My new single, “Half-Light Boy,” is about the sobering realization that not every person you encounter will have the same heart as you. Someone else’s lack of care for you is often due to something lacking in them – it is never an expression of what you deserve.
I was walking home from the grocery store one evening, lugging way too many bags for one girl to carry comfortably. Passing by a venue, I noticed that someone who once held a big place in my life was playing a show there that very night.
There was a time when I felt close to this person. Having always been one of their biggest supporters, not getting an invite to their show that was right in my neighbourhood left me feeling pretty small. I went home and wrote this new song as a confrontation that I knew I would never bother to actually have.
My friend, Taylor Lucas, produced “Half-Light Boy” in his home studio. He also produced my previous single, “Zuzu’s Petals,” and is set to produce my album. It’s always fun working with Taylor; he’s so talented and has great ideas! - Grizzly Coast.
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‘There you will find them, tucked away in between The Stooges ‘Fun House’ and John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band the KEYS, the band you never knew you needed until they changed your life.
Over four Albums, Eps and countless Singles during this millennium the KEYS have become a mythical presence on the Welsh musical landscape. The timeless quality of the band’s music, touches on the wide eyed wonder and boundless possibilities of the sixties pop song, West Coast harmonies, Motown backbeat and the aggression of post 1968 proto-punk, sets them apart as true believers in the communion of Rock and Roll. KEYS are very much a band for the here and now, shaping music from the moon dust of the past into a re-imagined future that is all theirs for the taking.’ – Libertino Records
‘Black and White’ is the confident and bold return of the KEYS. The single was recorded during the productive two days session for the band’s new album in Miner’s Welfare club, lost in the Neath Valley.
Matt Evens, the band’s singer and songwriter, explains the background and the writing process of ‘Black and White’: “I wrote it while playing the drums on my own one morning. I was trying to write a modern-day nursery rhyme so it’s kept really simple. Then it went through the KEYS machine and came out all reverb guitars and maracas. It starts off Scout Niblett and ends up all Stooges with some Ron Asheton-style wah-wah thrown into the mix. It’s still a very sparse arrangement though which is the point. The lyric comes from something a photographer said to us once “Don’t worry, they’ll look alright in Black and White”; Gwion (Lead Guitar) used to quote it all the time in a jokey way so it ended up finding a melody.”
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Chicago native William Steffey is a songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist with an extensive background that has found him challenging his creativity with every single, EP, album and music video.
Throughout his musical journey, Steffey has explored a wide range of genres; his songs range from rock and new wave to pop and electronic music.
Steffey’s new studio album, the much-anticipated Reality Jockey, features 11 tracks, including two instrumental passages with tonal and temporal components based on the ‘Golden Section,’ a ratio that occurs frequently in nature as witnessed by the spiraling pattern of sunflowers, the proportions of the human body and the way billions of stars swirl together to form our galaxy. The songs on Reality Jockey also embrace Steffey’s trademark versatility; each track illustrates his ability to bring different influences and sounds together under one roof.
The production of the album is on par with the quality of the songwriting; the tracks have a clear, punchy and sophisticated tone. The music sounds crisp without falling into the trap of overproduction.
Ultimately, Reality Jockey is an authentic snapshot of Steffey’s artistic personality. The record channels his background as well as his ongoing passion for new musical direction. Like his previous releases, this project is about blending uncompromising creativity with appealing melodies.
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Forming in Milan, Super Paradise, founded by Francesco Roma and Nicolò Spreafico, brought their self-styled dream-garage sound to London, releasing their debut album in 2016. From here it’s become a relentless live project, playing numerous scuzzy headline and support shows across the city’s buzziest venues, honing their distorted and hook-laden tunes. Joining Francesco and Nicolò for this endeavour is Anna Arfen (keys), Charlie Davis (bass) and Bradley Hillier-Smith (Drums).
Dropping infectious Lo-Fi singles and EPs over the last year or so with a sound somewhere between Thee Oh Sees, Ty Segall and early Pixies demos, has nourished the live set. Tunes are often accompanied by highly stylised visuals, and their volatile new single 6:30 follows suit both sonically and aesthetically, whilst stepping things up in the energy stakes.
“The main inspiration came from “6:30” as a Caribbean dance move” explains lead vocalist Francesco, “I like that it could also mean 6:30am, dawn. End of the night, end of the dance. It’s always a bit of a weird time. You could still be out after an insane night, yet you’ll walk past people who are doing the complete opposite on their way to work. There’s a bit of uncertainty about it.”
This uncertainty is reflected in the sound. Flitting between dreamy segments and gritty riffs, tempos and rhythms shift around too to echo the confusion. It’s noise, tamed to inspire both emotion and energy in the listener.
“What we wanted to do with this track was create something which immediately jumped out and grabbed attention. The track starts with a hook that’s fast, impactful, frenetic and catchy, before taking the listener to unexpected places on a distorted journey of shifting tone and dynamics. Throughout we’re building anticipation, before unleashing a crescendo of noise, finally tying it back and returning unexpectedly to the original hook.”
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Beanie Tapes is excited to announce the return of Oxford electro-pop band Candy Says with a new EP You Are Beautiful; We Are All Beautiful, to be released 7 June 2019 on cassette and digital. The band released the EP offline in November 2018, selling it exclusively on cassette at gigs as a protest against streaming culture and to reward the fans who turn up to support live music. The first two limited edition cassette runs sold out in two weeks. The new online version (and the third edition of the cassette) includes an extra track “Beautiful Feeling”, which was penned for the recent Netflix film Close, reached the Top 100 in the international Shazam charts.
The first track to be released is Gravity, a sultry pop tune whose bold beats and vintage synths have drawn comparisons to Christine & the Queens, Art School Girlfriend and The Knife. Julia Walker (singer/guitarist/songwriter) explains: “I was feeling empty and trying to find a connection with myself and my relationship. I desperately wanted to write an upbeat song but I’m coming to realise that I have a melancholy inside that I can’t seem to suppress not matter how hard I try.”
Gravity’s dream-like video was directed by frequent Beanie Tapes collaborator Siobhan Cox and features Julia returning from a night out and falling apart behind closed doors, where she can finally let her guard down. “I’m a very emotional person but I’m good at avoiding how I truly feel. I suppose we all do that to a certain extent, it’s how we survive. When we accept that we feel lonely, that we miss someone, a warmth, a feeling, that’s when we learn about who we are. Sometimes these feelings are impossible to understand, you feel like you’re drifting, empty and no matter how hard you try to find something to help you connect, you just can’t. I like reflecting that disconnect with the mechanical production feel and then my voice and lyrics being the conduit to finding the connection”
Candy Says recently recruited drummer Silke Blansjaar of Oxford indie punk favourites Self Help and are on tour with the new 3-piece line-up. Despite the melancholy lyrics, the Candy Says live show is somehow always uplifting. Nightshift again: “It’s like they’re on a mission to brighten up the entire world, one infectious slice of pop at a time.”
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