Sally Robinson - Kele Fleming - Bandicoot - Jessica Pearson and the East Wind - Kat Eaton - Wild Powwers
Sally Robinson is a third year Commercial Music student at Bath Spa University who has quite literally reached the stratosphere with her new double A single.
This relatively unknown artist who creates delicate haunting folk music wanted to see how far her voice can travel, so sent her songs to inspirational scientists around the world. Astronaut Scott Kelly was taken aback by her beautiful track ‘Moonlit Skies’ and beamed it up to be heard in space on the International Space Station!
‘Moonlit Skies’ is a love letter to Mars and includes samples of the first recordings from NASA’s Mars Perseverance Rover’s on-board microphone. So, whilst listening to the track, you can also hear the actual rover on another planet! The track comes from a series of four otherworldly double A-side singles set to be released taking inspiration from the four elements in science: Air, Earth, Fire and Water.
‘Moonlit Skies’ is joined by ‘Leaves In The Light’ to make up the ‘Air’ duo which explore themes of space, movement and hope and sound like the missing link between Vashti Bunyan, This Is The Kit, Tiny Ruins and David Bowie’s Space Oddity.
The series seeks to empower people to engage and have conversations with people they wouldn’t usually have the opportunity to speak to, promoting awareness of environmental concerns. “I try to make everything I do as sustainable as possible, and the entirety of this project will be carbon neutral”, says Sally. “This project grew from my love for science and astronomy, and my interest in hearing the individual stories behind each listener. I love the idea of being heard in remote and unusual locations, particularly after being in lockdown, so I set myself a challenge of seeing how far away I could be heard”, she adds.
Based in Cardiff, studying remotely currently in Bath, but with her roots in Cornwall, Sally is an independent artist pushing boundaries. Passionate about the Earth her inspiration comes through art, sculpture and nature with her music being compared to Laura Marling, Joni Mitchell and The Staves.
Each of Sally’s forthcoming releases will be sent to unusual locations that connect to the element of which they represent. For Air, she has sent tracks to space and weather scientists, and polar research facilities. For Earth, she is sending them to facilitators and protectors of deserts and rainforests; for Fire, she will be sending tracks to volcanoes, and for Water, she is focusing on scientific research ships. So far, as well as the International Space station, Sally’s beautifying music has been played at polar research facilities in the Arctic, in Svalbard, and Antarctica, on Adelaide Island.
The tracks are each being released on significant days too, with the first double A single available on the first day of British Summer Time, 28th March, also a full moon.
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Is the world getting to you? Are you longing for more connection? Do you relate more to social media vs social interface? If the answer was “yes,” grab your preferred device, cut through the chaos, and tune into Canadian singer/songwriter Kele Fleming’s new single, “Compassion Machine” — available now!
Spanning a runtime of four-minutes-ten-seconds, “Compassion Machine” is an exposing commentary on our technological dependency, and its role as a mechanism of coping with reality.
The allaying melody of the single's instrumentation is an entendre to Kele (pronounced “Kelly”) Fleming’s subversive lyrics; her vocals are both congenial and alluring while, at the same time, furthering the single’s cautionary parable in a cleverly ironic way.
These sentiments resonate with truth in the lyrics, “I bow to a new god, all shiny, bright, and oh so sleek.”
When considering the underlying message of “Compassion Machine”, the Vancouver-born, Victoria-based artist says this anthemic song is “meant to bring the listener a sense of release from the modern alienation of our dependency on technology as a replacement for connection with life.”
Having been recorded prior to the social restrictions brought about by COVID-19, she elaborates by adding, “this song took on an entirely new meaning for me in the pandemic, as technology has also been a salve for me and has given me the gift of human connection despite distance.”
The foundation for “Compassion Machine” was built around metaphors from recognizing her own dependency, she admits. When commenting on the musical composition, she makes apparent the guitar’s celtic tone, as well as the bass, which soothingly answers the call to the chorus’s vocal melody. The clapping, heard towards the middle, strips the song to its core, effectively drawing the listener’s focus towards the vocals before its big crescendo.
“Compassion Machine” is the second single (following “Vanishing of Bees”) from her fourth album, The Song I’ll Write For My Whole Life. Written and sung by Fleming, she provides the guitar heard on the single. She is accompanied by Ron Yamauchi on piano, Aaron Troy on bass and Tony Lee on drums.
The single, as well as the album, was recorded live off the floor at Vancouver’s Warehouse Studio with Juno-recognized engineer and producer, Sheldon Zaharko of Zed Productions. The recording was assisted by Nick Civero and Annie Kennedy. Mastering was handled by Andrew Spindor at Railtown Mastering.
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Bandicoot’s description of their new single FUZZY perfectly incapsulates its timeless, joyful energy ... “FUZZY is a deranged attempt at seduction which draws on 70s ‘Top of the Pops’, glam rock and memories of misguided adolescence.”
Following hot on the heels of the bands successful debut single on Libertino ‘Dark Too Long’, FUZZY shares DTL infatuation with the decade where you cycled to catch your dreams on your trusted ‘chopper bike’ and ‘glittered teenage anthems filled the airwaves as much as your imagination’.
With FUZZY Bandicoot are Gene Vincent’s lustful, greasy-haired, leather-jacketed rebellion channelled through Bolan and the New York Dolls infectious boogie. As they sing FUZZY is their Vitamin C, now let FUZZY be yours!
According to Bandicoot “FUZZY is a strutting statement of intent, fizzing with energy, rolling relentlessly on. It captures the energy that we’re bursting with, cooped up in our homes, awaiting the return to the stage. And a triumphant, ferocious return it will be”
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Jessica Pearson is a Canadian born storyteller with a voice like melting honey on a summer’s eve. Accompanied by Maddy O’Regan on the fiddle, they bring to life tales of the past and express the beauty and heartbreak of the world today.
In life we have many different relationships; family, friends, co workers, partners. Most of these relationships are good, healthy, and help you grow as a person. But sometimes we end up in relationships that take away our voice, who we are and we become a shell of who we used to be.
Jessica Pearson and the East Wind’s new single, “Broken By You,” is all about taking your voice back, being done with the pain and realizing that you can choose to stay in this place of hurt, or leave and find joy.
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Today, March 31st, London/Sheffield-based blues/soul artist Kat Eaton announces her debut album ‘Talk To Me’ due July 2nd and shares ‘Slow It Down’ the sultry and brass-infused new single taken from the upcoming album.
Speaking on the track Kat says, “'Slow It Down' started with Nick (Atkinson) and I talking about a dream that we both share: when you're driving from the back seat of a car and you can't see where you're going. I have it whenever I feel like my life is out of control and going way too fast. We wanted to write a song that encapsulates this feeling of watching your life go by in a blur and wishing you could switch to slo-mo just for a second so you can appreciate the present moment.”
Whereas some debut albums show artists still finding their feet and sonic direction, Kat is unashamedly bold & confident in her abilities as a vocalist and songwriter, effortlessly merging Soul, and classic R&B throughout a mature and well rounded 10 tracks. Utilising completely live instrumentation (a must for Kat), ‘Talk To Me’ takes the classic vintage sound of inspirations such as Barbara Lynn and Lesley Gore and updates it with contemporary embellishments and relatable lyrics for the 21st century.
As well as her powerhouse vocals, Kat’s songwriting is also adept, tackling delicate and topical issue such as mental health (on title track ‘Talk To Me’), modern love (on the powerful ‘Put Yourself In My Arms’) and drunk dialling an ex on ‘Checking In’.
Kat Eaton has steadily been making a name for herself over the last few years in the UK, as well as overseas. Originally discovered through BBC Introducing, Kat's singles ‘Giving It Up’ and ‘The Joker’ earned her strong support from BBC Radio 2, Robert Elms and Gaby Roslin on BBC Radio London, as well as BBC Introducing in Sheffield. 'The Joker' was also play-listed at BBC Radio London and NPO Radio 2 in Holland.
Having already toured the UK/EU supporting various artists (Jools Holland, Marc Broussard, The Teskey Brothers, Mama’s Gun), selling out multiple headlines shows in London, co-writing with the likes of Ruby Turner, Caro Emerald and Andy Platts (Mama’s Gun/Young Gun Silver Fox) and breaking through to new territories via the national radio airwaves of Holland and Belgium, Kat has established herself as one of the hardest working and talented performers in her field.
Kat met long time collaborator & now partner Nick Atkinson at just 15 in Sheffield, a city that had a profound impact on Kat & Nick’s musical identity, with its rich lineage of working class musicians influencing the pair massively. Although Kat is very much the face of the project, behind the scenes Nick contributes with co-writing & production credits for the whole record, making the album very much a collaborative effort between them both.
Less an artist in ascendancy, ‘Talk To Me’ solidifies Kat’s place as an artist already at the top of their game and now ready to share the fruits of years of hard work to the world.
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Wild Powwers recently announced their upcoming What You Wanted LP for Nadeline Records. Their new album will be out on April 23rd, but you can check out the Ron Harrell-directed video for their new single now (see KEXP premiere), and download/stream the album below for review purposes....
"The typically ferocious trio have softened up their grunge-inspired sound for the third single off their forthcoming record, What You Wanted." says KEXP of the new single, adding "While drummer Lupe Flores keeps the song moving with a quick-paced, driving beat, Lara Hilgemann’s vocals are toned down significantly, with her signature growl only making a short appearance about ¾ of the way through the song and the majority of the song led by a gentle croon of empathetic lyrics."
Wild Powwers are a dynamic trio who come from the dark, dank corners of a basement in Seattle, WA. Throughout their several years relentlessly writing and touring as a band, they have grown their sound using the vastly different influences in their lives.
They are often challenging themselves to write something completely different from the song before, and their upcoming album “What You Wanted” is the best representation of who they are and what they bring to the table yet. Produced by Sam Bell, (R.E.M., Minus the Bear, Weezer, Taylor Swift), and mastered by Ed Brooks, (Pearl Jam, Death Cab For Cutie, R.E.M.), "What You Wanted" runs the gamut from straight up punk rock ("Real Deal Phil" and "Pageant") to strangely beautiful psychedelia ("Tricky and "Chrome). Cathartic angular rock (“Sucks”) intersects with gorgeous, shimmering melancholy (“Decades”) and the many melodic shades in between. Showing a wide array of influences skillfully blended into a sound all their own; this album is a beautiful journey. Honest, raw, and relatable - it's "What You Wanted."
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