Verb/Re/Verb 'Youth' Mixtape

‘Youth’ has become a dirty word in this country. One can almost hear a collective tut, rising from the mildly agoraphobic, Daily Mail heartlands of suburbia like a sonic boom, at the mere mention of the word. What many of these curtain-twitching, scare-mongers fail to grasp is that while a handful of teenagers utilise social media and the like to devise new and interesting ways of killing and maiming each other, many more take advantage of the positive, creative opportunities on offer.

Take 15-year-old Los Angeles resident Eloise De La Rosa, author of the verb/re/verb blog. Though her writing sometimes betrays her age, she is nothing if not enthusiastic and knowledgeable about new music. Last week she released a free mixtape, pulling together her favourite artists aged 18 and under, all doing a cover of a song they listened to as a child. Amongst others, it features Galapagos, covering N’Sync’s ‘Tearing up my heart’ and a version of Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’, by San Diego’s Kynan (more of whom tomorrow). Download it here.

Artwork by Sam Ray

Kynan – Purple Rain (Prince cover) by snipelondon

Don’t be a stranger by Feldberg

Feldberg are Icelandic indie-pop duo Rósa Birgitta Ísfeld and Einar Tönsberg. Formed in Reykjavik in 2008, they’ve garnered much praise in their home country, winning best song at the 2010 Icelandic music awards (for ‘Dreamin’) and a coveted spot on ‘Kitsune Maison 9’. They finally release their debut album in the UK on 11th April: ‘Don’t be a stranger’ will be available through Smalltown America, as will a preceding single of the same name, released February 28th.

Feldberg – Don’t Be A Stranger by snipelondon

January Egg Race Dream by Thomas Truax

Following on from Darren Hayman’s ‘January Songs’ project, New Yorker Thomas Truax has set himself the slightly less demanding goal of writing, recording and releasing a new track once a month, throughout 2011. The idea is to produce a ‘living, mutating album’, influenced by the ‘changing of the seasons… dreams, personal and world events as they unfold’. His first offering is ‘January Egg Race Dream’, a slightly sinister, spoken-word piece about the cruellest and most preposterous of all school sports day events – the egg and spoon race.

As an aside, it’s a wonder he has time to make music at all, what with a sideline in inventing unusual musical instruments, such as the amusingly named ‘Hornicator’ and the ‘Stringaling’ – what appears to be a small bongo, attached to a tumble dryer pipe. All tracks are available for free, for a limited time, via Soundcloud. Catch him at The Spice of Life, Cambridge Circus, on February 20th.

Thomas Truax – January Egg Race Dream by snipelondon

Metronomy

‘She wants’ is the first single to be taken from Metronomy’s forthcoming album ‘The English Riviera’ and pretty wondrous it is too. Moody synth and modulated bass give way to a fine poppy chorus: sparse, catchy and devastatingly effective. Download it for free, via their website. They play Heaven tomorrow night (Feb 1).

Metronomy – She Wants by snipelondon

Changin' by Galapagos

Galapagos is producer Jacob McNaughton from Phoenix, Arizona. He makes laid-back jams, cutting-up vocal samples and live instruments to make a kind of hypnotic mess – think a slowed down Todd Edwards, without the garage vibes. He’s also remixed Snipe favourites Blackbird Blackbird. Currently working on an EP and putting the finishing touches to a second volume of released and unreleased tracks – Sounds, vol. 2’ – you can download ‘Sounds, vol. 1’, for free, from his Bandcamp. Or be nice and pay for it.

Galapagos – Changin’ by snipelondon

ISO50 Dry Waves Compilation - Fade Me Out by Little Foxes

This compilation has been knocking around since November—I can’t recommend it highly enough. Amazing electro/ambient, featuring the likes of Little Foxes, Warm Ghost and Teeel, the whole thing is available for free, via the blog of San Francisco based musician/artist/designer Scott Hansen, a.k.a. ISO50. Why not check out his rather fine print and photography work while you’re there. Compilation artwork comes courtesy of Com Truise.

Little Foxes – Fade Me Out by snipelondon

Purity Ring - Ungirthed

Not much is known about this Canadian duo. They consist of Corin Rodick (of ‘Gobble Gobble’) and singer Megan James, they’re Canadian … and … um … it doesn’t matter, they make ace, warped electro with a nice pop aesthetic, at least judging by recent self-release Ungirthed. Download it from their tumblr site here.

Ungirthed by PURITY RING

Peter, Bjorn, and John

Swedish Homebase endorsers Peter, Bjorn and John return on March 29th with new album ‘Gimme Some’, the follow-up to 2009’s underwhelming ‘Living Thing’. Released on Star Time International, lead single ‘Breaker Breaker’ bodes well – two minutes of fuzzy, punk energy wrapped around P, B and J’s inherent melodic gift; a return to the inspiring, song-writing form of breakthrough album ‘Writer’s Block’. Download it for free, here.

Peter, Bjorn & John – Breaker, Breaker by snipelondon

Ghoul

It’s good to see Croydon’s biggest export since Kate Moss and the non-surgical facelift – Dubstep – making a splash in the farthest reaches of the southern hemisphere. Sydney’s Ghoul wear their South London influences firmly on their sleeves. Today’s MPFree is a track from forthcoming EP ‘Dunks’, released February 1st on Speak ‘n’ Spell. It chugs along nicely enough, before kicking off a bit in the middle and towards the end. Gives me the James Blakes.

Ghoul – 3 Mark by snipelondon

Mancini and the Creepers

Here’s the thing: when someone’s music is described as ‘blurring the lines between hip-hop, soul, indie, electronica and jazz’, my heart sinks. Already I’m imagining some god-awful jazz-funk band, bottom of the bill at Womad with enough slap bass to make Mark King of Level 42 blush. So when the blurb to accompany Mancini and The Creepers’ second single ‘Trouble/Gold Sand’ arrived in my inbox, using that very description, I wasn’t expecting much.

Of course, I was completely and utterly wrong. This is a fine slice of UK hip-hop/ soul and I am a facetious bastard. Vocalist Mancini’s delivery is as clear, laid- back and unmistakeably British as Tommy Temper and Frank laws’ production is satisfyingly crisp and thumping. It is – as a young person might say – ‘phat’. Both tracks are available to download via Bandcamp.

Mancini and the Creepers – Gold Sand by snipelondon

Mancini and the Creepers – Trouble by snipelondon