creative commons music

Archipelago: Have Here

What started as a post college project has become a full blown musical endeavor for Archipelago founder, Peter Naddeo. Born in the Appalachian trail of Blue Mountain, the singer/songwriter is currently doing double duties for several bands. Most notably, he plays guitar for indie folk pop group, Laura and the Cans. Have Here is the eighth release from the collective. Their ability to change things up is providing a whole new landscape of sound in their compilations; garnering positive results from musicians and fans alike. Some of their previous releases include Teenage Suicide Notes, Paper Trails EP, Hollow Bones EP, and Coasting to name a few.

Idbs: It Has To Be Done

Normally, most artists would be excited to share their thoughts, ideas, influences etc. about their music, but not Idbs. In fact, he makes sure to let the people know this by tacking a polite but straightforward note on his Jamendo page stating: This text is useless as the music speaks better of the artist than itself. True enough, the music does communicate itself very well. The album is a beautiful mix of acoustic, folk, pop and even rock & roll. It's a gorgeous album beaming with soulful guitar driven love songs with the occasional and unexpected touch of alternative grunge.

The Fumes: Unhandled Exception

Remember Blues Clues and that striped sweater wearing guy named, Steve? Well, this isn't him (although he's actually a musician too) but I imagine, The Fumes, could have easily played the part of the guitar wielding Steve in the show. One listen to Unhandled Exception and you'll probably see/hear it too. This guy churns out acoustic folk pop cuts that immediately made me picture children sitting around on a park with the singer at the center and singing along to his music. Now, this can either be good or bad depending on your taste, but personally some songs in this acoustic folk pop record are worth a listen.

The Diamond Light: Krotona

In a scene dominated by the cheery and contrived, the gritty and bare-bones rarely stand a chance. Sure, The White Stripes and The Strokes made it, but their presence is hugely rendered anomalous by the prevailing forces. That's why it's a delight – and a respite – to stumble upon something as authentic as The Diamond Light. In 2009 this Los Angeles-based “soul-rock-blues” band, as the members categorize it, released Krotona, an eight-track EP that is a testament to how good and satisfying music gets when you keep it raw and real.

Aor Agni: Join The Circle

A little different from what we usually feature here in Frostclick, Join The Circle by Aor Agni is a full-on, electronic, ambient/chillout compilation that most music lovers will enjoy. Although there's not much online about the artist except that they're from France; the music speaks for itself. Join The Circle beautifully combines meditative beats and soothing, moody, sporadic lyrics; perfectly capturing a relaxing mood. Formed back in 2003, the group makes use of several samples on this record, including songs from Central Station and Freesound Project.

Pollux: Rspct

The album Rspct opens up with a track that's proper for its role: Rspct Intro features a thin but layered drone shifting from this direction to that until it renders itself redolent of aircraft sounds, or of spacecraft ones (it depends on your imagination, really) and, consequently, creates the illusion of one taking flight, perhaps toward Pollux – not the artist behind the album, but the brightest star in the constellation of Gemini, from which the musician presumably took his moniker.

Gunther Brown: Gunther Brown

Gunther Brown and his songs belong to some indie coming-of-age movie or television series soundtrack. It's not just the expressive voice but the acoustic electro sound as well as the melodic vibe definitely makes this one an A++ indie folk pop record. More often than not, you'll see Gunther Brown as a duo comprised of Pete Dubuc and Evan Chase. Occasionally, they do transform into a 5 piece crew, with Eric Heintz, Ethan Gamage, Derek Mills and Chris Devlin as additional members. This self-titled compilation is a collection of EPs and singles the band has released in their previous records.