This was a really hard thing to do for us, here at La Suite 303: to select from the huge music universe of this decade just a hundred of honorable representatives of the sonic dawn of the XXI century, the decade of the Euro, the iPod, global warming, energy crisis, the dependence on technology and social networks.

We’ve surely left out some best-selling artists, like Linkin Park or Christina Aguilera, some indie wonders like Kings Of Convenience, CocoRosie, The Postal Service or MGMT or even some of our personal favorites like Björk or PJ Harvey. But we’ve selected this one hundred entries based on a meticulous process that took several weeks and a lot of analysis, and our final result is as follows. Please comment. Click to go.

50 years ago today was the day the music died. On February 3, 1959, a small plane crashed in a corn field in Iowa, killing Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson.

The influence of these musicians on contemporary music is undeniable, especially Holly who was a role model for the Beatles and everything that came after, he was the first one to configure the band with two guitars, bass and drums, and Valens a precursor of the Chicano Rock movement. La Suite 303 remembers this sad event in music history.

Listen to one of our favorite songs of all times: Everyday by Buddy Holly.

 

 Everyday: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I want to show you this amazing video on which the legend, Oscar Peterson (1925-2007) plays the piano in a magnificent way, it is just a excerpt of Peterson’s work, he was one of greatest and most prolific jazz musicians ever, in fact I’m convinced that he traced a whole new path for modern jazz.

With six decades of work and over 200 albums he left us a huge musical heritage, his best moments were as a supporting musician for singer Ella Fitzgerald, singer/trumpeter Louis Armstrong and trumpeter Roy Eldridge.

There is a vast list of facts from Peterson’s life, you might, as well, read his wikipedia entry.
Happy 2008 from LaSuite303.

Takomo is an unconventional music project, they are from Finland and integrated by Pekka Kokkonen and Otto Hassinen. This young duo appart from creating original mixes are also involved into musical production. You can check their MySpace page as well.

So why should you try their mixes out? Let me tell you why. I haven’t listened to such powerful beats since the first mixes of DJ Kode 9, they are trying to get back to the roots of breakbeats but streamlined with some dubstep, electro and drum ‘n’ bass. It is a unique sound collage that I hope will create a whole movement of nu-breaks, because I’m tired of those drum ‘n’ bass radio stations that has the same beat 24/7, so you can contribute by sharing their mixes now.

 

 Takomo - September 2007 Minimix for Radik-All.com: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Takomo - June 2007 Mix: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I humbly vow to Their Robotic Majesties, who gave one of the best shows my eyes and ears have ever experienced.

In a really cold week, wednesday arrived with a slightly warmer climate, it was October, 31st and the adopted and highly disseminated Halloween costumes were everywhere, but this particular time many of the costumes looked like robots.

As we rushed towards the outdated and grotesque Palacio de los Deportes, Ángel, a friend and collaborator, told us that Sussie 4, the electro rock music assemble from Guadalajara, were the opening act, we instantly slowed our pace, I mean, they are an OK band, but nothing to be speeding up about. When we arrived the band was about to finish their carelessly equalized performance, when they did, their last words were: “…and now the really good stuff, Daft Punk!” the crowd, who wasn’t still at full size, cheered and a black courtain closed upon them.

The background music, involving mainly old-school rap, was setting the mood and, suddenly, Suspicious Minds by Elvis Presley bursted. The time had come, the lights were killed, the musical silence was overwhelmed by the ovation of a now totally crowd-stuffed venue. The notes from the main title of Close Encounters of the Third Kind started the show.

The courtain opened and there they were, wow! …in the heart of an outer-space pyramid you could see Guy-Manuel De Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter inside their leather jumpsuits, designed by Hedi Slimane, filling our hearts and minds with sizzling music and unbelievable lights. From that moment on the experience was simply phenomenal, like nothing on the face of this earth.

The music and their hits were assembled and mixed live with almost two hours of ever-shocking and completely synchronized audiovisual extasis, that finished over a house encore and whoa! …those magnificent red lights all over the LED helmets, created by the company LED Effects, along with the reminder that Their Robotic Majesties are human after all. We can outline Daft Punk’s spectacle in just one word: Exquisite.

Their album Alive will see the light in 2008. (photos by André Felipe)

The Day of the Dead is a Mexican celebration to honor people we’ve loved that have died. In music we’ve lost many talented and distinguished personalities and… it is not that we don’t notice the absence of Cobain, Lennon, Harrison, Morrison, Marley or even Gershwin, but in this particular Día de Muertos we celebrate:

1. Elliott Smith
1969–2003
American singer/songwriter and musician.
Notable work: Either/Or

2. Celia Cruz
1925–2003
Cuban-American salsa singer.
Notable work: ¡100% Azucar!: The Best of Celia Cruz

3. Ian Curtis
1956–1980
English, lead singer and lyricist of Joy Division.
Notable work: Substance

4. Johnny Cash
1932–2003
American country/rock and roll singer/songwriter.
Notable work: Man in Black: Greatest Hits

5. Joe Strummer
1952–2002
English, co-founder, lyricist and lead singer of The Clash.
Notable work: London Calling

6. James Brown
1933–2006
American entertainer, singer, songwriter and record producer.
Notable work: 20 All-Time Greatest Hits!

7. Mark Sandman
1952–1999
American songwriter, musical instrument inventor and multi-instrumentalist, lead singer of Morphine.
Notable work: Cure for Pain

8. Ol’ Dirty Bastard
1968–2004
American MC, co-founder of the Wu-Tang Clan.
Notable work: Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)

9. Suba
1961–1999
Serbian musician and composer and one of Brazil’s most prominent producers.
Notable work: São Paulo Confessions

10. Juan García Esquivel
1918–2002
Mexican band leader, pianist, and film score composer.
Notable work: Space-Age Bachelor Pad Music

11. Barry White
1944–2003
American record producer and singer/songwriter.
Notable work: All-Time Greatest Hits

12. Miguel “Angá” Díaz
1961–2006
Cuban percussionist.
Notable work: Echu Mingua

13. Compay Segundo
1907–2003
Cuban musician and songwriter.
Notable work: Calle Salud / Buena Vista Social Club

14. Fela Kuti
1938–1997
Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer.
Notable work: Shuffering and Shmiling / Gentleman

15. Max Roach
1924–2007
American jazz, bebop/hard bop percussionist, drummer, and composer.
Notable work: Jazz at Massey Hall / Percussion Bitter Sweet

16. Ibrahim Ferrer
1927–2005
Cuban singer and musician.
Notable work: Buena Vista Social Club Presents: Ibrahim Ferrer / Buena Vista Social Club

17. And all your loved ones
The people you’ve loved that is now gone, we salute them… (happy Day of the Dead dad!)

Coming from Gothenburg Sweden, Little Dragon is an outstanding new band which blends many music styles and creates a unique and brilliant fusion, the main delight is the voice of Yukimi Nagano, she was singing a long time with the jazz band named Koop, in fact last year we’ve reviewed their last work together “Koop - Islands” an album that appears to be set in the 30’s, However, opposite to Koop, Little Dragon is not jazz at all, I suggest you to check this video of their song Test, and, by the way, their debut album would be on sale on September 18th.

Good Luck Little Dragon!

The Sea and Cake is a magnificent indie-rock band comprised of 4 very talented and notable musicians from the Chicago indie-rock scene:
Archer Prewitt, who is an incredible guitarist and member of the soft-rock band The Coctails.
John McEntire, who is an experimented drummer, he’s also been member of many influential post-rock bands like Gastr Del Sol, Tortoise, Bastro, Stereolab, Cougar, and Trans Am, and, complementing his background, he is a good producer and also a meticulous audio engineer.
Eric Claridge, the bassist who’s also a painter and an illustrator, made, in this effort, an extraordinary collaboration with the arrangements, his bass lines always make a perfect match with the rest of each song, no matter how asymmetrical the melodies will result.
And the leader of the band and the characteristic sweet voice that is portrayed by Sam Prekop, who made two extraordinary solo albums when The Sea and Cake was on reconstruction, in fact, last year we reviewed his debut record which is a listening delight.

This month we’ve chosen Everybody, their last achievement, as Album of The Month for many reasons, one of them is because they blend a lot of colors, in a elegant and organic way, in a single work, they’ve also included a lot seventies music textures like those vintage synths and a little psychedelia, similar but softer than Yo La Tengo’s creations, in addition they re-framed the structure of the songs, previously they have used a very tight and static model, now they’ve created more complex and dynamic tracks, fortunately they’ve evolved and they took chances to make something much more creative and integral. You can feel they have made an incredible connection that sparkled the right bright and balance of every instrument and every effect.

Some insipid reviewers compare Everybody with the previous recordings by Prekop, that’s just false, I agree that some of the songs keep the use of smooth sounds, but I’m sure that one of the main goals of the band was to create something really different and original, in comparison with their previous works, you just have to listen closely. Nevertheless it would be fantastic if Sam Prekop some day ventures in changing his usual vocal stucture that could be a trademark or an obstacle in considering new possibilities, or why not? even looking for a female colaboration like Ivy’s Dominique Durand, she could be a interesting option …for example.

Everybody has to listen to this masterpiece, some critics indicate that is an album for “everybody” and in some cases they even catalogued it as a pop album, I don’t quite think so, it is a rock album as well, and a carefully well-done recording, the only thing that I would object about is the cover, why would anyone that made such a colorful and rich production, choose that grayscale cover? Nevermind.

I want to share with you this amazing video because it is another proof that you don’t need the ultimate software or to own a Reactable to make something outstanding. Lasse Gjertsen, 22, is a very creative guy from Norway whose talent and imagination have been recognized around the world, by creating home made videos like Hiperactive and Amateur (both examples are quite simple to create, just add some good editing skills), where he just modified the video timeline and created nice rhythmic samples like a drum machine, with these and other works he succeeded in the web by getting more than 10 million views on Youtube, this amazing video phenomenon grew so fast that international companies like Chevrolet and MTV are now looking for his talent, in fact he appears in an article in the online edition of the Wall Street Journal. Only time will tell us if Michel Gondry will have a successor in Gjertsen.

In my childhood I used to listen to tapes of Dave Brubeck and Ella Fitzgerald, ever since those days I have a strong connection with jazz music, recently I made an extensive research of contemporary artists that, given their creativity and innovation, I think you should listen, I‘d wish to have a whole lot of time to include every single one of them and to deepen the information on each one, nevertheless, here they are:

Mario Biondi and the High Five Quintent present their debut album Handful of Soul which is an extrodinary and sublime jazz recording, in my opinion this is one of the most refreshing and dynamic jazz albums, they recreate the complete jazz experience, Mario’s voice is an angular piece to this band, because he sings with so much swing and deepness that you will think he’s a black singer.

From Canada, Elizabeth Shepherd, which is a great singer/songwriter, she and her trio offer us a fascinating option of new vocal jazz, according to my evaluation she could only be compared with the playful vibe of Jamie Cullum, the songs are full of energy and soul, I love the bass arrangements and the groove that she builts on her music, She has also appeared on numerous ‘Live in Session’ including Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide show on BBC Radio 1 UK.

Nostalgia 77 is the studio project of Ben Lamdin his creations range from heavy-funk to dusty-old jazz, recently he reunited a bunch of extraordinary musicians conforming an octect, including the fantastic voice of Alice Russell. Their last effort, Everything Under the Sun won the “Jazz Album of the Year 2006″ award from the BBC, highly recommended, one of the finest contemporary jazz albums.

Hajime Yoshizawa is an extraodinary musician, producer and pianist from Japan, the way that he perceives and plays music is very different compared with western jazz, in fact I believe that he has a unique ability to connect his left side of the brain directly to the piano keys, he had also worked for Kyoto Jazz Massive, Cosmic Village, Sleep Walker, Dalata, Jazzanova, Monday Michiru and Isabelle Antena.

Nils Krogh is a 22 year old producer/artist from Sweden who has a lot potential to make a great contribution to jazz music, apparently he started his blooming career with the record label Dealers of Nordic Music, which is a huge beginning. Today with just an EP, Things We Do, he has done remixes from people like Nicola Conte and Inverse Cinematics.

Bruno E is a music producer from Brazil, he started his carrer working with hip-hop artists and soon he became a respected figure of the electronic scene, soon he founded the record label SambaLoco, which lauched some artists from the stature of DJ Patife, Marky, XRD, and Mad Zoo, among others. Recently he started a new record label named Urubu Jazz, that leads a new wave of jazz musicians and electronic producers.

Non less important I also recommend that you check out these artists, which, as I said before, for the insufficience of time to cover them all, I just list them:
Kaidi Tatham, Eliza Lumley, Ryota Nozaki (Jazztronic), Natural Self, Dj Mitsu, Sunaga T Experience, and finally you can also download this extrodinary DJ set from DJ Chikashi Nishiwaki as an additional “gift”.