Viddler

Hello, Mondayers! It has been quite a while since I’ve shared a giddy music video with you all. As you may have noticed, Viddler has been a powerhouse of awesome changes that have kept us in locked rooms; away from natural light. We do get candy though!

Anyway, today we have a glorious music video from my home town of Sydney Australia. A young fellow by the name of Sam Westphalen has a unique way of jamming on a guitar and it makes my ears tingle. This was recorded at the Australian Institute of Music Sydney (subscribe).

More about Sam Westphalen

Sam started playing the guitar about 10 years ago and he has been surrounded by music ever since. He’s currently completing his bachelor of composition and music production at the Australian Institute of Music. He’s already done the music for three short films and several theatrical productions.

There isn’t much to discover about Sam on the web; no personal website, Twitter, or the like. So I recommend you march on down to AIM and demand a live show before he becomes a star with over a million followers on Twitter.

You can check out more about AIM on their website, Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace.

Is the Spice Girls more your style? Then scoot on past the break and check out another one of Sam’s videos.

Continue reading “MVM: Sam Westphalen – Beelzebufo” »

I hope you’re excited for this glorious Monday! We have some phat beats heading down you’re intertubes to get you groovin’. If you’re at work, then “groovin’” equates to productivity, right? Right!

Radar Music Videos (subscribe) has provided a grimey music video from R.I.O. That’s R.I.O with two periods, not three. And, yes, grime is actually one of the genres R.I.O falls under — along with hip hop and electro.

Here’s the music video to R.I.O’s second single “Mr. Unpredictable”. Find out more about R.I.O below the video.

The heads-up on R.I.O

His birth name is Rio Nelson and he was born as in Manchester, U.K, but spent some of his teenage years on the island of St. Vincent in the Caribbean, and Chicago in the USA. In fact, he represented the St. Vincent in youth international level in a World Cup Qualifier.

When he was 18 he dropped his football career to focus on making music. He began making wildly successful mix-tapes and collaborating with other well-known rap teams. The urban music scene well and truly took a liking to his beats.

Now, at 24-years-old, he’s dreaming big — and it all the right ways. Rather than doing all the typical celebrity appearances on television and shows, he’s interested in being a big role model for teenagers by touring around to secondary schools. He hopes to have then understand that if he can get to where he is, then they can too. If that isn’t being an awesome role model, then I don’t know what is!

Read more about Rio’s entry into the urban music scene in this in-depth interview he did for CityLife.

Check out R.I.O’s MySpace and Twitter for frequent updates!

Ahhh! The last Music Video Monday for 2009. Wowzers, there’s has been a lot of superb music videos this year!

If you want to watch all the past MVMs in reverse chronological order, then visit the MVM category on this blog.

For this last MVM of 2009 I have a giddy treat from Anji Bee! I’ve been listening to Anji Bee’s Chillcast off and on since way back when it began in 2006. Anji curates great music for each show, and I highly recommend it in your weekly podcast listening.

In 2007, Anji started the Chillcast Video Edition (subscribe). These generally feature just one music video and there’s only 2 or 3 video episodes released every month.

Episode #036 features Adam Fielding — a UK-based electronic musician. Adam started writing music using free software on his computer in the mid-1990s. He was originally more interested in computer programming, but the more he dabbled in electronic music the more he enjoyed it and turned it from a hobby into a passion.

Adam has produced a wide range of genres since his early days. From soothing ambient sounds to go-get-em dance breaks — he’s has something for almost everyone. He has also collaborated with various other artists on cause-worthy albums such as Whirlstream (an electronic collaboration album organized by the Electronic Artists Relief Syndicate to raise money for victims of Hurricane Katrina).

Here’s Anji introducing Adam’s music video for “Aurora”.

You can buy & listen to Adam’s latest album on adamfielding.com. Follow him on Twitter: @misterfielding.

Anji Bee’s Chillcast is at thechillcast.com, @chillcast on Twitter. You can discover more about Anji and her music at anjibee.com, and by following her on Twitter: @anjibee.

Remember: If you’d like to suggest a music video for a feature on the Viddler blog and front page, then please send me a message, link it up in our forums, or just comment on this post.

Welcome to Monday, fellow Viddlerers!

The power of Radar Music Videos (subscribe) has brought us another funky music video to start out the week with. This electonic music was created by Neil Landstrumm and Profisee. The design and animation was all the work of Luca Brenna.

Neil Landstrumm has been on the UK electronic music scene since 1994. He has produced music or some of the biggest record labels in the industry, and he always seems to be at the forefront of experimental low frequency electronics with his Scandinavian label signature.
Profisee is also from the UK and has collaborated with various other artists (such as Capitol 1212, Process Rebel, Vent) displaying his versatile style of beats.

Luca Brenna is a designer born in Italy, but in recent years relocated to various locales in the United Kingdom, finally ending up in London, England. He has worked for a number of major advertising agencies. Nowadays he works as a freelance digital media artist for various companies.

Radar Music Videos brings together musicians with directors in a quest to create unique and independent music videos. If you’re a designer or musician interested in creating a music video, then you should discover the power of Radar Music Videos!

Remember: If you’d like to suggest a music video for a feature on the Viddler blog and front page, then please send me a message, link it up in our forums, or just comment on this post.

Good Monday to everyone!

Here’s some rock to start off the week. Alternative rock, that is.

Paramore is a band from Franklin, Tennessee, that formed in 2004. Before being signed with a label, the original members of the band played gigs around the Nashville area. John Janick, CEO and co-founder of the music label Fueled by Ramen, signed Paramore in 2005 after he saw performing at a concert in Orlando Florida.

Current band members consist of Hayley Williams (lead vocals), Josh Farro (lead guitar and backing vocals), Jeremy Davis (bass guitar), Zac Farro (drums and percussion), and Taylor York (rhythm guitar. They’re all currently around 20 years old. Yup, they started in their early teens.

Shane Drake directed the music video for “crushcrushcrush” (from their 2007 album Riot!) in the desert. That’s right, this wasn’t recorded on a green screen with an artificial background placed in during the editing process. They recorded this in a barren wasteland. In fact, towards the end of the shoot a dust storm was seen in the distance and they had to get as many takes in before it hit the location they were recording in.

Keep up with Paramore’s latest concerts and projects by checking out their website, following @paramore on Twitter, and becoming a fan on Facebook.

If you enjoyed Paramore’s music then you might enjoy other music by bands on the Fueled by Ramen (yeah, that name makes me chuckle every time) label. Find said bands on FueledbyRamen.com, their Facebook page, and, yes, @fueledbyramen on Twitter.

Remember: If you’d like to suggest a music video for a feature on the Viddler blog and front page, then please send me a message, link it up in our forums, or just comment on this post.

Ahhh, Tuesday. I love Tuesdays!

So, you’re wondering why there wasn’t a Music Video Monday yesterday? Well, I felt like spicing up your life (Spice Girls reference; shame)!

BT Tradespace recently released version 2 of their service and it’s even more super-duper awesome for creating a place for small businesses to thrive on the web. Hence why we featured BTT on Monday. If you missed it, go here and check out the video along with more information about the service.

Don’t fret though. Friday is going to be awesome and full of giddy.

In the morning we’ll see some videos from within peoples’ workplace. Yes, you can participate in that little project here — Hurry though! You only have a couple of days.

In the afternoon we’ll rock out to some sweet music videos. If you have any suggestions for a music video, please let me know about it by sending me a message.

I hope everyone is having a fabulous week. Stick at it! Friday will be radical!

Comedy. Collaboration. (Not) Cats. That’s what is coming up in today’s Music Video Monday. Ready!

Everyone loves live puppies… right? Of course. Rhett and Link (subscribe) have gone to great lengths to scientifically prove this fact, and have banded together with some of the most popular live streamers.

You’ll see appearances from Snoop Dogg, Justine Ezarik (ijustine), Gary Vaynerchuk (garyvee), Chris Pirillo (l0ckergn0me), Amber MacArthur (commandn), and Leo Laporte.

Enjoy more music videos, comedy, local business commericals, and more fun at Rhett & Link’s website and by subscribing to their videos.

You also can find the boys on Twitter: Rhett: @rhettmc; Link: @linkamont.

Remember: If you’d like to suggest a music video for a feature on the Viddler blog and front page, then please send me a message, link it up in our forums, or just comment on this post.

It’s Monday and I have yet another example of why music videos evoke emotion, inspiration, and a ‘can do’ attitude.

Music videos allow not only musicians to express themselves, but visual artists to express themselves. Creative techniques and unique themes stand out from the crowd. The following video by In Case of Fire is a great example of this artistic creativeness.

First of all, it was commissioned by Radar Music Videos (subscribe). As we’ve mentioned before, they unite musicians with directors to create low budget, high quality independent music videos. Low budget just means it didn’t cost $2 million to make a 3 minute video, and high quality results in something more creative than scantily clad girls dancing around. Yes, high definition, RED cameras, and all that fancy gear is usually involved too.

This music video is for the track “Enemies” by In Case of Fire. While there may be an underlying conspiracy theory regarding the export of resources to foreign lands, I’d prefer just to focus on the creative aspects of the video.

There’s a great combination of 2D and 3D animation as well as recorded video in this music clip. Sure, it’s a little bizarre ans surreal, but that just makes it all the more interesting. Paper cutouts of people carving up a turkey is certainly ironic!

About the band

In Case of Fire (ICOF) is a 3-member alternative rock band from Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom. It consists of Steven (vocals and guitars), Colin Robinson (drums and percussion), and Mark Williamson (bass guitar).

They recently won the Kerrang! Award for “Best British Newcomer” and their single “The Cleansing” will be re-released on October 26th, 2009, with two new exclusive b-side tracks.

In Case of Fire’s music can be purchased at Amazon UK, Amazon US, iTunes (opens iTunes).

Discover more about ICOF on Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace.

Remember: If you’d like to suggest a video for a feature on the Viddler blog and front page, then please send me a message, link it up in our forums, or just comment on this post.

Aloha on this fine Monday! I have some more live music for ya this week courtesy of BalconyTV (subscribe).

i said yes (ISY) is a folk-pop band from the U.K. that has come far since they formed in 2007. The five members — Hugh, Robbie, Margot, Jim, and Kit — started out busking on a bridge over the River Thames in London. Their first gig was playing at the Art College bar in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Since then, they’ve toured the U.K. playing in various festivals, been aired on XFM (including a feature on the XFM New Music Rising podcast), 6 Music on BBC radio, and even recorded an album over new years 2008/2009.

Here’s ISY on the lovely balcony of BalconyTV in London, playing their single “When The Light Comes In”.

October 7th is going to be giddy for ISY! They’re playing a gig at The Allotment in The Betsey Trotwood, Clerkenwell, London. Tickets are £5. And, according to the poster, there’s free cake and watermelon. Broadcast 2000 (whom we’ve featured before) and Al Lewis & Sarah Howells will also be performing. Now if that’s not a bloody rockin’ deal, then you’ve never experienced free cake and watermelon before!

You can listen to i said yes‘ music on their MySpace, become a fan on their Facebook, and follow them on Twitter.

Remember: You can suggest a music video to be featured on the Viddler blog and front page. If you’d like to do so, then please send me a message, link it up in our forums, or just comment on this post.

Happy Monday! Music video time.

This is a neat collaboration between a singer-songwriter and a city’s tourism board.

Jon McLaughlin created the song “For You From Me” for the city of Indianapolis, Indiana. Jon’s home state is Indiana, and his debut album was aptly named after it. The music video for the song was created entirely in Indianapolis; showing off many of the activities available in the capital city. From the farmlands to the museums to the football teams; the video covers it all.

Local tourism ads are generally pretty creative, but I’d definitely love to see a music video during a television ad break rather than a typical 15-30 second commercial showing just a couple key things a particular place has to offer.

Indianapolis has a very informative and easy to navigate website for visitors and locals alike to research upcoming events, local hotspots, the best places to stay, and more. Doing Indy (subscribe) is their video podcast which highlights businesses and events around city. It’s like a travel show, but local. (I’ll embed the latest episode after the jump.)

For now, enjoy the wonderful musical talents of Jon and the lovely scenery of Indianapolis.

Pretty cool mashup, hey! I’ve never been to or researched much about Indianapolis (until now) and the video covers it all very well.

Visit Indy is on Twitter and Facebook — as any good city should be. Follow them for an interactive experience of the city’s latest happenings.

Continue on to see the latest episode of Doing Indy, featuring the best pizza joints in town. Delish! Continue reading “MVM: For Indy From Jon” »