I have long been an advocate for the service provided by NoiseTrade.com.
The concept is simple. Artists provide free access to selected songs to their fans in return for the fans marketing the music for them or a donation. What better way to the personal endorsements out on the worldwide web?

To celebrate their first year of existence,the are dropping the artist signup fee. Artists can now create a NoiseTrade widget (for inclusion fans blogs, websites etc.) and give away music to their fans for FREE. What's more they get given access to their fans' email addresses anytime they want. SA artists, it's a great time to take advantage of the service ... go for it!

Labels: free mp3, music, noisetrade, sa music

Posted by roygbiv at 6:14 PM | Permalink | Comments

In 2002 I bought 'A rush of blood of to the head' and promptly took it back later that same day, as I found it boring and monotonous. I have never listened to it since so I cannot say if this was due to my state of mind at the time, or if I would still have the same experience now.
You see I have grown into a Coldplay fan since X&Y. I appreciate the way they cleverly craft a simple riff or chord sequence into a four minute while still taking you through hills and valleys, crescendos and diminuendos. I marvel at the way Chris Martin manages to be listenable, despite having a voice that should not be suitable for public consumption. I regularly sit down and enjoy their live concert PVR'ed in HD, watching how their clever use of instruments enraptures the crowd.
So it's with great anticipation I await the release of their free live album LeftRightLeftRightLeft this morning.

Click here after 10am South African time.

Labels: coldplay, downloads, free, LeftRightLeftRightLeft, music

Posted by roygbiv at 9:18 AM | Permalink | Comments

I saw these guys interviewed on some local Dstv show and really liked their personalities. Their knowledge of the local music scene within their genre and the energy they exude, oddly in a super laid back way, caught my attention.
So I did the Eishman thing and began trawling the interwebs. Like any self-respecting musician they have a MySpace and Facebook page and although they could probably make better use of these platforms there was enough for me to take a good listen and be extremely impressed.
My personal taste in electronic music is somewhere on the chilled, world, acoustic and eastern groove side. However there is just enough late 80's, early 90's edgy, synth electronica to grab my attention. Check out my favourite track 'Bloodlines' (available for free download here) and Fossils, and you will see what I mean. These guys are destined to make it big if they can stick at it and build up their audience.
Cutout Collective is Tim Apter, Jason Hartford, Flikkerr & Max Lehr and the for their sins are Johannesburg locals (Cape Town streets are too narrow for them!), keep your eye out for them their debut EP Eponymous will be released shortly and their tunes seem like they would be wild live!

Links

• Myspace
• Facebook
• Last.Fm
  

Labels: cutout collective, electronic, free mp3, friday music spotlight, music, sa music

Posted by roygbiv at 7:05 AM | Permalink | Comments

As a the first spotlight of the year I have decided to feature a doyen of SA music, someone you has wowed audience's since the mid eighties and the radio waves not long after.
Wendy Oldfield began her music career in 1983 when the founder members of Sweatband, a small garage band which became one of the leaders of South Africa's 80's pack of rock bands that many swear was a golden age for this genre. Remember éVoid, Petit Cheval, Bright Blue, Tribe after Tribe and a band I always had a soft spot for, The Helicopters?
The demise of Sweatband saw Wendy pursuing a solo career and I think it would be true to say that she has purposefully ensured that her productions remain genre non-specific. Five solo albums later and one reportedly in the works Wendy Oldfield is sure to remain in the country's consciousness for many years to come.Her style has become more 'worldy' as she has matured and her music has become celebratory African.
Once known for her tireless gigging, at one stage averaging over 100 appearances a year over a 15 year period, she has so many other projects, and of course a family, so catching her live, particular here in Cape Town is now something you cannot afford to miss.
This Saturday she is performing at a special venue a little way down the road from Eishman's abode. So if you are able, I strongly suggest spending a Saturday afternoon listening to one of South Africa's musical doyens at the Cape Farmhouse in the hamlet of Scarborough.

For a taste of what to expect :


Links

• WendyOldfield.co.za
• Free downloads (if you are lucky)
• FaceBook
• Myspace
  

Labels: cape farmhouse, friday music spotlight, music, sa music, wendy oldfield

Posted by roygbiv at 7:21 PM | Permalink | Comments

The Garritan Community is offering a downloadable MP3 Christmas album full off Christmas classics.

The current album '2008' has 19 tracks and if you search around you can get up to 79 from previous year's albums dating back to 2004.

Garritan is 'a community of musicians from all over the world met on the Garritan community forum and agreed to submit their own recordings of holiday music, to be freely distributed. Each of these orchestral recordings were made not with large live orchestras in vast recording studios at huge expense, but rather were created by a single person working on their own desktop or laptop computer. What they have in common is the use of Garritan libraries representing software musical instruments based on samples of real instruments.'

Have Merry Christmas

Link : http://garritan.com/Xmas.html

Labels: christmas, free mp3, garritan, music

Posted by eishman at 9:57 AM | Permalink | Comments

Even though jacSharp won HP's Design you personal life at the beginning of the year already, I must admit they have not been on my radar at all. However they are creating quite a buzz all of a sudden as they release their debut album Technicolor this month and quite rightly so.

Juliet Harding (Vocals and Keyboard), Emelio Gassibe (Bass), Ben Peters (Drums and Sampling) and Carl Wegelin (Guitars and Vocals) make up the band who put themselves into the Electro/Afro/Jazz/Pop/Rock genre. Personally I would reorganize this to Rock/Electro/Pop/Afro/Jazz. Man, I pity the music store assistants as they try and figure where to put the upcoming cd. As I write this, I am listening to the tracks they have posted on various sites and find myself backspacing and re-writing my descriptions. Their offerings are so diverse that I has actuall given up. Perhaps the only constant is that they are distinctively South African.

I enjoyed this bio from laodtheshow.com though:

• What do you get when you mix an electronic drummer, rock/funk guitarist, afro/jazz bassist and a pop/jazz singer? A completely new, eclectic genre of music that's unique to Cape Town based band, jacSharp. If you dig to the core of this band, you will find something magical that has been built on a foundation of nothing but good times, good tunes and keen understanding of musical diversity. All of this has been melted down, mixed together and energetically thrown at their enthralled audiences.

Their debut album bash is on the 18th December @ the Assembly but they are embarking on a nationwide tour with Plush from tomorrow, so I strongly suggest you follow the links and give their tracks a listen and then make a note in your diary to go check them out when they are in your neck of the woods.
Oh, and when visiting their website jacsharp.com you can download the title track of the new album Technicolour (check the SA spelling!) for free, gratis. Well worth the visit.

Links

• Homepage : jacsharp.com
• MySpace
• FaceBook
• Overtone artist page
  

Tour Dates : The Keep it in the Family Tour with Plush

13 Dec: Harvey Wallbangerz , Durban

15 Dec: Douglas Mitchell Sports Ground, Uvongo, KZN

16 Dec: Johannesburg, Tanz Cafe

17 Dec: Johannesburg, Tanz Cafe

18 Dec: Assembly, Cape Town

27 Dec: Crab’s Creek, Knysna

28 Dec: VIP, Plettenberg Bay

29 Dec: Neptunes Festival, Kenton on sea

31 Dec: Phoenix Rising New Years party, Kenton on Sea

3 Jan: Tapas Al Sol, Port Elizabeth

4 April: Kirstenbosch Summer Concert

Labels: free mp3, friday music spotlight, jacsharp, music, sa music

Posted by roygbiv at 10:49 AM | Permalink | Comments

Perhaps it's my natural, in-bred aversion to the genre he is most associated with, but I keep finding myself re-discovering Chris Chameleon's music and being re-surprised (I don't think this is actually correct English, but it is the best description I could come up with) at the quality of musicianship and the depth of lyrics.

Chris started his journey in 1997 as the bassist and front man for Boo! which received as fair bit of international fame before they disbanded on 2004. Although a prolific and successful Afrikaans singer/songwriter, his first English solo album 'Shine' was my first experience of his music and when my appreciation began to grow.

A true ... er .. chameleon, his music cannot be forced into any genre. There is a a whole load of rock, folk and acoustic thrown into his songs but not necessarily into the same ones.

For his latest single 'All of Me' he has released a video that is a collaborative Brighton based Shotopop and WIZZDesign in Paris who have created "emotionally charged visual journey set to a hauntingly beautiful vocal performance." It makes for awesome viewing while listening to yet another masterpiece. Check it out below.

Links

• www.chrischameleon.com
• Facebook
• Myspace

"All of me" by Chris Chameleon from Shotopop on Vimeo.

Labels: boo, chris chameleon, friday music spotlight, music, music video, sa music

Posted by eishman at 12:08 AM | Permalink | Comments

I first came across Autopilot on the disappointing SABC tv show Pump up the Volume. Their slightly alternative rock sound was probably the best thing the 'show' had going for them.

Shane Coomber, Kevin Sykes, Brigette Greybe, Nicholas Oebell & Wihan Pretorius make up this Cape Town band that has been around since 2005. There sound has changed a bit over time particularly since vocalist Brigitte joined. To be honest I haven't heard the pre-Brigitte Autopilot, but am extremely grateful that her beautiful, but sufficiently raw voice has been given a platform.

They have gradually been growing their fan base and importantly for Eish!! have really being using the internet. They have songs available to podcasters to play and promote at the Podsafe Music Network, the obligatory MySpace page and are using Facebook to communicate to their fans.

As luck would have it they, have just updated their own website this week! It's a great improvement on the previous version and I will be popping in from time to time as I am particularly interested to see what appears on the promised Media page.

They are currently in line to be included in the massive Virgin Festival in December, so if you enjoy what you here click here and give them a vote.

Links :

• Autopilot.co.za
• MySpace
• Facebook

Labels: alternative, autopilot, friday music spotlight, music, rock, sa music

Posted by eishman at 8:36 AM | Permalink | Comments

As we continue our journey through the varied and dynamic SA music landscape, we pause at an interesting artist making his presence felt in a genre we haven't highlighted yet @ Eish!!

Ninja, recently signed to independent label Sotho Mafia and is currently recording his debut album.
Not having any expertise in the Kwaito/Hip Hop/Hard Ass Rap genre, I asked for some input from the label. Here is the reply, directly from the keyboard of the artist ...

“Don’t get it twisted I'm not your average mreppa.Eazy just, that dude, mr see ha ke go feta. Life is too short to wait. So I’m always on the move Get I right.im here for good I’ll never go back. I didn’t build this city but I want my own plek. Yeah another Maftown rapper.Tshepiso,Ninja,Mixed Breed...Funny how u turn a hobby into a career. I don’t wat the first hip hop track I heard was. but what I do know is I've been into it for bells. from the time I was called "lemy man" to "lehipi" to "lenigga" now ke "mreppa".MHS where I started spitting at school shows. and then formed a crew "Sotho Mafia”. which is now the record label I run with. Now with all the fooling around it got crazy when I recently featured on Morafe's 2nd album "a e ne",9mm logo...alongside some of Maftowns sickest mc'z.K.T,Thainouko and Gomez...I was recently approached by glen sebeelo (my producer,skeem sa ka) to work with him on my album. Then went to Cape Town where I worked with Lungelo.Im ready to take ova.me,I follow the birds.up.Now,tswala matlho,relax n breath.”

He has put a few tracks on his MySpace page as a preview , click the link below and give them a listen, it'll get you into the weekend vibe.

Links : MySpace

PS :
(For those of you who struggled with Ninja's reply, I put the quoted text above through the Google Translation Ringer and got this result :
)

Labels: friday music spotlight, hip hop, kwaito, music, ninja, sa music, sotho mafia

Posted by eishman at 12:22 PM | Permalink | Comments

In my quest to find a broad spectrum of genres for the Friday SA Music Spotlight, I decided to look for something a little more electronic.
And I succeeded in finding yet another Cape Town local, albeit only since 2004!
Micheal Martin plays a style of dance that can only be labeled as organic trance. His early didgeridoo playing has definitely influenced has compositions. I found myself suitably entranced.
His album Align is full quality tracks my favourite being Transgenesis. Incidentally the track has been placed on the Podsafe Music Network so let's hope he gets some nice international exposure ala One Day remains.

Links :

• www.deviantdidg.com
• Myspace Page

Labels: electronic, friday music spotlight, indidginus, michael marttin, music, sa music

Posted by eishman at 9:46 PM | Permalink | Comments

On the 25th April this year on the Friday SA Music Spotlight I posted a piece on Verity. She is funding her cd release by involving those who pre-purchase her yet to be released album in the creation of it.
Since then she has reached the all-important 2000 pre-sales mark. This means she can fund the printing and posting of the album for those who have bought into the project.
As things have turned out, her concert this Sunday at the Silvertree Restaurant in Kirstenbosch will become a celebratory event.

With Nelson Malela on keyboards, Helder Gonzaga on bass and Frank Paco on drums she assures us it will be "high energy music filled evening" showcasing all the songs off the album!

If you would like to be there, please call 021 762 9585 asap to book a table. Tickets cost R100 & include a welcome drink & soup.

Labels: entertainment, future owners, kirstenbosch, music, sa music, silvertree restaurant, verity

Posted by roygbiv at 1:03 PM | Permalink | Comments

Jax Panic is, Jacobus Johannes van Heerden, is an oke from Bellville, Cape Town.

He has been billed as SA's first online musician, releasing his music in the online space only. Reading several write-ups and his own biography there has been a stream of thought that his music is somewhat emo-ish. I don't get that,
"A sexy mix of pop, rock, and electro, with catchy hooks", Yes. In fact there is a whole load eighties pop group 'Yes' stuck deep down is his sound. It's a great blast from the past for those who remember the late eighties mix of artists.
For someone who bought some cheap software and started recording and programming his own tracks the sound is rich and just complex enough for the discerning listener to keep listening long enough to appreciate the mix and lyrics but still poppy and catchy enough to be appreciated by the masses. Kind of like a thinking man's Mika!

Click here for to download his track 'Cigarettes and Cinnamon' from 24.com

Links :

• 
  
• MySpace
• Facebook
• RhythmOnline
  Music Store (Purchase tracks for R7.00 a track)
  

Labels: download video, friday music spotlight, jax panic, mp3, music, sa music

Posted by eishman at 8:40 AM | Permalink | Comments

It's a day early, but hey, it's the weekend.
I know very little about this week's artist. Pat The Dog is the creative oulet of Ray Goodfellow, a singer/songriter from Durban in South Africa. All Songs have been recorded at his home studio. He has managed to get played on a few podcasts around the world since he joined the Mevio (formerly Podshow). I enjoyed the simple guitar driven medleys.
It will be nice to hear more from Ray AKA Ray.

Links

• Myspace
• Mevio
  

Labels: friday music spotlight, music, pat the dog, ray goodfellow, sa music

Posted by eishman at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

As I began my travels through the web-o-sphere deciding on this week's SA Music artist, I browsed through Peak Performances' artist catalogue. (for the first time I'm ashamed to say) As the first notes of Verity's single 'Perfect' came through my pc's speakers I knew it would be an easy decision. The fact that she comes from my neck of the woods and claims to have been inspired to write her first song on the beach down the road helped make the decision even easier.

Doing my homework, I found that she is quietly pushing the music scene here in an interesting direction. Ideate.co.za did an interview with her earlier this month where she explained how she has gone about financing her upcoming album.
She is pre-selling her album online and has already managed to pre-sell over 1700 cd's (Eishman's copy is #1703). While this doesn't sound remarkable, it must be explained that the pre-selling is in fact financing the production of the cd. Those buying the album before release are called official "Future Owners" and given the power to help choose the songs that will appear on the album as well as assist with the choice design of the album art. Thus becoming intimately involved in the development of the product. Further to this 10.6% of every album sold will be given to two worthy organisations People Opposing Woman Abuse & Live Your Dreams Foundation.

She currently has 21 songs you can give a listen on her website. Here adult contemporary style is reminiscent of early Jewel with heavy us of piano and acoustic guitar. She also has a few overly poppy tunes on the current playlist, 'Don't look back' as an example of one such song, but on the whole her compositions are easy listening with meaningful lyrics. My personal favourites being 'Perfect' and 'Box of photographs', with '18 holes' sure to get overtake them with a wee bit of extra production. But hey, you be the judge, take a listen and you can help her create a masterpiece!

• Website : http://www.iamverity.com/


• Blog : http://www.iamverity.co.za/

(Feel free to submit any artists you would like featured in the Friday SA Music Spotlight. Click here)

Labels: friday music spotlight, music, sa music, verity

Posted by eishman at 9:03 AM | Permalink | Comments

Not been a great fan of local radio, there are times when I miss out when artists make it into rotation on some of the regional stations.
Natalie Chapman, by all accounts is one of those. But the SA online world (samusic.co.za in particular) lead me to her this week. Her music is described as acoustic folk, but I would add 'with a dash of country.' Her voice is easy on the ear, and her compositions extremely listenable. She is another one of our artists in the brink of becoming a household name as her music will hold a broad appeal, particularly those who appreciate the adult contemporary genre.
Although her cd "Between the lines' is advertised on her website as being available @ Kalahari.net, I was unable to locate it there, so I would suggest taking a listen at her Myspace page, and if you like click here to get a personalised signed copy.

Links :

• nataliechapman.co.za
• MySpace
• YouTube
  

Labels: friday, music, myvideo.co.za, natalie chapman, sa music, youtube

Posted by roygbiv at 11:02 AM | Permalink | Comments

Two weeks ago I brought the music of Lira to you (and promptly caused her bandwidth to dry up). Being a collector of music, I went off to the local music 'mega' store to purchase her cd and was pleasantly surprised to find it sold out. But I now found myself in a music store, with nothing in particular to buy ... I couldn't just leave without making a purchase!
As things turned out I have landed up buying a whole lot of cd's. One of which is the latest, albiet not new, Louise Carver.

Louise is another SA artist that is destined to become a superstar locally, and with a little luck internationally. She is a classically trained pianist, has vocal training since the age of 6, released her first single when she was 17 and album when she was 18 . Clearly there is a heap-load of talent here.
Her voice is extremely listen-able and music style pop with just enough rock mixed in to appeal to a broad audience. She has deservedly enjoyed pretty extensive airplay locally, with 'I didn't mean to call' featured below being one of the many songs that have done well in the charts around South Africa.

Her website louisecarver.co.za is, like Lira's well designed, easy to navigate and gives you a nice taste of what her latest album has to offer. Our local web designers are producing some fantastic portals for our artists fans.

Enjoy this week's musical interlude.

Labels: louise carver, music, music video, sa music

Posted by eishman at 12:43 PM | Permalink | Comments

Lira, is all around. You hear her silky smooth tunes all over. I even heard her being played in design studio I visited last week. Tonight she was featured on Top Billing and I found the inspiration I needed for an end-of-the-week post.
Do yourself and visit her website www.misslira.co.za after watching the video below. It's top class and you can sample her current, very listenable album. (note to webmaster : How about a 'Currently playing :[name of song here]' in the player at the bottom of the page)

Labels: jazz, lira, misslira, music, music video, sa music

Posted by eishman at 9:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

Something for the weekend. A visually awesome video of a great song by an amazing rock band from SA.

Enjoy.

Labels: music, music video, sa music, the parlatones, youtube

Posted by eishman at 7:47 PM | Permalink | Comments

I found my good friend Wes on YouTube the other day. I am ashamed to say it's of a gig I never made it to and was posted in May last year.
Do yourself a favour and press play. You will not be dissappointed. It's a great way to ease into the weekend.

Labels: entertainment, music, sa music, wes fredericks, youtube

Posted by roygbiv at 2:53 PM | Permalink | Comments

It seems that the promise of free and legal music downloads was a little premature. Much excitement has been generated around the online community around the launch of Qtrax. Qtrax claimed to have the buy-in from the four big record labels, for free Peer to Peer downloads of their artists tracks. They went live today. Being a music lover, I took the gap presented by being in a different timezone and downloaded their software and registered this morning. Here's my experience.

Firstly, when registering, although they have some 'obscure' territories like Argentina, there was no South African option in their 'Country' download box. Whether this is done purposefully or not, I have not been able to ascertain.
Secondly, the promise of being able to access artists from the major labels has not materialised. Despite claims to the contrary since April last year, even on their website, Reuters have reported that both Sony BMG and Warner music have publicly denied that they have signed any agreements with Qtrax. The agreements they signed was to test paid downloads and these contracts have since expired. I gave this a test and searched their catalog for Bruce Springsteen, an artist I know is signed to Sony BMG. His catalog is found and itemised, but you cannot download. This function, the pop up claims, will be coming soon.
Thirdly, after browsing the service for about fifteen minutes the service suddenly became unavailable. Server problems? High traffic volumes? Court action threats? Time will tell.

In short, the old adage, of too good to be true seem to apply.

Labels: downloads, eish, music, qtrax, review

Posted by roygbiv at 9:36 AM | Permalink | Comments