Year 5, Day 20

Hey. So today's song is Can't Sleep by K.Flay.

Her full name is Kristine Flaherty, but is known by the shortened version in the industry. She started her career in 2003 while she was going to school for psychology and sociology. She believed that hip hop hits were "simplistic, misogynistic and formulaic" and said she could write similar stuff, so she did. After her parody song of the industry was done, she realized she liked what she was doing and expanded her musical repertoire by experimenting with genres. She made her own mixtape in 2005 which she performed locally. She released a self titled EP in 2010, followed quickly by another self released mixtape the year after. In 2012 she got her break and was signed to RCA Records, and promptly released two more EP's. There was bad blood between her and the record company, and she ended up leaving them and without the rights to 60 songs she had written while on contract. Since then she's released a lot more music, and has made a pretty good following for herself through exposure touring and collaborating with other artists so make sure you check out more of her stuff.

Peace.

Year 5, Day 19

Hello. Today I give you Distant Past by Eveything Everything.

I love this song. It's so weird and every time I hear it's opening I get a dorky smile on my face and mentally prepare to sing along because I can't not. So they formed in 2007 and are made up of Jonathan Higgs, Jeremy Pritchard, Michael Spearman, and Alex Robertshaw. They chose their band name as a "détournement of sorts of an over-saturated media culture into something idealistic and expansive." They have four albums out and this song comes from the third one. I honestly don't know what else to tell you about the band, you just need to hear it. It's....everything. Everything.

Peace.

Year 5, Day 18

Hey guys. Today's song is Can't Keep Checking My Phone by Unknown Mortal Orchestra.

Remember how yesterday I said I hadn't featured a New Zealand artist? Surprise here's another one... or at least half... they are classified as an American New Zealand rock band so there you go. It's comprised of Ruban Nielson, Jake Portrait, Quincy McCrary, and Amber Baker. They actually got big after Nielson posted a song anonymously on Bandcamp with no information about who or what it was. It went kind of viral with everyone trying to hunt down who the track was from. Eventually he opened up and said it was from UMO. The next year they released their debut album and it gained traction fast (courtesy of the same people who put on the search for the anonymous track's author.) Pitchfork had led the charge and with the new album they dubbed it "a unique immersive and psychedelic quality without relying on the usual array of bong-ripping effects." Accurate statement as far as I'm concerned. Their second album came out in 2013 and with that one came a lot of mainstream exposure. This song comes from their third album released in 2015 and is also featured in FIFA 16 like yesterday's song. And I swear to you I do not play FIFA so I have no idea how all my music is from the game. Coincidences exist everyone.

Peace.

Year 5, Day 17

Hey. So today's song is Let Me Know by No Wyld.

These guys I think are the first group I've ever featured from New Zealand so give it up for the Kiwis!! The group started in 2010 with Mo Kheir, Brandon Black and Joe Pascoe. Mo and Joe met when they were going to school together and then found Brandon through a family member. They started jamming together and playing covers. Their career is kind of funny in that it's attracted more companies for advertising purposes than being featured in other pop culture staples. Not to say they haven't been featured, they definitely have (hello 90210 and WWE.) This song in particular made an appearance in FIFA 16, and another song of theirs was in NHL 15, NFL 16, and Need For Speed. So even if you think you don't know this band, it's very likely you do through random subliminal plays. Now is the time to take it from passive listening to active listening. Let me know what you think.

Peace.

Year 5, Day 16

Hi everyone. Today's song is Tiring Game by John Newman featuring Charlie Wilson.

The story of how Newman got started song music is a really sad one and not what I expected. He had been using music as a way of processing his grief after his two friends died in a car crash. He was still a teenager at the time, but the obsession with music really started there. By twenty he was signed to a label, and met one of the members of Rudimental which is how he got his big break. He ended up being featured on one of their songs. That one became a massive hit so the group featured him on a second track too. He officially debuted in 2013 with his first album and is on his way to a second one right now so check him out. Now I have to talk a bit about Charlie Wilson because his voice blew me out of the water the first time I heard this song. I don't know what about him did it, but I was feeling a preacher vibe from him so I wanted to check his history to see is I was right. Well, not him technically, but his father was a Reverend which was close enough to satisfy my curiosity. Charlie and his brothers, after singing in the church for so long, formed a group called the Gap Band who went strong for 15 albums. They retired in 2010 and then Charlie went solo. If you want to get technical Charlie stated working on the solo stuff in 2005 with his first album, with the second coming out after the retirement. His jacket reads like the seasoned performer he is so if you are ever in the mood, go follow his career through the tunes. It looks like quite the journey.

Peace.

Year 5, Day 15

Hey. Today's song is Cigarette Daydreams by Cage The Elephant.

These guys are from Kentucky and have actually been around since 2006 which is a pretty long time. They did move to London, England in 2008 so they could go into a group with the Brits too I guess. Fair warning the song doesn't start until a minute and a half in to the video so you can skip ahead if you want. Apparently the band name came from a mentally disturbed patron to one of their shows. He just kept repeating the phrase to them so they decided to make it their name. I guess it was as good a place to gain inspiration as any so good for them. There's been a little bit of turnover for members so I'm not going to put up all their names, but there's a lot of years worth of material by them if you find that the sound is your style.

Peace.

Year 5, Day 14

Hello everyone. Today I give you Violet by Hippo Campus.

These guys are from Minnesota and are clearly very talented. The members all met in high school at a performing arts conservatory and have been in other bands before this one. Those bands include Blatant Youth/Whistle Kid; Danger, and Will Robinson/Northern. Eventually they came together and became Hippo Campus (and I would really like to know why they're named that, but I can't find that info.) They often use stage names, but I'm going to stick with their real names for now so may I introduce you to Jake Luppen, Nathan Stocker, Zach Sutton, and Whistler Allen. I do have to admit that every time I hear this song play without checking the artist my first thought is that it's Paper Lions. That's a compliment though because those guys are great. Anyway tell me what you think.

Peace.

Year 5, Day 13

Hiya. So today's song is Take Me Home by Jess Glynne.

This is another British singer who rose to fame after being the voice in the song Rather Be which I think I've already featured in an earlier year. Either that or it's going to come up eventually. Rather Be wasn't the first song she was featured on, having previously been on a track for DJ Annie Mac. That's where Clean Bandit herd he voice and wanted to collab. She's been around the music industry since she was a kid thanks to her mom being an A&R rep. She herself has worked behind the scenes before her breakout in 2013. She's done work as a judge before on X-Factor (hilarious since she at one time was auditioning to be a contestant) and turned down another offer from The Voice UK. This song particularly was used in 2015 as the official Children In Need charity single which I think is super cool. It's nice to see big names team up with charities. Everyone needs a cause they can get behind.

Peace.

Year 5, Day 12

Hey guys. Today's song is Afterglow by Wilkinson.

This guys name is Mark Wilkinson and is a DJ from London, England. Yes I will clarify it's England every time because there is also London, Ontario that might not be as prominent around the world, but it's necessary where I am. This guy's birthday is the same as my sisters. He's older, but twinsies haha. Obviously it's not him singing on this track because he is a male and that voice has an obvious feminine lilt. So the singer if you're curious is Becky Hill. Wilkinson has been active since 2010, and this song was taken from the middle of his career, so you can check out lots of other stuff by him. Becky has been active since 2012 after getting exposure from The Voice UK. Her birthday is only one day off from mine otherwise these two would have been a hilarious and random connect to my sister and I. I'm a little sad it wasn't perfect, but it's close enough that I find it funny. Anyway hope you like it.

Peace.

Year 5, Day 11

Hi. Today's song is Stolen Dance by Milky Chance.

Can we take a second to recognize how nicely that title and band name roll off the tongue together? So good. This is a folk group from Germany made up of Clemens Rehbein, Philipp Dausch, and Antonio Greger. So give it up for Germany! From the sounds of it they were together writing their music for awhile before actually actively playing for audiences. They only played two shows before recording the debut album and released some of their stuff on YouTube. Including this song. Apparently they didn't expect it to get big but of course it did, becoming a viral sensation. In an interview with an Edmonton radio station (because why wouldn't a German band be interviewed by a city in my province in Canada, why not) they said that it took three years to write the song. I chose this song because I know it, I've heard it before, but if you like the vibe you should check out the newer stuff. They did just release an album this year so lots to listen to.

Peace.

Year 5, Day 10

Hello. So today's song is Strangers by The Rebel Light.

These guys are from LA are according to their website "draw heavily on their influence of the sun drenched sound of 60’s California pop." I am in no way an expert of 60's California pop because I didn't even know that was a specific sound but I will admit that listening to the track does give me that fun sun feel that I would associate with LA. These guys are relatively unknown in the grand scheme of things so if you like their stuff spread the love around. For now check out their website for more.

Peace.

Year 5, Day 9

Hello. So today's song is Yeah Yeah Yeah by Jax Jones.

His real name is Timucin Fabian Kwong Wah Aluo and he's from London, England. He can technically be classified many ways (DJ, record producer, singer, songwriter and remixer) but I think DJ is probably the most prominent considering his love of making beats. Sometime while he was in college he had a thing with his family which caused him to strike out on his own while working to his career. All I can say is that I'm so glad it worked out for him because he's seriously talented. He definitely has more popular singles than this one, but this is my favorite so it wins the spot on my blog. But seriously do go check out more of his stuff if this is your style of music.

Peace.

Year 5, Day 8

Hi. Today's song is Cake By The Ocean by DNCE.

I know it was a really popular song so many of you will already know it, but I purposefully keep them saved for a while before busting them out in hopes that it's been long enough now to double back around from annoyingly overplayed to a good jam again. Also I saved the version of this from Grease Live. I didn't watch it, I couldn't bring myself to do it. I mean I know all the main actors from other stuff and they have been good but the actual Grease is too dear to my heart to watch that remake and have them ruin it like they did with Footloose. This is the only song I've heard from it, and it's good. Different than the original which is to be expected, but a fun take on it. So you compare and maybe if the original is still overdone in your head the alternate version will be up your alley right now.

Peace.

Year 5, Day 7

Hey guys. So today's song is Feeling Electric by Parade of Lights.

These guys are from LA and are made up of Ryan Daly, Randy Schulte, Michelle Ashley, and Anthony Improgo. Daly and Improgo actually had a band in 2006 called Polus, but that fell to the wayside when they both got too busy being tour musicians. In 2010 though they finally got back together on the music front and formed this group with the others. They've opened for some pretty sick bands such as Imagine Dragons, but this song was my first introduction to them. And no I did not hear this song because of FIFA, I found it in my musical black hole on YouTube and loved it immediately. It just gives you a really good feeling when you listen to it. I don't know if I would classify that feeling as electric per-say, but you be the judge.

Peace.

Year 5, Day 6

Hiya. So today's song is Walls by Slaptop.

So this guy (I think it's just one guy but I'm sorry if I'm wrong) is from San Francisco and has been active since 2014. This song was posted in 2015, but recently (and by recently I'm talking the last couple months) he's released another album. He posts lots of great facts about his music and promotional stuff on the band Facebook page which shows how passionate he is about his music. So don't just listen to this song, go check out the page and give him a chance.

Peace.

Year 5, Day 5

What's Up. Today's song is Run by COIN.

This band is from Tennessee and is made up of Chase Lawrence, Ryan Winnen, Joe Memmel and Zachary Dyke. They've been making music together since 2012, but got super popular thanks to this song in 2015. They met at school and started out with a pretty big following locally, but managed to break out big. I mean they definitely lived in the right place to find a musical start so props to them. I know a bunch of local bands where I live and I can only hope someday they'll break through like these guys. I'm pretty sure I have more of their music saved for later in the year so I'm going to end this here for now. Hopefully this is your kind of thing.

Peace.

Year 5, Day 4

Hello everyone. Today we have Electric Love by BORNS.

So BORNS is a stage name, because his name is actually Garret Borns and he's only a year older than me so I'm super proud that he's so fucking awesome. I will admit to being one of those people who assumed it was a female voice at first listen. Normally I'm pretty good at telling the difference, but I guess I wasn't paying that much attention to gender, I just focused on it being good. He's rocking the androgynous lifestyle so hopefully he wont hold too much against me for the mistake. Fun Fact: when he was a kid, he was a professional magician. I can't even begin to understand how someone becomes classified as a professional not even factoring in doing it at ten years old so mad props to accomplishing that random life chapter. This song is his most popular, but it's from 2015 and he has been popping new stuff out like crazy this year so if you dig the style you should go listen to the rest.

Peace.

Year 5, Day 3

Hi. So today's song is Gone by JR JR.

Now if I'm not mistaken, I've featured them before when they still went by their full name. That would be Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr if anyone feels like going back through my blog and checking. It's was founded by Daniel Zott and Joshua Epstein who did it for fun and not to actually be heard, but you never know what'll happen. I like the name change, but it's still funny knowing the origins of it (plus I love that Dale Earnhadt Jr is a fan.) This song was their debut after the name change and what a debut it is. I also just have to get it out that I kind of love the weirdness that is the music video with all the dancing legs. It's such a simple concept but mesmerizing to watch. What do you guys think?

Peace.

Year 5, Day 2

Hey Guys. Today's song is Without You by Oh Wonder.

This duet is Josephine Vander Gucht and Anthony West, and I absolutely love it. Their voices sound so perfect together, it's just really pleasant to my ears. They both has musical careers before they teamed up. Josephine was solo as herself and under the pseudonym Layla. Anthony was a member of a bunch of bands including Tonight is Goodbye, Futures, and We The Wild. They teamed up in 2014 and started releasing one song a month until a year later they re-released those songs and some bonus material on their self-titled debut album. It's a cool pattern that they've kept up with their newest album having released five songs by the time I'm writing this. So if you like this song you should check out their other stuff.

Peace.

Year 5, Day 1

I'm back!! And I'm really excited because I've been saving these songs for you guys for a long time, so let's get started! Today's song is Dancing On Glass by St. Lucia.

Alright, so this is technically a band and a musical project... which I guess every band could technically be classified anyway, but whatever. It's the brainchild of a guy named Jean-Philip Grobler. He was originally from Johannesburg so shout out to South Africa!! He studied in England, but is based out of New York now. This is a music project because Jean-Philip is the only full time member of the group, while the others are brought on for live performances. Those guys are just as important to what I have heard though so we have to give them acknowledgment too. So props go out to Ross Clark, Nick Paul, Dustin Kaufman, and Patti Beranek. Fun fact: Patti is actually married to Jean-Philip so power couples for the win. I'm only featuring one song that I've had on repeat for the last five months, but their website has a bunch more you should check out and possibly purchase. Hope you like it.

Peace.