Musik i Full Fart [Music at Full Speed] v4

This post contains a list of new and notable music I've been listening to of late. Feel free to comment with your favorite songs and artists. I always welcome suggestions for music. To find out more about my musical tastes, check out my profile on LastFM.

Artist links will take you to an informational website (Myspace page, artist website, etc). Song links will take you to a video of the song.

I’ve dug a little deeper into world music for this edition. Some artists are repeat offenders; I’ve previously recommended their music. Enjoy!

Pop
From Australia, Gabriella Cilmi, with a full-throated voice like Anastacia, delivers in-your-face pop-rock on Save The Lies, the follow-up to Sweet About Me. Her next single is Don’t Wanna Go To Bed Now. Pretty smart lyrics coming from a 16 year-old. She's got the voice to back up the bravado. And, finally, in Gabriella’s case, who doesn’t love a good cover of Echo Beach! Also from OZ comes Vanessa Amorosi with her soaring Perfect. Yes, it is. For a sweet redux back to the 60’s pop landscape, there is UK artist Beth Rowley on So Sublime. Canadian singer Esthero is Never Gonna Let You Go. Now, if she could just offer this unreleased song for sale. Swedish rising star Veronica Maggio sings in Swedish, but her voice translates Stopp and Mandagsbarn into mod 60’s-esque pop gems. An Iranian-born Swedish artist, Arash (featuring Rebecca), was all over the airwaves last month with Suddenly. And, then there is Belgian singer Kate Ryan. Her last song (Voyage, Voyage) was pure europop. But not my cup of tea. And repetitive. The same can be said of her new song, Ella Elle l’a. Still, I cannot get it out of my head. The final Pop entry is huge in Europe. I’m not sold, but I’ll pass it along anyway. The Script from Ireland with the somewhat drippy The Man Who Can’t Be Moved. Maybe a new category: schmaltz pop.

Dance
Shine (Ian Carey Mix) is yet another dance song off of Booty Luv's debut album. More grooves to shake things up on the dancefloor. Laurent Wolf (featuring Éric Carter) brings on the euro-dance beats with No Stress (Club Mix). Bellatrax (featuring Sophia May) loses control on I Can’t Help Myself (Sunfreakz Mix). One of those songs where you want to be in the center of the dancefloor waving your arms over your head. Well, I do. On Mike Polo’s I Love U Baby (Extended Mix), I think we get it. Emphatically. I finally jumped on the fun, sexy Lady GaGa bandwagon. Teamed with Colby O’Donis on Just Dance, Lady GaGa may not be able to see straight, but she knows the ultimate destination is the dancefloor.

Alternative
Wow! When I first heard Stop The Clocks by German band Donots, it was like listening to WHFS in Washington, DC back in the early 90's. Ah, the good old alternative radio days. And I dating myself here? Probably. Still, how can you resist a music video with puppies? Someone who caught my attention then is back again: Juliana Hatfield. She teams with Richard Butler of the Psychedelic Furs on This Lonely Love. The song is a long way from Everybody Loves Me But You or Universal Heartbeat. Her voice and tone has matured nicely with age. From Spain, Amaral puts it out there on Kamikaze. If only Shakira had gone in this direction.

Adult Alternative
The search for the next retro-cool singer (think Amy Winehouse or Duffy) has turned up a young Swiss singer, Stephanie Heinzmann. She’s big in Germany and her voice is spreading across the continent. Check out Like A Bullet, My Man is a Mean Man, and Revolution to get a sense of her talent. Norwegian singer Maria Haukaas Storeng sang Hold On Be Strong in the 2008 Eurovision contest. I missed the performance. As such, I didn’t hear her song until it started flooding the airwaves this Summer. Finally, Irish singer Laura Izibor follows up the promise of From My Heart To Yours and Don’t Stay with breezy, bright Shine. Check out this talented voice!!!

Hip-Hop
In 2007, Norwegian group Madcon remade Beggin’ and garnered success in a few corners of Europe. What a difference a year makes. The song, an amalgam of hip/hop and retro pop, has made its way all over Europe in a big way. Dig deeper and check out their song Liar.

Guilty Pleasures
Swingle Singing. Huh? Say what? In Swingle singing, songs without lyrics are sung using the sounds doo's, boo's, dah's and bah's. It originated out of the 60’s from a group of French session singers led by Ward Swingle. Hence the name. The Swingle Singers have been through several incarnations, but are still around today (sans Ward).


Archive Posts
Musik i Full Fart Volume I
Musik i Full Fart Volume II
Musik i Full Fart Volume III