Hunting have just shared 'Whatever You Need'. It's a mixture of alt and electro rock with a smooth flowing vibe and plenty of upbeat energy.
From Ruthie we have 'The Tide' ahead of her debut EP ‘Universal Heartbreak Now’ which follows in November. It's beautiful and melodic pop that is gorgeously arranged.
Understated and dreamy psych rock comes our way in the form of 'I Love My Friends' by Martian Subculture. It's also quite hypnotic.
We have a music video from Tokyo Tea Room for 'Things Are Changing'. The psych pop bands song is gentle and dreamy with the vocals down in the mix, sounding distant which just adds to the track.
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Hunting - Whatever You Need.
"Whatever You Need" is about meeting someone you like so much you’d do anything to make them happier, give up anything to make their life better.
"For me, I met that person right before leaving town to live in Europe for two months to write songs and try to catch Bowie’s late 70’s Berlin vibe. Though, all the while I felt like it’d be way more fun if she was there tripping around with me. The lyrics ‘We’ll get high on our Fame, all stoned on our vain’ is a reference to what it must have been like to be Bowie and Iggy Pop lighting up that city."
Hunting is barely recognizable as the same band that released a debut album five years ago: it’s gone from a solo project to a trio, from folk to catchy electro-rock, and from wistful melancholy to buoyant exuberance. All this can be heard on the group’s sophomore album, Whatever You Need, due out in summer 2019 via Nevado Music.
Songwriter-producer Bradley Ferguson initially intended the album as a quick follow-up to 2014’s rootsy Hunting LP, but the initial sessions stalled. Instead, Bradley put Hunting on the back burner: he produced an electro-pop LP for Vancouver vocalist Jessicka, and acted as a bassist-for-hire in an array of projects.
Hunting eventually got back on track with the addition of two new members: Jessicka came on board as a full-time backing vocalist, while songwriter Dustin Bentall joined as a co-frontman. “We went back and started the album from scratch,” Bradley remembers. “We decided to approach it in a more organic way. I had been editing it to pop perfection — but then we breathed new life into it and it came together really quickly.”
Dustin Bentall is a well-travelled troubadour in his own right, and he contributed five of his own songs to the recording sessions at Afterlife Studios. Dustin says, “I had this batch of songs that weren’t really going to fit my next record, and I realized they worked seamlessly with Hunting.”
Bradley and Dustin’s songs mesh perfectly on Whatever You Need, tied together by pillowy vintage synth pads and surging rock rhythms. Returning collaborator John Raham (Destroyer) acted as engineer as well as drummer, Paul Rigby (Neko Case) added additional guitars, and Mother Mother’s Ryan Guldemond co-wrote a handful of tracks.
Blessed with the ability to conjure challenging emotions into melodic and engaging pop, the hotly-tipped Ruthie shares her brand new single ‘The Tide’. It’s the first track to preview her debut EP ‘Universal Heartbreak Now’ which follows on November 22nd. It follows her three independently released singles ‘Land of My Lover’, ‘Spirit Now Moves’ and ‘What Kind of Woman’.
With ‘The Tide’, Ruthie expresses bittersweet feelings with a sweeping beauty that elevates the mood of the moment. Set to a dreamy backdrop of modern pop and country-tinged folk, it drives to a crescendo in which her multi-layered vocal harmonies surge to create a choral wall-of-sound. Ruthie’s style echoes the likes of Angel Olsen and Jenny Lewis back to Fleetwood Mac and Joni Mitchell, while her distinctively English accent adds a unique touch.
“‘The Tide’ is another banger about feeling terrible,” says Ruthie. “It’s about sitting in my room feeling lonely, like the sea had just spat me out onto a deserted beach. It’s definitely melodramatic and now I can’t remember ever feeling that way, but that’s the alchemy of songwriting: you can crystalize a feeling that becomes an object to look at rather than an overwhelming tidal wave. I also wanted to echo a very classic country music narrative of ‘Once I had everything, but now I’ve lost everything.’”
The four-track ‘Universal Heartbreak Now’ EP represents the biggest statement of Ruthie’s career to date. Eoin Loveless of Drenge contributes haunting duet vocals and psychedelic flavoured guitar to ‘No One On This Earth’, while all four tracks were mixed by Chris Coady (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Future Islands). The songs were all written with Ruthie’s creative collaborator Ben Lewis.
Ruthie’s timeless, lovelorn songwriting has enamoured a growing following. She’s gained wide-ranging airplay including Radio 1, Beats 1, 6 Music and BBC Introducing at home along with daytime spins at triple j and double j in Australia and New Zealand. Key playlist adds include Spotify’s New Music Friday UK, Amazon’s Fresh Indie plus lists curated by NME, Dazed and DIY. Add Nylon and Wonderland to an ever-growing range of backers and it’s clear that Ruthie is on the way up.
Ruthie started playing her debut headline set with a homecoming show at Hyde Park Book Club in Leeds before impressing at the Bluedot and Deer Shed festivals. She has also supported new Domino artist Sasami plus Anna St. Louis and Barrie. Further live dates:
12th Oct – Tenement Trail, Glasgow
19th October – SWN Festival, Cardiff
30th November – All Dayer with The Magic Gang, Leeds.
"I Love My Friends was written in the midst of a lot of my friends and I growing up really fast for many different reasons.
It’s basically a love letter to all those who have kept me occupied with dumb s throughout long periods of very very dull s. There’s also a line in their about a friend of mine naming her cat ‘Lofi’" -Martian Subculture
From his base in Ireland’s Limerick City, Martian Subculture creates leftfield, lo-fi psych rock. An eerie, restrained vocal is surrounded by kooky, comatose guitars on tracks that oscillate between themes of love, loneliness and interplanetary exploration.
Recorded alone in a bedroom studio, Martian Subculture introduces his latest single “I Love My Friends” as another invitation into a new sonic universe.
As life progresses, various pressures and influences, both internal and external start to pull you in a myriad directions, requiring choices to be made on a personal plane. Resolving yourself to an unyielding whole and accepting the best way to deal with these changes is the theme of hazy Canterbury psych-pop band Tokyo Tea Room’s mesmeric new single ‘Things Are Changing’. The sonics are reminiscent of bedroom-pop artist of today in MUNYA, Men I Trust or Inner Wave as well as taking cues from Tame Impala, DIIV and Mazzy Star.
Primary songwriter Daniel Elliot elaborates on the meaning behind the track: “‘Things Are Changing’ is about recognising yourself growing up, seeing yourself change and trying to find a balance. The lyrics are telling a story of someone discovering their own flaws, analysing them and moving forward.”
It’s a relatable theme, and has great synergy with the group’s approach to song-crafting and production. Deciding on a fresh start at the beginning of 2019, and realising how much their sound had matured, the band removed all their previous output from digital services, choosing indeed to move forward in their new sonic direction.
This bold approach however hasn’t stopped Tokyo Tea Room achieving success on a wider level including live slots alongside Wolf Alice and Super Furry Animals, acclaim on key tastemaker site The Line of Best Fit and spins on audio indie bible BBC 6 Music. As well as this they’re rapidly building cult following in the hazy corners of YouTube and Spotify, resulting in over one hundred thousand plays in six months on Spotify alone for the last two singles.
A key tenet of the band’s approach is their focus on aesthetic, which is strong and consistent throughout, and unique whilst holding a candle to the canon of psychedelic and shoegaze pioneers they take inspiration from. For this release, they have teamed up for a forthcoming music video with established Brighton-based visual artist InnerStrings, a well-known figure in the Psych scene who has previously been involved in events such as This Is Psych Fest, and this year’s Bella Union’s Great Escape Festival showcase.
Tokyo Tea Room are Daniel Elliot (Synths/Vocals), Ben Marshall (Bass), Beth Plumb (Vocals/Keys), Sam Teather (Drums), Ryan Debling (Guitar) and Graham Nunn (Guitar)
Hannah James has shared 'Canal Song' which is the first of ten tracks on her forthcoming 'The Woman and Her Words' album. Beyond Hanna's distinguishable and melodic vocals the album has an array of rich musical arrangements as a variety of creative avenues are explored. The often intriguing lyrics add even more to a highly credible and pleasing album.
A couple of months back we featured the debut song 'Need To Change' fromMagnapop ahead of their upcoming album 'The Circle is Round'. Today we get another taste of the album with 'Dog On The Door', where the bands deliver a vibrant and catchy alt rocker.
Sonny Winnebago has released 'Take Me For A Ride' a bright and uptempo pop song with Sonny's vocals rightly centre stage, supported by an equally melodic and pleasing musical backdrop.
Ahead of debut album 'Visitor' due next month Dominic Sen has released her final single 'Natural History'. We have already featured a couple of songs from the collection, and once again we have a beautifully arranged & very impressive piece, accompanied by a fine video.
Maddee returns for a third time this year with her brand new song release 'Wwy', a soulful and creatively arranged track and another absolute tease for next months six song E.P release.
We are always on the look out for creative and original music, so Skeleton Flower are very welcome and we have two music videos for 'My Double' and 'Fitcher's Bird' where imagination, art and great music come together superbly.
Atlanta-based, Arizona-born rock band, The Endangered Species round today's musical round up off with a unquestionably refined natural rocker entitled 'Magic Man'.
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Hannah James - Canal Song.
Innovative musician and dancer Hannah James and her most recent project The JigDoll Ensemble, announce the release of their impressive new album The Woman and Her Words on October 4th; and first single Canal Song has just been released.
Recorded in Hungary, at the prestigious music venue/studio Budapest Music Centre, the album hosts an international line-up of musicians - András Dés (Hungary – Percussion); Marti Tärn (Estonia – Bass Guitar); Kate Young (Scotland – Fiddle / Vocals); Toby Kuhn (France – Cello).
"I deliberately put together this band of extraordinary musicians because, at this time, I feel it's so important to keep international friendships strong. I have always felt European, not English, and this band is a celebration of that and an example of the great things that can emerge when people from different countries and backgrounds have the freedom to meet and work together". Hannah James.
One of the key figures in the revival of English percussive dance, Hannah is renowned as one of the best accordionists of the British Folk scene, her musicianship extends far beyond the tradition and flawlessly incorporates beautiful vocal-stylings with both classic and contemporary applications of English clog dance.
The new release is a celebration of ageing, gaining wisdom, and of the many women who have delivered essential truths along the way. Artist and puppeteer Katarina Cakova, based on Hannah's stories, created the physical form of 'the woman’, which appears on the album cover.
A previous collaborative project, Songs Of Separation, won the BBC Radio 2 Folk Award for Best Album in 2017; while Hannah's vocal trio Lady Maisery produced three critically acclaimed albums and was nominated for the Horizon Award at the BBC Folk Awards. Her most recent project began solo before becoming the JigDoll Ensemble, was acclaimed as 'the highlight of the festival' at the Folk Expo Manchester in late 2017, debuting to a standing ovation from professional delegates from across the world.
Magnapop’s new album, The Circle Is Round, is the Atlanta-based group’s debut release for HHBTM Records, and is their sixth album, coming nearly a decade after their previous record, 2009’s Chase Park. Prior to this, the group had a fruitful run during the Alternative Rock heyday of the mid-90s, finding critical acclaim with 1994’s Hotboxing (with single “Slowly, Slowly”) and 1996’s Rubbing Doesn’t Help, which featured their most beloved song, “Open The Door.” And although the phrase was an endearing joke courtesy of slacker film Singles, Magnapop were indeed “big in Belgium,” finding enduring success that has led them to visit the Benelux region numerous times over their three decade career. (They have a tour slated for the area this September.)
Yet let’s not think of it as a “comeback,” shall we? Magnapop never really went away, appearing on the live circuit in Europe sporadically since their last release. The seeds that would blossom into The Circle Is Round were planted in 2011. “We reunited in 2011 when bassist Shannon Mulvaney contacted us about playing a benefit for Criminal Records, a local record store,” says guitarist and songwriter Ruthie Morris. “Playing together was easy, but we knew we needed time together to play our old songs again. The more we played together, the more we realized we wanted to work on new material.”
The Circle Is Round was recorded at Furies Studios in Marietta, Georgia, and produced by the band and studio owner Ed Burdell—he worked with the band on one of their first recording sessions—the album came together quickly this past February. Furthermore, there’s a sense of the circular nature of existence at play, as a few of the songs are some of the band’s earliest. “’Change Your Hair’ was the very first song Linda and I ever wrote together, before there was a band,” says Morris. “Our drummer, David McNair, was the one who came up with the idea of recording it. At first it seemed like a crazy idea, but the more I listened to it, the more I thought it would be fun!” The album also includes two demos from a 1992 recording session, previously unheard until now. Longtime fans of the band will find much to love with The Circle Is Round, while new listeners will get a taste of what converted listeners way back when to become lifetime fans.
“During one of our recent tours of Benelux we were interviewed on a Belgian radio program,” says Morris. “We were talking about the four of us reuniting and coming back together as a band. The interviewer said something in Flemish and he translated it as "The circle is round" to describe our situation. At first it sounded kind of funny, but the more we thought about it, the more poignant and appropriate it seemed.” - Indeed.
Sonny Winnebago is the moniker of Welsh-Australian troubadour /musician Harvey Jones, who's spent the entirety of 2019 living out of his battered suitcase and beloved camper van, all whilst feeding other people's cats and dogs. He was born with hypermobility syndrome which allows him a heightened flexibility, creating a very dynamic and unusual performance style. His infectious music embodies a 'melody is king' approach to pop writing, drawing inspiration from 1970s figures Harry Nilsson & Cat Stevens.
Following a string of profiled support slots, including Michael Kiwanuka & Joel Baker, Sonny Winnebago will be releasing his anticipated debut single 'Take Me For A Ride'. It is one of four tracks he'll be releasing with the support of Welsh artist development scheme 'Forté Project', enlisting the skills of producer Charlie Francis (R.E.M, The High Llamas), featuring session musicians Davey Newington (Boy Azooga), Matt Evans (KEYS) and Steve Black (Sweet Baboo).
Harvey says that 'Take Me For A Ride' was written from a place of restlessness, following the event of a long-term friendship going south."It's a true story, and a relatable one too, with strong themes of detachment and self-empowerment" Backed up by an uptempo rhythm section and bright, choppy chords, 'Take Me For A Ride' ultimately engulfs the listener with feelings of summer abandonment and child-like joy.
‘Natural History’ is the final single from Dominic Sen's debut 'Visitor' out on October 18 on Roll Call Records. Chronicled in this song is protagonist Tal Naata’s experience of finding meaningful connection during a trip to the American Museum of Natural History following months of social isolation post-arrival on Earth. Her companion, a paleontology graduate student, transforms into something more as looking at objects from our distant past begins to lay out before her a future of endless possibilities.
“‘Natural History’ makes tactile the rush of a fantasy becoming reality -- the first few, intoxicating brushes of physical contact, a hypersensitivity to every single sensation” comments the albums’ author, Dominic Sen, a Galaxy M64 émigré who was drawn to Earth by our colourful pop culture, convinced they had a shot at Earthbound stardom.
But connection means vulnerability and vulnerability comes with a cost: “In this snapshot, Tal may be free falling enthusiastically into infatuation, but she still holds onto secrets and the fear that she will not be valued fully as an alien or, as she slowly learns from her terrestrial experiences, as a woman” explains Sen.
Dominic Sen's terrestrial debut is a space opera and thought experiment that tells the tale of Tal Naata, a biologically human female coming from a distant and socially progressive civilisation to study Earth. Taking Tal Naata’s story as their prism, Sen casts our own primitive ideas of gender, duality and social cohesion back at us through shimmering, crystalline pop that pays homage to our recent past.
Like Tal Naata, the album's creator Dominic Sen is themselves a visitor to Earth. The seventh and only surviving child of the supermassive black hole at the centre of “The Evil Eye Galaxy,” Sen drifted around space in limbo until intercepting the radio waves from Earth’s broadcasts during 1980’s and 1990’s.
‘Visitor’ will be released on Roll Call Records on October 18. It will be immediately available for pre-order, including as a limited edition LP in “Interstellar White” vinyl. Dominic Sen will play an album launch show in NYC on Oct 26 @ Trans-Pecos,
The Toronto-based artist, Maddee is today sharing the wonky funk of ‘WWY' - listen here. Taken from her forthcoming debut six-track EP, ’Red Mind’, which is due for release on October 17, 2019, the new cut finds the artist locking into oscillating grooves underneath syrupy electronic textures.
‘WWY’ - an acronym for ‘Where Were You’ - finds the 21-year-old artist collaborating with Louie Short to mine personal experiences once more, this time with Maddee turning attention to times of abandonment in close relationships. Speaking about the track she says: “‘WWY’ was written about a really bad night I had where I was seeking comfort and support from the person who I thought was supposed to be there for me and quickly found out that they weren't. I thought I needed their support and in the end, I had to learn how to provide that for myself.”
The latest cut to be taken from the EP further examines the overarching subject of the forthcoming collection, wrestling with the ramifications of a negative relationship and the emotions that Maddee felt throughout that period. From love to infatuation and naivety, the complex theme of love and emotion is further accentuated through the accompanying scarlet artwork.
Maddee cut her teeth initially with features on the ‘Colours EP’ from Toronto-based producer, Harrison - from here, she picked up slots opening for the likes of Lil’ Yachty, Willow Smith and Tennyson, alongside which she showcased across festivals including SXSW, NXNE and Field Trip. A pair of debut singles were released in 2017 (produced by Toronto’s Birthday Boy and Shagabond respectively), earning the buzz-building artist tips from tastemaker blogs, Majestic Casual and the attention of Red Bull Sound Select who handpicked her as one their spotlight artists.
Skeleton Flower’s debut album is a musical collection filled with gritty honesty, wild imagination, a generous sense of humor, and unleashed artistic expression. It is based on a new performance that is a semi-autobiographical exploration of a creative person’s struggle with identity, depression and the awakening of personal power.
The Stranger Recommended, Don’t Miss: “They've created a seven-song collection that takes indie rock to art school in the manner of St. Vincent, Dirty Projectors, and Deerhoof. Nishimura’s endearingly quirky voice comes off like a Japanese Joanna Newsom, and Nortness’s bass clarinet and saxophone lines sometimes skew the songs into chamber-jazz territory. However, Skeleton Flower's final two tracks—“The Red Shoes” and “Mirrored Sky”—hint at Björk's phantasmal electronic songcraft, and are all the more interesting for that.” –Dave Segal
“"Listen and watch after reading the fairy tale (or a synopsis of it), and it’s impossible not to be struck by how elegantly Nishimura’s visceral words metamorphose and compliment the source. The beauty of “Fitcher’s Bird” is that, as befits any great dark fairytale, enchantment and eeriness walk hand-in-hand. It’s an uneasy but irresistible path.” –Anthony James Kay, Artist Home
As with all of Degenerate Art Ensemble ’s work, Director Haruko Crow Nishimura draws on her own difficult and at times violent childhood which led to major breakdowns and years of depression. The work balances compelling supernatural narratives along with exploring how, through creativity, Crow was able to not only survive, but also share the fruits of her imagination with others and transform herself in the process.
The Skeleton Flower dance performance was shown as a work in progress in Bulgaria as part of the Spotlight USA Festival and premiered in Seattle in March of 2019 and they are excited to debut the Skeleton Flower band in September.
Atlanta-based, Arizona-born rock band, The Endangered Species, tell a tale of loss, hardship, and redemption on their video "Magic Man” and forthcoming, self-titled album, produced by music industry veteran, Joey Huffman (Izzy Stradlin, Soul Asylum, Drivin n Cryin). Music this raw and authentic stems from experience, and brothers and central figures, Wade and Robin Divver, have had more than their fair share of hard times. On February 12th, 2001, their father was brutally murdered by the Sinaloan drug cartel. The only living memory the brothers have of their father were his most prized possessions: a 1983 Fender Stratocaster and a 1967 Gibson SG. The album arrives October 18th, just in time for their father’s birthday.
Eight years later, inspired by their life experiences and their passion to see the world change for the benefit of all species, the pair officially started their band The Endangered Species.
The concept of the video is to capture the groove of the song. The idea was to show all types of different dance being done to the song. Pole dancers, break dancers, astronauts on the moon listening to the song, dead people dancing, etc. The lyrics are more serious and dark in nature, so instead of a doom and gloom video I wanted to create a video that put the focus on the groove of the song. I think it makes the song more fun and exciting for the listener. The lyrics will speak for themselves for the listener who can relate. As I stated before Magic Man is the drug dealer who is benefiting off the addicts addiction. Fueling the demise of others for his own gain. The song expresses the path of the desperate addict giving up more and more to satisfy their addiction, until they are so desperate they take everything they need from Magic Man by putting a gun to his head.’But they ask so politely indeed.’ The video was created and produced by Robin Divver (Rock & Roll Rd. Productions).”
For the Divver brothers, The Endangered Species are more than just a band: they are a movement raising awareness, consciousness, and trying to spark an awakening of thought and revolution in their listeners. If humans do not become more conscious of their impact on the earth, the other species that exist, the water, the future generations, humans will cease to exist. They urge fans to stand up and change the world for the better, to not be mindless sheep used as pawns in a society ruled by the powerful elites and their money first mentality. They want to be a voice for the people who have been forgotten, left behind, and demand change. The pair live by the motto, “Try to save a life a thousand years away, it starts with a change inside yourself.”
The brothers and family lived a humble life in Arizona on Rock & Roll Road, where Robin was born at home. Living off the grid one mile from the U.S. Mexico border, they pumped water from a windmill, took bucket baths, had no electricity other than a generator, and utilized two school buses that once served as the family’s home. In fact, Wade was given birth to in one of the buses while his parents lived in Contreras, New Mexico. Despite the hardship this family faced, they got through it thanks to their shared love of Rock & Roll. But it was going to take a while before the family saw the light at the end of the tunnel.
Rev Rev Rev are back for a second appearance here with a new video and song '3 Not 3', a sub three minute blast of primal rock, with the vocals buried deep into the mix, this is pretty hypnotic music.
Arlo Parks shares a video for 'Second Guessing' a smooth and refined song where her beautiful vocals are surrounded by a gently rhythmic soundtrack.
Liverpool trio Eyesore and The Jinx new song is 'Leisure Time'. The vocals menace and dare you to not pay attention as the band deliver some potent rock hooks.
We are always on the look out for original and different music and Toronto Tabla Ensemble track 'Dream Symposium' is just incredible as is the video.
We have the full debut album from Freezing Cold which is entitled 'Glimmer'. The bands music is somewhere between alt and indie rock, and they carve out a consistent band sound, the vocals are really good for their musical style and the musicianship is tight and shifts from full on rock to gentler arrangements with apparent ease. This is a debut album to be proud of.
Sara Ontaneda has just released 'Hey Maria' a gentle, highly melodic and wonderfully crafted indie pop song, where her vocals exude charm and beauty.
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Rev Rev Rev - 3 Not 3.
Clocking in at less than three minutes and set to visuals that are equally unsettling and apocalyptic, "3 not 3" is consumed from start to finish by primal percussion, thick distorted guitars and walls of feedback and distortion. All casting a dark menacing shadow through which, trying to break through, are Laura Iacuzio’s saccharine yet still somewhat foreboding vocals.
Since the release of their self-titled debut album back in 2013, Rev Rev Rev – based in Modena, Italy – have repeatedly been hailed as one of the finest new shoegaze bands, clocking up airtime and praise from BBC 6 Music, NPR, Drowned In Sound, Clash Magazine and Bandcamp Daily.
The quartet is set to embark on a tour touching United Kingdom, France and Switzerland next month.
Live show schedule runs as follows:
Thursday 17th Oct Bremgarten (CH), KuZeB
Friday 18th Oct Paris (FR), Supersonic
Monday 21st Oct Southend-on-Sea (UK), Railway Hotel
Tuesday 22nd Oct Bristol (UK), The Lanes
Wednesday 23rd Oct Hull (UK), New Adelphi
Thursday 24th Oct Northampton (UK), Garibaldi Hotel
Friday 25th Oct Nottingham (UK), The Chameleon
Saturday 26th Oct London (UK), The Waiting Room.
It's been an extraordinary few months for Arlo Parks, who just recently celebrated her nineteenth birthday. In amongst the study and subsequent sitting of her A-Level exams, the London based musician/poet signed a record deal with Transgressive, headlined her first London show, played to a packed out crowd at Glastonbury Festival (where she was also invited to perform live on BBC television), debuted her live offering across Europe and found herself nominated for an AIM Award. Now, as she readies herself for a lengthy tour across the UK as main support to Jordan Rakei, she has announced the release of her eagerly anticipated second EP and shared the first single, 'Second Guessing'.
'Second Guessing', a song about doubt and the expectation that adulthood should be characterised by stability and having everything under control, is in Arlo's words, "an exploration of the existential misery that comes from a desire to be successful in a way that pleases everyone. However it's also a song about strength and the possibility of self fulfilment". Its rhythmic, melodic soundscape plays spotlight to her delicate vocal, and the story being told through her hard truth-telling lyrics. With one listen, it is easy to see how she increasingly considered the majestic voice of Generation Z and has won over fans including Killing Eve's Jodie Comer, Lily Allen and Amandla Stenberg.
Growing up in South West London, half Nigerian, a quarter Chadian and a quarter French, Arlo Parks learned to speak French before English. A quiet child, she'd write short stories and create fantasy worlds, later journaling and then obsessing over spoken word poetry, reading American poets such as Ginsberg and Jim Morrison and watching old Chet Baker performances on YouTube. These days she references Nayyirah Waheed, Hanif Abdurraqib and Iain S. Thomas as her favourite modern poets, and it is clear that their works are as influential on her song writing as any musician. Books too, such as The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath and Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami. Parks says, "the way Murakami writes in that book is how I aspire to write my songs; gritty and sensitive and human."
Fela Kuti's 'Water' and Otis Redding's 'Sittin On The Dock Of The Bay' sound tracked Arlo Parks' childhood, but it was aged around 13 that she discovered King Krule; an artist who would heavily influence the music she writes today. Later listening to more hip-hop (from Kendrick Lamar, MF Doom and Earl Sweatshirt to the more confessional sounds of Loyle Carner) and rock (Jimi Hendrix, Shilpa Ray and David Bowie), as well as the subdued, pained sounds of Keaton Henson, Sufjan Stevens and Julien Baker, Parks explains, "I would write stories so detailed you could taste them, while maintaining the energy and life of the hip-hop I loved."
Eyesore & The Jinx return with their new single and freshly announced live dates, including a free headline London show at the Waiting Room on 4th October.
Their previous singles saw them commenting on social media isolationism and an overall doomed feeling in society due to the current political landscape. Twitchy, socially minded, acerbic post-punk has always felt natural for Liverpool trio Eyesore & The Jinx. There was never a plan to be a ‘political band’, it’s purely the result of writing about what they see and feel in their lived experience.
Leisure Time feels like a new phase. A very different tempo, a different groove, a different approach – sharpened in the studio with producer Daniel Fox, also known as the bassist from Dublin’s much loved Girl Band. The track sits right at the centre of their live set, surrounded by two minute assaults – but they are all singing from the same hymn sheet. What Eyesore & The Jinx do very well is create absolutely dreadful characters that live at the heart of each track. Reflecting modern life in Britain without the need to preach political views.
“From the perspective of an unhinged holiday maker, ‘Leisure Time’ points a greasy, heavily lotioned finger at the care-free nature of the British expat. Whose enduring commitment to enjoying themselves, at the expense of other cultures, remains as visible and as grotesque as ever. It is, in short, a sun-stroked blather on the most miserable of holidays.” Josh Miller – Eyesore & The Jinx
Eyesore & The Jinx are part of an exciting group of bands and artists that make up the cohort of Merseyside taste-makers Eggy Records. The label acts as a co-operative, a supportive group of creatives and misfits who have built something very special, recently profiled by the NME. There seems to be a spotlight on what is happening with this group of artists, with Eggy being selected to host a showcase at this year’s BBC 6Music Festival, of which Eyesore & The Jinx headlined, not to mention Eyesore’s recent trip to Russia to play two festivals as part of the UK Russia Year of Music with label mate newbies STORES. Their first international trip as a band was certainly a memorable one.
Their sphere of influence is quickly expanding out of their home region. Their last two singles received extensive national radio support, including a 6Music Roundtable win for ‘On An Island’ produced by Jonathan Hartley from iconic Liverpool psych-surgeons Clinic. Their most recent single ‘Swill’ was the first track they recorded with Daniel Fox alongside Matt Freeman at Fresh Goods Studio, Birkenhead. This relationship worked very well and the band headed back in soon after to record their forthcoming EP. Leisure Time is the first single to come from this future release, funded by a special PRS Foundation Momentum fund in conjunction with Liverpool City Council.
For over 25 years Toronto Tabla Ensemble (TTE) has produced ground-breaking music that crosses cultures and borders. A Canadian pioneer, TTE started collaborating in the 1990’s with Japanese Taiko, Flamenco, Kathak dance, and Rock ‘n Roll with the Tea Party. Founded by Artistic Director Ritesh Das, TTE has a JUNO nomination and recently received a Global Music and Independent Music Award in 2019 for their album Bhumika.
Their latest music video Faceoff has been screened at international film festivals receiving accolades from around the world. Their music has been licensed for commercials, films and as the theme music for CBC Radio’s Metro Morning. What sets TTE apart is their ability to draw from the rich depths of North Indian Classical percussion to create rhythms and grooves anyone can dance to. TTE is not fusion nor is it World Music; this ensemble creates Canadian born music with a traditional influence bringing together the best of the world for an incomparable listening experience.
About Dream Symposium - 'Dream Symposium' is based on a traditional Tabla composition that is usually taught at an early stage of learning. Ritesh Das was influenced by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and composed this as a performance track featuring many different percussion instruments to create an orchestral feeling. “In preparation for the seventh album we wanted to create a music video for 'Dream Symposium' that included the youth and to focus on their strength as players, but also keep a sense of fantasy and humour.”
TTE are delighted to be attending WOMEX ’19 in Finland this October 2019.
Freezing Cold came together in early 2017 as friends. Having spent time growing up together in the New York DIY music community in bands like Bridge and Tunnel, Weed Hounds, and Aye Nako had the members Jeff Cunningham (guitar & vocals), Angie Boylan (drums and vocals - who is also currently the touring drummer for Sleater Kinney), and Nick Rice (bass) have all known each other for years.
They released a 3-song demo, making a music video for their song “Shape of Escape” and playing shows throughout the North East of the US. Their introspective heart-on-the-sleeve style of indie rock mixed with the unspoken musical magnetism that brought them together was evident in their early performances.
The band’s debut album combines lush sounds with earnest storytelling, creating music that is reminiscent of Lemonheads, Throwing Muses, Sebadoh, Archers of Loaf, Ride, with a dash of punk, rounding out select tracks with keyboards and a few with a string section. Listening through Glimmer and standout tracks “New Ways to Wait”, “Parentheses”, “Teenage Insights”, and “Squint to See” the band defy simplistic genre comparisons. The only thing that the listener can be sure of is that these songs are inward in their thinking and played close to the chest. Their influences are as varied as the members, which shines through in the varied pace and approach of Glimmer.
Glimmer not only introduces us to a band at the beginning of their stride, but also to a group of individuals with a passion for their craft. The album was recorded and mixed by engineer, producer, and recording artist J Robbins (Against Me!, Promise Ring, Lemuria, Jawbox) at Magpie Cage Studios in Baltimore in March of 2019.
Make sure to catch Freezing Cold when they’re in your area as the band plans on touring the US and Europe in the near future. The band will celebrate the release of Glimmer at the Footlight in New York on September 28th.
Multi award-winning Ecuadorian-American singer songwriter (based in NYC) Sara Ontaneda's music is often described as alternative pop, Sara incorporates folk, R&B and South American sounds into her unique signature sound.
About "Hey Maria": The inspiration behind "Hey Maria" came when the singer was visiting her family in Ecuador and the TV was on. The news channel she was watching was talking about the shocking statistics of Femicide and Violence Against Women in Latin America and the world. The singer realized how a lot of times women are judged unfairly when getting into these situations.
Sara Ontaneda is an award-winning singer-songwriter based in New York City. Her music is a colorful blend of Pop, R&B and Folk sounds with heart-felt lyrics in both Spanish and English.
Sara discovered her passion for music at a young age. At age 7 she started piano lessons and at age 9 she joined her school's choir in Miami, Florida. Throughout her childhood, splitting time between Guayaquil, Ecuador and Miami, she studied classical music. The love for music placed her in Berklee College of Music where she majored in Contemporary Writing and Production. She graduated with honors and received scholarship awards for her efforts.
After a year of hard work, Sara finished her first EP, "Marte y Júpiter" where she took the roles of writer, recording engineer, and producer. The EP was released on July 14th, 2015 and received numerous positive reviews from journals in Latin America and Spain. This led Sara to tour in Ecuador as well as many cities of the US, including festivals like South By Southwest (SXSW 2017), MUSIKFEST, South Florida Folk Festival, and others.
Kristina Stykos has released a new album entitled 'River Of Light'. The country/folk singer has delivered a superb collection of material where the lyrics take you on a variety of journeys. The music can be gritty, stripped back or warm and exuding Americana rock styles, what remains at the centre is Kristina's unique vocals that convey emotion, determination and more, and the comparison to Patti Smith is a fair one albeit more regarding the delivery than the sound. With thirteen songs this really is a musical feast to enjoy.
We have to go back over two years for our only other feature for Brudini that said, the new song 'Pale Gold' adds credence to the old cliche "it was well worth the wait". The musical arrangement is simply wonderful and Brudini has distinct and captivating vocals, put simply I can't wait for the November album release.
Ted Z and The Wranglers return just weeks after our first taste of the bands music with new song 'Corner Store'. Once again the classic country rock vibes are everywhere, the bands instruments spar with each other and the feel good nature is notable.
We have a brand new video for Ben Watt and his song 'Sunlight Follows The Night'. An emotional and poignant song, the musical set up is around piano, double bass and drums, that allow Ben's voice to carry the feeling on this wonderful song.
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Kristina Stykos - River Of Light (Album).
Award-winning outlaw country/folk singer songwriter exemplifies pure determination and a fiercely independent spirit. Kristina Stykos's dark, self-produced, poetry-soaked music, lyrics and original vocal cadence bears resemblance to rock n' roll/punk icons like Patti Smith. Her recording studio, Pepperbox Studio, is solar, wind and generator powered.
In 2017, Stykos was diagnosed with spasmodic dysphonia, a disorder that
makes speaking and singing difficult or even impossible. That doesn't stop Kristina from continuing to write and record new music; it simply changes how she does it.
Stykos describes the album "River of Light" as 'an exciting departure from anything I've done before.' "I'm a poet-musician working at the outer boundaries of the music industry, and I believe that we can all take control of our own message."
Kristina Stykos is a music producer, recording engineer, songwriter, radio host, podcaster and musician based in Vermont.
Kristina solidified her launch as an audio engineer in 2008, earning a certificate in studio production from the Berklee School of Music. As of 2019, she holds producer credits for upwards of 30 albums created at her hill-top recording loft, Pepperbox Studio: a solar, wind and generator powered, fully off-grid facility. She is also founder-owner of a small, Americana label, Thunder Ridge Records.
Her recent albums include three collaborative projects: The Detangler (2018) with Ariel Zevon, daughter of Warren Zevon; Beautiful Blood (2013) with singer-songwriter Steve Mayone of Brooklyn NY, and Raven (2011), with Grammy-nominated pianist Philip Aaberg of Montana.
Kristina's newest solo album River of Light (2019) brings in Jackson Browne guitarist Val McCallum, along with other notable friends & session players.
A demo of the song was written 5 years ago, and in a world that seems to be turning darker, the narrative turned out to be strangely prophetic for the artist, who was once an owner of Soho´s tiny literary-bohemian bastion The Society Club.
“The release coincides with the UK leaving the EU, and me ultimately abandoning London, the liberal, multi-cultural bastion which has been my home for the last 13 years. And the song echoes my sadness over both these events, yet maintains a sense of hope for a new future and shift in my priorities as I return to my homeland, Norway, to be closer to my three year old daughter.”
Pale Gold is the 3rd single from forthcoming debut album From Darkness, Light which is due for release in November. It follows the critically acclaimed singles Reflections and Emotional Outlaw.
Growing up amidst the mountains and fjords of Bergen on Norway’s southwest coast, with a Norwegian father and a Thai mother, a sense of otherness, of not quite fitting in, led Brudini to travel. To Tokyo, to Paris, to New York and eventually to London and the high-stakes world of city traders. A world of huge wins and heavy losses – lucrative but not entirely fulfilling.
While his daytimes were spent in the rapid pace trajectory of a modern capitalist society, evenings were increasingly passed in Soho, amidst a world of artists, musicians, performers and poets. A chance encounter with Babette Kulik eventually lead him to become part-owner of now legendary bohemian-literary Soho outpost The Society Club. As part of this hidden, free-spirited scene of creatives, Brudini began to conjure his music - singing in underground venues in Soho and Hackney armed with guitars, piano and analogue synthesizers, flanked by a rhythm section of local jazz musicians and drawing praise from NYC punk legend Danny Fields (Iggy Pop, Jim Morrison, The Ramones) in the process.
Ted Z and The Wranglers, of Southern California, deliver outlaw country-charged rock. Ted's catchy story-songs are fully-realized tales of love, regret, getting older and getting in trouble. The band stirs up it's Americana influences, featuring quick picking and bluesy slide guitar over galloping train beats and swinging shuffles.
The Wranglers are Collin Mclean (bass), Jackson Leverone (lead and slide guitar, vocals) and Jordan Lipp (drums). The band has honed it's sound on big stages and in biker bars alike. They get audiences dancing and bring them back for more.
Ted Z and The Wranglers were signed to Rip Cat Records in 2015. Their first label release, Ghost Train, was recorded at Yellow Dog Studios in Wimberley, TX and produced by Monty Byrom (Big House, Eddie Money). 2017 Winner Hard Rock Rising LA, Jam in The Van (2017) Headlined Sturgis Buffalo Chip (2018).
Completing a compelling trilogy of albums since his late-flowering return to solo songwriting and singing six years ago, Ben Watt releases his fourth LP, Storm Damage on January 31, 2020, and with it a new sound and fervency. The first track to be shared is "Sunlight Follows The Night" with an accompanying video by award-winning film maker Rahim Moledina, who wrote and directed the video for the title track from Watt's album Hendra in 2014.
"Dawn always breaks out of darkness," says Watt of the song. "For all the struggle there's always a way out."
"I needed a fresh approach," says Watt, 56. "The album came out of an intense period of personal anguish and political anger. Sometimes repeating yourself musically feels disrespectful to the sharpness of your feelings. You have to search for a new way to capture the energy."
Across four decades Watt has maintained a committed forward-looking course, from the ardent echo-drenched folk of his early solo work with Robert Wyatt, through seventeen years as musical mainspring and co-lyricist in the best-selling Everything But The Girl with Tracey Thorn - and ten at the helm of his smart electronic label Buzzin' Fly - to his recent moving non-fiction and mid-life solo albums, the award-winning Hendra (2014) and Fever Dream (2016).
New album Storm Damage is no exception. Sonically adventurous, lyrically detailed and engaged, the album - written and produced by Watt - is a personal journey through anxiety and change cut through with an insistent defiance.
"My closest half-brother died unexpectedly in 2016, only four years after my half-sister," he says of events surrounding the album's origins. "I got stuck for a year, angry inside and angry at the political world casually detonating around me. I felt half powerless, half driven. When the songs finally came, some were dark, yes, but there is always room for light. Always. I just tried to put that across."
Sonically the album forgoes the acclaimed twin-guitar approach of its two predecessors, and boldly shifts focus onto - in Watt's words - "a future-retro trio" of upright piano, double bass and hybrid acoustic-electronic drums, set against a half-lit backdrop of lone analogue synths, spiralling echo spins and impressionistic 'found sounds' adapted from online public-domain recording archives. Low's Alan Sparhawk makes a guest appearance on electric guitar and harmony vocal.
Helga has released a collection of five songs on her new E.P 'The Autumn Lament'. Each track is distinct, the moods change as does the level of power or melodic construction and overall this is one very compelling E.P. The Handsome Bandit have shared a video for 'Believe You Me' a song described as progressive piano pop/rock, I could not put it better I'd just add that it is exceedingly catchy.
It's been some time since we last featured Artificial Pleasure they return with 'Side By Side Together' a hook laden and vocally led alt rocker that is the first taste of their new album due next year.
Mr Ben & The Bens have released a video for their recent single 'Transmissions' a sprightly indie pop song and ahead of the forthcoming album 'Who Knows Jenny Jones?' due in October.
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Helga - The Autumn Lament (E.P).
Hailing from the dark forests of Dalarna, Sweden, HELGA re-emerges from the wilderness to release her intense second EP ‘The Autumn Lament’ on September 20th.
Writing from the solitary confines of her cabin with just a guitar for company has given Helga’s songwriting a unique sense of introspection. Employing an eclectic blend of pop, metal, post-rock, goth, folk and classical influences to devastating effect, Helga tells us that the new songs are:
“a musical translation of my inner and physical world. I personally love reverb-drenched music and sounds, drawing inspiration from my dream world, the misty forests, and Swedish folk music.”
In a time when the environment is ever more under threat, it’s only natural that meditation upon the state of the world, while full of beauty, is tinged with darkness and melancholy.
Opening with the previously released pop-goth destroyer 'Mörker' we are immediately transported into a sinister and engaging landscape. Tribal drums, throat singing a la The Hu and ominous strings soon give way to churning bass and razor edged metal breakdowns, with Helga’s haunting vocal remaining a solitary guide through the dark.
Elsewhere across the 5 tracks on ‘The Autumn Lament’ we find Kate Bush meets Opeth influenced tracks like 'Into The Light' and 'Worlds Apart'.
Proving that despite proudly emerging from black metal roots, Helga is willing to embrace modern pop and folk elements. Distinctly melodic without giving up it’s unsettling character, it makes for an eclectic, unique blend, and cements Helga’s status as one to watch on the dark pop / nu-goth scene.
Celebrated as “a refreshingly catchy new band that’s fearless, demands the stage, and charms their audience!” The Chicago Band, The Handsome Bandit discovered its unique cocktail blend of Pop-Rock with a sprinkle of Swing when two creative singer-songwriters merged their artistic passions.
Eric Niequist’s powerful lead vocals and edgy bass riffs weave alongside the intricate piano melodies and warm vocals of Allison Hogan. The Handsome Bandit will have you energized and enthralled with their foot stomping sing-alongs, dynamic ballads, and thunderous anthems!
“Believe You Me” an original work by The Handsome Bandit. This track is progressive Piano Pop/Rock changing tempos and written in compound time. Influencers: Panic!, Fall Out, Queen, Ben Folds, The Dear Hunter
Mixing style, art school flair and an arsenal of killer songs, London’s Artificial Pleasure made a strong impression with their debut album ‘The Bitter End’. Earning the support of NME, The Guardian, The Independent, The Line of Best Fit, Dork and Clash, the four-piece inspired references with LCD Soundsystem, Talking Heads and Brian Eno while making music entirely on their own terms.
Now Artificial Pleasure have morphed into 2.0 mode as they drop their brand new single ‘Side By Side Together’. It’s the first taste of their second album which will follow in 2020.
‘Side By Side Together’ represents a confident evolution in Artificial Pleasure’s sonic approach. While it plays on their love of the greats of the Stax Records era, their rich textures of synths ensure that the track looks boldly towards the future rather than merely playing homage to the past. Topped by frontman Phil McDonnell’s charismatic vocal and complemented by vocal harmonies from JYLDA and bass/synths from Sam Mason (of Die Mason Die), it’s anthemic future-soul played with the vibrancy of road-hardy touring band.
McDonnell wrote the song in the back of the band’s tour van while driving through Europe at night. It was subsequently recorded with engineer Moritz Kerschbaumer (Foreign Poetry) in his studio in Hackney Wick, East London.
‘Side By Side Together’ is a love song about friendship and the need for unity and kindness in a world that is progressively getting more fd,” says McDonnell. “The long nights, long drives, the hardships, the fun, the falls and high points of touring all bind us together in a way that goes beyond friendship and they are experiences that bond people for life, regardless of distance.”
Artificial Pleasure’s Phil McDonnell (vocals/guitar) and Dom Brennan (synths/production) are life-long friends. By the time they were adults, their individual projects didn’t share much common ground: Brennan was producing ear-bleeding electronica while McDonnell was playing the hugely demanding repertoire of Frank Zappa in a touring cover band. But friendship and a shared passion for music overcame such expectations, and they recruited jazz/funk specialist Lee Jordan to provide the grooves to complete their vision for Artificial Pleasure.
Renowned for their inventive visuals, especially on ‘Wound Up Tight’ which pushed McDonnell’s endurance to the max, Artificial Pleasure also gained respect for their theatrical life show - a confrontational mix of Sid Vicious hedonism and Bryan Ferry suave.
Mr Ben and The Bens share the video for their recent single "Transmissions", taken from the forthcoming album Who Knows Jenny Jones? which is out on 25 October via Bingo Records. Mixing psychedelic indie-pop with funky Chic-style bass-lines, the song is a danceable cosmic disco number. The video follows Ben as he dishes out free basslines to the unsuspecting public of Sheffield.
"Transmissions" is a pivotal track on the album, which is the story of a shrinking violet called Jenny Jones in 1970s Sheffield. The song is about Jenny’s abduction by aliens in a graveyard where the aliens impart disco knowledge to her through signals transmitted via a sensory deprivation tank.
Mr Ben and The Bens is the brainchild of polymath Ben Hall. The record is an experimental pop exploration of a kitchen sink narrative with a celestial twist. Originating from Lancaster’s thriving co-operative scene (home to The Lovely Eggs among others), Ben is now based in Sheffield and his adopted city has had a profound influence on the concept of the new album.
Mr Ben and The Bens head out on tour in October, starting in their hometown of Lancaster and ending in their adopted city of Sheffield.
On Tour in October:
Fri 25 October: Lancaster - Yorkshire House
Sat 26 October: Huddersfield - Northern Quarter
Sun 27 October: Newcastle: Cumberland Arms
Tue 29 October: Manchester - Gulliver’s
Wed 30 October: Nottingham - Rough Trade
Thur 31 October: Cardiff - The Moon
Fri 1 November: London - Sebright Arms
Sat 2 November: Sheffield - Delicious Clam.
Lucie Tiger shares the A and B side for her new single namely 'Apple Tree' and 'Baby Don't You Go'. The singer songwriter delivers a fresh sounding mixture of folk and country rock, her vocals are upbeat and melodic and the musical arrangement just right for these two tunes.
Opening with their new single 'Parachute' Norwegian three piece bandHollywood have just released their new album 'Close To You'. Quoting their promo for the album "Close To You” is a record full of guilty pleasures, grandiose choruses
and cinematic lyrics wrapped in a sound of 80s and 90s alternative pop". It's a very honest description making my life easy, it's also an album worth hearing in full.
Back in 2017 we featured Jordan Mackampa a couple of times and it is a real pleasure to share a new song from him entitled 'What Am I'. Beautifully arranged and allowing Jordan's incredible vocals to shine, this is a timeless soulful song, I really hope it's not too long until we hear more from this very talented artist.
It's just four weeks since we first featured Shhe who returns today with another captivating song entitled 'Emma'. We described the previous track (Saint Cyrus) as "refined and dreamy" and this piece progresses from there adding atmosphere and feeling to her increasingly impressive repertoire.
Winola Oak has already gained our attention in a big way twice this year, firstly with a stripped down version of her debut single (He Don't Love Me) and then last month with 'Break My Broken Heart' a song that has attracted huge attention. She returns with both a stripped version and a live one for this fabulous track.
Between Suns feat. Crudded Badz share a fine video for 'Fractured Life'. The feisty vibe and mixture of genres are equally matched by the music video, on paper I am far to old for a song like this, but it is just so catchy and imaginatively produced.
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Lucie Tiger - Apple Tree / Baby Don't You Go.
Lucie Tiger is excited to release her newest single Apple Tree and its B-side Baby Don’t You Go, two songs that show her reverence for decades gone by while staying fresh and modern in a world that desperately needs more love.
Recorded and produced at Delta King Studios in Sydney (The Middle Kids, Dean Lewis, Guy Sebastian), Apple Tree is a glorious melting pot of slide guitar and organ, delivering flashbacks to when Dylan went electric mixed with Australia’s newest export, The Teskey Brothers. Meanwhile, Baby Don’t You Go is an ode to those in love and those who want to be in love with soaring vocals grounded by barn dance drums and stunning piano lines.
‘Apple Tree paints a picture of a beautiful place in the countryside,’ explains Lucie Tiger, ‘all it needs is the love of your life to show up and it’ll be perfect. Baby Don’t You Go is a classic love song but with an old-school blues twist right at the end.’
After releasing the single, Lucie Tiger will be heading over to the United States to tour Chicago, Nashville, Muscle Shoals, Memphis and Clarksdale - cities and towns that mean so much to her, inspiring and almost magical places. Especially when it comes to Clarksdale, where Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil. As well as playing shows, Lucie will also be recording in some of the most famous, historic studios in the history of modern music - Sun Studios in Memphis (made famous by Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, as well as Chris Isaac, more recently) and FAME Recording Studios in Muscle Shoals (which has hosted the Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, the Allman Brothers, not to mention Tim McGraw and the Dixie Chicks in recent years) to name a couple.
Norwegian three-piece Hollywood is the new consummate of, until recently, solo artists; Billie Van, Jonas Alaska and Mikhael Paskalev. Like their collective namesake suggests, the band invokes not only a hallmark of dreams for the aspirational through equally dreamlike compositions, but also the melancholy and heartbreak of the most that don’t ‘make it’. Unironic and unabashed panoramas of late-80s high-school romance sheen with nostalgia, while some tracks reveal cinematic melodramatics, painting the full-length with a range of conceptual textures.
New Single ‘Parachute’ crawls like a Cigarettes After Sex-esque alt-rock ballad, beginning with vintage harpsichord synthesisers which act as a central theme to the track. And meeting with a delicate fervency, the softly spoken tones of Alaska move from the monophonic, to the polyphonic when fellow band members harmonise and craft a draft of sound.
The project is the result of a creative excess amongst three close friends. After contributing to each other's solo successes for the last decade, the time was finally ripe to begin blurring their boundaries and discover a bolder, more playful approach to their songwriting.
The band was conceived around the same time they set up their own record label ‘Braveheart’ and studio in Oslo. A fresh vehicle for their own individually established artistic careers as well as their newest collective pursuit.
“Close To You” is a record full of guilty pleasures, grandiose choruses and cinematic lyrics wrapped in a sound of 80s and 90s alternative pop. The new record is produced by the band themselves over a period of two years, and mixed mostly by their own Mikhael Paskalev. The result is an unusual and interesting voyage, which takes many turns between different styles of songwriting and production. Hollywood has been playing some of Norways key festivals already, such as Villvill Vest and Øya. This autumn they will tour Norway’s largest cities with a more intimate concert experience.
Hollywood release ‘Parachute’ and their debut album ‘Close To You’ on the 20th September via their own label Braveheart.
Jordan Mackampa steps further into his true self with 'What Am I'. The questioning single is executed with soulful resilience against a backdrop of resplendent horns, harmonious percussion and orchestral strings - and if you listen closely - a funk undertow.
It's the kind of song that sweeps you off your feet, carried by Mackampa's powerful-yet-amicable vocals reminiscent of Lianne La Havas .The zenith of the track, around the three minute mark, is especially poignant as the songwriter pivots between uplifting instrumentation and his own sense of unknowing. He repeats’ "what am I supposed to do?" capturing the feeling of a generation, lost. As the track comes to an end, Mackampa leaves us without an answer, left to ponder the question on everyone’s lips. ‘What Am I’ was produced by Dani Castelar (Paolo Nutini).
Sarah Speaking on the track, Jordan quotes: "What Am I is a modern take on Marvin Gaye’s classic ‘What’s Going On’, highlighting the state of the world right now, from multiple wars in different territories; how the earth is dying, to the border control problem & how it’s been dealt with. It’s a lot of ‘hopes and prayers’, changing of display pictures to blue, but all trickling down to a stop soon after, as it’s no longer in the forefront of the media.
I wrote this song in the mindset of how I need to do more but don’t know how because I am only one man, trying his best to make change within the means available."The London based soul singer is the combination of his Congolese roots and midlands upbringing. His soul soaked, indie driven tracks swim in the sounds and stories of the cities he’s inhabited over the years. Inspired by his mother’s love of the great soul singers, Marvin Gaye, Bill Withers and Curtis Mayfield, Jordan combines his timeless vocal with catchy melodies and heartfelt lyrics to create an exciting hybrid of alternative pop and soul which will enchant and uplift in equal measure.
Scottish-Portuguese artist and producer SHHE has today shared a brand new single taken from her forthcoming self-titled album. Emma is a pulsing reflection of an unhealthy relationship. SHHE is the alter-ego of solo artist Su Shaw, a captivating songwriter who wraps carefully constructed electronic soundscapes around delicate yet self-assured vocals. The artist’s upcoming self-titled debut album tracks a period of intense personal change, due for release 11th October on One Little Indian Records.
The musician only had to release one single, Eyes Shut (which premiered on Dazed), to find herself signing a record deal with One Little Indian Records and opening for Kathryn Joseph on her February UK tour.
"This is not a song about unrequited love. It’s about something that feels more destructive" said SHHE. "There’s an internal drone that you hear from the beginning, this constant reminder, an uneasiness. It feels a bit symptomatic of motion sickness. It's overpowering. And there are all these mixed messages, this confusing build up of hopefulness and hopelessness.
"It’s about a relationship that is unhealthy. You still have unanswered questions and you’re still trying to make sense of everything. The track is about the aftermath of that. It’s about letting go. It's about seeing things how they really are. It’s about reclaiming strength through that process."
To question her own identity, SHHE had to first deconstruct it. This involved leaving her former life in Fife, including her relationship, and relocating to Dundee, where SHHE found herself in the company of creatives – dancers, musicians, visual artists – who helped to widen her musical vision. One of those people was photographer Harry Clark, who was also a dancer with Scottish Dance Theatre at the time, and who collaborated with Shaw on her first outing as ‘SHHE’ on the attention-grabbing single Eyes Shut. Incorporating visuals in the form of contemporary dance gave Shaw a wider understanding of how other mediums could impact and enforce the message of her work; the video for the single told the story of a love affair and a journey of self-discovery between two male dancers.
SHHE has found herself on the precipice of unlimited creativity and she’s ready to dive in headfirst. Her debut record is only the beginning of this journey.
Winola Oak - Break My Broken Heart (Stripped / Live Versions).
Swedish born, LA-based artist Winona Oak releases a haunting stripped version of new single “Break My Broken Heart” via Neon Gold Records / Atlantic Records. Earlier this week, Winona Oak shared the live piano performance video.
Winona Oak about “”Break My Broken Heart”: “You have to be brave to love someone with all your heart. But the biggest risk in life is to not take any risks at all. As long as we’re breathing, what’s one more scar?”
Born and raised in the Nordic forests of Sweden on a small crop of land called Sollerön - known as the Island of the Sun - Winona Oak is every bit as enchanting as her origin story. With a childhood spent encountering more animals than people, she grew up a trained horse acrobat and pursued creative expression however she could, writing poetry and songs from a young age. Born into a musical family, Winona sang throughout her youth and began playing violin at 5 years old and piano at 9 years.
After moving to Stockholm to pursue her passion for music, a leap of faith to attend Neon Gold Records’ writing retreat in the Nicaraguan jungle in 2017 led her to Australian electronic maestro What So Not. She would go on to co-write his next two singles "Better" and "Stuck In Orbit", eventually stepping into the spotlight as both the writer and featured artist on his 2018 single "Beautiful" HERE, which took home the 2019 AIR Award for Best Independent Dance Single at the Australian Independent Music Awards.
Following last year’s extraordinary debut single, Sun Ra, with its eye-frying psychedelics and glam strut, their brand new single is Fractured Life, a song about life on the road which in the space of three-and-a-bit minutes hits disco, hard rock, grime and ends up somewhere hot and exotic.
Featuring grime artist, Crudded Badz, the track showcases Between Suns’ universal appeal; where grime and rock have met to form a relationship that stands as a testament to both worlds.
Produced by music legend Nick Tauber (Thin Lizzy; Marillion; Toyah), their disregard for convention and expectations set them apart as one of the most exciting rock acts in years. The combined talents of songwriter and guitarist, Paul Lisak and astonishing vocalist Nausicaa, no reference points will make sense, yet your mind will try to compute some order to their kaleidoscope of musical freakery – Jimmy Page sharing a house with Judy Garland; Boney M scrapping it out with Jimi Hendrix; Abba joined in marriage to Ravi Shankar by Reverend Ice Cube. Forget everything you’ve ever heard – Between Suns are the real deal.
Detroit – New York – Seattle – Leytonstone. The new music hub of the world is in East London and it’s all wrapped up in one band. Fine artist and guitar virtuoso, Paul Lisak and French operatically trained chanteuse Nausicaä met despite circumstances seemingly conspiring to keep them apart. Signed up to an online company designed to pair up singers looking for musicians, Paul was not even in the market for band mates and was in the habit of deleting the daily deluge of email notifications as soon as they hit his inbox. For reasons unknown, on this particular day, he deleted all but one. Days later, he opened it to find a young French girl looking for a band - a classically trained singer who had left France for London and the music scene which had provided so many of her favourite artists, despite being unable to speak a word of English. Their united determination to challenge the norm through their art led to an extraordinary musical relationship which over three years and the expert stewardship of the legendary producer, Nick Tauber is finally ready for the world to taste.
