Trademark Experience "Too Strange To Live, Too Rare To Die" LP

Review of Trademark Experience "Too Strange To Live, Too Rare To Die" LP
By L. White

With catchy beats and synthesized rhythm, Trademark Experience offers a great dance club album with Too Strange To Live, Too Rare To Die. The first of three studio albums by solo artist Thomas Mulherin that offers elements of funk, pop, hip-hop and a splattering of many other genres of music including some disco vibes.

On the second track "Ecstacy" Trademark Experience brings things more to current styles of R&B dance hits. A basic beat and rhythm with some added synthesized touches lets Thomas put the focus more on his great vocal abilities. Very well produced by Jim Conway with aptly placed breaks and hooks. The song is very catchy and would definitely be an instant dance club hit.

On the sixth track "Psychedelic", Mulherin's main lyrics has a sound that reminds you of Digital Underground somewhat, but with more of a dance feel. With background vocals in the chorus by KTA adding a nice touch. A perfect track to play at any house party, that also would be a hit at hip-hop clubs. Still having the synthesized rhythm behind it, Trademark stays true to his core of sound. 

The seventh track "Can't Get You Out of My Head" is reminiscent of Rick James music, but with Gap Band vocals. Mixing early funk with some R&B and soul genres. A nice touch fusing older 70's sounding rhythm with 80's and 90's vocals. The opening synthesizer is a little basic and not too original, but when the beat and lyrics kick in the track takes it's shape and gets you on your feet ready to dance.

The ninth track on the LP "Losing My Mind" offers more of an electronic dance groove to it. The rap parts halfway through the track have a little bit of an out of place feel to it, with the rhyme being softly sung, which somewhat fits in line with the overall feel of the track, but just has the element of feeling out of place a bit. The vocals and rhythm seem to be more behind the beat rather than even or over it. 

The tenth track "Co-Star" adds in a more 90's fuse of Hip-Hop and R&B feel, but still keeps the dance feel to it. Mulherin gives more range to his voice on this track with heartfelt feeling and conviction. Great pitch at all the right spots with the added spoken word type of hip-hop rhyming, yet staying in line with the groove of the music.

On the sixth track "Psychedelic", Mulherin's main lyrics has a sound that reminds you of Digital Underground somewhat, but with more of a dance feel. With background vocals in the chorus by KTA adding a nice touch. A perfect track to play at any house party, that also would be a hit at hip-hop clubs. Still having the synthesized rhythm behind it, Trademark stays true to his core of sound. 

With the final track "Reach For The Sky", Trademark showcases his rhyming skills throughout the track. With a soft but quick flow, Mulherin doesn't overpower the music wih his lyrics, yet stays tight with the flow of music. Perfect pitch and production values went into this track and it shines in his delivery and flow. Clearly the best of the hip-hop tracks Trademark offers on this multi-genre LP. 

Overall Too Strange To Live, Too Rare To Die is very enjoyable. Mainly seen as a dance offering, this LP delivers on so many different levels. With a few minor touch-ups on just one or two tracks, the album as a whole could be released as an instant classic. Bringing forth many different types of dance with several different genres represented, Trademark has fused some old classic styles with modern day vibes. The seventh track is set apart with it's old funk style that doesn't really reappear on the album again. Which would have been nice to hear a little bit more of, but Too Strange To Live, Too Rare To Die still delivers a very nice sound and groove to it. Sure to have Trademark Experience on the map for many years to come.

Special thanks to 

Justin Sane of R.S.M Promotions

Overall Rating: 

(4 of 5 Stars)

Too Strange To Live, Too Rare To Die is available on iTunes here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/too-strange-to-live-too-rare/id447089544

Trademark Experience Links:

Website: http://www.thetrademarkexperience.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thetrademarkexperience

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheTradeMarkExp

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/TrademarkExperience

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/thetrademarkexperience

Review of The X Discography - @LUCA_ASCARI

Review of The X Discography
By Gilbert Lachance

The X, an Italian duo formed in early 2011 by Luca Ascari and Stephanie Lapertosa. Even though The X is a recent project, both members of the band are not new to the music industry. Stephanie began as a soprano at school in 1988, then directed her attention to jazz, which shows in some of the songs that The X have composed. In 2010 she released her first solo album, ‘’Dreaming Is Also Fly’’. With The X, she brings a captivating voice which plunges the listener into a dreamy mood. Luca Ascari is the composer, arranger and musician of the band. His career in music began in the 1980’s, but really took off in the 1990’s when he began a project with a new band named Segura Coisa, by trying to merge the original spirit of tribal rhythms from African sounds with those of northeastern Brazilian. Around 2000, in turned his research with solo projects more oriented toward jungle, drum’n’bass, electro, etc., with a project called Khallàs, in which he was singing in Italian. Finally, The X began in 2011 with a first album called ``Marie: The Dark Age of Reason``.

I had only heard about The X recently, and didn’t take the time to really explore their music. So to complete a thorough review, I received 4 folders containing lots of music of varied styles. One, containing different collaborations with many artists. Two, the new album, "Transmutation". Another containing remixes made by Black Project. With the final containing tracks made in collaboration with Ul2raviolet. Already being familiar with Ul2raviolet through his collaboration with Delta Pavonis.

The first batch, the single tracks & collaborations, contains the most varied types of music. The jazz orientation of Stephanie shines in these songs, especially in "Boom Bop", "You’re So Light" and "Diamonds Ecstasy". The latter being one of the best of everything I have heard from The X. A song using snippets from the James Bond movies. Another great one is the remix by Black Project of "Six Feet Under". A track that is more dance floor oriented, but very effective. Where "Changing With a Little Shot" is a quiet song, perfect around a martini with Stephanie’s voice twirling around your senses.

Transmutation, as said earlier, is the most recent EP put forth by The X. The ambient sound of The X is very apparent in this album. All 6 Tracks from this EP are excellent. They made me think a bit about The Orb at times. Especially on the track "A Wrong Cluster of Truth". the track "Sonogram" and the fore-mentioned "A Wrong Cluster of Truth" are not to be missed. Shining as the best tracks on an already well received EP.

The Black Project remix tracks, are remixes of tracks from Transmutation. Black Project gave them the techno dance treatment. For some it works fine, but for others like "A Wrong Cluster of Truth (Hardstyle remix)", I would definitely prefer the original version. Really an ear of the beholder remix there. Then on the track "Russian Dolls", the remix works wonderfully and adds a new dimension to an already good track." The Womb Beat Refixx" is another example of this.

The last folder contains the album "Luminescence", made with Ul2raviolet. As Ul2raviolet does the same type of ambient music as The X, this collaboration is top notch. "The Womb Beat" is really sounding like the best of The Orb’s music, and it’s quite a compliment to say that with conviction. "Mechagism (Interstellar hypnosis)" is one of the best tracks. With another version of this track surfacing on the Square Peg in a Round Hole vol. 3 Compilation, just out a few weeks ago. "Solidarity" has separate versions, one ambient and the other a drum and bass track. Both done well in their own right. The best of this bunch, are by far "The Womb Beat" and "Sonogram", which is more rhythmic.

Enjoy music by The X Pleasure

All in all, The X are very varied in styles of music. Going from ambient jazz to techno to deep ambient. If you like to discover new bands this one is a must hear. If you take the time to have a listen, you’re in for quite a nice journey in sound.

Special thanks to 

Justin Sane of R.S.M Promotions

The X links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-X-official/163951336963545

ReverbNation: http://www.reverbnation.com/lucaascari#

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/Cyboelectricaudio

Twitter: https://twitter.com/luca_ascari

Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/thexpleasure

Gilbert Lachance is the on-air host

of From One Extreme To Another 

("D'un extrême à l'autre")

heard Monday nights at Midnight

here: http://chuo.fm/

Bradykynin's Self-Titled LP - @bradykynin

Review of Bradykynin's Self-Titled LP

By L. White

With so much rock music coming out of New Jersey, it is refreshing to have a new sound arrive on the scene. That is what Bradykynin offers with their new self-titled LP. Listed as Trip-Hop, Indie, Drone Rock, Bradykynin is actually harder to describe when trying to just pick a genre or three. With an almost classic Pink Floyd sound at times on tracks like "Receptor". Then more of an Alternative rock sound with tracks such as "Iwatamoto" that can also be described as New Wave at times. As has become quite popular lately with many artists, Bradykynin pushes the barriers of being labeled with a specific genre. This can only be a plus in today's world of music, as music lovers tend to look for that "something different" factor in the bands they follow.

Bradykynin are a three-piece band, but their music sounds like there is definitely more than three members. With Lew Confrancesco on lead vocals and bass, Mike Cairoli on guitar and Brian Csencsits on drums, Bradykynin has emerged with a mellow sound that also makes you want to move. A great contradiction in sounds, as you can listen while relaxing on a long car ride, or while hosting a house party. They have managed to create a sound that eclipses time with this self-titled LP. At some points sounding very much like an old classic rock song from the 70's, while maintaining a firm grasp on a more contemporary level. This fusion of sounds also makes it very hard to classify the band to specific group of genres, never mind just one. As some may describe it as a fresh new sound with a nostalgic vibe, Bradykynin brings a new element to the table with this album.

Enjoy music from Bradykynin

Overall, the self-titled Bradynynin LP is a very enjoyable one. The song writing is superb, the musical arrangement is perfect and put all together Bradykynin leaves you wanting to hear more. Whether you are wanting to just mellow out or get the party started, they offer both sides of the coin with the sound they bring forth. Seeing bands emerge that are hard to categorize is hard enough. This band has that element in full stride, as well as contradicting emotions emitted from just listening to their music. Any number of oxymoron phrases could be used. For this album, the best way to describe it is something refreshingly new from yesteryear.

The blending of genres is sure to have Bradykynin gaining many fans from different backgrounds, with many different likes in styles of music. If this album describes the sound of Bradykynin music, then this is definitely a band to keep an ear out for.

Overall Rating: 1/2

(3 1/2 Stars of 5)

Special thanks to 

Justin Sane of R.S.M Promotions

Bradykynin Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bradykynin

ReverbNation: https://www.reverbnation.com/bradykynin

Twitter: https://twitter.com/bradykynin

Review of Blue Skies Black- @mgrosshandler

Review of Mike Grosshandler

"Blue Skies Black" LP By L. White

Solo artists seem to be coming out of the woodwork lately, and sounding pretty good at that. Thus is the case with guitarist for Upstate NY bands "The Velmas" and "Above The Flood" , Mike Grosshandler. Juggling roles in two bands, this hard working artist found the time to release a full-length album of his own titled "Blue Skies Black". His first solo release since 2004 which, aside from drums, a horn on one track ("Drive Me") and guest vocals on another ("Status Quo"), Mike has written, performed, engineered and produced it all himself. Voted by a readers poll in Metroland as "Best Local Solo Musician" and "Best Local Producer", Mike Grosshandler has already seen acclaim for this full-length album.

Delving right into the music, on the title track, "Blue Skies Black", he starts out with his axe, paving the way with a nice rhythm. Vocals on the track are smooth and reminiscent of a softer side of David Grohl. Very catchy with a solid beat, nice melody and perfectly placed solo.

On every track, Grosshandler showcases his great guitar playing and his soulful voice. With great pitch on belted vocals and excellent range with softer melodic tones. Adding feeling to the storied lyrics that helps the listener relate and connect to the path the whole album takes them on.

None better than on the third track, "Nothing Much", where Mike seems to emit emotion and heartfelt feeling in his vocals. With a great solo bridge at the 2:25 mark of the track, lending the listener a retrospective moment to soak in the dream being chased.

On the track "Drops" he showcases some great keyboard playing with a violin overtone and xylophone symbolizing the tears of realization at the wrong caused from a lost love. Leaving the interpretation up to the listener of the songs meaning being of a lost love, or the singers quest for acceptance and self-exploration. Grosshandlers song writing is masterful and introspective, letting the wall crash down and giving one a look inside the feelings and thoughts of an artist who is seeking out the answers to his own path.

The same could be said about the final track, "Without You". The emotions come clearly through with the music arrangements and vocals. Clearly a song of missing a love from afar, or lost all together. Again, leaving that interpretation up to the listener.

Overall "Blue Skies Black" is a very entertaining and enjoyable release by Mike Grosshandler. Very well written, arranged, performed and produced. Showcasing the many talents of a very gifted artist. Grosshandler is definitely a musician to keep an eye on, whether it be in a band role or as a solo artist. "Blue Skies Black" offers that Foo Fighters sound, but with a slightly softer edge to it. Not to be so much compared, but offering his own style and distinction. Mike Grosshandler has hit a home run with this release and leaves you wanting to hear more. A concept that every artist should strive for and aim towards, he has completely nailed it.

Enjoy music from Blue Skies Black

Overall Rating: 1/2

(4 1/2 of 5 Stars)

"Blue Skies Black" is Available on CDBaby Here: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/mikegrosshandler

Special thanks to 

Justin Sane of R.S.M Promotions

Mike Grosshandler Links:

Website: http://mikegrosshandler.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mike-Grosshandler/149409118502234

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mgrosshandler

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/mikegrosshandler

Review of Midnight Mosaic @midnightmosaic

By L. White

Midnight Mosaic’s ability to mix the genres of rock, soul, pop, R&B, hip hop, electropop, and funk…shows that this band most certainly lives up to their name by combining these various colors of music at exactly the right time. The transition time their moments between dark and dawn this timing is everything. With a forward-thinking style, they have managed to paint for their fans, a mesmerizing “musical landscape.” They tear down the boundaries of musical tastes and rebuild an entirely new canvas for you the listener. Their shows are intoxicating from beginning to end with high energy and passion. They deliver a show that keeps the crowd moving to the music all night and well into the early hours of the next day even!