Little Dragon - Little Dragon

Little Dragon are four school-friends from Gothenburg who play sparse, quirky, genre-bending music around singer Yukimi Nagano’s eerie yet heartfelt tones. This is sure to lead to comparisons with Bjork, as well as Kate Bush, but there is also a soul element to their sound (the progressive end, like Shuggie Otis or Prince; the level of whimsy on display here would not impress fans of say Ann Peebles) as well as touches of jazz and 80s pop.

Their eponymous debut starts with a ballad, “Twice”, a lilting but authoritative piano piece which turns on a distinctive sliding bass-line, before wandering into experimental dance (i.e. not very danceable) on the aptly named “Turn Left”. The soul influences don’t appear until track three, a small hours groove called “No Love”, but remain through the funky minimal “Recommendation”, and the slack, syncopated “Constant Surprise”.

Other ingredients feature in this musical smorgasbord too: “Forever” has some 80s digi dub sub bass, “After The Rain” skips along to jazzy high hat before arpeggiating wildly at the end, while “A Place To Belong” combines cascading synths with a murky, mildly threatening bass, and an unpredictable melody that just pulls back from noodling indulgence.

The pace picks up for “Test”, (their most danceable track, to a classic Prince style echoing phased drumbeat) and “Wink” which finishes with some enjoyably silly synth and vocal interplay; before coming to rest with “Scribbled Paper” - all pizzicato, jazz brushes and double bass.

The production hovers between trippy and minimal, refusing to commit; the trendy “bedroom” sound eliminating any grandiosity which might have rendered this record “out of” rather than of its time. Something tells me they’re a lot stronger and funkier live.

So while not as original as the hype suggests – Shuggie Otis did much of this decades ago to a funkier beat - Little Dragon have some nice songs and are experts in creating moods which are both ambivalent and poignant at the same time. This is music for lazy days in the park, late night trains, and small gatherings with close friends. A subtle ‘grower’ and a promising start.

via BBC

Lushlife Project - Budapest Eskimos

Zoltán Palásti Kovács and Konrád Pilisi a.k.a. "The Lushlife Project" present an excellent fireworks of music on their CD "Budapest Eskimos", which excites with wonderful, catchy, and easy-going melodies. Joie de vivre, fun, enjoyment, and dreaming - Lushlife! Whoever finds their bodies moving to the rythm, just a bit at first, then more and more: Don´t panic. This is what every listener experiences. Just go on dancing or melting away. In Hungary, and especially in Budapest, Zoltán Palásti Kovács and Konrád Pilisi are an integral part of the music and underground scene. They are the pillars and pioneers of an electronic music that is fascinating people far beyond the borders of its home country. They have brought their decades of experience in music into their "Lushlife Project", which has started about two years ago. To their experience, they added hungarian heart, temperament and their history. Zoltán Palásti Kovács is musicologist and historian. He has studied singing and plays all sorts of instruments. Under his pseudonym "zoohacker", he has already published on internationally known compilation tracks. Konrád Pilisi is a radio presenter with his own radio show, and a well-known DJ with excellent references. Trip-Hop, Soul, Jazz, Ethno - a seemingly neverending row of elements makes up the wonderful Lushlife project sound. It creates emotions, pictures, and atmosphere. What is special: The sources from which the two artists draw their inspiration are inexhaustible - Hungarian traditional music (see for example the title "Essence Of Our Origins") and the complete history of music, which Zoltán Palásti Kovács knows from his heart due to his studies. Tibetian folk songs cannot be blended into Trip-Hop? They do not harmonize? Wide of the mark! Zoltán Palásti Kovács and Konrád Pilisi prove the contrary. Their creative and innovative music has vision and future. Special highlights are their live performances which both artists appreciate and love. On stage together with other professional artist, soon everyone knows: If you are hot and cold at the same time, it must be the "Budapest Eskimos"!