Indie Music Universe

Single Parents is the project of three friends: Fernando Dotta, Anderson Lima and Rafael Farah. Based out of São Paulo, Brazil, the band was formed in 2008 via a partnership between Fernando (vocals, guitar) and Anderson (bass).

After playing together for a couple of months, Fernando moved to Brighton, UK, where he began to compose songs in English on acoustic guitar, and continued his transatlantic musical exchange with Anderson.

Once rejoined in Brazil, the duo gathered demos produced over these six months they were apart to start working on final versions.

Single Parents became a trio in March 2009 when Rafael Farah (drums) joined the band. “We melded our styles and genres, focusing on Britrock and American alternative rock from the 90’s.”, says Fernando.

The band released their debut EP in December 2009, titled Could You Explain?, including four tracks written in English, whose distinct  and identifiable influences contribute to shape their musical identity. Farah comments: “We selected the demo versions that best embody the project’s aim, working on them for months before heading into the studio”.

As the EP’s title suggests, the band does not intend to restrict their sound to specific references, but to give each track a unique feel. “We came up with different structures for each song, where the theme and ambience change throughout. That is the contradiction we’re looking to express in our compositions”, highlights Anderson.

The band is currently rehearsing in studio, warming up for gigs in 2010. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 13% [?]

By Kristin Anderson

You can run and you can hide but Venus Infers will find you.

The Orange County-based band comprises frontman Davis Fetter, drummer Steve Wilmot, guitarist Hiro Makino and bassist Richard Marion.  Although this band is technically an indie rock band they do not make reference to themselves as such..Venus Infers stands by the motto that "music is for all ears". "When composing the art, artists should be discriminating," Fetter said, but "not when choosing their audience." And the world, mainstream and otherwise are most certainly in agreement.

I was sure that all the wonderful reviews meant that the band was enough like other popular bands to have the general public in a tizzy of lemming like agreement. But sometimes, just sometimes the masses are on to something. Venus Infers is remarkable. They have single-handedly taken all the things that you love about music and executed a sound that is so natural, so precisely its own flavor of rock genius, I am completely smitten. They move you the way bands like Coldplay, Radiohead, and The Killers do, with a grasp on what connects people and the common thread that bonds how we feel and the choices we make. All this and they make it seem effortless.

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Popularity: 18% [?]

Hightide Blues took the stage for the first time in 2006 and has been gracing hundreds of stages for thousands of fans ever since. Their sound is a throw back to southern rock with a modern twist and an original delivery that's in a category of it's own. With their high-energy performances and huge fan base it's no surprise that Hightide Blues has shared the stage with national acts such as Sara Bareilles, JJ Grey & Mofro, Delta Spirit, Graham Colton, Jason Isbell, Matt Costa, Donavon Frankenreiter, Sister Hazel, The Whigs, Zac Brown Band, Karl Denson, and many more.

Their delivery of acoustic and electric guitars with a hard-hitting rhythm section has lead to sold out shows all over the Southeast and won't be stopping there. Hightide Blues played Bonnaroo 2008, and are expanding their touring with shows all over the US of A.

In February 2008 Hightide Blues recorded their second EP "Love Come Easy" with producer Richard McLaurin at House of David Studios in Nashville, where music legends Elvis, Neil Young, B.B. King, Joe Cocker, and Roy Orbison recorded some of the most influential albums in music history. The highly anticipated "Love Come Easy" is generating excitement from fans and major record labels alike. Being labeled the fastest up and coming band in the Southeast, Hightide Blues is following in the footsteps of the many music legends who graced the very same studio, and anything is possible for this band as they tour the country picking up momentum and fans along the way.

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Popularity: 17% [?]

By Kristin Anderson

Indie fans stop running in place. On June 23, Kava Kava, who hail from Yorkshire UK, are releasing their first U.S album, Forwards, on Midnight Swimming. Having started as a four-piece psychedelic funk band gracing the underground festival and party scene, KAVA KAVA has now expanded into a six piece force to be reckoned with — that fully realizes a distinct and unique sound that is bringing the indie music scene to its knees.

The vocals of singer Pat Fulgoni, who sounds like a masculine angel, are accompanied by a revolving line-up that includes Matt Bond (guitar), Martin Chung (bass), Chris Corrigan (drums), Steve Davies and Ian Bailey (horn section) alongside vocals, guitars, electronica, brass, strings and a  funky rhythm section.  The combination of lead singer Pat Fulgoni and the unified expression of sound will rip you from time and space and let you fall into a state of dream sequence. Filled with raw power and energy, this music moves. You are sure to move with it..

Fulgoni has done quite a few collaborations on his own, lending his voice to several songs released by Hospital Records and Subliminal Soup Records. The single Beliefs off of Nu:Tones's "Back of Beyond" album reached #17 on the singles chart in the UK and featured vocals by Pat. Smooth as glass and desperately funky, Kava Kava is ripping through sound barriers and embedding themselves in mainstream culture.

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Popularity: 47% [?]