DJ Izem

I'm always pleased when I come across individuals like DJ Izem who tirelessly seek out the freshest sounds from around the globe and spread them around. The multi-lingual radio station Groovalizacion from which he broadcasts his weekly Dublin Tropical radio show is a repository for all things good going on in world music today. He regularly spins new artists like Tune Yards and Little Dragon, as well as keeping a watchful eye on the Brazilian scene and Afrobeat as well. And he won't hesitate to throw in some Tribe Called Quest or Gil Scott-Heron for good measure. 

But that's not all he does luckily for us. He also records his own tracks. In 2011 he came out with his Quiver/Debaixo D'Agua EP. It contains 3 original tunes featuring beautiful vocalists, and a genuine mix of Brazilian flavor, soul and hip-hop all wrapped up in a post-dubstep sensibility.

This guy knows what's good and he wants to share it with you. If you're frustrated by what you hear in new music these days and you're wondering what good came out of that wild year of recession, Arab Springs, royal weddings and Norwegian snipers that was 2011, take a listen to DJ Izem's Best of 2011 Show.


But before that take a listen to his original tracks below. Especially Do Avesso, the second track.

-Hillary D.

Happy Christmas from Phil Spector

It's that time of year again and many of us are listening to our iTunes Christmas playlist on shuffle or tuning our car radios to the designated 'Christmas station' that plays the beloved Christmas shortlist on a 3 hour loop. Interestingly there's one man who was behind so many of our favorite Christmas tunes.

In 1963 Phil Spector, that crazy Jewish producer from the Bronx who was born on Christmas day, released a compilation of Christmas tunes all treated with his trademark Wall of Sound. This full-length album came from a guy who regularly referred to LP's as "two hits and ten pieces of junk". Spector proved himself wrong by releasing A Christmas Gift for You which ended up containing many of the songs that we now equate with twinkling lights and candy canes. On the last track of the album Spector expresses his desire to "...bring something new and different to the music of Christmas and to the recording industry". Looking back through time at his enormously influential body of work which includes this little slice of American Christmas nostalgia, I'd say his wish came true.

So curl up with some hot chocolate and your loved ones and let Phil's Wall of Sound wrap you up in the sounds of the season.

The Ronettes- Sleigh Ride


Darlene Love- White Christmas


The Ronettes- I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

Oh and I almost forgot....Phil is behind this one, too


John and Yoko/The Plastic Ono Band- Happy Xmas

New Video From Fleet Foxes

Directed by Fleet Foxes frontman Robin Pecknold's brother Sean, the new video from the Foxes is nothing short of hypnotic. The animated animals' saga is backed by "The Shrine/An Argument", a great cut from the Foxes 2011 LP Helplessness Blues.

It definitely gives a nod to Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are but it ends on a decidedly darker note....check it out

The Shrine / An Argument from Sean Pecknold on Vimeo.

BRAIDS: Live at XOYO

Dream-pop buzz band BRAIDS played for a packed house this week at XOYO. In 2008 BRAIDS released their first EP and started playing with bands including Deerhunter. But the band from Montreal has gotten lots of attention since the release of their debut full length album Native Speaker earlier this year. They’ve drawn comparisons to early Broken Social Scene and Arcade Fire (though I like them better than both) and garnered much due praise from sites like Pitchfork and Stereogum.

The fairly new outfit consists of a typical indie rock set-up with a guitarist, keys, drums, and bass with each member contributing vocals. But they also use loop machines and synths to craft their dreamlike melodies, which can sometimes spell disaster at a live gig. I’ll admit that after listening to the tracks from Native Speaker I was skeptical of their ability to recreate the impressive atmosphere that you get when listening to the record. Wrong I was. Their set was a non-stop ebb and flow of mesmerizing soundscapes: a perfect amalgam of wafting airy vocals, oozing synths and seriously tight drums.

BRAIDS were all about creating a mood with sound. 

BRAIDS-Lemonade

BRAIDS- Native Speaker

Click Read More to read the full review....

Amy Winehouse-Lioness: Hidden Treasures

We all knew The Soul Queen of Camden had unreleased material, the question was when it would reach the rest of us. The question has been answered with the announcement of the December release of Lioness: Hidden Treasures, a collection of previously unreleased tracks spanning the course of her career. The 12 tunes are a mix of new, unheard material and alternative versions of her most familiar tracks as well as a few covers. American producer Salaam Remi, who had worked with Amy since she was signed to Island Records in 2002 says, “It’s not the album she would have made. But these are things I would like people to know that she did. It makes no sense them sitting on my hard drive wilting away.”


In classic Amy fashion, jazz standards are included in the mix with contemporary hip-hop tracks. Listeners will be glad to hear the inclusion of an original version of "The Girl From Ipanema" and Donny Hathaway's "Song for You" recorded in one of Remi's first sessions with Amy when she was 18.
For fans the release of this posthumous collection will bring mixed emotions. On the one hand, we can always be grateful for new or unreleased material from a beloved artist, but this collection presents only a shadow of what her 3rd album would have been and will most certainly leave us with a twinge of regret that we'll never hear the final product. 


One of the first tracks to leak features verses from her close friend and creative influence Nasir Jones, better known as the rapper Nas. Winehouse's tune Me and Mr. Jones was written about a boyfriend who she wouldn't let get between her and the Nas gig in Brixton. After her death Nas agreed to add lyrics to the previously recorded original. Listen to the track below.

Amy Winehouse- Like Smoke (ft. Nas)


Check back for more news on the full album set to be released on December 5th

-Hillary D.

Richard Swarbrick's Animated Footy

Richard Swarbrick gives a new dimension to the beautiful game with his wonderful broad stroke animations. A multi-media director based in London, Swarbrick has done animations for newspapers such as The Sun, commercials and films.

'Bale' chronicles Tottenham Hotspur's Gareth Bale as he flies across the field completing goal after goal against Inter-Milan. The creative process begins with chosen shots of live action footage. Then Swarbrick sets his own composed music as a backdrop and begins the painting process. Once completed the paintings are strung together using After Effects software to create focus changes and backgrounds.

See more of Richard's work on , including his series of animations of Wayne Rooney for The Sun here

Purity Ring at Old Blue Last

Canadian Electrowave duo Purity Ring popped into London for an evening gig at the Old Blue Last in Shoreditch last weekend. And after a short but intense set Megan James and Corey Roddick left the small but dedicated crowd wanting a bit more.

It was no surprise to see their set only consisted of a few tightly rehearsed tracks filled with Roddick's layered drum chops and James' lofty airy vocals. The band began releasing tracks about 9 months ago and since they've only debuted about 5 or 6. In their defense, when Pitchfork asked them why they have released so few tracks Roddick replied "...releasing a constant stream of music can cheapen the work. We want each song to linger with people."

Emphasis on perfectionism was pretty evident at the show. Sometimes electric music from new bands can get sloppy when bands are forced to come out of their basements and onto a live stage, but James and Roddick kept everything in line from the sharp synth riffs to the chopped up vocals.  But at shows like this I always find myself hoping they will let loose a bit, improvise. Especially when the set was over and all they could do was throw their hands up and say "That's all the songs we've got". I wanted to scream back...make something up! 

But despite the brevity, the set was intense enough to keep the listeners very interested and wanting more. Roddick's Quality over quantity mantra won out here.

Purity Ring- Ungirthed

Purity Ring- Lofticries

  

Keep checking back for new tracks from Purity Ring.

Jamie XX

As the first post from our new location SPAM has decided to post on one of London's hippest artists: Jamie xx. You're probably familiar with Jamie at this point, he's the British producer, DJ, and The xx band member responsible for Adele's Rolling in the Deep Remix. And of course his remixing of Gil Scott Heron's I'm New Here with the haunting refixes of NY is Killing Me.

Round about this time last year Jamie and his band mates from The xx were celebrating their Mercury Prize for best British artist. Now Jamie is working mostly on his mixing and DJing for BBC et al.
A more recent mix he made for Fact Magazine is ethereal and dark with some recognizable bits and a lot of cool stuff in between. Hear the Fact Mix here.

This is his newest track called Far Nearer
 jamie xx - far nearer

Here's his BBC Essential Mix
 Jamie xx Essential Mix by Young Turks

See what you think

Londontown

SPAM has changed its home base to jolly old London, UK.

Naturally we'll still be keeping a watchful eye on the NOLA scene, but tasty tidbits from Londontown will be appearing rather often on the site. We're sure you'll approve.

Cheers,

SPAM

Interesni Kazki: Street Art Surrealists

Ukranian artists AEC and WAONE aka Interesni Kazki are known for creating colorful surrealist wall art and canvas drawings across Europe on a pretty regular basis. Their most recent piece was completed on the side of a residence in Solice, Slovakia. It's very The Beatles' Yellow Submarine meets Salvador Dali.

See more after the jump.