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]

Futuresounds 2008 Part 1

I didn't realise quite how long I'd been away from blogging but I'm back with my tips for 2008. Now I wasn't sure whether this was a sensible idea as I don't want to perpetuate ridiculous hype but then I realise that's basically what all mp3 bloggers do anyway! At least I've come with a more snappy title than last year's "Bands I Want To Namedrop Because They Will Become Big In 2007". Many of the bands I tipped last year are now on tipsters lists for 2008 (hello Foals, These New Puritans and Laura Marling) but hopefully my new list will prove to be a bit more successful.

Like last year there will be 12 entires but this around, I'll be tipping bands that have been hyped already (Is This The NME?), artists which have been raved about on here before (We Still Remember) as well as a bunch of new but fresh acts (First Time Lucky). So without further ado....

Vampire Weekend
How fitting that it is Superbowl Sunday. This slot was going to be filled by one of the massively hyped acts from across the pond, be that Vampire Weekend, Black Kids, MGMT or Yeasayer. I think you can figure out who won that battle.

Vampire Weekend's quirky "college-rock" is complimented by African influences and with their debut album having just been released on XL in the UK, success beckons.

Vampire Weekend - I Stand Corrected (BBC 6Music Session) [Yourfilehost d/l link]//[Sendspace link]
Vampire Weekend - Campus (BBC 6Music Session) [Yourfilehost]//[Sendspace]

Alphabeat
Jackson Five meets ABBA. Danish six piece Alphabeat are pure pop brilliance. They're just lots and lots of fun. New single 'Fascination' has hit written all over it and the video below shows just how much fun Alphabeat are:


Already celebrated in Denmark, they have signed to EMI in the UK, who aren't doing so well at the minute but Alphabeat are no doubt one of their big hopes for the year. They're one of mine too.

Alphabeat - Fascination 6 (Fitzmaurice Remix) [Yourfilehost]//[Sendspace]

Elle S'Appelle
Liverpool and its surrounding areas have produced some amazing bands in the last couple of years from Hot Club de Paris to My Amiga. Elle S'Appelle are as good as anything from Liverpool or otherwise. Appearing on Keep Hope Inside podcast#4 [link] way back in July, the S'appelles have since inflicted their wonderfully harmonious synth pop on the free world via the fantastic Moshi Moshi records.

2008 sees the bands embark on a BOSSPOP tour with one of my 2007 tips goFASTER>>, which should be an utter treat. With more singles due and maybe even an album, we can only hope 2008 brings Elle S'Appelle the success they deserve.

Elle S'Appelle - Mariappa [Yourfilehost//Downloadable from [Converse Music]

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So that's that for part one, the next post will be following soon with more overly hyped/former KHI faves and "noob" bands. Are any of the American hyped bands going to make it at all, let alone this year in the UK? Who do you think is going to be huge in 2008? Are bands like Forward, Russia! going to step up upon their return?

2007 Features Review

Happy new year to everyone! And in particular, to my long term readers. It's been a pretty decent year in the world of Keep Hope Inside, particular on the podcast side of life. 2008 will hopefully bring more podcasts, posts and readers to this blog.



Lightspeed Champion - Happy New Year (ABBA Cover) [Yourfilehost d/l link]//[Sendspace]

For little or no reason, I'm going to look back at my two main features of 2007 - Bands I Want To Namedrop Because They Will Become Big In 2007 and You! Me! Blogging!. I also did a bit of a retrospective on a 2006 new bands feature by The Fly but there's not much to analyse there and it was a bit too mathsy anyway.

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So the first feature, complete with tongue-in-cheek title, was a look into bands who I thought would do well in 2007. Apparently, I'm not great at judging potential success! But I feel all the bands I mentioned were worthy of some semblance of mainstream success.

[BIWTNBTWBBI2007 Part One]
In a short epilogue at the bottom of the first part of my BIWTNBTWBBI2007 (yes, I regret the title now) feature, I mentioned that 2007 could be the year of the solo artist, noting the likely success of Kate Nash, Mika and Jamie T. So at least I got something vaguely right! My actual tips haven't done much yet. Dananananaykroyd had a bit of a passive year (although an EP is due out early this year) and similarly, Ox.Eagle.Lion.Man only released a single on Transgressive but have another EP on the way. Frank Turner's debut solo album was a modest success and let's hope the new album due out in March 2008 elevates his profile. Laura Marling's debut album will be released soon, on Virgin Records, so with the right push she'll do well.

[Part Deux]
In part two, I realised I should have told people I was aiming for slightly leftfield choices as tips so that I didn't look ridiculously inept come judgement day (i.e today). So now I only look a little inept. Although I'm glad I said Klaxons were an obvious choice, considering their resulting success.

I did a little better with this selection than in Part One. Bombay Bicycle Club released two EPs and racked up much MySpace playage. Hadouken! signed to major label Atlantic Records and have had mainstream radio support but like Pull Tiger Tail (who supported Razorlight on their arena tour), they could have had much more success. Jack Penate was my saviour - the one true success story of this feature, with fantastic debut album sales, sold out tours, the whole shebang.

[Part Three]
A bit of a mixed bunch here. Neither Pull In Emergency or goFASTER>> made much of a breakthrough but they quietly went about their business. Expect more in the future. These New Puritans managed to get a record deal with Domino and with their debut album dropping very soon, success could be just around the corner. Foals are in similar position, with a steadily building fanbase and an album out in March.

Jack Penate - 1-2-3-4 (Feist Cover) [Yourfilehost]//[Sendspace]
These New Puritans - Elvis (Demo) [Yourfilehost]//[Sendspace]
Laura Marling - My Manic And I [Yourfilehost]//[Sendspace]

All in all, I was probably a year too early with most of my predictions, barring Jack Penate. Oh and Pull In Emergency. But that's only because I don't think they've even done their GCSEs yet. 2008 should be a favourable year for many of these artists anyway. Now the real question is whether I should do a new bands feature for 2008....

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You! Me! Blogging! was my attempt to "give back" to the blogging community, trying to make new British blogs accessible to a wider readership. At the same time, I was obviously hoping some of the featured blogs' readers would take an interest in Keep Hope Inside! Not all the blogs have been updating a great deal since then but you can check each of them out if you go to the individual links (e.g Y!M!B! Part One).


[Y!M!B! Part One]
The gents at Transparent have not only forged on with their clubnight but have done remarkably well in noting the big things from across the pond (Black Kids, MGMT, Vampire Weekend etc). There's a lot more writing on A Space For Music Liberation (which makes me glad) while still retaining much mp3 postage. The Deku Tree ground to a halt somewhat but will apparently be back soon, bigger and better.

[Part Two]
Beneath The Dutts and i want to hear what you've got to say have sadly taken a turn for the worse after some early promise. Jamila's Fucking Dance remains as healthy as ever however and even has a lovely new banner.

[Part Three]
Spot The Monster pulled off an mp3 advent calendar in December, which is really good going. I'm far too lazy for such things. While Ugly Writing remains in limbo, John from The Pop Register is still knocking out posts despite moving to Oregon.

[Part Four]
Bloodshed In The Woodshed and A Disgusting Blemish have been rather quiet of late but Shattered Satellite are doing pretty well for themselves (if you ignore the clichéd NME hating).

With only half the blogs from You! Me! Blogging! still going, I'm reasonably proud that this blog's over 18 months old. I sincerely hope that some of you find the time to read some of the above blogs because a few of them are really at the forefront of fresh, new music. In fact, I'm going to add some of this lot to my links. So click away on the right of your computer screen. And after all that, I feel like I really need to make my blog look prettier!

Merry Christmas! Part 3

Part 3 of a three-part series, pointing you in the direction of some special gifts donated by artists this Christmas. All in all, hopefully a bit more satisfying than The Matrix Revolutions.

MC Lars
My favourite artist at Truck festival 2004, MC Lars is a pretty funny bloke. Well, it's not like you can really take his "post-punk laptop rap" seriously anyway. His 'Laptop EP' was awesome, full of silly lyrics and bopping beats. 'Gary The Green Nosed Reindeer' is about Rudolph's bullied cousin, who goes onto save Christmas. Yeah, Lars (his real name's Andrew) is a bit weird.

MC Lars - Gary The Green Nosed Reindeer [Yourfilehost download link]

Download the song and others at MC Lars' [MySpace].

Kula Shaker
Kula Shaker were a bit mental. I obviously mean Kula Shaker are still a bit mental. Their Christmas freebie is a tea drinking propaganda message ("Drink tea for the love of God!" etc). But I like tea, so that's fine by me. It's like Blur's 'Park Life' in a parallel universe. Oh and possibly one of the most amazing moments of my life was when I managed to get a priest to play 'Govinda' (see the embed below) in a Hindu temple in India a good few years back. Everyone I played it to in India loved it, by the way.



Kula Shaker - Drink Tea [Yourfilehost]

You can also pick up the track at [drinkteafortheloveofgod.co.uk].

Mi Mye
Mysterious bunch are Yorkshire's Mi Mye. Based around some bloke called Jamie but with guest appearances from Russell of The Research (see below) and Whiskas of Forward, Russia! (who somewhat surprisingly added my blog as a myspace friend the other day. CRAP BOAST OF THE DAY.), amongst others. Apparently, anyway. Could do with a biography! And leaving Wakefield once in a while. But at least they have a warm, fuzzy, folky pop sound. Have a listen on [MySpace], where you can also download the track below.

Mi Mye - Sleep Alongside [Yourfilehost]

The Research
The Research are quirky pop trio from Wakefield, fronted by Russell The Disaster (see above) flanked by the lovely Georgia and Sarah. While it doesn't look like signing to EMI worked out as well as hoped, the band are still cracking out fantastic pop tunes. Here's their "superfree christmas down load music song" (it's super good to boot):

The Research - For Christmas I Got Pityriasis Rosea [Yourfilehost]

Listen to the lo-fi version of ace single 'Lonely Hearts Still Beat The Same' on their [MySpace], where you can also download the Christmas track.

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For some other snazzy Christmas tracks (I recommend in particular the Maps version of East 17's 'Stay Another Day'), consult this rather helpful Christmas download guide from [The Guardian's Chris Salmon]. Hope you all had a good Christmas/Hanukah/Eid etc etc!

Merry Christmas! Part 2

Okay, just a quickie. I somewhat erroneously forgot to post the new track by The Futureheads in my earlier post [link]. Following the recent freebie download release of a new track ('Broke Up The Time'), the Sunderland lads have gone and done it again with 'Crash'.



More of a vitriolic onslaught than 'Broke Up The Time', they seem to have "evolved" yet again. More comparable to the first album than second album yet still a departure from past material. This is The Futureheads at their most deranged. Although it does kinda sound like 'Le Garage' when he goes 'C-c-c-c-crash'. But maybe that's just me. The forthcoming album is definately going to be an interesting listen.

The Futureheads - Crash [Yourfilehost download link]

Also available for download via The Futureheads [website].

Part 3 coming soon....

Merry Christmas! Part 1

Ho, ho, ho, merry Christmas! Hope everyone is having a good day. 'Finding Nemo' was on earlier and I've had some yule log so today is going well for me. My dad is looking forward to watching 'Speed' later for some reason - I assume everyone else on the planet has seen it at least once? Anyways, as promised in the last post, here are a multitude of Christmas freebies from artists all over the place. Part 2 will be arriving shortly....

Oceansize
When I saw Oceansize in 2004 or so, they gave me a headache. Their proggy, post-rock wall of noise was too much for my tender teenage ears to take. A few years on and I have a slightly greater appreciation for their stuff. They even had a song on The O.C! And who can resist an instrumental cover of 'Walking In The Air' from the rather good, yet rather sad Christmas film 'The Snowman'? Not me.

Oceansize - Walking In The Air [Yourfilehost download link]

The cover is also available on the Oceansize [MySpace]. And for those unfamiliar with the original, acquaint yourself via the Youtube embed below:



Lightspeed Champion
Lightspeed Champion, aka Dev, was one third of crazed beatniks Test-Icicles but if you heard his current material, you'd never have guessed. His folky pop seems to betray his roots somewhat but when he plays Weezer covers and writes songs about comic supervillains (see 'Mr Fisk'), you can't help but embrace his new persona. Plus, it's actually quite good. Here is one of the tracks from Dev's Xmas EP:

Lightspeed Champion - Another Song About Being Alone At Xmas [Yourfilehost]

Download the whole EP at lightspeedchampion.com. Apparently Dev turned 22 the other day - I turned 21 last week and doesn't some bloke called Jesus have a birthday around now? Talk about birthday season....

Rivulets
Keeping on the singer songwriter theme, but this time in America, we find an old compilation track from Nathan Amundson, under the guise of Rivulets. And by old, I mean seven years old. Mr Amundson considers Rivulets to be an "organic shoegaze" project, although to a simpleton like me, it's quite folky. Despite a favourable [Pitchfork review] and working with Shellac/Mission Of Burma member Bob Weston, Rivulets seems to have lacked much recognition at all. Which is a bit sad. But there's hope for better times. Like in this track.

Rivulets - This Christmas [Yourfilehost]

Download this track and the rest of the Silber Xmas 2000 comp at [archive.org]