On the playlist this week: Cathleen & Sonic Ahmed

Cathleen

Cathleen

Here at Shed FM, we’re rather ashamed to admit that although we took A-level German, we don’t really understand much when it comes down to it.

We can ask the way to the Krankhaus and order a currywurst, but we get rather embarassed when asked to formulate more complicated sentences, or understand anything, really.

Which is why we’re rather embarassed to say that we don’t know much about Leipzig-based singer/songwriter Cathleen. We wish we did know more, and we don’t like to trust those automatic translators such as Babelfish because they just spew out nonsense. We think Cathleen is the next big thing in Germany, and you’ll find out why by listening to Shed FM, as she’s just joined the playlist.

We’re playing the brilliant “Hold Me” as much as we can, because we think Cathleen deserves to be heard by a wider audience. It’s rather unfair that every female singer, though, tends to be compared to the same voices – from Liz Phair to Heather Nova, Beth Orton and Patti Smith… it rather limits them, and Patti Smith sounds nothing like the other three, so it’s throwaway journalism of the worst kind. Cathleen reminds us of a female Nick Drake. Which is great stuff. Go visit her website, Deep Blue Voices.

Sonic Ahmed

Once more, we are ashamed to know very little about a German artists due to the fact that we just plain didn’t listen in German A-level classes. However, we gleaned this from his myspace page:

Since 1996 “Sonic Ahmed” ist the Solo-Project of Achim Rinderle (”A Glezele Vayn” and various other projects). He just moved to Berlin, looking for new inspiration (sticking to the harmonic-minor side of live). His main instruments are tenor-/bariton-/alto- sax and (bass-) clarinet. Apart from that he likes to blow into everything that sounds good but believes to be a drummer that has mischosen the right reincarnation last time. He also does radio drama and cooking. Past time projects: famous-freaky “!mahw” (the same song all night long in 14 versions), most weired “Kopffüßlerunion”, and died too young “Boogie Bollente” among other small nameless little tiny sonic-happenings

And you know what, we really like this fella. We went straight for his Balkan-tinged album, Balkenbraz, and picked out Mashkenka, which is now on rotation here on Shed FM Internet Radio. It’s one of the brightest, perkiest records we’ve heard in a long time and you can download it here:

http://www.jamendo.com/en/artist/sonic-ahmed

So – two artists from Germany, and no Fantastischen Vier. Even better!

Karel Beer in the Comedy Chatcast

You may well be wondering who Karel Beer is – but for anyone in Paris, Karel is the lifeline to British comedy, and has been for many years.

This Paris Link podcast for Shed FM was recorded just over two years ago in the Paris Shed with Jonny Sly and Gareth Cartman, and is the second part of the Sunchase programme we featured last week. Karel joined us in the Shed to talk about his career, his life, his comedy, and how French and English attitudes to comedy differ.

It made for one of the most entertaining shows we ever made in the Paris Shed, thanks largely to Karel’s larger than life personality.

Listen to the Comedy Chatcast on Shed Fm at these times this week (BST):

Tuesday 21st: 6pm
Thursday 23rd: 7:55pm
Friday 24th: 7pm
Saturday 25th: 5:20pm

Sweet Soubrette LIVE at the Sidewalk Cafe, NYC

We got very excited here at Shed FM when we got these live tracks to play you. Ellia Bisker, otherwise known as Sweet Soubrette, is one of our favourite ukelele artists, in fact she’s one of our favourite artists full stop, on the Shed FM playlist, so these songs have been on the virtual turntable since they landed.

Don’t let the ukelele tag distract you, Ellia reminds us very much of Regina Spektor with an added dose of wit and charm, and is backed by a bunch of classically trained musicians.

Bittersweet and romantic, yet not in a sickly way, Ellia has received critical acclaim from the likes of Time Out New York, and has even toured France – something of a ukelele heartland, believe it or not.

This week, then, we go to NYC for four live songs with Sweet Soubrette at the Sidewalk Cafe, and then a handful of songs from her excellent album, Siren Song. She is currently working on a second album, and keep an ear out for her in October when the Shed relocates for a couple of days to NYC itself!

Hear Sweet Soubrette LIVE at the Sidewalk Cafe, NYC at these times (BST):

Monday 19th: 7pm
Tuesday 20th: 1pm
Wednesday 21st: 11:10pm
Friday 23rd: 9am
Saturday 24th: 3pm
Sunday 25th: 6pm

Rosemary & Clementine Gallot in the Shed

This week, we feature one of Shed FM’s favourite groups, Rosemary, who came into the Paris Shed for a live session replete with Cello. If at times the interview veers into French every now and again, do stick with it – the music is amazing, and lead singer Carol Dabin’s voice is one of the reasons for Rosemary’s rapid rise to fame in Paris.

Carol, who used to sing for Klub and Guinea Pigs, has finally found her true sound with Rosemary, whose music blends shades of dark and light, echoing Dolly and K’s Choice. In fact, of all the groups Carol has been a part of, this one reflects her more than any other, and is the most mature of all.

Rosemary are on myspace here, where you can stream their latest music and find interviews with the band (in French, this time).

In the second half of this episode, we talk to Clementine Gallot. This interview is a few years old now, just before she moved to New York, where Clementine has gone from strength to strength, writing for national newspapers in the UK and in New York.

You can follow Clementine on Twitter, and view her latest photos on Flickr.

Listen to Rosemary and Clementine at these times throughout the week (times are all BST):

Monday 11:55am, 7:00pm, Wednesday 10:00am, Friday 9:00am, 7:00pm, Saturday 4:00pm,  Sunday 12:50pm

The Sunchase Live in the Shed

This week we feature the brilliant Gregg M from Paris-based group The Sunchase, who came into the Paris Shed for one of the most revealing interviews and live sessions we’ve ever had.

He plays some of The Sunchase’s top songs in the company of your host Jonny Sly and co-host Gareth Cartman, and if you’re interested in hearing more from the group, download their albums from www.jamendo.com or visit their myspace site: http://www.myspace.com/thesunchase for streaming music.

Next week, this podcast will continue with an hour-long interview with Karel Beer, who is also in the Shed talking with Gregg M during this episode. Karel is one of Paris’ leading figures, and will tell us all about running an English-speaking comedy club in France, as well as some more about his early years.

Catch The Sunchase live throughout the week:

Tuesday 6pm, Wednesday 7:55pm, Friday 10:15am, Saturday 10:50am, Sunday 2:10pm

New to the playlist this week: Viola and Ruby Wood

There’s loads more new music on Shed FM Internet Radio this week, but we’re looking at two in particular, Finnish pop duo Viola and Huddersfield jazz singer Ruby Wood.

Viola

We like this Finnish duo, whose music can be found here: http://www.violamusicclub.com. Why? Well, it’s not just because their latest single, Shimmery Summery (Sha La La Love) has been spinning almost non-stop on the Shed FM turntable, it’s because all of their music is completely and utterly free. And here at Shed FM, we salute any band that puts their entire discography up for grabs, undoubtedly accepting the fact that selling CDs and mp3s is in the past and all your money’s in gigs and stuff like that.

So what of Viola themselves? They are, in their own words:

Two guys influenced by beautiful heartfelt music, ass-shaking beats, sub-par humor and hidden messages.

We’re the ones sitting in the corner of a hot discothèque, watching others have fun.

We make music to dance to – for people who seldom dance outside the dancefloor of their minds.

We’ll no doubt be hearing more from the poppy Finns in the months to come!

Ruby Wood

We didn’t think we’d have to go as far as Huddersfield to find a British jazz singer to rival the American greats, but we think we’ve done it. Ruby Wood (listen more here: http://www.myspace.com/rubywoodmusic) is a prolific singer-songwriter who works with the likes of Extra Curricular, Voicebox, Solaris and Wooden Ark, and travels as far afield as Croatia to get her music heard. Indeed, sometimes she goes as far as the Marsden Jazz Festival.

Ruby managed to turn the ear of legend Humphrey Lyttleton on BBC Radio 2, who appreciated the way she took old songs and made them her own.

An early starter, Ruby played in a West Indian steel band at the age of seven, learning different styles before settling on jazz. Perhaps jazz was pre-destined, though, as she was named after a Thelonious Monk classic, Ruby, My Dear by her jazz-mad parents.

Look out for Ruby on Shed.fm – and visit Ruby’s site. We think she’s awesome.

Shed FM in the news: Press Release

Shed FM is all over the web! Ace eh? Here’s a link to the press release:
Shed FM Internet Radio goes live

And in PDF version for all you swanky types:
http://www.prlog.org/10276206-shed-fm-internet-radio-goes-live.pdf

Shed FM Internet Radio goes live

A new online radio station, Shed FM, has gone live on the web, broadcasting non-stop new music, live sessions and chat 24/7.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRLog (Press Release) – Jul 07, 2009 – Fans of new music will be excited to hear that a new Internet Radio station, Shed FM, has gone live. Broadcasting 24/7 online, the station is aimed at the 25-40 market, with exclusive live sessions, interviews with emerging artists, and hand-picked playlists.

Powered by Belgium-based website Radionomy, the station really is based from a Shed. Every day at 7pm, there are exclusive live sessions broadcast from the Paris-based Shed, while the UK-based Shed takes over for the rest of the day with non-stop music.

The daytime playlist features artists such as Feist, Radiohead and Blur alongside the likes of Carrie Haber, Le Galago, Bidgie Reef & The Gas and Marmaduke Dando. Every song has been ‘hand-picked’ by the Shed FM team with one idea in mind – “if we like it, we’ll play it”.

Shed FM’s Gareth Cartman said: “This is an exciting time for Internet Radio. Everyone can have their own radio station these days, but not everyone can commit to making their radio station a quality station. Here at Shed FM, all we want to do is promote the artists we like, and give people something new to listen to.

Initial audience figures have been encouraging, says Cartman, and adds that “the blend of our exclusive live sessions with non-stop music is already creating a buzz. Our daytime playlist is growing by the day, and in the evenings we go slightly more left-field, mixing jazz with dance and an eclectic mix of music.”

21 Love Hotel and Roman Payne in the Shed

This week we feature a live session from 21 Love Hotel and a live reading from Paris-based author Roman Payne.

21 Love Hotel are a couple from Paris whose inspiration very often comes to them in the kitchen or in front of the TV. Together, Clemence and Frederic play almost everything – although they do admit to having had a bit of help from people here and there. That doesn’t mean they’ve sought help for: vocals, guitars, japanese bells, organ, bird calls, piano, theremin, horsehair bow, electric bass, megaphone, pocket trumpet, electronic bow, alto sax, mandolin, percussions, glockenspiel, breath, music box and the broken metronome.

They came into the Shed to play one of the most alluring and entrancing sessions we’ve ever had, and don’t worry – the French conversation is rapidly translated by your host, Mr Jonny Sly!

Roman Payne was always a Paris Link magazine favourite, and remains a Shed favourite even today. His first novel, Crepuscule, was warmly received, and echoed many of the Russian greats. His poem/novella, The Basement Trains, was published around the same time as this podcast, and we get an exclusive reading of the whole book here from Roman.

Since then, Roman has gone from strength to strength, with his latest Paris-based novel, Rooftop Soliloquy, set for release this July via ModeRoom Publishing. So, it’s a perfect time to go back and hear from Roman himself – and make sure you visit his website…