Bordering on Avant Garde, from Brussels Belgium, here is a psychedelic band known as Robbing Millions. The band was founded by guitarist/vocalist Lucien Fraipont and includes Gaspard Ryelandt on vocals, Daniel Bleikolm on keyboards, Leo Campbell on bass & guitar and Jakob Warmenbol on drums.
The first two videos below were filmed by a French music discovery show out of Brussels known as Bruxelles Ma Belle
Robbing Millions - Tenshinhan
Robbing Millions - I Did Not Realize
Next up is a conceptual music video for the studio version of the Robbing Millions song titled Ages and Sun
Next up is a conceptual music video for the studio version of the Robbing Millions song titled Tenshinhan
Dom La Nena performs to a packed house in Lisbon Portugal
For the last year or so, the cellist/songwriter/singer and touring artist named Dom La Nena has been no stranger on my trail of posts listed at the end of this entry. It has been lovely to follow her international travels where she has been so well received quite literally everywhere. Just read the piece on her that Jim Fusilli at The Wall St. Journal recently wrote about her in the January 9, 2014 Life & Culture section. (click here to read).
She is well deserving of much more exposure in my opinion because her songs are so very beautiful along with the fact that she has really paid her dues in terms of personally honing her craft and original songwriting. She is a real artist not put together by the Hollywood hype machine. She is super organic, unmanufactured and a true artist. Dom La Nena is breath of fresh air.
The two videos below are different takes of the same song, and original by Dom La Nena titled Canção Boba. The first take was shot in the streets of Fez, Morocco. It was shot by Dom La Nena's videographer (her husband, according to the Wall St. Journal) who gets credit only as Jeremiah with support from Mathieu Mastin and Renaud Duguet. Dom La Nena is one of my favorite emerging organic artists making her way around the international scene.
Dom La Nena - Canção Boba (on the streets of Fez, Morocco)
This version and official music video for Canção Boba was filmed in the Jardin des Tuileries of Paris, France. It too was filmed by Jeremiah.
A few years ago, the only Eskimo I think I know, recording artist/producer Kelly Moneymaker, turned me onto Jerle Bernhoft, a.k.a. Bernhoft. Bernhoft has been emerging for years and fine tuning his own brand of soul music in his native country of Norway.
Bernhoft is seriously inspired in terms of songwriting, his very soulful vocals and in terms of his ability to play guitar, bass & piano and create percussion sounds out of thin air while setting up loops with his feet that forms a serious wall of sound. He is the ultimate one man band.
***In these first three recordings below, these are actual live recording and there are no overdubs. seriously for real!)
Bernhoft and his track entitled Cmon Talk.
Next is Bernhoft and his track titled Choices
Next is Berhoft and his unreleased track entitled Since I was a Little Kid
Next video below is a song where he breaks from his usual pattern of being a one man band running loops, being a beatbox and playing multiple guitars all while singing his ass off. In this live performance video, he simply sits down at the piano and sings.
Bernhoft - Stay With Me
And last but not least is Bernhoft with more of a studio track and a real music video to his song titled So Many Faces.
For those unfamiliar with Nneka, she is a serious political anti corruption activist minded artist of substance. Those who cherish and seek this sort of substance will love Nneka. Her songs often sound like personal love songs at first listen, only for the listener to get sucked into deeper messages with heavy stories of corrupt leaders, pillaged countries, stolen dreams and the desperate lives of real people in real places.
The full concert film below is of Nneka's performance at the The Rototom Sunsplash, shot in August 2013 during the 20th anniversary for the festival. Rototom Sunsplash takes place in Spain on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the resort town of Benicàssim, a NY walk from Castellón.
The entire concert is excellent, but a favorite start off point for return viewers is at the 22 minute point when she performs her song titled Do You Love Me Now, followed up by songs where the band grooves hard for the remaining 30+ minutes.
