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Friday, 19 March 2010
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
Jasper Sloan Yip unveils new album
If you wasn't at Jasper Sloan Yip's album launch party on Saturday night then you missed a hell of a party. It was held at a packed Cafe Deux Soleils on Commercial Drive which was the perfect venue for everyone to come and watch Jasper and his band perform their new album on the cafe's tiny stage.
Every Day and All at Once is the second album from Jasper Sloan Yip and his band - Mark Brichon on bass/banjo, Graham Serl on drums, Stephanie Chapman on violin and VO's very own John Tanner on keyboard. Versatile and dynamic, the five of them bring their instruments together and fuse a warm, folky sound that makes every day feel like summer. Produced at Vertical Studios with help from Tom Dobrzanski who produced bands such as Said The Whale, Hey Ocean! and We Are The City, Every Day and All At Once has to be the album of the summer…or any season for that matter.
When I first saw Jasper perform back in Summer 2008 with his first EP, White Elephant, I knew I was witnessing a great talent. In those days he would grace the stage by himself and his trusted acoustic guitar and ukulele with occasional help from Mark on banjo. Even then, you could see what a great guitarist and lyricist he was but give a musician a bit of time and a trip throughout Europe and they will always come back to smack you in the face in the form of album number two.
With the softened drumbeat on 'Transit,' soulful guitar solos on 'Today' and reggae beats on 'Back and Forth and To and Fro' show how Jasper has grown as a musician and songwriter. Besides getting hold of four talented band mates, Every Day… shows experimentation with different musical styles and lyrics that are pure poetry and don't even get me started on that voice. His voice has gained so much range and strength that he can blow an entire room away. That isn't even an understatement as he proved this on Saturday night during the encore.
Re-recorded and completely stripped down to his old roots of ukulele and banjo, 'Postcards' was one of the first songs I heard back in 2008 and now I was seeing it again as a powerful encore and an even better version of the original. With delicate ukulele strums and vocals blasting and bouncing around the room, 'Postcards' was the perfect way to wrap up an awesome show and prove to us that this is going to be Jasper's year.
Check out upcoming shows and listen to new tracks at www.myspace.com/jaspersloanyip
Every Day and All at Once is the second album from Jasper Sloan Yip and his band - Mark Brichon on bass/banjo, Graham Serl on drums, Stephanie Chapman on violin and VO's very own John Tanner on keyboard. Versatile and dynamic, the five of them bring their instruments together and fuse a warm, folky sound that makes every day feel like summer. Produced at Vertical Studios with help from Tom Dobrzanski who produced bands such as Said The Whale, Hey Ocean! and We Are The City, Every Day and All At Once has to be the album of the summer…or any season for that matter.
When I first saw Jasper perform back in Summer 2008 with his first EP, White Elephant, I knew I was witnessing a great talent. In those days he would grace the stage by himself and his trusted acoustic guitar and ukulele with occasional help from Mark on banjo. Even then, you could see what a great guitarist and lyricist he was but give a musician a bit of time and a trip throughout Europe and they will always come back to smack you in the face in the form of album number two.
With the softened drumbeat on 'Transit,' soulful guitar solos on 'Today' and reggae beats on 'Back and Forth and To and Fro' show how Jasper has grown as a musician and songwriter. Besides getting hold of four talented band mates, Every Day… shows experimentation with different musical styles and lyrics that are pure poetry and don't even get me started on that voice. His voice has gained so much range and strength that he can blow an entire room away. That isn't even an understatement as he proved this on Saturday night during the encore.
Re-recorded and completely stripped down to his old roots of ukulele and banjo, 'Postcards' was one of the first songs I heard back in 2008 and now I was seeing it again as a powerful encore and an even better version of the original. With delicate ukulele strums and vocals blasting and bouncing around the room, 'Postcards' was the perfect way to wrap up an awesome show and prove to us that this is going to be Jasper's year.
Check out upcoming shows and listen to new tracks at www.myspace.com/jaspersloanyip
For more live photos from the show go the the Flickr gallery
Bear Hands at Biltmore Cabaret
I finally got to see Brooklyn's Bear Hands last week. It was an awesome show and I am so excited for the new album whenever that gets released. For now, listen to some new songs at www.myspace.com/bearhandsband
Check out the review over at Limewire Blog
More photos at Flickr
Thursday, 11 February 2010
Laura Marling unveils Album No. 2
Laura Marling has unveiled details of her new album and artwork for 'I Speak Because I Can.'Pre-orders are now available for the album, released 22nd March. The special edition includes a 45 minute DVD documentary, download access to 5 tracks, plus a 16 page lyrics booklet.
Miss Marling always knows how to spoil her fans.
Pre-order the album from Amazon and check out more info at Laura Marling's website
She will also be performing at the London Palladium on April 25th 2010. Make sure you get your tickets fast!
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
The Editors at Commodore Ballroom Feb 6th
The Editors played at Vancouver's Commodore Ballroom on Saturday. You can find the review and photos at Limewire | Vancouver Observer | FlickrEditors Website
Monday, 25 January 2010
Grizzly Bear cover Hot Chip
Everyone loves to cover Hot Chip. The Miserable Rich, Portastic and plenty others that I can't think of right now. Anyway, another one to add to the list is the beautiful Grizzly Bear. During their recent trip in Australia, the Brooklyn boys had time to visit the Aussie radio station Triple J for an interview and this stunningly, haunting version of Hot Chip's "Boy From School."
Spin Magazine have it streaming over at their HQ. Take a listen here
Wednesday, 20 January 2010
What a winner!
My winning photograph at the Vancouver Photo Marathon exhibition for the theme 'Perform.' You can see all 12 images here
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