Chloey Rose - desert life - Deidre & the Dark & Violet Sands - Sara Noelle - After The Flesh - Zola Courtney
Delivering powerful pop songs with a theatrical twist, Chloey Rose has been captivating audiences at major venues up and down the UK and in Europe with her dramatic, soaring vocals that have attracted comparisons to Adele and Paloma Faith.
Drawing inspiration from Kate Bush and Taylor Swift, Chloey has just released brand new single ‘Shot You Down’, an edgy pop ballad full of dark sounds that could become the theme tune for the next James Bond Movie.
‘Shot You Down’ follows the story of being in an unhealthy relationship and the strength it can take to walk away. Written by Chloey Rose and produced by Aron Bicskey, the track builds from smoky late night piano atmospheres to become a powerful anthem for getting up again once you’ve been cut down, with a nod to Nancy Sinatra’s classic track ‘Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)’.
As a songwriter, Rose’s debut single ‘Golden Dreams’ was released in 2016, followed by a string of singles including ‘Hearts On The Line’, which was named Track Of The Week on BBC Radio Lincolnshire and A Best Track of 2021. Not only, a talented singer-songwriter, Rose was a finalist in Miss Lincolnshire in 2018/19 and has also been cutting her acting chops, with the leading role as Ruth Ellis in ‘The Thrill of Love’ and as Leading lady Nina in the BBC’s ‘First World War Musical Show’, amongst numerous other stage and TV appearances.
The video for ‘Shot You Down’ (to be unveiled in the coming weeks) sees Chloey on neon-lit streets in the twilight hours as she searches for answers. The track weaves its hypnotic repeating refrains around her, growing and growing with intensity as she works through her emotions. “I’ll paint your name all over this town”, Chloey sings in this epically woven ballad which combines big production values with raw feelings to really work its way under the listener’s skin.
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Alt-folk/Americana artist, desert life, released their single “I don’t wanna know” a week ago. Their first release in 4 years, it includes Jon Graboff (Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, Norah Jones, Willy Nelson and Noel Gallagher) on Pedal steel guitar. It’s a song that sounds as if it was written on the back roads of Nashville, rather than near the sandy beaches of Tenby. The upbeat acoustic guitar and soaring lap steel guitar, makes you want to put on cowboy boots, rather than a wetsuit. The song is the tale of how a man's heart sank as he received word of his ex-girlfriend's newfound love.
Desert Life is the moniker of Chris Swales, a Pontypridd born, Tenby based alt-folk / singer-songwriter, and multi instrumentalist, Tom Jordan. Conceived in 2018, Chris originally released material in a ‘bedroom artist’ guise following an off-the-cuff collaboration with poet Brian ‘Old Pa’ Mackenzie. Then when Chris started playing the material live, he met Tom at some local open mic events, and quickly realised that they had a strong musical connection and expanded into a duo..
They blend Americana/Alt-folk music with songs that contain imagery of hope, loss and isolation, yet do not take themselves too seriously. Comparisons to Bon Iver, Jeff Tweedy and Ryan Adams can be heard in some of their songs, yet, the next moment you might think you’re listening to the sonic landscapes of Calexico.
They have played throughout West Wales, at The Swansea Fringe Festival and Lush. Their first-ever release ‘Not my girl’ was aired by BBC Wales’ Adam Walton via BBC Introducing. ‘Whisper to the Wind’ won a Syncr Music Competition, and ‘My darling friend’ was the runner-up in the Radio Wigwam’s ‘best single’ category. They also made the Record Store Day 'Unsigned (2019) long list'.
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Were more than happy to feature the new single and collaboration from Brooklyn based Violet Sands and Deidre & the Dark. Deidre & the Dark is the solo project of Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter Deidre Muro (previously founding front-woman of Savoir Adore). Violet Sands is a sonic trio made up of long-time collaborators Deidre Muro, Derek Muro, and David Perlick-Molinari (French Horn Rebellion).
On “Desert Rental Home,” these two creative forces dance together on the only song Deidre was able to write during the pandemic lockdown in 2020. “During months of quarantine, this was the one song that managed to come out of me. I was feeling very isolated at home with my 1 year-old son while David, my husband, kept our business afloat, working out of a makeshift bedroom studio, for most of the hours of most of the days.
Delusion starts creeping in when you’re unsure how long this will be reality.” Intimate moments of acoustic guitar and voice quickly transform into a grandiose fantasy, soaring and sparkling, while a lurching synth bass hints at the uneasy nature of an escapist dream.
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Sara Noelle is a singer-songwriter who creates indie-folk and ambient-inspired music. Her third full-length album, Do I Have to Feel Everything, produced by Dan Duszynski, was released in January.
The album features the singles “Slip Away,” which flickers like a candle lit in a darkened room, “Blooming Yucca,” a surrealistic on-the-road song, “Color of Light on the Water,” a misty twilight meditation punctuated by sound bowl waves, as well as the bright yet searching title track. Do I Have to Feel Everything follows prior LPs including Cover the Blue, also produced by Duszynski, and Noelle’s debut album, Morning Moon.
Elsewhere, Noelle’s annual holiday songs have drawn notice, including her originals, “I’ll Sleep ‘Til Christmas,” “Like Snow (Slowly Falling)” and “Christmas at Sea.”
She also edits the literary journal Lyrics as Poetry, which released its fourth print edition, featuring 28 artists and 20 writers, in November. The fifth volume is set to release later this year.
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On the heels of their self-titled 4-song EP in May 2023, After the Flesh from Wellington, New Zealand, share ‘Changeling’: the EP’s captivating new video-single, which just made its international debut on Friday via Europe’s legendary Side-Line Magazine. The band’s sound skilfully brings together elements of ethereal gothic dreampop, new wave, post-punk, and modern dark alternative rock.
Formed on the approaches to 2020, After the Flesh showcases the talents of Slovenian-born vocalist and keyboardist Maruša Sagadin (“Marusha”); guitarist and vocalist Alec Morris; veteran local bassist Duncan Nairn; and later addition Sam Leamy on drums.
The new ‘Changeling’ video is filmed and directed by Martin Sagadin (sibling of Maruša), who explains: “After the Flesh asked me to do a video after we did a photo shoot at the Pūtangirua Pinnacles, where we were in the harsh daylight among the cliffs. We decided the next project would be very glamorous, dramatic and interior, layered in plastic and projection, while paying tribute to some of our favourite New Wave music videos…”
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Credible British Songwriter Zola Courtney shares an incredibly heartswelling moment and single called “California.” With vocals and writing that swoon, It’s a song fitting for an epic movie montage where flashing memories turn into poetic music between that post break-up ‘what have I done’ and the affirmation phases.
Speaking about the song, Zola explains “California was written in the early stages, during the ‘what have I done’ phase of the breakup. I kept thinking about specific moments in the relationship that had meant a huge amount to me.”
“I did a writing trip to California when I was 19 and had a really awful time. My boyfriend at the timeflew out to be with me and I’m still so grateful he did that. That was near the beginning of our relationship and New York was the last place we visited together. The song talks about these bookend moments, as well as feelings of doubt and regret, but also care and admiration for him and all the things we did together.”
Zola Courtney today returns to releasing music after playing extensive shows across the county since her last single. The last single from her debut EP “Nothing To Lose” saw the talented Cornwall native garner withspread support from BBC Radio 1 specialist DJs, and was later added to their playlist and onto their One Big Weekend festival line-up. She's also enjoyed online tastemaker support from the likes of Complex, Milk.xyz, Clash, Notion & Wonderland to name but a few.
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