Inspired by the innovative work of La Blogotheque’s Take-Away Shows, “five persons somewhere in their mid twenties” decided to start their own impromptu indie-video venture in Vienna, Austria; and they’ve already got some big names.

I must say that I hope this format continues to spread. You often get to see a lot more of the band’s personality when they adventure out into unfamiliar and often surprising surroundings. These types of videos blend the intimacy of close contact with the quality of near-professional video and sound. How could you lose?

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Said the Gramophone has recently concluded their “Wonderful Video Contest In which people make films for their favourite songs”, and there are some great ones in there.

Yet another fine example of what creative people can do with a little encouragement, some basic equipment, and possibly an all-consuming lust for prizes.

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China isn’t exactly well known around the world when it comes to turntablism. In fact they’re not even on the radar, which makes it all the more surprising for a world-class talent like DJ Wordy to emerge out of Beijing. A former guitarist, Wang Liang taught himself how to scratch by watching a pirated VCD of the 2000 DMC championship over and over again. Despite having only enough money to purchase one mixer, one turntable, and one record, DJ Wordy honed his skills over a period of six months to the point where he was able to perform in clubs. The internet played a huge part in his music education, it broaden his musical taste and allowed him to purchase vinyl which was nearly impossible to find in local music stores. His efforts paid off, Wordy claimed the top prize three years in a row at the China DMC Championships (2005-07). He is now regarded as a pioneering musician in China, and an educator to the rest of China about the art of scratch.

The VJs over at HaoBuHao created this extremely slick video of DJ Wordy’s 2007 DMC routine. Wordy is also offering his Pocket Dance Mix CD for free here.

Artist: ??? (Midori)
Song: ?? (Osaru)
From album: ????? (First)
Genre: “Romantic Erotic Chaotic Sentimental Death”
[Buy CD][Website]

Midori is hard to write about. Their sound encompases jazz-noise chaos and sweet ballad. Frontwoman Mariko Gotou screams her guts out, and then squeaks cute little noises, sometimes while writhing on the ground, sometimes while standing on the drumset or the shoulders of the crowd, always with intense presence.

I’ll post some video later so you can see what I mean, but for now, here’s the second song from their album “First”. It’s another album from which choosing a representative track is impossible. If this music churns your butter in the least, so will every song on all their albums. No filler here, all songs are singularly crazy, interesting, and strangely addictive. If you “get it”, then by all means, Get it!

“Take-away shows” is a fantastic idea, and it’s brilliantly executed. A combination that warms the bosom indeed.

Basically you take high-quality cameras and sound equipment, find a band, and convince them to run away and play a mini-set in some randomly-chosen nearby urban locale. The results are simply fabulous.

For instance: Even if you don’t particularly enjoy The Arcade Fire, how can you resist the charm of an entire 8-piece band playing packed comfortably into a freight elevator. It’s really quite hard to miss the feeling.

There really is something for everybody.

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Upon perusing the frenetically updated GorillaVsBear, I was exposed to the realization that here on the SXSW site there are now hundreds and hundreds of mp3s. If you dared to dive into them I would be willing to bet that you would find some very interesting bands. I got about 260 yesterday and I only scratched the surface. If you are exceptionally brave and well-connected and you decide to check them out, feel free to comment and let me know which ones are exceptionally great.

In other news, I am working on an extra-large multi-part foreign-language international hip hop post, part one of which will be up by the weekend. So if that sounds interesting to you stay tuned, and feel free to give obscure recommendations.

A little while ago the always brilliant Saidthegramophone had a contest to win the new Cat Power Album. It was a lovely idea: Write a rhyming couplet for a fictional song entitled: “Bluebird Liquor and Black Crow Wine”. There were a great many excellent submissions, (somehow I made it to 4th place and won a poster), and now some of them are being used as lyrics in a no-longer-fictional song that already has 2 remixes!

Artist: Six Organs of Admittance
Song: Eighth Cognition/All You’ve Left
From album: School of the Flower
Genre: Misty-river acoustic musing
[DL from itunes][Buy CD][Site]

I think Ben Chasny’s guitars must be madly in love with him. They never falter; they never question themselves or his gentle mastery of them. They just reach deep down inside, and come up with the most precious sounds they can give him. Somehow these sounds have little lives of their own; more than the note, and more than the resonance. There’s something I really can’t explain; something that makes even some of the simplest passages vibrant and, (I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but for lack of a better word…) magical.

This particular song is actually sort of two songs that blend together in the middle. The first part is something of a tumbling dream; not unpleasant but unfamiliar and strange. There are these big smoky black and silver bubbles rolling all around you, and ferrying you off to somewhere unknown, (to part 2 that is).

Part two is where you “wake up” from that dream, to find yourself lying in the bottom of a slowly drifting canoe. The river around you has a thick mist curling over it, and you can barely make out a wild green treeline on both sides. Soon airy sweet wisps of voices start singing from the mist. They are singing you into their world, both welcoming and warning.

Or so it would seem. The website has some cool stuff, including recipes… for food! I just found that to be rather nifty.