Space and the Astral World

THE DRONES thedrones.com.au ♥ myspace.com The Drones - The Minotaur The Drones are "an unconventional rock band", currently based out of Melbourne (originally from Perth). I used those quotes because I believe their current album, Havilah, fits more in the realm of psychedelic/space rock band with lots of guitar finger noodling and heavy, heavy Australian accent of Gareth Liddiard. The cover artwork features what looks like a picture of the Moon, but the album title, Havilah, comes from an Australian area, near where this album was recorded. My favorite song off the album is easily "Your Acting's Like The End Of The World", a lofty acoustic guitar song with lots of humorous lyrics, but with a bitterness to it. As usual, however, the song is so different that it doesn't really fit into their moody space music, such as either song "Nail It Down" or "The Minotaur". Although between the two songs, I might be leaning towards "The Minotaur", simply because "Nail it Down" features too much "nail it down" repeating lyrics (even though I think it's a superior song with chorus, bridge, the whole kit and kaboodles). "The Minotaur" doesn't contain any catchy lyrics, but its music rhythm and energy more than makes up for it. Listen to that yep, followed by that bouncy bassline! They are on tour to promote Havilah, currently available in the States via ATP Recordings. They will also be at SXSW 2009 - which I'm happy to report, I will be doing some coverage this year. 02/21/09 Theatre Royal (Gareth Solo) w/ Tendrils Castlemaine, Victoria 02/27/09 The Vanguard (Gareth Solo) w/ Ben Salter Sydney, New South Wales 02/28/09 The Troubadour (Gareth Solo) w/ Ben Salter Brisbane, Queensland 03/12/09 MORE U.S TOUR DATES TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON! Various Cities, New York 03/15/09 The Echoplex - Aussie BBQ Los Angeles, California 03/16/09 The Aardvark Fort Worth, Texas 03/18/09 SXSW - Little Radio / Topspin Event Austin, Texas 03/20/09 SXSW - Aussie BBQ Austin, Texas 03/20/09 Karma Lounge - SXSW Official Showcase Austin, Texas 03/26/09 Bell House - Aussie BBQ Brooklyn, New York 04/07/09 Shubas Chicago, Illinois 04/24/09 The Corner Hotel w/ Qui (USA) & Witch Hats Melbourne, Victoria 04/25/09 Metro Theatre w/ Qui (USA) & Witch Hats Sydney, New South Wales 04/26/09 Fly By Night w/ Qui (USA) Fremantle, Western Australia 04/29/09 The Hi Fi w/ Qui (USA) & Witch Hats Brisbane, Queensland 04/30/09 ANU Bar w/ Qui (USA) & Witch Hats Acton, Australian Capital Territory 05/01/09 Governor Hindmarsh w/Qui (USA) & Witch Hats Adelaide, South Australia 05/02/09 Groovin’ The Moo Festival Townsville, Queensland 05/03/09 Ripe Festival Noosa, Queensland 05/09/09 Groovin’ The Moo Festival Maitland, New South Wales 05/16/09 Groovin’ The Moo Festival Bendigo, Victoria 05/21/09 The Luminaire w/ Snowman London, London and South East 05/25/09 Paradiso Amsterdam, Zuid-Holland 05/26/09 Merleyn Nijmegen, Zuid-Holland 05/27/09 Botanique (Witlof) Brussels, Brussels-capital 05/29/09 Primavera Barcelona, Barcelona 06/02/09 Rote Fabrik-Ziegel Oh Lac Zurich, Zurich 06/04/09 Chelsea Vienna, Wien 06/05/09 Molotow Hamburg, Hamburg 06/06/09 Bang Bang Club Berlin, Berlin 06/10/09 Hare & Hounds w/ Snowman Birmingham, London and South East 06/11/09 Bodega w/ Snowman Nottingham, Midlands 06/12/09 Roadhouse w/ Snowman Manchester, Midlands 06/13/09 Brudenell Social Club w/ Snowman Leeds, Midlands 06/14/09 Captains Rest w/ Snowman Glasgow, Scotland

PHILIP CLEMO philipclemo.com ♥ ilovestrings.com ♥ myspace.com Philip Clemo and Ysanne Spevack - Surfing Dreams and Chaos Philip Clemo - Taking A Hand (In The Company Of Angels) Philip Clemo is a Scottish-born music composer, whose work seems to tie closely with his film project, "The Air Holds Still On My Breath", a series of paintings to the music from his album The Rooms (2008). In addition to The Rooms, I have Soundzero (to be release on March 29th), despite the album was recorded in 1999 with violinist and vocalist Ysanne Spevack, aka Mee. Spevack's singing on the album isn't typical pop singing, it sounds like she's reciting poetry. Much of her vocals are also manipulated to sound distant to clearly in your head. My favorite song off Soundzero is "Surfing Dreams and Chaos", which sounds a bit Celtic with the Spevack's metal violins. Unfortunately, there's none of her singing on this song - which is probably best as Clemo is more known for his atmospheric music. Which brings me to The Rooms. The album opens up with an epic 17-minute track, "The Place" that slowly builds up in intensity. You can check out the entire song on his official page. Admittedly, I was drawn to Chloë Goodchild's song, "Taking A Hand (In The Company Of Angels)" and the addition of organs and trumpets helped make the song interesting. If you like electronica compositional soundtracks, you should definitely want to check out these two albums. Between the two, I will have to admit to liking Soundzero just a tad because it features more singing and doesn't feel like transitional songs (for some reason, the atmospheric songs like "Leaving Corridor Red" didn't strike a chord with me). But I reckon you have to be in the mood for these things... You can find Clemo's albums on amazon (for Soundzero, it's listed under "Various Artists"). Both albums have a release date of March 29th, 2009, but The Rooms was made available in the UK in 2008.

ASTRONAUTS OF ANTIQUITY astronautsofantiquity.com ♥ myspace.com Astronauts Of Antiquity - Dance Until Dawn Astronauts Of Antiquity's Rocket Science For Dummies is an loungey, funk-ish album with layers of electro-type of sounds. The band consists of B. Rhyan (music, guitars) and singer India. India's vocals is from a saucy jazz-styling, which actually fits well in these electronic lounge music - not too dissimilar to such acts as Thievery Corporation or Zero 7. The smooth vocals of India, in contrast to Cee Knowledge's rap, is pretty interest and worth checking out on their track "Soup Du Jour". Other songs worth noting is the trumpets on "Strangest Places", which seems to sound like it's an additional vocals, singing along India's vocals "looking for love in the strangest places". As for my favorite song, check out "Dance Until Dawn". This sounds almost Caribbean, but with a flute solo and easy-to-listen-to vocals. If you're in the mood for an urban loungey pop album, Astronauts Of Antiquity is worth checking out. Details on purchasing their music can be found on their official website. They are playing at Shrine in New York on April 10, 2009, so be sure to see them, if you're in the area.

ERIK SCOTT erikscottbass.com ♥ myspace.com Erik Scott - Bassque Revolution Erik Scott, aka Eski, released his all instrumental album Other Planets in early 2009. He seems to have a thing for 'dada' (an art/music/media movement, often with abstract/surreal concepts) as he spent sixteen years with his former band Sonia Dada, but previously did some work for Alice Cooper in early eighties - possibly during his conceptual album DaDa (1983). Other Planets is 100% original compositions by Scott, with one collaboration with Ron Schwartz for the song "Other Planets (Sundogs)". All of the songs sounds epic, like a journey that starts from point a to point b, with lots of emphasis on the bass. There is one exception, "Bathing Maui", which I felt was just a fun song (like a toss-away b-side). I get the impression from the song that Scott is a huge dog lover and Maui, I believe, is the dog's name. To represent Erik Scott, I would have to recommend "Bassque Revolution". Again, heavy on the bass, but it's perky enough to sound like it has its origin in a European cinema soundtrack. You do need to put on headphones to pick up the organ, keys, cymbals and variety of acoustics - but it should also be just as good for background music while you're reading a novel, or hanging out. Other Planets can be downloaded at digstation, physical compact disc at amazon or CD Baby.

 02/22/2009 21:15:40 ♥ vu () ♥weheartmusic.com♥podcast.weheartmusic.com♥news.weheartmusic.com