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Tuesday's Two: Great News - Jess And The Bandits

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Great News - Secrets. Background promo - Hailing from the same hometown as pop prodigy Aurora, with the psychedelic swagger of Sweden’s YAST, Great News spread waves of hazy pop/rock with innate Nordic nous. Acid-drenched ‘Secrets’ follows back-to-back singles 'Love Her’ and ‘Diamonds’; preceded by nonchalant debut cut ‘The Blind’ – an effort applauded in native Norway, resulting in a legendary sold out debut concert in one of Bergen's most popular music venues and landing the band in multiple “Ones To Watch 2016” lists. “Secrets is about the feeling you get when you can’t get what you want, and being unable to tell anyone about it,” explains vocalist and guitarist Even Kjelby. “Sometimes it’s just really unfair. It builds up inside, and it becomes a part of you. A young, naive mind being coloured by different events, good or bad,” he says. Great News – also consisting Ole Einarsen (bass) and Lars Platou (drums) – formed on a kindred whim of playing as many gigs as pos

Leap Year Delights: Kit - Reverieme

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Kit - How Hard. Background promo - Kit returns with her second single, “How Hard”, following the success of her last. “Goodbye”, released in June 2015, was spun on triple j Good Nights, 2015 with Richard Kingsmill and Home & Hosed with Dom Alessio. It featured for 2 weeks in the AMRAP charts, reaching number 3 overall, and held the number 1 spot on triple j unearthed for 3 weeks.  “How Hard” being released this February via Marshmallow Pavement Records is a R&B-infused, pulsing track, characterised by the undeniable strength of Kate Watt’s vocals. Finding inspiration to create the song through retelling the experiences of those closest to her, Kate found catharsis of her own.  “The track originated from a drunken night with a best mate, and her experiences of never-ending heartbreak with an on- again-off-again partner. I wanted so badly to tell her to walk away, but I could see how much she loved this person. I used the words of a poem she shared with me to fuel the song

Baskerville Jones - So Right (From The Forthcoming EP Mile 1)

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Baskerville Jones - So Right. Background bio - Born in Nashville, Tennessee, soul-singing Baskerville Jones left her hometown and moved to Los Angeles to pursue her musical aspirations.  She began gaining attention doing background vocals for prominent artists and touring and performing with seven-member ensemble The Rebirth, all the while forming musical partnerships that landed her on stage and screen nationally and internationally. In 2012 she was featured on the single "Born to Flow" from Morehouse Records recording artist Groove Junkies, which made the Top 20 on Soulful House Music Charts. As a lead vocalist of the soul, jazz & funk fusion band The Rebirth, Baskerville's vocal contributions are interwoven in the band's sophomore album "Being Thru the Eyes of a Child." Their single "This is Coming To?" landed in the top 5 of UK Soul Charts, which kicked off the success overseas of the album. Over time, she has acquired a slew of cred

Quality Not Quantity: Jessica Rotter - Em George - Hannah Lou Clark

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Jessica Rotter - Pray For Rain. Background words - Jessica Rotter is able to transcend creative boundaries and defy what's expected of a modern female musician. The songstress' voice has been heard across multiple genres, from movies, TV shows and commercials to backing vocals and collaborations with other artists—all in addition to her original songs. The list of artists she has worked with reads like a who's who of the music industry today: Daft Punk, Carole King, Alicia Keys, Sam Smith, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, and others. Rotter's family roots are steeped in music, with her grandfather writing songs for Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. With this background, Rotter describes herself as a "musical storyteller" with classical training from Pepperdine University in opera, musical theatre, and directing for theatre and film. She is just as comfortable using her voice in a major feature film (credits include Pitch Perfect 1 & 2 and Frozen) as she is p

Alternative Take: Kauf - Juke Jaxon

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Kauf - Through The Yard. Background promo - If you've ever needed a soundtrack to your existential crisis, Kauf has made exactly that.  Who hasn't pondered the existence of God or the meaning of life while going full throttle on the dance floor at Berghain? Kauf has achieved the nearly impossible feat of making music rooted in a dance aesthetic but that is also lyrically deep.  There just aren't that many records out there that could work in a club and also touch on emotional conflicts with your family and society at large. The project of Ronald Kaufman, Kauf took shape after moving back to his birthplace of Los Angeles.  He self-released his first single in 2011 - "Relocate" b/w "When You're Out," which quickly found its way into the hands of Dan Whitford of Cut Copy who released the "As Much Again" EP on his own Cutters Records. After the dissolution of his early experimental rock bands spurned the dive into electronic production an

Gentle Friday: Sorority Noise - Those Pretty Wrongs

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Sorority Noise - Either Way. Background promo - Ahead of the band’s first ever UK dates, headlining and in support of Modern Baseball, Sorority Noise announce a new EP for Topshelf Records, “It Kindly Stopped For Me”, the follow-up to their critically acclaimed 2015 album “Joy, Departed”. The EP was recorded and produced by the band with exclusive artwork from Mitch Wojcik. The intimate first song from the EP, “Either Way”, is available to stream now. Frontman Cam Boucher said the following of the track: “I wrote this song in our van outside of chain reaction in Anaheim, ca. I had found out I lost another friend a few days previous and was having a difficult time thinking about how I had made positive strides in dealing with my mental health but hadn't been able to help friends around me that I didn't know we're suffering from the same thing.” 'Either Way' is a soft acoustic number with calm vocals and harmonies. Keyboards add to the lilting melody, in what i

Wednesday Double: Jaye Bartell - Mike Hill

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Jaye Bartell - Tuesdays. Background promo - Jaye Bartell's move to Brooklyn, NY in 2013, as well as the work of Spalding Gray and Eileen Myles, heavily influence the content presented on his latest record, Light Enough. In his own words, "Resettlement is an implicit theme in much of the writing, and the process of making the album itself was an act of resettlement, finding out where I lived as a means of coming to live there."  Bartell spent about a year secluded in his Greenpoint bedroom, piecing together the intricate tunes and gentle melodies that furnish his new record. Originally from from Massachusetts, Jaye Bartell laid the groundwork for his music career after relocating to Asheville, NC in the early 2000's. During this time, he began to play music among friends, parallel to his poetry and other writing endeavours, which included a reading/performance series and a small magazine. After relocating, again, to Buffalo, NY in 2006, Jaye joined up with the p

Quality Not Quantity: Lecia Louise - Stratus - Migrant Kids

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Lecia Louise - Shock Me. Background promo - “Shock Me” is the brand new single from Brisbane’s Lecia Louise,  just released ahead of her east-coast launch shows later this month. Since her musical beginnings in 2005 with the release of her debut EP ‘Heaven or Hell’, Lecia Louise has been a force to be reckoned with. Lecia has an impressive touring history that has seen the award-winning guitarist/singer/songwriter travel the four corners of the globe since 2006 performing to audiences throughout The UK, Europe, Abi Dhabi, Dubai, Rome, Singapore, New Zealand and Hong Kong. On February 19th, Lecia released her first new single in two years titled “Shock Me” which continues to showcase her upbeat guitar laden, rock/pop offering. “The song is about a man who ‘trades in’ his long term girlfriend for an 'updated model, a more edgier version',” says Lecia. “But in the end she doesn't actually make him any happier”. The track, produced and mixed by Jeff Lovejoy in Blackb

Death Cab for Cutie - Live at Arvikafestivalen 5th July 2008 (IA)

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From the Internet Archive (IA) this is Death Cab for Cutie live at the Arvikafestivalen back on the 5th July 2008. Arvika Festival was a music festival that took place in Arvika, Sweden every year from 1992-2010 around mid- July. The event ceased when the organisers went bust. From the ever 'reasonably' reliable Wikipedia we are told - Death Cab for Cutie is an American alternative rock band, formed in Bellingham, Washington in 1997. The band comprises Ben Gibbard (vocals, guitar, piano), Nick Harmer (bass) and Jason McGerr (drums). In 2014, founding guitarist and producer Chris Walla announced that he would be departing from the band after recording their eighth studio album, Kintsugi. The band was originally a solo project by Ben Gibbard, when he released the demo album, You Can Play These Songs with Chords, to positive reception. This led to a record deal with Barsuk Records. Gibbard decided to expand the project into a complete band, releasing their debut album Somethi