Their story goes like this…David Otto & Tom Sommerville (2/3rds of Slam Donahue) were once in rival bands, competing for the limited stage time in their backwater hometown. But after years of competing, a meeting at a far from sold out show saw the boys shake hands and decide to up sticks and move to NYC. Eventually joined by Fort Lean’s Keenan Mitchell, Slam Donahue was born.

With a great deal of energy and a love of everything loud, Slam Donahue produce tweaked out melodic-indie-pop that has been tearing up the earholes at this years SXSW. Compared to the likes of MGMT & The Smashing Pumpkins, Slam Donahue have pulled their immediate influences close to their chest and distilled a perfectly formed brand of modern-pop with a hearty rock & roll attitude.

They’ve just released their Big House, Nice Dreams mixtape, which to capture the untapped innocence of their youth, was recorded solely on an old boombox; no producer, no tampering – straight to tape. You can grab the mixtape from slamdonahue.com.

For more info on the guys, follow them at their Tumblr or on twitter. But for now, check out a recent acoustic performance they did for BTV, below.

Hailing from the San Fernando Valley, HAIM consists of, “Three sisters, and a mister” they’ve been shaking things up in the city of Los Angeles for the past four years with their homegrown family affair. They pride themselves on being able to switch from instrument to instrument with complete confidence and ease, whilst maintaining their distinct 3 part harmonised vocals.

Formerly of the family band ‘Rockinhaim’ where they spent their time playing classic rock covers, the girls have now branched out to introduce the world to their original material. The 3 sisters are not alone in their venture, rounding out the group is Dash Hutton, who previously played drums for LA bands Wires on Fire and Slang Chickens.

With a sound that lies somewhere between whimsical folk and factory engineered R n’B, its a hybrid that should send 99% of music fans running, but it works – really well. Think Stevie Nicks meets The Weeknd.

With a successful run at this years SXSW and various support slots throughout the last 12 months for the likes of Julian Casablancas, Cold War Kids & No Age – the girls are showing up on all the right musical radars

You can check out some of their tracks [Via. Soundcloud] below and download their latest EP Forever from Haimtheband.com

I caught up with Oli this weekend for a quick chat, about whats next for the boys.

How did you guys meet?

We were put into a band/group together at the start of university during our first module. It was a group of 6 and we had to write 6 songs. Me and Jamie then continued working with each other and the project grew from there.

How would you describe your style?

I’d describe our style as a mix of influences… from hip hop, to rock, folk.. we take a mixture of styles and combine elements depending on what we are feeling at the time.

You both come from pretty diverse backgrounds, is there anything that heavily influences you both?

We both like a lot of the same music… we are influenced by music in general

You got the ‘Watching Ep’ out now, whats the plan for 2012, album? Or keep pushing forward until the time is right?

The watching ep is on iTunes now and the official release was March 19th and we will be pushing that for a while. We’ve got a few more video’s to be released in the next few weeks while we keep writing and working on new material. No specific plan for an album release as yet.

You can check out their latest video below for ‘Watching’ and the majority of their EP is on Soundcloud here.

The one time skateboarding pro, is now a full time musician working with the like of Ash Workman (Metronomy) and Craig Silvey (Arcade Fire). His first video ‘Buckets of Blood’ has just dropped and features SIREN combining his two talents as he is filmed skating and singing through London’s sprawling landscape.

With a sound that combines whimsical indie sensibilities and a distinctly unstructured minimal sound, Stefan is eager to put HIS and only HIS stamp on his musical output.

You can check out the ‘Buckets Of Blood’ video below, and find out more at facebook.com/musicsiren.

Over the last two years, jumping between her two homes (Stockholm and New York), Kissey (formerly, Kissey Asplund) dove deep into an enclosed world of bass-heavy speakers, songwriting and beat-making, even enrolling herself in a course in mixing/mastering taught by Grammy-award nominated Daniel Wyatt at New York production school Dubspot.

Kissey has just realeased her latest track ‘Cry’ for free download via her Soundcloud. On ‘Cry,’ as with all of her forthcoming material, Kissey wrote, sang, produced, mixed and mastered every instrument and crafted every beat.

You can download the track at her Soundcloud and check out the homemade video below. You can also find out more about Kissey at Kissey.co

The latest signing to the flourishing Moda Music label, Toy Tigers is primed and ready. But in all truth he’s been hiding in the background the whole time. 1/4 Part responsible for the runaway party success that it is Moda, Ben Atkins (Toy Tigers) started Moda with Tom Staar, Jaymo and Andy George just less than 5 years back. It’s been a long time coming but the circle is about to become complete, with the team of four all holding down musical careers of their own, as well as putting on some of the best parties in the UK.

His first single is out now on Moda Music, you can check out the Ben Thomas directed (benthomas-photo.com) video for ‘Golden’ below and stream the excellent Tom Staar remix via soundcloud. For more info visit thisismoda.com or grab the tracks from Beatport.

Yorkshire upstarts I Swim With Sharks have just dropped the new video for their latest single ‘Just Be Good’. Depicting the band in the chaos of World War One trench warfare (explosions, planes, mud sweat and tears) before they escape to perform a somewhat surreal gig, only to be interrupted by local police; Odd? Yes – Amazing? Yes.

Already hailed as ones to watch amongst the scuffle of acts coming out of the thriving Leeds music scene, ‘Just Be Good’ is the fitting introduction to their askew indie sensibilities and pop-nous.

You can check out the video below and find out more about the band at iswimwithsharks.com. The single drops November 1st.

Michael Grubbs has taken an odd road to becoming Wakey!Wakey!, from a childhood sat in front of a baby grand piano, to touring with two musicals, to settling in Brooklyn under the wing of anti-folk musician Lach.

Nowhere are the lessons learned on this odd road better showcased than on Wakey!Wakey!’s debut UK single ‘Light Outside’, due for release July 18th. It boasts touches of timeless orchestral arrangements – informed by Grubbs’ unlikely fascination with Gershwin and Beethoven – a glistening pop sheen so spotless you can see your reflection in it, and an enthralling urgent climax that you can’t take your eyes (well, ears?) off.

Much has also been made of Grubbs’ distinctive voice, but you just need to look at the piles of critical acclaim poured upon, for example, the syringe gargling, gravel milkshake drinking vocals of Wu Lyf to see that distinctive voices are the order of the day. Not that Grubbs’ vocals are anything so abrasive – he sings in a much more traditional and talented style, but with a corrupted, striking quality that injects personality into a fresh take on an exhausted genre.

The debut album, Almost Everything I Wish I’d Said The Last Time I Saw You, unlike most of piano power pop’s more credible divisions, also has a shot at the commercial big time through Grubbs’ recurring appearances on American drama One Tree Hill (which this particular writer assumes is angsty rich kids drivel, but if it’s good enough for Bon Iver’s tunes then who am I to argue?). Either way, the record, coming to CD racks near you this August, looks set to cash in on all the talent and experience Grubbs has taken so long working for.

“Almost Everything I wish I’d Said The Last Time I Saw You” is out now on Family Records and you can check out lead single ‘Light Outside’, or find out more at wakeywakeymusic.com

Quirky female solo artist in the vein of Bjork and Kate Bush: a phrase that seems a bit tired now? Well maybe you should think again. New Zealand’s Kimbra is trying to reinvent what it means to be a female pop star in this day and age. She is taking a tried-and-tested formula and making something genuinely exciting out of it.

‘Settle Down’, her latest single, is a perfect example of how she takes the recipe for pop success and puts a little spin on it. Kimbra’s vocals are similar to that of French singer Camille’s, and anyone familiar with the latter’s work will know that all is never as idyllic as the lush melodies would have you believe. There is something eerily obsessive about ‘Settle Down’ that is only heightened by the haunting Ken & Barbie-styled video that accompanies it.

Sunny-side up pop might not be to everyone’s taste but you have to appreciate what Kimbra is trying to achieve: writing well-structured and catchy tunes that doesn’t have the nauseating stench of manufactured pop. It’s okay even for the self-confessed pop-snobs to like her, and that’s something she can only build on with her debut album Vows, expected later this year.

Kimbra’s collaboration with Miami Horror, ‘I Look To You’, is out now on Car W.S. Kimbra’s debut LP ‘Vows’ is out in late 2011.

Thats probably enough with cliched ‘making music is like cooking food’ writing. Look Stranger! are a 4 piece band from London that create low-key, effortless and melancholy beats. All members have previously been associated with the likes of Laura Marling, Marcus Mumford and Charlie Fink, but unlike their former bandmates this isn’t mind numbingly dribbling folk-light.

Unsigned and self producing their about to drop their next EP ‘If Your Listening’ which by their own declaration is a departure from their earlier self released EP – Cleaner vocals, more structure and a sunnier disposition.

‘If Your Listening’ is out July 4th on digital download and accompanied by a limited edition run of 100 cd’s. You can find out more about the band at facebook.com/lookstranger
and check out the bands soundcloud below for a preview of their excellent EP.