Benjimanji

Upbeat Indie Pop. New singles every month.

[benjimanji]

Get your indie music fill

Thanks to ‘A Little Bit of Sol’ for the love.  

“Pop music that will fill your heart and make you smile. Think Bend Folds Meets Talking Heads.”

[benjimanji]

'Earl Grey', the January single is about passion, in this case a passion for hot tea.  The upbeat, good vibrations of marimba, Hey-Ohs, and horns driven along by acoustic guitar and a catchy vocal line will leave you feeling warm inside.  

The birds in the background through-out the song were recorded last spring when I put a microphone on my porch and edited out the trucks from Highway 9 in Norman, OK.  Thanks for listening!

[benjimanji]

Two new tracks this month!  

'Hurt Me' sounds like a laid back attempt to freshen up a stagnating relationship before it falls apart with a delayed piano, a marching snare, dancing horns, tribal chants and hand claps.  

The upbeat 'Roses' starts with a happy go lucky guitar riff leading into a chorus featuring a funky bass line and drums to match.  We let Charles France let loose on the fills and wound up shocked at how well the live drums meshed with the drum machine in the verses.  

The 4 part relationship life cycle is complete!  We’ve got another one in the queue for January!

[diamonddeposits]

A rich horn infused melody makes Not Your Eyes from singer-songwriter Benjimanji irresistible at first listen. This is the 2nd track from a 4 track project of this Norman, Oklahoma troubadour (a new track every month) and it’s a thing of beauty. Check it above. We cannot wait to hear December’s tune!

[benjimanji]

(via https://soundcloud.com/island-cassettes/angizwa-by-island-cassettes?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=tumblr)

I love this song.  It could be an omitted track from Paul Simon’s ‘Graceland.’  It makes me want to bounce around the house and kiss strangers.  World Pop fans, push play.   You’ll be glad you did.    

[abbygrrrl-deactivated20160226]

Sufjan Stevens ft. Gallant - Hotline Bling (Drake)

[benjimanji]

Two things I love, Hotline Bling and Sufjan Stevens.  

[benjimanji]

5 unheard Okie tracks you have to stream

I thought about doing five song debuts over five days. But I got so excited, and I figured who wants to wait that long? Not me, brother. I've already made it clear that the output of Okie music has been substantial this year. Think of this as a friendly reminder. We've got exclusive debuts from Pilgrim, Fiawna Forte, Wildings, Costello and Benjimanji. Yes, you should check them all out. Pilgrim If you open up a dictionary and find the definition of Tulsa Sound then you're bound to find a lot of examples.

The single for November is out, and it’s called ‘Not Your Eyes.’  It’s an upbeat, horn infused tribute to the infatuation phase of love and all its quirkiness. If it's not her eyes, it's all about her [BLANKS].  You’ll be able to fill it in after a listen.

Stream it from News OK’s ‘Middle of Nowhere’ blog, or download it at Benjimanji.com.

[abductionradiation]

Getting rowdy this Wednesday night with Australian band Animal House and their new single “English Girls”. This gritty garage rock track echoes the Britpop scene of the mid-90s with the catchy rhythm and gangly guitar chords. There’s no way you can stop your head from bopping to the upbeat rhythms and stop yourself from belting the chorus. “English Girls” is the kind of song that you play in the summer, when the summer lovin’ fever is ready to spread. 

Connect with Animal House:

Official Site | Facebook | Twitter 

[benjimanji]

This song makes me want to jump up and down on the couch. Nice find by @abductionradiation. It kind of sounds like The Vaccines.

[diamonddeposits]

West Palm Beach based experimental pop singer song-writer Greg Hvnsen has a stunning synth pop tune brimming with magical melodies and heavenly emotion laden vocals. The track is What Would You Have Me Do? boy is it awesome. Check it above!

[benjimanji]

Another great find from @diamonddeposits. I love this track. It's everything you want in a synth pop song.

[humansofnewyork]

“I don’t think I’ll stay in the city much longer. Everything is so expensive that it’s just too hard to get by. We came here because we felt that we’d exhausted all the opportunities in the town that we grew up in. We’d already built a reputation locally and played in all the bars. So we decided to move to New York so we could continue growing. I guess I imagined that there would be a sort of domino effect. People would hear about us, start coming to our shows, and things would really bloom from there. But it’s been a much slower process than I expected. It’s really hard to stand out in the city because there are thousands of bands here competing for attention. You learn pretty quickly that an RSVP on Facebook doesn’t mean the person is actually going to show up.”

[humansofnewyork]

“Not long ago it looked like I was about to get everything. I was one of the first employees at a company that sold for a billion dollars. So I started a new company, and everything seemed to be going perfectly, but suddenly everything came apart. This has been the toughest year of my adult life. I went bankrupt, my company failed, and the person I was in love with died. I didn’t commit suicide—though I considered it. But my ideas of myself have definitely died. I thought I was better than everyone. I saw my success as the culmination of all my positive merits. Losing everything forced me to realize how much of my good fortune was due to things that had been given to me.”

[benjimanji]

‘Yeezer’ mashup taken down by the DMCA

It’s unfortunate that copyright law in this country limits the sharing of brilliant creative ideas. I heard some songs from the Weezer & Kanye mashup before they were removed by the DMCA and it was awesome.

Same sentiment toward The Grey Album, Danger mouse’s mashup of Jay-Z and The Beatles. Can the music business please find a way to let these great ideas live and breath? Everyone can benefit from great art expressed in new ways.

[benjimanji]

Never thought I’d say this, but this Miley Cyrus song gave me goose bumps.  It sounds like the Flaming Lips.  I’m so impressed :)

(via https://soundcloud.com/mileycyrus/karen-dont-be-sad?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=tumblr)

[grey-estates-deactivated2019081]

premiere // “Guiding Light” - Hethers

Our favorite “miserablist pop” trio Hethers (formerly Heathers) return in a most glorious fashion with a brand new single and accompanying visuals for “Guiding Light.” The video was directed by Cory McConnell and was filmed at band member Michael’s parents old home. Welcome back, Hethers, we missed you. 

CMJ-goers can catch the band at upcoming shows including Oct. 16 at Muchmore’s (official) and Oct 17 at Pete’s Candy Shop (Riot Act CMJ showcase w/ Diet Cig, Nai Harvest, and others). The single will be available on the band’s bandcamp. 

[benjimanji]

Feel Good vibes to bob your head to.  

[seen-your-video]

Stromae “Quand C'est” (dir. Xavier Reye)

A mesmerizing visual feast for the eyes featuring stunning choreography and animated effects as dancer battles a spidery manifestations.

[benjimanji]

I love this video.  The choreography brings you into the mood of the song.  Brilliant!!  

[diamonddeposits]

From Norman, Oklahoma we have pop troubadour Benjimanji who has pledged to treat us to a free track every month. We have October’s entry the feel good composition aptly titled Good Feeling. With lush melody with horns, accordions and plenty of Hey-Ohs it’s more than ready to win your heart over. Check it above!

[abductionradiation]

Kicking off our sunny Tuesday morning with Milo Mills’ snazzy remix of “King” by Years & Years. I’m rather astonished by how all the “Kind” remixes have been sounding absolutely stellar – it’s like you can’t make a bad remix of it. But Milo Mills really spices things up by giving the song a bit of a brass and R&B makeover. I digged the original version but there’s just something about having the whole band in the song that gives it such a sweet soulful sound. It’s got kind of an allure to it that pulls you in deeper and deeper, and you can’t help yourself but groove out.

[benjimanji]

Love this groove...the horns are a great touch.