Jesse D’Kora - The Starlings - Dunlap & Mabe - Datura

Jesse D’Kora - Fourth Day of November.

Background from Jesse: My name is Jesse D’Kora and I write dream pop music with some beachy vibes. The style is inherently lofi as I also write, record, mix and master all of the music in my spare bedroom in Salford (UK). I have embarked on a musical journey this year whereby I am going to release a single every month, then with thoughts of an album in May 2023.

Fourth Day of November, the first song in this journey, is written about the anticipation of moving from one place to another. It conveys the blend of nervousness and excitement that inevitably comes with a new beginning. The connotations that align with my fresh start on the road to an album seemed to fit perfectly.

Musically, it's a revert back to the style created previously in Morning Light and Far From Home. After a short musical detour at the end of last year, I want to get back to writing songs that make you feel warm and nostalgic.

==========================================================================

The Starlings - Just Come Home.

The Starlings today have released their new single ‘Just Come Home’. This is the first single of their upcoming album which will be released in May 2022. The Starlings, better known as Tom Dice en Kato Callebaut, are two singer-songwriters who join forces and share their passion for music and for each other. After they where both solo-candidates for X-Factor and Idols, The Starlings were part of ‘Liefde voor Muziek’, a very popular TV show in Belgium (and the Netherlands). This did not go unnoticed, as they achieved several gold records for the songs used in the TV program. With the release of ‘Just Come Home’ Tom and Kato are now ready to release their new album. On February 13 the will present their new music in the Lotto Arena in Antwerp.

Tom and Kato explain about their new single: ‘'Just Come Home' is about being honest without any filters. Admitting that life and relationships can be hard. But looking forward to the moment you come back to yourself, home. Getting up after you've fallen, trying to break through the wall of negativity. The future holds no promises, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't keep going, let alone fear what's to come. People are strong.”

They stand for rootsy pop music with a great love for harmonies. Music lovers could witness this for the first time in a Belgian tv show called “Liefde Voor Muziek”, in which they performed enchanting versions and brought tears of emotion to many living rooms. The reactions from existing and new fans were simply overwhelming. They received golden awards for single 'Little Submarine' and debut album "Don't Look Back”. Since then, they are among the most talented musicians in Belgium. 

For their second album, Dice and Callebaut flew to Norway where Tom wanted to share his love for the country with Kato. It worked. The record has a great positivity and a sound that can only be linked to The Starlings. The music and band pull you like no other into their own world and you will regret having to leave after listening to it . Fortunately, there is such a thing as a repeat button.

First single “Just Come Home” is a recognizable Starlings sound. The song makes it hard not to get emotional. A confirmation of how we got to know them. A lovely melancholy.

 

==========================================================================

Dunlap & Mabe - Sit and Watch It Rain.

Jack Dunlap, "Sit and Watch it Rain is a classic heartbreak song. A man tore down by losing his love, he can only find peace and satisfaction when it’s raining. I also use rain as a metaphor for drinking, so this is also a song about how loneliness and desperation can lead to unhealthy habits and addiction."

 The video was filmed by Jack Dunlap and Robert Mabe. It was filmed at an abandoned farmhouse at Capon Crossing Farm in Hampshire County, WV. Jack Dunlap, Robert Mabe, Alex Kimble, and Mason Wright appear in the video. Valerie Smith from Bell Buckle Records edited the footage.

Jack Dunlap & Robert Mabe have been touring the country together since 2019; though collectively have performed and recorded with the likes of Larry Keel, Gina Furtado, Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike, Scythian, Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley, Bud’s Collective, The Fly Birds, Dry Mill Road, Old Town Flood, Shannon Bielski & Moonlight Drive, Tim, and Savannah Finch and The Eastman Stringband, Lonesome Highway, Circa Blue, and Jakobs Ferry Stragglers, to name a few.

They have also graced prestigious stages such as The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, Carnegie Hall in New York City, Lied Center for Performing Arts in Lincoln, Nebraska, The Hamilton in Washington, DC, and Forbes Center for the Performing Arts in Harrisonburg, VA. Both masters of their instruments, they play a mix of original tunes, classic bluegrass numbers, jazz favorites and covers anyone would recognize. With roots planted firmly in bluegrass, they stretch their sound in ways that all audiences will enjoy and leave the performance wanting more.


==========================================================================

Photo - Jana Divis

Datura - Phantasma.

Pacific Northwest post-punk trio, DATURA, expand on the tense, synth-heavy sound their first two EPs with their new full-length, Arcano Chemical, which sees release on Sell The Heart Records on January 27, 2022.

Recorded in their hometown of Wenatchee, Washington, and mastered by Seattle-based recording engineer and musician TAD Doyle, the album highlights the band’s range of emotion and stylistic variety, which White Light // White Heat calls, "goth-tinged, compelling, energetic and melodic dark post-punk influenced by '80s greats like The Cure, The Misfits, Echo and the Bunnymen, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Chameleons.“

After finding their show calendar eradicated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the band locked down during the winter of 2020 to craft a pensive collection of songs that tells stories of ghosts, nightmares, isolation, love and death.

 


==========================================================================

Sarah McQuaid - Karen Myatt - Blake Dagley

Sarah McQuaid - The Tug Of The Moon

Today a new video for “The Tug Of The Moon (The St Buryan Sessions)” has been shared. Sarah tells us "I was inspired to write it by the “leap second” that we had to add to the New Year’s Eve countdown back in 2016, in order to compensate for the slowing of the earth’s rotation caused by the moon’s gravitational pull."

As with the rest of the album, the track was filmed by Cornish filmmaker Mawgan Lewis and second cameraman John Crooks as it was being recorded live in St Buryan Church.

Born out of the pandemic, The St Buryan Sessions is the sixth solo album by award-winning multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter Sarah McQuaid, and is her most powerful and emotive offering yet.

The album had its genesis in the spring of 2020, when Sarah’s gigs and tours were cancelled due to COVID-19. Thanks to a successful crowdfunding campaign, she was able to finance a live solo recording(sans audience) in the lovely medieval church of St Buryan, not far from her home in rural West Cornwall.

==========================================================================

Karen Myatt - Goodnite.

Canadian songstress Karen Myatt has released the second single/video from her sophomore album Femoir. Goodnite is the second in a series of singles/lyric videos to roll-out over the coming months.

“As we bid adieu to 2021, Goodnite is a fitting and timely au revoir; bon nuit, bons rêves” shares Myatt. “A gentle and haunting lullaby to remind us that drifting off to dreams brings relief during troubling times.”

Co-written by Myatt and Montreal composer J. Rimbaudelaire, Goodnite is one of several original compositions to appear on the new recording. Femoir’s 14 songs are a fusion of soul, rock, jazz, worldbeat, and more.

The album was tracked at The Sonic Temple Recording Studio in Halifax, NS and engineered by Darren van Niekerk. It was mixed and mastered by Christian St. Germain at Studio 360 in Montreal, QC.

Some of Canada’s most renowned musicians appear on the new recording, including Chris Mitchell (saxophone), Matt Myer (trumpet), Lisa MacDougall (keyboards), Adam Fine (bass), Geoff Arsenault (drums), Shimon Walt (cello) and Jennifer Jones (violin).

 

==========================================================================

Blake Dagley - Ain't Going Down Like This.

Why Travel When Blake Dagley’s “The Nashville Sessions” Takes You Straight to Tennessee. Take a look inside the emotional smash debut EP that’s sure to make any music lover feel something

What better way to end 2021 than to reflect on the previous few years that we’ve all experienced? After arguably the most emotional time our world has ever seen in decades, Dallas Based singer-songwriter, Blake Dagley, turned all those emotions and struggles with social and emotional anxiety into head-turning music that’s sure to make you think all while singing along to his undeniably ear-catching melodies and relatable lyrics.

“The Nashville Sessions” was recorded with Producer Dean Miller at Sound Emporium Studios & OMNIsound Studios in Nashville, Tennessee. The EP contains 3 powerful, soulful/americana style songs that tug at all the heartstrings. Between Ain’t Going Down Like This, Paradox, and Milly, and with themes like doubt, anxiety, choice, and hope listeners are sure to relate to the lyrics in a variety of ways.

Dagley plans to promote his first EP “The Nashville Sessions” with a whole new visual element. Dagley will release three videos in support of the new EP to gain listener recognition and attraction while increasing his fan base.

"Ain’t Going Down Like This" is a song written to my anxiety and insecurities. After the invitation to come to Nashville, my anxiety came creeping in, and I began to doubt the reality of the moment. I sat down on my back porch (which is my happy place) and began to write a song in response to the doubts and fears that I was feeling. Ain’t Going Down This is a song for anyone with doubts, fears, and anxiety and wants to punch it in the face and tell it; you don’t control me.

 

==========================================================================

Back Next Week

We are taking a short break to recharge our batteries. Hopefully see you early in 2022. Have fun & stay safe & well!

Aura Blaze - Richard James Simpson

Aura Blaze - Open-Mindedness (E.P).

Award-winning Psychedelic Rock/Dream Pop artist Aura Blaze continues his kaleidoscopic musical and philosophical evolution on the illuminating new 3-song EP "Open-Mindedness". Aura Blaze is the brainchild of New Jersey-based musician Rhode Rachel, who writes, records and produces everything. This EP, out on the auspicious day of December 24, contains two new originals as well as is a cover of The Charlatans (“The Only One I Know”).

About "Open-Mindedness" from the Artist: Featuring 3 tracks packed with blazing energy, neon color, and a swirling galaxy of texture and innovative sound design, I can say with confidence that the Open-Mindedness EP is one for the record books.

Let the cover art speak for itself as a glimpse into the atmosphere of this release, with the sanctity of transcendental introspection blossoming radiantly through what Aldous Huxley would refer to as the “mind’s antipodes,” or the regions of the mind that one may reach through intense meditation or psychedelic exploration. It is an honor to offer Open-Mindedness as an aural adjuvant towards a deeper discovery of self, acting as a cosmic catalyst for elevated consciousness.

Originally intended as an early summer release, the recording process has been met with no shortage of setbacks, including an external hard drive that decided to crash at a significantly inopportune time during production. Thankfully, I was able to revive the recording sessions and I am happy to finally bring this EP to life amidst the adversity that challenged its creation.

Between the aforementioned crisis, changing careers, and buying my first home, it has certainly been a busy and turbulent year but eternal doth the ardent spirit rise, breaching heights unimagined, in the direction of divinity made manifest.

Suffice it to say, the culmination of the conquering of these respective trials and tribulations have refined the essence of the Open-Mindedness EP, shaping it into the strongest Aura Blaze release to date with respect to both production value and unbridled aesthetic. I am overjoyed at the prospect of finally being able to share these tracks with you. I thank all of you for your continued support as well as your patience in the interim. Rest assured the wait shall be worth it.

==========================================================================

Richard James Simpson - Love Becomes a Stranger.

The first single off of Richard James Simpson's album "Sugar The Pill" is "Love Becomes a Stranger."  The song is filled with voluptuous strings, haunting, moody guitar, and lush vocals. The track is the last song on the album and it proposes the thought of love becoming a stranger in our world. It details a world of lying, guilt, distance, words not spoken, and the hope that love will ultimately not evaporate and leave us. The song features such musicians as Don Bolles on drums, who was in the seminal punk band The Germs; the exquisite string work from Katlin Wolfberg; bold bass by Wilton that brings to mind shades of Jaco Pastorius; all produced by Paul Roessler of The Screamers and Nina Hagen fame. Furthermore, the video features the outstanding ethereal and surreal footage from today's artist Grebo Gray.

Richard James Simpson's third solo album, 'Sugar The Pill', features such notable OG punk/rock icons as Jill Emery (Mazzy Star, Hole); Don Bolles (The Germs); Dustin Boyer (John Cale); Paul Roessler (The Screamers, Twisted Roots, Nina Hagen); and Geza X (Geza X and the Mommymen, The Deadbeats) - as well as these new top artists on the scene today: Grebo Gray, Wilton and Kaitlin Wolfberg. 'Sugar The Pill' offers mesmerizing, ethereal, powerful songs that evoke a unique sonic experience.

This hypnotic album harkens back to such albums as David Bowie's 'Heroes', incorporating experimental vignettes and songs with efficacious, hard-hitting tracks reminiscent of such acts as Bauhaus, Killing Joke, Laura Nyro, Roxy Music, Siouxsie and The Banshees, and Radiohead.

While leaning toward the experimental side, these mood pieces are fashioned in the Euro-American style for which Simpson is known: "The Wizard of Oz meets Eno" as the iconic Geza X once described Simpson.

The theme of the album is NOW. It is about a loss of love, the losspop of freedom and humanity, charged with the intention of bringing a voice to an era that is ready to awaken and squelch any encroachment on the fight for human dignity and rights. As the artist puts it, "If you don't think something is wrong, it is time to find your mind".

==========================================================================

Midnight Clover - Misty Blues - Mojow

Midnight Clover - FLoW (Album).

Midnight Clover is an up-and-coming alternative rock band who consider themselves to be innovators in their genre. Brimming with talent, Midnight Clover’s alternative rock provides a refined version of the popular genre, as if their music is an ode to the classics while simultaneously being full of innovation. With their second studio album titled ‘FloW’, Midnight Clover has certainly exceeded the expectations of fans worldwide. 

Midnight Clover formed around 7 years ago when guitarist Johnie Stomp encouraged Amber ‘Clover’ Corby to sing. She taught herself how to structure songs and even helped recruit the band bassist Roman, and band drummer Jimmie. The rest is history. 

The Las Vegas-based band released their debut record, Turner, in 2016, and have previously also released two EP’s titled ‘Lovage’ and ‘Never Bring Me Down’. ‘FloW’ features eight tracks and was recorded at June Audio Recording Studios in Provo, UT. 

Gaining inspiration from influential bands like Led Zeppelin, Midnight Clover aims to harness the lyricism that would propel them to greater heights. Such lyricism can certainly be appreciated in the music video ‘Danny’, their first single off ‘FloW’. The video celebrates the ‘80s, and adds effects of dragons and various psychedelic backgrounds as the icing on the cake.

==========================================================================

Misty Blues - Freight Car (feat. Justin Johnson).

2019 International Blues Challenge finalist, Misty Blues, is led by lead singer/band founder Gina Coleman. The band is based out of Berkshire County, Massachusetts playing original and traditional blues with hints of jazz, soul, funk and tent revival gospel since 1999. The band has recorded with Charles Neville and Joe Louis Walker, and opened for contemporary blues artists like Tab Benoit, Room Full Of Blues, John Primer, Albert Cummings and Michael Powers. 

Misty Blues performs extensively throughout New England and has toured New York City, Harrisburg, Mishawaka, Knoxville, Birmingham, Montgomery, Muscle Shoals, Clarksdale, Memphis, New Orleans and Ontario Canada. The band recently earned an Independent Blues Music Award nomination for the best contemporary blues song. The band’s original recordings have wide radio airplay in the U.S. and UK.

In the summer of 1999 Gina Coleman was performing in the Williamstown Theatre Festival production of A Raisin In The Sun. That production featured the acting of Ruben Santiago Hudson, Viola Davis, Kimberly Elise and Gloria Foster. Coleman was cast as a gospel singer. Nearing the end of the show’s run, Ruben Santiago Hudson gave Coleman a cd collection entitled Men Are Like Streetcars. He told her that her voice was well suited for the blues and urged her to take that next musical direction. Coleman heeded his advance, and after 20 years, Misty Blues has stood the test of time.

==========================================================================

Mojow - Tree Little Queen / Magic Soul Music.

Armed by a symphony of songs melding and marrying together seamlessly, eclectic musical trio MOJOW is sending ripples in Rock, Soul, and Funk genres.

Chateau Landon, IDF/Pays de Loire, France — December 3rd, 2021-Driven to rock the world of listeners of Soul, Funk, and Hard Rock, MOJOW marks their return into the music industry, with yet another scintillating single. With their exciting original EP titled, “MAGIC SOUL MUSIC”, the band mixes together rhythms and beats seamlessly. With their characteristic use of the Baryton sax, MOJOW includes the musical prowess of the band’s lead vocalist and guitarist Nanex Crooner, complemented by Jean-François Guédon (Youl) on drums and Benjamin (Benjamin Kurpisz) on baritone saxophone, spinning magical rhythmic combinations. “MAGIC SOUL MUSIC” forms the band’s third 5-track EP, characterized by all that the French trio is good at and more. 

On the crossroads of Rock, Funk, and Soul, “MAGIC SOUL MUSIC” marks the culmination of a journey that began in 2016, when Alex (Nanex crooner) offered Benjamin and Youl to try a new musical experience in a trio. The band’s musical compositions feature drums and vocals accompanied by the baritone saxophone which makes the bassline.

Taking on 2021 with their tantalizing and immersive Hard Rock music with the song called ROBOT, MOJOW’s latest release dropped on June 21, 2021, and highlights the band at their very best. Having already captured audiences at more than 30 gigs in France, the group is now looking forward to furnishing their EP’s physical and online album release with international digital distribution, radio, web, satellite broadcasts, etc.

“With Mojow you have something that belongs to you because there is a skillful mix of influences so that we say to ourselves: here it makes me think of such and such a group … well the next bridge we go back to another one which has chosen we do not expect”, says the journalist of radio france regarding their music.

==========================================================================