mimi bay - Hanna Barakat - Corniglia

With songs as good as 'Really' it's hardly surprising that mimi bay has already gained considerable attention, her Bedroom Pop is smooth, dreamy and beautifully arranged.

Just four weeks ago we featured Hanna Barakat and the song 'Damage Done'. Swiftly following on from that we have 'Leave Your Light On' a song that really showcases the power and splendour of her vocals, ahead of August's album release entitled 'Siren'.

It's been a while since we last featured Perth, Australia's Corniglia whose music has evolved into a resplendent mixture of shoegaze, psych rock and darker dream pop, with the new song 'A Lost Forgotten Dream' also demonstrating the quality attached to all of that.
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mimi bay - Really.

Hailing from Gothenburg, Sweden, 18-year-old Bedroom Pop artist, Mimi Bergman is set for bigger things. From a young age, the self-taught multi-instrumentalist has been surrounded by music, showcasing it best with her deeply personal songwriting and poetic music. Influenced by many artists, mimi taught herself how to play a variety of instruments and at 14 started to write and self-record her own music in her home recording studio, then sharing it on her YouTube channel Hi I’m Mimi which has grown to near a quarter of a million subs.

With the release of ‘really’, mimi bay explores the feeling of unrequited love, the dreamy heartfelt track is set to bring back memories of a past love that you never seem to get over. mimi will send you into a musical daydream with her sweet soft-pop vocals and emotive guitar playing. To best describe her sound, think beabadobee, Girl In Red and boy pablo. mimi’s debut EP is to be released later this year.

After releasing music on YouTube, the songwriter soon started grabbing attention, gaining a huge amount of support and fans along the way. With over 3 million streams on Spotify, her singles ‘Afraid’, ‘Too Late’ and ‘in your neighbours garden’ – her ever-growing YouTube fanbase has secured her at the forefront of the bedroom-pop.

mimi says that “’really’ is about romanticizing people you see online and spending time thinking of them while they don’t know you exist”

With her keen eye for dreamy aesthetics, mimi bay takes all control of her visual output, creating artwork that fully accompanies her music, assuring a strong and cohesive narrative throughout her work.

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Hanna Barakat - Leave Your Light On.

Austin-based, hard/alternative artist, Hanna Barakat, announces her new single, “Leave Your Light On,” ahead of the upcoming album, Siren, due out August 16, 2019, produced by John Moyer (Disturbed). Born in Texas to an American mother and a Lebanese father, Barakat spent her early years traveling around the world with her family. Barakat pays homage to her roots  on the album.

The album was produced by John Moyer, bassist from famed hard rock band, Disturbed, mixed by Martin Nessi (Michael Jackson estate, Ariana Grande, Josh Groban, Celine Dion, Andrea Bocelli, Ricky Martin, Kelly Clarkson), and mastered by Ted Jansen of Sterling Sound (Disturbed, Evanescence, Three Days Grace, Breaking Benjamin, Halestorm, Pat Metheny).

Barakat states on "Leave Your Light On:"“Society portrays love like a fairy tale, and if the relationship you’re in is not picture perfect, there’s always someone else out there to sweep you off your feet and ride off into the sunset with. Reality tells us that pairing lives with another soul is one of the hardest things two people can do on this earth. Relationships take constant care, devotion, patience, and a hell of a lot of strength. We all go through periods of depression, weakness, physical or psychological traumas, and we need help. We need people in our lives to lift us up and hold us tight while we recover. Leave Your Light On is an honest plea between two lovers to do just that - be strong for one another in tumultuous times - Be each other’s  light - their pillar of strength - and know that it is an ebb and flow - the roles will most certainly be reversed not long down the road. This is what relationships are built on.”

Barakat beautifully describes the inspiration behind the album: “I chose the title, Siren, for my debut record, after John Moyer and I produced our final song together, which happened to be “Siren.” The power of the music and the lyrics filled me with such fire. It motivated me and inspired me to take this next step in my journey with such confidence. Though the song references the mythical sirens of the sea, I loved the idea of a double meaning: an actual siren, warning call, alarm! The songs on this record were written over a span of 10 years. These songs have been my comfort and my therapy, as I’ve journeyed this world, witnessed injustices, engrossed myself in my ancestral culture, grown within myself, literally travelled the globe, loved, lost, failed, loved again, and struggled to reach the place where I am today.

I want to bring awareness to these situations, not by forcing any political agenda, but by pushing for love, understanding, and acceptance of all the other humans walking this earth together. Throughout history, there have been unnatural walls physically erected, or socially accepted and perpetuated, in order to divide people. I want to tear those walls down. All of them. Through my music, with rock guitars, heavy drums, deep rhythmic bass lines, and my intricate vocal melodic lines and punchy harmony stacks, I have chosen to forge arabic instruments like the oud, kanun, frame drum, riqq, into my sonic landscape, where I feel they so naturally and appropriately belong.”

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Corniglia - A Lost Forgotten Dream.

A Lost Forgotten Dream It's waking in a primordial land. It's waking from a dream. A dream of nature and of man - Conjoined twins long separated - both reunited and at war. It's a rolling psych song. It's dark dream pop. It's the undulating, pulsing flow of surreal lyrics over rolling drums and guitars that drive and release like the rise and fall of the ocean.

“On/Off”: Album Notes - It’s dark melodic shoegaze. Dark dream pop. Whispery, stunted psych. Surreal and introspective. Disconnection. Discontent. Fraying. A derelict Cyborg Earth. But it is technology overreaching, faltering. The Earth reclaiming power. It’s the future mirroring the distant past. It’s Man and Nature reunited and at war.

Time erodes, swallows everything. Monoliths - cultures, cities, ideas… Buildings inevitably crumble. Become irrelevant. In the face of the enormity of time - our own perceived self importance dissolves away - It’s finding a calmness and contentment in this. This microscopic-ness. This irrelevant-ness. These aren’t sombre thoughts though. These are beautiful and freeing. A freedom in anonymity.

Other possible things to take from the title “On/Off”: Living on autopilot in mindless routine like an appliance - with an on/off switch. The Earth reseting itself like an appliance (when it’s not working properly).

The album is a little different to previous stuff. Was definitely more focussed on a theme this time. The obvious difference though, Chloe not singing on the album………unfortunately. That wasn't planned. She was really busy with Uni the last 12 months, so we decided I’d be left on my own for this one. She’ll definitely be back for the next thing though. The album was recorded at my house. My brother Mitch, played most of the Drums. It was mixed and mastered at Bergerk! Studios in Perth.

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Corniglia - TC&I - Walter Martin - Wild Child - Lauren Ruth Ward

Corniglia - Strange Desires.

Background - Corniglia is a wonderful, psychedelic infused shoegaze band from Perth, Australia. Their second single from their self-titled debut album, "Strange Desires," both released this week. The songs are ethereal, tinged with a melancholia that somehow coexists with a feeling of transcendence. The gauze-y hooks in the guitar textures blend with Matt and Chloe's voice and bring a feeling of compassion to the bleak themes of the songs.

Matt says of the new single, "It's a song written in two parts. Most of the lyrics were written about 4 or 5 years ago. Looking back, it was mostly about a general sense of feeling lonely or not fitting in. It was revisited and finished off recently, where I view it differently now. Most people probably feel like they don't fit in at some point. Everyone is a lot more similar, working through the same problems and insecurities. I feel the song is more about growing up now."

There is a dark and somber beauty suffusing all of the art the group produces. It is the layers of sinewy texture overlaying the tracks. It’s in the lyrics that paint abstract portraits of these impressions. It’s in both Chloe and Matt’s voices. Chloe lends her artistic strength, as well as her voice to the band. She was raised to adolescence in Italy, before moving to Australia and continuing her creative studies.

Corniglia is a respite from and a reflection on the very peculiar world of Matt and Chloe. The two do not just write and record all of the music but also make all of the art and all of the videos for the project. It is an endeavour that is entirely DIY, with all of the artistic output, naturally with the help of family and friends who help them realise their vision, made by Matt and Chloe at the home they share. WEBSITE, FACEBOOK.

Fourth time around on Beehive Candy for Corniglia, this time with 'Strange Desires' the second single from their debut album. Once again we are treated to some dreamy genre spanning music, the rhythm is faster paced than the vocals and other musical components, providing additional energy and another dimension to the bands sound.

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TC&I - Scatter Me.

Background - Fans of XTC will be thrilled to know that bandmates Terry Chambers and drummer Colin Moulding, the rhythmic powerhouse behind the Swindon-based legends, have reunited to release new music under the tongue-in-cheek name of TC&I. Their new 'Great Aspirations' EP consists of  four new original recordings that allow us to fully appreciate Colin’s English pop vision.

On this debut offering as TC&I, Moulding and Chambers put their XTC history behind them to create some truly original music. Not only is this a new start, but also a thing apart from their musical past. This is also the first new material from Moulding in many years.

"I thought I’ve got to do something, you can’t just sit around and eat chocolate cake and then you get the inkling that you should start writing again and you start meddling and the next thing you know Terry’s on the door step," says Colin Moulding.

Terry Chambers adds, “You’re only here once in your life and this felt a bit like unfinished business. When I left XTC it wasn’t the greatest set of circumstances and you can’t go through your life thinking ‘what if?’ so when Colin offered the opportunity I thought, yes lets do this again."

The EP delivers XTC's trademark qualities of melody, rhythm, variety, and idiosyncratic subject matter, mixed in with nostalgia fuelled by an understated political anger. In following with his songwriting history to date, Moulding shows an appreciation of the good things, such as friendship, landscape and longing. Here he again reminds us of what we stand to lose in the name of progress, looking at the rapidly changing world around him. FACEBOOK, PLEDGEMUSIC.

TC&I have a fine legacy to build on and rather than play it safe and set out from where their time with XTC ended, the new EP and featured song 'Scatter Me' are both original and refreshing. There is a certain "Englishness" to their sound, along with some fresh and creative music, TC&I have not let us down, this is a superb EP.


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Walter Martin - Ride Down The Avenue.

Background - Walter Martin (co-writer/multi-instrumentalist of The Walkmen) will release his new album Reminisce Bar & Grill on February 16th via Ile Flottante Music. His fourth solo record since The Walkmen's hiatus in 2013, it's one that might throw fans of his two award winning kids' records (2014's We're All Young Together and last year's My Kinda Music) for a loop. Listeners will still recognize the same affable narrator and quirky musical style, but here the subject matter is shifted dramatically. With frankness, poignancy and humor, Martin, now a 43-year-old married man with two young children, squarely tackles the subject of adulthood - specifically, his own.

While Martin approaches these subject matters with candor and sincerity, he clearly also enjoys mining them for humor. "I wanted this album to be an entertaining discussion of marriage, fatherhood, work, fear, and weakness," he explained. "I'm definitely influenced by Woody Allen movies. No matter how serious or romantic or dark his story may be, there's always a strong undercurrent of comedy."

Reminisce Bar & Grill was recorded at various studios in Brooklyn and at Richard Swift's National Freedom Studio in Cottage Grove Oregon. The songs were mixed by D. James Goodwin (Bob Weir, Craig Finn), Richard Swift (The Shins, Foxygen) and Phil Ek (Fleet Foxes, Band of Horses). A nimble multi-instrumentalist, Martin handled guitar, piano, organ, bass and percussion duties, but he also relied on the services of a coterie of crafty players and singers: Brian Kantor (Fruit Bats) on drums, Josh Kaufman (Craig Finn, Josh Ritter) on guitar, and Jamie Krents (French Kicks) on bass. The soaring harmony vocals woven throughout the album are delivered by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah singer Alec Ounsworth. WEBSITE, FACEBOOK.

Less than a month ago we featured 'I Can Run Now From The Hellhounds But I Can't Hide' by Walter Martin and 'Ride Down The Avenue' is another fine song that pretty much ensures the forthcoming album receives our attention. The song is hard to pigeonhole into any one genre, its melodic, energised and catchy, that much is certain.


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Wild Child - Sinking Ship / Back & Forth.

Background - Wild Child latest singles "Sinking Ship" and "Back & Forth," were produced by Max Frost and Delta Spirit's Matthew Logan Vasquez, respectively. The band's gearing up for the release of their new album, Expectations, out February 9th on Dualtone Records.

Wild Child won't settle. For seven years now the Austin-based ensemble has carried its infectious blend of indie-pop and infectious melodies across the international music scene, charting viral hits and wrapping their arms around a diverse and dedicated fan base. But earlier this year when the band set out to make their fourth studio album, they found they had their hands full: After half a decade of maturation, the group had grown beyond its traditional writing and recording process. “We had too many ideas for how we wanted to make this record” says Kelsey Wilson, the group’s lead vocalist and violinist. She shrugs. “So we said, ‘Why not just do all of them?’”

The group realized this offered an exciting opportunity to make a kind of record bands rarely get right: To take a new, multispectral approach to writing and recording that went beyond simply trying to engineer success. The band made a list of their favorite musicians who were also great producers in their own right — choosing ones they thought would shine a new and unique light on specific compositions — and then Wild Child set about chasing their album from studio to studio all over the world, never saying no to an idea. The result — the band’s fourth album, Expectations — is Wild Child’s most creative, colorful and intellectually engaging album to date.

Now a seven-piece pop mini-orchestra (Wilson on violin and vocals; Alexander Beggins on ukulele and vocals; Sadie Wolfe on cello; Matt Bradshaw on keyboards, trumpet, and harmonica; Tom Myers on drums; Cody Ackors on guitar and trombone; and Tyler Osmond on bass), Wild Child formed in 2010 when the group's core duo of Wilson and Beggins wrote and released their first album, Pillow Talk. WEBSITE, FACEBOOK.

Another band we featured last month and they are back and again sharing two more songs for our pleasure. 'Sinking Ship' and 'Back & Forth' are two very contrasting pieces, 'Sinking Ship' is a beautiful and gentle song with gorgeous vocals and harmonies. 'Back & Forth' is a feisty full bodied tune with a funky blues feel, this band do variety and they do it with style.


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Lauren Ruth Ward - Sideways.

Background - Lauren Ruth Ward just released her new song "Sideways". "Sideways" is an anthem for those who get lost while acclimating to a new life." 

Says Lauren, "Whether it's intentional or unintentional, you gotta roll with it but not let the people walking faster than you distract you." The song is about when Lauren moved from Baltimore to Los Angeles about 2 years ago.

Her new album "Well, Hell" is coming out February 9th, and you can see the campaign that American Apparel did with her here. She is a hairstylist during the day to be able to keep her music career afloat. 

Lauren has organically grown fans in places like Italy, France, Spain, Germany, etc. There is such a love for her music that they created fan pages on Instagram. FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM.

'Sideways' is the second song from Lauren Ruth Ward that we have shared, and once again her rock vocals are centre stage and gripping. This is natural and exuberant rock & roll, dive in and enjoy!


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Thyla - ARY - Everything by Electricity - Martha Ffion - Corniglia - Samsaruh - White Room

Thyla - Tell Each Other Lies.

Background - You’d be hard pressed to find a city that possesses quite as much exciting emerging talent as Brighton right now, and dream pop outfit Thyla’s new single Tell Each Other Lies suggests it’s time to add another to the growing list.

In their euphoric latest offering, Thyla’s endless potential is laid bare once more with sprawling guitars, intense drum beats and the mesmerising vocal prowess of frontwoman Millie Duthie signalling a damning statement of intent heading into 2018.

Having shared the stage with everyone from Dream Wife and Matt Maltese to Yonaka and Trudy and the Romance over the past twelve months, the band’s fierce live reputation continues to grow at a rapid pace, with support slots for The Wytches scheduled before the year is out.

Discussing their upcoming release, the four-piece stated: “Tell Each Other Lies is about the fear of confrontation; pretending everything’s dandy and skipping through life suppressing how you really feel for the sake of an easy ride. It’s about putting up with your loved one’s worst traits because you love them and you know they’ll never change, and it’s about coming to the realisation you wouldn’t want them to anyway”. FACEBOOK.

I have to agree that Brighton on the south coast of England has given us plenty of fine new artists and music this year. Thyla and their new song 'Tell Each Other Lies' continues the momentum, this time with a lush and buoyant dream pop piece that is instantly lovable.

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ARY - Anymore.

Background - After releasing their debut single "I Think It's You" in September, three months later, the band ARY reveals their newst single "Anymore". "This song is all about overcoming our fears and don't let anyone think they can play us  around or tear us apart." - Erika Martyns.

ARY are a Portuguese Alt. Electro-Rock band from Lisbon formed by members Erika Martyns, Dénis Rhomays, Ziig Mendes and David Rodrigues.

The roots of the project began with Erika (vocals) and Dénis (producer/guitar). A new soundscape was planned, an energetic blend between catchy melodies, hard hitting drums, electronic elements and heavy guitars. Something was still missing. The liveliness of being in a room playing music with more people, the felling of being part of a group...

For these and many other reasons, Ziig (bassist) joined the band. ARY started to make sense and grow as a solid project, but nevertheless, one critical element was still missing. Rhythm. David Rodrigues (drummer), joined the gang and became the missing piece the band was looking for. WEBSITE, FACEBOOK.

'Anymore' is a passionate electro rocker, where the positive energy levels are notable across both vocals and the dynamic music.


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Everything by Electricity - Last Day Of The Sun.

Background - “There is a powerful agent, obedient, rapid, easy, which conforms to every use, and reigns supreme on board my ship. Everything is done by means of it. It lights it, warms it, and is the soul of my mechanical vessel. This agent is electricity. Everything by Electricity”. Jules Verne, 20000 leagues under the sea.

Whilst lush pop beats strongly at its heart, dense waves of guitar, reverberating walls of noise and fragile melodies collide amidst sparkling neon-lit synths, dreamy vocals and ghostly shapes via the night sky; anchored tight by pulsing bass, throbbing drums and drum machines.

The band’s sound is littered with the strains of alienation and longing for escape one would expect from childhoods spent gazing across cold barren landscapes deep behind the iron curtain.

On moving from Siberia to London, Yulia (guitar, synths, vocals) quietly crafted a collection of demo material in her bedroom studio and expanded the live line-up with the addition of Daniel (bass guitar, synths) and Manoela (drums, pads). WEBSITE, FACEBOOK.

Expansive sounding dream pop with melodic hooks galore 'Last Day Of The Sun' is a beautifully atmospheric song.

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Martha Ffion - We Make Do

Background - Irish-born, and now Glasgow based singer-songwriter Martha Ffion announces new album entitled 'Sunday Best’ which will be released on Turnstile in early 2018. To celebrate the news Martha Ffion has also released a track from the album - the wonderful ‘We Make Do’.

It’s perhaps true to say that our relationship with music is steered solely by connection. Sometimes that’s a very direct thing; the words we sing along to relatable to our own desires and experiences.
Occasionally, however, it manifests itself in other ways, a captivation drawn from something we can’t conveniently place or pigeon-hole; songs and sentiments we watch from afar, trying to find a way inside.

Martha Ffion’s work has always flourished within the latter of these two paths. While her Irish roots and current home city of Glasgow have undoubtedly informed her work, so many of her songs resonate all the more for feeling wildly devoid of time and place, an alluring cast of characters drifting in and out of focus, each one examining Ffion’s own thoughts on what it means to be “good” in a society that has such determined expectations.

Initially breaking through with a ‘postcard single’ on Scotland’s flourishing Lost Map label, Ffion’s reputation soared with last year’s ‘Trip’ EP, a swooning five-track collection that was released by Turnstile Music (Cate Le Bon, Gruff Rhys, Charlotte Church, Emmy the Great etc.) and championed by GoldFlakePaint for its “beautifully melodic sway”. Written entirely in Glasgow since her move from a distinct Catholic upbringing in small-town Ireland, and recorded with her full live band by Jamie Savage at Glasgow’s Chem 19 Studio (King Creosote, The Twilight Sad, Emma Pollock).

Ffion’s debut album, ‘Sunday Best’, spans the first songs she properly wrote to her most recent compositions, and is by far her most adventurous and accomplished work to-date, the lush instrumentation bringing her detailed lyrical vision to life through a series of gleaming guitar-pop songs that drift between soft-centred balladry and something altogether more cutting and forceful. FACEBOOK.

'We Make Do' is a gorgeously refined singer-songwriter piece, where the melodic vocals skip and glide above a slightly understated sound track that none the less adds just enough contrast to make this a very catchy track.

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Corniglia - But It Wasn't That Long Ago.

Background - Corniglia is an ethereal, psychedelic duo project from Perth, Australia, comprising Chloe and Matt. Matt, the primary songwriter, works as a physio, where he is privy to the sort of deep self-reflection that people seldom share openly and honestly. He listens to confidences regarding the most fundamental aspects of health, life and the passage of time. In these profound circumstances, to his surprise, some are at peace, but many more are not — the time has gone too quickly, they are not ready, it was not enough and they want more. Matt listens and gives them care.

“This idea that a lot of people aren’t that happy in their later years and watching people dying early does make me question how we live our life.”

There is a dark and somber beauty suffusing all of the art the group produces. It is the layers of sinewy texture overlaying the tracks. It’s in the lyrics that paint abstract portraits of these impressions. It’s in both Chloe and Matt’s voices. Chloe lends her artistic strength, as well as her voice to the band. She was raised to adolescence in Italy, before moving to Australia and continuing her creative studies.

Corniglia is a respite from and a reflection on the very peculiar world of Matt and Chloe. The two do not just write and record all of the music but also make all of the art and all of the videos for the project. It is an endeavour that is entirely DIY, with all of the artistic output, naturally with the help of family and friends who help them realise their vision, made by Matt and Chloe at the home they share. Their new single, "But It Wasn't That Long Ago," is from their upcoming, self-titled debut album. WEBSITE, FACEBOOK.

The vocals and harmonies have something of a timeless psychedelic vibe to them on 'But It Wasn't That Long Ago' a melodic and beautiful song, that certainly leaves me wanting to hear the forthcoming debut album.

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Samsaruh - Beautiful Killer.

Background - Samsaruh shows no signs of slowing down as she continues an incredible 2017 with the success of her debut single 'Golden to Thrive' - and just releasing her follow up single 'Beautiful Killer'. The Melbourne based 19 year old singer-songwriter's debut release was added to high triple j rotation and triple j unearthed rotation as well as earning her the tile of Feature Artist on triple j unearthed. 

‘Golden To Thrive’ charted in the Spotify Australia Viral Charts Top 30 as well as charting in the Shazam Top 100 Australian Chart for over 6 weeks, with over 25,000 Shazams of the single through radio play. The single was widely loved by media and fan alike, helping Samsaruh recently take out the triple j unearthed Falls Festival competition in Lorne.

Her new single ‘Beautiful Killer’ is a another exploration of Samsaruh as an artist, demanding and powerful - this track shows off why the 19 year old artist has stopped everyone in their tracks. Written by Samsaruh and production team Nightflare, the track was mixed by Tony Buchan who has worked with the likes of Montaigne and The Preatures and mastered by Brian Lucey (Arctic Monkeys, Chet Faker).

On the track Samsaruh said, "When I was writing this track, it was about the kind of people who are alluring, irresistible and sometimes illusional. The kind of person everyone knows, the kind of person that blinds you of the darker side and mostly the kind of person that we allow to deceive us anyway.  We are all beautiful killers, sometimes we don't know it and sometimes we aren't afraid of it. " FACEBOOK.

The soundtrack has a layer of the dramatic, from the opening moments. 'Beautiful Killer' mixes powerful and captivating vocals with a feisty musical arrangement along with masses of hooks.

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White Room - Circles.

Background - White Room have released their double EP Eight (1st December) via Deltasonic Records. Their new record, featuring eight songs that intertwine through their lyrical and sonic themes, has already spawned hit singles ‘Stole The I.V’, ‘Take Me Away’ and ‘Cable-Built Dreamland’ with widespread support throughout the online community (DIY, Clash, Dork, Wonderland) and sell-out shows in London and Brighton on their debut headline UK tour.

The final instalment of Eight, the aptly titled ‘Circles’, denotes a full stop but also infinity with the song itself calling for inclusivity and tolerance, succinctly tying together all the themes in the EP.

Guitars gleam and choruses glide, wedding the transcendental nous of quirky, genre-bending bands such as Talking Heads and The Brian Jonestown Massacre to the heady, insouciant appeal of Primal Scream. Eight was made for now and the current state of affairs that besiege our youth, whilst offering up the chance to escape from them for a moment and embrace all that is still intrinsically beautiful in the world. It’s made for dancing around without a care in the world or for sitting down, headphones in, looking for a new perspective. Either way, it will make you feel something.

Taking inspiration from the current social and political climate of the world and the uncertainty we live with, the synergy between the lyrics and themes signified by 8 – the number of infinity – hints at the real depth within Eight, touching on aspects of joy, strength, balance and power in unity.

Discussing the upcoming release, the band stated: “In Eight we are offering a way to lose yourself from it all and find an escape for a moment from all the horror and pain that is happening all around us. To embrace the ability music has to take you away from the harsh realities of daily life”. FACEBOOK.

We are back to Brighton again, this time for White Room and the track 'Circles' taken from the new double EP 'Eight'. This band never fail to impress me with their imaginative and totally engaging songs. So fourth time around on Beehive Candy and I just have to recommend checking out the new and creative EP!

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Corniglia - Collapsing Scenery - White Reaper - Chris Tavener

Corniglia - I Don't Know What To Say.

Background - After causing a minor buzz amongst the indie music community in late 2016 with their debut single “Oh My Love”, Perth Indie-Pop act, Corniglia, have released their follow up single “I Don't Know What To Say”.

With their dark indie pop being likened to Radiohead, Beach House, Tame Impala, The Sleepy Jackson and Warpaint, the band’s new release (recorded in the Irwin’s home studio and mixed and mastered at Bergerk! Studios) is an infusion of bubbling melody overflowing from underneath it’s lo-fi production. You can almost feel the tension between the introspective chilled delivery and what is trying to burst through between the lines. It is equally looking back at past personal and current world issues with an understanding smile and a muted scream. 

The accompanying stop-motion animated music video, similarly beautiful and well-crafted, gained as much attention as the debut single, so be sure not to miss the follow up animated effort. 

With Happy Mag recently naming Corniglia as one of their five Western Australian bands to watch, keep an eye out for their upcoming full length release and what the rest of 2017 has in store, website here, Facebook here.

Dark indie pop seems a pretty apt description for 'I Don't Know What To Say' which has a haunting feel to it. The melody is seemingly less important, with atmospheric rhythmic vocals driving the song forward above a delicious guitar lead soundtrack.


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Collapsing Scenery - Tired Blood.

Background - Collapsing Scenery shares their new video "Tired Blood" (dir. by Hunter Crowder). The band's Reggie Debris explains that the track is about "the fatigue and exhaustion that can set in after years of activism, when nothing seems to change or things seem to get actively worse." 

Collapsing Scenery’s music and creative process represent the world as the band wishes the world were: playful, polyglot, intense, committed, politically engaged, free, open, and without boundaries or hierarchies.

The band formed in the terrible autumn of 2013, under a pall of paranoia and disgust, as predator missiles rained on Middle Eastern heads and each day brought news of further surveillance of innocents and more aggressive pursuit of those who had the nerve to inform us about it.

Against this backdrop, erstwhile collaborators Don De Vore and Reggie Debris put aside the stringed instruments on which they’d first learned to play music and on which they were comfortable and versed, and assembled an impressive pile of analog electronics: samplers, step sequencers, synths and drum machines, all supplemented by effects pedals usually applied to guitars. 

From the largely improvised sessions, many accompanied by drummer Ryan Rapsys, the seeds of songs began their germination. Lyrics that Debris had been amassing over years of political rage and frustration began to find their homes when paired with ad-libbed instrumentals. Melodies and cadences alchemically emerged as the words settled into their natural rhythmic patterns.

These elements create dizzying music that by turns touches on punk, industrial, techno, hip-hop, free jazz, soul, disco, folk balladry, and whatever other spirits happen to inhabit the recording studio at any given moment. Website here, Facebook here.

'Tired Blood' has a deep beat, synths that tease out swirling sounds alongside a keen rhythm, all of which sits behind some darker vocals and superb samples. At just under three minutes the songs abrupt end surprised me, as I was still trying to figure the video out!


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White Reaper - Judy French.

Background - Following on from the April release of their new album 'The World's Best American Band' on Polyvinyl Records, Louisville indie/garage band White Reaper have announced a short run of EU/UK tour dates for this October.

A new video for the acclaimed single "Judy French" has just emerged too. White Reaper's standout single "Judy French" off their critically acclaimed and overall monster of an album, The World's Best American Band, gets the video treatment it deserves. 

Directed by Brandon Dermer (co-creator and director of the forthcoming Viceland show, What Would Diplo Do?), the video stars actress Alexandra Daddario (True Detective, Baywatch) giving the song her best arena-rock performance.

Live dates are listed on Beehive Candy's tour news page, website here, Facebook here.

Feisty full on rock riffs and some equally strong vocals ensures 'Judy French' arrives in style albeit well and truly in your face. It's a natural punk orientated song, where attitude & power compete for attention (& get it!).


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Chris Tavener - Faking Cool.

Background - Chris Tavener is the satirical, comedy folk act talking about what everybody thinks, but nobody says….a quirky combination of Tim Minchin meets Bob Dylan, or Flight of The Concords meets Paul Simon.

Originally from Northwich in Cheshire, Chris writes storytelling songs about the ironic comedy in everything from drunken romance, celebrity worship, football hooligans and small-town problems. His latest EP “i’m sorrdy bi’m drunnk” was championed by Steve Lamacq (BBC 6 Music) who aired the tracks four times.. In 2016, he took on two nationwide tours visiting 10 cities over 6 weeks; the success of which led to a stint at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival and a second nationwide tour; performing a total of 351 gigs. 

His latest single ‘Faking Cool’ sees him throw on some dark shades and plenty of leather (probably fake) in a song that looks at those people in society that are just too-cool-for-school. As the hilariously entertaining music video shows, it’s actually quite hard work being friends with someone who constantly pouts and struts around like they own the place.

What does being ‘cool’ really mean? One man’s cool may be another man’s ‘Faking Cool’. Chris is making an art out of catchy comedic tunes with clever lyrics and it’s no surprise that his popularity is soaring with fans raving about his live shows. Facebook here.

My personal take on comedic songs is that they are either very good and easy to listen to over and over, or one off jokes that are never quite the same on a second listen. OK I know that's a sweeping generalisation and 'Faking Cool' is definitely in the latter camp, more satirical (or tongue in cheek) than full on humour. It's also actually a very catchy song where fine music and attractive vocals are centre stage.


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BeeVids: Corniglia - The Hamiltons - Terra Lightfoot - 55 Cancri e

Corniglia - Oh My Love.

Background - Perth indie pop act, Corniglia are releasing their debut single ‘Oh My Love’, through The A&R Department on the the 25th November.

With comparisons to Beach House, Daughter and Radiohead their brand of Dark-Pop combines dreamy guitar and synth leads with an undulating bass groove and minimal beat guided by a tambourine. The introspective, almost mantra like vocals, touch on mortality and the vulnerability that lies beneath the bravado of modern life.

Recorded in bedrooms and living rooms, songwriting brothers (Matthew and Mitchell Irwin) are walking the line between their raw, DIY tendencies and silky production, being mixed and mastered by Perth musical guru, Alan Smith of Bergerk! Studios. DIY wins out in the end on their decision for making the film clip for the track, with Matthew and singer (Chloe De Paoli) shooting a homemade animated film clip for the release off a bedroom floor.

“We used over 1000 photos shooting the stop motion film clip for ‘Oh My Love’ and took many more that we didn't use. Chloe spent a good week before that drawing up all the pieces. It was a strangely therapeutic exercise,” says Matthew Irwin on the creation of the video for the track. Expect an announcement of Perth shows for the end of the year and early January soon, as well as debut album release plans in 2017. Website here. Facebook here.

'Oh My Love' has some soft atmospheric vocals gently travelling above a sophisticated soundtrack. My inner minimalist says's that's enough!

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The Hamiltons - Take The Hit.

Background - The Hamilton’s have just unveiled the video for their new single ‘Take The Hit’ out 16th December. The Hamiltons are an anomaly. In an era where many artists work with songwriters, producers and musicians to create their music, The Hamiltons are totally in control of their artistic vision; writing, playing and producing all their material from a bedroom in London.

Since deciding to relocate from Sydney to the U.K with a one-way ticket in 2015, a lot has happened to this formidable duo. They found themselves some quirky musicians to complete their live act: a tubist, drummer and guitarist, which compliments perfectly Emma’s jazz tinged vocals and shredding accordion skills, and brother Tom’s masterful, frenzied piano chops and husky voice. They have performed all over town, toured the country opening for Matt Cardle, and even collaborated with Guy Chambers on some interesting projects. Let’s throw a few more quirks into the mix. They grew up playing country, cajan, jazz, folk, and 60’s music in their fathers’ band, and debuted in Australia with an exceptional French album (they are half French!) which Van Dyke Parks called “a total triumph on so many levels”.

The Hamiltons perform with a manic passion, tinged with nostalgia but cemented in a pop tradition. “We take a genre of music we like, and turn it on its head” says Tom when asked to define their musical genre. It’s the kind of music best to be heard than described. Their single “Take The Hit” showcases their eclectic taste and even features sax parts from Max Abrams (from the Grammy-Award winning The Mavericks). Website here, Facebook here.

Live dates: 16th December- Crazy Coqs, Piccadillly Circus, London. 

'Take The Hit' is a gorgeous pop song that is bright, uplifting and oozing with charm. Love it!

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Terra Lightfoot - All Alone.

Background from Terra - My new video for “All Alone” has just been released. The visuals were filmed on our last UK tour while in the highlands of Scotland. We headed there to take some photos with noted landscape photographer Angus Bruce. On a whim, we decided to shoot a music video and the only song we had with us was “All Alone” — fitting, since I was going to be alone in these frames of insanely beautiful Scottish highlands.

We visited a hidden beach, a cemetery, a bog full of petrified wood, a castle, some sheep, and finally a dreamy waterfall. During the shoot, Angus mentioned that he and his wife had arranged to get a new puppy. We had such an amazing time and the next day they asked whether I would mind if they named their new pet "Terra". I happily agreed.

The Scottish highlands will always hold a piece of my heart and I'm so glad we were able to capture that sense of awe on film. The track “All Alone” is off of my sophomore LP Every Time My Mind Runs Wild which was released this year on Sonic Unyon. Website here, Facebook here.

'All Alone' has a bluesy feel and Terra's vocals are a delight. Melodic and extremely catchy, this is one very likable song.

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55 Cancri e - 55 Cancri e II.

Background - 55 Cancri e - Att lämna Tellus (UK Release 9th December). Att lämna Tellus (in english: To leave Tellus) is a journey between the planets Tellus (Earth) and 55 Cancri e. It starts on Tellus with a feeling that you might not be where you are supposed to. A search for a peace of mind and a place in the universe where you belong. Travelling through deserts, dark forests, emotions, space and time. Giving up and moving on at the same time. A revelation. An awakening. Suddenly there is no fear anymore and that is when you find love and the courage to start over. Leaving home for another home. 55 Cancri e - a new beginning.

On her debut full length album, on Danish label Music For Dreams, Swedish artist Sara Hausenkamp lets her dreams of space travel come to full fruition. With a steady hand on her guitar, she steers us through the desert at night, through the cosmic noises of space, and finally to the distant planet 55 Cancri e.

Ranging from melancholic to hopeful, the music of 55 Cancri e is perhaps an expression of Hausenkamps longing for a better home planet, and for the possibility of escape. In creating these kinds of science fiction lullabies, she is preparing us for both the beauty and the sadness of a looming future.

Using her voice mainly to hum or whistle along, she does however break the silence on a few tracks to sing in her native tongue. On "Rävjakt" she imagines a turning of the tables, where the fox hunters are chased out of the forest by the animals. "Alltid Du" is a tender and straightforward love song that has become the centre of her recent live performances. And on "55 Cancri e I (We Ran Away)" she switches over to English for the first time, where we find her in a slightly different voice.

Often working with variations of recurring musical themes, Hausenkamp allows for subtle changes over a number of tracks to create a linear progression that unfolds as a whole in a hypnotic brew of folk-inspired pop. Saturating it all in a glistening atmosphere of both electronic and acoustic sounds as well as samples and field recordings, this album comes as a natural format for Hausenkamp to exlore her ideas. Facebook here.

The tenth and final track on the album '55 Cancri e II' gives some insight into the collection of music, due for UK release in December. The songs & music, slide effortlessly from folk to almost experimental themes. There's some intriguing moments however overall everything is quite accessible and you get to go on a fantastic journey.

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