Elowynn - Hate Moss - Sun Cutter - Kodiak Arcade - The Two Spirits
In an all-embracing pleading towards peace, folk-rock singer/songwriter Elowynn gently affirms her powerfully poignant and increasingly timely new single, “Stop the Wheel” is very much a protest song.
Drawing a colourful sign on the ‘island of peace’ she so loves, the track directly addresses the heartfelt need for mindfulness in a fractured world — and features moving chants from multi-award winning, Order of Canada members and multi-honourable doctorate recipients Indigenous Canadian artist and activist Buffy Sainte-Marie, and Inuit artist Tanya Tagaq.
The song lands alongside Elowynn’s new album, Windtanz. Teeming with imagery of lions, fairies, the wind, and the night, the 11-song release was recorded at Wishing Well Studio in Germany with award-winning English-German producer Andrew Cadie (Broom Bezzums). The release reflects Elowynn’s tenure as a gifted musician and songwriter whose lyrics often depict rolling waves that come with the ‘sea of life’ in a poetic, emotional, and deeply intuitive way.
“We sing against the waste in our western society, and the exclusion and exploitation of poorer countries,” Elowynn — née Anne Haag — explains. “It reminds of the victims of colonialism in a Scottish poem, ‘The Twa Corbies’ where two ravens on a tree look greedily down on the body of a young, fallen soldier — who will be their next meal; the body of the dead soldier is the bitter symbol of the generations of innocent lives, killed by the war of European conquerors on their countries.”
To Elowynn, the symbolism of greed, war, and destruction that continue to drive humanity towards a looming climate crisis, social injustice, and more are met with the belief that it’s not too late to ‘Stop the Wheel,’ and create a more peaceful world.
As part of her continued and ongoing efforts, all of the proceeds from the song will support the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund, which works to build cultural understanding and a path towards reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.
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| Credit: Ruggero Lupo Mengoni |
With the New Year here and ready for taking - Hate Moss - can confirm the arrival of a new album later in 2022. In anticipation of the release, the Italo-Brazilian industrial / post-punk duo have shared an electrifying new cut: “Fog”. Executed with a mesh-like precision, it’s a clash of stuttering electronics, coruscating beats and razored riffs and serves as an adrenaline-pulsing first peek into their forthcoming second LP.
Spasming with a feverish unpredictability and shadowed with an overarching sense of solitude, “Fog” was written during an extended period of isolation last year and makes for an engrossing document of an artist reaching for freedom.
Written, recorded, produced, mixed, and mastered in just 10 days by Hate Moss’ Tina (vox, electronics) and Ian (vox, drums), the track also sees the duo working in collaboration with celebrated producer and sound engineer Pour Atom Oil. “Fog” is also coupled with a video originally recorded at their rehearsal room in London, and post-produced by visual artists Polarys Collective. Watch the video here.
Hate Moss is an Italo-Brazilian duo formed by Tina and Ian in 2018. Formed in London and currently living a nomadic existence, the duo have performed on numerous stages across South America, Europe and the Middle East, while drawing crowds at international festivals like the Venice Biennale (IT), Locomotiva Festival (BR) and Goiania Noise (BR), earning a cult following in the process.
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'Don't Fail Me Now' is the new single by Sun Cutter out on Jan 7th, 2022. It is taken from his John Lennon-esque self-titled debut album, released on Bronzerat Records (Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Gemma Ray, The Still). Hailing from Colchester, Sun Cutter (aka Kevin Pearce)'s diary-like personal account is mixed in with classic but no-less-original songwriting. Bliss blues, perfect for a sun-bleached winter morning. For fans of Bob Dylan, Alex Chilton and Tim Buckley.
Sun Cutter (aka Kevin Pearce) explains: "when i was writing 'Don't Fail...' I had recently read and remembered the quote from writer David Graeber - 'the ultimate, hidden truth of the world is that it is something that we make, and could just as easily make differently.' Hit me like a bolt of lightning that something that seems so simple we all rarely do - but its in our power to change both our world and the world around us by simply changing our attitude within it."
This is especially resonant when you learn that the Sun Cutter album was written in reflection of, and as rehabilitation to, a heart attack that Kevin suffered at the age of 33.
Songs of love and protest befit the man, and his politics of empathy, evident in his lyrics, are also demonstrated by his dayjob as a mental health worker (Mind). Co-produced with pal Dean Honer (Moonlandingz, Eccentronic Research Council, Pins). Dean Honer is also one half of I Monster, and Kevin lent his voice and guitar to the acoustic version of their hit "Daydream In Blue" . They have also collaborated and created “The Sounds of Science”, a collection of science songs for kids, released in April 2022 on Castles in Space. Previously Kevin has released (under his real name) the album "Matthew Hopkins & The Wormhole" (AWAL), a concept record about the Witchfinder General who lived in the same village (Mistley in Essex).
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Over the past 15 years Graeme has been lucky enough to work on more than 40 television shows, and has contributed to more than 1000 episodes of television. His work covers the gamut too. He has scored documentary features on BBC and National Geographic, contributed to Triple AAA games and, along with his writing partners, has become one of the worlds most heard composers – most well-known for their work on hit TV shows like Paw Patrol, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood and the Total Drama franchise.
The last five years have brought multiple awards from both SOCAN and BMI – recognizing their musical reach both domestically and internationally. Many of Voodoo Highway’s shows have received Emmys, and in 2020, Graeme and his writing partners took home their second Canadian screen award.
Kodiak Arcade is a passion project where a lifelong television composer is reversing the usual process. Instead of writing music for picture, he is creating visual art posted to Instagram, Twitter and YouTube depicting the feelings and mental states of his music. Visually, this project is a means of exploring the forefront of AI / Human collaboration with generative art. Musically, it has been a means of exploring new musical palette ideas, expanding on orchestration ideas Graeme found while working on other visual media, and has served to expand his network of talented instrumental collaborators.
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The Two Spirits is an Alternative band of two sisters from Dallas, Georgia. The older sister, Savannah, is on keys and the guitar, and Gracie, the youngest, sings vocals. The sisters write, record, edit, and produce their own music through their own small independent record label S.G. Records.
Most of their inspiration comes from the classic rock of the 80’s and 90’s, but the band is also influenced by more modern musicians such as My Chemical Romance. The band dabbles in multiple genres, creating there own unique, new age, pop-rock sound and country-style Melodies.
Crossroads is a song that tells the story of 3 people who sold their soul. It is a depiction of the 27 club and if listened carefully one can tell who the song is about.
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