Sunday, September 15, 2013

It’s the Ides of September – Music Alliance Pact (MAP)

     As noted in previous blog entries, on the fifteenth (the "Ides") of each month the Music Alliance Pact (MAP) makes a collection of songs available for free and legal download. MAP is a collective of 29 blogs (at least) in an equal number of countries.  Each blog chooses a song by an artist from its home country for the monthly post.  Approval from each artist is a requirement. This month, there are 29 songs in the MAP collection.
     There are three options:
     1. You can merely listen to the 29 songs at one of the MAP authorized sites. For example, the Scottish participant is The Pop Cop, and the MAP page is accessed by CLICKING HERE.
       2. You can selectively download the songs by going to one of the MAP authorized sites and using the "Save as" capability of your web browser.
       3. You can download all 29 songs in a ZIP file at CLICK HERE
  We look forward to each collection of tracks from MAP, because of the promise of discovery. With certain songs on our personal playlists of favored music, we can identify a single instance that brought awareness of the song. That is, if not for a specific blog, concert or television program, it’s possible that we would be unaware of the song. More than once, the awareness stems from the MAP monthly offerings.

      At least after a limited number of passes throught the 29 songs, we are not sure there is a long term keeper among this month's MAP collection. Nevertheless, this is a more promising month than was August. 
     The contribution from Malta is our favorite within the collection. Yes, it's "fluffy," but fluffy can be good, right? "Just Like You" has a degree of unpredictabillty in its flow. It isn't on Soudcloud yet, so we're going with Bandcamp. Time to check out other songs by Alex Alden.


     Finland's contribution is from Maglevs. The song is "Van Rijn," one of a number of dream pop tracks in the September MAP collection. We are aware of Maglevs, and actually prefer their song "Bicycle Dream." So, we are embedding both songs.
     “Bicycle Dream” by Maglevs – not a MAP download, but it's free. 

     “Van Rijn” by Maglevs


     From Scotland comes “Fowl Mouth” by Blood Relatives. It has a folk feel to it, with variations that help maintain the interest of the listener. Unfortunately, the song is only available at the MAP sites – no Soundcloud, Youtube or Bandcamp. But below is a different song by Blood Relatives ("Fowl Mouth” is better).
      "Dead Hip" by Blood Relatives


      Italy contributes a song by His Clancyness. The vocals are lacking a bit at times, but “Zenith Diamond” is otherwise solid. Our favorite feature is the guitar that is most clearly heard starting at the 1:53 mark.
     "Zenith Diamond" by His Clancyness


     The band 65daysofstatic from England is interesting for two reasons. First, it’s a strange name, very strange. Second, they will be in the San Francisco area soon. On November 14, 2013, 65daysofstatic will be at the Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco.  Just from the Soundcloud waveform, it is apparent that "Prism" has a steady energy build.

   
       The song from Australia is Architecture, while the one from the United States is Architect. Sure, one leads to the other.
       "Architecture" by Manor (Australia)

       "Architect" by Wharfer (United States) - currently a free download


     Chile offers some psychedelic rock from a guitar band. Otoño is probably one of those acquired tastes, but it might be well worth the investment of time in making the acquisition.
     "Scheider" by  Otoño - currently a free download


     Finally, the contribution from Peru is “Me Voy Dejando” by Iván Fajardo.

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