There's a music explosion going on. You won't read about in the news or even hear about it on TV. There'll be nothing, then one day, you'll ask yourself, where did all this great talent come from.., and without hestitation, your inner spirit will tell you, "The U.K." ...and MySpace.
I spent a little time online back in the day with the wave of indie music that became MP3.com when very few knew or understood this whole digital world of music uploading, let alone, downloading. Today, it feels like we've always had this method of distribution. It's made it far easier to discover new talent. Talent that might never get to travel to half the places they are streamed with today's technology. MySpace has become the new 'hub' on the web for musicians. Think of it as a hip corner cafe with the coolest musicians and people, on the same corner in every city and town, at the same time and you'll get an idea just how important it is to be one of those artists in the nightly line up. At the top of my set list is MANDALA, an eclectic ensemble lead my vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Neil Marsh and Francis Booth of London who have been the driving force behind Mandala since its formation in 1997. Neil, who luxuriates in the recordings of David Sylvian and Jeff Buckley, handles the songwriting, guitars and vocals, while Francis, who’s iPod is as home to obscure Bjork recordings as it is the bittersweet tones of Nick Drake, handles the bass and electronics.
You have mulitple choices: link through the title, above, to go to the official home and hear snippets of their dual release, "BEFORE MEMORY" and "THE TEARS OF A THOUSAND ANGELS" of which I strongly encourage you to purchase so that you can get the full tunes in their magnificent glory, or you can also visit them on MySpace at www.myspace.com/mandala and four full tunes there as well. There's also a label site: www.myspace.com/elypsoidmediae where you can hear additional songs and artists from elypsoidMediae, a collective of like-minded artists and individuals... with a common goal, and single-mindedness, to work towards an ideal without compromise. ~~BD
More blogs about mandala.
1 comment:
Tonight I met Neil Marsh and Kerry-Fleur of Mandala, in a beautiful setting called The Rockwood Music Hall in NewYorkCity. It was an eclectic evening that ran the gamult of musical styles, with the highlight for me being Mandala's performances.
Neil's a virturoso on the guitar (a little unknown fact here in the states, I fear) and Kerry-Fleur was stellar on complimentary vocals and a stand alone solo piece. But in spite of the stripped down performance, Neil managed to connect to his rather intricate music sans the full production that accompanies him on a regular basis on his home turf in London. He has a method of looping his guitar patterns that allows him to play 'with' himself, in several different parts, to make up for the orchestration that's obviously not capable of being present, that's a wonder to hear, and behold. The voice that comes out of such a slight man is nothing short of amazing as you'll come to experience if you catch him in the remaining dates he has scheduled for the rest of November into early December. If you're a Mandala fan you owe to yourself to check out his tour schedule for the remaining dates, depending on when you're reading this post, and be sure to come out in full support of one talented group so richly deserving of your time and attention. Make it your mission, if you do come to one of his shows, to see if you can get him to 'smile' during his performance! He's quite intense during his performances, but an extreme gentleman, off stage.
"Neil, the pleasure was mine.., I'm blessed to have gotten to experience your wonderful music, live. May the rest of your shows continue to build in momentum to a spectacular and eventful tour cresendo!!"
BrotherDouglas
New York, NY - USA
Post a Comment