take it too.  This is a nice housey-trancey type track, and I liked it quite a bit.




-Love Is Going To Destroy Me-
I am a fan of this short little song as well.  Nice harmonization, and sometimes there is real beauty in short and simple music.




Hope you all enjoyed, hit me with your comments and/or suggestions!

-CS