Giulia - André Ethier - New Candys - T. Hardy Morris - Ida Mae
Versatile, intuitive, and multi-dimensional. Those are just a few words to define the genre-bending musician Giulia., who infuses jazz-influenced arrangements, unusual rhythmic phrasings, and understated spoken word into her dreamy indie-folk melodies.
Born and raised in Toronto, one of the most multicultural cities in the world, Giulia. was surrounded by a world of art from a young age. The moniker Giulia. (with a g and a period) comes from the Italian spelling of Julia she’d always wanted. Her parents “Americanized” their names in their youth when having a foreign-sounding name was frowned upon.
Years later, they gave both her siblings names with the traditional Italian spelling. Giulia. says, “I remember growing up, I was very dramatic about the fact that I was the only one who didn’t have an Italian name and always envied the uniqueness of their names.” Set to release her first song at 19, she needed an artist name immediately.
She says, “The little 9-year-old girl inside of me begged me to make her proud. I had been waiting for an alter-ego my whole life so I could name her Giulia., and now I was finally going to have one.” She added the period to make her feel extra special – like the name didn’t need anything else, just Giulia. Period.
===================================================
André Ethier is set to release his new album, Further Up Island on May 28, 2021, via the beloved Toronto label, Telephone Explosion (Polaris long/shortlisted acts inc. Badge Époque Ensemble, Bernice, Pantayo). We’re now releasing the new single “Nature Compels Me.”
We announced the new record, Further Up Island last month earning support at GoldFlakePaint, Brooklyn Vegan, Exclaim and more – this comes as the final piece in a trilogy of Sandro Perri-produced solo records from Ethier with this specific track featuring the sax of Joseph Shabason (prev. tips from Pitchfork, NPR and Aquarium Drunkard). The first album (Under Grape Leaves) was very much about building a home, the second one (Croak in the Weeds) was about living in it and this new one, Further Up Island is about leaving it and exploring, packed with plenty of Ethier's tongue-in-cheek humour akin to Randy Newman, Bonnie “Prince” Billy and that ilk of songwriter.
André initially grew as a musician as part of the 90's/00's Toronto band, the Deadly Snakes at one point earning Ethier singing duties at the Dodger's stadium singing the Canadian national anthem (he shared a name with a Dodger's legend). Since those days, Ethier shifted his attention to this intricate, dreamy folk music as well as developing a notable career as a painter with his artwork here adorning the cover of the new album and also placements in galleries across Canada (Toronto & Montréal), the US (Derek Eller in NY & Honor Fraser in LA) and Italy (Torino).
===================================================
New Candys have recently announced the release of their new album 'Vyvyd', out on 4th June via Little Cloud Records/Dischi Sotterranei/Fuzz Club.
Following the release of album opener 'Twin Mime' last month, the band have shared new track 'Begin Again'. "It’s the closest thing to a love song that’s on this record", they explain, "It’s about how we sometimes think about an ended relationship, and the only thing that’s left is just the memory of it. The bass line came first, then the chords and vocal melody. It is the first time that we used a drum machine instead of the traditional drum kit".
The single is accompanied by a video, directed by Ivana Smudja. She says: “Begin Again is the story of Lea and Mel Stevens, two twin sisters who exchange personalities from time to time. Whenever they secretly encounter, one of the two is set free, free from ordinary life, until they meet again. The video was filmed in Groesbeek (The Netherlands), during one of the coldest months of the year and during lockdown. We were not allowed to gather with more than two people outside and the woods were the safest place where to hide and film (keeping distance and wearing our masks, of course)”.
Known for their relentless touring schedule and DIY work ethic, New Candys are one of the most solid independent bands of recent years. ‘Vyvyd’ follows up on the widely acclaimed third album ‘Bleeding Magenta’, which saw them tour non-stop across Europe, UK, North America and Australia.
Recorded at Fox Studio in Venice, Italy by Andrea Volpato and mixed and mastered by Grammy Award producers Tommaso Colliva (The Jesus And Mary Chain) and Giovanni Versari respectively, 'Vyvyd' is the first record made by the new line-up of Fernando Nuti, Andrea Volpato, Alessandro Boschiero and Dario Lucchesi. It will be available through Little Cloud Records and Dischi Sotterranei, plus an exclusive vinyl edition via Fuzz Club.
“I’ve started to sketch some songs for the record during a very tumultuous period for the band, with many line-up changes between the end of 2017 until mid-2018, but as soon as the new line-up formed, the excitement to create new music together was overwhelming and helped the creative process immensely,” says frontman Fernando Nuti.
===================================================
T. Hardy Morris is set to return with The Digital Age of Rome on June 25th via the New West Records imprint Normaltown Records. The 10-song set was produced by Adam Landry (Deer Tick, Rayland Baxter) and mixed by engineer Nate Nelson. It follows the Diamond Rugs and Dead Confederate member’s 2018 acclaimed Dude, The Obscure, which Pitchfork said "may be Morris' best record; it's certainly his most complex and compelling statement" and "it's sharp focus is refreshing," while AllMusic said, “Morris takes his ambitions skyward, infusing a joyous psychedelia into the mix…”
After touring Dude, The Obscure, Morris had 13 new songs demoed for a new album. He was excited to get his band together to rehearse the songs before hunkering down in the studio to record...then the pandemic hit. Sequestered at his Athens, GA home with his family, Morris, like most everyone else in the past year, mulled over what was truly important to him and in response, crafted an entirely new set of songs. Enlisting a group of musicians including Drive-By Truckers drummer Brad Morgan, singer-songwriter Faye Webster and many others, Morris pulled no punches with his mesmerizing lyrics and hazy brand of southern glam rock.
Looking directly inward and captivated by the sobering realities of the pandemic, Morris has composed one of his most personal works yet. He tackles the well-worn anxieties of the past year as pandemic and political divisions ravaged America. The Digital Age of Rome is more direct than Morris has ever been and is one of his boldest records yet. Unapologetic and brutally honest, it is a necessary diary for an uncomfortable time that continues to unfold.
===================================================
Today, the Nashville-via-London duo Ida Mae shared their new song “Road to Avalon”, the opening track from their upcoming sophomore album Click Click Domino. “We wanted this song and production to be a cinematic, slow pan across a vignette of the towns and cities we’ve travelled through that felt lost and forgotten,” writes Ida Mae.
“Clashing a 1900s American gut string ukulele banjo with modern synthesizers, casio keyboards, thumb piano and Beatles-esque Mellotron organ was intentional to try and create a kind of sparse transatlantic dreamstate. We chose Avalon because it's rich in Celtic mythology, an earthly paradise in the western skies, a pretty grandiose metaphor for searching or escaping to a place or situation that's better than where you are.” Click Click Domino will be released on July 16th, through Thirty Tigers.
The song follows the release of lead single “Click Click Domino” which was featured in Rolling Stone who writes, “With guitar assistance from shred wizard Marcus King, the tune is a heaving mass of scuzzy blues-rock riffs and thunderous drums that indicts social media for its isolating, alienating effects… Somewhere, Jack White is busy looking for new amp settings.
===================================================
Comments