Charlotte Jacobs - Hannah Scott - Ladderman - Adwaith + Massimo Silverio - Francis Lung - Petey and Miya Folick
Charlotte Jacobs is sharing the music video for her new single, "Other Half". Charlotte describes the track as, "I think this song is about being close to another half- which can be another person, but I think also another part of yourself, and I think the images used in the video translates the music really well."
Brooklyn-by-Belgium vocalist Charlotte Jacobs transposes her world into music. Sights, movements, sounds and places coalesce, reflecting the artist’s surroundings in lush electronic unison. Born and raised in her parents’ art gallery in a small village in the Flanders countryside, Jacobs’ dense avant-pop arrangements pull influence from visual art, poetry and contemporary dance, converting one artistic medium into another. After spending several years performing in Belgian electronic trio SEIREN while studying jazz vocals at The Royal Conservatory of Ghent, Jacobs began writing her own material, experimenting with vocal manipulation and unorthodox song structure.
Despite performing with multiple collaborative projects, as well as composing video game and film scores, it wasn’t until Charlotte Jacobs relocated to Brooklyn in 2017 when she began to thoroughly find her voice. It was there she embarked on a new eccentric musical exploration, collaborating with New York’s cohort of producers and artists while delving into the textures, shapes and colors of her own vocals in her Crown Heights bedroom. 2019 saw the release of Jacobs’ debut Fishtale EP, a lurid collection of forward-thinking pop tied together with the help of producer and engineer Zubin Hensler (Half Waif, The Westerlies, Hannah Epperson). Influenced by jazz vocalist Betty Carter, Bjork’s vocal-centered Medulla and Tirzah’s wheezing pop loops, Charlotte Jacobs’ music upends expectations, subverting tradition through playful fusions of style and genre.
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London-based independent artist Hannah Scott is fast cementing her place as one of the country’s most exciting new songwriters, with her emotive, personal songs and striking voice. Hot on the heels of her recent sync success which saw her song No Gravity open an episode of Grey’s Anatomy, she releases Drawn To Darkness,the fourth and final single from her forthcoming Help Musicians-funded album.
The song expresses the beauty and depth she finds in sadness. Co-written and produced with long-standing creative partner Stefano Della Casa (Ultra Music Publishing), Drawn To Darkness expertly combines organic, live elements with electronic sounds.
The two artists have struck a perfect balance between Hannah’s traditional songwriting craft and Stefano’s unique cinematic production. Further highlights for the pair include opening for Madeleine Peyroux to an audience of 2000 at Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre and travelling across Ireland with Paddy Casey to open shows for him in Dublin and in a tiny Irish speaking village near Galway! Their music has also been featured on BBC Radio 2 including a live session with Dermot
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It is pure melancholy that is transformed here into a bittersweet fairy talesque Brothers Grimm style. With 'The Huntress Obeyed' a new indie band from Lucerne enters the music scene: Laddermen.
Singer and guitarist Leopold Oakes hails from Texas, where he played in several indie and hardcore bands which taught him to express emotion through music.
In 2019, Oakes left Texas to redefine the concept of home, as well as his musical work, in Switzerland. Together with musicians from previous projects, they created «Laddermen», a construct of melancholic, dark and haunting rock music.
'The Huntress Obeyed' is a spherical post-punk song about cocaine addiction in Austin, Texas and the darker side of the excessive party scene there.
Laddermen will release their debut album later this year. Their haunting songwriting and deep dramaturgy, for which they draw inspiration from English bands, should splash the indie scene with another palette of color.
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This week sees the launch of an international partnership between the National Eisteddfod and the SUNS Europe Festival – the European Festival of Performing Arts in European Minority Languages. The partnership is a celebration of music rising above linguistic borders, with the first project combining Welsh with Friulian, the indigenous language of Friuli, northern Italy.
This first collaboration features Welsh band, Adwaith and Friulian musician, Massimo Silverio, with the song, Yn y Sŵn (Nijo), released on 26 February.
Two versions of the song have been recorded, a Welsh and bilingual version in Welsh and Fruilian, and both Adwaith and Massimo Silverio feature on both versions. The word ‘Nijo’, the title of the bilingual version, is an ancient Friulian word meaning ‘Nowhere’, and when writing the words, Massimo Silverio thought of all the feelings, words and language which ultimately reach ‘Nijo’.
Welcoming the partnership with the SUNS Europe Festival, National Eisteddfod Chief Executive, Betsan Moses, said, “This partnership between the Eisteddfod and the SUNS Europe festival shows how we can successfully collaborate with other countries and cultures across the world.
“I’m confident that the fact that we’re both festivals celebrating minority languages binds us together, and I hope this is a solid foundation for us to further develop this relationship and other projects in the future. We’ve created something quite magical with this first collaboration, and I’m sure everyone will agree that the song – be that the Welsh or bilingual version – is amazing.”
Leo Virgili, SUNS Europe’s Artistic Director, added, “I want to thank the Eisteddfod for this brilliant idea. Collaborating with Wales at this specific time has even more importance for us. We strongly believe in a Europe that goes beyond Brexit, banks, and state agreements. A real Europe able to express proudly its diversity, sharing the power of indigenous languages and cultures.”
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Francis Lung (ex-WU LYF) is announcing his second album, Miracle (out June 18 via Memphis Industries) with this first single, "Bad Hair Day".
This is the second album from Tom McClung – the real name behind the Francis Lung moniker – following his 2019 debut, A Dream Is U, which scored support at the Times, MOJO, Uncut, NPR, Best Fit, Paste Magazine and more. He recorded the new album at the idyllic Giant Wafer studios in rural Wales before self-producing in collaboration with Brendan Williams (Dutch Uncles, Kiran Leonard) and Robin Koob (who co-arranged and performed strings).
The opportunity to self-produce and maintain that creative control is something that somewhat plays into the album's deeply personal themes which represent a period of introspection for Francis as he reflected on his own struggles with mental health, substance (ab)use and, relationships.
There's something disarming about the breezy, sunny art-rock and power-pop, but underneath that, Miracle is a cathartic process for Lung which finds him tackling these demons in a brutally honest and open manner; the album is intended to celebrate the healing process whilst being aware of and accepting of the darker sides of the human psyche. This first single, "Bad Hair Day" demonstrates Francis' step-up in widescreen, kitchen sink power-pop, a sound not too far from Pet Sounds and Brill Building pop.
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The Los Angeles-based artist Petey and Miya Folick released a new single “Haircut” via Terrible Records. The duo co-wrote the song and recorded it together in Miya’s apartment, and also collaborated on an official video for the track in Petey’s backyard featuring Folick shaving her own head.
“Haircut is a very fun song I wrote with my friend Miya about getting an extreme haircut and not wanting to talk about it,” explains Petey. “I hope you like it. it was really fun to make. We recorded it in Miya’s apartment.”
“Petey started this song and showed it to me. I immediately related. Just scroll through my feed to see a history of emotional haircuts. I really love the way it turned out. And it’s one of my mom’s favorite songs that I’ve made!” said Miya Folick about the track.
After signing to the Los Angeles-based Terrible Records (Claud, Empress Of, The Voidz) in late 2019, Petey has released 3 EP’s (Car Practice, High Life From The Bottle on the Beach, and Checkin Up on Buds) as well as 2 singles. Petey and Miya Folick previously collaborated on his single “California - Prius Edition” which appeared on High Life From The Bottle On The Beach. UPROXX said, Petey is a unique creature, combining elements of emo, electronic, and folk music into a sound that is unmistakably Petey.
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