A singer/ songwriter from England who has classified his music as folk/rock. He began promoting his music online in 2008 through his account on youtubewith The Living Room Series where he performed acoustic versions of his songs. Since then he has moved to New York and has also released an EP-Sing for the City and his album A Word in Edgeways.
Greg’s music has been an inspiration to me because of his heartfelt lyrics and his genuine desire to reach people through music. His ambition and dedication to his dreams and music are really admirable qualities that are hard to find among many aspiring musicians today who are just out for an awesome paycheck. He’s also British--and who doesn’t love a good accent?
This is Greg doing The Not My Living Room Series (which he started after The Living Room Series ended) This song is called "I Ask You This":
Another one of my favorite songs by Greg is "The Art of Falling" check it out on iTunes :)
Pop, rock and funk. Yes, these are very large and broad genres. Although I wanted to chose genres that were not as well known as pop and rock, I picked the band I am about to introduce you to because of their ability to maintain a unique sound while falling into two very mainstream categories.
Danger Radio is a band of six guys from Edmonds, Washington. Andrew de Torres (who also sings with Eric Bowley in The Scene Aesthetic), Nico Hartikainen, Andy Brookins, Spencer Phillips, Elan Wright, and Robbie Cochrane.
Andrew and Nico met in middle school and performed some talent shows and small gigs together. From there, the band was slowly formed and recorded two EP’s and then their most recent album, Used and Abused. Their newest album combines upbeat, energetic music (a funk/disco/rock-pop sound), distinct vocals and lyrics that offset their quirky, fun music style with weighted meaning.
Danger Radio has been one of my favorites since I found them featured in a magazine a few years ago. I love how they incorporate tons of different instruments and really try to be original. I've also liked Andrew de Torres since I heard him in The Scene Aesthetic so, they were an awesome find for me.
This video is an acoustic version of their song “Your Kind (Speak to Me)”
The song opens up with a shot of the band and Elan on guitar. He starts playing and sets the mood for the whole song. The short, low notes are predicting the serious, somewhat melancholy first verse. After lead guitar opens, bass, drums and tambourine are added shortly followed by Andrew singing. As they build up to the chorus, the keyboard is incorporated creating a lighter mood to go along with the slightly more upbeat lyrics and vocals. This pattern is repeated for the next verse and chorus. The first part of the bridge included the keyboard’s light, airy tones but, the second part (where they whisper “speak to me”) uses the vocals, guitars, bass, tambourine and drums to build suspense for the chorus and final finish. The dynamic vocals throughout the song help to build and relieve anticipation. I liked this video because of the way that the music and vocals accompanied the story of the lyrics.
