Unearthing MySpace Gems

The first Unearthing MySpace Gems of July, got some crackers (as usual) for you this week, but my list of wicked MySpace Music pages is depleting a bit now, so seriously, if you are an artist, band (or a fan of one) that you think deserves a feature, give me a shout. Usual rules apply; all of the artists and groups I feature have one thing (at least) in common; all have had less than 10,000 page-views. If you know of any artists on MySpace, with less than that many page-views, that you think I should feature, please let me know. You can either email me to the address at the left, or send me a message and/or friends request (if you are an artist or band) at my personal MySpace page or the >>just like music MySpace page.

Area 27 - http://www.myspace.com/area27music

First up here comes an excuse; if you look carefully at this page you will see they have more than 10,000 page views. However, when I discovered them, they didn’t have over 10,000 - so I’ll let that slip! Anyway, back to business… Area 27 are a trip-hop outfit from California. It’s real nice music, in a similar vein to Portishead, but with a pinch of Morcheeba about it. Not much I can tell you bout Area 27, except they have an album out now and you definitely need to hear the tracks on their page. All the tracks are great, but I particularly liked Black Sun.

Particledots - http://www.myspace.com/particledots

Particledots is a fella named Bryn, originally producing electronica tracks in England, but now in Phoenix, Arizona. There’s something quite soothing about these tracks, like there is no pretension, nothing to prove. Just well produced electronic music that is a genuine pleasure to listen to. I don’t have a favourite track cos they are all fantastic. If you like chilled electronica, Particledots might make you cream your pants. Get it checked ASAP.

Yamasaki - http://www.myspace.com/therealtomedwards

Trip-hop from sunny Portsmouth, England. Yamasaki blends the sounds of; funk, soul, big-beat, and jazz, to create his lounge trip-hop style. Any of the Yamasaki tracks from his page could be the soundtrack to a summer vacation, it’s real uplifting stuff and the track Brazil has been getting a serious amount of plays on my laptop. Imagine a consistently lounge sounding version of Fat Boy Slim, but signed to Ninja Tune, then you might be somewhere close to knowing what Yamasaki sounds like… or you could just listen to his tracks yourself.

The Echo - http://www.myspace.com/theechono1

The Echo are; Andrew Barton, Samuel Woodings, Chris Challenger, and John Wright, a foursome from the North of England. Their mixture of blues and rock sounds similar in one sense, but oh-so-fresh in another. As many of you know, it takes a lot for any form of rock to impress me, but when it does… it does. On their page they have a track that is basically a sampler of their latest EP, it shows great diversity, but each snippet sounds very good. I can hear bits of The Strokes in there, as well Explosions In The Sky, it’s a good mix of sounds. I just wish I could have heard a bit more. Also check out the older track on their page Cast Those Stones, a very bluesy affair that reminded me slightly of David Gray, that’s a compliment, in-case you were wondering.

The Pixel Penguin - http://www.myspace.com/thepixelpenguin

The Pixel Penguin, an electronica producer from Brighton, England. His MySpace page is a bit mental, but his music is a bit fantastic. The sound is very experimental electronica, like a blend of Amon Tobin and Autechre, just chock-full-of ambient goodness. This is definitely one for those that really dig their ambient electronic music - all the tracks on The Pixel Penguin’s page deserve a thorough listen, but in particular I am really digging Standardized.

There’s your five, now go show some love! Please DO take the time to explore each of this weeks pages and leave them some feedback - don’t forget to let me know what you think, too!

Useful links:

• Area 27
• Particledots
• Yamasaki
• The Echo
• The Pixel Penguin