Sellaband: Hot, Active and Under $500 - Issue 3

This somewhat monthly Ace Black column spotlights five Sellaband artists who are hot, active, and still under $500 in fundraising. These artists demonstrate strong potential and deserve increased support. To be considered for this series, artists need to have a non-zero account. In other words, at least believe in yourself!

1.April Kelly
April opens her heart with a touching story in her Biography -- I'll just say that it's well worth reading and I'll leave you to discover it. April plays down-tempo acoustic pop. She has an engaging and powerful mid-range voice with a hint of an attractive tone. April has six songs in her song list, and large number of videos (read that Biography!). From the United States, she joined in late December 2009 and has been regularly checking into Sellaband since then. She has raised $230. Favourite song: The demo As Nice As You has a catchy melody with a cute stutter, and showcases April's distinctive voice. Make sure to also check out the video for that song (below) to get an honest view of April and her family.

2.Six Eyes Lost
From Norway, these rockers have been around Sellaband a long time -- since November 2006! They are still active, having last been seen late in January 2010, but have only raised $370. They should maybe consider lowering their target and raising their profile with more communication? In the meantime, they have three songs in their playlist, demonstrating tight hard rock songwriting infused with some confident guitar solos. Favourite Song: Candy Whore is purposeful, catchy and driven by a crunchy guitar coupled with confident vocals. The video for the same song is pure and appropriately fun rock'n'roll sleaze -- embedding it from YouTube is not enabled, so watch the video through their Sellaband page.


3. Cat
Full name Catelijne Muller, Cat has perhaps one of the best undiscovered songs on Sellaband: in the hands of the right producer, Nine Lives has the potential to be better than most of what makes it as popular music hits. This uptempo song showcases Cat's strong lower range vocals to good effect, as well as her songwriting talent. Cat, from Holland, has two other songs on her songlist, and they both confirm her strong vocal control. She signed-up in August 2008 and last logged on to Sellaband in early January 2010. She has raised $220. Favourite song: the aforementioned Nine Lives -- see the video below.

4. Funkfiaker
I won't pretend to know German, but the energetic blend of rap n' roll that the Austrian group Funkfiaker delivers is a lot of fun in any language. The four track list delivers infectious, uptempo beats that will force your body to look for a dance partner. Clear and sharp male and female vocals are backed by a tight four-piece band featuring guitars, keyboards and drums working in harmony. Funkfiaker have raised $340 since signing-up in late November 2009, and last logged on in early Janary 2009. Favourite songs: Both Volle Kontrolle and the self-titled Funkfiaker are good examples of what this band is all about.

5. Coop
From the United States and before that Canada, Coop produces smooth, infectious mostly instrumental tracks on his synthesizers. He has a very long songlist comprising 17 tracks, and a biographical video. His songs demonstrate a cool maturity and patience to let the melody develop at its own pace, although the drum sound is often more prominent than it needs to be. His music appears well suited for soundtracks, and for collaboration with strong vocalists. Coop signed up in early December 2009 and last checked-in to Sellaband in mid-January. He has so far raised around $520 (ok, just above what the title of this blog post suggests!). Favourite songs: check out both Club Germ and Forbidden for good samples of what Coop is all about.

Related: Hot, Active and Under $500 Issue 2.