Mutant Thoughts have no intention of being locked into any particular genre as the new song 'Breaking Views' ably demonstrates, it's also a marvelous musical ride. === Ivan Moult shares 'What More Could I Say?' today, it's also a glimpse of what's to come as his enticing vocals shine against a musical backdrop that breathes clarity === Glasgow based troubadour Mark W. Georgsson brand new song 'True Love' is a melodic and beautiful song, simple as that really. === Natalie Schlabs shares 'That Early Love' accompanied by a creatively matched video, the song itself is more than able to stand for itself, so it's a gorgeous combination.
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Mutant Thoughts - Breaking Views.
Bristol-based cerebral rock trio Mutant-Thoughts are a band devoted to a new kind of musical fusion and sonic experimentation - and their latest release Breaking Views is certainly no exception.
With a sound that straddles everything from British progressive rock, sweeping 80’s synth-scapes and classic Latin American Guaguancó rhythms, the band are now drawing on their diverse approach to present a new anthem for challenging times.
Breaking Views is a celebration of cultural diversity and a patchwork of different musical places and eras. A fretless bass line set against syncopated drums and hip-swinging toms steadily builds to a soaring chorus, before bringing the listener down to an intimate Spanish-spoken reverie that kicks into an epic arpeggiator-fuelled breakdown.
The chorus refrain ‘I will try, not to lose it all this time’ is a comment on the progress made in becoming kinder and more tolerant towards each other, but also how easily this progress can be lost.
The song feels like a journey in hyper-modernity - a kaleidoscopic vision of a more integrated future - and sounds reminiscent while remaining completely original, like a Deja Vú. Groovy, gutsy and powerfully optimistic Breaking Views is Mutant-Thoughts hitting new heights. This three-piece band has created a sound resembling a full orchestral suite, Breaking Views is a song that needs to be heard & to be believed.
Two years on from the critically acclaimed Longest Shadow LP, Ivan Moult offers up an intriguing first glimpse into his forthcoming material. Latest single 'What More Could I Say?' - released today 14th August - showcases a subtle shift from the lovelorn purity of its predecessors.
Commencing with shuffling percussion and reverb-laden, jangly 50s electric, it’s only when Moult’s airy, elemental layered vocals enter the fray that the song becomes obviously his own.
Written, recorded and mixed by Moult himself within a month during the Covid-19 lockdown, 'What More Could I Say?' reveals a songwriter still pre-eminently focused on the inner workings of love in all of its complexity and nuance. This time, though, where there was disquieted hurt and confusion, there’s now a begrudging, almost contented acceptance. Love, it seems, may be capable of both pain and healing.
'What More Could I Say?' will be available through all digital retailers today 14th August via Bubblewrap Collective, alongside a menacing, ethereal cover of Britney Spears’ 'Toxic'.
Mark W. Georgsson a Glasgow based troubadour shares a new track today, it's the third single "True Love", where a bit of Townes Van Zandt meets Rufus Wainwright. His upcoming EP titled 'Comes a Time' is coming out on Last Night From Glasgow.
Combining Celtic and Nordic vibes into the realms of Country, Alternative Folk and Americana, Glasgow songwriter Mark W. Georgsson released his debut album Faces and Places on Last Night From Glasgow on 27th January 2017. Produced by Idlewild’s Rod Jones and released on limited edition 12” vinyl and digital download, Georgsson’s debut release was celebrated with a sold out show at Glasgow’s world renowned Celtic Connections festival.
Recorded between Edinburgh, Mull and Reykjavík, Georgsson’s approach to recording mirrored his willingness to showcase his music on the road. A solo tour of the Scottish Highlands and Islands followed the album’s release, as did appearances at several festivals including Electric Fields, Iceland Airwaves and Celtic Connections plus ventures oversees to perform in Sweden and the Faroe Islands.
Today Natalie Schlabs releases her gorgeous new single and video, "That Early Love" a track from her forthcoming LP Don't Look Too Close. Its accompanying video, filmed and directed by Joshua Britt and Neilson Hubbard (who made John Prine's last music video), is so poignant and is a beautiful visualization of what the song is all about.
"That Early Love" is about just that - when early love and infatuation doesn’t fade like a “honeymoon phase,” but deepens, matures, and multiplies.
The video features an older couple in daily life, interspersed with images of a little boy and girl wearing the same clothes as the grown-ups in the video. The visual is a metaphor for how the older couple feels, that their love is enduring and their hearts are still young, that their love doesn't get old.
Just four weeks after we first featured them Teenanger are back with another energized and must hear post punk track entitled 'Trillium Song'. ===Spunsugar have just released 'Run' and in their case it's a couple of months since we first came across them with 'Happier Happyless' the latest offering takes us into a more powerful Alt Rock world that's nonetheless hard to ignore.
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Teenanger - Trillium Song.
Toronto’s DIY scene purveyors, Teenanger have just shared their blistering new single, 'Trillium Song', the second to be lifted from the new record, Good Time – out October 2 via Telephone Explosion Records – which has found support at Paste, The Line of Best Fit, BBC 6 Music, So Young and more. The new record, which comes mixed by renowned Toronto musician, Sandro Perri, follows previous releases that have found the band share stages across North America and Europe with the likes of METZ, Ty Segall, Death From Above, Dilly Dally, Dish Pit and more.
'Trillium Song' presents another agile take from Good Time, drawing once again on striking melodies and a wiry new wave sound palette, this time utilising a two-pronged vocal foray with both Melissa Ball and Chris Swimmings lending their voices. Whereas previous releases from the group have suggested a more abrasive post-punk approach, Good Time demonstrates a pop-leaning slant on the sound of Teenanger without removing their ear for social commentary.
Speaking about the new track, Swimmings says: "This song is about the province of Ontario where we all reside. Mainly about the current provincial government’s way of dealing with the education system and the environment. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Premier Doug Ford (the song’s primary subject) was making good headway at polishing his public image by being hands-on. He made promises of people not losing their jobs and tenants not being evicted. They were timely promises in the beginning as we are now seeing many tenants in Ontario face eviction due to not being able to make end’s meet in the pandemic."
Good Time arrives off the back of a turbulent few years for the group, a period filled with self-reflection, a restless search for creativity and more than anything, a need to rewire the very essence of the band. The four-piece had tied up the rinse and repeat promotional run for their 2017 self-titled record in the spring of 2018; their fifth album, which had started to find them some acclaim, also marked their first decade together as a group, quite an achievement by anyone's measures in the current climate. The line-up was unchanged since Teenanger's inception, and the members had become somewhat inseparable over their time together; whilst the album release and the corresponding tour was somewhat celebratory, it also brought with it a severe bout of writer’s block that unexpectedly placed their existence in jeopardy.
Following on from the release of their breakthrough debut EP ŒMouth Full Of You¹ last year, a collection that cemented them as one of the finest emerging shoegaze outfits of the moment as well as garnering support from Steve Lamacq at BBC 6Music, Swedish trio Spunsugar now return to announce their highly-anticipated debut album ŒDrive-Through Chapel¹, out on the 2nd October via Adrian Recordings.
Featuring the previously shared single ŒHappier Happyless¹, which has already gathered huge amounts of support across numerous publications and streaming services, the outfit¹s first full-length outing sees them take on the dark and pulsing nature of the post-punk sound and deliver it through a completely new and diverse contemporary lens. Produced by Joakim Lindberg at Studio Sickan, Malmö, who has filled it with a rich and textured atmosphere running the length of this new collection, ŒDrive-Through Chapel¹ sets itself as one of the most thunderous and anthemic offerings in the Adrian Recordings catalogue.
Two out of three members of the trio Spunsugar, Cordelia Moreau and Elin Ramstedt, befriended one another in a small town outsider clique at age thirteen. Their individual music tastes, Cordelia¹s twee-pop, jangle and grunge and Elin¹s metal, hardcore and post-rock blended into a mutual love for shoegaze, noise rock and dream pop. At age fifteen they started a four piece band, Elin on lead vocals and rhythm guitar and Cordelia on drums. They discovered that they thrived when writing music together. But even when the band split up, they continued to write songs.
Fast forward to post upper secondary school. After months of hardly speaking to each other, they both ended up in Malmö. After not writing music together for five years they recorded two lo-fi songs in Cordelia¹s student apartment and it was as if no time had passed. They looked for a rehearsal space and within weeks they recorded a demo. But they wanted a real live bass player. Cordelia had recently bonded with a university classmate over guitars and they decided to send him a copy of the demo and asked if he would like to come play with them. Felix Sjöström became an intrinsic part of the project immediately. With his influence, their sound became more distinguished, all of them bringing different inspirations to the songs. Now they all have prominent roles within the band but they are also, fundamentally, friends.
Spunsugar are works at a faster paced than a lot of their shoegaze peers and accompanied by electronic drums. They are more often compared to Curve, Swervedriver or Ringo Deathstarr rather than the likes of Cocteau Twins or Slowdive. Although heavy on effects, nothing is hidden within the music, including the lyrics. The lyrics are heavy with pop cultural references, stemming from Cordelia¹s love for obscure genre films. Often driven by riffs rather than soundscapes, they focus equally on having a prominent bass as well as prominent guitars.
Antonioni have just released 'Mary Bell' after signing to Lauren Records and its a slick hook filled indie rocker. === Max Fry and Lhasa Petik have already gained considerable attention for 'Take It Slow' which is hardly surprising on this wonderfully produced song === The Sea Birds latest single 'A Fine Line' is a well crafted piece that packs genuine feeling and suppressed energy. === Brendan & the Strangest Ways make their third appearance here this year with 'Turn Your Luck' and once again their striking Americana is both powerful and pleasing.
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Antonioni - Mary Bell.
Lauren Records is excited to announce that they have signed Seattle's Antonioni, and unveiled a new single from the band. “Mary Bell” was written while Sarah Pasillas from the band was processing a friend committing an unthinkably violent and inhuman act. What could cause someone to do something so evil? Could that same evil reside in me?
"Mary Bell" is a brash yet melodic song with a dark underbelly. "I wrote this song after watching a couple True Crime Youtube videos about young girls who became murderers. I was drawn to this topic in particular as one of my best friends murdered someone a couple years ago-- an incident that was so traumatizing and close to my heart that I can’t help but explore the grief time and time again through songwriting." says Pasillas of the inspiration behind Antonioni's new single.
"I felt so heart attacked" Pasillas' somber voice rises above the fuzzy clatter, reminding you of melancholy within the song.
"I also like songs that decide to take on traumatic stories (like Polly by Nirvana and John Wayne Gacy Jr. by Sufjan Stevens), as a way to discuss and ask questions like, “how close am I to evil?” No question is more pertinent, right? To face the evil inside yourself and try to recognize it in all its forms" Sarah Pasillas says of the dark subject matter of the song.
Antonioni has been steadily rising within the Seattle indie rock and DIY scene over the past four years. They’ve put out two EPs and a handful of self-produced music videos. Their work has garnered praise from outlets like KEXP and NPR who wrote that their music “sounds and feels like a fuzzy '90s flashback fever dream.”
US producer Max Fry follows up Majestic Casual released "Passage" with another poignant new offering in "Take It Slow". A collaboration with Canadian artist Lhasa Petik, the new single boasts a catchy vocal melody which floats over ukulele chords, until heavy 808s make an entry which perfectly juxtaposes the delicate plucking of the intro.
"Take It Slow" may seem like a plea to a lover upon first listen. However, it is actually a dialogue between Lhasa’s current and former self, following a whirlwind year of loving and letting go. It describes her thought process while letting go of a relationship that she struggled to move on from; “you were looking for a way out, I made you take the long route.”
“Oh I hope that you take it slow, so that if you crash, you’ll still come back home to me” is a plea to herself to ensure that she won't let herself get to that broken place again; so that she always has enough energy to get home.
Max elaborates on the creation process: After hearing Lhasa's most recent project "Outside / Dreaming", I knew I wanted to work with her. Lhasa sent over the original idea for the song - knew we had created something special after combining Lhasa's vocals and ukulele riffs with my drums, backing vocals, and electric guitar.
The latest single from The Sea Birds, A Fine Line, tosses and turns through a broken heart. Written with three contributing songwriters and vocalists, Mike and Loic, take the lead on this single. There is a deep fragility and unwavering honesty lyrically, complimented by a blossoming instrumental section.
The Sea Birds have worked from Headstone Records home base, Studio One.Be, for the past several years. Headstone founder, Dave Warner mixed the latest single and upcoming album, mastering done by Cameron Mitchell. It's an absolute pleasure to be releasing the work from some of the hardest working and most supportive musicians in Melbourne.
The Sea Birds were formed in 2014 in Melbourne, Australia. The band's sound pays homage to classic influences from rock's early 1970's singer-songwriter phase, as well as echoes of the uniquely Australian 1980's east coast music scene. The result is a contemporary take celebrating the best elements of these two great musical eras.
In 2017, The Sea Birds released their debut album "Blue or Grey", recorded at Studio One.Be and Atlantis Sound. Produced by David McCluney with contributions from Greg Arnold, Bruce Haymes, and Georgia Fields. The band has been performing live and developing their upcoming album "Problems of a Different Kind" since their last release.
The new single from Brendan & the Strangest Ways pours another round of whiskey for the broken, bruised, but never down-and-out independent musicians living with the frustration of everyday economic obstacles. “Turn Your Luck” combines a string-plucking melody with a foot-stomping backbeat to tell the dust-tinged story of a touring musician’s lament. The single is out August 10 and is off the upcoming album Are We Sure The Dawn Is Coming? out September 4.
Shea goes into his inspiration, explaining, ”This song is my evaluation of whether or not I still believed in what I was doing after years of trying and traveling a whole lot of miles to get absolutely nowhere.” Musically, the lyrics echo this uncertainty, saying “A dozen years of overhead, not sure how wisely spent / I’m busking at the baseball game to try and cover rent”. The sentiment creates an anthem for anyone who has ever hauled equipment held together with duct tape and stained with water rings to a gig, just to find you’ve spent more money getting there than you end up taking home.
More difficulty comes in the form of a relationship ending, as the later verses depict two people unlucky in love who seem to sabotage themselves by hanging onto past failures. Shea writes “All we had to do was drop our baggage at the door / But people treated poorly gonna make more of the same”. These layers of struggle, both personal and professional, leave us to wonder whether this is really the dark before the dawn, or whether the night will just keep getting darker.
Grace Turner has released her new E.P 'Half Truths' which is a collection of gorgeous contemporary folk rock songs. === NKOS return for a third time here with 'Lonely Ghost-Self' and once again they continue to carve out a powerfully distinct and irresistable musical experience. === Loaver also sings in Malmö act Kluster B who have graced our pages on more than one occasion. Loaver takes us into a more gentle and personal place with her beautiful new track 'Bloom With Me'. === Terra Lightfootwas a regular here back in 2017 and we are so pleased to have her back with 'Paper Thin Walls' where her refined yet powered up rock makes for a fine listen. === Saronde shares 'Firewood' featuring Idd Aziz. It's fair to say we have not featured much Afro Funk on Beehive Candy, songs like this might just change that! === Finally today we have Ane Brun and the brand new release 'Take Hold Of Me'. A well established artist with an eighth album on the way, I just had to share this as it's just so beautiful.
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Grace Turner - Half Truths (E.P).
Alluring, honest and thought-provoking; Grace Turner unravels a stream of consciousness in her debut EP Half Truths, an evocative narrative and deep-seated direction for the folk-Americana singer-songwriter.
A seven-track EP, Grace traverses her innermost self and broaches both the subjectivity and complexity of one's truth. Whilst diving into a fresh direction in both sound and writing, Grace remains true to folk-rock soundscapes. A work-in-progress over 3 years, the EP reveals Grace's vulnerability and newfound artistic expression. In retrospect, Grace recalls the solace she found from the process: "I was sick of trying to sound good, trying to be some version of myself I had always told myself I was. I wanted to be seen and heard. When I listen to these songs now and look back at the process they definitely are of a time of great change and renewal for me. I chose the title Half Truths as I was going through such a turbulent time and the songs felt like they were spat out of me."
A lover of storytelling, instrumentals and dissecting lyrics, Grace hopes her body of work is also an introduction to listeners' self-analysis. "Truth is a subjective thing, what we think is true one day especially in relation to ones inner emotions may be really very different the next. When you create something you put those thoughts and feelings down, but you don’t necessarily stay the same person or believe in what you said," she continues.
Written across different settings and inspired by a range of characters, each track mirror an ongoing theme: introspection. Whether it be freeing the mind while driving in opening track 'Disdain', questioning mortality in 'Crossed Your Mind', unpacking cognitive dissonance in 'Half Light', shifting internally in 'Get Your Head Straight' or ruminating on love in 'Forget About The World'. The EP also features gusty single 'Easy I Fall' and breakout track 'Dead Or Alive', both of which received extensive plays across triple j and Double J radio.
To piece the EP together, Grace worked with a number of key figures in the industry. Recording at Melbourne's infamous Sound Park Studios with the production skills of Timothy Harvey (Lisa Mitchell, Ella Hooper), mixing by Fletcher Matthews (Sweater Curse, CLEWS) and mastering by Adam Dempsey (Didirri, Courtney Barnett). Prior to this, Grace has previously played internationally at SXSW Festival, earnt a spot as a triple j Unearthed feature artist, hitting #24 in Spotify US' Viral 50 Playlist, as well as supporting an array of artists including Alex The Astronaut, Lucy Dacus (USA), Phil Jamieson (Grinspoon), City Calm Down, Kingswood, Ali Barter and more as well as making appearances at Grow Your Own Festival and Groovin The Moo.
After their debut ‘Little Miss Numb’ last year and follow up ‘BOW (Brave Old World)’ only a month ago, NKOS are now back with synth/electro gem Lonely Ghost-self, their electronic take on break up, grief, solitude and pain. Building a path that will lead to the release of their debut album in October.
Single number three is now edging towards the digital launchpad, once again co-produced by Jagz Kooner, producer and remixer, doyen of ‘electronic rock & roll’ (it’s his own genre dammit). Co-producer of debut single Little Miss Numb’, Jagz lays a trail of aural breadcrumbs as to what you can expect from ‘Lonely Ghost-Self’, a track titled as if to be a winsome Belle and Sebastian B-Side but revealing a darker, heavier, jagged and harder hitting side to NKOS that was concealed by the dreamier, albeit bruising electronica of previous numbers ‘Little Miss Numb’ and ‘BOW (Brave Old World)’.
Initially a pan-national studio-based project, NKOS has evolved into a full band, one set to thrill on stages around the world. Brought together by friendship, the internet and sometimes sheer luck, NKOS comprise four artists from very different backgrounds – and locations – who share a love of deep, edgy electronica.
NKOS are releasing their debut album ‘From Dust To Life’ on Beatbuzz Records in October. The album will be available digitally via AWAL and OML Sync and physically in a limited edition metal box cassette with the option of cassette + walkman/cassette player also available.
Loaver is one of the lastest signing to Stockholm label Rama Lama Records (Melby, Julia Rakel, Steve Buscemi's Dreamy Eyes etc.). However she's not a new face to the family as Linnea Hall, the woman behind the project, also sings in Malmö act Kluster B. New single 'Bloom With Me' is out now and is the second taste of her upcoming debut album 'Fern'.
Malmö, Sweden, based singer-songwriter Linnea Hall started her solo project Loaver with a desire to be able to showcase all sides of her experiences and inspirations. Earlier this year, Loaver released new single 'Drömmeri (om döden)' on Rama Lama Records (Melby, Chez Ali, Julia Rakel, Steve Buscemi's Dreamy Eyes). The single, a pendant to Debussy's Reverie is a memoriam to Linnea's grandmother that was released on her death day. 'Bloom With Me' is the second single of her upcoming debut album 'Fern' and another taste of her creative pop.
Linnea on the track: "Bloom With Me was written in a basement in Italy, in some kind of hopeless longing for union and development amongst all those stringy branches."
In 2019, Loaver put out her self-titled debut EP on Birds Records. The music – experimental, smooth and dark pop at its finest – was written and recorded in Italy during 2017, in close collaboration with artists such as Giovanni Ferrario (PJ Harvey, John Parish etc.), who produced the tracks, and Emanuele Maniscalco. Through the six tracks we were drawn between the uttermost boundaries of emotions – love, hate, dreams, doubt, chaos and naivety. The new record is once again recorded in Italy but this time in collaboration with Emanuele Maniscalco and Carlo Poddighe. On 'Fern', Loaver develop her creative pop and experiments with trip hop, singer-songwriter, dream pop, jazz and bedroom pop elements that together with Hall's splendid vocals and personal lyrics create a hauntingly beautiful soundscape.
Besides Loaver, Linnea Hall is the singer of Swedish experimental indie rock group Kluster B. The band have put out two records since 2018 that besides positive reviews in some of Sweden's biggest music magazines, have received international attention from Line of Best fit, BBC Radio 6, NBHAP and more, with The Revue calling them one of the most innovative bands in the world as well as opened for Frankie Cosmos, Omni and more.
Nearly three years since the release of her critically acclaimed album New Mistakes, soulful rocker Terra Lightfoot shares the new single and video for "Paper Thin Walls" off the upcoming studio album Consider the Speed (October 16th - Sonic Unyon Records).
Recorded in Memphis, Tennessee at legendary Royal Studios, the single sees Lightfoot backed by a trio of session heavyweights —drummer Steve Potts, bassist Davy Smith, and keyboardist Lester Snell —produced by Jay Newland and engineered by Lawrence "Boo" Mitchell. If the single's loping riff and easy groove suggests the makings of a summer anthem, it delivers a stinging lyric for all seasons.
"I wrote this song about overhearing someone you love sharing some harsh words,” says Lightfoot. “I’ve tried to modulate my reactions to things like that, strived to be calmer in my interactions even when I feel strongly. 'Paper Thin Walls' is about having your heart run over by someone who never really comes through.”
Alongside the single, Lightfoot releases a lyric video for the song, directed by Mat Dunlap and featuring performance footage from the tail end of the marathon New Mistakes tour.
Strong, sure-footed and soulful, Terra Lightfoot's new album Consider the Speed sees the artist finding new roots on the road, and at home in her own skin more than ever before. On this Memphis-recorded session, the acclaimed singer-songwriter-guitarist is in top form, backed by seasoned session ringers and captured by Grammy-winning producer Newland and Grammy-winning engineer Mitchell.
Saronde return with an afro funk anthem called ‘Firewood’ ft. Idd Aziz - “Nairobi today will be on fire. Finish your work. Wakariru put on your best dress we go and dance in the rain”- Translated lyrics from ‘Firewood’
Beating Heart Music label founders and dance duo Saronde (Ollie Wood and Chris Pedley) are back from a short break after having ignited airwaves (6 Music Giles Peterson, Cerys Matthews, Tom Ravenscroft) and festival stages (Glastonbury, Boomtown, Elrow) in 2019 with their unique recordings from across Africa featuring contemporary artists alongside vintage field recordings, all fused with a New Forest, UK originated musical twist.
‘Firewood’ has the hallmarks of a future classic borrowing from a 50’s Kikuyu all female acapella sung by young unmarried girls as they collect or carry back home firewood. It is an enchanting and delightful use of vocal evocative of youthful innocence and is complemented sublimely by Kenyan superstar Idd Aziz and a modern jazz funk pop disco splash of deliciously catchy jazz guitar, bass, and drums. Dare you not to stop everything and dance to this rhythm!
‘Firewood’ shows another level being reached as this real feel good track brings positivity, smiling faces and lots of energy across an unprecedented global summer.
The Beating Heart label is proud to spur a new wave of collaboration between Africa and the rest of the world, by using an untapped archive of 70-year-old field recordings housed at the International Library of African Music (ILAM) founded by ethnomusicologist Hugh Tracey and The Kikuyu, (also Agĩkũyũ/Gĩkũyũ) where the sample originates from, are a Bantu ethnic group inhabiting Central Kenya. At a population of 8,148,668 as of 2019, they account for 17% of the total population of Kenya making them the largest ethnic group in Kenya.
Saronde was born of an idea in 2016, fusing ancient sounds with modern musical concepts. Now based in Nairobi, Ollie and Chris have gone deeply into this incredibly rich cultural heritage and marry ideas such as ‘Firewood’ with African musical icons like Idd Aziz, who is passionate about ethnic and cultural music and its place in African society and is a proud representative of his Mijikenda culture.
Other than being one of the most distinctive vocalists in the region, Idd Aziz is also an accomplished and dynamic percussionist having learned from his father. He also plays the guitar and flute and experiments with a variety of percussions from all across the African continent.
Ane Brun has announced details of a brand new single, ‘Take Hold Of Me‘, which has just been released by her label, Balloon Ranger Recordings. It’s the sixth taste of her as-yet-untitled eighth studio album, which will represent her first of original material since 2015’s acclaimed When I’m Free. Due in stores this autumn, it follows 2017’s exquisite collection of cover versions, Leave Me Breathless.
This song came to life during a writing session with Martin Hederos and Josefin Runsteen in Spring of 2019. I’ve hardly done any live co-writing before (that is, meeting together in a room and creating something from scratch). I mostly prefer being alone in my own bubble when I create the first few seeds of a song. It’s a very intimate and intense activity for me, almost meditative and very intuitive and it involves a lot of improvisation. But I decided to give it a chance, and even though at one point I almost blushed because I felt so vulnerable digging into my soul in front of three friends, I’m very grateful we did it because a few really good songs came out of it, and it also made me braver.
My lyrics started out with these few lines: “My existence is screaming, it’s a physical feeling, of missing out on dance and light”. I try to describe an existential complex state of mind. An abstract feeling, and something that I’ve felt come and go through the years. And in some ways, in this time of the pandemic, it’s being emphasized even more. A feeling that things are on hold, that life is not lived to its full potential, and that the bigger questions are so present right there on the surface. It is something that at least I have experienced in this very different situation we’re in right now in 2020.
I reached out to Samuel Starck to co-produce this song with us, who is one of the amazing musicians appearing on my upcoming album. He’s also a synth and production wizard, and thanks to him we created this almost clubby sense of intense growing emotions, reflecting the words of suppressed energy that get a release by the end of the track. “Take hold of me, keep this energy steady.”
Jillette Johnson is a Nashville-based singer/songwriter who has just shared 'I Shouldn't Go Anywhere' and it's a superb modern country rocker. === Blue Stragglershave two new singles 'She' and 'Late At A Festival' where their brand of garage rock is robust and defined with plenty of clarity. === Bikini Test Failure has revisited and redefined 'Are We Having A Good Time Yet?' adding depth and richness to this fabulous genre spanning rock song. === From Cordovas we have 'High Feeling' ahead of their new album 'Destiny Hotel', out 30th October on ATO Records. The bands beautifully crafted mixture of folk, country and classic rock & roll is simply wonderful.
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Jillette Johnson - I Shouldn't Go Anywhere.
Nashville-based singer/songwriter Jillette Johnson has released a stirring new track titled “I Shouldn’t Go Anywhere.” Johnson spoke with American Songwriter about her first new music in three years, which showcases her irreverent, candid lyricism, wrapped in a bolder, more confident sound fueled by a rebelliously-optimistic attitude. “I Shouldn’t Go Anywhere” illustrates a destructive relationship nearing its end with a lilting melody and Johnson’s classically emotive vocals.
“I wrote this song after deciding to leave a short-lived fling with someone who was emotionally unavailable,” explained Johnson. “The song is about trying to navigate the power struggle that inevitably presents itself in an unhealthy partnership, coupled with the realization that we are responsible for how safe our own hearts are. Thankfully, I found my way out of it, and shortly there-after I met my now husband. Turns out the lotus flower really does grow out of the mud.”
Since releasing her full-length debut Water in a Whale, Jillette Johnson has built a reputation on her ruminative pop/folk, piano-driven songs and powerful vocals, garnering acclaim ranging from Billboard and Paste to Marie Claire and ELLE. Her follow-up Dave Cobb-produced release All I Ever See In You Is Me, prompted Rolling Stone Country to hail Johnson as “Regina Spektor refracted through the lens of American roots music.” She has experienced a period of significant growth in the years since, while navigating a volatile, ever-changing industry and relocating from her hometown of New York City to Nashville. After taking back control of her sound and career, Johnson returns with a hard-won optimism and newfound creative energy. “I Shouldn’t Go Anywhere” is the first look at Jillette Johnson on the other side of a journey through pain and struggle to gratitude, forgiveness, and, ultimately, acceptance.
Encapsulating the Stragglers’ intention to write anthems for festivals lost and yet to come, ‘She’ and ‘Late At A Festival’ represent a one-two of utterly infectious and euphoric garage-rock.
‘She’, for all its swaggering riffage and alt-rock punch, is in many ways the perfect pop single: sub-three minutes of melodic immediacy with a verse and chorus so catchy you’ll be singing along on second listen. It also focuses on that most classic of pop themes – unrequited love. According to Stragglers’ frontman Lee Martin, ‘She’ is “A cheeky south London romp about the one who got away.” This is a track that oozes sweet menace, carried along by a hook that displays the trio’s guitar, bass and drums dexterity at its unified best.
‘Late At A Festival’ melds harmonic indie sensibilities with a fuzzed-out guitar line that the Nineties forgot to write. A paean to lost love that was written after the band spent a hazy weekend stumbling around Dorset’s End of the Road Festival, the song draws as much on the likes of Blur as it does Demob Happy or Boy Azooga. Lee’s chiming guitar line contrasts with the powerhouse intent of the rhythm section as ‘Late At A Festival’ crests from understated melodic counterpoints into crunching overdrive that hints at the song’s ferocious crescendo.
About the ‘Blue Stragglers’ EP - Comprising five heavyweight alt-rock gems that lay equal claim for A-side status, Blue Stragglers’ debut EP captures the Sussex trio at their muscular, melodic finest. Recorded and mixed by engineer and producer David Holmes in the belly of Lightship 95 at Soup Studios – a houseboat turned recording studio docked on the Thames in East London – the EP sessions were almost over before they had even begun. Recording took place during a ferocious winter storm, which turned the loading of equipment across the Lightship’s ice-covered bridge into a precarious ordeal. Thankfully, the dreaded cry of “man overboard” was never heard and Blue Stragglers laid down five songs that are unequivocally up to the task of being played “during the sunset slot at festivals”, as per the band’s stated aim.
The mastering of the EP was shared between Bill Skibbe of Jack White’s Third Man Mastering in Detroit and Oli Morgan of Fluid in London.
Bikini Test Failure - Are We Having A Good Time Yet?
Originally on my first Bikini Test Failure album, (Another Day Another Fat Pile Of Cash) this is the track that got me all the attention back in the day. Now during lockdown, it’s remultitracked, remixed, remastered and I’m really looking forward to playing it to a new audience who might have missed it the first time around.
But here’s my big story today: twenty-five years after starting Blague Records, I’ve finally made my first “pop” video! It took a month of filming on my iPhone, a week of editing and a global pandemic to make me bother!
More life-affirming, post-lockdown, pre-Second-Wave, melodious, dark, humorous, classy Prog Alt. Rock Britpop from the fevered mind of Manchester UK’s one-man-band, ego-maniac, control-freak James Hill, with all the hallmarks of a Dark-Side-Of-The-Moon Pink Floyd, fronted by the acid wit and humour of a Queen-Is-Dead Smiths.
Cordovas’ new album 'Destiny Hotel', out 30th October on ATO Records, is a work of wild poetry and wide-eyed abandon, set to a glorious collision of folk and country and groove-heavy rock-and-roll. In a major creative milestone for the Tennessee-based band—vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Joe Firstman, keyboardist Sevans Henderson, guitarist/vocalist Lucca Soria and vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Toby Weaver—the album harnesses the freewheeling energy of their live show more fully than ever, all the while lifting their songwriting to a whole new level of sophistication. The result is a batch of songs that ruminate and rhapsodise with equal intensity, inviting endless celebration on the way to transcendence.
Recorded in Los Angeles and produced by Rick Parker (Lord Huron, Beck, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Firstman’s Atlantic Records-released debut solo album 'The War of Women'), Destiny Hotel expands on the harmony-soaked roots rock of 'That Santa Fe Channel', a 2018 release that earned abundant praise from outlets like Rolling Stone, Clash and NPR Music. Before heading to L.A., Cordovas spent over three months in their second homebase of Todos Santos (an artist community in Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula), sketching dozens of songs partly sparked from their voracious reading of authors like mythologist Joseph Campbell, poet/novelist Rainer Maria Rilke, and spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle. And when it came time for the recording sessions—a frenetic seven-day stretch squeezed in just before stay-at-home orders took effect in response to the global pandemic—the band methodically eliminated any lyrics they deemed inconsequential.
“We wanted to strike the term ‘want’ from our music—to get rid of all the ‘Baby, baby, baby, I want this, I want that,’ and create something more useful,” says Firstman. “We needed to make sure these were songs we’d be proud to sing forever.”
Wynnm first came across our radar back in February with 'Fire On The Moon' which we described as "a gentle and melodic song with fabulous vocals above a restrained musical backdrop" and with the new song 'The Morning' it's a case of "have some more". === KEYSwere here last month and return with another fine track entitled 'Phases' which exudes some retro pop and rock vibes, something these folk are very good at. === Lady Dan shares 'Facta, Non Verba' today and its a highly addictive song, with a subtle musical arrangement that adds layers along the way supporting her gorgeous vocals.
Wynnm’s quicksilver sound is an elegant amalgamation of smooth folk and vital bass. Her music emerges from the dusty mirages of Arizona and the private mountains of Idaho and cycles to the electronic beats of her current residency in Amsterdam.
Though born amidst the sands and sunburnt rock faces of the Sonoran Desert in the Southwestern United States to an amateur harmonica player father and a first-generation Korean mother, Wynnm’s dark notes and honey-throated tones draw from experiences far beyond her landscape, circumstance, and family myths of origin. CD’s like Simon and Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, Moby, The Doors, and Creedence Clearwater Revival spun in the family car on long road trips. She came of age with a love for bass beats and albums by powerful female vocalists like Annie Lennox, Portishead, and Fiona Apple.
Wynnm about her new single: "The Morning is a song of appreciation for those who make us the greatest versions of ourselves. Those who pull us from the edge. Those who free us from the heaviness of dark pasts. With driving, atmospheric drums and heavenly choral synths, ‘The Morning’ is needing, beyond wanting."
'Phases’ is the second single taken from KEYS ‘bedroom’ recorded album ‘HOME SCHOOLING: A collection of 4-track rarities’. As Matthew Evans (vocals / guitar / songwriter) explains: “Phases – When you start realising that these songs were going to be recorded somewhat intimately into a 4-track machine, it has an impact on the type of song you write. As Julian Cope says ‘The verses can lie if the chorus is pretty’. This is one of the most introspective tunes we’ve written. It’s the Lennonesque chords; they insist on a blue feeling.”
HOME SCHOOLING is proof of the importance of the spaces left between the integral notes, the spaces that let the songs breathe. The songs range from joyous early 70s Midlands pop, bucolic chamber pop, sweeping Krautrock grooves, fractured Big Star/Bad Finger songcraft to vamping 2 chord proto-punk freak-outs.
Through it all we hear the hiss of the 4-track cassette recorder turning, the sound of the endless possibilities and magic of the pop song spilling out in vivid colours . No second guessing or over thinking, only the joy of creating.”
Matthew summarises the collection of songs that make up ‘HOME SCHOOLING’ as “something to help us get through this lockdown. Hopefully you can use it too.”
The single 'Phases' is out August 8th, with the album 'HOME SCHOOLING': A Collection of 4-Track Rarities' to follow on August 21st, on Libertino Records.
Working out of Texas but with roots in Birmingham, Alabama, Lady Dan makes music which is self-described as “Melancholic cowboy sounds you can cry in front of your cat to.”
Lady Dan puts a pause on weeping pedal steel to tread new waters in fresh goth-folk single. “Facta, Non Verba” uses dead language to convey what she is feeling - but not before she paints an image with dirty drones, grimy feedback, and angsty vocals.
The subtle dissonance is an unsettling nightmare we all want to live in.
Anne Malin has just shared 'Empty is the Day' ahead of the October release date for the album 'Waiting Song'. It's looks like we will be able to share two more tracks ahead of the release, in the meantime just enjoy this beautiful song from an album that is equally special and wonderful. === Brock Mattsson has released 'Are You Thinking Of Me' and it's a honest, personal and natural track to immerse ourselves in.
The first single from Anne Malin's new album due in October is Empty is the Day. The album Waiting Song explores what it means to be forced into stillness. At times meditative, at times defiant, Anne Malin’s latest album turns inward, moving through themes of impatience, ambition, confinement and memory. Ghosts haunt the landscapes of these songs—ancestors, friends who left the earth too soon, aging and sick loved ones, violators—as if to remind the band of its own impermanence. Marked by the ephemeral, these songs use repetition to declare their intention, Anne Malin’s determination: “I’ll stand by the window / O, I’ll stand by the window / Yes, I’ll stand by the window / And think a waiting song.”
Written by singer and poet Anne Malin Ringwalt and brought to life with long-time partner William Johnson, Waiting Song punctuates the already still and already violenced landscape of 2020, inviting its listener to inhabit its dreamscape while bringing their own pains and jubilations along. Ringwalt and Johnson moved to Nashville in 2019, yet this southern homecoming—Ringwalt from North Carolina and Johnson from Kentucky—has been stunted by natural disaster, bouts of unemployment and sickness. The band realizes they aren’t alone in this stuck-ness, this mundanity—so they sing, instead, towards a garden they wish to inhabit.
Drawing from and ultimately subverting the sounds of 20th century hymns and country/pop music, these songs are an eclectic and realized hybrid of New Weird America, post-punk, jazz and Americana. A combo organ’s sputtering Leslie coheres these songs, with Ringwalt’s agile voice soaring and sinking into each sonic scene. Johnson exhibits his musical confidence in Waiting Song with full force, contributing the entirety of the album’s instrumentation. Co-produced, this album demonstrates Ringwalt and Johnson’s capacious and playful musical ethos at its finest.
Anne Malin’s 2018 release of Fog Area, called “haunted” by The Wire and “gorgeously atmospheric” by The Line of Best Fit, exhibited an unsettled movement through genre. Drawing from this fluidity, but rooted in place, Waiting Song explores what happens when the band digs deeply into one set of musical tools. These melody-driven songs, written and produced around the vocal part, allow for a playful relationship between voice and arrangement. Recurring melodies in songs like “Child,” “Sleep,” “What Brings My Eyes Open” and “Hourglass” are passed confidently between Ringwalt and Johnson, creating a sonic texture that plays with its listener’s expectations while still creating a sense of familiarity. Ringwalt explores the full range of her voice, through melody and affect, leaning into a more sinister tone for “Mountain Song.” Equally inspired by Willie Nelson’s Phases and Stages and Sonic Youth’s Bad Moon Rising, Waiting Song marks the duo’s southern homecoming in the Anthropocene.
The song I am writing to you to share is, "Are You Thinking Of Me," this song emerged on one lonely night after having parted ways with the first individual I began dating after moving to Alberta. We used to drive around listening to music and would go hiking down in the North Saskatchewan River. They were a heavy smoker and I had never dated anyone who smoked before. But I liked them, so I put that aside.
Months passed and we parted ways as they got back with a previous partner. At the time I was living alone and didn’t have many friends, so I found myself writing a lot when this song formed and took shape. The recording experience was the most joyful part of the process for such a sad song about heartbreak. I reached out to my peer Cohen Wylie from The Crowleys, who was working at Threshold Recording Studio in Hamilton, Ontario.
When I got to the studio, Cohen had me lay down the base tracks and he, as well as Justyn, Stuart and Kaulin from The Crowleys created over the song from what they felt from it. I turned a psych-rock band into a country band for the weekend, it was great!
I feel the song brings thoughts of human companionship and it is big. Having someone to touch, hold and feel loved by is huge. I hope the slow and calming music of the single can help take you away through storytelling when you're in a lonely state of mind.
Josefin Berger shares 'Go Kiss An Orc - Chapter 1' accompanied by a dramatic and amusing story telling video, however the song stands well on it's own with bags of originality, incredible vocals and plenty of musical twists. === From Kaylee Patterson we have 'Other Side' and immediately her gorgeous melodic and distinctive vocals are simply captivating on this beautiful song.
Fun Fantasy Pop inspired by The Lord of The Rings. "Fantasy is real. When Josefin Berger brings to the masses, her brand of fantastical arrangements, chivelry rises again with gallantry and utmost beauty in musical ambitions.
Josefin’s rendition, brings the other dimension to another precedence. Honesty and pure fun, lives in Josefin’s falsetto and the colors it brings," writes the music blog Comeherefloyd about it.
"I wrote the song inspired by working with fantasy events, The Lord of the Rings and the high soprano melodies of Kate Bush" says Josefin.
She continues: "In elf language it’s offensive to say the phrase go kiss an orc and it means 'be gone, go kiss an orc'. Go Kiss an Orc will be released in different versions (there is another version released already, Go Kiss an Orc – Prologue) – Chapter 1 I see as the main one".
Josefin lives in Gothenburg (Gårda) in Sweden and grew up at the countryside in Fjärås in Kungsbacka. She has alsways had a fondndess for fairy tales – hence she writes fantasy inspired lyrics for her music.
Kaylee Patterson has always prided herself on her uniqueness- it is no surprise that her musical style follows in this same vein. She started writing songs and using music as a coping mechanism during a 6-year long toxic relationship.
Well-versed in heartbreak, Montreal-based artist Kaylee Patterson brings a new sound to the industry, one that blends contemporary pop with a plethora of other influences, such as elements from the works of Lana Del Rey, Leonard Cohen and Alexandra Savior. Her music is at once a cry for help and an indication that love doesn’t have to end in pain.
Other Side is Kaylee Patterson's debut single, released on July 17th. Kaylee’s distinctive vocals only contribute to the experimental nature of Other Side. It was the first song (of many) that the Canadian artist ever wrote about running away and not hurting anymore. It took her a few years to finally gain the courage to run away, even though she had already done so in her music.
Samantha Tieger shares 'Close My Eyes' and it's a smooth flowing and melodic song delivered in a personal soulful manner. === Bag Of Cans are a five piece band from Norwich, England who recently released the rather fabulous 'Chris Alice' where indie rock rubs shoulders with surreal lyrics in an exuberant manner. === Komanda share 'Begin Again' where the musical arrangement is refined and the catchy nature of the piece leaves us with a warm, feel good vibe. === London-based artist Be No Rain has shared 'Media Luna' ahead of his debut album due next month, the track itself is a "study of dread" and despite that it glows with beauty.
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Samantha Tieger - Close My Eyes.
Nashville-based singer/songwriter Samantha Tieger (pronounced “Teeger”) is set to follow up her seductively resonant single “Eyes Wide Open” with a new soulfully sweet entry, “Close My Eyes.” In a time when friends and family are experiencing isolation and loneliness, “Close My Eyes” holds hope that distances can be closed via a powerful emotional connection. It delivers a very soothing and reassuring pop vibe thanks to Tieger’s effortless and comforting vocals.
Her sweet, soulful delivery and alluring harmonies bring listeners together in a way that is deeply personal and almost magical. “Close My Eyes” was co-produced by multiple Emmy Award-winning producer Ed O’Donnell (Friends, Beverly Hills 90210) and Bobby Campbell, with Tieger and O’Donnell collaborating as co-writers. “Close My Eyes” will be released as a single today, July 31 and will be included on Tieger’s forthcoming six-song debut EP in late summer.
Says Tieger: “The idea for this song was inspired by the friends that I’m physically distanced from and the fact that we’re still always there for each other.
It’s been heartwarming to see how those in my life have interpreted the song in a way that’s personal to them. They’ve told me the song has helped them feel closer to long distance family members and friends, as well as to people in their lives that they’ve lost. Having received such a positive emotional response to the lyrics has been really special, and I’m so excited to share this song with the world.”
Bag of Cans are a five piece indie rock band birthed from the effervescent swamp which is Norwich’s music scene, they have weaved through the musical ranks on a sound described as “a gloriously surreal mix of old school indie, Weimar Berlin cabaret and Kinks circa Village Green Preservation Society”.
Since their formation in late 2017, they have garnered a reputation as one of the must-see bands in East Anglia with invariably hectic live shows. Sinewy guitar lines glide between a relentless rhythm section and a penchant for indie-pop vocal-harmonies.
Recent Activity: 2020 began with a strong start for the cans with gigs peppered around the East of England, including an illustrious support slot for Joe Talbot (Idles) on his DJ set tour. The band even made their way to the semi-final stage of the Isle of Wight Festival New Blood competition, before Covid-19 put a
dramatic stop to their hopes for this year.
Throughout quarantine, the band have been scheming, plotting world domination, and writing madly– though nothing is really filling the hole of live gigs. Most recently they have been featured on a charity live album, raising money for the Music Venue Trust, to try and help the music industry survive these perilous times in any way that they can. Chris Alice is a small token from a band who love what they do but are being forced to bide their time before a large scale assault after lockdown.
Komanda is the English transliteration of the Russian word for “team”. It is the spirit child of U.S.S.R born & Brooklyn, NY raised songwriter/producer duo
Ed Zisk and Phillip Alexeev.
Komanda tell us - The last few months have been pretty weird for all of us. I just want to thank you for giving people good music to brighten their days and get through this weird time.
We've been locked in the studio working on our own form of sunshine. It's the only coping mechanism we have to deal with some of the crazy sht going on in the world, and we hope we can provide music fans with some small beacon of human connection through our tunes.
London-based artist Be No Rain has announced the release of his debut album, Strawberry Backstory, out September 18th via One Two Many Records. Along with the announcement, Be No Rain is also sharing new single “Media Luna”, a contemplative, stirring study of dread, in all of its various forms.
The third track to be lifted from Be No Rain's debut album Strawberry Backstory, "Media Luna" is a stark, sparsely arranged cut, showcasing a darker side to his synth-pop songwriting. Borrowing its name from the fictional rancho in Juan Rulfo’s book Pedro Paramo, the track is released today alongside a Jacek Zmarz-directed video. Zmarz bought 50 old VCR tapes from strangers online and stitched together clips of the disparate lives; acknowledging the tragedy of a world trapped in stasis and reminding us of the pain this pandemic has caused.
Speaking a little more on the track, Be No Rain said: “As the song developed it became more of a generalised study of dread, that kind of non-contingent fear that lives in the realm of dreams. Or even the dread that arises at 6am, stumbling, cold onto an unfamiliar street, blinking in the dawn as a chemical shroud lifts and every passing thought feels altogether too tragic and terrible to comprehend. Nonetheless, what’s left resounding at the end of the song is a sense of hope. Dread is transient and so are we; with or without our misdeeds the world will keep spinning.”
To understand Be No Rain’s lovelorn take on pop music, you must first know where it is made. A south London studio decked out with disco balls, fairy lights, and fake ivy - in many ways, looks exactly how his music sounds. Kitsch and camp in places, but unashamedly itself. It was in this utopia that Sam Frankl, who records as Be No Rain, got to work tirelessly distilling ideas he’d had over the course of a decade into a shape that represented his eclectic mind.
Taking his stage name name from a Gil Scott Heron lyric from the song “I Think I’ll Call It Morning”, Be No Rain was a name that provided a sense of ambiguity and uncertainty, the latter being a theme that Sam was subconsciously examining in his songwriting.
