I’ve got two artists that I’d like to recommend, both of whom happened to feature Asian-American roots. The first is a friend and fellow San Franciscan Goh Nakamura. In his words,

Goh Nakamura is a San Francisco Bay Area based musician who writes ditties about parking tickets, impossible crushes and faraway dreamlands.

Goh’s music is a collection of bittersweet melodies and I’ve been listening to his work since my former roommate Min Jung introduced me to him and his work at local events.

His vocals are soulful and the lyrics charming in an unpretentious way. He just released his second album, which he’s been working for years on and if you’re in the Bay Area, he will be playing one of his largest gigs yet as the headliner at the Rickshaw Stop. More importantly, you can sample his music for free. Check out his album, Ulysses.

The second artist is one I’ve been loving since my friend Leonard had them booked at a SxSW Upcoming.org party two years ago. The Little Ones had two addictive EPs that I used to listen to on repeat so I was instantly intrigued when I heard that they’d released their first full length album.

Morning Tide is instantly catchy, in your head, addictive and contains all the elements that define indie pop. It’s now at the top of my rotation and has been since I purchased it last week. Once again, it’s on repeat. It’s available on iTunes but I recommend checking out their music on Last.fm and then buying it at Amazon MP3, where the music is DRM-less.