Banjo or Freakout - Exclusive Covers CDs

After accomplishing his mission to record 20 covers, Banjo Or Freakout's released 150 exclusive cover CD's, with 11 of the 20 covers he's made, including All I Need, Archangel and Cape Cod. Every CD is "handmade spraypainted freakout artwork", priced at £5 each. If you want to order one (like me), just email him at banjoorfreakout@gmail.com. 

Please Tune Your Violin...

I've finally made my first song, Recital. My band, Ian France, has it up for free download on their website. I'm hoping to come out with some new tracks soon. As soon as I'm finished with them they'll be posted on the site. 

Music Video Update: Mystery Man

This is the official vid for Gnarls Barkley's new single, Mystery Man, which will appear on the Who's Gonna Save My Soul EP coming out November 11th. The simply drawn animation matches the song's lo-fi, b-side feel, and evidently, Superman sucks. 

Gnarls Barkley - Mystery Man

Radioclit Remixes

London's Radioclit, of The Very Best, has been pretty busy lately. Architecture In Helinski released Radioclit's remix of their new single, That Beep, on AIH's website. You'll be able to buy the official single on Australian iTunes, November 22. Radioclit's also been doing work with Sweden's Teddybears, and remixed their hit track Cobrastyle, featuring Mad Cobra. The song actually uses riffs and elements of older songs you might know, including Bomdigi, by Erick Sermon. It's a great song, the original was featured on the Employee of the Month soundtrack. 

DOWNLOAD

Architecture In Helinski - That Beep (Radioclit Remix)

Teddybears ft. Mad Cobra - Cobrastyle (Radioclit Remix)

Check out !tashed music blog to download Cobrastyle (Diplo Remix) and a cover of the track by Robyn. Apparently, the above album cover was a fake photoshop copy done by a degenerated old man. 

Dustin O'Halloran Live @ the Tilles Center

American pianist Dustin O'Halloran has worked with Sara Lov for Devics, had two scores featured on the soundtrack to Marie Antoinette, and has also worked on the score for the movie Boy of Pigs, which premiered at the Zurich Film Festival in September. Even though he was american born, he currently resides somewhere near Bologna, Italy, after discovering the "love of his life, a tall, dark, piano." A couple of nights ago I saw him live, at the Tilles Center. He played a mix of songs from his two, only albums, entitled Piano Solos Vol. 1, and Piano Solos Vol. 2. Creative, right? Well, even though almost all of his songs are called Opus something er other, his music is beyond words. He does not sing, as you may have guessed from his album titles, all of his works are piano solos. I have never heard someone create such an intense feeling in the air, as Dustin did. He is even better live, for after buying his second album and listening to it, I soon realized that, though the album is fantastic, when he performs live it's as if you are feeling every note sink into your soul. Oh, and it also puts you to sleep. When I was at the concert, I heard a man snoring a few chairs away from me. It's not that it's bad that the music puts you to sleep, but it drains out every ounce of energy left in your body. Never listen to it in the car. 

He walked on stage, a thin, lanky 37 year-old, and happily greeted the audience. After announcing the names of the first two songs he was playing, he hunched over in deep concentration, and began to play. 

Most piano teachers would tell you to keep a straight posture while performing, not to bend your back so far that it seemed your nose was going to touch the piano keys, like Dustin. As a child, O'Halloran had practiced piano, but stopped for a decade. When he decided to start up an old hobby and create music with Sara Lov, he quickly became an accomplished pianist, famous for his dreamy, atmospheric melodies and raw, graceful tunes. 

Halfway through the concert, after another opus, he faced the audience and stated "Now this is the exciting part of the show." and proceeded to take off his jacket and throw it on an amp. The audience whooped, and O'Halloran bent back down and began another melody. After a few more songs, he said goodbye and left the stage. I was fortunate enough after the concert to receive a signed copy of his second album, Piano Solos Vol. 2, and meet him in person. 

You can download Dustin's latest album here, or if you want to see him live, check out some of his upcoming tour dates below:

11/08 (sat) Denver, CO Temple Buell Theatre
11/09 (sun) Santa Fe, NM Lensic Theatre
11/11 (tue) Mesa, AZ Ikeda Theatre
11/12 (wed) Tucson, AZ Centennial Hall
11/13 (thu) San Diego, CA Symphony Hall
11/15 (sat) Oakland, CA Paramount Theatre
11/22 (sat) Los Angeles, CA Benefit for Ari Bhod Foundation for preservation of Tibetan Culture

Music Video Update: I'm Outta Time

A new conceptual clip by Oasis follows the psychedelic trip on The Shock Of The Lightning music video. This is the I'm Outta Time music video I found out about via Stereogum. Really original - only Oasis could pull this off. 

Oasis - I'm Outta Time

Obama Has a Posse

Found this over at Barack Obama's fan website. Remind you of something? Apparently, Shepard Fairey got something started when he made his famous, screen-print Obama posters. Heck, he got something huge started. Thanks to Shepard Fairey and hundreds of other designers and artists alike, Barack Obama's political campaign has become one of the most "visually successful" presidential campaigns of all time. 

Found this interview with Shepard Fairey over at Supertouch. 

Supertouch: "How is it even remotely possible that a graffiti artist with a lengthy arrest record and a history of breaking multiple laws in the name of “art” is branding the most visually successful presidential campaign of all time?"

Shepard Fairey: "I was impressed with Obama’s speech at the 2004 DNC and I started paying attention to him. When he announced his presidential candidacy I thought it would be great to make an image in support of Obama. However, with my rap sheet and my body of work critical of U.S. policy, I was worried my endorsement of Obama might be an unwelcome affiliation. I wanted to help, not be a liability, so instead of my usual “act now, apologize later”, I asked through some friends if I could get the OK from the Obama campaign. I was finally told by Yosi Sergant in mid January, after asking at the end of Oct. 2007, that it was cool for me to make a poster on my own. I figured I should act quickly because the often-decisive Super Tuesday was Feb.5. I illustrated my Obama image the day I got the go ahead, and had the poster in production the following day. I wanted to get the posters out in my usual ways and I was not thinking the image would be much different from any of my posters except that I did intentionally make the image more reverent and patriotic with the hope that it could transcend my counter culture niche because Obama was guaranteed to have the support of the counter culture anyway. My hope was that the image would be able to pique the interest of moderates."

This is a pic of Shepard Fairey standing in front of his famous Obama screen-prints. Obama has a posse.

Circular Painting

Circular Painting is a timelapse, artistic, masterpiece, painted on a circular piece of canvas and made for the Discovery Channel in South Africa. The theme was the environment and the artist's responses to it, or, "the fate of the earth". Various artists, musicians and animators contributed over a non-stop twelve hour period to make this two minute film. What I personally find amazing about this video, is that you can see how each artist's unique style contributed to it and how it all fit together beautifully. Not to mention how the vid conveys an important message so creatively. 

Conceptualized and directed by Bryan Little, of Fly on the Wall media, definitely one of the more creative and insightful media production agencies out there. Check out their vimeo channel here. 

Artists:

Bryan Devlin
Luis Tolosana
Warren Lewis
Ree Treweek
Daniel Ting Chong
Mike Morocco
Toyah Moon Humphreys
Paul Ressel
Josh Ginsburg

Sunday's Song: Sex On Fire

I've decided to do something every sunday called Sunday's Song, in which I'll post a hit track off of a contemporary artist's latest album for free download. This Sunday's Song will be Sex On Fire, the major hit off of Kings of Leon's latest album, Only By The Night.

SUNDAY'S SONG DOWNLOAD

Kings of Leon - Sex On Fire

The de Wildes in Morrison Galleries

The Morrison Hotel Gallery in Soho has released an exhibition entitled Autumn and Jerry de Wilde: Two Generations of Counterculture Photography, featuring the work of only Autumn de Wilde and Jerry de Wilde, two of the greatest band photographers from two different generations. Autumn de Wilde is better known for her photography of modern artists like The White Stripes, Beck, and Death Cab for Cutie, while Jerry has photographed the many stars of the 60s and 70s, including Jimi Hendrix, the Who, and even Ravi Shankar. Combined, they've photographed more than half a century of iconic people and historical events, which will be on display in Morrison Galleries until the end of this year.