Showing posts with label Super Hi-Fi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Super Hi-Fi. Show all posts

Monday, 26 February 2018

The Tracys - Alessi’s Ark - Super Hi-Fi

The Tracys - People Scare Me.

Background -  If you're feeling stuck in a repetitive blur of everyday life, NYC old-school punk-rockers The Tracys new single and music video "People Scare Me" will jolt you awake with a blast of sonic power. The single comes with a darkly alluding and paranoiac music video, that will leave you looking over your shoulder when you're next traveling alone.

The band utilizes the track to question the current state of the world, with the actions and behaviors of others developing a slow-building anxiety of questioning where society is headed.  The band shared, "'People Scare Me' is a humorous jaunt into the feeling of alienation, derived both by the day to day struggle of living in a city that has largely given away its creative, cultural heritage in favor of impossible real estate values and self important millionaires, and living in a world controlled by social media that celebrates and rewards Tide Pod eaters and elects narcissistic half-wits to the highest office in the land."

Directed and edited by Benoit Gabriel, the video for "People Scare Me" features drummer Matt Ernst's son, Jonah, an amateur boxer. Cutting between live shots of the band and following Jonah's day throughout the city, an increasingly unsettling feeling of worry and fear is formed through simple yet powerful scenes and split screens. Jonah's portrayed as, "an alienated and possibly deranged young man, stalking the band and perhaps being stalked (by Matt)... or is that all in his mind?"

The video was shot on-location at Ernst’s home in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn, along with scenes from the NYC subway system, and Hank’s Saloon in Brooklyn. "[Hank's] is one of the last great punk rock venues in NYC, slated to be demolished at the end of the year," the band shared remorsefully, as regulars of Hank's musical rotation.

The Tracys upcoming third full-length album Humdinger is scheduled for release on March 23; the band will celebrate that night will celebrate their record release show at Hank's Saloon on March 23, with Live Ones, Cash Register, and The Measurements. WEBSITE, FACEBOOK.


Lets liven things up a little with 'People Scare Me' a scrumptious classic punk rocker with all the trimmings including, energy, manic vocals and a band that are on fire. At just two minutes duration, that's all the boxes ticked for a refreshing blast of pure punk.

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Alessi’s Ark - DLD.

Background - London based singer-songwriter Alessi’s Ark AKA Alessi Laurent-Marke releases a warming video this winter for the single ‘DLD (Door Light Dream)’ from her new album Love is the Currency, produced by Mercury Prize nominated producer Jago Jago, and in collaboration with Felix and Will White of the Maccabees.

DLD (Door.Light.Dream), is the directorial debut for long-time friends Aude Chagnon-Caument and Paris based photographer, Julien Bourgeois. Having collaborated on the album cover of Love is the Currency, Julien and Aude were the natural pairing for Alessi's new video.

DLD captures the closing of British summertime on the beautiful Isle of Wight. Weaving through the hills and along the coast, the video follows two strangers while they independently traverse the same route through a Victorian seaside town. For a moment, their paths intersect. However, the strangers never actually meet.

The video closes as Alessi discovers a photograph of the two strangers together, looking out to sea, and we're left wondering whether the photo is a premonition of the two strangers eventually finding one another.

Hailing from Hammersmith, Alessi Laurent-Marke takes influence from bands such as Broken Social Scene to incorporate electronic elements into folk songwriting. Her work has seen her tour with the likes of Laura Marling, Jenny Lewis, M. Ward and John Grant. FACEBOOK.


Hammersmith is an old stomping ground of mine and the Isle Of Wight is my favourite UK Island therefore Alessi's Ark has my geographical interest before even playing the video! 'DLD' is in fact a graceful and melodic song, where the vocals hold my attention and the soundtrack adds some layers whilst allowing the singing to standout, wonderful...


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Super Hi-Fi - Gone.

Background - The process of creating Super Hi-Fi's new video for "Gone" started when bassist Ezra Gale snuck into the Pratt Institute and hung-up fliers advertising a need for filmmakers. It wasn't long after this stealthy mission that Gale connected with aspiring cinematographers William Bermudez, Sam Friedman, and Caden Ghen, who were eager to collaborate. From there, the conceptual vision for "Gone" quickly came into focus; a vision that would lead the group to Dead Horse Bay and what they would come to jokingly refer to as their "Revenant" experience.

"Gone," was filmed on a freezing December afternoon in Dead Horse Bay. It is this one-time Brooklyn landfill that provides the bleak setting for Super Hi-Fi's mysterious music video for "Gone." Littered with old bottles and debris, the polluted beach in Dead Horse Bay is the perfect backdrop for a song that uses the concept of pining for lost love as a metaphor for mankind's fragile relationship with mother earth. Actor Gus Cuddy stars in the video, playing the role of a man who is desperately trying to repair an old shipwrecked boat to search for his lost love. He wanders the shoreline futilely picking-up bottles and trying to clean-up a mess that far exceeds his capabilities. After stopping to rest, he awakens to discover that the boat has vanished, and all that is left is the trash-strewn beach and a small blue vial containing a mysterious note.

The song itself is built upon a slow-moving reggae groove that features Super Hi-Fi's signature, interweaving trombone melodies. At times the music builds to almost cacophonous heights, with wild flourishes of experimental electric guitar, only to ease back down to its original relaxed pace.  Much like the lyrical content, the music for "Gone" conveys a sense of losing control, or feeling powerless in the face of unnameable forces.

"To me, the song "Gone" is supposed to work on two different levels; on the surface it's a song about a relationship and pining away for someone who doesn't care about you, but on a deeper
level it's about our relationship with the earth, assigning all these protective feelings to 'Mother Earth' when in fact the planet is indifferent to us." - Ezra Gale. WEBSITE, FACEBOOK.

This is our second feature for Super Hi-Fi in a matter of weeks this time with 'Gone' which is another refined and catchy reggae affair. Vocals and harmonies are a fine fit for the genre, the musicianship is fabulous, Super Hi-Fi are naturals through and through.


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Monday, 12 February 2018

Super Hi-Fi - Typhoid Rosie - Nihilist Cheerleader

Super Hi-Fi - Little Black Book.

Background - Leading up to the March 9th release of their fifth studio album Blue and White, Brooklyn's Super Hi-Fi have dropped a quirky video for their first single "Little Black Book". Picking-up where they left off with their 2012 release Dub To The Bone, "Little Black Book" once again showcases the band's dual trombone prowess and penchant for heavy bass lines. However, unlike Dub To The Bone, "Little Black Book" draws influence from west African music and the unmistakable rhythms of Afrobeat. The song is bolstered by drummer Madhu Siddappa's shuffling groove and Jon Lipscomb's hypnotic guitar playing which draws the band away from their traditional, dub-heavy reggae roots and into a west African inspired musical amalgam.

The video was created by musician and visual artist Stefan Zeniuk, whose recent work has been featured in Billboard and NPR Music. Specializing in stop-motion animation, Zeniuk used nearly 2,000 images, with a mix of sculpted clay, broken glass and even tic-tac's to achieve the final result. Having produced videos for bassist and band leader Ezra Gale's side-project The Eargoggle, the collaboration came naturally and Zeniuk's unique, visual interpretation of "Little Black Book" matches the songs rhythmic pace perfectly.

"The rhythm of the fast guitar balanced with the slow and long trombone melodies initially popped into my mind a sense of frenetic and fast moving images, abstract and schizoid, fast enough to actually lull the viewer into a meditative and static state." - Stefan Zeniuk

Gale says that "Little Black Book" is essentially a song about people who work jobs that they're ridiculed or hated for. In this instance the ridicule is aimed at an NYC meter maid who is simply making his rounds with 'his little black book'. Slim Blue which is the name that Zeniuk uses to refer to the clay figure featured in the video, is hated by the people that he issues parking tickets to, yet fulfills his appointed duties and carries on with his life. It's a thankless job but someone has to do it and "Little Black Book" conveys this sense of alienation and misunderstanding both through the music and the accompanying video. Gale says, "I wrote it right after I got a parking ticket and I was really pissed off. I was trying to not be so angry and be more empathetic towards people who have a job that makes them do something everyone else hates, and so makes them hated, which isn't really fair. It worked and I wasn't as angry after writing it...for a little while, anyway!" WEBSITE, FACEBOOK.


Super Hi-Fi have taken compatible genres and skillfully moulded them into 'Little Black Book' a fabulous and in the real sense of the word, eclectic song, that suggests the album due in March is one to watch out for.


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Typhoid Rosie - Sailing On.

Background - Brooklyn's Typhoid Rosie have announced plans to release their third LP, 'This Is Now,' on March 23. Frontwoman Rosie Rebel explains the song's origins: "It was inspired by Homer's The Odyssey," the singer offers. "Odysseus is faced with every obstacle and temptation but fights as hard as he could to get home. Life is like that: sometimes we have to endure incredible turbulence and storms. I thought about how poor Odysseus had to endure the anger of Poseidon, and all he could do was hold on to a rock while he was being pounded by the waves.

He had no shelter to weather the storm, but his memories somehow carried him through those dark times. So when I wrote this song, I thought about life and all the things in it that are worth fighting for. But more than that, the song is about 'us' and how we should fight for it together. When we work together, there's nothing humanity can't accomplish."

Typhoid Rosie delivers punk/indie grit with pop hooks. They've been featured in HuffPost, Paste Magazine, AXS, Buzzfeed, Baeble Music, Pop Dose, She Knows, The Big Takeover and more. The band's upcoming third LP, This Is Now,' is the follow-up to 2013's 'The Music Album' and 2015's 'Hearts Bleed Goodbye.' WEBSITE, FACEBOOK.


It was back in the summer of 2016 that we first featured Typhoid Rosie, it didn't seem that long ago when the new song 'Sailing On' came our way last week. Powerful rock with some punk vibes thrown in, this is catchy and some!


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Nihilist Cheerleader - Drenched In.

Background - Nihilist Cheerleader debut first single "Drenched In" from their upcoming debut album "Riot, Right?".  (Perfect Attendance Records). Nihilist Cheerleader is making a name for themselves in the thriving Athens/ Atlanta music scene with their raw, Riot Grrrl- inspired punk sound. The band formed in 2015 in Athens, Ga, and found early success in a saturated scene with their new take on an established concept of “punk”. The band brings a charged energy to their live and recorded performances that is engaging and refreshing. Nihilist Cheerleader’s sound appropriately reflects the band’s name in it’s duality- both turbulent and controlled, angsty and uplifting, thoughtful and effortless.

What sets them apart from other musicians in their midsts is their story-like songwriting. Like the artists that have inspired them, the band’s music is largely rooted in political and social commentary.  Their lyrics command the listener to take a closer look at social injustices related to gender and power structures, and ones internal dialogue. Rather than aimlessly identify problems they see, the band’s intention is to start a constructive conversation about how we can combat and resolve such issues. Their songs inspire rebellion, self exploration, change, and especially dance.

Following the release of one EP, three singles, and two southeastern tours, the band is releasing  their first full-length album with Perfect Attendance Records spring of 2018, and will be touring the east coast this summer. In the past two years the band has received multiple music awards from a local publication, voted by the public as best startup band, best punk/hard rock band, and best live performance. The members are excited to release their new music, as well as some accompanying music videos, as their project continues to grow and evolve. FACEBOOK.


'Drenched In' is a vibrant rocker with plenty of melodic hooks, both through the splendid vocals and a band that knock out, some refined rock & roll chords, doing so with class.

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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 ...