Bon Iver at Air Studios

4AD and Jagjaguwar have collaborated on a live session that captures a truly unique Bon Iver performance, featuring Justin Vernon and Sean Carey. On recent tours fans will have become accustomed to seeing Vernon flanked by an eleven-piece band, with the swell in numbers lending a grandiose element to even his most delicate songs. Sidestepping expectations, the idea Vernon presented for this session was to provide a wildly different experience.

Recorded in AIR Studio’s Lyndurst Hall - a building that was originally a church and missionary school designed in 1880 by the great Victorian architect Alfred Waterhouse (designer of the Natural History Museum) - Vernon was joined only by Carey, with the pair positioning themselves opposite one another at two grand pianos. Although neither Justin nor Sean’s first instrument is piano, they were able to remodel the songs in a way that showcases their complimentary vocals and, perhaps more strikingly, a seemingly effortless ability to experiment with form and structure.

As such, fans are treated to jaw-dropping interpretations of several songs from both the new album and the ‘Blood Bank’ EP, as well as a cover of Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me”. And interpretation is an apt word, as these songs are artfully abstracted from their original incarnations. Rather than layer the sound as on ‘Bon Iver, Bon Iver’, the focus is on paring back, in part evoking the minimalist approach of contemporary classical music, while remaining true enough to the source material to retain those elements characteristic of Bon Iver.

As on “Babys” and “Hinnom, TX”, Vernon’s trademark falsetto is positioned centre stage, framed by subtle and unexpected instrumental flourishes that render the performance simultaneously weighty and airless. It’s quite an achievement that songs so widely-known and loved in their recorded form are able gain in emotional impact, and stands as testament to Bon Iver’s singular talent.

1. Hinnom, TX
2. Wash.
3. I Can’t Make You Love Me
4. Babys
5. Beth/Rest

The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain - The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

This is great!

Bon Iver - Skinny Love

Do you have a sophisticated taste?  Then I bet you’ll find something of interest here

EMEL MATHLOUTHI “MA LKIT” (Not Found)

You may not understand the language, but you won’t need to.  The emotions will grab your soul and squeeze it until you feel the meaning.

Emel Mathlouthi (11 January 1982)
Tunisian singer ,author and composer, is one of these artists revelated by the audience.. she was not imposed, she has been chosen for the sincerity of her speech and the authenticity of her creations.
She made a strong impression in the first edition of Price RMC Middle East in 2006 where she ended finalist in Amman .
Endowed with outstanding vocal capacities, her captivating
style sometimes lyrical succeeded in creating a unique and unusual world, drawing its inspirations from her Mediterranean origins to reach the eclectic electro sounds.
“Pain and pleasure mix , expand , become deeper to finally be engraved in the hearts forever… Her words are pain that gives birth to pleasure…Her music seems to emerge from a transcendent world…A world full of humanity , sensitivity , and feelings… Emel does not only sing with her voice, but with her body and her features have their own language too…”
Success and great collaborations with Tricky, Charlie Couture, Jean Jacques Milteau and Meï Teï Shô have been “au rendez vous”. But this is not all as Amel is also performing all over the world.The association of her multi cultural influences gave birth to an urban arab musical directory oscillating between oriental sounds, electro and afro-rock rhythms.

Do you have a sophisticated taste?  Then I bet you’ll find something of interest here.

Michael Meets Mozart - 1 Piano, 2 Guys, 100 Cello Tracks - ThePianoGuys

There’s some beautiful winter photography in this video!

This is Jackson Berkey’s adaptation of the famous tune Lo How A Rose E’er Blooming. Berkey says of his piece, entitled Fantasy On A Rose, “The florid opening moves gently into the first statement which is followed by a very melismatic verse, filled with trills and linear passagework, climaxing in a double trill. The notations that follows for the very free statement of the theme is done in a manner similar to Louis Couperin. The notation is called senza mesura and, due to the way it appears on the printed page, always inspires the performer to new and different interpretations each time it is encountered. A final statement of the theme occurs again in the asymmetrical 5/4 time signature.” Merhlin hopes that the winter scenes are compatible with this tune so often heard at Christmastide. Thanks to Jackson Berkey for his gracious permission to use his music.

The Piano Guys play Coldplay’s “Paradise” featuring guest artist, Alix Boye

Agnes Obel - Riverside (official)

Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah

Hauntingly beautiful!

Junip - Without You!   One of my favorite bands.

Cool video too!

Born Ann-Margret Olsson, 28 April 1941, Stockholm, Sweden

Actress/singer/dancer/entertainer: best known for Bye Bye Birdie and Viva Las Vegas. Nominated for best supporting actress in Carnal Knowledge and best actress in Tommy

Born in Sweden but adopted by America

The family moved to Valsjobyn when A-M was still a little baby. This is a little village of about 150 people located in the mountains in the county of Jamtland. It is 4 miles east of the border of Norway. A-M is named after a Swedish swimming star her mother admired. She has no brothers or sisters

She came to the United States with her mother when she was five, settling in Wilmette, Illinois (north of Chicago). A-M’s father who had come to America previously, greeted them

Ann-Margret has dazzled screen and stage audiences. With her film debut in Frank Capra’s final classic, “Pocketful of Miracles” in 1962 to the recent Oliver Stone directed “On Any Sunday” with Al Pacino, Ann-Margret’s film career has spanned four decades. Displaying a versatility that few actresses can match has earned her love and admiration, not just for her beauty and her legend but also for herself

Andrew Bird - Eyeoneye

From the album Break It Yourself.

TOMMY EMMANUEL : House of the rising sun
One of my favorite songs of all times……done up right!