Planetary Video Mixtape #3

Another in my series of video mixtape blog entries...

Here's a handful of artists/bands I've happily discovered, but that haven't garnered much attention in the U.S., yet. The set up: I pick five, but only one can originate from the United States. Enjoy!

Slowolf. That's the stage name of producer and singer Andreas Asingh. There's very little info out there about him, but his Twitter and Facebook pages declare that he's "rising from the cold north of Copenhagen."

Slowolf (Andreas Asingh)

I fell in love with the first single I heard, "Dance Floor," a successful mix of metal, hip hop and dream pop that features iconic rapper Raekwon. Killer hook, terrific video.




Disclosure. These south London brothers started out making music in their bedrooms a few years ago.

Disclosure -- Howard (left) and Guy (right),  the Lawrence brothers

Fusing a handful of musical styles -- garage, house and soul -- they managed to concoct a gorgeous dance single, "Latch," with the help of guest vocalist Sam Smith. The video is like sensual icing on the cake.




The Ruby Suns. In the event that you can't think of a single indie pop band from New Zealand, here's one. The Ruby Suns have been around since 2004 when Californian Ryan McPhun moved to Auckland and hooked up with local musicians.

Ryan McPhun, frontman of The Ruby Suns

The Ruby Suns have a glistening, eclectic sound and McPhun's voice is a perfect fit. Seriously, get over to iTunes or Spotify and listen to this band. In the meantime, enjoy "In Real Life, a swell electro-pop single from their fourth album and its goofy video, which features McPhun playing all the parts in a parody of reality competition shows entitled Are You Good at Something?




Fucked Up. Hailing from Toronto, Ontario, they've been around since 2001. You're either going to love this band's name, or dismiss them simply because of it. You're either going to like the fact that they're unapologetically punk, or you won't. Fact is, Fucked Up is a great band. In 2009, they even won the Polaris Music Prize for producing the best full-length Canadian album. The award is based on artistic merit, regardless of sales, genre or record label.

This is Fucked Up. That's lead singer Damian Abraham in your face.

And this is what Damian Abraham usually looks like when he's performing...

Damian Abraham routinely performs shirtless.
You're either turned on by this, or you're not. I am.

In 2011, Fucked Up released their critically acclaimed third album, a rock opera entitled David Comes to Life. And here's the video treatment for one its songs, "Inside a Frame," featuring an emotionally charged choreography session for a punk dance crew.




John Fullbright. This singer/songwriter hails from Okemah, Oklahoma, the birthplace of folk music legend Woody Guthrie. Fullbright shares some of Guthrie's gifts, so make your comparisons. Hell, you might even hear echoes of Tom Waits or Neil Young in his music, too.

John Fullbright

After a 2009 live album, Fullbright released his first studio recording (From the Ground Up) in 2012. It received a Grammy nomination in the category of Best Americana Album. Considering where he was raised, it's not surprising that some of his songs are sprinkled with Biblical allusions. The surprise is that fan favorite "Gawd Above" is sung from the perspective of the deity Himself.



Peace out,
David