Been meaning to post Curly Jefferson for months now, and here it finally is.   If you’re fan of Bent or Koop this will probably strike a chord with you.  Curly Jefferson mixes speakeasy vibes with orchestral elements to make a most intoxicating sound.   With splashes of Bossa Nova, Spy and Big Band, Curly Jefferson showcases it all in a Jazz infused wrapper.  This surely not to be missed.  You can grab the entire EP for free from dedpop.co.uk here.

He also has another project called, Rykard which is more ambient/IDM.

Hey folks, here with another cover of a popular 80′s track.  This time around it’s a playful bossa nova cover of Billy Idol’s “Dancing with Myself.”  Reminds me of a mix of bossa nova meets The Bird and The Bee meets Billy Idol.

From wiki:

The song is reportedly about masturbation, although it is in truth about what Tony James and Billy Idol witnessed in a Japanese night club during the band’s 1979 Japanese Tour as patrons watched themselves dance in the space enhancing mirrors which covered the walls.

Nouvelle Vague released their cover in 2006.

From wiki:

Nouvelle Vague is a French musical collective led by musicians Marc Collin and Olivier Libaux. Their name is a play on words referring simultaneously to their “Frenchness” and “artiness” (the ’60s new wave of cult French cinema), the source of their songs (all covers of punk rock, post-punk, and New Wave songs), and their use of ’60s Bossa nova-style arrangements.

Nouvelle Vague – Dancing With Myself

Keeping things on the Bossa Nova tip, I present the latest release from Italian DJ,  Nicola Conte called “Rituals”.  Previous releases had more club jazz feel to them, whereas this release for the most part is shaken bossa nova and not stirred.  Still a stunning release non the less.

Nicola Conte – Paper Clouds (ft. Chiara Civello)

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Isabelle Antena – Omerta (Bossa remix by nicola conte)
Waldeck – Why Did We Fire That Gun
King Kooba – Fooling Myself (Easy Access Orchestra Mix)
Arkestra One – I Really Want You

From their forth coming album, “Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future”,  due out in January, comes a romantic moment courtesy of 60′s inspired duo known as The Bird and The Bee.   Great production and wonderfully sweet vocals as always from Inara George.

If you drop by their myspace page, you can glimpse of several tracks from , “Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future”.

The Bird and The Bee – My Love

Track list from Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future:

1     Fanfare
2     My Love
3     Diamond Dave
4     What’s in the middle
5     Ray Gun
6     Love Letter To Japan
7     Meteor
8     Baby
9     Phil
10     Polite Dance Song
11     You’re A Cad
12     Witch
13     Birthday
14     Lifespan of A Fly

Chilled, downtempo, elegant, lush are words that come to mind when you listen to Arkestra One.  This album would sit nicely in the collected company of Koop, Nicola Conte, Waldeck and Thievery Corporation.  The entire album is something you would play late at night with a drink in hand.

Short Bio courtesy of last.fm:

Arkestra One are a duo composed by two “British immigrants”, Matthew Timoney (producer) and Nina Miranda (vocalist).  They perform a beat-heavy version of Brazilian pop (Nina comes from Brazil) with a good electronic component.  Their project started with a self-titled debut album in late 2002.

And for the inspiring musicians out there, this is what Matthew uses to create these landscapes:

Technics 1210 / Vinyl manipulation / addiction; Rhodes stage 73 electric piano, Wurlitzer electric piano, Akai/EMU samplers, Rhythm machine drumbox, Korg MS20, Moog Sonic Six, Hammond B3 organ, Vibraphone, Roland space echo 501 tape delay, Watkins copycat tape del7

This track is taken off of Arkestra One’s self titled 2002 release.

Arkestra One – I Really Want You

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