Download: Luke Leighfield + Jose Vanders - Blindsided [Bon Iver Cover]

Words: Saam Das

The words "free download" and "single" put together in one sentence never fail to confuse me. It's one or the other surely? I'll stick with the former. Especially when it's such a wondrous free download. You might remember Jose Vanders from blog days gone by and she's teamed up with Luke Leighfield to deliver a very special cover of Bon Iver's 'Blindsided'. Download below.

Futuresounds 2008 Part Two

Welcome to part two of my list of bands to watch out for in 2008. Part one [link] seems to have gone down well, people seemingly can't get enough of Vampire Weekend but there was some love for Alphabeat in the comments. And in case Elle S'Appelle ever read this, I like you even more than the other two. So everyone's happy.

This edition of Futuresounds has a strong female presence for no real reason other than to wipe my memory of Beth Ditto. Christ, she was annoying. Obviously, I'm hoping for/expecting big things from these acts though.

Adele
Seeing as I was planning this a while back, you'll have to forgive me for including Adele despite her recent mounting of the UK album chart. But then again Just Jack managed to get to #6 in the album chart and most of you are probably wondering who I'm on about ('Starz In Their Eyes' sound familiar?). And it was her or Duffy, so I went for the lesser evil. I hope.

So we are left with Adele, a 19 year old "cock-er-nee" with a beautiful voice. But what about the tunes? 'Hometown Glory' is certainly bewitching but I haven't felt as absorbed by other tracks I have heard. Will she have staying power or is she just substituting Amy Winehouse for the time being?

Mark Ronson & BBC Concert Orchestra ft. Adele - Cold Shoulder (BBC Electric Proms) [Yourfilehost d/l link]//[Sendspace mirror]

Jose Vanders
I love piano pop! Something Corporate were one of my favourite bands and I'm one of the few bloggers who (openly) thinks that Kate Nash's music is enjoyable. Jose (nb not José) Vanders is a London teenager who writes earnest, melodic pop. Although lacking in music blog mentions, she's somewhat of a "MySpace sensation" with over 700,000 plays. That's a lot of plays.



Following her spiffing Christmas single with Klaus Says Buy The Record [listen here], Jose's recently been announced as the new 'face' of BBC Three. It wouldn't surprise me at all if her Regina Spektor meets Sarf Lahndan stylings were rewarded with a major label record deal this year. But first, she's got to concentrate on her exams....

Jose Vanders - Faces Going Places [Yourfilehost]//[Sendspace]

With thanks to Drink Ink [link].

Agaskodo Teliverek
Last year I had Dananananananananananananakroyd in this weirdo slot but this Japo-Hungarian lot are FUCKING MENTAL. They really have raised the bar. Agaskado Teliverek describe their sound as 'psycho goulash' and that actually seems sensible. From screechy lead singer Hiroe (she's pretty much the polar opposite to the above females!) to the tamagotchi beeps via some crunching riffs, this is just insane.

But an invitation to play the BBC Electric Proms and a Dazed and Confused interview show they could just sneak into the mainstream too. Well, they'd fit in perfectly on a Later With...Jools Holland show at least!

Agaskodo Teliverek - Gay Hussar (BBC Electric Proms) [Yourfilehost]//[Sendspace]

Agaskodo Teliverek - Dough Face (BBC Electric Proms) [Yourfilehost]//[Sendspace]

"The battle between good and evil" - Xmas #1

The UK singles chart is looking a bit odd at this time of year: Rihanna is featured three times in the top 40 (#30, #37, #38) and Mariah Carey and The Pogues have returned to the top ten. Not to mention that Wham, Chris Rea, Wizzard and Slade are about. Yes, it's the Christmas #1 week. And yes, the winner of X Factor has unsurprisingly come out on top, selling more singles than the top ten combined. I'm going to take a quick look at some of the Christmas #1 contenders anyway.



Leon Jackson (#1)
The winner of X Factor was quite obviously going to be Christmas number 1. But not many suspected that Leon Jackson would beat odds on favourite Rhydian, a Welsh singer whose "biggest phobia is getting fat". The producers could well have rigged the vote because Leon seems almost impossibly inoffensive to Rhydian's atypical popstar voice and image. Nice enough single though, a slightly altered cover of Mariah and Whitney's 'When You Believe'. Watch the horrendously bad video on [Youtube].

Soulja Boy Tellem (#5)
Massive club hit crosses over to mainstream success. Apparently, 'Crank That (Soulja Boy)' has an accompanying dance that has taken America by storm. I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or not - remember the Macarena? The Travis Barker "remix" is worth a listen, check it out on [Youtube].

Malcolm Middleton (#31)
Malcolm recently noted that the Christmas #1 was a "battle between good and evil" (i.e the world vs manufactured artists). William Hill originally offered odds of 1000/1 for 'We're All Going To Die' to be Xmas #1 (the longest ever odds on such a bet) before going as low as 12/1. My favourite track off his third post-Arab Strap album, it fell disappointly short. You can listen to its greatness on the single tie-in website [wereallgoingtodie.co.uk].

Malcolm Middleton - We're All Going To Die (BBC Radio 1 Session) [Yourfilehost download link]
Malcolm Middleton - Burst Noel (BBC Radio 1 Session) [Yourfilehost]

The whole of Malcolm's recent Radio 1 session is available to download on his [MySpace].

Reuben (disqualified)
'Christmas Is Awesome' was meant to be Reuben's breakthrough hit and a shining beacon in the battle between good and evil (see above). Nice idea, except they went and got themselves disqualified from the charts by registering the wrong song! But is a manufactured single really any better than a manufactured band anyway? Nonetheless, this meaty ode to Christmas is good. Check out the christmassy vid on [Youtube]. In fact, while you're there, listen to 'Freddy Kreuger', their career highlight for me.

Hot Club de Paris (#?)
With only 300 copies of 'Will You Still Be In Love With Me Next Year?' available, this was hardly going to make inroads in the chart. That doesn't mean that this isn't a Hot Club classic, its melancholy lyrics doused with wonderful harmonies and sleigh bells and glockenspiels. Magical. Listen to the single on their [MySpace]. Order the 7" from [Banquet Records].

Klaus Says Buy The Record & Jose Vanders (#?)
Jose Vanders is somewhat of a MySpace sensation (575,000 plays and counting) and she's collaborated with Brighton lad Jon Mills (aka Klaus Says Buy The Record) to produce the rather snazzy 'Winter Wear'. Unashamedly novelty Christmas pop, 'Winter Wear' really could have been a Christmas #1. Ultimately, this remains a hidden gem. Below is a 2.30 preview of the single but listen to it in full, then buy at [Indiestore.com]. Think of it as a Christmas present to independent record label, Riddlestone.

Klaus Says Buy The Record & Jose Vanders - Winter Wear (2.30 preview) [Yourfilehost]//[Sendspace]

So that's that then. Evil won out. At least there have been some good Christmas singles this year. I'm still a bit sad that Malcolm Middleton didn't quite make #1 but I'll cheer myself up by looking at some ace Christmas freebies offered by bands recently in my next post.

p.s sorry for not posting so much these days, I've had a ridiculous amount of work at uni and I turned 21 a few days ago so life's been a bit mad recently!