Hage - The Taste

This morning I heard an amazing song on the radio called "The Taste". It's written and performed by a duo named Hage (that's Norwegian for "garden"), two 18 year old girls from Bergen, Veronika Heilund and Vilde Hartveit Kolltveit. The duo is featured as this week's Urørt Artist, an ongoing competion on the national broadcaster NRK P3's website that culminates in one act becoming Urørt Act of the Year. Following Urørt is a good way to check out what's going on in the musical underworld of Norway, and Hage most definitely sounds like an act for the future. "The Taste" is simply a gorgeous pop song, with rich harmony vocals throughout, making this first single sound like sort of a pop version of First Aid Kit. I'm truly excited about this song and can't wait to hear more. Follow the link to listen and to download the song for free.

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Free download! Todd Terje's "Jolene" remix

Norwegian DJ and recording artist Todd Terje who released his first album last year, appropriately titled It's Album Time, has remixed Dolly Parton's "Jolene" and put it out as a free download track on Soundcloud. Highly enjoyable, and it's just so cool that he has (seemingly) effortlessly turned a sad country song into a dance anthem. Also, if you haven't seen it, check out Terje's full concert at Øyafestivalen last summer here.

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Dr. John featuring Anthony Hamilton - Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child

August 18 sees the release of the new Dr. John album, a tribute to Louis Armstrong called Ske-Dat-De-Dat: The Spirit Of Satch, on which the good doctor has gathered a host of guest artists to help perform the songs of the legendary jazz trumpeter and singer. By visiting the album website you get access to a free download of one of the tracks, a wonderful version of the old negro spiritual "Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child", featuring soul singer Anthony Hamilton. Other songs on the album is "What A Wonderful World", "Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams" and "Mack The Knife", and it's definitely one to look forward to.

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The Ting Tings - Wrong Club (Club Mix By The Super Criticals)

English indie pop duo The Ting Tings have a fantastic new single out called "Wrong Club". This "club mix" is even better than the original, turning the song into a classy disco/funk tune that should help any party along. The best thing is that it's also free of charge. Kind as they are, The Ting Tings let you download it for free throught their Soundcloud page. Seven minutes of disco heaven is waiting for you, just follow the link.

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The best mash-up EVER - Robin Skouteris - PopLove 2

A total of 56 songs with clips from around 60 music videos mashed-up and crunched beautifully into a 10 minute masterpiece of editing, that's what you get when you watch this. Put together by Robin Skouteris it's absolutely astonishing to watch and listen to. How he's fit all these songs perfectly together is hard to grasp, but here you go, a monster mash-up of recent tunes by Eminem/Rihanna, Calvin Harris/Ellie Goulding, Ylvis, Daft Punk, Pet Shop Boys, Lana Del Rey, Taylor Swift, Kylie Minogue, One Republic, Icona Pop, Robin Thicke, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Naughty Boy/Sam Smith, John Newman, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Drake and many, many more. You'll also be able to download an MP3 of the track if you're interested, but the most fun is watching the video while listening.

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Ed Sheeran - I See Fire (Kygo Remix)

British singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran's got a massive hit single with "I See Fire", the Peter Jackson-commisioned song he wrote for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. No wonder as good as it is. I wrote about it some months ago when it first appeared, but would like to share this remix by Kygo, a 22 year old studio wizard from Bergen, Norway who's lucked out with remixes for other people as well, such as Rihanna, James Blake and Ellie Goulding. Also, he's currently enjoying a fair amount of success and recognition for his amazing remix of Kyla La Grange's "Cut Your Teeth". You're also able to download several of his remixes by visiting his Soundcloud or Facebook page.

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Koda & Bijou - There

Koda is a South Carolinian electronic musician, Bijou I don't know anything about. Nevertheless they have collaborated on a couple of tunes, and "There" is an extraordinarily beautiful song. It almost sounds like an electronically arranged Nick Drake song, but not quite. It also reminds me a bit of Goldfrapp with its multilayered and atmospheric soundscapes, and the eerie singing. A fascinating and haunting song. Follow the link below to listen and, if you want, you can download the song for free.

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Introducing... Shy For Shore

The Norwegian radio broadcaster NRK P3 each year have their Urørt competition where unsigned acts get to showcase themselves on a website, and a winner is announced in a finals heat each winter. This year's finals are approaching, and among the five candidates I have a special fondness for the pop duo Shy For Shore.

Oz Page and Mari Nordén are evidently in love with 80's synth-pop but their music, although drenched in that particular time, still sounds current. They are nominated for the Urørt award with the incredibly catchy "Then The Heartbreak", a pulsating song that steadily builds in intensity - a lovely melancholic pop dance-pop track.

Check out their Urørt page where you can listen to "Then The Heartbreak" and a few others songs. You can download all the songs here for free, and there is also a link to the page where you cast your vote, either for Shy For Shore or any of the other four finalists.

 

New Indiana song for free download

Upcoming and very promising Nottingham artist Indiana whose latest single "Mess Around" was among my favourite songs of 2013 has chosen to give away a new song for free. "Touch Me" is a cover of a house track originally recorded by Portuguese DJ Rui da Silva and British singer Cassandra "Cass" Fox that was a UK number one hit in 2001. Indiana has transformed it into a sinister-sounding, moody electronic ballad that sounds absolutely excellent, especially due to her mesmerizing voice. This year will see the release of her debut album which I really look forward to, especially after hearing this new track. She is a major talent, no doubt. Go to her Facebook page (link below) and follow the instructions to receive your free download.

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Sasha Keable - Careless Over You

Sasha Keable is the singer on Disclosure's latest single "Voices", and last October she released her debut EP, the eight track Black Book, that can be downloaded for free at her website. It's highly recommended that you do that, as it's very good. Also, check out the video below for the EP track "Careless Over You", a slow-moving, "Massive Attack light" kind of song that shows Sasha Keable could go places.

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Disclosure feat. Sasha Keable - Voices

Settle, the debut album by British electronica duo Disclosure, was one of 2013's best and most exciting releases, a record filled to the brim with modern club music that is at once groundbreaking and very, very catchy. However that may be, some songs, such as "Voices", passed me by a bit, drowning as it did among some other very good songs. Now that it's been released as yet another single from the album, I've given it a few spins for reacquaintence's sake, and it strikes me as absolutely brilliant now that I've got it isolated in my mind. Also worth mentioning is the brilliant guest singer Sasha Keable whose homepage you should check out to download her debut EP Black Book for free.

Watch and listen

 

Frk. Fryd - Blod & Honning

Frk. Fryd er et ungt jenteband fra Stavanger som spiller dødsfet rock som definitivt flytter på seg. Her er spor av både MC5 og Stooges, Sonic Youth og Pixies, bråkerock fra to tidsaldre altså. Frk. Fryd er derimot bråkejenter av i dag, og den utsøkt melodiøse "Blod & Honning" er i ferd med å få en viss oppmerksomhet. Den er utgitt som digital single, og er dessuten med på jentenes ferske digitale EP Tell dine skritt igjen. Frk. Fryd er for øvrig Urørt-band, og lar deg laste ned noen gratis låter her. Disse jentene får vi høre mer fra!

Se og hør

 

Download one song from the new Prefab Sprout album for free

Crimson/Red, the forthcoming Prefab Sprout album, is absolutely brilliant and one of the best albums of 2013, without a hint of a doubt. By signing up on the band's mailing list you'll get a free download of the wonderful album track "The Songs Of Danny Galway" immediately. On the website, you'll also be able to pre-order the album, and I strongly suggest you do. As I said, this is one of this year's best albums. Paddy McAloon has returned and he's in excellent shape!

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Free download - new Justin Currie song - as well as video for new single

Justin Currie, the voice of fabulous Scottish pop group Del Amitri, is at solo album number three, releasing the brand new Lower Reaches on August 19th. He's giving away the wonderful song "Little Stars" for free to anyone who visits his website and enters their email adress. It's well worth it, believe me.

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In related "news", below is the video for the new single "Bend To My Will", also an excellent pop song, have no fear!

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New Quarter Wolf single for download now - here's "Addicted"

Listening to a new song from Norwegian/Australian rock duo Quarter Wolf every month is a lot of fun. July's free song is ready for download now, and it's a great, punk-ish track called "Addicted" that is surprisingly long, clocking in at a respectable 3:47. Not exactly punk length, but what can you do? It's a fab song, full of energy, balls and attitude - as well as a little bit of sexiness. Download below.

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Free download: Brand new Pixies song - Bagboy

The reformed Pixies announced two weeks ago that Kim Deal has left the band, but today they release their first new song in nine years, "Bagboy". Not only that, it's free. Go to the band's website (link below), enter your email adress and receive an immediate reply with a download link. Great!

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Quarter Wolf - La Bandida

Loud and ballsy Norwegian/Australian duo Quarter Wolf still release a song for free each month, and the songs are still a lot of fun. As I've described the pair earlier, they're clearly influenced by "bands ranging from MC5 and Stooges, to Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, The White Stripes, Queens Of The Stone Age and Black Keys - and a lot of good stuff inbetween", and it's raunchy and sexy music with a lot of attitude. You should immediately go to their website to download June's free track, which is just under two minutes of energetic and dirty rock'n'roll. I mean, what's not to like about that?

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Free download - new Son Volt track

Son Volt, the band that Jay Farrar established when he and Jeff Tweedy parted ways and disbanded alt-country outfit Uncle Tupelo, is back with the new album Honky Tonk in early March. Whereas Tweedy started the band Wilco that veered quite far away from the Uncle Tupelo sound, you might say that Farrar dug deeper into the American roots music, as well as being a little noisy along the way. But if the title of the album Honky Tonk and the giveaway song "Hearts And Minds" is anything to judge by, this will be Son Volt's most country-sounding effort to date. If you follow the link below you can download "Hearts And Minds" for free, and I suggest that you do just that. It's great!

Free download

Free download - Rumer does The Beatles

As a Valentine's Day gift to her fans and friends, Rumer offers everyone a download of her version of The Beatles' "Here Comes The Sun", one of George Harrison's most enduring songs. Needless to say, it's a beautiful version.

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Introducing... Quarter Wolf

Quarter Wolf is an Oslo-based Norwegian/Australian duo consisting of singer/guitarist Marius Kromvoll and drummer Paul Daniel. The pair describes their music as blues punk and rock'n'roll, and is influenced by bands ranging from MC5 and Stooges, to Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, The White Stripes, Queens Of The Stone Age and Black Keys - and a lot of good stuff inbetween. In other words, this is music for the groin more than the mind, and it's fun, raucous and a bit sexy. It's amazing how much sound one guitar player, one drummer and a good producer can come up with. Now for the good news: During 2013 Quarter Wolf will put up a new song for free downloading each month, starting with the excellent "Lone Wolf", and at the end of the year will release it as a vinyl album, to be named An Orgy Of Shocking Violence which is a line lifted from Hunter S. Thompson's book Kingdom Of Fear.

Go the band's website to subscribe to the free downloads.

Quarter Wolf website