Amethysts - Mackenzie James Cregan - Me & Mark - Stephen Michael Murphy - bdrmm - Favours - No Coward Soul
Electronic duo Amethysts share mellow new offering How It Is, expertly crafting their brand of ambient pop to perfection with a series of awe-inspiring hooks.
Working with esteemed producer Shuta Shinoda (Daughter, Ghostpoet) and taking full advantage of the acclaim edging their way, the East Anglians excel in this latest effort, relying on their masterful pop sensibilities and soothing synths to create an intense, atmospheric experience.
Speaking ahead of its release, the band stated: “‘That’s just how it is’ is a phrase that’s thrown around all too easily. You can’t manifest anything positive with negativity. Everything can be changed, anything can be the way you want it to be, if you truly believe in yourself and do something about it. How It Is explores modern life struggles, stigmas and tackling self doubt”.
Having racked up over a million plays on streaming platforms with their first few releases alongside BBC Radio 1 and 6 Music airplay and sessions with BBC Introducing, the rising pair have already appeared at the likes of Latitude Festival and headlined several sold-out London shows, adding to their growing momentum. WEBSITE.
Smooth ambient pop which adds energy through the rhythmic beats ensures 'How It Is' stands out. Add in the sweet melodic vocals and myriad of hooks and the song tends to explain the attention Amethysts are receiving.
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LA born Liverpool based singer/songwriter Mackenzie James Cregan released his new single ‘Woman from the East’ yesterday.
Woman from the East portrays Mackenzie’s influence in 60s psychedelia while simultaneously maintaining a strong songwriting presence. The lyrically dark love song was co-produced by Jim Cregan, the legendary guitarist and producer of the Rod Stewart band and Cockney Rebel.
Mackenzie’s love for music started at a very young age from being brought up in the entertainment capital of the world Los Angeles immersed in a highly creative family. Drawing influence from his father Jim Cregan and a star studded array of other family friends who would visit the house, Mackenzie has always been immersed within an inspirational environment.
Woman from the East is a perfect example of a song that contains a strong essence of his Southern Californian roots, whilst containing various influences that Mackenzie came across in his musical upbringing. After exiting a psychedelic intro the song is driven by a tight rhythm section throughout, the song also includes a jazz inspired sax solo backed by an electric tremolo guitar, along with a gypsy style acoustic rhythm guitar. TWITTER.
Having a well known father from the musical business might get you so far, however Mackenzie James Cregan has plenty of style and talent as demonstrated with the fabulous song 'Woman From The East'. It's clever, pleasing and deliciously danceable.
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Mia might not protrude high above the stage floor, but what she’s lacking in centimeters, she makes up for in energy and talent! Only in exceptional cases do you get to experience an artist so energetic and liberating with a stage presence that leaves you spellbound.
The intensity on stage is often expressed through small jumps and kicks with her bare feet. Her voice is strong, delicate and absolutely captivating. The duo Me&Mark is one of those bands that is classic in a new wrapping…meaning that their music will live for generations.
They have a unique sound of pop, folk and full of small clever details leaving a remarkably beautiful and magnificent mark on you. Mia and Mark is not entirely unknown, although they have only released one previous single. Mia, an undisputed talent, grew up in Vimmerby (Astrid Lindgren's city), has been on stage since she was 5 years old and her first lyrics came while in elementary school. She always knew that this is what she should do. Create her own music.
Mark is the bassist and producer of the album and he has a long track record behind him. At a very young age he would listen to a song indefinitely, always finding the small details interesting. He often wondered if he was the only one that felt like music spoke to him. Growing up in Australia, he started to get attention in the business and has collaborated alongside great producers like Malcom Burn, Ethan Eubanks, Rick Will, Naomi Radom, Robbie A.J. Moore, IOTA, Alexander Rybak, Nico & Vince++. He has a reputation of being an excellent engineer in the industry. He has also been on several world tours, playing support for Jason Mraz, Kashmir, The Church, The Thorns,Kiymani Marley, Sonic Boom and the list goes on. SPOTIFY.
A simple driving beat that is gradually joined by some subtle layers of musical sound are all that's needed for the mesmerising and vibrant vocals on 'Drama Queen'. We featured Me & Mark back in May 2016 with 'When Rich Find Gold', I guess put simply, it's been worth the wait...
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“Smith” is one of my personal favorites off the “Root Down Low” album featuring three awesome musicians, guitarist Alex Metivier, percussionist Larry Salzman and Silvano Pagliuca-Mena on accordion. The accompanying video feels like deja vu with the improved pace and cool pics from foter,com (creating video came with a learning curve) . In my writing there’s a strong visual component that hadn’t been explored until this record. It’s definitely a boon to add a face to the musical voice - Stephen Michael Murphy.
Historically the blacksmith symbolized physical strength, wisdom and compassion as he melted and molded metal to create objects that were essential for agriculture. He was the center of industry in countless rural villages and was usually held in high esteem. The smithy shaped apparent objects using natures five great elements, air, fire, water, earth and space. The universe itself was formed out of the same five primary building blocks. Lady Luck is a westernized expression of Fortuna, the Roman goddess of luck, fortune and fate.
Lady Luck refers to the concept of not having certainty in a particular outcome and the willingness to take a gamble to achieve desired ends. Woman generally accept life’s capricious nature with the understanding they can initiate actions but are not in charge of the results . The intelligence that knows that the field, with its myriad of variables, determines all outcomes is called Karma Yoga. In this tune the blacksmith symbolizes the creation of an apparent material world while Lady Luck is a metaphor for existing elegantly within it. “Smile on Lady Luck, the Smith has struck” WEBSITE.
Stephen Michael Murphy was the final artist we featured last year and 'Smith Has Struck' is taken from the same album. With a new music video to accompany the song, it's a good reason to remind ourselves of both album and musician and the highly creative music he consistently delivers.
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Hull based 5-piece bdrmm return with latest slackery-shoegaze single C.U. Formed in the later hours of 2016, through a haze of party poppers into the early hours of 2017, Ryan Smith took his solo project from bedroom to stage in what feels like an instant. Under the moniker bdrmm the Hull 5-piece cut their teeth across Northern venues, before releasing opening two singles, the twin-paced kare and sprawling anti-epic the way i want.
Those releases caught the attention of numerous tastemakers in MTV, Clash Magazine, DORK, Radio 1 and more, as well as tastemaker London label Permanent Creeps, who are releasing C.U on October 25th. “I wrote C.U during a pretty ‘eventful’ time in my life,” Ryan explains, “a lot of feelings hurt, vivid anxiety and things lost, this track has been a long time coming. This is an ode to 2017.”
Channelling these raw, numb feelings into a perfect cocktail of synth soaked Beach House, jangly slackers DIIV and otherworldly shoe-gazers Slowdive, the group combine a knack for weaving dreamy sonic textures and sentimental personal story-telling together perfectly.
As a fully formed 5-piece, bdrmm have notched up a few enviable achievements. National radio play has come from BBC Radio 1 and Amazing Radio, and shows up and down the country with the likes of Trudy & The Romance, Her’s, FEHM and Horsey, including a capacity show during Tramlines festival, have established the quintet as exciting indie up-and-comers.
Ditching Ryan’s early phone recordings and exploring a more meaningful sound, bdrmm have enlisted the help of producer , Alex Greaves (Bo Ningen, The Orielles, Heavy Lungs) to bring their self-styled ‘gross dreamy noise’ to life. Joining lead singer and guitarist Ryan Smith in the line-up is brother Jordan Smith (Bass), Joe Vickers (Guitar), Daniel Hull (Synth & Backing Vocals) and Luke Irvin (Drums). TWITTER.
I like the slackery shoegaze description and 'C.U' somehow matches that in a very charming way. The musical backdrop oozes melodic vibes and the vocals are just so appealing and up enough in the mix to take off the sometimes overpowering wall of sound that shoegaze can have.
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Stowaway evokes a dreamy landscape painted with reverb and layered with vintage synth lines reminiscent of your favourite 80s driving song. The song is about a love affair and the lyrics urge the listener to move past tired narratives and into a blissful escape. Stowaway was written during a road trip from the gloomy cold Canadian climate while driving south to the enchanted Muscle Shoals. The lyrics and music mirror the longing for something better during the ebb and flow of a relationship - the urge to escape and live only in the sunny moments.
“Stowaway” was filmed during a rainy fall day across multiple locations in the suburbs of Toronto. Ironic yet appropriate to the song, the images are everything but a southern oasis. We can be seen driving a vintage Mercedes and swimming in a pool, although the dismal scenes don’t express a vacation whatsoever. Rather, they show the disillusion of the lyrics– “down south we got it made / living in the sun.”
Using inspiration from the movie Blow Up, we created an intoxicating colourful atmosphere to compliment the song’s melodramatic tones and thematic shifts. The colourful sheets and green fields are reminiscent of our favourite scenes of the movie which highlight the more uplifting parts of “Stowaway.” The gloomy undertones are meant to lay bare a relationships struggle through murky waters – a part of the constant struggle to fight for your relationship. FACEBOOK.
Beautiful dual vocals and seductive harmonies are just one dimension of 'Stowaway' a dreamy pop meets rock song. The musical backdrop is creative and adds to the mood and feeling. The video takes us into another artistic dimension giving us more to enjoy and contemplate. Our second feature for Favours this year which tends to suggest they have a knack for audio visual combinations.
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Americana five-piece No Coward Soul recently released debut album The Almanac on CD and limited edition vinyl this summer, and have announced a London show at Camden’s Green Note on Tuesday 4th December.
Produced by Jamie Evans (Wildwood Kin) and mastered by Grammy Award winner Robin Schmidt, The Almanac is Americana at it’s best, full of classic country flavours and a heavy slice of soul, alongside the bands impressive trademark harmonies. The album contains 13 tracks written by lead singer Brad Schmauss, inspired by both urban folk tales of the vibrant streets of South London and a childhood among the epic landscapes and beauty of the Alaskan woods.
Originally from Alaska, singer Brad Schmauss is a London based artist who’s long time musical partnership with Martin Gray (Piano, guitars, vocals) culminated in the fantastic live band No Coward Soul. Gigging across the UK in recent years, the band has grown from a vocal harmony acoustic set up and now includes a sensational rhythm section featuring the Clement – Smith brothers and glock and mouth organ from Egg. WEBSITE.
We featured No Coward Soul back in June this year and were really impressed with their timeless Americana music. With a London performance date set for December and a new live video for 'If Only for Tonight', they make a welcome return to Beehive Candy.
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