US10 On Spitfire Radio: 4th Of July Edition

Independent radio is a good thing for obvious reasons, but no reason so obvious as loosening music fans from the narrow lanes of restricted listening and limited music discovery. Major radio stations have their painfully structured playlists of songs that you'll hear repeated every hour on the hour with little room for deviation. And then there are free spirits like Spitfire Radio across the pond in  Birmingham, England who are all about being a quality alternative and a source for amazing music that you may not otherwise find. That's where Barry Tomes (a Brit) and Brooke Henderson (a Yankee) come in as hosts of the program, US10 which showcases 10 of the BEST new and emerging bands/artists from the US. Isn't it lovely how we Americans and the English have been able to get along despite that nasty American Revolution-thing?

Now being given the opportunity to select 10 of my favorite artists for this week's edition of US10 was a pretty honor, yet a really difficult one. Why difficult? Because although 10 may sound like a lot of artists to choose, it's barely scratches the surface due to the abundance of good shit out there just waiting to be discovered by ears like yours.

My US10 turned out to very LA-centric and, if you know me, there will be a few familiar names: it wasn't intentional, I'm just very fond of much of the music growing in my own backyard. So check out the show (with adorable and witty banter courtesy of Brooke and Barry whom I thank for indulging my selections), dig into the music and perhaps turn yourself on to a new band.


Bands featured:
The Last Internationale
X Ambassadors
Big Black Delta
Finish Ticket
Terraplane Sun
Irontom
Dead Sara
American Royalty
The Features
Sabrosa Purr

Delicious Synth Pop, Thy Name Is Jonathan Bates aka Big Black Delta

Jonathan Bates is the sexiest Venezuelan that I know. Granted, he’s the only Venezuelan that I know but that’s nitpicking and I’m not about to diminish his level of cool particularly on the musical front.

Now based in Los Angeles, in 2011 under the moniker of Big Black Delta, Bates (formerly of Mellowdrone) ventured off into the world of electronically designed music. Armed with a laptop, technology, synesthesia and his vivid sonic imagination, he mashed up everything there was to love about 80s synth, dance and pop and then French kissed it with a sci-fi celestial bend for additional sexy. An early result of this magic carpet ride that we got to enjoy was “Huggin & Kissin” which was nothing short of a fantastical thunder dance of rhythm.

As one with [extremely] limited appreciation for things electronic/a, EDM and the like (ok, Thomas Dolby was cool), Big Black Delta managed to hit all of the right notes with me with the massive sound and textures on his kind-of-debut-album-but-not-quite BBDLP1. I say “not quite” because the 10-song BBDLP1 went and got an upgrade. Tuesday, April 30th sees the release of Big Black Delta; the new 13-track ‘debut’ featuring a good portion of BBDLP1 lovingly re-mastered and tweaked with a few new additions making it a warm and full-bodied, futuristic warp of beats and propulsion.

One of those additions debuted in March: “Side of the Road” with its synth-laced buzz and vocoder contortions. If you haven’t already, check out the video which finds Jonathan inside the machine getting his Gene Kelly on in a very digitized world. Most apropos.

And yes, “IFUCKINGLOVEYOU” actually is the title of a song. Jonathan’s just not shy about letting us know how he feels and I can totally get behind that.

If you’re in LA tonight, Big Black Delta (the project) celebrates the release of Big Black Delta (the album) at It’s a School Night at Bardot. But the bigger point is that a full and proper album is here for your pleasure. Dig in to Big Black Delta in all of the usual social places: Official Web, Facebook and Twitter.

And the dude likes the kitties. See?