![Micheal red and white stripe top LOW RES [New] Michael Kiwanuka Home Again](http://www.themusicninja.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Micheal-red-and-white-stripe-top-LOW-RES.jpg "[New] Michael Kiwanuka Home Again")
British singer/songriter Michael Kiwanuka is a fresh cup of coffee for a world of drowsy, early morning, soul music. Michael comes equipped with melodic guitars, light percussion, and a voice that’s somewhere between Otis Redding, Miles Davis, Bill Withers, and Robert Pattinson. The title track of his new CD, “Home Again”, is an introspective take on the comfort and safety of home, and how you long for it when you’re away.
Home again, Michael’s new album, will be out on March 26th 2012 on Mumford & Sons‘ Communion label. Pre-orders are available.
Right when Broken Social Scene hit their stride with You Forgot It In People and especially on their self-titled third album, they sounded like a band that could fly apart at any second. Those albums sounded like anything could happen, and it usually did… sultry R&B breakdowns, gorgeous ambient segues, skittering electronic production…rap interludes. Five years later, the Canadian supergroup has returned under the production of Tortoise mastermind John McEntire and emerged with the leanest, most straight-ahead rock record of their career. With Forgiveness Rock Record the listener is finally able to pin down the influences of bandleaders Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning. On the Canning-fronted numbers “Water in Hell” and “Highway Slipper Jam,” classic rock elders (or near-contemporaries) hold commanding sway. Drew, half dirty-talking-ladies-man, half world-weary-scholar, writes songs that go straight for the gut. Penning slow-building rockers like the excellent first single “World Sick” and the super-tight “Forced to Love,” Drew is in full command as a band leader, his voice acting as a voracious instrument itself, emotionally transparent and incredibly expressive. Read full review at inyourspeakers.com
Broken Social Scene – Sweetest Kill
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Broken Social Scene – World Sick
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Just found out about Malajube today, a little late there… I know …but better now than never. Malajube are an indie rock band from Montréal, Québec, Canada. They sing in French and have three albums out on Dare to Care Records. They remind me of a more aggressively pop sounding Grizzly Bear. Jian, a sneaky Music Ninja fan, sent us the video and it completely caught me off guard. Did a couple of more digging around and came to the conclusion to get their 2 latest albums. Trompe-l’œil from 2006 and Labyrinthes released this year. A wonderful feeling to discover artists that are consistent throughout all their albums. For the most part the songs are warm and light, yet you can always feel a much darker, serious presence in their calm melodies. Perhaps I wouldn’t be so confused if I understood a word they are saying.
Luna is of their Labyrinthes album whose Music Video dropped in July of 2009. While the much lighter ‘Montréal – 40°C’ came from their, Trompe-l’Oeil, their second record.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
All these songs have been brought straight from my inbox! Been posting a lot of electronic and remixes lately (not that there’s ANYTHING wrong with that) but I needed a very chill Sunday morning and decided to just skip all the electronic and remixes on my inbox and simply make a post that was more instrumental.
[Folk]
William The Contractor explains “I´m the contractor that refuses to become what the society wants me to be. I prefer to see myself as a happy man, it really doesn´t have to be more complicated than that”. And this is exactly why I like him so much. Getting back to the basics and create music that comes from the heart. Paying tribute to his late father, William The Contractor acts as a turning point to say Goodbye to death and hello to life. A mellow folk song that while at times its life-reflecting lyrics can sound depressing, the tender and hopeful vocals through the choruses transforms the song into a much charming piece.
William The Contractor -Warehouseman
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
[Mash-up]
Objektiv One is a producer from Dallas, Texas that has recently released his long titled EP: Beer Pong Champion: White Boy Party Mash Ups that contain three pretty awesome mash-ups. One of which is an amazing clash of Notorious B.I.G. “Juicy” Vs. Coconut Records “West Coast”.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
[Indie/Alternative]
Releasing their third album called For New Beginnings the swedish band Friska Viljor have sent us a fantastic track titled “Wohlwill”. A marching pop beat
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
[Chillax/Ambient]
It wasn’t until I started brining my iPod to work that I discovered Ambient music. I laughed at the very description of the genre. “Ambient” for me sounded like another way to say elevator music… which in some cases this is true. But the more I listen to this genre while I was doing something that required some type of thinking, the more I began to appreciate its effect on me. Songs like “And I Smile” by Glide & Swerve work extremely well when needing to concentrate as its slow tempo calms down the body while its easy listen does not distract you from the task at hand. In many cases, ambient music can put you in a trance of focus that many other genres are not able to.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Right of the bat, I already feel guilty for blatantly comparing Owl City to Postal Service. Owl City’s music can stand on its own, but comparing them to Postal Service is the first step accept them for who they really are. Owl City is an American synthpop musical project composed by Adam Young and his backing band. While Postal Service was much skewed to be experimental, Owl City is equally skewed toward more alternative/pop sounds.
Owl City’s third album Ocean Eyes was released on iTunes July 14, 2009.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
UPDATE:Thanks to Walt from fororchestra.com (by commenting below) I discovered his CRAZY! CRAZY! arranged for Orchestra version of Fireflies. I find it incredibly amazing when I come across modern songs arranged for orchestra or piano.
Owl City – Fireflies (For Orchestra)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Buy It (link goes directly to e-junkie) or you can go to his original post and click buy it.
![beach house2 [Fresh] Beach House Norway](http://themusicninja.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/beach-house2.jpg "beach-house")
Beach House is an American duo from Baltimore, Maryland. Their self-titled debut, Beach House, was named the 16th best album of 2006 by Pitchfork Media. The group have released two albums: 2006’s “Beach House” and 2008’s “Devotion”. A third, “Teen Dream”, will be released in early 2010 and we received a small preview of their album with a track titled “Norway”.
Their music can be described as dream pop and “Norway” is a perfect example to showcase their style. Soothing sounds with relaxing melodies. Extended soft vocals to carry your mind to a higher, much lighter place.
MP3: Beach House – Norway
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
And just in case you never heard of them before, here is a track from their second album Devotion
MP3: D.A.R.L.I.N.G.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
![the kooks cover songs2 [Acoustic Cover] The Kooks Kids (MGMT)](http://themusicninja.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/the-kooks-cover-songs2.jpg "the-kooks-cover-songs")
I have previously mentioned how I have grown a thick skin to all the way too many remixes of MGMT’s Kids. Yet this cover simply blew me away. The Kooks, a British indie pop band, have rejuvinated my liking to Kids with their amazing cover. The Kooks have been known to do many covers of popular songs like Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy and Coldplay’s Violet Hill.
![mgmtcoversong kids2 [Acoustic Cover] The Kooks Kids (MGMT)](http://themusicninja.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/mgmtcoversong-kids2.jpg "mgmtcoversong-kids")
The Kooks – Kids (MGMT Cover)[High Quality]
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
And here is a couple of their other Covers:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Young Folks (Peter Bjorn & John Cover)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
BONUS: Now lets reverse the process and see who has done a cover of The Kooks? Well its no one else than their British Sister (not literally) Lilly Alan covering The Kooks famous single Naive.
Lily Allen – Naive (The Kooks Cover)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Sea Wolf is a band led by Alex Brown Church, an indie rock musician based in Los Angeles, California.
On September 22, 2009, Sea Wolf’s sophomore album, White Water, White Bloom was released by Dangerbird Records.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
