Tag Archives: MusicKO

MusicKO: Uruguayan Unsigned & Independent Artists Of 2010

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I think the day I decided to begin covering Uruguayan unsigned and independent artists on MusicKO was the happiest of the whole year. It gave me a lot of direction, and a true sense of purposefulness. I have managed to become acquainted with some extraordinary musicians – individuals who are truly devoted to what they do, and who believe in the power of music to bond people for life.

These are all the unsigned and independent Uruguayan performers I featured on MusicKO in 2010.

I hope to review twice as many in 2011. If you are one (or if you know one), just drop me a line. The address is emiliomusicko@gmail.com.

Cínica
Retrocedonia
Laiojan Sebastian
Doorman
Conkistadores
Mal Yo
Lucía Ferreira
RostbiF
Soundays
El Cardenal Sebastián
Lucas Meyer

MusicKO: The Best Album Reviews Of 2010

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There you go, the best album that I reviewed in 2010!

Is there something that I omitted? Did you read a review on MusicKO that I left out of this list? Well, leave a comment below and let everybody know about it!

Black Gold: The Best Of Soul Asylum
Wasp Star (Apple Venus Part 2) (XTC)
Monster (REM)
Empty Glass (Pete Townshend)
Rough Mix (Pete Townshend & Ronnie Lane)
(What’s The Story) Morning Glory? (Oasis)
The Masterplan (Oasis)
All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes (Pete Townshend)
The Iron Man (Pete Townshend)
Chips From The Chocolate Fireball (The Dukes Of Stratosphear)
Green (REM)
Grace (Jeff Buckley)
(Sketches For) My Sweetheart The Drunk (Jeff Buckley)
Southern Accents (Tom Petty)
Odds & Sods (The Who)
Once (Original Soundtrack Album)
Elizabethtown Vol. 1  (Original Soundtrack Album)
All This Useless Beauty (Elvis Costello)
The Band (Album Review)
Caribou (Elton John)
One For The Road (The Kinks)
Horses (Patti Smith)
Echo (Tom Petty)
Blue (Joni Mitchell)
Combat Rock (The Clash)
Pablo Honey (Radiohead)

MusicKO: The Best Music Startups Of 2010 (Part 2)

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Read the list below if you want to know which were the best music startups of 2010.

What? Want even more startups? OK, check the other half of the list.

And come back tomorrow for the best album reviews of 2010 (hooray!).

Radar Music Videos – Find The Right Director For Your Music Video
Earwurm – For These Songs You Just Can’t Get Out Of Your Head
Eyeball.fm – Another Way To Share & Discover Music Online
iMusicTweet – Sharing Your Songs Through Twitter & Facebook Simultaneously
Music Matters – Combating Piracy In A Fair Way
MusicVault – Rating Albums Old & New Using Twitter
Tubeoke – Where YouTube Becomes A Karaoke
DemoHero – A Community Site Devoted To Demo Recordings
Songbright – Choose Your Best Songs, Upload Them And Make Some Money If You Chose Right
Jamendo – Where Music Is Shared For Free
Digiclef – Guitar & Bass Tabs On Your iPhone

MusicKO: The Best Music Startups Of 2010 (Part 1)

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This is a list of these music startups that I have commented in 2010 that I still remember as if it were the day I wrote about them.

This is the first part of a list I will complete tomorrow [update: done!]. After that, I am compiling a list with the best album reviews of 2010, and another with all the unsigned/independent Uruguayan Artists I featured on MusicKO all through the year.

TuneCrank – Letting Independent & Unsigned Artists Spread Their Music
Guitaryst – Play Your Guitar With The Help Of Automatic Tabs
Bud To Bud – The Online Sharing Of Music Is About To Reach A New Height
Bender Converter – Convert All The Videos You Want For Free
Flashbck – Reliving Gigs & Festivals
Shuffler.fm – The Pandora.fm Of Music Blogs
Music180 – Connecting Indie Artists With Renowned Music Pros
Venossi – Making The Discovery Of New Music Something Natural & Logical
Mixtap.in – Making Mixtapes Fashionable Once Again
Tastebuds – Find A Perfect Match Based On Your Favorite Music
BuyWidget – The Perfect Way To Monetize A Music Blog

Month In Review – November 2010

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One year after having issued my first book of poetry (“Once”) I have now released a new volume: “Ten”. Which is just suitable, especially when you take into account that “Ten” is the prequel to “Once”, and that the events described there happen one year before the events described on “Once”. Both books have been published by Rumbo Editorial.

I have obviously posted some poems from the book (here and here), along with a handful of pictures. I am posting plenty more soon.

As far as additions to the blog are concerned, the inclusion of Radiohead to the list of featured artists has been a significant one. You can read the general introduction here, and then what I have to say about “Pablo Honey” here.

The startups I wrote about during the month included TuneCrank, Bud To Bud and Durocast. And both Bryce Clemmer and Elliot Swan from Durocast found the time to sit down for an interview, too.

On December I hope to review a lot of Uruguayan acts, both signed and unsigned. That will be a great way to send off the year!

Month In Review – October 2010

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I am in a bit of a rollercoaster right now, what with my second book of poetry (“Ten”) being published in two weeks’ time. Still, there is no way I could stop updating the blog regularly. I am more enthusiastic than ever, I can tell you.

I am sad didn’t find the time to add Radiohead to the list of featured artists, but that will be seen to before the current week ends. Still, I managed to write a very fine review of The Clash’s “Combat Rock” along with Elton John’s “A Single Man” and the “The Kids Are Alright” OST by you-know-who.

I did also review as many startups as any other month. Check them out here: Bender Converter, Clean Tab, Joy Tunes and Wanabez.

And there was no shortage of interviews either. I talked with John Jones from BuyWidget (a startup I had actually reviewed a long time ago), and Rob McCullough from Clean Tab.

The one Uruguayan unsigned artist that was included in October was Conkistadores, from the City of Maldonado. A very cool band, they are making their live debut at La Comuna the same week I unveil “Ten” to the public.

I can already tell you that in November I am writing about Gustavo Doorman, a Uruguayan musician who is very popular not only here but also in Argentina and in the South of Brazil. His first album (“Supermal”) will be reviewed this week, and I am also publishing a juicy interview for you to read.

And I don’t have to tell you that this month I am keeping you posted on the release of “Ten”.

Like Modern English sang, “it’s getting better all the time”…

Month In Review – September 2010

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Lots of interesting news and events were covered this month, including the launch of Ping (and the initial outcome of its fight for supremacy), MTV’s new-found popularity and the original ad for Google Instant (and the parodies it gave birth to). I also wrote about two soundtrack albums that are certainly not going unnoticed: “The Social Network” (Trent Reznor) and “Tron” (Daft Punk).

Chris Rea was the new artist added to the blog, and Lucas Meyer was the one Uruguayan artist I wrote about in September. I reviewed his album “Un Accidente Feliz” (issued by Esquizodelia Records) here.

Featured startups included Shuffler.fm (the closest thing so far to a Pandora for music blogs) and Flasbck (a cool way to let others see gigs the very same way you saw them – I also managed to interview Mark Williamson, his co-founder). Besides, I reviewed a site named MusicLink.fm that basically lets you stream full albums for free.

And I still cry with laughter when I watch the “The Worst Cover Band In The World” video. I haven’t stopped wondering whether that “rehearsal video” is genuine or not. But I must say I fear the worst…

Month In Review – August 2010

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As I am sure you’ve noticed that MusicKO now has got a “Questions & Answers” section. The idea is to feature not only questions about the artists that have got a category of their very own, but also questions concerning bands and performers that are yet to be covered on the blog. Of course, if you have any questions that you’d like answered just drop me a line. I’ll do my best to help you out, the address is emiliomusicko [at]gmail [dot] com.

This month I covered a frankly superb Uruguayan band named El Cardenal Sebastíán. This is the review. And check their songs on their MySpace profile.

And I have begun reviewing Joni Mitchell’s oeuvre, too. That was the one artist I added to the blog during August. This is the introductory page, and here you can read the review I wrote of her “Hits” album.

The startups that were featured during the course of the month were Double Lyrics, Music 180 and The Melody Master.

And the month’s interviewees were David Trejo (from Mixest) and Thomas Veitch (from The Melody Master). Besides, I sat down with the guys from the Uruguayan band Mal Yo for a full interview.

Month In Review – July 2010

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The coverage of the Uruguayan independent artist Soundays turned to be one of the best posts ever since the blog started. And I also finally wrote about RostbiF, one of the bands I actually collaborate with. Don’t forget to read the interview, too.

The one artist I added this month was Patti Smith, a key figure in the development of punk music. And like the genre or not, she has some albums that should never be overlooked. Read the general introduction and my review of her debut “Horses” and see if you agree or not with the points I make.

For its part, the startups that were reviewed during this month included SoundzAbound, Mixest and Lystener – the first is an innovative tool for educators, whereas the other two can be used to discover new indie bands and lyrics respectively.  And I also covered a startup named Venossi on the week of its launch – it takes the news feed we all are familiarized with thanks to Facebook, and applies it to the recommendation and discovery of new music. And Kilian Valkhof from Lystener and Barry Starlin from Soundzabound also sat for an interview.

Finally, I was as happy as punch the day I walked into the Uruguayan National Library to discover that some charitable soul had placed “Once” on prominent display. Like a proud father, I tool a zillion pictures. And like any proud father, I got unbearable and wrote a post with the best pictures for you to take a lot at them. I haven’t been flamed yet, so I guess I didn’t get that unbearable…

Month In Review – June 2010

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June was very rewarding if only because I managed to cover three unsigned Uruguayan artists over the course of the month: Mal Yo, Laiojan Sebastian and Lucía Ferreira. The three of them are very promising bands and solo performers, and Laiojan Sebastian in particular was the reason I began writing about unsigned artists on MusicKO. Their inclusion on the blog was long due.

The one new artist that I added to the blog was The Divine Comedy – you can read the general introduction here, and a review of “A Secret History – The Best Of The Divine Comedy” here.

The startups that I covered during June were the social network SeeJoeRock, Mixtap.in (a site that brings mixtapes back for good), and the Tony-B Machine, a great resource for those wanting to create electronic music. I also covered TasteBuds, a site that will let you find that special other based on the music that you like.

And the entrepreneurs and startup founders that I interviewed were Majid ALSarra (from Lyreach), Caroline Bottomley (from Radar Music Videos) and Tony Bouchereau (creator of The Tony-B Machine)

Lastly, make sure to check out the most visited post of the whole month: Steve Moore, the mad drummer!