Showing posts with label Ida Mae. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ida Mae. Show all posts

Friday, 18 June 2021

Ivan Moult - Big Little Lions - Ida Mae - Ashley Shadow

Ivan Moult - Steady Hands.

Following on from his last single, ‘What More Could I Say?’, released last August on Bubblewrap Records, Ivan Moult is back with another brand new track. ‘Steady Hands’ was written a few years ago, but with Ivan setting up and honing his home studio in Cardiff, it has now finally found the light of day.

Written and recorded by Moult, the track covers the romantic coupling with his now fiancé, now also the mother of his son. Thematically, the lyrics cover the gradual maturing towards genuine adulthood, and the realisation that family life would require the shedding of some bad habits, alongside learning how to communicate properly.

As ever with Moult’s music, there’s an emotional and experiential honesty worn palpably on the sleeve, with this delivered through his typically ethereal, layered vocals and modernised take on classic 70s folk. ‘Steady Hands’ will be released across all digital platforms on June 18th. The track is accompanied by a cover of The Bangles pop classic, ‘Eternal Flame’.


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Big Little Lions - Peaceful.

Peaceful - Big Little Lions Written by Helen Austin and Paul Otten All instruments, vocals and production by Big Little Lions.

Big Little Lions have been described as ‘a blissful marriage of new folk and sophisticated pop’. Prolific songwriting, infectious folk-pop style, and an offbeat, memorable live show. This award winning duo consists of Helen Austin and Paul Otten who, despite living thousands of miles apart, have found a way to connect and create music together. 

Despite being in two different countries, they have found common ground to share their message. Call it destiny, or call it fate, call it a necessary progression for these modern times. Helen lives in British Columbia, Canada and Paul lives in Cincinnati, OH. 

But the distance provides the necessity to create in a new way. Using technology as their ally and their differences as their strength.  Their monthy single releases are their way of getting through this pandemic while all the usual album cyle release plans don’t make sense anymore. Their music is jam-packed with emotion and tight harmonies, the sound of two people working side-by-side.

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Ida Mae - Learn To Love You Better.

Nashville-via-London duo Ida Mae have hared their new song “Learn To Love You Better” from their upcoming sophomore album Click Click Domino. Ida Mae writes, “'Learn To Love You Better' was written for a friend of ours who was wildly and selflessly in love with a partner struggling with mental health issues and wanting to do everything right. It was written on a late 1800s Mandolinetto which we later combined with 70s analogue drum machines- inspired by JJ Cale and John Martyn. We just wanted it to be a lighter breath of fresh air on the record." Click Click Domino will be released on July 16th, through Thirty Tigers.

Ida Mae will stream a full-band live performance of their new record via Mandolin on June 24th at 8PM Eastern time. Along with a pre-show cocktail hour and Q&A with Christopher Turpin and Stephanie Jean, the performance will be interspersed with documentary tour footage and track-by-track insight into each of the songs, making the event a truly immersive cinematic experience. Filmed in a secret studio in the wilds of the English countryside, this will be the first opportunity for fans to see Ida Mae perform these songs, accompanied by Ethan Johns on Drums and Nick Pini on double bass and electric bass. Tickets are currently available for purchase here.

Ida Mae will be performing at the Newport Folk Festival, which will take place July 23 - 26 in Newport, RI. “It’s our great honor to announce we will be performing at the world renowned Newport Folk Festival this year in Rhode Island,” said Ida Mae. “Having studied the performances of John Lee Hooker, Bob Dylan, Rev. Gary Davis and so many others at Newport it means a great deal to be included in this year’s lineup.”

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Ashley Shadow - For Love.

Vancouver's Ashley Shadow has returned with her new single, "For Love", out via Felte (Ganser, Au.Ra, AUTOBAHN).

Ashley released her debut in 2016 earning support at Pitchfork, Stereogum, KEXP, Brooklyn Vegan, AV Club, Under the Radar and more, in the past she has contributed backing vocals to Bonnie "Prince" Billy's Lie Down in the Light (Drag City), Pink Mountaintop's Outside Love (Jagjaguwar) and The Cave Singers' Welcome Joy (Matador). Interestingly, Shadow's twin sister, Amber Webber, plays in the group Lightning Dust and co-founded psych-rock band, Black Mountain.

This new single comes as Shadow's first since her 2016 release marking a bit of a comeback, it arrives produced by Joshua Wells (Destroyer, Lightning Dust, ex-Black Mountain) and evokes this rich, textured moodiness that to me feels kind of synonymous with Pacific Northwest – the sound definitely has a home on her debut too, but this time Shadow harnesses this palpable sense of hope. It features this lovely swaying percussion, lightly strummed guitar and oscillating vocals.

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Wednesday, 12 May 2021

Giulia. - Ida Mae - Sister John

Giulia. - Tired.

As we enter the season of summer romance, Giulia.’s upcoming single, “Tired,” presents a chill soundtrack chronicling relationships’ ups and downs and twists and turns. A Janelle Monae infused funk and R&B style playfully blends with lyrical rhythms and sounds reminiscent of Amy Winehouse. “Tired” is released today May 12. It’s off her genre-bending EP, Night Before, due out June 25th.

The song opens with a fast-paced beat devolving into a slow groove, reflecting the quickening pulse of a new relationship and the soon-to-follow comfort of falling into familiar habits. There’s an upbeat, carefree nature that umbrellas the song, cleverly disguising the heavier pensive moments. Giulia. takes the listener on a full-bodied journey of a long-term relationship characterized by the verses highs, the pre-chorus questioning, and the lows within the chorus epitomizing the “I’m tired” stage of the relationship.

Giulia. incorporates elements of a multi-versed artistic background in film and dance into her sound. A national champion garnering Canada multiple gold medals, she dedicated 18 years of her life to dance, training competitively and professionally in many dance styles, including modern, jazz, hip-hop, and ballet. She says, “There is an innate rhythm and movement I feel when I write my songs. This especially comes alive in my phrasing and the way I choose to say and sing my lyrics.” Giulia. pivoted when it came time to attend college, deciding to pursue a BFA in Dramatic Arts at The New School in New York City.  Her acting background allows her to explore different scenarios and characters within her songs that come alive when she performs. As a filmmaker and writer, crafting stories and choosing how to depict them informs the core of her songwriting – just condensed and in an audio format.

Giulia. and her dad recorded half the songs on her upcoming EP at their home studio while recording the other half with a full band at Canterbury Sound in Toronto. She says, “There’s an unspoken energy and excitement when we make music together that I wouldn’t trade for the world.”


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Ida Mae - Little Liars.

Nashville-via-London duo Ida Mae (Chris Turpin and Stephanie Jean) shared their new song “Little Liars” from their upcoming sophomore album Click Click Domino. "‘Little Liars’ is a runaway song, the first person whisperings of a seductress that you’ll follow whatever the consequences," writes Turpin. "This song was written on a late 1800s Mandolinetto that we picked up at the end of a tour in Nashville and what you hear on the record is actually the demo. Stephanie Jean's live vocal performance on the demo was a first take and it had such a dark and playful intensity we didn't want to change it."

Ida Mae previously released the singles "Road to Avalon" as well as the title track “Click Click Domino” which was featured in Rolling Stone who writes, “With guitar assistance from shred wizard Marcus King, the tune is a heaving mass of scuzzy blues-rock riffs and thunderous drums that indicts social media for its isolating, alienating effects… Somewhere, Jack White is busy looking for new amp settings.” The track was met with similar acclaim from American Songwriter, Wonderland, Clash Magazine, Live for Live Music, and more.

For nearly two straight years following the release of their critically acclaimed debut, Chasing Lights, Ida Mae lived on the road, crisscrossing the US from coast to coast as they performed hundreds of dates with everyone from Willie Nelson and Alison Krauss to Marcus King and Greta Van Fleet. While those shows were electrifying for the duo, it was what happened in between - the countless hours spent driving through small towns and big cities, past sprawling suburbs and forgotten ghost towns, across deserts and mountains and forests and prairies - that truly laid the creative groundwork for Click Click Domino.

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Sister John - In My Place.

The new Sister John album I Am by Day is a total beast in that way where you just keep hitting repeat and discovering more with each listen. I'm loving every moment of this Pretenders meets Tom Petty vibes all over this album, but not like the regular albums, but almost like the Greatest Hits to where you know every track already. This is one of those records you get to know that becomes like home. Take for example the new video "In My Place."

The group, which includes members of labelmate group The Gracious Losers, was hard at work throughout their respective quarantines, capitalizing on the increasingly unnoticeable changes in day-to-day life. The new record, 'I Am By Day,' out May 21st on Last Night From Glasgow, doesn't provide a strategy to get through those 'Spot The Difference' days/weeks, instead seeking to explore every nook and cranny. This exploration is accomplished gently, through equal parts Petty-inspired overdriven riffs, vibrating synth pads, and summery drum programming, continuing Sister John's trend away from traditional Folk/Americana instrumentation. Not since Fiona Apple's "Fetch the Bolt Cutters" have I been so taken aback and unable to categorize the breadth of sound on a record.

'I Am By Day' doesn't pick a side, laying bare the emotions customary on a Folk record, while speaking with a brand new voice, somewhere between curiosity and silent-authority. The lead single, 'How Can I Keep It Alive' is in no rush to share with us its desperate message, leading with a grooved bass line. Like the rest of the record, McKeown and Co. are intentionally sparse with their instrumentation. In turn, each word, synthesized moan, and shimmering snare create vastly greater meaning to this collection of unadorned experimentation and meditation. We love it, and think you will too!

Sister John is a group of four multi-instrumentalists from Glasgow, centered around the songwriting of Amanda McKeown. Amanda and Last Night From Glasgow joined forces after a fateful Facebook DM accompanied by a link to an album’s worth of warm acoustic guitar, spine tingling violin, and McKeown’s emotional affect piqued the label’s interest. Sister John’s debut record, ‘Returned from Sea’ highlighted the group’s sparse yet melodic sensibility. Met with high acclaim and airplay on BBC Radio 6, Sister John followed up with an eponymous second effort in 2019, providing a bountiful feast of the group’s uniquely lush lo-fi.

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Wednesday, 14 April 2021

Giulia - André Ethier - New Candys - T. Hardy Morris - Ida Mae

Giulia - Lucky Ones.

Versatile, intuitive, and multi-dimensional. Those are just a few words to define the genre-bending musician Giulia., who infuses jazz-influenced arrangements, unusual rhythmic phrasings, and understated spoken word into her dreamy indie-folk melodies.

Born and raised in Toronto, one of the most multicultural cities in the world, Giulia. was surrounded by a world of art from a young age. The moniker Giulia. (with a g and a period) comes from the Italian spelling of Julia she’d always wanted. Her parents “Americanized” their names in their youth when having a foreign-sounding name was frowned upon. 

Years later, they gave both her siblings names with the traditional Italian spelling. Giulia. says, “I remember growing up, I was very dramatic about the fact that I was the only one who didn’t have an Italian name and always envied the uniqueness of their names.” Set to release her first song at 19, she needed an artist name immediately. 

She says, “The little 9-year-old girl inside of me begged me to make her proud. I had been waiting for an alter-ego my whole life so I could name her Giulia., and now I was finally going to have one.” She added the period to make her feel extra special – like the name didn’t need anything else, just Giulia. Period.


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André Ethier - Nature Compels Me.

André Ethier is set to release his new album, Further Up Island on May 28, 2021, via the beloved Toronto label, Telephone Explosion (Polaris long/shortlisted acts inc. Badge Époque Ensemble, Bernice, Pantayo). We’re now releasing the new single “Nature Compels Me.”

We announced the new record, Further Up Island last month earning support at GoldFlakePaint, Brooklyn Vegan, Exclaim and more – this comes as the final piece in a trilogy of Sandro Perri-produced solo records from Ethier with this specific track featuring the sax of Joseph Shabason (prev. tips from Pitchfork, NPR and Aquarium Drunkard). The first album (Under Grape Leaves) was very much about building a home, the second one (Croak in the Weeds) was about living in it and this new one, Further Up Island is about leaving it and exploring, packed with plenty of Ethier's tongue-in-cheek humour akin to Randy Newman, Bonnie “Prince” Billy and that ilk of songwriter.

André initially grew as a musician as part of the 90's/00's Toronto band, the Deadly Snakes at one point earning Ethier singing duties at the Dodger's stadium singing the Canadian national anthem (he shared a name with a Dodger's legend). Since those days, Ethier shifted his attention to this intricate, dreamy folk music as well as developing a notable career as a painter with his artwork here adorning the cover of the new album and also placements in galleries across Canada (Toronto & Montréal), the US (Derek Eller in NY & Honor Fraser in LA) and Italy (Torino).

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New Candys - Begin Again.

New Candys have recently announced the release of their new album 'Vyvyd', out on 4th June via Little Cloud Records/Dischi Sotterranei/Fuzz Club.

Following the release of album opener 'Twin Mime' last month, the band have shared new track 'Begin Again'. "It’s the closest thing to a love song that’s on this record", they explain, "It’s about how we sometimes think about an ended relationship, and the only thing that’s left is just the memory of it. The bass line came first, then the chords and vocal melody. It is the first time that we used a drum machine instead of the traditional drum kit".

The single is accompanied by a video, directed by Ivana Smudja. She says: “Begin Again is the story of Lea and Mel Stevens, two twin sisters who exchange personalities from time to time. Whenever they secretly encounter, one of the two is set free, free from ordinary life, until they meet again. The video was filmed in Groesbeek (The Netherlands), during one of the coldest months of the year and during lockdown. We were not allowed to gather with more than two people outside and the woods were the safest place where to hide and film (keeping distance and wearing our masks, of course)”.

Known for their relentless touring schedule and DIY work ethic, New Candys are one of the most solid independent bands of recent years. ‘Vyvyd’ follows up on the widely acclaimed third album ‘Bleeding Magenta’, which saw them tour non-stop across Europe, UK, North America and Australia.

Recorded at Fox Studio in Venice, Italy by Andrea Volpato and mixed and mastered by Grammy Award producers Tommaso Colliva (The Jesus And Mary Chain) and Giovanni Versari respectively, 'Vyvyd' is the first record made by the new line-up of Fernando Nuti, Andrea Volpato, Alessandro Boschiero and Dario Lucchesi. It will be available through Little Cloud Records and Dischi Sotterranei, plus an exclusive vinyl edition via Fuzz Club.

“I’ve started to sketch some songs for the record during a very tumultuous period for the band, with many line-up changes between the end of 2017 until mid-2018, but as soon as the new line-up formed, the excitement to create new music together was overwhelming and helped the creative process immensely,” says frontman Fernando Nuti.

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T. Hardy Morris - The Digital Age of Rome.

T. Hardy Morris is set to return with The Digital Age of Rome on June 25th via the New West Records imprint Normaltown Records. The 10-song set was produced by Adam Landry (Deer Tick, Rayland Baxter) and mixed by engineer Nate Nelson. It follows the Diamond Rugs and Dead Confederate member’s 2018 acclaimed Dude, The Obscure, which Pitchfork said "may be Morris' best record; it's certainly his most complex and compelling statement" and "it's sharp focus is refreshing," while AllMusic said, “Morris takes his ambitions skyward, infusing a joyous psychedelia into the mix…”

After touring Dude, The Obscure, Morris had 13 new songs demoed for a new album. He was excited to get his band together to rehearse the songs before hunkering down in the studio to record...then the pandemic hit. Sequestered at his Athens, GA home with his family, Morris, like most everyone else in the past year, mulled over what was truly important to him and in response, crafted an entirely new set of songs. Enlisting a group of musicians including Drive-By Truckers drummer Brad Morgan, singer-songwriter Faye Webster and many others, Morris pulled no punches with his mesmerizing lyrics and hazy brand of southern glam rock.

Looking directly inward and captivated by the sobering realities of the pandemic, Morris has composed one of his most personal works yet. He tackles the well-worn anxieties of the past year as pandemic and political divisions ravaged America. The Digital Age of Rome is more direct than Morris has ever been and is one of his boldest records yet. Unapologetic and brutally honest, it is a necessary diary for an uncomfortable time that continues to unfold.

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Ida Mae - Road To Avalon.

Today, the Nashville-via-London duo Ida Mae shared their new song “Road to Avalon”, the opening track from their upcoming sophomore album Click Click Domino. “We wanted this song and production to be a cinematic, slow pan across a vignette of the towns and cities we’ve travelled through that felt lost and forgotten,” writes Ida Mae. 

“Clashing a 1900s American gut string ukulele banjo with modern synthesizers, casio keyboards, thumb piano and Beatles-esque Mellotron organ was intentional to try and create a kind of sparse transatlantic dreamstate. We chose Avalon because it's rich in Celtic mythology, an earthly paradise in the western skies, a pretty grandiose metaphor for searching or escaping to a place or situation that's better than where you are.” Click Click Domino will be released on July 16th, through Thirty Tigers.

The song follows the release of lead single “Click Click Domino” which was featured in Rolling Stone who writes, “With guitar assistance from shred wizard Marcus King, the tune is a heaving mass of scuzzy blues-rock riffs and thunderous drums that indicts social media for its isolating, alienating effects… Somewhere, Jack White is busy looking for new amp settings.

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Wednesday, 3 March 2021

Ida Mae Feat. Marcus King - Oracle Sisters - Bernice

Photo - Joe Hottinger
Ida Mae - Click Click Domino Feat. Marcus King.

Today, the Nashville-via-London duo Ida Mae announced their new sophomore album Click Click Domino, which follows their critically-acclaimed EP Raining For You and breakout debut Chasing Lights. The husband-wife duo Chris Turpin and Stephanie Jean has also shared the title track from the record, which features a blistering guitar performance from Marcus King. Click Click Domino will be released on July 16th, through Thirty Tigers.

Filled with thunderous production, killer riffs, and an insatiable rhythm throughout, "Click Click Domino" is among their most raucous tracks to date. Ida Mae writes, "This was written kind of as a knee jerk song. The unfiltered noise of social media, concerns surrounding social engineering, the lack of emotional connection and physical disconnection gets to all of us. We all know how easy it is to falsify an image, be it in fashion / politics / or any aspect of your everyday and in a lot of people's lives it has become a necessity to play into it. I wanted to write the lyrics to ‘Click Click Domino’ almost as Twitter statements, counting characters, making a short sharp stream of consciousness commentary."

"The riff was originally inspired by the playing of one of our favourite guitar players Pop Staples and it slowly morphed into something that in my mind almost echoed moments of Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac. It kicked up a gear when Marcus King came over and we stood side by side, soloing call and response guitar lines over the outro. The attitude of his playing was perfect."

Adding to this Marcus King says, "A warm summer Nashville evening, enjoying a whiskey beverage with my lady and two of our best friends in town, Chris & Steph of Ida Mae. I listened through the track ‘Click Click Domino’ and was immediately floored by the raw nature of the recording, the intensity and the undeniable, delightfully British rock sound I had grown up being captured. I’m honoured to have played on this track. What a powerhouse album and what a powerhouse band."

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Oracle Sisters - I Don't Wanna Move.

Parisian trio Oracle Sisters have today shared ‘I Don’t Wanna Move’. With this, they also announce the release date for their next EP, ‘Paris II’, due April 7th 2021 via New York independent label 22TWENTY (Madge, Fat Trout Trailer Park).

Talking on the track, the band add “I Don’t Wanna Move is a duet between Chris & Lewis  about desire, the song plays out like a town crier’s rhapsody with all the ancient laments, hopes and dreams of a wayward rake, or a seaworthy mariner rolled into a blanket of harmony.”

Over the past twelve months, Oracle Sisters have built up a loyal and global following, blurring the lines between music and visual arts. Now, Oracle Sisters turn their attention to its sequel, their next EP ‘Paris II’ , due for arrival on April 7th. Building upon their first EPs thematic premise of music lifted from a utopian vision of the French capital (where the band are currently located) the upcoming body of work shows the duel side “of that world...coming back down to earth to explore the darker sides of the psyche while probing some allies of hope” add the band.

With members hailing from across Europe and the UK , the band are uninhibited in their influences, finding inspiration within the art, cinema, philosophy, and music of the world over; resulting in a sound that is both sonically sophisticated and warmly familiar. Lyrically, they explore timeless narratives of love, mysticism and spirituality, scattered with intriguing insights into their own personal lives and experiences resulting in songs that are cryptic yet inviting.

Oracle Sisters have been working hard in Greece currently finishing off their debut album. Along the road, they’ve also played impromptu shows on the island of Hydra with friends from Fontaines D.C & The Murder Capital   – capturing the troubadour spirit of the band.

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Bernice - Lone Swan.

Today, ahead of the release the band are sharing the album's final single "Lone Swan."

"When we think of swans, we think of them coupled, distant, on water - beautiful, peaceful, sailing," says Bernice leader Robin Dann. "We know them as aggressive, hissing, dominating, at odds with our world. Lone swan feels conflict, curiosity, and longing. On a deserted road, city street, snowy mountain, suburban pool, forest, nightclub, airplane, crop circle, cloud - she absorbs as much as she releases. She doesn’t quite fit in anywhere she lands, wonders what is real, and her longing for connection carry her forward one webbed foot at a time."

Eau de Bonjourno is the Bernice's first collaboration with producer Shahzad Ismaily, the acclaimed multi-instrumentalist who has worked with artists as varied as Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed, Elvis Costello, Iggy Pop, John Zorn, and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy. While their genre reconstruction remains distinctly Bernice, Dann’s lyrics bring a newfound focus to storytelling in the present moment, compassionately meeting ourselves where we are, and finding joy in spaces that are familiar but ever changing.

Eau de Bonjourno, according to Dann, “openly plays with the shape of a pop song,” drawing on the band members’ backgrounds in jazz, subverting rhythmic formulas, and resting in grooves that sit just outside of predictable. Instead of letting instruments take extended solos, the tone is set on opener “Groove Elation” with brief blurts of synthesized sax, patient passages of space, or clusters of beats, tenderly held together by Dann and Williams’ intimate vocals. The album’s sound is experimental in its truest definition, chopped up like musique concrète and then delicately placed back together with the loving touch of a scrapbook collagist.

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Friday, 16 October 2020

Ida Mae - Soë Blue - The Silverbeets - Will Powers

Ida Mae released 'Raining For You' this week and the Americana duo really do serve up something special, the vocals are creative in themselves and glide over a wonderful acoustic backdrop. ===== Soë Blue appeared on Beehive Candy back in April with her debut single 'Karma' and we are pleased to share today's release 'Totally Confused' which is a funky, soulful and beautiful song. ===== For The Silverbeets we only have to go back three weeks for their last feature and now we have the brand new track 'Girlfriend' which takes their indie art rock into a rhythmic and slightly psychedelic direction. ===== Will Powers (the brainchild of songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/producer Oli Palkovits) today shares 'Woven and Shattered' and it's a fabulously layered rocker with notable vocals and bags of hooks.

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Ida Mae - Raining For You.

The Americana duo Ida Mae have released "Raining For You," the title track from their upcoming EP. Raining For You will be released on November 20th via Thirty Tigers.

"This was one of the first tracks we recorded as Lockdown measures began here in Nashville TN," writes Ida Mae. "It's a simple love song written from the perspective of a friend of ours, someone I knew that was losing themselves in the darker memories of a past romantic relationship. Through social media and memory I think many people today can find themselves feeling like a helpless voyeur, watching the self-destructive behaviour of someone brilliant they love but feel powerless to help.”

Describing the story behind the Raining For You EP Ida Mae writes, "Our last show was in San Antonio Texas when we were flown home from our tour schedule and into quarantine. The years before had been the biggest adventures of our lives, two Brits on our own travelling and playing non stop shows across the length and breadth of the USA and Europe. We played a rollercoaster of shows from Entertainment Centre’s in Wisconsin to Stadiums in New York. In all that time we’d been collecting scraps of conversation, words and sounds from our experiences on the road.  We’d been piecing together the bones of our next album in hotel rooms and the backs of taxis every spare moment we had. Collecting fragments of what felt like a strange, ragged, dream-state journey. All the plans we’d made for recording the next album had gone out the window, so we wired the house into our lockdown studio and began to self produce"

There’s a genuine 'Bonnie & Clyde’ perspective to Ida Mae’s songwriting, reflecting the wild expanse of America as viewed through the eyes of two restless lovers. The husband-and-wife duo have toured roughly 120,000 miles of the USA and Canada to date, earning rave reviews and performing at festivals like Bonnaroo and Philly Folk Festival, and alongside artists like Willie Nelson, Greta Van Fleet, Allison Krauss and Marcus King. All the while Ida Mae was at work writing new material inspired by their experiences on the road as well as their favorite American authors (Kerouac, James Baldwin, Ferlinghetti, Raymond Carver).


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Soë Blue - Totally Confused.

Here comes bright music for dark times: 'Totally Confused', the new single by young Zurich-based Soë Blue, gives a nod to the good old days of northern soul with its joie de vivre. Mixed with a some bits of funk and pop - these tunes are exactly what we need now!

Specially as there's a lot to be worried about in these times. And be it the question how to combine music, work, love, friends and family. 

That's what 'Totally Confused' is about: So many things to do, so little time. Or, to say it with the words of Soë Blue: «This can make your head spin. But one day we'll be dancing in the sun again».

Soë Blue brings back sunshine. And when she sings, she brings back memories of Adele, Amy Winehouse, Simply Red, Alicia Keys, Joss Stone and Aretha Franklin as well. Don't you think?


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The Silverbeets - Girlfriend.

Australian indie art rockers The Silverbeets present their 'Girlfriend' single, the second taste of their new 'Halcyon Days' album, which is the band's third multi-track release. This long-play will be released on November 13.

Formed in 2014, The Silverbeets are Farnz Cordeaux (rhythm guitar, vocals), Jamie Scott (lead guitar, vocals), Nigel Hope (bass) and Bill O’Brien (drums). Their sound is also heavily influenced by their “5th member”, producer and multi-instrumentalist Ernie Oppenheimer.

The Silverbeets hail from Hobart, Tasmania - the small Australian island state at the bottom of the world. This relative isolation has led the band to craft an idiosyncratic sound that borrows from luminary rock acts like Pink Floyd, The Byrds, David Bowie, Radiohead, The Pixies, Queen, Fleet Foxes, Simon & Garfunkel, Nick Cave and Neil Young, among others.

With a rich dark green sound interspersed with multi-coloured stems, their non-formulaic style is distinct. Like their forthcoming 8-track full-length album, this single evoke the spirit of artists such as Can, They Might be Giants and XTC.


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Will Powers - Woven and Shattered.

New single, "Woven and Shattered," is carried by a polyrhythmic riff, with lyrics that reflect the sense of seamlessness/continuity between our inner and outer worlds.

Will Powers is the brainchild of songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/producer Oli Palkovits. Oli won the 2019 NOFMA Outstanding Album award for his 2017 self-release Flowers of Atacama. 

Following the release, he moved to Montreal, where much of the material that would become the Will Powers’ debut EPs was written. 

He has since moved back to Sudbury and is currently working on several albums with members of Murder Murder and Tommy and the Commies.

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MF Tomlinson - Hippie Flowers - Little Low - Franklin Gothic

MF Tomlinson - Die To Wake Up From A Dream. MF Tomlinson shares the album's centrepiece and 9-minute title track, ‘Die To Wake Up From ...