March 19th, 9.30am. The day is grey and I’m driving on the rainy road. This song pops on the radio and hits me like a warm summer breeze. I guess I really miss the summer.

Blue Hawaii’s latest track ‘Try To Be’, sounds so refreshing and soothing you kinda wish it was summer already. An instant favorite.

I’ve been keeping a close eye on Jessie Ware since the day she uploaded her single ‘Strangest Feeling’ on YouTube. This first single caught my attention right on: the lyrics, the voice… and the way it all blend so nicely in a XX-ish kind of way.
And until then I’d never heard of her.

Although this was Jessie’s first solo track, that doesn’t mean she is a rookie at this singing stuff: she previously lent her vocals in collaborations with SBTRKT, Joker and Sampha.

Over the following months more tracks were released, and among them was ‘Running’. For me, this was the absolute confirmation of Jessie’s potential.
Once again, the music tempo, the feeling it carried: it all matched perfectly.
More importantly, you could see and sense where she was going with her music and what she’s sending out to the world. By that time you just knew that the soon to be released debut album ‘Devotion’ was going to be massive.

Two weeks ago, “Devotion” was finally released, featuring the previously released tracks plus new ones. The expectation was definitely huge, but Jessie delivered: the album even exceeds it. The way the entire album works so well as whole, as an experience, is remarkable. Transitioning from one track to another is done so smoothly that you end up clicking the repeat button once you reach the end of ‘Devotion’. 110% recommended.

To finish off, here’s a short film captured at The Nave, in London, where you get to know a bit more about Jessie, a sort of introduction to her world.

The Rapture – It Takes Time To Be A Man

This week got off on the right foot for the portuguese people: The Black Keys confirmed their first show on portuguese soil.
As a fan of the band, I couldn’t be more exciting about it. After the announcement I started digging even deeper into The Black Keys history. As a result I found out this brilliant show they had in Austin at Emo’s back in ’03. BK are known for their raw sound and this video sure captures that rawness in full. A must watch.

A late night pick from The Black Keys. The song is “Psychotic Girl” from their album “Attack & Release“. Here’s the live version of the song, performed at The Crystal Ballroom in ’08. Gotta love ‘em.

The Black Keys – Psychotic Girl

Ladies and gents, Mr. Jack White announced his soon to be release solo album ‘Blunderbuss’. Accompanying this announcement is the first single taken from the album, ‘Love Interruption’, which can be heard now. Check it out:

The album will be out on April 23/24th. Can’t wait.

Like Jimi Hendrix used to say, “The Blues is easy to play, but it’s hard to feel”.

Son House – Death Letter Blues

What can I say, these guys don’t need any introductions. Here’s The Doors with ‘Roadhouse Blues’.

The Doors – Roadhouse Blues

Here’s the latest music video by James Blake for his track “A Case of You” featured on his EP “Enough Thunder”.

Muddy Waters – Manish Boy

The first time I had the chance to see James Blake performing live was on Optimus Alive ’11 a couple of months ago. It was his first time on portuguese soil. And what a debut it was… His brilliant concert made us wanting more.

Last night he returned to Portugal as part of Vodafone Mexefest‘s lineup for this year. This was his second time on Portugal and, for the second time, there I was, ready for some more James Blake. The show completely blew away the crowd that waited in line for so much time to enter the venue, including myself.
Using the lyrics of “Limit To Your Love”, the show really sounded “like a waterfall in slow motion…”, just awesome!
I’ll sure keep an eye out for his future returns for more shows.

Generationals – Nobody Could Change Your Mind

Deerhoof – Secret Mobilization

New Black Keys’ album on December 6^th. Now that’s some great news!

Helvetica and classic rock, a match made in heaven.
Work by Ernesto Lago. See the rest of his work here.

Foster The People – Call It What You Want

Her name is Kimbra, she’s from New Zealand and she is the latest addition to the Indie Pop music scene.

Although her music was already being listened all over the internet on Youtube, the debut album ‘Vows’ only came out a couple of weeks ago.
Kimbra’s videos sure looked promising at the time and there were high hopes for the soon to be released album.

The result: she didn’t let anyone down. The album lives up to the exceptions the videos created and the people who already seen her performing live say that the songs can get even better on stage. I sure hope that Kimbra has plans for an European tour.

In the meanwhile here’s one of Kimbra’s latest videos, performing ‘Wandering Limbs’.

This time I picked up the track ‘The Look’ by Metronomy. It’s taken from their latest album ‘The English Riviera’.
If you’re into electropop, I recommend to give it a listen. It’s an authentic textbook on how electropop is properly done.

Metronomy – The Look

[via la blogothèque]