Free iTunes Downloads

Seun Kuti is the new heir to the Afro-beat throne. His father was legendary rebel, leader, poet, and musician Fela Kuti. Seun is Fela’s youngest son and is joined on this track from his debut by his father’s band, Egypt 80. It’s a band that Seun began playing with at age 9, so it’s no surprise who adept he is at laying down his socially-minded lyrics over the group’s call-and-response funk. If you’re a stranger to the Afro-beat style laid out by Fela, there is a rich world of deep music awaiting you and this cut, with it’s hypnotic, brassy rhythms and solid groove, shows that the form is alive and well.

Steve Reynolds is a name we’ve been hearing a bit lately. The talented guitar player/songwriter hails from Southern California (Canada, originally) and has unearthed a heavy amount of mellow gold on his new album
The Carnival Papers. “Save Your Best” shows off his stellar, finger-picking style and layers that with one of his most emotional, whispering melodies.

Picture Sublime jamming with Jack Johnson on Don Carlos’ back porch — that’s Rebelution. The three-year old band from Santa Barbara, California, uses reggae as its base element then adds colorful rock and hip-hop embellishment. “Safe and Sound” epitomizes Rebelution’s sunny “California Reggae” vibe that propelled its debut album, Courage to Grow to prominence on iTunes.

The Tennessee-born Whitney Duncan grew up listening to both the early rock ‘n’ roll of Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis as well as modern country icons such as Tanya Tucker and Shania Twain. Now that she’s embarked on her own career at the age of 22, she’s able to fuse these elements of classic, rhythm-based guitar music and contemporary country pop. She’s got a strength in her voice which makes a song like “When I Said I Would” sound like a defiant classic.

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This Liverpool trio offer up some sound advice on this track taken from the group’s full-length “The Wombats Proudly Present: A Guid to Love, Loss and Desperation.” The track is a spiky little post-punk dance celebration that finds a little bit of joy in the legendary Manchester group’s influential dirges. The irony is not lost on the Wombats, who sound like they’re having an amazing time - adding plenty of Motown-style rhythms underneath the soulful, jangling clatter.

The Ting Tings are an English duo made up of Jules De Martino and Katie White who formed in Salford in 2006. Their style is one that is pure adrenalin and pop music and some kind of unmamed sugary confection thrown in to make it stick. The singles in their so-brief career have been like bubble-gum electro-pop with guitars. But the catchiness of “Great DJ” is also due to the song-craft underneath, integrating play yard melodies with a touch of indie rock hooks. Their first full-length “We Started Nothing” sees the light in the spring of 2008.

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Santogold hails from Philadelphia and was the former lead singer of the Philly punk rock/ska band Stiffed.  After leaving Stiffed to go solo, her initial singles became an internet success.  We think you’ll like this one too.

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Alex Cuba is a singer and multi-instrumentalist from (take a guess…) Cuba who also calls Canada home. This track is from his second album, Agua Del Pozo, a mellow collection of soulful rhythms and strikingly agreeable melodies. His music has a touch of his Cuban roots, but has a knack for melancholy that is like a combination of sad Brazilian sambas and more American-ized baroque pop.

Emily Jane White is a twenty-something vocalist from the San Francisco Bay Area. “Time On Your Side” is from her album Dark Undercoat and it’s finger-picking folk tune underscored by White’s husky, slightly lonely vocals. It has the vibe of that “weird America” sound that many of us love here at iTunes but she trades in arcane mythical references for more concrete, lyrical poetry about life and loves.

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The iTunes Music Store has begun releasing some of their “Single of the Week” and “Discovery Download” downloads in their DRM-free iTunes Plus format beginning with We The Kings - Check Yes Juliet and Yael Naim’s - Far Far.  Also, beginning with the Yael Naim’s “Far Far” release this week, you can create ringtones for your iPhone from these downloads.  Sweet!