Vote for Nathan Moore
For those that don’t know Nathan, he is a singer, song writer, a poet and a talker. He’s mostly known as the lead singer of the group Surprise Me Mr. Davis which is really just the three piece indie/jazz band The Slip plus Nathan singing and belting away at the mic.
Nathan’s lyrical style is very much like that of Leonard Cohen and perhaps a bit of Dylan. He has a jovial approach to singing and helps to really bring the stage alive. His vocal style reminds me of a young Tom Waits. Those are all artists that are not used lightly and are used wisely in my opinion to describe Nathan.
I recently saw Nathan and The Slip (I’m sorry, Surprise Me Mr. Davis) play at the Brooklyn bar Union Hall. If you’re unfamiliar with this location, they have two bocce ball courts setup on the first level and in the lower level there is a tiny stage and small section for dancing with a bar in the back. It’s an intimate setting and was perfect for this impromptu show.
Nathan to me is an artist that has gone wildly unrecognized. While he may argue that it’s not about how well you’re known but how well respected you are that matters, it’s also still true that the more exposure artists like Nathan get the better off the music world will be, especially in this country.
You can help expose his talent by voting for him over at the Rolling Stone / Hennessey contest – VOTE NOW. Although the last I checked he had roughly 80% of the votes already!!! Keep them coming.
The song picked for the contest was taken off of his most recent release, In His Own Words, off of Frogville records.
- Links of Interest
- Download the song being voted on – “For the Paper Boy”
- Nathan Moore on Myspace
- Purchase In His Own Words – (emusic) (Amazon)
DOP Opening for F&J at Middle East
That would be Dirty on Purpose and Fujiya & Miyagi.
The Brooklyn based group, Dirty on Purpose, whose latest album, Hallelujah Sirens, has brought them some nice exposure. They hosted an episode of MTV2’s Subterranean, were nominated for a Plug Award, and have received some loving from the indie elites – Pitchfork and Filter. They were asked to open up for U.K.’s very own Fujiya & Miyagi, coming off their critically acclaimed release, Transparent Things.
They both play this weekend at the Middle East Downstairs. The last I checked there were still some tickets available through the Master (Go here to buy online). Or you can stop on by the box office on Mass Ave.
- Links of Interest:
- Buy DOP’s Hallelujah Sirens – (North Street Records)
- DOP’s Myspace
- Buy F&J’s Transparent Things – (Amazon US, UK)
- Stream all of Transparent Things
- F&J’s Myspace
- Downloads: “Light Pollution” by DOP
Watch Video for “Light Pollution” Below:
The commies are coming
Apparat, short for the Russian word, Apparatchik, means to be a full-employed member of the communist party. In other words, to be a member of a collective group whose focus is to build a society where everyone looks after each other. In reality, the Apparat that we’re are about to describe is a member of a group of artists based in Germany. Berlin to be exact. They consist of T.Raumschmiere, Modselektor and whole list of artists on the German based record label, Shitkatapult. This is truly a group looking out for not only their friends, but their fans as well. I highly recommend checking out Modselektor or any other artists affiliated with those mentioned above. If you’re an electronic fan, I’m sure you are already aware of most.
There is no question that Apparat, aka Sascha Ring, has been mainly influenced by techno and electronica. However, unlike many electronica artists who rarely use their own vocals, Sascha brings his out to play.
There is a strong emotional and human element to his music that differentiates him a bit from his colleagues. Of course, this doesn’t make him a better artist. It just makes him unique.
On his most recent album, Walls, the emotional level is at a high. It’s hard not to turn this album on and not turn off until the 13th and final song. It sucks you in to a trance. P-Fork compared it to the Junior Boys latest success and I would have to agree.
I also found that there were moments that reminded me of Thievery Corporation. Not so much the style but rather that the sounds on this album seem to represent something larger than just some nice songs put together by a little well known DJ from Germany. There are deeper meanings to these songs and just like any good artist, we the listener are up to interpret.
- Links of Interest:
Official Website
Myspace
Purchase Walls – (emusic) (amazon – US or UK)
Stream Walls
MP3 – “Fractales (Pt. I)” – which means you need to buy the album to find out about Pt. II
Back in action – More Beirut
To start things back up on a more consistent post schedule, I’ve decided to do a back to back Beirut post as today I realized that the fabulous music download service, eMusic, has their new album, The Flying Club Cup, ready for advance download.
Ah, how special we eMusic members feel. For those that don’t know, the album isn’t out until October 9th. However, if you can’t wait that long, sign up today at eMusic and you can get the album for free as the first 25 downloads once you join up are free. Plus, the first month is free as well. They really want you to try it out so what are you waiting for – JOIN.
Zach Condon and company embarked on their tour yesterday, which starts in Brooklyn, goes south to Jersey, back up to NYC then in to Canada, briefly down in to the states again in Chicago, San Fran and L.A. then they leave the states for awhile. After that, who knows. I’m sure that once the new album officially comes out we’ll see more state side dates but for now, you can listen to a live Beirut show by visiting Sixeyes where they have a complete download of their SXSW gig back in March.
Read a great review of their new album over at Stylus Mag
Download “A Sunday Smile”, if you haven’t already (Find more legal mp3 downloads over at Stereogum’s new MP3 page )
And finally, be their friend on myspace.
P.S. I hope you like the new look and feel of Hip To Be Square. Feel free to bash, praise or simply acknowledge that the site has changed for the better.
Hiatus – Beirut videos
Man, I’ve been out of pocket for awhile. And I’m still not out of the fog just yet. Have some more traveling coming up but I want to quickly just throw up something that really sparked triggered my fancy today, Beirut footage from the Parisian outfit, La Blogotheque.
Download Beirut Song – “A Sunday Smile” (Courtesy of Stereogum)
Watch them below: (visit La Blogotheque)
About Editor
Name: Luke "Kip" Owen
Location: Boston, MA
Contact: kippy[AT]hip2besquare[DOT]net
Twitter: twitter.com/kipdog
Youtube: youtube.com/kipdog
-
-
