New Release: Jake Bugg- Shangri La

Today, Jake Bugg has released his second album, Shangri La, which features the singles 'What Doesn't Kill You' and 'Slumville Sunrise'. The album was named after the studio in which it was produced in Malibu, California.  

Jake will be streaming his 90 minute gig live from Copenhagen tonight online via the telegraph here at 8pm.

 

Below is a preview of the tracks from Shangri La, but you'd be better off buying it here (where there are also vinals and merch bundles available) or downloading it from iTunes or Google Play. 

Jake Bugg is one of my all time favourite artists, and since he released his first self titled album last October, I have been lucky enough to see him perform live twice, once at Brighton Dome and once at Reading Festival. I was unable to get hold of tickets for his February gig at London's Royal Albert Hall, which seemed to sell out within minutes, so am extremely jealous of any ticket holders as I have no doubt that he'll sound magnificent. Jake's raw talent when it comes to live performances can be seen through his performance of A Song About Love on Later.. With Jools Hollands.  

After a few listens of Shangri La, it seems to be a progression of the style of his first album, but continues to perfect the fuse of retro folk with rock riffs. I'm sure that any Jake Bugg fan will be left completely satisfied with the album, and hope that those not so sure about his first album will be won over by the second. 

Cover - Wayward Daughter -- All I Want

This beautiful cover by Wayward Daughter popped up on my subscription feed recently, and I was not surprised in the slightest when I was once again taken aback by Lydia McAllister and Becky East by their take on the Kodaline hit - All I Want.

I have been a fan of the duo from London for a while. They began by uploading covers on YouTube two years ago, and soon became very popular, they then started to write original songs and to play small venues, which lead them to support McFly on their Easter tour.  An EP is on the horizon - "How Long Will You Wander?", I personally am very excited to see what they have come up with, and excited to see their further successes in the future.

I highly recommend checking out their YouTube channel for more fab covers: http://m.youtube.com/user/LydiaEvangeline
Website: www.waywarddaughterband.com
Original Songs:www.waywarddaughterband.com

Enjoy!

Have You Heard?- Bite The Buffalo

Brothers Stos and Miti Goneos grew up in Zambia and recently moved back to the UK to grace us with their fresh stomp rock 'n roll tunes and released their debut album 'Blue Lips' in February of this year. The band have spent this year touring the US and UK, and have and upcoming gig for over 18s at Notting Hills Arts Club in London on Wednesday 27th November with free entry until 11pm (and then only £3). 

I was introduced to Bite The Buffalo by a friend only a few months ago, but ever since have been listening to their album religiously. The album has a slightly ragged sound, fueled by bluesy riffs from Stos on guitar and vocals, and is also a dream for any avid foot stompers (such as myself) thanks to Miti's magic on drums and backing vocals. I can only see 2014 bringing great things for this duo. 

Here is the video for the title track to the album, Blue Lips.

Site: http://www.bitethebuffalo.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BiteTheBuffalo
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/bitethbuffalo (@BiteTheBuffalo)
Yotube: http://www.youtube.com/bitethebuffalo

Website Recommendation: NoiseTrade

Artists on NoiseTrade upload an EP, album, single or live recording for NoiseTrade users to download for free. 

All that is required to download and album or track is to enter your email address and postal code, which is then sent on to the artist. There is also the option to tip the artists anywhere between $1 and $100, but this is a voluntary donation. 

The site is easy to use, and separates artists and uploads by genre. You can also search for locations and artists, as well as artists you like that don't use NoiseTrade and receive suggestions for similar artists using the "For Fans Of" feature. 





I discovered NoiseTrade through the acoustic artist James Bay (currently on tour with Kodaline), who is giving away his "The Dark Of The  Morning EP" on NoiseTrade, an EP that I would recommend to anyone into chilled acoustic. 






NoiseTrade is also used by larger artists, for example in the past both Fun. and The Lumineers have uploaded bonus material and b-sides to give away for free.

Current relatively well known artists sharing music via NoiseTrade include The Lighthouse and the Whaler and Young the Giant. My favourite discoveries on NoiseTrade have been Elephant Stone's album Acid Killed My Rock'n'Rock: An Introduction to Elephant Stone (psychedelic), Filligar's album Hexagon (alternative rock) and Wild Child's folk rock album Pillow Talk. 

NoiseTrade is great way to discover new music, and download albums and EP without breaking the law or your bank balance. 

Have You Heard?- Dan Croll

In my first "Have You Heard?" post I have chosen to introduce Dan Croll (to those who don't already know and love him). 

Dan Croll is, in my opinion, one of the most unique artists around, producing fresh "folkie-endorsed electronic music".

I first heard Dan Croll only around six months ago after stumbling upon his debut single "From Nowhere" (released last year) online, but was chuffed to find out that he was performing at Reading festival this year. Dan played the Festival Republic Stage early on Saturday, but a fair amount of people manged to pull themselves out of their tents in time to catch his set. Of all the incredible artists that I saw over that weekend, Dan Croll's was certainly one of my favourite performances. 

He has just finished supporting Bastille in the US, where he signed to Capitol Records and is currently supporting Imagine Dragons on their European tour. 

Dan will be playing a London headline show at Dingwalls in Camden on 27th November. His next single, "Home" is being released on December 1st and is available to pre-order now (see link below). The single's video is attached below and with features from his friends and family, including his nan, is well worth a watch. I expect 2014 to bring with it big things happening for Dan Croll and cannot wait to hear what else he'll produce. 

"Home" video:

Preorder "Home": https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/home-single/id736211832

Free Download of "Can You Hear Me": http://zaphod.uk.vvhp.net/vvreg/8165-291359

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dancroll

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanCroll (@DanCroll)

The Start of The Headphone Generation

At the age of 17, I've spent the majority of my teenage years with a pair of headphones in my ears. I am part of a generation where discovering and downloading music has been made increasingly easy through the internet and the development of new websites and programmes. I can spend hours on end browsing new music on YouTube, Spotify and Soundcloud. 

I have created The Headphone Generation as my own source for sharing the latest and my favourite indie music, as well as upcoming gigs, new album and EP releases as well as sharing the slightly lesser known websites and sources of music. At the moment, The Headphone Generation is a small project that I'll use to channel the music that I love, but I would love to see it grow and benefit other music lovers.

To help this, I have created accounts on Twitter and Instagram, which although are pretty empty due the fact they're brand new, I would appreciate it if you were to follow this blog, and The Headphone Generation through other applications:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheHeadphoneGen (@TheHeadphoneGen)
Instgram: @TheHeadphoneGeneration