Category: Hip Hop

ENGLEWOOD - 8 DAYS OF HANUKKAH

12/17/2016

Well, look, it's just a cover of the great song delivered last year by Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings and Englewood doesn't really do much with it. But Hanukkah is coming up and we've been woefully short on providing tunes for the celebration this year (I'm kinda hoarding them for the eight night celebration since they're a little hard to come by). For all I know, that's Sharon singing and they just tossed in some beats. But it is the second best version of "8 Days of Hanukkah" we've yet heard. Also, it's the second version of "8 Days of Hanukkah" we've yet heard. Unless you count the Dap Kings' instrumental version, in which case this is the third best version we've yet heard. And it's free!

Actually, the Englewood band from Wisconsin has an entire 7-song "Christmas Special" EP available as a free download from Bandcamp and the remaining mix of Hip Hop, Trap, and Chill Jazz is probably far more worthy of your download. Just sayin'. But we wanted a Hanukkah free download to offer you, so here it is.

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ALTERNATIV JULEKALENDER (Alternative Advent Calendar)

12/12/2016

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AS HE SAID

I've been so busy, I haven't had time to check in with any of the Advent Calendars (except for Lie In The Sound, cuz I love those people). One of the longer running and more interesting Advent countdowns is the Alternativ Julekalender, which is "hosted"(?) by Arne, Jonny, and Stian and has been since 2007, I think. They are the people behind the Scandanavian Indie label Riot Factory. From the first of December to the 25th, they post a song a day to Soundcloud that you're free to download. Usually the old calendars remain available, too. It's remembering to check every day that sometimes becomes the issue. And it's fairly typical for me to catch it on day one, catch up right around the middle, and then go back and catch up again around New Years. But you know, if we forget to check, they might stop doing it. And nobody wants that. They post some fascinating stuff, some of it in Norweigian (but lots in English)--from sweet Indie Pop to very Heavy Metal and everything in between and on both sides. It's very cool. Will you like it all? Maybe not. But its one of those things where, if you pay attention, you will come out with a few "this is my new favorite of all time" cuts. And isn't that why we're all here? We'll try to remember to update this post as we get more. Just click on "Advent Calendar" on the categories menu to your right to get back here (or to any others we post). I'll note that a couple of these do not appear to be downloadable at the moment (just Days 6 and 10, right now), so perhaps they're including streams or maybe you only get one day to download those. Hey, I'll take 10 out of 12 any day.

Up top is my favorite so far this year. The group As He Said with an original song about coming home, "Quiet". I liked the song so much, I immediately hit up their other Soundcloud tunes and then headed out to their Facebook page. The group ranges from Indie Pop to Alt Rock to Synth Pop and back to Dream Pop. They say their lyrics are very intimate and vulnerable and the sounds are whatever the four of them come up with. Whatever they're doing, they need to keep doing it. It's trippy and lush and wonderful. As He Said should soon be releasing their first ever EP--hopefully something I can buy from here in the States. Remember the name. As He Said. And, if you want some more beautiful Christmas music from As He Said, check the video on their Facebook page for "Nordnorsk Julesalme", which translates to North Norwegian Christmas Psalm. Too bad I can't embed it here. Really and truly beautiful.

1. Tre Små Kinesere - Nedsnødd på Julaften [Snowbound On Christmas Eve]
2. Drango - Carrol of the Bells
3. Gourm£t - Bare God Mat (m Harry Mayne) [Just Good Food]
4. Tapewind - Away in a Manger
5. Pom Poko - Lemon
6. FOG (Frukt og Grønt) - Auroras Rolle
7. Dear Esther - Papillon
8. Black Moon Circle - The Sun Is Coming Back
9. As He Said - Quiet
10. Samū - Sundown
11. Herman Wildhagen - All I See
12. Moon Like Bell - We Don't Swim
13. Christoffer Øien - I'll Be Home For Christmas
14. Kristoffer Lo - Alternativ Julekalender 2016

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FIREFLAKE - SIMPLY CHRISTMAS

12/11/2016

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I love this. The video is entertaining as hell. So watch it first and read about the tune after (I don't have much to say, anyway). Too many great songs this year but, boy, most any other year....

Genius. Genius, I tellz ya. Fireflake is a bit of a renaisance man. He sings, he dances, he writes, he produces. Born in Austria and having spent years in England, his initial inspiration was Jim Steinman (the guy who wroye all the Meatloaf hits). In addition to a flair for storytelling, Fireflake likes mixing genres in unique ways and "Simply Christmas" stands as a testament to that. Download "Simply Christmas" free from Fireflake's music page (MAC users, right click on the download button). If you scroll down, you'll see a bunch more free Christmas tunes free to download. The only one I tried, so far, was "Christmas Is", which is very Steinman.

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CCIOMA - CCIOMA'S CAROL

12/11/2016

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Alright, seriously. Where, other than Stubby's, are you going to hear Christmas carols sung in Igbo? Huh? Huh? Igbo is the language spoken in southeastern Nigeria. Igbo music is very upbeat and heavy on percussion and beat. This specific "style" is referred to as IgboHip, which (I think) is a combination of Igbo and HipHop. I'm sure someone will turn up to correct me on all that. The Igbo people are primarily Christians, and Ccioma said she drew inspiration for this medley of traditional carols from her early years in the church. Coming to Stubby's isn't just a good time; it's an educational experience.

Ccioma is a popular artist in that part of Africa, having been the featured vocalist for Rox Nation as well as Tim Godfrey & Xtreme. Yes, I know these bands....about as well as you do. And that's about all I can tell you (the Google is rather unforgiving in its links to African bands and vocalists. Or maybe they just don't do the whole website thing).

What I do know is that "Ccioma's Carol" is a free download. If you're as fascinated as I am, you've gotta grab it. It's a full on "free download blitz" for the lady and you can get the song here, here, or here, to point out just three places it can be found.

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The FREE List

Here we hope to direct you to some of the Christmas music on the web that can be yours absolutely free. We will not direct you to mp3 or sharity sites, here, but only to artist sites, label sites, and other authorized and unquestionably legal locations.

ENGLEWOOD - 8 DAYS OF HANUKKAH

ALTERNATIV JULEKALENDER (Alternative Advent Calendar)

FIREFLAKE - SIMPLY CHRISTMAS

CCIOMA - CCIOMA'S CAROL

The FREE List

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