Kiila: Finnish folky spacy rock

Really liking this new album from Finnish group Kiila.

Just to give you an idea, one writer sums it up nicely thusly: "Different traditions of folk, psych and pop music intermingle with electronic music and improvisation, tones and sounds."

I hear some overlap with current-day Phila. band Espers and with 1969 Fairport Convention... Others have dropped Vetiver and Incredible String Band onto their comparison lists.

Best listen for yerself. Go to Fonal Records website (Finnish DIY label). Click on either of the songs marked "listen" -- especially my fave, the 8-min.-plus Portaissa. Clicking will take you to the Fonal Jukebox where all manner of other label offerings can be streamed.

Back Up & Push 08/19/2009

James Luther Dickinson passed away on August 15th. On this week's show, a tribute. See full playlist with comments HERE.

Read more about Dickinson in this excellent blog post, which also links you to a great interview film clip. Wanna be blown away by a resumé? Check out Jim's HERE or HERE.

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Back Up & Push 08/12/2009

Last week's show playlist with

comments is HERE.

Wide variety of stuff featured, as usual. Some new releases I'm especially enjoying: albums from Assemble Head In Sunburst Sound (right)

and Band of Skulls (below b&w),

a great comp of Hungarian rock from before the Iron Curtain came down (um, nice title...),

and a Swedish folky singer named Lisa Isaksson (below right).

It was also great to revisit Yello's 1980 debut.

In the tributes category, I did a belated R.I.P. shout out to John"Marmaduke" Dawson, a leader of the late-60's, early 70's No. Calif. outfit New Riders of the Purple Sage.

I've linked the you to info (with sound samples!), or in Yello's case, to a fantastic YouTube video. Click & enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

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Dexateens part 2!

Over on hearya.com there's a nice live session by the Dexateens (see my earlier post). All tracks available for free download & sound great. Two of my faves from the new album are represented: "Down Low" and "Grandaddy's Mouth." But the others are good too.

I'm happy to see "Grandaddy's Mouth" received highlight treatment from hearya in the form of a video. It's a well-shot in-studio live video, perfect sound. None of the inebriated crowd from the other video I posted last month. Take a look below!

Dexateens - "Grandaddy's Mouth" - HearYa Live Session 5/20/09 from HearYa.com on Vimeo.

Valcour Records

Every once in awhile I'd like to call people's attention to record labels that do great work and deserve our support. (Earlier I spotlighted Smithsonian Folkways.) This time I want to point out a small Louisiana label run by a new generation of Louisiana musicians: Valcour Records. They only have a handful of releases in their young history, but it's quality stuff!

In these days of big box stores, spoonfed radio fare, and other corporate homogenization, it's always nice to see some folks working to keep regional art forms alive! Check out Valcour if you like Cajun & Zydeco & other Louisiana music. Here's a great song to download or hear online to whet your appetite. It's from two great rising stars, Cedric Watson on fiddle and Corey Ledet on accordion. Links for 2 songs from their new release (a band called Bonsoir Catin) here and here. Poke around on their site and you'll find plenty more!

Dexateens!

Here's one of my favorite albums so far this year. Dexateens are from Tuscaloosa, Alabama and have been around a long time. Singlewide is out on Skybucket Records. But they've never grabbed my attention quite like they have this time. If you like Faces, Neil Young, early Wilco, stuff like that, this is for you.

I happened to find out that their previous album, apparently unissued, is available for free download here! They happily welcome a donation via PayPal, which I encourage, because then maybe the record will see the light of day with official release.

Here's a couple videos to try to convince you of their worth. This one has a cheesy intro so just be patient... the tune, Down Low, is great! And then there's a live performance of another fave of mine called Granddaddy's Mouth--um, I think the crowd has had a little bit to drink...

Friends, foes, everyone!

I'm still here, just had a little blog-o-sabbatical, see.

The playlist for my W X D U show from 7/8/09 is here.

Among other things, I revisited the great Liam Finn (bottom right) album from last year, played a Bulgarian folkdance off a 45 unearthed from my mom's basement (top right), heralded local shows by The Loners (lower left), and played something by The Inner Space (upper left), the band that morphed into Can.

Thanks for tuning in and check back again!

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