Still Corners - Elf Power - Clea Anaïs’ - Diandian

Photo - Bernard Bur

Still Corners - Far Rider.

Ahead of a massive tour throughout Europe and the US this Spring, Still Corners have released their seven-minute desert-noir odyssey, ‘Far Rider’.

With the sun at its peak a weary desert traveller picks their way across the soft sandy floor trying to forget a lost love or maybe a past best forgotten. Crystal clear guitar lines drift in and out as the bass weaves and snakes over a tight drum beat. Tessa Murray croons steady as a pulse, as the song winds like a caravan toward the orange horizon.

Tessa explains, “This song is about leaving, lost love and finding yourself somewhere on the journey, really it’s about redemption. I recently drove 6000 miles across the southwest to feel the sun on my face and think.  We used the dreamlike nature of the song to capture the landscape and a hypnotic feel to conjure up the long and lonely travel days.”

‘Far Rider’ follows on from the release of their recent single ‘Heavy Days’, and highly-praised 2021 studio album ‘The Last Exit’, which received standout reviews in NME, DIY, Uncut, The Quietus, Mojo and many more Still Corners will be heading off on tour in 2022 throughout the US and Europe to support their recent releases.

stillcorners · Far Rider

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Photo - Jason Thrasher

Elf Power - The Gas Inside The Tank.

Yesterday, the Athens, GA-based psychedelic folk band Elf Power announced they have signed with Yep Roc Records. To celebrate the partnership, the band released “The Gas Inside The Tank,” their first single release since 2017’s full length album Twitching in Time.

“‘The Gas Inside the Tank’ lyrically touches on seemingly separate but interrelated themes such as reincarnation, evolution, digital information overload, and an imagined post-apocalyptic future world of deserted cities in which inhabitants resort to siphoning gas from abandoned vehicles,” explains Andrew Rieger. “This was the first song written for an album we’ll be releasing later this year. It mixes organic and artificial elements together, with drums and drum machine mixed together, and slide guitar and organ alongside gurgling moog keyboards and synth bass.”

"We are very excited to be working with Yep Roc! So many of our friends and collaborators like Robyn Hitchcock, The Apples in Stereo, The Minus 5, and the No Ones have worked with the label, so we're looking forward to joining the Yep Roc roster,” said Elf Power.

“We are thrilled to welcome Elf Power to the Yep Roc Records roster,” said Yep Roc’s Co-General Manager Mariah Czap. “For the past 28 years, they've been such an important influence in the indie music community. Our team has known Andrew and the band since around 2004, as they've collaborated with a number of Yep Roc artists past and present over the years. We're excited to officially add them to our label family!”

Elf Power formed in Athens, GA in 1994 and have released 13 albums, two EPs, and a handful of singles, while touring North America, Europe, and Japan many times playing alongside acts like R.E.M., Flaming Lips, Dinosaur Jr., Neutral Milk Hotel, Guided by Voices, Arcade fire and many more. Albums such as 1998's Dave Fridmann-produced A Dream In Sound and 2008's collaboration with the late folk rock icon Vic Chesnutt, Dark Developments, have cemented the band’s reputation as the finest purveyors of modern melodic psychedelic folk rock around. The band became known as a member of the much heralded Elephant 6 Collective.

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Clea Anaïs’ - Stars Still Dying.

Clea Anaïs’ compositions centre on two things: their multifaceted artistic sensibility, and an emotional intelligence as sharp as a shard of bright-coloured crystal. Clea is a multiethnic artist, raised in Canada by a Mauritian dancer and a British painter.

Clea works with all kinds of interesting contemporaries in interesting places, undertaking a cross border commission in 2021 by the Canadian Consulate as part of the “Connecting Perspectives” initiative. Clea has toured in Canada, Japan, Europe, the UK, the USA, and New Zealand. Their session work spans many genres, having worked with Richard Reed Parry (Arcade Fire) on his project Music for Heart and Breath, attending residencies at the Banff Centre, and recording with bands like Woodpigeon, 100 Mile House, Reuben and the Dark, and Astral Swans. Clea has shared the stage with groups including members of Broken Social Scene, Dan Mangan, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Cold Specks, City and Colour, and Of Montreal, to name a few. Much of this has happened with Clea’s collaborative band RALEIGH, who Alternative Album of the Year in the 2018 YYC Music Awards.

Now undertaking new music on her own, her debut solo album, Circle Zero, recalls the genre defying production and inimitable vocals of Lana del Rey, grounded in the nostalgic groove and lush pop stylings of Beach House and Japanese Breakfast. Clea’s first two self-released singles garnered 7k views each on YouTube, with “Hazy Days” spending multiple weeks on CBC Radio 3’s Top 10 playlist. Clea creates art that moves in interesting ways; throughout there are moments that are vulnerable and these moments move you because they are some special combo of being listenable, evoking memory, and feeling new.

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Diandian - I'm Still Mi.

We are pleased to include Diandian today with the beautiful new song 'I'm Still Mi', we will let her tell us all about herself - Diandian is an Asian American cellist, singer, and engineer. As a Stanford University graduate of engineering and music programs, she uses her unique skills in the sciences and arts to create innovative pieces with the cello.

Formerly a classical cellist; she has previously won international competitions and performed at venues such as at the Bing Concert Hall at Stanford, The Grammy Museum, Tsuen Wen Town Hall in Hong Kong, Shanghai Concert Hall, Carnegie Hall, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art for SoCal Sunday Night on Classical KUSC. Her upcoming tour venues for 2022 include the Grammy Museum, LAX, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, and Stanford Concert Hall.

Along with producer Taylor Franklyn, diandian creates her first independent release, "Planet Pink" featuring her singing debut, cello, and original songwriting. Diandian's first independent release. Bittersweet melancholy with soft vocals, cello, and dreamy beats.

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Still Corners - Big Little Lions - Palmaria - Ellyn Woods - Mike Etten - Jillette Johnson

Still Corners - Heavy Days.

After delivering their highly-praised album ‘The Last Exit’ in January this year with standout reviews in NME, DIY, Uncut, The Quietus, Mojo and many more, Still Corners return with the energetic ‘Heavy Days’, along with news of a big US tour and re-scheduled European tour dates.

‘Heavy Days’ continues the band’s journey through the atmospheric side of indie-rock. With rich and soaring guitars layered effortlessly against singer Tessa Murray’s compelling vocals, Heavy Days gallops forth, riding the edge of rock-n-roll and expansive desert-noir twang.

Speaking about the new song, Tessa said, "Sometimes it all can all feel a little overwhelming, there's a lot to take in reading the news all the time. We wanted to write a reminder to put the phone down now and again, get out there and live life to the fullest while you can.”

Still Corners will be heading off on tour in 2022 throughout the US and Europe to support their recent releases.

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Big Little Lions - Didn't I.

Big Little Lions continue their monthly releases with 'Didn't I' which is out Thursday, September 16th. 'Didn't I' is about the regret you might face if you've lived your life taking no chances and sticking to the rules of how you think life should go, therby missing out on the magic that happens in the accidents and unknown.

 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.

BigLittleLions · Didn't I

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Palmaria - Ocean (Live Session).

Palmaria are an Alt-Pop duo from a small town in Italy, currently residing in London. Members Giulia and Francesco have been making a name for their distinctive sound, poetically transporting listeners on a journey of dreamy landscapes and uplifting experiences. Think The xx meets Sylvan Esso, meets Little Dragon on a field trip to the Italian coast.

Their latest single “Ocean” is off of their upcoming EP, Crystallize. Co-written and produced with B-CROMA (Yendry, Fia Moon), the single stays true to their sound of delicate, hypnotizing vocals with a mix of organic sounds and utopian guitars. Taking sonic inspiration from the drums on James Blakes’ “You’re Too Precious”, the duo re-interpreted the sound through Francesco’s classical guitar.

The song is inspired by the legend of Colapesce, the magical story of a man that sacrifices his life on earth, turning into a fish to save his island, but also highlights the problem of the pollution of the ocean. “Ocean” is a call for help. The duo confides, “We wanted to give voice to our frustration; it’s been hurtful to see what is happening, especially growing up in a town almost surrounded by the sea. The ocean has always been such an important element in our lives, inspiring and healing us every time we were in need, so it’s now our turn, we have to protect it.”

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Ellyn Woods - Tangerine.

Ellyn Woods is a multi-disciplinary artist currently based in Montréal. In addition to being a singer and songwriter, Ellyn has a degree in Fine Arts from Concordia and a passion for illustration and tattooing. Her art and music are a direct reflection of her love for nature and all things organic.

Ellyn received her first electric guitar when she was 12. She began learning her favorite songs by artists like Feist and Angus & Julia Stone, building her familiarity with the instrument and developing her own song-writing skills.
At age 18, she moved to Toronto. Immersing herself in the city’s diverse music and art scenes, Ellyn began sharing her original material and honing her craft as a performer and artist. Her raw and vulnerable material connected with audiences and fellow artists alike. Her ability to effortlessly weave her personal experiences into her music, combined with her soft voice and songwriting instincts, lead to several collaborative projects and showcases.

In 2015, Ellyn began receiving widespread attention and acclaim for her collaborations with Montréal electronic duo Sterling Grove. The artists released three singles – “Sound of Home,” “La Vigie,” & “In the Backyard” – which have generated nearly 2 million streams. In 2019, Ellyn and Sterling Grove travelled to northern Québec to record an album. Their efforts yielded Cabin Days, a collaborative EP released June 25, 2021.

In addition to Cabin Days, Ellyn plans to release her debut solo album, All At Once, on August 13, 2021. The LP follows its lead single “Tangerine,” which gained airplay on Sportsnet’s live broadcast of the Stanley Cup Finals, CBC’s q with Tom Power, and several official Spotify playlists. Teaming up with producer/songwriter Kyle MacDougall, Ellyn weaves a colorful sonic landscape, incorporating a vast array of genres including electronic dance, indie pop, alternative rock, and R&B. Ellyn explores the complexities of love and spirituality overtop MacDougall’s brimming beats, yielding a fresh soundtrack for all your summer activities. Fans of Jungle, Men I Trust, The xx, and The Marias are sure to gravitate towards the breezy stylings of Ellyn Woods, as she effortlessly channels multiple genres and palettes all at once.

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Mike Etten - Saints.

Mike Etten is a songwriter, composer, and multi-instrumentalist based in New York City. One of the founders of the Brooklyn DIY venue and collective Le Wallet, Etten recorded and played in various experimental, chamber, punk and country projects throughout the last decade, including PC Worship, Ashcan Orchestra and Dougie Poole. 

Amidst extensive touring and performing, Etten started writing his long-awaited solo debut, Love Wash, a twisted slice of fringe Americana, composed of carefully crafted and self-recorded song experiments that are equally catchy and off-kilter.

Some words directly from Mike himself: "Saints was written early one morning in a bit of a blur, strumming a chord progression in 3/4 time and singing a melody and words that wrote themselves pretty quickly. I built up the arrangement around the guitar and vocal, first adding drums and then synths that play a weaving counter line. Francesca Caruso added a vocal harmony and Adam Markiewicz (LEYA) layered a violin part based on a melody I sang to him, recorded at his home studio in Ridgewood. The bridge goes into a more ecstatic heavy waltz, it comes back around for a final verse, and feels like by the end of this one I’ve communed a little with myself, people from my past, and maybe a spirit or two from some other life."

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Jillette Johnson - Daddy Dopamine.

Jillette Johnson released a new single “Daddy Dopamine” as she embarks on her first national tour in support of her critically acclaimed new album It’s A Beautiful Day And I Love You. The song was co-written and produced by Joe Pisapia, who produced her last album, and marks the first time Jillette has released a collaborative single. The tour with Houndmouth kicks off tomorrow in Oxford, MS and will make stops in Boston, MA, Washington, DC, and more. Find a full list of tour dates below or at her website.

“I wanted to create a spacious sonic landscape where my voice could just be, without having to really ‘perform,’” explains Johnson. It’s about the hamster wheel of dopamine addiction. We all chase highs to fill voids and soothe ourselves to make up for what we’re really after, which is human connection.”

“Speaking of connection, I’m so excited to be putting this song out right as my band and I hit the road with Houndmouth, who I happen to be a big nerdy fan of. I put my third album out in February, and it was such a weird feeling to not be able to play those songs in front of people. Making records to me is all about communication, and I can’t wait to give this body of work the opportunity to be more of a conversation than just a statement. Also, Houndmouth rules, and I’m honored to open for them. Gonna be a blast.”

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Jillette Johnson - Renée Reed - Still Corners - Rob Kovacs - Bandits on the Run

Jillette Johnson - Forgive Her.

Jillette Johnson shares “Forgive Her,” the latest single off her forthcoming album It’s a Beautiful Day and I Love You (out February 12). Striking an intimately reflective tone, "Forgive Her" is a meditation on breaking cycles that asks us to show compassion and acceptance towards ourselves and others. Audiofemme featured the track this morning, saying “The song opens with gentle chanting and piano chords that pull at your heartstrings, then escalates into angelic singing reminiscent of a parent teaching a child.”

"This song was inspired by the complicated dynamics of mother-daughter relationships, and the importance of generational healing,” explains Johnson. “It’s about nurturing and embracing the hurt parts of ourselves, and recognizing that we are all just little kids trying to connect with each other and feel ok.”

Produced by Joe Pisapia and written entirely by Jillette, It’s a Beautiful Day and I Love You injects her intimate, piano-written songs with irreverent lyrics, buoyant pop melodies and a shot of guitar-driven, alt-rock muscle. The album has already garnered early acclaim from American Songwriter, Refinery29 and Rolling Stone, who describes the debut single “I Shouldn’t Go Anywhere” as “a spaced-out trip that recalls Harry Nilsson or Elton John at his most decadent.” Johnson has released three other singles – a rollicking ode to exes named “Annie,” an irreverent meditation on acceptance aptly titled “What Would Jesus Do” and a kiss-off to past relationships called “Graveyard Boyfriend.”

At the end of 2020, Johnson shared the first two songs from her upcoming OurVinyl session, including a haunting rendition of the Oasis classic “Champagne Supernova” as well as a stirring performance of “I Shouldn’t Go Anywhere.” She also recently launched her “Artist Brain” interview series, featuring intimate acoustic performances and conversations with other artists including Jaime Wyatt, Molly Parden, Aaron Lee Tasjan and Elle Varner. Airing live on her Instagram every other Thursday, Johnson welcomes Maggie Rose for the next episode (1/21), with more guests to be announced.

 

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Renée Reed - Fast One. 

The first single, "Fast One," from Lafayette, Louisiana musician Renée Reed's self-titled debut album due March 26, 2021 via Keeled Scales, has just been shared.

Self-labeled "dream-fi folk from the Cajun prairies," Renée released her first two songs in 2020-- "Out Loud" in May and "Until Tomorrow" in July, which Gorilla vs. Bear described as "an effortless, inspired union of the haunting folk music that Reed was raised on and a lilting, lost '60s French-pop gem."

Renée's statement on "Fast One" and her album:

"Full of anger over the shallow, shitty behavior of certain acquaintances I’ve had over the last few years, people who assume they know more about me than I do. But I leave things open to change and growth."

"This album is a collection of songs about toxic relationships, seeing ghosts, ancestral baggage and blessings, and daydreaming about love. It is about certain feelings and experiences I’ve had over my life coming to fruition in the past three years. It was all made on a four track recorder at home, in a place and in a way I feel most natural, and I believe that quality comes through in the sound."

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Still Corners - White Sands.

Still Corners will release their 5th album on 22nd January. Following on from the huge acclaim they have received for their previously shared singles ‘Crying’ and the record’s title-track, Still Corners have now released ‘White Sands’ from their highly-anticipated fifth album THE LAST EXIT, out on 22nd January 2021 via Wrecking Light Records.

A desert-noir soundtrack in miniature, ‘White Sands’ tells a classic ghost story of a phantom who roams the dunes and highways scaring travellers as they cross the land. Tessa Murray croons over a quick beat, clean-tone guitar and shimmering atmospherics.

The Last Exit will be the 5th album from Still Corners after a 13-year career that started back on Sub Pop Records in 2007.

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Rob Kovacs - Bitter Memory.

Indie-rock singer-songwriter and pianist Rob Kovacs debuts the new single, “Bitter Memory.” The song is the latest offering from Kovacs’ forthcoming solo debut album, Let Go, to be released on February 12th. With its ambitious compositional palette and hauntingly potent songcraft, the album affirms Kovacs as a fully focused and steadfast artist, evincing a commitment and creative persistence rarely seen in our ever more short attention span society.

Let Go tells the story of one relationship, in chronological order. “The songs are about love, longing, loss, desire, confusion, acceptance, pain, the struggle to let go – all that fun stuff,” Kovacs states. “Bitter Memory” concludes the album, and reflects the struggle to move on. It was written after Kovacs received an email from the ex-love that inspired the album. “Every so often she’d reach out and it’d bring me right me back. I felt weak and powerless and, in turn, angry. The reality though, which I didn’t want to admit, was I still longed for her. Seeing and reading her messages felt good. I still hadn’t let go.” Musically, the song has a different feel from the rest of the album, complete with being in a different key, indicating that things have changed over time. “There is no chorus,” Kovacs elaborates. “Just a repeating pattern of chords that last longer and get more intense with each repetition until reaching a boiling point and release and ending in the soft, resigned ending.”

Named “Best Pianist/Keyboardist” by the Cleveland Free Times, Kovacs has been widely hailed for his shape-shifting musical experimentalism, spanning history-making classical feats and audacious recreations of videogame soundtracks to crafting mesmerizing indie rock both as bandleader and now, at long last, solo artist. Kovacs has invested more than a decade in the creation of this solo debut, a brave and bittersweet song cycle written in the years following an intensely impactful romantic relationship and then recorded over an even longer span.

Rob Kovacs · Bitter Memory

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Bandits on the Run - We Battle Giants.

Bandits on the Run, the NYC-based indie-pop trio anchored by three-part harmonies and unique instrumentation, announce their forthcoming EP, Now Is The Time, dropping 5/7/2021, with the release of the new single, “We Battle Giants".

In 2020, the Bandits were poised for some of their biggest performances yet - as official SXSW artists, as well as at The Kennedy Center in DC and New York’s Webster Hall - and vocalist/guitarist Adrian Blake Enscoe was slated to appear in Swept Away, the musical based on the music of The Avett Brothers. Like most of the world, they saw their plans quickly deconstructed when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. 

However, in true Bandit style, they immediately started looking for ways to find the silver living. “As Bandits, we’ve always tried to be bearers of light, positivity, and community,” explains Regina Strayhorn (vocals, accordion, melodica, assorted toy instruments). So, after sequestering themselves in North Carolina finalizing new material, they took a socially-distanced road trip west to record at the famed Bear Creek Studio in Washington State, with producer Ryan Hadlock (The Lumineers, Brandi Carlile, Vance Joy). 

“Having Bandits on the Run out to Bear Creek Studio was a really wonderful experience,” Hadlock says. “Their songwriting and interwoven vocal harmonies are beautiful and inspiring. Working with the Bandits on these songs during the pandemic this summer was definitely a bright spot in an otherwise difficult and dark year.” Of this latest single, he continues, “When I heard the demo for ‘We Battle Giants,’ I was like, ‘PLEASE let me produce that song.’ I just love the way their three voices lock in during the chorus. The Bandits are a powerful and inspiring colorful trio of magic.”

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Still Corners - Konsequence - Tired Kid

Still Corners have released the title track 'The Last Exit' from their fifth studio album due out in January 2021. We are a little bit late to the party with this song, however it's just to good to let pass by and gives a good feel for their next musical journey. === Konsequence have shared 'Oh, Look At The Time' and it's a paced and rhythmic song with the vocals immersed in a richly textured musical envelope. === Tired Kid shares 'Make Time' which has a beautiful and timeless alt rock feel to it, a sense of looking back and reliving times gone by, without being overly sentimental.

 

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Still Corners - The Last Exit.

The Last Exit is the fifth studio album from Still Corners, which will be released on 22nd January 2021 on Wrecking Light Records.

With the shimmering desert noir sound the band has become known for, The Last Exit takes you on a hypnotic journey, one filled with dilapidated towns, mysterious shapes on the horizon, and long trips that blur the line between what’s there and not there. Greg says, “We found something out there in the desert – something in the vast landscapes that went on forever."

The Last Exit consists of eleven beautifully crafted songs with organic instrumentation, clean-toned guitar, spacious drums and the smoky croon of Tessa Murray. Album highlights include “The Last Exit”, “White Sands” and “Shifting Dunes” all of which evoke the vast space of the desert and rolling unconcerned skies.

The album was brought further into focus by the pandemic when almost everything was forced to stop. Tessa explains, “There's always something at the end of the road and for us it was this album. Our plans were put on hold – an album set for release, tours, video shoots, travel. We’d been touring nonstop for years, but we were forced to pause everything. We thought the album was finished but with the crisis found new inspiration and started writing again.”

It was in this context that songs like ‘Crying’, ‘Static”, ‘Till We Meet Again’ were written, reflecting on the impact of isolation and the need for social contact and intimacy.

First single, ‘The Last Exit’ is the final chapter of the Still Corners’ Road Trilogy. What began with ‘The Trip’ and was followed by ‘The Message’ concludes with the stunning ‘The Last Exit’.  The video, inspired by the 1975 film Picnic at Hanging Rock, finds Tessa pulled into the mysterious rocks of Joshua Tree.  Tessa explains -

"In a world where everyone thinks all the corners of the map are filled in we like to suggest there's something beyond that, something eternal in the landscape and in our psyche.  Maybe you don't see it every day but it's there and that's what we are trying to connect to."

With a galloping beat, teardrop vocals and silver-tone guitar, The Last Exit races down a lonely highway to destination unknown. Elegant and searching with a grand piano ending, The Last Exit will remind you of another world beyond the one you see.

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Konsequence - Oh, Look At The Time.

Red-eyed, sleepless nights filled with existential crises and tormented dreams are the order of the day on Munich outfit Konsequence’s new track ‘Oh, Look At The Time’. 

Centred around the fear of losing out on opportunities, and lethargically letting life pass you by, the track conveys these emotions through deadpan lyrics and sarcastic wit.

Munich-based brothers Tom and Mike Zitzelsberger have made music together for most of their adult life. Their familial bond allows them to be completely candid with each other – able to express their creative ideas without fear of judgement or rebuke.

Producing emotionally charged electro pop with post-punk affectations, the pair have previously collaborated with the likes of Rome Fortune and Rory Fresco. Nostalgic synths are backed up by motoric drums; melancholia and teenage trauma are countered with a sense of optimism.

Konsequence · OH, LOOK AT THE TIME

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Tired Kid - Make Time.

New single, “Make Time,” takes an autobiographical look at Tired Kid’s day-to-day life; some of it mundane but relatable, ultimately attached with a bit of happiness.

Tired Kid is the moniker for Thomas Kelly, a musician/composer based in Toronto. Thomas tries to create music with a vintage warmth and psychedelic nature. 

Inspired by bands from all eras of time, he picks out elements from each like a florist picking out flowers to create a bouquet of sound for eager ears to listen upon. Pure familiarity, pure nostalgia.

tiredkid55 · 02 MAKE TIME