People You've Never Heard Of II

Tonight's "People You've Never Heard Of" features artists who make music that falls into my own made-up category of Electronica/Chill. Because quite simply, these artists defy convention categorization.

Washed Out aka Ernest Greene was one of my favorite artists of 2009. He has a fun, hazy, "washed out" by the sun sound. It sounds modern yet very vintage. Look for more from Washed Out and other vintage 80s and surf pop inspired artist this year.


"Belong" Washed Out [MP3 link]
"Olivia" Washed Out [MP3 link]

Discovery is a little bit harder to describe; it consists of Rostam Batmanglij from Vampire Weekend and Wes Miles from Ra Ra Riot. Some would call it a preppy/indie take on R&B club music; but this is only a half-hearted description, you just have to listen to fully understand it.
"Orange Shirt" Discovery [MP3 link]
"I Want You Back" (Jackson 5 Cover) Discovery [MP3 link]

Even More Covers

Blackstreet's "No Diggity" is nearly a classic now. I remember listening to it elementary school. The English electro pop, punk, sci-fi rock group, The Klaxons best known for thier song "Golden Skans", put an interesting new spin on it. You can tell they add a little punk attitude to the song; but they still keep it funky.


The Noisettes, led by Shingai Shoniwa's soulful yet oh-so-perfect-for-punk-rock voice, have long been on my radar. This summer's "Never Forget You" scored rave reviews and recieved 1.5 million views on Youtube. The released an incredible cover of The Killers' "When You Were Young"; Shoniwa tones the song down and adds some soul to cover.


"No Diggity" (Blackstreet Cover) The Klaxons [MP3 link]
"When You Were Young" (The Killers Cover) the Noisettes [MP3 link]

More Covers!

Its covers time again. Sometimes covers can be better than the orginal; case and point Anya Marina's "Whatever You Like" it only fails to annoy me as the original did. This Irish-Russian DJ turned singer has a voice that not only got the aforementioned cover on Gossip Girl, but also got her a spot on the New Moon Soundtrack.

Solange Knowles no longer wants to be known as Beyonce's little sister. After a mediocre debut she traded in the likes of producers Jermaine Dupri and Timbaland for a more distinct modern-yet retro sound from Cee-Lo Green and Mark Ronson. She covers the obscure Dirty Projectors' "The Stillness Is A Move".

Take A Listen:

"Whatever You Like" (T.I. Cover) Anya Marina [MP3]
"The Stillness Is A Move" (Dirty Projectors Cover) Solange Knowles [MP3]

Covers

Covers fascinate me. Good covers anyway; good covers reinterpret the original and bring something new to the table. "Sweet Dreams" is decent pop song; overly reminiscent of a Rihanna song and is filled the brim with synthy pops and breaks. Big Pink takes this song and makes a beautiful lo-fi cover. The song is the complete opposite of Beyonce's version; its all sparse acoustic guitar and some unique atmosphere background elements. Simple but more than adequate.

Take a listen

"Sweet Dreams" (cover) Big Pink [MP3 link]

(via Vinyl & Vodka)