Hats off to Paul Lester for this tip. A few weeks back I got very excited when Electronica collided with Post-Rock. This could be even better. Chillwave meets Disco…

With the kind of effortless cool that you can’t even begin to come close to (of course, they’re from New York), Body Lanuage mix the washed out synths and slowed-down tempo of a chillwave track with the funk and swagger of a late 70’s disco classic.

I’m just going to put it out there; You Can is in my top five tracks of the year.

Stream the album in full at their amazingtunes.com profile.

What. a. chorus. Not in an anthemic, kasabian, stadium kind of way, but in a lush, heart-meltingly melodic way. The track above, Flowers Bloom, is a soundscape of fuzzy electronica with vocals that drown in reverb. The whole track crackles like vinyl and has such a lovely organic feel.

I’ve been a huge fan of High Highs since they cropped up on blogs earlier this year and I’m very excited that they’re about to release a full EP on November 22nd through Small Plates.

Check out more from the band at their amazingtunes.com profile.

At The Music Clinic we’re here to help you get your music career off the ground. We provide the best advice from industry experts and answer your questions on all things music. This week, a question from amazingtunes.com artist Zanna Wharfe landed in my inbox asking for advice on putting a band together.

Hi Ben, I’m a singer/songwriter just getting into the swing of things, writing and recording etc. I’m going to start with some open-mic nights to get my feet back into things properly. The main question I have is on getting a band together. I’d like to have a couple more guitarists playing with me but I’m unsure as to how to start looking for these people, especially as I know I won’t be able to pay them!

Thanks, Zanna

——

Hi Zanna,

Thanks for getting in touch! Putting a band together and finding a few talented musicians can be really frustrating. Getting it right is essential, find the wrong people and you can get stuck before you even get going.

Get Into Your Local Music Scene

Your idea about getting down to open-mic nights is a brilliant place to start, particularly for singer/songwriters. Open-mics help grow your performing confidence without putting too much pressure on you and they are great for meeting like-minded musicians. It gives you a chance to show off in front of a new audience and make a few contacts while you’re at it.

Make sure you introduce yourself personally to everyone there, particularly the performers and the promoters. Everyone is happy to chat about your music after you’ve played (as long as you let them talk about themselves for a bit as well!) Just let people know that you’re looking for a couple of extra guitarists and they’ll help you keep an eye out for you or maybe suggest a sweet guitarist they know who’s looking for something new. If you’re lucky, someone might want to get involved themselves after seeing you sing.

Also get down to any gigs with artists similar to you, chat to people and hand out CDs, tell them that you’re looking for musicians. It’s all about networking and getting to know people who can help you out! Having plenty of contacts will be really useful when looking for support slots and other gigs in the future as well.

Social Media

Another option is to use the internet. Advertise on your Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Youtube etc. that you’re looking for band members. As a musician just starting off, social media is your biggest outlet to the world and you’ll be surprised how far you can reach! Check out Bob Allan’s guest article for The Music Clinic on the best ways to use social media and other online outlets to get the word out.

As tempting as it can be, don’t rely solely on this method. Sitting at a computer updating statuses and adding friends isn’t a substitute for getting out to gigs, talking to people and making real life connections!

Forums

If none of this is working for you, you could also try online listings such as Craiglist or other local music forums. With a little Google research you’ll be able to find a forum for your local music scene. Scout through the listings or alternatively, post your own thread with a link to your music explaining that you’re looking for band members. If you find someone that looks like a good fit, just send them a friendly message and ask if they fancy just meeting up to jam a little. Decide some covers to learn before you meet to ease into it.

Finally

Don’t worry too much about having to pay people just yet, unless you’re targeting professional session musicians they won’t be expecting a wage. When you find someone, just offer them a share of money made from gigs you play and any records you sell.

Don’t rush into anything. If they’re not right for you, then it’s not going to work and your music will suffer from it. You’ll end up spending a lot of time with your band members so make sure you can stand being around them!

I hope you find some of this is useful and good luck!

If you have questions about your band’s next step or if you’re just a bit curious about the music industry, leave a comment here, tweet @amazingtunes, Facebook us, or email me at ben.brown@amazing-media.com.

It was with great excitement that we launched The Amazing Sessions last week. It sounded pretty good, if we may say so ourselves. And what a great bunch of guys Boy Jumps Ship are. But we’re not the sort to rest on our laurels, and no sooner has the dust begun to settle and we’re gearing up to bring you the next one. Last Thursday [30th Sept] saw Charly Coombes & The New Breed join us in the studio for the next installment of The Amazing Sessions.

Chris McManus, engineering the session, told us more:

“Amazing Radio and amazingtunes.com, as well as providing their music related services, also deal in Amazing Jobs it seems. Last Thursday I was lucky enough to have the Oxford based Charly Coombes And The New Breed travel north and drop in the studio to record the next installment of The Amazing Sessions.

So just as the band arrived from their epic 4 and a half hour trip ‘up North’, what else could happen but the heavens open at the exact moment the van pulls up. Cue regional apologies for our meteorological short-comings and a sarcastic “welcome to the North”, and it was all hands on deck to unload into the studio. Spirits were high though, rising above the weather, and as hands were shook and introductions made, the air of anticipation began to grow.

Charly Coombes & The New Breed

The guys – Charly on keys, Dave on guitar, Jake on bass, and Rich (not in the above picture, filling in for today’s session) on drums – began to setup and sound check their instruments and it quickly became clear that as well as having some great banter, they’re all very talented musicians in their own right. After some excellent exchange of what can only be described as ‘geeky’ gear topics, the band were informed of the Sega Megadrive, with over 50 games, waiting for them upstairs while we finished setting up. Fifa 95, yes that’s right, 95! is the first on, quickly replaced by the all time classic, Sonic… It’s a miracle anything gets recorded to be honest.

When all was plugged in and sound checks began everything sounded great, so the band started with the track ‘Molly’. A tight rhythm section opens this one with distorted bass, followed by some great piano and guitar hooks. It was a great start to the day and a sure sign of things to come. We then moved on to their New Amazing Chart Number 1 track ‘Panic In Between the Sheets’, a track I know very well from its popularity on Amazing Radio. This really went to show that these guys are a great live band – and on a personal note, has one of my top 5 piano hooks ever. Easy.

Next the guys took it down a notch with ‘Sub Rosa’, a slower more moody number, and then finished with ‘Jungles and Tides’ in record time, coinciding nicely with the delivery of their pizza order.

After a cheesy prize for their graft they then started the interview with Frankie Ward of The Afternoon Show on Amazing Radio. I’m not going to lie, it was an amusing 20 minutes involving topics such as “why you shouldn’t work in all three of the big fast food chains, two’s OK but never three”. Once we were all done with the interview the lads were nice enough to give us a ‘Pimp my Ride/cribs’ style tour of their very special van. Highlights included flat screen with 5:1 sound, custom table, a fridge and a very subtle but impressive personalized ‘CCATNB TRANSIT’ logo on the back, as if!

All in all a great day and a great session with a bunch of really nice chaps who tell us they will be touring hard soon, so keep an eye out for them.”

You can catch the session from 5pm, Wednesday 6th October, on The Afternoon Show

This session was powered by Blank Studios, a Sega Megadrive, pizza and not working in 3 large fast food chains.

If you’ve been struggling to find that all important, all impacting name for your band then look no further for your inspiration than the Heavy Metal Band Names Flowchart.

Breaking up your basic topics of satanic indulgence – like Death and Religion – over the points of a pentagram, each category is then broken down into its sub-categories with the appropriate names following. There’s a section for the trusty umlaut, a bit for names referencing (gothic American author) Faulkner, and a viking section to name a few.

This has set us off at amazingtunes, since amazingtunes obviously has its fair share of gore-inspiring metal acts gracing its pages, so below is a handful of our favourite metal monikers for you to devour.

Rigor Mortis by Dark Pariah
Flesh by Offcuts
F@@k the System
by Kill To Gain
Russian Roulette
by Screaming Blue Murder
Destroy All Humans by Baptized In Blood

…amazingtunes.com

X-Factor winner of 2006 – and now global pop diva – Leona Lewis has been offered the gig of a lifetime performing alongside Jay-Z and Beyonce Knowles at Barack Obama’s inauguration ceremony.
Still in talks with the organizers, the 23 year old would see this as a brilliant way to cap off a year that has seen both her track ‘Bleeding Love’ and album ‘Spirit’ reach the top spot on both sides of the Atlantic.

Closer to home, our own amazingtunes chart-topping singer Laura White still has her two songs available to buy on amazingtunes here.

…amazingtunes