HANYA share 'I'll Do It Tomorrow' ahead of their forthcoming E.P and follows on from 'Dream Wife' which we featured last November, this time we have a fabulous dream pop song that raises expectation even further. === Ani Glass has just released 'Mirores' accompanied with a video, and it's a gorgeous song, her vocals are splendid and the track just brims with good vibes. === From Switzerland we have Humanoids and 'The shadow you make isn‘t yours', there first new material in five years, where a mixture of alt rock and electronic instrumentation combine into a rhythmic rocker. === We have the full album from The Chris White Experience called 'Volume Three', it unsurprisingly follows on from Volume 1 and 2, from somebody that rightly might be considered a musical legend. === Today Secret Treehouse released 'At Sunrise' and the Nordic indie pop band are in cracking form with this powerfully pleasing song. === Walter Martin returns here for a fourth time (over four years) with 'First Thing I Remember' taken from the album 'The World At Night' due out at the end of the month, the songwriter sharing a gifted and imaginative piece. === There is something a little international about to days music selection and to keep that going, from Greece we have Mechanimal and 'Stolen Flesh'. The vocals are oh so deep and mesmerising, the music a perfect accompaniment on this original and remarkable song.
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HANYA - I'll Do It Tomorrow.
Making their ascent from Brighton’s thriving talent pool, indie newcomers HANYA share ethereal new offering ‘I’ll Do It Tomorrow’, the second track lifted from forthcoming EP ‘Seas Shoes’ out this spring.
Arriving hot on the heels of lead single ‘Dream Wife’, the band have already experienced a real surge in momentum, with their heady concoction of 90s-esque dream pop and shoegaze extravaganza attracting plentiful support among the key taste makers.
Plans continue to take shape on the live front, with previous shows alongside Honeyblood, Lazy Day and Tess Parks succeeding in growing their profile, not to mention their first trip Stateside for New Colossus Festival lined up in March.
Speaking ahead of their upcoming release, the quartet explained: “I’ll Do It Tomorrow was the result of realising that rarely does anyone take the advice we ask for, we love to procrastinate and wait until things change around us, it’s the magic of the human psyche. The song is pretty much advice to an old friend…be every version of yourself, let go, do it now, don’t wait until tomorrow”.
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Ani Glass - Mirores.
Ani Glass releases her new single ‘Mirores’ this new year ahead of her forthcoming album of the same name. With infectious harmonies and a pulsing dance floor beat, ‘Mirores’ depicts the journey from dark desperation to motivation and inspiration, showing how we quickly build barriers in reaction to experiences but often forget to lower them. The song represents the liberating feeling of opening up to the world; the alignment of ideas, motivation and energy and that rare but illuminating experience of feeling inspired.
On 6th March 2020, Ani Glass's debut album MIRORES finally sees the light of day; the culmination of four years developing her own sound and visionary artistry. With its tapestry of electronic sounds, elliptical melodies and samples threaded into a song cycle, MIRORES is based around the idea of movement and progress - one which takes us on a journey around her hometown of Cardiff. The title is taken from Ani’s bardic name - created when she joined the Cornish Gorsedh in 2013. The Gorsedh itself is a celebration of the Celtic spirit of Cornwall and Bardship is awarded to people who contribute to its cultural and linguistic heritage. MIRORES is a play on words which incorporates the name of one of her favourite artists – Joan Miró – along with the Cornish word for “to look”, which is miras. Therefore, MIRORES essentially translates as ‘Observer’ thus presenting the album as Ani’s observation of the city in which she was born and now lives.
MIRORES also represents Ani’s first foray into production. Having been inspired by her experience of working with Martin Rushent during her time as a member of indie-pop group The Pipettes, Glass has spent the past few years teaching herself the art of recording and production. Her sound is inspired by many leading electronic and avant-garde artists and producers of the 1980s including Martin Rushent, Giorgio Moroder, Vangelis, Jean-Michel Jarre and Arthur Russell whilst the wider themes are inspired in part by the works of abstract painter Agnes Martin and the renowned author and activist Jane Jacobs. Despite some of the album’s heavier themes, Ani maintains a strong pop sensibility throughout, most certainly cemented during her time as a member of R&B pop group Genie Queen – managed by OMD’s Andy McCluskey.
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Humanoids - The shadow you make isn‘t yours.
No way have they lost it! Humanoids from Zug/Switzerland just kept us waiting a little while. Erm, five years, to be precise. But they haven't been lazy since. In this period they've played a bunch of concerts, mesmerizing their audiences. Finally, «the coolest pigs in Swiss », as Media once called them, are back with new thrilling track.
'The shadow you make isn't yours' they claim in their new single. From a musical point of view, this number will leave your mouths wide open: above all with its airy but intense modern sound, which is carried by a springy groove and in which elements of stoner and alternative rock can be heard. In the same time «The shadow you make isn't yours» is a promise: There are a handful of new tracks yet to come from the four-piece in 2020!
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The Chris White Experience - Volume Three (Album).
Last year (2019) The Zombies were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in a British invasion alongside Radiohead and The Cure. On stage with the rest of the band was Chris White; the man who co-produced and wrote more than half of the seminal Odessey & Oracle album, who composed (the now standard) This Will Be Our Year and who penned and co-produced the worldwide hit Hold Your Head Up for Argent.
His acceptance speech from the night, widely quoted in Rolling Stone, beautifully summarised the golden age of recording: “Music and songs are the bookmarks in all our lives, it’s the language that binds us all together”. The Chris White Experience is an incredible collection of unreleased recordings from the last 50 years.
Most of these songs have never been heard, with Volume Three spanning half a century from an unreleased 1969 Zombies demo, right up to an October 2019 recording from Et Tu Brucé. With collaborations featuring Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone (Unhappy Girl) and London band Et Tu Brucé (Can’t Seem To Fall In Love) as well as performances from Joe Lee Wilson (Archie Shepp) Russ Ballard (Argent) Stuart Elliott (Cockney Rebel, Kate Bush) and many more. Following on from the much-celebrated Volumes One and Two, it is a brilliant and vital document in the history of British music and analogue recording.
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Secret Treehouse - At Sunrise.
Nordic indie pop band, Secret Treehouse, is now back with their new single, "At Sunrise"; a warm an catchy song that will make you wanna smile and dance.
They released their debut album in August 2019, and have already moved on to develop their sound even further from their more darker and melancholic debut album. Cover art by Achilleas Gatsopoulos.
"At Sunrise" is the first single from the upcoming second album, following the upraised "The Big Rewind", and will be released Jan 17. It's produced by Stamos Koliousis.
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Walter Martin - First Thing I Remember.
Renowned songwriter and Walkmen co-founder Walter Martin will release his new album The World At Night on January 31st via Ile Flottante Music. Produced by multi-instrumentalist Josh Kaufman (The National, Hiss Golden Messenger, The War On Drugs), the album is Martin's most richly orchestrated and grandly cinematic collection to date, as well as his most poignant. Today he shared his new song "First Thing I Remember" which features Jonathan Fire*Eater/Walkmen drummer Matt Barrick.
With sweeping strings and lavish horns fleshing out his spare, understated vocal delivery, The World At Night calls to mind everything from Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits to Randy Newman and Harry Nilsson. Dedicated to his dear friend and late Jonathan Fire*Eater bandmate Stewart Lupton, it balances soul-baring intimacy with sophisticated arrangements as they walk a delicate tightrope between despair and hope, faith and doubt, security and uncertainty. In addition to Kaufman, the album features an all-star cast of musicians including Sam Kassirer and Zach Hickman (Josh Ritter), Stuart Bogie (Arcade Fire, The Hold Steady), Rob Moose (Bon Iver, The National), and pianist Thomas Bartlett (Glen Hansard, Norah Jones). Vogue Magazine raved "The World at Night might just be his masterpiece."
Lupton's memory looms large on this record and his spirit informs the music in ways both explicit and implicit. Album opener "October" sets the tone from the outset, pairing exuberant music and ominous lyrics about fate and mortality. It's followed by the title track "The World At Night (For Stew)" which grapples with the confusion of loss and draws much of its imagery from a collage that Stewart made that now hangs above Walter's writing desk. In a recent interview with Billboard, he stated, "I'm not really a religious person, but I do believe in ghosts and in magic and in plenty of beautiful stuff that I can't see. Writing this album - and especially this song - was an effort to get closer to that stuff. And to Stew."
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Mechanimal - Stolen Flesh.
Mechanimal's new addictive and deeply personal tune, has deep toned vocals, lyrics and the simplicity of the video. Mechanimal turns sadness into something beautiful. The song's lyrics are incredibly powerful, Freddie Faulkenberry's evocative vocals melding perfectly with it's searing electronic noise and repetitious synths.
Greece's "synth punk" act Mechanimal (Giannis Papaioanou, Freddie Faulkenberry) unveil the first taste from their forthcoming album, Crux. "Stolen Flesh" arrives with an emotional clip shot and directed by Christos Karalias. Mechanimal's 4th album is out January 27 via Inner Ear.
Giannis P. says about the song: "Stolen Flesh" is dedicated to the loving memory of a dear friend we lost. It's about how it feels when you lose a dear person: all the love unveils in its magnitude in a very painful procedure. But we remain here to keep this love and all memories alive by beautifying every little crack and detail in our everyday life."
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Friday, 17 January 2020
Thursday, 16 January 2020
Louie & The Wolf Gang - Jess Knights - Kacy & Clayton
Louie & The Wolf Gang have kicked the new year off with 'The Race' where the Neo Rockabillies are on splendid form with this tightly performed and vibrant song. === Calgary singer-songwriter Jess Knights has just released 'Leave Me For The Last Time' a soulful song with all the essential passion and emotion to make it stand out. === We featured Kacy & Clayton three times last year and were very impressed so the live video for 'That Sweet Orchestra Sound' is a pleasure to share just ahead of their European tour.
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Louie & The Wolf Gang - The Race.
Louie & The Wolf Gang welcome the new year with a thrilling and fast single: 'The Race' reflects their current state. Last year started running fast for the new rockabilly heroes from Baden/Switzerland: Their debut EP earned enthusiastic reviews, was heard on various international radios-show and brought the band their first concerts, full house.
In 2020, it's time to speed up the tempo: A club tour through Switzerland is going on until summer, including a performance at the legendary «Tiki Bash»-festival in Erlinsbach AG, the hippest Swiss rockabilly-festival on the scene.
'The Race' is a cool introduction to the gigs, with reminiscences of the legendary Stray Cats, the celebrated Neo-Rockabillies Restless and a bow to country legend Johnny Cash.
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Jess Knights - Leave Me For The Last Time.
For all of love's agonies, Calgary soul-roots singer-songwriter Jess Knights isn't sulking over old wounds. On her debut full-length, Best Kind of Light, due out on May 20, 2020, Knights comes out on the other side of love and loss without all the bitterness, but rather a sense of self-assuredness knowing that she'll be just fine on her own.
It's this triumphant reclamation that frames the albums title track, about a graceful end to a relationship. When you get older your priorities change, and what was once catastrophic is no longer a big deal, Knights says. "You choose where to put your energy and how to spend your time. 'Best Kind of Light' is about choosing to move on with grace and integrity, and not feeling the need to burn your ex's clothes on the front lawn anymore."
Of the 11 songs contained on Best Kind of Light, there are traces of the blues that have always informed her sound. Case in point: the gloriously sultry 'Try a Little Harder', where she offers the best clapback to lazy courtship. "I know your kind/You come around here saying Damn girl, you're fine But I ain't the type to fall flat and cold to a man with a line/You gotta try a little harder, she sings to an eruption of scorching blues licks."
All the while, some lap steel and country strains find their way into a few songs. The most welcome surprise, though, is the sparkling dub beats heard on Halfway.
To achieve the revivalist vibe she was after, Knights headed to Toronto in 2019 and assembled the crème de la crème of song-smiths and sidemen, including award-winning producer Joshua Van Tassel, Donovan Woods, Joey Landreth, and others. The lineup adds dimension to Knights songs while bringing into focus the moody, dimly-lit spectrum of her classically-trained voice, which has drawn comparisons to U.K. luminaries Amy Winehouse and Eliza Doolittle.
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Kacy & Clayton - That Sweet Orchestra Sound (Live Video).
Canadian psych-folk second-cousins Kacy & Clayton head to the UK for tour dates in Jan/Feb, including a slot at the prestigeous Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow and a headline show at London's The Victoria courtesey of Shindig Magazine. Their recent Jeff Tweedy (Wilco) produced album Carrying On came out in October via New West to critical acclaim, with Mojo saying,"The duo shine as a beacon of warm and quirky outsiderdom in a rising tide of cookie-cutter Nashville Americana" and Uncut calling it; "a warm, beguiling set that tips its hat to roots music interpreters as disperate as Hoyt Axton, Fairport Convention, Dolly Parton, The Byrds and Bobby Gentry, while also tapping Cajun fiddle music."
They also share a live video for "That Sweet Orchestra Sound". The session was recorded at Trinity St. Paul's United Church in Toronto and captured by Southern Souls, who has been creating top-notch videos of mostly Canadian artists for more than ten years. It was filmed in September just as Kacy & Clayton performed on presitgeous Canadian TV programme CBC's Q then headed to Nashville for Americanafest.
The band also shared other videos from the album, including “High Holiday”, "Carrying On" and "The Forty-Ninth Parallel".
Kacy & Clayton's sound is equal parts homespun, coming from a family and community where playing music is an ever present part of social gatherings, and the rare country, blues, and English folk rock they obsess over and collect. It’s an arresting amalgamation of psychedelic folk, English folk revival and the ancestral music of Southern Appalachia. For Carrying On, Clayton cites as influences: Bobbie Gentry’s Delta Sweete, Hoyt Axton’s My Griffin Is Gone, Cajun fiddle music, and the steel guitar of Ralph Mooney, who played on many of the records that defined the Bakersfield country music scene of the 1950s. Sixties psych has also woven its way into these new songs; Kacy enjoys telling people that they live 250km from the mental hospital that coined the term “psychedelic.”
Of Carrying On, Jeff Tweedy said "When I first heard Kacy and Clayton, I was struck by how much detail and nuance they had absorbed from what sounded like a large swath of my record collection. When I told them that they were as good as the artists they were drawing from, I’m not sure they believed me. On this record I don’t hear those influences as much as I hear them taking the things they love so intimately and telling their own story. I think they’re a truly great band.”
Having toured almost nonstop for the last two years, Carrying On was conceived and honed on the road and recorded immediately after a jaunt across Western Canada, mostly as live takes with the minimum of overdubs. The songs having been tried and tested before audiences each night with Kacy & Clayton offering, “This album has, by far, the most intense and confident performances we’ve ever done on record and I hope that intensity will be felt by the listener.”
They have just returned from the road supporting Ray LaMontagne in North America in the Autumn with an appearance at the Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival in September alongside Foo Fighters, The Killers, and more.
Carrying On was released 4 October 2019 on compact disc, across digital retailers, Standard Black Vinyl, Pink Marbled Vinyl exclusively available at Independent Retailers, and hand-poured colored vinyl with every copy unique available now for order directly from New West Records.
EU/UK Tour Dates:
January 23 - Trondheim, NO - Bar Moskus
January 24 - Oslo, NO - Vulkan Arena for Interstate 20 - Oslo Americana Weekend
Jan 25 Falkenberg, SWE - Tryckhallen
Jan 26 Stockholm, SWE - Twang
February 2 - Forest Row - Hop Yard Brewing Co.
February 13 - Recklinghausen, DE - Creative Outlaws Club
January 30 - Glasgow, CCA - Celtic Connections
January 31- Low Mill, UK - The Band Room
February 1- Gateshead, UK - The Sage
February 4 - Winchester, UK - The Railway Inn
February 5 - Bristol, UK - The Mother's Ruin
February 6 - Witney, UK - Fat Lil's
February 7 - St. Davids, UK - City Hall
February 8 - Coventry, UK - The Tin Music and Arts
February 9 - Whitstable, UK - Whitstable Sessions Music Club
February 10 - London, UK - The Victoria
February 12 - Eindhoven, NL - Rozenknopje
February 14 - Nijmegen, NL - Merleyn
February 15 - Groningen, NL - Lutherse Kerk
February 16 - Utrecht, NL - TivoliVredenburg
February 20 - Barcelona, ESP - Sala Rocksound
February 21 - Madrid, ESP - Cafe Berlin
February 22 - San Sebastian, ESP - Altxerri Jazz Bar
February 23 - Santander, ESP - Little Bobby
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Louie & The Wolf Gang - The Race.Louie & The Wolf Gang welcome the new year with a thrilling and fast single: 'The Race' reflects their current state. Last year started running fast for the new rockabilly heroes from Baden/Switzerland: Their debut EP earned enthusiastic reviews, was heard on various international radios-show and brought the band their first concerts, full house.
In 2020, it's time to speed up the tempo: A club tour through Switzerland is going on until summer, including a performance at the legendary «Tiki Bash»-festival in Erlinsbach AG, the hippest Swiss rockabilly-festival on the scene.
'The Race' is a cool introduction to the gigs, with reminiscences of the legendary Stray Cats, the celebrated Neo-Rockabillies Restless and a bow to country legend Johnny Cash.
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Jess Knights - Leave Me For The Last Time.
For all of love's agonies, Calgary soul-roots singer-songwriter Jess Knights isn't sulking over old wounds. On her debut full-length, Best Kind of Light, due out on May 20, 2020, Knights comes out on the other side of love and loss without all the bitterness, but rather a sense of self-assuredness knowing that she'll be just fine on her own.
It's this triumphant reclamation that frames the albums title track, about a graceful end to a relationship. When you get older your priorities change, and what was once catastrophic is no longer a big deal, Knights says. "You choose where to put your energy and how to spend your time. 'Best Kind of Light' is about choosing to move on with grace and integrity, and not feeling the need to burn your ex's clothes on the front lawn anymore."
Of the 11 songs contained on Best Kind of Light, there are traces of the blues that have always informed her sound. Case in point: the gloriously sultry 'Try a Little Harder', where she offers the best clapback to lazy courtship. "I know your kind/You come around here saying Damn girl, you're fine But I ain't the type to fall flat and cold to a man with a line/You gotta try a little harder, she sings to an eruption of scorching blues licks."
All the while, some lap steel and country strains find their way into a few songs. The most welcome surprise, though, is the sparkling dub beats heard on Halfway.
To achieve the revivalist vibe she was after, Knights headed to Toronto in 2019 and assembled the crème de la crème of song-smiths and sidemen, including award-winning producer Joshua Van Tassel, Donovan Woods, Joey Landreth, and others. The lineup adds dimension to Knights songs while bringing into focus the moody, dimly-lit spectrum of her classically-trained voice, which has drawn comparisons to U.K. luminaries Amy Winehouse and Eliza Doolittle.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kacy & Clayton - That Sweet Orchestra Sound (Live Video).
Canadian psych-folk second-cousins Kacy & Clayton head to the UK for tour dates in Jan/Feb, including a slot at the prestigeous Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow and a headline show at London's The Victoria courtesey of Shindig Magazine. Their recent Jeff Tweedy (Wilco) produced album Carrying On came out in October via New West to critical acclaim, with Mojo saying,"The duo shine as a beacon of warm and quirky outsiderdom in a rising tide of cookie-cutter Nashville Americana" and Uncut calling it; "a warm, beguiling set that tips its hat to roots music interpreters as disperate as Hoyt Axton, Fairport Convention, Dolly Parton, The Byrds and Bobby Gentry, while also tapping Cajun fiddle music."
They also share a live video for "That Sweet Orchestra Sound". The session was recorded at Trinity St. Paul's United Church in Toronto and captured by Southern Souls, who has been creating top-notch videos of mostly Canadian artists for more than ten years. It was filmed in September just as Kacy & Clayton performed on presitgeous Canadian TV programme CBC's Q then headed to Nashville for Americanafest.
The band also shared other videos from the album, including “High Holiday”, "Carrying On" and "The Forty-Ninth Parallel".
Kacy & Clayton's sound is equal parts homespun, coming from a family and community where playing music is an ever present part of social gatherings, and the rare country, blues, and English folk rock they obsess over and collect. It’s an arresting amalgamation of psychedelic folk, English folk revival and the ancestral music of Southern Appalachia. For Carrying On, Clayton cites as influences: Bobbie Gentry’s Delta Sweete, Hoyt Axton’s My Griffin Is Gone, Cajun fiddle music, and the steel guitar of Ralph Mooney, who played on many of the records that defined the Bakersfield country music scene of the 1950s. Sixties psych has also woven its way into these new songs; Kacy enjoys telling people that they live 250km from the mental hospital that coined the term “psychedelic.”
Of Carrying On, Jeff Tweedy said "When I first heard Kacy and Clayton, I was struck by how much detail and nuance they had absorbed from what sounded like a large swath of my record collection. When I told them that they were as good as the artists they were drawing from, I’m not sure they believed me. On this record I don’t hear those influences as much as I hear them taking the things they love so intimately and telling their own story. I think they’re a truly great band.”
Having toured almost nonstop for the last two years, Carrying On was conceived and honed on the road and recorded immediately after a jaunt across Western Canada, mostly as live takes with the minimum of overdubs. The songs having been tried and tested before audiences each night with Kacy & Clayton offering, “This album has, by far, the most intense and confident performances we’ve ever done on record and I hope that intensity will be felt by the listener.”
They have just returned from the road supporting Ray LaMontagne in North America in the Autumn with an appearance at the Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival in September alongside Foo Fighters, The Killers, and more.
Carrying On was released 4 October 2019 on compact disc, across digital retailers, Standard Black Vinyl, Pink Marbled Vinyl exclusively available at Independent Retailers, and hand-poured colored vinyl with every copy unique available now for order directly from New West Records.
EU/UK Tour Dates:
January 23 - Trondheim, NO - Bar Moskus
January 24 - Oslo, NO - Vulkan Arena for Interstate 20 - Oslo Americana Weekend
Jan 25 Falkenberg, SWE - Tryckhallen
Jan 26 Stockholm, SWE - Twang
February 2 - Forest Row - Hop Yard Brewing Co.
February 13 - Recklinghausen, DE - Creative Outlaws Club
January 30 - Glasgow, CCA - Celtic Connections
January 31- Low Mill, UK - The Band Room
February 1- Gateshead, UK - The Sage
February 4 - Winchester, UK - The Railway Inn
February 5 - Bristol, UK - The Mother's Ruin
February 6 - Witney, UK - Fat Lil's
February 7 - St. Davids, UK - City Hall
February 8 - Coventry, UK - The Tin Music and Arts
February 9 - Whitstable, UK - Whitstable Sessions Music Club
February 10 - London, UK - The Victoria
February 12 - Eindhoven, NL - Rozenknopje
February 14 - Nijmegen, NL - Merleyn
February 15 - Groningen, NL - Lutherse Kerk
February 16 - Utrecht, NL - TivoliVredenburg
February 20 - Barcelona, ESP - Sala Rocksound
February 21 - Madrid, ESP - Cafe Berlin
February 22 - San Sebastian, ESP - Altxerri Jazz Bar
February 23 - Santander, ESP - Little Bobby
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Wednesday, 15 January 2020
Skye Wallace - LAPêCHE - Alice Boman - Wilsen
Skye Wallace returns to Beehive Candy after two impressive songs featured last year. Yesterday she shared a new video for 'Body Lights The Way' a lively, catchy and very pleasing rocker of a song. === Indie rock band LAPêCHE have just released a new video for 'Gracie' a hook filled song, that packs emotion throughout. === Swedish songwriter Alice Boman releases her debut album 'Dream On' this coming Friday and just ahead of that shares a video for 'Everybody Hurts' a gorgeous and melodic song, with a tour kicking off just day's away. ===We shared 'Ruiner' back in November, the title track from the soon to be released album from Wilsen who have just shared another gorgeous teaser from the album called 'Feeling Fancy' accompanied by a fine music video.
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Skye Wallace - Body Lights The Way.
Skye Wallace is what happens when a trained singer with east coast roots discovers punk rock in their youth and writes music that makes you feel excited. Skye’s recent self-titled album embodies Canadiana combining her folk songwriting roots with influences of 90’s riot girls and grunge, resulting in songs that jump from somber reflections to rowdy highs.
She's sharing the official music video for the LP's "Body Lights The Way" – a carefree, groove-driven song conveying a sense of empowerment. The video reflects the fun energy of the track and combines Skye's love of curling and music.
Skye Wallace is what happens when a trained singer with east coast roots discovers punk rock in their youth and writes music that makes you feel excited.
Skye's recent self-titled album embodies Canadiana. From living on BC west coast to spending time at residencies in Norris Point, Newfoundland and Dawson City, Yukon, the Toronto-based artist has been inspired by every corner of the country. The new album combines her folk songwriting roots with influences of 90's riot girls and grunge, resulting in songs that jump from somber reflections to rowdy highs.
Skyes in-demand live show has landed her performances at Reeperbahn Festival, NXNE's main stage, the National Arts Centre, Halifax Pop Explosion, Vancouver Folk Fest, a cross-Canada tour with Matt Mays, multiple support dates for Sam Roberts Band, and a residency at the Dakota Tavern in Toronto last fall. Her single There Is A Wall broke the top 40 alternative rock charts in Canada, and media features including a CBC First Play and a Live at the Verge session continue to build the story of this exciting artist.
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LAPêCHE - Gracie.
Indie buzz band LAPêCHE have just released their enchanting new video for "Gracie."
LAPêCHE is an indie-rock group that has consistently penned impactful jams out of Brooklyn for the past 4 years. Their newest release, the 3-song EP Spirit Bunnies brings a bold and melancholy 90’s grit with just the right amount of hopefulness to your ears.
The close friends that make up LAPêCHE compose together, drawing inspiration from both past and present, light and dark, guiding singer Krista Holly’s provocative melodies and lyrics over their uniquely somber, yet catchy indie-rock.
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Alice Boman - Everybody Hurts.
With her mesmerising and long-awaited debut album Dream On, released 17th January on new label, Play It Again Sam, Swedish songwriter Alice Boman shared new single "Everybody Hurts" yesterday, saying: “This song is about being rejected and turned down and how that can make you question yourself and your worth, regardless of the circumstances. Especially when it happens again and again. I guess rejection is one of the things we all fear the most. But I also wanted this song to feel a bit encouraging despite the theme. A reminder to not take it to personally. All of us get hurt. And it’s ok. You’re ok.
"When me and Tom recorded the demo for this song, we listened to Cindy Lauper’s ‘Time After Time’ and we were inspired by that sound and wanted this song to feel like that. Warm and comforting. Like an embrace. And that idea has remained. The recording of the song started with Fabian in London, where we recorded the drums, vocals, synth and bass live. It was such a good feeling to play it together like that. And then me and Patrik carried on working on it in Stockholm later on.”
The spellbinding artist has again teamed up with collaborator Julia Ringdahl on an accompanying video for the track, featuring the work of Swedish weaver Nanny Rådenman – who’s work Boman will be displaying on stage during her UK / European tour this February. “We got the idea to use some of her weaves in this video as well - to tie things together. To create something special. And for them to move in different ways. Move to the music.” Boman explains.
Alice also tours the UK/EU in February, returning to London to headline the Union Chapel on 25th Feb:
17 Jan - Groningen, NL - Eurosonic @ Plato Record Store
17 Jan - Groningen, NL - Eurosonic @ Forum
14 Feb - Malmö, SE - Babel
15 Feb – Copenhagen, DK – Hotel Cecil
18 Feb – Berlin, DE – Kantine am Berghain
19 Feb – Amsterdam, NL – Paradiso
20 Feb – Paris, FR – Le Pop-Up du Label
21 Feb – Brussels, BE – Witloof Bar
23 Feb - Brighton, UK - The Latest Music Bar
24 Feb - Manchester, UK - Gullivers
25 Feb – London, UK – Union Chapel
3 Apr - Göteborg, SE - Pustervik
5 Apr - Stockholm, SE – Dramaten *sold out*
“It's a powerful feeling when you're in that world and you lose track of time,” says Boman of the deeply hypnotic state she entered when making Dream On. This transfixed state is one that she also seamlessly plunges her listeners into. Her deeply textural, atmospheric and immersive sounds - coupled with her fragile yet engulfing and ethereal vocals - create something of a vortex that listeners are sucked in by. A world where ambient, dream pop and folk merge into a unique new form.
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Wilsen - Feeling Fancy.
Brooklyn-based trio Wilsen released an official video for their new song "Feeling Fancy," the second single from their new album Ruiner out February 21 via Secret City Records / Dalliance Recordings. "Feeling Fancy is a song for the soft-spoken," explains Tamsin Wilson. "Quietness can be mistaken for insecurity while it's often the opposite - it's being comfortable in your own presence without needing to be heard at every moment."
"Feeling Fancy" follows the release of the album's title track "Ruiner," which was embraced by American Songwriter, BrooklynVegan, The Line of Best Fit, and NPR Music's New Music Friday Playlist. Wilsen consequently released a "nightmare remix" by Daughter's Igor Haefeli. So far, "Ruiner" has received support from AAA radio stations such as KXT, WFUV, WPYA, WSCA, WUNC, WXRT and many more.
For the follow-up to their acclaimed debut I Go Missing In My Sleep, the trio comprised of Tamsin Wilson (guitar/vocals), Johnny Simon Jr. (guitar) and Drew Arndt (bass) partnered with acclaimed producer Andrew Sarlo (Big Thief, Bon Iver) and mastering engineer Sarah Register (Ariana Grande, Protomartyr, U.S. Girls).
For Tamsin Wilson, the album finds her moving towards personal self-acceptance. "I have an inherent shyness," she says. "I'm acknowledging and finding a way with it as I get older." Throughout the record, she comes to terms with her many sides, including her introversion and her inner, self-sabotaging monster to which the album title refers. On "Feeling Fancy," with her distinctively hushed vocals overpowering the track’s clamorous instrumentals, Wilson offers listeners a powerful, and celebratory, declaration that "Quiet’s not a fault to weed out."
"Making this record was somewhat of a coming of age process," Wilson explains. "We're getting older and becoming more deliberate, less precious, less measured. Overthinking less and trusting instincts more."
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Skye Wallace is what happens when a trained singer with east coast roots discovers punk rock in their youth and writes music that makes you feel excited. Skye’s recent self-titled album embodies Canadiana combining her folk songwriting roots with influences of 90’s riot girls and grunge, resulting in songs that jump from somber reflections to rowdy highs.
She's sharing the official music video for the LP's "Body Lights The Way" – a carefree, groove-driven song conveying a sense of empowerment. The video reflects the fun energy of the track and combines Skye's love of curling and music.
Skye Wallace is what happens when a trained singer with east coast roots discovers punk rock in their youth and writes music that makes you feel excited.
Skye's recent self-titled album embodies Canadiana. From living on BC west coast to spending time at residencies in Norris Point, Newfoundland and Dawson City, Yukon, the Toronto-based artist has been inspired by every corner of the country. The new album combines her folk songwriting roots with influences of 90's riot girls and grunge, resulting in songs that jump from somber reflections to rowdy highs.
Skyes in-demand live show has landed her performances at Reeperbahn Festival, NXNE's main stage, the National Arts Centre, Halifax Pop Explosion, Vancouver Folk Fest, a cross-Canada tour with Matt Mays, multiple support dates for Sam Roberts Band, and a residency at the Dakota Tavern in Toronto last fall. Her single There Is A Wall broke the top 40 alternative rock charts in Canada, and media features including a CBC First Play and a Live at the Verge session continue to build the story of this exciting artist.
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LAPêCHE - Gracie.
Indie buzz band LAPêCHE have just released their enchanting new video for "Gracie."
LAPêCHE is an indie-rock group that has consistently penned impactful jams out of Brooklyn for the past 4 years. Their newest release, the 3-song EP Spirit Bunnies brings a bold and melancholy 90’s grit with just the right amount of hopefulness to your ears.
The close friends that make up LAPêCHE compose together, drawing inspiration from both past and present, light and dark, guiding singer Krista Holly’s provocative melodies and lyrics over their uniquely somber, yet catchy indie-rock.
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Alice Boman - Everybody Hurts.
With her mesmerising and long-awaited debut album Dream On, released 17th January on new label, Play It Again Sam, Swedish songwriter Alice Boman shared new single "Everybody Hurts" yesterday, saying: “This song is about being rejected and turned down and how that can make you question yourself and your worth, regardless of the circumstances. Especially when it happens again and again. I guess rejection is one of the things we all fear the most. But I also wanted this song to feel a bit encouraging despite the theme. A reminder to not take it to personally. All of us get hurt. And it’s ok. You’re ok.
"When me and Tom recorded the demo for this song, we listened to Cindy Lauper’s ‘Time After Time’ and we were inspired by that sound and wanted this song to feel like that. Warm and comforting. Like an embrace. And that idea has remained. The recording of the song started with Fabian in London, where we recorded the drums, vocals, synth and bass live. It was such a good feeling to play it together like that. And then me and Patrik carried on working on it in Stockholm later on.”
The spellbinding artist has again teamed up with collaborator Julia Ringdahl on an accompanying video for the track, featuring the work of Swedish weaver Nanny Rådenman – who’s work Boman will be displaying on stage during her UK / European tour this February. “We got the idea to use some of her weaves in this video as well - to tie things together. To create something special. And for them to move in different ways. Move to the music.” Boman explains.
Alice also tours the UK/EU in February, returning to London to headline the Union Chapel on 25th Feb:
17 Jan - Groningen, NL - Eurosonic @ Plato Record Store
17 Jan - Groningen, NL - Eurosonic @ Forum
14 Feb - Malmö, SE - Babel
15 Feb – Copenhagen, DK – Hotel Cecil
18 Feb – Berlin, DE – Kantine am Berghain
19 Feb – Amsterdam, NL – Paradiso
20 Feb – Paris, FR – Le Pop-Up du Label
21 Feb – Brussels, BE – Witloof Bar
23 Feb - Brighton, UK - The Latest Music Bar
24 Feb - Manchester, UK - Gullivers
25 Feb – London, UK – Union Chapel
3 Apr - Göteborg, SE - Pustervik
5 Apr - Stockholm, SE – Dramaten *sold out*
“It's a powerful feeling when you're in that world and you lose track of time,” says Boman of the deeply hypnotic state she entered when making Dream On. This transfixed state is one that she also seamlessly plunges her listeners into. Her deeply textural, atmospheric and immersive sounds - coupled with her fragile yet engulfing and ethereal vocals - create something of a vortex that listeners are sucked in by. A world where ambient, dream pop and folk merge into a unique new form.
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Wilsen - Feeling Fancy.
Brooklyn-based trio Wilsen released an official video for their new song "Feeling Fancy," the second single from their new album Ruiner out February 21 via Secret City Records / Dalliance Recordings. "Feeling Fancy is a song for the soft-spoken," explains Tamsin Wilson. "Quietness can be mistaken for insecurity while it's often the opposite - it's being comfortable in your own presence without needing to be heard at every moment."
"Feeling Fancy" follows the release of the album's title track "Ruiner," which was embraced by American Songwriter, BrooklynVegan, The Line of Best Fit, and NPR Music's New Music Friday Playlist. Wilsen consequently released a "nightmare remix" by Daughter's Igor Haefeli. So far, "Ruiner" has received support from AAA radio stations such as KXT, WFUV, WPYA, WSCA, WUNC, WXRT and many more.
For the follow-up to their acclaimed debut I Go Missing In My Sleep, the trio comprised of Tamsin Wilson (guitar/vocals), Johnny Simon Jr. (guitar) and Drew Arndt (bass) partnered with acclaimed producer Andrew Sarlo (Big Thief, Bon Iver) and mastering engineer Sarah Register (Ariana Grande, Protomartyr, U.S. Girls).
For Tamsin Wilson, the album finds her moving towards personal self-acceptance. "I have an inherent shyness," she says. "I'm acknowledging and finding a way with it as I get older." Throughout the record, she comes to terms with her many sides, including her introversion and her inner, self-sabotaging monster to which the album title refers. On "Feeling Fancy," with her distinctively hushed vocals overpowering the track’s clamorous instrumentals, Wilson offers listeners a powerful, and celebratory, declaration that "Quiet’s not a fault to weed out."
"Making this record was somewhat of a coming of age process," Wilson explains. "We're getting older and becoming more deliberate, less precious, less measured. Overthinking less and trusting instincts more."
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Monday, 13 January 2020
The Saxophones - Rachael Sage
The Saxophones are Alexi Erenkov and Alison Alderdice and together they have delivered a beautiful song entitled 'Lamplighter' an exquisite, gentle and touching track. === We have to go back to 2016 for our last feature with Rachael Sage however I recognised the name immediately so she clearly left an impression. The new recording of 'Both Hands' (Live At Carriage House Studios) is beautifully performed and the musical arrangement and vocals work together wonderfully.
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The Saxophones - Lamplighter.
The Saxophones--the Bay Area based duo of Alexi Erenkov (vocals, guitar, synthesizer, woodwinds) and Alison Alderdice (drums, vocals)--have shared the second single from their forthcoming sophomore album Eternity Bay, out March 6 on Full Time Hobby. Following "New Taboo," which caught the attention of Austin Town Hall ("delicate and fragile"), BBC Music, and more, "Lamplighter" is warm surf-pop that draws from '50s exotica, west coast jazz, and '70s Italian lyricism. Stream it here, along with the animated lyric video. Various Small Flames is hosting the first listen while describing the track as "rich with the band’s distinctively Lynchian blend of romantically unhurried instrumentation and syrupy vocals."
Erenkov wrote "Lamplighter" after playing a show at the Sou’wester trailer resort in Washington state, and at the Lamplighter, where he spent the rest of the evening drinking Fireballs. He says "Lamplighter" is about his attempts to escape anxiety through alcohol and other vices; "While indulging, I often convince myself that I'm on some kind of path to enlightenment, that I'll find an escape from impermanence and be able to touch the eternal, but all of my hedonistic impulses lead me back to the same reality. And I'm left to face the fact that even the truest love is impermanent. The song takes its name from a bar on the misty Washington coast where I spent an evening drinking with close friends after a show. The night and the following day's walk on the beach were both enjoyable, but I was particularly struck by how much my conversations, thoughts, and actions were avoidant of the present. Whether through alcohol or simply distracting myself with thoughts of the future, I find ways to fight reality.
Eternity Bay follows the band's debut album, 2018’s Songs of The Saxophones, as well as a string of sold-out 7” singles (If You’re On the Water, Aloha, and Singing Desperately Suite). It was recorded by Cameron Spies (Radiator Hospital) in Portland and mixed by Noah Georgeson (Joanna Newsom, Devendra Banhart) in LA. Eternity Bay will be released on March 6, and is now available for preorder via Full Time Hobby.
The Saxophones’ band name started out as a half-joke for the songwriting project of Alexi Erenkov, who, at that time, was a disillusioned jazz student. Erenkov had recently ditched the instrument, as jazz hadn't offered the room for self-expression that he sought. His solo project became a band when his wife Alison Alderdice joined on percussion, and their debut album, Songs of the Saxophones, was released just before the birth of their first son in 2018. Written aboard the boat they lived on together (amid the incessant rain of a northern Californian winter), the record established The Saxophones’ style, drawing from fifties exotica, west coast jazz, and seventies Italian lyricism. Drama seeps into The Saxophones' deceptively simple sound, transforming dreamy surf pop into thoughtfully textured pieces, with a spaciousness at the core.
The band's forthcoming second album, Eternity Bay, began to take shape just after the arrival of their first son, who shook up Erenkov’s writing routine far more than choppy boat waters ever did. "My music has always grappled with mortality and the meaning of existence," he says, "but the birth of our first son and the imminent arrival of our second has greatly heightened my sensitivity to these themes." The forced fragmentation of his hours, writing under inky late-night skies and through the liminal glimmer of dawn, brought new qualities to the surface of his songs. "While this record was influenced by a broad range of music," he explains, "the through line seems to be conveying a strong mood or sense of place. I love music that transports listeners to another space, whether it's Jonathan Richman making you feel like you’re walking the streets of Boston in 'I Love Hot Nights' or Arthur Lyman transporting you to a Hawaiian hotel lobby in the 50s."
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Rachael Sage - Both Hands (Live At Carriage House Studios).
Rachael Sage has released the first single from her forthcoming album Character: a string quartet version of the classic Ani DiFranco song "Both Hands". The accompanying music video premiered on PopMatters. Sage has also just been confirmed as support on the Howard Jones Acoustic Trio's Winter 2020 US tour, beginning on January 28 in Seattle.
Sage's fresh, string-quartet take on "Both Hands" is both musically unexpected and a full-circle moment. Sage's first-ever tour was as an opener for DiFranco, and she has long been inspired by her fellow indie label owner – but in this case, it was more vital. While undergoing treatment for cancer in 2018, Sage listened to "Both Hands" as part of a playlist that kept her "determined and strong". A year later, it was a natural fit for her new album Character, due out on MPress Records on March 6.
Produced by Sage and Grammy® winner Andy Zulla, the track features a string quartet performing an arrangement by cellist Dave Eggar (Evanescence, Coldplay), Sage, and Chuck Palmer. Zulla set up cameras around Carriage House Studios in Stamford, CT to capture the recording process, and edited the footage into the official music video, which has premiered exclusively on PopMatters. The single is now available on all digital platforms, including Apple Music, Amazon, and Spotify.
January will also see Sage heading back out onto the road supporting 80s music icon Howard Jones, after accepting his personal invitation to join his US Acoustic Trio tour. Beginning on January 28 at Seattle's Benaroya Recital Hall, she will support dates in cities including Los Angeles, Austin, St. Paul, New York City, and Miami.
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The Saxophones - Lamplighter.
The Saxophones--the Bay Area based duo of Alexi Erenkov (vocals, guitar, synthesizer, woodwinds) and Alison Alderdice (drums, vocals)--have shared the second single from their forthcoming sophomore album Eternity Bay, out March 6 on Full Time Hobby. Following "New Taboo," which caught the attention of Austin Town Hall ("delicate and fragile"), BBC Music, and more, "Lamplighter" is warm surf-pop that draws from '50s exotica, west coast jazz, and '70s Italian lyricism. Stream it here, along with the animated lyric video. Various Small Flames is hosting the first listen while describing the track as "rich with the band’s distinctively Lynchian blend of romantically unhurried instrumentation and syrupy vocals."
Erenkov wrote "Lamplighter" after playing a show at the Sou’wester trailer resort in Washington state, and at the Lamplighter, where he spent the rest of the evening drinking Fireballs. He says "Lamplighter" is about his attempts to escape anxiety through alcohol and other vices; "While indulging, I often convince myself that I'm on some kind of path to enlightenment, that I'll find an escape from impermanence and be able to touch the eternal, but all of my hedonistic impulses lead me back to the same reality. And I'm left to face the fact that even the truest love is impermanent. The song takes its name from a bar on the misty Washington coast where I spent an evening drinking with close friends after a show. The night and the following day's walk on the beach were both enjoyable, but I was particularly struck by how much my conversations, thoughts, and actions were avoidant of the present. Whether through alcohol or simply distracting myself with thoughts of the future, I find ways to fight reality.
Eternity Bay follows the band's debut album, 2018’s Songs of The Saxophones, as well as a string of sold-out 7” singles (If You’re On the Water, Aloha, and Singing Desperately Suite). It was recorded by Cameron Spies (Radiator Hospital) in Portland and mixed by Noah Georgeson (Joanna Newsom, Devendra Banhart) in LA. Eternity Bay will be released on March 6, and is now available for preorder via Full Time Hobby.
The Saxophones’ band name started out as a half-joke for the songwriting project of Alexi Erenkov, who, at that time, was a disillusioned jazz student. Erenkov had recently ditched the instrument, as jazz hadn't offered the room for self-expression that he sought. His solo project became a band when his wife Alison Alderdice joined on percussion, and their debut album, Songs of the Saxophones, was released just before the birth of their first son in 2018. Written aboard the boat they lived on together (amid the incessant rain of a northern Californian winter), the record established The Saxophones’ style, drawing from fifties exotica, west coast jazz, and seventies Italian lyricism. Drama seeps into The Saxophones' deceptively simple sound, transforming dreamy surf pop into thoughtfully textured pieces, with a spaciousness at the core.
The band's forthcoming second album, Eternity Bay, began to take shape just after the arrival of their first son, who shook up Erenkov’s writing routine far more than choppy boat waters ever did. "My music has always grappled with mortality and the meaning of existence," he says, "but the birth of our first son and the imminent arrival of our second has greatly heightened my sensitivity to these themes." The forced fragmentation of his hours, writing under inky late-night skies and through the liminal glimmer of dawn, brought new qualities to the surface of his songs. "While this record was influenced by a broad range of music," he explains, "the through line seems to be conveying a strong mood or sense of place. I love music that transports listeners to another space, whether it's Jonathan Richman making you feel like you’re walking the streets of Boston in 'I Love Hot Nights' or Arthur Lyman transporting you to a Hawaiian hotel lobby in the 50s."
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Rachael Sage - Both Hands (Live At Carriage House Studios).
Rachael Sage has released the first single from her forthcoming album Character: a string quartet version of the classic Ani DiFranco song "Both Hands". The accompanying music video premiered on PopMatters. Sage has also just been confirmed as support on the Howard Jones Acoustic Trio's Winter 2020 US tour, beginning on January 28 in Seattle.
Sage's fresh, string-quartet take on "Both Hands" is both musically unexpected and a full-circle moment. Sage's first-ever tour was as an opener for DiFranco, and she has long been inspired by her fellow indie label owner – but in this case, it was more vital. While undergoing treatment for cancer in 2018, Sage listened to "Both Hands" as part of a playlist that kept her "determined and strong". A year later, it was a natural fit for her new album Character, due out on MPress Records on March 6.
Produced by Sage and Grammy® winner Andy Zulla, the track features a string quartet performing an arrangement by cellist Dave Eggar (Evanescence, Coldplay), Sage, and Chuck Palmer. Zulla set up cameras around Carriage House Studios in Stamford, CT to capture the recording process, and edited the footage into the official music video, which has premiered exclusively on PopMatters. The single is now available on all digital platforms, including Apple Music, Amazon, and Spotify.
January will also see Sage heading back out onto the road supporting 80s music icon Howard Jones, after accepting his personal invitation to join his US Acoustic Trio tour. Beginning on January 28 at Seattle's Benaroya Recital Hall, she will support dates in cities including Los Angeles, Austin, St. Paul, New York City, and Miami.
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