Daily Discovery: Gino & Gina

I spent most of the money I've been saving up for the past few months on record shopping throughout Portland and Seattle.

At Green Noise Records in Portland (AKA Dirtnap Records) I found an oldies 7" by Gino & Gina (Pretty Baby b/w Love's a Carousel). I can't seem to find that much information on them, but what I did find out is that they were a brother/sister pop duo. Gino was a songwriter that also wrote songs for The Impalas.

Check out the song Pretty Baby!

Daily Discovery: Nicole Willis

...so I'm sitting here at my weekend job looking through all the new LP arrivals, when I notice a new release with a striking woman on the cover. I figure this was a new singer in her mid-20's. I put the record on and fell in love. It's a throwback to late 60's/early 70's soul/funk, but with a modern sound. I decided to do some research on Nicole and it turns out she was born in Brooklyn in 1963 (this woman has some good genes!) and actually started out performing in England in the 1980's. She was a member of The Hello Strangers and Blue Period, toured with The The and collaborated with Leftfield on this song. She's also an artist and writer. You should probably buy the album pictured above. Seriously good stuff.

Here's a video for one of the songs off her album:

Daily Discovery: Laura Watling

Super cute and dreamy pop music, perfect for fans of Rose Melberg! tweenet.com has all the information on Laura, including her complete discography...

Daily Discovery: Twa Toots

Today’s discovery is an adorable UK girl group called Twa Toots. They formed in the early 80’s and were apparently one of John Peel’s favorite groups. After scouring the internet for more of their songs, I can see why. They released a Peel Sessions 12” and a full length LP which has been re-issued. Their songs are amazing and remind me of all sorts of singers I’ve liked for a while. Each song has a different sound… take the song Yo Yo for instance, it totally reminds me of The Caravelles and Patience and Prudence:



The harmonies in A New Depression remind me of Althea and Donna’s harmonies:



The vocals in Run Jump remind me of Noosha Fox: