While I was checking out the Red Bull Music Academy’s Various Assets from their promotion package, I came across this artist by the name of Piper Davis out of Vancouver, Canada.  Her voice was so intriguing I had to find out more about her. She attended the RBMA Barcelona session back in 2008.  Her voice as the spirit of the funk queen Betty Davis with an icy tinge of Bjork and the angst of Le Tigre. The music has a definite Matthew Herbert feeling to it.

Patch working found sounds and African drumming influences via her laptop, backed up with bass and drums, the result of Piper Davis’ eclectic approach is a minimalist take on ‘80s new wave beats with pitched-down, jazzy vocals bubbling up underneath: a sound described by Piper herself as ‘electro-blues’. (via RBMA)

As a teen in Calgary she started singing and improvising over house dj sets, and now not only she sings, but produces her own music.  Check her out, and while you are at it, sign up for her song of the month club at her site and get to know her more. You can also follow her on twitter.

In the meantime, check out some of her songs

Piper Davis – “Academics”
[audio:http://www.needledrop.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/05-academics.mp3]

DJ Neighbor & Piper Davis – “Rhinestone Cowgirl” (download)
[audio:http://www.needledrop.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/01-rhinestone-cowgirl.mp3]

Piper Davis – “Like A Stone” (download)
[audio:http://www.needledrop.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/like-a-stone.mp3]

Piper Davis & Natalia Lafourcade – “Young Professionals” from RBMA Various Assets
[audio:http://www.needledrop.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/1-04-young-professionals.mp3]

Here is a mix she did for RBMA which highlights some of her favorite music and influences.

As part of 2009’s Red Bull Music Academy programme in London, this special edition of ‘Broad Casting’ features a unique collaboration between Tony Allen & The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble as well as some very special guests….

Broad Casting
Broad Casting is a genre-defying event curated by Karen P. The night is all about combining the energy of great live music in an intimate venue (Cargo), with the worldwide reach of Red Bull Music Academy Radio. All Broad Casting’s live sets are made available to listeners worldwide on www.rbmaradio.com and are subsequently available to listen to On Demand in the Red Bull Music Academy Radio archive. Broad Casting approaches it’s line-ups with an energy, optimism and diversity that is truly original, and has so far yielded unique sets from artists as diverse as, Jimi Tenor and Kabu Kabu, Buraka Som Sistema and Micachu and The Shapes. One of Broad Casting’s unique collaborations – between ethio-jazz legend Mulatu Astatke and Now Again band The Heliocentrics – has gone on to record an incredible album (released on !K7/Strut in Spring 09) and will be touring Europe under the Broad Casting banner.
In 2009 Broad Casting will be a quarterly event built around unique artist-led collaborations kicking off with this month’s pairing of Tony Allen and The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble.
Fela Kuti once said that without Tony Allen, he’d need four drummers at once. Of course, the style we know as afro-beat wouldn’t sound anything like it without him. A true intuitive pioneer, Tony Allen managed to mix the brevity and snap of jazz drumming by the likes of Art Blakey, Max Roach, and Guy Warren, with the deep extended forms of African rhythms from highlife, Yoruba, and Ghana. The musical conversation between Clyde Stubblefield, Jabo Starks and Tony Allen is still being felt today, having influenced practically every new genre of dance music the ‘70s onwards. Still flipping poly-rhythms today, Tony’s involvement with Damon Albarn, and label Honest Jon’s has brought his talent to a mainstream audience via The Good The Bad and The Queen whilst he still continues to write and record his own music, and collaborate with a diverse range of musicians – from rapper Ty to French man of mystery Sebastien Tellier and now of course The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble….
The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble is an instrumental group comprised of 8 horn players and a drummer. All 8 of the horn players are sons of jazz musician Kelan Phil Cohran (who played trumpet in Sun Ra’s Arkestra). Originally formed as a band of street performers in Chicago IL, the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble are currently based in New York City where and have played and recorded with artists such as Mos Def, Erykah Badu, Maxwell and of course Phil Cohran. Both Live and on Vinyl, The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble use traditional instruments to make an earth-shaking hybrid form of club music and we are thrilled that they will be performing for us in advance of the spring release of their debut album for Honest Jons. Witnessing these guys pack the tiny Cargo stage with Tony Allen doubling their rhythm section is not an opportunity to be missed!!
Warming up the stage for Tony and The Hypnotics will be another Honest Jons signing, the inimitable Elmore Judd. Formed around producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jesse Hackett, Elmore Judd followed up their critically acclaimed debut album Angel Sound with the inspired fusion of Insect Funk in 2007. Since he first collaborated with Damon Albarn on a musical escapade to Mali, Jesse has returned to Africa on several occasions and you can really hear the influence of the music he has been exposed to in his latest release – the vinyl only Unborn Again EP. Like his music, the Elmore Judd live show is constantly evolving and we can’t wait to see what costumes and instruments will join Jesse on stage for this show!
Not content with one legendary drummer on the premises, our DJ support tonight comes courtesy of Malcolm Catto who is no stranger to Cargo – his band The Heliocentrics having collaborated with Mulatu Astatke for what is already a legendary live Broad Casting show. Having released solo material on Mo Wax back in the day – went on to form The Soul Destroyers and more recently Stones Throw / Now Again signed collective The Heliocentrics. Malcolm’s drums have also been heard on Madlib records and on stage at DJ Shadow’s live shows and will soon be heard on several tracks on the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble album for Honest Jons. Malcolm is very rarely seen behind the turntables but with a record collection as impressive as his CV, we are thrilled that he’ll be sharing some of his rare slabs of vinyl in support of tonight’s incredible live line-up.