Cari Cari - Cat SFX - Moonpools - Ruby Tingle

Cari Cari - No Proper Life.

Cari Cari have shared new psychedelic disco single, ‘No Proper Life’. The release comes alongside news that the duo are set to release their new  album Welcome To Kookoo Island on September 16th, 2022 via Perla Nera Records.

Recorded at their studio, located in an Austrian national park in 2020 and 2021, the band’s second album is a slice of psychedelic escapism. Lead single ‘No Proper Life’ started off as a White Stripes-esque blues rock jam which immersed itself into an upbeat, psychedelic number with a thumping bassline and Roger McGuinn-y 12-string guitar riffs. The track is about having the urge to avoid a ‘proper life’: “proper job, proper friends, proper hobbies and living your life for someone else instead of daring to go your own way. No one’s better at being yourself than you are.” adds guitarist Alexander Koeck.

Accompanying video for 'No Proper Life' was illustrated by Kane Rowlingson. The band on the video: "Sometimes if you wanna live an improper life you gotta be as stubborn as a donkey. Follow our mascot Donny the donkey on his way past the temptations of a proper life"

Cari Cari is Stephanie Widmer (vocals, drums & didgeridoo) and Alexander Koeck (vocals, guitars). Since their inception, Cari Cari have been tirelessly working to create their own world, carefully crafting everything from their music to their artwork, videos to set design in-house. This meticulous attention to detail has earned the band a loyal following; Rolling Stone Magazine called them ‘the biggest discovery of Primavera Sound Festival’, their die-hard fans sold out 1000+ capacity rooms across Europe and their debut album was praised by the likes of NME, KCRW, Rolling Stone and many more.

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Cat SFX - Binman.

Chewing through an angsty yet melodic mesh of jittery guitar strums and a melodic and catchy chorus, Cat SFX’s latest offering boasts the breadth of the band as they embrace more ethereal sonic territory that nods to the works of alt/rock visionaries like PJ Harvey or 80s new-wave trailblazers like Psychedelic Furs. 

Where recent single “Rodeo” was outspoken and punk-powered, “Binman” arrives as an all-the-more measured affair, with glistening rhythmic guitar lines undercutting crystal-clear vocals that touch on the inner struggles that come with clearing up the wreckage of your own mistakes. 

Of the new single, the band’s lead vocalist Cat Speranza explains: “”Binman” is about a toxic relationship: the one between me and alcohol. It's about the fights that you have with your loved one because you’re so drunk again and have caused carnage, and you’re trying to pick up the pieces the next day. And you make up all these excuses, to yourself, to others. So I’m the Binman. I’m the trash that needs taking out.” 

Coming as the band’s sixth release to date, the new track is organic and infectious in equal parts, and serves as a teaser of the band’s forthcoming ‘Binman’ EP, due 15 July 2022 via It’s Creation Baby.

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Moonpools - Weak Ankles.

'Weak Ankles', the new single by Basel, Switzerland based Dreampoppers Moonpools, shows a more fragile side of the band and unfolds a great deal of heart-warming melancholy. The new EP 'Damaged Goods' will be released on August 19th via Young and Aspiring.

Moonpools are a five-piece from Basel, founded by Marcie Nyffeler (vocals/guitar), Jasper Nyffeler (drums) and Francesco Vona (synths) and completed in 2017 by Matthias Gusset (guitar) and David Blum (bass). The latter is known from various projects such as Sheila She Loves You, Don't Kill The Beast, Brainchild and Mastergrief.

After their debut EP 'Turbulent Times', which was released in 2019, the band is now back with new material and a new sound. The songs on the new EP 'Damaged Goods' (release date: 19.8. / Young and Aspiring) sound louder, more distorted and straightforward. Sources of inspiration for the new sound include Hatchie, Snail Mail, Cocteau Twins and Soccer Mommy. The first single from the EP, also titled ‘Damaged Goods’, already gained international attention from the likes of BBC Introducing, Amazing Radio UK, RBB Radio Eins, detektorfm, SRF3, SRF Virus and others. Furthermore, Scottish actor Robert Carlyle (Trainspotting, The Full Monty, 007 - The World Is Not Enough) also came across the track and promptly shared it via his Twitter account.

In contrast to their upbeat first single, the second offering ‘Weak Ankles’ is a Shoegaze-inspired love song that unveils a softer side of the band. Marcie Nyffeler’s vocals start off fragile and grow stronger as the song progresses, as if she is finding confidence in the words. 'Weak Ankles' is about being overwhelmed by your own feelings: "It’s not easy to open up and let yourself be vulnerable, but that is when beautiful things happen. It’s tempting to look for excuses and to focus on the things that could go wrong. But sometimes it’s important to let yourself fall.”

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Ruby Tingle - Familiars.

Audio-visual artist Ruby Tingle has just released her new single ‘Familiars’ with No Such Thing Records, in conjunction with a solo exhibition at PAPER Gallery Manchester (11.06.22- 06.08.22).

The song is about rediscovering your true self and spirituality as a result of falling in love with someone from your past. Created with producers/artists Rookes, Daisy P and KINRAR, this is Ruby’s second release following her debut EP ‘Lagoons’ in February this year which featured on Record of the Day and Louder than War.

The exhibition at PAPER explores Ruby’s connection to spirit animals, constellations and the colour red, inspired by time spent at her local nature reserve at sunset over the last year; Collage, installation, sound and scent will transform the gallery into a twilight swamp. Commissioned as part of A Modest Show running as a satellite programme to this year’s British Art Show, Ruby will also take part in a live showcase at Soup Manchester with other acts from No Such Thing on August 5th to premier the track as part of a performance.

Ruby’s music mixes natural sound processes and high range celestial vocals to compose original and dreamy, experimental “music from the swamp”. She is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist working with progressive electronica in Manchester, represented by No Such Thing Records and PAPER Gallery Manchester. Recent exhibitions and commissions include a performance with PROFORMA and Venture Arts at the 2022 Venice Biennale, her solo exhibition Lagoons at Warrington Museum and Art Gallery and her award of this year’s Manchester Jazz Festival Originals Commission.

She exhibits and performs regularly across the UK and Europe, including Saatchi Gallery, Manchester Art Gallery, 48 Hours Neukolln, Axel Orbinger Berlin, Art Basel, The Harris Preston, HOME, sluice___ and Chethams Library. She is also one half of cinematic bass act Dirty Freud with whom she performed and headlined stages at Glastonbury 2019, and recently released EP ‘Love in the Backwater’ with Modern Sky.

Sterre Weldring - Vision Video - Abby Sage - SPECTRA*Paris

Sterre Weldring - The Best. 

Yesterday singer-songwriter Sterre Weldring released her new single 'The Best'. Sterre Weldring's new release is a special one: for the first time, she's releasing a cover of "The Best," a song originally by Nashville-based artist Josiah and the Bonnevilles. Encouraged by none other than Josiah, Sterre decided to record an acoustic version of 'The Best', one of her favorite songs. "'The Best' is a sad and melancholic song, but will most of all bring comfort to those who recognise themselves in its story" says the artist.

Sterre Weldring is a 24-year-old singer-songwriter from Amsterdam. Her music can be described as 'melancholic indie-pop', a genre in which she writes songs about all kinds of love and relationships, with the  aim of comforting others.

Her passion for this music started around the age of 15, when she discovered British singer-songwriter Jake Bugg and experienced how much comfort she could get from music herself. At the age of 18, Sterre therefore decided to study in Brighton at the BIMM (British Institute of Modern Music). One of her other idols, James Bay, had attended the same school. She developed her own sound within Brighton's vibrant music scene. A comparison with Amy Macdonald and Florence + The Machine is often drawn.

Back in the Netherlands, Sterre settled in Amsterdam where she studied philosophy. A study that taught her to look at life in a reflective way, something that is also reflected in her songs. The search for answers has a therapeutic and comforting effect, both for herself and for her audience. It has already brought her to the Popronde and the final of the Grand Prix of the Netherlands in 2019. Last year she released her debut EP 'Lost Lights'.

Revanche Records · Sterre Weldring - The Best

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Vision Video - Beautiful Day To Die.

Athens, Georgia based Vision Video return now with “Beautiful Day To Die,” a remarkably vibrant single from the post-punk/gothic quartet, through which they announce their sophomore album, Haunted Hours, for an October 11 release. The band premiered a video for the track via Post-Punk, and they head out across the Eastern half of the U.S. starting tomorrow night in Nashville [all dates below]. Watch + share the video via YouTube. Pre-order Haunted Hours here.

Led by songwriter/guitarist/vocalist Dusty Gannon, who served two tours of Afghanistan in the Army before becoming an EMT with the Atlanta Fire Department, channels these experiences of the horror of war and trauma into his music. Discussing “Beautiful Day To Die” he noted, “I wrote this track about my experiences as a paramedic and firefighter seeing a lot of death first hand, and how you become well acquainted with it in a very surreal, yet comfortable way.

It’s about how I had to become friends with the concept of mortality because I was around it so regularly. The shock of seeing bodies becomes more pedestrian, and you’re even able to see beauty in some situations; like when families come together over loss, or the stories people will tell you about the deceased.

This song is about celebrating the frailty of life. We do not get to decide how, or when we will die, but it is all the while certain. While that can be somewhat existential-dread inducing, I like to think of it as a clarion call to appreciate what time we are afforded.”

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Abby Sage - Pool Party.

LA /London based alt-pop artist Abby Sage shares her new intimate and thought-provoking single “Pool Party,”accompanied by an experimental music video directed by Aidan Dick. The visuals exemplify how often young adults must hide behind an invisible mask to get through the day-to- day runnin' around that no one prepared them for. Both honest and utterly relatable, Abby Sage arrives with a new perspective on the contemporary world, for better or worse.

“Pool Party” was written during a writing trip to London and produced by British producer duo MyRiot (London  Grammar,  AURORA,  Halsey). On her  latest  effort, Abby  Sage  offers up a hazy  alt-pop world that ties together nostalgia and the uncertain future. Sage has always had a knack for clever songwriting  that touches upon wistfulness and  modern malaise and “Pool Party” is a shining example. The production contains many sonic layers hoisted by her mesmeric vocals and intricate alt-pop  infused  guitar  strumming.  In  addition,mild  drum  beats  and  fuzzy  bass  lines embody the temple of the track. “Pool Party” follows the release of her dreamy effort “Force of Habit,”released this past spring and serves as the first glimpse into her forthcoming project out later this year. 

Speaking about her new single, Abby Sage shares this: “Pool Party is a metaphor for kids not being prepared for the world. ‘Pool party kids can’t swim they ask nobody just sink to the bottom and think (off the deep end).’ Kids are dealt a tough hand, having such a vast amount of information at their fingertips with nobody to guide them or explain what it all means. They have to drown to learn.”

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SPECTRA*Paris - Indigo Cypher.

Enigmatic Italian singer Elena Alice Fossi has released the next fascinating single, 'Indigo Cypher', which is taken from the forthcoming new full-length of her dark electro project SPECTRA*Paris. The fifth album of that band is entitled "Modernism" and has been scheduled for release on August 26.

SPECTRA*Paris comment: "Memories of a life that does not belong to you…", singer, composer, and lyricist Elena Alice Fossi muses. " If you don't feel at least a bit like a fish out of water in this grotesque theater that is humanity, then this song is not for you! We were born in deception and there we stay until we realise that real life is running elsewhere. 'They' shape us in order that we make our own lives and that of others worse. 'They' mold us to obey slaves and to become slaves ourselves. 'They' shape us so as to love our family even when it has nothing to do with us."

Charismatic, enigmatic, and absolutely outstanding, singer Elena Alice Fossi, who is best known for her work with Italian electro-trailblazers KIRLIAN CAMERA, presents "Modernism", the fifth album of her eclectic project SPECTRA*Paris.

"Modernism" is transfiguring electronic music through the prism of Elena’s voice and several collaborations with other musicians into a beautiful kaleidoscope of stylistic colours ranging from EBM, future pop, dark electronic, art pop, and various influences more.

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Bryde - Pixy Jones - Sky Barkers - Goodnight Sunrise - Gal Musette

Photo - Cae Candal Sato

Bryde - Epilogue.

Each track on Bryde’s new album Still explores a different kind of love. It’s a reflective and deeply psychological record, and though it comes with beautifully vulnerable moments that tap into our ideals of romantic love, it also pulls apart society’s pre-conceived ideas of what love should be, with songs that take us on a different path, one exploring concepts of self-love and embracing our shadow selves.

New single ‘Epilogue’ sits somewhere in the middle, it’s undoubtable a love song, stripped down with Bryde’s achingly beautiful vocal vulnerably relaying her most inner thoughts (it’s opening line alone is pure heartbreak…. “I wanted you to call me baby, I wanted you to like my hazy world”). However, whilst tapping into the feelings of being in-love, it simultaneously steps away from the fairy tale ideal, offering a more realistic viewpoint. As Bryde expands:

"Real love is about knowing someone. Their flaws, their annoying traits and habits, hair unwashed and wanting them anyway. It wants nothing but the best for that person and is never jealous of their achievements or gains.”

The ‘Epilogue’ video sees Bryde team up once again with director Rhys Davies, with the concept inspired by the song’s lyrics ”sew myself into your seams”. As Bryde expands “It emerged from the idea of trying on someone else’s clothes, from the idea of identity, of feeling this draw to merge with another person entirely and then trying to find oneself again in all of it. Peeling off layers and emerging from the experience, blinking in the daylight.”

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Pixy Jones - I'm Not There.

El Goodo guitarist and songwriter 'Pixy Jones' has announced that his debut album entitled 'Bits n Bobs' is due for release on 16th of September via Strangetown Records. Branching away from the familiar El Goodo platform, Welsh psych scene stalwart Pixy Jones has himself compiled a truly remarkable collection of tracks that fluctuate from 60's harmony-rich psych pop, to Alt-Country with ringing tremelo guitar.

The swaggering 'I'm Not There' is the first single to be taken from 'Bits n Bobs' accompanied by a magical version of Beatles track 'And Your Bird Can Sing' as it's B Side, which is released digitally today Friday 1st of July.

Pixy had this to say about the release: The album was originally intended as a solo project under the pseudonym of “Wallace Russell”. I recorded it alongside the recording of Zombie (El Goodo) whenever I could get in the studio. There are some really old songs that have always been overlooked for 'El Goodo' albums for one reason or another, a few new ones which I wrote specifically for this, and a couple that would have probably ended up on the intended double album version of Zombie if we’d kept going with the double album idea. I’ve since ditched the 'Wallace Russell' name and gone back to 'Pixy Jones' as I figured there’s no need to have a pseudonym if nobody knows who you are in the first place. Even though I dropped the name I’ve kept the walrus mask for now as it is more photogenic than my actual face.

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Sky Barkers - Give You Love.

Sky Barkers is an indie trio based in coastal West Wales. It is comprised of Joanna MacGregor Messore, Dan Messore and Matt Brown. They make groove based, hook heavy, vocal laden music - lyrically connective and energy driven, rooted in song-writing but with a wonky edge. ‘Give You Love’ is the bands second offering writing as this current trio, following on from their first single ‘Beholden to None’. Expect a full EP soon, coming this Autumn.

Jo MacGregor says: “Give You Love is a celebration and rebellion song. We wrote it during one of the lockdowns and it’s really just about loving - honestly and wildly, which in the current climate seems an act of necessary rebellion. 

Letting love be the force that courses through you and blasts you out of apathy, fear, whatever. But we’ve got to dare to be vulnerable enough to let it in, to feel it for real - and so many of us have big old bags of pain in the way. But in those moments when we really connect and let this incredible force tingle through us - it’s pretty wild. And we need it like water.”

bubblewrap.collective · Sky Barkers - Give You Love

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Goodnight Sunrise - Wait For It.

Toronto rock band, Goodnight Sunrise, was founded through a shared love of pop hooks and the raw power of classic rock. 

Since 2011, the band have taken their explosive live show to over 300 audiences across Canada, the US, and Europe, opening up for Bon Jovi, Big Wreck, and The Sheepdogs along the way.

Their latest release, "Wait For It," is a driving alternative rock track for the summer, written for anyone who is tired of being confined by societal pressures. It's a rousing sing along for the dreamers who are tired of everyone else acting like they've got all the answers.

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Gal Musette - Summertime (feat. Via Mardot) (Reimagined).

Gal Musette is the nom de plum of Grace Freeman, a musical prodigy who began writing piano based lyrical compositions and performing at open mics in her home city of San Clemente, CA at the age of 10. Her graceful approach to melody-driven indie-folk and French chansons has captured audiences all over Southern California. 

At age 14, inspired by The Magnetic Fields’ triple album 69 Love Songs, Gal recorded her own collection titled 70 Love Songs, which caught the attention of the band, and won her an opening slot on a few of their Midwestern U.S. tour dates. In more recent years, Gal has opened for several renowned artists such as Macy Gray, Suzanne Vega, Todd Snyder, and Donavon Frankenreiter. While her artist name is taken from bal-musette, the accordion-based, waltz-style French instrumental music, Gal’s primary inspiration is drawn from songwriters including Joni Mitchell, Regina Spektor, Bjork, Cocteau Twins, Burt Bacharach, Irving Berlin and The Cure.

In October 2021, Gal released her debut album, Backwards Lullaby, featuring a vocal duet with one of her biggest musical inspirations, Rufus Wainwright. The album explores the pangs of hopeless romances and unrequited love, what it’s like to move beyond idealized love into the acceptance of what is real and constant, as well as the cyclical nature of life and love in relationships.

Musette's upcoming EP, Backwards Lullaby [Reimagined], comprises three tunes from her original LP, which she collaborated on with Via Mardot, a prolific and multi-talented musician from Detroit, Michigan. Mardot performed every aspect of instrumentation on this EP including the theremin, violin, cello, double bass, acoustic guitar, and much more. The EP was brainstormed and produced by the talented Jon O’Brien and is out today July 1, 2022.

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Pale Blue Eyes - Well Wisher - Poolblood - The Local Honeys

Photo - Sophie Jouvenaar

Pale Blue Eyes - Star Vehicle.

Following the announcement of their debut album Souvenirs, coming out on September 2, Totnes’ Pale Blue Eyes yesterday shared a new track from the record.

“It’s a hopeful and uplifting track,” says PBE singer/guitarist Matt Board. “It’s about daydreaming of the future and riding out difficult times together – kind of fantasizing about somewhere far away. It touches on times at art college, where there was a student bar called The Rat & Emu, out in the middle of the countryside. I remember the stars seemed so bright overhead.”

Souvenirs was recorded in PBE’s own Penquit Mill studio, just south of Dartmoor, the studio having been funded by a bank loan and endless part-time jobs. PBE are the couple Lucy and Matt Board, crucially aided by Motown-mad bassist Aubrey Simpson. Matt (vocals/guitar) and Lucy (drums/electronics) met at Dartington College of Arts in South Devon, a storied establishment that’s been enlivened over the years by people including Igor Stravinksy, Yul Brynner and John Cage.

Lucy’s dissertation was titled “An Investigation into Sheffield's Alternative Music Scene Between 1973 and 1978, with Particular Reference to Cabaret Voltaire.” The PBE album was mixed and mastered by Dean Honer (Eccentronic Research Council, Moonlandingz). Dean has been an integral part of Sheffield's electronic scene and has mixed artists including Róisín Murphy, The Human League and Add N To (X).

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Well Wisher - Need You Around.

Egghunt's brand new signing, NJ Pop-Punks Well Wisher are sharing a video for "Need You Around" - a love song written for lead singer Natalie Newbold's partner which features the band performing in front of fan-submitted photos of things they "need around."

We're not announcing the album quite yet, but you can preview the whole thing below and you're welcome to say there's an LP forthcoming in the fall.

The album is fantastic, a great fusion of the band's punk roots with strong melodic and raw production influences from the Pixies, Elliott Smith, Phoebe Bridgers. Listen to the "alone in a room" acoustic ballad "Emily" which sounds like it was captured almost by mistake, with Natalie left alone in the studio late, or the massive hooks on "Panic" and "Do Better."

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Poolblood - twinkle.

About "twinkie": "A song I wrote about the tenderness of time, time as a source of love, and the way time is the ultimate parent. Starting over is as sweet as a golden sponge cake. My dearest friend Shamir, played guitar and drums and my friend Grant played bass on a rainy day in Fishtown Philadelphia."  - Maryam Said

About the "twinkie" Video: The song "twinkie" is about starting over so it was great timing to have Emma (Cosgrove) and I shoot the video while the flowers were blooming. Emma had some previous footage from a film she was working on about flowers. I've always been a huge fan of Emma's work and her artistic eye, so I was excited to work with her.  It was shot on film on a beautiful spring day after we both had two iced Americanos."

Poolblood, the musical nom-de-plume of Toronto’s Maryam Said, is an ethereal spirit of punk rock, swirling and dancing in the air with a collection of gorgeously orchestrated bedroom pop music. Raised in a religious household at arm’s length from popular music, they nonetheless found themselves drawn in by the music of Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), who left an indelible  imprint on Said’s relationship to music and songwriting.

The results of their upbringing–time spent practicing chords in guitar class, learning about hardcore from friends after school and honing their songwriting as an early teen–is a winding path of melody, making stops along the way to dabble in everything from noise rock to lush and gorgeous pop hooks.

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The Local Honeys - Throw Me in the Thicket.

-“Growing up on an orchard was a gift,” says Linda Jean Stokley who, along with Montana Hobbs, makes up one of Kentucky’s most treasured musical acts of this century, The Local Honeys. “I grew up surrounded by plants and animals and people who knew how to care for them.” The orchard Stokley speaks of is the centerpiece of The Local Honeys’ brand new tune, “Throw Me in the Thicket (When I Die),” a beautiful mix of sweet, clawhammer banjo, rock and roll drums, and melodic vocal and fiddle lines fit for such a touching tribute. 

“‘Throw Me In The Thicket’ is somewhat of a love story to my home,” says Stokley. “I never want to leave.” Last Wednesday, The Bluegrass Situation premiered “Throw Me in the Thicket (When I Die).”

“Throw Me in the Thicket (When I Die)” comes from The Local Honeys’ upcoming self-titled LP, out July 15th. Their first release on La Honda Records (Colter Wall, Riddy Arman, Vincent Neil Emerson), The Local Honeys features ten winsome vignettes of rural Kentucky, conjuring 90’s alternatives sounds with hillbilly Radiohead lilts, soaring above layers of deep grooves and rich tones masterfully curated by longtime mentor Jesse Wells, a GRAMMY-nominated producer, musician (currently a member of Tyler Childers’ band The Food Stamps), and Assistant Director at the Kentucky Center for Traditional Music at Morehead State.

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Son Little - Matthew Bailey - Erika Olson - LUKKA

Photo by Cynthia Perez

Son Little - Deeper.

Son Little announces his new album, 'Like Neptune', out September 9th via ANTI-, and in conjunction shares two lead singles, 'deeper' and 'stoned love'. Continuing to revolutionize the modern understanding and expectation of R&B, Son Little delivers an unadulterated transmission of Black American music performed in its praying and pleading mother tongue. Conceived in a cabin overlooking the Delaware River in upstate New York, 'Like Neptune' is an open and vulnerable portrayal of unbridled joy and self-acceptance. In this verdant space of freedom, Son Little transmutes the chronic pain of self-doubt into a beautiful opus about overcoming generational trauma, decorating the altar of the primordial blues and elevating the labour of healing to high art.

"In the beginning of lockdown, I went into a closet full of junk and found a couple of boxes full of my old writing books,” Livingston explained. “There turned out to be 72 books in there. The oldest book I got as a Christmas present when I was 9. In it, I wrote letters to myself about what was happening in my life. One page refers to a neighbor in Queens who abused me sexually around age 5. It was the first and only time I’d ever acknowledge this fact until after my 19th birthday, when I told my mother what had happened. She begged me to go to therapy. I went under protest. My attempt wasn’t sincere. I wasn’t ready. I thought I could just power through it.”

Years of anxiety, depression, panic attacks and existential dread ensued, often dulled or numbed by the effects of alcohol, drugs, or sex. A frightening car crash and arrest finally led him back into therapy in 2017. Aggressively employing progressive methods like EMDR and somatic healing, Livingston, with the help of a trusted therapist, began identifying the roots of his trauma, and where it lives in the body. But the biggest breakthrough came from Internal Family Systems, a methodology that recognizes responses to trauma triggers as distinct entities or ‘parts’ within the person, and requires the patient essentially have conversations with the different traumatized personalities within them.

“One day in therapy I started talking to myself– to that annoying inner voice that criticizes everything when you mess up. I asked them how old they were and they said ‘10’. I asked if they knew who I was, or how old I was and they said ‘no'! Strange as it all seems it’s had some amazing results. I’m able to soothe and comfort my inner…children.”

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Matthew Bailey - Full-Time Hobby.

Matthew Bailey is a Toronto-based singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer and recording engineer. When not producing records or on the road supporting some of Canada’s finest songwriters, he can be found in his home studio composing songs and exploring the spaces between notes. Since moving to Toronto in 2006, Matthew has released original music under the band names The Long Haul, Staycation, Playdate, The Psychological Rangers, ES+MB, as well as albums under his own name.

Matthew has been a major contributor to a number of creative collaborations, including his production work on releases by Sameer Cash and Hiroki Tanaka, his role as guitarist/synthesist with Andy Shauf’s touring band and his film score for Billsville. Referring to his Camargo and Vol I releases, Music Works wrote, “Bailey’s curious mind conjures enthralling animated soundscapes for wired daydreamers,” aptly describing his aesthetic aspirations and devotions of recent years. The Wire described Manitoulin Tapes, a recent release with his duo Playdate, as a “blissed out lo-fi gem.”

Matthew’s music draws equally from ’60s pop and bedroom Casio noodling, attempting to take the familiar and twist it into something peculiar. Often taking cues from the loose and spontaneous production of records like The Beach Boys’ “Smiley Smile” and Arthur Russell’s “Love is Overtaking Me,” he embraces space, human error, and the excitement of a first take.

matthewbaileymusic · Full - Time Hobby

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Erika Olson - I Don't Feel Like Fighting.

Erika Olson just released her indie folk pop single “ I Don’t Feel Like Fighting.” Inspired by a fight she had with her constant fighting with her eldest son after their family moved to England, “I Don’t Feel Like Fighting” took shape. Then the pandemic hit and she felt like she was right back where she started. She says “I started to get those crushing feelings again during the first of several lockdowns. The mantra came back to me amidst the nonstop busyness that accompanied my lockdowns - homeschooling three children, cooking nonstop, cleaning, trying to explain the state of the world. So, when I could snatch a quiet moment I began flushing out more lyrics to the song.”

Erika Olson, an American Expat, raises babies and writes songs in the high weald of East Sussex.  Erika combines vulnerable vocals, contemporary storytelling, and musical influences spanning indie, folk, country, blues, Americana and pop.  When pressed to describe her music, Erika likes to call it “folk with a beat.”

On the verge of self-releasing her debut album, it has taken Erika several iterations of herself to get here.  She’s learned that change is her constant and her power is her ability to start again.

Over the past five and half years, Erika’s babies and her music have grown up side by side.  She used the calm moments in the sea of chaos - to hone her craft, study, practice, record, and perform. She’s amassed a robust catalog of original indie folk material that explores the aching beauty shrouded in the mundane and everyday.

Rooted in the stuff of ordinary life, Erika’s songs bear witness to the glorious and devastating moments that can only be seen when we slow down. She sings to look deeper, see clearer, and know better. Her music is here to wake us up to our precious and unique lives.

Erika Olson · Erika Olson - I Don't Feel Like Fighting - This is How I Pray

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Photo Credit: Jen Meller

LUKKA - Wisdom of the Sun.

Lukka, the brainchild of German-born, New York City-based artist Franzi Szymkowiak, released her latest single + video, “Wisdom of the Sun” today to announce her sophomore album, Something Human, for an August 26. “Wisdom of the Sun” is a yin-yang ode to finding positivity in even the darkest of situations, almost Polyphonic Spree-ish in its triumphant, choral bliss. The video was directed by Simone Brillarelli.

Something Human speaks to both the head and the heart. At once an escapist psychedelic synth-rock odyssey and a timely shot of science-based spirituality, the 10-song LP wraps messages of oneness and self-determination inside multi-layered melodicism, cultured retro-electronica, and tastefully effected guitars. “Transmitting the message of love and oneness through music is very important to me,” stated Szymkowiak.

In essence a solo project supported by a semi-fluid band, Lukka’s sound is rooted in Franzi’s early influences growing up near Dresden, Germany – the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, the Beatles, The Who, Led Zeppelin – and, more recently, David Bowie, early Brian Eno, Flaming Lips, and Deerhunter. Extensive busking and performing around the world included four years in Australia, where she embraced that region’s new wave of psychedelic synth rock, including Tame Impala, Pond and Unknown Mortal Orchestra.

Having honed her craft and up-close human connection with just a guitar and loop station in intimate venues in Australia, New Zealand, and Argentina, Franzi relocated to New York City. There, the classically trained pianist joined post-punk quartet Clairaudience, before releasing her more rock-based debut as Lukka, Encounter, in 2018. A truly international affair completed by core members Ashley Gonzalez (bass), from Queens, and Australian-born drummer Simon “SiFi” Fishburn, Lukka’s sound has since evolved into something charmingly tuneful yet draped in swathes of delayed guitar and vintage synths.



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Chroma - The Accidentals & The Kaboom Collective Studio Orchestra - Sara Syms - Lowell

Chroma - Weithiau / Caru. Cyffuriau.

'Weithiau' (Sometimes) is an emotionally powerful song that is one half of Chroma's Double-A single 'Weithiau / Caru Cyffuriau'. This is the group's first release after joining the Libertino label. The songs were recorded live to capture the versatile and energetic sound of the Valleys trio by producer Kris Jenkins (Cate Le Bon, SFA, Gruff Rhys).

“‘Weithiau’ is about ending a relationship with someone that you love deeply. The process of coming to terms with the fact that the relationship doesn’t work, and putting your self first in that situation.” - Katie Hall, Chroma In perfect musical contrast to the sometimes melancholy 'Weithiau', 'Caru Cyffuriau' is a non-stop 'in your face' punk song about being a teenager in the South Wales Valleys.

“Caru Cyfffuriau is a song about being a naughty teenager in the valleys experimenting with drugs and sex because there’s not much else to do. I think there needs to be more stuff going on so young people don’t feel so isolated. We wanted to write a welsh language punk song that reflects young people's lived experience today.” - Katie Hall, Chroma.

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The Accidentals & The Kaboom Collective Studio Orchestra - Lady Of The Lake.

Critically-acclaimed folk pop band The Accidentals, whose founders Sav Buist and Katie Larson met in orchestra class at age 16, have partnered with Cleveland-based student orchestra Kaboom Collective to release an album on July 29 called Reimagined. The first single, "Lady Of The Lake," a whimsical love story, is out tomorrow.

The Kaboom Collective Studio Orchestra (founded/directed by Liza Grossman and Joe Weagraff) is a Hollywood-style studio ensemble made of 40 students between the ages of 15-25, who get hands-on training in scoring, arranging, recording, and more for everything from video game and film soundtracks to accompanying artists on their albums.

It was a no-brainer for The Accidentals, who hold dear the mission of music education, to partner with Kaboom - a while back, they even founded Play It Forward Again and Again, a music education nonprofit. They gave the orchestra 11 of their most popular songs to score and arrange, the band went into the studio with the students, and made an album.

Not only is there an album - The Accidentals are taking the *entire* student orchestra on tour, kicking things off with a performance at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on August 3, and making stops at Wrigley Field, the Mile Of Music Festival, and more. It's going to be priceless experience for these students, are are learning that there are many ways to make a career in music.

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Sara Syms - Unknown Road.

This latest track from Sara Syms, “Unknown Road,” brings those haunting vocals and almost outlaw-esque guitar progressions fans have come to expect from much of her work. A steady and constant drum backing is joined with those guitars and hints of organ and other trappings to create a unique and chilling auditory experience. 

There’s an ear-catching effect layered on Syms' voice in some parts of the track that makes it sound as though it’s coming through an old radio; this definitely adds to the track’s ambiance, making it sound older than it actually is, creating the folky ambience that we know and love from Sara Syms.

Syms brings us on a sonic and visual journey, tying the single and music video perfectly. The video visualizes all of the places Sara is describing on this "unknown road," taking us right alongside her as she tells the story.

When Syms sings “I’m here/I’m there/I’m everywhere” she truly means it as her vocals in this track surround you. They are quiet and gentle, but possess a silkiness that tiptoes against your skin. The chill electric guitar that carries the track transports you somewhere else entirely.

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Lowell - Hamptons City Cowboy.

“Lowell is no ordinary pop chanteuse" says The New York Times, which is more than an understatement. In addition to being an artist in her own right with two critically-acclaimed solo albums, and her turn as a screenwriter (her debut Bloodthirsty premiered at Cannes in 2020), Lowell is a go-to songwriter for an eclectic collection of pop stars, including Demi Lovato, Charlie Puth, The Backstreet Boys, Alice Longyu Gao, and most recently, Charli XCX, co-writing the song “Yuck” on her 2022 album Crash.

After focusing on her writing for other artists over the last several years, Lowell is beginning to release new material under her own name, and today has shared the new single "Hamptons City Cowboy".

A follow up to her single “Guess I’m Going To Hell”, Lowell continues to effortlessly fuse classic 60s doo wop sounds with modern pop elements; but in contrast, “Hamptons City Cowboy” gives an upbeat yet mysterious take on the lure of a new relationship: "I wrote this song about a light love, the early stages of a relationship when everything is still all a mystery. Unlike some of my other more introspective songs this is really just a fun and flirty Friday night out."

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Bar Pandora - KiKi Holli - Quasi Qui - Julianna Riolino

Bar Pandora - Vice Vice Vice.

Ahead of the release of her debut self-titled EP on July 5th, Bar Pandora has shared new single 'Vice Vice Vice'. Bar Pandora is the alt-pop project of Coventry based artist Charlie Tophill, who has previously released music under her own name and also plays in York band The Howl & The Hum. The project owes its name to a literary cafe in La Latina, Madrid, where in 2017 she used to hang out with her friends talking literature, life and feminism over red wine and fizzy sweets.

Drawn to the idea of collaborating with a producer who works outside of the musical world she usually inhabits, Tophill began working on her debut EP with jungle producer Simply Dread. The result is deliciously off-kilter yet melodious alt-pop, playfully sewn together from the offcuts of personal experience; field recordings, journal entries and improvised fragments which bop along to a rich undercurrent of harmonic synths, guitars and dynamic beats.

New single ‘Vice Vice Vice’ is an unapologetically catchy pop anthem. “The song is a remonstrance to a neglectful lover. It’s about that push and pull you feel when you’re putting everything into a relationship and still being taken for granted," says Tophill. "It’s a crazy-making situation that I know too well, so it’s fun to be able to sing it out loud along to a pop beat and shout a bit at the end,” she continues.

The songs that make up Bar Pandora’s debut EP are penned with mischievous frankness, delivering confessional composites of personal histories, inner monologues and self-building proclamations which are simultaneously singular and familiar. "My lyrics are made up of my inner voices,” explains Tophill, who regularly uses lines from her diary in her songs.

Bar Pandora · Vice Vice Vice

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KiKi Holli - New High.

Los Angeles indie-pop vocalist KiKi Holli creates stunning and soulful music woven with intricate emotive storytelling for a truly captivating and cathartic listening experience with an eclectic musical aesthetic. Holli draws on inspiration from her rich theatrical background, as well as from iconic artists such as PRINCE, Dusty Springfield, The Cure, Stevie Nicks and Siouxsie and the Banshees.

Crafting a unique sound, KiKi Holli’s music is beautifully vulnerable and nurturing, with themes of connection, healing, personal growth, and living in the moment. If her delivery seems genuine—empathetic even—that’s because it is. She’s been there. “You know, Amor fati — love your fate, love whatever is in front of you and embrace the moment,” she says.

Holli’s debut single was a breathtaking cover of Roxy Music’s “More Than This”, a raw and intimate version of the celebrated 80’s hit. Collaborating with acclaimed producer Ethan Allen (Throwing Muses, Tricky, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club), she was inspired to release her own version of the song in the midst of dealing with intense grief and loss.

Her new release, her first original song, “New High” is a celebration of simple pleasures, finding solace in your happy place and a returning to love after a time of hardship. With soaring vocals singing sunshine-dipped melodies over lush and blissful pop rock soundscapes, “NEW HIGH” is a welcome sonic escape, collaborating again with Allen to create a landscape of music that pulls the listener into the neon glow of a surreal joy ride down the coast of Malibu.

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Quasi Qui - Directorial Debut.

British alt-pop duo Quasi Qui has shared new single ‘Directorial Debut’ via Parisian tastemaker label microqlima records (Isaac Delusion, L’Impératrice, Pepite, Fils Cara). The now Paris-based duo, comprised of acclaimed music producer Yehan Jehan and his sister Zadi, have released two singles so far, both shimmering alt-pop gems and new single ‘Directorial Debut’ continues in the same vein. Quasi Qui describe the composition of these songs as dreams, "collages of cinematic films".

On their new single and video, Quasi Qui say: “‘Directorial Debut’ is a manifestation of hair-pulling frustration. A galloping attempt to escape one's demons (as portrayed by the ominous white sphere). A realisation occurs when the enemy was merely self-inflicted and what was in fact happening, was the ego’s movie script, being witnessed by the true self. Now it may be re-written.”

For years now, Yehan has turned heads with his production nous, making a plethora of bands sound more expansive and technicolour, though he’s more than just a slick producer. Before joining forces with Zadi in Quasi Qui, Yehan released three solo EPs earning him kudos from tastemaker publications like The Guardian, The Sunday Times and Clash as well as radio play from Elton John on his Apple Radio show.

The pair have a knack for taking sophisticated musical ideas and chord progressions and making them accessible. As well as extending the lineage of classic songwriting, drawing inspiration from everything from British synthpop to the great American songbook, Quasi Qui’s influences are modern and eclectic: Zadi loves Frank Ocean, Blood Orange and Sade, while Yehan is a disciple of the great and the good of production: Trevor Horn, William Orbit, Nellee Hooper and Bjork. “Everyone in our family is musical,” says Zadi, “and the list goes way back.”

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Julianna Riolino - Lone Ranger.

Toronto-based artist, Julianna Riolino has just shared her new single, "Lone Ranger" alongside announcing her debut full-length record, All Blue which is out via You've Changed Records on October 14, 2022. While also moonlighting as part of Daniel Romano's The Outfit, Riolino has slowly but surely been building a solo career of her own over the past few years with this debut LP following on from her 2019 EP, J.R. which helped to establish Julianna's musical direction while finding her open for the likes of Julie Doiron, Daniel Romano and Born Ruffians across North America.

Riolino knows how to capture and highlight beauty before it fades. She spent her days running up to the recording of her solo debut album helping restore the stained glass windows at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Toronto. Surrounded by symbols configured in bits of 19th-century French glass, Riolino couldn’t help but reflect on her own past and the memories of pains, healing, and love strewn through it. “It made me think about life as a balancing act, and we're all just trying to do our best to navigate it,” she says. That focus on morality and the stretch of time seeped naturally into Riolino’s Americana-indebted songwriting, resulting in the golden, fluid All Blue.

The true religious fervor both in Riolino’s life and in the LP is directed towards icons like Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, and The Band. Inspired by those artists, Riolino asked for a guitar as a child, and began teaching herself how to bring similar life to the melodies in her head. And while she honed her voice by participating in school musicals, songwriting remained a deeply personal venture. “I sang at every opportunity, but I didn’t share my songs with people until I was 18 or 19,” she says. The first song she decided to play for friends was “Lone Ranger”, a reimagining of which now acts as the lead single for her debut solo album ten years later.

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Heavy Gus - Raven Shelley - Josh Rouse - Old Crow Medicine Show

Heavy Gus - Still To Be.

California-based indie/rock trio Heavy Gus have shared their new single “Still to Be” along with the accompanying music video. The latest track to be released from their debut album Notions (out August 5th via BMG Records), the infectious song finds beauty everywhere it looks. The band stated, “‘Still to Be’ is about the roller coaster of falling in love and staying there. It’s an apocalyptic ode to dying hand in hand presented as a summertime love song.”

“Still to Be” follows the release of the high energy single “Weird Sad Symbol,” that Under The Radar called “genuine live-wire indie rock sound.” The long-distance-love-song “Dinner For Breakfast” is also out now along with the group’s psychedelic-tinged debut track “Do We Have To Talk?”

Formed in the high desert town of Bishop, CA, Heavy Gus is led by singer, songwriter, guitarist Dorota Szuta along with multi-instrumentalist Stelth Ulvang of The Lumineers and percussionist Ryan Dobrowski of Blind Pilot. The band took shape during the pandemic when couple Uvlang and Szuta (a marine scientist who also has a background in music playing with Laura Gibson and Gill Landry) took a socially distanced road trip to Nashville — picking up Dobrowski in Colorado along the way — to record at The Creative Workshop. The resulting collection of songs blur the lines between grungy garage band fare, hazy desert surf, and dreamy, sun-soaked indie rock.

Their debut offering calls to mind everything from Meat Puppets and The Breeders to Yo La Tengo and Acetone in its artful balance of hope and fatalism, loneliness and desire, strength and vulnerability. While all three bandmates came to Heavy Gus from very different worlds, they fit together like puzzle pieces, bound by the kind of love and trust that can only grow from years of deep kinship. Notions was engineered and mixed by Parker Cason (Margo Price, All Them Witches, Coin) and mastered by Pete Lyman (Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell, Brandi Carlile).

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Raven Shelley - Sink In Solitude.

Raven Shelley tells us about herself and her beautiful new song - "I am a singer-songwriter based in Manchester. I write ethereal and poetic alt//indie-folk songs, inspired by a love of literature, poetry and visual mediums. I have a very broad range of influences, from Bob Dylan to Ani DiFranco, and Schiele to Nicolas Roeg.
 

I grew up in a rural part of the south of France, and educated myself in English Literature from a young age by raiding my parents’ bookshelves. Reading in English became my own private world, and I went on to study it at The University of Manchester. This is what impacted my desire to create lyrics that can also be described as poetry. 

I try to be honest in the music that I write; I hope that all the hurt, all the anger, all the love, everything that runs through me can be found somewhere in my songs. 

My first single, ‘Sink in Solitude’ will be released with The Animal Farm on the 24th June. It is heavily influenced by lines from Shakespeare and Shelley, and is about time passing by without achievement."

The Animal Farm Label · Raven Shelley_Sink In Solitude

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Josh Rouse - She's In L.A.

Acclaimed singer/songwriter Josh Rouse shares the summer-ready new single “She’s In L.A.,” from his upcoming album Going Places, out July 29 via Yep Roc Records. Featuring a laid-back groove, the song is accompanied by a camcorder-style music video inspired by Townes Van Zandt. Rouse recently spoke with Magnet Magazine, who called the album “feel-good strumming, off-the-cuff hooks and a mildly exotic groove that should translate perfectly to the live setting.”

"In June of 1993, I dropped out of college, planning on a move to Los Angeles,” explains Rouse. “The idea was to move there and start a band with a few friends, things you do when you're in your early 20's. I went to South Dakota for a few months to save up some money while living with my family. In late July, my bandmates decided not to go to L.A. I moved to Tempe, AZ, interning in a recording studio on an impulsive whim. While it proved to be a fruitful adventure (I also bussed tables at a Scottsdale resort), I moved back to Tennessee and re-enrolled in college six months later. I often wonder what would have happened had I gone to L.A."

Going Places came together over the last two years when Josh Rouse found himself unable to tour and hunkered down with his family in Spain. Together with his Spanish band, he began workshopping new songs in a small local venue owned by a friend, resulting in ten road-ready tracks with a looser, more relaxed vibe than his previous work. Where 2018’s Love in the Modern Age saw him take a left turn to keyboard-based retro-new wave territory, Going Places is steeped in classic guitar melodies, with touches of organ and horns, layers of backing vocals and a distinctive southern twang. Rouse has shared two previous singles, including the guitar-driven “Hollow Moon” and the 1970’s-inspired “Stick Around,” which BrooklynVegan called “a song that's warm, welcoming, unpretentious, and serves as a promising taste of the new LP.”

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Old Crow Medicine Show - Used To Be A Mountain.

Two-time GRAMMY award-winning band Old Crow Medicine Show has shared the music video for “Used To Be A Mountain” off their critically acclaimed new album Paint This Town (ATO Records). A galvanizing meditation on environmental catastrophe, the video shines a light on the impact of mining in the Appalachian region.

Along with the video, the band has announced their partnership with Cumberland River Compact, a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing water resources through education and cooperation. The partnership serves to bring awareness to the effects of climate change, connecting fans with ways to get involved in the local climate movement through local action. Cumberland River Compact will be present to share more information at the band’s upcoming June 25 performance at The Caverns Amphitheater in Grundy County, TN. 

"I’ve been playing Appalachian music in Appalachia since I was a kid. West Virginia, Kentucky, Southwest Virginia, and East Tennessee are the places I love to play most. When you saw a fiddle in these settings it always feels like a homecoming. But time has dealt a hard hand to the region that gave birth to country music, and 'Used To Be a Mountain' is a song that wrestles with the issues facing Appalachia today,” explains Ketch Secor. 

"I think that the Intrepid spirit of the mountaineers of the coal fields of the Southern Highlands and Appalachia are some of the hardest and most important for bearers of the American dream. I think that when you take away the natural beauty and destroy the ecology of places, you don't have a whole lot left to rebuild with. I know there's a lot of folks that are hurting right now in the communities of the coal fields. This song is there to both reflect that hurt and to ask the question, can we do something better for these folks? Can we do something better for these mountains, these hills, the flora and fauna, for anybody who wants to breathe clean air and drink clean water in Appalachia?"

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