Helven - Unite The States Project - Peter Joly - Lilly Hiatt - Oracle Sisters

Helven - if i could be like u.

Norwegian alt-pop artist Helven has shared dreamy new single 'if i could be like you', the second to be taken from her debut EP volume 1, due out via Jansen Records on Jan 14th 2022. Helven, aka 21-year-old Jenny Bakke, fuses together honest, true and contemporary lyrics with inspiration from pop music of the past, capturing the experience of life as a 21-year-old woman in the 2020’s.

Inspired by the many lessons her brother, who has autism and Landau-Kleffner Syndrome, has taught her, Helven is on a mission to wear her heart on her sleeve. Each of the five tracks that make up volume 1 focuses on a different emotion that she has struggled to express in the past: envy, care, love, sadness and frustration.

Last month Helven shared debut single ‘u my homie’. Delivering her signature smoky vocals atop laidback trip-hop beats, the lyrics were pulled from text messages and notes Helven wrote whilst helping her childhood friend through a tough time. Today, she shares new single 'if i could be like you', a track that deals with the secretive and painful feeling of envy. “You know that I would do anything to be like you” she sings, atop gentle guitar strums and hazy synths. “I have always tried to love myself, at least most of the time. But occasionally I’m haunted by jealousy” she says. “For a time I felt like I would do anything to be like someone else, to have lived another life and even to die like someone else. But now I'm glad I chose to be me.”

Attaching a particular feeling to the autobiographical stories she tells in her music has helped her find a true sense of self. Her message to her generation is simple. “In order to survive in this increasingly chaotic world, we need to listen to our feelings more, and express them proudly”. 'if i could be like you' is out now via Jansen Records and available to stream and download via all of the usual channels, volume 1 will follow on January 14th.

 

Jansen Records · 9AM RECORDS: Helven - if i could be like u

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Unite The States Project - Battle Stations.

Presentation by the band: The Unite The States Project is a newly formed concept formed by New Jersey rock musicians and featuring Ram Jam's Myke Scavone who have decided to write and release a 5 songs EP to protest what is happening in the United States and all over the globe.

“The "Unite The States Project" is a concept from four New Jersey musicians who come from an original recording band with Full Lengths and EPs released in the US and Europe, but who decided to use an alias on this project as to not offend any fans. Even though the band is split between leaning left and right in the political arena they all agreed that the current state of things are corrupt and needed to be addressed. They decided to write and release a 5 songs EP to protest what is happening in the United States (and all over the globe).

The so called "woke" mentality and the Governments’ links to the so called Big Business/Big Tech/Big Pharma lobbies to the disadvantage of common people. The Unite The States Project first single/video "Battle Stations" depicts a bit of it all in a pop rock kind of vibe. Lyrically the song covers everything from woke mentality to the fake/propagandized media to expose the general state of corruption.

The overall goal of the Unite The States Project is to show - no matter where you stand politicly - that we can still come together for a united cause and that it’s time for the people to take notice of what is happening in our countries before we end up in a Marxist world, which has been tried before and didnt turn out so well.”

Wayne Olivieri, Gar Francis, Johnnie Rago, Dan Skye, Special Guest : Myke Scavone (Ram Jam/The Doughboys), Unite The States Project.

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Peter Joly - Easy Has Never Been The Way (Album).

'Easy Has Never Been The Way' is the much welcomed new Peter Joly album release, where once again we have a continued demonstration of masterful songwriting that will hit you where it matters - right in the soul. 

Streaming now on Bandcamp the eleven new tracks are also delivered in eco-friendly wallet jacket adorned with original artwork by master painter Henia Flynn.

Peter tell us "I couldn't be more proud of this record; produced by Chicago's own uber talented Jon Williams and chock full of notable Chicago players whom I've recorded and performed live with spanning these two most recent projects."

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Lilly Hiatt - Simple.

Lilly Hiatt returns with Lately via New West Records. The 10-song set was co-produced by Lilly and her drummer Kate Haldrup at Death Ladder in East Nashville, TN. Lately is the follow up to Hiatt’s highly praised Walking Proof, which was among the first records released to feel the full wrath of the soon-to-be raging pandemic that would bring the world to its knees. Despite the timing of its release, the long player was named a “Best Album of the Year” by Rolling Stone, No Depression, Magnet Magazine, and more. 

Met with critical acclaim, Slant Magazine said in their 4 out of 5 star review, “Lilly Hiatt’s Lately is the artist’s most daring, experimental album to date,” while American Songwriter said “It marks a certain maturity that underscores Hiatt’s authenticity as both an artist and individual, and the strength she possesses when it comes to propelling that presence forward. Ultimately, Lately becomes a timely testimonial to all she’s achieved thus far.” Holler said “...she’s forged her own distinct fusion of country balladry, confessional indie pop and classic rock” while Glide Magazine said “...if there is any justice in the world, Lately will find the audience it truly deserves.”

As each day passed following the release of Walking Proof, more events were postponed, moved, and ultimately canceled. The sudden stillness forced Lilly to take a long, deep look inside and despite having a new album just released, she went back to doing what she does best: she picked up the guitar and started to write. What could have been devastating ended up being therapeutic, and Lilly learned how to find fulfillment in quieter places versus the adrenalized life she was used to.

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Oracle Sisters - Take the Lead (Live with the Elmire Quartet).

Parisian trio Oracle Sisters have just shared ‘Midnight Afternoon - Live at La Ferme with the Elmire Quartet’, a stunning three track EP of completely new material, recorded at their now iconic studio in the south of France. This is closely followed by the band setting off on an 18-date tour across the UK & EU where they will preview never-before-heard material from their highly anticipated debut album, to be announced soon, and which the band first spoke about with V Magazine.

Undisputed riders of the heart Oracle Sisters have partnered with friends The Elmire Quartet for an EP that pairs the band's trademark romanticism with understated, timeless string arrangements. Midnight Afternoon opens with "Take the Lead", an invitation to waltz away the final minutes of dusky daylight. "Silk Sunset Streams" is a diary entry; a lonely serenade from the heartworn soul of a poet wandering through the longest of afternoons. The record closes with hazy, rose-tinted memories of friendship on the epistolary "Old Friend".

Oracle Sisters’ are modern musical revivalists, influenced by jazz, rock and roll and 100 years of bards and composers. Written across Europe and recorded in the south of France, this new EP “is an  intimate, live and arranged performance of our earliest songs, written from experience and some of the first we worked on arriving in Paris, taking about 3 years, while working on other stuff (Paris I, II and the upcoming  album), to get the recordings and arrangements perfect,” the band say.

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MARBL - Monica Aben - Casper Skulls - emie nathan - Lydia Brownfield - Renée Reed

MARBL - Everybody's Getting Married.

Critically acclaimed Israeli Folk/Pop musician MARBL has released her new single “Everybody’s Getting Marries.”

MARBL about the song: “The new song “Everybody’s Getting Married” is a humorous song that’s winks at those who think that there’s only one right way to live. The video tells the story of a young woman running away from her wedding in the last minute. 

Tomer (who created the video) and me, wanted the situation to be as crazy and exaggerated as it can get, to make our point clear - I think that interviewing and dictating someone else’s life is much crazier and rude. People can be happy and live an amazing life with or without a wedding, with or without kids, in their own pace, due to their own wishes and life-map they draw to themselves. It’s our party, and our party only. Now go pour yourself a glass of wine and chill.“

MARBL, who also works as a vocal coach in Tel-Aviv, was able to generate a great media response worldwide with several singles and her last EP "The Flight of the Hawks". In addition to countless reviews, some of her songs have been included in editorial playlists by Amazon and Spotify.

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Monica Aben - Reasons to Reminisce.

Have you ever written a letter to the one that almost was, but never sent it? How about a letter to your future self, reminding you of the good, the bad & all the milestones in your life? What if you sent the postcard that your friend convinced you not to… would your whole life look different? Venice, California artist Monica Aben pulled the shoebox packed with letters & postcards from under her bed, and whilst reminiscing about the past, wrote a collection of songs that explores every unsent word from those pages, all encapsulated in her new EP Postcards.

This five-track release includes her latest single Reasons to Reminisce – a song that sees Monica stumbling on a thread of messages on an old cell phone to discover how much she’s changed. Through reminiscing, she realised you can learn from mistakes, feel none of the old feelings but still have appreciation for the person you once were.

Monica recorded Reasons to Reminisce with producer Justin Glasco & Ingrid Michaelson guitarist Brandon Walters. Mix duties were left to the Grammy winning Ryan Gilligan (Kanye West, Calle 13) before mastering engineer Jett Galindo (La La Land OST, Weezer) gave the release its final polish.

Other tracks on the EP include her previous two singles: CPH – an ode to Copenhagen & staying connected to your inner-self while building a life in a new city; and Kids In L.A. – about looking back on the best of times with the best of friends, while coming to terms with although life has moved on, you remain friends with your ‘besties’ from back in the day. There are also additional tracks That’s Alright – about having the courage to be yourself when changing direction, and Last Local In Venice – about how the true soul of her home town, Venice / Los Angeles has changed through recent gentrification.

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Casper Skulls - The Mouth.

Toronto's Casper Skulls are today sharing their new single and video, "The Mouth" – this track follows on the heels of recent singles tipped by FLOOD, Exclaim, Brooklyn Vegan and more arriving as the latest from their forthcoming album, Knows No Kindness, which is out November 12, 2021, via Next Door Records. The new record follows previous support from Stereogum, MTV, Brooklyn Vegan, Billboard, KEXP and more, as well as dates opening for the likes of PUP, Thurston Moore, Speedy Ortiz and Charly Bliss.

Once again latching onto the band's new direction of icy folk-inflected rock, taking cues from the likes of Neko Case, and Gillian Welch, the new single "The Mouth" peels back those heavier tones previously associated with the band to find a sound that allows singer, Melanie St-Pierre's lyrics to shine through. Expansive, dreamlike notions are still at play here with guitarist, Neil Bednis finding something more lyrical in his playing drawing inspiration from George Harrison and Neil Young. Written early on in the process of Knows No Kindness, "The Mouth" helped layout the blueprint for how the record would sound as a full piece.

Knows No Kindness is a deeply personal body of work for the band, in particular St-Pierre who tells stories of her life growing up in small-town Northern Ontario, specifically Sudbury and Massey. This new song reminisces on a park called The Mouth Park in Massey where the Spanish and Sauble rivers meet; it was a spot that was regularly frequented by St-Pierre as a child following in the footsteps of her mother and grandmother who used to go when they were growing up.

Speaking about the track, Melanie says: "The park has a bit of a legacy in my family. My grandmother used to take my mother swimming there when she was young, and later my mother would take my sister and me. Every spring hundreds of trilliums grow along the dirt road leading to the park. The protest pictured in our album art, of which my grandmother was a big part, helped save the area from having nuclear waste dumped into it. I’m very grateful for this area and go often to check on it and sometimes bird watch."

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emie nathan - white light.

Following on from this year’s debut single ‘noman’ - hailed as “pop perfection” by Wonderland, and recent follow-ups ‘upstream’ and ‘roses’, emie nathan last week unveiled her debut EP ‘white light’, set for release on November 26th ... You can now watch a video for the title track now out via Platoon.

A seven-track offering, the EP picks up the baton of nathan’s crystalline, soaring, Maggie Rogers-esque pop and fleshes it out, offering deeper insights into her internal world than ever. The first comes in the form of ‘white light’’s title track - which is now available to stream. An expansive highlight of the EP, it draws on the New York and London-based singer’s Jewish heritage, using the holiday of Yom Kippur (the day of atonement) as a stepping off point for some wider questions.

“I was inspired by the concept of “starting over” to write an irreligious song about reconciling with one’s own shortcomings and choosing to be a better version of themselves moving forward,” she explains. “Separating the religious ideology for a moment, atonement and reconciliation are two very real and widely applicable actions we as humans face all the time. I wanted to write something that encourages improvement in whatever way that manifests. When I try to envision an image of sorts that best represents self-reflection and working to right wrongs, I visualise the brightest light you could possibly imagine. It doesn’t really take shape or assume a form, it is just ever present and forceful in its shine. If we can embody this image of goodness and take it with us into our daily choices, I think we as people can do a lot better for each other and for ourselves going through the day to day motions.

“I grew up in a reformed Jewish household which meant we practised as Jews, but largely stuck to the traditional side of the religion that centres itself around family, food and song. My brothers and I have largely forged our own individual perspectives and relationships regarding our religion as we have grown up, but I think we can agree on how much of the hidden meaning can be translated as good advice for life. Make mistakes? Own them. Hurt someone? Apologise. Hurt yourself? Heal and move on.”

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Lydia Brownfield - We Are Bound.

Lydia Brownfield announces the release of the single “We Are Bound” on October 12. Through gentle strumming and Brownfield’s nurturing vocals, the single serves as a reminder that what we teach our kids is who they grow up to be. We can either lift up or tear down. It’s completely up to us. It’s off the upcoming album, Dig, due out November 19.

A plea for empathy, the song focuses on the idea that we all play a part in everyone’s life. Brownfield says, “I was feeling particularly isolated and also very frustrated, mostly within the political climate, near the end of 2019. Watching our political leaders only looking out for themselves was sad and infuriating. I wanted to write something to remind myself – we have the power to heal each other, to teach each other right from wrong and to lift up those who are down or less fortunate.”

The single produced by Fred Blitzer features Brownfield and Jeff Dalrymple on acoustic guitar, Andy Harrison on electric guitar, Jeff Martin on drums, and Phil Maneri on bass. Brownfield also added strings and piano.

The album travels the euphoric highs of being in love and the dramatic lows of breaking up and discovering internal power. Through genre-bending twists and turns of folk, punk, and pop, it explores the journey of getting caught up in someone else and losing sight of one’s journey of self-discovery.

Lydia Brownfield · We Are Bound

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Renée Reed - J’ai rêvé.

Lafayette, Louisiana musician Renée Reed shares the second single and title track "J’ai rêvé" from her forthcoming digital EP coming November 2 while touring with Whitney across the US.

The song is one of two French covers on the record. "J’ai rêvé" was written and originally recorded by Joëlle Patural in 1979. The EP also includes two original songs by Renée sung in English.

Renée says this about "J’ai rêvé": "I originally found this song on youtube a few years ago, and it took my breath away. The video hardly had any information about it or the artist, Joëlle Patural, which made it even more intriguing for me. I have since tracked down a copy of the LP from 1979, and even exchanged a few messages with Ms Patural. She said she wrote the song when she was about my age and longing to travel and see the world but feeling stuck in her small hometown. I think it’s such a beautiful song, and I want it to go out into the world."

These songs were recorded during the same four-track album sessions as her stunning self-titled debut album, released earlier this year. That album garnered early praise from tastemakers Gorilla vs. Bear and Gold Flake Paint and a 7.7 Pitchfork review which describes her music as "full of dreamy, odd notes, and a sense of unreality shimmers around her songs."

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SHEAL - Sophia Alexa

SHEAL - Dark.

“I think a lot of my writing is me finding my voice. I’ve always been inspired by beauty and beauty in music, and that’s inspired me to create. My challenge was always finding my voice and feeling like I had something worthwhile to say.” explains SHEAL, Toronto-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.

No doubt has SHEAL found something worth saying with her sophomore LP, Courage Again. Writing the album over the span of several years with the constraints of being a mother and teacher, and recording most of it at eight-and-a-half months pregnant with her second child, Courage Again is deeply reflective of love, fear, and motherhood.

Introduced with an aching arrangement of strings and piano on “Gravity,” the LP’s opening line, “We are the same, and we come from the same place, baby,” is a call of gentle empathy and strength; a thread found throughout the album. “Courage Again is about how love makes your inner and outer world expand and how fear makes your inner and outer world contract,” says SHEAL. “It’s about my experience and learnings around pushing through fear rather than running away from it, hence the title of the album.”

Organic, expansive, and at times weightless in sound, SHEAL teamed up with producer Matthew Johnston in his London, Ontario studio to record the album. Capturing a lot of first takes and scratch vocals with SHEAL playing most of the instruments throughout, Courage Again carries an inimitable experience of authenticity and intimacy both sonically and lyrically.

With roots in a musical household in Halifax, Nova Scotia, SHEAL picked up piano, guitar, and violin as a child, and found her call to songwriting at age seventeen. She started committing more to her craft throughout her twenties, writing alongside friends and musicians on the East Coast. After moving to Toronto, she finally debuted with her 2016 EP, Courage, under her full name, Sheilagh McNab. The aptly-titled debut was a brave entrance into the local scene, performing her own material for the first time after joining talented friends for years as an accompanying musician and singer. SHEAL looks forward to the release of her sophomore album, Courage Again, in January 2022.

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Sophia Alexa - House of Cards.

A new artist to watch arrives in stunning fashion today as Sophia Alexa reveals her spellbinding debut single, House Of Cards. A beautifully crafted indie pop song showcasing Sophia Alexa’s dreamy vocals and searingly personal songwriting, the track serves as an exciting introduction to an artist set for big things. Speaking on the track, Sophia states:

House of Cards was written from the realisation that my old self beliefs were built on a foundation that required external validation. It’s a moment in time where I blindly followed the beliefs of others rather than my own. The chorus is the moment when the glass shatters and what you thought to be true falls apart. I remember going into the studio that day with no concept in mind just an overwhelming feeling of emotions that I could only translate into a metaphor as fragile as a house of cards. 

Sophia Alexa is a singer-songwriter with an intriguing background; born to German and American parents in California, she was raised in Amsterdam and has been based in London for over 10 years. Moving schools and cities a number of times, she often found herself feeling like an outsider and music was the one constant she could cling to. Growing up, Sophia developed an enduring love for classic singers like Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Stevie Nicks and Neil Young who have all influenced her style, mixing folk-inspired pop music with an electronic edge and her soulful voice as the focus.

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Elyza Bleau - KAVYA - Coda Facto

Elyza Bleau - Apparition.

Elyza Bleau's newest single, “Apparition,” is taken from part of her upcoming EP, Haunted. The song is a very personal one for her that will entice you with every listen.

Echoing the vibes of U2, but with more edge, her music is about her family’s legacy and more broadly about one’s own legacy not being able to be who you want to be due to your family's expectations or ideas of who you should be.

“I was really inspired by this need to trace our heritage in the zeitgeist and the expectations that families and cultures can have around people falling in line with it, even if your path is very different,” says Elyza. It’s about not fitting a mold that fits your ancestry and the hurdles that come with that."

Elyza was basically in a personal lockdown before March of 2020. She had moved away from the city into a bungalow on the beach and was working 2 full-time jobs. That fierce independence led Elyza to show up to her guitar every day in January. After 4 years of struggling to write, she wrote 21 songs in 30 days. Planning  to make an EP she had spent the last month and a half choosing the best ones to craft. And then…all hell broke loose on earth.

 

Elyza Bleau · Apparition

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KAVYA - Affection.

Every artist strives his/her best for their audience to get to know them better. The intention of every musician is to share their lives and personalities through music and Kavya Trehan shares the very same intention. A couple of years in the making, she is finally set to release her debut 4 track EP starting with the single 'Affection' that sees the light of day on October 8th. This single is backed by a solid team with support from visual artists Khyati Trehan and Sanchit Sawaria, Anhad Khanna on production duties, and Pranay Parti on synths.

Imagine a world without affection. Validation is something we all seek externally and often we base a lot of who we are on what we receive from others. But the pandemic brought about so many changes and taught KAVYA to honour and treasure the relationships and things in life that truly gave her the affection she sought for. It helped her filter through people, scenarios, experiences, interests and understand what makes her thrive. This time in isolation helped her understand her purpose, who are the people she would vouch for and vice versa. At the end of the day, we all need action to carry out the drama of life.

"This track is one of the most intimate pieces I've written so far. I think it took many years of unlearning to be so candid." - KAVYA

KAVYA (Kavya Trehan) is a 27-year-old singer-songwriter from New Delhi, India who’s been performing since the age of 14. Over the course of time, she’s collaborated with some of the leading producers in India and toured with her band, MOSKO. Her solo project is a celebration of raw emotion and her roots, where all songs have been developed from guitar parts and trusty voice notes. In order to constantly evolve as an artist, in 2016 she started writing music using Ableton. Since then, she is on a relentless spree of releasing her own material that has more of an R&B, electronic, and indie-pop feel.

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CODA FACTO - Jamesville (E.P).

CODA FACTO are a rock band from Hamilton, Canada founded by Alexander DeRoo and Jonathan Harley. CODA FACTO fuse melodic Brit-Rock and Americana with modern vocals and lyrical stories. Alex and Jon began gigging in 2010 after meeting as classmates at Hamilton’s McMaster University. In 2016, they formed the band ALEXR with Adam Rogerson (guitar), Mark Korczynski (bass) and Luke Ormond (drums).

They caught the attention of Glen Marshall and the late Bob Lanois at The Mule Spinner, a local venue in The Cotton Factory creative hub. The band would often rehearse, perform and record early tracks there gaining seasoned insights from both producers.

In 2018, the band was joined by Kaitie Allinger (vocals) and renamed STRATHCONA after the city’s west downtown neighbourhood. The band performed regularly at local music venues; including The Casbah, the former This Ain’t Hollywood, and The Mule Spinner. They recorded “Rock ‘N’ Roll Sounds” and “Hidden Treasure” with the artful guidance of producer Carl Jennings of Westmoreland Recording Studio.

Early 2019 saw the group disband as several members chose to pursue other interests. Alex and Jon continued arranging and recording with Jennings for a debut EP as the band, CODA FACTO. The name represents the coda of Alex and Jon’s music journey– every song’s beginning has an inevitable end bringing new beginnings. And, the fact friendship remains constant throughout their journey– CODA FACTO.

While recording their debut EP, Alex (vocals, guitar, piano) and Jon (strings, mandolin, vocals) involved esteemed, session collaborators: Joel McCabe (guitar, vocals), Matt Gormley (guitar, organ), Chris Gormley (drums, congas), Tim Jennings (drums), and Carl Jennings (bass, vocals). The fall 2021 release of CODA FACTO’s debut EP Jamesville follows the summer video and single releases of “Rock ‘N’ Roll Sounds” and “Ode to Rose.”

CODA FACTO · Jamesville

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Nadia Vaeh - Alicia Stockman

Nadia Vaeh - Snake Lady.

Pop artist Nadia Vaeh has just released her newest single, “Snake Lady,” which tells the story of a femme fatale that influenced and pushed her further in her journey of self-discovery. For the release of the single, Nadia Vaeh teamed up with The Love Yourself Project, a non-profit arts and education organization that provides community programs that promote self-awareness, self-acceptance, self-esteem, and skill-building. 

Nadia Vaeh describes the “snake lady,” the antagonist in the single, as “a girl with a darkly magnetic aura. She had a charm to her...a snakey charm and I was instantly enamored and stricken.” Based on a real experience, Vaeh tells the story of her run-in with a temptress. “I was in a very vulnerable place in my life, and she exploited that. Despite all of this, she did give me something in return as I was now able to explore more of my sexuality and was pushed even further and deeper into my journey as an artist and back into my skin.” 

As a long-time advocate for self-empowerment, Vaeh often encourages and shares her journey of self-discovery with fans. This new single, “Snake Lady,” takes us further down Vaeh’s journey. With a vivid beat and catchy melody, this song elevates listeners’ mood and quickly takes them into the story of a tempting mistress. The upbeat and danceable pop track was written by Nadia Vaeh and Daena Rogers, produced by Andrew Gomez and Tyler Spratt, and mixed and mastered by Tyler Spratt.

Nadia Vaeh · Snake Lady

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Alicia Stockman - These Four Walls.

Alicia Stockman is a Utah-based folk-meets-Americana singer-songwriter whose music pulls back the veil to reveal everyday vulnerability. Her songs are written like intimate moments, drawing listeners into a relatable emotional journey.

At a young age, Alicia Stockman began her deep love for music, compelled by the vivid storytelling of powerhouse songwriters including Patty Griffin, Brandi Carlile and Jewel.  After performing in a loud rock n’ roll band playing bars with sticky floors and belting out Stevie Wonder tunes, Alicia began writing her own music more seriously.  Realizing her new songs didn’t have a place in a loud bar with a party atmosphere, she branched out and started playing more intimate venues, quickly finding her home in the folk and Americana scene. Her whisky-dipped soulful vocals and creative takes on day-to-day realities soon sparked the interest of “Nashville’s Americana Queen” Mary Bragg who began collaborating with Alicia on her new album.

Her upcoming debut 10-track full-length album is entitled These Four Walls and is a collection of  "songs to make you feel and feel seen." The album says, “I see you. I've been there. I understand.” Written over a three year period, These Four Walls is a luminous roots release infused with gritty blues rock guitar licks and attention worthy melodies.

The first track on the album, “Stay Between The Lines,” was written during a long drive home from New Mexico and the highway inspired single discusses how we all can sometimes “dance between right and wrong and personal limits and boundaries to keep life interesting.” The reverb drenched guitar and wild west twang make “Stay Between The Lines” an alluring listen.

In the album’s title track, “These Four Walls,” Alicia hopes to destigmatize the conversation on mental health. She confides, “I wrote ‘These Four Walls’ to help me process a former relationship in which my partner had severe depression/anxiety disorder. This song was my way of unpacking all that and finding a way back to myself.” The song features a stripped-down melody with dreamy, tender lyrics that showcase her vulnerability as an artist.

Recognized for her unique songwriting and performance formula, Alicia has received accolades from several performing songwriter competitions including Songwriter Serenade, Tucson Folk Festival, Suzanne Millsaps Songwriter Competition, and the Wildflower! Arts and Music Festival. These Four Walls is due for release November 5th 2021, worldwide.

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Tessa Fleur - Julia Logan & Nina Persson - Sam Teskey - Benz

Tessa Fleur - The Hell of it All.

Twirling her way back onto the scene, Brisbane's ethereal singer/songwriter, Tessa Fleur, graces us with her new single ‘The Hell of it All’.

With a sound that has freshly floated down from the clouds, Tessa’s brand of fantastical folk provides the perfect escape from the daily mundane. Flourishing with honey-soaked harmonies and sweeping slide guitar, ‘The Hell of it All’ is a melancholy multi-layered masterpiece that encapsulates Tessa’s artful storytelling of self-exploration. Built around a striding beat and bassline, this nostalgic track exudes an essence of Fleetwood Mac that instantly transports you to a place of pure contentment.

Accompanying the single release is a mesmerising music video that is nothing short of a visual feast. Tessa’s angelic aesthetic runs wild as she whisks you to another world in a flurry of wind-whipped hair. We meet Tessa amidst an unnerving cult, dancing through fields in a flock of flowing white dresses. The video explores the concept of falling into your deepest truths and inner wisdom or, in Tessa's own words, 'indoctrinating yourself into your own cult.'

Directed by Long term collaborators Allisa Tsukimori and Oliver Marshall, this transportive video was a labour of love that took over 12-months, and the assistant of Tessa's friends, family and fellow creatives to create. Tessa invites us further into her vision by hand-picking locally sourced and hand-crafted props and costumes. “Collaborating with local businesses and creatives is something I’m heavily passionate about. More than ever, we need to support our local businesses and creative community,” explains Tessa.

After soaring onto the scene last year with her debut single ‘Sunset Melancholy’, reaching #3 on the triple j Unearthed chart, Tessa Fleur has since been persisting amidst restrictions, performing with her band and captivating local crowds. For 'The Hell of it All', Tessa collaborated with producer Alistar Richardson, whose resume glitters with the likes of Last Dinosaurs, Clea, Hallie, Sweater Curse and Nice Biscuit.

 

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Julia Logan & Nina Persson - One Mile from Heaven.

Forthcoming, Stockholm based, album debutant Julia Logan has been gaining lots of attraction this past year in Sweden. Tastemaker magazine Popmani used a fitting description when they listened to her debut single ”To Be True”: ”it’s nice to hear a voice that sound so modern and still lingers of inspiration from the past.” Since then, Logan’s been praised by high end international media such as Clash Magazine and Nothing But Hope And Passion as well as getting support from Swedish national radio and TV.

Her new track, off of her forthcoming album, is a version of cult artist Bobb Trimble’s ”One Mile From Heaven”, performed as a duet with one of Sweden’s most treasured singers - Nina Persson of The Cardigans, A Camp etc. Julia and her producer Daniel Bengtson first heard of the song when Aldous Harding mentioned it in an interview as a personal favorite of hers. After presenting the idea to Persson the duo went down to the south of Sweden, Malmö, to record her unmistakable vocals.

Julia Logan on the collaboration: ” When me and Daniel just stumbled across this song we immediately felt it would work out as duet. When Nina said yes to working with us, we were thrilled! The Cardigans’ music has been with me since childhood and I’ve always been inspired by Nina’s personal and charismatic voice. I think that we, in line with maybe Angel Olsen and Sharon Van Etten, is building a new kind of genre of female duets. ”

Nina Persson on the collaboration: ”Julia is a new acquaintance to me. I love her voice and there’s no better way to meet new people than making music together. The song is a real fine musical archeological find. I hope Bobb Trimble gets happy by us giving it new life in form of a brilliant female duet:”

On the recording we’re hearing, adding to the core team of Julia and Daniel Bengtson, the drummer Kyle Crane (Daniel Lanois, Neko Case, Conan Oberst, Kurt Vile etc), guitarist Peter Morén (Peter Bjorn and John) and Sofia Kristensen on backing vocals.

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Sam Teskey - Let The Sun Bring The Light.

Inspired by the cycles of life, Sam Teskey, guitarist of critically-acclaimed, blues-soul band The Teskey Brothers, announces his debut solo album, Cycles, a collection of music influenced by the great English psychedelic bands of the late ’60s & ’70s, out now on Decca Records. The first track on the album, Love, is a stirring, pastoral folk song that establishes the album’s own life cycle, ending with the reprise Then Love Returns.

Born out of lockdown in early 2020, with touring at a stand-still, Teskey relished in the opportunity to return to his vast back catalogue of incomplete musical musings he’d amassed whilst writing for The Teskey Brothers over the years. Painstakingly digging through old demos, spending time with the development of the songs, keen to make a record that would be enjoyed as a complete body of work. Starting where most finish, he settled on the track-listing before recording a note, thoughtfully building on the original ideas, with each track evolving to seamlessly melt together with the next.

On his debut album, Teskey says: “When on the road touring, I spend most of my time writing songs, so I have a massive collection of songs and ideas ready to go. Once I figured out that they all work together like that, it happened really organically. I love listening to albums that have progression and take you on a journey. A big point of this album is for people to create their own journey and their own story. I can say many things about the record, but I want to leave the experience up to the listener. It feels nice to put the creativity back in the listeners’ hands.”

Cycles offers a thrilling and immersive journey; the seven tracks ebb and flow like a stream of consciousness, shying away from traditional song structures and negotiating a range of genres from orchestral balladry, dissonant and ambient soundscape, all the way through to folk and heavy psych-rock. Determined to capture the music in its purest form, Teskey, enlisting the help of musician friends, live recorded the album almost exclusively live to tape at his analogue home studio in Warrandyte.

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Benz - Hometown.

Ebba Salomonsson (Benz) grew up in her stepfather's record store where she explored endless different influences and styles. Benz have now signed to Rama Lama Records (Melby, Wy, Chez Ali etc.) and is back with another collection of songs packed with her playful and diverse psych-tinged indie folk, its a sound where Benz with big confidence lets her music both be direct and breathe - creating a musical soundscape for the listener to get swept away in.

The new EP 'This Could Be The End' is out on November 5th. Second single 'Hometown', an atmospheric indie rock track about leaving the place you grew up but still feeling it's your home, is out now.

Thematically, the EP treats a broken relationship. But this is not your usual romantic sad-break-up-indie, as the lyrics tell the story about breaking up with an old friend. Ebba herself has compared the EP to "six seasons of Girls, a comedy-drama in a compressed format".

All the tracks on the EP are written by Ebba Salomonsson herself, produced by Wallentin Richardsson and recorded with Nathanel Salomonsson (drums), Simon Ström (bass), Olle Wahlström (guitar) and Alfon Keteli (keys).

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Glass Heart String Choir - Elijah Wolf - T Truman - Karen Myatt

Glass Heart String Choir - Wounds.

Friends-in-arms reveling at the intersection of classical virtuosity, existential poetics, and art-film surrealism, Seattle art-pop duo Glass Heart String Choir weaves golden lyrical threads of haute-art into their achingly beautiful orchestral tapestry.

Their latest single and video, Wounds, is a delicate folk-pop offering reminiscent of Sufjan Stevens and My Brightest Diamond. Set within the alluring visuals of Joshua Tree and the Coachella Valley, the video finds the duo’s violinist/composer Katie Mosehauer fighting to escape the cyclic burden of psychic wounds and emotional scars.

Directed by Katie, the video finds her attempting to escape the confines of memory, artfully moving through unforgiving landscapes, endlessly looped back to a pool that should be a reprieve from the heat, but is instead a beguiling entrapment. Katie explains, “There are so many emotional spaces that we occupy alone, carrying a burden of psychic wounds and emotional scars that we never speak of to anyone. Music is an important place to give names to those spaces and make them visible to everyone. Wounds creates a world in which anyone who has or is sitting with those lonely emotions will have a friend sitting with them to celebrate the escape, to mourn the setbacks, and to offer a 2’30” reprieve to share that space with someone who understands.”

Their previous 2021 release, California, is a lyrical tug-of-war between fond recollection, consolation, and sorrow, with vocalist Ian Williams’ sanguine delivery floating upon Mosehauer’s elegant violin melodies and choral soundscapes suggestive of contemporary soundtrack composers Yann Tiersen and Jocelyn Pook. The 100+ string-sections and near-operatic highs of their Light EP are replaced with an airy, Enya-esque choir that haunts the piano-driven bridge, and boldly carries the song forward in its latter half, bringing a soft new dimension to the traditional repertoire.

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Elijah Wolf - Yesterday, With You.

Brooklyn-based artist and songwriter Elijah Wolf has released a new single “Yesterday, With You” which features performances by Robin Pecknold (Fleet Foxes), Paul Spring (Holy Hive), Josh Jaeger (Angel Olsen) and Kevin Copeland (Lightning Bug). The song follows a breakthrough summer that included a Newport Folk Festival debut, his first-ever UK headline tour and a packed performance at the End of the Road Festival that ended in a roaring standing ovation. “Yesterday, With You” is his first single release following his new album Brighter Lighting that was released earlier this year via Trash Casual Records.

“After creating my last record Brighter Lighting with Sam Cohen, I had felt inspired by the idea of building an even larger musical community around my solo project. I grew up playing in bands, so the idea of multiple collaborators felt really exciting to me now,” explains Wolf.  “I had been feeling inspired by these occasional Sunday night meet ups I would have with my friends Robin Pecknold and Paul Spring, where we would just sit and talk for hours. I wanted to capture this feeling in song, so I invited them to come help create one of my new songs in the studio. Josh Jaeger, who was a big collaborator on my last record, had been telling me of a studio he had been working out of in the Lower East Side of Manhattan with Kevin Copeland. I thought this would be a great space to create in. I wrote ‘Yesterday, With You’ about longing for a feeling you just can’t quite put your finger on, or name. Feeling mostly alright, but still feeling like a piece of you is missing. After the sessions we sent it over to Sam Cohen to mix, and D. James Goodwin to master.”

Video director Dylan Kaplowitz said about the collaboration: “Each of the roads in this video are loosely based on different memories riding around the hudson valley as a kid. Initially the first road was the route I took to see my first teen love, the roads in the middle of the sequence were the same I took to school and finally in the end sequence the rider is on the route I would take home to my family. This process formed as I was going through the footage and realized wow all of these roads are the same roads I took! Often alone and deep in thought. To me, this sequence feels like we're watching the character on their own way home.”

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T Truman - Vanity Jones.

T Truman, the solo project and alter ego of the Vaccines’ keyboardist Timothy Lanham, today releases new single "Vanity Jones" alongside an extravagant accompanying video, which sees Truman cruising through a virtual San Francisco skyline in a vintage Alfa Romeo.

Speaking on the new single, T Truman said: "Vanity Jones is basically about the inner cynic who comes out uninvited and spoils a good time." Dig a little deeper, and the track appears to examine human insecurities, jealousy and egotism – all wrapped in an irresistible piano-led, 70's tinged sound that is unmistakably Truman.

"Vanity Jones", co-produced and written with frequent collaborator Geoff Roberts, stands as the first new music to be heard from T Truman following his 2020 debut EP 'Born To Be Right', which drew praise for its glitzy, retro-pop stylings from the likes of NME, DIY Magazine, Dork Magazine, The Line Of Best Fit, Clash Magazine, Gigwise, Les In Rocks, Indie88 + more. The new single also coincides with a tour supporting Walt Disco, running from 23rd October to 1st November, including dates in Manchester, Brighton and London.

T Truman pays homage to the past as much as he looks forward to the future. With sonic references to 70’s piano-pop artists such as Todd Rundgren and Elton John, there's a distinct nostalgic feeling, but one that confidently steps forward with a clear modern approach.

"Vanity Jones" is lifted from T Truman's as-yet-unannounced second EP, due for release Spring 2022. Discussing the new EP, Truman commented: "Retrospectively I think a lot of this new EP’s underlying lyrical meaning is about a search for creative purpose, and perhaps the fear of what it means if you can’t find it… also a lot about the constant obsession with keeping in vogue, though I couldn’t help but layer all this with silly made up characters who I’d probably never want to meet."

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Karen Myatt - Femoir.

Canadian songstress Karen Myatt has released the first single/video from her forthcoming album Femoir. The title track is the first in a series of singles/videos to roll-out over the coming months.

“Femoir, itself, was the very first song that I ever wrote,” shares Myatt. “It started with a single line and a simple melody and just evolved organically from there. It almost wrote itself. Given my love for literature, the song’s theme of books, diaries, letters - the written word in any form - just poured out of me.”

The new video was funded by Music Nova Scotia, directed by Drew Wilson, and features artwork and animation from Briana Corr Scott. “It was an incredible experience to collaborate on this with them,” says Myatt. “Drew and Briana each brought their own unique creative vision and vibe to the song and the result is a stunning work of visual art that sets the mood for the whole recording.”

A musical mélange of original compositions and contemporary standards, Femoir’s 14 songs are a fusion of soul, rock, jazz, worldbeat, and more. The album was tracked at The Sonic Temple Recording Studio in Halifax, NS and engineered by Darren van Niekerk. It was mixed and mastered by Christian St. Germain at Studio 360 in Montreal, QC.

Some of Canada’s most renowned musicians appear on the new recording, including Chris Mitchell (saxophone), Matt Myer (trumpet), Lisa MacDougall (keyboards), Adam Fine (bass), Geoff Arsenault (drums), Shimon Walt (cello) and Jennifer Jones (violin). Those musicians will join Myatt onstage November 12 when Femoir is officially launched with a multi-media concert at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium in Halifax.

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Alice Tambourine Lover - Adam Hattaway and The Haunters - Lara Mrgic - Natalie Jane Hill

Alice Tambourine Lover - Forse Non Sei Tu.

Wandering between lazy Mazzy Star/Cowboy Junkies atmospheres and more gritty moments reminiscent of Mark Lanegan, Bologna-based duo Alice Tambourine Lover (Alice Albertazzi and Gianfranco Romanelli) are back with single 'Forse Non Sei Tu', out for heavy psych rock label Go Down Records (IT).

For the first time the tracks are sung in Italian, but the music language lingers on their cradling dream-roots idiom - somewhere between Yo La Tengo and Cranes. 

Forse Non Sei Tu features lyrics by Ligurian singer-songwriter Vittorio Carniglia, while the B-side is a cover version of 'Vorrei Incontrarti', one of the masterpieces of Alan Sorrenti's progressive production, played with a bluesy feeling that adds flavor to its cold beauty.

Alice Tambourine Lover were founded in 2011 as a side-project of psych band Alix, with five albums released among which Ground, recorded by David Lenci and Good One, recorded by Steve Albini. In 2012 they played All Tomorrow’s Parties Festival, headlined by Neurosis, Shellac, Red Fang, Uzeda. They have released, all on Go Down Records, Naked Songs (2012), Star Rovers (2013), Like A Rose (2015), which features two songs by Dandy Brown (Hermano, Orquesta Del Desierto) and John Garcia (Kyuss, Unida, Hermano), and Down Below (2019).

 

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Adam Hattaway and The Haunters - Riding the River.

Adam Hattaway & The Haunters are a New Zealand band who are steeped in the sound of American classic rock from the 60s and 70s, while doing their best to update these classic motifs for a modern audience. 

You’ll definitely hear a heavy influence of Van Morrison and The Rolling Stones, but their sound blends elements of soul, country, blues, and even punk rock on their new album. 

Led by frontman Adam Hattaway on guitars, vocals, and harmonica, the band appeals to classic rock fans who still love the tried-and-true style of those legendary bands but are looking for new bands who are carrying on that mantle into the 21st century.

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Lara Mrgic - Took Your Lover.

Alternative Pop queen, Lara Mrgic, is gearing up to release her next anticipated music video for her recent single titled “Took Your Lover” on October 8th. The track is available to stream on all platforms.
Lara Mrgic has an effortless flow when sharing her beautiful music through her angelic vocals and expressive sound.

The Bay Area Native finds her sound through pain and melancholic experiences and has always turned to music her entire life as a safe haven and space. Lara knew music was going to be in her life forever after finding this passion at the young age of 3. As she grew up, she began crafting her sound and learned to love the challenges thrown her way.

Translating her interest in writing and poetry into music, Lara introduces her audience to a new way to perceive the world through her own eyes. Presenting her love for 60’s/70’s film progression, Lara also finds ways to give a modern day twist to these elements and incorporate them into her alternative pop sound.

For her upcoming single, “Took Your Lover” Lara Mrgic notes that, “I wrote a symphony...and let the strings speak for themselves.”

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Natalie Jane Hill - Solely.

"Solely”, the sophomore effort by folk guitarist/singer-songwriter Natalie Jane Hill, is a record of transition. While the Central Texas native’s stunning debut “Azalea” grew from years spent developing a textural narrative voice and idiosyncratic guitar style in the vibrant Blue Ridge Mountains, “Solely” represents a period of inward growth, and an outward push into an expanded sonic palette.

Following a move back to the Austin area in the fall of 2019, just months ahead of the pandemic, Natalie began an intensive period of reflection, and expanded her song-craft’s foundations from the broader themes of nature into the vulnerable intricacies of self-discovery. Along with this process came an openness to external creative input.

Recorded between October 2020-March 2021 to Tascam 8 track in the Lockhart Texas home of producer Jason Chronis (Voxtrot, Tele Novella), these recordings represent Hill’s first incorporation of other musicians into her arrangements, featuring performances by Mat Davidson (Twain) among several other trusted friends. There is a liberating and careful grace in these collaborations, providing strength and color to the upper branches of each song while preserving space for the health of the roots.

“Solely” is a celebration of knowing ourselves well enough to be able to accept the darkest paths of introspection, which can allow us to combine our creative influence with others to construct the experiences we want to have. Like lived experience itself, this music breathes and inhabits the space you allow for it, constantly revealing new qualities and inviting repeated reflection.

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SUEP - Nisa - Jackson Dyer

SUEP - Domesticated Dream.

The stubbornly high spirited SUEP create oddball music with a touch of theatrical storytelling. Led by SuepLord (Porridge Radio, Garden Centre, The GN Band) and Brain Wastefield (UK top model), SUEP is borne out of a near-decade of wearing silly clothes and deconstructing pop together.

After relocating from Brighton to London, the pair added GN (The GN Band, Joanna Gruesome, The Tubs), Freakin' Deacon (PC World, Garden Centre), and T-Mr.9 (Head of Pastoral Care) to the line-up. They take turns writing songs and taking lead vocal duties but manage to create a coherent world of playful collaboration. Their songs take the listener through haunted castles, deprived encounters, days lost to the imagination in bed, and through the integral friendships that give SUEP the energy to keep dancing to their own beat.

SUEP’s infectious debut single Domesticated Dream combines a classic 70s Yamaha disco beat, deep bass, nostalgic drum machine sounds, a whole lot of cowbells, and hooky melodies. It’s about homelife, drinking too much, and making big plans that never come to fruition.

As SuepLord expands, “It’s about not having enough money or time to acquire stuff that you want because of capitalism, and about wanting someone to share your life with in a cosy and settled way.”  Sprinkled, however, with a lot of technicoloured positivity for the future of the human-race, with the chorus’ refrain, “the psychedelic 4000s,” predicting the return of a 60s-esque psychedelic Age of Aquarius in a couple of millennia time.

The kitsch 70s home video was shot in one room in Brian Wastefield’s house, an old MOT centre in Fulham, using green screen, Wastefield’s colourful wardrobe and images of odd retro rooms taken from the @estate_age archives on Instagram.

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Nisa - St. James Gate.

Early in 2021, the 22-year-old began work on a new collection of songs that would make up the forthcoming EP, Time To Plant Tears. The title takes its name from the final stanza of an Elizabeth Bishop poem called Sestina. Working together with collaborator and producer, Ronnie Di Simone, the songs were recorded between Brooklyn's Studio G and the Brick Box studio. The new EP demonstrates Nisa's penchant for intimate storytelling cast against the backdrop of glistening, cinematic soundscapes reminiscent of Angel Olsen, Indigo De Souza, Japanese Breakfast and Soccer Mommy. In describing the mood of the EP, Nisa has said that the songs are centered around “confrontation and focus; weathering internal and external changes; desire, and emotional rebirth.” Intersecting cinematic and poetic frames of reference, it lands between what is said and what is felt.

The opening track on the EP and the lead single, "St James Gate" provides a stellar introduction to the new collection. Sonically, it ebbs and flows, building from intimate guitar into a wonderful horn solo that serves to remind us of breaking free from stifled emotions.

When discussing the single, Nisa says: "I wrote “St. James Gate" after reading Sally Rooney’s Normal People and feeling deeply affected by the author’s descriptions of love in private spaces. The raging horn solo and blistering shouts over the final chorus are sobering reminders of the emotional claustrophobia of hiding."

Born to Albanian immigrants in the Bronx, Nisa learned to speak Albanian before English and grew up listening to the traditional folk music of her parent’s native country. It wasn’t long before she began venturing out into what she describes to be a “diverse and accepting arts community,” playing regularly at open mic nights in high school and joining a rock collective in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Her exploration of songwriting began when she was advised to lean into the rock stylings of the Eagles as an introduction to the guitar, from here she developed her own way of storytelling while referencing the likes of PJ Harvey, Björk and Radiohead as other key cornerstones to her approach.

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Jackson Dyer - Losing Light.

Jackson Dyer explains: "The film clip for my newest single ‘Losing Light’ was a fun video that I made with director Job Antoni Schellekens, a fellow Berlin-based artistand good friend. As the song is centered on lovely days with friends and of wanting to extend time so you can squeeze every bit of happiness out of the moment, Job shot the video on a DV handycam and a 16mm camera, which helped create a nostalgic, light-hearted atmosphere. We shot the video with a fewfriends, as well as Pascal Karier, who plays drums on the track, and our friend Elliot McKee, from Berlin duo Charity Children, also lent his expertise to the editing the clip. All in all, it was a super enjoyable process. :)"

'Losing Light’ is an upbeat, joyful track written with fellow Berlin-based musician Florian Höfer and featuring drums from Pascal Karier. The single reflects Dyer’s move to a more collaborative approach to songwriting. Particularly in recent, more isolated times, writing with others has offered Dyer a way to connect more with other musicians and approach his music in a more open and enjoyable way. This care-free approach is evident in ‘Losing Light’, an uptempo and optimistic song.

Since arriving in Berlin, Dyer has shared the stage with Hozier, Hiatus Kaiyote and Alice Phoebe Lou, as well as playing a host of festivals and touring Europe extensively in support of acts like Mighty Oaks and Dennis Lloyd. His laid-back songs are often influenced by nature and he brings a mix of soul, folk and indie to his spacious production and evocative lyricism. Dyer is set to release a new EP this year, featuring a mix of collaborations with fellow Berlin artists, further developing his distinct style.

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