A Whisper in the Noise is a musical project formed in 2002 by rock composer West Thordson. Centered in the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, United States Twin Cities metro, the group is known for their dark sound and unique instrumentation, as well as their effective live performances. Eschewing the more traditional use of guitar or heavy keyboards that might be associated with the band’s umbral sound, the instrumentation of A Whisper in the Noise has included the cello, violin, French horn, synth/electronic keyboard, bass guitar, and percussion in some variation. The resulting minimalist expression, the unique arrangement of instruments, and the inclusion of visual media elements during live performance has seen the band described as “art rock”.

The band has occasionally performed without the French horn or cello, though these instruments are used heavily on the live recording of their first album, Through the Ides of March.

The band’s sound has been noted for fully incorporating the string and other orchestral instrumentation, a step different from similar rock and dark pop projects wherein strings are often added on as an afterthought or not given full room for expression and treated as integral elements within melodic musical structure. Other elements that mark the group’s work are the inclusion of barely audible soundscapes of text (often derived from news broadcasts) and the persistence of slowly constructed piano arpeggios onto which other musical layers are added.

Mosquito is a Belgian rock band formed in the summer of 2008. Kevin Imbrechts plays the guitar, Nico Kennes is the drummer and writes the lyrics. The band is most known for its live performance. Having played venues all over Europe this year, such as Botanique (Brussels), The Rambler (Eindhoven), The White Lion (London) opening for Wino, Radical Slave and Psycho 44 among ohters, the band also started getting more media attention, appearing in De Morgen, Het Nieuwsblad, on Ring TV, Radio Scorpio and Grip of Delusion Radio (US) to name but a few. Mosquito has just released its fifth self-released EP called ‘The Age of the Image’. 'The Age of the Image' is for sale in Bilbo Records and Fnac Leuven, on mosquito.bandcamp.com or at shows.

Some quotes:

‘Mosquito has an experimental rock sound of their own […]. ‘The Age of the Image’ keeps you interested from the beginning to the end, it has an overall good vibe. […]. This duo really needs to get some more attention' (Out of step Music e-zine).

with acoustic and electric guitars, loop stations and rhythms sounding like an old clock or tribal dances, timid and haunted vocals, he died while hunting delivers a minimalist folk electronica post everything but post nothing, but surely embarks listeners on a sensitive and emotional trip.