Galilee

Electronic music has never really been my forte, although I can say I have, on occasion, enjoyed this genre. One of those occasions being recently when an artist I have written about in the past, Douglas Garnett (DigDugDisaster), released a new EP called "Robot Arms" under the name Galilee.

Garnett is multi-talented in the fact that he explores different genres and does it extremely well. His new EP "Robot Arms" shows his extensive talent for electronic music. Driving home from work a couple of days ago, I was listening to this record. All I can say is, WOW! The way that these tracks are laid down is something I've never heard before. Usually, my drive home consists of singer/songwriter music with me singing along, but not recently. The past 3 days I have been listening to "Robot Arms" while driving to and from work and it has been fantastic.

I cannot claim to know much about the electronic music genre, but I will say I know good stuff when I hear it. My taste in music is very eclectic and I am always up for giving new things a try. Listening to Galilee's new EP has given me a new respect for this genre, as well as for the artist Douglas Garnett! The fact that the last time I wrote about him he had just released a rock record, which was fantastic and I still listen to it often, and now he has a new electronic album that is just as incredible, blows my mind.

If your reading this and you are like me and have never really gotten into electronic music, now is the time to give it a shot. Galilee's "Robot Arms" is exactly what electronic music should sound like. One warning though, if listening to it while driving, be careful. I got a bit to into it, spaced out for a moment, and sat at a green light until I was honked at. Click the link below to discover the many, many talents of Douglas Garnett!

 http://digdugdisaster.com/

Sasha Papernik

I've been gone for awhile from my blog, but I am proud to be back and writing about the amazing Sasha Papernik. Listening to her music made me want to get to know her a little more, so the following is an email interview that I conducted with Sasha.

B: How long have you been writing and singing your own music?

S: I've been singing since I can remember. I used to be the kid who did all the musicals in school and then I joined an A Capella group in both high school and college. I LOVED my A Capella groups. I was very serious about classical piano though, and I never had time for formal vocal training until a few years ago. When I started writing songs and performing them, I thought, well if you're gonna do this you should probably learn how to sing properly :) 

       A little side note: I LOVE A Capella, so when I read this response I was like a little kid full of giddiness!

B: Why did you begin your career?

S: I kept trying to get away from music (for practical reasons) - I decided on a liberal arts college instead of a conservatory, I went abroad for a year, but it didn't stick and I always just went right back to practicing. And so, for impractical reasons, I moved to New York and got a Masters in piano performance. While I was at MSM, I heard a lot of different kinds of music in the City and got to know musicians that weren't just in the classical field. Around the same time, I also started getting into composition. My whole musical life, until then, was spent interpreting music that had already been interpreted many times before me, and I wanted to try writing original music. I was also going through a bad breakup and writing about it. I wrote a few songs and really loved fitting words to music. 

Side note #2: Screw the practical and do what you want to do always. Thank goodness Sasha did because her music is terrific. And bad breakups (although they suck) make for some great lyrics!

B: What got you to the point in your career that you are currently?

S: Hours of practice. Literally. And resilience. 

B: Tell me a little bit about where you have been in your career and what you have been up too...

S: I feel like my career is blossoming - I've had a really great year and next year is even more exciting :) Some of my highlights this year have been recording and releasing my bilingual Victory, playing original music at Lincoln Center, giving a classical performance at The Smithsonian, singing at a gig in Las Vegas, being selected for a 2012 and 2013 Artist Retreat in the Blue Ridge mountains where I composed new songs every day, and earning a favorable review in the Washington Post! Next year, I am slated for 6 performances again for Lincoln Center's Meet The Artist series and 8 shows for the Musical Explorers program at Carnegie Hall. I'm really looking forward to it! 

Side note #3: I would love to attend one of those performances next year ;)

Lastly, I wanted to know a bit about Sasha and what else she does when she isn't playing music and entertaining us.

B: Please tell me a bit about what you do other than singing and of course, about that cute dog of yours (we are friends on Facebook and her dog, Klee, is adorable!)

S: I'm a long distance runner and running is usually what starts each of my days. I like the routine and it gives me the time to ground myself and think, like meditation. I also love black and white photography - I'm trying to carve out some time for this hobby and it goes well with my love of traveling. My long-haired dachshund, Klee, is a great friend :) I adopted him from a family friend and I've had him for a little more than 6 years. He is such a funny guy. When I practice, he sits under the piano like it's his job too :) When my band rehearses, he sits with us even though it gets pretty loud. 

Now that you know a bit about Sasha Papernik, let me tell you what I like so much about her music. First, I am a huge fan of the piano, especially when it is played by someone as passionate as Sasha. And of course, the fact that she writes her own lyrics is my absolute favorite. Her song Victory, which is the title of her latest album, really resonated with me and that is one of my favorite things about music. If I can relate to it, it is that much better. I can't forget to mention that some of her album is in Russian has she is a 1st generation Russian/American. I think that is pretty awesome too!

I urge all of my readers to check her out. Her album is available on iTunes and there is also a link on her website (website link below) to check out her music. Her site also has some wonderful video of some of the things she and others she works with have created! I look forward to hearing more from her and hopefully seeing her live someday!

http://www.sashatheband.com/live/

Harmony and Groove

Harmony and Groove! Their name says it all. The harmonies are present and the groove is certainly there. Today while writing at my job, I was listening to the album Bringing Down the Mercury. I am not really sure how my colleagues didn't notice my blatant jammin'!

Although I must say all of the songs on the album have a great quality to them, my favorite is Get Funky. There is no possible way that anyone could listen to this song and not "get funky". I wanted to get up from my desk and funk it up a bit, but alas, there was work to be done. Needless to say, I continued to listen to the album and just had to fight the urge to get funkdified...

I am highly recommending each and every one of you check this album out. Below is a link to the website where you can find much more about the album and Harmony and Groove. I urge you to click the link immediately!

www.harmonyandgroove.com/fr_home.cfm

turntable: a music lovers dream

I am apparently way behind the times on this one, but I am so excited to have found this lovely app! I get to share my favorites with other people and listen to theirs, often finding new music in the process...um, why did it take me this long to jump head first into virtual DJing?

For those of you also late to this party, hurry up and get here! turntable is an app that allows you and four other people to DJ together in a room.  The rooms also have listeners, so you don't always have to DJ to enjoy this app.  If people like your song you get points and the more points you earn the cooler your avatar can become! The best feeling is looking at the screen and seeing you are in the green rockin' out...

Perhaps most of you reading this already know of this amazing little invention, but if you don't, visit turntable.fm Sign up and start DJing. Look up Brandely and we can jam together :)

Serapicos

It has been awhile since I have posted. The last semester of my undergraduate career has proven to be extremely busy, but alas I have found another band to review! Their name? Serapicos. 

The band is named after a small place in Portugal. On their MySpace page they classify themselves as Pop/Rock/Alternative, but I would say they are more in the Punk realm of things. Serapicos have a very raw sound about them...I am not arguing that their own classification of their music isn't correct, but I do think there is a Punk sound about them.

I am reminded of Weezer while listening to Serapicos. For my readers who do not know, I LOVE Weezer. I am especially reminded of the album Pinkerton, which is my favorite, mainly because of the raw sound.  Serapicos have that sound. The kind that makes the listener feel the music! The tune I dig the most is called "Blow Me". It has that Weezer sound, but in an original way that only Serapicos can pull off.

Check them out at the link below!  Also look for their album on iTunes "Serapicos is a Town"!

www.myspace.com/serapicosisatown