Tre Burt and a Big Gust of Wind – Little Mornings

Posted by Indie Music Finds | Posted in Acoustic, Album, Charlie O'Shea, Independent Music Finds | Posted on 23-05-2011

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Tre Burt and a Big Gust of Wind is to put it simply really quite amazing. It’s essentially a one man and a guitar act (bar a couple of tracks with banjo) as shown in the somewhat humourous artist name but this certainly doesn’t stop him from creating some of the most engaging music I’ve heard in quite a while now.

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There’s a soothing quality to Little Mornings, something to listen to forget about the rain outside. This 13 track masterpiece certainly has a lot of potential for mainstream success but this is someone I can’t see selling out for a mobile phone company advert and even better, Little Mornings is currently available for free download from his bandcamp.

Towards the end of 2009, Tre Burt and a Big Gust of Wind also released the ‘Paraplui’ EP. I wish I’d discovered this gem earlier now because it also definitely deserved an IMF feature. Listen to and download Paraplui for free now on bandcamp.

Bon Iver – Bon Iver

Posted by Indie Music Finds | Posted in Acoustic, Album, Charlie O'Shea, Electro, Independent Music Finds, Rock | Posted on 20-05-2011

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Ahead of the release of Bon Iver’s second album, a track from it entitled Calgary has been made available for free download in glorious 320kbps from his website. It’s been a three year wait interspersed by the Blood Bank EP in 2009 but Bon Iver’s new self titled album is set for release on the 21st of June 2011.

Bon Iver, Bon Iver’s progress has been tied into the construction of a new recording studio created in his hometown of Wisconsin and this album features some unusual track names corresponding to cities such as Lisbon OH, Perth and Hinnom, TX from previous tours. At the forefront, as always, are Justin Vernon’s archetypal harmonized vocals underpinned by his sublime acoustic chord patterns but with the mandatory occasional synth pad/electronic beat in the background we’ve come to expect.

Bon Iver is also set to tour again this year: a North American tour in late July/early August alongside The Rosebuds and a European tour in October/November with Kathleen Edwards. Tickets are already on sale and can be found through these links.

The Black Atlantic – Reverence for Fallen Trees

Posted by Indie Music Finds | Posted in Acoustic, Album, Charlie O'Shea, Independent Music Finds | Posted on 19-05-2011

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Seeing as I’m living in the Netherlands at the moment, why not feature a Dutch band? The Black Atlantic are a four piece band originally from Groningen fronted by Geert van der Velde. Reverence For Fallen Trees was their debut album released as a free download back in the late summer of 2009.

The album was recorded in a cabin in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York and then finally put together back in the Netherlands in Zwolle. Reverence for Fallen Trees feels like autumn music, stripped back and almost entirely acoustic this album is capable of transporting you to your very own woodland glade. The album heavily features the ukulele and multi-layered vocal harmonies reminiscent of bon iver as well as the use of the voice as an instrument in itself as is so often heard in Sigur Rós.

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Reverence for Fallen Trees is still available as a ‘pay what you like’ download on their bandcamp. There’s also a beautiful looking vinyl/CD pack for sale there for €18.

The follow up album is still in progress but The Black Atlantic are much keener on the live front and have toured the U.S seven times. They also maintain a steady flow of gigs in Europe and are currently on a tour around the Baltic Sea through Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

Other People’s Toys – Special Benny

Posted by Indie Music Finds | Posted in Album, Charlie O'Shea, Electro, Independent Music Finds, Other | Posted on 16-05-2011

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‘Other People’s Toys’ is a 5 track EP released two months after Special Benny’s debut album Toys. It features some unique remixes of tracks taken from this album by the likes of ‘Specialist’ and Johnny Beverton.

The reason I think this EP is worthy of a feature is because these artists have done what any good remixers should, they’ve made the song their own. You can really hear their own unique musical stylings in each of these tracks from Hong Kong In The 60’s stripped out (almost MIDIish), yet detailed, wistful sound emanating through in ‘Air Filter’ to ‘Shooting Horses’ big beat, somewhat tropical feel being applied to ‘Croydon’, a song with an entirely different time signature to the original. It’s easy to see that a lot more work has gone into these remixes than someone sampling away with their computer in a bedroom one evening as we’re so often seeing at the moment.

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It’s taken me a while to get around to this one (released 22nd November 2010) but it’s still an awesome remix EP and it’s still free to download at 320kbps from bandcamp.

Tall Ships – Hit The Floor

Posted by Indie Music Finds | Posted in Charlie O'Shea, Independent Music Finds, Rock | Posted on 12-05-2011

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Tall Ships are a band that had previously gone under the math-rock radar for me but with the band getting ready to release a new single during a hectic UK tour, they definitely deserve a bit of acknowledgement. Hit The Floor is a frantic and whirring 3 minute forward driven blitz and comes along with B-side Safe As Houses.


A lot of the imagery surrounding this band consists of archive clips and washed out pictures of mountain ranges and this comes through in the music. Unlike the math-rock big boys Foals, Tall Ships’ tracks remain gravelly and bring a welcomed dose of crunch distortion to the math-rock scene. The tracks are incredibly tightly performed but there’s an element of graininess to the sound; this is a band who aren’t afraid to leave a bit of mud on their mushrooms.

You might be wondering how a three piece band producing a track with so many layers and complex driving rhythms could possibly recreate the sound live. Well Tall Ships seem to have mastered the art of live tape looping in Hit The Floor. Don’t believe me? See for yourself whilst they tour the UK extensively this summer supporting Three Trapped Tigers or at Bestival.

With 2 EPs and another single ‘Plate Tectonics‘ now in their back catalogue, I’m now eagerly awaiting their debut album.

Released 6th June 2011.