Jordy Benattar - Wy - Lauryn Macfarlane - Fresh
A newcomer to the music scene, Canadian actress Jordy Benattar has a distinct sound hard to compare to anything else you’ve heard before. Described as “enchanting”, “delightful”, “soothing”, and “carefree”, Jordy Benattar is a breath of fresh air.
Storytelling through art has always been part of Jordy’s journey. As an actress in film and television, Jordy worked alongside talent including Brooke Shields, Whoopi Goldberg, Seth Rogen, Gary Sinise, Billy Baldwin, Freddie Highmore, and renowned directors who helped shape her craft. Her performances have earned her a CAMIE Award, a Young Artist Award Nomination, and a Gemini (Canadian Screen Award) Nomination for Best Leading Actress in a Drama or Mini-Series.
Musically inclined and eager to write her own ‘script’, Jordy started writing songs where she gets to play the character she knows best: herself.
Influenced by nature, life experience, growing pains, quotes that make us look within, and world-changing events that make us look out, Jordy has a unique way of pouring universal feelings into mellow, magnetic music. Her tight, smart lyrics are perhaps a product of her education and eye-opening work experiences. Jordy is a lawyer by training, an MBA grad, and an infinitely curious student of the world.
A natural melody-maker and lyricist, Jordy is most interested in collaborating with creatives who bring a different sound than she does to the studio. Keen to write for producers and other artists, she views the songwriting process like a chemistry experiment, where different elements combine to produce something completely new. A natural songwriter dancing on the matrix of indie, folk and the softest of pop, Jordy Benattar’s music feels like the most honest conversation you’ll ever have.
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Wy are a band strongest at their most vulnerable. The Malmö indie duo, Ebba and Michel Gustafsson Ågren, have showcased their musical skills across two albums, 2017’s Okay and 2019’s Softie which gained them recognition from KEXP, Line of Best Fit, NBHAP, Tonspion, CLASH and more as well as tours in Germany, Scandinavia and the UK. But what makes them stand out as a band is the raw, brutal emotion they capture in their music.
A Wy song at their best sounds like opening it all up, and letting the feelings flow where they will, letting the pain, anger, fear, hope and love steer the song. Those emotions are spun into the band’s skyscaping, cinematic sound, and turned into music that has a force behind it, a power that hits you, even when it's at its softest. And that power that illuminates the band’s songs is more present than ever on their new album Marriage which is out on May 7th, That Picture Of Me is the third single and a track that was wrote as "a stream-of-consciousness scrolling down social media feeds. It's fascinating and very silly to me how many thoughts and emotions can occur within a couple of seconds, just because your feed is so jam-packed with information. From friends, to ads, to memes and memories. Your mood can shift so instantly and it feels very necessary to spell it out like this, so you become more aware of it.".
Marriage is the first record since signing to Rama Lama Records (Melby, Steve Buscemi's Dreamy Eyes, Chez Ali etc.) and the sound of Wy moving forward and backwards at once. Leaving the more produced style of last album Softie behind, it turns to the simpler sound of their earlier work for music that’s rawer and sharper. On both the indie-rock and the pop songs of this album, there’s less between the listener and the heart of the song - this is music that’s very direct, both in theme and sound, with melodies that hit cleanly and leave nothing even trying to hide. It’s the work of a band that have grown into themselves and what they do, and making the strongest songs of their career.
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Lauryn Macfarlane’s celestial take on indie pop is as captivating as it is stunningly harmonious. As a rising Canadian artist and songwriter, Lauryn has garnered attention across Eastern Canada, through a rigorous show schedule and an unwillingness to waver from her roots.
Raised in a small town in rural Ontario, Lauryn was the product of a community that made arts a priority amongst young students. Having this foundational strength has given Lauryn a glowing confidence that bursts through her as she performs. Lauryn has been recognized as a bewitching storyteller, drawing inspiration from her own experiences and struggles as an empath with an unceasing flow of emotion. Her honest songwriting, powerful voice, and vibrant, colorful melodies have drawn comparisons to Jade Bird, Phoebe Bridgers, The Chicks, and Maggie Rogers, all of which are great sources of inspiration to Lauryn.
After opening for various acts including JJ and The Pillars, Heaps (formally The Kents), Kane Miller, and NEFE, Lauryn has found a presence and aura on stage that commands attention. The energy is raw, visceral and intimate. Those who experience a show tend to walk away with the feeling that they have fallen on one of Canada’s secret gems.
In the fall of 2019, Lauryn decided to make the move to Montreal, Quebec, Canada where she has been working alongside producer/engineer Sam Woywitka (Luca Fogale, Half Moon Run) and musicians Isaac Symonds (Half Moon Run) Mishka Stein (Patrick Watson) and Robbie Kuster (Patrick Watson) on her debut EP. Alongside these esteemed musicians, Lauryn has created a collection of songs that she is incredibly proud of and that will provide the industry with a clear vision of what she has to offer as an artist.
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London DIY punks Fresh today share a new track via Specialist Subject Records, ‘Girl Clout’. The band have worked tirelessly since their inception – touring with the likes of The Beths, PUP, Adult Mom and more, releasing two albums and amassing a devoted fanbase following appearances at Fest, Manchester Punk Festival and The Fiest in Madrid amongst others. For a band that have existed for a relatively short period of time, the four-piece have already released a hefty catalogue of work – prolific, ever evolving and always fresh (in every sense of the word). The UK punk scene continues to suffer at the hands of Covid-19 and following a year of no live shows, ‘Girl Clout’ is here to remind us not only of what we’re missing but of what we’ve got to look forward to when Fresh can finally tour again.
‘Girl Clout’ is a musical embodiment of frustration and pure visceral anger. “I wrote it in two minutes and as soon as we jammed it out together, we knew that it felt right” says lead singer Kathryn Woods. “Themes include power, not being taken seriously by male musicians and bands, and being tokenised. It’s also about seeing through performative male allyship, owning your space in punk music as a woman and venting your frustrations through good old-fashioned rock and roll.”
Fresh have been an unwavering fixture within the UK punk scene since their first record in 2017. A joy to behold live, the band includes musical peer Myles McCabe of ME REX, while lead singer Kathryn Woods is a member of a number of heralded indie and punk bands, including cheerbleederz and ME REX alongside McCabe. With future plans to tour alongside a new album, FRESH show no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
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