Great free music!
Tor Bruce creates instumental electro-pop in Sweden that is kicky and fun. (I seem to really like to use the word fun to describe the music I select for this blo/podcast.) Pics on his website show him to be a one-man act: drum machine, keyboards, mixing board.
Try this selection (Heatherstreet) and see what you think!
Music on the plpl/++ netlabel seems to run the techno-electro gammut from minimal and glitch to full-blown house/dance tracks. This is a track from the group s:e:m:a out of Köln in Germany. It includes spoken word poetry for an interesting effect that does not distract from the down-tempo, dance-worthy beat. Give it a listen and think of Sprokets: Now is the time when we dance!
More ccMixter awesomeness from fellow expat-in-the-Netherlands Scott Altham is a local British expat here in the Netherlands! This one is a techno/dance number with haunting vocals by Anchor Méjans (also a ccMixter artist).
People expect to be happy
Yet pride may trip and then fall.
Lay down your heart as a martyr…
You’ve given your inch – now Your all!
Light the brier with the torches…
Joan of Arc comes in chains…
All of her soldiers now silent…
In her soul burns a flame.
This is a fun, summery synthpop piece by San Diego-based Paper Plane Pilot on the Corpid netlabel out of Germany. The lyrics are light, the melody simple…in short: Just what we need for a July afternoon!
The aptly-named July by Calendargirl has been remixed into a song that is fun to listen to on a rainy day like today when I am wishing for sun. Incoherent Mumble Train performs the honors and does a terrific job of enhancing Calendargirl’s a capella lyrics with a bouncy synth and drum line. Check out more of their respective work on their ccMixter pages!
Calendargirl uploads on ccMixter
Incoherent Mumble Train’s uploads on ccMixter
Ixtlan is one of the most bizarre bands I have seen in quite a while. They are, according to their own website and also their 23 Seconds profile, a Swedish duo consisting of Bo Green and Kent Holm. Large amounts of their profile is apparently fiction…but fun to read. Their music is cosmic and weird but lots of fun, too. Put Them In is quite listenable and safe for work, but listen to their other songs at your own risk! 😉
More fun from Sweden’s If There Is Something on the 23 Seconds netlabel. This one is great for thrashing around with the ol’ iPod on or biking furiously towards the North Sea. The keyboards are my fav thing in this song and I really wish someone at ccMixter would make a megamix out of these tracks, too.
More awesomeness from the Scomber! His terrific sense of humor with music and the creativity of his own children make this even more fun than White Hippy Suburban Family Business (and that’s saying something). The list of things that his girl likes and hates is lots of fun and the beat to this one (combined with some surprisingly good xylophone riffs, believe it or not) makes it a treat to hear. Brought to you by ccMixter, of course!
Scott Altham is a local British expat here in the Netherlands who is also a regular contributor on the ccMixter website. This song is just perfect for the warm summer days ahead. The squeak of guitar strings reminds me of the clink of ice in a glass or the far off cry of gulls over the North Sea.
Okay, so the words to this one are amazing. I mean this is seriously nightmare-inducing…but kind of fun. Check out our latest find from Johnathan Coulton‘s album Thing a Week Four.
“And there’s the creepy doll
That always follows you
It’s got a ruined eye
That’s always open
And there’s a creepy doll
That always follows you
It’s got a pretty mouth
To swallow you whole “
