“A short while ago BBC Radio 1 in the UK played PHB’s summertime jam “15 to 20″ and none other than Sir Paul McCartney rang up the station to find out what they were playing. Word immediately got back to our camp that he was a fan and a cd was sent along to him post-haste. Being the classy guy he is he sent along a thank you letter.”

Click the thumbnail to see a full sized copy of Paul’s letter.   We’ve got a track from the band’s forthcoming debut below, and you can hear more at the band’s Myspace page. The Phenomenal Handclap Band comes out June 23rd on Friendly Fire Recordings — we’ll have a full review up here shortly.

The Phenomenal Handclap Band
“You’ll Disappear” (mp3)
from “IODA SXSW Opening Day Bash Sampler 2009″

By: Michael Madavi

With more and more foreign folk bands popping up these days, it’s nice to see a positive American influence offshore for a change! One of the red, white, and blue’s greatest contributions to the global music scene has to be that classic bluegrass folk sound we love so much. Part gospel, part blues, folk music is about as old as recorded music itself. While Americans might have pioneered our own version of the genre, recent years have seen the rise of quality and successful folk bands from other countries. Here’s a few favorites from our catalog:

The Audreys
“Paradise City” (mp3)
from “When the Flood Comes”
(The Audreys)
UPC: 0602517778153
More On This Album

These guys deserve some serious respect as they’re a two-time ARIA (the Australian Grammy Award) winner for the Best Blues and Roots Album. They began as a duo comprised of the lovely Taasha Coates (voice, piano, ukulele) and Tristan Goodall (guitars, banjo) who, after dropping out of university in Adelaide, moved to Melbourne where they played original pop songs and slowed-down versions of 1980s songs. The two soon found a love of bluegrass oriented folk music and formed the Audreys with three other members to round out their sound. The result was definitely successful as both their releases to date have received enormous critical praise and earned them their shiny, invaluable ARIAs. This feels a lot like the Cranberries!

Moriarty
“Jimmy” (mp3)
from “Gee whiz but this is a lonesome town”
(Naive)
UPC: 3298498121117
More On This Album

Formed in Paris as the century turned, Moriarty saw five young musicians adopt each other and write songs like novels or short movies. The group has a sound all their own created by a voice drunk on honey, upright bass, suitcase drums, acoustic and electric guitars and a harmonica. Their sound floats between folk, country, blues and cabaret set somewhere around Dallas in the 1930’s, the Russian Taïga and Paris. An infectious melody is carried by the luminous Rosemary, supported by unsettling lyrics and oozing train-like beats. Very narrative in structure, her sweet and homegrown voice tells tales of strange occurrences and characters from a world that Moriarty creates as they see fit. Very unique and moving.

Sunparlour Players
“North” (mp3)
from “Wave North”
(Outside Music)
UPC: 623339904827 
More On This Album

Ok, so Canada isn’t that far off, but the group’s name is a nod not to a sun room, but in fact to the Sunparlour district of Canada  - the southernmost mainland of their home country. Formed a little over three years ago, the band has two EPs and one previous full length release to their credit: 2005’s solely-independent EP release Mersea , 2006’s live EP Alive at the Tranzac and 2007’s critically acclaimed Hymns for the Happy. The now three-piece multi-instrumental band of front man Andrew Penner, and co-conspirators Dennis Van Dine and Michael “Rosie” Rosenthal  have recorded their new album Wave North to imminent success. METRO really nails the album’s sound on the head, calling it “…the Arcade Fire with more banjo.” Full of epic builds and destined for enthusiastic crowds singing along, this record is a great contribution from our friendly neighbors to the north, eh.

Flipper
“Sex Bomb” (mp3)
from “Sex Bomb Baby”
(Public Flipper Limited LLC)

Buy at iTunes Music Store
More On This Album

One of the most original and unappreciated bands of their time, early 80’s San Francisco punk legends Flipper seriously influenced how music would evolve after their run. Forefathers of what would become grunge, Flipper weren’t afraid to play slower, droning versions of 80’s punk in a scene that was dominated by bands like the Dead Kennedys. People left by the dozens from their early shows, unable to deal with the squealing feedback from Ted Falconi’s guitar, the fuzzy, distorted bass of Will Shatter, Steve DePace’s pounding drums, and Bruce Loose’s scratchy, raw vocals. They were doing something unlike everyone else from the scene, choosing catchy bass lines backed with heavy drumming and noise-saturated guitar parts over the speed and anger of most punk bands. Their heavier, powerful sound facilitated the expression of everything from silly, meaningless songs about nothing to politically charged protests against the horrors of war and corporate America under Reagan. Since their 80’s lineup’s demise, Flipper has gained a cult status as one of the best and most original punk bands. Kurt Cobain can be often seen in his “Flipper Rules, OK?” t-shirt on the In Utero liner sleeve and on Nirvana’s first Saturday Night Live appearance. Mudhoney’s Mark Arm wrote the liner notes to the 1995 reissue of the band’s odds-and-sods collection Sex Bomb Baby. In Get in the Van, his memoir of the early ’80s punk rock scene, Henry Rollins of Black Flag described the Flipper experience: “They were just heavy. Heavier than you. Heavier than anything…When they played they were amazing.” Their influence and mark on music is undeniable.

Flipper was formed in 1979 with the aforementioned lineup with the exception of Ricky Williams on vocals. William’s run with the band was short and his contribution to the group is negligible besides naming the group (as a drug addict with a poor memory, he had a habit of naming all of his numerous household pets Flipper, regardless of species, so he could remember all their names) and Bruce Loose quickly replaced him. Under this lineup the band truly began to grow and experiment, resulting in memorable, drunken live shows where audience members were encouraged to come onstage and play instruments, the band would refuse to play until someone bought them more beer, and lots of people would leave. Call it an inability to see the genius in front of you, but you either loved or hated Flipper. Thankfully, the former prevailed and their fish logo can still be spotted around San Francisco (at one point, most of the signs for Clipper street were changed to the band’s name by fans).

Flipper continued to play for the next few years until they began splintering after a long debauched period of touring, finalized when Will Shatter eventually died on December 9th, 1987 of a heroin overdose with Bruce Loose’s own addiction forming. By the early 1990s, the band resurfaced with a new single on Subterranean. Allegedly, Bruce Loose stole the masters of their music from the Subterranean Warehouse and with DePace struck a deal with producer-extraordinaire Rick Rubin in Los Angeles. Rubin’s lawyers overpowered the small San Francisco Label and soon re-released Album Generic Flipper and the singles compilation Sex Bomb Baby on his Infinite Zero label. Even with Henry Rollins onboard as Infinite’s A&R, the label soon went defunct. By 1997, Flipper’s groundbreaking music went largely out of print, with Rubin still holding onto the rights. They briefly toured with GWAR and The Melvins with a new bass player, John Dougherty, but failed to muster the greatness of the old days.

In 1993 Bruce was in a de-habilitating car accident that forced Flipper to take a hiatus; due to his spinal injury he wasn’t quite able to perform live any more. Sadly on Halloween night, 1997, Dougherty also overdosed on heroin, bringing Bruce to state in an interview with SF Weekly that the band is, “like Spinal Tap, except the bass player keeps dying.” Their touring period in the 90’s was sparse and lacked the energy and power of their 80’s performances, so after Dougherty’s death the band rarely performed with the exception of a one-night performance in Berkeley’s Gilman theater under the name “Not Flipper” and a 2005 gig in support of saving legendary New York punk club, CBGB with bassist Bruno DeSmartass and Bruce performing with a walking cane.

Flipper re-emerged in 2006 with DeSmartass replaced by Krist Novoselic of Nirvana for a tour of the UK and Ireland, as well as several US shows. In 2008, the band recorded a new album with Novoselic, but as of early January 2009, they were still searching for a label to release it. In addition, Novoselic announced his departure from the band in September 2008 due to responsibilities at home, forcing a tour cancellation and a search for a replacement bassist (at least he didn’t overdose…).

In 2008 Steve DePace was able to make Flipper’s classic catalogue, , including Sex Bomb Baby, Generic, Gone Fishin‘ and Public Flipper Limited: Live 1980-1985, available on vinyl via Runt and available online via IODA.  Pick up your copy of this legendary band’s great music today and remember, “Flipper Still Rules, OK?”

Flipper
“Get Away” (mp3)
from “Sex Bomb Baby”
(Public Flipper Limited LLC)

Buy at iTunes Music Store
More On This Album

Tuesday, March 17th 2009

End Sounds Second Annual Pre-SXSW Music Party/Show
7pm@Red Seven (611 E 7th St)

Filler (one time only Minor Threat cover band)
Madball
Death in the Park
Reign Supreme
Mike Herrera’s Tumbledown
Call to Preserve
True Widow
Bitter End
The Ramonahs
The Escape Frame

Wednesday, March 18th 2009

Anticon/Ghostly International Present
7:30pm@ Mohawk (912 Red River St) (All Ages)

Christopher Willits- 7:30pm
Restiform Bodies- 8:10pm
Michna- 9pm
Anathallo- 9:40pm
Dosh- 10:30pm
Yoni Wolf (of WHY?)- 11:10pm
The Chap- 11:40pm
Themselves- 1am

Burnside Distribution
8pm@Submerged (333 E 2nd st) (21+)

Jackie Bristow- 8pm
The Summer Wardrobe- 9pm
The Service Industry- 10pm
Sweet Water- 11pm
Blind Pilot- 12am
The Slants- 1am

PASTE SXSW Showcase
Ace’s Lounge – 222 E. 6th St., Austin, TX Rotary Downs @ 9pm (21+)

Thursday, March 19th 2009

Tricycle Records/The Bay Bridged
12pm@Beauty Bar (617 E 7th St)

Mike Relm
Vetiver
The Morning Benders
Sholi
Thee Oh Sees
The Heavenly States
Wallpaper
Lilofee
The Frail
Two Sheds
The Union Trade
French Miami
The Red Verse

The End Records
8pm@The Ale House (310 E 6th St- Alley Entrance) (21+)

Junius- 8pm
Hull- 9pm
These are They- 10pm
Goes Cube- 11pm
Tub Ring- 12am
Early Man- 1am

IHEARTCOMIX
7pm@Beauty Bar (617 E 7th st) (21+)

Cerebral Ballzy- 7:30pm
Ninjasonik- 8pm
Team Robespierre- 8:30pm
Totally Michael- 9pm
The Death Set- 9:30pm
Juiceboxxxx- 10:15pm
Thunderheist- 11:45pm
Designer Drugs- 12:15am
Futurecop!- 1:15am
Beauty Bar Backyard:
Paparazzi- 7pm
Radioclit-8pm
The Golden Filter- 9:45pm
HEARTSREVOLUTION- 10:30pm
Ocelot- 11pm
The Toxic Avenger & Franki Chan- 12am
Drop The Lime- 1am

Western Vinyl
9pm@ Club 115 (115 San Jacinto St) (21+)

Mom- 9pm
Callers- 10pm
Balmorhea- 11pm
J. Tillman- 12am
Here We Go Magic feat. Luke Temple- 1am

Hometapes/Leaf
7pm@Habana Bar (708 E 6th St) (21+)

All Tiny Creatures- 7pm
A Hawk And A Hacksaw- 8pm
Stars Like Fleas- 9pm
CYNE- 10pm
Efterklang- 11pm
Megafaun- 12am
Slaraffenland- 1am

Standard Recording Co. / Undertow
11pm@Habana Calle 6 (709 E 6th St) (21+)

Christian Kiefer, Jefferson Pitcher, J. Matthew Gerken, These United States- 11:15pm

Absolutely Kosher
10pm@Prague (422 B Congress Ave) (21+)

Azeda Booth- 10pm
Sybris- 11pm
+/- {Plus/Minus}- 12am
The Wrens- 1am

Tee Pee Records
8pm@Room 710 (710 Red River St) (21+)

Kreisor- 8pm
Black Math Horseman- 9pm
Night Horse- 10pm
Ancestors- 11pm
Annihilation Time- 12am
Earthless- 1am

Siltbreeze
8pm@Soho Lounge (217 E 6th St) (21+)

Ratas del Vaticano- 8pm
Eat Skull- 8:45pm
Hank IV- 9:30pm
Psychedelic Horseshit- 10:15pm
Naked on the Vague- 11pm
U.S. Girls- 11:45pm
Los Llamarada- 12:30am
FNU Ronnies- 1:15am

Electronic Musician/reapandsow music SXSW Day party
Calle Habana 6 – 709 E. 6th St., Austin, TX Rotary Downs @ 3pm – INSIDE STAGE

NOLA Soul Presents
Historic Victory Grill – 1104 E. 11th St, Austin, TX Rotary Downs @ 5:45

Friday, March 20th 2009

End Sounds
8pm@The Independent (501 N IH 35)

The Escape Frame- 8pm
Death in the Park- 0pm
True Widow- 10pm

Burnside Distribution
12pm@Threadgill’s World Headquarters (301 W. Riverside Dr.)

Hillstomp- 12pm Main stage
Linda McLean- 12:30pm Folk Alliance Stage
Or, The Whale- 12:50pm Main stage
Jackie Bristow- 1:20pm Folk Alliance Stage
Blind Pilot- 1:40pm Main stage
Audrey Auld- 2:15pm Folk Alliance Stage
The Refugees- 2:35pm Main stage
Glenna Bell- 3:05pm Folk Alliance Stage
Terry Anderson & The Olympic Ass-Kickin’ Team- 3:35pm Main stage
Song Island Review- 4:05pm Folk Alliance Stage
Redd Volkaert & Friends- 4:25pm Main stage
Linda McRae- 5:10pm Folk Alliance Stage
Miss Leslie & Her Juke-Jointers- 5:30pm Main stage

Slumberland
8pm@Emo’s Jr (603 Red River St) (All Ages)

YellowFever- 8pm
Woods- 9pm
Air Waves- 10pm
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart- 11pm
Cause Co-Motion!- 12am
Crystal Stilts- 1am

End Sounds
8pm@The Independent (501 N IH 35) (21+)

The Escape Frame- 8pm
Death in the Park- 9pm
True Widow- 10pm

Ghostly International/Full Time Hobby/ Mojo Magazine
8pm@Radio Room Patio (508 E 6th St) (All Ages)

Choir of Young Believers- 8pm
Micah P. Hinson- 9pm
School of Seven Bells- 10pm
Deastro- 11pm
White Denim- 12am
Rolo Tomassi- 1am

Misra
8pm@The Tap Room at Six (311 Colorado St) (21+)

The Gala Band- 8pm
Emily Rodgers- 9pm
Monahans- 10pm
The Low Lows-11pm
Southeast Engine- 12am
Palomar- 1am

Insound’s 10th Anniversary SXSW Party
Noon-6pm@Club de Ville (900 Red River St)

Handsome Furs
Obits
The American Analog Set
The Thermals
The Hold Steady

Saturday March 21st 2009

Load/Dull Knife
8pm@The Independent (501 N IH 35) (21+)

Future Blondes- 8pm
Balaclavas- 9pm
White Mice- 10pm
Rusted Shut- 11pm
Indian Jewelry- 12am
Six Finger Satellite- 1am

Park the Van/ Paper Thin Records
8pm@Room 710 (710 Red River St) (21+)

Eagle Winged Palace- 8pm
The Peekers- 9pm
Golden Boots- 10pm
Floating Action- 11pm
The High Strung- 12am
The Spinto Band- 1am

New Granada Records “No-fficial” Showcase
3pm@Gingerman Pub (304 W 4th St)

New Roman Times
Zillionaire
Hankshaw
King of Spain
Rec Center

Panache Booking/ Lovepump United
8pm@Mohawk (Both Stages)

Daniel Francis Doyle- 8pm
Pictureplane- 8:15pm
Deradoorian- 8:50pm
AIDS Wolf- 9pm
Past Lives- 9:40pm
Clipd Beaks- 10pm
FIASCO- 10:40pm
The Mae Shi- 11pm
PRE- 11:40pm
HEALTH- 12am
Mika Miko- 12:30am
Monotonix- 1am

Victorian Room at the Driskill
(604 Brazos St) (21+) Moriarty- 10pm

By: Greg Beshers

Since I handle Canada for IODA, I’m often asked what is going on up there right now?  Well besides being cold as hell since it’s the middle of winter, there’s a couple of priority titles that have been bubbling on the charts and all over iTunes & Puretracks in Canada.  The first being the new Prodigy album, Invaders Must Die.

It reached #3 on the overall album charts and #1 on the Electronic charts.  If you haven’t heard it by now, it is Prodigy’s first record in 4 years and is currently the #1 album in their native UK.  Check it out if you haven’t already.

The next record that’s been bubbling up in Canada, among other places, has been the Willie Nelson & Asleep at the Wheel record, aptly titled Willie & the Wheel.

The concept for this record was originally conceived in the 1970’s by the legendary producer/A&R man Jerry Wexler, but it didn’t come to fruition until now.  It combines the iconic vocals of Willie Nelson and the always swinging Ray Benson and his crew, Asleep at the Wheel, doing what it is they do best, classic Texas swing.   It’s a record that stands as timeless as the songs that were recorded.

Visit IODASXSW.com to get all the details and access PromoTracks by each artist performing at our 5th annual Opening Day Bash! It’s open to the public and no wristbands or badges are required! Thanks to our sponsor, LimeWire Store!

Here’s a brief introduction to each of the amazing artists performing:

	Easy Star All-Stars The East Star All-Stars are a collaboration of many different artists from the label who have come together to cover classic records, like Dark Side of the Moon, Ok Computer, and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club transforming them into deep dub and reggae grooves.  Their record, Dub Side of the Moon (2003), the complete reggae re-vision of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon is one of the most successful reggae albums of the 21st century. It has spent over 5 years on Billboard’s Top Reggae Chart and Reggae Catalog Chart. Label: http://www.easystar.com/ Artist: www.myspace.com/easystarallstars
	Deer Tick “War Elephant displays an astonishing level of complexity and lyrical depth in spite of its melodically simple facade. Maybe McCauley’s an older soul than he lets on.” – Treble Label: http://www.partisanrecords.com/ Artist: http://www.deertickmusic.com/
	J. Tillman “Singer/songwriter J.Tillman’s music paints languid, sadly beautiful portraits of love and life on the margins with the moody depth of Nick Drake and the country-influenced textures of Ryan Adams.” -Mark Deming, All Music Guide Label: http://westernvinyl.com/ Artist: http://www.myspace.com/jtillman
	We Were Promised Jetpacks “The phrase ‘guitar band’ covers a multitude of sinners in the pop battleground. We Were Promised Jetpacks, apart from having the best name in showbiz, meet all other requirements necessary to lift them above their peers. Their live sets rip along at breakneck pace but somehow deliver a mini-anthem in every tune, merging Postcard and C86 jangle with full-on alt.rock.” - The List Label: http://fat-cat.co.uk/fatcat/ Band: www.myspace.com/wewerepromisedjetpacks
	Blind Pilot “Sounds a lot like what James Mercer of The Shins would sound like if he recorded a solo, acoustic album. It’s quite wonderful” -Paste Magazine Label: http://www.expungedrecords.com/ Artist: http://blindpilotmusic.wordpress.com/
	maus haus “Maus Haus combine a paranoid insomniac vibe with playful pop lines and cleverly cinematic lyrics that make them out to be the bastard child of Kraftwerk hanging with Captain Beefheart that would obviously have a video starring Simon Le Bon and the boys.  That is an admittedly nutso sentence, but it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what Maus Haus is – other than totally rad.” -Christen Thomas, RCRD LBL Label: http://www.prettybluepresents.com/ Artist: http://www.myspace.com/maushausmusic
	The Phenomenal Handclap Band Embassy Sound Productions’s Daniel Collás and Sean Marquand, two New York underground club DJs who became restless with the concept of playing other people’s music, began to focus on producing: The PHCB is their result. They are a supergroup comprised of a “who’s who” of the indie rock and underground soul scenes. Members of such diverse bands as TV on the Radio, L’Trimm, Calla, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Mooney Suzuki, and Sí Se all contribute their individual talents. “New York’s answer to Broken Social Scene” –Music Snobbery Blog Label: http://friendlyfirerecordings.com Artist: http://phenomenalhandclapband.blogspot.com/
	Deastro “As synth-soaked electronic pop attacks the entire world, Detroit musicans have the distinct advantage of being surrounded by the click, whir and constant hum of factories and automobiles” –Paste Magazine Label: http://ghostly.com/ Artist: http://www.myspace.com/deastro
	Marching Band “I think what we have here is one of the dark horses of 2008, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Marching Band become one of the festival-circuit buzz bands next year. Girls room poster-worthy pop, indeed.” –Other Music Label: http://www.urbandlazar.com/ Artist: http://www.marchingband.se/index.php
	Theresa Andersson Melody, harmony, rhythm, timbre; these are the traditional building blocks of pop music. Recorded in her kitchen, DIY indie-pop songstress Theresa Andersson plucked, picked and even tapped everything from violins to soda pop bottles to create her uniquely beautiful album alongside songwriter/producer Tobias Froberg (Peter Moren’s The Last Tycoon). “Brokenness, resolve, loneliness and redemption pour from the belly deep grain in her vice. Recommended.” – All Music Guide Label: http://www.basinstreetrecords.com/ Artist: http://www.myspace.com/theresaanderssonmusic
	Y La Bamba “This is an astonishingly confident breakthrough with a precise scope in its angelical vocals and the revelatory lyricism which is evocative and religiously codified. With huge possibilities to succeed in the world music circuit, it’s also a charmingly catchy album that should be able to overpass its folk and break into the pastoral side of the melodramatic popular song.” - Club Fonograma Label: http://gypsypoprecords.com/home.html Artist: http://www.myspace.com/ylabamba

From AlJazeera English:

“The nomadic Touareg tribes have endured years of drought and civil war. The one constant through this hardship has been the music of Tinariwen.

Once a group of rebel soldiers, training alongside Colonel Gadaffi in Libya, after years of struggle and violence Tinariwen decided to lay down their guns and fight with a different weapon – music.”

Part 1:

Part 2:

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this documentary are strictly those of the creators and are not necessarily the views or opinions of IODA Marketing.

Here are two PromoTracks from Tinariwen’s latest full-length:
Tinariwen
“Cler Achel” (mp3)
from “Aman Iman: Water Is Life”
(World Village)

Buy at iTunes Music Store
More On This Album

Tinariwen
“Mano Dayak” (mp3)
from “Aman Iman: Water Is Life”
(Outside Music)

Buy at eMusic
More On This Album

Friendly Fire Recordings is an independent, Brooklyn-based record label founded by Dan Koplowitz in 2004.  They make music for people who love music. They were just featured as a member of the “Indie Class of 2009″ in Billboard magazine alongside Barsuk and Frenchkiss Records! View the article here.

On February 17th they will release Faunts’ Feel.Love.Thinking.Of. Read a review of the release here. Other artists on the label include: The Whitsundays, Camphor, Elk City, Asobi Seksu and Windmill.

To start off 2009 we are celebrating IODAcast’s 50th episode!  We’ve put together a retrospective- highlighting a number of our favorite artists from the hundreds of amazing independent musicians we’ve dug up and featured over the past few years.

IODAcast 50 features: The Black Angels, Tinariwen, Frightened Rabbit, Broken Social Scene, Burial, Pigeon John, School of Seven Bells and Beirut.

Listen to the entire podcast over at IODAcast.com or look us up on iTunes!

Read about the featured artists and download the featured tracks below:

The Black Angels
“Bloodhounds On My Trail” (mp3)
from “Passover”

(Blue Scholars / Light in the Attic)

More On This Album

The Black Angels are a psychedelic rock band from Austin, Texas, formed in May 2004. Their name derives from the Velvet Underground song “The Black Angel’s Death Song”. Having played at Lollapalooza, SXSW, and All Tomorrow’s Parties, the group has gained much critical praise for their dark, psych-rock. Resurrecting the dark, drone style of the 60’s and blending it with southern rock, The Angels have an authentic sound that’s rarely heard today.
______________________________________________________________________________

Tinariwen
“Cler Achel” (mp3)
from “Aman Iman: Water Is Life”

(World Village)
More On This Album

Securing praise from Thom Yorke, Santana, Robert Plant, Bono, Coldplay, Tinariwen are guitar-poets from the southern Sahara desert. They are icons of freedom and resistance among their own people, the nomadic Touareg of the Sahara. The group was founded at the end of the 1970s, during a period of great suffering in the desert, due to the catastrophic droughts of the early 1970s that decimated the animal herds and almost destroyed the Touareg’s ancient nomadic way of life. Tinariwen began to write songs describing the pain of exile, the longing for lost homes and families, the struggle for political and cultural freedom, and the rigors of everyday life in the desert. Transposing the traditional melodies of the Touareg on the electric guitar then mixing them with blues, rock, pop, Berber and Arabic influences, Tinariwen created a modern desert rock sound. In the early 1980s, the were  lured into rebel training camps in Libya by Colonel Gadaffi, becoming the official mouthpiece of the Touareg rebellion in northern Mali and Niger, which all the founding members of the group took part in. Now with three successful albums released, including the latest Aman Iman, numerous tours of Europe, USA and the Far East, appearances at the most prestigious festivals and a BBC Award for World Music, Tinariwen have emerged as a prolific and truly special musical group.
______________________________________________________________________________

Frightened Rabbit
“The Modern Leper” (mp3)
from “The Midnight Organ Fight”

(Fat Cat Records)
More On This Album

Haunted indie-folk with moments of real urgency and a Pixie-esque dynamic range that can take you from hushed to majestic and back again in seconds flat. And they’re from Scotland, so the accent is a nice touch. Rabbit took the blogosphere by storm on the strength of 2006’s Sing the Greys then kicked it up a notch in April with The Midnight Organ Fight, hailed by Nicholas Harmer of Death Cab for Cutie as his favorite album of 2008.

______________________________________________________________________________

Broken Social Scene
“Hotel” (mp3)
from “Broken Social Scene”

(Arts & Crafts)
More On This Album

Broken Social Scene are an award winning Canadian indie rock band, a music collective currently including nineteen members, formed in 1999 by Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning. All of its members currently play in various other groups and solo projects, mainly based around the city of Toronto and the Arts and Crafts Label. It is characterized by a very large number of sounds, grand orchestrations featuring guitars, horns, woodwinds, and violins, unusual song structures, and an experimental and sometimes chaotic production style from David Newfeld. Their 2003 and 2006 albums released under the BSS name have both won the Juno Award for Best Alternative Album. The group is comprised of members from Stars, Feist, Metric, Valley of the Giants, The Weakerthans, Apostle of Hustle, and and Do Make Say Think.

______________________________________________________________________________

Burial
“Ghost Hardware” (mp3)
from “Untrue”

(Hyperdub)
More On This Album

The mysterious and talented Burial is an English dubstep producer. His eponymous debut album was released in 2006 to critical acclaim. The Wire magazine named it their album of the year, along with achieving fifth place in the Mixmag 2006 Album of the Year list, and eighteenth in the best of the year list of The Observer music monthly supplement. His follow-up, Untrue, was released in 2007 and was a nominee for a coveted 2008 Mercury Music Prize. Keeping his identity out of the spotlight (it was speculated he might be Aphex Twin or Fat Boy Slim), little is known about Burial except (in his own words) he is, “a low key person [who] just wants to make some tunes, nothing else.”
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Pigeon John
“Freaks! Freaks!” (mp3)
from “Pigeon John & The Summertime Pool Party”

(Quannum Projects)
More On This Album

Pigeon John is a Los Angeles area rapper who has recorded four studio albums as a solo artist, as well as several others as a member of the groups like L.A. Symphony and Brainwash Projects. He has collaborated with many of Hip-Hop’s greatest names including Blackalicious and Lyrics Born, and has been featured in publications including Entertainment Weekly, VIBE, SPIN Magazine and LA Weekly. In 2006, after signing to Quannum, Pigeon John released his fourth solo album, And the Summertime Pool Party to much critical praise.
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School of Seven Bells
“Half Asleep” (mp3)
from “Alpinisms”

(Ghostly International)
More On This Album

Composed of Benjamin Curtis (The Secret Machines) with sisters Alejandra and Claudia Deheza (On-Air Library!), The School of Seven Bells was formed in 2004 while the members were on tour together. The group takes its name from a mythical South American pickpocket academy that may or may not have existed in the ’80s. School of Seven Bells’ music is full of tensions-Curtis’ gentle guitars wrap around jagged beats; silky vocals hide behind grumpy, alien synthesizers-but the resulting songs are effortlessly cohesive, and insidiously catchy.
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Beirut
“Postcards From Italy” (mp3)
from “Gulag Orkestar”

(Ba Da Bing!)
More On This Album

Beirut was initially the solo musical project of 22-year-old Santa Fe native Zach Condon, which later evolved into a band led by Condon. Their 2006 debut album, Gulag Orkestar, combines elements of Eastern European music and folk with Western pop. Beirut’s second album, The Flying Club Cup, was recorded largely at a makeshift studio in Albuquerque and completed at Arcade Fire’s studio in Quebec. The music on the album has a French influence due to Condon’s interest in French chanson during its recording. Condon plays the trumpet and the ukulele as his main instruments, having been unable to play guitar because of a wrist injury that prevented his hand from reaching fully around the neck of a guitar. In 2008, Condon canceled Beirut’s planned European Tour and took time off to re-evaluate his music and the direction of the band, much to many fan’s bewilderment and sorrow. Beirut has triumphantly returned in 2009 with the release of a double-ep March of the Zapotec, based on Condon’s recent trip to Oaxaca, Mexico, and Holland, under the name of his former musical project, Realpeople.

I’ve been logging onto to this website for well over a year now & I absolutely love it. There is a joy in letting others know about it too, I’ve not met anyone (as yet) who doesn’t think it’s just fabulous.

The website blurb explains it best so please, read on….

“Every week, we (Blogotheque.net) invite an artist or a band to play in the streets, in a bar, a park, or even in a flat or in an elevator, and we film the whole session. Of course, what makes the beauty of it is all the little incidents, hesitations, and crazy stuff happening unexpectedly. Besides, we do not edit the videos so they look perfectly flawless, instead we keep the raw sound of the surroundings. Our goal is to try and capture instants, film the music just like it happens, without preparation, without tricks. Spontaneity is the keyword.”

Creative sites like this help smaller independent artists really highlight their craft and show off their raw live performance skills in a world full of auto-tuned, photoshopped and pre-recorded pop stars.

There are many glorious films here it’s very hard to pick some favorites.  You’ll see bigger independent artists such as Sufjan Stevens playing a banjo & singing on the top of a picturesque rooftop; the superb Arcade Fire (all of them) with a selection of instruments performing inside an elevator and The Shins playing on a Parisian street & in an apartment bathed in sunlight: “In little less than an hour, The Shins never stopped playing and never asked any questions. It wasn’t a session. It was more a sunny, leisurely afternoon, a spring debut with a group that fit right into the rhythm of the day.”

A number of IODA artists have been lucky enough to have an episode devoted to their songs, including: Beirut, Tom Brosseau, Essie Jain, Chris Garneau, The Low Lows, Herman Dune, Hopewell and more.

Finding these creative opportunities to promote your artists is an essential in today’s over-saturated media market.

Check out one of the most popular episodes from Beirut (who have a new double EP out 2/17/09):