Showing posts with label Oracle Sisters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oracle Sisters. Show all posts

Saturday, 16 October 2021

Helven - Unite The States Project - Peter Joly - Lilly Hiatt - Oracle Sisters

Helven - if i could be like u.

Norwegian alt-pop artist Helven has shared dreamy new single 'if i could be like you', the second to be taken from her debut EP volume 1, due out via Jansen Records on Jan 14th 2022. Helven, aka 21-year-old Jenny Bakke, fuses together honest, true and contemporary lyrics with inspiration from pop music of the past, capturing the experience of life as a 21-year-old woman in the 2020’s.

Inspired by the many lessons her brother, who has autism and Landau-Kleffner Syndrome, has taught her, Helven is on a mission to wear her heart on her sleeve. Each of the five tracks that make up volume 1 focuses on a different emotion that she has struggled to express in the past: envy, care, love, sadness and frustration.

Last month Helven shared debut single ‘u my homie’. Delivering her signature smoky vocals atop laidback trip-hop beats, the lyrics were pulled from text messages and notes Helven wrote whilst helping her childhood friend through a tough time. Today, she shares new single 'if i could be like you', a track that deals with the secretive and painful feeling of envy. “You know that I would do anything to be like you” she sings, atop gentle guitar strums and hazy synths. “I have always tried to love myself, at least most of the time. But occasionally I’m haunted by jealousy” she says. “For a time I felt like I would do anything to be like someone else, to have lived another life and even to die like someone else. But now I'm glad I chose to be me.”

Attaching a particular feeling to the autobiographical stories she tells in her music has helped her find a true sense of self. Her message to her generation is simple. “In order to survive in this increasingly chaotic world, we need to listen to our feelings more, and express them proudly”. 'if i could be like you' is out now via Jansen Records and available to stream and download via all of the usual channels, volume 1 will follow on January 14th.

 

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Unite The States Project - Battle Stations.

Presentation by the band: The Unite The States Project is a newly formed concept formed by New Jersey rock musicians and featuring Ram Jam's Myke Scavone who have decided to write and release a 5 songs EP to protest what is happening in the United States and all over the globe.

“The "Unite The States Project" is a concept from four New Jersey musicians who come from an original recording band with Full Lengths and EPs released in the US and Europe, but who decided to use an alias on this project as to not offend any fans. Even though the band is split between leaning left and right in the political arena they all agreed that the current state of things are corrupt and needed to be addressed. They decided to write and release a 5 songs EP to protest what is happening in the United States (and all over the globe).

The so called "woke" mentality and the Governments’ links to the so called Big Business/Big Tech/Big Pharma lobbies to the disadvantage of common people. The Unite The States Project first single/video "Battle Stations" depicts a bit of it all in a pop rock kind of vibe. Lyrically the song covers everything from woke mentality to the fake/propagandized media to expose the general state of corruption.

The overall goal of the Unite The States Project is to show - no matter where you stand politicly - that we can still come together for a united cause and that it’s time for the people to take notice of what is happening in our countries before we end up in a Marxist world, which has been tried before and didnt turn out so well.”

Wayne Olivieri, Gar Francis, Johnnie Rago, Dan Skye, Special Guest : Myke Scavone (Ram Jam/The Doughboys), Unite The States Project.

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Peter Joly - Easy Has Never Been The Way (Album).

'Easy Has Never Been The Way' is the much welcomed new Peter Joly album release, where once again we have a continued demonstration of masterful songwriting that will hit you where it matters - right in the soul. 

Streaming now on Bandcamp the eleven new tracks are also delivered in eco-friendly wallet jacket adorned with original artwork by master painter Henia Flynn.

Peter tell us "I couldn't be more proud of this record; produced by Chicago's own uber talented Jon Williams and chock full of notable Chicago players whom I've recorded and performed live with spanning these two most recent projects."

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Lilly Hiatt - Simple.

Lilly Hiatt returns with Lately via New West Records. The 10-song set was co-produced by Lilly and her drummer Kate Haldrup at Death Ladder in East Nashville, TN. Lately is the follow up to Hiatt’s highly praised Walking Proof, which was among the first records released to feel the full wrath of the soon-to-be raging pandemic that would bring the world to its knees. Despite the timing of its release, the long player was named a “Best Album of the Year” by Rolling Stone, No Depression, Magnet Magazine, and more. 

Met with critical acclaim, Slant Magazine said in their 4 out of 5 star review, “Lilly Hiatt’s Lately is the artist’s most daring, experimental album to date,” while American Songwriter said “It marks a certain maturity that underscores Hiatt’s authenticity as both an artist and individual, and the strength she possesses when it comes to propelling that presence forward. Ultimately, Lately becomes a timely testimonial to all she’s achieved thus far.” Holler said “...she’s forged her own distinct fusion of country balladry, confessional indie pop and classic rock” while Glide Magazine said “...if there is any justice in the world, Lately will find the audience it truly deserves.”

As each day passed following the release of Walking Proof, more events were postponed, moved, and ultimately canceled. The sudden stillness forced Lilly to take a long, deep look inside and despite having a new album just released, she went back to doing what she does best: she picked up the guitar and started to write. What could have been devastating ended up being therapeutic, and Lilly learned how to find fulfillment in quieter places versus the adrenalized life she was used to.

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Oracle Sisters - Take the Lead (Live with the Elmire Quartet).

Parisian trio Oracle Sisters have just shared ‘Midnight Afternoon - Live at La Ferme with the Elmire Quartet’, a stunning three track EP of completely new material, recorded at their now iconic studio in the south of France. This is closely followed by the band setting off on an 18-date tour across the UK & EU where they will preview never-before-heard material from their highly anticipated debut album, to be announced soon, and which the band first spoke about with V Magazine.

Undisputed riders of the heart Oracle Sisters have partnered with friends The Elmire Quartet for an EP that pairs the band's trademark romanticism with understated, timeless string arrangements. Midnight Afternoon opens with "Take the Lead", an invitation to waltz away the final minutes of dusky daylight. "Silk Sunset Streams" is a diary entry; a lonely serenade from the heartworn soul of a poet wandering through the longest of afternoons. The record closes with hazy, rose-tinted memories of friendship on the epistolary "Old Friend".

Oracle Sisters’ are modern musical revivalists, influenced by jazz, rock and roll and 100 years of bards and composers. Written across Europe and recorded in the south of France, this new EP “is an  intimate, live and arranged performance of our earliest songs, written from experience and some of the first we worked on arriving in Paris, taking about 3 years, while working on other stuff (Paris I, II and the upcoming  album), to get the recordings and arrangements perfect,” the band say.

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Friday, 9 April 2021

Robyn Sherwell - Quiet Marauder - MaryLiz - Matilda Gracia - Carbon Memory - Oracle Sisters - Juanita Stein

Robyn Sherwell - A Kiss.

Singer and songwriter Robyn Sherwell shares ‘A Kiss’, the second single taken from her upcoming new album ‘Unfold’, due for release on June 18th. Talking about the meaning behind the song, Robyn says; “A kiss is a simple act, but can also mean crossing the line between friendship and something more than friendship. The song speaks to the risk of doing something that can’t be undone, something that could change everything, and the floating exhilaration, fear, excitement and anticipation of that moment.”

Robyn’s alluring vocals are set over gently rocking Wurlitzer keys, with lush electric guitar delays building up into beguiling cascading layers, giving the sense of free-falling as the line is crossed. Robyn’s vocal delivery is like the whispered sharing of a secret, as we hear every tiny breath and are carried on the journey into this moment, one that so many people can relate to.

The song is accompanied by a dance performance video, featuring LA based dancer Carly Blaney. The idea behind the video was born when Carly and Robyn connected via Instagram after Carly posted a video of herself dancing to Robyn’s cover of ‘Landslide’. “We wanted the video to be simple and allow the choreography and Carly’s talent to shine,” explains Robyn. “Carly’s interpretation of the song as a solo dancer perfectly connects to the lyrics. I just adore how expressive and intimate it feels. I’ve always loved how beautifully dance can convey a song’s energy and meaning., I’m so happy to have been able to collaborate with Carly to create these visuals.”

Robyn Sherwell is a name that has been on the lips of tastemakers since her debut single ‘Love Somebody’ became a firm favourite of Lauren Laverne’s on BBC Radio 6 and signalled the arrival of a new heart-on-sleeve female singer-songwriter. Follow up single ‘Islander’, a dedication to her childhood home of Guernsey, quickly secured support from Huw Stephens and BBC Introducing, catapulting Sherwell onto the latter’s stage at Glastonbury in June 2015. That same summer, her cover of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Landslide’ was chosen as the soundtrack to the trailer for the film ‘Suffragette’. This led to Lauren Laverne making the track her 6Music Recommends Track Of The Week, and Jo Whiley playing it twice in one show on her BBC Radio 2 show. In 2021, the emotive power of her rendition is still turning heads: having caught the attention of Airbnb, the song was placed within the film for their latest major global advertising campaign. While her original songs ‘Low’ and ‘Love Somebody’ have been featured on the soundtrack of popular TV shows including Good Trouble and Oprah Winfrey’s Queen Sugar.


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Quiet Marauder - Epic Plot Twist: Extinguished.

Following swiftly on from last year’s Tiny Men Parts EP, Quiet Marauder re-enter the sonic fray with their latest Bubblewrap Collective long-player, The Gift, on 9th April 2021.

Taking a strong divergence from the bombastic pop-punk of its predecessor, The Gift sees backing vocalist Kadesha Drija step to the foreground for the majority of the album, standing afront a richly crafted, multi-instrumental acoustic-folk backdrop.

Recorded pre-pandemic, January 2020, in The Burning Hell’s (Canada) pop-up Snowbird Studios, aka an art deco villa in Riofreddo, near Rome (Italy), this release marks another chapter in the ongoing international collaboration between the bands. For this album, Quiet Marauder’s (Wales) contributions of acoustic guitar, bass, trumpet and layered lead and backing vocals are granted further textural depth from their Canadian counterparts. These include minimalist harmonic splashes of flute, piano, organ (Jake Nicoll), electric guitar, bouzouki (Darren Browne) and bass clarinet (Ariel Sharratt).

Returning to the conceptual songwriting approach of previous releases MEN and The Crack And What It Meant, The Gift charts the narrative of a troubled teenage girl (Willow) haunted by visions of a mysterious house fire. Willow’s path is traced through well-meaning foster parents, teenage love interests, time-bending superpowers, distrust of domestic appliances and, ultimately, her own memories; covering themes of self-identity and the fallibility of human recall. Though the album marks a more overtly serious tone for the band, the sensitive subject matter is delicately handled through their trademark low-key, observational and, sometimes, darkly humorous lyrics.

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MaryLiz - Winter in California.

MaryLiz draws her inspiration from ordinary scenes of her life and transforms them into powerful messages that can reach everybody. A rare gem that will grasp your attention through powerful and engaging live performances. A singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist that is not afraid to deliver her songs with infectious grace and a singular vulnerability. She recalls being influenced by various musical genres and performers, including the blues, Sade, Fleetwood Mac, and Drake to name a few.

Her style is still young and developing, although the consistency of her writing is very mature. She chooses subjects that relate to the role of the modern woman and moves easily between ballads and more uptempo beats, varying her delivery to occasionally allow her band to stretch the music and incorporate elements from world music and Jazz.

Originally from Coopersburg, Pennsylvania, she obtained a music degree from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and while doing so, developed many contacts within the local music scene where her artistry is quickly earning her a pristine reputation and her fan base continues to expand. MaryLiz actively participates in numerous festivals and venues, including Blast Furnace Blues Festival at Steel Stacks, International Blues Festival in Memphis, Tennessee, Tall Trees Festival, the Kimmel Center, Silvana’s, Barnes Foundation, The Grape Room, and many others. Additional performance credits include Brian Williams and The Get Back, and Blues Junior at the ”Best of Philly” Soiree. Her song “Can I Be” is featured in the film “Drown The Clown”.

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Matilda Gracia - Rising Sun.

I wrote Rising Sun exactly one year ago, the day I was told my beloved Grandmother passed away from Covid.  I was in shock and the only thing that got me through that moment was writing this song. In fact, I feel as if I didn’t write it at all, it just poured out of me almost as if it was her helping me through that moment.

During this past year I have spent many months working on this song, day and night, in my home studio. Rising Sun will be available on all platforms on the 9th of April.

Matilda Gracia is a half Irish, half Spanish singer songwriter, musician and producer who describes her music as Self-help pop, “I like mixing catchy melodies with topics that matter, with the goal to connect and help people through music”. She is influenced by various genres including pop, soul, blues & singer-songwriter.

Since moving to London there have been a few highlights for Matilda including supporting Spanish Indie rock band on a UK tour, performing in iconic venues such as Notting hill Arts club and Electric Ballroom, making a guest appearance on Andertons live sessions and working with record label Dreamscope media group, to name but a few.

Since moving back to her hometown in Spain, Matilda has made creating music her top priority. She has been dedicated to working in her home studio to find the know how to express her music.  “I want more freedom and ability to express my thoughts through music, so that’s why I’m learning how to do it myself, plus I’m having so much fun in the process”. You can find Matilda on all the social media platforms as she embraces this new world by releasing her music.

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Carbon Memory - Distance.

Carbon Memory is a dynamic alternative rock band that develops sonic snapshots that are both transporting and cinematic. The Toronto band cues magnetic guitars and contemplative lyrics to a reel of ambient textures that oscillate between a sense of nostalgia and optimism.

It is in this spirit that the band came upon the sound and title of their upcoming EP, Tourist. Following the arduous process of self-producing/recording their 2018 debut EP, Panoramas, the band decided to enlist the help of Toronto producer Graham Walsh (Holy Fu*k, Alvvays, METZ) to best capture and instigate sonic experimentation on the group’s latest material.

Tourist was recorded over a period of two weeks, late summer 2020, at Toronto’s Palace Sound and Candle Recording studios. The EP features the band’s most compact and direct work yet. From the hazy, ethereal shoegaze textures and krautrock inspired “Distance” to the smug and insidious piano driven crooner “Rumours” that burns slow but heavy; Tourist gives the listener an idea of where the band has been and hints of where they want to go next. “The Only One” borrows plenty from the British Alternative rock aesthetic with a wall of guitars, a pulsing piano and soaring catchy choruses. “Closure” is the band’s organic midnight summer synth funk jam, while the brooding track “Tonight” plays out a recurring dream suspended by angular rhythms, wiry guitars and haunting melodies.

August 2018, saw the band release its debut EP, Panoramas; setting across Southern Ontario for a string of shows including dates at Toronto’s iconic Opera House and Lee’s Palace. The band was also featured on Southern Souls, the fantastic online video archive of the latest Canadian independent talent, showcasing two live-off-the-floor performances of the band’s jazzy and psychedelic laced track “Medusa” and their embracing folk-inspired song “Ocean of Gold”.

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Oracle Sisters - Paris II (E.P).

Parisian trio Oracle Sisters share their new EP ‘Paris II’, via NYC/LA independent label 22TWENTY (Madge, Fat Trout Trailer Park). Over the past twelve months, Oracle Sisters have built up a loyal and global following, blurring the lines between music and visual arts. Support for their music has come from NME, CLASH,The Line Of Best Fit, DIY, So Young, W Magazine, Vanity Fair, Beats1, COLORS, BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio 1, KEXP, NPR and many more. This culminated in the critically acclaimed release of Paris I, mid-way through 2020.

Now, Oracle Sisters release its sequel, ‘Paris II’ . Building upon their first EPs thematic premise of music lifted from a utopian vision of the French capital (where the band are based) the upcoming body of work shows the duel side “of that world...coming back down to earth to explore the darker sides of the psyche while probing some allies of hope” add the band.

Moreover, the EP has allowed the trio to mature and develop into sophisticated songwriters, weaving together their own sonic universe built on a tapestry of enigmatic lyrics lightyears ahead of their contemporaries and melodies that are  fitting to be sung round a campfire, or in a far-off tavern filled with revellers transporting the listener “to a portal to the past and the future, the stars and the moon.”

Oracle Sisters’ members hail from across Europe and the UK , the band are uninhibited in their influences, finding inspiration within the art, cinema, philosophy, and music of the world over; resulting in a sound that is both sonically sophisticated and warmly familiar. Lyrically, they explore timeless narratives of love, mysticism and spirituality, scattered with intriguing insights into their own personal lives and experiences resulting in songs that are cryptic yet inviting.

Now, having started recording in Greece,  the band are finishing off their debut album in Paris, due for announcement soon. Along the road, they’ve also played impromptu shows on the island of Hydra with friends from Fontaines D.C & The Murder Capital – capturing the troubadour spirit of the band.

With well over three million streams across their modest catalogue, and an impressive schedule of live dates to be announced across the UK, Europe and US and a debut album on the way - Oracle Sisters are quickly becoming recognised as one of the most exciting and prolific outfits to emerge from the French music scene, and now set their sights further afield.

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Juanita Stein - Snapshot (Locked Down - Live from Brighton Electric).

Juanita Stein will release a new live EP, Locked Down - Live From Brighton Electric via Nude Records on 28th May. The Howling Bells frontwoman turned solo artist performed songs from her acclaimed album, Snapshot, with a band that included her Howling Bells bandmates and the album’s producer, Ben Hillier, for the EP, which also features a pair of bonus tracks recorded during the original LP studio sessions.  Additionally, Juanita has announced some changes to her upcoming UK tour dates made necessary by ongoing COVID restrictions.

The release of the live EP will coincide with Stein’s previously announced UK headline dates. However, she has unfortunately been forced to cancel several dates due to ongoing COVID restrictions.  She explains:

"For those of you in Leicester, Newcastle, and Edinburgh I’m so sorry but with things being what they are right now, that is, still under part lockdown, I just can’t make these shows work at 50% capacity. I was holding out for a bit to see if we could, but financially it’s a kill. I want nothing more than to play Snapshot live for you and want to honour that with a full band. As SOON as I’m able to, I will get to you again. Birmingham, Bristol, London and Brighton will go ahead as scheduled, proximity to getting myself and the band home [each night] makes these shows entirely possible for me right now. I hope you understand and see you soon! X Juanita”

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Wednesday, 3 March 2021

Ida Mae Feat. Marcus King - Oracle Sisters - Bernice

Photo - Joe Hottinger
Ida Mae - Click Click Domino Feat. Marcus King.

Today, the Nashville-via-London duo Ida Mae announced their new sophomore album Click Click Domino, which follows their critically-acclaimed EP Raining For You and breakout debut Chasing Lights. The husband-wife duo Chris Turpin and Stephanie Jean has also shared the title track from the record, which features a blistering guitar performance from Marcus King. Click Click Domino will be released on July 16th, through Thirty Tigers.

Filled with thunderous production, killer riffs, and an insatiable rhythm throughout, "Click Click Domino" is among their most raucous tracks to date. Ida Mae writes, "This was written kind of as a knee jerk song. The unfiltered noise of social media, concerns surrounding social engineering, the lack of emotional connection and physical disconnection gets to all of us. We all know how easy it is to falsify an image, be it in fashion / politics / or any aspect of your everyday and in a lot of people's lives it has become a necessity to play into it. I wanted to write the lyrics to ‘Click Click Domino’ almost as Twitter statements, counting characters, making a short sharp stream of consciousness commentary."

"The riff was originally inspired by the playing of one of our favourite guitar players Pop Staples and it slowly morphed into something that in my mind almost echoed moments of Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac. It kicked up a gear when Marcus King came over and we stood side by side, soloing call and response guitar lines over the outro. The attitude of his playing was perfect."

Adding to this Marcus King says, "A warm summer Nashville evening, enjoying a whiskey beverage with my lady and two of our best friends in town, Chris & Steph of Ida Mae. I listened through the track ‘Click Click Domino’ and was immediately floored by the raw nature of the recording, the intensity and the undeniable, delightfully British rock sound I had grown up being captured. I’m honoured to have played on this track. What a powerhouse album and what a powerhouse band."

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Oracle Sisters - I Don't Wanna Move.

Parisian trio Oracle Sisters have today shared ‘I Don’t Wanna Move’. With this, they also announce the release date for their next EP, ‘Paris II’, due April 7th 2021 via New York independent label 22TWENTY (Madge, Fat Trout Trailer Park).

Talking on the track, the band add “I Don’t Wanna Move is a duet between Chris & Lewis  about desire, the song plays out like a town crier’s rhapsody with all the ancient laments, hopes and dreams of a wayward rake, or a seaworthy mariner rolled into a blanket of harmony.”

Over the past twelve months, Oracle Sisters have built up a loyal and global following, blurring the lines between music and visual arts. Now, Oracle Sisters turn their attention to its sequel, their next EP ‘Paris II’ , due for arrival on April 7th. Building upon their first EPs thematic premise of music lifted from a utopian vision of the French capital (where the band are currently located) the upcoming body of work shows the duel side “of that world...coming back down to earth to explore the darker sides of the psyche while probing some allies of hope” add the band.

With members hailing from across Europe and the UK , the band are uninhibited in their influences, finding inspiration within the art, cinema, philosophy, and music of the world over; resulting in a sound that is both sonically sophisticated and warmly familiar. Lyrically, they explore timeless narratives of love, mysticism and spirituality, scattered with intriguing insights into their own personal lives and experiences resulting in songs that are cryptic yet inviting.

Oracle Sisters have been working hard in Greece currently finishing off their debut album. Along the road, they’ve also played impromptu shows on the island of Hydra with friends from Fontaines D.C & The Murder Capital   – capturing the troubadour spirit of the band.

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Bernice - Lone Swan.

Today, ahead of the release the band are sharing the album's final single "Lone Swan."

"When we think of swans, we think of them coupled, distant, on water - beautiful, peaceful, sailing," says Bernice leader Robin Dann. "We know them as aggressive, hissing, dominating, at odds with our world. Lone swan feels conflict, curiosity, and longing. On a deserted road, city street, snowy mountain, suburban pool, forest, nightclub, airplane, crop circle, cloud - she absorbs as much as she releases. She doesn’t quite fit in anywhere she lands, wonders what is real, and her longing for connection carry her forward one webbed foot at a time."

Eau de Bonjourno is the Bernice's first collaboration with producer Shahzad Ismaily, the acclaimed multi-instrumentalist who has worked with artists as varied as Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed, Elvis Costello, Iggy Pop, John Zorn, and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy. While their genre reconstruction remains distinctly Bernice, Dann’s lyrics bring a newfound focus to storytelling in the present moment, compassionately meeting ourselves where we are, and finding joy in spaces that are familiar but ever changing.

Eau de Bonjourno, according to Dann, “openly plays with the shape of a pop song,” drawing on the band members’ backgrounds in jazz, subverting rhythmic formulas, and resting in grooves that sit just outside of predictable. Instead of letting instruments take extended solos, the tone is set on opener “Groove Elation” with brief blurts of synthesized sax, patient passages of space, or clusters of beats, tenderly held together by Dann and Williams’ intimate vocals. The album’s sound is experimental in its truest definition, chopped up like musique concrète and then delicately placed back together with the loving touch of a scrapbook collagist.

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Saturday, 5 December 2020

Crawford Mack - Oracle Sisters - Owen Meany’s Batting Stance

Crawford Mack has shared a new video for 'Turning' a song that's taken from his recent album '‘Bread & Circuses'. We had the pleasure of featuring three other tracks from this exceptional album and 'Turning' is another example from this talented and highly engaging contemporary artist. ===== Oracle Sisters have shared 'The Dandelion' along with a video for the song. The Parisian trio have something of a timeless feel musically and have developed some atmospheric, melodic and dreamy music with this gorgeous piece. ===== Owen Meany’s Batting Stance was featured a couple of months or so back and his new video for 'Krakow' is a beautiful accompaniment for this moving and sublime song.

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Crawford Mack - Turning.

Glaswegian songwriter Crawford Mack performs with a sense of purpose and ardour in new video ‘Turning’. An ode to the legacy that people leave through their art, the new track is taken from his recently released debut album ‘Bread & Circuses’.

‘Turning’ exhibits Crawford’s diverse pallet, taking influence from his original jazz background, through to rock and classical, which he holds together with his singer-songwriter soul. Crawford comments “I wrote the track initially about being reminded of a former partner every time I hear certain music, so I flipped the roles and wondered aloud whether it was the same for her.

This track is part of my debut album 'Bread & Circuses'. It was initially inspired from messing around in Nick Drake's CGCFCE guitar tuning and trying to fit in a cello and clarinet line I'd picked up from Mozart Requiem. The guest Clarinet and Bass Clarinet feature is from Gustavo Clayton-Marucci.”

Directed and Animated by Alex Uragallo, the new abstract visual opens with a record spinning, which flourishes into everyday objects; a cleverly crafted metaphor capturing the idea that music evokes nostalgic memories. During the instrumentals of the track, colourful textured motifs created by Giulia Carisi encapsulates psychedelic-like sensations.

Of his new video, Crawford says “I got in touch with Alex Uragallo who is an animator I know from my time at college to ask whether he was interested in making a video that could use everyday objects to explore a theme of being reminded of someone every day when a song plays. Alex suggested collaborating with visual artist Giulia Carisi, to create colourful visual motifs that could be attached to the different instrumental lines, the motifs are inspired by her synesthesia when she hears the track.”

Recorded in Antwerp, the Crawford’s debut full-length ‘Bread and Circuses’ consists of ten tracks in which in his words “hopes will illustrate the conviction of an individual confronting their internal struggles, wrestling them to the ground but all the while waving a white flag of surrender.”


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Oracle Sisters - The Dandelion.

Parisian trio Oracle Sisters have shared ‘The Dandelion’, their new single and first taste of upcoming EP ‘Paris II’. The accompanying video, directed by Celia Marie and lead guitarist Lewis Lazar, is shot on double 8mm and takes the viewer through the personification of Paris. With the band as your beatnik tour guides, the video explores the gothic moods and noire spirit of the city.

Over the past twelve months, Oracle Sisters have built up a loyal and global following, blurring the lines between music and visual arts. Support for their music has come from NME, The Line Of Best Fit, W Magazine, Vanity Fair, Beats1, COLORS, BBC 6 Music, and more. This culminated in the critically acclaimed release of Paris I, mid-way through 2020.

Now, Oracle Sisters turn their attention to its sequel, their next EP ‘Paris II’ (due for release Spring 2021) with ‘The Dandelion’ the first taste of this new music. The track continues Oracle Sisters’ journey as musical auteurs that combine elements of rock, psychedelia, soul & disco into a sound that is truly their own. Speaking on the track, the band say, “the song is inspired by Chet Baker’s singing with a sort of disco back beat behind it”. Oracle Sisters’ influences are broad but also unconventional, and it’s this ability to dip into every musical style that sets them apart from their contemporaries.

With members hailing from across Europe, the band are uninhibited in their influences, finding inspiration within the art, cinema, philosophy, and music of the world over; resulting in a sound that is both sonically sophisticated and warmly familiar. Lyrically, they explore timeless narratives of love, mysticism and spirituality, scattered with intriguing insights into their own personal lives and experiences resulting in songs that are cryptic yet paradoxically familiar.

Oracle Sisters have been working hard in Greece currently finishing off their debut album. Along the road, they’ve also played impromptu shows on the island of Hydra with friends from The Murder Capital & Fontaines D.C – capturing the troubadour spirit of the band.

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Owen Meany’s Batting Stance - Krakow.

Operating under the moniker Owen Meany’s Batting Stance, Canadian singer-songwriter Daniel Walker is still exploring the expanses of human emotion following the release of his debut LP, Feather Weights.

For Daniel, creating Feather Weights was a pursuit of catharsis – trying to understand his personal experiences. After delivering his self-titled EP and doing rounds of the live circuit, he collated eight thoughtful, singularly voiced stories, all recorded above a fishmonger’s shop in the Halifax Regional Municipality.

The latest addition to the Feather Weights narrative is a visual aid for the emotionally charged number, Krakow. The track itself is a reflection of loneliness and absence accompanied with lulling guitar and soft vocals. Written during the final days of an overseas tour in Europe, Daniel contemplates spending Thanksgiving alone, being surrounded by unfamiliar faces and missing important life events all whilst fulfilling his life’s passion.

Directed by Nicole Cecile Holland, the video manifests this separation, following a solitary Daniel traipsing desolate, icy wilderness, whilst constantly being haunted by memories of the people he loves despite his attempts to rid himself of them.

No stranger to telling stories, he explains the inspiration for Krakow: “It was Canadian thanksgiving but, as the lone Canadian in the hostel, was spent navigating language barriers rather than family chatter over the dinner table... During the course of the tour, I also missed out on major life events friends and family celebrated. The crux of the song is how pursuing what you love can take you from who you love.”

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Wednesday, 22 April 2020

Mirabelle - Abigail Lapell - Oracle Sisters - Mind Shrine

Mirabelle has a new single out entitled 'Betty' taken from her upcoming album 'Late Bloomer', the new song is a slow burning and atmospheric rocker. === From Abigail Lapell we have the gorgeous and timeless natural folk piece 'Down By The Water'. === Released today Oracle Sisters have shared 'Most Of All' the second single from upcoming EP ‘Paris I’, the song is a dreamy mixture of melodic rock and catchy pop moments. === A brand new video from Mind Shrine was also shared today for '5 Long Days' a song that has a fresh indie vibe and hooks galore.
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Mirabelle - Betty.

Montreal singer-songwriter Mirabelle is sharing her new single "Betty", from her upcoming album Late Bloomer, out on Simone Records on May 29th. “Betty” just might be the backbone of Laurence Hélie’s upcoming album. It’s the first new song she wrote, the spark in the void that was two years or so ago - before everything that led to Late Bloomer, before she realized that she had found a new sound and called it Mirabelle.

There’s a long thread through Mirabelle’s new music that connects the rawness of our adolescent self with the acceptance of who we become—and who, in ways, we always were. Here is its anthem. “As much as I would love to be Veronica / I’ll always be Betty,” she sings. “Sure we can fool anybody / but we can’t fool ourselves.” This isn’t a concession, it’s a celebration. It moves with purpose and abandon. It lifts.

“I’ve always been super impressed with strong, confident, bold, woman musicians,” Helie says. “I guess there’s a little bit of that in my wanting to make music. To be out there, fearless, like them.” Like its early incarnation, the finished version of “Betty” came instinctively, brought to life in the studio along with guitarist, bassist and co-producer Warren C. Spicer (Plants and Animals), drummer Matthew Woodley (Plants and Animals) and Christophe Lamarche-Ledoux (Organ Mood, Chocolat) on synthesizers. The 90s alternative sounds of Hélie’s youth mesh with trip hop and the modern pop approach that colours all of Late Bloomer. "Betty" is available online everywhere now.

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Abigail Lapell - Down By The Water.

Call it prairie noir, or Canadiana desert rock: Abigail Lapell sings haunting, gorgeous modern folk songs, mapping epic natural landscapes and deeply intimate, personal territory. The Toronto vocalist, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist has released two acclaimed solo albums—Hide Nor Hair, her Chris Stringer-produced sophomore LP, won a Canadian Folk Music Award for Contemporary Album of the Year in 2017. Since then, Lapell has been on the road, touring across Canada, the U.S. and Europe, and playing at festivals like Pop Montreal, Mariposa, In The Dead Of Winter, Tiny Lights and Folk On The Rocks.

Getaway, Lapell’s ambitious third release, is bookended by songs about leaving. Opener “Gonna Be Leaving” echoes with the irony of someone who threatens to leave yet never goes—and the certainty that, sooner or later, every relationship will end. Closing the album, “Shape of a Mountain,” written in the Alberta Rockies during a Banff Centre artist residency, sets majestic scenes of wanderlust over cinematic strings (played by Vancouver cellist Peggy Lee, a Banff collaborator, and Toronto violinist Aline Homzy).

For Getaway, Lapell spent time in the mountains, digging through her vault of unreleased material, and ended up with dozens of road songs to choose from. Working again with Stringer at Toronto’s Union Sound studio, she expanded her pool of collaborators, recruiting Christine Bougie (Bahamas) on lap steel, Dan Fortin (Bernice) on bass and Jake Oelrichs (Run With The Kittens) on drums. Trumpeter and composer Rebecca Hennessy plays on “Sparrow for a Heart”—her trumpet swirling in a sublime duet with Lapell’s synth flute and electric guitar—and also arranged horn parts for band workout “Little Noise,” with Tom Richards on trombone. The latter, a subtle nod to the “Me Too” movement, may even inspire listeners to get up and dance. The album also features longtime collaborators Lisa Bozikovic on piano and vocals, Dana Sipos on vocals, Rachael Cardiello on viola and Joe Ernewein on pedal steel.

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Oracle Sisters - Most Of All.

Today (April 22nd), Paris based Oracle Sisters release ‘Most Of All’, the second single from upcoming EP ‘Paris I’ due for release later this Spring.

With members hailing from across Europe, Oracle Sisters are uninhibited in their influences, finding inspiration within the art, cinema, philosophy, and music of the world over; resulting in music that is both sonically sophisticated and warmly familiar. Lyrically, they explore timeless narratives scattered with intriguing insights into the band’s personal experiences. ‘Most of All’ is the epitome of their creative output: Dreamy pop-rock and catchy hooks accompanied by a beautifully shot music video. All of this makes Oracle Sisters one of the most exciting emerging bands right now - as recognised by W Magazine & Vanity Fair, where the band will be featured in upcoming issues.

‘Most Of All’ was originally conceived as a challenge by Lewis (lead guitar) and Chris (lead vocals) to come up with a melody for a pub ballad that can be “sung in the way that people stand on tables and bang their pints like gavels in bars across Ireland and Scotland around closing time”, countries they both lived in soaking up the roots folk and balladeer troubadour culture. Chris presented the melody and they set about developing the song from there together. The song’s evolution took many turns, with and without a band, recorded on tape, on a church organ, and as stripped down as possible. In kind there are over 10 recorded versions of the song.

Most Of All’ is a taste of what’s to come from a band determined to redefine pop culture on their own terms. Oracle Sisters are Lewis Lazar, Christopher Willatt and Julia Johansen.

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Mind Shrine - 5 Long Days.

Today, Houston-based band Mind Shrine have shared the music video for their newest, indie-psych-pop influenced single "5 Long Days." Directed by Oschua, the video shows the group roaming around NYC just a month prior to when the stay-at-home and social distancing guidelines were put in place.

Mind Shrine on "5 Long Days" video:
"The reasoning behind the filming in NYC instead of LA was a bit satirical considering “5 Long Days” is a song about the difficulties we encountered in LA, from completely getting ghosted by the person who brought us out there to searching up and down LA for a place to stay. Much like when we were in LA, we spent time in a plethora of different neighborhoods in NYC to show the juxtaposition in the lyrics and film. The song is about various neighborhoods in LA and the video is showcasing that in NYC. We still have so much love for LA though."

Formed in 2016, Richie Alejandro (Drums/Percussion) and Brian Gonzalez (Guitar/Bass/Backup Vox) met through a mutual friend while playing in a soccer league nearby where they grew up in the same Hispanic neighborhood with eventual member Bradley DeAnda (Guitar/Bass/Backup Vox) in Houston, TX. After moving to Houston from Seattle, Jess Howard (Vox/Percussion) joined the band in 2018. Along the process of recording their first, self-titled EP, Mind Shrine, they began playing opening slots for acts such as HOMESHAKE, Beach Fossils, The Marías, Divino Niño, Inner Wave, TOPS, and more. Following the release of their EP in August 2019, Mind Shrine started touring with international Mexican acts CLUBZ and Girl Ultra until touring again with Michael Seyer and Paul Cherry throughout Texas.

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The Hengles - Books of Moods

The Hengles - Cover Up (Album). Experience a trip down memory lane with The Hengles' latest album, Cover Up. This Dutch indie band revi...