Spacefaring Male, an album produced and mixed by Tyler Walker, is the marriage in music by sophisticated jazz and funky geek sounds. There is undeniable harmony in this union although there are a few off (tolerable) moments every now and then.

The image in the album cover says it all: a man with a glass of olive cocktail and suited up for the outer space. It’s not a mix that you see daily, but it’s interesting enough for you to take a look and check.

For a jazz enthusiast, once you’re floating mid air in the sweet, you’d find slightly distracted by some scratching, screeching sounds that at first may not sound right. As the music goes on, however, you’d realize that Tyler actually makes classy music with a fun sense of party humor.

The second track, “Plutonian Massage Parlour,” will make for a good theme in a fun computer game for teen girls. “Go Spaceman” is the kind of theme you’d like to play in a fun and friendly beach party. “Memories of Home,” is a brilliant work and perfect for livening up parties at home. It is my favorite track in the album.

Excellent work on the sax and trumpet by Stefan Zeniuk and Jesse Selengut, respectively. Head-bobbing drum plays by Jesse Marzullo. Kate Harrell (vocals), Justin Dake (piano), Clif Jackson (bass), and Peter Walker (guitar) make up the rest of the impressive artists in this album.

Related Links:
Tyler Walker on BandCamp
Tyler Walker on Facebook
Spacefaring Male on CDBaby.Com

Andrew Lawrence Jackson’s "The Last Romantic" conveys quiet but subtly strong provocative emotions through the words and melody of each track. Not that Jackson has become predictable, but this album has all his usual overarching themes of life, love, and dreams.

And then Jackson uses his own good vocals as a bonus element. The influence of the 80's electro beats is apparent in the album, as much as Jackson’s distinctive way of neatly expressing an otherwise messy pile up of thoughts and emotions in one’s over-analytical romantic head.

Standouts in this album are “Your Dreams,” “Return To Love,” and “The Last Romantic” for its haunting melodies that linger in the air long after the song is over. That Jackson can put up a one-man show as singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist brings out the best in each track as he knows which instruments best highlight the subtle points of each song.

Andrew Lawrence Jackson has released several impressive albums in the past. He was also a founding member of both the techno-pop Science Patrol and the post-punk/avant-pop band Zru Vogue. Jackson’s words usually touch on the profound aspects of life and existentialism. He marries his words with powerful haunting melodies all the time and voila, he usually comes up with brilliant pieces. This latest work is no exception.

Related Links:
Andrew Lawrence Jackson Bios
“The Ubiquitous They” also by Andrew Lawrence Jackson

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Music for the Weird Clerkfish is a diverse collection of generally light and funky lounge music from various international artists. Mixgalaxy Records brought together brilliant acts for this compilation: IMDB listed old-school hip-hop artist Brandon K. Montoya aka Coruscate, Bear & Lampshade, Brazilian pop-singer Yokandesh, vocalist Gizella from the UK and Spanish multi-instrumentalist Raul Diaz Palomar aka Taker 51.

This compilation is a well-balanced mix of ambient, hip-hop, lounge, smooth jazz, electronica, and upbeat danceable music that is perfect for a casual laid back mood.

My favorite tracks in this collection are Bear and Lampshade’s “Overexposure to Mars Ponies,” Staggerman’s “If Only” (feat. Gizella), and VAD’s Zarya. All three have a captivating melody that soothes you and takes you outside the busy realm of ordinary life for a moment.

There are sixteen tracks in the compilation and there is no serious slip up as far as inclusion is concerned. There is at least a couple of tracks for everyone’s specific taste in music and the whole “mixtape” idea just works for different folks, whether for a long joyride or a chillout ambience. I would recommend this compilation to friends who are in constant search of that different sound that is essentially a product of many elements in different kinds of music. After all, nothing can really go wrong when you’ve got good melody and soothing vocals. Music For The Weird Clerkfish has both and more.

Related Links:
Music For The Weird Clerkfish on MixGalaxy Records
Music For The Weird Clerkfish on Archive.org

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K. Sparks has made quite a positive reputation among the hip-hop enthusiasts in the FrostClick community. Early last year, his previous work “Definition” received such a warm response that translated to 25,000 downloads within days from the launching date. Needless to say that his supporters have been waiting for his latest work, THE TRILOGY CHAPTER 1: THE COLLABS. K. Sparks has teamed up with DJ Booth.net and Mixtape Assassin for this brilliant work.

This album is the kind that you play on mornings when you just couldn’t drag yourself out of bed. It wakes you up, taps into your rhythm and gets you all ready and psyched for another busy day. My personal favorite in this album is Track 10, Relationships featuring Teau Johnson (neatly produced by DJ Bobby Bob).

There is absolutely nothing to trash in “Chapter 1.” If you are into hip hop and rap, this album delivers the real deal. On the other hand, if you are just discovering the beat of rap, “Chapter 1” is a very good start. Enjoy the music. Chapter 2 will be presented by Kevin Nottingham, and the final installment will be presented by YnotMydream, AshleyOutrageous, and ReUp Spot.

If you like this compilation, you should check out K.Sparks' collaboration album with Angelous, "Queens vs Brooklyn." You might also like K. Sparks’ "Super Senior" release.

Related Links:
K. Sparks Website
K. Sparks on MySpace
K. Sparks on YouTube
Follow K. Sparks on Twitter

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Scotland-born Gareth Dickson is a talented guitarist who has toured with Vashti Bunyan to lend his excellent guitar artistry to her concerts. He has also worked with brilliant artists Juana Molina and Max Richter, and performed in magnificent venues all over the world.

Gareth’s music is influenced by Aphex Twin and Brian Eno as by acoustic guitarists such as Bert Jansch and Nick Drake.

Gareth’s song, “Noon,” is an unreleased Creative Commons fresh record for netlabel Bad Panda. This song will evoke either melancholy or introspection or a combination of both, depending on your mood or history. It will transport you to the depths of your mind, although the lyrics says, “there’s no need to think.” It is both poignant and liberating, truly good music for the soul. Although Gareth’s vocals is slightly overwhelmed by his guitar, the result is still good, relaxing music, almost like a lullaby.

Two of Gareth’s past releases are Spruce Goose (Norman Records, 2005) and Collected Recordings (Drifting Falling, 2009).

On Bag Panda’s blog, Gareth shares with his supporters his favorite place on Earth: “California, i was lucky enough to go there to play some gigs with Vashti Bunyan a couple of years back. I love L.A because it’s totally unique and completely nuts and has an amazing beach.”

Gareth will tour around Europe until May this year. (Follow this link to check out the dates.) He is also planning to keep touring for a Nick Drake tribute, titled Nicked Drake.

Related Links:
Official Website of Gareth Dickson
Gareth Dickson on MySpace
Gareth Dickson on Vimeo

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Moonboy is a short film by Adam Calfee. It is about a young boy who has gotten all fed up with what the television has to offer. “There has got to be more to life than this,” he seems to be thinking, while channel surfing and catching one lame TV commercial after another. What does he do? He aims for the moon!

The creative design of Moonboy is simply awe-inspiring. The film boasts of amazing colors to contrast the deceptively simple illustrations. It also makes good use of subtle elements like shadows and natural facial expressions that make each frame very creative and playful in spite of the darkness in the young boy’s thoughts. I particularly like how the moon looks so magnificent and real, although the stars could use a little more playfulness. For instance, the night sky could have looked even more astounding with the hint of a nebula. But overall, the short film is already a visual feast as it is.

The background music, inspired by Moonlight Sonata, was composed by Reid Wellock specifically for Moonboy, lending a perfect melancholic mood for what is going through a fed up boy’s impressionable mind. Additional animation was done by Gus Trauth, CGI by Jordan Held. The story of Antoine de Saint Exupéry’s The Little Prince comes to mind when the boy is seen standing on the moon. That quick connection evokes a deeper appreciation for the film, because there is so much behind its simplicity that one just cannot help but feel in the end. Now I’m off to embed this video on my Facebook for my playmates to see.

Related Links:
Adam Calfee on YouTube
Moonboy on Vimeo

*You need to be logged into Vimeo to download the video. The download link is on the lower right of the screen.

Glacial Series by Karbidangeln Mit Aurica is a combination of creatively powerful beats and soothing vocals. All of the tracks in Glacial Series were written and produced by Berlin-based Aurica Kurtuschin, who also lent her beautiful voice to complete this collection.

Aurica’s netlabel Electrolyt describes the album tracks as, “the finest living room electronica with elements of synth pop, drone and industrial, as well as ambient, post-punk and experimental.”

If things were up to me, I wouldn’t have chosen to add the vocals because the purity of the music is already great entertainment. But then the vocals weren’t bad at all, in fact it created a whole new level of texture and emotions for the EP.

Karbidangeln Mit Aurica’s previous works were included in In This World and Hypotenuse, released on the Berlin elektro label Das Drehmoment.

There are seven tracks in this EP, all previously unreleased. My favorites are Raindrops and For Nothing. Raindrops is the perfect background music for my writing and research projects; its melody is light and meditative. For Nothing is melancholic and rather heavy, but at the same time beautiful and engaging. Aurica’s music is rather reserved but at the same time playful and forceful. Those who enjoy electronic ambient music will like Glacial Series. Download and give it a listen, it is certainly worth your time.

Related Links:
Electrolyt Official Website
Glacial Series on Archive.org

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A graduation film by a group of students led by writer Stian Hafstad, “Small Penis” briefly chronicles the story of Daniel who has huge insecurities about the size of his penis and joins a support group that's a bit out of ordinary.

Produced with a budget of US$400-500 and filmed in only five days in Bergen, Norway, this amusing short film is very well written, shot and composed of surprisingly good, convincing actors. For a film title, “Small Penis” gives a lot, despite its size. Different folks will have different reactions, naturally. Some will be quickly amused, others displeased, and others, stoked.

To elaborate, those who are quickly amused probably felt this film has a hilarious. They are right. Those who are displeased probably thought “Small Penis” is just another meaningless film guised as art by those who had nothing better to do. They should watch this. Those who are stoked probably assumed this is a product of playful and creative minds who take their sense of humor seriously. They couldn’t be more right on the money, at least when the first half of “Small Penis” is concerned.

The characters belong to a support group that would remind you of the usual AA meeting scenes in the movies. While these men’s feelings may be inconceivable for a woman like me, the amusing way in which the story is told did humor me every minute of it, until they started singing and dancing. The music is actually good and catchy (written by Erlend Myrstad), it is just the amount of time spent on singing and dancing that I have some issues with. It would have been better if the film further explored the thoughts and relationships of Daniel, instead of showing a song-and-dance and bloopers sequence. Bloopers are always welcome for me, but a short film has to be packed and every minute must be maximized. In the end, it seemed the creators just wanted to have fun and I see nothing really wrong with that.

The film was shot on Sony XDcam, 1920x1080, 25p, and edited in Final Cut. I've recommended this film to my friends (and I wasn’t embarrassed at all).

Related Links:
"Small Penis" on Vimeo
Download "You are not Your Penis" (mp3)
"Small Penis" on YouTube

To download the video, click on the link above & log in to Vimeo. The download link is below the page fold on the right hand side.

If you feel like drifting off to somewhere relaxing and fun, you can count on the music of Mezzamo to take you there.

Mezzamo, the best newcomer of the International Indie Festival Stereoleto in 2009, is one of the freshest and favored new wave/indie pop groups in Russia. Their creatively compelling video clips appear on various Russian alternative TV channels.

The group was launched in 2006. They have released a Russian-language album called 'Mnogotochie' and an English-language single 'Everything You, which were both well-received internationally. Working the vocals that makes you feel so light and buoyant is the wonderful Shura Zhuravleva.

Mezzamo's upbeat and spirited songs will work perfectly for chilling out. Imagine the brazen elements of Blondie's new wave music and combine it with the gentle yet powerful vocals of Annie Lennox. Mezzamo marries the new wave and pop tones of the '80s and '90s to everything that is funky and current, and the result just delights the ears no end. It could be your background music in the living room while you're going about your day.

“Aloneluna” is the latest album from Mezzamo, and it is proudly released by netlabel Synthematik. The album was officially released on January 7th (the Russian Christmas). Aloneluna contains 11 songs that carries Mezzamo's signature sparkle and chill out tone.

If you like what you hear, "Aloneluna" is also available in major digital stores (iTunes, AmazonMP3, E-music) with four exclusive bonus tracks: "The Walk", "Lunatic", "Aloneluna" (Russian version), "The Penguins Are Coming". You can also by a CD (incl. bonus tracks) at AudioLife.com

Related Links:
The Official Mezzamo Website
Synthematik on MySpace
Synthematik NetLabel on Facebook

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

The music of PUSH is fundamentally innovative ambient rock that is easy to listen to because of the interesting combination of soft to loud percussions and upbeat melody that builds up slowly in most of the tracks.

What stands out for me is “Dream Sequence” because it is the kind of song that could take on any insomnia bug quite easily. Right now, it’s in my “bedtime playlist.”



PUSH is composed of the following artists: Jon Scarpelli (Vocals/Synthesizer/Programming), Bill Roberts (Marimba/Percussion), Scott Simon (Vibes/Percussion), Andres Bautista (Drums/Marimba/Melodica), and Tim Smyth (Bass/Percussion/Melodica).

A little bit of information about the group—founding members Jon, Bill and Andy were percussion students who were getting “bored” in school. Somehow, their practice sessions in their university paved the way for a big musical epiphany that would later bring new members into the group. Together, they discover and rediscover themselves as artists and they combine their skills to bring out the best possible result: a decent album that sounds so commercial and yet so indie at the same time. The guys don’t care, apparently. When it comes to their album’s direction, they just know that “it's ok to not have a brilliant new idea as long as you make it something and make it yours.” Now, download their free album, and enjoy a playful kind of rock!

Related Links:
PUSH on YouTube
PUSH on MySpace
PUSH on Facebook
PUSH on Archive.org

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States.