Bent Van Looy

Bent Van Looy is an outstanding Belgian musician, singer and songwriter.

He was frontman of Das Pop and drummer of Soulwax.

In 2013, Bent Van Looy released his first solo album Round the Bend, produced in Los Angeles by Jason Falkner, who played most of the instruments.
The second album - Pyjama Days - followed in 2016 (Jason Falkner produced it and played the instruments again, he also co-wrote some of the songs).

I highly recommend these two records, start with the second (Pyjama Days).

Ron Sexsmith - biography & discography

I found Ron Sexsmith by a German newspaper (SPIEGEL-ONLINE). There was an article (beware: it's in German!) about him. They stated that Sexsmith is a songwriter and performer, respected by critics, many famous artists like Paul McCartney or Chris Martin (the latter recorded a duet version of Sexsmiths song Gold In Them Hills) and music lovers, but unknown to the majority. That made me curious and I started to listen to his songs...

Ron Sexsmith is from Canada, he started to write songs after the birth of his first child. His songs are mellow and marvellous. They are pure bliss. To date he recorded fifteen (!) albums since his first one in 1991.

Discography:

1991: Grand Opera Lane
1995: Ron Sexsmith
1997: Other Songs
1999: Whereabouts
2001: Blue Boy
2002: Cobblestone Runway
2003: Rarities
2004: Retriever (listen to: Imaginary Friends, From Now On, Whatever It Takes, Happiness)
2005: Destination Unknown
2006: Time Being (listen to: Hands Of Time, All In Good Time)
2008: Exit Strategy of the Soul (listen to: This Is How I Know, Brandy Alexander, Brighter Still)
2011: Long Player Late Bloomer
2013: Forever Endeavour
2015: Carousel One
2017: The Last Rider

I recommend to start with Retriever and Exit Strategy of the Soul.

Nik Kershaw - biography & discography

What do you know about Nik Kershaw?
Let's see... Wouldn't It Be Good, The Riddle, The 80s, One-Hit-Wonder. Anything else? No?

Let me help you: Nik Kershaw had huge success with his records The Riddle and Human Racing in the early 1980s, after that his album sales went down. After his less successful album Radio Musicola in 1986 and The Works in 1989 he disappeared as musician, but not as a songwriter. Chesney Hawkes' hit The One And Only, which he wrote and co-produced, went straight to number one in the UK in 1991.
In 1999 he decided to release music again under his own name. The records 15 Minutes, To Be Frank, You've Got To Laugh and the acoustic album No Frills is something I can recommend warmly.

Discography:

• 1983 Human Racing
• 1984 The Riddle
• 1986 Radio Musicola
• 1989 The Works
• 1999 15 Minutes (listen to: Somebody Loves You, Your Brave Face, What Do You Think Of It So Far, 15 Minutes)
• 2001 To Be Frank
• 2005 Then And Now (Best Of)
• 2006 You've Got to Laugh (listen to: Oh You Beautiful Thing, Loud Confident & Wrong)
• 2010 No Frills
• 2012 Ei8ht

OK Go!

Today's thesis: music video clips are NOT dead. You need a proof? OK Go!
(I highly recommend to watch it in full screen!)

Hotel Lights - biography and discography

Have you ever heard of Darren Jessee? No? Maybe you heard of Ben Folds Five!
Darren was/is the drummer of Ben Folds Five. Already through Phil Collins we know that drummers can be successful as solo artists. And no, Darren does NOT sound like Phil at all. He also does not sound like Ben Folds Five.

After the split of Ben Folds Five not only Folds continued as solo artist, also Darren. His first self-titled album Hotel Lights was released in 2004. The even better Goodnightgoodmorning EP and his standout albums Firecracker People, Girl Graffiti and Get Your Hand in My Hand followed.
To describe his music: it's melancholic, intense and may be a good soundtrack for cold, windy autumn days.

Discography:

• Hotel Lights (2004)
• Goodnightgoodmorning EP (2006)
• Firecracker People (2008)
• Girl Graffiti (2011) 
• Get Your Hand in My Hand (2016)

David Mead biography & discography

The singer-songwriter David Mead delivers crafted pop songs since 1999 with now six solo records and a fabulous EP.

His fifth album - Almost and Always - is an intense, fascinating collection of gems, the Wherever You Are EP and the latest record ("Dudes") are a perfect way to start.

David Mead surely deserves to be played in the radio and to have a permanent place in the charts  - but as you guess - he's not.

Discography:

• The Luxury of Time (1999)
• Mine and Yours (2001)
• Indiana (2004)
• Wherever You Are EP (2005)
• Tangerine (2006)
• Almost and Always (2008)
• Dudes (2011)

Jason Falkner - Biography & Discography

There is this kind of musician who is writing, releasing records and performing his own music for more than two decades - but misses the aim that is chart success? The one who creates stunning music and don't get any recognition by public, but by his loyal fans? One of them is Jason Falkner.

To sum it up: he may be one of the most underrated musicians of the last two decades. What a pity!

Falkner started his musical career with a band called The Three O'Clock but soon he joined a new band of his former bandmate (Roger Joseph Manning Jr.) - Jellyfish. After the success of the first record (Bellybutton) he left the band and said he'll be never again a band member again (where he was clearly wrong).

His solo career started in 1996 with Presents Author Unknown, followed with the fabulous Can You Still Feel?. I recommend to listen to Can You Still Feel? from start to finish - there's no filler song, no low point.

2001 was a good year for loyal fans: two collection of rare songs and demos were released: Necessity: The 4-Track Years and Everyone Says It's On. Falkner also put a collection of Beatles songs, performed as lullabies, the title says it all: Bedtime With The Beatles (the follow up was released in 2008).

In 2002 a full album of unreleased material surfaced in the internet - it was called Eloquence, in 2004 he had the phenomenal Bliss Descending EP out.

His latest two records (I'm OK... You're OK and All Quiet On the Noise Floor) had only a release in Japan. Three years (THREE YEARS!) later I'm OK ... You're OK was finally out in the US and Europe. All Quiet On The Noise Floor didn't have this fortune.

Jason Falkner solo - discography:

•  Presents Author Unknown (1996)
•  Can You Still Feel? (1999)
•  Necessity: The 4-Track Years (2001)
•  Everyone Says It's On (2001)
•  Bedtime With The Beatles (2001)
•  Eloquence (2002) - never officially released!
•  Bliss Descending (EP) (2004)
•  I'm OK... You're OK (2007)
•  Bedtime With The Beatles 2 (2008)
•  All Quiet On the Noise Floor (2009)

Since 2009 Jason Falkner stopped his solo career and became producer, session musician and performed with several bands:

• Jellyfish – Bellybutton (1990) 
• The Greys - Ro Sham Bo (1994 - with Jon Brion- vocals, guitar)
• Susanna Hoffs - Susanna Hoffs (1996 - bass, keyboards, guitar, percussion, organ, drums )
• Brendan Benson - One Mississippi (1996 - co-writer) and Lapalco (2002 - co-produced, backing vocals)
• Eric Matthews - The Lateness of the Hour (1997 - electric guitar, bass, piano, drums, co-producer) 
• Chris Cornell - Euphoria Morning (1999 - bass)
• Roger Joseph Manning Jr. and Brian Reitzell - Logan's Sanctuary (2000 - guitar, lead vocals, bass)
• Air - 10 000 Hz Legend (2001 - bass, he also toured with the band), Talkie Walkie (2004 - bass)
• TV Eyes (Roger Joseph Manning Jr. and Brian Reitzell) (2001)
• Aimee Mann - Lost In Space (2002 - bass)
• The Blondes - The Blondes (2002 - producer)
• Travis - The Invisible Band (2001 - keyboards, backing vocals on the B-Side "Killer Queen")
• Pugwash - Almanac (2002 - vox continental, vocals, guitar)
• Lisa Loeb - The Way It Really Is (2004 - electric guitar, Wurlitzer piano, background vocals)
• Magnet - Tourniquet (2005 - producer)
• Ben Lee - Awake is the New Alseep (2005 - backing vocals)
• Paul McCartney - Chaos and Creation in the Backyard (2005 - electric guitar, acoustic guitar)
• The Nines - Calling Distance Stations (2006 - mixing, backing vocals)
• Beck - Sea Change (2002 - guitar), The Information (2006 - acoustic and electric guitar, bass, drums, percussion, African drums, Moog bass, background vocals) and Modern Guilt (2008)
• Anne Soldaat - In Another Life (2009) - producer, instruments, co-writer
• Daniel Johnston - Is and Always Was (2009 - producer, engineer, mixing, guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals)
• The Informers – Soundtrack (2009) 
• Glen Campbell - Ghost on the Canvas (2011 - bass, guitar)
• Charlotte Gainsbourg - IRM (2011 - guitar)
• R. Stevie Moore - Make It Be (2017)
• Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - Who Built The Moon? (2017)
• Pugwash - Silverlake (2017 - producer)

Here is the famous, never seen the light of the release day album Eloquence in all his glory:

Jason Falkner - Eloquence (complete unreleased album from 2002)