Blog Posts by Dave DiMartino

It’s just one week prior to the annual South By Southwest conference, that yearly gathering held in Austin, Texas, at which today’s biggest and brightest talents congregate, perform before an enlightened and enthused audience, then go about their business as their careers then soar to stratospheric heights!

Also, some musicians play!

This week’s new releases are a great reminder of that which awaits all of us attendees-to-be: Distinguished oldsters, up-and-coming newbies, dudes that have been playing blues-based Americana music since Hector was a pup, and, in all likelihood, Hector himself, were I to scroll down to the very bottom of Amazon’s enthralling “new releases” section this week!

But as is this column’s wont, let’s just focus on this week’s biggest and brightest hits-to-be! Especially the ones with cool covers!

Jimi Hendrix: People, Hell And Angels (Experience Hendrix/Legacy) While it’s inevitable that iconic artists like Hendrix will be the subject of album reissues and

There's an interesting scenario that often emerges as a hypothetical talent gauge these days, especially when so much contemporary music emerges via studio and electronic means: Take a performer and plop him or her on a desert island with a crew of castaways and just one music instrument. How will that work out?

In the case of England's Michael Kiwanuka, the answer may be almost laughably obvious.

Staggeringly well.

With just a guitar in hand, and his strikingly soulful, emotive voice, Kiwanuka could likely entertain anyone anywhere. On a desert island, or in a makeshift studio in Austin, Texas, during this year's South by Southwest music conference.

Consider this a welcome early preview of Kiwanuka, who's already been on the receiving end of a whirlwind of raves overseas. His first full album, Home Again, is slated to receive its American debut on July 31st at the moment, and it's every bit as good and soul-searing as the performances you can witness below. We all have a lot to look forward to.

Every South by Southwest conference typically features more than a handful of bands whose ascent to the top of the pop charts seems potentially likely if not exactly a certainty.

Having seen the New Cassettes in full live-and-electric mode, I'm inclined to count the Northampton, England band among them.

A five-piece of young, enthusiastic rockers with a powerful live set and a crackling new album in Winterhead, New Cassettes have garnered significant critical acclaim in the homeland and have made significant Stateside inroads as well: there music has already been heard on Grey's Anatomy, Jersey Shore, I Just Wants My Pants Back and much more. And in 2012, those sort of breaks may be even more significant than limited play on radio's tired rock 'n' roll formats.

All this being said, here's a treat: An early morning private performance during Austin's SXSW conference by just two of the band's members, unusually in a raw acoustic performance. Though they were a tad nervous in this

Bahamas is the name under which which Toronto-based singer-songwriter Afie Jurvanen performs--which, all things considered, is a tad easier on the tongue than Madagascar or Rio De Janeiro--but the music he creates does not exactly seem geographic in origin. Instead, it offers up a mixture of coolness, emotional warmth, and, most notably, space. Space between notes, space between phrases, and, on occasion, space between people.

Sophisticated stuff, all of it, and it's amply on display via Barchords, the new Bahamas album on Brushfire Records.

The final session Y! Music would record while in Austin at this year's South by Southwest music conference, Jurvanen's performance was delightfully informal, featuring the guitarist, a percussionist (take a look at his instrument!), and two superb backing vocalists whose overall contributions were a wonder to hear.

Jurvanen is sharp--an interesting interview with an equally interesting musical pedigree--but above all else, his music is one

One of the most talented and adept singer-songwriters out there working, blending humor, pathos and superb musicianship, Todd Snider is a wonder to behold.

At this year's South by Southwest music conference, ostensibly to promote his latest album Agnostic Hymns & Stoner Fables, the East Nashville-based Snider stopped by Y! Music's makeshift recording studio and proceeded to delight the entire crew both with his delightful performance as well as the warmth and personal candor displayed during his ensuing interview.

Snider's skills have long been evidenced by his consistently wonderful, occasionally deliciously quirky albums, but for those who haven't managed to catch a peek of him until now-you're in for a serious treat.

One of the single biggest benefits of the annual South by Southwest music conference is the sheer mass of fascinating artists--many of whom come from all corners of the world, gathered together and ready to be seen by music fans who perhaps face a limited travel budget.

One artist who does not come from so far is Ximena Sariñana, the highly talented young Mexican singer, whose latest album is self-titled and sung in English rather than the Spanish favored on her 2008 debut album Mediocre.

A strikingly talented young woman, the singer has a fascinating past, much of it the result of her parents being in the film industry: Her father is a film director and producer, and her mother a screenwriter. The singer herself is no stranger to the screen either; she was four years old when she first starting acting, and to date has appeared in 11 films and 3 telenovelas.

The singer's two Warner Brothers album may be linguistically diverse but similar in their sheer musicality: The show a thoughtful

One of the absolute highlights of the 2012 South by Southwest music conference--at least as far as Y! Music was concerned--was the robust, pop-infused sound of Brit band Jonquil.

Quite adept instrumentally, vocally in superb hands with keyboardist/vocalist Hugo Manuel, and oddly reminiscent of the better parts of '80s Britpop (though never less than fully contemporary sounding), the group have fashioned a wonderful pop recording with their new album Point Of Go. From Oxford, England, the band claim an intriguing array of artists as influences--and the richness of their recorded repertoire hints at significantly deep commercial potential.

The largest of this year's SXSW Bedroom Sessions, the Jonquil crew included two trumpet players, who thoughtfully--at least as far as our audio engineer was concerned--directed their blasts toward the room curtains to attain the proper sonic balance our informal recordings set-up required.

If you've yet to hear Jonquil, we suspect you'll be quite

With their striking pairing of loud/soft and boy/girl--two contrasts that have often worked exceptionally well in pop music--new duo Big Deal have managed to create one of the more memorable and evocative debut albums in recent memory.

Though the duo--Kacey Underwood and Alice Costelloe--have respective roots in California and Britain, their appealing sonic blend has origins that seem less geographic than strikingly personal. Lights Out, their recent Mute Records debut, has a charm that anyone anywhere--at least anyone who's had a memorable personal relationship with another--will likely relate to.

Formed in the UK, the band have made their mark singing about the volatility of passion--or the lack of it--all the while blending soft acoustic guitars with loud, heavily distorted ones off in the distance. It's an appealing sound, offering up both innocence and cynicism at once--and, for a comparatively new band, they sound remarkably older than their years.

Y! Music spoke with the band at