Welcome, welcome, welcome to 2015’s first edition of My Four. This year promises to be a good one for music and we at Fourculture will keep you posted on what’s hot and what’s hotter. So let me, Mark Sharpley, take you through this weeks essential picks. We begin this week with…
DAN MANGAN
Canadian singer/songwriter Dan Mangan is first up this week with the release of his latest album, Club Meds. Going under the full moniker of Dan Mangan + Blacksmith, this is the fourth album by the two time winner of the Juno award. Indeed, he has toured with the likes of Jackson Browne, Julian Casablancas, Alison Krauss and Broken Social Scene amongst others. But it was 2011 when British royalty came calling on Canada day and he performed for Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton on Parliament Hill. The least they could have done was call one of their children after him. Available on the Arts & Crafts record label, this is the video for the single, “Mouthpiece”. www.danmanganmusic.com
GUSTER
Hailing from Boston, Guster are here this week with their new album Evermotion. Since their incarnation in 1991, they have produced 6 albums prior to this one but it’s vocalist and guitarist Adam Gardner who you might be more familiar with. In 2004, he and and his wife created Reverb, an organisation helping artists become more environmentally sound when they do activities such as touring. As well as Guster themselves, the likes of John Mayer, Jack Johnson and Dave Matthews have all been part of Reverb’s environmental music revolution. After all, we need a planet to play on don’t we? Available on the Ocho Mule/Nettwork Records label, this is the single, “Simple Machine”. www.guster.com
KAT DAHLIA
Miami’s alternative R&B star Kat Dahlia is our third act this week with the release of her debut album, My Garden. There are quite a lot of producers on here with a couple you may recognize in the shape of Missy Elliott and Timbaland. In fact it was a producer who suggested she use the stage moniker of Kat Dahlia (her real name being Katriana Huguet), as it was soft yet had a dark undertone to it. With Kat’s sharp lyrical style, it certainly rings true in that respect. Available on the Vested In Culture/Epic Records label this is the video for, “Gangsta”. www.katdahlia.com
PANDA BEAR
Finally this week it’s Baltimore’s own Panda Bear and the release of his new album Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper. Also known as Noel Benjamin Lennox, he was part of the experimental music band Animal Collective. The experimental music links don’t stop there, as the co-producer on this album is former Spacemen 3 member, Sonic Boom. Anybody who remembers their music will certainly be a fan of this effort. Available on the Domino Records label, this is the single, “Boys Latin”. www.pbvsgr.com
And that’s it for this week! Join me again next time as we dish out four more tracks you need to know about. Keep on keeping on.
