Sweden has been unstoppable in club music for the past year, and Otto Knows is riding along in the pack with Avicii, Swedish House Mafia, Axwell, Dada Life, Adrian Lux -- oh the list just goes on. In fact, here's the list that goes on and on...
Million Voices operates on a tribal beat has exploded onto the club scene over the past two months. The structure is simple, but it builds and builds to a point where you won't be able to resist the joy it's releasing into the atmosphere.
Mark your calendars because Eurovision is just around the corner (finals are May 26), which means all of the countries are running their winning performers through all the steps in search of the next great Euro popstar (read: cheese star).
While many Europeans groan at the cornball live performances, cliche-ridden lyrics and overall embarssing songs that tend to come out of Eurovision, there's no denying that every once in awhile a gem of the sugary pop genre emerges.
This year my vote goes to Tooji who is representing Norway with the song Stay. He is a social worker by day and a rising star by night.
Tooji worked with the producers who created Sweden's track last year, Eric Saade's Popular, which placed third in the 2011 competition.
I really like the confidence that this song carries. It's sure to make it far, if not win. I've linked the original track below, as well as the live performance from the Norwegian finals where he won.
Literally overnight The Airplane Boys, based out of Toronto, went from being relatively ignored local rappers to a Twitter sensation, thanks to a performance at Coachella where they dominated the room. I'm sure the buzz of TDot that's come thanks to Drake and The Weeknd helped a little too.
The Fresh Blood music video is one of my favourites of theirs (and they have several already) as it takes a moody track and turns it into a creepy visual that rides the True Blood sensation without ever feeling like a copycat.
Surely to go down at the biggest "WTF?!?!?" moment in music this year, Tupac took the stage at Coachella more than 15 years after his death. How, you ask? A hologram, duh! While hardly perfect, the image of Tupac was certainly stunning, especially when Snoop Dogg took the stage to rap alongside him.
I can only describe it as surreal. You have to watch to understand the rest...
What's the buzzing sound you're hearing? It's probably Hoodie Allen who has managed to take his relatively low-profile Internet presence last year -- which got a boost from a late-year giveaway of his first album, Leap Year on his website -- and turn the chatter into a bonefide blog success.
Part of what's refreshing about this guy is that he doesn't seem like a rapper. In fact, if I hadn't heard his music I would've presumed he was just another poser. But from what I've heard so far he has a style that's familiar enough to be mainstream, but distinct enough to be his own.
Another interesting thing about this guy is that his lyrics are clever and flow well, but he never sounds like he's trying to be clever -- it feels natural, which means it isn't obnoxious. As my friend said, "It leaves you wanting more."
Hoodie Allen's first official single is a mellow rap track with a smooth hook sung by Jhameel. I smell a hit...
The same day the video was released Hoodie posted a candid YouTube video thanking his fans...
I assume many of you are pretty much done with Katy Perry for the forseeable future, but give pause to this song from the re-release of her album Teenage Dream, which comes with several new tracks. Wide Awake takes the trademark sound of Katy Perry that we all know (and some have been forcefed) and makes what ranks amongst her best. It's a mid-tempo song with soothing repetition ...and a soaring chorus that makes it an exceptional effort from an artist who is often less than exceptional. I think you'll be pleased with just how good this is -- and perhaps the record company will decide to make it a single sooner than later.
For those who embraced Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, and in particular their song Home this equally rootsy track tends to evoke very similar emotions while sounding entirely different. The AgesandAges album Alright You Restless of came and went about a year ago, and this track fell by the wayside. It's a shame because it's a little gem.
You've all heard Gotye's hit song Somebody That I Used to Know by now (you have...right???) but have you taken a chance to listen to guest vocalist Kimbra sing solo? If not, her album is out on May 22 in the U.S. and the U.K. This track reminds me a lot of Esthero.
Last Dinosaurs send their euphoric rock sounds from a homebase in Brisbane, Australia, and I really hope they catch on.
Zoom has an increidbly unique sound that's laced with familiarity -- a boppier verison of the harder rock bands from a decade ago. I just love their guitars and it takes me back to my early years in university when the Strokes and the Hives were all the rage.
Their music video time travels a little bit further, back to the '80s with a Tron-esque appearance.
How'd you spend your Saturday night? I was at Gotye at the Kool Haus in Toronto, Canada shakin' my tailfeather with a couple friends. I managed to catch some video of him and his band performing live which I've quickly turned into a few "music videos" that I hope you'll find entertaining. The first in the series is Learnalilgivinanlovin.
If you haven't heard of Gotye you obviously didn't read my blog yesterday, nor have you gotten out from under that rock lately, sir. So perhaps you should give it a watch and don't say I didn't tell you so.
P.S. This is one of the songs Drew Barrymore first fell in love with when she heard the Somebody That I Used to Know singer.
Anybody want to buy me a ticket to Australia? I've been wanting to go there forever so I could sample their music scene. Of course, Gotye (pronounced Gauthier) only escalated the urgency in this matter since it took years before his work ever truly made it in North America.
Most of you probably know him -- he being WallyDe Backer -- from the hit song Somebody That I Used to Know, which went viral when a group of Canadians who call themselves Walk Off the Earth decided they should share a guitar and jam out on the track. Bam. A few months later the original version is rocketing up the charts. But Gotye had years of work before that song ever reached its peak of success, and he'd also released two prior albums. Even Drew Barrymore tried to break him into mainstream by featuring the song Learnalilgivinanlovin’ in a couple of her films.
One of the tracks you likely haven't heard yet is Thanks For Your Time, which is one of my favourites. It has a mysterious feel to it and both a synth drum AND a bongo of some description. The result is tres cool. Oh, the video isn't too bad either.
