Jay Brannan’s album is out on iTunes.  I saw him live in Vancouver when I was back for a visit, and he was amazing.  Go sample and download his full album, and be sure to catch him live for a great show.

Preview & Purchase here via iTunes.

Click to Play Elsiane - "Mend"

When I went to see Robyn on Montreal, I walked into La Tulipe and instantly heard an amazing voice booming through the speakers.  Montreal duo Elsiane was the opening act, and I think audience was surprised at just how engrossed they’d become.

People stood, staring at the group’s lead singer Elsieanne Caplette, as she crept and swayed around on the stage… more a musical creature more than a band vocalist.  The crowd applauded madly between songs, but stood in awe watching as she oozed each song.

Thanks to a comment from a fellow blogger Adam (thanks!), I was able to track down this band - he too, was impressed with Elsiane, and posted an entry about it.  I loved her live performance, I felt compelled to share my favorite track.  Her voice is so bizarre and haunting, we weren’t sure at first if she was even singing in English.  Many of her songs, are almost a dual between her voice as an instrument, and the jazzy, flowing percussion.

If you like what you hear, check out other tracks on their myspace, and catch them at a live gig - though I didn’t see a lot of tour dates.

Thanks to a sweet note passed by a loyal blog reader and commenter, here’s a fun treat you can’t miss.

MSN has posted almost all of the live concert Robyn performed last month in LA, during her North American tour.  I saw her in Montreal, and it was ridiculously good.  It was in a smaller venue than this was filmed, and the crowd was nuttier.. it was clear we were all Robyn-crazy.  But in case you wanted to see what you missed, here ya be!

New to Robyn?  Click on Cobrastyle, Handle Me, Be Mine, and With Every Heartbeat. 

Already a huge Robyn fan but wanna see something fresh you might have missed, not catching the show?  Don’t miss Medley, Dream On, Show Me Love.

Robyn - Live from the Wiltern in LA
(be sure to click the larger-view button on the bottom right of the video)

It’s hard to say what her best tracks are.  I fell hard once I saw the girl-in-a-box music video for Handle Me, and was singing Bum Like You for weeks after I heard it.  In a good way.  Madonna and Janet really can’t pay enough producers to make an album like this.  Best pop album of the year, said without any hesitation.

Yes, top of her performing her *amazing* new album filled with songs that could pretty much ALL be singles… she does an encore with a plinking ballad version of her 90’s pop hit "Show Me Love"… a quirky homage to an old song, showing where she’s come from and where’s she’s rocked to, since leaving her major label to start her own bigger, badder movement.

*Note: Looks like you’ll need IE or Firefox to view the video - sorry Safari users, you should have a back-up browser anyway :)

Check the scenario, she gon’bust yer ear drum.

Beyonce’s little sister Solange has unrealistically big shoes to fill… but I’ll be damned if her single isn’t more fun than most all other tracks coming from the pop powerhouses.

When I hear this little ditty, I can’t help but think of sipping a cool adult beverage, lounging by the pool… it’s Summer in the city, folks!

Time for a video party.While she’s our favorite, Robyn isn’t the only sweet music export coming out of Sweden.  My interest in her has lead me to discover other great Swedish artists, and I though I’d pass them along.  Clockwise from top-left: Lykke Li, Adam Tensta, Lazee, and Sophia Somajo.

Thanks to one of my readers for turning me onto Lykke… her CD is great.

For starters, have some Robyn videos… a few of my fav live videos of her, and a music video of her song Be Mine (a hot mix of it is played at the end of Resuscitation. 

My new favorite force in pop music - Robyn - is coming to North America, on a bit of a tour.  I only say “a bit”, because she’s much bigger overseas that she is here.  I’m a HUGE fan… Christ, I put FOUR mixes of her songs in my last house mix.  But I’m confident, that if you’ve heard her album, you’ll see how she’s showing up the freshness that the Madonna/Britneys/Janets just don’t seem to be givin’ up as easy as they used to.

And while her concert in Montreal late at night on Sunday, May 4th - isn’t so ideal, I’m gonna find me a way to make it work - even if I wake up early and drive back before work on Monday.  So if you see me there, say howdy.

If you’re a fan, check out her myspace page at www.myspace.com/robynmyspace and see is she’s hitting up your city.

Her style is the bomb diddy bomb di dangy dang diggy diggy.

Every time I see this guy at my gym, I can’t help but smile and think of this song :)

You know the type.

Katy Perry is a fun new pop singer - she has one track I love so much, I’d be shocked if I don’t work a version into the next mix.  Which I should be starting soon.

I rarely posts singles songs that I wanna share with others - maybe I’ll do it more often - but here’s one worth mentioning.

Yes, I like the pop music acts like Britney Spears for the same reasons I like diet coke.  But I’m certainly up for more substantial tunes on the radio - Robyn is a perfect example of a creative talent that deserves every ounce of recognition she gets.

I stumbled across Santogold a couple weeks ago on Arjan’s blog (a required read for music fans).  She’s great.  She sounds a bit like Tegan and Sarah - a duo worth knowing if you don’t already… their album So Jealous is awesome.

If you dig her, you find this track and other on iTunes.

Last month, I got shipped to Vancouver for a weekend work session.  Despite the long hours, I got to see some of my buddies, and catch Jay Brannan when he was passing through town.

I recorded a bit on my Nokia N82, to post and share.  He sang a lot of the song we know and love from his youtube page or myspace page, but also some great covers, too.  The second and third song in in the video are covers - but amazing songs that I came to really love, thanks to his version.

Jay’s also started a blog… check it out.  If you like his songs, support him by buying his tracks on iTunes

We’re currently living out in Carleton Place, Ontario.. about an hour away from Ottawa. Setting up shop here has proven to be a bit trying on our patience… finding a place (which we have, but aren’t in yet), finding a new ‘V’ (late october til it’s here) and working on a temporary machine during some massive, late-night work demands… Mark starting an entirely new job, too. Needless to say, all of this was starting to wear on me - both of us - even though we’ve avoided any major distaster.

I saw this video today, and it turned my feelings around. Silly, huh. Sometimes you gotta step back out of a funk, and have a look-see. I got it pretty fucking good. I just forget it on occasion.

Even though Kanye thinks he’s pretty hot shit, I can’t say I disagree. The video is fun, though it’s not as impressive creatively, trailing the amazing D.A.N.C.E. video.