So how's it going? Me? Busy as hell as you might already see. What can I say March was very eventful to say the least. The end of February was even worse.
So I have watched more movies and downloaded even more music. I kinda discovered Trip-Hop and I am absolutely obsessed with it.
Here are some artist and bands I liked:
Anja Garbarek ===>
"Anja Garbarek (b. July 24, 1970) is a Norwegian singer-songwriter. She is the daughter of the Norwegian jazz saxophonist Jan Garbarek and grew up around Oslo. She received the Spellemannsprisen in 2001 for her album Smiling & Waving in the open class category. She is married to John Mallison, with whom she has had one daughter."
http://www.anjagarbarek.com/
<=== Anjali Bhatia
"An incredibly sensual take on lounge exotica, The World of Lady A is the second album from enigmatic diva, Anjali. The very adventurous release picks up where her highly acclaimed debut album left off and is a multi-layered cocktail of influences that transcend cultures and is arguably one of the most original albums of the year. A singer, songwriter, DJ, thinker and super-babe, Anjali invites e-mag into the musical world she has created for herself... "
http://www.anjali.org.uk/
Big Muff/ Itaal Shur ==>
"Itaal Shur's drive to produce music that transcends cultural boundaries has earned him the ultimate recognition from his peers-a Latin Grammy nomination for Song of The Year, an award he was honored with at the 1999 Grammy Awards for co-writing Carlos Santana's "Smooth" with Rob Thomas."
http://www.itaalshur.com/
<== Esthero "Esthero (real name Jen-Bea Englishman, born December 23, 1978) is a Canadian singer-songwriter who lives and works in the city of Toronto, Ontario. The name "Esthero," pronounced es-THERE-oh, refers both to the singer and to the two-person team of herself and her producer, Doc. She claims to have gotten the name from an old film character named Esther, whose last line in a movie (called, The Bell Jar based on the autobiographical Sylvia Plath novel) is, "If I am to be the hero, then I cannot fly from darkness."
http://tln.lib.mi.us/~amutch/esthero/
Etro Anime ==>
"Coming from New York they played clubs such as Izzy Bar and Spiral Lounge, but it was not until 2004 that we are seeing a full length artist album. This interesting band is composed of Tom Welch, Shambo Pfaff, David Fisher, Tom Birkley, and Cuban-born vocalist Lissett Alea. Their music is true fusion of drum & bass, house, and trip-hop with sexy flowing vocals. They crank up the first track "Purest One," with a drum & bass flavor, melding it with some dark loops and beautiful work on the keys. It is a very exciting start to an interesting showcase. They bring out a bit more of the trip-hop sound on the song "Portrait." It is totally reminiscent of a Tricky song, but not as hardcore. The band's first release "Summer Rain" entered The National Dance chart at number 29 and with good reason. They came at this track with a funky house vibe and it makes me think of summer beach parties that never stop. It is quite a beautiful song. Etro Anime is not even afraid of a little hip-hop either. On "Diablo" they put in a harder bass line with some scratching and elegant vocals laid over top. It's what you might get if you mixed Mark Farina with Jazzy Jay and added a splash of Nelly Furtado. Drum & bass re-enters the equation on the song "Adonis." The lighter rhythms come together nicely with Alea's soothing vocals. This album is all about breaking down boundaries that stand in dance music and fusing the styles together, harmoniously."
http://www.alwaysontherun.net/etroanime.htm
<== Flunk
"The thing about Flunk is quite simple. It is all about the love of music - and the lack of words. Or being tired of words. Organised by Ulph, Flunk are the collective enterprise of the former, guitarist Jo Bakke (he used to be in Norwegian pop act Happy Campers, who moved on to electronic music and even had a 12" on Ninja Tunes, and now also is one half of house-combo Antenna who released their first 12" on US label Guidance this autumn), and Anja Øyen Vister (a medical student who has been singing for years, but only occasinally in a band setting). There are also others adding layers during the process of making Flunk music, including Ivar Winther and his flute, and Ulphs girlfriend, Tine Skarland singing.Ulph has made four albums with Norwegian pop act Folk & Røvere since 1996, receiving both critical acclaim and some brief moments of chart success for the slightly odd mix of Norwegian lyrics and downbeat music. The first two albums were made with Beate Lech, now enjoying success on her own with Beady Belle.Flunk, then, is basically about letting the music speak louder than the ever flowing words. The soundscapes are mid-tempo, and with the sound of guitars almost always present, it puts a kind of rock touch to the chill-out feel and pop tunes. Well, that is the general idea, anyway."
http://www.beatservice.no/flunk.asp
Lunascape ==>
"At the core of Lunascape are musicians Kyoko Baertsoen and Walter Hilhorst. The duo originally met in 1993 at the television and film academy in Brussels, Belgium and began to fiddle around with covers and some original material. In 1997, Kyoko was offered the spot of lead singer for Hooverphonic and her work with Walter was put on the back burner. After touring Europe extensively with Hooverphonic, Kyoko left the band and returned to her work with Walter; Lunascape was born. The Lunascape sound mixes catchy rhythms, sampling and loops with electric guitars reinforced by strong melodies and Kyoko's enchanting voice. Kyoko recently spoke about her musical influences: “I’ve listened to so many different types of music from Abba to Pink Floyd. At about 13 I was immersed in the sinister new wave of Sisters of Mercy, Bauhaus and Joy Division but one band really took me all the way into the ‘beautiful realms of music’: The Cocteau Twins. It’s the extraordinary original melodies of Liz Fraser; I've never heard anyone do this again. For me she'll stay the goddess of chant forever.”Taken by their blend of etherealism and emotional adeptness, a European A&R rep caught the duo at one of their many shows throughout the region and quickly signed them and shuttled them into a studio to begin recording. While the band released albums and singles in Europe, their first North American exposure came in a most unusual way. In 2001, Kyoko starred alongside Harry Shearer in IMAX’s 3-D film “Haunted Castle.” Kyoko became an underground cult figure. Fans uncovered Lunascape’s European catalog and import versions began to sell in the US. Another twist in Lunascape’s international fortunes came in 2003. Sinead O’Connor teamed up with Delerium’s Rhys Fulber for his new project, Conjure One. The first single was a cover of Lunascape’s “Tears From The Moon.” Kyoko and Walter had worked on the song with famed producer Rick Nowels (Madonna, Dido) in his LA studio. Sinead and Rhys’ version went to number 3 on Billboard’s dance charts and hovered in the Top 5 for several weeks becoming a hallmark of dance clubs throughout the world in the Summer of 2003. "
http://www.lunascape.net/
<== Potishead
"Portishead may not have invented trip-hop, but they were among the first to popularize it, particularly in America. Taking their cue from the slow, elastic beats that dominated Massive Attack's Blue Lines and adding elements of cool jazz, acid house, and soundtrack music, Portishead created an atmospheric, alluringly dark sound. The group wasn't as avant-garde as Tricky, nor as tied to dance traditions as Massive Attack; instead, it wrote evocative pseudo-cabaret pop songs that subverted their conventional structures with experimental productions and rhythms of trip-hop. As a result, Portishead appealed to a broad audience — not just electronic dance and alternative rock fans, but thirtysomethings who found techno, trip-hop, and dance as exotic as worldbeat. Before Portishead released their debut album, Dummy, in 1994, trip-hop's broad appeal wasn't apparent, but the record became an unexpected success in Britain, topping most year-end critics polls and earning the prestigious Mercury Music Prize; in America, it also became an underground hit, selling over 150,000 copies before the group toured the U.S. Following the success of Dummy, legions of imitators appeared over the next two years, but Portishead remained quiet as they worked on their second album. Named after the West Coast shipping town where Geoff Barrow grew up, Portishead formed in Bristol, England, in 1991. Prior to the group's formation, Barrow had worked as a tape operator at the Coach House studio, where he met Massive Attack. Through that group, he began working with Tricky, producing the rapper's track for the Sickle Cell charity album. Barrow also wrote songs for Neneh Cherry's Homebrew, though only "Somedays" appeared on the record. Around the time of Portishead's formation, he had begun to earn a reputation as a remix producer, working on tracks by Primal Scream, Paul Weller, Gabrielle, and Depeche Mode. Barrow met Beth Gibbons, who had been singing in pubs, in 1991 on a job scheme. Over the next few years, the pair began writing music, often with jazz guitarist Adrian Utley, who had previously played with both Big John Patton and the Jazz Messengers."
http://www.portishead.co.uk/
Puracane ==> 
"Puracane began as a duo in 1999. Vocalist Ali Rogers and producer David Biegel co-wrote the album 'Things you should leave alone', released by Ubiquity records in 2000.
Ali Rogers decided to take the project from the studio to a live act and in 2000 Puracane played shows with Sting and Duran Duran and in 2001 with Jane's Addiction and Depeche Mode. Puracane's music featured in the films Driven Felicity, Road Rules and Real World.
Today Puracane are Ali Rogers on vocals, Juan Masotta on guitar and electronics, Drew Thurlow on bass, Andrew Griffiths on drums and Brett O'Mara on violin.
The band just released a new album: 'In Limbo', a collection of songs composed and produced by several satellite members during Puracane's hiatus.
Currently the band is working on new material for the next album and upcoming shows."
http://www.puracane.com/home.html
<== Shivaree
"In Moscow and Lisbon and Paris and Rome, Shivaree raised a genuine racket with their 1999 debut, I Oughtta Give You A Shot In The Head For Making Me Live In This Dump (Capitol). Even registered a bit of a tremor in the U.S. and Britain, thanks to a watchful press and a few dozen radio rogues. Mission accomplished, right? Romantic musical anarchists prevail against all odds: a waltz or three here, a black mambo there, and 19 months of second class travel to a cabaret near you secure a cult beachhead for our misfit crew. Soon, there’ll be waltz enough for all…
Rough Dreams , the band’s ’02 encore, may have been named for Otis Redding, but it played out more like prophecy than homage. Unremarkable but unremitting label squabbles devolved into a long playing nightmare that ended in wreckage. The album never saw a U.S. release, the band ceased touring, and if not for an odd weekly radio spot and the timely patronage of Quentin Tarantino and Hal Willner, Ambrosia Parsley and her band might have driven all the way off the map.
Ambrosia Sings the News debuted on Air America Radio the first Friday of April ’04 and quickly became one of the young network’s most popular segments, an ideal vehicle for Parsley’s devilish wit and indelible voice. Summer saw her accompany Uma Thurman’s victory lap at the close of Kill Bill 2, and deliver, with Cat Power and Blood Ulmer, one of the real spellbinders at Willner’s “Neil Young Project” in Brooklyn."
http://www.shivaree.com/
Soulstice == >
"Unquestionably alive, the music of Soulstice echoes of the past while remaining transfixed on the possibilities of tomorrow. Soulstice is futuristic electronic soul. Consisting of aural innovators Andy Caldwell and Gabriel Rene on keyboards, deck master Mei-Lwun Yee on turntables and songbird Gina Rene on vocals, Soulstice have released a string of sought after house and d&b classics including "Tenderly" and "Lovely." Featuring remix work by Kevin Yost, Johnny Fiasco and Acetate these 12"s have brought Soulstice into clubs worldwide on the playlists of notable artists such as Rainer Truby, DJ Garth, Mark Farina and Q Burns Abstract Message. Stateside, their debut album Illusion has garnered huge radio support from Jason Bentley and Kevin Lincoln, making Soulstice one of KCRWís most requested artists."
http://www.soulstice.com/
<== Thievery Corporation
"Thievery Corporation's fourth album, The Cosmic Game, finds the duo of Rob Garza and Eric Hilton in their most expansive mood yet, as their latest sonic exploration blurs the boundaries between rock, breaks, future-bossa, dub, and other mind-altering sounds. When dropped, The Cosmic Game is a psychotropic, aural concoction, which clearly opens a new dimension in the ever-evolving Thievery odyssey.
"When we finally got down to recording this album, we talked a lot about expressing more elements of our personal growth in our music. We also talked a lot about psychedelics and new ways of viewing reality and how they obviously affected music in eras past. During the months of recording, we spent a lot of time reading favorite authors and discussing 'so-called' conspiracy theories. I think this is fairly clear from the lyrics ," says Garza."
http://www.thieverycorporation.com/
Zero 7 ==>
"Zero 7 is a downtempo styled musical duo comprising of Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker from the United Kingdom. The band's songs feature vocals from Mozez, Sia Furler, Tina Dico, Sophie Barker, José González, and for the first time, Henry Binns providing backing vocals on the third album, The Garden."
http://www.zero7.co.uk/
