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Hopefully, you'll remember my previous blog about ukulele pop cutie mkf, otherwise known as Maria Kristie Fabila (pictured). At that time we previewed her sweet and spooky little song 'swooky', which was a real Streetlamp favourite, and informed you that it was "the first track of an EP to be made fully public in October of this year". Well guess what, boys and girls? The full 7 track album is now up and available for listening/downloading here on bandcamp. The album, also called 'swooky', is that rarest of beasts; an indie-pop concept album, the concept being ghosts, and is perfect Hallowe'en listening. The album features tracks with titles such as 'just one spook' and 'no body nobody' as well as Maria's own unique and magnificent take on the old Patsy Cline standard 'Walking After Midnight'.
This being mkf we also have to bring you the obligatory 'clever little video'. In this one a multi-tracked Maria covers The Lovin' Spoonful's 'Summer in the City'. Yeah, we know that it's October in Scotland and that there's currently snow on the hills, but you'll have to take Maria's word for it that in California it's "really hot". Now, throw another log on the fire, close your eyes and pretend.
mkf is the pop psuedonym of San Francisco resident, and one-woman creative powerhouse, Maria Kristie Fabila (pictured). mkf released her album 's'okee' on bandcamp in 2008 and it's squarely grounded in familiar 'Griff says' territory. You know the drill by now; quirky, lo-fi pop with a broken-hearted, soft-voiced girl accompanying herself on ukulele. Think Wisdom Tooth, Shelby Sifers, Madeline Ava and a host of other Griff favourites to get the picture. And there's certainly nothing wrong with that picture, let's face it, it's a winning combination. However, in April of this year mkf released a further album on bandcamp entitled 'sunday morning phase'. This short (5 track) recording seemed to promise more of the same, albeit with more polish, until track 4 'Lead Me On' kicks off. All of a sudden we've moved from cute twee-folk and are straying into 60's girl-pop territory with amazingly effective results.
And if you think that's delightful and unexpected, the final track; 'I Wanna Do Stuff' has mkf breaking cover and storming into full-on Shangri-Las or Ronettes mode. I promise you, it's exhilirating stuff. I leapt from my computer chair and jived uncontrollably around the stately Scottish mansion from which Streetlamp broadcasts to the world and, believe me, I rarely do that. Given the above, I'm delighted to see that this week mkf has released yet another freely downloadable track 'swooky' on bandcamp. This is apparently the first track of an EP to be made fully public in October of this year and it continues wonderfully from where 'sunday morning phase' left off. How would I desribe it? Let's just say that if you've been longing for an outbreak of super-cute, lo-fi, doo-wop, electro-pop to shake up the world of indie then 'swooky' is the answer to your prayers. But don't take my word for it, have a listen:
When she's not shaking up the world of indie, Maria is a freelance graphic designer (available for creative freelance work in the Los Angeles area if you're interested). I mention this as I want to finish off with the brilliantly creative video for her song 'we belong in ____, baby' from 's'okee'.
Hope you enjoyed that as much as I did. Now visit bandcamp and support this artist.
The Streetlamp blog covers music, art, culture and politics from a socialist, anti-consumerist, green perspective. It is curated by former members of the Scottish Lo-fi band ~Sighrens~ with help from our film-making friend Ray. Each of us involved in producing content for this blog occupy a special niche. Ray will be responsible for the video content. Gordon will be sharing his love and encyclopaedic knowledge of Indie-pop as well as classic Punk and 60s music ( particularly Garage and obscure Psychedelic Pop). Griff's special areas of interest are Lo-fi, Indie-folk, Bedroom-pop, Outsider music, Pop-punk and Hip-hop. Hopefully, there'll be something for anyone with an interest in genuine independent music. Our wider intention is not just to promote our favourite artists, but to also help and support those who allow their music to be listened to, streamed or downloaded for free. If you share our passions, or if you are a like-minded band or artist then please feel free to contribute or to link your own page to our Blog. Our aim is to create a community free from the restrictions enforced by the greedy corporate shysters.
Hopefully, you'll remember my previous blog about ukulele pop cutie mkf, otherwise known as Maria Kristie Fabila (pictured). At that time we previewed her sweet and spooky little song 'swooky', which was a real Streetlamp favourite, and informed you that it was "the first track of an EP to be made fully public in October of this year". Well guess what, boys and girls? The full 7 track album is now up and available for listening/downloading here on bandcamp. The album, also called 'swooky', is that rarest of beasts; an indie-pop concept album, the concept being ghosts, and is perfect Hallowe'en listening. The album features tracks with titles such as 'just one spook' and 'no body nobody' as well as Maria's own unique and magnificent take on the old Patsy Cline standard 'Walking After Midnight'.
