projects:
little insects
(aug 2008 - present)
Little Insects is the indie-pop recording project of omar delarosa, originally started in Orlando, FL and now based out of Brooklyn, NY. Delarosa began the project (and playing and recording under that name) in the summer of 2008. Live performances have subsequently alternated between solo performances by Delarosa and small-band performances.
The first full-band lineup of Little Insects featured Chris McCown, Jason Hinders (Bite Size), Caeley Lauren and Perfect Hannah (of Paradise Party Club). Little Insects borrowed several songs from Matisse and Carrots’ repertoire and transitioned the music from creative studio tinkering to live performance viability. After losing drummer Perfect Hannah to the fellow Orlando, FL bands Paradise Party Club and Thunder Hag, Little Insects recruited drummer Mark Oldham to complete their initial band lineup. This lineup’s sound was characterized by a fuzzy, folk-rock sound of the “Foolin’ Around EP” album.
The second band line up debuted on August 7, 2009 at a live show at Stardust Video and Coffee in Orlando, FL. This line up, perhaps known for its many instrument changes during the show, features omar delarosa on vocals/piano/guitar with Casey Schwarz on bass/guitar/keys and Brian Phillips (of discovery of magnetic north) on drums/guitar. This line-up is characterized by more prevalent keyboards with less emphasis on guitars more akin to the sound of the “Almost Ghost” album. This line-up played the last show together on May 21, 2010 at Austin Coffee in Winter Park, FL.
Presently, Delarosa is recording the full-length follow-up to “Almost Ghost” and he is playing limited solo shows in and around New York City, mostly singing and playing piano and acoustic guitar arrangements of new and unreleased songs as well as the Little Insects back catalogue.
matisse and carrots
(Dec 2007 - aug 2008)
THis music is a cross between Jonathan Richman and Burt Bacharach.
In the summer of 2008 Matisse and Carrots self-released Listening Party EP (available only at live shows) featuring four early versions of songs from Matisse and Carrots’ Play The Songs of Omar DeLaRosa, which came out in August of 2008.
matisse and carrots last.fm page
magnet club
(dec 2006 - dec 2007)
magnet club is an indie-pop band that formed in Orlando, Florida in December 2006. They played many-a-shows around the Central Florida area, but played their last together at The Social in Orlando, FL in December 2007. They formally stopped practicing together and broke off into solo projects around March of 2008.
The core-linup included omar delarosa, Jordan Randall, and Sam Metro. Past members include Jenipher Brody, Ken Morrow, and for, at least one gig, Future-Rouse-guitarist Alex Pax.
releases:
available only only digitally as pay-what-you-want-even-zero on the little insects bandcamp site
A split-single more-so than an EP of two Velvet Underground & Nico covers. One cover features Geannie Friedman of Saving Twilight on guitar and vocals, the other is solo Omar Delarosa.
Little Insects - Black Candy Cane EP
1. Femme Fatale (featuring Saving Twilight)
2. Sunday Morning
available only as individually numbered CD-R at shows and digitally as pay-what-you-want-even-zero on the little insects bandcamp site
A concept EP about the autumn and the feelings associated with the season. It's much more synthesizer oriented and electronic than previous releases, with the exception of the title track which is primarily acoustic guitar.
Little Insects - Autumn Skies EP
1. Never Let Go
2. Leaf
3. Autumn Skies
4. Let Go Of My Sweater
5. Midnight Is Almost Over**
**on the CD-R only
The debut full-length album as Little Insects. You can read more about it in this introduction to the album. Recommended if you like Boy Least Likely To, Sufjan Stevens, Coconut Records, Pants Yell!, Jens Lekman.
Little Insects - Almost Ghost
1. Preface By The Author
2. Oh No!
3. Romantic Chances
4. Your Veil
5. Quarters In The Machine
6. Losing (My Self Confidence)
7. Stop Taking Advice From Songs
8. Healthy Addictions
9. After The End
10. Casio Drone
11. Burn The City
available at live shows and by free download.
(individually numbered out of 50)
The first CD-R/Digital single as Little Insects with a considerably darker sound than on previous releases. "Oh No!" is a semi-electronic piano-pop song that contrasts with the guitar and trumpet of "Romantic Chances." This is also the return to solo, multi-track recording. Recommended if you like Camera Obscura, Coconut Records, Felt, and Pants Yell!.
Little Insects - Oh No!
1. Oh No!
2. Romantic Chances*
(*with Chris Vallone on Trumpet)
available at live shows and by free download.
(individually numbered out of 50)
The first full-band recordings as Little Insects featuring the first line-up of the band. This line-up includes Omar DeLaRosa (Vocals/Guitar/Uke), Caeley Lauren (Vocals/Tambourine), Chris McCown (Guitar), Jason Hinders (Bass), and Perfect Hannah (drums). Recommended if you like Pavement, Wave Pictures, Moldy Peaches, Felt, and Slow Club.
Little Insects - Foolin' Around EP
1. Hello Shallow
2. Oh No!*
3. Romantic Chances*
4. 1 2 3 You and Me
5. Pyramid Scheme Pipe Dream *
(* An Early Version of Song Appears on A Few Copies)
available on:
The first full-length CD-R and Digital release as Matisse and Carrots, ...Play the Songs of Omar Delarosa is a collection of lo-fi to mid-fi pop song experiments from 2006 to mid 2008. There is humor, but it's not entirely a comedy album. Recommended if you like jens lekman, magnetic fields/stephin merritt, or paul mccartney's more experimental solo albums.
Matisse and Carrots - Play the Songs of Omar DeLaRosa
1. I Say Hello, You Say Shallow
2. The Good Metaphors Are Taken
3. Pepsi and Rum
4. Hang On Your Your Headshot
5. Take Three
6. Quarters In The Machine
7. Confusing Ring
8. I Shoulda Done Something With My Life
9. We're Known For Our Lies
10. Leave Me To My Wineglass
out of print.
The first CD-R release by matisse and carrots from july 2008, Listening Party EP, contains early versions of the songs found on Play the Songs of Omar Delarosa.
Matisse and Carrots - Listening Party EP:
1. confusing ring (breakbeatles mix)
2. i shoulda done something with my life (marvin gaye pride mix)
3. the good metaphors are taken (old wave mix)
4. we're known for our lies (mo-lo-fi demo mix)
out of print
(individually numbered out of 20)
The second Magnet Club CD-R release from December 2007, Snow EP is considerably more lo-fi than matisse and carrots. This cd is for people who like indie-pop songs about hippie girlfriends, the floridian weather, and the pains of hipster romance and production with a lot of reverb and simple percussion. Recommended if you like early magnetic fields, moldy peaches, and/or black kids.
Magnet Club - Snow EP
1. Let It Snow In Orlando
2. My Diane
3. Behind Your Veil
4. The Last Page of Your Diary
out of print
(individually numbered out of 50)
The first Magnet Club CD-R release from May 2007, Venii EP is a combination of electro-pop and folk with semi-humorous lyrics. Recommended if you like Suburban Kids with Biblical Names, Hot Chip, or Jens Lekman.
Magnet Club - Venii EP:
1. Healthy Addictions
2. Quarters In The Machine
3. Ten
4. A Country House