Dig That Treasure! is a brand new blog aiming to cover records that have “slipped away from – or simply been overlooked by – online media”. Named after the debut album by cult Californian pop band Cryptacize, it’s the brainchild of selfproclaimed “obsessive music nut, journal-keeper and review-writer” William Hall. Will kindly offered to share half a dozen of his new favourite artists with us in a guest post here at Fresh On The Net. After hearing his choices, we hope you’ll agree that this was an offer we simply couldn’t refuse.
ROSIELOU
Rosielou has one of the most beautiful voices in pop music right now; it’s just a shame no one hears it! What I like most about her is that her songs are so interestingly varied: sometimes her hushed vocals are accompanied by acoustic guitar, sometimes samples and drum loops. Blostma presents the latter, a sample-based track reminiscent of CocoRosie or Grouper‘s work.
LITTLE KITTENS
Little Kittens is a teenage Yorkshireman equipped with a home studio and a crateful of ideas. Influenced by neo-psychedelic bands like The Olivia Tremor Control and Neutral Milk Hotel, his music treads a distinctly modern desire line between shoegaze and baroque pop. Kill Me With Kindness is a washed-out pop song that carries one of the loveliest, most memorable refrains I’ve heard in ages!
LUKE SAXTON
Another Yorkshireman here (what’s the deal with ’em?) – this time ravelling in the 1970s. Luke Saxton‘s music is fascinated by the past, and his spin on classic orchestral pop brings to mind Randy Newman, Paul McCartney and Van Dyke Parks, to name just a few. Stupidly precocious and talented, he and his friend Jamie Scott-Dyson record every part of their music in the comfort of their living rooms, and also work together in the duo Western Man. Luke’s track Plans For The Treehouse is what some journalists may describe as a ‘romp’, playfully flirting with driving piano and loose electric guitar.
/please/
Bristol’s Ellen Davies makes dream-pop under the name /please/. I like to think of it as ‘darkly optimistic’: her songs are quite brooding in instrumentation, but often feature ascending chord progressions or major scales. Her EP from July is one of my favourite releases of the year so far, and the Julia Holter-like opener Calliope is possibly my favourite track of the bunch!
KEEL HER
The amazing Keel Her is quite frankly about as prolific as it gets. Her Soundcloud page is rammed full with demos, experiments and final cuts, ranging from the bizarre to the unbelievably catchy – including collaborations with the lo-fi pop genius R Stevie Moore. She finally has an album coming out via Critical Heights towards the end of the year which, to me at least, is very very exciting! Riot Grrrl is a track I’ve seen transformed from a loose jangly demo to a fully-fledged noise-fest.
MOM TUDIE
A friend but also a real talent, Mom Tudie uses field recordings and samples to form his intricately crafted dance music. Arguably not of the same mould I usually blog about, this music is special all the same. Dove is my personal favourite, a melodically twisted mix of manipulated vocals, persistent piano chords and house percussion. Wouldn’t actually be surprised if Mom Tudie becomes a household name.
Guest Post by William Hall from Dig That Treasure
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