The Key » Start Track http://thekey.xpn.org Discover Philly's Best Local Music Wed, 22 May 2013 03:14:38 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 Copyright WXPN, The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania The Week’s Best MP3 Downloads, incl. Calexico, Quilt, The Naked Sun http://thekey.xpn.org/2013/02/10/the-weeks-best-mp3-downloads-incl-calexico-quilt-the-naked-sun/ http://thekey.xpn.org/2013/02/10/the-weeks-best-mp3-downloads-incl-calexico-quilt-the-naked-sun/#comments Sun, 10 Feb 2013 17:30:16 +0000 Julie Miller http://thekey.xpn.org/?p=68411 Bringing their sunny psychedelic sounds to Philadelphia, Boston’s Quilt recently stopped by the Folkadelphia studios to record a live session full of warmth and color.  The 60s vibe of the band seems so natural it’s easy to slip into a dreamy daze while listening to the five tracks they recorded.  Stream and download “Arctic Shark” below and head over to Folkadelphia’s Bandcamp to get the rest of the session.  Quilt will be back in town this Saturday, February 16th for the 2013 Northern Liberties Winter Music Festival at The Fire.  Tickets and information can be found here.

Philly band Royal Shoals returned this week with a brand new four-track EP called Surrounderer + 3, recorded with Jeff Ziegler at Uniform Recording.  The EP follows up the surf rock / new wave outfit’s 2011 debut Dirty Water with a collection of brightly polished, tightly produced tracks that show growth and confidence.  Stream and download “Surrounderer” below.  Royal Shoals play Kung Fu Necktie on February 28th; tickets and information can be found here.

With help from local musician Ryan Wilson of Pill Friends, Slovakian music blog Start Track released a free compilation this week featuring tracks from a number of Philadelphia bands involved in the basement / DIY / house show scene.  It’s a glimpse into the depths of the Philly music community with a diverse batch of contributors including electro-disco outfit Night Panther, thrashy punk band Mumblr, darkly captivating singer-songwriter Abi Reimold and an acoustic take from alt-folk / rock squadron Roof Doctor.  Stream “Rug” by Abi Reimold below and download the full Philly compilation on Start Track’s Bandcamp here.

South Jersey outfit The Naked Sun kindly came to the WXPN studios recently to record a Key Studio Session.  Drawing mostly from an upcoming EP, the Beta Hi-Fi competitors brought the energy with broadly arranged but tightly performed roots rock boogie tunes.  And with the jazzy inclusion of saxophone and trumpet players, the session’s five dynamic tracks are energizing enough to remedy any sort of mid-winter blues this weekend’s weather has slumped us into.  The Naked Sun play the Field House on April 12th with The Lawsuits.  Stream and download “Holdin’ Back the Heart” below and head over here for the full session.

Each weekday this month World Cafe is offering a free download of a Cafe track from a limited-time-only compilation.  By February 22nd, there will be twenty songs up for grabs – but here’s the catch: the download links will disappear on March 1st.  This week’s free offerings included recordings by neo-soul / R&B singer Allen Stone, roots rocker John Fullbright and the track streaming below, “Fortune Teller” from alt-country band Calexico.  The duo and a full band recorded the song when they stopped by Philly for a sold-out Free at Noon at Union Transfer last fall; listen to their full World Cafe session with David Dye here and download the free collection here.

]]> http://thekey.xpn.org/2013/02/10/the-weeks-best-mp3-downloads-incl-calexico-quilt-the-naked-sun/feed/ 0 Free Download: Get a snapshot of the Philly DIY scene from across the globe in this Slovakian digital compilation http://thekey.xpn.org/2013/02/04/free-download-get-a-snapshot-of-the-philly-diy-scene-from-across-the-globe-in-this-slovakian-digital-compilation/ http://thekey.xpn.org/2013/02/04/free-download-get-a-snapshot-of-the-philly-diy-scene-from-across-the-globe-in-this-slovakian-digital-compilation/#comments Mon, 04 Feb 2013 20:45:19 +0000 John Vettese http://thekey.xpn.org/?p=67952 Start Track is a new digital label based in Slovakia that showcases bands and local music scenes from other corners of the world for the Central European audience. Their latest comp, Philly, was released yesterday, and provides a thorough snapshot of the Philly DIY / house show / basement punk circuit, from Key Sessions alums Cousin Brian and groove-poppers Night Panther, to singer-songwriter Abi Reimold and nihilistic rockers Pill Friends, who provided the inspiration for the set. Says the compiler, who goes only by Filip:
this mixtape has been collected by a great homie Ryan Wilson from Pill Friends pillfriends.bandcamp.com

all bands are active in a beautiful music scene formed in Philadelphia and its neighborhood and they will be pleased with your support

there many other incredible bands from this scene which are not covered in this compilation, but you should definitely listen to them

You can listen to the compilation and get to know some of your neighbors – from an across-the-globe perspective – in the player below. To grab a free download, head to Start Track’s Bandcamp.

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