Canadian Music Week – Indie, Electro and… K-pop

BearHands
BearHands
Bear Hands

It’s already March and you know what that means? That means at the end of the month Forget The Box will be venturing to Toronto for an overdose of music, film and very little sleep. For the past week, I’ve been listening to a lot of the artists that will be playing at CMW. Some of them are very talented but let’s be honest, there’s only so much time and you can’t catch everything. So, here’s a little introduction and my opinions on what’s not to be missed!

Indie

Alex the Great: Four boys coming from Brighton, Uk who make beautiful indie-folk music. It could hardly fail. Track to check out: The Saint pt. III.

Gold & Youth: I totally fell in love with their new single Time to Kill, that appears on their first full length to be released on the label Arts and Crafts. Gareth Jones (Depeche Mode, Wire, Interpol) is in charge of mixing the album. Something about them reminds me of TV on the Radio at their best. Track to check: Time to kill.

Bare Wires: Tight jeans, leather jacket and rock music written under the Californian sun? The perfect mix to have hipster chicks clap in their hands and throw their panties on the stage. Track to check: Don’t ever change

http://youtu.be/XGC4Kv53J8w

Bear Hands: After having spent the past years opening for bands like the XX, Vampire Weekend, and MGMT we can say 2012 should be their breakthough year. Track to check: Crime pays.

Electronic music/hip-hop

Ali Shaheed Muhammad: When one guy from A Tribe Called Quest is doing a DJ set, one must attend.

Housse de Racket: fresh sensation discovered by Kitsuné records. They’re not re-inventing the wheel but they should show you a good time. Track to check: Roman

Kon (fron kon & amir): heading from Brooklyn, this guy can teach you a lot about disco, funk and soul. For those who like to spent their whole week-ends in record stores in search of rarities. Here’s a video to get to know the guy.

Nicolas Jaar: Let’s put it that way: if there’s one act not to be missed during CMW it’s Nicolas Jaar. This guy has a special sensibility and can mix electronic music with jazz and soul. If you haven’t discovered him yet I urge to get his record Space is Only Noise. Track to check out: Keep me there

That’s about it for my “serious” suggestions. One last thing though. On the first day of the festival, CMW will feature a special Korean night with K-pop wave. I’ve looked at some videos from the artists featured and OMG! Justin Timberlake gone Korean? Menga Spice Girls? I say yes! To this!

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