Astrid Swan - Lauran Hibberd - Scott Ruthenberg - TYA
Astrid Swan - Dreaming Is Dangerous.Background - Astrid Swan's latest album From the Bed and Beyond (released early spring 2017 via Soliti) has been a substantial critical and commercial success. It's been further enhanced by successful festival appearances at Flow, Sideways, Provinssi and Tallinn Music Week to name a few. In addition to festivals, a run of special shows has created a deep connection with audiences who have responded deeply to the album's themes and powerful visual presentation.
From The Bed and Beyond is an album about the aftermath of breast cancer. It is about the body; giving birth, becoming a mother, then becoming a patient – becoming a physical body that is defined by medicine, controlled and intervened, unknown and simultaneously more feeling than ever. It’s a pop record about loss, death, grief and hope.
It's Astrid's most personal and important album of music to date. Shortly after the release of the album Astrid Swan was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, which as well as delivering extra poignancy and emotional pull to the concerts surrounding the album, created different challenges as Swan negotiated treatments and the live-stage. At the time of writing hope wins out.
Against this backdrop, we're more than happy to reveal an unreleased track from the album, 'Dreaming Is Dangerous' – which drops via all digital services on the 20th of October.
"'Dreaming is Dangerous' was recorded for From the Bed and Beyond, but it was left out to make the album more succinct. Here it is now for your autumn evenings. It's a song calling for a better treatment of yourself: take care, dream, live now, be kind to yourself and others –– do not mistake yourself for one moment for a stone, not even rose quartz. With this release, I'd like to say thanks for the year 2017, the amazing support and communication I've had with so many people about life and music. It has been a year of magic and a year of pain." Astrid. Web-blog here, Facebook here.
Astrid Swan's enchanting vocals on 'Dreaming Is Dangerous' dance above a refined piano lead musical arrangement that occasionally bursts with power. Even when that music surges her vocals are equal for the challenge. Anymore unreleased tracks of this calibre will be more than welcome.
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Background - Earlier this month, Lauran Hibberd performed on the main stage at Bestival 2017. Her newest song, “Eliza” belongs in an indie movie soundtrack for the little voice in your head. In the screen-less moments of our daily routines, our thoughts entertain our busy brains. Without earbuds, you might find yourself chanting “E-L-I-Z-A” and humming the chorus just like you would for the White Stripes’ “Hotel Yorba.”
The energetic guitar riffs, walking organ notes and steady beat complement Lauran’s voice like Zooey Deschanel in She & Him. One can easily imagine the song in a fun coming of age film like 500 Days of Summer that also boasts an impressive soundtrack. In “Eliza,” the lyrics explore a sense of self that comes from the choices we make. Lauran names her conscience Eliza. She wonders what others would think of the girl who lives in the back of her mind. Who is really in control? This song encourages listeners to think about how choices define our character and our relationships.
“For me, Eliza is a soundtrack. It’s the dancing around in your room when your alone, the song you brush your teeth to in the morning. It’s coming of age, it’s fun, it’s young and it’s brash. It’s ignorantly honest, and represents my generation and the world I live in (all of it’s faults included). I wrote the song about the little voice we all have in the back of our minds, and I just happened to name mine Eliza.” Facebook here.
We featured Lauran Hibberd back in August describing the previous track as "one fabulous vibrant and lovable song." With the new share entitled 'Eliza' we have a second "fabulous vibrant and lovable song" and some!
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Scott Ruthenberg - Know You Better (Feat. Grace Canny).Background - Scott Ruthenberg is a singer/songwriter from the Western Australian suburb of Fremantle. At the ripe age of 28, Scott has finally released his debut single titled 'Know You Better' - a song he initially penned five years ago, in 2012. The single is about being honest and open and those people in life that know you so well that you feel they know you better than you know yourself.
Through conversation with an ex-workmate came the birth of 'Know You Better'. "I was having a conversation with my workmate at the time who was telling me about how much of a struggle their life had been recently, and the frankness of the conversation really struck me," says Scott. "I appreciated and admired the rawness and honesty of what she had to say because so often we just mask the fact that everything is fine, even when it's not. I empathized with her and gave her some advice and at the end of it she said it was as if I knew her better than she did".
Scott's soft and silky vocals intertwine effortlessly with the simplistic melody in the track almost as if he has taken a leaf out of James Blunt's book. The instrumentals and composition of this song are beautiful and compliment his vocals creating a soothing, calm, harmonious emotion. Looking ahead and moving to the next phase is Scott's focus with plans for a new single to be released in early 2018 followed by an EP in April and supporting it with some live shows across the country. Facebook here.
'Know You Better' is a delightful pop song with a hint or two of folk vibes along the way. The dual vocals are charming, the music just right & when the string arrangement unfolds, the track becomes complete, completely beautiful that is.
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Background - TYA effortlessly stand out with their own spin of delicate sensual textures, ambient sounds and cinematic builds, winning the hearts of their followers with their fresh melodies, honest lyrical expressions and the way they engage with their instruments, each other and their audience.
After finding success in Far North Queensland at a young age; releasing a full-length album featuring other FNQ acts such as Emma Louise & The Medics, supporting and touring with the likes of Wolfmother, Sheppard, Eskimo Joe, Bluejuice, Ball Park Music, The Jungle Giants, The Belligerents and Birds of Tokyo to name a few, the group decided it was time to explore their sound and head south.
Over the following 12 months, Sony, Casey, Peter and Reece would go through many personal challenges that moulded them into an impassioned, persistent and excellence driven team, evolving their sound and brand into what is now TYA.
The second single from their debut EP No Money, More Love, only reaffirms TYA's new direction. Hustle eloquently incorporates a delicious concoction of guitar tones, punchy drum sounds and catchy lead vocal melody that is sure to be stuck in the listeners head for days on end.
Hustle recounts the story of a significant period in every one of the band members lives that occurred during 2016 and tackles strong themes such as drug addiction and self-image. This time brought them closer as a band and friends and shaped their lives dramatically. Facebook here.
'Hustle' is the second single from the bands 'No Money, More Love' EP. It is typical of the overall quality to be found in this collection of music. The band drift between indie pop and rock with imaginative and finely produced material, where catchy melodic hooks are everywhere.
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