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Vampire Weekend Members Release New Musical Projects With Other Popular Indie Artists

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Chris Thomson, Ezra Koenig, Rostam Batmanglij,Chris Balo of VM (photo by Larry Busacca)

New York indie band Vampire Weekend have had quite a wild ride since their 2007 song "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" first won over music fans in the U.S. and U.K. Now, nearly two years since they appeared on the proverbial indie rock radar, the band has become one of the biggest buzz bands of the past 18 months, gracing the cover of Spin magazine, appearing on Saturday Night Live, and touring extensively to sold out crowds on three continents.

Vampire Weekend's unique blend of catchy indie pop with upbeat African influences - the band prefers to call it 'Upper West Side Soweto' - has made them extremely popular. But some other music fans dismiss the 'Vampire Weekend hype' arguing the band has only put out one album (their follow-up album is due out this fall).

While taking a break from Vampire Weekend, two of the band members have been working on other music projects. Keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij teamed up with Ra Ra Riot leader singer and friend Wes Miles - who began recording together back in 2005 - under the moniker Discovery. Their spectacular debut album, simply titled LP, was released earlier this month. LP oozes with electro pop and hi-fi sonic sounds, sounding at times like Kayne West meets Animal Collective meets Vampire Weekend.

So it is no surprise that Vampire Weekend vocalist Erza Koening leads vocals on one of the album's best tracks, "Carby." Other highlight tracks include "Orange Shirt", "Osaka Loop Line" and "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend."

In a separate collaboration that has been making the rounds this week, Koening also steps in to sing on a new The Very Most song called "Warm Heart Of Africa".

"Osaka Loop Line" - Discovery from LP (2009)

"Warm Heart Of Africa" (featuring Erza Koening) - The Very Most, '7 inch (2009)


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  3:48 PM July 30, 2009    0 Comments


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bands to watch 2009
2009 Bands To Watch

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Songs About New York City

Current and upcoming releases (US dates)


8/4/09 - Kevin Hearn & Thin Buckle - Havana Winter
8/4/09 - Julian Plenti - Julian Plenti Is...Skyscraper
8/4/09 - Modest Mouse - No One's First and You're Next
8/4/09 - Throw Me The Statue - Creaturesque
8/25/09 - Arctic Monkeys - Humbug
9/8/09 - Múm - Sing Along To Songs You Don't Know
9/8/09 - Shannon Stephens - The Breadwinner
9/8/09 - The Clean - Mister Pop
9/8/09 - Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs
9/15/09 - The Dodos - Time To Die
9/22/09 - Alberta Cross - Broken Side Of Time
9/22/09 - David Gray - Draw The Line
9/22/09 - The Twilight Sad - Forget the Night Ahead
9/24/09 - Editors - In This Light And On This Evening
10/06/09 - The Clientele - Bonfires on the Heath
10/6/09 - Mission of Burma - The Sound The Speed Of Light


Best 2009 Indie Releases

2009 best indie albums
Favorite 2009 indie albums in no particular order; strongly recommend each one for your music collection.

Fanfarlo - Reservior
Foreign Born - Person To Person
Passion Pit - Manners
Iron & Wine - Around The Well
Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Conor Oberst & The Mustic Valley Band - Outer South
Deer Tick - Born On Flag Day
The Antlers - Hospice
Bishop Allen - Grrr
Sunset Rubdown - Dragonslayer
The Dodos - Time To Die
Wilco - Wilco (The Album)
Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
M. Ward - Hold Time
Ben Kweller - Changing Horses
The Acorn - Heron Act
AC Newman - Get Guilty
Dan Auerbach - Keep It Hid
Cursive - Mama, I'm Swollen
Beirut - March of the Zapotec & Realpeople: Holland
Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
Andrew Bird - Noble Beast
The Most Serene Republic - And The Ever Expanding Universe
Patrick Watson - Wooden Arms
Woodpigeon - Treasury Library Canada
Sing Fin Bous - Clangour
Vica Voce - Rose City
Pomegranates - Everyone, Come Outside!
Dananananaykroyd - Hey Everyone
Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
Akron/Family - Set Em Wild, Set Em Free
Lemon Sun - Run With the Faithless
Eels - Hombre Lobo
The Mary Onettes - Dare EP
Odawas - The Blue Depths
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz
White Rabbits - It's Frightening
Loney Dear - Dear John
The Lonely Forest - We Sing The Body Electric
The Uglysuit - self-titled debut
Handsome Furs - Face Control
Vampire Hands - Me & You Cherry Red/Cuz It's a Beach Funeral

This list is updated regularly



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