The Acoustic Hour

Some may remember my (possibly ill-advised) attempt at showcasing urban music on the blog, entitled The Urban Hour ([Part One]//[Part Two]). Nonetheless, I am moving on with the acoustic version, imaginatively titled The Acoustic Hour. Hurrah? More to come soon, possibly tomorrow.

Lucy & The Caterpillar

TWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. Burnley's quirky songstress Lucy & The Caterpillar is quite twee. She's also quite ace.

Lucy & The Caterpillar is 20 year old solo artist Lucy, accompanied by her Caterpillar, a 3/4 size guitar. I've had my eye on Lucy for a while (christ, that sounds pervy) following her lovely debut single 'Red, Red Wine' which was followed by a more melancholic 'Kings Cross'. Since then she's been working with The Earlies, and new single 'Lucy's Opinion' is the result of that collaboration. Unfortunately, it's not quite as great as her past singles but you can hear a radio session version of it, as well as bee-side 'Bumblebee' below. On the upside, it comes as a special edition cd with handmade sleeve (only 200 copies), so worth buying for that alone. Head to Lucy's website to nab it [link].

Lucy & The Caterpillar - Lucy's Opinion (BBC Radio 1 Session) [Yourfilehost D/L]
Lucy & The Caterpillar - Bumblebee (BBC Radio 1 Session) [Yourfilehost D/L]

Jam On Bread

Jam On Bread is a ukelele-based acoustic outfit. Jam On Bread is Stephen. Stephen has an amazing beard. And also constructs some enjoyably whimsical folky pop. He's a bit twee too. His ode to Swedish label, Labrador Records is self-indulgent and not particularly chirpy, yet still retains a wonderfully charming essence. A job well done. While we're here, I recommend having a listen to Stephen's song about his desire to have been a manatee on his MySpace too. I don't think genetic engineering can help him just yet.



Jam On Bread - I Heart Labrador Records [Yourfilehost]

Aisha

Aisha has appeared on Keep Hope Inside in the past but in remix form. So here we have Aisha in her full unadulterated glory. Except she's teamed up with a fiddle player! Eva and Aisha combine to produce an intensely melodramatic feel compared to Aisha's past delicately bewitching acoustic pop exploits. She's been largely bereft of attention so now's the time to give her a chance. Check out the MySpace for plenty of other downloadable tracks.

Aisha & Eva - Gone [Yourfilehost]

REEEEEEMIX

I've spent most of my free time watching Season One of Heroes, pretty good I thought, am looking forward to the new episodes! I just hope it doesn't go the way of Lost and become overly complex. Speaking of watching stuff, the Twenty20 semifinal between the Aussies and India just ended. Cricket's a bit awesome but why are there dancers?! And while we're on a tangent, just a gentle reminder to vote for me in the BT DMAs please, there's a button on the right of the page. Cheers!



Remixes aren't normally my thing but here are a couple that I think better the originals. Both are by upcoming British talents, one just starting out and the other has been coaxed by several major record labels into doing remixes for the likes of Gwen Stefani to All Saints via The Libertines. The acts being remixed are equally as polarising, with the first being a celebrated bunch of youngsters from down under, the other an unheard of London singer-songwriter.

So if you haven't guessed contestant number one yet it's Kissy Sell Out, with his White Stallion Remix of 'Just A Song About Ping Pong' by Operator Please. I must admit when I first heard the original, it evoked memories of Be Your Own Pet. Bad memories. However, this remix makes the song much less annoying and adds all sorts of blips and other crazy sounds. It keeps things interesting although running at almost 7 minutes is a bit much for me. I can imagine it being a club hit though, maybe it is already!

Operator Please - Just A Song About Ping Pong (Kissy Sell Out White Stallion Remix) [right click, save as]//[Sendspace link] n.b mp3 will be removed very soon

The other remix is by young 8bit enthusiast Lewis, aka W.I.R.E who takes on 'Time Waster' by the lovely and soon-to-be university student Aisha. She quite randomly messaged me on MySpace as she's doing the course I'm doing, which just about everyone else has never even heard of! But as lovely as she is, like most singer-songwriters her material doesn't excite me all that much. However, this remix takes her best song and then juxtaposes a haunting theme with what your old Gameboy used to sound like. Although it is a bit of a mess at times, I think it's pretty ace and nice to see a remix really slow things down which even gives the remix an air of poignancy despite not really meaning anything!

Aisha - Time Waster (W.I.R.E Remix) [right click, save as]//[Sendspace link]