Music – Page 3 – betterwithmusic

X-mas Carol

Sele: (adjective) 1. Peaceful [the day, people]. 2. Calm, without waves [the sea]. 3. Quiet, who doesn’t talk much, who doesn’t make noise. (Translate from Llingua asturiana/asturian language)

Sele is a collection of Christmas songs that are not actually Christmas songs. The same happened with Año Nuevo and Postcard. They are songs inspired by this holiday season, by the winter, the family gatherings & reunions, the decorated houses … but at the same time, songs that can be heard all the year.

I searched a homey, warm, innocent, close to nursery rhymes and lullabies sound. Children are really the kings of the parties, or at least as I see it. Compositions about optimism and joy, with a touch of melancholy, couldn’t do it any other way. I wanted to add and highlight a homemade and imperfect character, direct, without excessive tweaking and production. Something accessible to young and old people. The “Edward” touch.

Influences …

Christmas trees, wake up in a cold day, Laura Marling and Laura Veirs, children songs, The tallest man on Earth, carols, fireplaces, Cass McCombs, family photos, añaes, New Year’s Eve, colored lights, DADGAD, school notebooks, “the day after”…

Top 2013

This year I got encouraged to publish my list with the Top albums of the year.

I do not know if these have been the best, but certainly these are the 30 albums I enjoyed, learnt and recommended the most throughout 2013.

Needless to say that this is an open list. There are albums that age better than others. My tastes also change (even within the year). There is a lot of music that I didn’t get a chance to listen to. And then those albums I probably didn’t pay too much attention to because I was busy with other stuff. Maybe they were better than what I thought.

And of course, there are treasures waiting to be discovered…

Anyway, today (December 2013), here’s the list:

1. James Blake “Overgrown” (Spotify)

2. Daft Punk “Random Access Memories” (Spotify)

3. Speedy Ortiz “Major Arcana” (Spotify)

4. Kanye West “Yeezus” (Spotify)

5. CHVRCHES “The Bones Of What You Believe” (Spotify)

6. Vampire Weekend “Modern Vampires Of The City” (Spotify)

7. Artic Monkeys “AM” (Spotify)

8. James Holden “The Inheritors” (Spotify)

9. Kurt Vile “Wakin On A Pretty Daze” (Spotify)

10. M.I.A “Matangi” (Spotify)

11. Joanna Gruesome “Weird Sister” (Spotify)

12. Mikal Cronin “MCII” (Spotify)

13. Jon Hopkins “Immunity” (Spotify)

14. Janelle Monáe “The Electric Lady” (Spotify)

15. Cass McCombs “Big Wheel And Others” (Spotify)

16. Oneohtrix Point Never “R Plus Seven” (Spotify)

17. Yuck “Glow & Behold” (Spotify)

18. A$AP Rocky “Long Live A$AP” (Spotify)

19. Triángulo de Amor Bizarro “Victoria Mística” (Spotify)

20. Disclosure “Settle” (Spotify)

21. Grouper “The Man Who Died In His Boat” (Spotify)

22. Sigur Ros “Kveikur” (Spotify)

23. Arcade Fire “Reflektor” (Spotify)

24. Phosphorescent “Muchacho” (Spotify)

25. Deerhunter “Monomania” (Spotify)

26. Bill Callahan “Dream River”

27. David Bowie ” The Next Day” (Spotify)

28. Darkside “Psychic” (Spotify)

29. Tim Hecker “Virgins” (Spotify)

30. Julia Holter “Loud City Song” (Spotify)

Early Years

The first time (or second , can not remember ) I started to make music with digital tools was in 2003 (2004 ? Damn memory). They were my first steps, well before betterwithmusic adventure, before focusing on image / sound and background music. While I still expected to be a pop star, do world tours and to be on the lists of the best music of the year.

All happened with the occasion of a new musical talent contest. I downloaded Anvil Studio, a free music editor, and started the adventure. Logically, with a mouse, a seedy PC mic and the computer’s keyboard as instruments was quite difficult to get anything. GM sounds not really helping either. That’s why I got to work with samples, to scape of tinny sounds. Samples and a lot of sound effects. Things began to improve but believe me, was not easy of the lack of tools.

After many hours (and too much patience) I got a handful of remixes and songs that could be presented with dignity. Or so I thought at the time.

I recovered those songs and I think it’s time to make them public.

There was one more. Rachmaninov, Stevie Wonder, trip hop and traditional Asturian sounds for a tune already recovered for Fruela 757, one of my alter egos:

The answer is No. I did not win that contest.