Silhouette Profiles, Part 1

Much like my previous birds article, I think the theme for this one is silhouette profiles. I've compiled about eight albums, and since these writeups usually take at least a full day to produce, I've decided to split this article into two parts. Be on the look out for Part Two soon-ish.

ELIZABETH WILLIS elizabethwillis.com ♥ myspace.com Elizabeth Willis-4am Her biography lists that at the age of 4 years old, she was already playing classical violin and piano. By the age of 12, she's already written her first original song. In September, the singer/songwriter released her original 11-track self-titled debut album from Little Black Bird Music (which I think is her own label, based on her song "Blackbird" - from the line "everynight I see you there/black bird fly, black bird fly"). Critics and fans alike all loved it and compared her music to the likes of Nina Simone and Tracy Chapman. The key song and single, that everyone is excited about is "One". The song caught the attention of rapper Ludacris, who told Rolling Stones that he discovered Willis through his website. My favorite song on the album is "4am", surprisingly more fast-paced and upbeat for its song title (you would think that by that time, she'd be dead asleep). Like all of her songs on this album, it features heavy uses of the piano and violin. If you don't like sweeping violins or strictly looking for acoustic singer/songwriter, this album isn't for you. Personally, since I get so many indie guitar/bass/drum music, hearing pianos and violins are always enjoyable. Elizabeth Willis' debut album can be found on amazon and other places. Note: if you do the digital download, it comes with a bonus extended version of "One" - which is not on the CD.

FEIST listentofeist.com ♥ myspace.com Feist-1234 Feist, or as my brother likes to call her: "Fist", needs no introduction. But for the sake of people who haven't been awake this year, this Canadian got her start as part of the 10,000 band members from Broken Social Scene (check out Lara's review, she described them as a math formula). She left the band prior to 2000, and by 2007, her third album, The Reminder had a HUGE breakthrough hit song, "1234" - thanks to that amazing well-correographed music video. It would also go on to be known as that "dreaded ipod song", and not to mention teaching children to count on The Muppet Show (!) The album and single went on to win numerous awards, and if I'm not mistaken, the one huge five-award winner for the Juno Awards (the Canadian Billboard, if you will) for "Songwriter of the Year", "Artist of the Year", "Pop Album of the Year", "Album of the Year" and "Single of the Year". You will think that she's the only Canadian musician that released anything for 2008 based on these awards. The Reminder have sold over one million copies and continues to sell well for Feist. No word yet on a new album for 2009 - but I'll keep you informed.

DANIEL LENZ daniellenz.com ♥ myspace.com Daniel Lenz - That's the Way For those wondering, Daniel Lenz made his name for being one of two DJ/Band member in Minneapolis' Psykosonik, a cyberpunk/techno duo, in the early to mid-90s. Note: you may have heard of Psykosonik via Mortal Kombat's soundtrack. Early 90s techno always takes me back to those Underworld, Prodigy, and Orbital days, you know? Since then, the duo split and Paul Sebastien went on to form Basic Pleasure Model, while Lenz, currently based in Los Angeles, have been keeping busy with film music (Saw IV, Beowulf, Love Guru, etc). Lenz have decided to released his album, Stuck in a Dream, last November (although the CD copy I have here, clearly lists the album as copyrighted 2009). This album is well produced and mixed, thanks to his years of being in the music industry as a mixer and producer. Certain songs, like "I Do It Again", "This N That" and "That's the Way" reminds me of Hack-days of Information Society. The album seems to me to be split into three distinct sound: the collaborative songs (I don't know who the woman or the guy rapping on certain songs as there are no credits listed anywhere on the album), the copy/paste sampling style as I mentioned above, and and the spaced out/down-beats, mellowier songers with Brent Daniels. I did enjoy the collaborative songs like "Check it Out", "Turn Around", and "Time to Rock" (this reminds me of a Chemical Brothers song). Overall, a really enjoyable album and fans of iiO and dance music in general will really enjoy this. You can download Stuck In A Dream from the usual locations: amazon, itunes, and emusic. Physical CDs (which I recommend) can be purchased on Kunaki.

THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS thechemicalbrothers.com ♥ myspace.com The Chemical Brothers-Galvanize The Chemical Brothers - Believe (Belief, Elektric Cowboy) I'm a long-time Chem Bros fan so this 2005 album, Push the Button was pretty much what you'd expect from a Chems album. Some interesting collaboration on the album includes more Tim Burgess (who previously did some great work with "Life is Sweet", one of my all-time-favorite song). Although Burgess' "The Boxer" doesn't compare to "Life is Sweet", I'm glad to see that he's still in touch with the funk soul brothers. Incidentally, I'm not the only one that didn't think "The Boxer" stood a chance in the ring, as it was the first Chemical Brothers single to fail to crack the top 40 in the UK charts. The main song is the Q-Tip song, "Galvanize", an in-your-face rap/dance song. You will see The Chem doing more music in this direction with their latest, greatest hits album Brotherhood on the brand new song "Keep My Composure". Although it's not entirely one of my favorite Chemical Brothers album, people all over the world seems to have enjoyed this one. There was even a project that started up called Chemical Brothers Remixed, called Flip the Switch. Note that this is not an official release, but the Brothers have endorsed its bootleg culture and roots. You can download Flip the Switch for free, but they do ask that you donate to charity. Some of the songs on the remix album is very different from the original album, it's well worth checking out if you already have Push the Button and wanted more out of it.

Links: www.weheartmusic.com podcast.weheartmusic.com news.weheartmusic.com