The Crises of Capitalism

An animated lecture by Prof David Harvey (also see Wikipedia) for RSA.org about the crises of capitalism and the growing need for a new responsible and just social order.



Watch original lecture:

sgt. - Perception of causality

Formed in 1999 in Tokyo, Japan, the four-piece sgt. utilises a broad range of genres to create their distinctive sound, including that of post-rock, jazz, ambient and improvisation. Using a guitar, violin, drums and bass guitar, the band creates uplifting instrumental compositions comparable to such acts as toe or Anoice. This is their debut mini album, released in November 2005. Beautiful!

Artist: sgt.
Album: Perception of causality
Year: 2005
Genre: post-rock, instrumental

Tracks:
1. 万能感に関する素描
2. 銀河の車窓から
3. 春風
4. Moewe
5. .......

Official Website (buy from here)
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The Q4 - Sound Surroundings

The Q4 (The Quadraphoni Quartet) is a collaboration of three (used to be four = quartet!) Dutch producers: Arts the Beatdoctor, Sense and STW. The band was formed in 2005 in Amsterdam and, since then, they have created an impressive amount of material together, coloured by a wide range of musical influences and artistic collaborations. Although hip-hop is the foundation for all their music, material ranges from jazz & dub to hardcore hip-hop beats and drum & bass. This is their most recent album, released earlier this year. Reminds me of last year's amazing 2econd Class Citizen. Excellent!

Artist: The Q4
Album: Sound Surroundings
Year: 2010
Genre: hip-hop, trip-hop, electronica, downtempo

Tracks:
1. Intro
2. One of These Days
3. Oscuros Angeles (feat. Curra Suarez)
4. Demagogues (feat. PAX)
5. Look Again
6. Goin’ Down (feat. Terryman)
7. My Own Advice (feat. Unorthadox)
8. Pulse (feat. BLS)
9. Split Personality, Pt. II
10. Trouble With Me
11. Trouble Dub (Outro)

Official Website
Last.fm
MySpace

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Distrails - Virginia Creeper

Distrails is a musical duo from North Carolina, composed of vocalist/ guitarist/ percussionist Jared Draughon and pianist/ keyboardist Bitsy Pina. This is their debut album, released in 2008. A unique fusion of piano, lush orchestration, layered sounds, and the phenomenal range of Jared Draughon’s melodic, haunting vocals. Jared Draughon’s mellow, beautiful voice is complemented well by Bitsy Pina’s complex piano themes. This year's EP, "Dry Flies", is also great. Highly recommended!

Artist: Distrails
Album: Virginia Creeper
Year: 2008
Genre: indie, piano

Tracks:
1. Virginia Creeper
2. Always
3. Hourglass
4. Pursuit...
5. Critical Mass
6. Attractive Nuisance
7. Broken English
8. Waning and Waxing

Official Website
Last.fm
MySpace

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Laura - Radio Swan is Down

Laura is a six-piece band from Melbourne, Australia. Formed in 2001, they released a couple of EPs, while their first full-length album, "Mapping Your Dreams", was released in 2005. This is their fantastic second album, released in 2006. They play beautiful post-rock music, using instruments like piano, cello and synths, but also a variety of electronics and samples. They have recently supported band like Isis, Cult of Luna and legendary post-rockers Mono. Excellent album!

Artist: Laura
Album: Radio Swan is Down
Year: 2006
Genre: post-rock

Tracks:
1. Radio swan is down Part 1
2. Is there no help for the widow's son?
3. I hope
4. Numbers stations
5. Every light
6. Lake Vostock beachfront
7. It's kind of like the innocent smiles
    you get at the start of a relationship 
    before you fuck everything up
8. Radio swan is down Part 2
9. Patterns not people
10. Cambridge bypass
11. Another near miss

Official Website (buy from here)
Last.fm
MySpace

Check the comments to listen before you buy.

Be Happy, It's An Order - Mutlu Ol, Bu Bir Emirdir

A brilliant Turkish short film about government efforts to control folk music. Directed by Sinan Çetin.

Bitcrush - Of Embers

Bitcrush is the escapist solo project of Mike Cadoo (ex-Gridlock member). Bitcrush strives to fuse live instrumentation with experimental electronica’s glitch-centric production techniques. This is his latest album, released earlier this year, in which he is continuing to expand upon this style of fusing emotive electronics and live instrumentation to create post-rock and downtempo music. Recommended!

Artist: Bitcrush
Album: Of Embers
Year: 2010
Genre: electronica, downtempo, post-rock

Tracks:
1. Of Embers
2. Dream Unto Fathoms
3. Fray The Middle To Meet The Ends
4. The Days We Spent Within
5. Ascension
6. Demons & Dandelions

Official Website
Last.fm
MySpace

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RQTN - Monolithes En Mouvement

RQTN is the solo musical project of the young french producer Mathieu Artu. His music is a subtle mix between classical music and modern influences such as new-wave, post-rock and pop music. This is his first full-length album, released in 2009. Stunning piano-based neo-classical/ambient music. Highly recommended!

Artist: RQTN
Album: Monolithes En Mouvement
Year: 2009
Genre: neo-classical, ambient, piano, instrumental

Tracks:
1. Debout, Decharges Passives
2. Comme Suspendu a Regarder Passer, Sans Jamais Toucher
3. Le Point Culminant, le Reveil, les Mains Brumeuses
4. Effleurer du Doigt, Deplacer les Masses
5. Remuer les Pieds dans L’Eau, les Yeux Clairs
6. Aurore, Lettres Manuscrites (G. Hoepffner)
7. Departs et Decalages
8. Marcher a L’Envers et Detourner le Regard. Sur le Rebord
9. Photographies, Emulsion. Interpretations

Official Website
Last.fm
MySpace

Download (direct link from archive.org)

port-royal - Dying in Time

port-royal is an Italian band formed in the summer of 2000 in Genoa. They play a dreamy, heady, melancholic, wide music on the border among electronica, ambient, shoegaze with some dance elements. "Dying in Time" was released in 2009 at n5MD. A brilliant album!

Artist: port-royal
Album: Dying in Time
Year: 2009
Genre: electronica, ambient, shoegaze

Tracks:
1. Hva (Failed Revolutions)
2. Nights in Kiev
3. Anna Ustinova
4. Exhausted Muse/Europe
5. I Used to Be Sad
6. Susy: Blue East Fading
7. The Photoshopped Prince
8. Balding Generation (Losing Hair as We Lose Hope)
9. Hermitage Pt. 1
10. Hermitage Pt. 2
11. Hermitage Pt. 3

Official Website
Last.fm
MySpace

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Calla - Scavengers

Calla is an American indie band formed in 1997 in New York City. Their music is beautiful, sometimes lo-fi, cinematic, apocalyptic and at times electronic and noisy. This is their second album, released in 2001. Excellent!

Artist: Calla
Album: Scavengers
Year: 2001
Genre: indie

Tracks:
1. Fear Of Fireflies
2. Hover Over Nowhere
3. Traffic Sound
4. Tijerina
5. Slum Creeper
6. The Swarm
7. Mayzelle
8. Love Of Ivah
9. A Fondness For Crawling
10. Promenade

Official Website (buy from here)
Last.fm
MySpace

Check the comments to listen before you buy.