Musiciens Sans Frontiéres is a NYC based alternative rock project, with members originally hailing from the U.S.A., Austria and Columbia. In their latest album, "Spread Some Love" (endorphin records), they fuse alternative rock with world beats and experimental soundscapes, encompassing a spectrum from goth and grunge to world beat, ska and folk-punk. The songs tackle issues ranging from green energy and banning fracking ("So Many Ways") to marijuana legalization ("Legalize") to the need to protest (Dead Hero, MSF's version of "Smells Like Teen Spirit") to the need to protect ("Affection").
Five songs off their latest album have been receiving airplay on 23 radio stations (commercial, satellite and internet) across the U.S., on Austria's premiere alternative radio station FM4 as well as three radio stations in Germany to date.
Thomas Simon's tuned down dark, layered and dense guitar sound, which Lucid Culture, NYC, said "is very Daniel Ash" is lit up by the "pure angelic voice" (Legends Magazine) and "stage presence of erotic force" (Infinity Press) of actress-singer-songwriter Jillie Simon and backed up by Keith Golden on bass and Alex Alexander on drums, who'd both previously toured with Dido among others.
"We want to help create positive change - and spread some love - with music that lets you dance your heart out!" says Jillie Simon. Their trilogy of activist videos started with MSF's cover of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (a paean to documenting, and helping to create change) which won three awards and was selected to 12 film festivals. Their next video "Legalize", makes the case for the social and economic benefits of marijuana legalization and earned them four awards in 11 festivals in the US, Canada and Europe. Their third music video "So Many Ways" is currently making the festival rounds (It's won one award so far, and has been selected to four film festivals). All three songs are on the new album.
Jillie and Thomas had originally met at a cafe in the East Village. They subsequently founded the alt rock band LOVE ALIEN, married, released four CD's, and toured extensively (USA, Canada, Europe and the Middle East) in the late 90's and early 2000's. CMJ New Music Report said of LOVE ALIEN "...garnering rave reviews...call it trip-grunge or maybe, grunge-hop. Whatever the label... if this wiry ensemble can capitalize on their own strengths, they might just escape the gravitational pull of New York's dark underbelly and explode into the limelight." NOW-UK called them "one of the most promising up & comers in the N.Y. music scene".
In the mid 2000's, European born Thomas Simon found new inspiration by recording with and filming local street and temple musicians worldwide from Brazil to India, Indonesia and beyond. Some of these sessions are captured in his documentary "Thomas Simon Walkabout", which was selected to numerous film festivals and paved his way into doing soundtrack work for PBS and independent film and culminated in the creation of Musiciens Sans Frontiéres. "Spread Some Love" is MSF's fourth studio album and the 2007 version of "Affection" off the album "Satellite" made it onto the 2008 Grammy Ballots.
Most recently, Thomas created the soundtrack to "La Redempcio Dels Peixos" (Spain/Italy/USA), starring Lluís Soler for which he was nominated for Best Music/Best Song at the 2013 Milan International Film Festival. He also edited, did sound design and created part of the soundtrack for the documentary "Lucky Express" which he co-produced and which just got a distribution deal with Cinema Libre. Jillie played the title role in
romantic comedy "Hannah Henri" (a Sony Classics-requested short version of the award-winning feature screenplay), performed improv at NYC's Upright Citizens Brigade and is currently shooting a 30 minute short film in which she's playing the lead role (working title "We Became The Enemy"). Thomas is creating the soundtrack, and Jillie has co-written (and will be singing) two of the songs on it. Prior acting work has included roles Off-Broadway and regionally as well as in film and tv, including a recurring character on "As The World Turns", a role in "A Beautiful Mind" (though the scene ended up being cut) and a supporting role in the indie thriller "Confess", starring Melissa Leo and Ali Larter)
MSF most recently played CMJ 2013 music marathon at the Bitter End, the Move Music Festival, Albany, NY. Prior to that they played The Bitter End (again) and Fontana's in NYC and Spike Hill and Warsaw in Brooklyn, where they opened for Polish legends "Czerwone Gitary". 2014: They are currently in their recording studio, The Transformer Room, NYC working on their next studio album.
New York Music Daily (on "Spread Some Love")- "Relevant Psychedelic Rock from Musiciens Sans Frontieres": ..."a dark (rock record with) gritty gravitas and eclecticism...galloping waves of guitar... pounding, crescendoing...luridly seductive" - delarue
Five songs off their latest album have been receiving airplay on 23 radio stations (commercial, satellite and internet) across the U.S., on Austria's premiere alternative radio station FM4 as well as three radio stations in Germany to date.
Thomas Simon's tuned down dark, layered and dense guitar sound, which Lucid Culture, NYC, said "is very Daniel Ash" is lit up by the "pure angelic voice" (Legends Magazine) and "stage presence of erotic force" (Infinity Press) of actress-singer-songwriter Jillie Simon and backed up by Keith Golden on bass and Alex Alexander on drums, who'd both previously toured with Dido among others.
"We want to help create positive change - and spread some love - with music that lets you dance your heart out!" says Jillie Simon. Their trilogy of activist videos started with MSF's cover of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (a paean to documenting, and helping to create change) which won three awards and was selected to 12 film festivals. Their next video "Legalize", makes the case for the social and economic benefits of marijuana legalization and earned them four awards in 11 festivals in the US, Canada and Europe. Their third music video "So Many Ways" is currently making the festival rounds (It's won one award so far, and has been selected to four film festivals). All three songs are on the new album.
Jillie and Thomas had originally met at a cafe in the East Village. They subsequently founded the alt rock band LOVE ALIEN, married, released four CD's, and toured extensively (USA, Canada, Europe and the Middle East) in the late 90's and early 2000's. CMJ New Music Report said of LOVE ALIEN "...garnering rave reviews...call it trip-grunge or maybe, grunge-hop. Whatever the label... if this wiry ensemble can capitalize on their own strengths, they might just escape the gravitational pull of New York's dark underbelly and explode into the limelight." NOW-UK called them "one of the most promising up & comers in the N.Y. music scene".
In the mid 2000's, European born Thomas Simon found new inspiration by recording with and filming local street and temple musicians worldwide from Brazil to India, Indonesia and beyond. Some of these sessions are captured in his documentary "Thomas Simon Walkabout", which was selected to numerous film festivals and paved his way into doing soundtrack work for PBS and independent film and culminated in the creation of Musiciens Sans Frontiéres. "Spread Some Love" is MSF's fourth studio album and the 2007 version of "Affection" off the album "Satellite" made it onto the 2008 Grammy Ballots.
Most recently, Thomas created the soundtrack to "La Redempcio Dels Peixos" (Spain/Italy/USA), starring Lluís Soler for which he was nominated for Best Music/Best Song at the 2013 Milan International Film Festival. He also edited, did sound design and created part of the soundtrack for the documentary "Lucky Express" which he co-produced and which just got a distribution deal with Cinema Libre. Jillie played the title role in
romantic comedy "Hannah Henri" (a Sony Classics-requested short version of the award-winning feature screenplay), performed improv at NYC's Upright Citizens Brigade and is currently shooting a 30 minute short film in which she's playing the lead role (working title "We Became The Enemy"). Thomas is creating the soundtrack, and Jillie has co-written (and will be singing) two of the songs on it. Prior acting work has included roles Off-Broadway and regionally as well as in film and tv, including a recurring character on "As The World Turns", a role in "A Beautiful Mind" (though the scene ended up being cut) and a supporting role in the indie thriller "Confess", starring Melissa Leo and Ali Larter)
MSF most recently played CMJ 2013 music marathon at the Bitter End, the Move Music Festival, Albany, NY. Prior to that they played The Bitter End (again) and Fontana's in NYC and Spike Hill and Warsaw in Brooklyn, where they opened for Polish legends "Czerwone Gitary". 2014: They are currently in their recording studio, The Transformer Room, NYC working on their next studio album.
New York Music Daily (on "Spread Some Love")- "Relevant Psychedelic Rock from Musiciens Sans Frontieres": ..."a dark (rock record with) gritty gravitas and eclecticism...galloping waves of guitar... pounding, crescendoing...luridly seductive" - delarue