MUSIC SPECIAL......All for a song

MUSIC  :  All for a song

Sites to help you discover new artists and music you have never heard before

    We all have our favourite musicians, songs and albums, but there are still so many artists we haven’t heard, so many different styles that we haven’t yet been introduced to. And who knows, in those might be gems that could very well become our favourites.
    If you love the universal language of music and are keen on new experiences, read on for some of the best sites on the internet for fresh music. Most of these resources are vehicles for indie artists so chances are that you’ll find music you have never heard before, or hope to find in your local music store.
>>^NPR
NPR (formerly National Public Radio) — a nonprofit organisation that syndicates content to over 900 radio stations in the US — arguably has the best music content you can find on the interwebs. The site is full of interviews with music artists, reviews of the newest albums, and internet radio stations that continuously stream music. But best of all, NPR is a repository of great video content: Music Documentaries, Live Concerts, Studio Recordings, intimate performances that NPR calls Tiny Desk Concerts, and even Field Recordings where it takes musicians “out into the open for a series of surprising performances”. A great site for fresh dope.
www.npr.org/music
>> Everyone’s Mix Tape
The mix tapes we compiled in the pre-iPod age were more than just our playlists. They were a labour of love — finding the right tracks to be grouped together on that precious cassette. And we’d create tapes of our favourite songs for different moods: one for when we’re driving, one for those mellow evening, yet another for when we were feeling groovy.
    Start an account on Everyone’s Mix Tape (EMT), and you are prompted to create your own mix tapes or add to existing mixes. Enter the name of a song, and EMT searches for it on YouTube and SoundCloud, so you can add the track to your compilation. When you’re done, you can share your virtual tape with everyone else on the site. And if you want to a ready mix that suits your mood — or perhaps to discover artists or songs that you’ve never heard before — simply browse through the “tapes” created by others.
everyonesmixtape.com Similar site: 8tracks.com
    >> Gaana
    If you’re looking for songs closer to home, you might want to consider Gaana, an internet radio channel that boasts of a huge collection of songs in practically every Indian regional language — Assamese, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Kannada, Konkani, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu and even Sanskrit.
    A free account lets you create your own playlists — including international tracks — and you can even ‘like’, comment on favourites, and share songs with friends through Twitter, Facebook and email. To discover new music, simply check out the playlists of other members, or rely on the site’s suggestions for compositions that are similar to the one you are listening to.
www.gaana.com
>> Hype Machine
The Hype Machine, a service that began in 2005, has been keeping track of music based on what bloggers write about. The site relies on a set of hand-picked blogs and aggregates that content to make it easy for you to discover new music.
    If a post contains MP3 links, the Hype Machine displays them on the front page. This way, your odds of stumbling onto new compositions are high. The service does not let you download any tracks, but you can listen to the hottest songs that are trending on the internet.
    To make new music easily discoverable, the portal comprises sections like ‘Latest’ where you can browse recent postings by genre; ‘Popular’ for most listened-to artists, searches and blogs; ‘Spy’ (under its Labs section) for a dekko at what others are listening to; and Dashboard for registered users to get a customisable view of their favourite tracks, artists, blogs and users.
hypem.com Similar site: wearehunted.com
>> From the Basement TV
In 2006, recording engineer Nigel Godrich, best known for his work with rock band Radiohead, collaborated with producers Dilly Gent, James Chads and John Woollcombe to shoot a music series called From the Basement. The idea of the show, according to Godrich, was to make the “bands as comfortable as possible so that they could give great performances”. And this website is a repository of those wonderful video recordings. Here you will find videos from 30 artists including Thom York (of Radiohead), Beck, Gnarls Barkley, Jamie Lidell, The Kills, PJ Harvey and The White Stripes. Must watch.
fromthebasement.tv Similar site: www.music.com
• SAVIO D’SOUZA  TCR 1125NOV1 2