Violent Vickie - The Paper Kites - Will Romeo / The 1984 Draft - Mick Clarke - Steel People

Violent Vickie - Open the Door.

It's a massive welcome back to Beehive Candy for Violent Vickie who we have had the pleasure of featuring a number of times in the past, and whose music always impresses, with her brand new single (plus video) "Open the Door" being no exception, in fact it's superb. “Open the Door” is an eerie love spell for anyone who’s been stuck in involuntary single-hood for what feels like forever and has really been through it in the dating world.  Open the Door was originally written in 2021 on acoustic guitar before evolving into a dark, moody dance track.

Violent Vickie is a West Palm Beach, FL-based producer, synth player, and singer. Formerly based out of Los Angeles, Violent Vickie blends the sounds of darkwave, synth-pop, post-punk, witch house, and riot grrrrl to create a spooky, grungy, danceable and epic sound with ethereal and tongue ’n cheek vocals that is all her own.  

Violent Vickie’s influences range from Crystal Castles and Grimes to Bjork and Bikini Kill to Siouxsie and The Banshees and Aphex Twin. Violent Vickie’s songs have been remixed by Fragrance, Kontravoid  and she recently shared the stage with Stabbing Westward, Forever Grey, Assemblage 23, and Aurelio Voltaire and played Absolution Fest along with Glass Spells. Violent Vickie has also toured with Hanin Elias of Atari Teenage Riot and shared the stage with Pastel Ghost, Trans X, and Missing Persons.

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Photo - Tim Harris

The Paper Kites - Change Of The Wind.

Beloved indie folk band The Paper Kites have shared their new single “Change Of The Wind,” from their upcoming seventh studio album, ‘If You Go There, I Hope You Find It’, arriving on January 23rd via Nettwerk Music Group. “Change Of The Wind” is a reflective, soul-searching journey that captures the quiet yet powerful moments of personal transformation, exploring the delicate balance between acceptance, hope, and the courage to change one’s own mind. The track arrives with an official music video, directed by the band and featuring Christina Lacy, filmed both at the farm in Melbourne’s Yarra Valley where the album was written and inside the bus featured on the album artwork. 
 
Announced in September, ‘If You Go There, I Hope You Find It’ arrived alongside the tender single “Every Town.” The Paper Kites have a gift for crafting tender, emotionally rich songs, and "Every Town" is no exception. It’s a sweet, melancholic reflection on love that lingers, even when everything else changes. The album also includes recent singles “Shake Off The Rain” and “When The Lavender Blooms.” Intimate and achingly reflective, the record is guided by a longing for connection, simplicity, and emotional clarity.  

Rooted in themes of nature, healing, and hope, each track unfolds like a whispered conversation, offering comfort in its vulnerability and calm in its sincerity. Exploring moments of change, introspection, and the beauty of imperfection, the record remains anchored in the band’s signature atmospheric sound, carrying a quiet familiarity that feels like returning home, both within and beyond yourself.

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Art courtesy of Nicholas S. Hamby

Will Romeo / The 1984 Draft - Plowed/Jet Black.

New York's Will Romeo (Neckscars, American Thrills, etc.) and Dayton, Ohio's The 1984 Draft have teamed up to cover a pair of '90s alt-rock classics, with Romeo covering Sponge's "Plowed" and The 1984 Draft taking on Jawbreaker's "Jet Black." On December 5, Sweet Cheetah Records and Poptek Records released the covers via limited-edition lathe-cut 7" (limited to 100 copies) and digitally (limited to 50 downloads).

Will Romeo is no stranger to underground music that is fast, loud and aggressive in nature. He's spent the last several decades performing with a variety of noted punk acts including Gameday Regulars, Neckscars, American Thrills, and more. He has also released solo material via Creep Records, with that output leaning in the direction of Ben Nichols/Lucero, Chuck Ragan/Rumbleseat, Jakob Dylan, and Jon Snodgrass.

The 1984 Draft is a quintet known for channeling American rock sensibilities through a ‘90s-tinted punk and indie lens. The band has garnered comparisons to The Hold Steady, Sugar, The Replacements, and has previously delivered splits with Todd Farrell Jr. of Benchmarks and Two Cow Garage, Gordon Withers of Jawbreaker on Cello fame and J. Robbins band, and Chris Broach of Braid, SNST, Firebird Band, etc.

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Mick Clarke - Purple Cat.

If you like your blues music delivered with a bit of gritty rock edge, whilst retaining the timeless feel of this much loved music genre, then (if you have not already), it's time to discover Mick Clarke.

British blues guitarist Mick Clarke began his career with Killing Floor, part of the British blues boom of the late 1960s and contemporaries of Free, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. The band backed Texas blues guitar star Freddie King and toured with legends Howlin' Wolf and Otis Spann. The album "Killing Floor" was listed as one of Classic Rock Magazine's twenty top British blues albums of the period.

The Mick Clarke Band was formed in the early 80s and toured extensively in Europe and the USA. Mick has appeared on numerous festivals with artists including Joe Bonamassa, Johnny Winter and Rory Gallagher, and the Southern California Blues Society called him "One of the finest blues players to come out of England".

In later years the band has played dates in the UK, Europe and India, where Mick was the winner of the "best international act" from artistaloud.com. 

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Steel People - A Better Place.

'A Better Place' is the latest release from Sheffield (England) Steel People, released at the beginning of December 2025. Despite trying Beehive Candy have not been able to find out much about Steel People, I guess it's not to much of a guess to link the acts name to the Steel industry which was once a huge part of Sheffield's history (they remain renowned for their stainless steel today).

Beyond that we can tell you they were formed in 2022. The Steel People is a collective of local talent led by songwriter/musician/producer Andy Peacock and has featured tracks including vocalist Shaun Doane and Los Angeles Guitarist/songwriter Gerrit Folsom. It's also worth noting that this is a fabulous song where the lyrics alone at least demand a second listen, enjoy.

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Violent Vickie - Kama Vardi - Ellevator - Keeper E.

Violent Vickie - Division Remixes (Album).

Violent Vickie returns with Division Remixes LP just out on May 6, featuring remixes by Kontravoid, Fragrance, Blood Handsome, in3briant, Dimension 23, Maduro, Ben Arp (C/A/T), Barium Network, Solem Youth, Niet!, Di Auger, Torturetekk,   At0shima 3rror, 40 Octaves Below, 20 Watt Dream, and Ms. Mynx vs. OsO.  The remixes are a wide range of dark electronic genres from darkwave, synthpop, EBM, dark electro, darkrave/witchwave, electronic, industrial, and post-punk.

Violent Vickie is a Los Angeles based Dark Synth-Riot artist consisting of Vickie and co-producer/recording guitarist E.  Vickie has toured with Hanin Elias of Atari Teenage Riot and has shared the stage with Pastel Ghost, Trans X, The Missing Persons,  Them Are Us Too, Aimon and Jessie Evans (The Vanishing).  She has toured the US, Mexico, Canada & Europe and played Insted Fest, Solidarity Fest, Shoutback Fest & Gay Prides and Ladyfests.  Vickie’s tracks have been released by Crunch Pod, Emerald & Doreen Recordings (Berlin), Riot Grrrl Berlin, & LoveCraft Bar (PDX).  Her track "The Wolf“ was featured in a National Organization for Women film and she was interviewed for the documentary “GRRRL”, part of the museum exhibit “Alien She”.  Her LP "Monster Alley” was voted best album by KALX and her tracks have been remixed by 25+ artists.  Violent Vickie's Division LP was released in September 2020,  followed by a remix album of "Under The Gun" in February 2021 and a cover of Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire in July 2021.

Upcoming Violent Vickie shows:

5/22 LA Macabre Fest @ The Offbeat Bar (LA)
5/27 New Orleans, LA @ Carnaval Lounge
6/11 Inland Empire, CA @ Dr Strange Records
10/8 Absolution Fest @ Crowbar (Tampa, FL)

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Photo - Roni Taharlev

Kama Vardi - Bread & Wine.

Critically acclaimed Tel Aviv songstress Kama Vardi returns with a gorgeous new song ‘Bread & Wine’, the first single to be taken from her forthcoming Somewhere East EP which will follow in September 2022.

Written in a little shack in the rural part of north Israel during the harshest moments of the pandemic, ‘Bread & Wine’ is described by Vardi as “A sort of dialogue between two lovers, wanting to be together but disillusioned by the reality of their changing love.”

The imaginative and cinematic video tells the tale of an isolated woman who brings home a disembodied and abandoned suit from a laundromat, a suit that soon comes to life as the man of her dreams, before disappearing again into its old world. It conveys the subtle feelings of hope and loss present in the song, as Vardi expands “It’s like a rude awakening from a dream of perfect, evergreen love that never changes.”

‘Bread & Wine’ is indicative of Vardi’s dreamy and timeless sound where simple production and harmonies leave space for the songwriter’s lyrics to take centre-stage, often poignant life observations told through the lens of the curious characters brought to life in her songs and delivered in Vardi’s softly whispered vocal.

Kama Vardi has previously released a debut album Forgetmenot (2012), followed by the Satchel-Sof Ma’arav EP (2016), and most recently her 2020 long-player Moonticket. The latter was warmly received by the western media with coverage in Uncut, Financial Times and American Songwriter, whilst in her homelands of Israel  the album’s singles had play from the biggest radio stations, including Glglz and 88fm, with the latter placing its first single ‘Whatever Will Be’ (2019) at no. 9 in their ‘Songs of the Year’ chart, with the track also featured on Shazam’s most searched for songs in Israel, and was included on both Apple Music’s ‘Israeli Essential Rock Song Of The 2010s’ and ‘100 Best Songs of 2019’ lists.

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Ellevator - STAR.

The Hamilton, Ontario-based trio, Ellevator have tjust released their Chris Walla-produced debut album, The Words You Spoke Still Move Me via Arts & Crafts. The record arrives alongside the video for the album track, "STAR" and comes following earlier tips from NPR, Consequence, The Needle Drop, Exclaim, FLOOD, The Line of Best Fit, Under the Radar, CBC and more. The band will support the release of the new record with Canadian dates this May with support coming from Pleasure Craft, Deanna Petcoff, Luvr, Emma Worley, Quinn Mills, Equal, Alicia Clara and Lastli across different dates – full run below.

The band, which is comprised of Nabi Sue Bersche, guitarist, Tyler Bersche and bassist/synth player, Elliott Gwynne, will deliver on the promise of their self-titled 2018 EP with their long-awaited debut album. The record was pieced together across numerous locations but primarily while living together at The Bathouse (a Kingston-area facility owned by Canadian alt-rock legends The Tragically Hip) and comes off the back of earlier dates with Amber Run, BANNERS, Cold War Kids, Arkells and Dear Rouge. Across 12 tracks, it inhabits an emotional landscape that is both breathtakingly intimate and impossibly vast, documenting various experiences to turn universal (existential longing, romantic power struggles, the neverending work of true self-discovery) and highly specific (e.g., frontwoman Nabi Sue Bersche’s journey in extracting herself from a cult) storytelling into a truly hypnotic body of work, giving rise to the kind of radiant open-heartedness that radically transforms our own perspective.

Ellevator poses a fantastic ability to sculpt these mammoth, melodramatic post-rock and indie-rock soundscapes, somewhat inspired by the late-aughts sounds of Spoon, Metric, Interpol and Arcade Fire, as well as the stadium-ready sounds of U2, Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel. "STAR" finds the band tapping into their knack for soaring guitar lines and driving percussion while commentating on the distorted image that social media can often present.

Speaking about the new single which arrives with a stunning visual directed by the band's frequent collaborator, Cam Veitch, Nabi says: "There are so many ways to disguise ourselves I don’t think we even notice we’re dressing up anymore. Good art has a human point of view, which is to say it’s nuanced, complicated. It often doesn’t have a clear agenda that’s easily distilled, packaged, and sold. Flattening that perspective into something that fits neatly between the clean lines of social media has been difficult for me. Learning how to do it has changed the way I see the world, brought out ugly instincts, and magnified my vanity and insecurity. The wildest part is that this sort of curation and performance is no longer reserved for people like me: artists who pay people lots of money to convince you to listen to our music. Any fourteen-year-old on TikTok has given at least as much careful attention to their brand as I have. But the neurochemical trick these platforms play is just the latest version of a very old phenomenon. We’ve always built our identities carefully: showing the world our good side is an intrinsic part of evolution, whether it’s holding our arms high to make the bear think we’re bigger than we are or an Instagram story of our eight-car-garage.

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Keeper E. - My Favorite Song.

Steeped in unease and constructed in an unprecedented time, Keeper E.’s new collection of songs comprises a portrait of an anxious existence that’s as deeply worried as it is catchy against all odds.

thank u and please and don’t go is packed with a litany of one-line worries and shame spirals: “I’m always driving in somebody’s blind spot, thinking I’m going to crash”; “I never know expressions and I’m so embarrassing”; “Who will take care of me if I take care of you?” The stress reaches its apex on “What If We Lose Everything,” a mid-tempo climate-change lament scattered through with unsettling dissonant notes: “There’s no way to go back,” she concludes, with considerable disappointment.

Glittering with silvery vocals, playful synths and driving rhythms, Keeper E. invites us into a dreamlike world inside her mind, sharing pages of her journal combined with intriguing melodies. Her songs have a romanticized hopefulness, looking back on past loves, regrets, and fearfulness with gratitude and hope.

Speaking on the focus track, “My Favourite Song'', is about hoping that singing along to your favourite song will take away all the pain and suffering in the world. It’s kind of a joke, like obviously just listening to a song won’t solve anything, but also it’s been my experience that sometimes music is all that can help you out of a hard time. This song talks about personal hardships like not feeling satisfied and always expecting the worst, and it also talks about the unfair power balances in the world and how the life I have is built on these unfair societal structures. In the end, it feels like the anthem of the song convinces you in some way that singing along to your favourite song must in some way help to balance things out, and will always make you feel better.“

Keeper E. is proving herself one of the most exciting new pop acts from Atlantic Canada, with an official showcase at The Great Escape in Brighton and tour dates across Canada planned in support of the release of her sophomore EP, thank you and please and don’t go, which is set for release on May 6, 2022.

But for all the personal anxieties explored in these songs, Elwood’s music is at its most confident, deeply thoughtful and wise beyond its lived experience. Born in Nova Scotia, Elwood began playing the violin at three years old, moved onto piano by four, and found her own musical voice while in university studying classical piano. Though she claims to be a technological Luddite, her production skills rival any hitmaker, and she crafts the indie-pop base of Keeper E. in solitude, with little outside influence.

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Crystal Eyes - O-SHiN - Avalyn - Violent Vickie

Photo - Walter E. Neuman

Crystal Eyes - Like A Movie.

The Calgary, Alberta-based psych-rock/dream-pop band, Crystal Eyes are now sharing their new single, "Like a Movie" which comes off the back of support for earlier releases from FLOOD Magazine, Brooklyn Vegan, Exclaim, CBC Radio and more. The new single is the latest to be lifted from the forthcoming second record, The Sweetness Restored which is set for release via the beloved Madrid label, Bobo Integral (Motorists, Ducks Ltd, Quivers) on April 22.

Crystal Eyes, who are made up of Erin Jenkins (singer/guitarist) and a revolving cast of musicians, currently Jordan Tettensor (guitar), Joleen Toner (synth), Will Johnson (bass) and Paul de Andrade (drums) describe the new record as a "feel-good self-help record for the age of existential dread." The Sweetness Restored displays a kind of wistful self-awareness right from the start, it's a collection of ten tracks that flirt with musical influences ranging from new wave, psych-rock and shoegaze, with songs driven by melody and steeped in texture.

Recorded at Montreal's Breakglass Studios with producer/engineer, Andrew Woods (The Operators, Legal Vertigo, Basia Bulat) before being mixed by Mark Lawson (Arcade Fire, The Unicorns, Peter Gabriel) the record contains thoughtful attention to musical detail thanks to the talented team of artists behind the project. And with the beautiful, warm tones of the Neve console, it's at once a unique sound, but one that feels comfortingly familiar. The prolific Scott' Monty' Munroe (Preoccupations, Chad VanGaalen) contributed bass and the talented Eve Parker Finley composed and performed string arrangements.

With the new single, the band once again harness saccharine psych-pop sounds and place these into a jangle-pop formula. Speaking about the track, singer Erin Jenkins says: "'Like a Movie" is three minutes of indie rock bliss in the artistic vein of Sharon Van Etten or Alvvays. The secret to its sound is a classic Hammond organ with Leslie speakers, a kick-ass guitar solo and the backing of a string quartet that calls to mind flashbacks of Neutral Milk Hotel. If love is 'like a movie', how will the ending be?"

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O-SHiN - Visitor.

O-SHiN, the project of rising electronic producer Stefanie Martens, has shared new single ‘Visitor’. In the last 6 months, O-SHiN shared critically acclaimed singles ‘Holy Night’ and ‘Silence Is My Nature’, both of which called to mind the technicolour electronica of acts like Four Tet and Maribou State and garnered widespread support from the likes of BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 6 Music and Clash Magazine.

In 2016, Stefanie was travelling from Rome to Amsterdam when she found herself onboard an aeroplane with a terrorist. The harrowing experience had a profound effect on the artist. “For the first time in my life, I experienced the fierce feeling of death being really close, not knowing if you’ll survive or if these are your last seconds on earth,” she says. “It was an intense experience and this song [Visitor] helped me cope with the emotions I was feeling at the time.”

Born in Germany after her parents returned home from the Soviet Union in the 1970s, O-SHiN found her voice through experimentation, and an inner journey that continues today. The name O-SHiN, meaning “time for a good cry” in Japanese, is symbolic of her relationship with existence. Moving from Germany to the Netherlands, spending a lot of time in Sweden and the States, she finally settled in Berlin, a fertile breeding ground for her artistic outlets.

O-SHiN’s long awaited debut album is complete and scheduled for release in Autumn 2022. With her new material, O-SHiN encapsulates many of the conflicting emotional and societal dilemmas that she has observed since she was a young girl. Issues like loss, acceptance and also appreciation for life have become particularly prominent following her experience on board the flight. ‘Visitor’ is out now via Galaxy Cat Records.

O-SHiN · Visitor

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Avalyn - When We Were Nothing.

This week sees the release of AYALYN's  stunning new single "WHEN WE WERE NOTHING," an abstract look back at the highs and lows of naïve youth. Avalyn formed in late 2021 after long-time friends Andy Power (Guitar & Vocals) and Ben Croft (Lead Guitar) decided to start writing together due to them both being dissatisfied with their previous musical efforts. Soon joined by Cain Garcia (Drums) and Emily Turnbull (Bass & Vocals), the band appeared all over their local music scene in 2021, including playing their first gig supporting Junodream alongside Lime Garden at The Shipping Forecast in Liverpool, as well as going into Whitewood Recording Studio with Robert Whiteley to record their latest offering. 

Influenced by the great punk powerhouses, Avalyn takes their cues from the likes of My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive & Lush. What emerges is the ferociously uplifting sound that can be heard on the group’s latest track; "When We Were Nothing," out now. Featuring mastering work from the Lead Singer & Guitarist of the seminal 90s Shoegazing band RIDE, Mark Gardener, the track melds brooding experimentalism, with an unshakeable punk sound. Thrashing guitars play under Power’s haunting vocals, as he sings about the euphoric uncertainty that comes with youth, and the always present, uncertain future. 

“When We Were Nothing was the second song we ever wrote together as a band,” says Power. “Our guitarist Ben brought in the main riff and I could tell from the beginning it was going to be great, so I wrote a verse for it and then we wrote the lyrics together.  Everything really came to life once we brought it into the practice room with the addition of Cain’s drum part and Emily’s bass and vocal Recording with Rob Whiteley was a lot of fun as we felt like he was able to help give us the freedom to experiment with the sounds we wanted as well as being able to put all our ideas together into a cohesive mix. The mastering job from Mark Gardener was the final touch that has taken the song to another level and we’re excited to continue working with him going forward.”

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Violent Vickie - Lovelace (Kontravoid Remix).

After performing in Florida and Mexico, Violent Vickie returns with “LOVELACE” (Kontravoid Remix) , a sad, powerful darkwave remix of her original track. “LOVELACE” (Kontravoid Remix)  is the third track off of Violent Vickie's Division Remixes LP which will be out in April 2022.  Vickie wrote "LOVELACE" after watching a disturbing documentary about Linda Lovelace's experience in the porn industry. 

Violent Vickie is a Los Angeles based Dark Synth-Riot artist consisting of Vickie and co-producer/recording guitarist E.  Vickie has toured with Hanin Elias of Atari Teenage Riot and has shared the stage with Trans X, The Missing Persons,  Jessie Evans (The Vanishing),Them Are Us Too, Pastel Ghost and Aimon.  

Her track "The Wolf“ was featured in a National Organization for Women film and she was interviewed for the documentary “GRRRL”, part of the museum exhibit “Alien She”.  Her LP "Monster Alley” was voted best album by KALX and her tracks have been remixed by 25+ artists.  Violent Vickie's Division LP was released in September 2020,  followed by a remix album of "Under The Gun" in February 2021 and a cover of Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire in July 2021.   Violent Vickie’s “Division” Remixes LP will be out in March 2022.

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Anna Westin - Violent Vickie - Vakili Band

Photo - John Haney

Anna Westin - Bright Burning Mess.

Singer, songwriter, and poet Anna Westin, who hails from the UK by way of Canada, has released the second single from her upcoming album, LEV (the Hebrew word for “heart”). The single, “Bright Burning Mess”, which also opens the album, begins with some of Anna’s spoken word poetry, creating an atmosphere of intimacy and setting the thematic tone for the record as a whole. As the spoken intro of the song slowly gives way into a sturdy folk rock groove, Anna Westin’s entire musical style gently unfolds before you, drawing the listener with some of the album’s catchiest vocal melodies and lush backing instrumentation before dissipating back into the ether as Anna’s poetry returns in the track’s outro.

Speaking to her inspirations for “Bright Burning Mess” and how the process of creating this song was the moment that unlocked the album as whole, Anna writes: “At first it was just a collection of songs. It was only later that the more recent songs brought it into a whole concept for an album. So, probably sitting in my new flat in Margate, wondering whether I should have moved to a town I didn’t know by the sea, excited about the possibility of what was next, mourning an old love. I remember distinctly - the flat, with one sofa, before the furniture was bought - the cold blast of sea air, the sense of anticipation, and making sense of a few dreams that I kept having. That’s where 'Bright Burning Mess' started, and where the album emerged essentially.

There’s a Turner painting of the sea bed that reminds me of the movement of the piece - where Turner paints this churning brown muck that is caught up in the crystal blue storm sea, and there’s a bit of that in the piece - a sense of the underriding ’stuff’ pulled up from the deep, and the clear blue that transmits its own burning brightness of light across the horizon, reflecting sunset and moon and light and the vastness above, as it settles, as the day clears, like when we are going through something that causes the foundations to be broken up, and then find that we are on the other side, that the sea within has settled, and we are in the middle of a burning glorious brightness. All just feels like it has settled - like it is well again.”

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Violent Vickie - The Gloom (Dimension 23 remix).

After recording a DJ set for Rinse France, Violent Vickie returns with “THE GLOOM” (Dimension 23 Remix) , a dark punky dance remix of her angsty song by the Techno Trance producer of the 1997 rave hit "I. M.O.K.R.U.O.K" known as Dimension 23. “The Gloom” (Dimension 23 Remix)  is the second track off of Violent Vickie's Division Remixes LP which will be out in March 2022.

Violent Vickie is a Los Angeles based Dark Synth-Riot artist consisting of Vickie and co-producer/recording guitarist E.  Vickie has toured with Hanin Elias of Atari Teenage Riot and has shared the stage with Trans X, The Missing Persons,  Jessie Evans (The Vanishing),Them Are Us Too, Pastel Ghost and Aimon.

She has toured the US, Mexico, Canada & Europe and played Insted Fest, Solidarity Fest, Shoutback Fest & Gay Prides and Ladyfests.  Vickie’s tracks have been released by Crunch Pod, Emerald & Doreen Recordings (Berlin), Riot Grrrl Berlin, & LoveCraft Bar (PDX).  Her track "The Wolf“ was featured in a National Organization for Women film and she was interviewed for the documentary “GRRRL”, part of the museum exhibit “Alien She”.

Her LP "Monster Alley” was voted best album by KALX and her tracks have been remixed by 25+ artists.  Violent Vickie's Division LP was released in September 2020,  followed by a remix album of "Under The Gun" in February 2021 and a cover of Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire in July 2021.   Violent Vickie’s “Division” Remixes LP will be out in March 2022.

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Vakili Band - Fathers Sound.

In anticipation of the album, Walking Sideways, Vakili Band have released the new single, “Father’s Son,” on January 28, 2022, with a video to come. Fronted by powerhouse vocalist/songwriter/guitarist Lily Vakili, Vakili Band cites artists such as Patti Smith, Prince, Iggy Pop, and Rage Against the Machine among their influences, and “Father’s Son” pays tribute to those influences, with lyrics that embrace rebellion.

“My lyrics are a poem with references and nods to what it is to be an outsider, loner, non-conformist - an artist, a son, a woman, a person that doesn't accept easy categorization,” she says. “There's anger in being in that place of otherness - and self-doubt too: ‘I find myself in an indiscriminate rage over misperceived aggressions and slights.’” 

Inspired by a riff written by lead guitarist Ben St. Jack, the song came together when bassist Matt Jovanis and drummer Gordon Kuba locked into an intense percussive groove and Joel Dorow introduced a melodic line on harmonica. The horn section - a new addition to the band’s sound - came to Vakili in a dream. “When it works this well, as a singer/performer, I feel completely unconstrained and can be more experimental with vocals,” Vakili states.

Born in Honduras and raised in Thailand, Puerto Rico, and Iowa, Vakili worked in theatre and went on to carve out a successful career as a biotech lawyer while continuing to nurture all manner of dreams, including making music. She’s since released three albums - two as a solo artist, and one with the band.
Walking Sideways shows the growth of Vakili as a songwriter, vocalist, and bandleader, and the group as a whole. As the band gears up for the release on February 25 2022, they are enjoying the return to the stage. “Performing music live is a pursuit of ecstasy, connection, desire, and love... it’s real, heady stuff,” Vakili says. They’ll next perform at NYC’s Mercury Lounge on January 31, 2022.

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Selci - Violent Vickie - KAELI - In The Pines - KAVYA

Photo - Annabeth Trondsen

Selci - Ghost.

Calgary-based art-pop artist Selci released their latest single “Ghost,” mixed by Sylvia Massy, with a stunning visual accompaniment, directed by the artist herself. Watch + share via YouTube. “Ghost” offers a first taste into what will be a fruitful 2022, as Selci puts the finishing touches on a two-part album project, details of which will be announced next month.

Discussing “Ghost,” Selci noted that, “it’s about being ghosted - literally and figuratively. The first verse is about the elusiveness of truth. This feels augmented in our current reality with the lack of trustworthy sources and the influx of political conspiracies. The second is about being ghosted by a love interest and washing it away with liquor. The third is an outcry - it gives me the feeling of falling to my knees in surrender to the things that I cannot control in this life. This song is very much a response to the political climate of the past two years. It takes the laments of modern life and compares them to ghosts.”

For Selci, the pairing of music to the visual, is a natural extension of expression. “The video for ‘Ghost' recreates famous 19th century paintings of mythological women,” they noted. “In contemporary styling we recreated Charles Mengin’s ‘Sappho', Waterhouse’s 'Echo and Narcissus', and Mallais’ ‘Ophelia'. Contemporary dancers dance like ghosts in front of giant human-like statues in Calgary, known as 'The Brotherhood of Mankind'. In its time, it was created as a celebration of colonization, framing it as a gift to the rest of the world - a dated and simply incorrect view of colonization, and continued harm it has brought to Indiegneous peoples.

Continuing with that theme, the scenes of women dancing in red dresses is an intended nod of awareness to the inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in Canada. The final scene - featuring a woman, apple in hand, being clutched by another hand from below, is a commentary on the Garden of Eden, and forced assimilation into the Catholic Church.”

“Ghost” follows Selci’s September single “Type and Send.” The two tracks show the versatility and dynamic range of Selci’s sonic palette. And with a two-part album set for 2022, the Selci is ready to take on the world.

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Violent Vickie - Get To Me (Fragrance Remix).

After touring Mexico, Violent Vickie returns with “GET TO ME” (Fragrance Remix) , a gothy-y dance remix of her "sad girl" song by the French producer and remix artist known as  Fragrance.  “GET TO ME” (Fragrance Remix)  is the first track off of Violent Vickie's Division Remixes LP which will be out in February of 2022.

Violent Vickie is a Los Angeles based Dark Synth-Riot artist consisting of Vickie and co-producer/recording guitarist E.  Vickie has toured with Hanin Elias of Atari Teenage Riot and has shared the stage with Trans X, The Missing Persons,  Jessie Evans (The Vanishing),Them Are Us Too, Pastel Ghost and Aimon.  She has toured the US, Mexico, Canada & Europe and played Insted Fest, Solidarity Fest, Shoutback Fest & Gay Prides and Ladyfests.  

Vickie’s tracks have been released by Crunch Pod, Emerald & Doreen Recordings (Berlin), Riot Grrrl Berlin, & LoveCraft Bar (PDX).  Her track "The Wolf“ was featured in a National Organization for Women film and she was interviewed for the documentary “GRRRL”, part of the museum exhibit “Alien She”.  Her LP "Monster Alley” was voted best album by KALX and her tracks have been remixed by 25+ artists.  Violent Vickie's Division LP was released in September 2020,  followed by a remix album of "Under The Gun" in February 2021 and a cover of Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire in July 2021.  Violent Vickie’s “Division” Remixes LP will be out in February 2022.

 

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KAELI - No Mans Land.

 “There is no other time when I feel more alive. Being on stage, singing about what I have experienced and felt, and getting to share that with people who feel the same way, it’s a feeling like no other” says KAELI. New to the music scene, but not unfamiliar with the stage, KAELI is a singer-songwriter from London. Beginning her career by treading the boards in theatre, and eventually touring arenas worldwide as a featured vocalist for film star Hugh Jackman, it hasn’t been a conventional route into the music industry. But 2021 sees KAELI finally find her own voice. Combining soaring vocals, and honest lyrics with an effervescent pop sound, KAELI hopes to bring her lively energy and openness to every track.

KAELI is signed by Abubilla Music, and plans to release her debut EP in late 2021. Growing up to Scottish parents in a small village in Hertfordshire, KAELI never wanted to be in the spotlight. In fact, it wasn’t until her parents saw how crippling her shyness was that they decided to put her into drama and singing classes at the age of 8. It all went downhill from there. Coming into her own, a young KAELI found her passion and spent her free time performing and taking classes, or listening to the soundtracks of her favourite musicals and Disney movies. It was where she felt most at home, feeling theemotion of every song that these characters were singing.

It was a purely natural progression for her to pursue performing as a career, and after attending prestigious schools such as LAMDA and the Guildford School of Acting, KAELI went on to have a successful stage career in the West End, performing in shows such as ‘Les Misérables’, ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ and the original cast of ‘Tina the Musical’. However, her career took a new turn after being asked to join Hugh Jackman on his 2019 world arena tour of ‘The Man. The Music’. The Show, as one of his featured singers.

Performing in venues such as Madison Square Garden, the Hollywood Bowl and the O2, KAELI travelled across the US, Europe and Australia, playing to packed out houses alongside the Hollywood star. Whilst touring, KAELI would use spare moments on the bus to work on new music and demos, as she found herself more and more inspired by her travels and experiences. Encouraged by the team on the tour, and Hugh himself, KAELI decided to pursue her songwriting further, and reached out to London label Abubilla Music on her return. She signed to the label in 2020, after some time developing her writing with the team, and began writing her debut EP. “This EP explores the different genres of music that I love, whilst also allowing me to explore where I fit in this musical world. I think each song shows a part of me, a part of how I respond to the world and to relationships, and paints a really vivid picture of who I was when I wrote each song. I see it as a kaleidoscope of 

KAELI, that’s helped me uncover exactly where I want to sit with my next record. I can’t believe I’m talking about my next record already but I feel so fired up now that I can’t wait to start writing it with this new found clarity. I just hope this first one gives everyone a taste so they’re hungry for more!”

KAELI · No Man's Land

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In The Pines - Jeez Louise.

Cincinnati, Ohio quartette In The Pines announced that their third full-length studio album, Impossible Daze, will be released on January 28, 2022 via Soul Step Records. To mark the announcement of Impossible Daze, the band has shared “Jeeze Louise," a laid-back and lo-fi cut that highlights the band’s proclivity towards immersive and atmospheric vocal harmonies.

“‘Jeeze Louise’ was one of the tunes where we knew exactly how we wanted it to sound, but we weren’t sure of the best way to go about it,” says guitarist & vocalist Michael Shular. “We wanted it to sound like it was done out on the front porch, real loose, just like we were pickin’ around, having a good time. We wanted a low fi sound so our engineer decided to run it through a cassette player in the front room of the studio using an old 50’s Altec broadcasting mic. While we were recording he was pressing on the tape to give it that warbly old school sound. It was really satisfying hearing the final result, it had exceeded our expectations and has become a favorite of ours.”

“The verses allude to some of the more exciting parts of love - the feelings of excitement and courage in a happy new relationship,” says bassist & vocalist Patrick Zopff. “Those images are contrasted with the chorus, which is a desperate apology. (“Babe I’m awful sorry, oh jeez Louise!”) It’s supposed to evoke the feeling of surprise and shame upon the realization that you can hurt someone despite the best of intentions. All of this is performed with a little whimsy, sincerely bittersweet… We chose to strip down the arrangement to just banjo, guitar, and vocals, to make it feel like four friends drunkenly singing together on the porch on a warm summer night.”

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KAVYA - Know Me Better (E.P).

KAVYA's new 4 track EP depicts the artist’s diverse creative interests ranging from fashion, art, music, and acting all of which make her thrive and are integral in shaping the person she is today.

‘Know Me Better’ is KAVYA’s humble attempt to share her personality, interests, dreams, and vulnerability with her audience through her music. In February 2021 in association with VH1 Supersonic plug-in, 'Know Me Better’ the documentary was released which highlighted Kavya's relationships with the women in her life, her interest in art, cinema, visual identity followed by a live performance. Through the next three months, we delve into her different creative worlds and bring to the forefront all the things that make her come alive.

KAVYA (Kavya Trehan) is a 27-year-old singer-songwriter from New Delhi, India who’s been performing since the age of 14. Over the course of time, she’s collaborated with some of the leading producers in India and toured with her band, MOSKO. Her solo project is a celebration of raw emotion and her roots, where all songs have been developed from guitar parts and trusty voice notes. In order to constantly evolve as an artist, in 2016 she started writing music using Ableton. Since then, she is on a relentless spree of releasing her own material that has more of an R&B, electronic, and indie-pop feel.

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