The NB episode production rate is increasing ever so slightly. At this rate we may be back at a podcast a month….

What a summer it’s been for music! Fantastic albums are being released… bands are touring… and festivals are on. The Arcade Fire are consuming all of the headlines recently - having picked up the number one spot for record sales recently. Coincidently, their new album Suburbs is a combination of my two passions: music and urban studies. Menomena and The Books have also finally released new albums after fantastic previous efforts, and have songs featured on the episode. Two of my favourite modern composers, Ólafur Arnalds and Max Richter, also return with some haunting ambient tracks. The global beats of Bonobo and Emancipator are again featured (would love to see those two collaborate), joined by Arms and Sleepers and Kaya Project. John Lennon’s Imagine is also covered typically well by Antony and the Johnsons.

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Tracklisting: (1 hour, 30 minutes)

The Wilderness of Manitoba - ‘Orono Park’ (Self Released)
The Arcade Fire - ‘Rococo’ (City Slang)
Evening Hymns - ‘Dead Deer’ (Out Of This Spark)
Jordan Klassen - ‘In Bodrum, Near the Castle’ (Self Released)
Ólafur Arnalds - ‘Þú Ert Jörðin’ (Erased Tapes)
Forest City Lovers - ‘Phodilus & Tyto’ (Out Of This Spark)
Gotan Project - ‘Rayuela’ (¡Ya Basta!)
Emancipator - ‘Greenland’ (Self Released)
Peter and the Wolf - ‘Nora’ (Whiskey & Apples)
Menomena - ‘Dirty Cartoons’ (Barsuk)
I Am Oak - ‘On Trees And Birds And Fire’ (Snowstar)
Plants and Animals - ‘Game Shows’ (Secret City)
Laura Marling - ‘What He Wrote’ (Virgin)
Broken Social Scene - ‘All to All’ (Arts & Crafts)
Max Richter - ‘Infra 2’ (Fat Cat)
The Books - ‘Thirty Incoming’ (Tomlab)
Bonobo - ‘Kong’ (Ninja Tune)
Kaya Project - ‘Dust Devil’ (InterChill)
Arms and Sleepers - ‘The Paramour’ (Fake Chapter)
Antony and the Johnsons - ‘Imagine’ (Rough Trade)
JDH - ‘The Great Comforter’ (Self Released)
The Magician & The Gates of Love - ‘A Gentleman’s Harvest’ (Self Released)

Photo taken by Bruce Mans, All Rights Reserved.

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As promised, I’ve finally gotten around to making the first episode of the New Balearic this year… in June. The first half of 2010 has demanded lengthy papers and in-depth projects, a handful of Maritime trips, and daily World Cup commitments (Hup Holland)… all of which have distracted me from my podcast duty. The second half of 2010 looks equally as busy, but I’ll be more shrewd with my time and keep regular updates.

Well then…. music! It’s been a great year so far. Great new bands have emerged and old favourites have released new material. New to the podcast are some great new bands from all over Canada, including folk from Halifax’s The Prospector’s Union, and Winnipeg’s Ah Sage, pop from Calgary’s Ghostkeeper, and dreamy synthesized beats Vancouver’s Teen Daze. I’m also exited to have Langley’s The Magician & the Gates of Love and Abbotsford’s Jordan Klassen back on the podcast with some new material.

Outside of Canada, some of my all-time favourite musicians have also been busy. Four Tet and Pantha du Prince have both offered new full length albums full of tasty beats. Argentina’s Gotan Project have also returned with some more Nuevo Tango brilliance. Last year the Netherlands brought us some beautiful folk music courtesy of the Black Atlantic. This year, the country brings us I Am Oak, a sincere songwriter from Utrecht by the name Thijs Kuijken. Finally, one of my favourite albums of the year so far has got to be the Black Keys‘ Brothers, and will surely be featured in many more episodes to come.

So with that, enjoy the music!

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Tracklisting: (1 hour, 18 minutes)

Slacker - ‘Start A New Life’ (Godlike and Electric)
Emancipator - ‘Nevergreen’ (Self Released)
Plants and Animals - ‘Undone Melody’ (Secret City)
The Black Keys - ‘Tighten Up’ (Nonesuch)
Ghostkeeper - ‘Haunted’ (Flemish Eye)
Broken Social Scene - ‘Sweetest Kill’ (Arts & Crafts)
Jordan Klassen - ‘Written on Collarbone’ (Self Released)
Teen Daze - ‘Shine On, You Crazy White Cap’ (Arcade Sound)
Four Tet - ‘Angel Echoes’ (Domino)
Pantha du Prince - ‘Bohemian Forest’ (Rough Trade)
Crystal Castles - ‘Celestica’ (Polydor)
I Am Oak - ‘Don’t I Know Enough’ (Snowstar)
The Magician & The Gates of Love - ‘The Lions’ (Self Released)
Ah Sage - ‘Suburban Witchcraft’ (Self Released)
The Prospector’s Union - ‘Salt City Blues’ (Just Friends)
The Acorn - ‘Slippery When Wet’ (Paperbag)
Shugo Tokumaru - ‘Tracking Elevator’ (p-vine)
Janelle Monáe - ‘Tightrope (Feat. Big Boi)’ (Altantic)
Bonobo - ‘Stay The Same (Feat. Andreya Triana)’ (Ninja Tune)
Gotan Project - Desilusion’ (¡Ya Basta!)

Photo taken by Bruce Mans, All Rights Reserved.

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The big four oh! Looks like the podcast is approaching that hill… hopefully there’s no mid-life crisis awaiting on the other side. It’s hard to believe it’s already been forty episodes. Way back on May 18, 2006, Episode One was released. Over four years later (and almost sixty hours of music later!) and I’m still having tons of fun with it, and hopefully you’re still enjoying it.

This episode is 85 minutes of the usual. The first set begins with psychedelic American dream pop. Animal Collective show no signs of slowing down after their groundbreaking album, Merriweather Post Pavilion, with their new EP Fall Be Kind. Beach House’s new album is also sounding very very good. New Balearic favourite Tycho has released a new dreamy single. Heading north, no episode would be complete without some typically great Canadian folk, featuring Wilderness of Manitoba, The Wooden Sky, Said the Whale and Aidan Knight.

The episode is also full of some tremendous tracks from Iceland’s Hildur Guðnadóttir, Ben Frost, and Ólafur Arnalds and Sigur Rós‘ Jónsi. It continues to amaze me how much great music can come out of such a small country. More music from the continent include new stuff from Britain’s The Leisure Society and Rudi Arapahoe, Greece’s Blue Pilot Project, and two more tracks from Holland’s The Black Atlantic.

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Tracklisting: (1 hour, 28 minutes)

Animal Collective - ‘What Would I Want? Sky’ (Domino)
Toro Y Moi - ‘Blessa’ (Carpark)
Beach House - ‘Walk in the Park’ (Sub Pop)
Kelpe - ‘Caution Site’ (DC)
Alec Ounsworth - ‘South Philadelphia’ (Anti-)
Yukon Blonde - ‘Wind Blows’ (Nevado Records)
The Leisure Society - ‘The Last of the Melting Snow’ (Willkommen Records)
The Black Atlantic - ‘An Ocean and Peril’ (Beep! Beep! Back up the Truck)
Hildur Guðnadóttir - ‘Ascent’ (Touch)
Rudi Arapahoe - ‘To Gather Flowers/Forest of Arches’ (Symbolic Interaction)
The Wilderness of Manitoba - ‘Bluebirds’ (Independent)
The Wooden Sky - ‘Oslo’ (Black Box)
Said the Whale - ‘Holly, Ontario’ (Hidden Pony)
Blockhead - ‘Hell Camp’ (Ninja Tune)
Ochre - ‘Raido’ (Benbecula)
Tycho - ‘Coastal Brake’ (Ghostly International)
Jónsi - ‘Boy Lilikoi’ (XL)
Blue Pilots Project - ‘Million Clouds’ (Klik)
Ben Frost - ‘O God Protect Me’ (Bedroom Community)
Ólafur Arnalds - ‘Lokaou Augunum (Dyad 1909 version)’ (Erased Tapes)
Aidan Knight - ‘Sorrows/Jasper’ (Canadian Tuxedo)
Sea Wolf - ‘Orion & Dog’ (Dangerbird)
The Black Atlantic - ‘Madagascar’ (Beep! Beep! Back up the Truck)

Photo taken by Bruce Mans, All Rights Reserved.

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So apparently getting a Masters degree requires a lot of work. These past few weeks have been a mere blur, but I’ve recently found myself in a rare break from the work and thus…. Episode 39!

Oddly enough, the music industry doesn’t take many breaks either. Some amazing albums have been released since September. My Vancouver was at the centre of the action with some fascinating music from Said the Whale, You Say Party! We Say Die!, and two (2!) tracks from Victoria’s Aidan Knight! This episode also features my favourite Dan Mangan song… Elsewhere in Canada, I’ve got some hearty folk from Toronto’s The Wooden Sky and Montreal’s Bent by Elephants, and a pair of spooky slow brewers from Dead Man’s Bones and Montreal’s Champion.

Across the pond, Bibio has been working on a wonderful Boards of Canada cover for the recent 20th Anniversary of Warp Records, while Burial helped christen 5 years of existence at Hyperdub with a new track. England’s The xx also feature in a pair of tracks, remixing Florence + the Machine and performing there own ‘Crystalized‘. And of course the podcast wouldn’t be complete without some American folk, with Horse Feathers, Sea Wolf, and Clap Your Hands, Say Yeah’s Alec Ounsworth doing the honours this episode. We’ll see you in December!

Oh and, don’t forget to check out The New Balearic on Twitter and Facebook.

Tracklisting: (1 hour, 20 minutes)

Said the Whale - ‘Dear Elkhorn’ (Upper Management Records)
Sea Wolf - ‘Spirit Horse’ (Dangerbird)
Aidan Knight - ‘The Sun’ (Canadian Tuxedo)
The Wooden Sky - ‘River Song One’ (Black Box)
Bibio - ‘Kaini Industries (Boards of Canada cover)’ (Warp)
Kelpe - ‘Eye Candy Bath’ (DC)
Lusine - ‘Tin Hat’ (Ghostly International)
Dead Man’s Bones - ‘Dead Hearts’ (Werewolf Heart)
Champion - ‘L6 (The Blooded)’ (Saboteur)
You Say Party! We Say Die! - ‘There is XXXX (Within My Heart)’ (Paper Bag)
Alec Ounsworth - ‘Holy, Holy, Holy Moses (Song for New Orleans)’ (Anti-)
The Black Atlantic - ‘I Shall Cross This River’ (Beep! Beep! Back up the Truck)
Dan Mangan - ‘Basket’ (Independent)
Silent Strike - ‘Alb’ (La Strada)
Burial - ‘Fostercare’ (Hyperdub)
Ochre - ‘Napolese’ (Benbecula)
Florence + the Machine - ‘You’ve Got The Love (the xx remix)’ (Island)
The xx - ‘Crystalized’ (Young Turks)
Bent By Elephants - ‘Mollie’s Song’ (Cooling Pie)
Aidan Knight - ‘Altar Boys’ (Canadian Tuxedo)
Horse Feathers - ‘Orphan Girl’ (Kill Rock Stars)

Photo taken by Bruce Mans, All Rights Reserved.

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The time has come for another fantastic ninety odd minutes on The New Balearic. Summer is over, classes have started, but thankfully, the music always continues…

This episode is happy to welcome back some familiar sounds. Port O’Brien is back with a somber and melodic track from their upcoming album Treadbare. One of my favourite artists, Lusine is also on the verge of another full length, which I am very impressed with… and I’ve got a new track for you by him. Also featured from the American Pacific Coast is some impressive new tracks from Sea Wolf and The Dodos.

Of course it wouldn’t be a new episode without some fantastic new bands, and 38 doesn’t disappoint in that category either. Sweden’s Little Dragon and Taken By Trees both take care of beginning and ending this episode, while Vancouver is well represented with great new music by Dan Mangan, Lightning Dust, and Dan Bejar’s Destroyer. From the UK, I’ve also got a pair of tracks from The xx and electronic artist Gold Panda, respectively. Expect to hear a lot from both of those in the future. I’m also very excited to introduce the very first track on the New Balearic by a band from the Netherlands! The Black Atlantic, from Groningen (the birthplace of my Oma), have just released a really great album, and I’ll be doing a Spotlight on them soon, so stay tuned from that. To wrap things up, I’ve also got a remake of Fink’s “Sort of Revolution” by the Cinematic Orchestra, and Radiohead’s new track needs no introduction…

And so with that… happy listening!

Don’t forget to check out The New Balearic on Twitter and Facebook.

Tracklisting: (1 hour, 28 minutes)

Little Dragon - ‘A New’ (Love-Da-Records)
Port O’Brien - ‘My Will Is Good’ (TBD Records)
Lightning Dust - ‘Dreamer’ (Jagjaguwar)
Destroyer - ‘Bay of Bigs’ (Merge)
Lusine - ‘Operation Costs’ (Ghostly International)
Bersarin Quartett - ‘Oktober’ (Lidar)
Radiohead - ‘Harry Patch (In Memory Of)’ (Self Released)
Fink - ‘Sort Of Revolution (The Cinematic Orchestra Remix) ‘ (Ninjatune)
The Black Atlantic - ‘Reverence For Fallen Trees” (Beep! Beep! Back up the Truck)
Volcano Choir - ‘Island, IS’ (Jagjaguwar)
Sea Wolf - ‘The Orchard’ (Dangerbird)
Dan Mangan - ‘Robots’ (Independent)
Feathership - ‘Thunderclapping’ (Maisonnette)
Kings of Convenience - ‘Boat Behind’ (Virgin)
AB - ‘00000001′ (Anonymous)
Kronos Quartet - ‘Tashweesh (Nonesuch)
Gold Panda - ‘Lonely Owl’ (Independent)
Pogo - ‘Bangarang’ (Self Released)
The xx - ‘Islands’ (Young Turks)
The Dodos - ‘Fables’ (Frenchkiss)
Still Life Still - ‘Lite-Bright Lawns’ (Arts & Crafts)
Taken by Trees - ‘My Boys’ (Rough Trade)

Photo taken by Bruce Mans, All Rights Reserved.

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I realize a overwhelming majority of these spotlights are on Canadian artists, and while this wasn’t intentional, it is welcomed. Canada is bursting at the seems with amazing talent. Recently, I’ve written about Montreal’s Our Book and the Authors, and Calgary’s Jordan Klassen. It’s about time to look at a fantastic artist closer to home. I’ve been meaning to write about this artist for awhile now.

Dan Mangan is a songwriter from Vancouver, and has just released a brand new full length album called Nice, Nice, Very Nice. Ironically, when you first hear his album you would think to yourself that indeed it is ‘nice’. It’s when you’re singing his songs in your head for the rest of the day and desperate to get home so you can play the album again when you would admit it’s ‘nice, nice, very nice’.

The new album is yet another typically awesome modern folk album which is becoming a trademark of Canadian independent music. Most of the songs of Nice, Nice, Very Nice hinge on the provoking, often amusing lyrics and delightfully raw voice of Mangan. Each song then adds a unique instrumental touch, including classic toe-tapping acoustic riffs, mellow piano pieces, and short, Andrew Bird-esqe strings. The result is a classy, tactful and mature effort from another young and emerging Canadian folk artist. Nice, Nice, Very Nice is just that, and more. It’s really, really nice. Check it out.

Similar to: Patrick Watson, Andrew Bird, Hayden

Download:
Dan Mangan - Road Regrets
Dan Mangan - Tina’s Glorious Comeback

Buy Nice, Nice, Very Nice at Dan’s website.

Dan Mangan on MySpace

Summer’s are typically slow at The New Balearic. I am always moving between two places. The last two summers I was moving between Seoul and Vancouver, while this summer most of my time has been spent moving across Canada to Halifax. Now that I have arrived, and am (somewhat) settled, I have some music to share. A soundtrack to Summer 09.

Yep, this episode is an ode to the summer past. It’s upbeat, light, and psychedelic… the would be perfect soundtrack for coastal camping trips, et cetera. We’ll kick things off with the result of an epic partnership between Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox and Animal Collective’s Noah Lennox (aka Panda Bear). California’s Dodos have also finished up their follow up to 2008’s stellar Visitor with a new album called Time to Die, and before we leave their country we’ll also check out Chicago’s Netherfriends and revisit Florida’s Blind Man’s Colour. Appropriately, this episode also set a record for most songs from Africa with a pair of tracks from Malawi’s The Very Best, and a fantastic song from the Ivory Coast’s Highlife. Sticking with the same vibe is a great great great balearic song from Sweden’s jj, and New Zealand’s Sola Rosa, and before we leave we make a mandatory stop in France to hear some new stuff from Dan Black, CocoRosie, and Phoenix.

Stay cool, my friends.

Don’t forget to check out The New Balearic on Twitter and Facebook.

Tracklisting: (1 hour, 28 minutes)

Atlas Sound - ‘Walkabout (ft. Noah Lennox)’ ()
Blind Man’s Colour - ‘Heavy Cloud Hustle’ (Kanine Records)
Highlife - ‘F. Kenya RIP’ (Warp Records)
The Very Best - ‘Warm Heart of Africa (ft. Ezra Koenig)’ (Green Owl)
Netherfriends - ‘Friends with Lofts’ (Emergency Umbrella/a>)
The Dodos - ‘Two Medicines’ (Frenchkiss)
Bibio - ‘Fire Ant’ (Warp)
Pogo - ‘SplurgenShitter’ (Self Released)
jj - ‘Things Will Never Be The Same Again’ (Sincerely Yours)
Kyte - ‘Boundaries’ (Rallye)
Our Book and The Authors - ‘Killing Flies (Unsigned)
CocoRosie - ‘Happy Eyez’ (Not On Label)
The Most Serene Republic - ‘Heavens To Purgatory’ (Arts & Crafts)
Phoenix - ‘Rome’ (V2)
Röyksopp - ‘The Girl And The Robot’ (EMI)
Dan Black - ‘Symphonies’ (Polydor)
Passion Pit - ‘Sleepyhead’ (Frenchkiss)
Discovery - ‘Osaka Loop Line’ (XL)
The Rural Alberta Advantage - ‘Don’t Haunt This Place’ (Saddle Creek)
Bowerbirds - ‘Northern Lights’ (Dead Oceans)
Said The Whale - ‘This Winter I Retire’ ( Pop Machine)
The Very Best - ‘Julia’ (Green Owl)
Sola Rosa - ‘Humanised (ft. Bajka)’ (Way Up)

Photo taken by Bruce Mans, All Rights Reserved.

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