Basel, Switzerland - a town of culture, the pharmaceutical industry and permanent frowns. No one smiles in the birthplace of LSD. Basel was pretty, but my holiday was like a trip to a mental asylum. Clinical, regulated and dull. We needed to escape. To Germany.

Freiberg, a beautiful town with great food and smiles, was worth the hour long train journey. Especially as we managed to squeeze in a Broadcast 2000 gig.

Joe Steer, the brains of Broadcast 2000, has been justifiably triumphed by my friends recently. His experimental acoustic jinks, backed by a rare mix of snare drum, violin and glockenspiel, are delightful.

The music of Broadcast 20000 feels more authentic than the similarly styled Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. Perhaps the lack of electronic mumbo jumbo makes a more heart-warming and personal experience. Songwriters that don’t bombard me with all the crazy shit they find on their music software are in my good books - experimentalism can be all about moderation.

Broadcast 2000’s exposure has been, well, quite big. Get Up and Go is on an Orange advert and on Building Blocks, their tasty mini-album. To whet your appetite Joe has kindly offered my favourite song from the album to holeytonal for you to devour:

Broadcast 2000 - Everybody & Me

Especially when an arty fan of James and the Jewellery Store from Copenhagen makes a music video of Lights Go Dim. Only Danes, as the inventors of Dogma 95, can get away with camcorder films - Festen is one of my favourite movies.

You can download an MP3 of Lights Go Dim from my previous post about James and The Jewellery Store. But his story driven lyrics, bound with the sound of Sufjan Stephens on burlesque, deserve the attention of any art house film maker:

Song By Toad - Email to Columbia (& Sony BMG) - Music bloggers who have worked hard to promote a band have had their posts taken down by the labels who got them to post them in the first place. Not a way to treat people who do free work for you.

what’s your weather - is it raining again? well let this site choose some music to match your weather.

Allan’s World of Music - Kites in Space - Kites in Space Review - a post about a very good, but also very mysterious band 

Instrument Jokes - Yes, this is on the edge of bad, but there are loads of jokes, mainly about classical music. The highlight for me:

How do you tune a Tuba? With a tuba glue!

passionato - DRM free classical music download shop. Say good-bye to your wallet classical music fans.

pretty much amazing - Dress Up like Kanye West - fulfill the dream and dress follow this step by step guide to be the king of hip hop.

“I play drums in Babyshambles but don’t let that put you off.” Good thing it didn’t, because whilst I adore Marmite, I’m not a fan of Babyshambles. 

Adam Ficek, performing under the monicker Roses Kings Castles, is a DJing songwriting multi-instrumentalist whose talents would leave any baby in a shambles.

 Adam says Bletchley, Milton Keynes, where he was born is an, “odd satellite suburban juxtaposition of a place, it doesn’t quite know whether it’s farmland or city“. This perpetually British suburban conundrum has clearly impacted Roses Kings Castles eponymous debut album.

I admire music that connects with the context in which it is created. Take for example the superb The Imagined Village or Jim Moray - both acts successfully unite British folk and urban music.

Roses Kings Castles initially started as a filler during Babyshamble’s break (see The Sun, The Mirror or the Daily Star for more details). It soon spiralled into much more, and Ficek’s home made Lo-Fi has been received with much deserved praise.

The debut album is available from Amazon, but you can preview Roses Kings Castles either with the remix of Entroubled by Boy + Girl from Fried My Little Brain.  Or you could simply listen to the exclusive to holeytonal radio edit:

Roses Kings Castles - Entroubled (mp3)

Major labels should know sounds that sell - with rosters full of great artists or at least great assets. So why was I so surprised at a gig featuring two singers signed to Universal and Warner?

Because the two unsigned acts also playing put the big boys to shame.

I don’t care if artists are signed to a major, an independent or are unsigned. Its the music that counts. What does irk me are major labels wasting money on generic muck when there is spectacular talent on their doorstep.

Life In Film

Unsigned Life In Film were one of the bands that deserves the rewards of being signed. Their infectious and unique indie pop could sell many records. Festival crowds will love their sing along choruses, whilst mud dancing to the funky rhythms. Life In Film’s live set did lose some subtlety from their recordings - but add a glockenspiel and problem solved.

Actually nothing was subtle in the Water Rats - you’d have been lucky to hear a 747 if it sat on your face - its stupid and dangerous. I’d still like my hearing when I reach 30.

I’m Sorry, You Don’t Know What You’re Doing

I was instantly put off Doug Walker (Warner) and Gary Go (Universal) - they’ve been manicured into  such characterless manifestations of mediocrity that if they chanted their own names in every chorus you still wouldn’t know who they were. A Life In Film track on the other hand could play on the radio and you’d know who it belongs to. We can only hope they get more radio play, especially if they keep on writing songs like I’m Sorry, I Didn’t Know What To Do. If I did tune of the month this exclusive from Life In Film would be October’s flavour:

Life in Film - I’m Sorry, I Didn’t Know What To Do (mp3)

It also means I lived through the 80s, but being brought up in Hong Kong I missed out on all the psychedelic British kids TV. Rod Thomas clearly got a fair dose as his video for Same Old Lines shows:

This folkster from Wales played at a few summer festivals, including Glastonbury and Latitude. His music is accessible yet distinctive - I guess what being “Generation Y” is all about - standing out from a crowd of many talented people.

My parents fed me a diet of Tears for Fears, David Bowie and Roxy Music with their cheesy synthetic beats as a side, and you can hear them garnish Rod Thomas‘ songs - although James Taylor is definitely a main ingredient. 

Interpretations of music are often revealing, and James Yuill picked out the 80’s from the Rod Thomas sound palette when he remixed Same Old Lines.  Oh, and here’s the mp3:

Rod Thomas - Same Old Lines - James Yuill Remix (mp3)

Is anyone else becoming addicted to Born Survivor with Bear Grylls? He eats caterpillars and cuts the heads off skunks. Double hard.

I’ll never be that adventurous, but I’m always up for New Adventures. Especially ones destined to fill arenas around the world.

The four men of New Adventures began playing together at university, but a piece of the jigsaw was missing until vintage jeans brought Helen into the fold. Jez and Steve were selling vintage clothing - Helen bought some, and the rest is history.

The main obstacle New Adventures face is being lumped with Coldplay and Keane - but once you get over that you can enjoy some delicious stadium rock.

New Adventures will be releasing a second EP, Accidents, later this year featuring the stunning and drumless Never Get Caught, which can be heard on their MySpace. But I have fallen in love with this post’s MP3, try not to sing along:

New Adventures - Godspeed & Goodnight (mp3)

New Adventures are playing at Barfly in Camden, Thursday 23 October.

Serbia’s music has had a strange journey to holeytonal - beginning in Lebanon, via Brooklyn and Hammersmith.

Well it didn’t strictly start in Lebanon, but I fell in love with Gulag Orkester, Beirut’s debut album. I was completely lost in Balkan brass and indie fusion for a year.

Excitedly I introduced Beirut to my Serbian friend in Hammersmith, only for her to say in a mock Balkan accent “its good, but to hear the heart of Serbia, listen to Boban Markovic”

Boban Markovic and his Balkan Brass Band’s music is Serbian to its core. Markovic’s virtuoso trumpet playing and his brilliant ensemble has earned him many awards in his home country, and has managed to garner a world wide following. Besides, any band with a sousaphone deserves to win something.

Oasis even had to postpone a set at a Hungarian festival for 30 minutes, as everyone was watching Boban Markovic. He pissed off the Gallaghers - total legend.

Boban Markovic - Atlantis (mp3)

makeuseof.com - How to Broaden Your Musical Horizons Online: Geeky blog which helps everyone. Excellent post to help you find new music

Musicovery - Mentioned in the makeuseof.com post - a very cool tool to find new music - very intuitive and easy use - great fun!

Obscure Sound - Best of September 2008: Another great collection of MP3s from a great music blog.

Classical Music Homepage - If they get this right it could be great - but it really does need some work, and a shorter URL - especially if they want a subscription fee…

Muso - Rap Fan Prefers Court Fine to Classical Music: Another reason why you should never play music loud in the car.

LP33.tv - Launched this week, and founded by members of Genesis… a site that fuses music and video. Good for some musicovery… They plan to take on MTV.

Guardian - Music Weekly: Now if you haven’t already subscribed to this podcast then you really are making a mistake - I love it. Am addicted. I even find it better than radio.

I haven’t had that feeling since listening to OK Computer, but Wrecking Ball by Dead Confederate certainly came close. Since my previous post about them they have created a musical behemoth which is sublime, beautiful and amazing.

There’s No Need For Prunge

Crudely, this album could have happened if Pink Floyd collaborated with Nirvana, making err, Prunge - no don’t be silly. But it is fascinating to hear Dead Confederate’s influences mix together so seamlessly.

Paranoid About Your Size?

Out of the 10 songs, only three are less than five minutes, and Flesh Colored Canvass holds your attention for over 12 minutes. My friend commented that “if you’re planning on writing 7 - 12 min songs maybe take a leaf out of Radiohead’s book and diversify a little“.

I absolutely adore Paranoid Android, but on closer inspection its just three songs stuck together. Where Flesh Colored Canvass triumphs is through its peaks and troughs, leading to build up only to fade to the ether, rather like the Adagietto from Mahler’s Symphony No. 5.

Can You Hear the Dead?

To fully appreciate Wrecking Ball, don’t put it on whilst doing something else. Give it the attention it deserves. If you don’t you’ll miss everything special about this album.

Now follows, Goner, a track from Wrecking Ball. I know there’s a recession on the way, but you really should buy this album.

Dead Confederate - Goner (mp3)