Bands of brothers.
Here follow a few links pointing to websites of music bands that aren't just good friends of ours, they're excellent in their own right for unique reasons. They do have one thing in common, however: all of them will help your brain to trascend that bone container called cranium. We are loath to show favouritism so we'll sort them alphabetically.
Here they come armed with Casiotones, acoustic and electric guitars, toys and a minimal yet brawny drum set, willing to indulge in Cosmic Coktail, Hard Folk, urban lullabies and the most energetic dance music, going from Mediterranean winters to Brazilian warmth, singing in six modern languages and a dead one too. Does anybody think that their albums are stupendous? Wait till you see them on stage.
These two indomitable geniuses —based in the Balearic tranquility of Menorca Island— work in a steady yet unhurried fashion to bring pop illumination to their ever growing fan base. Preprogrammed beats keep up a balancing act with deceptively simple bass and guitar lines, all of which provides an elegant backdrop for powerful melodies and astute voice games. Lovable compositions with a dash of subtle humour, haunted by the ghost of rock music —always keen on their tracks.
In a time of musical uncertainty, Latigazo, Azote & Bofetón (Lash, Smack & Slap) use their mysterious mellisonant powers —Terpsichoreal prancing, chamber gags, concrete humour and avant-garde bossa— to fight the forces of stagnant standarization. They take you to a dimension where laughter and demystification infect your body like a benign yet relentless virus. L.A.B. opens a majestically canorous sphere with the aid of musical quotations, satires, plagiaristic tributes and even original compositions; a wide space where the Theatre of the Absurd, the Napolitan song, experimental ballet, regional folk and Hawaii (of all places) coexist in unprecedented harmony.
Me Dais Poca (and their particular Mr. Hyde, The Scotch Brites) have a great deal to tell to the world, starting with a good telling off. Their compositions are inspired by the everyday intricacies of a society plummeting into a bizarre oblivion of abuse, avarice and outward appearances. Lyrics of devastating humour are supported by electronic beats, a bass solid as a Roman Cathedral and a choice selection of punk metal spiced with the most ridiculous synthetiser sounds and blips that ever set foot inside your ears. Great hymns for the 21st century Western urbanite.
Masters of dark pop with a touch of a somewhat psychedelic noisy rock Mi Animal (Electro Narcotic Sound Rock)…
"… sings in Spanish to the minds of a society intoxicated by stress, technology and television… "
… a notable feat achieved through lyrics of elegant surrealism plus frontier music of blunt intensity. Truth be told, if narcotic means inducing stupor or mental lethargy, the accuracy of their tag line comes into question, but we'll settle for hallucinogenic and call it even.
This sadly extinct band used to filter the best pop-rock music of all time, drop it into the mixer and produce concentrated pills of many flavours guaranteed to satisfy even the most demanding tastes. Suggestive, entertaining, summery, eclectic, flighty, powerful and slightly acid, the songs of Motherglue [ "pop for the masses " ] seduce mercilessly, induce eloping through luxurious promenades and leave you warmly exhausted, satisfied, hungry for more. Alas...
Electronic pop music is wearing white gloves tonight, and will set your body in motion within the first couple of bars. The 80's new wave returns with a vengeance, surrounded by handsome and clever boys who know how to incorporate the sexy touch to a project full of optimism and a healthy sense of humour. It's time to turn off the lights and switch on the multicoloured laser beams. If your glass doesn't contain a phosphorescent liquid, you have missed the point entirely.
In a world mad about originality, the old may very well become the brand-new. With the Orquesta Pinha it's impossible to go wrong. They feature acoustic instrumentation, original compositions that range from kind jazz to Parisian folklore and such precise performance as to seem casual and effortless. Their concerts have a knack for painting a smile on every member of the audience. So it looks like they'll never explore undiscovered musical countries and push the boundaries of what's already known? Thank goodness for that!
Those who think that DJ compositions are inevitably based on the usual bum-chiki-bum-chiki-bum dance bore-beat will have to think again. Watch TV and the Primetimes bring the perception and the sensibility of the intelligent musician to the dance floor, adding cosmopolitan worldliness but never losing the tail-shaking factor. Sophisticated groove beats support a coquettish flirt with funk and soul material, with perhaps a jazzy brush stroke here and there. These guys have already forgotten more music than the average man (yours truly included) will ever know.