I started HAPPY TRENDY in the winter of 2010 as an outlet to expressing myself in a form more personal than what I was creating at that time.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of focusing on everything and everyone but yourself, and I guess this was my idea of circumventing that.
It was really just an experiment, and it still is. I never have a clear thought in my head of where I want this project to go and what I want the music to sound like, and if I do, I usually change my mind within a couple of days. Touring Europe in December with Foxes in Fiction has really opened my mind. Traveling in general is one of the most important things to do in my opinion, especially if you are searching for happiness in your life. Edmonton is my home, where the cold and dreary winters lead me into a cozy, creative, isolation. My process of creating music is really spontaneous, so I can’t be sure when new music will ring in at this point. I don’t like to rush things. I have plans of spending this summer in the American southwest with a select few people I love and I hope to play some shows up the coast.

Music tastes are a deal breaker when it comes to girls. Mega bonus if they play synthesizers and have a fairly impressive record collection. My girlfriend is perfect and listens to great things.

Work:

HAPPY TRENDY – January 6

DKF: Micah Van Hove created this beautiful video for one of the newer songs, “January 6″.

MP3: HAPPY TRENDY – Losing It

Current Obsession:

Trouble Books

Luxembourg. 2010

Trouble Books- Ascending Kidney

DKF: Anything Keith Freund related is great. His solo record, “Constant Comments” is easily one of my favourites of 2011. This kind of music just sounds better in the winter.

[Trouble Books]

The Playlist

HAPPY TRENDY

 Enjoyed listening to HT’s Die Young EP and the experimental/spontaneous recordings of Dylan beneath this blurb. Happy-sad synth pop that makes you pine for the past and the future simultaneously. Follow their upcoming via the attached links.

.

Witch Gardens

Seattle. 2011

[Witch Gardens]

Phone Home

New York. 2012

MP3: Phone Home – My Bed, Your Bed

[Phone Home]

Soft Lighting

Kansas City. 2012

MP3: Soft Lighting – Far Away [Soft Lighting]

The Craters

Boston. 2012

MP3: The Craters – In It For You

[The Craters]

The You Are Minez

Calgary. 2012

[The You Are Minez]

Lorena Álvarez y su Banda Municipal

Spain. 2012

[Lorena Álvarez y su Banda Municipal]

[via]

OLD

Lemchaheb. لمشاهب

Casablanca. 1992

Lemachaheb was formed is Casablanca in 1975. They have managed to revive Moroccan traditional music. Rai, Berber & Gnawa music are represented with modern electronic instruments. Their texts were provocative denouncing the political regime, thus being compared to the Sex Pistols!

-

NEW

Tezeo

Brooklyn

[Tezeo]

Blue on Blue

London

So I’ve found something about her. Her name is Dee Sada. With Billy Steiger  they are Blue on Blue. Mystery is partially solved.

Blue On Blue – We Never Sleep

[Blue on Blue]

Zoëtrøpe

London

Rude cool punk. I miss London.

[Zoëtrøpe]

-

BORROWED

Bronson

Chicago. 2011

Posted by Solid Melts.

[Bronson]

-

BLUE

Aly Talibab علي طالباب

Cairo. 2011

Egypt. This songs lyrics are about the revolution. Last year’s revolution, this year’s yearning. Naive and primary.  Arabic IS a beautiful language.

MP3:  Aly Talibab- El Afan على طالباب _العفن

Landlady

Brooklyn. 2011

This is quite catchy. It’s of  Landlady’s debut album released via Music People Records.

[Landlady]

OLD

Don Slepian

US. 1983

Bliss. “Live video performance at the Festival de La Rochelle in the south of France, 1983, with the Jean-Marc Matos Dance Company, sponsored by the French Ministry of Culture. Analog video synthesizers with feedback loops. Early Linn Drum sequencer music, techno long before techno existed. It was quite an adventure – I traveled on my own with all the equipment and met the dancers in Toulouse.”

[Don Slepian]

[VIA]

NEW

The Pipers

UK

If  you think this sounds bit/much like my fav Notes, you are not mistaken, this is The Notes’ Aaron Richard Piper. Can gaze downwards forever listening to this, while moving my shoulders back & forth, up and down, not simultaneously, though.

[The Pipers get at]

Giant Claw

Dayton. Ohio

Ok, so how come I didn’t encounter this act before? Might be cause I didn’t check out my submissions for a while? Yup. Glad i did though, this is a joyful psychedelic synth jam that can get you pumped up enough to move furniture around. Check the whole album in here!

MP3: Giant Claw – Solar Cell

Video Thrills

New Brunswick, New Jersey

This is a new project by some of the Honeydrum members. It has the VHS lo-fi pathos embedded in it & despite its subtlety & shortness it’s very emotionally involving. More to be released from this act later on soonish.

MP3: Video Thrills – Our Plush Selection

[Video Thrills]

Fantasmas

Brooklyn|Peru

This is basically sexy, very much so.  A cheeky noise-rock sung in Spanish. Free download the 7″ on their Bandcamp.

MP3: Fantasmas – La Maga

BORROWED

Yong Yong

Portugal. 2011

This is amazingly refreshing and challenging, for some. The vid can’t be more accurate and counterpunkt to the music.

Read the full post on International Tapes

[Yong Yong]

Tonstartssbandht

Montreal|New York. 2011

The hymnal nature of the song is so enriched and winked with this vid. Pink halos surrounding a low-angled shot singing repeated heads in the skies, has got to be so higher level.

Posted By Cory Levinson

[Tonstartsbandht]

BLUE

Marc Desse

Paris. 2011

Twee-t blue. Check more details about his split with the a fore mentioned The Pipers in here. Via the lovely Bleeding Gold Records.

[Marc Desse]

OLD

Daughters of Eve

Chicago. 1966

It was the times of Beat Boom. All-girl garage bands began forming at an escalating rate. Incorporating lotta of surf jams & cute girls/awesome girls complaints/lingerings. Some of which are not so politically correct: portraying the “little women” , though many hold relevance to nowadays. Different era same shit. Also in terms of sound. ‘Hey Lover’ was their 1st release, covering a 1963 Debby Dovale song.  Daughters of Eve’s drummer Debi Pomeroy  tells about in here.

MP3: Dughters of Eve- Hey Lover

New

Anadol

Turkey

Dunno nothing about this act other than it’s Turkish & they make their own vids. DIY sounds & visuals.

Here’s another one, not so new, but worthy of your time.

[VIA]

BORROWED

Raw Thrills

Brooklyn. 2011

Read the full post on Altered Zones

[Raw Thrills]

BLUE

Bogdan Raczynski & Bjork

UK. 2005

MP3: Bogdan Raczynski & Bjork- Who Is It (Shooting Stars & Asteroids Mix)

Arc Light

Brooklyn. 2011

Arc Light- Teraform

[Arc Light]

[VIA]

OLD

Slowdive

England. 1993

This can go ahead and land in the “Blue” section of this post. But it’s not merely shuegazy blue nor “Old”, it’s marvelous and it’s of their superb “Souvlaki” album. “I thought I’ve heard you whisper it happens all the time…”

MP3: Slowdive- Dagger

MP3: Slowdive- 40 Days

[Slowdive]

NEW

Narrow Sparrow

Chicago

Citing Joe Meek as an inspiration for this song, Narrow Sparrow measure up and present a rather interestingly layered hazy electro pop,  thus perfectly implementing the ‘Dream’ part of the title. The stop animation vid was shot in super 8, and took months to complete, a rarest than rare incident these days. Say yes to quality.

MP3: Narrow Sparrow – Joe Meek’s Dream

[Narrow Sparrow]

I Dream in Transit

Melbourne

More good pop presented in a real well-done  handmade vid, this time  around coming from Aussie land. Explosion is the A-side of the band’s debut 7” vinyl release.

[I Dream in Transitt]

BORROWED

The Coathangers

Atlanta. 2011

Read the full post on The Fader

Wintercoats

Melbourne. 2011 (!)

Read the full post on International Tapes

BLUE

Zaki Nassif  زكي ناصيف

Lebanon. Circa 1960

Coming from where i come, makes the concept of “Homeland” a very sore and complex one. So when Zaki Nassif movingly sings to his beloved Lebanon, i can’t help but shed a tear.

MP3: Zaki Nassif- Baladi Ya Habiby (Homeland, My Love)

[Zaki Nassif]

OLD

The Flying Lizards

England. 1979/1984

MP3: The Flying lizards- Sex Machine

MP3: The Flying lizards- Money

NEW

Pink Playground

Houston, TX

MP3: Pink Playground – Dark Bloom

[Pink Playground]

Passion Party

Montreal, Quebec

Passion Party- Transparent

[Passion Party]

BORROWED

HNC

Tokyo. 2011

Read the full post on International Tapes

BLUE

The Fly Girlz

Brooklyn, 2008

The Fly Girlz- This is the Real ME

[The Fly Girlz]

Collatone

UK. 2011

Vid By Ela Orleans

[Collatone]

 We have released a bunch of pop cassettes on Amdiscs over the past few months and we would like to continue to do the same until we become tired of it. Right now we are working on a noisier instrumental EP called “Parallels”, it should be cool.

When I was a kid I was obsessed with old VWs. When I turned 17 I was finally able to buy a 1963 Beetle but it was a complete rusty disaster. Shortly thereafter I was jumped from behind in school by six kids. I was out of school a while thereafter and all I did was obsessively and meticulously work on my car; it was the only thing that kept me calm. I would wake up at 6 and go to bed at 12 and only stop to eat.

I like fair-skinned girls with big ears.

Work:

Honeydrum – Night Runner

This is a video for our most recent track “Night Runner” available on the Beko DSL/Crash Symbols compilation.

Zeitgeist:

A video documenting the music scene in New Brunswick in 1983. The current state of our town is not nearly as expansive and even though there are still ongoing house and basement shows, the number of places putting on shows has diminished significantly. Our city is a ghost which is evident just about everywhere except for the downtown and college where there is some forced activities.

Current Obsession:

Joe Meek – I Hear A New World

Joe Meek was great because he was just in touch with pop enough to remain a relevant figure in that world but when you hear tracks like this you understand what was going on in his head a little bit more, which was not pop and not earthly.

The Playlist

Honeydrum

 I could cite musicians & bands that Honeydrum sounds like, though I came to the conclusion that it’s irrelevant, we live in a certain musical climate which bound to affect and lead musicians in a certain direction, in this case it’s a blissful one. Honeydrum  makes articulated & sophisticated dirty lo-fi pop (dirty as in ‘dirty drinks’) with the vocals adding yet more depth to their musical experience. Tremendously enjoyed listening to everything they’ve done so far (Check an earlier Honeydrum post) & really looking forward to see them live. Follow them on Tumblr.

Honeydrum – Skin City

MP3: Honeydrum- Skin City

MP3: Honeydrum- Traci’s On The Phone

Behavior

New York. 2011

MP3: Behavior – Chill Pill

[Behavior]

Super88

Allston, US. 2011

Super88- Nervous Knocking

[Super88]

Honeydrum – Mellow Fellow

Voltage Black

London. 2011

Voltage Black – White Noise We Parse

[Voltage Black]

Katapulto

Poland. 2011

[Katapulto]

Los Jardines de Bruselas

Buenoe Aires. 2011

MP3: Los Jardines de Bruselas – Josefina

[Los Jardines de Bruselas]

OLD

Ursula Bogner

Germany. 1969-1988

MP3: Ursula Bogner – 2 Ton

MP3: Ursula Bogner – Inversion

[Ursula Bogner]

NEW

KID A

US. 2011

MP3: KID A- Sanpo

MP3: KID A- Konsen

[KID A]

BORROWED

Rivka

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 2011

MP3: Rivka – Sky Child

Read the full post on Get Off The Coast !

BLUE

John Maus

Hawaii. 2011

[John Maus]

Ruth Rosenthal & Xavier Klaine

 our current music is like an apocalyptic report of our life,in a group, a couple, a family, with friendships and farewells. Our 2nd Album ‘Red Sugar’ is out both in a cd via  Subrosa and 2xLP via Alt.vinyl.

our music combines the two worlds that we live through.

The world around, saturated, incarnated in its extremes by Jerusalem , a city where Ruth grew in and that we love and that is sick by his men. And the other world, a family, our daughter ,living in an isolated farm in France where donkeys proudly ventilate the valley,and finally living here in Crown Heights in Brooklyn, though Summer in Crown Heights is more about r’nb and methadon so maybe our music is about to change…or not.

The world could finish tomorrow, but inside it was beautiful.

A specific thing you like in girls/ boys: We like russians, boys & girls

Work:

Winter Family- Searching Donkeys

This vid is by Edouard Plongeon, a young fashion photographer in Paris, working for magazines like (Jalouse, Vogue, Dazed & Confused, Elle, etc) and shot already a lot of stars of the fashion/art world (jim jarmush, kills, devendra etc )… it is a great honnor he did us this wonderful and trippy movie.

Zeitgeist + Current Obsession:

Upcoming gig:

We play this coming sunday in Zebulon, August 14th, 9pm: Abraham king + winter family + The pendulum Swin, Come!

The Playlist

 If to describe an instrument as heavenly I would suggest it would be the Pipe Organ. Something is inherently cathartic and redeeming about its sound, salvation awaits you right down the notes (never underestimate the power of association, It’s ever binding). Winter Family celebrate the Pipe Organ, often playing it in churches, accompanied by Ruth’s deep & impressive vocals, reciting and chanting lyrical lyrics verging on Spoken word, delivered in a mass-like session. Listening to them might highly engage your senses, even so at times it feels like the door will open at any minute and the messiah will hover in surrounded by halo of white light. Explore & follow Winter Family in here.

Winter Family- Omaha

Dream Boat

Providence, Rhode Island. 2011

Dream Boat- Sleepspeech

[Dream Boat]

Vision Fortune

London. 2011

Vision Fortune- Glazer

[Vision Fortune]

Black Polygons

Paris. 2011

MP3: Black Polygons – Reverse

[Black Polygons]

Shabazz Palaces

Seattle .2010

MP3: Shabazz Palaces- Blastit

[Shabazz Palaces]

Dem Hunger

London. 2010

Directed  By Richard Cruz

[Dem Hunger]

Guest Curator:

Luke Carrell (Simian Gibbons)

Contributor at International Tapes & Altered Zones. Editor at Zinenblogen.

“A fine young fellow with a fine taste in music (and women)“

OLD

VOCODER

 Spain. 1985

 Emerging from the depths of their studio, VOCODER trade some of their Hi-NRG italo sheen for a more minimalist feel in this “live” performance. Onstage quirks, solid hooks, and bright flourishes from a youthful Juno-60 make this required repeat listening. May also contain your daily dose of delayed vocals and finely groomed mustaches.

MP3: VOCODER – Mi chica tiene un lio con Satan

NEW

How I Quit Crack

Austin, TX. 2011

 More fearfully and wonderfully made detox drones from the lady in neon herself. Vox, feedback loops, and drones create a thousand subtle variations that are easy to miss in the push. Get swept up in it all and let the sub frequencies tear at your bedroom wall.

How I Quit Crack- Don’t Fear

[How I Quit Crack]

BORROWED

Dizzy K. Falola

Nigeria.1983

 Tommyboy and the gang over at ARAWA.FM are a building a giant brain to hold pop culture memories you wish you had: spanning from to disco funk and the visually bizarre, to artful electronic compositions and unjustly forgotten pop. Now, they come bearing salacious pre afro boogie from a pre “born again” Dizzy K.

MP3: NIGERIAN BOOGIE – YOU

BLUE

 Ilona Bāliņa

 Latvia. 1970/1971

 If you’ve ever poured your heart out to an inanimate object, pet, deity, or person who didn’t care, this song is for you. A serious set of pipes, a bad broadcast TV studio set, strategic use of reverb, and a unique and very Baltic take on the psychedelia of the preceding decade make for a very touching portrayal of angst as can only be told in black and white.

Old

Marie Möör

France. 1982/1988

Seductive French synth-wave oozing with full on playfulness by Marie Möör. First track is of the ‘Pretty Day’ 7″ released in 1982. The following beautiful vid is of a collaboration with Saxophonist Barney Wilen leading to a Noir Jazzy ballad, released in 1988.

MP3: Marie Möör- Pretty Day   

[Marie Möör]

New

Zebra Baby

Bushwick, Brooklyn

Raw, Not exactly politically correct, somewhat feisty & mainly shit talking other girls, these Bushwick birds manage to match their electro hip hop to their attitude. Well It’s on then, and I’m in. This vid was shot in Brooklyn by Chilean vid artist BOG

[Zebra Baby]

Borrowed

Tonstartsbandht

Montreal/ New York. 2011

By the time you learn how to say their name you’re hooked, I promise.

Read The full post on Altered Zones

[Tonstartsbandht]

Blue

Mass Transit

Venice, CA. 2011

 Matthew J. Vasquez AKA Mass Transit, concocts  yet another dreamy electro pop track.

MP3: Mass Transit – Still

[Mass Transit]

[VIA]

Old

Abdul Basset Abdel Samad عبد الباسط عبد الصمد

Egypt. 1962

One of the world’s best Qaris, Abdel Samad was known as “The Golden Throat”, he swept audiences, filled mosques and was admired as much as a pop star. Listen & witness.

New

Ayshay أي شي

The realm of Islam continues and extends to New York based Ayshay (Arabic: anything/whatever) AKA Fatima Al Qadiri. Born in Senegal and Raised in Kuwait, Fatima contains her Islamic background and launches the magically haunting Quran verses into the future of sound. Ayshay’s ‘Warn- U’ debut EP is coming out soon via Tri Angle Records.

MP3: Ayshay – WARN-U (Nguzunguzu Remix)

Ayshay- Warn- U

Shady Blaze Feat. Main Attrakionz – Hood Nigga

Two favs collabo in the following. Pleasures.

[Shady Blaze] [Main Attractionz]

Borrowed

HTRK

MP3: HTRK- Eat Yr Hrt

Read the full post on Rose Quartz

[HTRK]

Blue

New Order – Bizarre Love Triangle

UK. 1986

 Juan and I formed Tropic Of Cancer in 2007 while living in LA. We recorded everything in a closet in a living room and played shows for friends here and there. Everything we did happened in a vacuum. For the first year we still weren’t sure if we were a band or if we even wanted to be but we kept playing and recording just because there was really no choice. There is no other way we want to live, band or otherwise.

A couple years later we relocated to Minneapolis. Being locked up together in a basement during the wintertimes helped us accomplish a lot musically. (And music helped us avoid smothering one another.) Shortly after we moved, we released The Dull Age, our first EP on Downwards. It was inspired by long periods of time spent among dead silent blankets of snow and painfully frigid temperatures. We searched for the beauty in it. Or were merely coping with isolation. Probably a little bit of both.

Our second EP on Downwards, Be Brave, was also recorded in the winter, along with The Sorrow Of Two Blooms, our latest release on Blackest Ever Black. Now we’re back in LA catching up on our sunshine. We’re determined not to get soft.

Next up: We’re going to be part of a compilation out this summer and are releasing an EP on the Italian label Mannequin, which will be out in October. There is talk of an LP on Downwards sometime in the spring. Also, more sunscreen.

I fled across the ocean with another face, another name. Nothing but my soul remained the same.

A specific thing you like in girls/ boys: A stiff collar buttoned to the top.

Work:

Our good friend Rachel Evans of Motion Sickness Of Time Travel lent her psychedelic and sensual visions in this video she made for ‘A Color’, a track from The Sorrow Of Two Blooms.

Zeitgeist:

Brenda & The Tabulations- Dry Your Eyes

Philadelphia. 1967

This encapsulates everything we love about growing up in Los Angeles.

MP3: Brenda & The Tabulations – Dry Your Eyes

Current Obsession:

Flaming Tunes- Generous Moon

London. 1985

A friend posted this video for ‘Generous Moon’ by Flaming Tunes a while back and I haven’t been able to shake it. It’s painfully delicate and completely arresting. In fact, this whole album is breathtaking and awesomely weird in many places. It totally haunts me. It was only on cassette until a few years ago when it was unearthed and rereleased on Life And Living Records.

Upcoming Gig:

We play July 23 in Long Beach at Loma Street Market and August 3 at The Copper Door in Santa Ana for FLUX Club. We’ve also just been asked to support HTRK on the West Coast leg of their tour this September (SF and LA – details are still being worked out). We love them and are beyond excited.

The Playlist

Tropic of Cancer

 Admittedly one my fav acts for 2010/2011, Tropic of Cancer fulfills my innermost minimal-industrial cravings with its impeccably sleek sound. Camella & Juan strike as intense and charismatic, guess that Goth never sounded/looked this chic. Please Follow them through here.

TOC: “This video for ‘Be Brave’ was created by another friend, Jacob Valento, and art directed by Juan. It’s cut up with footage from one of our live shows in Minneapolis. We played in a basement bar called The Clown Lounge in front of a crushed blue velvet curtain. It was beautifully Lynchian”.

Dva Damas- Man Skin Pants

California. 2010

[Dva Damas]

Mass Transit- Last Summer

Los Angeles. 2011

MP3: Mass Transit – Last Summer

[Mass Transit]

[VIA]

Sealings

London. 2011

MP3: Sealings- Stay Cold demo  

[Sealings]

[VIA]

Felt Drawings- Gurl

Los Angeles. 2011

MP3: Felt Drawings – Gurl

Directed By Taeer Maymon

[Felt Drawings]

Sandra Electronics

UK/LA  2009

MP3: Sandra Electronics live in SB CA 2009

[Sandra Electronics]

Klive- Sundance

Iceland. 2011

[Klive]

Die Jungen – Just A Dream

Berlin. 2011

[Die Jungen]

Ashburn, Virginia

  About a three years ago I moved to the outskirts Ashburn, Virginia. It’s basically one big industrialized forest with a river down the middle. Most people’s personalities seem pretty contrived, but there’s a safe vibe about it . Anyways after missing a bus ride home one day I met Max Detrich and we started talking about music and how much we’d like to make some. The Wednesday of that following week we created Stray Kites. Recently I’ve been taking a lot of long walks in the forest writing music, thinking about people, and pining for the Autumn. Speaking of seasons though, this Summer we’re releasing our second album called Mieux. Not to sound vain, but I’m proud of it; we put a lot of work into this. It’s hard… being “independent. ”

Sometimes I feel like I have more mosquito bites than friends.

I like girls named Noelle.

Work:

Stray Kites

MP3: Stray Kites – Misanthrope

Zeitgeist:

There’s a nice and nihilstiv charm about it.

Current Obsession:

Pogo- Alice

Lately I’ve felt like I need to relax. This song does that for me every time.

Recommended gig:

Saturday July 9th Animal Collective will be playing at Merriweather Post Pavilion… yeah, I know.

The Playlist

Stray Kites

Unaffected by trends, free spirited and very vivid, is the music by these two young lads. Rejoice youth and keep your ears open for their Mieux LP coming out on the 22nd. Follow in here

MP3: Stray Kites- Bonne Nuit, Je T’aime

My Friend Wallis

Vancouver. 2011

MP3: My Friend Wallis – CRYSTAL FORMATIONS

[My Friend Wallis]

Constrobuz

Raleigh, North Carolina. 2011

[Constrobuz]

The You Are Minez

Calgary. 2011

MP3: The You Are Minez – Downtown

MP3: The You Are Minez – Dungeon Town   

[The You Are Minez]

Histeria HD

Seattle. 2011

MP3: Histeria HD- i’m an Addict

[Histeria HD]

Graffiti Island

London. 2011

Graffiti Island ft. Warren G

[Italian Beach Babes]

 Exploiting Coco’s OCD’s 1st birthday to collide my two favorite worlds: Music & Film (yes, in that order). My blogger friends picked it up from there and made it happen. Much love.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Jarred Beeler

Sydney

Blog’s Name: Life: Aquatic

Blog’s Age: 1 year old

Epic Post:  Chrome Sparks // I’ll Be Wait For Sadness Comes Along

Fav Sountrack: My favorite film Soundtrack would have to be ‘Werckmeister Harmonies‘ by Bela Tarr. Most of the film is musicless, however its lonesome score makes selected, profound appearances. Its heavy breath consists of an array of string instruments as a timid piano melody works against the current. The piece sits so wonderfully against the black and white images of cold, isolated, Hungarian Townsfolk.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

James Byrne

London

Blog’s Name: dangerdance

Blog’s Age: My blog has been in it’s current form for 5 and a half months, but moved to a new address after a year at another site.

Epic Post: My favourite post was one I made for my old blog: Back To Life … Like A PHOENIX From The Flames

Fav Sountrack: I must admit that I’m not much of a connoisseur when it comes to film soundtracks, so this choice may be a little obvious.  Nevertheless, I shall nominate the ‘Suspiria‘ soundtrack by Goblin.  Perhaps what helps this to stand out was that it was created before the film was shot, which maybe prevented it from being contrived; that it had to be able to stand alone and be appreciated as a work of art in itself.  But, what I do know is that I like it, and in the end that’s all that really matters to me.

MP3: Goblin- Suspiria 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Luke Carrell

Brooklyn

Blog’s Name: ZINENBLOGEN

Blog’s Age: ZinBin has been around for 2 years

Epic Post: Stories of The One True Trophy Tree

Fav Sountrack:  I consistently find myself drawn to the Blade Runner soundtrack. Vangelis’ silky, sleazy blend of minimalism and drone with bluesey and classical elements is the perfect complement to a society that’s attempting to violently force arbitrary ideas of what is “natural” on a world that’s grown into something that, judging by those same standards, is so utterly artificial. Despite the movie having been cut and recut, the soundtrack remains a binding force for the films other equally iconic elements (hover cars, crazy eye makeup, light up umbrellas handles, etc) and even manages to take on a whole other life apart from the film. I also enjoy the soundtrack to Wild Zero.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Oskar Christiansson

Halmstad. Sweden

Blog’s Name: No Modest Bear

Blog’s Age: I started No Modest Bear in early 2009, but I can’t for the life of me remember which date exactly. March 26th is my IRL birthday though so I might as well let it coincide.

Epic Post: Tag: Jamie Harley

Fav Sountrack: Sadly, I rarely listen to film soundtracks in OST format, but one that have stuck with me for years is the soundtrack to Ghost Dog : The Way of the Samurai . If you’re looking for an introduction to hip hop as it should be – and a bunch of samurai codes – this is a must. The movie is good too.

MP3: RZA- Samurai Showdown (Raise Your Sword)

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Emmanuel Ducret

Geneva

Blog’s Name: GRRRIZZ\’LY

Blog’s Age: A few months after a few years

Epic Post: I am tempted to answer that I haven’t  written it yet.. So… I would say My only real mix. Choice matching music to my sound world totally.  I Will Not See It- Mix

Fav Sountrack: My choice fell naturally on the series Twin Peaks which terribly marked my person and reflects. I tend to often get lost in the underground labyrinths of my emotions. The split personality of the characters, sometimes human, sometimes animal…

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Alec Friedman

Brooklyn

Website’s Name: Dossier Journal

Website’s Age: We launched  May 14th,  2008

Epic Post: When we launched the site we had guest curators cycle through on a monthly basis for the “look” section; something a little different than how it functions now. If can remember correctly I was the 3rd or 4th person to contribute. Each month would feature portfolios of artists close to the curator, and for my month I got to experience for the first time how powerful and magical a tool the site was for communicating and for building communities. It’s something I don’t take for granted and a responsibility i have felt with every post I have made since. I cant give you the link because the post doesn’t exist anymore. Someone hacked into our site after a bunch of press we received around some photos of Robert Pattinson we published and we lost everything to the date of the incident.

Fav Soundtrack: Judgment Night.  It’s pretty self explanatory. Everything works; Rap, Rock, 90′s, Weed, Death, Guns, Sex, etc…  Duh.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Matt Jones

Boise. Idaho

Blog’s Name: Audio Milk

Blog’s Age: Born May, 2010 in Boise, Idaho

Epic Post: Memorable post for my best friend Trevor of Youth Lagoon: Youth Lagoon

Fav Soundtrack: Soundtrack from Twin Peaks by Angelo Badalamenti. Just a few months ago, I became obsessed with Twin Peaks and everything about it, from the character developments, symbolism, and music. Badalamenti’s soundtrack he wrote in 1990 found itself in my constant rotation, and influenced artists such as the great Phil Elverum in much of the Microphones and Mount Eerie catalogs. Reflecting on the plot of the series, the soundtrack is beautifully mysterious with smooth 80′s instrumentation. I’ve never been much into soundtracks, but this is pure gold.

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Louis Kishfy

Providence. Rhode Island

Blog’s Name: Salad Fork

Blog’s Age: 1

Epic Post:   An analytic dissection of music blogging, as it relates to Altered Zones

Fav Soundtrack: American Graffiti has one of my favorite soundtracks, and of course it is also one of my favorite films. The American 50s and 60s are two decades I’ve always been pretty obsessed with. The soundtrack to this film embodies every possible feeling of nostalgia I yearn for when I fantasize about being able to travel back in time and drive around in a rat rod with a pack of cigs folded into the sleeve of my shirt.

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Henning Lahmann

Berlin

Blog’s Name: No Fear Of Pop

Blog’s Age: One year & four months (since late February 2010)

Epic Post: Tyler in Europe: An Incident.

Fav Soundtrack: Janet Baker performing Gustav Mahler’s ‘Ich bin der Welt Abhanden Gekommen’ in Jim Jarmusch’s ‘Coffee and Cigarettes‘, in the eleventh and last scene Champagne with Taylor Mead and Bill Rice. The song is playing twice, but each time just for a few seconds, and only in Mead’s head (and probably also Rice’s, though we’re not supposed to know). It is the saddest, most melancholic and most beautiful scene I have ever seen. Mead translates the title with “I’ve lost track of the world” (the common translation I think) though in fact it should be “The world has lost track of me”, which more aptly underlines the desperate yet splendid solipsism expressed by the song. All in all a truly magical moment, one that makes me cry almost each time.

MP3: G.Mahler- Janet Baker – Ich Bin Der Welt Abhanden Gekomme

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Ian Paul Roger Nelson

Western Massachusetts

Blog’s Name: Friendship Bracelet

Blog’s Age: Two years and eight months

Epic Post: FRIENDSHIP BRACELET CLUB VOLUME 2

Fav Soundtrack: Space Jam Soundtrack or The Big Chill Soundtrack. i blew the shit out of the Space Jam soundtrack in cassette form when i was very young, shredding up walkmans past (i still have the tape) and i just fucking found out that Cheech & Chong wrote the original basketball Jones. And also my favorite track here is probably monstars anthem cos fuuuuk dat allstar lineup Coolio, b real, LL Cool J, Busta Rhymes, Method Man.

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Dave Sutton

Brooklyn

Blog’s Name: Stadiums & Shrines

Blog’s Age: 2 yrs old

Epic Post: Slow Motion – A Visual Mixtape

Fav Soundtrack: Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence – music composed and performed by Ryuichi Sakamoto (1983). I’ve never seen the film Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, and at this point, that’s kind of a choice. Sure it seems interesting; David Bowie stars. But there’s such a vivid atmosphere to Sakamoto’s score…guess I prefer to stay in this imaginary place, with it’s own tension and beauty.

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Teresa Kudarauskas

Boston

Blog’s Name:Relentless Noisemaker

Blog’s Age: A year-ish

Epic Post: Relentless Noisemaker’s 2010 Top 150 Tracks

Fav Soundtrack: With summer upon us, I have found myself singing a lot of songs that make me think of the movie, My Girl. And though that may not be my number one movie, it was one of the first soundtracks that caught my attention when I was a kid; it introduced me to a lot of wonderful classics that have stuck with me all of these years. With appearances from Sly and the Family Stone, Spiral Starecase, Manfred Mann, The Temptations (obviously), CCR, The Rascals, Albert Hammond, Artie Shaw, Fifth Dimension, etc., etc: you really can’t go wrong with this quality list of tunes. In addition to that one, I’ve always been a sucker for everything and anything from the 80′s—a decade that has sculpted and defined my entire existence on this earth. So, on that note: I’ll leave you with this clip.

                                                                                                                                                  Fin        

Old

The Royal Family & The Poor

Liverpool. 1987

 Captivating oriental tinted new-wave. This track is of the ‘In The Sea Of E’ album. Here’s what Mike Keane had to say about making this album: “The hardest thing has been doing it with no money. The whole album has been done on a grand total of £1000. I’ve already sold most of my equipment to raise the money, but nevertheless things work in mysterious ways. If you look at all the reasons why you should give up, or why you shouldn’t do anything because you haven’t got any money, then you’ll never get anywhere. I’m so much in debt now that it’s ridiculous, but I don’t care, because I know I can leave the country if I have to.” Read the detailed band biography in here.

MP3: The Royal Family & The Poor- Creatura

  [The Royal Family & The Poor]

New

Helado Negro

Brooklyn. 2011

Helado Negro: “Globitos means little balloons, in a way it’s a polite paranoid song. The idea is referring to eyes looking like balloons and how many different things run through your brain when you interpret people’s eyes when they look at you. Just a daydream and a paranoid delusion.” This beautiful track is of the ‘Canta Lechuza’ album out via Asthmatic Kitty.

MP3: Helado Negro- Globitos

[Helado Negro]

Borrowed

Halo Halo

London. 2010

Via MILK

[Halo Halo]

Blue

Ed Turner & The Danilof Center

Tel Aviv. 2010

Cheeky post-punk from Tel Aviv. if you understand the language you would realize how gloomy & sarcastic the lyrics are, thus hitting the blue nerves, indeed. This is of the ‘Pushing Neon Lights’ album, which you can free download at the band’s Bandcamp.

MP3: Ed Turner & The Danilof Center – Micha

MP3: Ed Turner & The Danilof Center – If I Had A Friend

[Ed Turner & The Danilof Center]

Still on vacation. sharing my most loved tunes for this week. though before you press play, think you should fix a minty cocktail with lots of crushed ice.

La Mujer Blandenga

Spain. 2011

MP3: La Mujer Blandenga – Sex on Fire (Kings of Leon cover)

[La Mujer Blandenga]

Chevalier Avant Garde- Non Stop Dream

Montreal. 2011

[Chevalier Avant Garde]

Juicy J & Lexluger- A Zip & A Double Cup

Memphis. 2011

[VIA]

Todo Lo Bueno- 02

Spain. 2010

[Todo Lo Bueno]

Ranvir Bassi

India. 2011

MP3: Ranvir Bassi – Prologue

[Ranvir Bassi]

Philadelphia. 2011

Attia Taylor- Black Lottery 

I’ve been following Attia Taylor for a while now, her fresh attitude of handling pop has managed to keep me intrigued. So i’m quite happy to present some of what she’s been up to. This is what she had to say for her defense: “The idea for Black Lottery was conceived on the notion of having a small secret about your identity, keeping it inside until it is no longer able to be concealed. It is one of the songs that will appear on a compilation of previously recorded experimental songs, being self-released in July called “War Knees”, along with a few other songs like Anti-Gun Girl and Bonjour means Hello. Black Lottery is a track that stands out because of its balance between hard feelings and soft melodies. The clips in the video were taken from a gender study project done by a family member and worked perfectly with the theme of conforming to societal standards.”

Attia Taylor- Bonjour means Hello! 

MP3: Attia Taylor- Bonjour means Hello!

MP3: Attia Taylor- Anti-Gun Girl

I’m on  my summer vacation and i’m humming, think i should share some of the waves washing me, no rules no cruels, just floating away.

Solid Space

UK. 1982

MP3: Solid Space- 10th Planet

[Solid Space]

Kid Romance- Destroy Everything You Touch

Massachusetts, 2011 

[Kid Romance]

Brain Drain

Sydney. 2011

MP3: Brain Drain- Mere Mermaids

[Brain Drain]

The Herco Pilots

Auckland, New Zeland. 1981

MP3: The Herco Pilots- Shooting At Gerald McBoing Boing

[VIA]

Kid Romance- Faces

Ra Cailum- Asbel

Chicago. 2011

[Ra Cailum]

Lara & The Trailers

Singapore. 1967

MP3: Lara & The Trailers- Sugar Town

[Lara & The Trailers]

Problems That Fix Themselves

Chicago. 2011

MP3: Problems That Fix Themselves- Victory (Alex Quinlan Remix)

[Problems That Fix Themselves]

Old

New Order

The electro  joy/dance inducing ‘Sub- culture’ was first released as a single in 1985  & later to be re released on the ‘Substance’ compilation in 1987.

MP3: New Order- Subculture

New

Took me a while to get into Julianna Barwick’s music, but here i am. The following is from ‘ The Magic Place’ album which you can get via Asthmatic Kitty

Julianna Barwick – Envelop

Directed by Cam Archer

[Julianna Barwick]

Physics

Took me less to like this track.

Physics- Don’t Hurt Yourself  Todd

[Physics]

Borrowed

David Byrne & Brian Eno

Following complaints from a London-based Islamic organisation, the ‘Qu’ran’ track was removed from the ‘My Life In The Bush of Ghosts’ epic album released in 1981.

MP3: David Byrne and Brian Eno- Qu’ran

Via Simian Gibbons

Blue

Jmzs Smith

You know how sometimes you  miss some moments whilst experiencing them, lots of those for me involved the on-off reliable  L train. This minimal bluesy track by Brooklyn’s Jmzs Smith is from the ‘Girls.’ EP released in April 27th, which is available online and in a limited edition cassette, download and details in here .

MP3: Jmzs Smith – L Train

[Jmzs Smith]

Blanche Blanche Blanche- The Game