I'll be out of town for the next four days but I didn't want to leave The Circle Pit hanging. So here's something I set up last week to kill all the memory left on your iPod.
THIS IS THE FREE MUSIC MARATHON!
We've helped promote a lot of free music over time. This is the cream of the crop. And it ranges from big bands to the deep underground. Click a link, any link. You may just find a new favorite. No matter what, you'll find free music and tunes available for the price of your choosing. All of these artists deserve support, so don't be afraid to throw some dollars if something really makes you happy.
This is the first lap of four. 25 links a day. Let's go!
We'll officially be back in full operation on Wednesday.
Welcome back explorers! Today we're heading back to France to discover some awesome, new music.
Remember our last time here? We talked about the best dark progressive / death metal acts coming out of this nation including Gojira, Uneven Structure, Blut Aus Nord, Eryn Non Dae, Hypno5e and Atlantis Chronicles. Aamzing stuff!
But in its multifaceted metal scene, France has a lot more to offer. Today we'll show you some more amazing artists. But instead of focusing on a specific genre we'll be exploring the most interesting music delivered by French solo musicians. That's right. There's so many impressive solo projects coming out of this region and they all deserve a shout. Let's go!
Well, the beginning is easy: the brilliant mind of Remi Gallego, who's beautiful musical inventions flow from his main project The Algorithm! The Algorithm delivers a mix of modern metal and several types of electronic music in some truly devastating and eclectic musical creations. His debut album “Polymorphic Code” came out in 2012. You can read our review here. He has now teamed up with Monuments' drummer Mike Malyan to deliver even crazier live shows. I hope you all will have a chance to check 'em out on stage. Recently, I had the chance to meet / interview both of them before one of their shows in Europe. We'll be posting a video soon!
Another easy one is Auré Pereira, mostly known for being the guitarist of Uneven Structure, but also largely appreciated for his solo project WorC. He brings some truly amazing instrumental metal, with touching atmospheres and creative instrumentations. He released a full-length album “Plychrmatic 0.1” and an EP “When The Day Forms” so far and they are both available for free on his Bandcamp page! Go check him out and don't forget to give a listen to his band Uneven Structure, if you already haven't.
The next one is one of The Circle Pit's favourites, A.I.(d). His human name is Lou Gregoire and he created some of the most insane and possibly even painful (in a veeeeery good way) music I can remember. Especially with his 2012 EP “Solar Feelings”, which is available for a free download here . That alone pretty much destroyed my aural apparatus (and once again, I was really happy of it). It also looks like he's got some new music in the making since he recently uploaded two new songs: “Ballentine's Night” and “Dramatic Lazyness”. So if you enjoy what's below start following him and expect crazy things!
A very talented French man named Clemente Reviriego from Bordeaux just released his new album called “Arid Landscapes”. This is the debut full-length release of his Instrumental/Tech/Prog/Groove/Jazz project Dorthal. All that you need to know about this talented young guy is written in the review we recently posted for his album. So if you're intrested, you can go read it here. All Dorthal's music is available for stream and name your price download on his Bandcamp page. Go show this guy some love!
Some truly surprising stuff is delivered by Nicolas Jeanney, who's artistic name is Tenkan. He partially specializes in delivering metal/djent covers of a lot of unexpected music: from Adele to Rage Against The Machine, from Rihanna to...Lana Del Rey. Ok, I know it might sound a bit strange and weird, or even useless. But believe me, it kicks ass! This guy also has his own original tracks on his SoundCloud profile. So go give him a listen and enjoy. I think I'll be presenting his project properly very soon, since he's also the only one in this post who hasn't already been in the Pit before.
Last but not least we'll bring up Cartoon Theory, wich is one of my favourites, even though it's not exactely a solo project. In fact, there are two members working on it, but it's still far from being a full band and they definetly deserve another shout. They're working on a new release “Planet Geisha” and there will be surely some incredible stuff on it. Give a listen to their previous material while waiting.
There are tons of talented artists creating their music in France and everywhere around the world. So much greatness to discover... life seems too short to find it all. Anyway, we haven't finished with France yet. We'll be back very soon to meet more amazing bands. Stay tuned, explorers!
A.I.(d) is back with two new mind-blowing tracks: "Dramatic Lazyness" (definitely can relate to this title) and "Balantine's Night", both of which were uploaded on YouTube at the end of January. Insane, fast, and complex as always, the tracks sound amazing. Featuring A.I.(d)'s well known style with crazy guitar segments and some electronic hints, especially in "Dramatic Lazyness" which even has a small dubstep section.
According to the video descriptions both songs should be part of a 'still unknown' forthcoming album to be released in 2013! In the meantime we can jam A.I.(d)'s older tracks from his amazing 2012 releases: the debut album "Disorder" and the "Solar Feelings" EP, both incredible and available for free download on Bandcamp! Get stoked for more \m/
We introduced this solo project last free music monday and I've been jamming it ever since. This is one mind fuck of an EP. From start to finish, the high level of complexity is impressive. Lou Gregoire aka A.I.(d) takes after artists like The Algorithm and Cloudkicker by using
synthetic instruments. However he does provide the guitar and bass himself. Lou's also inspired by smoking cigarettes and drinking
sodas. Altogether it makes for some awesome, experimental, tech heavy music to feast
your brain on. A.I.(d) pays serious attention to detail. There is almost always something awesome going on and it really makes this EP a trip.
It begins with a world ending seizure in "Apocapilepsy". This is song is fucking nuts! Great way to set the tone for the EP because the whole thing is insane. Parts of it feel like bungee jumping into a Meshuggah-esque acid mat. Dark and chaotic with merciless brutality. It also features a few piano segments to throw things off even further. You get to experience "Bath Salts" without actually doing bath salts. It's great! This track has a very psychedelic feel to it. Especially with this huge, original soundscape towards the middle. There's also plenty of heavy goodness in this stand out track. You almost get a metal meets dubstep vibe throughout this release. Usually that would annoy me, but artists like A.I.(d) and The Algorithm pull it off in a way that I can't deny the insane genius of it."Final Sunset" is the longest track on the EP, clocking in at 9 and a half minutes. Beginning with a quote from The Matrix, this song covers everything from immense soundscapes to heavy as hell, crushing brutal segments. This song ends in such a disturbingly awesome way. "Spearmint" is probably the most upbeat track on the EP with its high winding guitars and use of melody. But it still brings plenty of heavy chaos as to be expected before it ends with yet another quote from The Matrix. The final track "530.000" opens with a sci-fi sounding alarm which is very reminiscient of Meshuggah's "Destroy Erase Improve". Except the patten behind the effect in this song is much different. There is ridiculous technicality driving this song all the way through. Really a strong way to close the EP.
I only have one real criticism of this release. In a few segments, the guitars sound incredibly synthetic considering a good bit of the guitar work was recorded. And as I've I stated, I'm aware of the use of synthesized instruments but it just sounds too much like copy and paste. For example, about 40 seconds into "Bath Salts". That segment of the song kicks ass, but the guitars just don't sound legit. Luckily most of the EP sounds legit as hell!
To sum things up, the mind fuckery is strong in this one. "Solar Feelings" is one razor sharp, whirlwind of a release with major attention to detail in its complexity. A.I.(d) actually does a few things better than his inspiration, The Algorithm. That being said, Lou very much has an awesome style of his own. And did I mention you can download "Solar Feelings" for free? Not only that, you can get A.I.(d)'s entire discography free of charge! Grab it here. Hope you enjoy guys! And I hope A.I.(d) keeps up the incredible work. "Solar Feelings" is beastly.
We have a huge one for you today! The entire A.I.(d) discography is now available for free download! Grab it here! Chaotic and complex, Lou Gregoire aka A.I.(d) takes after artists like The Algorithm and Cloudkicker by using
synthetic instruments. However he does provide guitar and bass himself. Lou's also inspired by smoking cigarettes and drinking
sodas. Altogether it makes for some awesome, experimental, tech heavy music to feast
your brain on. Trippy as hell too. You can experience "Bath Salts" without actually doing bath salts \m/ We have that and some more tracks off his newest release "Solar Feelings" below. If you just want to download the new EP, click here. Enjoy the mind fuckery!
I'll be out of town for the next four days but I didn't want to leave The Circle Pit hanging. So here's something I set up last week to kill all the memory left on your iPod.
