Kalbells has released 'Cool and Bendable' today along with a video, the song starts out gently enough but builds with wonderful intensity and passion. === We featured The Hempolics a couple of times last December and now we have the new video for 'Bongadasi' which is a potent mixture of reggae and funk. === We began February with a song from Malena Zavala and just four weeks later we have 'La Yarará' a vibrant mixture of Latin influences and Reggaeton. === Jenny Banai has shared a new song entitled 'Couch Walker' and it's a melodic and rich modern pop ballad with plenty of class.
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Kalbells - Cool and Bendable.
Today, Kalbells (the project led by multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Kalmia Traver) announced Mothertime, a four track EP she co-produced with Jeremy Malvin (aka Chrome Sparks). The cathartic lead single and accompanying music video for “Cool and Bendable” was also released
Mothertime will be out April 10th, 2020 and is now available to preorder via NNA Tapes. This spring, Kal and her band will bring their new material to select dates in North America.
In April 2015, Kalmia Traver (Kalbells, Rubblebucket) had just come out of an intensive 2-month writing retreat with 27 songlets in hand, 10 of which would become Kalbells’ debut album Ten Flowers. Jeremy Malvin (Chrome Sparks) loved what she shared with him then, and the two began regular co-production sessions in his studio in Brooklyn, where classical percussion ensemble So Percussion also worked. Drawing inspiration from the abundance of acoustic sound-makers all around, Jeremy performed marimbas, cactus shakers, and massive bass drums, while Kal layered flute arpeggios, penny whistles, and saxophones through tape echo to make smooth harmonic waves of rainbow velvet layer cake. They pretended to be an orchestra.
Lyrically, the Mothertime EP sees Kal processing themes she has been continually chewing on in the 6-year wake of surviving ovarian cancer and transforming a codependent relationship wither her long-time music partner Alex Toth (Tōth, Rubblebucket): resilience, yielding, beckoning creativity, self-exploration, and joy.
The Hempolics drops the video for their recent single ’Bongadashi’, the third cut taken from their upcoming second album ‘Kiss, Cuddle & Torture: Volume 2’, planned for release in April 2020 through their own record label Zee Zee Records via Kartel Music Group. The band will also support Toots and the Maytals farewell UK tour in May.
’Bongadashi’, is the follow up to the upbeat soul and reggae mash ‘Play On’ and the trip-hop meets dub-influenced single, ‘Full of Surprises’, which saw support at radio from BBC 1Xtra’s David Rodigan, 6Music’s Steve Lamacq, Don Letts, Chris Hawkins and 6Music Recommends, BBC 6 Music Mix Tape with Tom Robinson and BBC Scotland’sVic Galloway.
In the words of the band’s mainman and producer Grippa Laybourne - who has previously worked in the studio with a variety of international top acts like Mattafix and Faithless – ‘Bongadashi’ is “a pure British reggae-funk stomper full of swagger and verve”. The song is about the inherent danger on the streets whether in London or Port of Spain in Tobago, the home of Hempolics collaborator Franz who lends the vocals to the track. “When fear comes out of the blue, when you’re walking down the street and someone starts on you not sure whether you’re safe or not on the streets - Bongadashi coming,” Grippa adds.
The Hempolics’ blend of Reggae, Hip-Hop, Dancehall and Pop has already been heavily supported across UK national radio by BBC Radio1, BBC 1Xtra, BBC Radio 2 and BBC 6Music, where the band had three playlisted singles. They went on to have 6Music ‘Album of The Day’ and were subsequently chosen by Liz Kershaw's pick for 'Album Of The Year', after an impressive live session for Lauren Laverne.
‘Bongadashi’ is another stand out track and a statement of intent ahead of their forthcoming sophomore album and support slot on the Toots and the Maytals farewell UK tour in May, playing at O2 Academy in Bristol on Friday 15th May, London’s O2 Academy Brixton on 16th May, Leeds’ O2 Academy on Fri 29th May and Manchester’s O2 Apollo on 30th May.
Malena Zavala has today released the title track from her upcoming new album ‘La Yarará’, available April 17 on Yucatan Records. The follow-up to her critically acclaimed 2018 debut ‘Aliso’, ‘La Yarará’ cements the Argentinean-born, UK-raised musician as a songwriter with a unique perspective on where she’s from, where she’s headed and where her music can take us.
‘La Yarará’ draws from the various aspects, colours and shades of Latin music and culture: cumbia, Afro-Cuban, Afro-funk, Andean folk, Argentine folk, bolero-son, and in the case of the title track/new single, reggaeton. The percussion deliberately evokes the sinuous movements and character of a serpent.
“The yarará is a venomous snake, a viper, in Argentina,” explains Zavala. “It’s also used as a diss to a sassy woman, and my parents always called me that, so I’ve named the album that as a kind of in-joke.
“With the whole album I was researching every single Latino rhythm and style. With ‘La Yarará’ I started on reggaeton, but wanted to make it in my own way. I also wanted to make a song that’s really angry. And when I do that live, it is a challenge, because I normally sing very sweetly,” she admits. “But I’m trying to summon that yarará.”
‘La Yarará’ is the third single to be taken from the album following 'En La Noche' and 'I'm Leaving Home'. Zavala will follow the release of ‘La Yarará’ on April 17 with a headline show at London’s Courtyard Theatre on April 23.
Born in Argentina to parents with Italian passports, Zavala’s family relocated to Hertfordshire when she was a small child. She began her musical journey in a band with her brother called, Oh So Quiet. At the time she tried to write songs, “but they were really shit so I concentrated on being a performer. But then my brother met a girl and moved to LA. So I decided to do my own thing. And I wrote my first album.”
I was sitting on a couch next to a buddy (tbh, a potential more-than-buddy… we’ve all been there).
I don’t co-write very often, but there was a playful willingness in the room. I started off with a very Andy Shauf-esque melody; a creative inspo to many in our scene. I led with melody and my potential more-than-buddy followed with chords.
We made a little voice memo which he coined “jenny on a couch.” I wrote the lyrics later. The curiosity and hope about a relationship, as well as the frustration and heartbreak that ensues when one doesn’t work out, inspired my words.
It feels like walking a tightrope sometimes – the excitement, the back-and-forth, the risk. All of these emotions, in real time, take place with you sitting on a couch beside someone. I keep walking. I keep carrying all of these moments in my pockets. They are important and each human is important, not whether I have control of the narrative of my life.
Suzy and the Lifeguards first graced our site pretty much a month ago to the day and return with the delightful and relaxing indie pop song 'Take It Slow'. === Weird Milk make their third appearance here with todays release 'Is That Love' and the band again serve up some melodic and original indie rock. === If you fancy some timeless hook filled rock then Dramamama comfortably fulfill that with 'End Of The Line'. === Accompanied by a video that picks up on the songs story Christy Lynn Band have just shared 'Checkin In' a fabulous country rocker that exudes feeling. === Victoria+Jean have released 'Imbecile' (Featuring Romain Humeau) and it's a dramatic, dusky and addictive electro pop piece. === Another song released today comes from Orpine and is entitled 'Sondern' and it's simply wonderful, the duos modern folk centred song twists and turns with charm and natural feeling. === Last month we featured 'High Times In The Dark'and promised to share some more from The Claudettes ahead of their new album and so it's with pleasure to present 'Declined' a song whose sentiments I fear are more than a little familiar for plenty of people.
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Suzy and the Lifeguards - Take It Slow.
On Suzy & the Lifeguard’s new single, “Take it Slow”, Paradise’s sultry vocals tease the dark corners with a flirty embrace, while horns elicit visions of a forbidden romance. It’s off the EP, ANIMA, produced by Grammy award-winning recording and mix engineer, Phil Joly (Patti Smith, Lana Del Rey, Daft Punk).
“Take it Slow” tantalizes the senses, prickling and puncturing in waves of seduction, while allure and regret perform a slow tango. It’s the dichotomy between desiring love and succumbing to lust. Paradise enchantingly beckons, “ We both say we’ll take it slow / As I am taking you back home.” Passion falls prey to remorse as she sings, “Nobody wins when we play games. “
The ANIMA EP due out May 1, embarks on a shadowed journey of neon nightlife and moody ambiance. Recorded in Kauai at a friend’s chocolate farm/music studio, Paradise says, “It’s vibier than the last record. It’s a bit darker overall, but it’s also still silly and fun. I feel like it’s an honest reflection of not only what I have experienced in the last five years but also the fun and magical space we were in.
Suzy Paradise created Suzy & the Lifeguard as an alter-ego multi-media music project. Award-winning songwriter, producer, and recording artist Bleu McAuley (Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Michelle Branch) co-wrote and produced the self-titled debut EP released in 2015. In 2016, she was nominated in the 14th Annual International Music Awards for “Best Jazz Song with Vocals.” Suzy & the Lifeguard will release ANIMA on May 1, 2020. Paradise funded the release by assisting creatives including Andrew Garfield, Sarah Silverman, and Andrea Arnold (Big Little Lies 2). She also worked behind the screen on “Battle of the Sexes”(Fox Searchlight), “JOY”(Fox 2000), “Black Mirror”(Netflix), and “Masterminds” (Relativity).
Hurtling into 2020 with their boldest and brashest release to date, London baroque pop experts Weird Milk share reflective new cut ‘Is That Love?’, out February 26th.
Capitalising on a whirlwind twelve months that’s seen the band firmly establish their status amongst the emerging indie elite, ‘Is That Love?’ follows acclaimed recent singles ‘Anything You Want’, ‘Honey, I’m Around’ and ‘Time Machine’, having already attracted widespread praise across the BBC Radio 1/6 Music airwaves (Annie Mac, Jack Saunders, Steve Lamacq), as well as gaining the approval of numerous key industry gatekeepers.
With several impressive support slots ticked off alongside the likes of Alfie Templeman, Frank Carter and Pip Blom in recent times, Weird Milk’s assured live show continues to show striking developments, and will be displayed in full force on their UK support tour alongside fellow risers APRE later this month, before the quartet’s much-touted debut trip stateside for SXSW.
Discussing their newest offering, songwriter and drummer Charlie Glover-Wright explained: “The song itself is about a relationship turning sour as a lemon and the main character realising that they don’t need it anymore and they’ll be better off on their own”.
After a 5-year long distance relationship with the bands guitarist Laur Joamets (who moved to the States in 2013 to play in the Grammy-winning Sturgill Simpson’s band, now in Drivin N Cryin), the other three members of an Estonian rock quartet Dramamama - Mikk Tammepõld, Viljar Norman and Ott Adamson - packed their gear and headed towards Nashville for a visit in October 2018. Wasting no time they spent most of the time in Loud Recording Studio with the producer Jake Burns and came out with eight proper rock tracks to be released as an album on April 21, 2020. “End of the Line” is the first hint of what is yet to come.
“It's that classic story of a wandering gypsy musician searching for a place to call home,” says the frontman Mikk Tammepõld. “Musically a little bit inspired by the Beatles I suppose.”
Distinctive quitar sound of Joamets, together with heavy drums and melodic bass lines from Ott Adamson and Viljar Norman respectively, topped with strong vocals of the frontman Mikk Tammepõld form an enjoyable combination of classic rock and modern production.
The animated visual of the track was drawn by the vocalist Mikk Tammepõld himself and reflects the theme of the song in a not-so-serious way.
The Christy Lynn Band will be releasing their debut album Sweetheart of the Radio on April 3rd, (which they announced today) along with the release of their first single "Checkin In".
"Checkin In" is a song that perfectly encapsulates front woman Christy Lynn’s heart-wrenching lyrics and deft storytelling ability, combining a hearty dose of catchy refrains and campy, throwback country charm. Combine that with lead guitarist Ryan Schilling’s skillful playing and production that crisply brings out each howl and crackle in Christy Lynn’s voice, spotlighting her impressive range and cinematic verses within the lyrics, and you might have just found your new favorite country singer.
The Christy Lynn Band draws inspiration from all across the spectrum, from classic languid country and folk to classic rock. They’ve taken those influences and distilled them into their own unique sound that seamlessly fuse soulful alt-country music with a healthy dash of rock & roll. Their compelling frontwoman Christy Lynn possesses a singular, powerhouse voice and a knack for capturing the clever, kitschy lyrics of old country music. Ryan’s meticulous talents lie in his groovy guitar playing and his adept technical skill at capturing the rich texture of their music, all using analog recording equipment. In fact, the recording studio they used to record their first full-length album is actually built into the back of a 1987 Ford Econoline truck called the American Sound Truck that they built out and customized themselves, utilizing a melange of vintage recording gear that they’ve sought and acquired over the years.
Sweetheart of the Radio features Christy Lynn’s unparalleled vocals at the forefront, with Ryan Schilling on guitar, Kenan Hopkins on fiddle, Nate Pusateri on drums, Zack Page on bass and Jackson Dulaney on pedal steel. The rootsy 12-song record tells the fictional story of a radio darling who is beloved far and wide, a skyrocketing success masking a deep sadness. It’s an unsatisfying one-way relationship: the whole world loves her, and yet not one person truly does because they do not truly know her. The crux is that perhaps she doesn’t truly know herself. It’s a soulful country album that harkens back to the sound of its glory days and is sure to appeal to fans of true country and Americana, while simultaneously infusing it with a modern sound that’s distinctly their own.
Critically acclaimed duo Victoria+Jean will return with their second album ‘UNDERDOG’ in the spring of 2020. The romantically and artistically linked Swedish/Belgian duo kick off this new decade with new single ‘Imbecile'. Darkly brooding, the sinister baseline, incessant beat, and stabbing guitar lines of ‘Imbecile', combined with Victoria’s shrill, striking vocals, deliver a 4 minutes hit of menacing electro-pop. Produced by Henrik Alsér (The Hives, Coldplay).
Explaining the origins of the song, Victoria explains “After the release of the 1st album, we found ourselves covered in debts and lost our home. We were left on our own, and were much disappointed by humans and by some of our close friends reactions. And it’s at those moments you know whom are the friends you can trust on, and those you can’t. ‘Imbecile' came to us as a result of what are the real faces of some people, just to be truthful and to say "you know I’m not an imbecile I know what you are thinking”. Or just to say - you’re a bloody f***ing imbecile!"
The song features vocals from Romain Humeau (french singer who featured the song). Having met Romain in ICP studios brussels almost 10 years ago, Victoria+Jean supported Eiffel (Romain’s band) at the mythical Olympia Theatre venue in Paris, and finally managed to arrange for Romain to appear on a track for their new album after years of trying.
To accompany the track there is a Sebastien Alouf directed video. Having worked with the band on the video for ‘Holly’ which appeared on their debut album, the video saw Sebastien following the band in their everyday life, resukting in a documentary-style music video. Sebastien explains “It has been several years since I met Victoria and Jean, and ever since I have episodically followed their adventures, life projects and music. A choice of life authentically rock & roll. I have long been looking for a pretext to return to immerse myself in the intimacy of this couple, tell the reverse side of the scenery, the little strings that bind these 2 hypersensitive, hypercreative and fusional beings. I wanted to make a sensitive fragment of their existence. It is an intimate clip that borders on the romance of this beautiful couple”.
Orpine are Eleanor Rudge and Oliver Catt. Migratory birds nesting in disparate climates; singing in harmony 300 miles removed. Being outside and keeping off the internet. Mostly apart but never alone. Following brief stints in bands and singing on one another’s records, the pair lost touch. Ceasing to make music, days punctuated by silence, Eleanor made contact. Having not seen one another for years, they ventured to a cottage in the Scottish Borders at the foot of Black Hill. With only a stove for heat and a car full of groceries for sustenance, four days of writing passed.
The result is debut album ‘Grown, Ungrown’, produced by Jonathan Coddington (The Magic Gang, Joanna Gruesome). Delicately branching and bereft of irony and cynicism, the songs have room to inflate and deflate, to meander, and shake loose like an antidote to sagging spirits. Harmonies wash against gentle strums and climb from the ambient to the anthemic as Orpine turn their backs on modern absurdity with nerve and solemnity. Like a tiny figure on the horizon casting a huge shadow on the mountain, there is a humbleness about ‘Grown Ungrown’ that projects awe without hubris.
While the bulk of the record was recorded in The Crow’s Nest in Hackney, all of the strings and brass were added at Greenman Swaler – a secret place Oliver helped some friends build when he was a teenager. Decamping from the studio to a den-like locale befits an album with a narrative that is generously autobiographical. “I’ve worked with Jonny since before we knew what we were doing so we have a good understanding of how the other works. The desk has more channels now but the relationship remains the same.” states Oliver.
First single, ‘Sondern’ is a song about grief and defeat. Written around the time of the first Brexit deadline, the title is a German conjunction that derives from an old Germanic word which meant ‘to separate’. “I liked the idea that this use of the word is outdated and it had morphed into something it was never originally intended to be – which was a lot of the criticism being levelled at the European Union on the Leave side.” Its movements lurch, and contract and expand with an inevitable seasonality, from giddy summer to lunar winter, before melting into the payload of a tender spring: “I love you. I always did.”
‘Two Rivers’ speaks of the purifying feeling of laying on the bed of the River Ouse near Mount Caburn, near Elanor’s home town. Submerged and held quietly in water, the industry of transport links dissolves to be replaced by the sunken stillness of the natural world. “Easier to be, than to be gone.” muses Eleanor. The second river, and namesake, the River Ouseburn runs down the road from Oliver in Newcastle. Two little river versions of each other, hundreds of miles apart, striving for the same creative open waters.
Not subscribers to the cult of modernity, Orpine choose instead to make visors with their hands and squint back to landscapes left untouched. A return to nature is favored over the fatigue of likes and followers, the hum of commerce logistics and temporal edge of diversified eating experiences. The countryside liberates Eleanor and Oliver, enabling them to view the modern world, select all and delete.
In this song, the singer delivers a rejection to an unappealing suitor in the only language he can understand: an official letter declining his services, typed on company letterhead. Thank you for that most generous offer, but you have been declined, and you need not apply again. Enclosed, please find: Declined. Delivered, sealed, signed…Declined! Thanks so much for taking the time, but: Declined! The music video was filmed at Shirk Studios in Chicago and features delightful vintage scenes of male-applicant rejection as well as comically unimpressive experiments in hypnosis.
DECLINED:
Dear Sir: Thank you so much for that most generous offer
But sir: I regret to inform you, there's a lot of competition to fill this position
So many are hoping to fill this opening
And as for you? DECLINED.
And as for you? DECLINED.
You have been DECLINED.
100% DECLINED.
Dear sir: I appreciate your interest in working with me
Dear sir: There is no committee, it's only me
Dear sir: I wish you the best in all your future endeavors
But sir: There is no interest whatsoever
DECLINED.
Please do not apply again, you're DECLINED.
There will be no change of mind. DECLINED.
Dear sir, as I've outlined: You're DECLINED.
Enclosed please find: You're DECLINED.
Delivered, sealed, signed: DECLINED.
On behalf of womankind: DECLINED.
Thanks so much for taking the time, but DECLINED.
Sluka have shared 'VIP' accompanied by a video that is a dog lovers dream. Using the expression below the song is beautifully Avant-Alternative and some. === KINLEY has just released her self titled album from which we have 'Tuesdays Child', we shared the song 'Washington' last month and both typify the sheer quality of the album. === Katie Burden has released her 'Edge Of Sleep' E.P we featured the title track a couple of months back and now have the full E.P from this talented & creative artist. === Emma Charles makes her fourth appearance on Beehive Candy with the gently melodic folk pop track 'Connecticut'. === Frank Moyo just released 'Friend Of Mine' which is a refined and very catchy alt rocker.
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Sluka - VIP.
San Diego-based Avant-Alternative Rock artist Sluka and the immersive new music video for single VIP, taken from the full-length album Ready to Connect.
Sluka is a 4-piece alt rock/post-punk project consisting of Lis Viega (drums, vocals), Alexandra Holt (street can, theremin, vocals), Anna Eppink (bass, vocals), and singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Christopher Sluka.
As usual, Christopher Sluka's lyrics here are thought-provoking and metaphorical, observing the human condition with a loving eye and a wry sense of humor.
The Eric Bishop-helmed music video features a strong cast of talented humans and puppies for your gushing pleasure. Message from the Artist: "Visit the nearest shelter and find a pet to rescue YOU!"
KINLEY is a talented songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who spent ten years touring the world as a member of the band Hey Rosetta!. When not on tour with her friends, she finds time to write and record her own music.
KINLEY has just released her new self-titled album. The album was produced by Colin Buchanan (Sorrey, Paper Lions). This is her second album working with Colin at The Hill Sound Studio in Charlottetown.
According to KINLEY the process was an easy stating, "we work well together and the recording process flowed nicely. I would bring my songs written in chicken scratch on my notebooks, a bunch of snacks, and after we got all the gossip out of the way we would record. I really love the pop sensibility that Colin adds to songs. He really made them more exciting."
Katie Burden's atmospheric art rock has an ineffable, visceral quality to it. Her taste for the theatrical and shamanistic delivery often conjure up the ghost of Jim Morrison but in a modern context, her sound falls somewhere between Perfume Genius and CocoRosie.
After being raised in a small hippy town in Colorado, Burden spent her formative years bouncing around NYC and San Francisco. In 2012 she moved to LA, and after attending a meditation retreat, synchronistically fell in with a group of blue chip musicians including Jennylee and drummer/producer Norm Block (L7, Jennylee, Ghost Recon Breakpoint) who became the catalyst behind her future output. Together they recorded Burden's 2014 debut EP My Blind Eye and the 2016’s full length KP Strange Moon, which garnered overwhelmingly positive press from tastemakers such as Magnet, Noisey, Nylon and Flaunt.
In 2017 Burden moved to Long Beach, composing new material in a house behind a periwinkle fence while studying to become an art therapist. The songs that would eventually come to make up the Edge of Sleep EP were initially inspired by dreams, liberally taking unexpected twists and turns without needing to conform to songwriting norms. “There’s that ancient Toltec wisdom that describes our conscious life as a waking dream that we sort of project into the world,” Burden reflects. “Edge of Sleep’ refers to an occurrence that shakes one from their waking dream and brings about a new perspective or way of seeing.”
Back in the studio with Norm, the two artists began the process of committing this collection of versatile and inventive songs to tape, looping field recordings, playing handmade bells, and sifting through a sea of tones to find the correct colors to flesh out the songs. The final recordings are like insulated worlds, pregnant with moody little moments and cathartic performances, dark and unusual, brave and innovative. “People tell me that when they listen, it stirs something inside them that they can’t quite put their finger on,” says Burden. “I love the idea that this music is soliciting a hard to define pang of emotion for people.”
On the fourth single taken from her forthcoming EP Connecticut, Los Angeles-based folk-pop singer/songwriter Emma Charles pulls out all of the emotional stops for a heartfelt new song of the same name, that maps out the musician’s journey from her hometown to a new life in California. One of three new Doug Schadt-produced tracks on the four-track EP (Shaed, Maggie Rogers), “Connecticut” takes a hushed, chiming guitar-based melody that provides an evocative backdrop to the story of her cross-country journey and slowly builds to a gorgeously transcendent crescendo.
The Connecticut EP was released digitally on February 21 on Sky Records, the pop unit of the Resilience Music Alliance. It is the follow up to her recent singles “You” and “Vertigo” (which appears on the recent NOW That’s What I Call Music! 72 as a featured “What’s Next” selection.
Says Charles: “Doug and I wrote this song about my cross-country road trip from Connecticut to Los Angeles in early 2019. The song encompasses my journey from what’s familiar to what’s not, and reminds me to appreciate Connecticut for what it was able to give me. Detailing the car trip literally while emphasizing the underlying appreciation for home and childhood is why this song is one of my favorites I’ve written. Doug was able to channel that emotion with his stunning production, building the track from minimalist to an explosive but tastefully emotional ending.”
Frank Moyo is a slow player in a fast world. The Canadian-Italian singer, songwriter and guitarist serenades like a busking bard of the 21st century. His Waves EP and singles “OK Dolce” and “West End” have already cultivated a reputation for Moyo in his hometown. But describing the singer as a suave, smooth and sultry voice with soft hands on the strings is too simple. Discussing feeling with the artist is more candid. “I want people to be able to imagine they are on a beach in Italy when listening to my music,” he says. But while one track might take you to the beach, “another may take you into a car going 180 miles per hour.”
Growing up in Toronto Moyo first learned chords as a child, picking up what he could from family, friends and later the live shows he could get into. It wasn’t long until his bandmates and him we’re sneaking into their own performances. With a taste that meanders from Motown to James Brown and Isaac Hayes to Italian icons like Lucio Dalla and Toto Cutugno, Moyo’s sound is hard to pin down. The folk- informed rhythms that Moyo employs on tracks like “OK Dolce” mingle with pop sensibilities and the laws of ancient attraction that seem as rooted in Greek mythology as they do Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues”.
As things speed up in an industry that’s begging to slow down, Frank Moyo is a voice of reason, and it sounds good.
Fassine return here for a fifth time with 'Magpie' a song that sees the trio drifting into a more dream pop orientated mode and doing so with characteristic style and imagination. === We have the new album entitled 'Onion Peel' from Penniless Cove and it really is an impressive collection of quite unique songs, sometimes lighter and sometimes more dark folk in nature, but always consistently special. === Ahead of his seventh album ‘Sink Into The Ether’ Stumbleine has released 'Supermodels' and it's a gorgeous dreamy and melodic affair from this talented and creative UK producer.
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Fassine - Magpie.
Asserting a fierce electronic element to their acclaimed pop formula, London industrial-pop trio Fassine will release new album FORGE on March 27 via Trapped Animal Records & Cargo Records.
Previously released lead album track “Bloom” is the band’s response to the obsession of perceived beauty in perfection. Follow-up single “Magpie”, out today, is a glistening slice of dream-pop which examines the tempting allure of love and acceptance. "A Magpie-type lover and all that comes with it, luring us in to the hope of a beautiful relationship", explains frontwoman Sarah Palmer.
A gripping tribute to the unassuming heroes on the fringes of society, Fassine's new collection is bolder than ever, elevating the London trio’s distinctive take on electronic music with heavier, more aggressive instrumentation. The band has garnered acclaim from The Guardian, The Independent, Clash and more with comparisons spanning Trent Reznor to Berlin-era Bowie.
Since their last release, Fassine’s XTC cover of “That Wave” appeared on the Sky Arts documentary on the seminal band, This Is Pop. Their track “Whatever It Takes To Help You Sleep” played as the backdrop to Netflix’s first feature film “Velvet Buzzsaw”, and ”Leaves” was featured on Oprah Winfrey’s Queen Sugar. FORGE means ‘to create something strong and enduring’. With this new album, Fassine has embodied the grit and grime of their personal heroes and wield an industrial and hard-hitting piece of craftsmanship.
London-via-Pembrokeshire songwriter Penniless Cove (aka Phoebe) has always taken a left field approach to creating music. Performing a number of different instruments, her tracks lean on a number of various genres, bringing elements of Folk, Blues, Jazz and Pop together in a unique vision of her own work. Her unique brand of songwriting has led to tours across the UK and Europe in recent years including performances at Latitude Festival and Cheltenham Jazz Festival. She’s also performed alongside Imogen Heap in London and was invited to perform on Radio 4’s influential ‘Loose Ends’ earlier this year.
A music obsessive from a young age, Phoebe studied classical piano growing up in rural Pembrokeshire, before also picking up French horn, guitar and jazz vocals. She performed with a number of orchestras and bands while writing with her sister (who she still writes with to this day). She was a regular on the live circuit in Wales before moving to London to study music and develop her sound further.
I grew up in a pretty but small town with not-so-much to do. I was in all of the music groups I could find, which meant playing as many instruments as possible, including learning the French Horn. As a teenager, I was in a feisty girl band in my friend’s attic and did a lot of hanging out on the beach, singing songs around fires. Although my parents didn’t play instruments, they were really into music from different corners of the world - I remember lots of wild dancing in the kitchen.
She soon found herself releasing music and debuted her EP ‘Out on a Roof’ in 2012. She then followed up with her album ‘Tipped Like Titanic’ in 2016, with each release developing her sound and style in new ways. Her first two releases received support from 6Music, Folk and Honey and BBC Radio 4. Her new album “Onion Peel’ ebbs and flows between haunting pieces of dark folk such as “River Lea”, and satirical songwriting gems such as “Time to Get A Cleaner”. There’s a vibrant honesty throughout the record, that feels as raw, awkward and emotive as the stories she tells. On the new album, Phoebe states:
It’s a break up album - the songs all share similar themes of change, sadness and feeling lost. They highlight moments like being inside an argument (Silence Sits Like a Boom), the feeling of deep longing when you’re trying to sleep (Valium) or wanting something to grow when you’ve invested so much (Petits Filous). With my sister, we drew out the intricate details that make it personal, honest and at times, funny. There are lots of influences in the album. When writing, rehearsing with the band and producing with Tom, I listened to a massive range of music. A lot of folk, jazz, soul, and funk, but also quite niche music from different cultures, so I think lots of those sounds come through.
As the title suggests, UK producer Stumbleine’s seventh album ‘Sink Into The Ether’ offers a deep submergence within a celestial upper region somewhere beyond the clouds. Thriving on the space in between things, ‘Sink Into The Ether’ is chilled, heavenly and thought provoking. It’s another multi-faceted creation of glowing sonic vistas that are set to enrapture in 2020.
The album envelops the listener from the outset with the soft, pitched sway of “Sonder”. The track ebbs through calming shadows, showcasing Stumbleine’s warm, electronic glow and gamut of influences, with hushed hypnotic delayed sounds, vocal samples and snappy beats.
Stumbleine’s skill at blending an array of electronic timbres washes over the largely instrumental record, exemplified in “Supermodels”, with its lo-fi chorus-drenched haze building to an emotional, percussion-driven climax. Here, and scattered about the album, RnB vocals are chopped-up, but glistening a dark, dreamy hue. A cover of the Hole song, “Malibu” features Elizabeth Heaton of Midas Fall. Her delicate, dream-like vocals waft over the hazy instrumental waves like tendrils of smoke, as they both grow ever more desperate, and slowly crash.
Elsewhere on the album tracks like ‘Lost To The World’ come together more immediately with flourishing synths and soaring backdrops overlaid by a heady bass and intricate beats, while ‘White Noise Therapy’ invokes a cinematic Tokyo-set film score peppered with playful soft pianos. “Lost To the World” swings in addictive pitched-vocal punches, circling itself into a spiral. “Your Angel Was Fake” has a hopeful darkness about it, recalling electronic shoegaze and witch house artists of the early 2010s. It scales and then pulls away, at once breathing and stopping, full of blanket synth pads and subtle snaps of percussion.
Also known for his work in post-dubstep trio Swarms, Stumbleine has steadily built a cult of admirers around himself following collaborations across his varied albums and EPs with the likes of ASA, Shura, Violet Skies, Birds of Passage, Steffaloo and more. His sound, if it can be compared to anything at all, straddles post-rock shoegaze soundscapes with ambient electronica and experimental movements into something that can be both an ASMR hug to the ears yet also similarly arresting, fractured and off-kilter depending on which way things flow. As different sounds shift in and out, narratives become clear slowly and disappear quickly throughout Stumbleine’s kaleidoscopic visions. The album will be available on digital platforms, CD and a pressing of 500 LPs on cream vinyl with a free album CD inside.
