Hip-Hop/Rap Mixtape Review

J.Horse, aged 23 from Philadelphia has released his first debut mix-tape called 'Hylyfe'. I am not trying to be harsh, but I rarely listen to rap music, because it doesn't appeal to me, and most of the time they rap about the same thing, which is a reason why I do not listen to it as much as other people, but listening to this mix-tape has made me think, that someone must have to be really good at this to be able to rap at such a speed when needed to and being able to fit so many words into one sentence and being able to go with the beat of the song, 

There are some rappers out there who make themselves stand out and dont rap about what people relate to rap music, but some keep to the typical stereotype of rap music. What I want to see is someone rap about something completely different, for example something positive, not anything to do with their life stories or anything negative. If there is a rapper who raps about positive things then give me a message, I would love to here it.

Here is the link to J. Horse's Mixtape: 

http://www.datpiff.com/JHorse-Hylyfe-mixtape.413095.html?utm_campaign=piff.me&utm_source=http://t.co/GUgLaqIw&utm_medium=piff.me

Katie Dyba.

Remember These Bands, They May Become Big One Day!

I am loving the support I am getting for this blog, especially from you artists in America! You are all so amazingly talented and I am loving hearing your music! Keep it up guys and anyone else reading this who is an artist or a band who would like to be featured in the blog, give me a message, my details are somewhere on my blog!

Falling Through April: 

Falling Through April are a band aged in their early 20's from Charlotte, North Carolina that blends the most intriguing sound of Rock and Alternative music from the 90's through today really well. The music itself is comprised of artful and melodic vocals accented by uniquely soulful guitars. The mellow bass lines are all driven by energetic and dynamic drums. Each member of this distinct band brings a different style and influence that procreates the chaotic beauty that is now Falling Through April.


Their début album 'Take Flight' basically covers what Falling Through April are about, with the guitarist giving the song some melodic life, the drums blending in to giving the music a back bone. They can play a variety of types of songs within the Rock and Alternative genre. From the beaty fast-paced songs, to slow ballad harmonious songs where you can really tell they mean the lyrics through the vocal of the song. When there is harmonies in the song, they are done incredibly well, I love bands who can really harmonize! And I love people who can really play the guitar, and from just listening to these songs, I can tell the guitarist really can play!


Personally, I would love to see this band live, so if you ever come to the UK, you best invite me to a gig! I hope these guys go far as I love their music already and want to hear more! 

Here is the link to Falling Through April's Website: 

http://www.fallingthroughapril.com/#!home/mainPage

Good luck for the future! 

The Springs:

This band have already entertained thousands of fans all over the U.S..  Not only has the band already appeared on national television and on several magazine covers, but this multi-award winning band was one of last year’s nominees for the New Music Awards “Country Group of the Year”, along with bands Steel Magnolia, Sugarland, and Lady Antebellum.  These are amazing achievements, considering these five young men range from 20 to 22 years of age.

This band normally would not be my cup of tea (even though I don’t drink tea) but this band has converted me into liking country type sounding music! The vocals are amazing, you can really hear the country sounding accent through the singing but it doesn’t take over the singing, which is good because people like to hear how good people can sing. 

Their music has a bit of a rock vibe to it, the beats and guitars give this vibe, but it is good because it is giving the country music genre a twist and making it current and modern, which is what I look for when I am looking for a new artist to listen to, can they make old music or music that people wouldn’t listen to normally and make it current? The Springs have done it for me! And I’m sure if you give them a listen, I am sure they will do it for you too! 

Here is the link to The Springs website: 

http://www.thespringsband.com/Music.html

I want to wish good luck to both bands for the future! 

Katie Dyba. 

Come The Spring - CDep - Seven For A Secret Review

'Come the Spring' are a five piece alternative indie rock band based in Brighton on the south coast of England.
 

Forming in mid 2012, CTS drew on quite a mix of influences to deliver an emotionally charged hit of self crafted songs in the post hardcore vein that have already seen them take to the studio and been snapped up for a host of live shows across the country.

The band is fronted by the dynamic Vic Payne, CTS's rhythm section; Jamie Donbroski and Mark Wilkinson form the backbone to which Dave 'The Damage' Gamage and Simon Goodrick's guitars blend to form one of the most exciting new bands around.

I am completely in love with the indie/rock vibe that is certainly in 'Come The Spring's' music that I have just listened to! The guitarists in just the first song alone that I listened to got my head bopping straight away, and made me want to just get up and jump and dance around my room.
 

What I love about the band is that even though they would be putting everything into making the music sound totally amazing, it just seems like they are just casually doing a practice or something, which is good because you can tell when  someone is trying too hard to make their vocals sound better, but the vocals on this band are just amazing, just what I love about these instrumental type bands.
 

The fact they only formed in the middle of 2012, shows that the band are really passionate about wanting to make their music and get everything as perfect as they can and promote themselves as much as possible! They're music shows that this is what they are about and the fact they have not been together as a band long and this is already a high standard of music they are producing, they are going to go a long way with this frame of mind making music this good! 

Collectively, the songs that I have just listened to are just fabulous. I love a band with good guitarists in and 'Come The Spring' definitely have amazing guitarists! The drumming is just immense, giving the song a bit of a beat to it, echoing in your ears and the vocals, well you CANNOT forget them, the vocalist has one of them voices where you have to stop what you are doing and listen because he has such a good voice that it make you want to listen to the song. 

I think this band are a definite one to watch in the next year or so, I love their music already so I am going to love their music even more when they actually are releasing albums and doing big performances. Remember 'Come The Spring' they will become big. I hands down 100% believe that.

Katie Dyba.  

Sacha Talens - The Bathurst Moment LP Review

Soon to be 27, Sacha Talens is an upcoming artist from Toronto,Canada, with this being his first solo debut LP 'The Bathurst Moment' - he will be releasing once it is fully finished. He has been writing songs for others and producing and stuff for several years, and then decided to give it a shot on his own. In my opinion it is pretty unique as all the tracks that are on the album so far are all different from one another, making each track unique because they dont sound all the same.

Collectively, the album as I have said is different from other upcoming artists I have heard previously, this is because every song is different when you listen to all the album. 'Balcony Girl' is all vocals and the thing I love about Sacha is that his lyrics are a bit random and unique ("I'm a fish, with a body of a human") and you probably would not expect to hear songs like this until you come across Sacha Talens! 

'A la derive' the second track on the album is totally different from the first track, with its backing track of low bass guitar and drums and a melody, it is a song you can listen to whilst just chilling out, it is not too in your face, which is a good thing, because it is not too overpowering for your ears.

'The Tea House' is a story-telling song through the lyrics, to me a bit of a random story but has a catchy tune so it gets stuck in your head. Sacha has the most bizarre lyrics for his songs, but this is good because it makes people listen to the song properly and think 'Did he just sing that?' 

Overall, the album has a bit of a random side what with the bizarre lyrics but as I have said, this is a good thing because people do not normally go for weird lyrics, therefore this is a unique selling point with Sacha's music. Keep it up Sacha and I hope to hear from you soon! 

Here is the link to Sacha's Sound Cloud: 

https://soundcloud.com/sachatalens 

Katie Dyba.

Tulisa Album Review: The Female Boss.

“She is strong when she is weak, she is brave when she is scared, and she is humble when she is victorious, she is a female boss.“ Thats right, the superstar singer, multi-platinum selling artist and X Factor judge, Tulisa is back, and has finally unveiled her début album ‘The Female Boss,’ released via All Around The World/ Island Records on 26^th November 2012.

The 24-year-old solo artist from London is back doing what she loves the most, singing, making and selling records and keeping her place on the X Factor panel for a second year running. 'The Female Boss' is Tulisa's first solo album with hit singles such as 'Young' and 'Live It Up' topping the track listing of it.

The album collectively is a good one, it mainly is songs focusing around Tulisa and her story of her getting herself back on her own two feet, and to me, the album is basically giving a message of: “You may have knocked me down, but I am picking myself back up/I will show you I don't need you.” Also there are songs relating to her being 'proud to be British' ('British Swag').

Some tracks from the album have the element to give you an uplifting feeling to make you feel good about yourself – for example: if you have been knocked down, you can beat them and pick yourself up and show them who is boss (or the Female Boss in this case), other songs can help you get into the party mood ('Live Your Live') ready for a night out on the town, with the party melodies, making them catchy and a sing along tune, and also when they are turned up loud, the bass is amazing to help with the partying too!

Tulisa also has a soft serenading side with songs such as 'Sight of You' a typically love song begging the guy she loves to come back. This is a song you probably would not expect from a woman with such a strong personality, but then it also helps you remember that even if she is a celebrity, she has feelings just like the rest of us.

Overall, it is a good first solo album from Tulisa, but I think she has more to give, therefore I would give this album a three out of five. (3/5).

Katie Dyba.

Joe Marson cover of Ellie Goulding - Figure 8

Joe's cover of Ellie Goulding's newest single 'Figure 8' is an amazingly unique cover. It is totally different from the original song, it is all played with instruments in Joe's version rather than singing to a backing track. Just the way he sings it alone is so good, you can really tell he has a really good set of vocals from the way he sings the song and means every word. 

With the song being played in a totally different way with a band and guitars, it gives the whole song a totally different feel. From Joe's cover, I can really get a vibe that it could be him singing to that one special person just from the way he sings the lyrics and makes specific words extra meaningful by putting more energy into making the song sound meaningful and loving.

Whereas Ellie Goulding's original you could listen to whilst getting ready for a night out, or maybe just chilling out doing coursework. I just love this cover of Figure 8 - it is an amazing song and Joe's cover just makes it even more amazing. This is something I especially love; when an artist can take a song and make it there own, and that is exactly what Joe has done here, well done Joe!

Here's the link to Joe's cover: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvzGhnbp4dk

Katie Dyba.

Review: Jess Simpson - You May Be Beautiful (produced by Power Studios)

Upcoming solo artist Jess Simpson has released her song called: 'You May Be Beautiful,' produced by Power Studios, it is the fifth track that that is on her debut EP, which is hopefully going to be released onto iTunes in the new year.

Jess has a strong, unique country folk sounding voice, which will make her stand out in the future when people in the music industry pick her up and listen to her tracks. It is a great pop song, with a dub step twist, and with lyrics that you can sing along to.

The slow start of the song gives you a chance to hear how good Jess's voice actually is, and having the build up to the chorus is always such a good way to make the song good, because the chorus is the main bit in which most people remember. 

The Dub Step twist on the chorus is something that not many people have done, so this is something unique that Jess is bringing to the table for the Pop Music world. It is a partially slow song with bits of upbeat so that you can still dance to it, and listen to the voice that is Jess Simpson.

Here's the link to the video if anyone wants to give her a listen: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGwYmGKGiDI

Katie Dyba. :)

New Music Journo On The Block!

Hello - Katie Dyba here! 

I have created a new blog purely for my music journalism! 

So if anyone you know wants any music, gigs, albums or any music reviewing or any music related topics covered, let me know and I shall do my best to cover them as well as I can! 

Also, if any artist/band/DJ is looking to get themselves some publicity and wants a profile piece written about them etc. give me an email on: 

katie.dyba@hotmail.co.uk

or find me on facebook - Katie 'Ding-dong' Dyba

Twitter: @KDSeanPaulLover.

Thanks very much! 

Katie Dyba :)