The Country, Not The State

It's the final week of this challenge, hooray!
For week 52, I listened to two new-to-me acts from Georgia (the country, not the US state).


LOUDspeakers
Formed in 2009, this four-member band released their first album in 2015 after several lineup changes.
Their music has a typical indie/alternative rock sound. The vocals remind me of another rock vocalist, but I can't think who! Since the songs are performed in English, it's easy to understand them.
As one of the members is a keyboardist, a keyboard/piano sound is more prominent in their songs than in bands that only use the instrument as an extra outside of what their lineup play. The music is easy to listen to, just right whether you want to relax or are feeling energetic!
Enjoyed listening to them!
LOUDspeakers on Facebook


Trio Mandili
This musical trio came to fame at the end of 2014, after they posted a music video online of themselves singing a Georgian folk song. It gained over two million views in two weeks, which led to them appearing on TV and radio. By 2015, they released an album.
The music basically consist of the three members singing folk songs in harmony to the accompaniment of a some kind of long-necked lute (the internet says panduri and tschonguri), which gives the tracks a really earthy, traditional feeling.
Most the videos I watched follow the self-filmed style of their viral video (which at time of writing has over four million views), and feature the trio walking along a street. Whilst the idea sounds amateur, the outcome makes the videos fun to watch!
I liked this group, so do give them a listen. It's great to see something different to what's on the radio!
Trio Mandili Official Website


With this post, I complete the challenge and can strike a goal off The List!

029. Listen to 2 new musical acts every week for 1 year

It's been really interesting to seek out and listen to so much new music, beyond the bands and solo acts I might have found in passing. There are always a few 'new discoveries' made each year, but through this challenge, the number of new-to-me acts I listened to leapt from a handful to over 100!
I didn't like all the music I found this year; sometimes the artists I heard made music too distant from the sort of thing I like. Other times, I was greatly surprised by how much I ended up liking some artists--I even ended up with some new favourites!

This was a really fun goal to complete!