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steve gilmore SoundClick Guru
Joined: 23 Apr 2002 Posts: 2632 Location: United Kingdom Status:
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Posted: 02 Dec 2004 08:52 pm Post subject: Steve Gilmore Reviews: 2004!! (The Stevie's) :) |
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As
I enter my third year of reviewing at Soundclick I pause to take a look
back at the past year, and what a year it's been for me, and for all
the musicians I have had the pleasure to listen to this year. However,
before we start gazing into the navel of 2004 let's see what happened
to those artists I was championing this time last year. Top of that
list was - of course - the incredible talent of Nad Sylvan. He's had
another very good year, mostly in tandem with colleague Bonamici (who I
also picked as a star turn at the end of 2003). Both these guys have
had an excellent year, individually and collectively and show no signs
of slowing at all.
Silvertrain too have gone from strength to strength this year,
gathering listeners by the sackload - especially after the release of
their first CD during the summer of 2004. A CD, btw, that I heartily
endorse; as packed to the brim with hits as you could wish for.
Out of the other artists I picked for big things in 2004, several have since disappeared (I wonder why
) but Rey Valera and Mike-K are still around and active and (along with
Thomas Dobson (aka ranch) have formed one heck of a group in
Soundclique - expect bigger and bigger things from this great
collaborative effort. dcallen, Latmat, Starting Over and many others
are still around and giving great value for no money with their
extremely worthy 2004 releases. So, all told, not a bad effort at
picking winners eh?
But wot, o wot of the class of 2004?
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Now before we start let me just say this is a highly personal
view of what Soundclick offers, based on my own bias and predjudice. I
likes wot I likes, ya know? However, I've also discovered that over the
years, a lot of people tend to agree with my choices - so nrrr ;P
First some categories:
HOT (in no particular order) -
Magnu, Refrag, Burp, Jim-n-Lisa, Deggsy, Steve Ison, Project Overseer,
Fahrenheit 451, Prash, Stompp, Taylor Jordan, Natalie Brown, Ty Kaufman
Group, Xanthe, Authist/Dub One
RISING - Angels Rock, Big Ship,
Andy F, Adam Fielding, Power Of The Gods, Opal Tonic, Alderman, Sharma
Kay, CP and the FON, Melv, Inder Nirwan, Syrin, Incidental Fusion,
ManHood
LEFT FIELD WORTHIES - Station For Imitation, Guanoman, rolls, Fear 2 Stop, Pilesar (aka Mandible)
Phew eh?
Comments and Rationalisations
Magnu - an artist I seem to have known forever, and a good friend
too. Although he went off into the wilderness there for a while, Magnu
is back in strength this year and has released some killer stuff
Refrag - What can I say about NZ's finest? Beloved by all who have
had the novel experience of having their brains rearranged Refrag
stylee, this artist is truly extraordinary. In every single way there
is...
Burp (aka Emetrics) - Like Refrag this artist treads his own highly
original and distinctive path, in the process delivering some of the
most startling music to be found anywhere.
Jim-n-Lisa - for my money - as you will see - one of THE top finds this
year. An artist that is deceptive, the more you look, the more you
find.
Deggsy and Steve Ison - Both long standing favourites of mine that
ALWAYS issue the very finest tracks to be heard anywhere. Makers of
music that the rest of the world could sorely do with rather than the
pap they are fed daily...
Project Overseer - The other big suprise of my year is this artist
and the amazing 'Gathering' clan idea - an idea that should be pursued
by all of us. Strength in numbers, ya know?
Authist/Dub One - see above
Fahrenheit 451, Stompp, Adam Fielding, Opal Tonic, Inder Nirwan, Syrin
and Incidental Fusion - bless you people for re-invigorating this
reviewers love for the electronica world. All have released some
knockout tracks this year.
Part 2 follows |
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steve gilmore SoundClick Guru
Joined: 23 Apr 2002 Posts: 2632 Location: United Kingdom Status:
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Posted: 02 Dec 2004 08:54 pm Post subject: |
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Taylor
Jordan, Natalie Brown, Xanthe, Sharma Kay and Diane Jessurun - Diva's
all. Some of the best female voices around and well worthy of the time
it takes to track 'em down
and thanks lastly to every left field worthy for making life that much more interesting
TRACKS OF THE YEAR
And now for the surprises....
Burp - gnomewasonceanenterainer
Awesome track, don't let it's title fool you. One of Burp's best tracks yet...
Jim-n-Lisa/Burp - Just Kidding
This very unexpected collaboration almost led to this being my ultimate track of 2004. Utterly brilliant.
Jim-n-Lisa - Your Scientists Brain
A very unlikely name but an utterly beguiling track which shows this artist progressing at light speed
Hash n Brain - West Coast Hindi
This highly infectious blend of hip hop and bhangra is just to die
for. A hit if there were any justice in this cruel, cruel world.
Stompp - In Cold Blood
Singlehandedly rescued me from the 'electronica' is crap camp. A great example of modern electronica
Silvertrain - The One To Blame CD
You can't really choose between such awesome guitar pop tracks so I didn't even try. The whole CD is as fine as it gets.
Fahrenheit 451/Inder Nirwan - Skyscapes
F451 is the other electronic artist who has helped to restore my
faith in the genre and his work with Inder on this track is
breathtaking
Mandible - Acaka Fracka
When I first heard this I didn't believe my ears. I still don't
even though this has become more and more familiar to me. Definitely
the most bizarre track of the year but strangely enough, one of the
most musically interesting too.
Project Overseer - The Gathering
An absolutely drop-down-dead gorgeous track that introduced me to
this immensely talented artist, and as I have mentioned before, his
gathering clan
Ty Kaufman Group - Why
This track has over the past couple of months confirmed a) my love
of rock and B) what a class lead guitarist Mr Kaufman is. Live music IS
the best, and the Ty Kaufman Group threaten to deliver their high
quality rock in your hometown soon.
Refrag - All Over You
The master at his very, very best. Well, until the next one
Big Ship - Camera
A pop masterpiece from a most unexpected quarter. This track
confirmed Big Ship's increasingly sure touch with their material. A
classic.
and now the big guns (ta da!!!)....
Artist of the Year 2004
Damn this was a hard, hard choice - there are sooooo many great
artists around. Almost everybody who is on the HOT list or my tracks of
the year could qualify. So I set myself to really thinking about it
because I found myself coming back to the same two names; Burp and
Jim-n-Lisa. Why? I base my judgement here not only in the musical
material these people are delivering, but on their promise
for the future. Finally, on that basis, I just had to come to the
conclusion that my Artist Of The Year just had to
be...........(cue:pregnant pause)
Jim-n-Lisa!!!
Soundclick Person Of The Year
This is a more widely based salute and one I feel fits only one
person this year. He's a Soundclick Mod and a pillar of this place who
has recently branched out into a whole new - and very wonderful -
direction. As well as having his own music, and an SC station as one of
my Stations Of The Year, Mike-K (Mike Kohlgraf) has recently started
broadcasting an INCREDIBLE radio show over at www.songplanet.com
called Saturday Night Rocks, every Saturday night as it happens. I have
caught every single one of these shows since he started and chatted
with a great many people in the SP chatroom while the show is going on.
Mike's show is destined for big things so remember you read it here
first. One of THE places to be on Saturday night for some time to come,
so don't be a stranger and get into that stream!!
Three HUGE thumbups to Mike-K whose actions really do speak louder than words.
Part three follows[/i:d0c
Last edited by steve gilmore on 02 Dec 2004 09:02 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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steve gilmore SoundClick Guru
Joined: 23 Apr 2002 Posts: 2632 Location: United Kingdom Status:
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Posted: 02 Dec 2004 08:56 pm Post subject: |
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Best Soundclick Station
Three choices for this really; Flavour Of The Genres (for it's HUGE
range of quality material), PFTW's Top Ten Station (for its very novel
concept) and Acousticism (because it highlights an area much neglected)
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As I said at the beginning, a highly personal look at what this
year has offered us music fans. I hope, somewhere amongst these names,
you will find some favourites of your own.
To ALL the artists who have submitted tracks to me over the past
year I would like to say a heartfelt thanks for trusting me with your
creations - I've loved every single second of it...
So, who's up for Best Artist 2005 eh?
Start lining up here....
Steve Gilmore
Soundclick * Songplanet * MP3 Unsigned * Acid Planet * Vitamin C |
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