Gringa - Anna of the North - Serial Chiller - Bradley Wik & The Charlatans
Gringa - I'ma Build a Home.Background - It’s easy to fall in love with Brazilian music, and that passion sparked Gringa, the Bay Area quintet of non-Brazilian women who can’t resist experimenting with rhythms and instruments from the overwhelmingly musical country. Cheekily riffing off the Brazilian Portuguese term for a non-Brazilian gal for their name, the band takes everything from samba to forró, and crafts original songs that chronicle their lives.
“I grew up in the US but I fell in love with Brazil. I write songs and hear Brazilian elements in them, but I don’t want to bastardize the source inspirations,” muses Maya Finlay, Gringa’s founder and frontwoman. “You can play with something, but you’ve got to start with the roots. What’s the rhythm? I try to study it and know the traditional ways to play, but after that, you have a lot of influences. You weave them in”
On Letters from A. Broad, they capture the bittersweet exuberance, the seemingly effortless musicianship that’s second nature to Brazilian artists, all while finding their own distinct pop and funk-inspired voices.
The driving force behind the band, sound engineer, singer, and guitar/cavaco player Finlay, never intended to start a Brazilian-esque girl band. The group springs from a lively Brazilian music scene, one where men far outnumber women, and most female instrumentalists tend not to be Brazilian. Website here, Facebook here.
'I'ma Build a Home' is the first of five delicious songs on 'Letters from A.Broad'. It's a mixture of feel good music and rhythmic & melodic pieces, where a mash of genres and styles develop with a Brazilian theme running throughout.
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Background - Following the announcement of their debut album Anna Of The North reveal the video for new single ‘Lovers’, directed by Alexander Darby. Speaking of the video, Anna describes:
“On a literal level, the video is about being lost at a house party and surrounded by couples when your own relationship has fallen apart. Digging deeper, it’s set in the same place as the song, that point when you feel so alone and you're reaching out but they're not reaching back. It’s desperate"
‘Lovers’, the debut album from Anna Of The North, will see its worldwide release on Friday 8th September. An album deeply rooted in heartbreak, it’s a subject that courses through the veins of all ten tracks – through the turmoil, the guilt and the tentative joy of finally letting yourself move on.
In three years since the release of debut single ‘Sway’, the Norwegian-Kiwi duo of Anna Lotterud and Brady Daniell-Smith have paved the way for their full-length debut with a run of singles which have notched up over 60 million streams, multiple No.1 spot’s on the Hype Machine charts and rotation on Radio 1, Triple J and Beats 1.
Now they offer up an emphatically assured debut LP, its clean, springy beats and shimmering synths underpinned by the rich, emotive clarity of Anna’s voice. Recorded in Oslo and mixed in Copenhagen and London by Luke Smith (Foals, Petite Noir, Depeche Mode), the album is a coherent but endlessly varied beast. Facebook here, live dates on Beehive Candy's tour news page.
Third time on Beehive Candy for Anna of the North this time with the new single and music video for 'Lovers'. Beautiful pop sensibilities, are at the heart of this mixture of danceable beats and rich synths, that ensure the ever attractive vocals have such a fine backdrop.
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Serial Chiller - Bed Mood.Background - Take a bunch of talented musicians from Hull currently making waves with their own releases at Radio 1, 6Music and Radio X, then hook them up with the young people in the area who’ve been incredibly brave in expressing their feelings in both moving and insightful lyrics, and what do you get? An album of amazing music called Three Minute Heroes #HearMeOut. If ever there was an example of the healing power of music Three Minute Heroes is it.
Featuring much loved bands from the area like La Bête Blooms, who’s collaboration with EMBRS on the track Stingray likens feelings of frustration to that of swimming in the deepest ocean - The Might And the Moon who sing about escaping the pressures around you as a child in Home – Serial Chiller and their cry for calm and solitude on Bed Mood - False Advertising and their “Pumpkins-esque” track It’s Been A While (excellent vocals from lead singer Jen Hingley btw) - The Froot of ’67 with their Hendrix influenced funk-rock on Egg - the folk flavours of the Hillbilly Troupe song Dead Langer - The Quicksliver Kings and their teacher/student conversation in I Want To Be Human and not to forget Crooked Weather’s dark and mysterious Skeletons.
The CD version of the album comes with a full colour booklet featuring lyrics to all the songs. It is a true insight into the thoughts, feelings, fears and excitement felt by young people throughout East Yorkshire, during Hull’s year as the UK City of Culture - a socially relevant and inspiring body of work that is on point in this time of heightened awareness around mental health. 'Bed Mood' is taken from the 'Three Minute Heroes' project - a campaign from The Warren Youth Project that supports young people to use creative writing and music to talk openly, confidently and safely about what’s on their mind. Facebook here.
The background and cause, that sits behind songs such as 'Bed Mood', is noble and responsible enough to twist my arm into featuring a track. No arm twisting is required however, this is one fine track & the video is a fabulous accompaniment.
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Background - Bradley Wik & The Charlatans are proud to release their first single, "Some Girls (Still Love Rock N Roll)." For those thirsting for a fresh rock n roll sound, Bradley Wik is the answer. Raw and unpretentious, the sound harkens back to the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, and the Replacements. No gimmicks, no frills. Just pure passion.
Just like Odysseus, Bradley Wik has always been too far from home, a Midwest boy searching for the music that once was and that could be once again. On this new record, Bradley takes a line from the Thin Lizzy song, "Got to Give it Up." He has lived a lot more life than his age would let on. Battling with drugs and alcohol, failed relationships, and personal struggle, this new record is a way for the singer-songwriter to come to terms with his rambling lifestyle.
Clinging closely to the belief that raw, organic music has the power to penetrate the airwaves again, Bradley has broken the mold of modern trends and gone back to its roots, recording as a band, together, in one room, to tape; and without social media.
Wise beyond his years, Bradley draws on themes of redemption. There’s an unmatched vitality that he brings to his music; it doesn’t have to be perfect, but it does have to be worth it. What makes music great? The stories. And the moment where someone listening says, “that’s me.”
Bradley Wik & The Charlatans "In My Youth, I'm Getting Old..." will be available September 15th, 2017. Website here.
'Some Girls (Still Love Rock N' Roll)' dispenses with all non essentials and focuses on being a rock'n'roll song that relies purely on it's hooks and edge to get noticed. Looking forward to noticing the album as well!
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