Secret Birds – ‘Laser Archipelago’

Here’s another tune I’ve been meaning to post since forever. It’s from the excellent album/36minute-long EP ‘Peace Forrest’ by Brisbane’s Secret Birds, which I highly recommend for anyone who is fan of the like of Sun Araw, Peaking Lights, or even Tame Impala’s more adventurous listeners. (If those references are lost on you, imagine the aural equivalent of the above photo).

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Faux Pas recently (within the last few months anyway) put out a collection of left-overs from his last album. Thing is, I actually prefer it to that album. Even better, you can get it for free right here.

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A sweet jam from new uber-label Rice is Nice signee Donny Benet. Word has it he’s the son of an Italo-disco accordianist – who knew that shit was genetic?

Donny Bénet – Don’t Hold Back – Donny Bénet by Rice Is Nice

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To download all 36 songs in one file click here

ARGENTINA: Zonaindie
Marcelo Ezquiaga – El Gaucho Vive y Muere En Su Ley
Although Hombre Golpe is his second album as a solo artist, Marcelo Ezquiaga’s career started with a musical project called Mi Tortuga Montreaux, which gave us three amazing records between 2003 and 2006. El Gaucho Vive y Muere En Su Ley is one of our favorite songs from this new work, which comprises his acoustic-pop signature with strong melodies and fine arrangements. As he likes to say: rock without guitars.

AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
Mildlife – Milk & Wool
Milk & Wool is a sweet jam and the first we’ve heard from Mildlife – a new loose, electronic outfit from Melbourne. It’s a good sign from a band that manages to mix light and dark with interesting production and a strong pop sensibility.

BRAZIL: Meio Desligado
Eskimo – Cavalo De Fogo
It’s hard to define Cavalo De Fogo, the first single from Eskimo’s debut album. The breadth of genres covered, including pop and alternative, results in some intriguing music. One of the highlights of the current Brazilian indie scene.

CANADA: I(Heart)Music
Socalled – Work With What You Got
Hip-hop? Klezmer? Folk? Pop? Gospel? Some insane, wonderful combination of all of that (and then some)? There’s so much going on on Socalled’s newest album, Sleepover, that I have no idea how I’d classify it. Oh wait, I do: as a simply great album. Work With What You Got captures the album’s sense of fun, but only shows a fraction of the wide range of genres it displays.

CHILE: Super 45
Adrianigual – Arde Santiago
After a four-year break, Adrianigual is back. Big time. Their new album, …xito Mundial (released on Sello Cazador), is a punk-hearted but dancefloor-driven collection of feverish songs. Arde Santiago is their second single.

CHINA: Wooozy
AM444 – Eye Wonder
AM444 is the Shanghai-based project of singer ChaCha (Kode9, Clive Chin, Jimi Tenor, Desto, etc) and Dutch producer/DJ Jay.Soul (Mr. Windmill & Jay.Soul, Sole Profit, Cecilia Stalin, etc). After years of thoughts, discussions and drunken promises, the pair have finally been in the studio for the past few months and the result is their eight-song debut release Eye Wonder. It’s a jazzy, funked up, dubbed out Chinese language sonic assault and some of the most exciting music to come out of Shanghai in a while, already receiving radio play in London, LA, Europe and around Asia. Eye Wonder is a landmark release for Chinese underground music.

COLOMBIA: Colombia Urbana
Marita – PequeÒa
Marita has been writing lyrics since she was a little girl, although she never knew where they would end up. The single PequeÒa (“Little Girl”) is a resume of her own history and a good illustration of her electro-rock sound.

DENMARK: All Scandinavian
Why Don’t We Love Lucy – With You
In March, Danish/Norwegian quartet Why Don’t We Love Lucy released their debut EP, CPH-OSL, which serves up foot-moving club-funk-pop (slap bass included) with a light ring of the 80s and 90s to the five catchy tracks. A new EP is in the works, with a release planned for this autumn, but here’s the excellent With You from the debut for you to enjoy.

ENGLAND: The Guardian Music Blog
Leopard Of Honour – Teenage Fantod
David Roocroft is a Manchester boy who calls himself Leopard Of Honour and, like Oxford’s Chad Valley, counts himself as one of the British musicians doing similar things with synths and samplers to America’s chillwave artists such as Washed Out and Toro Y Moi. His instrumental Teenage Fantod, named after a “an archaic phrase for quivery anxiety used a lot by David Foster Wallace”, was described as “effortlessly lovely and languid” in a recent New Band of the Day column, adding that it was “pop music with experimental urges and precious little retro intent”.

ESTONIA: Popop
Barthol Lo Mejor – Pick Up Track
You’ve partied but not this wild! Barthol Lo Mejor jumpstarts your night with trash electro. It sounds fresh, upbeat and raw like Justice, MSTRKRFT and Huoratron. His performance drives you further, guiding you with his signature sound and bouncing around in a flashy outfit to provide vanity, energy and edge. Don’t just listen, but enjoy it all.

FINLAND: Glue
Satellite Stories – Family
These four young lads from the Arctic city of Oulu play music to bring you nostalgia from events you never really experienced, like the 60s, the first kiss from your elementary school crush and the time you and your best friend bought that awesome 45 single and listened it on your parents’ record player. Satellite Stories bring all these feelings with cheerful and fast-paced indie music influenced by Vampire Weekend and The Wombats.

FRANCE: Yet You’re Fired
Mondrian – Or Unicorn
Mondrian are a young Parisian pop band formed in 2007. After releasing their first EP last year, Popshop, they dropped another one, Whippersnapper, just a month ago. Catchy beats, fresh voices and a talent for writing will surely bring them some success. They take everything that’s good in pop to make the best out of it, creating addictive and lovely songs with a high repeat listen potential.

GERMANY: Blogpartei
Petula – Wives
Where have they been all these years, playful electro-inspired German artists writing and reinterpreting great songs? Berlin-based Petula definitely is one of those with a wide and emphatic spectrum of styles. Wives is a wary, slightly more uptempo, more electronic cover of a Savoy Grand song. It has just been released on a split EP with all-girl band Candelilla.

GREECE: Mouxlaloulouda
Gravitysays_i – The Urge Of Identity / The Figures Of Enormous Grey
It’s hard not to stare in open-mouthed amazement at the sheer brilliance of Gravitysays_i’s superbly executed, intensely creative and nearly flawless sophomore album, The Figures Of Enormous Grey And The Patterns Of Fraud. They bring together experimental, dark, atmospheric elements along with Greek and Eastern traditional music and examine social values, institutions and morality as an extension of individual, as well as collective, conscience with an emotional clarity and narrative acuity that makes it an undeniable triumph.

ICELAND: Icelandic Music Maffia
Morning After Youth – Lived
Morning After Youth is a four-piece band with a smooth and artsy sound to their music. They are working on their first album which will hopefully be ready this summer. Lived was recorded in the famous Studio S˝rland with Adda 800 and Bˆrkur.

INDIA: Indiecision
Goddess Gagged – Visionary
Goddess Gagged is a metal band from Mumbai. The band channel melodic post-hardcore in the vein of acts like Architects and Alexisonfire, a foundation given legs by frontman Siddharth Basrur’s almost effervescent vocal delivery. Visionary is a new track, presumably from the band’s upcoming debut album. We suggest you keep your eyes and ears open for that.

INDONESIA: Deathrockstar
Polyester Embassy – Space Travel Rock N Roll
Polyester Embassy have a deep affection for noises, sounds and a vintage synthesizer. After years of experimenting, they’re bringing out a second album which sounds like Pink Floyd/Flaming Lips/Mogwai/Ride/Spiritualized mixed raw into their own characteristic.

IRELAND: Nialler9
Ghost Estates – Paris
The members of the newly-formed Ghost Estates were previously of two pretty different bands SickBoy and 8Ball. Their new band may be named “after the thousands of abandoned housing estates built in Ireland during the Celtic Tiger boom years” but there’s plenty going on in their music, from 80s guitar to processed beats to a spoken word interludes and, I kid you not, a treated saxophone solo.

ISRAEL: Metal Israel
Sumo Elevator – Pedal Horse
Sumo Elevator is a group of five ex-metalheads with short hair mixing prog-rock/metal, electronica jazz and breakbeat into intense atmospheric electro-fusion pop-rock. Their eclectic line-up consists of traditional rock/jazz instruments (electric guitar, bass guitar and acoustic drums) and turntables, noise boxes, samplers and modern synthesizers. With two years of live performance and studio experience under their belts, Sumo Elevator is about to release a full-length album in 2011 called Breakfast, which Pedal Horse is taken from.

ITALY: Polaroid
Karibean – We Need The Sun
First day at the sea, the sun is shining, friends all around, Beach Boys playing on the jukebox, see The Housemartins on a surf, meet Vampire Weekend at the bar. It’s all just perfect. One last thing: go here and download Karibean’s free debut EP. It would be the icing on the cake.

MEXICO: Red Bull PanameriKa
Pellejos – Abuelita
Take some inspiration from Jack Kerouac’s Mexico City Blues and recite it on a cantina filled with the country’s intellectual crËme de la crËme, then leave them dumbfounded with the evocation of images of decay, corruption and nihilism. Pellejos started in 2005 when some refusing-to-age contemporary art-farts took a late chance to form a band led by visual artist (now bassist) Daniel Guzm·n. What seemed to be just some art-wank has endured six years of sporadic gigs that led to bear a (rotten) fruit with a debut LP – a fetid collection of ethylic spoken word from the hoarse mouth of vocalist Ignacio Perales, backed by what sounds like Tindersticks from the Third World. Abuelita is just a random nonsense collection of excuses to fall back into old patterns of drinking. Cheers!

NETHERLANDS: Unfold Amsterdam
Skip & Die – La Cumbia Dictadura
Skip & Die is a Netherlands-based outfit that began as a globally-infused collaboration between South African vocalist/visual artist Cata.Pirata and producer Jori Collignon (also of Dutch electronic experimentalists C-Mon & Kypski and Nobody Beats The Drum), although these days they’re a fully-fledged live band. Via their travels through the towns and cities of South Africa, they’ve forged a contemporary and vibrant wall of sound that mixes electro, hip hop, Afrobeat and South American grooves. While specialising in sexy party bass hits that remind at times of Diplo’s Major Lazer, there’s always a more considered side to their art than simply noise and dance as Music Alliance Pact exclusive La Cumbia Dictadura shows.

NEW ZEALAND: Einstein Music Journal
Cool Cult – Skulls
New Zealand’s best young exponents of shoegaze styled no-wave. Described by UK music blog Sonic Masala as “beautifully formed nuggets of sound that are brimming with exuberance and ebullience”, Cool Cult’s noisy rhetoric is a mixture of early Deerhunter and discordant Canadian punk wizards Women. Their debut album Try Crunch is full of carcinogenic guitar hooks and elegant vocal melodies, with a refreshingly mature approach to constructing traditional pop music. Skulls is the band’s first single, featuring an observantly sleepy vocal melody overwhelmed by a crushing wave of distorted guitar.

NORWAY: Birds Sometimes Dance
Ihab – ∆ MÂ FÊr
Who would have thought that Bod¯, a small city in northern Norway, would harbor so much good indie. So far there’s Cold Mailman, Kollwitz, KrÂkes¯lv and now Gabriel and Ihab, both on newly started Beyond Records. Ihab make quirky indie-rock reminiscent of 90s heroes like Pavement and Built To Spill as well as newer bands like Cymbal Eat Guitars and Algernon Cadwallader.

PERU: SoTB
Iv·n Fajardo – Calma
Iv·n Fajardo is a constant in the musical innovation of Lima. In the first edition of MAP in October 2008, we had ERA, his band at that time. More recently Ivan has been working alone. Calma is the first preview of his new direction and is accompanied by a video that combines well the relaxed mood of the song. Iv·n Fajardo is recording a video for his next single, which is worth keeping an eye out for.

PORTUGAL: Posso Ouvir Um Disco?
Kubik – Shina-Kak
Victor Afonso, a musician, music teacher and cinephile, had his first release as Kubik in 1999. Since then he has had a steady flow of releases and collaborations. His great love for cinema and music for films shows in his work. His talent has been recognized by artists such as Mike Patton, who invited him to open for FantÙmas. Shina-Kak is an exclusive download for MAP, taken from Psicotic Jazz Hall, which has just been released.

ROMANIA: Babylon Noise
Toulouse Lautrec – Yesman
With a name that recalls the famous French painter, the Bucharest trio started in 2009 as an alternative rock band with post-punk flavours. Although their image in the Romanian media is promoted through neo-Dadaist elements, there is nothing absurd in their music. The prominent basslines and the upfront beats remind me of Editors but without those dark guitar riffs. Whimsical and witty, Toulouse Lautrec is what you need now to give your day a push.

SCOTLAND: The Pop Cop
Song Of Return – Trajectory
Trajectory simmers menacingly in a premeditated assault to the senses for two minutes before the drums crash in like a lightning strike and you very quickly realise your Facebook ‘like’ button just isn’t going to suffice. The Glasgow-based alternative dance band (who will appeal to fans of Delphic) is fronted by Craig Grant, formerly of Union Of Knives, and also features Louis Abbott, singer of Admiral Fallow, one of this country’s best new bands.

SINGAPORE: I’m Waking Up To…
Humming Kitten – Monochrome
Little is known of Humming Kitten, and we get the impression they’d like to keep it that way. It is a little disconcerting at first, approaching this musical project without any preconceived ideas of who or what the band members are, and appreciating their musical ideas purely at face value and on first impressions. However, once you soak it all in, you might feel that they’ve been there all along, lurking at your blogs or gigs. Revealing the chief conspirator as an entity known as Keyboard Cat, and that they favour a lo-fi noise-pop approach to their pieces, Humming Kitten ultimately sound so lonely with solitude as their ally.

SOUTH AFRICA: Musical Mover & Shaker!
Simfonika Island – African Sunset
Simfonika Island is a project made up of two very talented individuals, Gianni Capri and Donny Halo. Both have diverse musical backgrounds, one from a very DJ-orientated world and one from a band. With African Sunset comes a song that crosses South African house with the influences of house music from New York City and Europe, all accompanied with some stirring piano and a dash of deep groove. It’s magical.

SOUTH KOREA: Indieful ROK
Pigibit5 – Y.O.N.H.A
Sweet indie-pop act Pigibit5 claims kitsch to be the best description of its music, which is heavily based around a twee-pop and chamber-pop sound, also citing influences from folk and hard rock. The band is what remains of Pirigwa – where Ireland’s So Cow on occasion could be found playing an instrument or two – and the members have returned to their former label, Beatball, with the release of first full-length album Cherryboy Revolution a few weeks ago. Y.O.N.H.A is a cheerful tune with a retro pop sound.

SPAIN: Musikorner
Fur Voice – Wimp
Fur Voice is the stage name of David Gracia, an actor and singer born in Murcia and living in Barcelona since 2006. Inspired by electronic and psychedelic acts such as Grizzly Bear and Animal Collective, Fur Voice builds a dark extraterrestrial atmosphere in his debut album, Onto Endo (self-produced and self-released). The first single off Onto Endo, Wimp, takes the best from noise, post-rock and psychedelia and turns it into a dreamy, catchy, epic tune with an ending that leaves you wanting more.

SWEDEN: Swedesplease
BitRobot – She’s An Android
I’m always on the lookout for 8bit pop or C64 stuff. I’ve heard a lot over the years but still don’t consider myself an expert. Still, from my perspective this new record from BitRobot called Nebula, which She’s An Android is taken from, does something I haven’t yet heard. He personalizes the music, taking a completely computer-based sub-genre and gives it a touch of humanity.

SWITZERLAND: 78s
Huck Finn – Sofia
Huck Finn is the moniker of two singer-songwriters who teamed up for a project. Four years ago they won a few music prizes in Switzerland but they struggled to deliver a proper record. On the second attempt they succeeded. Breaking In, their debut album, is bombastic and emotional at the same time. Sofia, their first radio single, will make you weep like a dog.

UNITED STATES: I Guess I’m Floating
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. – Morning Thought
The Detroit duo released their full-length debut, It’s A Corporate World, earlier this month, just in time for summer. It’s the perfect season for this record too, full of catchy guitar riffs, melodious vocal harmonies and an added layer of production missing from their earlier works. Morning Thought hops along with glitchy effects, handclaps and enough thoughtful xylophone to keep wandering ears at bay.

VENEZUELA: M˙sica y M·s
Elefreak feat. El Prieto – RockMafia
In Venezuela, not many rock and rap bands interact. But a couple of months ago, one of the most iconic rock bands, Elefreak, coupled with one of the great exponents of hip hop in the country and created RockMafia, a song loaded with great strength and lyrics that leave a message of reflection. Elefreak’s nine-track record can be downloaded for free from their website.

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Mildlife – ‘Milk and Wool’

Sweet jam from a new loose electronic outfit from Melbourne, Mildlife. The above single is being launched at The Toff on on June 9th with Absolute Boys and Cocks Arquette.

www.myspace.com/mildlife

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To download all 36 songs in one file click here

ARGENTINA: Zonaindie
Pablo Krantz – Et C’est Ainsi Que Tu T’en Vas
Pablo Krantz is a well-established musician and writer born in Buenos Aires. After making a name for himself in the local alternative scene with two great albums, he moved to Paris for several years, where he released an album in which he sings entirely in French. Démonos Cita En Una Autopista (Para Volvernos A Estrellar) is his fifth record, and the first one since he returned to Argentina. A mix between these two stages in Krantz’s career, Et C’est Ainsi Que Tu T’en Vas is a great song to start digging into his work.

AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
Chet Faker – No Diggity
Chet Faker is a new electronic artist on the Melbourne scene. His tie-dye facial hair + wifebeater singlet + smoooooooth cover of a bangin’ 90s anthem has definitely brought him some attention. TOP THIS. No, this isn’t a (total) joke – it’s a sweet 2011 treatment for a song that many people probably didn’t think was worth a revisit.

BRAZIL: Meio Desligado
Lise – Parece Constantina
Parece Constantina is a preview of Qualquer Frágil Fio de Fantasia, the new album from Lise, which is the side-project of multi-instrumentalist Daniel Nunes (drummer of the band Constantina, who played at this year’s SXSW). The name of the song means “sounds like Constantina”, in reference to his main band. Despite being a very experimental post-rock/electronic project, this track dialogues with hip hop through the vocals from members of Zimun and increases the musical spectrum of the genre.

CANADA: I(Heart)Music
The Guest Bedroom – Tough Luck
Buzzing guitars, thundering drums, impassioned female vocals… Sleater-Kinney and their grrrl-y ilk may be gone, but The Guest Bedroom show they’re not forgotten. For three albums now – up to their most recent, A Year’s Supply Of Rabbit’s Feet – TGB have shown that there’s plenty of life in a genre too many people thought died at the turn of the century and, as songs like Tough Luck show, they know how to make that old music sound as fresh and as vital as ever.

CHILE: Super 45
Megajoy – Rainbow Drama
“Techno sudaka sci-fi from the information age” – that’s how Megajoy (alias for Hector Llanquín) defines his peculiar musical view. Nervous beats, insane samples and a million pop references per second are the raw materials which Megajoy works with. His debut album Avidya (self-released, 2011), available for free download on his website, is a collection of twisted dance songs with a strong sense of humor and a subversive spirit, making this record one of this year’s essentials.

CHINA: Wooozy
Shanren – Thirty Years
Yunnan folk-rock phenomenon Shanren fuse Yunnan/Guizhou indigenous music with various modern styles to produce a fresh sound as accessible as it is unique. They aim to promote and preserve the combined and diverse heritage of Yunnan and Guizhou’s many ethnic minority groups through their own original compositions and reworkings of local folk melodies.

COLOMBIA: Colombia Urbana
Katamaran – Ella No Es Como Tu
Katamaran is a ska band from Bucaramanga. Their most recent album, Imparable, mixes horns with others styles including rap. This single, Ella No Es Como Tu, is in the Colombian indie chart.

DENMARK: All Scandinavian
Mescalin, Baby – She’s Near, She’s Near, She’s Here
Mescalin, Baby release their full-length debut, Air Air, on May 23, following up on 2009’s debut EP, No Time For The Old In-Out Love, which earned the quintet both praise and airplay. The retro-orientated rock with splashes of folk on the forthcoming album stands a good chance of repeating the success, and I’m happy to be able to share She’s Near, She’s Near, She’s Here with you as a MAP exclusive.

ENGLAND: The Guardian Music Blog
Ben Howard – Empty Corridors (Live)
Male British singer-songwriters are hardly thin on the ground and yet, even given the crowded market, Ben Howard stands out. A 24-year-old Devon boy with a penchant for surfing, he’s just released an EP on the Mumford-affiliated Communion label and has signed thereafter to Island – he apparently inked the deal because of their history with Nick Drake and John Martyn. And that’s Howard all over: folk-pop with substance and class. On this, a live version of Empty Corridors, he showcases, as a recent New Band of the Day article put it, a “guitar sound that recalls Drake’s complex tunings, while every so often you expect his gently gruff tones to start warbling Martyn’s Bless The Weather”. Marvellous.

ESTONIA: Popop
Kali Briis – Home Alone
After releasing some EPs, two of them available for free here, Kali Briis is finally bringing out his full-length debut album Homewrecker on May 16. Kali doesn’t care much about borders of genres, feeling equally comfortable in R’n’B, electro, hip-hop or any other style he feels like trying. MAP exclusive Home Alone from the new album is a full-on handmade electro track featuring synths, guitars, bass and drums all played by Kali himself.

FINLAND: Glue
Mummypowder – A House
After a few years struggling with the precarious stability of an indie band, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Janne Lehtinen got his mummies together and this month he is finally publishing Mummypowder’s long-awaited fourth album. The first single, A House, is a melodic power-pop ballad with Janne’s vocals upfront accompanied by layers of guitars to build up an intense momentum.

FRANCE: Yet You’re Fired
Porco Rosso – 10.000 Lieues À La Ronde
Singing pop in French is not easy, and not every band gives it a try, but some brilliantly succeed, as Porco Rosso show. Formed in 2002, the three members have found their own style – a balance between their influences and their personality. After releasing two EPs (2004, 2006), they dropped their LP, La Vie Sans Moi (“Life Without Me”), last year. You might not understand the lyrics of 10.000 Lieues À La Ronde, but you don’t have to – the rhythm and the vocals are too catchy not to appreciate.

GERMANY: Blogpartei
Angela Aux – Smells Like Screen Spirit
Angela Aux is the solo project of Heiner Hendrix aka Flo from last year’s MAP featured L’egojazz. He calls the style of his recently released debut, Whatever You Guess It’s Not, weird Kraut-folk. Smells Like Screen Spirit is a fine mélange of groovy, catchy bass, scratchy sound effects and melancholic vocals. It will fit perfectly with a summer sunset at your local lake when you’re cheerful as well as blue.

GREECE: Mouxlaloulouda
May Roosevelt – Dark The Night
May Roosevelt’s sophomore, self-released album harnesses a spectrum of emotions unveiling a dark and reclusive universe defined by motion and dance. Rhythms rich with contemporary elements weaved on theremin sounds, electronic beats and synthesizers coalesce with evocative melodies drawing on Greek traditional musical heritage. Every note is considered and played with care and a sense of craft. The more you listen to it, the more it falls into place and traps you under its spell.

ICELAND: Icelandic Music Maffia
Nolo – Pretty Face
Nolo is a young, very promising band from Reykjavik. They are two 18-year-old guys, Nonnji Lorange and Ivör Björnsson, who had already played together in different bands for some years before they deceided to work together as Nolo. They record all their music with lo-fi equipment in Ivör’s basement, using two guitars (electric and acoustic) and an organ.

INDIA: Indiecision
Peter Cat Recording Co – Love Demons
Peter Cat Recording Co is one of the newest, freshest young talents to emerge out of the growing Indian indie music scene. The quartet from New Delhi create orchestral soundscapes that throw Neutral Milk Hotel and disco Bollywood in a washing machine with cabaret Tide. Love Demons represents this musical laundry cycle perfectly. The song, one of the highlights of the band’s wholly refreshing debut album Sinema, channels Quincy Jones and Bappi Lahiri for five minutes of an exciting car chase through the crowded streets of Delhi.

INDONESIA: Deathrockstar
Swimming Elephants – Sarah
Swimming Elephants are a collective of young people who write complex arrangements of pop music pieces using simple chords. They are one of the best newcomers in the Indonesian indie scene.

IRELAND: Nialler9
Le Galaxie – Midnight Midnight
Dublin-based mischievous visualists Le Galaxie release their debut album Laserdisc Nights II on June 10 after a few years honing their astral night-time music. Midnight Midnight is a perfect indicator of the four-piece band thus far: thumping electro, sci-fi synths, big 80s drum drops and vocals that make you go “woooooooo”. TUNE.

ISRAEL: Metal Israel
Spawn Of Evil – First Stone
Spawn Of Evil is an iconic death metal band that’s been on the Israeli scene for 13 years. Guitarist Miko Haronian describes First Stone as not “so political as it looks – more reality. Some leaders say ‘Destroy Israel’ all day long and the world is silent… so this is our answer to this – come on, try!” Spawn Of Evil mixes rambunctious gleeful energy release with quality meat and potatoes death metal. They are seeking a label for their latest album, Ecstatic Aggressive Behavior. Check them out.

ITALY: Polaroid
Quakers And Mormons – New York Town
Maolo and Mancho are from the band My Awesome Mixtape, which was featured in the June 2009 edition of MAP. Now they’ve started a new project, more hip-hop oriented. Think of a sound influenced by Anticon and Antipop Consortium, and mixed with some of the sumptuous TV On The Radio arrangements. Add dark lyrics delivered with an apocalyptical strain and, bang, you have this killer debut album, aptly named Evolvotron.

MEXICO: Red Bull PanameriKa
Aeiou – Vivimos In L.A.
Aeiou’s album Space Hymn is the unexpected joint venture between elfin vocalist Juan Son and Simone Pace (Blonde Redhead’s drummer), with some surprising collaborations with Kelley Deal (The Breeders) and an unnamed, mysterious character. Vivimos In L.A. (“We Live In L.A.”), reflects the city-hopping lifestyle experienced by the members: Simone has lived in Milan, Montreal, Boston and New York; while Juan, born in Guadalajara, has also had L.A. and the Big Apple as homes. Irrespective of the passports, the song and album show touches of ethereal, androgynous space-beauty.

NETHERLANDS: Unfold Amsterdam
Aux Raus – Oh No, It’s Them!
You can technically get away with calling this Amsterdam duo’s music ‘electro punk’, but whereas most bands courting such a label want to fuse those two elements, Aux Raus come across like a drunken punch-up between them – the wiry punk riffs and roars virtually taunting the techno and gabba-spewing drum machines. And that’s just the start of a series of contrasts which include: songs channelling equal measures of political fury and silliness; that they’re part anonymous anarcho-freaks and part leaders of style cool; and that they’re at their best wreaking havoc in a club with 300 moshing kids but can easily transfer such energy to headlining festivals. This track is from their newly released third album, All Creeping Things Stopped Creeping.

NEW ZEALAND: Einstein Music Journal
Sheep,Dog&Wolf – Not Aquatic
A MAP premiere – former Bandicoot drummer Daniel McBride presents his solo project Sheep,Dog&Wolf, leaving behind his punk roots to weave a complex fusion of Motown, jazz and pop music. After months recording in his bedroom, the 17-year-old multi-instrumentalist’s music resembles a young Sufjan Stevens, layered with strings, horns and percussion, while curious time signatures and his beautifully incandescent voice balance an unusual amalgamation of whimsically flirtatious styles.

NORWAY: Birds Sometimes Dance
Burning God Little – Notes On Being Snowblind
Martin Hartgren aka Burning God Little has been played quite a lot on Norwegian radio lately. Call it chillwave, call it dreampop, bedroom electronic, samplertronica, even shoegaze – whatever it is, it’s great. You can easily hear inspiration from Neon Indian, Washed Out, Panda Bear and Gold Panda, but he’s never a dull copy. He has his own way of mixing heavy backbeat drumbeats, samples and sometimes hauntingly beautiful harmonies and melodies.

PERU: SoTB
Pilotocopiloto – Infante
Pilotocopiloto is an instrumental rock duo consisting of Carlos Freyre and Juan Pablo Aragon. Their music can be described as a powerful fusion of guitar and drums, with their interest in experimentation allowing them to dabble in minimalist ambient sounds and psychedelic effects. This mixture fills their instrumental songs with freshness. They recently released their self-titled debut album which is just as well because Infante definitely makes you want more.

PORTUGAL: Posso Ouvir Um Disco?
Norton – Two Points
Norton is band from a city in the center of Portugal with a considerable fanbase and three albums to their name. Their latest one, Layers Of Love United, is a turning point for the band after their lead singer left and was replaced by one of the members who used to be on backing vocals. They have toured Europe and have had quite favorable international reviews.

ROMANIA: Babylon Noise
Blue Nipple Boy – Bear Comes Naked
Blue Nipple Boy are actually four boys from Bucharest, ready to conquer the music scene with an indie/alternative approach. Although new to it, they are rapidly increasing their fanbase with each single. And how could people not like the smooth rhythms, catchy lyrics and good vibes their songs have? The guys are working on their first album, but till then, I give you their freshly released third single, Bear Comes Naked, which will soon have a video as well.

SCOTLAND: The Pop Cop
We See Lights – My Oh My Oh My
Let’s see if you can guess what We See Lights sound like before you listen to them. The group hosted an event this month called The Twee Jamboree in their native Edinburgh with live music and home baking, while their new Twee Love Pop EP features a song entitled I Hope You Like The Smiths. I think you get the picture. My Oh My Oh My is by far their finest moment to date – it’s an utterly adorable anthem for the lovestruck and has some delightful banjo playing. Check out Bandcamp or iTunes for more of their music.

SINGAPORE: I’m Waking Up To…
Monster Cat – Mannequins
It intertwines like a ball of yarn unraveling as feline claws playfully pounce upon their five-track debut EP Mannequins. The guilty party is collectively known as Monster Cat, who at first mention do not hint at their psycho-folk-rock tendencies. Yet, as you sink deeper into their depravity, it starts to make perfect sense. Mannequins is a bold debut that bares all and holds nothing back, along with all the vulnerability of a gentle kitten. You can download their EP for free via their website during the month of May and pledge your allegiance.

SOUTH AFRICA: Musical Mover & Shaker!
The Pretty Blue Guns – Shed Your Skin
The Pretty Blue Guns are four best friends who love making a noise. With their second album, Shed Your Skin, they abandoned any expectations people might have had and the result is a record that is deeply personal and shows the band’s growth. The first single, Shed Your Skin, is an introspective look at life and people around them aptly showing off their self-described sound – a mix of “blues, rock ‘n’ roll, country, soul – all put together in a little wooden box, doused in gasoline, set alight”.

SOUTH KOREA: Indieful ROK
Paryumchiakdan – A Night Of Wine
Paryumchiakdan, which translates as “The Infamous Orchestra”, was formed three years ago with the vision of making music based on 70s punk-rock with an East Asian pop sound, playing it as if they were a 60s garage rock band. The sound has changed a bit since, but the members still cite GO!GO!7188 and Korean psychedelic musicians of the 70s such as Kim Jung Mi as influences. The band recently self-released their first EP, A Night Of Wine, and the title track has an awesome modern retro sound that invites foot-tapping.

SPAIN: Musikorner
El Estudiante Larry – Mejor Que Yo
Formed in Murcia, a city renowned for its hot indie music scene, El Estudiante Larry is frontman Larry Sandoval and fellow musicians Víctor, Seka and Porras. After releasing three CD-Rs (available for free download), they collaborated with #Fo – side-project of Klaus & Kinski’s Álex Martínez – to release a split EP, Gulag Split, which can be downloaded for free on Bandcamp. El Estudiante Larry songs can be made from psychedelic beats, a classic indie sound or even a Nashville rock taste, which is the case with Mejor Que Yo, the last but not least track on the EP.

SWEDEN: Swedesplease
Masquer – Happiness
Super lo-fi indie-rock that reminds one of 1/3 Cure, 1/3 Siouxsie Sioux and 1/3 Madonna. Count me in! Masquer is the new side-project of Kiki from Lowood/Idora and Pelle of Idora. The new song is called Happiness and continues to play to the band’s strengths – mainly its 80s retro indie-rock sound and the spellbinding vocals of Kiki. Lyrically, its anti-establishment lyrics and chorus of “I’ll never conform” would be a perfect addition to the soundtracks of any John Hughes films from that period.

SWITZERLAND: 78s
We Love Machines – Carpentizer (feat. Orlando Menthol)
The two Swiss guys from We Love Machines nailed our attention a year ago. They caused a big stir with Ed Banger-influenced sounds that totally hit it. Now they’ve released their debut, which is actually full of hits and some surprises. One of them is the Balkan-esque electro tune Carpentizer which features another Swiss electronic genius, Orlando Menthol, and some Swiss-German singing parts.

UNITED STATES: I Guess I’m Floating
Auditorium – Sunday
Auditorium (formerly Field) is the work of Spencer Berger, whose debut album Be Brave was released in January. Berger specializes in ‘glam-folk’, whereby theatrical, multi-layered vocal harmonies shine throughout the album, telling stories of love, nature, cities and people in a remarkably engaging way. Auditorium is beginning to make waves in LA and beyond – get on board now before your friends are barking at you about it in a few months.

VENEZUELA: Música y Más
La Abuela Disco – 4.30
La Abuela Disco is an alternative rock, post-grunge and electronic-influenced band formed in Acarigua (Portuguesa) in mid-2009. In late April, they finally released their first studio album Polvo Lunar, a name that fits perfectly with its sound. It can be downloaded for free at the band’s website.

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No Anchor – ‘Wolves Bite and Disappear’ (mp3)

www.noanchorband.com

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