The Deli Charts (see example on the left column) are a database of artists organized by region, genre and, of course, popularity.
Rather than just a popularity contest, our charts are thought as a service to allow bands, live show promoters and also music fans to find new promising acts. In this DIY musical era, the Deli's Charts provide an easy and fun way for emerging artists to find like-minded bands to network with.
Unlike similar charts implemented by other websites, The Deli's ones are extremely reliable in terms of rankings, which are calculated using data from the outside world - not internal artist profile counting. Also, they include not only subscribers but also bigger acts, therefore reflecting the local scenes in its entirety.
Toward the end of 2009, in a bedroom in Stockton, CA, a 21-year-old Justin Vallesteros began layering simple synth and guitar lines to create the sound that would become Craft Spells. What began as an experiment soon became a vibrant world of elegant guitar chords laced over looped rhythms, heavenly synth melodies, and pulsating bass. When Vallesteros recorded his first track "Party Talk," an outpouring of online enthusiasm led him to return to Seattle and flesh out a full band for the debut LP Idle Labor, released on Captured Tracks in Spring 2011. If you love Felt, The Smiths, Echo & The Bunnymen, and the beautiful monotone drone of Ian Curtis, Craft Spells are right up your nuevo-new romantic alley.
Something in the Water is a micro-documentary focused on the Seattle music scene and its continual abundance of innovative and talented artists. Directed by Ward Serrill, the short served as an accompaniment to Pearl Jam Twenty, the Cameron Crowe directed documentary, which aired on PBS last Friday. While mainly focused on the indie pop side of the Seattle scene, the doc touched on some of the biggest acts in the city, including clips of Pickwick, Shabazz Palaces, The Head and the Heart, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, and Total Experience Gospel Choir. Also featured are KEXP DJs John Richards, Kevin Cole, and Cherly Waters, as well as Megan Jasper and Jonathan Poneman of Sub Pop Records. Watch the 13 minute video below via KCTS.
The B-side track "Mother" is out from Broken Water's first 7" Whet. It's a stony, shoegaze gem. The heavy sliding guitar style of My Bloody Valentine (the quintessential genre name drop) is very prevalent in the song, with melty vocals that seem to dissolve into the misty reverberating atmosphere. I don't think this band has released anything I'm not excited about. Listen to it below, and get excited about it!
Under the moniker Perpetual Ritual, Mitchell Saulsberry sings fragile pop songs that come across as both honest and reserved. Standout track, “Prayers to Invoke You,” features jangling acoustic guitars that evoke the Kinks and Peter Sarstedt and sparse, yet frantic percussion.The vocals are well in front of the music, but still distant and reverb laced.The blown out production should come as no surprise given that Saulsberry plays bass in fellow Seattle lo-fi outfit Grave Babies.The two bands just toured together, including a Brooklyn date opening for Ganglians and Xray Eyeballs. Saulsberry has posted quite a few tracks on his SoundCloud site. I think the most interesting are among the newest, hopefully this is a sign of more to come.
Kicking off their tour with Viva Brother on Oct. 13, glitch folk band Motopony will have their song "Seer" make its TV debut on HBO's "How To Make It In America" this Sunday at 10:30pm. The Seattle-based group has quickly gained momentum since they debuted their self-titled LP in May, which is available now on tinyOGRE Entertainment.
MOTOPONY TOUR DATES
October 13 The Horseshoe Tavern Toronto, ON*
October 14 Le Petit Campus Montreal, QC*
October 15 DeLuna Fest Pensacola Beach, FL
October 16 Johnny Brenda's (21+) Philadelphia, PA*
October 17 The Middle East (21+) Cambridge, MA*
October 18 The Met Pawtucket, RI*
October 19 Bowery Ballroom (19+) New York, NY*
October 21 Rock and Roll Hotel Washington, DC
October 22 The Club at Water Street Rochester, NY*
October 24 The Basement Columbus, OH*
October 25 Lincoln Hall Chicago, IL*
October 26 Triple Rock Minneapolis, MN*
October 31 Turner Hall Ballroom Milwaukee, WI?
November 9 Marquis Theatre Denver, CO?
November 10 The Black Sheep Colorado Springs, CO?
November 14 Café du Nord San Francisco, CA?
November 15 Belly Up Tavern Solana Beach, CA?
November 16 Bootleg Theater Los Angeles, CA?
November 19 Aladdin Theater Portland, OR?
The Deli's NYC fall 2011 issue is now out in the streets and shops of The Big Apple, peoples!
This issue's focus is on the Deli's official CMJ showcases at the upcoming Music Marathon and The Deli's phantasmagoric Stomp Box Exhibit - download it HERE or pick it up in any musical spot in The Lower East Side, Williamsburg, Bushwick, Chelsea, East+West Village, Park Slope, Greenpoint etc. etc.
A few weeks ago The Deli teamed up with INDMUSIC to find the best unsigned and independent music videos to be featured between sets during some of The Deli's CMJ showcases at this year's Music Marathon. After hours and hours of "music-vision", The INDMUSIC staff finally delivered the list of winners - here's a playlist of all the selected videos. Starting today we'll slowly upload the ones we like in our local blogs. INDMUSIC is a Youtube Network designed to help bands monetize their video content without sacrificing creative control.
Lotte Kestner has the quiet, understated intensity made possible by her bare bones production. She is reminiscent of Seattle's Tiny Vipers, but even more closely related to the likes of Grouper with her wonderfully thin, beautiful, reverb kissed vocals. Her compositions in general, at the heart of them, are melancholy folk meditations. Rather than evoking woodsy, finger-picked platitudes, they manifest feelings of dissolution and isolation.
China Mountain, Kestner's last release in 2009 named after a mountain range in southern Oregon, was recorded over a year in her basement bedroom, and mixed with Trespassers bandmate Matt Brown. Recently, on September 27th, Kestner released a cover of The National's "Conversation 16", which with her stripped down means, lays bare the effectiveness of the vocal pattern and lyrics, acting as a kind of distillation showcasing what makes the song function in its essence.
