The Night Lights – The Night Lights [EP]

 - Vancouver, British Columbia - The Night Lights are a collaborative project between Danny Peck and Kie Cochran, two independent electronic musicians with a noteworthy collection of their own. Danny Peck goes by the moniker Dep and has been self releasing material since 2006. I became a fan a while ago when I picked up his album Instructions for Flying at random through CDBaby.com. Dep has been making a conscious effort to keep in touch with his fans and share his music with them through the various social networks online. It's a wise practice to be in as there are countless electronic indie artists out there, so the best way to not get lost in the crowd is to invest in a real relationship with your fans... as real as a relationship can be over the web. This is how I found out about The Night Lights.

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Jacke Karashae - The Places I Go

 - Vancouver, British Columbia - If any of you regularly read this site, you'll likely have noticed that Jacke Karashae is a writer here on Sour Grapes Winery often talking about the music industry and how it works today, and reviewing many independent artists who are giving their albums away for free. This is a growing trend in the music industry today as far too many people tend to get their music for free illegally anyway. Karashae also believes in this new music model. The idea is that the musician invests more in a loyal fan base rather than an instant pay off for their album. Perhaps the idea is that it's a better long term investment. I would agree, though I often willingly pay for my music.

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The Frozen Ocean - In Exile

 - San Francisco, California - There are some albums that showcase an artist's exploration of a genre and its variations. At times, these albums can seem disjointed or incohesive due to the range of the artist's musical experimentation, but ultimately this variation can form an album that has high replayability. Such is the case with Frozen Ocean's short album In Exile; singer and songwriter David Swanson plays with a wide range of genres and variations over a foundation of easy listening. These sub-styles keep the album musically compelling and set it apart from many acts that fail to make any changes to the musical conventions of easy listening/soft rock. While Swanson's voice did not particularly impress me on its own due to occasionally glaring overuses of Autotune, his multi-part harmonies and reaches into the top of his range won me over with their sonic and emotional power. Overall, I would recommend this album as an interesting, if at times uneven, experimental project that has the potential to be a stepping-stone to a more blended cohesion of interesting sounds and genres.

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Dep - Dep

- Vancouver, British Columbia - 2011 started off very well for me when on New Years Day, I opened my email and found an update from Dep saying that he just completed his new album, which he made self-titled. It supplied a free download of the entire album. Dep is of the opinion that the music he makes should be given away without charge, which is becoming a common trend among artists these days. After all, it seems that getting the public to buy music is near impossible.

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Music In The New Millennium: A Model For The Digital Age

- San Francisco, California - Music is a deeply ingrained part of modern American culture.  Americans encounter music in television shows, movies, and even supermarkets.  Regardless of the state of the economy and regardless of the state of the nation, music seems to always exist.  Music is the canvas upon which we paint ourselves with better brushes than those we own; we hum melodies we did not concoct and sing enigmatic stanzas we did not invent.  In this sense, musical talent is irrelevant in our connection with music.  By expressing previously inexpressible thoughts and emotions, music becomes a deeply-ingrained part of all of us.

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