a good (new) song by Dirty Projectors

music and philanthropy

When good music meets a good cause my soul is satisfied. Arcade Fire, the best good imported from Canada, has been doing that since 2007 when it started working with Partners In Health, a non-profit health care organization based in Massachusetts.

Yesterday the band gave a lecture at the Univeristity of Texas at Austin (and somehow everything nowadays seems to be related to SXSW regions;)) about their support for people of Haiti. The band pleased the audience with a small performance that included "Haiti" and "Wake up" from their debut album. The last song brings to me a memory of summer 2011 and Arcade's phenomenal concert at SBSR in Portugal. And this brings me to yet another phenomenal performane of Arcade recorded five years ago... in the elevator and on the streets of Paris .

Somethin' Is Better Than Nothin'

Tashaki Miyaki - Somethin' Is Better Than Nothin' from The Sounds Of Sweet Nothing on Vimeo.

You may come full circle and be new here again as Gil Scott-Heron sings. So let's end the SXSW theme by making a circle and having a closer look at Tashaki Miyaki. We don't know much. I thought she's just a girl but it turned out to be actually a duo. From LA but released by a British label. People hear echos of Best Coast, Cults, Karen Carpenter, John Lennon and Jesus and The Mary Chain. I hear Beach House. They definitely know how to pick up a good song for a cover (below and somewhere else) and a good director for a video (above). Good and black and white. It all makes sense.

waiting for the summer

Here's my tribal singing and prayers for summer or at least spring!
Please let it come before 2080! :)





See more shows on KEXP Radio here and read more on The KEXP blog.



I can’t sleep when I think about the times we’re living in,
I can’t sleep when I think about the future I was born into.
(...)

It’s a New Year,
I’m glad to be here
It’s a fresh spring,
So let’s sing.
(...)

If you find me I’ll be sitting by the water fountain,
picket signs, letdowns, meltdown, it’s Monday morning.
But it’s alright (...) cause in no time, they’ll be gone .
I guess I’ll still be standing here.

Yeah yeah we can all grab at the chance and be handsome farmers.
Yeah you can have twenty one sons and be blood when they marry my daughters.
And the pain that we left at the station will stay in a jar behind us.
We can pickle the pain into blue ribbon winners at county contests.
Yeasayer, 2080, All Hour Cymbals

lost in the city

Yesterday I got lost while wandering in Töölö, a district of Helsinki. Well, I was lost in my thoughts. It felt just as if I was thrown into some kind of tunnel and the spacetime was playing its tricks on me. And so I drifted away to realise only after a while that I was in a completely different part of the town that I had initially intended. But the city was strange yesterday, covered in thick fog like Dickens' London and yet I was brought to Brooklyn. Brooklyn Cafe located at the southern end of Fredrikinkatu. In this tiny and cosy place, a huge crowd was packed and my ears were enjoying stunning performances of Brenda and Sherry (the owners of the café), Catself and Rebecca Clamp who in her last song brought us all to Kallio. Just as if I was not confused enough by yesterday's spacetime ;) A wonderful evening. And a delicious chocolate muffin on the house at the end :)


"So here's a puzzle:
it can't be solved.
Here is a journey:
it'll take you way beyond the goal.
Here is a wood:
you could spend a life-time wandering
and never find
one good road!"
Rebecca Clamp, Kallio, Key To The City

heading to Brooklyn this evening

She traded UK for Finland. Rebecca Clamp. And today she invites everyone to Brooklyn. Brooklyn Cafe in Helsinki downtown. And this is where I will be heading tonight to hear her live together with Catself. But before all that I will drop to Arkadia :)



The video was shot in Paloni store in Helsinki. Cute.

Korallreven från Sverige

It's simply impossible to go through all the bands that are involved in SXSW. It's insane! However, having an eye prone to detecting scandinavian nuances, my eyes were immediately drawn to the name Korallreven. Coral reef. Australia? Perhaps. Sweden? Indeed. Samoan Islands? Why not! It all seems to be mixed and work in harmony. Some echos of Panda Bear here and there. I can't make my mind which song/video I like best as each one creates its own microcosmos: Sa Sa Samoa and As Young As Yesterday. Both liberating. The latter perhaps in a more obvious but not diminutive way. Both from Folke Film directors, Filip Nilsson and Marcus Söderlund respectively. Good. Night.

a good (cover) song from Tashaki Miyaki

Oh, the SXSW fever begins and here's a mistery so let's keep an eye on her. Tashaki Miyaki, released by The Sounds Of Sweet Nothing, an independent young record label from the UK. Awww.. and so my hunt for everything that's British seems to continue by itself. Well, it's a good excuse to establish a new label here on Oochy Woochy: the sweet sounds of nothing! I love this name. Perfect.

a sweet song from Miąższ

Learn more about Miąższ and Karrot Kommando and handle it in Polish :)

Kobiety | Women

I badly misjugded the popularity of Mirel Wagner. So only a few hours before the concert did I find out I was left with no ticket. The show was sold out! Well, of course. She is good and that is why I was planning to see her in concert :). But my short holiday took me away from the reality of concert booking. Mirel certainly would set me in a meditative, blues mood. Therefore, being already dissapointed with the lack of ticket, I decided to reward myself with a set of a total different sounds instead. On International Women's Day, Kobiety seems to be a proper choice. As a bonus a slick and probably the simplest video ever was served. Satisfied. I am not very demanding today.

What'll it take to make you people dance?!

Graham makes a good point again. Ellen and James surely wouldn't have such a problem. They simply make people dance. Well, and so does Graham. Just get up offa that thing and stay tuned as Graham's new album is in stores 2nd April 2012! Yeah! Oh, I wish March wouldn't exist this year at all!



Meet the director of the video Ninian Doff and those who dance in the video :)