Songs of the Week [13]

Happy Easter everyone!

I hope you had a wonderful long weekend with friends and family so far. And to make your Easter even better, I decided to post the Songs of the Week a day early, so that you can enjoy them during the rest of the long weekend.

If you need even more music, feel free to listen to the whole Songs of 2016 (Spotify // Apple Music) playlist or my Currently Listening list (Spotify // Apple Music).

This week's songs are a mixed bag of new releases and some songs which have been out for some weeks already. It's Easter - hunt for the oldest one.

Now, to say it with the title of the first song: Welcome to the show.

The Night Manager

Hello everyone!

Today, I will tell you a little bit about a new mini-series which is currently on BBC One and is an absolute must-watch, especially if you're into spy thrillers - and no it's not about James Bond, it's all about The Night Manager.

Jonathan Pine, a night manager from an hotel in Cairo is recruited by intelligence agents after he gets involved in events concerning the international arms dealer Richard Roper. He is meant to infiltrate Roper's network to uncover his trades.

The six-part series is nerve-wracking, thrilling and beautifully made. It is the best John Le Carré adaption I watched since Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy back in 2011, if not even better.

I love that John Le Carré's story is transferred into modern days, because the series gains relevance through this. Illegal arms trading is still a problem as we can see with all the horrible things happening in Syria and all over the world. The thiller is somehow eye opening and very upsetting - it's facing so many issues and is really addictive.

Songs of the Week [12]

It's officially spring, it's sunny outside and it feels a bit like summer is coming (who cares about winter after all).

On that occasion and the fact that I can't get that Sigala song out of my head for quite some time now, I decided to do a dance/house playlist this week and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do.

And maybe one of the songs will be this years summer hit, we will see... Two of the featuring artists on today's songs have been on former playlists already and I'm glad they got to be part of great new songs so soon - I'm talking about Vaults (SOTW8) and Emma Carn (SOTW1).

For all the featured songs on my Songs of the Week feature give my Songs of 2016 playlist on Spotify a go and follow it to stay updated. But first here's this week's new additions to celebrate the arrival of spring.

Zootopia

Today it's going to be a short one because (nearly) all I've got to say is:

"Go and watch this film!"

Zootopia is for sure one of the must-see movies for everyone this year. Why? It's an amazing film, very current and has the perfect message for the world we're living in today: Respect each other and we can all live together in peace.

But it's not just that, the newest Disney animation is a story about dreams, courage and adventure. And it is a lot of fun to watch.

Not for nothing it has 99% on Rotten Tomatoes and this Critics Consensus:

"The brilliantly well-rounded Zootopia offers a thoughtful, inclusive message that's as rich and timely as its sumptuously state-of-the-art animation - all while remaining fast and funny enough to keep younger viewers entertained."

Another remarkable thing I've got to mention is the passion for detail. All the animal versions of film posters and adverts are super cute and they even bothered to make up animal related song titles. And there's even more pop culture references, CINEMABLEND has collected ten of them in a gallery, have a look.

With Zootopia, Disney has once more proved that they can make wonderful movies for everyone and I think I know already who will be taking home the Oscar for Best Animated Feature next year.

I loved it and hopefully you will love it too. Let me know when you saw it and tell me what you think by commenting below.

And last but not least, here's a trailer to get rid of your last doubts.

Songs of the Week [11]

It's a new week, which means that there's new music and I've got an interesting mix of the newest released tracks for you as every Monday.

If you want to have a look on what has been on the previous lists this this year, check out my Songs of 2016 playlist on Spotify and follow it to stay updated. As you probably know, I'm adding six new songs every week, which I'm presenting to you every Monday.

This week's list is featuring one song, that could get really big this year, a powerful Eurovision Song Contest entry, a very unusual artist choice for me and a beautifully emotional charity single.

But I will keep you guessing for a bit and let's start with two new indie tracks I really enjoy listening to first.

Artist Rendezvous: IAMWE

This Thursday, it is time for another Artist Rendezvous and it is about one of my favourite new discoveries: IAMWE.

IAMWE is an American indie pop/rock band from sunny Phoenix. They are a five-piece consisting of frontman Nate Huss, guitarist Shane Tschida, guitarist Ryan Williamson, bassist Erik Brunner and drummer Josh Carlson.

Their debut EP LOVE and LOSS was released a few weeks ago and it sounds really good. The songs are super catchy and have a great vibe. It is music that is enjoyable and easy going, but also has that special extra spark. And this is the groovy sound paired with an awesome presence and philosophy.

I had the chance to ask the band some questions and get to know them a bit better. Hit play on their EP and read the interview below.

Songs of the Week [10]

Hello fellow music friends! I'm keeping it short and sweet this week, because I'm ill and got a lot to do. But I didn't want to withhold these new releases from you, thence I'm doing a short post anyway.

The first song on the playlist has already been out for a while, but is on the list to celebrate an album release. The song is Love Is Blind by Låpsley. Her debut album Long Way Home is out now and it's so lovely - you should listen to it.

The other five songs have all been released last Friday. First of all there's a new version of Desire by Years & Years. This time featuring Tove Lo. I think Desire along with Illuminate were the first songs I heard of Years & Years back in 2014. Desire is a great track and I'm glad they've finally released it as a single.

Back Into It by Graham Candy is the first single taken from the singers' debut album Plan A. It's a catchy, dance pop track. You might remember Graham's Candy voice from Alle Farben's track She Moves.

Speaking of catchy pop tunes. Genghis Khan by Miike Snow is another one. The Swedish indie pop band has released their third album iii on Friday and Genghis Khan is the latest single taken from it.

Frank Turner's new single is called Mittens
and it's rocking and gleeful love song.

And now that were on the rock trail already, there's also a new memorable single by one of the newest promising rock bands around: Last Night by The Sherlocks. I already picked another The Sherlock's song for a playlist last year and it looks like I was right about being excited for new music by the Sheffield boys as this one is really great again.

And that is it already. Hopefully you enjoyed this week's picks. Check out the full Songs of 2016 playlist on Spotify to catch up with the Songs of the Week so far.

Love
Julia x

Kodaline // European Tour 2016

As promised in Monday's SOTW post, I wrote a few words about the Kodaline gig in Stuttgart I have been to last Friday.

I've been looking forward to my first gig of 2016 for a while - especially because it also meant I would get to see one of my favourite bands again.

You probably know that I've seen them twice before, but this time it was the first real tour gig I've been to, so it was still special.

I don't want to repeat myself too much, hence you can read why I think Kodaline are a brilliant live band in my post about their New Pop Festival performance last year and about their music in general in my post about their latest album Coming Up For Air.

But here's why I really loved this particular concert: I'm so happy they had Lost on their setlist, I adore this song. And the lighting was pretty epic as well. And of course I had tears in my eyes again when they played Love Will Set You Free - it's just such a beautiful and emotional song and it happens every time...

If you have a chance to see them live somewhere near you, you should do it - I promise you will have a great night.

Last but not least, I have a video with some impressions from the gig for you - I'm sorry that the sound isn't great... My camera is broken and it was just too loud for my phone... Hopefully you can enjoy it anyway.