One of my favorite cinematic chase scenes is the climax of the ‘99 remake of The Thomas Crown Affair. You can check out the scene here. Nina Simone’s “Sinnerman” layered over the quick-cut shots make for an incredibly fast-paced and tense foot chase through the MET. The claps that never seem to line up, the playful piano melody, Nina’s powerful vocals and the frantic video editing all add up to a beautifully executed piece of cinematic art.

There’s no doubt that the music plays an integral role in providing the needed tension, and directors have burned through hundreds of musical styles looking for the “perfect” chase music. While I don’t think you can get much better than Pierce Brosnan’s calculated mayhem in the MET accompanied by the lovely Nina Simone, we’ve compiled a playlist of the some of the most adrenaline pumping music out there.

This week at SoundTrax, we’re throwing you a bit of a curve ball by juxtaposing two seemingly unrelated genres into one collection; the head-pounding, alternative rock of some great OurStage bands and the bumping electro-house from some of my favorite national producers. The styles of music lend themselves to something a bit more fast paced than a foot chase, so make sure to have your getaway car ready before you rob the bank.

SoundTrax: Cop Chase from OurStage on 8tracks.

Continue reading ‘SoundTrax: Cop Chase’

If you haven’t already checked out this week’s Needle In The Haystack artist shame on you. Ma’ayan Castel is a Hebrew beauty with the voice to match. You can check her out on MTV Music and download a free track of her hit “Now I Don’t”, but no one can tell you about her influences and aspirations better than Ma’ayan herself. Read on…

-Ma’ayan Castel

Fun Facts: State Flower; Dogwood, State Bird; Cardinal, State Song; “The Old North State”

Home of: Earl Scruggs, Ben Folds Five, Daughtry, Ryan Adams, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Nina Simone, Randy Travis, Annuals

The Venues:

The 1,000+ capacity Tremont Music Hall in Charlotte, NC is a popular stopover for national artists in the indie rock, punk, hardcore and metal genres. Their sister venue, the 325 capacity Casbah is a great place to see local and regional up-and-coming talent.

In 2008, Rolling Stone named the Orange Peel Social Aid & Pleasure Club in Asheville, NC one of the five best venues in the USA. The club has hosted acts like Blondie, The Flaming Lips, Bob Dylan, Sonic Youth and The Smashing Pumpkins. Asheville is also home to The Christmas Jam, a annual music festival organized by Warren Haynes of Gov’t Mule with proceeds going to Habitat For Humanity. This year marked the 21st anniversary of the festival and featured Ani Difranco, Counting Crowes, moe. and Gov’t Mule.

The Music:

Amaye – While Amaye has only called North Carolina home since 2005, she’s made a big impression on her adopted state, touring all over NC as the lead singer of an R&B cover band at her school, North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University. Check out Amaye’s radio-ready R&B jam “Make Up 2 Break Up,” which won her the Coke and Radio One “My Formula. My Chance” Channel Grand Prize: A collaboration single with Trey Songz!

Mark Kano – You may recognize Mark Kano as the former frontman of alt. rock band Athenaeum, who recorded and released 2 albums for Atlantic Records in the late ’90s/early ’00s. These days, Mark’s music is more in the singer-songwriter vein. His song “Telling You I Love You” from his debut solo album Walking On Broadway topped last month’s OurStage Singer-Songwriter (Male) Channel.

The Lo and Beholds – Hailing from Charlotte, The Lo and Beholds are a 5-piece alternative/indie rock group. With such a mature sound, it’s hard to believe that all of the band members are only in their early 20s. Take a listen to the melodic vocals and dynamic guitars of “North.”

Michael Thomas – With six Top 10 finishes and three Number 1 channel prizes, 23-year-old Michael Thomas has been making quite a name for himself on the OurStage Country Channels. Dedicated to the old-school country sound, Michael released his first album Bonafide Country Boys last year. Check out the album’s title track in the playlist.

Check out these artists and more great North Carolinan music in the playlist below!

Who’s your favorite OurStage North Carolinian? Where do you like to see live music in North Carolina? Let us know in the comments!

Make Up 2 Break Up

by:

Amaye

Telling You I Love You

by:

Mark Kano

North

by:

The Lo and Beholds

Bonafide Country Boys

by:

Michael Thomas

Samba Da Vida

by:

Tropic Culture

Outta My Head

by:

Runaway City

Tupelo

by:

Ashley Chambliss

All I'm Asking

by:

Chasing Eden

There’s no denying that musicians today are far less outspoken about political affairs than they were during the 60s. Maybe this wouldn’t be so alarming if we lived in a state of eternal peace, but we don’t. Far from it. Among the handful of musicians still giving the political scene its due publicity is roots rock band State Radio. Straight out of Boston, the group sings social commentary covering everything from Guantanamo Bay to the American government’s treatment of Native Americans. Led by front man Chad Urmston (formerly of Dispatch), the group just released their fourth album —1/3 studio recording, 2/3 live acoustic takes. With 41 songs in total, there’s plenty of protest to go around, and Mr. Urmston’s voice never losing any hint of passion throughout all of his devoted storytelling. Given the state of heated political affairs and debates in the recent weeks, we thought it would be cool to catch up with Chad and ask him a few questions about who he would have cover his material if it could be anyone in the world. Keep reading to find out what he said! Continue reading ‘Under Covers 9: Social Commentary Collaboration’