Roger Waters and The Who are keeping up the headlines of this year’s Hyde Park Calling Festival. Waters will be performing Dark Side of the Moon live on Saturday, 1st of July. I don’t think the album needs any introduction to Pink Floyd fans, but just for you to know, it was released in 1973 and, together with The Wall, it is considered to be one of Pink Floyd’s greatest albums, selling over 40 million copies.

The Who will be playing on 2nd of July, one year after their Live8 appearance.

Other bands playing at Hyde Park are Texas, Starsailor, Razorlight and Primal Scream.

The ticket costs 80 pounds … and I am seriously thinking of attending :)

Some bands play for one season….others play for some years – 3, 5 or even 10. But there are others who after 20 years of activity are still capable of releasing excellent albums and filling up a whole stadium when touring.

Sepultura is one of them, as after 22 years of playing they just released a new (great) album. Dante XXI – Hell. Heaven. Purgatory. is the album’s name and, as the name says, it is inspired by the famous opera of Dante Aligheri.

The first thing I noticed when first hearing it is the excellent voice of Derek Green, the vocalist that some years ago replaced Max Cavalera. I cannot say I like him more than Max, as Max had a certain something that still makes me consider him one of the best vocals ever, but Derek certainly improved significantly and is now fully integrated in the band. He adds a hardcore feeling to the general sound now and his occasional screams throughout the tracks are excelently integrated in the whole. The entire sound is much more mature now and you can feel them playing as a whole group, not as distinct individuals.

The album definetely adds more thrash to the sound Sepultura had on its previous albums and somehow it reminds me of their first albums. Even though, without Max, it is not the same (yeah, I’m a sucker for him…)

The track I liked most – and is here for sharing – is “Convicted in life“. Starting with the famous “Abandon all hope he who enter here” verse, it is one of the fastest tracks on the album.

Overall, I can definetely say I like Dante XXI most out of the ones Sepultura released recently (post-Max era). Definetely worth a try, worth buying and worth listening for a long time. Congrats !!!

I happen to have a special attraction to band / artists who, besides playing vocals, also have an important role the instrumental side of the sound they produce. Likewise, Kate Tunstall can be appreciated both for her nice voice and the guitar parts she plays in her songs.

Kate is an Irish songwriter who made her first public recognaisance when performing what later became the famous “Black Horse and The Cherry Tree” song. Still, if you have the ambition not to let yourself distracted by only one or two singles of a certain artist, you will discover a rich a consistent sound throughout Kate’s albums, like “Eye to the Telescope“, her debut album.

Here you can listen to the “Black Horse and The Cherry Tree” track, but please be advised that is strongly suggested that you buy the songs from the shops !!

It seems lately I am in the mood for some jazz…and searching for some new artists in this field I discovered Hugh Masekela.

He is a well-known African Jazz musician, released some 30 albums so far and played the trumpet along with famous other jazz musicians such as Louis Armstrong. His music has a powerful African taste, along with some Latin influences as well. A rich and quite powerful jazz sound, with a strong voice and remarkable trumpets.

If you are a jazz fan, you should definetely give it a try. For example, you can try the Send Me (RAM format) track out of his new album to make an impression. Also, if you are interested, just ask and I can provide you more tracks to listen to.

Today I moved to the new house….which is what I can call a dream come true. Lot of space, great design, great arrangements and everything that comes with it.

Actually, the process turned out much better than I expected, we finished everything in under one day and I also got a chance to throw a small party with close friends.

As this place inspires me an amazing state of calmness and relaxation, the most played tracks today were Erin Bode – Time after Time and David Gilmour – This Heaven.

In the meantime, I am working on the playlist for the big party to come in some days. Any suggestions ? :)

Last year it was probably the last time I went to Stufstock, or a least the last time in that formula….too crowded, too many stupid / rude people, too much litter and so on.

Still, I enjoyed it for having the opportunity to listen to 3 of my favourite Romanian bands: Florin Chilian (not realy a band, I know), Tapinarii and Urma. Even though they are quite close in style, each of them has a different meaning and insipres me different feelings.

I like Chilian for the spiritual and witty lyrics, together with the nice sound, I like Urma for the profound lyrics and for Byron’s voice and I like Tapinarii for their unique approach, sometimes funny lyrics and the “get-away-from-it-all” feeling I get while listening to their music and imagining the empty (as in October – empty) beach in VV. And I also like them for both (Covei and Tanase) pretending to be some genies, just like myself :).

Tapinarii released 5 albums so far, out of which my personal favourite is the fourth one, “Ultimul Super Erou“. Still, as the title of this post says, I think it is best to listen to them live….which reminds me I gave the awful habit of always forgetting / not finding out in time about their concerts.

The last Tapinarii concert has been today (14.03) and I only found out at 23:00, when it was too late…Next one – in Bucharest – is on 1st of April in Yellow Pub. Hopefully, you can find me there. You can find out more about concert dates and info on the band on www.tapinarii.tk. A very interactive site, as it is a 100% forum :)

In the end, I though a lot if puttin up a song for download or not….eventually, here it is. Still, before you download, I strongly (and I mean STRONGLY) suggest you buy the original copy of the album(s). For two reasons: 1) sounds better on CD quality and 2) Maybe 15 EUR spent on a Shakira album won’t make her significantly richer, but 5 EUR on a Tapinarii might mean something to them, at least moral support, for sure !

Enjoy Tapinarii – Doi Bani.

I recently came across this band, called Kudu. Their style is quite hard to be defined (something between electro, pop, alternative and dance), but they sound so good that it needs no definition in the end.

All their albums have something to make you move and it is quite hard to stop listening them. Which proves that creating addiction can generate good sales :)

Today, 14 March, they are officially releasing a new album, called “Death of the Party“. Hopefully, I will get it soon, too, and share some of it. Speaking of which, as I’ve been “criticized” for too few songs available for download, here you are…

Kudu – Suite Life.

Enjoy !

Officially released one week ago, David Gilmour’s album we’ve all been waiting for (well, I have, since the beginning of the year) is now in stores … and in my headphones.

The sound is excelent, reminds me of Pink Floyd (I cannot forget the roots…), but it has something clearly distinctive. It inspires a state of peace of mind, just like being on an island. The album shows a calm, positive sound and inspires the state of a man who is happy, relaxed and peaceful with his life.

The album has been released on the same day David celebrated 60 years of age. What a nice gift to himself :) Even more, right after the release, the album jumped on 1st position in UK Charts and is already Gold in other European Countries as well.

The album features collaborations with a lot of performers, some of them ex-Pink Floyd (like Richard Wright, who will also join on tours). Still, no credits shown to Roger Waters….

My personal favourite track from this album is This Heaven, which you can get from here. Overall, the whole album is a wonderful listening experience, so I strongly suggest you buy it.

Final Note: Check David Gilmour’s blog for learning more about live experiences of this album.

[EDIT]: Download no longer available, for more info please contact us at admin @ musicblog . ro

I came across these guys recently, in a discussion I carried out with a friend, regarding the evolution of Kory Clarke. I remember saying something like being sure good music was still around, and lamenting about lack of time to dig it up. I got my first shot of SHE WANTS REVENGE listening to the samples on their blog. The second track there, “Tear you apart” is inspired and influenced by Joy Division’s “Love will tear us apart”. And this is another catch: SHE WANTS REVENGE is deeply rooted in the music of Joy Division, New Order, The Smiths, The Fall, Bauhaus, Depeche Mode, The Cure, Psychedelic Furs, that if you never listened to or never liked the music of the above mentioned artists, chances are you are going to hate this band.

“It’s very hip now to be into new-wave and post-punk and to know what contemporary bands are influenced by Gang of Four, but Justin and I were listening to all that shit IN the 80′s!” ~ Adam Bravin

First track I listened to is the one I’ve put here for download. Not for a moment I thought this was a copy-cat band, but the sound and atmosphere made very hard to believe it was an album released in 2006. As Justin Warfield wisely put it, “It’s easy to capture the style of the music, but writing songs that speak to people is a very different thing.”

I’m very happy with my discovery, it’s an album that has the right dose of mischieve, melancholy and mystery. It can make you sad just as quickly as it can make you dance, depending on the mood you’re in. “What could be better than having someone want to cry, fuck, or get up and dance to your music?” ~ Justin Warfield.

The track I’ve made available for download is very linear, mostly a dance track and it’s been stuck in my head since the moment I heard it first. Listen to it, and don’t forget to check out the samples on SHE WANTS REVENGE site for a more diverse selection. Feedback would be greatly appreciated…

This is quite an interesting news I heard today….The Exploited – yeah, they are still alive:) – are comming to Romania to open the rock in Mures festival. Exploited released their last album in 2003 and made some European tours recently, in a “regaining popularity” attempt. I never was a big fan, but it’s nice they are comming, though.

The event will take place between 6 and 9th of July in… Mures, of course. Among the bands who will play here are Luna Amara, Implant pentru Refuz, Parazitii, Altar and Coma.

Another event is just some days away. On the 11th, in Bucharest, Lake of Tears is having a concert. You can win some tickets by visiting www.promusicprod.ro/maximumrock.

King Diamond is comming to Romania on 17th of May, in Arenele Romane.

The next one is not rock, but I think is the one I will attend….Buena Vista Social Club is comming to Romania, again, in 8th of May.

Some other concerts in the next days are: Florin Chilian – 9.03 in Old School club, Celelalte Cuvinte – 9.03 in Backstage, Urma – 9.03 in ONX, Kumm – 23.03 in Backstage, Bucharest and 7.04 in Yellow Club, they are touring the country until then, Luna Amara – 30.03 in Bucharest, Backstage.

9.03 is quite an interesting day with some hard choices to make….But I think I’ll go to Chilian, though.

P.S. Also, Depeche Mode is comming on 23rd of June, but you already know about this.