“Lo-fi” (Used 72 times)

From their basement headquarters in Fayetteville, Arkansas, the psychedelic rock band Voyageurs explore new worlds through sound. Voyageurs recently joined the Free Music Archive with three full albums:

Voyageurs also tipped us off to White Moon Recordings, a label specializing in a range of home-recorded music -- mostly rock with some folk and electronic sounds in the mix. It's a freeform approach that WMR founder Waylon admits is inspired in part by WFMU. Waylon is based in Lake Butler, Florida, where he records solo and as Waylon Thornton and the Heavy Hands, a duo with his wife Meg. They've got a real Cramps-y swamp-rawk vibe goin on in the fuzzed out Goner blues-punk vein, while some of the solo stuff reminds me more of the breezy lo-fi pop coming out of the Bay Area these days -- artists like the Fresh & Onlys, Sonny & The Sonsets, the backporch folk phase John Dwyer had as OCS (pre-"Oh Sees").

Dig into the White Moon discography at FMA and the WMR tumblr for more by these artists and a range of musically diverse yet somehow likeminded fellow sound travelers, including Toms River New Jersey's own fuzz-pop duo Ba Babes!

Glasgow has been a center of learning since the middle ages. It was the focus of the Scottish Enlightment in the 18th century. It has been the site of major leaps in engineering. It has been a city of fearless, forward thinking people for centuries. Glasgow's Kazoo Funk Orchestra approaches pop music with the same fearless Scottish method. They are a pop band having fun and inviting you in on the joke.

Fall in love with Scottish fearlessness -- even in pop music! Enjoy the albums MIDNIGHT FINGER PAINTER and ADVENTURES IN FUZZY FELT LAND in full here at the FMA.

You know why I like Vosotros?  Because it's a record label that doesn't really feel like one.  Their imprint is more of this open-ended philosophy towards music.  They release and champion what they like and one project doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the next.  Sometimes songs lie next to each other on the same EP that are as different as night and day, the only connecting factor being the circumstances that brought a particular collection of musicians together.  That and the fact that Vosotros believes in the music they want to expose others to, and that alone makes their releases intriguing.

The Rhoda EP is a great example, consisting of five songs that were each released on a weekly basis until the EP was complete.  Spaced-out Brazilian numbers peacefully coexist with experiments in dubstep and even prog-rock/gospel fusion.  Week one resulted in a lush folk song entitled "New Farmer," featuring the always engaging vocals of Mia Doi Todd.  The accomplished team of musicians behind her include Miguel-Atwood Ferguson on viola (who was partially responsible for the Suite For Ma Dukes in J Dilla's honor), Rob Hardt on flutes, and Nat Mcintosh making his presence felt on the tuba.  Gabe Noel is the gentleman you can thank for writing, mixing, programming, and recording the tune.

Now that you know all of that, push play and enjoy the next three and a half minutes of aural tranquility...

Remember that Simpsons Christmas episode where Bart burns down the Christmas tree and then lied about it, bringing lots of wanted media attention on himself and his family?  If you've seen it, you might recall Gary Coleman voicing himself, except he was a security guard for a television station.  At one point, he's on the phone with a Chinese restaurant complaining about his order:

"I ordered a galaxy of prawns.  Three prawns is hardly a galaxy."  I'm going somewhere with this, I promise.  Just stay with me...

Someone far wiser than myself once suggested to always pay attention to that which comes in threes.  Earlier this month, an unexpected package arrived at my home.  It turned out to be a vinyl copy of Everybody, the debut album from Ja Prawn.  One week later, songs from the album showed up over at Promonet.  Not too long after that, I'm track digging through the latest uploads here at the Free Music Archive and there they are again.  While three prawns may be short of a galaxy, the significance of Ja Prawn showing up in my life three times is not lost on me.  It was a no-brainer in terms of which artist I was supposed to feature today.

It just so happens that Ja Prawn is a trio consisting of musicians John Kirby, Bram Inscore, and Pete Mcneal.  They've played with a number of notable artists, including Beck, Money Mark, and DJ Z-Trip.  The attached track is the album's opening cut, "Soulja Boi," which should give you a good idea of what to expect from the album.  It's got a hip-hop lean, but it's subtle and clearly takes a backseat to the synths and the bass.  It's sleek, but lo-fi at the same time.  It tries to exude a certain sexiness, but there's this endearing video game geekiness that gets in the way.  It's a fun cut and one that deserves a home here at the Archive.

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a drop card to redeem...