ROCH - The Ah - On-The-Go feat. Naadia

ROCH returns to Beehive Candy for a fourth time this year with her latest single (and album title track) 'Via Media'. Accompanied with a cleverly matched video the imaginative singer songwriter, has a musical backdrop that is atmospheric, whilst once again her distinctive vocals are just captivating. === We are always on the search for music that's just a little different yet engaging and The Ah and his lead single from the 'Mere Husk' album, due in January fulfils all of that with the wonderful piece 'Watermelon Tears'. === Indie quintet On-The-Go (feat. Naadia) have just released 'High' a superb and hook laden song with fabulous vocals and harmonies surrounded by a gorgeous musical arrangement.
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ROCH - Via Media.

London based singer, songwriter, and producer ROCH shares a new video for latest single plus album title track ‘Via Media’. A slinky, melancholic pop song, partly inspired by a small drawing of a violin by the Polish artist Franciszka Themerson – the video examines people's perception of space in the world we live in. Directed by Linda Dorigo, speaking on the video ROCH said: "I saw the creation of a music video as an opportunity to invite the viewer in to a space I momentarily inhabit. I’m interested in our perception of space and the people within it, which compliments the songs themes of communication and placement."

“Untangle our selves from what’s feared,” she sings, breathily, over soft synths and a staccato beat. “We are tipping / While we’re missing / Sounds of violins and roads / Keeping our distance yet welded so deep."

With a sound that is completely unique, ROCH’s (aka Kate Miller) spiralling electronic pop creations are truly something to treasure. Fascinated by crossovers of space and language, and by rethinking the “mundane and ubiquitous ideas” found in every day life. The bridging of grand scale and domestic scale is a concept Miller has been exploring in her work since her time studying performance and sculpture at University of the Arts London’s Central Saint Martin’s college, and continues to probe in the impassioned synth pop she makes as ROCH.

Miller’s interest in the lofty versus the mundane stems from her religious background as well. Roch was Miller’s confirmation name, after St. Roch, the patron saint of the plague. Miller grew up going to Catholic school and studied 13th and 14th century medieval art history in school. She’s captivated by medieval art, patron saints, and religious paraphernalia, and the way those emblems manifest in every day life. “The music is influenced in a lot of ways by sacrifice,” Miller explains. In line with depictions of Catholicism and sainthood, the songs on ROCH’s debut album, Via Media, often deal with sacrifice of the body—taking that quintessential religious image into the every day. Instead of the sacrifice being for God, it’s for family, career, or comradery. “Rather than this saintly sacrifice being these dramatic Catholic ascension-type scenes, it's work, labour, pregnancy.”

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The Ah - Watermelon Tears.

The Ah today announced his sophomore full-length Mere Husk will be released on January 31st via NNA Tapes. The lead single "Watermelon Tears" is out now and provides a glimpse into the imaginative and playful solo work of Jeremy Gustin, a sought after drummer, musician and composer who has worked with David Byrne, Albert Hammond jr, Kimbra, Delicate Steve, Rubblebucket, Marc Ribot, Sam Amidon, Daniel Rossen, and many more.

Jeremy also shared thoughts on creating the track: "I knew I wanted to add sounds or samples in the middle section and I experimented a lot with no luck. Ironically, as the songs title has tears in it, laughter seemed the best fit for the track. But having one person laugh wasn’t quite right so I started experimenting by adding baby’s, old people, and even some animals laughing. Somehow that seemed to work. Perhaps watermelon tears are the kind of tears you get when you laugh really hard. Sweet tears." The release of Mere Husk will be celebrated in conjunction with Gustin's forthcoming photography book Foundscapes (being released with 11A Records) at Brooklyn NY's Step Bone Cut on February 1st.

Jeremy Gustin is a one-of-a-kind drummer who has toured and recorded with Rubblebucket, Okkervil River, David Byrne, Marc Ribot, Delicate Steve, and Albert Hammond Jr.. He has long been in demand for his ability to bring a touch of the unorthodox to highly structured and improvised musical settings alike, so it should come as no surprise that on his own solo project, The Ah, Gustin explores the outer boundaries of his imagination to the fullest.

The Ah's new album Mere Husk, the follow-up to 2017’s Common Bliss, sees Gustin once again crafting animal noises, water sounds, miscellaneous found audio, and his own playing into a harmonic language that straddles the line between his love of pop songcraft and his equally strong attraction to the abstract. Rather than employ gurgling fish tank bubbles and dolphin calls for their ambient properties alone, for example, Gustin bends them beyond recognition so that they mimic synths or serve the role of instrumental parts in an arrangement that falls together like a classic "song" --- whether Gustin includes vocals or not. "I love songs and melody," says Gustin. "As much as I like unusual stuff, I'm a song guy at heart."

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On-The-Go (feat. Naadia) - High.

Having shared stages with the likes of Jungle, The Big Pink and Foster The People, indie quintet On-The-Go have put together an eclectic album with enough uplifting tunes to keep the wolf from the door this winter.

Influenced by pop, folk and electronica, the band combine progressive time signatures, an ecstatic energy and crystal-clear production. Complex arrangements, delicately layered textures and heartfelt lyricism result in an affecting, nuanced record.

The band tells us that “we wanted to make sure that each song is based on specific ideas and lyrics with the rhythm and melody forming around the subject.”

The songs tackle subjects such as looking for balance in relationships in the ever-changing and unpredictable world, the conflicting emotions around raising children within a political climate of fear and hatred, and the changing nature of memories as our current experiences increasingly conflict with the beliefs we held in the past.

This is evident on tracks like ‘Happy’ (feat. Kate NV) which explores the effect of mental health on relationships, and the moral dilemma of trying to help or be supported by a loved one while trying not to be dragged under yourself. Title track ‘Unsaid’ deals with the regret surrounding the things we wish we were able to tell the people we care about but were never able to. Unsaid is available everywhere in February 28, 2020.

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