indie | Snapshots and Needle Drops

A little thunder’s good

December 9, 2013 by ebembo

In movies and TV shows, there is a trope that, if properly executed, can be utterly charming, and if poorly handled, can be the most grating thing in the world, and that is the oft-used character of the Wise Beyond Her Years Child. In the movie 500 Days of Summer, Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s character seeks life advice from his kid sister, played by a pre-teen Chloë Grace Moretz, as she waxes philosophical from the sidelines of her soccer game. At first, […]

Categories: Canadian, Folk, Indie, Rock, singer-songwriter • Tags: Canada, Canadian music, indie, indie folk, Indie Rock, Montreal, singer-songwriter

Slow Blow

December 4, 2013 by snapshotsandneedledrops

Sydney reflections Sorry guys and gals, Snapshots and Needle Drops has been taking a brief and unintentional hiatus. Fortunately, I’ve been taking loads of Snapshots-worthy pics and Emily is on deck waiting to publish another stellar post next week. The photo above was taken the night I ran Sydney’s City2Surf. To read about my amazing time in that that epic race, click here. Wolf Alice is a relatively new north-London band who released their debut EP this past October. This song […]

Categories: Alternative, art rock, British, Dreamwave, Experimental, Indie, Post-Punk, Unreleased • Tags: album release, alternative, art rock, British, dreamwave, experimental, indie, music, photography, Sydney, travel

Let Your Mind Wander & Your Heart Soar

November 4, 2013 by ebembo

The Guggenheim Museum, New York City (My thanks to Vappz for giving me the opportunity to write another guest blog.) Many months ago, I was overwhelmed with school assignments and exams. Despite needing to spend every waking moment writing, researching, and studying, I kept finding myself staring off into space, daydreaming. The reason behind these lost moments? I had gone to a concert and exchanged Meaningful Eye Contact (TM) with a bassist. I knew it was silly to keep thinking […]

Categories: Acoustic, Canadian, Folk, Indie, Jazz, Pop, Strings • Tags: Acoustic, Canadian, Groenland, indie, indie folk, indie pop, jazz, Montreal, orchestral, strings

Boom, she clack-clack

October 29, 2013 by snapshotsandneedledrops

Waiting for my connection, just my water and I, at Heathrow At the moment, I live with two kids on a South Australian farm. There are many advantages to this rural life: running with the farm dogs past fields of crops, relaxed hours, daily fresh eggs, playing hide and seek in the canola flowers, picturesque sunsets. But for all its advantages, living on a farm does not easily loan itself to tracking down new music. The kids have literally been […]

Categories: Alternative, art rock, Dreamwave, Indie, Jazz, Nu Jazz, Pop, Rock, World • Tags: alternative, art rock, farm, indie, jazz, Malaysian, music, photography, pop, Rock, Zee Avi

On the Road

October 21, 2013 by snapshotsandneedledrops

A secret beach. Tunnel access only. “There was nowhere to go but everywhere, so just keep on rolling under the stars.” – Jack Kerouac, On the Road Well, I’ve done it again. I’ve turned my life upside down and am now living on a farm in rural South Australia. Just over a month ago I hopped a flight from Canberra to Adelaide with the intention of going orange picking. Intentions are all well and good, but the best laid schemes […]

Categories: Alternative, Folk, Indie, Rock, Unreleased, Unsigned • Tags: alternative, Australia, beach, books, folk, indie, jack Kerouac, Kangaroo Island, music, photography, Rock, travel, wanderlust

Writing a Life of the Stars

October 15, 2013 by ebembo

New York Public Library’s Rose Reading Room Ah, Spencer Krug. In his latest incarnation as a solo artist, he goes by Moonface. It seems you can’t mention Spencer Krug without touching on his former bands, the most prominent of which was Wolf Parade. Full disclosure: I think their first album, Apologies to the Queen Mary, is a masterpiece and, not to get too High Fidelity here, is one of my top five albums of all time. Needless to say, I […]

Categories: 21st Century Classical, Canadian, Classical, Indie, singer-songwriter • Tags: Canada, Canadian music, classical, concert, indie, Montreal, Moonface, music festival, piano, Pop Montreal, singer-songwriter, Spencer Krug, Wolf Parade

The Echo from the Mountain

October 7, 2013 by ebembo

View from the Ubisoft rooftop terrace in Montreal Pop Montreal has come and gone in a flash. This year’s line-up was particularly strong and the festival was made all the better by gorgeous, unseasonably warm weather. As is often the case at Pop, deciding which concert to see when there are so many amazing acts playing at the same time proved to be especially challenging. But there was one show in particular that I knew, hands-down, I would not miss: […]

Categories: Canadian, Concert Pics, Experimental, Folk, Indie, Pop, singer-songwriter • Tags: art folk, Canadian, concert photos, experimental, festival, folk, indie, indie folk, indie pop, music festival, night photography, photography, pop, Pop Montreal, Swedish, Thus:Owls

The Nature of a Renaissance Girl

September 30, 2013 by ebembo

It is my pleasure to be back with yet another SS&ND guest blog! Oh Land’s “Renaissance Girls” is like an updated version of No Doubt’s “Just a Girl”; a 21st century tongue-in-cheek take on femininity – short bangs and all! If the mid-90s were about ironically playing on the “dumb blonde” stereotype (in addition to Gwen Stefani, we had Buffy and Cher Horowitz , to name a few), the 2010s have been about addressing the expectation that girls be all things […]

Categories: 90s, Dance, Electronic, Electropop, Experimental, Indie, Pop, singer-songwriter • Tags: American, Danish, electronic, electropop, experimental, fun, indie, music, Oh Land, photography, pop

Close to the Cold Coast

September 23, 2013 by ebembo

I’m very excited to be Snapshots & Needle Drops’ first guest blogger! Many thanks to Vappz, who is currently driving somewhere along the Australian coast, about to embark on a springtime fruit-picking adventure. Right now Montreal is experiencing that wonderful brief window when you wake up in the fall, spend your day in the summer, and go to bed in the fall again. It’s beautiful and warm, but there’s a certain crispness in the air. People are going out of […]

Categories: 80s, Alternative, Canadian, Electropop, Indie, Pop • Tags: alternative, Canada, electropop, indie, Montreal, music, music festival, photography, pop, Pop Montreal

Snapshots and Needle Drops

Music meets international photography.

Tag: indie