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Music Alliance Pact For April 2014

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This month’s Music Alliance Pact installment is here, and we are highlighting the latest from Tokyo’s Earthquake Island. Listen to it…and many more…below!

Click the play button icon to listen to individual songs, right-click on the song title to download an mp3, or grab a zip file of the full 27-track compilation through Ge.tt here.

JAPAN: Make Believe Melodies
Earthquake Island – Naked Water
Earthquake Island is usually a solo project based in Tokyo, but for Naked Water the producer behind the music recruited singer Mocca to perform over a lovely, glowing soundtrack that would sound right at home in a church. Her contributions, though, add even more beauty as her vocals overlap one another and give the entire number a Björk-ish edge.

ARGENTINA: Zonaindie
The Plasticos – Marfil
This band from La Plata usually cites British rock acts such as The Kinks, Blur and The Stone Roses as their main influences. However, this track from The Plasticos’ new album, Kilómetros, is one of our favorites because of its grungy sound that reminds us of the new Argentine rock movement from the late 90s. You can listen to the album on Bandcamp.

AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
Dianas – Dix
There are moments when all you want to do is kiss the guy who invented the internet. Such is the case when one Bandcamp tag after the other, we stumbled upon Dianas, a trio from the distant city of Perth. Dix is a dreamy drone-pop tune with all those floral notes typical of Scottish indie; kind of like what Camera Obscura might have sounded like on a hot summer’s night in Western Australia.

BRAZIL: Meio Desligado
Isaar – Tudo Em Volta De Mim Vira Um Vão
Sort of a sad waltz, Tudo Em Volta De Mim Vira Um Vão is taken from Isaar’s new album, Todo Calor (roughly translated as “All The Heat”). Originally from Recife, one of Brazil’s most prolific cities, Isaar shows her strong influences of local culture such as frevo, maracatu and manguebeat, but also flirts with pop music and other contemporary artists like Siba and Orquestra Contemporânea De Olinda.

CANADA: Quick Before It Melts
Zoo Legacy – CRWD
Hybrid hip-hop rockers Zoo Legacy are from Ottawa but have a world-conquering sound. Blending indie-rock, R&B, hip-hop and pop, it’s impossible to pinpoint which element is the band’s focus, and that’s exactly what they’ve intended. Lines blur and genres blend, but Zoo Legacy’s gift will always be musical alchemy.

CHILE: Super 45
Niño Cohete – El Bosque
Niño Cohete, a band from Concepción, packed Teatro La Cupula at Lollapalooza Chile in March. With an EP and a recently released debut album, Aves De Chile, they’re conquering the country with their music. They define their style as “sylvan pop” and new single El Bosque has nice guitar arrangements and a very upbeat melody.

COLOMBIA: El Parlante Amarillo
Flaco Flow & Melanina – El Desorden
From the Colombian Pacific coast comes hip hop duo Flaco Flow & Melanina who, after 12 years, four albums and tours around the world, are still armed with good rhythm and real, powerful lyrics. They never deny their Latin flavor as you can hear in their salsa song El Desorden.

DENMARK: All Scandinavian
Kristian Harting – Kamikaze
Having paid his dues in a bunch of more or less under the radar thrash metal and noise-rock bands for the past 15 years, Kristian Harting has finally released a debut solo album. Float is a personal account of emotional and financial turmoil set to bleak and haunting alt-folk that will get you one way or the other. At least if you have a penchant for this type of music. And a soul. Kamikaze is a MAP exclusive download.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: La Casetera
R.E.A.L.I.D.A.D. – Cogiendo Fuego feat. Carolina Camacho
We usually don’t repeat artists on our MAP submissions, but with this one the team decided to make an exception. Both R.E.A.L.I.D.A.D. and Carolina Camacho have been featured before because they make unique music in their genres. For this track, the fury that fuels rock music and the fierce attitude of rap mix together to defend our people from corruption, softened by Carolina’s voice over the chorus. Head to the Bandcamp link above to download Resurgir/Combates Necesarios, the latest EP from R.E.A.L.I.D.A.D.

ECUADOR: Plan Arteria
Fernanda Karolys – Vago Desiertos
María Fernanda Karolys is one of the most powerful and iconic Ecuadorian female voices. After a strong career that has seen her play with bands such as Pulpo 3, Nortec Collective Presents: Clorofila and Helios Jive, she is ready to present her first solo album and Vago Desiertos is the first single.

ENGLAND: Drowned In Sound
Douglas Dare – Swim
Radiohead’s influence on modern music is enormous, but it’s strange how little credit is given to Thom’s solo work. The Eraser captivated the imagination of a generation of smart younglings in their bedrooms. Much like London’s James Blake, Dorset’s Douglas Dare climbed Harrowdown Hill and had the epiphany to use hints of light for shadow-play. It’s little wonder this bloop-loving pianist has ended up on Erased Tapes, home to the likes of Nils Frahm and Ólafur Arnalds, who are set to release his debut album Whelm in May.

ESTONIA: Rada7.ee
d8p – Gather
d8p don’t try to identify themselves by a niche or genre, but rather focus on creating a certain universal feeling, an atmosphere. Melancholic, longing, melodramatic, yet uplifting and danceable, d8p plays with the fine line between euphoria and sadness while also leaving room for surprises. Utilizing complex percussion, simple melodies and unconventional musical structures, d8p aims to take the listener to a place they find familiar yet full of new possibilities.

FINLAND: Glue
Captain Cougar – Rise
On their first two albums, five-piece Captain Cougar perfected rootsy Americana-influenced songs, but with their recently released third album, Åkerblomrörelsen, the band has created bold soundscapes embracing post-rock. Lyrically, it is also very ambitious as it is a history-related concept record that tells the story of Finnish evangelical cult leader and sleep-preacher Maria Åkerblom. Rise is a very good example of this bigger sound.

GREECE: Mouxlaloulouda
The Man From Managra – Praise The Lord
Aiming to explore the function of songs as a fundamental necessity of musical expression, The Man From Managra – the new project of Coti K. – conjures up music with a thoroughly minimal feel and austere arrangements, using a modified bass and his voice both deftly and as core elements. Check out Praise The Lord, a gripping and subtly beautiful song, based on a motorik rhythm, repeated simple phrases and Σtella’s unique contribution.

INDONESIA: Deathrockstar
Cabrini Asteriska & Puti Chitara – Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu
Cabrini Asteriska and Puti Chitara are singer-songwriters who have played together since their childhood. After some shared travels they decided to form a musical project to express their life experiences. This song is a Hindu mantra in Sanskrit, may it bring more peace with you.

IRELAND: Hendicott Writing
Extra Fox – Come Together
Neil Adams’ Extra Fox is one of several current side-projects from Dublin scene heroes The Cast Of Cheers, a smartly bristling bedroom electronica aside. Taking elements of his math-rock mainstay’s choppy style, Adams’ charmingly skittish beats and soulful melodies nod towards the neon lights of urban Japan. The man himself credits Com Truise and “that feeling like you’re inside an 80s video game” with inspiring a new thought process. The album is available on a pay-what-you-want basis on Bandcamp.

ITALY: Polaroid
Flying Vaginas – Happiness And Flour
You could say that Happiness And Flour by the trio Flying Vaginas sounds nothing new, simply classic indie-rock with a long tradition: The Jesus And Mary Chain, Sonic Youth, Clean, Black Tambourine, you name it. Or, to quote some bands from the present: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, Crystal Stilts, Girls Names. What makes me particularly happy about this wonderful song is that Flying Vaginas know how to speak the international language really well, and it doesn’t happen very often around here. Their great debut EP is also free to download via Bandcamp.

MALTA: Stagedive Malta
Blue Star – Shake It Baby
One of the many projects involving Andre Camilleri, the only record ever made by Blue Star is a five-track EP recorded in 1998. Camilleri spent many years busking on the streets of Berlin and Valletta. While in Malta, Andre put together a five-piece band which included Ian Schranz and Mark Sansone from Beangrowers, resulting in a number of well-received gigs and a self-titled EP. Andre is now based in Australia, his output remains prolific and we’ve lost count of his numerous recordings.

MEXICO: Red Bull Panamérika
Ponce – El Muerto
Leonardo Kin Ponce’s interest in the paranormal was expressed in his music while in his previous bands Timmy & The Monsters and Ghostcatcher. Now he has been working on Ponce, a solo project based on pure Spanish vocals and some IDM elements. His first single El Muerto follows that line and it has been released with some remixes that emphasize the dark, daily aspects of one of the most fearful ideas of existence: death.

PERU: SoTB
Bondage – Un Video De Los Dos
From Trujillo, a beautiful city in northern Peru, comes one of the most interesting and provocative rock bands in the country. Bondage was formed by Juan Carlos Paredes, who created his style from punk and garage-rock. Un Video De Los Dos is taken from his first album released last year, which has a lot of sensuality and distorted guitars.

PORTUGAL: Posso Ouvir Um Disco?
Sequin – Naive
Sequin is the solo project of Ana Miró, an extremely talented vocalist who gives new meaning to the blips and bleeps of early 80s electronic music and has a sound reminiscent of the debut albums by Soft Cell and Depeche Mode. However, Sequin, who recently opened for Warpaint in Lisbon, will also be loved by those who are into more recent bands such as Ladytron. Naive is taken from her album Penelope, out on April 21.

PUERTO RICO: Puerto Rico Indie
Necronazis – Peligro De Muerte
Necronazis are a fixture in Puerto Rico’s punk scene and although not as active in recent times, the band makes sure they play a few shows every year for their faithful fans. The group’s different line-ups read as a genealogical tree of the local scene, including long-standing members Giancarlo Cervoni and Sergio Narváez, both former members of Dávila 666. To honor this seminal band, new independent label Discos Diaspora launch Antología on April 19, a limited edition tape compiling Necronazis’ recorded output in its entirety.

ROMANIA: Babylon Noise
Theory Of Mind – I Felt The Sun
Cluj-based band Theory Of Mind has built up a large fanbase in just a few months. A dream-pop group with psychedelic and experimental influences, they have shaken the foundations of Romanian music – for good.

SCOTLAND: The Pop Cop
Fatherson – James
Fatherson are idols to many in Scotland and, having just released their debut album I Am An Island, now is the perfect time for the rest of world to catch on. Their music is more accomplished and rewarding than you might expect from a rock band in their early 20s. There are no unfocused thrashy rackets here, just considered creativity and a very intelligent approach to dynamics and song structure. MAP exclusive download James has all the crescendos, singalong verses and punch-the-air choruses you could ever wish for.

SOUTH KOREA: Indieful ROK
Saram12saram – Raindrop, Cloud, Typhoon And The Sun
Saram12saram had been teasing with alluring electronic tunes on SoundCloud a year before the release of the duo’s debut EP. Raindrop, Cloud, Typhoon And The Sun finally came out at the end of 2013 and a few weeks ago it became available on vinyl. The title track puts the esoteric female vocals first, while the music produces an ambient dreamscape that leaves you wanting more.

SPAIN: Musikorner
HUIAS – Dealer
HUIAS is a duet from northern Spain formed by María Lastra and Alejandro Santana. In 2012 they released their first EP in which they mixed guitar arpeggios with electronic arrangements, keeping folk tradition in mind, but now they are comfortable in the dark side. Their music is mysterious, dreamy but dark. Dealer is the first single from their forthcoming debut album.

UNITED STATES: We Listen For You
The Deloreans – As Long As It’s You
On their fantastic new single, As Long As It’s You, The Deloreans find themselves crafting a slow driving tune with multiple small flourishes coloring the entire sound-space. The vocals are confident and overflowing with emotion as drum kicks and a grandiose chorus keep elevating the constantly evolving song.

Music Alliance Pact March 2014

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Taking a break from SXSW (and, uhhhh, having a cold) to share this month’s MAP! Featuring the lovely Nagoya outfit Pop-Office! Listen to it…and more…below!

Click the play button icon to listen to individual songs, right-click on the song title to download an mp3, or grab a zip file of the full 27-track compilation through Ge.tt here.

JAPAN: Make Believe Melodies
Pop-Office – Only Love Can Break Your Heart
Nagoya outfit Pop-Office have built a reputation in Japan on being loud, fuzzy and at times chaotic. So it was a bit of a surprise to see them cover the Neil Young song Only Love Can Break Your Heart for a recent EP. Makes sense after listening. The group put their personal stamp on the song, turning it into a lurching number prone to stretches of noisiness. The sentimental core remains, though.

ARGENTINA: Zonaindie
Plein – Madera & Fuego
Plein started almost seven years ago as an excuse for a group of friends to gather and play their favorite songs. After several years of playing live and participating in different compilation albums, this indie-rock band from Buenos Aires released their first record in 2012, with songs recorded using a method of pre-established rules inspired by Lars von Trier’s film The Five Obstructions. Madera & Fuego is taken from their 2014 EP Número Uno.

AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
Yon Yonson – Culver City
Childhood friends Andrew Kuo and Nathan Saad are Yon Yonson, an experimental pop duo from Sydney. Their sound is ambitious and unpredictable – listen no further than their latest release Hypomantra to understand. As the band designed the record to be played as a continuous set, each track on the record is incredibly malleable, both in sound and score. Culver City, with its origami beat samples, is a glimpse of Yon Yonson’s standout oddities which show that this talented duo’s output is just as diverse as their intention.

CANADA: Quick Before It Melts
The This Many Boyfriends Club – Only Trying
“We are a mercurial bunch,” says Casimir Frederic Coquette Kaplan, guitarist and vocalist for The This Many Boyfriends Club, since by the time you hear Only Trying, vocalist Veronica Danger Winslow-Danger will have sung her last lo-fi “dandy punk” show with the band. A new single will also be up for the offering, signalling yet another shift for this ever-evolving Montreal band. I’ll follow this club wherever they want to lead me. You will too.

CHILE: Super 45
Cóndor Jet – Igual Que Ayer
Antonio Favero, Nicole L’Huillier and Tomás Vidal are Cóndor Jet, a trio that has refreshed the indie-rock scene in this country. They play psychedelic dream-pop, so they were a perfect fit to open for Tame Impala last October in Chile. Igual Que Ayer is taken from their debut album Anillos.

COLOMBIA: El Parlante Amarillo
Goli – Tú y Yo
Goli is the project of Sara Rodas, born in Medellín, who is remembered for being the singer of synth-pop group Mr. Bleat. Now Sara shows us her other side, in which we perceive something more intimate and romantic. Tú y Yo is taken from her debut album released this month. Don’t miss the limited edition handwoven version.

DENMARK: All Scandinavian
Shiny Darkly – Dead Stars
This edition of MAP marks my fifth anniversary as Denmark’s representative in this great music blog alliance. It’s a special occasion so I’m happy to be able to mark it with a track from some of my all time favorites, Shiny Darkly, who will release their long-awaited (and excellent, I might add) full-length debut, Little Earth, in Denmark on March 31 and internationally on May 5. A MAP exclusive download, Dead Stars is the nine-plus minutes of awesome post-punk album closer.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: La Casetera
Sin Fin, Realidad & Lugo Santiago – La Expropiación Legal
Several hip-hop artists united to record a tribute album for Juan Antonio Alix (available as a free download on the link above), one of the most influential poets of the Dominican Republic and a master of “décimas”, ten-line poems that usually satirize social, political and religious themes. One of the poems, La Expropiación Legal (written in 1876), attacks communism directly, accusing the government of seizing private properties for their own benefit. Rappers Sin Fin, Realidad and Lugo Santiago add their rhyming skills to turn this song into one of the most memorable moments in the album.

ECUADOR: Plan Arteria
Cuervos – Juan Cuatrero
Juan Cuatrero is a story told within the old west of Quito and the first track on Cuervos’ self-titled album, released in 2013. Wild, poetic and adult-oriented rockabilly, it’s a mature record full of great textures and an air of contemporary folk.

ENGLAND: Drowned In Sound
FEMME – Daydreamer
The Beyoncification of modern popular music is a wonderful thing. A smidgeon of melancholy shimmering on a groove that you can grind you hips to is never not loved at DiS HQ, and south Londoner FEMME seems to have a few of these darkthems lurking beneath her sparklier, crunchier, poppier numbers. Daydreamer has lyrics about rain in her heart but thankfully the inner sadness never totally eclipses the charm of the head-twirling beat. A bright future awaits.

ESTONIA: Rada7.ee
Allinn – 2 Maailma
Allinn released their debut album in November 2013 and 2 Maailma showcases everything they’re capable of. Bravely experimenting with sounds, mixing haunting vocals, tribal drums and a sense of 90s breaks scene, they take you on a journey that you wish would never end.

FINLAND: Glue
Exotic – Red Lights / Rainy Nights
Exotic is an electronic pop duo from Finland even though they were first conceived and founded in Barcelona. Red Lights / Rainy Nights is taken from the upcoming EP Milkshakes which Exotic describe as a piece of minimalist techno-influenced lo-fi pop.

GREECE: Mouxlaloulouda
Sugar Factory – Chamber Music
Sugar Factory’s Chamber Music is intensely atmospheric, beautifully tense, emotive and melodic with subtle sonic shifts, stuttering percussions, guitars very much the centre of attention and ample majestic moments that take prisoner of your head and your heart. Their limited edition double A-side single is available for free download on Bandcamp.

INDIA: NH7
Dualist Inquiry – Lumina
Indian independent music’s summer anthem for 2014 may have well and truly arrived in the form of Dualist Inquiry’s latest single Lumina. His first solo release in almost a year following the formidable Doppelganger LP is a catchy guitar and synth-driven indie-dance tune that features the 27-year-old producer on vocals for seemingly the first time in his own work. A variety of palatable styles of dance music get the Dualist Inquiry treatment here, ensuring Lumina sounds just as great driving home after a long night at the club as it does driving towards the city lights hours earlier.

INDONESIA: Deathrockstar
Marco Steffiano – I’ll Be Fine feat. Monita Tahalea
If life gives you lemons then you make lemonade. When life gave Marco Steffiano he wrote a beautiful song about letting go and invited some of his closest friends to help.

IRELAND: Hendicott Writing
The Rusty Fixtures – When Ya Left Me
Strung together on beer-money budgets in the finest of Irish folk traditions, The Rusty Fixtures nevertheless throw a glance or two in the direction of reggae and blues in When Ya Left Me. The break-up track – an unreleased MAP exclusive set for their second EP – sees the progression of a bittersweet tinge that’s been ever-present since the rural rising stars saw their kit stolen, burnt and then replaced by the local community back in 2011. Now edging towards Dublin and starting to make an impact, the five-piece are paying it forward, offset harmonies, mellow buzz, cajons and all.

ITALY: Polaroid
Winter Dies In June – Big Sale Saturday
If I didn’t tell you that this band comes from Parma, you might think they hail from some remote place in the United States. I am truly amazed how Winter Dies In June are able to speak the same language you can find in The National, The Walkmen or Band Of Horses records. It’s emotional, resonant, epic indie-rock with huge reverb, piano and guitars that will make you shiver, and so much passion. You can download their debut album, The Soft Century, for free at Bandcamp.

MALTA: Stagedive Malta
Clandestines – Downer
With a combined weight of 407lb and a combined age of only 54, Clandestines have managed to build a strong following locally with their DIY ethic and catchy hooks. They have just released their first full-length album, Saturday As Usual. With a mix of upbeat, distortion-driven songs and slower tracks with a slacker vibe, the record offers themes of love, hate and boredom as well as a sufficient dose of anger.

MEXICO: Red Bull Panamérika
Chicano Batman – Cycles Of Existential Rhyme
Chicano Batman is a Latin rock band, based in Los Angeles, with a unique and awesome sound that drinks from a core of 60s Mexican psychedelic balladry. Masters of nostalgia, their music is as genuine and authentic as the vast array of influences shown in every track. They always record live and use analog instruments. Chicano Batman just released their second album, Cycles Of Existential Rhyme, also the name of this month’s MAP track.

PERU: SoTB
Invernal – Viridialand 1
It all began in the summer of 2010 when Marco Malpartida wanted to start an experimental project. Later he teamed up with Christian Vargas and Jesica Arakaki and together they formed Invernal. The band just released their first album which features seven tracks largely influenced by shoegaze and dream-pop, a style softened even more by Jesica’s vocals.

PORTUGAL: Posso Ouvir Um Disco?
Yesterday – Destruction
Yesterday is the project of Pedro Augusto, who this month released sixth album, The Waiting. Destruction is its first single and comes with this video. As well as playing almost all the instruments on the record, Pedro is the composer, writer, producer, mixer and artwork designer. Yesterday creates sophisticated pop which falls somewhere between Saint Etienne and Eels.

PUERTO RICO: Puerto Rico Indie
Campo-Formio – Barón Barón
After four appetite-whetting EPs, Campo-Formio has polished their sound to perfection for their highly-anticipated debut album, Here Comes… Campo-Formio!, out this month through the band’s own label, Dead Mofongo Records. Throughout the record the group demonstrates an encyclopedic knowledge of rock, assimilating numerous influences with great intelligence and style, from Puerto Rican gutter punk to surf, prog and post-punk – all within the same song. Barón Barón is the second single from the album.

ROMANIA: Babylon Noise
Moebius – G
Less than a year since the band’s debut, Moebius have succeeded in surprising music fans with a different take on alternative rock. With a special style that perfectly binds post-rock and neo-folk influences with the classic indie and psychedelic sounds, Moebius are without doubt the most relevant Romanian alternative band of 2014. Proof of this is their debut single G.

SCOTLAND: The Pop Cop
Lists – Autumn
Lists is a young man by the name of Ali Milesi from the island of Arran, but now based in Edinburgh. Autumn is the first song has ever shared and, trust me, that magnetic pull you experience when you first hear it will only get stronger after repeated listens. An exquisite lullaby, its hushed, quivering vocals and finger-picked acoustic guitar has already sparked an impressive amount of online buzz and gushing praise.

SOUTH KOREA: Korean Indie
Hollow Jan – Day 2: The Day Before
For as long as they’ve been around, Hollow Jan has been offering the very best screamo to be found in Korea and abroad. Following the critically acclaimed album of 2006, this month the band finally released its long overdue second full-length album, Day Off, based around the concept of death, just in time for their SXSW debut. With Hollow Jan’s stunningly beautiful post-rock arrangements supporting the highly emotional vocals, Day 2: The Day Before is a dramatic song of epic proportions.

SPAIN: Musikorner
Hanselett – Tower
It seems like Hanselett has brought her music from the past, where there were knights, princesses and maybe dragons, who knows? What we do know is that Hanselett is one of several music projects by Monik D’arc, a multi-instrumental singer-songwriter from Barcelona with an indie background but highly influenced by electronic music and medievalism. A true delight.

UNITED STATES: We Listen For You
Vertical Scratchers – These Plains
Merge Records earn their legendary reputation for having a near-perfect ear. They continue to display such a talent with their newest find, Vertical Scratchers. One would not be wrong to sense a Kinks/Buzzcocks crossover feel with a contemporary edge and energy. This is a quick taste that will leave you craving more.

Music Alliance Pact February 2014

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Time for the Music Alliance Pact! This month’s MAP features Hideo Nakasako’s fantastic “Groove Me.” Listen to it…and a lot more great music…below.

Click the play button icon to listen to individual songs, right-click on the song title to download an mp3, or grab a zip file of the full 26-track compilation through Ge.tt here.

JAPAN: Make Believe Melodies
Hideo Nakasako – Groove Me
Despite the title, Groove Me is not totally devoted to the dancefloor. Osaka beatmaker Hideo Nakasako definitely adds in plenty of feet-moving elements, it just takes a little bit to really kick in. The first minute of this washes over the listener, leaning towards being contemplative. Then the drums zip in and it goes off in a new direction, further pushed onward by sliced-up yelps.

ARGENTINA: Zonaindie
Jimena Lopez Chaplin – Hombre Estrella
Jimena Lopez Chaplin is one of the finest emerging voices from the local scene in Buenos Aires. She has been a part of different musical projects, including the Varias Artistas collective formed by Lucas Marti. However, in order to fully appreciate her songwriting and musical talents, you should listen to her two solo albums, Ojos De Plástico (2009) and El Espíritu De La Golosina (2013). Hombre Estrella is a magnificent rendition of David Bowie’s Starman, with Spanish lyrics and arrangements by Jimena.

AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
Promise Land – Recall
Promise Land is the new project of visual artist Johann Rashid (also a member of Melbourne post-punks Eastlink) and producer Paul Harmon. Their first single Recall has just been released on Hole In The Sky, the imprint run by Modular band Canyons. The track aims to inject a bit of the occult into contemporary urban life, with deep noir production from Harmon featuring eerie vocal samples and an agitated no-wave tick. Meanwhile, Rashid delivers a slick, strained flow that’s almost closer to chanting than song.

CANADA: Quick Before It Melts
Look Vibrant – Sweater In The Lake
The battlefield is set: an infantry of soldiers carrying swords made of static, a volley of cotton candy-covered cannonballs and the melodic noise of instruments imploding. This is the sound of Montreal’s Look Vibrant in their element. Surrender now and face aural annihilation.

CHILE: Super 45
Jumper Joy – Calma Que No
Jumper Joy is the moniker for musician and composer Diego Palma who, since 2013 and after being a member of El Último Dinosaurio, decided to go solo on this playful power-pop project, splattered with references to psychedelia and shoegaze. Calma Que No is taken from his second EP released in January.

COLOMBIA: El Parlante Amarillo
Moonetz – Luces En Tu Cielo
It’s always good to hear Bogotá trio Moonetz making dreamy electro-pop. Formed by Luna Baxter, Juan Pablo Uribe and Sebastián González, they released their debut album A New Direction at the end of 2013. Check out the very cool video for Luces En Tu Cielo.

CUBA: suenacubano.com
X Alfonso – Reverse
If we want to make room for protest and reflective songs at the expense of the banal and meaningless then we need more like this one. The track Reverse also gives its name to an album which X Alfonso released in 2011 as “antibiotic art”. The song deals with social issues, while its rock style, with shades of Cuban tones, injects excitement and motivates us to listen carefully. The Reverse album was spawned from the Cuban Art Factory, a cultural project which opened a new institution in Havana this month.

DENMARK: All Scandinavian
Negash Ali – What You Got
He’s been a force on the Danish hip hop scene since he was 16 and with three albums under his belt at the age of 23, Negash Ali releases what he describes as his best work yet with the African Dream EP on February 17. Here’s the awesome What You Got as a MAP exclusive free download (with video to match) and also check out the video for new single Fire In The Sky.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: La Casetera
Tornadu – Soft Battery
Imagine a video game from the very first Nintendo console where the main goal is to attend post-punk concerts. As odd as it sounds, that’s what Tornadu’s music reminds us of. Strangely futuristic yet so rooted in that analog 8-bit sound that filled our childhood with so many fun and thrilling moments, producer Gennaro De Santis opens the portal into his musical world with Soft Battery, taken from his debut Diodes EP. Tornadu plans to make a full-length album in the near future, but for now you can get the rest of his songs and some remarkable remixes on Beatport and iTunes.

ECUADOR: Plan Arteria
Mariela Condo – Flor De Quebrada
Mariela Condo is one of the most stunning, deep and authentic voices of Ecuador. She represents a new face of contemporary Andean music. Her second album Vengo A Ver also shows Mariela has everything it takes to become one of the new icons of world music.

ENGLAND: Drowned In Sound
Johnny Foreigner – Le Sigh
Johnny Foreigner (or JoFo as they’re more affectionately known) make the kind of yelping indie-pop that’s brash and infectious. On the surface their fast-paced skittering squall has so much joy, but beneath the ornate bush of guitars and rimshots there’s always this hint of frustration with the world, with romance or in Le Sigh’s case, they can be found wrestling with both: debunking the myth of late-night love in the clubs and kebab shops of Solihull (or any other small town).

FINLAND: Glue
Bypassers – Heaven Knows I Was Gonna Choose It Heaven Knows I Was Gonna Loose It
Bypassers are from the city of Tampere, which is called the Manchester of Finland. Coincidentally or not, these four guys find inspiration in classic Manchester bands Oasis and The Stones Roses to create some powerful guitar-based Britpop. Bypassers have recently relocated to London, from where they have released a very solid debut EP which includes this easy-to-remember song title Heaven Knows I Was Gonna Choose It Heaven Knows I Was Gonna Loose It.

GREECE: Mouxlaloulouda
Ruined Families – Only Need Is Real
Ruined Families’ album Blank Language radiates a desperate, ramshackle charm that runs counter to the ferocity and frigid gloom of the music. Their blistering, rowdy post-hardcore and punk has a powerful, raw intensity; there are sharply dissonant, throat-wrenching and angular groans, stutters and roars; the thundering drums and braying guitars pummel relentlessly over the breathless hurtle of nine exhilarating songs. Listen to the explosive, emotionally overwhelming Only Need Is Real and watch the brilliant video for Pedestal with compiled footage from their recent European tour.

INDIA: NH7
Gumbal – Albatross
Arjun Iyer and Satish Sridhar make up Gumbal, a brand new electro-pop project based in Mumbai. Their first public offering is A For, an EP spawned from a couple of days of songwriting and recording, all of it constructed in the key of A. Iyer and Sridhar’s influences from their previous melodic alt-rock project Eatshootleave have definitely crept into Gumbal, giving it plenty of catchy melodies, quietly confident vocals and an urgency that’s much welcome in this style of music. Fans of A Perfect Circle, Puscifer, Incubus and Radiohead will like this. Albatross is our much-fought-over pick off A For, though the EP is quite the trip when listened to from start to finish.

INDONESIA: Deathrockstar
Danilla – Buaian
Danilla is a young woman who sings about attraction in the style of 1950s Indonesian romanticism. You won’t be able to resist the swing of her graceful alto vocals. Her debut album Telisik is available to purchase via iTunes.

ITALY: Polaroid
Sin/Cos – Away
Lush electro-pop with a soul, and a lot of autotune and harmonizer too. This is the sound of a young man struggling with his feelings. Darkness and light fight each other, and in the middle stands the voice of Maolo Torreggiani (My Awesome Mixtape/Quakers And Mormons), the main instrument in the first Sin/Cos album Parallelograms.

MALTA: Stagedive Malta
Skimmed – Isobel
Skimmed bring together an affinity for producing brooding, intense tracks infused with 60s pop sensibilities to create what are essentially pop songs with a deeper, darker and more intimate element. Isobel is one of the more haunting tracks on their 2013 debut album Summer Lovers.

MEXICO: Red Bull Panamérika
Los Blenders – Surf De Amor
The band’s Facebook profile announces: “The Blenders stole your dad’s hairdo, your mom’s panties and your sister’s heart.” Surf De Amor is a great surf/lo-fi song adorned with 70s aesthetic, which inevitably suggests long cars, large tufts and many fans surrounding this band from Mexico City. Its video will give you a bigger picture.

PERU: SoTB
Los Mostos Verdes – Calima
The music of Los Mostos Verdes is predominantly reggae mixed with rhythms such as dub, funk and rock to achieve a more universal sound. In 2013 they released their first album with 10 innovative tracks that convey positivism and happiness. Calima is its first single.

PORTUGAL: Posso Ouvir Um Disco?
Thomas Anahory – Hey Hey
Thomas Anahory is a true beach boy. When he is not writing and playing his songs, he spends his days on the coast bodyboarding. Thomas says he is inspired mostly by American rock classics such as Bob Dylan, The Doors and Bruce Springsteen, but his music is also reminiscent of 80s bands The Long Ryders, Miracle Legion and The Alarm. Hey Hey is taken from his newest album Thank Your Lucky Stars.

PUERTO RICO: Puerto Rico Indie
Juventud Crasa – Despúes Del Tiroteo
Puerto Rico’s decade-plus punk veterans Juventud Crasa are one of the island’s most beloved bands. Their “California via Spain” style has resulted in a polished yet abrasive sound that is instantly recognizable and catchy as hell. The band recently released a split 7″ EP with local up-and-comers Tus Idolos, which opens with the explosive track Despues Del Tiroteo.

ROMANIA: Babylon Noise
Violent Monkey – Funk Strikes Back
Violent Monkey are a band from Bucharest who are influenced by funk and Motown, as well as electronic music.

SCOTLAND: The Pop Cop
The Second Hand Marching Band – This Is The Story
For an exuberant folk-pop collective whose membership has been as high as 23, each with an assortment of extravagant instruments in tow, one of the most remarkable things about The Second Hand Marching Band is the fearlessness they show in confining a song to a single vocal and acoustic guitar if that’s what they think works best. In 2010, they gathered some homespun EPs and rarities into a charming release titled Compendium. Since then they’ve been recording in ad hoc spaces to weave their debut album proper, A Hurricane, A Thunderstorm. Out on March 2, it’s a triumph of diversity, veering from bellowing, unpretentious pop to sparse, poignant laments.

SOUTH KOREA: Korean Indie
Big Phony – Bedford Stop
Singer-songwriter Big Phony released his first album in 2005 and has since put out several more, most recently the twin offerings of acoustic album Bobby and the more electronic pop-oriented Long Live The Lie earlier this month. The sweet and addictive Bedford Stop appears on both, but this is the comforting, home-recorded version that opens Bobby. Big Phony is headed for SXSW next month.

SPAIN: Musikorner
Being Berber – Anthem
Being Berber describe their music as a “pile of re-used beat up cassettes for road trips”. The grandiloquence of M83 is easily noticeable as their main influence. Not afraid of delivering a song that’s easy to sing along to, what we have is a real Anthem.

UNITED STATES: We Listen For You
Tender Mercy – In Us
Louisville’s Mark Kramer (aka Tender Mercy) crafts softly dramatic experimental folk ballads that analyze the hypnotic ability of sound. This type of music is challenging, even in its simplicity, so give it a few spins, let go and sink in.

Music Alliance Pact January 2014

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The first Music Alliance Pact of 2014 has arrived! To kick off the new year, over 30 blogs from around the world have selected a track to share with the rest of the globe. For Japan, Make Believe Melodies is highlighting the fidgety “Bishop’s Rising Sun” courtesy of Osaka’s Metome. Listen to it…and a lot more great music below.

Click the play button icon to listen to individual songs, right-click on the song title to download an mp3, or grab a zip file of the full 27-track compilation through Ge.tt here.

JAPAN: Make Believe Melodies
Metome – Bishop’s Rising Sun
The Kansai region of Japan has been a hotbed for excellent electronic music over the past few years, and it appears 2014 will see the trend continue. Metome, from Osaka, just released a wonderful new album called Objet, and the highlight is the stuttering, bouncy Bishop’s Rising Sun, featuring a sliced-just-right vocal sample at its center.

ARGENTINA: Zonaindie
Queridas – Drama Bomb
Andrés Yeah is the lead guitarist of Mi Nave, an up-and-coming band from Rosario’s independent music scene. Queridas is his solo project, full of songs with melancholy, reverb and shoegaze guitars. Drama Bombo is one of our favorites.

AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
Head Clouds – Mirror’s Image
Head Clouds are a Gold Coast band who have been busy working on their debut LP for more than a year. Mirror’s Image may be the first track we’ve heard from them but it’s definitely no wallflower. Jaykke Maddison is a less erratic version of Wild Beast’s Hayden Thorpe; there’s hardly room for shirking away with that falsetto. A glorious trumpet crescendo and thoughtful lyricism lights up this track. A band to watch.

BRAZIL: Meio Desligado
Boogarins – Lucifernandis
Os Mutantes, the psychedelic tropical band from the 60s, is one of the main influences of Boogarins, besides affinities with contemporary artists such as Tame Impala and Of Montreal. Lucifernandis is the opening song of their debut album, As Plantas Que Curam, released in 2013.

CANADA: Quick Before It Melts
Teledrome – Boyfriend
Calgary, Alberta, best known as the home of an annual Stampede and being firmly rooted in cowboy culture, may be the last place you’d expect a synth-based power-pop-punk outfit to emerge from. But Teledrome is the latest cultural contradiction to come from Cowtown, and perhaps one of its finest. Boyfriend is a sample of the synth-laced solemnity offered up on their soon-to-be-released album.

CHILE: Super 45
Kinetica & Motivado – Hoy Quiero
Kinetica & Motivado brings together Chilean producers Emiliana Araya and Mario Martinez. Although we have previously highlighted both projects separately, their joint work deserves its own limelight. Mixing Kinetica’s mysterious, nocturnal vocals with Motivado’s tropical beats, their collaboration gives rise to sensual, intelligent electronic music. Their first single, Hoy Quiero, was released on Chilean label Discos Pegaos.

COLOMBIA: El Parlante Amarillo
El Otro Grupo – Balada Pop
From Santa Marta, near the Atlantic coast, and Sierra Nevada come this trio of very young members who are ready to unleash their music to the world. They use the name El Otro Grupo (“The Other Group”) and they make something called ‘pop noise’, a mix of catchy melodies and experimental sounds. You can also enjoy the video for MAP track Balada Pop.

DENMARK: All Scandinavian
J. Arlin – Since November
J. Arlin, an Australia-based Dane, released his third EP in December, Heartbeats Of Polaroids, with five folk-rock tracks. The least folk-ish and most rock-ish is Since November, which is one of those songs that reminds you of so many others yet still carries its own weight in all its pleasing pop-rock-ness, and comes to you here as a MAP exclusive download.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: La Casetera
NUX – Criogenización
Dominican hard-rock act NUX comes back into the scene with a new single. Their blasting energy is still intact after a couple years of silence, accurately singing about cryogenics, complete with mind-blowing guitar solos, war cries and haunting pauses.

ECUADOR: Plan Arteria
Estéreo Humanzee – Ganimedes (live)
Estéreo Humanzee is one of the most active bands in Quito’s indie scene. Their experimental music combines different elements of house, pop and electroclash. With three albums under their belts, Estéreo Humanzee’s next release is a new live record of their European tour.

ENGLAND: Drowned In Sound
Her Name Is Calla – The Roots Run Deep
For several years, Leicester’s Her Name Is Calla have been an evolving beast of a band. They’ve always had a darkness and grandness to their post-rock walls of wailing guitars painted with serpent-slaying strings, but this first taste of their forthcoming album Navigator hints that even with pixellated digital landscapes they can still cast a shadow over your soul.

FINLAND: Glue
June’s Garden – Song Of A Drinking Man
Five-piece band June’s Garden find inspiration in traditional Americana to deliver smooth acoustic rock with Finnish sensitivity. New single Song Of A Drinking Man is also available via Bandcamp with a B-side.

FRANCE: Yet You’re Fired
Bloum – Faith
Bloum is a young electro-pop band from Paris who are quite new to the French scene. After releasing several singles in 2013, they are ready to drop an album in the forthcoming months. Influenced by artists such as Four Tet, Burial, XXYYXX and Nicolas Jaar, they’ve inherited from them cold, heavy basslines. On Faith, the band sounds like a crossover between Kavinsky and Miss Kittin, and that’s enough for us to keep an eye on them.

INDIA: NH7
As We Keep Searching – The Tattva
Not much independent music comes out of the state of Gujarat, so when As We Keep Searching sprouted out of nowhere a month ago with The Tattva, we just had to bite. The post-rock/ambient three-piece are in the process of releasing a slew of singles that will culminate in their debut album. The Tattva, with easily relatable lyrics in Hindi, talks of a search for love. As We Keep Searching have promised songs full of emotion, and they’ve delivered.

INDONESIA: Deathrockstar
Protocol Afro – Electrified
Protocol Afro consist of six young guys who love Two Door Cinema Club, Phoenix and other good music to dance to. They have opened for several international acts and are one of the most hard-working indie-rock bands in Jakarta.

ITALY: Polaroid
Fitness Forever – Hotel Flamingo
Naples act Fitness Forever have just released their second album Cosmos, once again on the legendary Spanish label Elefant Records. Between Burt Bacharach and the 70s soundtracks of Piero Umiliani, a disco touch and the poetry of Lucio Battisti, I wanted to start the new year with music that makes you feel optimistic.

MALTA: Stagedive Malta
Xiola – Noble Wolf
Formed in 2009, Xiola is a two-piece band comprising Adolf Formosa (formerly of the bands Hunters Palace and One Dead Poet) and Samantha Gatt, who replaced her twin sister Roxanne when she left the island. With a drone guitar sound and dual vocals, they released home-recorded album Bay Of Pigs in 2012.

MEXICO: Red Bull Panamérika
Haciendo El Mal – Complicado
Haciendo El Mal is a Mexico City-based chamber-pop quartet led by the slightly dark but mellow voices of Paulina Lasa and Karen Ruiz. Along with an accordion and cello, their melodies are bittersweet vignettes that draw a reflective mood on love and loss. Complicado (perhaps a wink to the Facebook relationship status) is just one piece of the 10 beautiful portraits that comprise their eponymous debut album.

PERU: SoTB
Campo De Almas – Gris
Campo De Almas is a rock band formed in Trujillo in 1994. They were once one of the most prolific bands in Peru, with four albums to their name. They returned in 2013 with Adicción, a ‘best of’ album that reminds us of the passion and dedication of their music.

POLAND: Łukasz Kuśmierz Weblog
BOKKA – K&B (edit)
BOKKA have been a little sensation in recent weeks. As musicians they hide their true identity, so listeners know only a few things about them – they’re a trio, the vocalist is a woman and their music is influenced by Scandinavian electro-pop. You can check it out by listening to their self-titled debut LP or to stunning K&B, one of the greatest moments on the album.

PORTUGAL: Posso Ouvir Um Disco?
You Can’t Win, Charlie Brown – Be My World
After a superb and surprising EP release in 2009 revealed themselves as a must-watch band, the quartet You Can’t Win, Charlie Brown are back with new album Diffraction/Refraction, which will be released on January 20. Be My World is the first single to be revealed from it.

PUERTO RICO: Puerto Rico Indie
Piegrande – Perez, Oso
Gifted guitarist Kristian Prieto – a MAP alumnus twice over for his work as Harry Rag and as part of Alegría Rampante – brings his characteristic playfulness and adventurous spirit to new three-piece Piegrande. The debut EP of the band, augmented by Eden Cruz (drums) and Christian Robledo (bass), consists of six fun, easy-to-digest tracks, of which Perez, Oso is the breeziest. A great sign of things to come in 2014.

ROMANIA: Babylon Noise
Velosonics – Bebop
Velosonics is a pop-rock band formed in Bucharest in 2013. Their music is primarily influenced by the 60s British Invasion movement and post-punk revival of the new millennium. Their energy and joyfulness bring a breath of fresh air to the country’s indie music scene. Velosonics are preparing their debut album for release in 2014.

SCOTLAND: The Pop Cop
Beerjacket – Antlers
Peter Kelly calls his music Beerjacket and clues of its heartbreaking beauty are plentiful: one of his earliest and best songs is called Joy For The Sad, while some bright spark even set his melancholy masterpiece Jack Chasing Jill to the devastating montage at the start of Pixar movie Up. Yet his wonderful second studio album Darling Darkness, out on January 27 via Bandcamp, is remarkably upbeat. Immaculate production allows the luminous acoustic folk-pop sounds to blossom, while enchanting opening track Antlers, here as a MAP exclusive download, ranks as a career highlight.

SOUTH KOREA: Korean Indie
LudiSTELO – Water Roof
Electro-rock band LudiSTELO released their first single in November 2013, having formed two years ago in a Brunei hotel room. The members of the guitar-synthesizer-drums trio all have experience from other groups and are now working to show a different side of their joint sound with each release. Water Roof comes from the new single of the same title and through its many loops invokes a sense of floating in the air, just as the lyrics express.

SPAIN: Musikorner
Polar Beats – Keep Moving (feat. Iván Anés)
Polar Beats are a four-piece from Madrid whose music is clearly influenced by British post-punk and power-pop, as you can tell by the guitar riff in Keep Moving. They have released one song so far, but they are planning to bring out some more since they are here to stay.

UNITED STATES: We Listen For You
Diane Cluck – Sara
Diane Cluck delivers chilly folk tunes just in time for the harshest winter months. Her voice trembles against a confidently plucked acoustic guitar and explodes with shattering emotion at all the right moments.

Music Alliance Pact December 2013

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Time for the Music Alliance Pact! This is 2013’s last installment of MAP, where more than 30 blogs from all over the world share one song with everyone else. This month, Make Believe Melodies highlights Coffee And TV’s Prefab-Sprout-sample-boasting “Guess What? Summer’s Arrived.” Listen to it and a lot more below!

Click the play button icon to listen to individual songs, right-click on the song title to download an mp3, or grab a zip file of the full 27-track compilation through Ge.tt here.

JAPAN: Make Believe Melodies
Coffee And TV – Guess What? Summer’s Arrived
It is one of the most factually incorrect song titles of the month, but Tokyo producer Coffee And TV conjures up the warm vibes of the summer on this track. He does so simply. With little manipulation, he finds a snippet of Hey Manhattan! by Prefab Sprout, loops it and milks it for all it’s worth. From this basic sonic material he manages to make an easy breezy song that’s good for any time of the year.

ARGENTINA: Zonaindie
Cam Beszkin – Cucharita De Manual
We came across Cam Beszkin’s music when she was a member of Las Bailarinas Anarquistas, Mariana Bianchini’s solo band. This song is from Cam’s sophomore album Este Amor Ya No Es Para Tanto, in which her potent vocals adds up to a solid guitar and drum rock duet.

AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
House Of Laurence – Just Don’t Move Me
Let’s be real – if the industry was a caste system, psychedelic/prog music would sit on the lower rung. Thankfully, we don’t fear throwback in this country. We embrace it with open arms and wild, flailing John the Baptist hair. Just Don’t Move Me is the brand new track from Melbourne band House Of Laurence. If the image of Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker in a white pressed suit, struttin’ (barefoot) down the Fremantle boardwalk makes your insides feel like goo then this is dedicated to you.

AUSTRIA: Walzerkönig
Hella Comet – Tinker Boat
The post-punk sound of four-piece Hella Comet calls for Sonic Youth comparisons, although their freshly-released second album Wild Honey, from which Tinker Boat is taken, is not afraid of pop either. Hella Comet were selected as one of 18 bands to represent this year’s focus country Austria at Europe’s most important music festival/conference Eurosonic.

BRAZIL: Meio Desligado
Castello Branco – Necessidade
Necessidade is taken from Castello Branco’s first album Serviço. It’s typical of the easygoing feeling he generates to make songs that speak directly to our souls.

CANADA: Quick Before It Melts
Rebekah Higgs – Loneliness
Rebekah Higgs’ new release Sha La La is shot through with the spirit of 60s girl groups minus the innocence and politeness of those times. Higgs gets down and dirty climbing Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound. She throws classic doo-wop pop down an echo chamber and what comes out the other end is a gauzy, hazy doo-wop/drone-rock hybrid that’s utterly compelling. Loneliness has never sounded better.

CHILE: Super 45
Ali B & The Mayan Warrior – World Class Bouncing
Ali B is the latest winner of Nuevos Sonidos, a demo contest Super 45 has hosted since 1997. She is a rapper who sings in three languages and mixes rhythms from all over the world. Her songs are homemade, built around an MPC and samples taken directly from vinyl. The jury of Super 45 was mesmerized by her infectious flow. Past winners of the Nuevos Sonidos contest include Gepe, Protistas and Fernando Milagros.

COLOMBIA: El Parlante Amarillo
Laura y La Máquina De Escribir – Laberinto
La Máquina De Escribir (“The Typewriter”) is the project of Laura Torres, who has been involved in the world of music for more than two decades (since she was a little girl, obviously). From her piano, she recreates a world that reflects her feelings, which are evident in Laberinto, the track that gives its name to her 2013 album.

DENMARK: All Scandinavian
Sylvester Larsen – The End Of Dancing
In October, Sylvester Larsen released his fifth album (his second in English) The End Of Dancing, and here’s a MAP exclusive download of its great title track, which is reminiscent of soul and funk giants Stevie Wonder and Sly Stone. Also, check out the video for first single and album opener Stand Up.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: La Casetera
Whitest Taino Alive – Piel De Leather
We’ve chosen the newest sensation of Santo Domingo, just to see how the rest of the world reacts to its message. That is, if you can handle it. Full of non sequiturs only true Dominicans understand (or so we think), Whitest Taino Alive emerges as a futuristic hip-hop act that combines trap, trill, minimal electronic and naughtiness. Their debut EP Chopería Fina is out now and available for free.

ECUADOR: Plan Arteria
Ricardo Pita – Canción Para El Resto De Los Días
Modern, hopeful and nostalgic bohemianism – that sums up the single Canción Para El Resto De Los Días by Ricardo Pita, a songwriter born in the heart of Guayaquil’s independent music scene. A musician with a great album and a promising career, Ricardo Pita is a must-listen if you want a vision of contemporary Latin folk music.

ENGLAND: Drowned In Sound
Lanterns On The Lake – Green And Gold (Generator Session)
From Sting and Prefab Sprout to Maxïmo Park and The Futureheads, the north-east of England has built a reputation for excellence, but it’s rare to uncover an act there, or anywhere, that’s as precious and heart-kickingly gorgeous as Lanterns On The Lake. They have elements of post-rock which make their tear-duct bothering sadness soar – not unlike the way Low construct epic melancholy. Their second album was recently released by Bella Union and it’s gorgeous. Watch the video of this live session track here.

FINLAND: Glue
Robin Pahlman – Ghosts
After relocating to Vienna via Seattle, Finnish songwriter Robin Pahlman has been working on a series of heartfelt acoustic folk home recordings that form his debut self-titled EP, recently released via Berlin-based label Monkey Records. Here is the inspiring single Ghosts.

GREECE: Mouxlaloulouda
The Callas – East Beat
Noisepop minimalism, raw garage melodies and kraut psychedelic elements meet to create the kaleidoscopic universe of The Callas’ album Am I Vertical? The group mix their experimental art and film background with an addiction to pop tunes to present a witty, truly impressive record that balances darkness and light, innocence and sin, joy and lust.

INDONESIA: Deathrockstar
Andrew Naratama – Putar Haluanmu
Putar Haluanmu is a retrospective song about memories and all the beautiful moments the singer had during his childhood with friends. Andrew Naratama is also a member of KarnaTra, a rock band from Jakarta.

ITALY: Polaroid
Tempelhof – Change
There’s no easy way to describe electronic music, especially when the sound explores multiple paths and you are constantly finding yourself in new territory. Tempelhof is an electronic duo from the town of Mantova and I think they are true explorers more than simple musicians. IDM, shoegaze, house, ambient – everything comes to build the striking sound that you will find in their new album Frozen Dancers, out now on Hell Yeah Recordings.

MEXICO: Red Bull Panamérika
Chico Sonido – Niñas Fresas feat. Camila Sodi
Los Angeles-based Mexican producer Chico Sonido has just released his debut album Nalga Bass, which is quite a gamechanger for electropical music. In a market overcrowded with underdeveloped SoundCloud tracks, Chico delivers a coherently mixed record that transmutes and pushes forward genres such as nu-cumbia, trap, tribal and reggaeton, with a twist of humour and naughtiness. They’re good for headphones (and twerking too!).

PERU: SoTB
Daniel & The Dead End – My Valentine
Daniel & The Dead End is the new project of Daniel Ruiz, the former Space Bee drummer. Having been abandoned by his band before recording, disillusioned and ready to rock, Daniel decided to do all the work himself, giving life to the first EP.

POLAND: Łukasz Kuśmierz Weblog
Armando Suzette – Advent Mists
Armando Suzette is a Kraków-based band led by Mateusz Tondera. Their music, which combines a variety of genres and influences, is something unique in Poland and it’s impossible to describe it in one word. If you feel lost, Advent Mists is for you. As they sing: “Hope you have a real Christmas this time.”

PORTUGAL: Posso Ouvir Um Disco?
The Weatherman feat. Emmy Curl – It Took Me So Long
Alexandre Monteiro’s The Weatherman project has a new version of the single It Took Me So Long, taken from the latest album which will be released in Holland and Belgium in January. Emmy Curl, who was featured in the November 2010 edition of MAP, was invited to sing with Alexandre in the newer version of this track. Once again Alexandre confirms his high credentials as a composer, singer and creator of great pop songs. Mariana Lopes directed this great video.

PUERTO RICO: Puerto Rico Indie
Buscabulla – Tu Loco Loco Y Yo Tranquilo
Buscabulla is one of Puerto Rico’s most promising emerging acts, a breath of fresh air in a musical climate that often struggles to bridge pop smarts with heartfelt and engaging music. Singer Raquel Berríos and her band conjure an intoxicating mix of classic cool with more forward-thinking flourishes on the group’s first single Tu Loco Loco Y Yo Tranquilo, a cover of master composer Tite Curet Alonso’s song made popular in 1969 by salsa legends Roberto Roena y Su Apollo Sound. Buscabulla’s debut EP is due in 2014 – it’s going to be a good year.

ROMANIA: Babylon Noise
After What – Who
After What is the side-project of the frontmen of two Romanian indie bands, The Amsterdams and The MOOod, both of whose influences are apparent – the music inherits the creativity of the former and the energy of the latter.

SCOTLAND: The Pop Cop
Medals – Disguises
JP Reid is a familiar name in rock circles through his band Sucioperro as well as Marmaduke Duke, the side-project he shares with Biffy Clyro frontman Simon Neil. JP Reid’s new venture Medals, however, is arguably his most appealing. Debut album Disguises is an honest, pop-focused body of work and its title track stands out as a refreshingly unapologetic crowd-pleaser that you’ll likely play again and again.

SOUTH KOREA: Korean Indie
Glen Check – Pacific
Glen Check have been around since 2011 and already made quite a name for themselves at home. With a fanbase growing abroad, the duo is taking their rock and electronica sound to SXSW in 2014. The infectious electro-pop tune Pacific is the lead track off the band’s recently-released second album Youth!

SPAIN: Musikorner
Tiger Menja Zebra – Com Començar Una Guerra
Tiger Menja Zebra was born from the ashes of Camping, a Catalan post-rock band that achieved great success in the past decade. With this new project, while sticking to the post-rock genre, they haven’t given up on pushing their boundaries.

UNITED STATES: We Listen For You
Está Vivo – How Strange feat. Steffaloo
Está Vivo perfectly titled his newest offering, How Strange. It certainly is strange, yet extremely alluring due to a fascinating mixture of robot-esque male vocals and whimsical female vocals that take turns floating above churning electronics. Let the track simmer and it will certainly take hold as one of the more hypnotic listens of the year.

VENEZUELA: Música y Más
Aspen – Ahora Ya
Aspen developed from the creative union between members of different bands. Influenced by the classic sound of British artists such as Badfinger and Oasis, their debut single boasts a slight psychedelic tinge. Aspen are one of the first bands on the roster of Macca Records, who also represent Los Paranoias.