So I’m back using Last.fm… after a 6-month-one-man-protest… I still think it’s discriminating to charge everyone but the UK, USA and Germany, for using their radio. But anyway… I’m back because I missed the recommendations.

I had Fink in my iTunes wish list for some time, but never got around to download it. This week it popped up in my recommendations, so I decided to give it a listen. At first his music sounds like your typical “guitar picking singer-songwriter”, but you can clearly hear it comes a long way. Fink used to make ambient trip-hop beats (which I totally recommend as well), but for some reason decided to chance course after 6 years. I think his music is fantastic, but I don’t expect any less from the Ninja Tune label. If you want to start somewhere, I would try his latest album Sort Of Revolution.

Next on in my recommendation list is Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I’ve actually heard their hit single, Heads Will Roll, on the radio a couple of times, but it never got stuck in my head. Until now. The band consists out of 3 people, where Karen Orzolek is responsible for the vocals, who I also heard singing on the soundtrack of Where The Wild Things Are.

Last one, for now, is Beach House. I don’t actually know them from Last.fm, but it was recommended by Marmushka. It’s an American band playing indie dream pop, whatever that means, but it sounds great. A good place to start is their latest album Teen Dream.

Update: Oh, in case you want to “friend” me on Last.fm, you can search for KiddoMono (dumb username I know, but I’m stuck with it now).

I should also make another mixtape, and I love making it for someone else, but… Well… Let’s just leave it with “I don’t have the time anyway”.

You see, I told you I wouldn’t wait too long for the next update. :P

Two weeks ago, I got a call from a friend who had an extra ticket for Grizzly Bear. I didn’t really know them, but the songs on their MySpace page sounded very good, and everyone I asked about it told me it was a great band. And they were right, their set here in Brussels was absolutely amazing! So thanks again, Gijs!

They are touring through Europe, together with St. Vincent. A one-woman-band which is definitely as good as Grizzly Bear. You should check out her album Marry Me.

Then, my friend started talking about The XX. Okay, never heard of them either. Yes I know, shame on me. Because they are the best! It’s one of those albums you can put on repeat the whole day. I you haven’t heard it yet, do it now!

Just discovered Fever Ray. It’s a solo project of the lead vocalist of The Knife. I never paid much attention to The Knife really. Starting to wonder why… But I guess Fever Ray is not completely the same. It seems a bit darker.

Take a look a this superb videoclip!

When I Grow Up from Fever Ray on Vimeo.

Dog interviews Little Idiot on bug planet from Moby on Vimeo.

Put on your dancing shoes! It’s online mixtape time again! So happy to find Muxtape-like open-source software. I’ve started a first mixtape with some unsorted songs I like at the moment. Need to convert some more to mp3 and upload them soon.

http://mixtape.geertbollen.be/

(When you have the Flash Debug Player 10 installed, it will throw an error. I hope to find a fix for this.)

Have one too? Share it!

The sun is out, the bear is cold, and the BBQ is all set up. Time to turn up the volume!

I finished a brand new mixtape with some of my favourite dance/electro/club tracks. I feel like I’m still searching for a perfect mix, but I don’t want to keep tweaking it until it breaks again.
So I this it. The second release from the GizMag Mixtapes: Feels Like Club!

Download the mixtape on Rapidshare (256kbps / 82,5MB):
http://rapidshare.com/files/244603233/GizMag_FeelsLikeClub.mp3

The playlist (45min):

1. Meck – Feels Like Home
2. Digikid84 – Bboy Underground
3. Justice – DVNO
4. Discobitch – C’est Beau La Bourgeoisie
5. Chromeo – Needy Girl (Lifelike Remix)
6. Moulinex – Break Chops
7. Blendbrank – Fortuna
8. Simian Mobile Disco – Hustler
9. Laston & Geo – Love Mode Or Hate Mode (Lady Sovereign vs Goose)
10. datA – Aerius Light
11. Étienne de Crécy – Fast Track
12. Teenage Bad Girl – Ghost House

Cover image taken from stock at saligia.deviantart.com.

Mcbess is super cool. Remember this awesome videoclip? Now you can download the song for free! Read his post, and download the song.

Ever heard of a VideoSong? Well now you do. Jack Conte makes VideoSongs. The rules are simple:

1. What you see is what you hear (no lip-syncing for instruments or voice).
2. If you hear it, at some point you see it (no hidden sounds).

It’s quite amazing actually. Most of the instruments are played by himself, but he does work with other musicians as well. It’s one of those things you just have to see for yourself. You can find a lot of clips on his YouTube page, and an overview of all his songs on his MySpace. Some of them are even free!

This is so freakin cool.

WOOD from mc bess on Vimeo.

Some time ago, I made a mixtape for a friend. And I kinda forgot about it, because for some reason the playlist was deleted in iTunes. But today at work I found it again. Listened to it. And I still liked it a lot. So I decided to put it up here. :)

It’s a mix of soft songs, which make me feel like everything is going to be all right. I hope you’re going to enjoy it. And let’s mark this as the start of the GizMag Mixtapes.

Yeah, the cover is not that great… Anyway… You can download the mix here:

http://rapidshare.com/files/229460882/GizMag_ItsAllGood.mp3

And of course the playlist:

1. Moby – Everloving
2. William Orbit – Sea Green
3. Cassius – Au rêve
4. Tosca – Rondo Acapricio
5. Röyksopp – What Else Is There
6. Air – Mer du Japon
7. Waldeck – Why Did We Fire the Gun?
8. The Chemical Brothers – The Pills Won’t Help You Know (Feat. Midlake)
9. Hans Zimmer – You’re So Cool
10. Yann Tiersen – Comptine d’un autre été
11. Gustavo Santaolalla – Deportation / Iguazu