Jonatha Brooke – Live at Packhaus-Theater
ALBUM : Live at Packhaus-Theater im Schnoor
GENRE : Indie / Folk / Pop / Acoustic
LABEL : n/a
LOCATION : Bremen, Germany
RELEASE DATE: 2009.08.24
.
Full Album Snippet – (each track snippet = 30 seconds)
tracks:
(01) Full Fledged Strangers (03:33)
(02) Better After All (02:41)
(03) Keep the River on Your Right (03:50)
(04) Je N’Peux pas Te Plaire (03:52)
(05) All You Gotta Do is Touch Me (03:45)
(06) King of My Love (04:15)
(07) My Flowers Grow Green (03:06)
(08) Ten Cent Wings (04:01)
(09) Glass Half Empty (04:04)
(10) Damn Everything But the Circus (04:26)
(11) Back in the Circus (04:00)
(12) No Net Below (02:59)
(13) If Matters Now (03:52)
(14) I’ll Try (03:48)
(15) Eye in the Sky (04:50)
(16) Crumbs (04:30)
(17) Because I Told You So (03:53)
(18) Taste of Danger (03:35)
(19) You and I (03:33)
(20) Sweetest Angel (03:52)
Live Recording – Great Sound
This is a live recording of Jonatha Brooke’s concert in Bremen (Germany), last August. It was previously released by Scene Group OMA (OPEN MUSiC ASSOCiATiON) under the name “Jonatha_Brooke–Live_at_Packhaustheater_Im_Schnoor_(Bremen)-DVBC-08-24-2009-OMA” in a single MP3 file without CUE.
It’s a great show, with an amazing performance by Jonatha, with excellent audio quality, really worth listening and keeping in your collection.
I loved the both the concert and the colorful commentaries by Jonatha in it, but I wanted to have the songs separated with their proper names, mainly to put in a portable device to listen to it when commuting.
So, I created a CUE file, edited it and split the tracks. For this reason, I had to convert from the original VBR-encoded MP3’s to a CBR file, since VBR files are very hard to create accurate cues and further split. I also created a cover image to go with the album.
The Concert
The concert is a live recording of 24 August 2009 from the packing house theater in Schnoor, Bremen. There’s a little bit of info about it here (in german) or here (auto-translated to english).
Quote:
“On a short tour of Germany Jonatha Brooke is solo with acoustic guitar. Just as before in February 2003, the broadcasting studio audience in Bremen fell under her spell… …A wonderful contemporary piece, full of character, with elements of pop, folk, soul, jazz”.
She sings a lot of the songs from her latest album “The Works”, and during the show she explains quite a bit about this project, being around the Woody Guthrie archives (from which the inspiration for the album came from), about being a dancer before, and so on. If you’re a fan, you’re definitely gonna be interested in this (even though you might already know some of those facts she speaks about).
If you (like me) are most likely never to be able to attend one of her live performances, this is close enough to actually being there and, not surprisingly, a very pleasant experience.
Here’s the playlist in PDF format.
There’s also a journal entry in Jonatha’s official site around the same time she played there.
Live at Packhaus-Theater im Schnoor
Getting the Album…
I’m guessing that if you like some of the late modern indie singers/bands (Lisa Loeb, Regina Spektor, Rachael Yamagata, Feist, Emiliana Torrini, Indigo Girls, Melissa Etheridge, Kaki King, Nerina Pallot, Chantal Kreviazuk), or even some of the more pop-ish ones (Colbie Caillat, James Blunt, Paula Cole, David Gray, Sia, Tina Dico, Sara Bareilles, Five for Fighting), you’ll probably like Jonatha Brooke.
This absolutely doesn’t mean they sound equal, but I’m pretty confident that if you like any of those above, there’s good odds that you’ll also like Jonatha’s work.
There might be 2 purposes for you to get this album:
1. You already know Jonatha and are a great fan of her work.
You’ll probably not gonna be able to buy this album anywhere, so grab it here (if you want all the split songs, without speech) or here (if you want the full concert in one big file, with cue).
2. You don’t know her yet.
If you don’t really know Jonatha Brooke, this is an album as good as any other one to discover her work (most – if not all – of her albums are really great). The sound quality of this album is so good, it doesn’t feel as if it was recorded from radio (was it really? – I am not so sure). So, if you’re willing to give it a go, grab it here (split songs) or here (full concert).
And, if I’m right, after listening to this concert, you’re probably gonna want to buy one of her albums on Amazon or iTunes or somewhere else… (just ’cause she is that good…)
Here’s her official site and MySpace, in case you want to know more yet about her and her music.
Get to know a little bit more about Jonatha Brooke’s latest album (“The Works”) on YouTube:
I hope you enjoy this album as much as I do. Since this is not commercial, I guess we can spread this around without feeling guilty. Nonetheless, if you have any concerns, requests or other doubts, please contact me at M8R-0jyc0v@mailinator.com
UnClubbed
ALBUM : UnClubbed
GENRE : Lounge / Ambient / ChillOut
LABEL : Newstate
LOCATION : United Kingdom
RELEASE DATE: 2009.06.15
.
Press PLAY to listen to the
Full Album Snippet
Familiar Songs
First of all, I dare you to say you do NOT know at least 1 song in this album. Moreover, I dare you to say there’s not a minimum of 3 incredibly good songs in this album. Oh, yes… It is a challenge! 😉
(01) Sing It Back – UnClubbed & Lizzy Pattinson [4:15]
(02) Finally – UnClubbed & Abigail Bailey [4:32]
(03) Waves (Interlude) – UnClubbed [0:18]
(04) Let The Music Play – UnClubbed & Laura Vane [3:23]
(05) Groove Is In The Heart – UnClubbed & Bess Cavendish [3:01]
(06) Where Love Lives – UnClubbed & Rita Campbell [4:38]
(07) Strings (Interlude) – UnClubbed [0:18]
(08) You Don’t Know Me – UnClubbed & Lewis Cutler [3:39]
(09) Touch Me – UnClubbed & Abigail Bailey [3:18]
(10) Atmosphere (Interlude) – UnClubbed [0:25]
(11) Rapture – UnClubbed & Sam Obernik [3:38]
(12) Hideaway – UnClubbed & Katherine Ellis [3:02]
(13) You Got The Love – UnClubbed & Andrew Roachford [3:20]
(14) Closer Than Close – UnClubbed & Rosie Gaines [4:26]
(15) Perfect Motion – UnClubbed & Zoe Durrant [2:54]
(16) Ella (Interlude) – UnClubbed [1:21]
(17) Missing – UnClubbed & Justine Suissa [3:26]
(18) Flowers – UnClubbed & Sweet Female Attitude [3:28]
(19) Mezmerized 09 – UnClubbed & Zoe Durrant [3:25]
Sticker
Oh, no! Not another Chillout Album…
Yes, that was my reaction when I first saw the UnClubbed album being “suggested” to me by Amazon. I wasn’t skeptical. I was flat out not even considering the remote possibility of buying this.
But then I started to stare at the album cover and I was so atracted by it that I just had to go to it’s page and see the cover in a bigger shot. See? That’s another great lesson for those of you who do not believe the cover art still deserves a great deal of attention, almost as much as the music inside the album. If it wasn’t for it I’m sure I wouldn’t even have considered listening this album. Can’t stress enough that I just LOVE the Cover!
The “Lounge” Movement
When The “Lounge” Movement started I was one of the first to jump in with both feet. I enjoyed going to parties that would spot this kind of music, I listed to it in the car, at school, at work, I even enjoyed going to restaurants that played this kind of music.
Don’t get me wrong. I still do. The problem is that since this Genre has been discovered as “A Gold Mine” by some Commercial Groups, there’s been a complete banalization of the Genre. Every kind of music you can possibly imagine started to get “chilled”. It seams that every other week some Labels release a “Brand New” ChillOut album. And there are some songs that are regarded as “ChillOut Classic Anthems” that I, honest to God, just can’t listen anymore, since every album you look there they are.
Everything just made me be very skeptical about any “new” ChillOut or Lounge album…
…until I started listening to this one.
I went to the album page in Amazon just to see the cover, but since they have a really great, easy and practical album preview there, I started it while I was examining the album cover design.
It all begins with the music selection. Including so many famous music in an album might be considered a risky move, because it begs the obvious question: “when the song is already great, how can you make it even better?”. The answer that UnClubbed gave is: “by being so different”. You obviously recognize the songs (even if you can’t tell the name of it or the original singer/group), but they are so different that you might as well be listening to a whole new song. This is what many people advocate that is the case with remixes, and these songs are, after all, remixes (but some very special ones).
The other key factor is recording with great and well stablished artists such as Abigail Bailey, Lizzy Pattinson, Sam Obernik, Justine Suissa.
And, as if I was not conviced yet (come on!), after listening to half the snippets on Amazon page I was completely sold. The new arrangements for the songs are absolutely genious. They are unique and yet they form a very cohesive album. A real pop gem!
Various - UnClubbed
The Album – “UnClubbed”
“Discover the songs behind the beats” is what was writen on the sticker of the CD. This is not just another clever marketing strategy as it might seam at first, but rather the truth waiting to be unfolded. We (or most of us) already love those songs so much and is not without a reason. They are great songs! This new pace that has been applied to them allows us to listen more carefully and enjoy those songs even more, feeling them at a deeper level.
You can buy the album as MP3 on Amazon, iTunes, play.com and 7digital, among others.
If you (like me) would rather have the CD, you can have it here at Amazon, Tower or Juno.
You can check out more complete versions of the songs on UnClubbed MySpace page.
Quotes:
“Club classics have become the soundtrack for a generation of party people. Beneath every ‘hands in the air’ anthem, lays a truly great song. UnClubbed features versions of 16 classics including huge hits like Moloko’s ‘Sing It Back’, Touch Me’ by Rui Da Silva, Deee-Lite’s ‘GrooveIs In The Heart’, ‘You Got The Love’ by The Source ft Candi Staton, Alison Limerick’s ‘Where Love Lives’, ‘Missing’ by Everything But The Girl ‘Pictures’ by Sneaky Sound System and many more.”
“Sacha gathered together some of the most talented vocalists, musicians and co-producers around, deconstructed the tracks and then rebuilt them as perfectly produced songs, bringing out the timeless qualities of each.”
Here’s the complete press release.
There is even a TV ad for the album on YouTube:
Say You Will – Brighter (EP)
ALBUM : Brighter (EP)
GENRE : Pop / Rock
LABEL : Unsigned
LOCATION : Johnson City, TN, USA
RELEASE DATE: 2009.02.14
.
Christian Bands
First of all, let me say it’s long gone the time when I was a “Christian”. For quite some time now, I believe in a personal relationship with God without the angry/chaotic/crazy/money-hungry churches in-between us.
So, when someone introduces me to one of these “new Christian great sounding bands”, I’m all like “Nah, I already talk to God all by myself”. I really don’t need anyone preaching to me anything on any kind of things related to this subject (God, religion, faith, Christ, etc).
Still, there are times when the sound is so good, I’m willing to let it go. I won’t pay attention to the lyrics and just listen to the sound.
Say You Will Band Members
Say You Will…
…is one of those types of bands. They’re good enough to make you disregard something that would put you off from their sound right from the start.
Anyway, I think it’s smart that they don’t “push” their religion right to your face. I have no idea how much “Christian” they are, but honestly I couldn’t care less. I have listened to their sound and it’s awesome! I’ve also seen people say they are quite nice folks and that seeing their live show is awesome and I can truly believe that.
You can check them out on iTunes, PureVolume, YouTube and, of course, the regular MySpace.
Say You Will - Brighter EP
The Album – “Brighter” (EP)
A friend gave me their “Brighter” EP to listen and I loved it! I’m glad I listened to it before going to their MySpace page or researching them (so there’s no prejudice to their sound beforehand).
The EP cover is also really clever and original. I like the idea where something that much simple can result in such a pleasant cover. A simple paint roll generates a nice myriad of cartoonish colors in smooth waves crossing themselves.
Really clever, I bet it will grab the attention of many and arouse their curiosity around the sound that should go with that cover.
On that note, Let me tell you beforehand: the sound is just as pleasant as the cover. Grab yourself a copy if you can.
[01] See What I See (snippet) [02] Believe (snippet) [03] Sky Kites (snippet) [04] Surface (snippet) [05] In a Lifetime (snippet)
If you’re ready, you can buy it here also: http://sayyouwillmerch.bigcartel.com/product/brighter-ep, besides iTunes. 😉
audio twenty-four-seven 