[Acoustic/Remix] Gregory and the Hawk – Boats and Birds (Protohype Remix)

Gregory and the Hawk is the solo project of Meredith Godreau and many of her musician friends (most prominently Mike). She writes and performs mellow acoustic ballads. Her First few releases were self funded and sold through her website and using myspace as a promotions tool sold 15,000 copies of her songs. Till this day I still consider Boats and Birds one of the softests and sweetest songs I’ve heard so far and I hate to admit it but hearing Protohype’s remix gave me goosebumps. -last.fm

Gregory and the Hawk-Boats and Birds(Protohype Remix)

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Gregory And The Hawk – Boats And Birds (Original)

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If you like delicate acoustic melodies and soothing female vocals you should definitely check out Wild West and Gray Weather from her 2008 release ‘Moenie and Kitchi‘

Gregory And The Hawk – Wild West

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Gregory And The Hawk – Fatcat Records, Grey Weather

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[Folk/Acoustic] Introducing Thomas Wynn & the Believers

Local talent always has a special place in The Music Ninja’s heart yet never before has an upcoming local band gotten so deep under my skin than the six-piece folk/rock group Thomas Wynn & The Believers, from Orlando, Florida. With their soft southern guitar strums and soaring genuine vocals, the live performance of “It’s alright” can only be described as being an acoustic oven pre-heated with enough soft and warm melodies to just melt your heart. It is almost embarrassing for me to describe music as heart melting, but if you took the time to watch the video above you cant help but to be inspired by their emotional honesty and genuine passion to perform the music they have carefully crafted. Thomas Wynn & the Believers are the type of band that makes local music junkies (like myself) proud to live in Orlando.

You can find their Feb 2009 debut album The Reason on itunes and amazon and expect a 2011 release coming up soon.

Thomas Wynn & the Believers – Its All Right

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[Mellow/Throwback]Department of Eagles 'Sailing by Night' + 'Brightest Minds' Archive 2003-2006

I’ve always been a pretty big fan of In Ear Park, the 2008 album from Department of Eagles, so I was pretty excited to learn that they would be releasing some material that’s been recorded for years but has never seen the light of day. And in the process, I found out that there was actually an album before In Ear Park (I know, get with the times, right?). So after a little exploring of that, I sort of fell in love with this tune. It’s pretty much all that I love about this band, a hint of that Grizzly Bear sound (actually, it’s probably much more historically accurate that Grizzly Bear has a hint of that Department of Eagles sound) mixed with some electronic elements, all bundled together in a great lo-fi package.

Department of Eagles – Sailing by Night

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In the ‘slight’ chance that you have been living in a cave for the past couple of years and have no idea who these guys are, it is only fair for you to also listen to ‘No One Does It Like You’, a whimsical wonder from their sophomore album In Ear Park released by 4AD on October 7, 2008.

Department Of Eagles – No One Does It Like You

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And here’s a bonus track from the upcoming Archive 2003-2006, a collection of unreleased songs, due July 20th

Department of Eagles – Brightest Minds

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Article was written by Guest Blogger Chris from dailybeatz.com

[Looking Back] Five Fantastic Folk Songs

This song is a bit of a throwback released in 2002-03 by Irish singer-songwriter and musician Damien Rice. I was first introduced to it when I heard it on the episode “In Traslation” from the first season of tv show Lost and its been on my ipod’s folk list ever sense. Hes not so much known for creating happy, upbeat songs but rather mellow, borderline depressing melodies paired with his clam and slow vocals. This is actually one of his more cheerful song, which at the end of the day it is still not saying much. However, his genuine lyrics, steady pace and warm vocals create a soothing experience for the worst of all rainy days. ‘Delicate’ is off his album ‘O‘ who topped the US Billboard Heatseekers chart and has sold over 650,000 copies in the US.

Damien Rice – Delicate

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Lisa Hannigan is best known for having accompanied the successful singer-songwriter Damien Rice (described above). On Fuel Friends Blog‘s 2009 recap, they describe Hannigan as being able to blend whimsy and beauty without being silly, which is very difficult to do. There’s a charming imagination in her songs, a pristine and heartbreaking depth to her voice, and an incisive emotional honesty that has made her one of the favorites in the folk genre.

Lisa Hannigan – I dont know

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The Felice Brothers are a folk rock/country rock band from Upstate New York founded in 2006. As suite101.com notes, like other famously frogged voices (see Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen) lead singer Ian Felice’s tones will be loved by some and positively hated by others. (those “others” should go back to listening to their Auto-Tuned artists and stay away from anything with soul). The Felice Brothers will be opening for The Dave Matthews Band at four concerts in Canada and the US, starting at The Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto on June 1, 2010. The relaxing and hopeful song ‘The Big Surprise’ comes of their latest album ‘Yonder Is the Clock’ released on April 7, 2009.

The Felice Brothers – The Big Surprise

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Can’t say I know much about Jordan Martin, other than the fact that he can create beautiful songs filled with simple melodies and instruments. The slow banjo strums paired with extensive vocals narrating short but emotional stories of what there once was, and what there soon will be.

Jordan Martin – Faithful John

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Bio:Dubbed the urban denizens of Canada’s country music scene, One Hundred Dollars lends a window into what country music might have become had the industry not been overtaken by popular music production and trite subject matter

One Hundred Dollars - No Great Leap

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[Folktronica] Tunng – …And Then We Saw Land

Rarely do experimentalism and accessibility go hand in hand, but on their fourth album the London-based Tunng strike a fine balance. The electronic folk band’s …And Then We Saw Land is the best album yet from a group for whom musicianship comes as naturally as breathing. Their mix of earthy folk and spare electronics yields a consistently striking collection of songs. Take for instance the first track on the album, “Hustle.” The track opens with an echoing club beat backed by spare piano chords, before quickly dissolving into clean, finger picked guitar and a simple shaker. The song only gets better from there. Soon a twangy, relaxed banjo joins the mix, smattering the song with its folksy flavor, and by the minute-twenty mark, the track has evolved into a full-fledged, chorus driven folk jingle. So where does this put Tunng? Undeniably they are a folk band, yet they are also much more. Read full review at inyourspeakers.com

Tunng – Hustle

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Tunng – Bullets

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Bonus:Tunng – Hustle (Cillo Remix)

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[Soft Indie Pop] Looking Back at The Rosebuds

How does music like this come out of somewhere like North Carolina? A hauntingly beautiful vocal (sung by The Rosebuds Duo of Ivan Howard and Kelly Crisp) is backed up by an equally beautiful guitar riff and a reverb heavy drum kit make this one of the most impressive songs that nobody knows about. The dark tone of ‘Life LIke’ is put together so nicely that it can be put together on repeat. So put it on repeat. Just hope that in the future The Rosebuds get a good marketing team behind them and maybe a good remix or two.

The Rosebuds – Life Like

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The Rosebuds-Nice Fox

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The Rosebuds – Get Up, Get Out (Bon Iver Remix)

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The Hood Internet – None Shall Get Up Get Out (Aesop Rock Vs. The Rosebuds Mash-Up)

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[Folk/Acoustic] In Love With 'Rosie and Me'

And here it is guys. I will declare it right now. My favorite folk band to have contacted me these past 2 months is without a doubt, Rosie and Me. When I’m reviewing music submissions, I always try to give the entire song a chance, even if its completely awful… but there are times that you can tell something is going to be amazing by just listening to the first 5 seconds. At second thirteen of “Come Back” I had already fallen deeply in love with Rosie and Me, and there was no coming back.

Singer, Rosanne Machado, accurately describes the group as “unpretentious and simple”. Both ‘Come Back’ and ‘Bonfires’ are acoustic wonders that sound and feel as natural as the change of the seasons and as spontaneous as Snooki from the Jersey Shore. These positive, warm melodies are almost enough to fight the cold winter this year and keep you refreshed during the summer.

Rosie and Me have been well received in the US, Germany, Canada, Poland and many other countries expect for perhaps the most surprising one: Their hometown of Brazil. In truth, after I listened to their songs, I was a bit surprised they were actually from Brazil because you dont typically see an American folk influence in Latin American countries. This of course makes their sound all the more unique, drawing from different cultures to create a sound of their own.

If you like The Weepies, Band of Horses, Stars, William Fitzsimmons and Bon Iver… you will love Rosie and Me. There EP Bird and Whale is due on March 2010.. in the meantime here is “Come Back” and an exclusive Music Ninja release of “Bonfires”. You can also Pre-Order it here

Rosie and Me – Bonfires

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Rosie and Me – Come Back

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http://www.myspace.com/rosieandme
http://twitter.com/rosieandme_

[Acoustic Session] Passion Pit + Yeah Yeah Yeah + Metric + Wale + Pixie Lott + Fanfarlo

Ahh the always dreaded Mondays with everyone going back to work/school. Here are a couple of tracks to soften you up and make you feel a little more alive.

Yeah Yeah Yeah – Maps

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Wale Diary Acoustic – Prod The Sleepwalkers

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Pixie Lott – Use-Somebody (Kings of Leon Cover)

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Metric – Help I’m Alive

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Fanfarlo – Drowning Men

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