Maur Due & Lichter - Never Found A Way, from This Night Was Meant To Stay, out on 24 May on LasVegas Records

A song for those urban beach bars in the Donaukanal area, a little bit klangkarusselly (who am I kidding, this is pretty much a Klangkarussell blueprint), fitting for both hot summer days and nights spent outdoors. In fact, it makes me crave an overpriced Mojito right now.

At Pavillon - Let Him Go

Most of the time, seeing someone leave is neither easy nor fun - especially when it’s a loved one. However it makes great material for songs, what obviously also At Pavillon know. It’s the first single of those couple of young Austrians, and although their sound might not be fully matured yet I’m looking forward to their potential on the debut album, coming out in autumn.

Free download here.

April, Small Town / konkord / Rush For Second Place

Protestant Work Ethic - april, small town (from “rush for second place”, out now on Konkord Records)

We’re not the biggest fans of anything with banjos - and besides cello, violin and horns, there is a lot of banjo on “rush for second place”.
However, Protestant Work Ethic deserve a special mention for following The Beatles, Silverchair, Incubus, Freundeskreis and many others suit with their song about some Anna. And although I have never fallen in love with a married man (except for Robert Downey Jr.) and do not have a child, it still feels a little like Simon Usaty would be singing to me.

Album release show: 24 May at brut Wien.

Ghost Capsules - I Am Dead

Ghost Capsules is some sort of side project of Bomb The Bass. I knew of Bomb The Bass only through Kruder & Dorfmeister’s K&D Sessions, so if you, like me, are guilty of ignorance: Bomb The Bass were rather big in a genre that Wikipedia calls Acid House. 

Also, when I wrote I wouldn’t start watching Game Of Thrones no matter how good the Ghost Capsules song of the same name was, I was wrong. I am officially hooked. But while I am still trying to figure out whether the strong female characters outweigh the mostly female nudity (go on, click the link, it’s just an infographic), I have no doubts about the quality of Ghost Capsules.

One crappy cellphone picture of Francis International Airport, May 14th, WUK, Vienna

My favourite thing about Cache sounding completely different from In the Woods is how these very different sounds are combined in concert situations. It has made seeing Francis International Airport live even more exciting. Also, I apologize for this picture only being semi-terrible. It probably won’t happen again.

(c) Clemens Schneider

Once again, we bring to you the most interesting new tracks from around the world in one free digital mixtape called Music Alliance Pact, curated by international music bloggers and publications with an eye on their local scenes. This month, the spotlight is on FIJUKA.

Click the play button icon to listen to individual songs, right-click on the song title to download an mp3, or grab a zip file of the full 36-track compilation through Ge.tt here.

AUSTRIA: Walzerkönig 
Fijuka – Behave (From Now On) (MP3) 
First a drum machine, then a Billie Jean-style bassline and finally synthscapes that embed the voice of Fijuka’s Ankathie singing one of the weirdest declarations of love we have ever heard. Fijuka stands for DIY pop with an art school touch. Watch the music video for some Rhönrad wheel action.

May 17: AT, St. Pölten, Freiraum (Kling Klang)
May 31: DE, Munich, Strom
June 1: DE, Munich, Milla Live Club
June 18: AT, Vienna, Flex w/ The Veils

Listen to our playlist on Spotify or find all tracks after the jump:

Mieux - Guns, from Neufant EP, out on 17 May on UpMyAlley

I instinctively like this, but as this type of music is not my area of expertise I can make no reliable judgements of quality and instead trust the opinions of The Gap’s editors who praise the new Mieux EP in unison.

Effi - Bloom

Around the world in a music video - to shoot in Kärnten’s Minimundus is such a brilliant idea I wonder why nobody seems to have thought of it before.

Something I’d never have thought before is how much I enjoy the music of Effi now that the weather is somewhat appropriate for upbeat music like this.

Mozes And The Firstborn - I Got Skills, from I Got Skills EP, out now on Siluh Records

Skills, I got skills, I got skills to make it through your doorway

Listen to this on your next walk of shame to turn it into a walk of awesome!

Country of origin: Netherlands
The band from Holland recently released their EP on Siluh and will be supporting Two Gallants in Innsbruck on 18 May.

My Name Is Music - This Is Your Life

Kudos to My Name Is Music’s Phoebe, I would never dare to perform in a crowd all by myself. Or maybe I would, now that I’ve seen this video; it looks like a lot of fun. Includes gratuitous Kika Werbung.

Bruch - Chemicals

Hypnotic even without chemicals. 

Francis International Airport - The Right Ones
in GIFs

With close ups, a lot of motion and even more bokeh, this video adds a nightly atmosphere to the song but also takes many cues from the music and lyrics.

Shot by both sides - Crystal Soda Cream

The new Crystal Soda Cream video is all silent film aesthetics, ghost and a cameo by yours truly(’s stickers that we spread all over town)!

Andi & Alex - Imma nu da söbe sicha ned da gleiche

Ugh, life. It never stops changing, does it? It’s horrible / it’s great.

Fijuka - Behave (From Now On)
in GIFs

Are we witnessing not only the return of choreographies, but is this also the return of zooming in and out in video?