Rodney Cromwell - Get Me To Prague / Radagast The Brown.
Rodney Cromwell is the nom-de-plume of Adam Cresswell. Both tracks on this new single were recorded while Cresswell was in his first band SALOON that operated between 1998-2003. Saloon released three albums with Track & Field (UK) and Darla (US). They toured extensively in Europe, supporting the likes of STEREOLAB, ELECTRELANE, QUICKSPACE and OF MONTREAL. They are remembered mostly today for their 3 John Peel Sessions and four Festive 50 entries, including the number one in 2002.
‘Get Me To Prague’ was written and recorded in 1999 on a Yamaha four-track tape recorder using a bomtempi organ, casiotone and Moog Rogue. Recorded in a single evening, the track is an exploration into proto-germanic electronica in the style of Ralf & Forian era Kraftwerk. Taking 22 years to get a mix he was happy with, Cresswell cites this as because “I didn’t like the snare sound.”
In 2001, Saloon were asked to offer a track for a tribute to a ‘The Lord of The Rings’ album. The rest of the band were less-than enthusiastic, but for Cresswell, for whom the Spectrum computer game of ‘Rings’ had been a formative experience, it was an offer too good to refuse. In lieu of a proper studio, ‘Radagast The Brown’ was composed one Saturday afternoon in 2001, on the bed of his girlfriend’s grandfather, while he was out watching a Reading FC home game. Also recorded in one sitting, the song was made on a minidisc 8-track recorder, using just a Casiotone keyboard and a Korg MS-10 synth. It is another exploration into primitive chiptune electronica, with echoes of Plone, Jean Jacques-Perry or Gershon Kingsley.
Under his solo guise of Rodney Cromwell he released the LP 'Age of Anxiety' in 2015 and 'Rodney's English Disco' EP in 2018, with coverage in Electronic Sound, NME, Huffington Post, Impose, Paste, Record Collector, BBC6 Music and national RNE3 in Spain, for whom he recorded a live session. The debut album featured in scores of Best of Lists including Electronic Sound and The Electricity Club who named him ‘Most Promising New Act’. His last single ‘Memory Box’ precedes an album of the same, to be released in March 2022; described as “pure hertz tone glory” by Post-Punk.com, it has had numerous blog features and radio plays, including national play from BBC 6 Music.
Stockholm synthpop duo Tony's Tears are following up their debut EP that was released earlier this year with the single "Gazing at the Border". It's the first single of the EP "Erasing Diamonds" that is to be released this spring. Tony's Tears saw the light during the pandemic and they are really looking forward to play a real show in their hometown on Xmas day!
Their music can be defined as cinematic indie that is flirting with the 80's together with "suggestive and electronic elements".
Alex och William about the song: The song serves as a scene in a larger story that fits within our upcoming ep "Erasing Diamonds". The text is like a look into an event where one does not quite know what has happened before or after. Which aims to instead directly jump into the middle of the dramatic curve.
Where we’re told about a situation where someone has been taken away and where the self in the song is powerless to do anything about the situation. The song is about a form of "we" and "them" drama. Where there is a superiority and an oppressed side. The sound image is intended a bit like a message from a VHF-radio that sometimes loses its connection and turns into noise with voices in the background and then reconnects again.
From The Storm is written, recorded and produced by Big Little Lions who are Helen Austin & Paul Otten.The lyrics are reproduced below.
It’s getting late, a chill sets in You hesitate, you’re wondering If you should go You’re so used to icy hands That follow every frosty glance You never know
Chorus: You didn’t bring a coat But I will keep you warm I know I can protect you From the storm
When the sun starts to shine It’s still cloudy in your mind Too scared the forecast might be wrong So winter holds you And winter told you This is where you belong Chorus.
Drew Haley's emotional and heartwarming music video for her latest single "A Good Woman" has officially debuted just in time for the holidays.
Drew Haley's heart is permanently on her sleeve, but her latest single allows listeners into her childhood and her relationship with her mother. With a singer-songwriter flair and her signature lush vocals, Haley paints a vivid picture of her loving mother's sacrifices and lessons that the singer has carried with her throughout her life.
Through home videos, our hearts burst as we get glimpses of Haley’s ordinary yet beautiful childhood. These nostalgic moments are interspersed with shots of Haley today, reflecting on the impact her mother, Laura, has had on her. From the perspective of a daughter who was given a life full of love, "A Good Woman" fuses nostalgia with gratefulness. Despite all the sacrifices Laura made as a single mother, Haley’s lyrics reflect on the unconditional love she felt throughout her life. As the chorus states, "nothing compares to the heart of a mother," and the raw footage used in the music video is palpably heartfelt. In addition to such meaningful lyrics, Haley’s voice helps tell the story with her soothing tone and effortless runs. The simplistic instrumentation and light angelic background vocals add another layer of tenderness to the story. "A Good Woman" acts as a quiet voice that silences surrounding chaos and demands to be listened to. It will have everyone picking up the phone to call or driving across town to hug the special people in their lives.
"I truly enjoyed making the video “A Good Woman” with James McGettrick. I loved how we were able to incorporate old video footage of myself and my mother, Laura. She was the inspiration behind this song and project," says Haley.
As 2021 comes to a close, Drew Haley reminds us to be grateful for the people who have shaped us into the people we are today. After the challenges and trials Haley has faced as a woman and mother, she has come full circle with "A Good Woman" and its touching message.
Directed by boundary-breaking NYC filmmaker and photographer Alice Teeple, Blake Morgan’s “Down Below Or Up Above” gives homage to classic Hollywood-era noir films. “The music video is like if Gene Kelly had starred in ‘The Third Man,’” says Morgan with a smile. “We shot in Central Park at night so I’m lit only by moonlight, street lamps, and a couple of flashlights when needed. Within ten minutes of shooting we were wonderfully unsure of what century we were in.”
Teeple and Morgan’s shared love of 1930’s and 40’s film noir––and specifically the work of directors Orson Welles, Fritz Lang, and John Huston––gave birth to the idea of the music video for Morgan’s new single. “Alice is a remarkable artist, she combines film techniques from ages ago and today, seamlessly. We looked at some of the videos Anton Corbijn’s made with Tom Waits which also have that feeling. We wanted something striking, something beautiful, but also something provocative and playful.”
The video released on all platforms yesterday. “Down Below Or Up Above” is the first single from Blake Morgan’s forthcoming new album Violent Delights, out May 20th, 2022 on ECR Music Group.
Whether as a formidable solo artist or in the role of charismatic frontman for legendary, Grammy Award-winning reggae band Black Uhuru for the past 25 years, Andrew Bees has played a significant role in the breaking down of cultural and socio-political barriers that have often kept Jamaican reggae stars out of the American mainstream consciousness.
Teaming up with SoCal independent label LAW Records for the release of his latest solo release “Real Life” (Out Dec.10 2021), Bees now continues that legacy of bringing his personal brand of conscious roots reggae to a new generation of audiences and emerging reggae artists, while subsequently delivering a potent reminder of reggae’s capacity for social critique.
Characterized by wailing guitars pitched over a surging, trance-inducing groove and Bees’ wide-ranged and almost ecstatic vocal delivery of lyrics that conjure the freedom of rolling down mythic American highways —the track’s upbeat sound belies unspoken layers of meaning and the events that inspired the song.
Bees was travelling in Kenya with his wife and baby when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in Feb. of 2020, and as such, he and his small family were among the first panicked waves of American citizens scrambling to board last-minute flights and hastily return home at the behest of the U.S. government.
Flashback to early 2020: Maybe it was becoming a new father, the onset of a global pandemic, middle-aged malaise, or all three. A period of introspection led me to reevaluate what I value most in life, what brings me joy.
What I found was something was missing — music. Although a lifelong musician and longtime songwriter, I had let my passion for music take a backseat to my corporate career and other endeavors. I realized I needed to bring music back into the forefront, and that I had something to contribute creatively.
After buying some new equipment, transforming a spare bedroom into my home studio, dusting off some old songs and writing a few new ones, I set out on recording a body of work to represent my unique musical voice. The result is “It Started Last Fall”, my debut album of 11 original songs about love, setbacks and looking forward. I hope you enjoy the music, and greatly appreciate your interest and support!
Whilst Beehive Candy doesn't undertake in depth album reviews we have to say this is one beautiful collection of songs. Mark's distinct and engaging vocals are backed with a fresh and uncluttered musical backdrop. The resulting range of folk & Americana material is a joy to listen to.
ElectroBluesSociety feat Boo Boo Davis - Transatlantic Quarantaine Sessions (Album).
Between 1998 and 2019 Boo Boo Davis used to come and tour in Europe several times each year and most of music was written and recorded during these tours.
The current pandemic put that "tradition' on hold. But with the help of the internet and mutual friend Chris Brown in St Louis, the guys from ElectroBluesSociety (Netherlands) started to exchange idea's and demo's with Boo Boo in East St Louis (USA).
So despite the fact that they had the Atlantic Ocean between them, they were still able to write and record new music. Covid may be able stop live shows (for a while) but it can not stop the creation of new music.
Several of these tracks have been released as single releases earlier this year but here is the complete album. Twelve original tracks plus one remix by Rosé Sunset from France.
Singer/songwriter Tom Freund is set to release his cover of a 1995 song by one of his heroes, legendary U.K. pub-rocker Graham Parker. “Disney’s America” is out now on Spotify and other digital platforms. (The song is part of Freund’s forthcoming album, The Year I Spent in Space, which will be out early next year.)
Says Freund, “To me the song asks, “Where did America go wrong? … It’s a song for a lost Virginia and nation, one consumed with money, brands and division”: ‘Where we drifted apart like runoff into the Chesapeake Bay.’ Singing about it might bring hope and awareness for a better, more connected and conscious America.”
Freund and Parker share quite a history (apart from Tom growing up in New York listening to Squeezing Out Sparks on repeat as a pre-teen). The two first met on a Silos tour opening for Parker; Freund is an alumnus of the Texas-based roots band.
Mixed by Marta Salogni – who co-produced Romy’s “Lifetime” alongside Fred Again.., Joy Anonymous and Jamie XX – and built by the band around a brass sample from Italian composer Piero Umiliani’s “Blood River”, South London-based three-piece Talmont released new single “Moving Further Than Before” on 10th December 2021, the second single lifted from forthcoming full-length.
Originally from Lincoln and Leeds then later meeting at Goldsmiths in London, Talmont is Martha (songwriter and lyricist) with Joe and Jules (across production and instrumentation). Martha admits that her lyricism is based upon an embellished, filmic view of the past. Gleaming with lucid stories, she references Joni Mitchell as an inspiration, though at times a song is merely there to portray an emotion she was feeling at the time, whether it’s anxiety, excitement, or apprehension.
Previous single and debut “IDATMT” saw support from BBC Introducing in Lincolnshire’s Hannah Fletcher, who interviewed Martha on her show shortly after release. The single was also championed by key press tastemakers including Loud And Quiet and The Revue.
The writing process for the new single began with Jules thumbing through crates of records. After discovering Umiliani’s 1979 classical album “10 Bianchi Uccisi Da Un Piccolo Indiano”, the very last section of “Blood River” piqued the band’s interest and formed the backbone of “Moving Further Than Before”.
Martha ruminates on the new single, “Moving Further [Than Before] is about nostalgia. It’s about craving to relive a moment or a time in the past, but also feeling completely content with where you are at present. So many break-up songs are just about heartbreak, but we wanted to make something that’s a celebration of a period of time that’s reached its end. We wanted to write the song that evoked the emotion of euphoria, yet also felt reflective. This is definitely one of our most collaborative songs, with us all working together on every element - and you can hopefully hear little pieces of each of us throughout as a result.”
Team Me - Just Another Sleepless Night in the Dark.
Norwegian art-pop band Team Me triumphantly return today to announce their long-awaited third studio album 'Something in the Making', out 11th March 2022 via Propeller Recordings (Sløtface, Highasakite, Lokoy). Mixed by Grammy-award winning producer/mixer Darrell Thorp (Foo Fighters, Radiohead, Beck) and mastered by Emily Lazar (David Bowie, Björk, Coldplay, Haim) the new album is their first for 7 years, following their critically acclaimed and Norwegian Grammy-winning debut album To the Treetops! (2011) and its follow up Blind as Night (2014).
Lead single and art-pop epic "Just Another Sleepless Night In The Dark" is released today - a kaleidoscopic, exploration into synth-infused indie pop, providing an enchanting taste of what to expect from 'Something in the Making'. Led by Norwegian singer/songwriter Marius Drogsås Hagen, Team Me have received widespread international success and attention to date, creating an engrossing alternative pop universe in the process.
New album 'Something in the Making' continues in that vein, a journey which began with the band's surprise reunion in 2019: “When we first announced our reunion, the love and appreciation was just overwhelming to be honest. I was very surprised,” says Hagen. “Still, it was a good move to not rush into anything. It left everyone with hope and motivation for the future.” It paid off. That compulsion drove Hagen to complete the most accomplished and world-beating collection of songs of his career so far. What makes it even more of a triumph is that this music finds a whole lot of light out of the darkness.
Built in collaboration with production company OnzOnz and director/photographer Ingeborg Løvlie, together they've created an all-encompassing audiovisual story told from the perspective of a 10 year old boy. Inviting listeners (and viewers) to re-discover the small wonders of life and the environment around us through a child's eyes, the project focuses on the curiosity and discoveries connected to childhood – specifically addressing how exploring your inner child can be a way to maintain and nourish good mental health; chasing the carefreeness of childhood and also accepting the often painful unfairness of life.
Phoenix-based indie-rock outfit, Ultraviolet Communication have released their much anticipated sophomore album Paper Tiger today, flexing creative storytelling combined with sublime craftsmanship. With the help of recording and mixing engineer Josh Medina (Playboy Manbaby,) they’ve built a collective of introspective soundscapes that you truly can get lost in.
Written and recorded throughout winter of 2019 and June 2021 (the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic,) the making of Paper Tiger was a welcome distraction from the world. The overwhelming boredom and lack of inspiration that resulted actually became the inspiration behind some of the songs. Lead single, “Moon Man” served as an outlet for the band to express their collective frustrations. Paying tribute to 60’s pop rock hits, UVC experimented with different recording techniques to create a unique call-and-response within the verses.
“The vocal production is notable because we switched back and forth between two microphones for different sounds on different lines. When Matt was singing softer, we used one mic and when he was singing full voiced we used another." Exploring the inspiration behind the song, UVC says, "We felt by combining these sounds, we could compliment the duality in the lyrics that outline the frustration of interacting with ignorant people and how it can feel like a rollercoaster at times.”
Standout single “Palinopsia” showcases UVC’s psychedelic acid rock sensibilities with a dreamy Pink Floyd-esque sound bordering on prog-rock. This was another example of the trio wanting to spice things up in production and play with new sounds. Discussing further, the band stated, "Once we finished the song we felt that we wanted to experiment more with layering instruments not typically present in our live performance to create a very interesting sonic atmosphere. In comparison to the other two singles, it showcases a more moody and vibrant sound."
November saw the most recent release, "The Diener," which takes on a bluesy indie rock vibe with fuzzy guitars and slick riffs adding to a lush and seductive soundscape. Guitarist Josiah Rodriguez took great satisfaction in creating the ideal guitar tone for this one. Cranking the volume up all the way to create the perfect velcro ripping fuzz sound, he produced a harmonious contrast between the noisy guitar hook and the cleaner feel of the verses. Inspired by a fictional story about a man who was cursed to work as a Diener in Satan’s morgue, the band had fun riffing on a classic “deal with the devil” tale gone wrong.
When award-winning singer, songwriter and producer Josienne Clarke was performing at a show prior to lockdown, a moment meeting a fan afterwards remained fixed in her memory. “There was this one woman who came up to me at the merch table in tears. She was a fan pleading with me to write something in the style of how I write, but more positive,” Clarke recalls, saying that while the fan had been visibly touched by her emotive, melancholic songs, she was craving something more joyous. The fan told Clarke she was going through her own difficult time. “She wanted something with hope, something with a bit of light in it,” Clarke recalls.
This is where Clarke’s new EP, I Promised You Light was born. After the release of her critically acclaimed album A Small Unknowable Thing earlier this year (which earned four-star reviews from the likes of The Financial Times and MOJO), Clarke set about her next project with the words of her fan front-and-centre. “It stayed with me,” Clarke says of her message. “It made me really think: do I need to try and frame things more positively? Maybe I haven’t been able to in the past because I’m still working through things – my work is very autobiographical and cathartic – but I’m only now just finding more positive threads through new experiences and what I’ve learned over this last year.”
Clarke has certainly worked through a lot. Rejecting the male-dominated system, in 2020 Clarke ripped everything up and started again. She went solo and for the first time she was in complete control of everything from her songwriting to arranging and production – and she even released on her own label, Corduroy Punk. The result, after years of being told women couldn’t do all those things in a patriarchal industry, was an album variously described as “the sound of an artist in full bloom”, “a remarkable, impeccable collection” and “her finest work to date.” The experience gave her confidence to try a new direction on her latest EP.
Lead single, ‘Driving At Night’, saw Clarke going directly back to a time she lost her own way. “It’s essentially a song about escaping,” Clarke says, explaining it was about driving away from the last ever gig she performed as part of a duo at the interval. “I literally drove for hours across Europe. I wanted as much physical space between me and my previous career as possible at that point. The feeling of release of having finished that final gig was huge, as was the exciting air of possibility that came about having left behind a thing that was so difficult for me for a long time. It was like a literal lift: I felt everything would suddenly be easier now.” The song’s message, she says, is simple: “it’s – just leave,” she laughs. “It’s alright to leave because all this other great stuff awaits you if you just walk away.”
(New York, NY) On the new single, “What A Shame,” Anna Sun delves into a deeply personal story, capturing the trauma of loss through a filter of enthralling vocals and explosive energy. The song is the latest single from the indie-pop-rock trio’s upcoming self-titled debut EP, due out January 14, 2022.
“What A Shame” was written as a catharsis for lead singer Samantha Aneson as she was losing her mother to dementia. “I’ve grown to love the dichotomy of pain and lightness in art. How one can make the other so much more pronounced,” Aneson reflects. “I was in a place (am forever in a place) of begrudgingly agreeing to this reality that’s been forced upon me. Having to move forward without railing against existence for doing something that once seemed so unimaginable. Having to find light in my nightmare.”
As evidenced in this single, the core of Anna Sun’s appeal lies in Aneson’s diary-like songwriting. Drawing on her background in theatre, her songs dig much deeper into relationship dynamics than the average pop song, all while remaining exceptionally catchy.
Across its six tracks, the Anna Sun EP manages to capture the triumphs and anxieties of being alive in such a strange time. Sometimes thought-provoking, sometimes heartbreaking, these songs always seem to find an underlying sense of optimism, a reflection of their writer’s personality.
Originally Aneson’s bedroom project, Anna Sun has since grown into a collaborative trio including drummer Nikola Balac and bassist Andrew “Shwogs” Shewaga, who previously played alongside Aneson in the folk-rock band, Satin Nickel. When that group disbanded in 2020, Aneson began adding original indie-pop-rock songs to her repertoire and recruited her former bandmates to bring them to life, marrying classic pop aesthetics with adventurous modern production. Making music that is meaningful and accessible is a rare thing these days, but Anna Sun seems to have achieved a perfect formula for their unique brand of expression.
Portland, Oregon based country-soul group The Delines share the second single and video from their upcoming album, The Sea Drift, which will be released on February 11, 2022 via their new American label home Jealous Butcher Records.
The new single, titled “Past The Shadows”, is a sultry and smoky ballad that wraps the heartbreak of its lyrical themes in a warm blanket of horn arrangements and tenderly played keys. The song is accompanied by a music video of the full band performing “Past The Shadows” in the studio, highlighting the rich backing instrumentation that serves as the bedrock for The Sea Drift as well as Amy Boone’s spellbinding vocal performance at the center of it all.
Speaking on his inspirations for “Past The Shadows”, songwriter Willy Vlautin said “I was thinking about that self-destructive dream of never having to live like anyone else, of not having to be a part of regular society. That pull of living like a vampire, the romance of it, the freedom of it, but also the darkness of it. We wanted the song to be a seduction itself, easy and catchy, warm and velvety but underneath is a world of scars and failure.”
Calling themselves The Wild West, six of the most treasured female singer-songwriters in Los Angeles forged a strong bond of friendship that led them to write and record their first single “Better Way.” The empowering message of the ensemble’s first single is shared equally by its members, all of whom have enjoyed significant success as solo artists: (pictured above L-R) Manda Mosher, Deb Morrison, Amilia K Spicer, Tawny Ellis, Pi Jacobs, and Heather Anne Lomax.
Touted by Relix as a “Female supergroup,” The Wild West is currently working on their upcoming EP and were listed in Holler Country's The 10 Best Emerging Acts of Americanafest “They offered an impressive performance boasting no shortage of verve and variety - it would be hard to find a combo with a greater degree of talent or tenacity. Clearly, this bunch is ready to rumble.” --Holler Country
They were also touted in No Depression’s Guide to Americanafest. with Amos Perrine is quoted as saying, “…the definite highlight promises to be The Wild West, six of the most highly respected female singer-songwriters in Los Angeles: Tawny Ellis, Pi Jacobs, Heather Anne Lomax, Amilia K Spicer, Deb Morrison, and Manda Mosher. Expect fireworks.”
All six members of The Wild West write, produce, and oversee the recording process for songs they bring to the band. They take turns singing lead while supporting each other instrumentally and topping each song off with The Wild West's signature harmonies.
Amy Jay has released the single, "Commute," taken from her upcoming album, Awake Sleeper, to be released on 2/4/2022.
Exploring the boundaries between acoustic and synthetic, minimalist and ornate, Awake Sleeper echoes a breathtaking cross-pollination of introspective songcraft, surprising textures, and hypnotic soundscapes. The album was produced by Amy's longtime collaborator, Jonathan Seale of Mason Jar Music, known for his work with Feist, Fleet Foxes, Aoife O'Donovan, and more, as well as his solo efforts released under the moniker Son of Cloud.
Jay's day-to-day life in New York City profoundly influenced Awake Sleeper, which you can probably pick up from "Commute." "Another mundane morning commute with train thoughts. I am a stranger in this city even though I've known it for over a decade, even though I see the same faces in the same train cars day after day. The window of the train car was left open that morning, and the tracks were screeching and air blowing so loud I couldn't think about anything else," she says of the birth of the song. "Ironically, I rarely listen to music or podcasts on the train, so I looked around to see if anyone else noticed or was bothered by the sounds. Everyone looked like zombies... heads down on their phones, completely consumed. I realized this sound is not the loudest' sound' in the room. Their phones are. And even if I screamed at the top of my lungs, I'm not sure I would break through the noise to get anyone's attention."
Calgary-based art-pop artist Selci released their latest single “Ghost,” mixed by Sylvia Massy, with a stunning visual accompaniment, directed by the artist herself. Watch + share via YouTube. “Ghost” offers a first taste into what will be a fruitful 2022, as Selci puts the finishing touches on a two-part album project, details of which will be announced next month.
Discussing “Ghost,” Selci noted that, “it’s about being ghosted - literally and figuratively. The first verse is about the elusiveness of truth. This feels augmented in our current reality with the lack of trustworthy sources and the influx of political conspiracies. The second is about being ghosted by a love interest and washing it away with liquor. The third is an outcry - it gives me the feeling of falling to my knees in surrender to the things that I cannot control in this life. This song is very much a response to the political climate of the past two years. It takes the laments of modern life and compares them to ghosts.”
For Selci, the pairing of music to the visual, is a natural extension of expression. “The video for ‘Ghost' recreates famous 19th century paintings of mythological women,” they noted. “In contemporary styling we recreated Charles Mengin’s ‘Sappho', Waterhouse’s 'Echo and Narcissus', and Mallais’ ‘Ophelia'. Contemporary dancers dance like ghosts in front of giant human-like statues in Calgary, known as 'The Brotherhood of Mankind'. In its time, it was created as a celebration of colonization, framing it as a gift to the rest of the world - a dated and simply incorrect view of colonization, and continued harm it has brought to Indiegneous peoples.
Continuing with that theme, the scenes of women dancing in red dresses is an intended nod of awareness to the inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in Canada. The final scene - featuring a woman, apple in hand, being clutched by another hand from below, is a commentary on the Garden of Eden, and forced assimilation into the Catholic Church.”
“Ghost” follows Selci’s September single “Type and Send.” The two tracks show the versatility and dynamic range of Selci’s sonic palette. And with a two-part album set for 2022, the Selci is ready to take on the world.
After touring Mexico, Violent Vickie returns with “GET TO ME” (Fragrance Remix) , a gothy-y dance remix of her "sad girl" song by the French producer and remix artist known as Fragrance. “GET TO ME” (Fragrance Remix) is the first track off of Violent Vickie's Division Remixes LP which will be out in February of 2022.
Violent Vickie is a Los Angeles based Dark Synth-Riot artist consisting of Vickie and co-producer/recording guitarist E. Vickie has toured with Hanin Elias of Atari Teenage Riot and has shared the stage with Trans X, The Missing Persons, Jessie Evans (The Vanishing),Them Are Us Too, Pastel Ghost and Aimon. She has toured the US, Mexico, Canada & Europe and played Insted Fest, Solidarity Fest, Shoutback Fest & Gay Prides and Ladyfests.
Vickie’s tracks have been released by Crunch Pod, Emerald & Doreen Recordings (Berlin), Riot Grrrl Berlin, & LoveCraft Bar (PDX). Her track "The Wolf“ was featured in a National Organization for Women film and she was interviewed for the documentary “GRRRL”, part of the museum exhibit “Alien She”. Her LP "Monster Alley” was voted best album by KALX and her tracks have been remixed by 25+ artists. Violent Vickie's Division LP was released in September 2020, followed by a remix album of "Under The Gun" in February 2021 and a cover of Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire in July 2021. Violent Vickie’s “Division” Remixes LP will be out in February 2022.
“There is no other time when I feel more alive. Being on stage, singing about what I have experienced and felt, and getting to share that with people who feel the same way, it’s a feeling like no other” says KAELI. New to the music scene, but not unfamiliar with the stage, KAELI is a singer-songwriter from London. Beginning her career by treading the boards in theatre, and eventually touring arenas worldwide as a featured vocalist for film star Hugh Jackman, it hasn’t been a conventional route into the music industry. But 2021 sees KAELI finally find her own voice. Combining soaring vocals, and honest lyrics with an effervescent pop sound, KAELI hopes to bring her lively energy and openness to every track.
KAELI is signed by Abubilla Music, and plans to release her debut EP in late 2021. Growing up to Scottish parents in a small village in Hertfordshire, KAELI never wanted to be in the spotlight. In fact, it wasn’t until her parents saw how crippling her shyness was that they decided to put her into drama and singing classes at the age of 8. It all went downhill from there. Coming into her own, a young KAELI found her passion and spent her free time performing and taking classes, or listening to the soundtracks of her favourite musicals and Disney movies. It was where she felt most at home, feeling theemotion of every song that these characters were singing.
It was a purely natural progression for her to pursue performing as a career, and after attending prestigious schools such as LAMDA and the Guildford School of Acting, KAELI went on to have a successful stage career in the West End, performing in shows such as ‘Les Misérables’, ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ and the original cast of ‘Tina the Musical’. However, her career took a new turn after being asked to join Hugh Jackman on his 2019 world arena tour of ‘The Man. The Music’. The Show, as one of his featured singers.
Performing in venues such as Madison Square Garden, the Hollywood Bowl and the O2, KAELI travelled across the US, Europe and Australia, playing to packed out houses alongside the Hollywood star. Whilst touring, KAELI would use spare moments on the bus to work on new music and demos, as she found herself more and more inspired by her travels and experiences. Encouraged by the team on the tour, and Hugh himself, KAELI decided to pursue her songwriting further, and reached out to London label Abubilla Music on her return. She signed to the label in 2020, after some time developing her writing with the team, and began writing her debut EP. “This EP explores the different genres of music that I love, whilst also allowing me to explore where I fit in this musical world. I think each song shows a part of me, a part of how I respond to the world and to relationships, and paints a really vivid picture of who I was when I wrote each song. I see it as a kaleidoscope of
KAELI, that’s helped me uncover exactly where I want to sit with my next record. I can’t believe I’m talking about my next record already but I feel so fired up now that I can’t wait to start writing it with this new found clarity. I just hope this first one gives everyone a taste so they’re hungry for more!”
Cincinnati, Ohio quartette In The Pines announced that their third full-length studio album, Impossible Daze, will be released on January 28, 2022 via Soul Step Records. To mark the announcement of Impossible Daze, the band has shared “Jeeze Louise," a laid-back and lo-fi cut that highlights the band’s proclivity towards immersive and atmospheric vocal harmonies.
“‘Jeeze Louise’ was one of the tunes where we knew exactly how we wanted it to sound, but we weren’t sure of the best way to go about it,” says guitarist & vocalist Michael Shular. “We wanted it to sound like it was done out on the front porch, real loose, just like we were pickin’ around, having a good time. We wanted a low fi sound so our engineer decided to run it through a cassette player in the front room of the studio using an old 50’s Altec broadcasting mic. While we were recording he was pressing on the tape to give it that warbly old school sound. It was really satisfying hearing the final result, it had exceeded our expectations and has become a favorite of ours.”
“The verses allude to some of the more exciting parts of love - the feelings of excitement and courage in a happy new relationship,” says bassist & vocalist Patrick Zopff. “Those images are contrasted with the chorus, which is a desperate apology. (“Babe I’m awful sorry, oh jeez Louise!”) It’s supposed to evoke the feeling of surprise and shame upon the realization that you can hurt someone despite the best of intentions. All of this is performed with a little whimsy, sincerely bittersweet… We chose to strip down the arrangement to just banjo, guitar, and vocals, to make it feel like four friends drunkenly singing together on the porch on a warm summer night.”
KAVYA's new 4 track EP depicts the artist’s diverse creative interests ranging from fashion, art, music, and acting all of which make her thrive and are integral in shaping the person she is today.
‘Know Me Better’ is KAVYA’s humble attempt to share her personality, interests, dreams, and vulnerability with her audience through her music. In February 2021 in association with VH1 Supersonic plug-in, 'Know Me Better’ the documentary was released which highlighted Kavya's relationships with the women in her life, her interest in art, cinema, visual identity followed by a live performance. Through the next three months, we delve into her different creative worlds and bring to the forefront all the things that make her come alive.
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.
Eucereon is a UK/US based DIY singer, songwriter, and producer. Improvised guitar riffs, beats, and vocals shaped through her loop station along with personal and introspective lyrics create the ambient landscape of the music. Eucereon now unveils her haunting new offering ‘Go’. The folk-tinged indie ballad combines wistful vocals and a foreboding guitar line with delicate synths, creating a melancholic soundscape to capture the dark themes of the track.
“Go is about codependency masquerading as love, and the fear of leaving when you're made to feel you can not leave. The context of the song is based on one particular evening, as many of my songs are. ” Eucereon explains.
Using her loop pedal to create layers of guitar riffs and vocal harmonies, she created the somber atmosphere of the track. This song went through several different sets of lyrics before the ones it ended up with, coming from an improved stream of consciousness technique Eucereon often uses when writing lyrics.
With a global effort behind the track, ‘Go’ was written in Denmark, produced in the UK, and now released in the US. Eucereon’s music is an intimate reflection of uncertainty and perseverance. The performances are intimate and immersive, taking the audience on an ethereal journey through music and visuals while making them move with beat.
London artist Alice SK's new single “Run Away” is a striking vintage-noir track about being trapped in our minds and how this can lead to us being our own worst enemy. Alice’s haunting, soulful voice sounds classic yet modern through the influence of cultural icons, such as Ella Fitzgerald & Joni Mitchell, and present-day acts, like The Strokes, to create something fresh.
The single comes from Alice SK’s forthcoming debut EP “Electric”, produced by Muca (Los Bitchos, L.A. Salami). “Run Away” is the fourth track to be unveiled from the EP, following the release of Muca’s single “Until We Meet Again” and Alice’s tracks “Another Girl's Man” and “Hidden Paradise”. Alongside Brazilian bossa nova legend Roberto Menescal, Alice featured on “Until We Meet Again” which caused a stir during the summer and the track will also be released as part of the EP package.
Written in lockdown, when we all had a lot of time to reflect on life, relationships, and our own thoughts, “Run Away” captures the moment at when we start to overthink and analyse and start on a self-destruction landslide without realising that it’s happening. The track’s production has an organic feel and an unsettling intrigue with a vinyl crackling backdrop and dark enveloping moods that build to great effect. Portishead vibes are blended with the uniqueness of Alice’s deep and low vocal tones as the track grows out of control.
On the track, Alice says, “The track is meant to start off as being quite reflective and then as it continues and spirals more into our deeper thoughts and the subconscious, it becomes increasingly more desperate as we get a greater sense of not being able to escape.”
The legendary Irish-born/NYC-based performer Pierce Turner releases a new single titled “Where It Should Be” off his forthcoming album, Terrible Good, which is set for release on February 25 via StorySound Records. The album was made in collaboration with another Irish-New Yorker, Gerry Leonard (David Bowie, Rufus Wainwright, Suzanne Vega). “Where It Should Be” is a soulful celebration of life with Leonard’s ambient-like guitar entwining with the serene strings provided by guest David Mansfield (Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Review, Johnny Cash, Lucinda Williams). American Blues Scene premiered the music video saying “the theme of mortality runs through the song, but so does the promise of a new day.”
“We all live in hope, illogical hope, but real as anything that we can touch or feel,” says Turner on the inspiration behind the song. “We always believe that there is a bright sun up ahead somewhere, even on our darkest day. Life is all around us, it’s a constant distraction, and that itself is life itself, blinding life. We assume the world will do a normal turn, and that everything will be where it should be, and it is.”
An Irish-American musician in the truest, and most literal, sense, Pierce Turner lives half the year in his hometown of Wexford, Ireland, and the other half in his longtime adopted hometown of New York City. Both places are reflected in his songs, which frequently move between these two different worlds. Since he began his solo career in the 80’s, he’s worked on a broad range of projects including writing for opera, scoring movies, and composing a contemporary Mass. His genre-bending songwriting has led Turner to collaborate with legendary producer John Simon (The Band, Leonard Cohen, Cass Elliot) on 1991’s Now Is Heaven and composer Philip Glass on projects such as 1986’s It’s Only a Long Way Across and “Yogi with a Broken Heart.”
Over the past few years, and through a few different iterations, Seattle-based math-rock emo-punks Scarves has established themselves as, “One of the city’s top notch rising acts,” according to KEXP. In that same paragraph, the words “jarring” and “abrasive” also appear so that starts to paint a picture of the dichotomy that has been at play for the band and its frontperson/founder Niko Stathakopoulos.
Their last LP, Dinner Dates for the End of Days, offered individual portraits of end-times that found the light through the darkness. Three years later, a lot has changed for the...uh...but Scarves are still here for all of our sakes.
Stathakopoulos shares of the song: "'Heavy Eyes' is a song about two things. The first is celebrating the absurd joy you can only find by spending your most hopeless moments with someone you truly and deeply love. The second is about feeling envy that you didn’t write that one part in ‘Friday I am in Love’ where Robert says, ‘It’s such a gorgeous sight to see you eat in the middle of the night’ because that might be the most romantic sentiment ever penned.”
Beehive Candy are really fond of these two artists music whether together as Teeniest or apart in other ventures. This song is no exception as the (and we quote) "acoustic-guitar-based and thematically seems all warm & fuzzy, but the accompanying vibraphone and eerie science fiction/horror undertones create a rather unsettling vibe."
The video notes tell us: This music video for this song is inspired by the virtual reality game, Lone Echo 2, an emotional highlight of which is two friends holding hands. In this outer space adventure, the two friends are Captain Olivia Rhodes and her assistant robot, Jack.
Excellent writing and voice acting (Troy Baker and Alice Coulthard) really give Jack and Liv vitality and personality. Olivia has a fully-realized human character. Through banter, jokes, and working side by side, she becomes your friend -- this emotional connection is the real surprise in VR.
When she is in peril, you feel a visceral need to come to her aid. Of course you know it's all a digital illusion. But the magic of VR happens because the immersive illusion becomes "real.” What fascinates me are multiple levels of perception, illusion, and meaning in VR, and the Lone Echo games raise interesting questions about consciousness, artificial intelligence, and human connections.
A hand to hold forever in this world A hand to hold forever
A simple question: what do you want? Shouldn't have to answer with excuses and caveats I pursued everything and I felt no fear At the end of the line everything is clear All I really need is
A hand to hold forever in this world A hand to hold forever
It was unexpected, out of the blue Didn't fear rejection - you knew what was true The world was no longer what it seemed to me Just a simple gesture was everything to me All I really need is
A hand to hold forever in this world A hand to hold forever
The end is coming, I'm gonna disappear Memories are flooding, some I hold so dear One surpasses everything, stands outside of time Feeling the warmth of your loving hand in mine. Oh I think I found it
A hand to hold forever in this world A hand to hold forever.
During this past year, when the stimuli from the outerworld ceased, Alyssa Gengos was having some weird-ass dreams. In one that stuck with her, she dreamt that an old school bully was being kind to her. “That was a very strange dream for me to have because I don't think about this person really ever,” she says.
“But it reflected to me that I have this really deep desire to be liked.” So poignant was this realization that it makes two appearances on her debut full-length Mechanical Sweetness, which melds her dreams and personal nostalgia into a new-wavey indie rock homecoming album.
Quote from Alyssa: “Cheerleader of the Universe” is sort of surreal; it’s a bunch of associated phrases that form a comforting lullaby. I think of the Cheerleader as the fairy godmother inside my own head. My grandma was a cheerleader, and so was my mother, and I became one in high school as well. I never really wanted to do that as a kid – I just kinda fell into it because my friends and I decided we’d all do it together.
Still, I felt like I was doing some service continuing this cheerleader mythology that my grandma had started. Now, facing the next chapter of my life, I call upon the Cheerleader of the Universe for guidance. The music video is dreamlike, matching the sentiment of the lyrics. In it, I frolic across a Southern California beach in a dress I sewed myself.
Gabrielle Metz bares her vulnerable side in her cover of Ingrid Andress’ “More Hearts Than Mine”. If there was ever a perfect cover song for Metz, this is it. Not only does this song showcase her beautiful range and vocal inflections, but it also conveniently brings to light her attention to the vocal details paired with her ability to transition into character in order to correctly convey the emotional experience of this song.
She grabs the listener from her first note and keeps us mesmerized until the final note. Her sometimes gritty vocal combined with her emotional delivery is exceptional. The deliberately honest lyrics are perfectly conveyed with the silvery vocals from Metz matched with a beautifully simplistic piano line (Damon Fichter, Nashville, TN and produced by George Alexander, Nashville, TN).
If they were to break your heart, they’d be breaking a lot more hearts than just one. “The first time I listened to Ingrid’s song I was immediately transported into her world and felt a deep connection to the lyrics. I typically do not record covers but I have been itching to record this song since 2019.” - Gabrielle Metz
Gabrielle has been nominated for Alabama Music Awards Best Female Country in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. She has also been nominated for Alabama Music Awards Best New Artist in 2018 and 2019. Gabrielle is also on Country Sways 2021 Artist to Watch.
Indie-pop artist Buster Baer has just released a new song, “Sleepy Baby.” The track serves as a sweet little ode to the sleepiest of lovers with gentle, romantic lyrics, an upbeat melody, and a swinging beat. The tune matches Baer’s vintage style perfectly, creating an aural experience that will leave his audience moving and grooving to the warmth of his music. “Sleepy Baby” is a reminder from Buster Baer that it’s ok to not be ‘on’ all of the time and to get some sleep. The track is now available on digital music platforms worldwide.
“Sleepy Baby” is more than just a cute little diddy. Buster Baer describes his inspiration for the song: “Almost every single romantic partner I’ve had seems to have picked up some weird guilt about falling asleep while we’re hanging out. I don’t know who made them feel like they had to be a performing monkey, but having a person feel comfortable enough to sleep around you is an extremely intimate and beautiful thing.” Baer, who produced the track and played all the instruments himself, expands, “I just wanted to provide some evidence to the collective unconscious that there are lovers who won’t expect you to deny your biological necessities for their egos, and I did it by producing huge, glorious cascades of violins and trumpets, which I didn’t know how to play prior to recording."
Hailing from Hermosa Beach, CA, Buster Baer is a uniquely gifted multi-instrumentalist. Baer’s love of music first led him to the drums at age 12, but he did not get serious about music until years later. He moved to New York for college to pursue beat poetry, where he first learned the guitar, and later, the bass guitar. From there, his musical journey took him to New Orleans and San Francisco before landing back in LA. Inspired by Bootsy Collins and The Beatles, Buster Baer aims to push the boundaries of music and “give people a smile or a tear when they need one shaken loose.”
"This is our song about worldwide misery and we would love for you to dance to it” – Sweet Tempest
‘Modern Justice’ is the 2nd song in a trilogy of new tracks with accompanying videos directed by Matthew Thorne. It is a closer look into a series of gritty, grubby, thought-provoking vignettes filmed in Eastern Europe in stark but nonetheless nuanced contrast to the bright lights and sleek surfaces of the songs.
“This song is about the strange and almost perverse situation, wherein one is sat here in the center of Europe where things could be considerably worse, and reading, seeing or hearing about the immense amounts of injustice inflicted upon people around the world. Modern Justice’s’ original inspiration was a different kind of power imbalance: the demonstrations about democracy in Hong Kong and how screwed they seemed and, it turned out, were. Worst of all, the disheartening realisation that to some extent, you’re completely disconnected from it, sometimes even stimulated by it.” In close connection to the statement of the song the music video for ‘Modern Justice’ documents the lives of young Bulgarian bodybuilders who nonetheless remain powerless.
Drenched in 80s synths rewired for the 2020s, ‘Modern Justice’ is a bold statement of intent from Berlin-based duo Sweet Tempest. Musically recalling artists like Lykke Li, Little Dragon and La Roux, with Pet Shop Boys’ literate pop and Stevie Nicks’ otherworldliness among further crucial ingredients. The meaning of the song with the accompanying video is indicative of how Sweet Tempest never shy away from difficult topics, whether political, social, or indeed personal.
Contradictions surround Luna Kira and Julian Winding, originally formed in Copenhagen. Aside from that ambiguous moniker, there’s the fact they want people to dance to songs about inequality and prejudice, and the way those songs are sometimes superficially frigid yet always warm-hearted beneath. If you ask them who inspired them, too, they’re as likely to point to Tom Waits as Ace of Base (though only the latter’s first album. It’s important to make that distinction.) And then there’s their personal history, an ‘Are they? /Aren’t they?’ soap opera which went on for over a decade.
Indie Rock musician Faye has released her latest single “Alexandria.” The song is about being in love with someone you can’t have. In an age of heavy production, Faye embraces an authentic garage sound with a focus on lyrics and a raw vocal that blends with smooth electric guitars and drums as she sings of Alexandria, the girl we’ve all wanted to be at some point in our lives.
“This one night, I came back from hanging out with the guy who was in love with Alexandria. I was really sad, because he would tell me all of these things, compliment me, and basically lead me on, and then run right back to her,” says Faye. “But I sat down — it was like, 1am, and this idea for a song popped into my head which was to not make it about me being sad or losing the guy but to revolve the story around her. I wrote it in about 15 mins. It’s definitely one of my more vulnerable songs.”
“Alexandra” was written and performed by Faye and produced by Jon Fintel at Relay Recording and features Jon Leonard on guitar, Jared Knutson on guitar and drums, and Jenna Jaworski on bass.
