Inside Amplified

From the shores of London comes our first Amplified UK episode, Speech Debelle. Post by Gloria Riviera:

‘Spinnin’ was the first single I heard off Speech Therapy by Speech Debelle. I was immediately taken by her upbeat, melodic and altogether sweet fusion of hip-hop, rap and what sounded, to my ear, like just a little bit of pop. So it came as a bit of a shock to be equally enthralled with ‘Searching’ in which she chronicles a time in her life when she debated choosing drugs over food, or ‘Better Days’ – a song in which she deals with the repercussions of being, as she says, too “loose.”

When most Americans think about indie rock bands, they don't normally imagine a band from China. But a new tour featuring artists from Beijing has been introducing cities on the East Coast to a fresh new sound.

Click HERE to read more about a recent performance on the University of North Carolina campus in Chapel Hill. Bands Carsick Cars and P.K. 14, as well as solo artist Xiao He, stirred up the crowd.

-- Chris Badders, ABC News on Campus reporter

Here's the Nightline story I did on 50 Cent. Spent a couple days with him, and we got a lot pretty well. My producer called it "the strangest buddy film ever." Watch til the end, when the interview totally goes off the rails.

(Dan Harris)

Derek Miller and Alexis Krauss, AKA Sleigh Bells, have been getting a ton of press love after the CMJ festival hoisted them to internet prominence. Pitchfork, the New Yorker, Stereogum, even Entertainment Weekly have gotten into the fray. We spoke with the duo last week, and will be airing that soon, but in the meanwhile, enjoy this video of them playing their slower, more swayable tune, Ring Ring. Though some call the song Rill Rill.

Check out British dance pop group we have band playing their song You Came Out at Public Assembly two weeks ago during CMJ. Interesting interweb note about the name of the group: the main time that particular construction of words comes up in web searches is for folks telling each other: we have band practice.

British dance rock threesome We Have Band was a highlight of our CMJ experience this year. They played the show we helped curate, they are genial and fun folks, and they don't shy away from making jokes about the gender politics in a two guy, one girl band.

The Apple Store in Soho on was particularly abuzz last Thursday night, due to a special performance by UK ingenues The xx. Now, this particular band holds a special place in my heart, because it fulfills three important aspects of what is considered a legitimate “indie” group: they’re young, they wear lots of black, and their name starts with “the.” But they also capture my attention because they have an undeniably attractive sound. Haunting, lingering vocals against a backdrop of somber keyboarding in minor key with a dash of percussion to keep the beat leave the listener wondering how four 20-year-olds from South London can produce music that can leave a lasting impression. 

We helped to curate a CMJ party this past Wednesday night at Public Assembly in Brooklyn. The show  featured five amazing, unsigned bands: Sleigh Bells, Phantogram (well, actually they just signed to Barsuk), X-Wife, We Have Band, Electric Tickle Machine... you'll see full Amplifieds with each of them in the coming weeks, but in the meanwhile check out the video above for a taste. Photos below from photographer Rob Loud.

 

We'll have a number of CMJ related posts on the Amplified Blog this week, including a roundup of the forthebeat.com-produced show for Amplified at Public Assembly last night (which featured Sleigh Bells, Phantogram, X-Wife, We Have Band and Electric Tickle Machine). Here's the first from World News' Susan Shin:

After months of waiting and circling all my favorite venues and bands to see and then circling some more, The CMJ Marathon has finally arrived! Since I’ve been anticipating this moment pretty much ever since last year’s marathon ended, I laced up my sneakers and headed out the door faster than you could say “music junkie.”

Sad to hear that New York band Harlem Shakes have broken up. Bassist Todd Goldstein confirmed it to us on twitter this morning. Good luck to him and his new project Arms. Meanwhile, enjoy the above video of them playing in Dan’s office a few months back.