National Folk Festival winner of the 2008 Lis Johnston Award for vocal excellence, Ange Takats' voice has been described as Joan Baez meets Gillian Welch. Her debut album Aniseed Tea tells stories of knitting, longing and lovely Irishmen. Born in Sydney but now based on the Sunny Coast, Ange somehow managed to begin her musical journey in Bangkok where she was based for two years as a foreign correspondent.
I've never tried to mask my unbridled desire for the Jewelled Antler Collective - these San Francisco-based forest dwellers have managed to do something quite magical in them there woods, and make psychedelic folk music (free folk, new weird America, whatever) sound simply irresistible. I don't know what it is really, maybe it's the guiding hand of Thuja-member and founder of the whole thing Loren Chasse, who appears here as the spiritual frontman of Softwar.
Sam Amidon (real name Samuel Tear) was born in Brattleboro, Vermont, on June 3, 1981. His parents are Peter Amidon and Mary Alice Amidon, both well established folk musicians. Folk music runs freely throughout the New England heartland of Vermont, and the Amidon family are a strong lifeline in that movement’s heritage. Both Sam’s parents, Peter and Mary are performers and teachers of music. Growing up in this solid environment with strong family ties most certainly set the scene for Sam’s musical trajectory. His little brother is the great Stefan Amidon, who is a drummer.
Dashboard Confessional was started in 2000, by Chris Carrabba in Boca Raton, Florida, as a side project from his band Further Seems Forever. Chris recorded his first album, The Swiss Army Romance, in 2000. The following year, he recorded Further Seems Forever's debut album The Moon Is Down. However, he left the band soon after the album's release, instead recording and releasing his sophomore album The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most, as well as a follow-up EP titled So Impossible.
Little Fish is the work of singer songwriter Julia Sophie (electric/acoustic guitar/vocals) and Neil Greenaway (drums). The sound of Little Fish is stripped back, direct and defiantly punky in spirit, but also melodic and true to the song.
The song lyrics come direct from the heart. They are often poetic, reflective and brutally honest, as seen in the lyrics of Bob Dylan and PJ Harvey. Julias vocals can range from aggressive and powerful, similar to ex Skunk Anansie vocalist Skin as well as Patti Smith.
Buckinghamsire based singer-songwriter Dave Hamilton-Smith (of Desert City Silence and Plurals) presents a sincere and heartfelt acoustic solo project here. Combining a John Frusciante influenced playing style, Buckley-esque vocals and a jaw-droppingly emotional core, these are songs that can reach into you and take hold of your very soul. His debut album 'You Can't Argue With Silence' was released on Dead Pilot Records in May 2008, and next up is the 'Cigarettes' EP, being released on Division Street very soon, with another full length following that.
James Blunt (born James Hillier Blount, 22 February 1974) is an English singer/songwriter whose debut album, Back to Bedlam, and single releases — especially the number one hit "You're Beautiful" — brought him to fame in 2005. He was born in Tidworth, Wiltshire, United Kingdom. His style is a mix of pop, rock and folk. Along with vocals, Blunt plays a wide variety of instruments including the piano, guitar, organ, marimba, and mellotron.
Blunt was educated at Elstree School, Woolhampton, then Harrow School (where he received his nickname 'Blunty'), and finally the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Before the release of his album, Blunt was a commissioned officer in the British Army, rose to the rank of Captain and served as a NATO peacekeeper in Kosovo. He was also on duty for the funeral of the Queen Mother on 9th April, 2002.
He is currently signed to Linda Perry's American label Custard, and became the first British artist to top the American singles chart in nearly a decade when his first single from Back to Bedlam, "You're Beautiful", reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2006. The last British artist to do so had been Elton John in 1997 with the song Candle in the Wind.
His second album, All The Lost Souls, was released on 17th September 2007.
His third album, Some Kind of Trouble, was released on 8th November 2010.
Year active 2004- present Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
The Untied Knot consists of guitarist Nigel Bryant and percussionist Matt Donovan. Its music is a fusion of acoustic guitar filigrees, synthesizer and percussion, notably tablas and glockenspiel. The instrumental debut album “Sketches For A Lost Summer” was released in Summer 2009 to a warm reception including airplay from BBC 6 Music, WFMU in New York and Canal Extremadura in Spain.
This is what independent record shop, Normans of Leeds UK had to say “Beautiful cover art, music is pretty sweet too.
The Tealeaves sound is inspired by the era of the great singer-songwriters, including Cat Stevens, Simon & Garfunkel and Don McLean. Their music overflows with melody, harmony and lyrical honesty, and has been described as “heart wrenching to say the least”. James, the original leaf, gathered the group together in 2008 to prepare and record their self-titled debut album with eminent producer and engineer, Hadyn Buxton. Traversing a wide range of musical styles, their songs range from harmony filled wall-of-sound band tracks to intimate, melancholy indie-pop.
The band, Sunshine State, is based in Toronto, Canada. They started out more like a therapy session between the band’s core members: James Bryan and Aleza Coldevin. James is already an established artist even before Sunshine State was formed. He is one of Canada's best-respected young guitarists, producers and songwriters, having penned over a dozen top 40 hits for various artists including Nelly Furtado, Fefe Dobson, and Divine Brown. He is also a member of multi platinum bands: The Philosopher Kings and Prozzak.