Soy Un Caballo (meaning, 'I am a horse' in Spanish) is a beautiful Belgian couple, but unfortunately they are not fair to themselves. They are from the land of chocolate, but sound lighter than air, like softspun candyfloss. They claim to be horses, but this is a plain understatement; they are much more than a just a horse, but rather a rainbow-coloured, winged unicorn. This duo, neither Spanish or French (like the name of their album, Les Hueres De Raison would suggest), Aurélie Muller and Thomas Van Cottom have created something enlightening; bossanova for faeries, lullabies for nymphs.
Aurélie and Thomas have lived to together for nine years, during two years they have created Soy Un Caballo. Their debut album was created in their home, each song named after a room. Each song is its own, working by a seperate law, just like countries. This duos tunes are seemingly simple, but you'll be glad to know there isn't a single wasted note or melody. Everything is created with much precision and attention to details, leaving the finished product honeycoated and sweet, yet never sickly enough to turn your stomach. The harmonies are smooth and content, the collection of sounds (vibraphones, Fender Rhodes and Wurlitzers) is absolutely enchanting. Soy Un Caballo are as sophisticated as a Parisian boulevard, as diffident as exhaled Gauloise smoke, as cool as Jean-Pul Satre, and as romantic as the Left Bank. It's difficult to describe this music, and what a wonder it is to the ears...uplifting, calming, refreshing. You'll have to hear these happy sounds and voices for yourself!

Listen!
La Bibliothèque
Robin
Volet

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Labels: belgium

From my mother's side of the family, there is a genetic passed on that gives me some naturalistic talent in feeling connected with the Earth and its many forms of nature. In fact, a few years ago when I listened to Mi & L'au with my auntie (who is a healer) for the first time, we both established that this music can only be the product of inspiration by nature. So it only came as half a surprise when after some research I found this beautiful duo writes and records all their music in a small cabin deep in the heart of the Finnish forests. The story goes that Mira Romantschuk, who is Finnish, was working as part-time model in Paris, and Laurent Leclère, who is French, was working in the music industry. Eventually the two met, and fell into deep love. Unsuccessfully not being able to find a home in Paris, they eventually moved to the heart of the Finnish forests, so they could be alone together in peace and to spend their time discovering each other and their music.
To describe the sound...well, there just is not enough pretty words! This is very visual music, painted in your mind. A thin creek running through the dark thicket of a forest at night, a cosy wooden cabin lit by golden lights, porcelain hands covered in wool mittens. With so many pictures conjured, it is difficult to believe the music is so sparse and elegant; Mi's soft voice accompany the instruments and guitar strings of L'au, creating the space that one might imagine in a winter Finnish landscape. The songs are like clocks, picking and ticking with the tenderness that is often underestimated today. Candles flicker, merry-go-rounds spin in dizzying motion, feathers brush against skin, and we are left hypnotised, in awe of the magic cast by Mi & L'au.

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Merry Go Round
Philosopher
They Marry

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Labels: Finland, France

Pacific UV make this impression on me as foreign beings travelled from the cosmos, who finally came to rest on Earth, probably under the water of the sea. But as far as my imagination takes me, the facts say that in fact Pacific UV are a band formed in Athens, Georgia in 1998. Now residing in Portland, Oregon, the band have established their signature sound; loveable and drenched with the peaceful emotion that's seemingly difficult to come by in this busy world. The wonderful thing about this sort of shoegaze/dream pop inspired music is that the movement is so soft and flowing, like a paper boat drifting across a lake. There are no jumps or bumps, just billowing instrumentation and vocals sung at a low register, sounding as a voice would if it was carried through the clouds. Pacific UV's music is simple in structure, an easy listen because it takes the individual to the dream location of choice; a floating beach island in the sky, a glass house in the center of Spain, the space between different dimensions. Many ambient drones mixed with electronic sounds and breathy vocals whispering secrets, it is a guarentee that your eardrums will be soothed by Pacific UV, a perfect way to end the day...

Listen!
Lijv
Maryanne
Need

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Labels: united states

Sometimes it takes the certain atmosphere for something to sink in, to let it show its massive value and effect. Ghost Bees, two lovely sisters from Canada, have begun to grow on me. The story began on Hallowe'en evening, even though it must be said that this holiday is not so much celebrated in Europe (we have All Souls' Day, which is a remembrance of the ones who passed away). But that 31 October, the air was certainly more chilly from the norm, and I felt unsettled in the surroundings, as if all old legends and spirits from the past shook off the dust and haunted us for the evening. As my friend and I travelled outside of Wrocław in the old (but well equipped) Trabant, we went past concrete towerblocks, slowly moving trams, and little old ladies walking to their homes, while the modern stereo played Tasseomancy album by Ghost Bees. Right there and then in that creepy setting, I fell in love with the music and knew that it would become one of November's top listen to artists.
Ghost Bees’ are twin sisters Romy and Sari Lightman, and Amber Phelps Bonderoff. Over antique mandolin, guitar, and violist accompaniment, Ghost Bees’ weave delicate harmonies, dispensing dramatic tales and sorrowful lament like a two headed balladeer. Out with a beautiful EP, Tasseomancy (which suitably is a divination method of telling future in tea leaves), Ghost Bees' have been doing an extensive tour throughout North America, through songs sharing their tales of mesmerising fantasy and nostalgia, resurrecting the experience of their birth in Sinai and the terror of the Pol Pot Regime. Tasseomancy is a collection of songs imparting tales of past empires and great great ancestry; fabled figures and forgotten woe, with vocals appendage together like bones. Ghost Bees' are definitely impressive; every note they play and every vocal warble syncs perfectly with the lyrics and feel of the record. The result in breathtaking, challenging but nonetheless an easy listen that you will continue to return to.

Listen!
Sinai
Tear Tassle Ogre Heart
Vampire Of The West Coast

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Labels: canada

Kría Brekkan (Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir) strike me as the type of girl I can relate to; shy and dreamy, but always around to observe and be very in touch with whatever the surrounding is. When you look at the character of an artist, it is very often that you find little definitions of their soul in the work. Kría Brekkan has shown us her personality as painfully innocent, shy and free of spirit, but yet it is powerful enough to smash cement. Iceland has this certain charm for producing musical sensations, and Kría Brekkan is one of the most treasured gifts.
If you have been following bands like Animal Collective, múm, and Slowblow, you'll know that Kría has been a part of each in some point. Over the course of subsequent releases, Kría's confidence in her voice has certainly continued to grow and become the central focus of the music, without losing any of the emotional, crystal finish. Now, all alone in a one-member musical project, Kría Brekkan has produced a beautiful EP, Wildering, just over nine minutes long. It is not a far cry from múm; we are still at home listening to sensual electronic loops, vocals hidden behind a veil of distortion, fluttering tweets and twinkles in the background. The album is over as soon as it has begun, but the overall affect is one not to be forgotten; slightly unsettling, like a beautiful haunting or the coo of owls in the night. Hear it for yourself...since the EP is only three tracks long, I will post two from the EP and one from the Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan project. Enjoy!

Listen!
Gömul Vísa Um Vorið
Sis Around The Sándmill
Wildering

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Labels: iceland

The word 'grouper' comes from the name of a type of deep swimming fish found in warm and tropical seas. In another case, 'Garoupa' is in the Russian dialect of the Enchained Forest region of Siberia. Then, a particularly different Grouper, my favourite of all, is actually Elizabeth (Liz) Harris from Portland, Oregon. Though she has been releasing music since 2005 (Way Their Crept (2005), Wide (2006), and Cover The Windows And Walls (2007)), Grouper has only just recently begin to recieve the attention she well deserves, with the arrival of her new album, the creepily named 'Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill'. Not much information is provided on Liz Harris, and perhaps this mystery is a good thing, for it will just have to let the music speak for itself.
What I feel from Grouper's music is it being somewhat of a hazy dream, one of the ones you get when you are sore with the cold and the world appears dim and you are very forgetful...yet years later, you can recall those peaceful hours of sleep and beautiful dreams that occured. The music is melodic and the vocals are wispy and ethereal, though I have yet to know of the lyrics. Although built on a guitar, vocals and some special filtering and processing, the atmospheric feel of Grouper's music is absolutely immense, almost overwhelming. The earlier albums are more oriented on a drone style, more focused on that form of escalating ambient sound. The newest album, Dragging A Dead Dear Up A Hill has revolutionised the sound of Grouper, bringing a more melodic dream pop quality to the already wonderful music. The sound is dark but yet always dotted with the feeling of hope. The track 'Heavy Water/I'd Rather Be Sleeping' especially reflects this aspect for me; I'm imagining a girl walking through the street calmy, observing a surrounding chaos that is slowly resolving on her peaceful behalf. All these images are accompanied by a slightly vignetted, unfocused effect, which makes me wonder whether Grouper's music actually exists or whether this is all just some wonderful dream.

Listen!
Disengaged
Heavy Water/I'd Rather Be Sleeping
Make Me Over

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Labels: united states

School Of Seven Bells is a new band compromised of Benjamin Curtis (Secret Machines) and twin sisters Alejandra and Claudia Deheza (On! Air! Library!). Perhaps this is why their music is so harmonious and melodically well done; a strong friendship within the group, as well two girls sharing close biological bond. Formed in 2007, School Of Seven Bells have been generating much talk about their very recently released debut, Alpinisms. The reason behind this is quite clear. Already we are captured by the band's curious name (taken after the legendary South American crime college) and by the crafty album cover (a burst of colourful rays from between mountains). On receiving this album, I couldn't wait to listen but it was worth to wait...first run through I was intrigued, second time I was already absorbed by the music, and third listen left me completely in love! It must be said that this album would be the best approach to shoegaze style music I have heard in quite some long time; School Of Seven Bells are certainly set apart from the less imaginative latter-day shoegazers. Borrowing from many different styles of varying origins, School Of Seven Bells' music sparkles and shines, wearing its range of influence quite well. Appalachian melodies and folk tradition are blended with chilly electronic textures on 'Iamundernodisguise' and 'Connjur' was clearly inspired with pristine 60s style harmonies. The whole album is filled with psychedelic bass, cosmic rhythms, silky vocals and sweeping arrangements. This is ethereal pop at its finest.

Listen!
Face To Face On High Places
Half Asleep
Iamundernodisguise

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Labels: united states

Milena Sabrina Katalinic Hunstad (otherwise now known by her shortened form, Milenasong) has magic running through her veins. Her past is mysterious, but we know that she is of Norwegian/Slovenian/Croatian heritage, which in that knowledge instantly creates a spark of curiosity, these being lands of folklore and stories and dainty tales. It is no doubt that Milenasong's music carries the same spirit. With a Fostex 4-track as her starting to point to creating luscious sounds, Milena clearly has a general fixation on dimensional and organic instrumentation accompanied by honestly meaningful songwriting. Being an achingly intelligent girl, Milena's messages are cryptic and hauntingly beautiful. To me, this music is an absolute soundtrack to Berlin, inspired by the delicateness and beauty found in a city once ravaged by wars and conflict, a shining beacon of hope in a dark night. The music is billowing and extremely visual, layered with different instruments and double-track vocals, ambient in some places and folky in others, yet never unfocused. On both albums, Can't Tape Forever and Seven Sisters, the music seems to find find your heart and grasp it tightly, cameoflaging to your emotion. Listen to Milenasong when you're happy and the sun will burst from its grooves providing even further an unspoilt mood of no worry or fear. But listen when you are blue, and your heart and chest will feel heavy with aching, little lumps forming in the back of your throat. A harmonious blend of gently plucked strings, guitar, piano, and electronics, Milenasong knows quite well how to feed your emotions and leave you in a deep trance of thought. I highly recommended, and please check out Milena's website to see the beautiful drawings and poetry she is sharing with us!

Listen!
Figs Tree
Lily Wyatt
Thirty

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Labels: germany

Yvonne Cornelius is the secretive soul who hides behind the alias Niobe. Since her 2001 debut, Radioersatz, we have been shown what an extraordinarily unique and colourful palette Niobe holds in musical talent. You see, in the world of wonderful Niobe, music simply isn't just manufactured, but rather taken into careful hands and transformed into a work of art. Niobe takes her vivid palette and paints many pictures for us, letting us see an amazing amount of worlds from the imagination; a snowy village with a steeple church nestled in the Alps, a mysterious run through a haunted mansion, a shift through long forgotten records in a 1940s Buenos Aires radiostation, a dreamscape lost amidst a field of pink and yellow flowers. Songs, both red and blue, combine and seperate to compliment each other, each album a masterful perfection of otherworldly styles. Guitars strummed peacefully, voices filtered ten times over, synth arrangements, and explosions of orchestral pop all have a place in Niobe's music. The moods and styles are eclectic, jumping from melancholic ambient to jazzy 'feel-good' anthems, bringing with them both organic and electronic sounds. Whichever way you choose to let Niobe's music effect you, the experience will leave you feeling enlightened and have you in a breezy sense of calm.

Listen!
Ghoast's Wharf Quai
Give All To Love"
Radio Mexico

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Labels: germany