The fight for diverse and conscious voices

Really this should be titled "music that has been sitting around for a while as I try to decide what to make of it." None of these are really stand-out awesome, but all are pretty good in their own ways. With one exception this is a much more mellow sound than I usually blog about.

http://audioporncentral.com/2010/07/marina-and-the-diamonds-oh-no-video-and-grum-remix.html
http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/Marina_And_The_Diamonds/track/Oh_No_Active_Child_Remix
Marina and the Diamonds might be the best new thing to cross my screen this time around. She's no Florence (but then, it took me a while to warm up to Florence) but she's young. Give her time. I saw the APC posted video first and really liked it. "Oh No!" is a fairly standard pop tune, but the lyrics caught my attention. How many 23-year-old girls write songs about knowing exactly who they are and what they want to be, and warn their listeners not to let their possessions possess them? Yeah, it's not exactly profound but it is head and shoulders above most of the pop schlock. In addition to the lyrics, she has an interesting voice; she does need someone to write better melodies for her, though.

http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/Eli_Escobar/track/Love_Thing_Part_3_Only_You_Feat_Amanda_Blank_Video_Edit
Eli Escobar (http://myspace.com/eliesco) is a DJ with a very smooth electro-house style. He uses more muted and fuzzed out electro effects and keeps his beats going but not too loud or thumpy. He also changes things up a lot as the tracks play, which I like. Some electro DJs just drone; Escobar flits across styles and samples to keep things lively.

http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/Morcheeba/track/Even_Though_Surfing_Leons_Afternoon_Remix
Morcheeba are not a group lots of people have heard, particularly lately. Their sound tended to be ambient and trance-y with very strong lounge blues influences. Most of those influences came from vocalist Skye Edwards who has just rejoined Morcheeba, stronger than ever. Her voice is more mature now, but it retains the sultry smoothness that I love. This is the kind of stuff I like to close my eyes and just stream. Chemical enhancements optional.

http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/School_of_Seven_Bells/track/Half_Asleep_Lusine_Remix
School of Seven Bells (http://www.schoolofsevenbells.com/) is just two female vocalists but their production is rich and layered, giving much more of an ensemble feel. The style is dreamy and ethereal but with reasonably solid beats. This is no Cocteau Twins, but it's not bad. My sole complaint is that I wish they'd use more real backing instruments and less synth stuff.

http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/Pill/track/On_Da_Korner_Prod_Needlz
Pillz (http://myspace.com/gangstapill) wins for "most surprising sample" this week. If I had to pick a vocalist for a gangsta rapper to sample it would NOT have been Suzanne Vega. But the sampling works. Also, Pillz doesn't seem infatuated with "niggas" or "bitches" which is pretty much an instant turn-off for me. It's still gangsta rap, which is certainly not everyone's cuppa, but it works for me.

http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/Scissor_Sisters/track/Invisible_Light
Scissor Sisters (http://scissorsisters.com/) are one of those American acts you wouldn't ever know were American because nobody over here knows about them while they're making it big in Europe. "Invisible Light" is off their upcoming album and carries on in their signature style, which is sort of postmodern glam rock, and sort of gay club Eurodisco. If you like Pet Shop Boys you'll probably enjoy this. The RCRD LBL stream presents three remixes along with the original. All of the mixes are a bit understated - this thing is just begging to be mashed up with something heavy and hardcore. (And yes, their name does refer to THAT and if you're currently reading Girls With Slingshots this is way funnier than it would be otherwise.)

http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/Nas_and_Damian_Jr_Gong_Marley/track/As_We_Enter_Tinie_Tempah_Remix_
This is apparently Tinie Tempah week in my music stream because here we have a remix of Damian Marley and Nasty Nasir Jones (apparently known mostly as "Nas and Damien" - http://www.distantrelatives.com/). It's a pretty straight-up reggae/rap mix and if you like that sort of thing (I do) then this is a fun head-boppy tune that I think does a good job of taking typical hip-hop tropes and mixing them up with a rasta feel.

http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/Black_Devil_Disco_Club/track/Sorrow_Dub
Black Devil Disco Club immediately wins the award for coolest band name this month. This is a one-man Paris-based disco DJ, who is not afraid to note that he's 64 years old. That puts him in Rolling Stones territory. Unfortunately his MySpace page (http://myspace.com/bddcreal) is something of a mess so it's hard to get a general feel for his sound. The one track here is almost trance-y electronica but with an underlying club rhythm.

http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/School_of_Seven_Bells/track/Babelonia
School of Seven Bells (http://www.sviib.com/) is another of those sounds that's hard to characterize. It's clearly built around the high, clear vocals of the sisters, but it also has some edge and unusual instrumentation to it. It reminds me a little bit of Cocteau Twins and an even littler bit of Massive Attack. There aren't that many acts fronted by two female singers that aren't folk and these guys really aren't folk - if anything I'd call it trance-rock.

http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/David_Guetta/track/Gettin_Over_You_feat_Fergie__LMFAO_Sidney_Sampson_Remix
David Guetta is really hit-or-miss for me. He produces some real trainwrecks and then again he produces some awesome stuff. His original style can be very funky electro-house that I like a lot, but he's done so much it's hard to classify him. This set has two people remixing his "Gettin' Over You", both of which I like, and an Arman van Helden remix of "Memories" that is just OK. Guetta (http://davidguetta.com/en - warning starts playing on entry) is a French DJ who's been working for almost three decades. Lately he's gotten a lot more attention in the US due to collaborations with pop start like Britney Spears and Akon.

http://www.theyoungpunx.com/site/category/podcast/
I found The Young Punx through APC and when I first blogged it I thought Simon Iddol was part of the project. It turns out that Young Punx are three loud-mouthed, wise-ass, very funny UK kids. And they have a podcast, which seems to consist of them playing their own stuff, tracks they like, live mixing, and amusing commentary over and around the music. Their "Young Punx FM" podcast page has more than 30 entries and I've only listened to the first one fully. It's two hours of funny and funky and good music. Also, some of the bits are really quotable.