New month, new MAP! Go on to see who we chose this month, and to hear a bunch of other great tunes from all over the globe.
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 29-track compilation through Ge.tt here.
JAPAN: Make Believe Melodies
k■nie – Papapa
Vocaloid, a singing synthesizer software most popularly associated with the green-haired character Hatsune Miku, has been put to more and more experimental usage over the past few months. Here’s one of the best examples yet, in which the digi voice of character Sekka Yufu sings only syllables and become smothered in the synth blanket conjured by Tokyo producer k■nie. Would still be gorgeous without the Vocaloid, but becomes more intriguing with it.
ARGENTINA: Zonaindie
San Dimas – Generación Espontánea
San Dimas is an instrumental indie-rock band from Rosario, one of Argentina’s largest and most cultural cities. Generación Espontánea is one of the best tracks from their latest album, La Música y Las Cosas, and it was also part of a compilation released in 2012 by Planeta X, their label.
AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
Kins – Aimless
Originally a solo project for frontman Thom Savage, Kins made the move from Melbourne to Brighton in the UK two years ago and have been working hard at their craft since. Kin’s new track Aimless is just that – it’s both a dreamy saunter and an angular dance. Thom’s distinct voice remains the subtle hero of this track. While this shares the unconvention of Local Natives, Alt-J, perhaps even Dappled Cities at their synth-tuned best, comparisons don’t apply to Kins. One of Australia’s best exports and most underrated bands.
AUSTRIA: Walzerkönig
DAWA – Some Things Are Different
Singer John Dawa and the band that formed around him stand for honest and unpretentious folk music. Two voices, a cello, a cajón and an acoustic guitar are all the ingredients they need. Their frequent live performances with a hippie touch (flower garlands on mic stands, that sort of thing) have earned them a constantly growing fanbase. Some Things Are Different is the opener of their full-length debut This Should Work.
BRAZIL: Meio Desligado
Banda Uó – O Gosto Amargo Do Perfume
Banda Uó are like a big kitsch joke, a sense of fun that is manifest through their fearless use of pop references with Brazilian technobrega (which can be translated as something like “cheesy techno”). In this song, they use Two Door Cinema Club’s Something Good Can Work as ‘inspiration’ for messing up.
CANADA: Quick Before It Melts
Air Marshal Landing – Move With You
Air Marshal Landing are three friends who make music that sounds greater than the sum of its parts. Together since 2009, they’ve recently put the finishing touches on their first long-player, You Used To Be Me, which is ballsy enough to mix genres and is unapologetic in its catchiness.
CHILE: Super 45
Kinética – Halo
Emiliana Araya is Kinética and she’s returning this year with II, her second album, this time helped by Milton Mahan and Pablo Muñoz (De Janeiros) in the production side. In addition to her usual electronic beats, Kinética explores pop and soul from an experimental prism, adding new elements to her intimate songs. Halo is a MAP exclusive download and a preview of her new record, which features collaborations from Marcos Meza and Fakuta.
COLOMBIA: El Parlante Amarillo
El Ombligo – Trinidadla
El Ombligo has gone largely unnoticed in the Colombian music scene. So that’s why we want to emphasize this union of many musicians, local and abroad, from Germany to Mexico, under the command of Colombian bass player Santiago Botero. They are doing what they call a new folklore, starting from Andrés Landeros’ cumbia to 60s free jazz. The fascinating Trinidadla is taken from their 2012 album Canción Psicotropica y Jaleo.
DENMARK: All Scandinavian
Bodebrixen – The Wave
Following up on 2012’s acclaimed third full-length, Out Of Options, Bodebrixen aka Andreas Brixen and Aske Bode have released a great first synthpop taste of an as-yet-untitled EP which will be released later this year. The Wave is a summery MAP exclusive download.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: La Casetera
El Trio – Canterbule Pt. III
El Trio is a progressive rock band from Santiago who recently released their third album Las Manos. One minute is all it takes to really appreciate the magic of Canterbule Pt. III in which jazz and rock combine beautifully. You can hear and download their genre-bending songs on Bandcamp.
ECUADOR: Plan Arteria
Los Pescados – T-Rex
The sound of Los Pescados is a mix of garage-rock, blues and grunge. The duo, Nelson Coral (guitar, vocals) and Juan Fernando Andrade (drums), from Manabí are like their albums – powerful and groundbreaking.
ESTONIA: Rada7.ee
Barthol Lo Mejor – Patrol The Block
Barthol Lo Mejor jumpstarts your night with trash electro. This young dance god is upbeat and raw like Justice, Soulwax and Huoratron. Patrol The Block is taken from his new EP CitYearning, available from Bandcamp.
FINLAND: Glue
Matti Jasu And The Close Encounters – The New Year
Just a few months after his excellent debut as a solo artist, singer-songwriter Matti Jasu gathered the band again and recorded a follow-up album, laying down seven songs in an intense one-day session. The New Year is the first single off Pin On The Map and is fun, guitar-based Americana with sweet pop melody and harmonies. You can listen to the album online or buy the CD for a very affordable price on Bandcamp.
GREECE: Mouxlaloulouda
Jim Ver – Until Dawn
Jim Ver is a classically trained musician and songwriter who works on solo instrumental projects, film scores and movie scripts. His second EP, Pictures, works as a collection of ambient, soothing sound poems. It’s clear that words are not needed to tell a story, and his tales are told in chords and cadences. For the most part, he minimally relies on piano but the effect, both subdued and majestic, creates a much more overwhelming setting and, as a result, it’s difficult not to be dragged into it.
INDONESIA: Deathrockstar
Helmproyek – Vendetta
Inspired by Nine Inch Nails, Ministry and Rob Zombie, Helmproyek sound like a demo by an obscure industrial band that has been locked and buried for a couple of decades and just recently found by an unlucky soul.
IRELAND: Harmless Noise
Major Grave – You Cannot Break My Heart (Major Grave Remix)
At the forefront of grime production in Ireland, Major Grave is a bright spot, having built a solid rep from scratch in the under-represented genre, recently releasing a track on the UK’s esteemed Big Dada compilation. Here he takes up’n’comer Ms Hazel’s pop ditty You Cannot Break My Heart and with her vocal pristine, transforms its dance vibe into a bass-heavy baller with a sweet electronic motif.
ITALY: Polaroid
Wolther Goes Stranger – Sixteen
Wolther Goes Stranger was originally the solo project of guitarist Luca Mazzieri, from the band A Classic Education, but has now become a trio. The title of their debut album is Love Can’t Talk. Maybe love can’t, but Wolther Goes Stranger definitely do, and their speech is full of sex and synths, buried under obssessive beats. Music to get naked to. This summer is going to be very hot.
MALTA: Stagedive Malta
Peklectrick – Lamppost Boogie
Peklectrick is the studio-based solo project of former Dripht guitarist Patrick Galea. It is an eclectic mix of guitar-driven music with abundant doses of reggae, some blues and a little funk. The music comes wrapped in socially conscious lyrics, a punk rock ethos and a tongue that is firmly stuck in cheek. Surreally speaking, it is the sound of The Clash meeting Beck in Jamaica to discuss the blues over some Scotch. The music is what award-winning producer David Vella referred to as “so cool it’s almost illegal”. Peklectrick is currently on an indefinite hiatus taking care of other business, contemplating his next move and drinking tea.
MEXICO: Red Bull Panamérika
Apache O’Raspi – Tarde Oscilante
Apache O’Rapsi, from the northern region of Mexico, is the bass player of an important local band called Suave As Hell. With his very mature solo project, he released a couple of singles in 2012, and now he has delivered Remedios Varios, an album that includes all those songs. The powerful music and naive lyrics emotionally encompass our deep Mexican roots, landscapes and flavours. Tarde Oscilante is one of those arid, nostalgic melodies.
NETHERLANDS: Subbacultcha!
Those Foreign Kids – Get Eaten
You only have to listen to Those Foreign Kids to know there’s more to Haarlem than pretty tulip fields; their avant-garde noise pop is not only a ferocious aural assault but a welcomed one. The just-released track Get Eaten from debut album Zero Gravity Somersaulting Craze features vocals from Merinde Verbeek of Mineral Beings. Jump into their noisy universe.
PERU: SoTB
Gaia – Sobrepeso
Ten years of experience and four records confirm Gaia as one of the best rock bands in the country. Giroscopios, Coordenadas y La Fábrica De Nubes is the name of their most recent album, available for free download on their website. It displays a musical evolution as well as the professional maturity of each of its members. Latest single Sobrepeso boasts typically strong melodies.
POLAND: Łukasz Kuśmierz Weblog
Crab Invasion – Dart
When you live in a country where rockism is still strong it’s hard to find a band like Crab Invasion. Ironically, they started from (indie) rock origins and still use guitars, but in a different way. Sophisticated chord progressions, catchy melodies, vocal harmonies – it’s all in the songs of this young group led by 22-year-old Jakub Sikora. And it will be much more when their upcoming debut album is released.
PORTUGAL: Posso Ouvir Um Disco?
Noiserv – Today Is The Same As Yesterday, But Yesterday Is Not Today
David Santos’ solo project Noiserv first appeared on MAP in 2009. Since then, Noiserv has conquered his place in the Portuguese music scene and is recognized as one of the most innovative young artists in the country. So much so that in 2010 he was asked to create the soundtrack for a documentary about José Saramago, the Nobel Prize winner. Noiserv will release his new album in October and Today Is The Same As Yesterday, But Yesterday Is Not Today (see video) will be on it.
PUERTO RICO: Puerto Rico Indie
Suturee – Skulls
When Julian Brau and Rebecca Adorno met in 2007, their lives took a turn that led directly to Suturee. Now a four-piece trying their luck in New York City, Suturee still works with delicate orchestral pop arrangements that playfully oppose Brau’s and Adorno’s voices. The band turned to crowdfunding last year in order to finance their sophomore effort, Skim The Surface. One of the rewards offered through their successful Indiegogo campaign involved recording a cover chosen by the backer, and that is how today you can hear Suturee’s unique take on The Misfits classic Skulls.
ROMANIA: Babylon Noise
Environments – Fathom, Movement, Field
Environments are an experimental act from Bucharest. Their songs are inspired by beautiful things such as childhood memories, books and peaceful places. Stefan Panea comes up with the core arrangements, which are then disfigured, enhanced and re-recorded live with Alex ‘Para’ Ghita (drums) and Marius Costache (effects and noise). You can step into their world through Bandcamp.
SCOTLAND: The Pop Cop
Eilidh Hadden – Close To Home
Close To Home is very much the sound of now – cut ‘n’ paste vocals carried on waves of brooding electronic pop and tribal drums. It’s the colossal production that lifts Eilidh Hadden from teenage singer-songwriter hopeful to the realms of genuine contender. Comparisons to Ellie Goulding are inevitable, and apt. It’s still early days for Eilidh but if she remains on this path then her future could be dazzling.
SOUTH KOREA: Korean Indie
Telefly – Meddle
Rock trio Telefly has been wowing live audiences in Seoul for a number of years. Two years after their first full-length, the band returned with the EP Avalokiteśvara earlier this month showcasing their own brand of psychedelic music. Lead track Meddle has a tough sound with great drive and energy.
SPAIN: Musikorner
Monki Valley – Tanzania
Monki Valley doesn’t like to be labeled, but we can say he’s originally from the Canary Islands and he’s got Red Bull Music Academy’s eyes on him. He’s more than just tropical electronica, and he is currently exploring, musically, the landscapes of remote countries such as Brazil and Peru.
UNITED STATES: We Listen For You
Trails And Ways – Como Te Vas
Oakland’s Trails And Ways feels less Oakland and more Bilbao, Barcelona or Barranquilla, depending on how their first EP, aptly named Trilingual, falls. The highlight of the record for me is Como Te Vas, an infectious summer anthem guaranteed to play well in Ibiza or on the BART.