MAP December

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AMERICAI Guess I’m Floating
Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele26 Miles
Mississippi-based Dent May has been recording in various southern states since his formative years in high school. After going to college and refining his sound, he emerged with a new act that made use of his self-proclaimed magnificent ukulele. His pleasant pop arrangements, strong vocals and doo-wop-like vocal harmonies will appeal to anyone hoping to hear some happy music. His debut album is due out in February via Animal Collective’s Paw Tracks label. Never underestimate the ukulele.

ARGENTINAZonaindie
Banda de TuristasTodo Mío El Otoño
Mágico Corazón Radiofónico is the first album by Banda de Turistas and it turned out to be one of the biggest surprises of the year. With Mario Caldato Jr. (Beastie Boys) in charge of the mixing, this song reprises the beat sound of ancient Argentine rock bands like Los Gatos.


AUSTRALIAWho The Bloody Hell Are They?
The Philadelphia Grand Jury Going To The Casino (Tomorrow Night)
Three long-time Sydney musicians start the funnest band to come out of the city in the past year. You might have known them in previous lives as one part Berkfinger, two parts The Sweats. Combined, they channel an updated retro rock style that somehow manages to both pay homage to Elvis and sound incredibly cool. Not an easy feat, so respect where it is due.

BRAZILMeio Desligado
Macaco BongBananas For You All
Macaco Bong is an instrumental trio from Cuiabá, considered one of the best live acts in the country. They sound like an original mix of post-rock, alternative metal and free jazz. Their guitarist doesn’t use any pedals or effects, playing his Fender online with overdrive from the amps he uses. The band is part of Espaço Cubo, a collective that works with culture and its social aspects, starting a revolution from the underground.


CANADA
I(Heart)Music
Black Hat BrigadeSwords
Their hiccupped vocals and apocalyptic-sounding music makes bringing up Wolf Parade almost inevitable, but Black Hat Brigade make a pretty convincing argument with their self-titled EP – and particularly with Swords – that they don’t necessarily come off any the worse in the comparison.


CHILESuper 45
Fredi MichelEnganamí (Comeme Remix II)
One of the weirdest and most original bands from Santiago, Fredi Michel are a mix between cumbia, dub and avant pop (via Broadcast). Even though they’ve been playing for years they have only recorded a few songs and some of their friends have made some remixes, such as the one featured here. Fredi Michel have announced they will finally release their debut album next year.


DENMARKPastries, Peppers And Canals…
Oliver North Boy ChoirTonight
Oliver North Boy Choir are the kind of band that Denmark does spectacularly well. Signed to Danish uber-indie label Crunchy Frog, Camilla Florentz, Mikkel Max Hansen and Ivan Petersen release pieces of ethereal beauty via download only. Oh, and they don’t play live either.


ENGLANDThe Daily Growl
Jay Jay PistoletGolden Age
You may not call it a ‘scene’, but there’s only one degree of separation between many of London’s young bands and artists. Jay Jay Pistolet, friend of Mumford & Sons, Derek Meins and no doubt plenty others, is no exception. Not that this is important. Let JJP, who often comes across as a young English version of M Ward, be judged for himself.


GERMANYBlogpartei
Mio MyoSwitch
Switch is the latest single of the Nuremberg-based quad Mio Myo. It can be seen as a description of their sound – a bit ghosty and spheric, a diversity of electronic and analog instruments, and a voice reminiscent of Thom Yorke. Their songs always deserve a second hearing.

ICELANDI Love Icelandic Music
VickyAlien
Vicky, previously called Vicky Pollard (named after the Little Britain character), is one of the coolest new Icelandic rock bands. The band started in November 2006 when they accidentally got together and started jamming in their hometown Hafnarfjörður. They produce a sort of poppy metal or heavy pop. In 2008, these four girls and male drummer recorded their debut album Pull Hard, which was released on the Töfrahellirinn label in October.

IRELANDNialler9
Sunken FoalOn Platinum Rays
The brilliantly titled Sunken Foal (think about it…) is also known as Dunk Murphy of Ambulance. After an appearance on BBC Radio 1’s Mary Ann Hobbs, his debut Fallen Arches has just been released on Planet Mu. The album is a textural, ambient, electronic-acoustic and, most of all, beguiling release of leftfield sounds.


ITALY
Polaroid
ScarletsEvery Waterloo
Young, talented and stylish, Scarlets play nervous and tight songs heavily influenced by new wave. They’ve just released an EP on Angle Records full of love for The Smiths, The Jam and the sharpest Brit sound. They’re definitely a name to keep an eye on in the coming months.


NEW ZEALAND
Counting The Beat
BearcatRed Panda Blues
Bearcat are one of a bunch of new New Zealand bands dabbling in folk influenced indie-pop. Apparently Bearcat is a literal translation of the Latin word for panda, and as well as naming themselves after the endangered mammal, the band have chosen to make pandas the subject of many of their songs too. Bearcat avoid the danger of this resulting in one-line-joke novelty songs by writing catchy and memorable tunes that have every chance of survival.


NORWAYEardrums
The Little Hands Of AsphaltThe Future
The Little Hands Of Asphalt is the solo project of Sjur Lyseid, the singer in the Norwegian indie-pop band Monzano. As TLHOA, he makes warm, sensitive folk-inspired songs, often performed with an acoustic guitar as the main instrument. Sjur Lyseid is a great storyteller and his lyrics are always worth listening to. The song we have for you is a Music Alliance Pact exclusive, taken from his forthcoming debut album Leap Years which will be released in March 2009.

PERUSoTB
Pelo MadueñoEs Hora
After his successful debut album, Ciudad Naufragio, Pelo Madueño returned this year with No Te Salves, an intimate album full of emotions. Based in Spain, Pelo shines as a songwriter and gives us a real insight into the independent scene.


PORTUGALPosso Ouvir Um Disco?
Nuno RanchoNot For Sale
Unready Demo is Nuno Rancho’s first solo work and you can download the other tracks on the EP for free via a link on his MySpace. In 2002, he started playing music in a band called Wheelchair and two years later he formed Kyoto. Today, besides Kyoto, Nuno Rancho still finds time to play and write for TiMaria, an electro-pop trio which has a completely different sound from his other work.


SCOTLANDThe Pop Cop
DotjrMore Than You Know
The Pop Cop only ‘discovered’ Dotjr last week and we were so bowled over there was no choice but to fast-track him into this month’s Music Alliance Pact. Dotjr (pronounced dot-jay-are) is the solo project of James Reeves, a 21-year-old native of the Isle of Lewis, and his joyous, soaring music has the kind of ambitious pop sound that radio DJs fall over themselves to play. More Than You Know is epic, swooning and Christmassy. Pretty much perfect then.


SINGAPOREI’m Waking Up To…
LeesonSome Girls
Leeson are a five-piece indie-pop band from Singapore who play a revelling cocktail of poppy, dancey tunes that will have your feet tapping and singing along to their infectious melodies.


SOUTH KOREAIndieful ROK
The Black SkirtsDog
The Black Skirts is the name used by Castel Prayon and his live band when climbing the digital music charts of Korea. In November the band’s first album, 201, was released. The first song up for promotion was Like Me and people soon heeded the title’s request. For somebody who usually isn’t too keen on being poppy, Castel Prayon sure knew what he was doing when making those songs, and Dog is an excellent example of that.


SPAINEl Blog De La Nadadora
ElurretanMomo Alper Bat Da
Richar and Mikel are from Euskadi and sing in Euskera, their own language. Their songs are inspired by The Beach Boys, Burt Bacharach, Jonathan Richman, Mikel Laboa and C86. You can download their last album, Momo Eta Beste Izaki Batzu, from their website (http://www.elurretan.com). Elurretan love music and want to share their songs with everyone who likes them. Is it possible? I think so.


SWEDENSwedesplease
FrancisBad To The Bone
Francis take the strange blues of The Tallest Man On Earth and add a cabaret atmosphere. Debut single Bad To The Bone sounds like a transgender version of Stevie Ray Vaughn if he/she worked in a travelling eastern European circus and was channelling Tom Waits.

To download all 21 songs in one file click here:
http://www.zshare.net/download/52722654820bd62c/

 

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