ALBUM PICK : KISHI BASHI - "151a"

One of the most endearing, graceful and uplifting albums of the year so far comes from multi-instrumentalist and songwriter K Ishibashi aka Kishi Bashi, whose lush new album "151a" is pure sky-lifting bliss from the heavens.

Striving from the same vein as Owen Pallett and Andrew Bird, K Ishibashi is the touring member of Regina Spektor and of Montreal.

Even with the comparisons, on "151a" Kishi Bashi is it's own animal, packing a much more energetic, fun and groovy way of expression and delicious pop-crafting skills with big dynamics within the songs and the album as a whole.

"151a" is simply a fun and heart-touching piece of heaven to listen and uplift the day.

Intro / Pathos Pathos with it's spine tingling orchestral arrangements and choirs touch the heavens, Bright Whites has that almost distracting quality of poisonously catchy, It All Began With a Burst makes the body move with it's deliciously inventive groove and I Am the Antricrist to You is, along Oh Lord by Winhill/Losehill one of the most emotive, heart-wrenching songs of the year.

You can listen and get the album from Bandcamp below and watch a beautiful looper-orientated rendition of Manchester below along with the music video for Bright Whites. The album can also be listened with Spotify and can be found on the "Stereotype Helsinki // 2012 Q2 Albums + EPs + Singles" playlist.


MANCHESTER LIVE:


BRIGHT WHITES MUSIC VIDEO:

ALBUM PICK : WINHILL / LOSEHILL - "SWING OF SORROW"

One of the most heart touching songs of the year is by far Oh Lord by Swedish 6-piece called Winhill/Losehill.

The group's name took it's form by two mountains called Win Hill and Lose Hill located in Hope Village, England where the band leader Jonas Svennem Lundberg took part in a folk music camp as a youngster.

The group's double album "Swing of Sorrow" is dedicated Lundberg's mother Karin, who died of cancer a few years earlier. Thus the songs were born from a grieving process and deals with the painful loss of a parent, about love and breakups, but also of reconciliation, hope and joy.

The two albums of vibrant, timelessly yearning and beautiful Americana styled folk-pop packed with lush string and horn arrangements are a lot to take in as a whole, but after a few listens the soulful emotion that carries the vast collection through takes over and highlights get clearer.

The lush string orchestra based intro dedicated to Lundberg's mother Karin's Hymn, leads straight to the big piece. Oh Lord instantly catches attention and can easily make a grown man weep. I Will Never Get Enough continues the album with that spine tingling fragility that the group is partly all about. The House Is Black as a contrast makes a nice feel good piece while the first album closes to the mellow serenity of Those Same Damned Days.

The second album starts off slowly with Winnhill/Losehill Part II picking up the pieces of the first album, but quickly makes it clear this time we're on clearer water, carrying on with the more feel-goody soulfulness that the first album only hints about. Don't Let the Inside Shine Out is packed with bittersweet head-bop that makes you smile and "aww" at the same time. I Leave You 'Cause I Don't Care continues with the recipe but adds a poisonously memorable, punchy chorus hook making it a clear second album highlight.

Hope Village is another highlight in it's serene feel good lushness and makes you think Lundberg must've been having the time of his life on the camp.

In all it's soulful emotiveness, "Swing of Sorrow" is still a very easy, approachable album to listen to. But being easy doesn't mean the lack of depth here, as the album is still a clear grower rewarding the persistent listener with something new to catch the attention on every listen.

Listen to "Swing of Sorrow" by Winhill/Losehill through Spotify and watch a graceful live performance of Oh Lord below. The album can also be found on the "Stereotype Helsinki // 2012 Q1 Albums + EPs + Singles" playlist.

STEREOTYPE HELSINKI'S FAVOURITE NOTES SO FAR 2011

The year so far has been fantastic musically, with James Blake, Toro Y Moi and The Weeknds releasing gorgeous, forward thinking albums, ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead releasing the best rock album of the year so far and their best work since the classic "Source Tags & Codes" and Blackbird Blackbird releasing the beautiful "Halo LP" plus let's not forget Lykke Li becoming something of a pop princess with her thrilling "Wounded Rhymes".

Subscribe and listen to the list with Spotify.

Here are all the records we've been digging so far this year from A to Z.

...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead - Tao of the Dead
Akron/Family - S/T II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT
Blackbird Blackbird - Halo
Braids - Native Speaker
Bright Eyes - The People's Key

Clive Tanaka Y Su Orquestra - Jet Set Siempre 1
Cloud Nothings - s.t.
COOLRUNNINGS - Dracula Is Only the Beginning
Craft Spells - Idle Labor
Cut Copy - Zonoscope

Elbow - Build a Rocket Boys!
Farris & Himself - s.t
Frank Ocean - Nostalgia, Ultra
Geotic - Mend
Gil Scott-Heron & Jamie XX - We're New Here

Grimes - Halfaxa
Halls - Halls EP
James Blake - s.t.
Low - C'mon
Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes

Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will
Niva - Feverish Dreams
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Belong
Panda Bear - Tomboy
Steffaloo - Meet Me in Montauk

Sun Glitters - Everything Could Be Fine
Smith Westeners - Dye It Blonde
Teams - Dxys Xff
Teams vs. Star Slinger - s.t.
Teen Daze - Reinterprets Selections From "Mend" By Geotic

Tennis - Cape Dory
Toro Y Moi - Underneath the Pine
TV On the Radio - Nine Types of Light
Two Bicycles - The Ocean
Young Galaxy - Shapeshifting

Yuck - s.t.
Vivian Girls - Share the Joy
The Weeknd - House of Balloons

FANTASTIC FINNISH FOUR:
Eleanoora Rosenholm - Hyväile Minua Pimeä Tähti
Rubik - Solar
LCMDF - Love & Nature
Siinai - Olympic Games

AWESOME SINGLES:
XXXY - You Always Start It/Ordinary Things
Jamie Woon - Lady Luck
Koreless - 4D
Love Inks - Black Eye
Nightlands - All the Way

Visions of Trees - Sometimes It Kills
Young Magic - Sparkly
Baths - The Nothing / Nightly, Daily
Jensen Sportag - Jareaux
Jacques Greene - Another Girl

FINNS DO IT NICE:

Regina - Jos et sä soita

Koria Kitten Riot - Mother

Shine 2009 - Get Free (feat. Paula Abdul)

Big Wave Riders - Skate or Die

Photoart by Christopher Schreck.

STEREOTYPE HELSINKI'S BEST ALBUMS OF 2010

Here are Stereotype Helsinki's Top 10 records of 2010 and the rest of the best.

Subscribe and listen to the list with Spotify.

Toro Y Moi - Causers of This
Local Natives - Gorilla Manor
Magic Kids - Memphis
The Kissaway Trail - Sleep Mountain
Surfer Blood - Astro Coast
Efterklang - Magic Chairs
Abe Vigoda - Crush
Active Child - Curtis Lane
Beach House - Teen Dream
Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record

The Morning Benders - Big Echo
Caribou - Swim
Owen Pallett - Heartland
Houses - All Night
Twin Sister - Color Your Life

Shout Out Louds - Work
Candy Claws - Hidden Lands
Nightlands - Forget the Mantra
Delorean - Subiza
Hanoi Janes - Specks Ho!

The National - High Violet
Twin Shadow - Forget
Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest
MGMT - Congratulations
Pomegranates - One of Us
Blackbird Blackbird - Summer Heart

Best Coast - Crazy For You
Matthew Dear - Black City
Vampire Weekend - Contra
Wavves - King of the Beach
Weekend - Sports
Wild Nothing - Gemini

TWO BEST FINNISH ALBUMS:

Delay Trees - s.t.
Magenta Skycode - Relief

Photoart by Christopher Schreck.

STEREOTYPE HELSINKI'S BEST TRACKS OF 2010

Stereotype Helsinki wishes you a happy new year with a grandiose 9 hour playlist of the best tracks of the year.

The playlist consists of 129 tunes from the best albums of the year and beyond and the track order is lovingly organised with care.

It's calm, it's wild, it's fun, it's sad, it's big, it's small.
It's lush and delicate, it's energetic and raw, it's warm and it's cold.

But most of all we hope it feels as good to you as it feels to us.

Listen to the best tracks of the year below or listen and subscribe to the playlist with Spotify.

Photoart by Christopher Schreck.

TOP OF 2010 : NIGHTLANDS - FORGET THE MANTRA

Forget the Mantra by Nightlands is one of the definite surprise golden nuggets of the year.

It's an all around amazing, delicate piece made of endless harmony and rich textures plus one gorgeous Beach Boys cover. It's made of sparkly daytimes, sunrises and those quiet later hours of the night and it creates a strong, daydreamy feel of being somewhere else.

It's like a vast ocean and you can just see Brian Wilson giving a big smile on this one.

Catch a wave with the first three tunes of "Forget the Mantra" by Nightlands below or listen to the whole album with Spotify.

Album picks: 300 Clouds, Glass Vacuum, 'Til I Die

TOP OF 2010 : CARIBOU - SWIM

One of the most anticipated albums of the spring was by far Swim by Caribou who popped by Helsinki in August for one of the best performances of the Flow Festival this year.

This previously featured old timer also known as Manitoba or just plain Daniel Victor Snaith has released a lot of albums and a definite hit tune, and yet he's just a couple years over his thirties. Quite an accomplishment as also is the album being released tomorrow.

Swim means tropical simpleton bounce at it's finest. It's made of lush and delicate textures suitable excellently for bathing and it's often without a definite kick and crackle which is refreshingly fantastic. Odessa has a definite instant classic feel to it.

Sit back, take a load of your feet, lay down and embrace the chilly but warm waves of Swim in it's full glory below and watch the ominous video for Odessa, the track that has somewhat an instant classic feel to it. Check out also the vid for Sun and also for that earlier definite hit tune just to realize that you definitely might have heard the dude earlier than you'd think.

Album picks: Odessa, Sun, Bowls.



ODESSA:


SUN:


MELODY DAY:

TOP OF 2010 : BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE - FORGIVENESS ROCK RECORD

In 2005 Broken Social Scene was going places.

There was the self-titled album on which Feist sang that huge hit we all know, they performed with so many guitars nobody though was possible and rode the waves of that Canadian rock revolution.

Then something happened, everyone in Canada stopped making music and the dudes at Broken Social Scene released solo albums that nobody listened to.

Well, now five years have passed and 2010 is a big year again for Canadian music as Broken Social Scene came up with their Forgiveness Rock Record, Arcade Fire came up with Suburbs and Memoryhouse with Years EP.

The new Broken Social Scene is a vast album, sprawling to multiple directions with every song being a different kind of a mess of ideas and arrangements, which just happens to work suprisingly well again.

Album picks: World Sick, All to All, Ungrateful Little Father, Sentimental X's, Sweetest Kill.

Listen to Forgiveness Rock Record and watch the vids below.



TEXICO BITCHES:


CHASE SCENE:


MEET ME IN THE BASEMENT:


FORCED TO LOVE:

TOP OF 2010 : TWIN SISTER - COLOR YOUR LIFE + MEET THE FROWNIES

Twin Sister is my favourite group yet to release a full lenght album and in April they released Color Your Life, a follow-up EP to 2008's perfect Vampires With Dreaming Kids.

It's certainly a step to another direction from the previous act but still holds on to the warm, cozy, delicately lush esthetics and darker undertones that carry the group's dreamy jams so well, all accompanied by the angelic hush of Andrea's soothing voice.

Listen to Color Your Life and Vampires with Dreaming Kids packed altogether with Spotify.

The band also visited an actual studio for the first time ever (as both of the EPs are home recorded) a while ago for the awesome Shaking Through series to record a new song called Meet the Frownies. And boy, it's swell.

Listen to Meet the Frownies and watch some videos about making the tune. Also you can watch music vids for All Around and Away We Go, Lady Day Dream and Galaxy Plateau below.

Dear audiophiles, it's time to drool.





ON WRITING THE SONG:


RECORDING THE RADIO NOISES:


RECORDING THE AMBIENT TEXTURES:


RECORDING THE DRUMS:

ALL AROUND AND AWAY WE GO:


LADY DAYDREAM:


GALAXY PLATEAU:

TOP OF 2010 : KISSAWAY TRAIL - SLEEP MOUNTAIN

Kissaway Trail's Sleep Mountain is made of a sparkly sun on the purple sky about to fall down behind the pastel coloured buildings and trees, with the ice on top of the sea glistening like a beautiful promise of a bright tomorrow.

Listen to "Sleep Mountain" and watch the vids for SDP and Beat Your Heartbeat.

Album picks: Beat Your Heartbeat, SDP, New Year, Friendly Fire, New Lipstick.

TOP OF 2010 : BEST COAST - CRAZY FOR YOU

Best Coast's debut full-lenght Crazy For You is made of countless oohs and aahs, some mournful but playful longing, and buzzyness tuned to the finest. It's all a simple-as-it-gets kinda treat and spends no time in anything but poisonously infectious hooks and saying things as direct as possible.

It's all about bittersweet, sandy fun and staring at those sundowns by the coast and 23 year old Bethany Cosentino ended up making one of the definite albums of the year.

Listen to Crazy For You and watch the vid for the mega-hitter When I'm With You below.

Album picks: Boyfriend, When I'm With You, Crazy For You.

TOP OF 2010 : THE MORNING BENDERS - BIG ECHO

The Morning Benders' second full-lenght Big Echo is made of lush and vibrant feelings, rich textures and the opening track "Excuses" is somewhat an instant classic. It's sometimes big, sometimes small and still at all times really comfy.

No wonder though, as the record was produced by Grizzly Bearies' Chris Taylor.

Listen to Big Echo and watch the vid for Promises below.

Top tunes: Excuses, Promises, Wet Cement, Cold War.

TOP OF 2010 : WILD NOTHING - GEMINI

Wild Nothing's debut album Gemini is packed with seemingly simple yet poisonously infectious, hazy landscapes and all around phantastic daydreaming.

Summer Holiday and China Town are among the definite tunes the summer of dreams will be remembered from.

Listen to the album and watch the vid for China Town below.

DEERHUNTER - HALCYON DIGEST

Deerhunter have their new album "Halcyon Digest" finally out and it's one dreamy, flowy journey. It might be their biggest album yet and one of the best albums of the year. So yeah, it's huge.

Listen to Deerhunter "Halcyon Digest" full album stream below and check the vid for the tune of the fall, "Helicopter".

SLEIGH BELLS - INFINITY GUITARS

Sleigh Bells had one of the most awesome shows at Flow Festival last month. They've now got a new vid for "Infinity Guitars" that's made of all around radness indeed.

Watch the vid and listen to their album "Treats" below.




PREVIOUSLY :
SLEIGH BELLS - TELL 'EM
SLEIGH BELLS - CROWN ON THE GROUND

10.9.

Take it easy,
catch a wave.

Daydream,
the warmth of the sun.

The surfer moon,
the truest faith.

Ghost train,
in the parkin' lot

Let's go away for a while,
all around and away we go.


ZEBRA AND SNAKE
STEREOTYPE DJs
Juho Risto Aukusti
Daniel (Lumiarts)
Vixen


FREE ENTRY
9 pm - 2 am

@ SILTANEN
Hämeentie 13 B, Helsinki

Get to the feel with "Stereotype Helsinki Lovelist".

MAGIC KIDS - MEMPHIS

One of the most awaited albums of the last half of the year is "Memphis" by Magic Kids, and it's made of lush orchestrations, fantastic melodies and all around infectious, heart stirring catchiness with comfort.

They say it's so good to be, and they just might happen to be telling exactly how it feels.

You can listen to "Memphis" by Magic Kids as a full album stream below or with Spotify.



UPDATE:
The group just put out their video for "Superball", and it just might be something of a geekiest video ever, so there you go.

BEST COAST - CRAZY FOR YOU

Best Coast's "Crazy For You" is made of countless oohs and aahs, some mournful but playful longing, and buzzyness tuned to the finest. It's all a simple-as-it-gets kinda treat and spends no time in anything but poisonously infectious hooks and saying things as direct as possible.

It's all about bittersweet, sandy fun and staring at those sundowns by the coast and 23 year old Bethany Cosentino just might've ended up making one of the definite albums of the year.

You can listen to "Crazy For You" and watch the vid for the mega-hitter "When I'm With You" below. It's also listenable with Spotify.

WAVVES - KING OF THE BEACH

Wavves just might be the "King of the Beach" assessing by the new album that goes by the same title.

It's sharp, fun, tight and clever plus features some heck of songwriting action. The production is by far fantastic and made of huge studio delivery, still managing to keep it fresh and vibrant. "Mickey Mouse" alone is all needed to make all the past crazes up.

"King of the Beach" is to be released on August 2 through the fantastic Bella Union but it's already out there so might as well take a load of your feet with it in it's full glory below or with Spotify. There's also a nice little vid of Nate Williams and the dudes feeling it in the studio and stuff.

CRYSTAL CASTLES - CELESTICA

Crystal Castles are knocking on the cemetery gates with this one, so it's all about faithful images.

"Celestica" just might be the duo's best song to date and for those who haven't heard it before and didn't feel their earlier stuff just might dig this.

The album, basically called "Crystal Castles II", adds some depth to their previous schmazz. Listen to the album and watch the official music video for "Celestica" below.