Human mannerism is the subject of most (if not all) music and art. Panic Ensemble provide a new take on this theme. When they approached their music and lyrics, they actually wrote a psychology book. Panic Ensemble’s debut album is a brilliant survey of the human psyche with special focus on the wonderful behaviors of fear, obsession and panic. With lyrics based partly on professional literature, their work has a solid base in reality. On the other hand, with their amazing musical arrangements, they posses a celestial aura. To bring this down to earth and give a bit of a clue about what kind of music they do, I will just have to throw in Rock, Jazz, Klezmer, Electronica and most of all Cabaret as categorizing genres. Panic Ensemble’s debut was recently released on Earsay Records.
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Rasta Vasily [MP3]
CCCP [MP3]
James Brown coined the power phrase “I’m black and I’m proud” and established an alternative positive way to deal with being a minority. According to Brown you don’t blame the majority that steps over you, don’t blame the discrimination, your poor education and lack of opportunities. James said that you can fight it back, you can be better, you can be proud and strong. Los Caparos are proud and strong. Their humor driven jungle of ska and reggae gives a whole new taste to the Russian immigration to Israel. They are here, they are proud of it, they are happy and they make one hell of a festival out of it. Big respect to the Los Caparos guys!
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MySpace profile

Jimmy [VIDEO]
Moriarty create a folk fairy tale that seems to take place somewhere in the mountains of Tennessee. It doesn’t really matter if Tennessee has the required mountains, it doesn’t really matter if Tennessee exists at all. The place is irrelevant, because these folk stories can be told anywhere. Folking their way into the Bluegrass realm, Moriarty are as place less as eternal. Everywhere and always, Jimmy-types kids are running around and people are going to war.
Links:
Official website
Myspace profile

Young Folks [MP3]
Twilight [MP3]
The modern take on Folk music often brings out the protesting side of the genre. However, this is not all that Folk music has to offer. It also has a soft side that is meant to caress the old and tired men sitting at the local pub at the end of a hard day’s labor. Dawn Landes dives into the roots of Folk and Bluegrass music and extracts from it this soft and caressing element, which filled the tired men with life. At the end of the day there’s the softness of home, of a loving woman, waiting only for you. We shouldn’t forget this aspect of the life of the simple folk, and with Dawn Landes and her soft loving caresses we are promised not only not to forget it, but also to take pleasure on it.
Videos:
Young Folks (Bluegrass style) [YouTube] (a cover of Peter, Bjorn and John)
Twilight [YouTube]
Suspicion [YouTube]
Links:
Buy this album
Official website
MySpace profile

Seahorse [MP3]
Most musical genres come to life as en experimental evolution of previous genres. This was also the case with Freak Folk. It was born as a new psychedelic take on the good ol’ traditional folk music. Although it’s innovation and a pioneering spirit that drives artists to give birth to new genres, often they decide to settle down and continue create inside their newly born kingdom. This is not the case with Devendra Banhart. In this new album, title Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon, he proves that he still has plenty to say and it’s going to come in a whole bunch languages. Smokey Rolls Down is a record that shares aesthetic and freakish values with his previous work, but speaks in totally different language. Banhart takes on a progressive approach with songs developing and swinging across genres from one minute to another. This album speaks many tongues and does so with amazing proficiency. This is, without a doubt, his best work to date.
Links:
Official website
Myspace profile