Holy crap! I can’t believe we made it. 40 artists in 40 days. It was quite magical, wasn’t it?

I want to say thank you to all my wonderful guest bloggers, I couldn’t have done it without you! So, lots of thank you hugs to:

• James B.
• Nate Bagley
• Shelika Báez
• Colleen Burns
• Ashley Edwards
• Michael Fil
• Dani Kent
• Joel Lehman
• Tanna Orgeron
• Jessica Roman
• Kim Taylor
• David Toback

You guys rock! And here is a quick recap to all the musicians featured during the Summer Music Series for easy access in case you want to listen again and again and again. =)

Day 1 – Youth Lagoon
Day 2 – Princeton
Day 3 – Matt Corby
Day 4 – Firehorse
Day 5 – Duologue
Day 6 – Ben Howard
Day 7 – Mutemath (Jessica Roman guest post)
Day 8 – Deadwood Floats
Day 9 – Beach House (Dani Kent guest post)
Day 10 – Oh Land
Day 11 – Alabama Shakes
Day 12 – Marina & the Diamonds
Day 13 – The Dogs (Nate Bagley guest post)
Day 14 – Of Monsters and Men
Day 15 – Purity Ring (James B. guest post)
Day 16 – Imagine Dragons
Day 17 – Poliça
Day 18 – Late Night Alumni (Colleen Burns guest post)
Day 19 – Electric Guest
Day 20 – Matt Pond PA (Kim Taylor guest post)
Day 21 – Alex Winston
Day 22 – Dan Mangan (Michael Fil’s guest post)
Day 23 – Langhorne Slim & The Law
Day 24 – Emily Brown
Day 25 – Hola A Todo el Mundo, Chambao, Russian Red, and Los Delinquentes (Shelika Báez guest post)
Day 26 – Vanbot (Ashley Edwards guest post)
Day 27 – XXYYXX
Day 28 – Le Butcherettes
Day 29 – Sarah Jaffe
Day 30 – Wintersleep
Day 31 – Blind Pilot (Joel Lehman guest post)
Day 32 – Gossip
Day 33 – Tanlines
Day 34 – Rebecca & Fiona (Colleen Burns guest post)
Day 35 – Justin Rock
Day 36 – Kishi Bashi (David Toback guest post)
Day 37 – A.A. Bondy (Tanna Orgeron guest post)
Day 38 – Adrian Lux (Colleen Burns guest post)
Day 39 – Germany Germany
Day 40 – Lulu & The Lampshades

Additionally, I’ve made a Spotify playlist of as many songs as they had featuring all the artists from the Summer Music Series so if you’re interested in that, click below:

Summer Music Series Playlist 2012

Again, huge thank you to my guest bloggers and I hope you have found at least one new artist that you didn’t know before and maybe, just maybe, kinda love already.

Until next time, kids!
xoxo,
Elizabeth

Welcome to day FORTY of the Summer Music Series! WE MADE IT!! Huzzah!

I am extremely excited about today’s band, not just because we’ve reached our destination, but because I think this band is going to make a nice little addition to your music collection. Lulu & The Lampshades was introduced to me from my friend, Kari, and quite honestly, I fell in love with their music just after 15 seconds of this catchy tune:

(If you want to listen and see the fun live version of this click here.)

Lulu & The Lampshades began with two friends, Luisa Gerstein and Heloise Tunstall-Behrens. They came together and started a band, Helouisa (a mix of both their names) and it just started to evolve from there. Lampshades came into play with this band when two of their band members had met at a furniture convention where they bonded over their love of lampshades. Go figure.

Their music is full of life, unique, and to put it simply – it’s magnetic.

Hope you enjoyed today’s Summer Music Series musician. Stay tuned tomorrow for a recap of the Summer Music Series! xoxo

*Photo credit courtesy of last.fm

Welcome to day thirty-nine of the Summer Music Series! Today’s musician transcends me into a completely different state of mind – a mind of relaxation and exploration.

Germany Germany is the stage name for Drew Harris and he currently lives in Victoria, Canada. His music is experimental and is all produced by him. A number of his tracks has guest vocals done and there are some where the vocals are done by himself. Not all tracks have vocals, which I kind of like even more. The instrumental tracks make my heart dance a little bit.

His latest single, with vocals from Kotomi, was what hooked me at first:

Once I heard this, I decided to explore some more and found numerous tracks that I felt like I could relate to – tracks that transformed my emotions and state of mind. I have been listening to his album, Adventures, a lot. He writes:

“Adventures is like this – as represented by the album art, it’s not clean and spotless… it is how I want it to sound but that doesn’t mean that it’s always perfect. The DIY aesthetic has always been fundamental to this project and by that definition, Adventures nearly sums up all that is Germany Germany. The past synth-pop, electro, ambient, etc. sounds have all been combined into 2 sides, 17 songs, 60 minutes.”

It was hard for me to just pick a few songs, as to I’ve been listening to his tracks and albums non-stop all weekend.

You can find a place for his downloads (some free) at his bandcamp spot here: http://grmnygrmny.bandcamp.com/ or on his Soundcloud here: http://soundcloud.com/germanygermany.

Hope you enjoyed today’s Summer Music Series musician. See you tomorrow for day forty!

*Photo credit courtesy of Germany Germany’s Facebook page

Welcome to day thirty-eight of the Summer Music Series! Well, it looks like Colleen Burns just can’t stay away because we have yet another one from her! Enjoy!

xoxo,
Elizabeth
*****

by: Colleen Burns

Maybe I have a thing for Swedes (I just introduced you to Rebecca and Fiona from Sweden) but you will see why after you take a listen to Adrian Lux.

Swedish DJ/Producer Adrian Lux has pretty much perfected crafting dope beat dance tracks. He released his debut album on April 3, 2012. The self-titled album contains 12 tracks including his previous singles Teenage Crime, Alive, Fire and Burning as well as a bonus track Leave the World Behind.

A fun personal fact is he is actually in a relationship with Rebecca from Rebecca and Fiona. Can you imagine their house parties? I want an invite.

His tracks feature traces of moonlit techno and moody progressive house along side lyrics that transcend you into deep thought and your body takes over in movement. He is pretty new to this EDM scene rising as the boom is taking hold everywhere, but he has a bright future if he keeps producing the gold he has out currently. Check him out and let me know if my love for Swedes is justified =)

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Thanks, Colleen, for another great post. Hope you enjoyed today’s Summer Music Series musician. See you tomorrow for day thirty-nine!

*Photo credit courtesy of Adrian Lux’s Facebook page

Welcome to day thirty-seven of the Summer Music Series! Today we are joined by a new friend of mine, Tanna Orgeron. I met Tanna at a Bon Iver show a few months ago and let’s be serious, if we’re meeting at Bon Iver, we’re basically going to be friends. So, sit back and enjoy one of the last few posts of the Summer Music Series 2012!

xoxo,
Elizabeth
*****

by: Tanna Orgeron

In the tradition of folk singer/songwriters that have been influenced by Bob Dylan, A.A. Bondy emerges from the same breed. If you believe that Dylan has gone through eras and changes like Todd Haynes (I’m Not There) does, than we are referencing the Dylan before the 1965 Newport Folk Festival when he famously went electric. Just like early Dylan drew from Woody Guthrie, A.A. Bondy pulls from the simplicity of an acoustic guitar and a harmonica. It is a style of music that forces you to concentrate on the powerful message that the lyrics provide rather than the extended guitar rifts or electronic processed sounds.

A.A. Bondy is a folk artist from Birmingham, Alabama. After his original band (Verbena) broke up in the early 90s, Bondy went solo and has released three solo albums. It was television that first introduced me to A.A. Bondy when one of his songs (Killed Myself When I Was Young) was used on the television show “Friday Night Lights”. Since then, I have taken great pleasure in finding a new lyric or a new line that makes me press pause to marvel at how simplicity can be one of the greatest (and most difficult) forms of poetry.

Despite the lack of protest topics that a present day singer would be missing, Bondy still finds messages and meaning in today’s modern day world, with songs like “American Hearts” (off Bondy’s first album of the same title in 2007) There is a line in this song that I always enjoy, “ If your God makes war, than he is no God I know, because Christ would not send boys to die” Now right away, someone will probably assume he is just referring to religion that is not understood so it is quickly blamed (Islamic for example), but I believe he refers to how all religions and the people who use their religion as an excuse or reason for death and war.

Lovers’ Waltz – Also from the same album (American Hearts). Once again, simple is the beauty of this song. A waltz is the dance between two people and these two will keep doing their thing and living their lives with each other, no matter what goes on around them or how f’ed up the world gets. None of that matters because of the waltz (or love) between the two.

A.A. Bondy’s second album When the Devil’s Loose (2009) still captures the same feel as American Hearts. Despite the title, the album as a whole gives us a bit more of hope for the future, if that future is a relationship, life, or the world around you.

Other songs to check out:
World Without End

Black Rain, Black Rain

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Thanks to Tanna for this one – I hope you enjoyed! See you tomorrow for day thirty-eight!

Welcome to day thirty-six of the Summer Music Series! Today we are joined by my friend, David Toback, and I am excited! This is a new artist in my little world and I think you are really going to like it. Enjoy!

xoxo,
Elizabeth
*****

by: David Toback

Welcome to day 36 of the Summer Music Series! Today we profile Kishi Bashi, pseudonym of singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist K Ishibashi – an accomplished violinist, using this talent (and many others) along with smart lyrics, impressive vocal range, occasional beat box melodies, and electronic synthesis to compliment his very eclectic, electro-indie-rock, upbeat style of music.

The founder and lead singer of Jupiter One and touring member of Regina Spektor as well as of Montreal debuted his first solo project, a four song EP, dubbed “Room for Dream” in 2011 on Aerobic International. In quick fashion his first full-length record “151a” was released April 10th 2012 by Joyful Noise via a very successful Kickstarter campaign. Both albums display the vast musical range and talent of Kishi and gives hope for new and unique music for years to come.

Kishi Bashi is another artist in the Summer Music Series that has come across NPR’s “Tiny Desk”. Here’s his Tiny Desk session recording live from Bob Boilen’s office at NPR Headquarters.

NPR liked Kishi Bashi so much they recorded a live set at the 9:30 club in Washington DC – See for yourself!

To add to the NPR love, Bright Whites off the Room for Dream EP, was highlighted on “All Songs Considered” and also made their Listeners Picks for favorite albums of 2012. NPR was not alone in their intrigue with Kishi Bashi however! SPIN magazine got in the act earlier this first with their “First Spin” of It All Began With a Burst.

SPIN then followed up with their Video Premiere of Kishi Bashi’s riddle infused single Bright Whites. The ultra cerebral creativity of this video in meaning and visual presentation, featuring members from of Montreal, gives us a glimpse into the very intriguing mind that is Kishi Bashi.

Thanks for stopping by and checking out the Summer Music Series and yet another artist on the rise! Happy Listening!

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To check out Kishi Bashi’s SoundCloud account, click here. Big thank you to David for this one – I hope you enjoyed! See you tomorrow for day thirty-seven!

Welcome to day thirty-five of the Summer Music Series! Although Justin Rock has a few albums and an EP being released in the fall, he is really new to the music scene. He grew up constantly surrounded by music (sounds like heaven, right?) and he has continuously been teaching, creating, and performing over the years.

His music is so warm and passionate and I really can’t wait to see what’s next on his upcoming EP.

Check out my favorite songs below:

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Hope you enjoyed today’s Summer Music Series musician. See you tomorrow for day thirty-six!