It’s the first week of January and we’re already right on track with some great in-store events coming up!
This Tuesday, come to Sweat for live performances by ANIMAL TROPICAL + JOHN HANCOCK of ANR!
Animal Tropical are formerly the Down Home Southernaires and formerly Pygmy before that. These sharply dressed and talented gentlemen’s most recent EP “Doom Years” is a store favorite and in our opinion one of the best releases this year, local or otherwise. Read more below… We’ve got the disc at Sweat for a fiver, but the band were generous enough to offer it for FREE through the Sweat site this week! Click the link to download the excellent 6-track EP in high quality MP3s:
John Hancock is the voice, the guitar, sometimes the drums and the songwriting core of ANR. His ever-expending solo material runs the gamut from experimental world pop beats to fuzzy American punk rock to soulful Prince-worthy ballads. We don’t know precisely what he’ll play Tuesday, but we know it’ll be good.
No cover, starts at 8.30pm at Sweat – see you there!
TONS of awesome new releases have been emerging from right in our backyard. We’re going to be turning you on to as many of them as possible in the next few weeks. This one you don’t even have to buy…
BLACK BOBBY is the alias of Miami-based MC Larry Harris, Jr. Originally from DC, this Harvard grad was about to start running for seats but realized his calling was to run rhymes and move seats! He’s all about preserving the original spirit of hip hop – his album has no grandstanding foolishness, no bling-worship, and no features – it’s just one man rapping right over some classic beats and reminding you what hip hop is all about.
Time to welcome another great local release: JESP is the solo alter-ego of musician Joseph Espinoza, former lead singer of the late Miami band Outereach, and we’re debuting his brand new record right here!
JESP’s first full-length album “Heart Rhythm” is straight-ahead electronic pop with a definite retro-rock slant, aptly described by the New Times as a “cross between Chromeo and Jan Hammer.” It’s definitely worth a listen for any fan of upbeat, danceable pop. I’ve been spinning the title track out in my sets at The Vagabond for a couple months and the crowd’s been digging it. As Joey himself has said, “This album is for Miami and anyone else who dares to listen.”
You can click here to download the album for free for a limited time,
-OR-
You can click below to purchase the album from Snocap for $9.99:
The choice is yours, but of course purchasing music is a great way to support local artists.
Going to shows is another great way to support! Your next chance to see JESP live is at the official album release show, Saturday, November 14th during Second Saturday Gallery Walk at the Awarehouse. Surf over to myspace.com/jespmusic to stay in the loop.
Fresh to the record bins at Sweat Records is a great new local release! Teepee is the musical nom de plume of Eric Lopez-Zareno. He delves into musical territories ranging from “synth-pop/punk foolery” to “outsider/drone/free improvisation”.
Each Teepee performance is different too – when he played at Fridays at The Vagabond last February I walked away thinking he was like a 1-man Mars Volta, but sometimes he’s accompanied by a full band, and that’s when he’s not also joining the ranks of the Electric Bunnies and Melted Sunglasses.
Teepee’s debut LP “Morals” is self-released on Lopez-Zareno’s own Senzei record label. Download the free track below and pick it up at Sweat!
Local wax fanatic and DJ extraordinaire Induce has teamed up with notorious viking troublemaker Sven Barth to drop some aural SAX on the universe… Their debut album “Sven Barth and Induce are Casual Sax and the Saxual Revolution in The Blow Sven Theory” is in stock now at Sweat!
We’ve got the CD for $10, the triple-gatefold 2LP for $18, and the instrumental 2LP for $12. The CD comes with the regular and instrumental versions so that’s the best price you’ll get anywhere. All 3 are limited edition.
As a special bonus, here for your free downloading pleasure is an as-yet-unreleased b-side that’s one of the best examples we’ve ever heard of Mad Libs in popular music…
Today, the second part of Awesome New Republic’s “Rational Geographic” series is available to download COMPLETELY FREE.
Just surf over to ANR’s site and grab the whole thing. We got a sneak preview a few weeks ago and there are some seriously great songs on there, equally suitable for headphone listening, the dancefloor, or a nice long drive. Get it!
In anticipation of their set at this week’s Friday at The Vagabond, we’re giving away a track by West Palm Beach’s SURFER BLOOD! Their name is a perfect fit, as they’ve got a real Beach Boys-y summertime sound, but with something darker lurking beneath the surface…
Download the track below, hear more on their myspace, and then come out Friday night to see the real thing!
We’re continuing with our promise to give you FREE local music with an exciting promo-only release! Afrobeta are one of the most requested local artists at Sweat Records, but they don’t have a physical release…yet. In the meantime, you can download the Afrobeta “2009 Mixtape” – a 13-minute mix featuring chill versions of some of their live favorites and other treats!
(Remember it might take a while since it’s a massive file, and a quick note to other bloggers: please link to our post and not the file directly – we did actually pay to host it!)
Here’s the cover art too in case you want to print it up and make yourself your very own Afrobeta CD. Enjoy!
