Erik & the Worldly Savages - Verra Cruz

Erik & the Worldly Savages - Burn My Life.

Erik Mut is a man on a mission, having broken the shackles of Western society and trailblazed his own path of rebellion, adventure, leadership and musical passion. His powerful Folk Punk project Erik & the Worldly Savages musically and lyrically reflects his manifest philosophy of seeking personal freedom, cutting ties with the past, reprogramming your mind and embracing life wholeheartedly.

An expat since 2008, Erik left his home in Toronto, Canada at the age of 25 to let the cultures of the world wash over him, inspiring his life, work and music. Erik & the Worldly Savages formed in 2008 while Erik was in Belgrade, Serbia. While based in London and Belgrade, the band played over 250 shows across Europe with lineups of musicians from many countries. In 2016 he started Support Adventure, a company which gives remote jobs to expats and digital nomads, now with more than 160 staff members living in over 20 different countries, creating a business manifestation of the band’s message of trans culturalism.

"Burn My Life" comes with an accompanying music video. Using archival video and photos from his childhood and youth, Erik explores his peaceful upbring in Canada and how he sacrificed the idyllic “1st world” life behind to embrace a life of excitement abroad.

"I wrote this song recalling a time in 2008 when I was leaving my life in Canada and moving to Serbia to launch Worldly Savages, become a singer songwriter and take music seriously. I knew that I had to leave my life in Canada behind to find inspiration and possibility in a new country. At the time, somebody said that the hardest part was to get to the airport, where you could see all of your past as a finished chapter. This brings possibility to the future.

 

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Photograph - Jerry Kirkman

Verra Cruz - The World Is Crashing In.

British alt-rock infused trio Verra Cruz are back with their new single “The World Is Crashing In.” Verra Cruz form the British alt-rock infused musical project of trio Marc James (guitar/lap steel/vocals), Henry Cross (bass) & Jimmy Cooke (drums). Known for their hard-hitting anthems and signature lap steel guitar, of which they stumbled upon in a small boutique guitar shop in Memphis, TN, the three-piece band have been creating mighty, raucous tracks, laced with spiritual and personal themes. The band admits, "We’re not afraid to sing out about injustice in the world."

Following an incredible repertoire to date, the trio are back with their next single “The World Is Crashing In”, a gripping ode to love, loss and simply raw emotion.

Marc explains, “The World Is Crashing In” was written during the painful season of Henry's divorce. It was tough going for all of us to watch 2 people we loved dearly, separate. For me it brought up painful memories from my own childhood. The second verse was written from a time in my own childhood. Our family home had been flooded due to a burst pipe, it wrecked so much stuff including my mum's wedding dress that she had kept. It seemed like a dark and apt metaphor for the impending carnage of what was to come.”

Recorded in Germany with producer and engineer Udo Rinklin, their compelling chronicles pair sublimely with sonic abilities to produce a tune that mirrors their subject matter sublimely. They continue, “We re-recorded the drums at The Old Chapel Studios down the road from Jimmy. Bob & Jen at CatBeach hired Bryan Cook to mix and we loved his mix instantly!”

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Dayna Kurtz - Fe Salomon - Mazey Haze

Dayna Kurtz - Lulu and the Broadsides (album).

New Orleans music is for dancing. From King Oliver’s hot jazz to Big Freedia’s frantic bounce, whether the sounds are made for quick-stepping in a parade or swaying slow in your sweetheart’s arms, the common thread running through nearly all of it is that it’s made to move to: wiggle, shimmy, shake your hip and let your backbone slip.

With a wide-mouthed, window-rattling sound that stacks up solidly alongside the great blues shouters – Big Maybelle, Big Mama Thornton – Lulu and the Broadsides double-dog dare you not to get out there and move what the good Lord gave you. There’s the whomping “Pretty Good Love,” their scorching, primal take on Iggy Pop’s “I Need Somebody,“  the noirish strut of “You’re Trouble” and Dayna’s tender, aching sounds-like-a-classic soul-ballad “How Do I Stop.”

This is heart-thumping, pulse-pounding blues for both body and spirit, for joy and desire – scorching ballads for slow grinds side-by-side with red-hot movers to jump and jive to, with a nasty beat and a wild guitar. You’ll sweat through your dress, kick off your heels and get back on the dance floor barefoot - Alison Fensterstock.

 
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Fe Salomon - Interstate 10.

Worlds away from the twisted Middle England countryside Fe Salomon tapped into on earlier release “Quintessential England”, “Interstate 10” transports listeners to the endless metropolis of the United States.

Synced to majestic and widescreen arrangements cut straight from a Hollywood flick, “Interstate 10” finds Fe ruminating on her earliest experiences of touring America at the tender age of 19. A backing singer at the time, with no money and only a futile fake ID to make-do with, she remembers:

“”Interstate 10” connects far-flung events that occurred during my travels around the US, including having to escape from a violent manager who gambled all the money away in Vegas. The song was written with my old friend, producer Ru Cook, and it was originally envisioned as a country song.”

With a filmic narrative that deftly conjures the ceaseless stretches of the country’s great highways to the perils of pursuing the American dream, Fe’s dreamily despondent vocals add drama and intrigue, to a cinematic score that builds towards a grandiose, atmospheric climax.

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Mazey Haze - I Feel Like A Child.

Indie-rock rising talent Mazey Haze has announced her new EP 'Back to the Start' will be released on 7th April 2023 via LUSTRE. The EP announcement coincides with the release of its second single "I Feel Like a Child", quickly following a string of European tour dates supporting Paolo Nutini and Feng Suave.

On new single “I Feel Like a Child”, with its whimsical, bossa nova flavour and euphoric choruses, Mazey Haze finds release in accepting that it’s okay not to be on the same page as someone else. The song was written as she looked out her bedroom window... “The trees are really pretty in the summer, and you can see the sunshine and all the leaves moving”, she recalls. The opening verse follows her trying to articulate the scene through her own lens, finding delight in mundanity, just like a child would. “The song is about the fact that everyone has their own perception, and that’s fine. There’s no right or wrong. There’s no truth. But what’s important is keeping in touch with your imagination.”

The Amsterdam based artist's forthcoming second EP is reflective of this desire for simplicity: a collage of self-reflection, where thought, feeling and a powerful sense of place merge to make singular worlds that are entirely her own. Toning down the more ethereal, synthetic textures present on her debut EP, Mazey Haze's new material finds her rooting herself to the earth, together with a little less perfectionism. Organic, acoustic sounds, her love of French New Wave cinema, Italian film scores and 60s psych-rock informs the vein of nostalgia that runs through it, finding its way back to a distant world.

Speaking more on the lyrical inspiration of "I Feel Like a Child", Mazey Haze said: "I Feel Like a Child is a song about beautiful mundanity in comparison to superficial humanity. I think these two have an amazing contrast next to each other and they’re two things that have always fascinated me. I want to try and understand why I feel so wonderful and calm when I’m alone looking at some birds in the sky, leafy trees or listening to classical music. And why I feel overwhelmed and confused by so many people (including myself) so much. But mostly, I've figured out that there’s no sense in thinking about these things, but more so to act upon it and feel it."

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Bad Hammer - Emily Breeze - SOMOH

Bad Hammer - Away.

Berlin-based shadow-pop newcomers Bad Hammer have shared sombre love song, 'Away'. The track and accompanying video are the final pieces to be shared ahead of the release of their debut album, End Of An Age, which is due out this Friday. On their new album, the duo blend melancholic melodies with poignant guitar riffs, meandering along warm synth pads and subtly driving drum beats to dazzling effect. Thematically the songs that make up their forthcoming debut, End of an Age, are connected by referring to a state of being on hold, undetermined, between looking forwards and back, holding on to something and anticipating change.

Bad Hammer are Lisa Klinkhammer (synthesisers, vocals) and Johannes Badzura (guitar, drums, vocals). In 2019, they released their debut EP, Extended Play, and have been touring extensively throughout Europe ever since, opening for like-minded artists including Molly Nilson, Sean Nicholas Savage, Jaakko Eino Kalevi and more.

The album’s title was inspired by a photobook of the same name by British photographer Paul Graham. The images were taken at the turn of the millennium, not long before 9/11. “Somehow we felt that these pictures captured a feeling that we were also observing in our surroundings, some kind of coming of age on our own personal level as well as sensing a change to come on a much larger scale,” explains Badzura.

Bad Hammer's timeless pop songs take inspiration from the past. “We use analogue synths from the 80s and a drum machine from the early 90s so the sounds are kind of nostalgic but we like to subtly mix genres, like putting some dubby rim shots onto a pop beat,” says Klinkhammer. “On some of the songs we like to try and subvert traditional songwriting techniques by occasionally denying the ultimate climax. Or in some simply destroying it! Like the way our rather candy 60s song ‘Away’ is destroyed at the end with some guitar shreds,” she continues.

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Emily Breeze - The Bell.

The Bell is the third single from Emily's upcoming solo album Rapture due for release February 2023 which Emily describes as "A collection of coming-of (middle) age stories which celebrate flamboyant failure, excess and acceptance", recorded at Rockfield Studios with Stew Jackson (Massive Attack).

A story teller through and through, Emily describes the single as "a love song to nights spent in the local pub where you swing by for a quick pint after work. You are probably meeting a friend who is having a crisis, just one quick pint and then straight home. Your first glass is empty just as the conversation is getting to the important part but it's fine, two pints on a work night is totally fine.

Crisis friend leaves to put the kids to bed and just as you are putting your jacket on, in walks an old mate who you haven't seen for ages. Go on then, just a half, oh alright yeah a pint, you have a lot to catch up on. You crack jokes and reminisce in the sepia glow of the golden hour and it is fun. Real actual fun. You talk of good times and desperate times, you're getting sentimental now, this is some grade A lager fuelled nostalgia.

You stop counting drinks as it’s just started raining and somehow everyone you have ever known and loved is here. A Little Richard song comes on the stereo and you declare that soul and rock n roll are the highest forms of art. You seem to be making a speech and enter a heated debate with that weird guy who always sits at the bar as the quiet voice inside telling you to go home surrenders completely to the pub, the conversation, the good tunes, the cold beer and the old friends.  F it tomorrows gonna be alright.”

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SOMOH - I Know You Care.

London’s SOMOH impresses once more on her sophomore single ‘I Know You Care’ further cementing herself as an artist worth keeping an eye on throughout 2023 with her brilliant debut EP ‘A Plan To Get Home’ being a stunning piece of work out in the first quarter.

Speaking about this mellow, cathartic new single, SOMOH said “This song is about how people’s intentions don’t always reflect well in how they act towards you. I tend to just walk away from situations that hurt me, without holding the person accountable because I’m not the best at confrontation. At least I can get my anger out in writing songs!”

Last month SOMOH released her debut single ‘Anything’ which amassed lots of tastemaker support from the likes of BBC Radio 1, Clash & The Line Of Best to name but a  few.  Along with today’s new song, Anything will also make its way onto the tracklist of her debut EP ‘A Plan To Get Home.’ The song’s lyrics spoke of the meaning behind loving somebody deeply. 

She said “This song is about coming to terms with your love for someone & knowing that you’d do just about anything for them. It’s a scary but beautiful feeling to fall that deeply for a person.” The song was produced and mixed by Joel Johnston & Mack Jamieson, who has also produced and mixed the entire EP that will be released on Tiny Library Records.

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Nigel Wearne ft Lauren Housley - Welcome to the 21st! - That Old Quiet Lighthouse - Astro Yeti

Nigel Wearne ft Lauren Housley - To The Edge.

Ominous, poignant and mysterious; To The Edge is a potent lament of fate gone wrong. Two lovers by the riverside grappling with truth; that irrevocable moment when the past cannot be undone and everything changes. Why was the timing so wrong? “We needed truth / But now there ain’t time to heal”.

Wearne’s lush Gretsch guitar swathed with spooky Hammond organ, drums and double bass set the scene. Morricone-esque horns tug at the heartstrings, as Wearne and Housley croon and cast shadows across the tale in all its mystery. A soulful, minor-key slow-burn that skirts the fringes of jazz and 60s rock ‘n’ roll.

It was early 2019 in the bustling Arts Café in Montreal, Canada. Nigel and Lauren were both in town to showcase at Folk Alliance International and found themselves on camera as part of a documentary on theconference. Instantly hitting it off, they spoke about the future of folk music and their mutual admiration of John Prine, all the while sharing their dry wit. After reconnecting in New Orleans in early 2020, they got to work during the pandemic and the rest is in the tape-reel.

 

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Welcome to the 21st! - Dyatlov Pass (Album). 

As concept albums go this one is something very special. The subject matter is well chosen and intriguing to say the least, however it's the musical compositions and fabulous arrangements that really grabbed our attention. We will let the band fill you in on the rest.

Dyatlov Pass is an 8-song historical concept album by Welcome to the 21st! about the mysterious fate of eight college-age students and their guide who died while on a winter trek in the USSR's Ural Mountains in February 1959. The students were found over time after they disappeared, with varying injuries, and no one knows exactly what happened. It remains an open inquiry to this day. The theories as to what happened include an avalanche, a military test gone awry, and some even believe a malevolent supernatural intervention.

The album follows the 20-something nature travelers from meeting up before they left (Hang on to Yourself - Song 1), to the early part of their voyage through a peaceful winter environment (Sing to the Moon - Song 4), with hints of warnings along the way (Warning Signs - Song 3).

The middle of the album tracks the group’s eventual demise near a frozen mountain pass (Dyaltov Pass - Song 5 and Lost but Found - Song 6), to the search and recovery teams that looked for them (Boots in the Rain - Song 7) and who have sought for years to determine what actually happened (Misleading Clues - Song 8).

The album was written and conceived of by Bob Blumenfeld (Guitars, from Texas, US) and Touanda (Vocals, from Manchester, UK), who met online through AirGigs. The rest of the instrumentation was mainly performed by, and mixed and produced by, John Dufilho a multi-instrumentalist, drummer, and long-time established indie music producer from Dallas, Texas. Bob’s other bands include The Disappearing Act and Lowdog. John is best known for his work with his band Deathray Davies.

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That Old Quiet Lighthouse - Decade.

That Old Quiet Lighthouse are as much a familiar sound as they are distinctly unique - a statement only decipherable by listening to their debut EP “Dubious Beginnings”. Genre-wise, the most concise they could be after hours of intense deliberating was ‘Indie-singer-songwriter-math-folk’.

Big Thief, American Football, Fleet Foxes, all inspirations you’ll no doubt hear as they hit you right in the feels, lovers of the bittersweet so they are. Lead singer/bassist Ashley Garrod channels the keen insight of Pinegrove’s lyricism, balancing from-the-heart melodies with passionately intricate bass lines. Gabe, as the rhythmically tight, emotive backbone of their alternative sound, sits comfortably beneath the expressive and varied textures crafted by guitarist James Cooke.

Never ones to be satisfied, TOQL have a plethora of talented and unique musicians they constantly feature on tracks. Virtuosic jazz tenor horn player Nat Martin, to synth/violin mastermind Pip Rousiamanis, as well as cellists, flautists & singers who all front their own projects. ‘Decade’ is a somewhat-chaotic take on a ‘last goodbye’ kind of love song, penned in the first couple of months of lockdown. “Like many of us, I had had all of my work disappear over-night, and in the midst of the despair and the uncertainty I had turned to the bittersweet comfort blanket of reminiscing over my last relationship.”, says TOQL frontman Ashley Garrod.

“To me it represents both a coping mechanism for that time period, and a big leap forward in terms of our sound and identity. It’s as of yet the most experimental tune I’ve written”, he reveals. With ‘Decade’s’ spoken word delivery and hypnotic textures, That Old Quiet Lighthouse seek to strike a balance between outrageous and satisfyingly audible. A boundary-pushing cathartic track, ‘Decade’ aims to help soundtrack people’s lives and put memories into a new perspective.

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Astro Yeti - Box Wine.

Blending elements of funk, ska, and psychedelic-rock, new Conch Town Record signing AstroYeti return with their new single ‘Box Wine’, the third release to be taken from their upcoming debut album ‘Gnarly Gumlie’s Voodoo Van’.

The Key West trio’s latest offering is another punchy example of the bands lyrical wit and impeccable musical talents, this time flexing their versatility with a slow, dub and reggae infused heavy groove, self-diagnosed as "Tropical Space Funk". Vocalist and guitarist in the band, Mike King shares: “Box wine is a song about chasing your dreams no matter how hard the path might seem and feeling the weight and power of responsibility to  actualize those dreams."

Blending tight offbeat rhythms with layers of choppy, bright guitar lines, funky bass, splashes of organ and splashes of dub delay, the band once again create a track full of all the fun, energy and flair the band have become known for, both on their local live scene as well as across press and radio internationally. Topped with strikingly charismatic, husky, stylistic lead vocal, the track gradually builds its way to a fuzz drenched, gut busting guitar solo and explosive, euphoric climax.

Describing themselves as “a secret society of Space-Caper solving time crime fighters”, AstroYeti’s unique blend of trippy island rock tinged spacefunk is perfectly matched with their out of this world image - a band of colorful miscreant universal explorers making joyous music with bags of energy and musical depth.

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The Trouble Notes feat Carola Zerega - Little Tealeif - Thomas Truax

The Trouble Notes - Liberty Awaits feat Carola Zerega.

Liberty Awaits is an epic paying tribute to the great immigrant voyage. “The initial idea for the song came when trying to pay homage to my late grandfather, Leon English.” Says Bennet. “His ancestors fled hard times in Ireland and crossed the Atlantic in search of a better life. I wanted to highlight the importance of that journey to my very existence.”

While drawing influence from the Great Famine that led to the death and displacement of millions of Irish, the song is meant to tell a broader tale of the migration saga and transcontinental journey. Featuring on the track is Ecuadorian singer Carola Zarega, who along with the band, channeled her own experiences when contributing to the recording.

The track begins with a melancholic violin melody. Eerie string arrangements and the dreamy vocals of Carola Zarega create a contradictory soundscape that leaves the listener a feeling of hopeful despair. An upbeat folk dance coaxes the listener from the trance, representing a kind of “last hurrah” before the perilous journey across the sea. Carola’s vocals soon take on a new form, as the song breaks from the traditional dance and becomes more pensive. The band creates an emotional soundscape on top of which Carola’s vocals float above the waves, the melodies both apprehensive and courageous.

The journey begins to accelerate as the ship battles the elements before excitement builds at the eventual site of land. Suddenly the listener is brought full circle, with the reemergence of the folk dance, this time with more nuance. The voyagers have arrived in a new land but have not lost their traditions.

A big song, and a massive video earning the honour of sharing same title as the group’s up coming studio album. The video was filmed and edited by Martin Förster & Eric Schmidt @Centre Films GmbH in Radebeul, Germany. Filmed in Radebeul, DE at: Die Schmiede, on a field; in Lelystad, NL on the Admiraal Van Kinsbergen; in Kortrijk, BE at Mary's Irish Pub.

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Little Tealeif - Pedestal People.

Just released on indie label Not Saints, Little Tealeif’s new single ‘Pedestal People’ is a brooding earworm of a debut. Taken from the forthcoming EP ‘Charcoal’ (out 25th November) Little Tealeif blends elements of dance, rock, hip-hop, and pop with the mastery of producers like Mark Ronson or Rick Rubin.

Currently based in Kent, the multi-instrumentalist, producer, and lyricist’s music is easily relatable and tackles modern themes such as isolation, inadequacy, addiction, and self-belief; all delivered with perfectly crafted genre-bending skill.

Having discovered guitar bands in his early teens, Little Tealeif’s passion and fascination for all things music was instant and he quickly became a prolific songwriter. After spending time travelling in Australia in his 20s, Little Tealeif returned to the UK and founded his first band with dreams of making music his life. Sadly, alcohol and drugs were becoming a regular feature for Little Tealeif and he relocated to Paris in a desperate bid to reinvent himself. Finally, after a chaotic ten years, in which music barely featured, Little Tealeif returned to the UK and checked himself into rehab. Today, he is clean and sober, making music again, and loving life.

Speaking about the upcoming release of ‘Pedestal People’, Little Tealeif said: “Pedestal People was written about acquaintances who had their lives together and I was a little bit jealous of that. I’ve come to learn that nobody has their lives together and it’s just a perspective on that situation of comparing ourselves to each other.” When asked about what listeners will take from his music, Little Tealeif said: “I hope people take joy from it and that they can understand the layers and the messages in the songs. I hope they can also see that I’m a bit tongue in cheek, a bit jokey, and don’t take myself too seriously.”

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Thomas Truax - Everything's Going to Be All Right.

American singer-songwriter and inventor Thomas Truax has joined forces with infamous drummer Budgie for “Everything’s Going to Be All Right”. An eerie post-punk track that sees sharp spoken-word vocals, atmospheric guitar wobbles and reverb-drenched tremolo descend towards a catchy chorus that sees Truax bear his upbeat rock’n’roll teeth, “Everything’s Going to Be All Right” is taken from a new album ‘Dream Catching Songs’ (due January 2023).

Initially recorded in Berlin before being completed in Birmingham, the eclectic new track sees Truax - who has become known for his self-made musical contraptions - bring another of his inventions to life. Mother Superior is a motorised mechanical drum machine made almost entirely from recycled parts, and the machine features on the track alongside esteemed English drummer Budgie, best known for his work with Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Slits and The Creatures.

A bizarre and buoyant cut of outlandish beats and offbeat idiosyncrasies, Thomas Truax explains of the track: “The scene is a kitchen full of ‘beautiful losers’, crowded around a messy kitchen table, wrestling with current circumstances and celebrating comfort in friendship. There are references to William Shatner’s ‘real space flight’, Coco Chanel’s old flat, and characters from my fictional world ‘Wowtown’”.

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