Florence + The Machine are still beating the dead horse that is Ceremonials. It’s not gonna happen. Lay it to rest! Mehisms.

Garbage swung it back
with Not Your Kind Of People.
It is pure garbage.

We adore this!

The year is almost halfway through and we are grappling to find records/albums that cut it on this year’s list. Before Melody Gardot and Fiona Apple amuse us, we ask you:

What is your favorite album of 2012, so far?

Our faves for this year, so far are (in no specific order):

• King Con – Alex Winston
• MDNA – Madonna
• Born To Die – Lana Del Rey
• Home Again – Michael Kiwanuka
• Our Version Of Events – Emeli Sande
• Which Side Are You On? – Ani Difranco

What are yours?

On some schmaltzy vampire show Sigur Ros’s new sound debuted. Its a haunting little track and here it is soundtracking the cheesefest with pretty faces. Click below to listen to it.

http://youtu.be/t4RygMtqu5o

It’s time to harvest another single Flight Facilities have been cooking up. The band who has a track record of amazing singles is back with a new track “With You.” This follows in the same vain as the other tracks – a fusion between beach lounge and happy house.

Drop everything you are doing right now and embrace the new compilation for May. You know, some people live for the May mix because it contains the perfect balance between summer surrender and spring organica. If you have downloaded a May mix before you would know. Anyway, this is one of the playlists that we cherish – moody, eclectic and untamed. It is a mixture of folk-soul and acoustic rock. Just what the doctor prescribed. Live it off and love it. Tell us what you think. Also, we managed to conquer every  letter in the alphabet with this one. Q was our last venture! All did!

:: Download ::

Singer Joan Osborne talks about her life in music, her new album; Bring It On Home and how she’s developed her style. From receptionist to legendary singer, Osborne keeps it real in the ever changing music industry.

8/10

The grunge movement wasn’t merely a sub-genre of rock music. It has its own aura, sound, dynamic and even fashions. No band optimizes this movement that came out of the Northwestern states like Nirvana (well, maybe Pearl Jam, too). This track is one that rings back our teenage years of angst and rebellion. “In Bloom” is one of their best tracks and also one of the videos that identify the 90s’ as a turning point in rock music, and the genre hasn’t been as good since.

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Newcomer dazzles,
Melancholy acoustic.
Scares summer away.

Filed under: Beats, Brit Brit Brit, Haiku Review Tagged: album, new, Ren Harvieu, review, single, track ]]> http://loft965.com/2012/05/14/haiku-review-through-the-night-by-ren-harvieu/feed/ 0 loft965 ren_harveiu http://loft965.com/2012/05/14/dont-quote-me-vol-650/ http://loft965.com/2012/05/14/dont-quote-me-vol-650/#comments Mon, 14 May 2012 16:44:02 +0000 Loft965.com https://loft965.wordpress.com/?p=45030 ]]>

“Modest doubt is called the beacon of the wise.”
- William Shakespeare

No one brings back memories of a summer spent in the Lower East Side of Manhattan like Santigold. This first single from her new album captures just that essence. Pronounced lyrics pressed upon a chill reggae-inspired melody with a surprising guitar riff – no one but Santigold can put all this elements to fruition and still make it sound ready for street speaker. It’s time some recognition was given to artists who merge genres beautifully but do not fit nicely on nomination ballots. What Santigold is going her is fusing many different sound into one midtempo track. Had it been an uptempo track it would have been a different story. This is pure musical genius.

Who buys this stuff?

We have to say that we are not entirely loving the new direction Scissor Sisters are taking at all. “Shady Love” didn’t move us one bit and this just sounds mehy to us. We want some glam rock that makes you go up and down like “Get It, Get It.”

Tell us what you think.

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Haley Reinhart’s first album Listen Up! has leaked all over the internet. The reality show hopeful has what it takes to make it and we love that she is not going for the mainstream pop genre which many contestants usually go for in hopes of achieving commercial success. Her track “Free” is very promising. Wait for the album to download it as she needs all the support.

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This has big hit written all over not because its a good tune, but also because there are two powerhouses behind it. So, they can both secure another hit if not a #1. The video must be out of the world too.

The Absence is the third record from Grammy-nominated Melody Gardot. Produced by Heitor Pereira, renowned for his work as a film composer (Despicable Me, It’s Complicated, From Prada to Nada) and world-class session guitarist (Sting, Seal, Caetano Veloso), the Brazilian-born, US-based artist shared Melody’s enthusiasm for driving off the beaten path of Western pop, jazz, blues and soul. And he was as adventurous as Melody when it came to inventive sonic ideas. From the deserts of Morocco to the streets of Lisboa, from the tango bars of Buenos Aires to the beaches of Brazil, The Absence captures the essence of each of these exotic locales, while at the same time remaining quintessentially Melody Gardot.

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Her twitter bio reads “32 Flavors and then some.,” that’s enough for us to love her forever as it is a lyric from our all-time favorite song. For some, living a dream is a privilege…a blessing, if you will. For others, it’s more of a calling. There’s no doubt that Elle Varner’s creative journey should be filed in the latter category, but even as her destiny unfolds before her, she can barely believe her eyes.

Hers was a childhood steeped in hooks and verses, melodies and choruses. Whether flipping through her mother’s Motown collection, singing along to Burt Bacharach classics or accompanying her songwriter parents to their recording sessions, music was an ever-present force. It’s the only life she knew. “Growing up in the studio was absolutely normal for me, but looking back, I realize that it’s not a very common environment for a kid,” Elle says. “At an early age, I absorbed so much about music and learned how to create a song, from beginning to end. My dad always asked for my opinion about what he was working on and I remember my mom would ask, ‘What word should I add here?’ They really empowered me.”

With the release of her debut album, Perfectly Imperfect (MBK Entertainment/RCA Records), which she wrote and co-produced, it’s evident that her early experiences have served her well. Crafting the album also proved to be a full-circle moment for the 22-year-old singer/songwriter as she enlisted the help of her parents – Jimmy Varner and Mikelyn Roderick – both of whom contributed their production and vocal arrangement talents and pushed Elle toward, and beyond, the bounds of her creativity. When asked to describe her feelings about the finished product, Elle takes a moment to ponder the question. “I can honestly say that I’m in love with every song on this album,” she says, matter-of-factly.

Leading the 12-song set is the flirty, funky single, “Only Wanna Give It To You,” produced by Pop & Oak and featuring J. Cole. If you have her tell it, the song has taken many shapes and forms since she began writing it as a teenager. At first listen, it seems as though she’s singing about someone special, but then she switches it up real quick. Is she talking about a pair of pumps? Maybe. Maybe not.

Thought that you were just another Romeo,

The shoe you pass by in the store window.

But soon as I got home I wish I’d bought you instead,

I got it bad, I’ll take the black, take the navy and red…

“I get stuck whenever I try to explain where that song came from because it wasn’t really about anyone in particular,” she notes. “People think different things about it, but I was more focused on playing with the words and nailing the lyrical flips.”

Like many songwriters who’ve come before her, Elle admits that ideas reveal themselves in different forms, at different times and places. “I keep my phone on-hand so I can record whatever sound or phrase comes to me because I never know when it’s coming or where it’s coming from,” she says of her creative process. “Sometimes, I’ll just be humming a tune off the top of my head and it will turn into something bigger.” Such was the case with the song, “Refill.”

“My friend recently reminded me about a night that we were in Miami getting ready to hit the club and I just started singing, ‘Can I get a re-fill…,’” she laughs. Although she doesn’t recall the moment, that glimmer of a song would become a heartfelt ballad that made its way onto the album. On “Refill,” she admits to being a “conversational lush,” one who doesn’t have the strength to know when to call it a night.

I feel like the girl at the bar who’s been there too long (can’t stand up).

I should be gone, but I just can’t get enough,

So, can I get a refill…can I get a re-fill?

With “So Fly,” Elle again speaks from her heart, but this time, she keeps the focus on herself. No matter society’s narrow standards, she’s determined to honor the young woman she sees looking back at her in the mirror. The song is an ode to loving and appreciating all the things that make her special, by her own definition. And yes, it all started with a boy.

“There was a guy that I really liked, but he put me in the ‘friend’ category from day one,” she remembers. The girl that he liked was skinny and had all of these material things, like expensive bags – she was just, fly. One night, I was so pissed that I went to my room and just let it all out. I was initially going to write this depressing song, but then I realized that I could try to find something positive in that situation. I changed direction at the end and started the last verse with, ‘I’ve decided, I’m the definition of fly…’”

Rounding out the album – which includes production by Pop & Oak as well as Elle and Jimmy Varner – is “Sound Proof Room,” a sensual, rock-tinged ballad which features her mother’s background vocals blended with her own. “My mom sang back-up for Barry White for six years, so she really understands the art form of background vocals,” notes Elle, who sang background on every song. “Having her there to help me achieve those intricate, layered vocals was an awesome experience.”

Born in Los Angeles proper and raised throughout southern California’s city limits, Elle, now a resident of Brooklyn, recalls the first time she really heard her own voice – she was nine years old and singing in her church’s youth choir. That was the spark that ignited her drive to pursue the arts. Soon after, she had a short-lived moment with the flute, followed by formal piano lessons. “I wasn’t very disciplined about practicing when I was younger, which I think was a blessing in disguise,” notes Elle, who eventually taught herself to play the guitar and now plays “drums, guitar, a little bass, a little piano and flute. Sometimes, when you know too much about an instrument, you can get lost in that. Everything from me comes from the most basic point of musical understanding.”

At 11, she joined the Amazing Grace Conservatory and by 15, she penned her first song, entitled, “Thankful,” while studying at the Academy of Music at Hamilton High School. The song, which she played with one string on the guitar, scored the top prize at a local talent show. Earning a coveted spot in New York University’s Clive Davis Program of Recorded Music was further proof that she was headed in the right direction. She’s not looked back since. “To be recognized for my talent in a program that only selects 24 students per class, out of thousands, was like, ‘Wow!’ I knew that I had really stepped up to the plate,” says Elle. Shortly thereafter, Elle was discovered by MBK Entertainment, honed her skills even further and eventually became one of the first artists featured in BET’s Music Matters campaign for 2010.

As she prepares to take her place on center stage, Elle Varner sees no limit to her possibilities. “I think every girl dreams of being famous and enjoying all of the hoopla that comes with it, but at this point in my life, I know like I know my name that this is what I’m supposed to be doing,” she says. “I’ve been blessed with the tremendous gift of music and it’s my responsibility to share it with the world. I see big things in the future.”

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If you follow this blog you would know that we love a good pop beat any day of the week. But, what really makes us swoon for ages is a solid sombre tune. Who better to deliver this sound than the unequivocally divine Ane Brun. On “What’s Happening Between You And Him” Brun visits melancholic austerity with depth and a yearning as deep as a well. With stark drumming and simple yet direct lyrics allows for a haunting saunter around the dimmer edges of a love story. The kind of stories that pop up on cold and lonely rainy nights. This is just music at its most revealing and vulnerable. A charming track that can shelter you for eons.