Audio Drums

Beautiful track from Scarlett Johannson’s debut album called “Anywhere I Lay My Head”. This track was originally recorded by Tom Waits and can be found on his 1988 album “Big Time“.

from wiki:

Anywhere I Lay My Head is the debut studio album by actress Scarlett Johansson, released through Atco/Rhino Records on May 20, 2008. Dave Sitek (of TV on the Radio) produced the album, and David Bowie contributed to two tracks, “Falling Down” and “Fannin Street.” Anywhere I Lay My Head features four songs written by Tom Waits, six songs written by Tom Waits & Kathleen Brennan and one original composition, “Song for Jo.”[1] The album has received very mixed reviews, as epitomized by a 2/10 in The Times and an 8/10 in NME.[2]

Scarlett Johansson - Falling Down (ft. David Bowie)

So who is UltraCat?  Well, they are a duo of Yuriko Miyamoto and Jonah Dempcy from Seattle Washington.  Together they produce really groovy house with a slight twist.  For example, this track which has elements of 1950’s sci-fi mixed with a deep house groove.

Bio from thesixtyone.com

UltraCat is a house music project started in March 2008 by Yuriko Miyamoto and Jonah Dempcy. Yuriko has a background as an artist, designer and multi-instrumentalist. Jonah’s background includes the electronic-jazz project Revolution Void and collaborations with musicians such as Michael Shrieve (Santana) and Matthew Garrison (Herbie Hancock’s Future2Future band).

Together, they produce music which draws from house roots in disco as well as contemporary artists like Bob Sinclar, Daft Punk, Cassius and Basement Jaxx. By referencing classic funk, disco and house tracks and reinterpreting long-lost rare groove tracks, UltraCat brings a unique and refreshing sensibility to the realm of house music.

For more information, visit the UltraCat homepage at www.ultracatmusic.com.

 Ultra Cat - Orbiting The Earth 

Here’s a little something to kick off the weekend right!

Love the church-esque keyboard sound on this track around the 4:00 minute mark.

Last.fm bio:

Made up of Simon Lord (previously of Simian fame, whose band mates currently make up production duo Simian Mobile Disco), and Theo Keating (previously of The Wiseguys), inspired by producers like Daft Punk and Timbaland combined with Theo’s previous Djing experiences, the Black Ghosts offer a refreshing take on the arguably tired electro-rock genre.

The Black Ghost - I Want Nothing (extended version)

Myspace

This track can be found on Fink’s 2007 release title, “Distance and Time”.  Minimal elements give this track a very personal and emotionally driven  sound.  You can hear the heartache and yearning of a lost or possibly missed Love.

Bio from Last.fm:

 Fink, AKA Fin Greenall, is a singer-songwriter, producer and DJ from Brighton, England. It is also the name given to the touring trio fronted by Greenall himself, completed by Guy Whittaker (bass) and Tim Thornton (drums).  Fink’s recording career began with Ninja Tune’s release of his debut album Fresh Produce in 2001, a well received chill-out
set that fitted neatly with the output of the label. However, it was his second release, 2006’s Biscuits For Breakfast, that defined his style and began to bring his name to a wider audience.  Built around his bluesy voice, finger-picking acoustic guitar and the tripped-back live rhythm section, Biscuits boasted a fledgling pop sensibility while retaining the signature Ninja Tune vibe - a fact not lost on a swelling crowd of industry luminaries, notably Zero 7, who promptly invited Fink to support them on their UK tour, and Nitin Sawhney, with whom Fink guested at the 2006 Electric Proms.  A follow-up is currently being recorded for early 2007 release.

Fink - Blueberry Pancakes

Alluring, beautiful, and all the while psychedelic is the best way to describe this track from Blank Blue.  Love the edits and effects used on it.

Bio From artist page:

lvin Estela, aka Nobody, met Niki Randa at Fingerprints, an indie record store in Long Beach, California, where they have worked together since 2001. Estela was mulling over ideas for a sequel to Pacific Drift, his 2003 release on Ubiquity, and realized that the album he wanted to make needed only one vocalist. He had often heard that “Niki can sing!” and eventually would give Randa a CD-R of beats and tracks that he was considering for his new album to see if she was interested in being the one. In December 2006 the first of their collaborations was finished and given the working title “Sonic What?!” Excited with the results, Estela immediately told Randa about the concept for an album which had come to him in a series of nightmares. Shortly after the two ventured to a book store during their lunch break, grabbed a book blindly, opened randomly, and put Randa’s finger to a page which read “Blank Blue.” The god’s had christened their project (it’s both the album’s namesake and the name given to the collaboration between Estela and Randa) and for the next twelve months, Estela and Randa would eat, sleep, drink and smoke Blank Blue.

Blank Blue - In The Swim

Loving this new release from Bitter:Sweet and looking forward to their sophomore effort called, “Drama”. It’s easy to hear why so many music supervisors place Bitter:Sweet music in to TV show’s such as Grey’s Anatomy, Moonlight, and Lipstick Jungle to name a few.

Bio from last.fm:

Bitter:Sweet is an electronic/trip-hop duo with jazz-like qualities from Los Angeles. The band is comprised of Shana Halligan, who provides vocals and lyrics and composes the songs, and Kiran Shahani, who produces and composes the songs. They are often compared to, or appeal to, fans of Zero 7, Morcheeba, Björk, Portishead, Everything But the Girl, and Serge Gainsbourg. Recently, they have been listed on the Top 10 on the iTunes Store electronic chart and have been placed on radio station KCRW’s Top 5 Most Requested CD for the week of March 20, 2006 [1]. Additionally, they have been featured on the soundtrack of The Devil Wears Prada, in Episode 2 (“I Am a Tree”) of Season 3 of Grey’s Anatomy, in the movies Because I Said So and Shoot ‘Em Up, in a Zune advertisement, and also placed on MSN’s list for “Ones to Watch” [2].

The duo was formed when Halligan answered an ad listed on Craig’s List for a singer posted by Shahani, who had previously founded the Supreme Beings of Leisure. Their 11-track debut album, The Mating Game, was released April 4, 2006 under Quango Music Group and has been reviewed and recognized by several magazine publications, such as Urb and People [3] [4] The song was featured on a commercial for the winery, Korbel.

In summer of 2007, Bitter:Sweet released The Remix Game, featuring reworked versions of tracks from The Mating Game by reknown producers such as Thievery Corporation, Fort Knox Five, and Skeewiff. These tracks were previously available only on vinyl, or unreleased.

Bitter:Sweet - Trouble

Great mellow track with minimal elecrtronic elements off set by a great vocal performance.

taken from www.thesixtyone.com:

“Merz aka Conrad Lambert has a life as unorthodox as his music. He began his travels at 18, after his schooling in West Yorkshire, and has made friends in 48 countries. His parents live in Mongolia, his grandmother was born in Babylon (Long Island that is). He’s currently settled in Bristol, where, distanced from the industry, he writes his curious music.” NME

“A maverick with three decades of cultural exploring behind him, Conrad Lambert is a post-pop auteur with a distinctive croaky voice and oodles of left-field ideas.” UNCUT

“In the airbrushed teen market, he might be deemed no oil painting, but to the trained eye he resembles Vincint Van Gogh. Lend him your ears.” EVENING STANDARD.

1 “merz makes unique, untainted music that’s a hurricane of fresh air” cd of the week, The Independent.

2 “a master of modern folk” i-D magazine.

3 “merz sounds like nobody else in the world and the world would be alright if it listened to nobody else. We absolutely love him.” Coldplay

4 “merz is passionate music with heart for a musically sophisticated audience” Pure Magazine

5 “what makes merz great are his songs - earnest, poetic pleas that impact a sense of hope and well being” Flipside

6 “merz’s debut should be cherished….it will leave you bewitched” cd of the week, The Guardian.

7 “Already critically acclaimed as Britains answer to Beck, Merz is actually more tortured and less ironic… a breathless, confident vocal. Extraordinary and original…” (5/5) Heat

8 “he’s living in cloud cuckoo land” The Sun

Myspace dossing about can be found here: www.myspace.com/merzuk

Merz - Postcard From a Dark Star