Delay Trees – Global Music Project (Finland)

While browsing through the list of the top bands from Finland I found some decent ones that I probably could have written about, many of which have been getting some serious press in the American blog scene. Although they were interesting for a few minutes, I didn’t find anything that I would actually want to listen to after writing the article until I came across Delay Trees. They are an unsigned mellow melodic-pop four-piece from the Helsinki area in Finland and I can’t stop listening to them.

Their music features relaxed yet steady beats, soft and contemplative vocals, and spacious arrangements. Despite the leisurely pacing of their songs, it seems that they’ve also managed to keep the overall vibe of their music upbeat for the most part by throwing in plenty of ups and downs along the way. Unlike some other bands, they also know when and when not to take it up a notch like on the end of “Tarantula.”

Disarmonia Mundi – Global Music Project (Italy)

Disarmonia Mundi is a three-piece melodic metalcore group from Turin, Italy and these guys are no fucking joke. The band consists of Ettore, Claudio, and Speed and the group is currently signed to indie label Coroner Records. I’m not sure as to whether or not they are known in America yet, but I would assume they would have a sizable following in the states. To date, the group has released five albums, the latest of which is entitled The Isolation Game and is due out sometime this year.

Their sound is a frantic mix of speed metal chords and lead lines, catchy hooks, and an incredibly tight rhythm section. One of their strong suits lies in their vocal diversity. Upon first listen it may just sound like screaming, but if you delve deeper you can hear a melodic style similar to CKY or System Of A Down, the syncopated growl of Pantera, and the ability to quickly switch between several singing styles found in groups like Killswitch Engage.

Waa – Global Music Project (Taiwan)

On this edition of The Global Music Project we’re going to be taking a look at an acoustic-pop artist from Taipei, Taiwan named Waa Wei. She appears to have released about five albums and is currently on an independent label called AsiaMuse. Waa’s music has an incredibly relaxing coffee house vibe that leans more toward honesty than artsy. She has a breathy, playful, and endearing voice that vaguely reminds me of a mix between Dolores O’Riordan and Beth Orton, with a style that is distinctly all her own.

Her music features tasteful arrangements that utilize a variety of instruments from around the world, contemporary production values, and hints of traditional Eastern melodies. Despite being a self-proclaimed pop artist, the hooks are very subtle and her songs have plenty of space to breathe as a result of sustained chords instead of incessant strumming. I’m not entirely sure, but as far as I can tell all of Waa’s lyrics are sung in some form of Mandarin Chinese.

Drumlinezz – Global Music Project (Bangladesh)

After making the introduction post about The Global Music Project, I set out to find some artists on Myspace and almost instantly called this project off. It seems that I drastically underestimated the tendency of Myspace bands to say that they are from foreign countries when in fact they’re from some shitty town in Iowa or something. I can’t really conceive of a reason why anyone would do something like that since it’s certainly not funny, and aside from me trying to do my little blog thing, they’re not ruining anybody’s day. Maybe this is some Truman show type shit where the whole world is against me.

Anyway, I’d like to introduce an amazing Drum & Bass artist from Dhaka, Bangladesh called Drumlinezz. It’s a solo project by Mikaile Ibrahim and he’s currently signed to indie label Corinthian Recordings. Having been a huge fan of Drum & Bass music since 1998 or so, I’ve heard a lot of good and bad artists and this guy went far and beyond what I expected when I hit play.

The Global Music Project: Introduction

I have decided to do something of an experiment and find an artist worth checking out from every country on planet Earth. Once I find someone worth writing about, I’ll then post it to the blog. To accomplish this I’ll mainly be using Myspace, but other websites are certainly not out of the question.

Here are a few guidelines as to how I’ll do it:

• The main tool I’ll be using to find the artists is Myspace. This may however prove to be insanely difficult because a lot of jackoffs like to say that their shitty emo band is from Togo or Sri Lanka or something.
• Any genre is up for grabs. In fact, the stranger the better.
• I’ll only be writing about artists that I think are truly worth recommending. I won’t just be writing about the first artist I find.
• Any record label situation is ok, be it Indie, Major, or Unsigned.
• I won’t be writing about any artists that I already know of.