Shawn Lewis of Hyper Static Union

I've long been a fan of HyperStatic Union. I've known these guys since well before their RKT CD debut. These guys are incredibly talented and make some funky rock-n-roll. I've just about worn our their national debut release "Life Giver." You should really pick up a copy of this album!

Anyway, recently, I've stumbled on a video that I just had to share. Here is Shawn Lewis singing a song made popular by Michael Jackson. I've always been impressed by Shawn's vocal prowess. He is talented, earnest, and sound amazing. He even impressed Lenny Kravitz during the warm-up for a show in Portland.

I love telling you about quality musicians. Hopefully this video will encourage you to give a spin to HSU's music.

Encomium

My weekly artist review is on Portland based band Encomium. This is a young band with some great talent. In 2006 they released “Expression of Praise”, an impressive 9-song disc which mixes rock riffs and worship lyrics.

One of the first things that grabbed my attention on this CD was the expert musicianship. This isn’t a sequenced garage band recording, but rather a major label quality offering. Many young bands have an album of songs that all sound the same stylistically. But this CD has a variety of sounds without becoming disjointed.

Led by Devy Jamin, the group has recently put out a new EP entitled “Like the Dawn”. The samples on their MySpace page promise more of the same quality and no-compromise lyrics found on their first effort.

Check these guys out at http://www.encomiummusic.com/