Red Brick House

Red Brick House are an Irish band who are renowned for their hook-laden and impossibly catchy songs. The four-piece graced the stage at Bundoran Sea Sessions and The Rory Gallagher International Festival in 2010 and have been gigging steadily for a number of years. Hot Press magazine described them as ‘a band that blends quality with some unapologetic commercialism.’

Having played bars, backs of trucks, on top of pallets and even a castle along the way, Red Brick House have honed their live set into a harmony-driven brand of alternative pop, blues, folk as well as some wisely chosen covers. They are a band born of the playlist generation. Combining Indie Rock, Alt Pop, Blues, Noise and even Country with no set style to confine them. The group have also supported renowned Irish acts Codes and Túcan, and take their influence from The Raconteurs, Rolling Stones and Radiohead.

Their EP can be downloaded in full from Bandcamp.

Everybody say "awwww" .

I came across this beautifully creative and quirky image by Michael Cosentino on Flickr. CUTE!

A pill portrait of Amy Winehouse

By artist Jason Mercier.

Best of Belfast - Tony McHugh

Tony McHugh is one of Northern Irelands hidden gems as far as music goes. Tony has his own unique sound as an unorthodox singer songwriter who blends acoustic music with virtuosic guitar playing. He sings soulfully over familiar chord progressions backed up by an array of rhythmic and percussive techniques to create catchy grooves and ultimately some really unique and memorable music.

He holds his EP launch this Monday, 15th August 2011, in Love and Death Inc, Ann St, Belfast.

A funny place to be.

of the  day:

Photoshoplooter

Mayer Hawthorne

Mayer Hawthorne grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and vividly remembers, as a child, driving with his father and tuning the car radio in to the rich soul and jazz history the region provided. “Most of the best music ever made came out of Detroit,” claims the singer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist, who counts Isaac Hayes, Leroy Hutson, Mike Terry, and Barry White among his influences, but draws the most inspiration from the music of Smokey Robinson, Curtis Mayfield and the legendary songwriting and production trio of Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland and Eddie Holland Jr.

He recently released a free EP consisting of covers, which could be found here on Stones Throw.

Introducing .....

Download

Benjamin Francis Leftwich (Born September 4, 1989) is an English singer-songwriter from York. Leftwich began playing music at the age of ten and grew up listening to The Rolling Stones and Nina Simone before discovering such singer-songwriters as Nick Drake, Bob Dylan, and Elliott Smith. He decided to use his middle name as part of his stage moniker as he felt Ben Leftwich was “a bit too snappy.”

Super 8 dvd version leaked.

Click here to download

A bootlegged copy of the J.J. Abrams film Super 8 that has shown up on illegal download sites was copied from a disc created for radio shock jock Howard Stern.

The pirated copy of the film was stamped in the right-hand corner with a watermark that says "H Stern" but the Sirius XM DJ says he and his co-workers have already been cleared of any wrongdoing.

Paramount Pictures contacted show producer Gary Dell'Abate weeks ago but Stern says the disc must have been copied before it reached him.

“I watch it at home. It doesn’t leave my hands," Stern said this morning on his radio show.

“Nobody gets it. Nobody can see. I bring it right back...I don't pass it around to anyone. Ever...It had nothing to do with me.”

“Howard is talking about the Super 8 screener controversy. He's embarrassed that this makes him look bad,” his show's official Twitter feed added earlier today.
Source: Examiner.com

Morcheeba download

 

01 The Sea 5:47
02 Tape Loop 3:48
03 Otherwhise 3:42
04 Blindfold 4:37
05 Be Yourself 3:13
06 Part Of The Process 4:24
07 Let Me See 4:20
08 Undress Me Now 3:31
09 What's Your Name 4:00
Rap [Featuring] – Big Daddy Kane
10 Trigger Hippie 5:31
11 Rome Wasn't Built In A Day 3:34
12 Over And Over 2:20
13 What New York Couples Fight About 6:16
Vocals [Featuring] – Kurt Wagner
14 World Looking In 4:06
15 Moog Island 5:21
16 Way Behond 3:35
17 Never An Easy Way 6:41
18 Can't Stand It 3:20

Download - (Click "Slow Download"  mid way down the page)

You'll not smooch much with these lips!

Another gem from Sweden!

Veronica Maggio is a Swedish singer with Italian origin. She became a household name in Sweden immediately after releasing her first single, "Dumpa mig" (Dump me), which was a huge hit in Sweden, with ample airplay.
A subsequent follow-up single, a major contract, a debut album and a national tour later, she was awarded the "Newcomer of the year"prize in the Swedish Grammy Awards.


A bit on the raunchy side, "Jag kommer" means "I'm coming"..... have a listen:

Riot Clean Up

Locals of Clapham arrive to clean up

Original Size

Facebook and Twitter are being used to mobilise volunteers to help clean up the damage caused across London in the wake of further looting, arson and violence on Monday night.

The operation, tagged #riotcleanup, was started shortly after midnight by Dan Thompson, who runs a social initiative aimed at encouraging people to use empty shops and open spaces. By 10am Monday, the tag was the top trending topic in the UK, and the second worldwide.

A Facebook group to collate information was set up shortly afterwards, and had 3,600 members by mid-morning. Eleven locations in London had volunteers arriving for cleanup operations, according to a Wiki site set up on Tuesday. There are also similar operations in Bristol and Liverpool.

Thompson, from Worthing, in West Sussex, decided to use social media to help co-ordinate people who were looking for ways to clean up after the riots.

"There are now people on the ground all across London," he said. "Even just putting on some gloves, picking up a dustpan and brush, and clearing one broken window on the way into work. People are saying, 'We're Londoners, we're resilient and getting on with it.'"

(The Guardian)

London Riots update:Pias UK offices set a light!

Dozens of indie labels have had stock destroyed in a huge warehouse fire in Enfield, north London, during a third night of riots in the city. The warehouse, operated by Sony and used by distributor PIAS UK, was completely gutted with the loss of records and CDs by acts on labels including Domino, Rough Trade, Warp, XL/Beggars, Big Dada, Ninja Tune, Mute, FatCat, One Little Indian, Rock Action, Thrill Jockey and many, many more.

PIAS released the following statement this afternoon:

There was a fire last night at the SonyDADC warehouse which services the physical distribution for PIAS in the UK and Ireland. PIAS is working closely with SonyDADC who are implementing their emergency plans. PIAS’s UK + Ireland offices and all other areas of our business are unaffected.

Charlotte Hatherly returns to Ash!

Former guitarist Charlotte Hatherley is set to return to Ash, five years after her exit. Hatherley will be replacing departing guest guitarist, Russell Lissack, who is set to return to Bloc Party after the end of their hiatus.

Ok, so now that's outta the way...

I went to the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh at the weekend, I'm still surprised by the number of people that don't know what it is, but seeing as you're here, you'll have seen the previous post about it, and are full of knowledge, so you're safe!

Some people I would recommend you see if you're over that way:

Foil Arms and Hog Comedy Doesn't Pay (Fringe link) - Dubliners Sean Finegan, Conor Mc Kenna and Sean Flanagan. Sold out everywhere they go, this 3 piece sketch group combine bizarre acting with superb writing to display some of the finest comedy seen in these parts.

Keeping with the Irish theme, I'd recommend Catherine Brogan - Poetry Hitch (Fringe Link), as part of the Free Fringe (yes it's FREE!). Poetry Hitch will give a flavour of what it’s like to be a hitch-hiker, joining in on all the highs and lows of this low impact, low cost form of transport. How can the arts and poetry survive in these uncertain economic time?

Relaxed and improvisatory, Andrew Bird (Fringe Link) is one of those rare comedians who makes friends with his audiences in an instant. Childlike, witty and incredibly perceptive, ' If the ‘mates chatting down the pub’ style of conversational comedy is your bag, you can’t go far wrong with Andrew Bird.' - Chortle

This is getting great reviews: Bryony Kimmings - 7 Day Drunk (Fringe Link) Bryony Kimmings has always had a rocky relationship with alcohol. It seems that drinking is intrinsically linked to her confidence and self worth as an artist and is to blame for some of her most genius as well as her most hideous creations. She puts her liver to the test as she explores the effects of alcohol on creativity in her latest show.

Hairy Feet (Bunty and Bodkins) - as part of the Free Fringe. The tallest twin comedy double act, in Birmingham, combine songs, sketches, long legs and Danny Devito impressions to deliver unadulterated silliness and wild energy bizarreness. Fans of Vic and Bob will love this, come join the world of hairy feet

For those not in the know...

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the largest arts festival in the world and takes place every August for three weeks in Scotland’s capital city.

Every year thousands of performers take to a multitude of stages all over Edinburgh to present shows for every taste. From big names in the world of entertainment to unknown artists looking to build their careers, the festival caters for everyone and includes theatre, comedy, dance, physical theatre, musicals, operas, music, exhibitions and events.

Some kiwi talent

Kimbra, born and bred in Hamilton, New Zealand has been writing a fusion of jazz and soul for over 5 years. Kimbras musical style harbours "smoky soul, flights of dazzling invention and intricate layers of deeply felt emotion". Comparisons have been drawn with Nina Simone, Amy Winehouse and Björk. Her songs are heavily thematic and laced with "quirky" jazz chords. Kimbra's music pertains beyond the "four chord cliché but still maintains strong hooks and catchy melodies that are sometimes unpredictable but satisfying"

Kimbra’s first success was in 2004, recieving Second place in the Smokefree Rockquest along with Best Vocals and Womens Musicianship (gaining $7000 in total from the competition raising artists like Brooke Fraser, Bic Runga and Anika Moa).

Kimbra's debut album 'Vows' is due for release on September 2, 2011 in Australia and New Zealand on Warner Bros Records.