[Photo by Pooneh Ghana. See her Flickr stream here]
When we recorded Diamond Rings back at a ToddP show in July, we said we were witnessing a rising star in the making. After a CMJ this year that saw his performances regularly packed (including this one), this one-man-band (John O’Regan of Toronto, Canada) is well on his way to being a household name. Regan’s glammed-up, synth-driven songs are instantly catchy – witness the bouncy “On Our Own” or the more melancholy lead-off track of this set, “Wait and See”. O’Regan’s songs have an obvious ’80s influence – he could easily share a stage with Depeche Mode, New Order, The Cure or even the Smiths and not feel out of place. Although there is also a definite back-to-the-future aspect to his androgynous look, O’Regan’s star quality reminds me of someone quite current – Lady Gaga. He has risen on the indie circuit, sure, but O’Regan has the broader potential to be a pop artist in the best sense – someone whose music is honest, interesting and accessible, but who isn’t afraid of attention. No wonder Diamond Rings is a one-person act – O’Regan is incandescent on his own. We thank Diamond Rings for sharing our unofficial CMJ day party with us this year, and encourage you to check out his new record, Special Affections, before your friends are telling you all about it six months from now.
I recorded this set in the same manner as our other CMJ sets. This type of music is somewhat easy to record anyway, but even given that, this recording is truly flawless. I only wish, as with all of our CMJ sets, that it were longer! Enjoy!
Stream “On Our Own”:
[audio:http://www.nyctaper.com/D1807DiamondRings2211/DiamondRings-OnOurOwn2010-10-21.mp3]
Direct download of MP3 files [HERE]
Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].
Diamond Rings
2010-10-21
NYCTaper CMJ Day Party
Cake Shop
New York, NY
An acidjack master recording
Recorded and produced by acidjack for nyctaper.com
Equipment: DPA 4021+Stereo soundboard feed>Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) (24/44.1)
Position: Mount above and slightly in front of stage stage, ORTF
Mastering: 2×24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (mixdown, set fades, tracking, amplify and balance)>FLAC Level 8
01 Wait and See
02 On Our Own
03 You Oughta Know
04 [banter]
05 Something Else
If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Diamond Rings, visit the website, visit the MySpace page, and purchase Special Affections from the Secret City Records [HERE].
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