How do you discover new music, and what’s the latest gem you’ve found?

I wrote about how I find new music over at the Crucial Tracks blog a couple months ago, so you can read all the gory details of that if you want. (And I listen to a LOT of new music for the blog.)

One of the coolest, most interesting artists I've stumbled upon recently is Mei Semones, with songs that can only be described as jazz/bossa nova/math rock/chamber pop/midwest emo. You read that right. And... she sings in both Japanese and English... and she totally makes it work.

Animaru is the 24-year old Berklee School of Music graduate's debut album. The songs are sweet and endearing, catchy, and mind-bendingly complex. Highly recommended and I can't wait to see what Mei does next.