Recommended Listening: Kyla La Grange

Ashes, by Kyla La Grange has been on heavy rotation in the past few days. From the first song, I was smitten with her epic sound. If you love the pageantry of Florence Welch, or the mysteriousness of Bat for Lashes, you'll love the UK's Kyla La Grange. Gothic Folk Rock, is that a genre? You can definitely hear influences from the likes of Kate Bush, Joni Mitchell, and even Stevie Nicks.

The entire album is a cohesive piece that I would highly recommend listen to from start to finish. "Walk Through Walls" is the energetic and passionate opener that gets you hooked. From then on the songs ebb and flow in a theatrical manner. Haunting lyrics in songs like "Vampire Smile" make her music that more interesting...

Baby I need a friend,
but I'm a vampire smile, you'll meet a sticky end.
I'm here trying not to bite your neck,
but it's beautiful and I'm gonna get...
...so drunk on you and kill your friends.
You'll need me and we can be obsessed.
And I can touch your hair and taste your skin,
the ghosts won't matter 'cause we'll hide in sin.
Oh oooo...

My favorites of the album include, "Been Better", "Vampire Smile" and "Walk". Although Ashes was released last July, it looks like she's back in the studio working on her sophomore album. Looking forward to what this brilliant artist comes out with next!

Watch "Been Better" below...

Recommended Listening: Bombino

This guy. Bombino is a Taureg nomad who has just released an album produced by Dan Auerbach. (Mr. Auerbach is a music producing powerhouse. He's probably produced a few that you didn't even know he anything to do with. Some of my past favorites have been with Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Jessica Lee Mayfield, Dr. John, Michael Kiwanuka and Blakroc. I think his talent lies in preserving the individual sound, but there's a touch of Dan in everything he does.)

So back to this nomad fella'. Omara “Bombino” Moctar made his Nonesuch record debut with this album, Nomad. A born and raised Nigerian, Bombino is a member of the Tuareg Ifoghas tribe, nomadic desert folk.  As a self taught guitarist, Bombino was heavily influenced by Jimi Hendrix and Mark Knopfler, which is wholly evident in his style. This official video, gives a great look into his music.

If you like this guy you'd probably enjoy Afro Celt Soundsystem or Amadou and Miriam, or even a little Matisyahu.

Recommended Listening: The Amazing

Recently I've been listening to the Swedish band, The Amazing. To me, the latest album, Gentle Stream, just sounds like spring. If we're going put labels on them, they have a folk rock, psychedelic rock sound. Very Nick Drake sort of melodies that ebb and flow. The single, shown below, has an ethereal quality that transports me to a meadow or some other idyllic nature scene. Perfect solo road-trip listening. Currently I have them in a playlist with Fleet Foxes and Dry the River.

Purchasing Land in the Mojave Desert

We took a West Coast adventure in March with the intention to buy some land in Apple Valley, CA right in the middle of the Mojave Desert. Many called it “crazy”, we called it an “investment”. One plane ride and mini road trip later, we signed some papers… In the end, the seller pulled out of the deal and our plans for a sustainable-off-the-grid-bungalow were scrapped.

The views are literally breathtaking at times. The mountains surround you on the seemingly alien foreground of rock and fauna. Desert one moment, lush oasis another, and snowy mountain top the next. You can experience all these in one day’s car ride.

Moving out West may or may not be in our future plans, but for now we can say, “Remember when we went to California for a weekend?”.

"Out of the Game"

Rufus Wainwright and Helena Bonham Carter make a naughty combination in Wainwright’s video for his single “Out of the Game”. The actress plays a sexy librarian and lip syncs to the song as she encounters different versions of Rufus in the library, naughtiness ensues. To top off the all-star collaboration, the single was produced by Mark Ronson.