Diva Gash – great Electronic/House/Pop from Bogotá

I was very happy to hear that this great group Diva Gash is from my home town. I sometimes feel frustrated that most of what I recommend is from the english speaking world. Diva Gash sings mostly in english, but they are proudly Colombian, as they say comically put on their website “From Colombia, like Shakira…”

The House, Pop, Electronic group from Colombia, like Shakira, but with a twist of humor.

Their music is wonderfully produced and has a humor which is typically Colombian. Great sounds, great rhythm, light hearted music to get your body dancing. Their live shows are supposed to also be great. Would love to see them someday!

Check out their myspace and listen to Galacticock (my favorite) and Starmaster (their latest hit). But also see the video to Galacticock as well to get a feel for their visual imagery. Love their name, anyone know where it came from?

Andrés Solé plays “Better Together” (cover)

Yesterday after I wrote my blog entry about “Better Together” by Jack Johnson I sat down at Xavier’s piano to learn it and so today I decided to try and record a video with his little camera of me playing it. The tough bit for me has always been memorizing lyrics, but it went quite well, I got through it.

Andrés Solé plays Better Together by Jack Johnson in Lausanne.

The surrounding of course makes the inspiration. I am sitting in a lovely living room with great accoustics and looking out the window over Lausanne and Lake Geneva to the French and Italian Alps. The sun is shining, I’m at peace and doing what I most love, music, what could be better?

Once again, life is good, but always better when we’re together! I’d love to hear some comments…

Life is good – Better Together

Life is good to me. I am in Lausanne, Switzerland enjoying the company of one of the greatest friends one could have. Not only that but he’s also the single most influential person in my musical life who doesn’t make a living as a musician. Last night as we watched the Wimbledon final and enjoyed hearing the sound of the rain as we ate a fabulous pizza, Mr. X told me about a singer/songwriter I had not heard of, Jack Johnson.

Jack Johnson plays the song Better Together live and accoustic.

There’s something magical about the simplicity of just a man singing accompanied of his guitar or sitting at his piano. For me the test of a great song is strip it down to its bare essicials and it still being great. Here’s a song that is just that, a great song, in all its magical simplicity.

Life is good, but always better when we’re together!

Great friends, great music

This week has been a break from my usual routine and discipline. A great friend is here from Stockholm and so instead of working with rehearsing, writing, recording or marketing I we have been spending time “listening to great music and talking about life” as Anna put it. “That is what our friendship is about,” she says. So one of the great tips I got from her I wanted to pass on. She is a french singer Camille who I had never heard about. I looked her up and found a great live version to my favorite of her songs, Au port. Totally worth checking out! Specially the crazy acapella trio jam at the end…

Thank you Anna for the great music!

Another jewel – Electronic, folk, jazz, rock

This is an artist who uses Electronica with such good taste, Axel Krygier. Listen to his song “Ya me voy” which sounds like pure Buenos Aires 2008!

New Discovery – Indie, folk

During my garage sale a guitarist friend of mine recommended Devendra Banhart to me. The name sounded familiar, but I don’t know where from. An artist I know nothing about, except what I’ve heard and read this morning, but definitely worth checking out! Like me, he goes between english and spanish. Several people say I sing differently in each language and listening to Devendra I can understand what they mean. I also like his use both piano and guitar, which I’ve been doing more of too. His soundscapes are incredibly varied and very inspirational. I love the type of vibrato he uses which reminds me of Caetano Veloso (one of my favorite singers of all time). Exciting new discovery!!! Thanks Steven.

A homage to our fathers

It doesn’t matter if you were born a boy or a girl, the relationship one shares with the father is very special. These relationships and the feelings around them are so complex and often difficult to put into words, which is probably why you see them show up in art all the time. Just recently I saw two videos that dealt with just this topic and both are pearls. One is an 8 minute animation done with watercolors which shows the relationship between a father and his daughter. The other is a son and it’s music video, also an animation, which deals with the relationship between a father and his son. Both deal with the topic with such tenderness and beauty that they really touched my heart and I made me want to share them. Give yourself the joy of seeing these treasures and give your father the joy of hearing how special he is to you. Dad, I admire and love you with all my heart (Happy Birthday! April 18, 2008).

Father and Daughter by Michael Dudok de Wit
For more information about him see his filmography on IMDB. His webpage is currently under construction, but on youtube you can see many of his animations.

The JBC Song by Nizlopi
Nizlopi is a a duo from the UK with a great acoustic sound and a carefree and unprotentious view on life. Visit their website www.nizlopi.com or their www.myspace.com/nizlopi.

Thank you to two great friends who are constantly inspiring me with beautiful treasures, Catherine and Anna.

Crazy Cool: Nellie McKay in Concert

I have a friend who always tells me how much she likes it when I play the piano and sing and has asked me to recommend artist who use that combination. I heard a great concert the other day on my ipod. A singer and pianist with a lot of talent called Nellie McKay. I hope you enjoy the concert Anne-Sofie. On her records her instrumentation is a lot more then just piano and vocals. You can here the concert on the NPR (National Public Radio) page and if you like it check out her myspace/prettylittlehead or her web page www.nelliemckay.com.

Wonderful voice, wonderful lyrics

Here is the link to a fabulous singer. She is from NY and is called Leah Siegel. Here latest album is called Little Mule, highly recommend it. Check out her myspace! You can also see her webpage at www.leahsiegel.com.