BrandsForBands

The New Mastersounds are a four-piece band based in Leeds, England, whose modern take on vintage soul-jazz, funk and rock draws influences from Jimmies McGriff, Smith, and Hendrix, as well as their most closely-associated mentors, The Meters. Try to imagine Grant Green and Lou Donaldson having a fight in a Hammond Organ shop while James Brown holds the coats, and you have some idea of what to expect from this band.

Their first single, One Note Brown, was released on Blow It Hard Records in 2000 and was passionately championed by acclaimed Northern Soul and funk DJ Keb Darge. To date, the band has released four studio records: 102%, This Is What We Do, Be Yourself, Keb Darge Presents... as well as The New Mastersounds Re::Mixed, and Live At La Cova. Also of note: their single, "Your Love Is Mine" featuring Corinne Bailey Rae, was used in the 2007 Warner Brothers movie Feast of Love.

Having toured throughout Europe, Japan and the USA, the NMS have earned global recognition as a key band in the 'New Funk' scene. But purists beware: their unique blend of funk, rock, soul and dance music is hard to sum up and doesn't fit neatly into any one genre.

Headed soon to a city near you, The New Mastersounds deliver gritty grooves and deep rhythms in clubs, theater venues and festivals alike. Their live shows will get you up dancing and hold you there intoxicated by the funk until last call- when you'll stagger home, sweaty and exhausted, on a wave of euphoria.

Led by guitarist and producer Eddie Roberts, The New Mastersounds feature Joe Tatton on Hammond, Pete Shand on bass and Simon Allen on drums.

One of hip-hop's most in-demand producers, New Jersey native Illmind has provided soundscapes for hip-hop royalty like 50 Cent, Eminem, Little Brother, Redman, 2pac, and Scarface. Equally comfortable in hip-hop's underground or mainstream spheres, Ill teamed up with Nature Sounds in 2011 to release his first instrumental project, Behind The Curtain. 

When he's not in the studio creating, Illmind stays busy. His collaborative album with Skyzoo, Live From The Tape Deck, was recently released to critical acclaim, and his monthly live producer showcase "B.L.A.P." has become the premier platform for the top young production talent in the Big Apple. In addition, !ll teaches at NYU's Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music, schooling the next generation in a class called "Future Music Moguls."

The music of Sean Ou Tim, aka Mr Sakitumi, takes its cue from the likes of Ninja Tune, DJ Krush, Bonobo, RJD2 and DJ Shadow, featuring live sampling, fx, turntable scratching and upright electric bass and bass guitar. Sakitumi's shows are fun and full of passionate performance, making him a great entertainer for audiences., which have included Oprah Winfrey, Nelson Mandela and Miriam Makebe. Other appearances include festivals such as Pukkelpop (Belgium), Lowlands (Netherlands), Face Fest (Finland), Oppikoppi (South Africa), Ramfest (South Africa), Sakifo (Reunion), and Popkomm (Germany), as well as venues like the Havana Club and the Capitol Theatre in Pretoria.

tell the franks punk rock died the day it was defined and they'll tell you to piss off. remind them that sid vicious died almost a decade before they were conceived and they'll laugh in your face. talk about detroit or london and they'll interrupt you with a smirk so sardonic you'll crawl back to whatever old folks' home you came from with your bigot tail tucked so far between your legs you won't walk right for days.

the franks emerged on the l.a. scene in 2008 not long after frontman jean don't - having spent 21 years throwing fits and raising hell inside his own head - finally got sick of thinking and breathing punk and recruited a team to live it out loud: drummer mimi malone and bassist ron ray gunn. they were to bring it back; whatever it was that got lost when the clash threw in the towel leaving rock empty of anything but eye-makeup and radio promoters.

so, talk to the franks about how punk rock was at least a little resurrected when britney spears shaved her head and how it died all over again at the sight of her extensions, tell them that living in l.a. looks shitty on a punk's résumé, and tell them that they'll be fighting a venomous enemy taking on a world of commercial artistry...

frankly my dears, they won't give a f*ck.

the franks have shared the stage with contemporaries such as wavves, the soft pack, and best coast. duh is their second ep.

Some bands may rule the night, but The Dimes are the kings of Sunday morning.

For much of the last decade, these boys from Porland have been creating a world… A sunny, slow one with gorgeous harmonies, some classic 60’s pop songwriting, and lush, vibrant guitar tones… one reminiscent of a somewhat slower time where artists took their time and crafted something they love.

Formed in 2005, the group originated when guitarists John Clay and Pierre Kaiser decided to form a band with “small songs, ones that would be worth more than bigger ones...like the coin” The duo quickly expanded to a quartet with drummer Jake Rahner and bassist Ryan Johnston and the classic Dimes lineup was born.

The original quartet toured extensively for several years and released a few EP’s, but they really found their sound with the 2007 release of “The Silent Generation”. Inspired by stories from depression-era newspapers that the band discovered underneath the floorboards of their 1890’s home, “Silent Gen” introduced the world to many of the bands most well-known songs, including Dimes classics “Paul Kern Can’t Sleep” (a true story about a WWI vet who was shot in the head and lived, but never slept again for 30 years) and the bands most well-known track, “Catch Me Jumping.” An exuberant uptempo romp with a unforgettable melody, “CMJ” is best known for it’s “whoa whoa whoa” chorus that have been has featured on dozens of network television shows and independent films in recent years. SoundExchange estimates that that one track has been downloaded/streamed/played well over 2,000,000 times from Pandora, Myspace and the like.

After several tours and some additional EP’s, the band followed up with their second full-length effort “The King Can Drink The Harbour Dry” in 2010. The King record revealed a lusher, folkier direction for the band, with some california-country touches such as banjo, pedal steel and elements reminiscent of Neil Young’s Harvest recordings. The band also expanded their live show to a 7-piece to recreate the dense arrangements found on tunes such as “Save Me, Clara” and “Damrell’s Fire.” The record was well received, receiving accolades from NPR, Spin, Under the Radar and MTV.

In the last two years Clay and Kaiser have focused on developing their production skills more and more, specifically with an eye towards television and film… which has led to a slew of soundtrack work for the two, scoring the soundtrack for the successful indie film “Summer Snapshot” (which featured at the Tribeca Film Festival, Claremont-Ferrand etc ) and over 50 television spots on MTV, ABC, the CW and the like. The band has continued to gain notoriety in the film industry, gaining accolades from many notable filmmakers, including Quentin Tarantino, Cameron Crowe, and Ian McCluskey.

Moving forward the Dimes duo has been collaborating with singer Kelly Anne Masigat of late and expect a third Dimes release in early 2013. The band has hinted that it will be “more of an uptempo affair… Johnny’s melodic sense is still there, but the guitar tones might be the thing we’re the most excited about, and Kelly’s harmonies are just lovely. Best stuff we’ve ever done, hands down.”

"The Dead Exs' debut Resurrection has such an authentic vibe. It's a vibrant recording, but it also sounds like it could have been released at any time over the last forty years." - Jason Kundrath, Pop Break (Mar 22, 2011)

"With the current revival of rock music demanding its place among New York City nightlife, The Dead Exs are within the vanguard of this musical re-explosion. " - Garrett Prince, The Hurdy Gurdy (Jan 24, 2011)

Pattiillo is a producer with a credit list from Alanis Morrissette to the Hold Steady, The Black Crowes to the Beastie Boys and last year produced the Reni Lane debut for Universal Motown. Wirth has toured extensively in Europe and the US with various bands and was a member of the Warner Bros act Sweet Lizard Illtet.

Pattillo's love for the upbeat raw recordings of Howlin' Wolf and the garage rock of The Sonics inspired him to go back to his roots and record a true to life thrashing blues record.

Formed in late 1994 by singers/guitarists/drummers Conrad Keely and Jason Reece, Trail of Dead has evolved over the years expanding their line-up while still being creatively driven by the core founding members. Friends since childhood, Keely and Reece started playing music in the indie rock town of Olympia, WA and eventually relocated to Austin, TX where they started ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. Their first release was a self-titled album that came out on Trance Records in 1998 and was succeeded by Madonna in 1999 on Merge records. ...Trail of Dead toured the US with Superchunk shortly after and in 2002 they released Source Tags and Codes on Interscope Records. Over the next four years the band released two additional albums on Interscope Records – World's Apart and So Divided before parting ways with the label in the fall of 2007. In the Spring of 2008, ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead launched their Richter Scale Imprint and thanks to a partnership in the US with Justice Records and in Europe with Superball Music, their sixth studio album The Century of Self was released in February 2009. In the Spring of 2010 the band entered a worldwide deal with Superball Music and their Richter Scale Records Imprint and they released TAO OF THE DEAD in February 2011. In the summer of 2012 the band headed over to Hannover, Germany to record their eight full-length studio album Lost Songs – due out October 22nd on Richter Scale/Superball Music. Currently, Jason and Autry are based in Austin, TX, Conrad is based in Cambodia and Jamie lives in LA. FACTS ON LOST SONGS: Hello, we are ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead. This is our eighth album, it was recorded this summer in Hannover, Germany. The music was partly inspired by the apathy to real world events that has plagued the independent music scene now for over a decade. It was also inspired by artists such as the Cure, KARP, Ros Sereysothea, Human League, Hildegard von Bingen, and a few others. We feel that because the lyrics can say more about the album than we could, we would simply share them with you. We would like to dedicate our efforts to Pussy Riot, and any and all artists who have attempted to exercise their creativity under the oppression of government, as well as the endemic oppression of an indifference to passion present in our mainstream culture. - Conrad Keely, Phnom Penh 2012 INFLUENCES INCLUDE: Fugazi, Melvins, Bikini Kill, KARP, Unwound, Sonic Youth, Led Zeppelin, Rush, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Public Enemy, Yes, J.S. Bach, Vivaldi, etc. TOURED/PERFORMED WITH... Superchunk, Secret Machines, Blood Brothers, The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Doves, Audio Slave, Foo Fighters, U2, The Sex Pistols, The Sword, Mogwai, Dinosaur Jr., Queens of the Stone Age, Explosions in the Sky, Peaches, Spoon, My Bloody Valentine, Dethcock, Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Sleighbells, Surfer Blood, Rival Schools RANDOM FACTS: - Source Tags & Codes - Received highest possible score of 10.0 on Pitchfork. - Conrad and Jason met in high school in Hawaii - Went to college together at Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA - Moved to Austin, TX and started playing as a guitar and drums duo under the name You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - Conrad has done album artwork for band's albums as well as others including The Sword, Fugo, Amanda Palmer and Eagle Claw and has showed his work at galleries across the world.

Hailing from New York and generating buzz worldwide, Najee The 1 holds the ticket to hip hop music and cultural rejuvenation. Recently featured by The New York Times, Najee is thriving in "the golden era of the independent artist." Najee got his start as a spoken word artist on HBO?s Def Poetry Jam. Since his televised debut, Najee is making his mark in the music scene with vivid storytelling, prolific writing, and a unique vocal tambour. Lighting up rooms with charisma and blowing up speakers with lyrical attitude, Najee generates contagious momentum with fans, listeners, and collaborators. Najee has worked with top producers in the game like Ski Beatz, self-released music, and appeared on a number of blogs, media and press outlets. In addition to perfecting his craft, Najee gives back to his community by teaching creative writing classes at an after-school program in New York City.

After over a decade of writing songs in seperate bands ranging from punk rock to psychedelic outfits Danny Stillman and Alex Anderson met by chance through a mutual friend. They started experimenting using mostly 80's analog synths, drum machines and anything else they could get there noise making hands on. ManCub a two piece outfit from Denver Colorado can only be described as infectiously catchy eclectro. A breath of fresh air from today's software based scene Danny and Alex use their own methods of perfecting each and every track by hand.