Lilla Parasit - Rubaiyat - Union Duke - Jennah Barry

Lilla Parasit were featured a couple of times here towards the end of last year and they return today with 'Eirik', a song that sees them continue to explore differing rock moods with imagination. === Los Angeles based trio Rubaiyat have today released 'Breathers' a distinctive and atmospheric alt rocker. === Another band we shared music from twice last year are Union Duke who now have a video for the fabulous and refined roots rock song 'Left Behind'. === Whilst we are on the subject of artists who made a couple of appearances here last year Jennah Barry is another and has just shared 'Big Universe' accompanied by a video, her gorgeous vocals again shining through ahead of her new album due in March.
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Lilla Parasit - Eirik.

Late 2019, Lilla Parasit signed to Stockholm label family Rama Lama Records (Chez Ali, Steve Buscemi's Dreamy Eyes, Julia Rakel etc.) and introduced themselves with the excellent 'Gaslights' which was followed by 'Feather Soul', both receiving praise from Scandinavian and international sources. Today, new single 'Eirik' is released on all platforms, the third cut from the band's forthcoming, self-titled debut mini album which is out in March.

Lilla Parasit may be a new band, but the members are no strangers for fans of the Swedish psychedelic and indie scene. The band is lead by Are, who's band Melby released their debut album last spring to great acclaim, and made complete by Amanda Lindgren (Systraskap), David Svedmyr (Me and My Kites) and Jessica Klingsell.

The project started out three years ago and has since changed both names and members before finding both the perfect setting and sound. The band's grand semi-psychedelic lo-fi folk is now finally ready to reach the world's ears. Eirik showcases the band's bombastic sides and is an absolute highlight from the upcoming mini album Lilla Parasit, out in March 2020.

Are on Eirik: "I started out with this blunt, kind of stupid guitar riff. Didn’t really think it would go anywhere, but then the verse melody came to me and I felt like the contrast between them had something. You could say the song moves between something fragile, almost embarassingly personal and something bold and pompous. And in the long instrumental parts we dive into that contrast. To me, Pelle Westlins saxophone pushes the whole thing to the limit of how many conflicting moods i can take in at the same time. And I think that’s good for a song."

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Rubaiyat - Breathers.

"Tired from my teeth on edge like razorblades stuck end to end" - "Breathers is about getting caught up in an abusive relationship where you aren't valued and you struggle against the perpetuation of your own self-deprecating negativity. There's always a part of me that can't help but keep loving someone I've loved before- no matter the state of our current relationship or how they've treated me in the past. There's a fine line, however, between acknowledging some abuse or developing a kind of Stockholm syndrome. It can be hard to see someone in a new light when you've known them another way for so long." - Joel Heinrich

About Rubaiyat: Rubaiyat is a three-Piece doom wop/indie rock band based out of Los Angeles, CA. In April 2018 songwriter Joel Heinrich assembled his friends to sing off-kilter songs that take a darkly honest look at his brushes with love. With undercurrents of alternative rock like Pixies or Sonic Youth, Rubaiyat's lyrical content is focused on distilling moments into morsels of insight of life and love’s hedonistic and nihilistic tendencies.

Heinrich recruited Matt Camgros (drums) and Ian Earley (vocals, bass guitar) and the trio began playing shows around L.A., including spots like The Satellite, Hotel Cafe, Highland Park Bowl, and The Love Song Bar. In late July 2018 Rubaiyat recorded their debut EP, “O” with August Ogren at Petting Zoo in Minneapolis.

Inspired as a modern manifestation of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, Rubaiyat’s music captures the inevitable dichotomy present in romantic love; sonically embodying, through dissonance and harmony, the conflict and confusion of finding love when it seems impossible and the discord between the bliss of romance and the dread of a life without meaning.

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Union Duke - Left Behind.

“Left Behind is exactly what you think it is: a song about leaving things behind. We were trying to capture the feeling of loneliness and isolation one can feel when they’re far from the one(s) they love - both lyrically and musically. It’s about the distance often forced between us and the longing to be together again.

It’s the only soft-ish song of the music we’ve released over the last year and once we got in the studio with it we had the opportunity to explore some really cool ideas that are pretty new for us. It was a lot of fun building this tune and taking it from mellow and simmering to a driving banjo-driven sing-along…plus lapsteel!" - Ethan Smith

Based in Toronto, Canada, Union Duke comprise Matt, Ethan, Jim, Will and Rob, genuine friends who take influence from the gems of their parents’ record collections and injecting an extra dose of rock n roll attitude, whilst staying to the traditional roots. Five singers; five songwriters; countless reasons for them to be your new favourite band. With three albums, countless festival stages, and hundreds of thousands of kilometres in the rear-view, the band is excited to be touring new music and winning new fans everywhere they go.

In the two years since their last record Golden Days, Union Duke has been steadily travelling and unravelling across the country, and they’re ready to share the lessons they’ve learned with a slate of new music. Having played at at London’s The Moth Club on 28th January as part of AmericanaFest UK, Union Duke put on a high energy live show complete with soaring harmonies, driving rhythm, chicken pickin' guitar licks and banjo at a breakneck speed. Their humour and infectious enthusiasm will put a grin on your face and have you kicking up dust on the dancefloor. Union Duke are five guys, twenty-four beers, and a half-ton truckload of foot stomping folk rock. Left Behind is the final single to be released from their EP, following Atlas of Love; Ladidadida and 1,2,3.

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Jennah Barry - Big Universe.

"There was a period in my life where I read my horoscope not matter how goofy the source was. I was circling the drain a bit and was desperate for someone to tell me what to do. The horoscope writer for US weekly did not help me with this. Big Universe is about that.

And despite the confusion I was feeling in the song (Big Universe) I worked with 3 really great women on the music video and had a very life-affirming experience (something that doesn’t necessarily happen very often in the biz). We went overboard with a haze machine and created a storyline for a woman who plays big for no one".

"Big Universe" comes from the gorgeous Jennah Barry LP Holiday, coming March 2020 on Forward Music Group. Majorly recommended for fans of Andy Shauf, whose bandmate Colin Nealis produced the LP, the songs here are built to last, with echoes of those soft-rock classics often referred to as "AM gold." Barry's vocals are warm and weave through the arrangements with so much skill. The arrangements are full and pillowy but always pull up short of being cloying or overdone, more-so than the source material she's referncing.

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Union Duke - Lynne Hanson - Winnie Raeder - Ausecuma Beats

Back in July we shared 'Ladidadida' by Union Duke and they return with their latest release 'Atlas Of Love' where the mixture of rock, roots and refined modern country, comes across with ease and style. === Lynne Hanson has released 'True Blue Moon' a gorgeously natural slice of warm Americana. === London-based singer-songwriter, Winnie Raeder, shares her new single 'She' which is a beautiful song, her vocals exude emotion, the production is excellent. === Ausecuma Beats are a delight with their international musical flavour's shining brightly through 'Aida' a song that demands body movement however good or bad your sense of rhythm is.
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Union Duke - Atlas Of Love.

Some songs come along which seem so perfect, it makes you doubt they haven’t existed forever. Atlas of Love is the latest release from Union Duke, a band who have cemented themselves in both North America and Europe as a band can skip effortlessly between pop, folk and country and leave fans of each enraptured.

“Atlas of Love is an ode to everyone who feels like they’re the burden in their relationship. It’s a song for those who haven’t quite figured out the nature of their love, much less themselves."

Based in Toronto, Canada, Union Duke comprise Matt, Ethan, Jim, Will and Rob, genuine friends who take influence from the gems of their parents’ record collections and injecting an extra dose of rock n roll attitude, whilst staying to the traditional roots. Five singers; five songwriters; countless reasons for them to be your new favourite band. With three albums, countless festival stages, and hundreds of thousands of kilometres in the rear-view, the band is excited to be touring new music and winning new fans everywhere they go. In the two years since their last record Golden Days, Union Duke has been steadily travelling and unravelling across the country, and they’re ready to share the lessons they’ve learned with a slate of new music. Atlas of Love is the third of four new songs of love, distance, heartache and revelry which will be finding their way into your ears, eyes and hearts.

Following their previous singles, Ladidadida and 1,2,3, both of which received radio play across Europe and North America, Atlas of Love is the latest glimpse at one of Canada’s best kept musical secrets.

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Lynne Hanson - True Blue Moon.

Primed with a mix of gritty ballads and roots-tinged guitar, Lynne Hanson follows an award-winning year as one half of The LYNNeS with new single True Blue Moon (out now) taken from her upcoming new solo album ‘Just Words’ set for release in 2020.

Lynne's deep bluesy croon is pure and full of fortitude; too tough for folk and too blues influenced for country; her 'porch music with a little red dirt' can turn on a dime from a sunshine, blue sky ballad to a full-on thunderstorm of gritty Americana swamp from one song to the next. This hard-living style of music has drawn comparisons to Lucinda Williams, with a touch of Gillian Welch thrown in.

Lynne's seventh studio album, Just Words, produced by Jim Bryson features several fellow established Canadian musicians including Kevin Breit, Catherine MacLellan and Justin Rutledge. Lynne describes the record as more than a break-up album - “I still love a good heartbreak song, but I think the world is desperately in need of more kindness, more tolerance, less aggression, and more compassion”

The album addresses issues such as verbal bullying (Just Words); a desire to be more accepting of one another (Clean Slate) and wanting to rise above and find peace (Higher Ground). The first single True Blue Moon, is an infectious, uptempo, tongue-in-cheek response to the Jacques Brel classic 'Ne Me Quitte Pas', about the perils of falling for a poet and just how rare it is to find true love.


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Winnie Raeder - She.

London-based singer-songwriter, Winnie Raeder, is sharing her new single, ’She’.

The new track follows the acclaimed EP, ‘From Here’ that was released earlier this year - it also lands just ahead of UK tour dates with Charlie Cunningham, European spots opening for Tamino and a show at Eurosonic 2020. If that wasn’t enough, she’s also set to headline London’s Courtyard Theatre on November 27 - her third headline in the capital this year following two previous sell-out performances.

Speaking about ’She’, a song written with friends, Josh Record and Jacob Attwooll that strikes a similar temperament to that of Julien Baker and Haley Heynderickx, Winnie says: "We started playing around with some chords and started with the title ‘She’ before we had written any of the rest of the lyrics. It felt really interesting to pair a traditional folk sound with a song written for and sung by a woman. We kept the language poetic and romantic and the song almost wrote itself."

‘A song written for a woman and sung by a woman’, Raeder remarks how the song ‘almost wrote itself and arrived without any overthinking’. Reminiscent of the traditional folk poetry akin to Leonard Cohen or Bob Dylan, ‘She’ is punctuated with the contemporary production we’re accustomed to hearing from a Raeder release.


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Ausecuma Beats - Aida.

'Aida', the first single from nine-piece afrobeat ensemble, Ausecuma Beats, is a celebration of love between two people that sees no divide. The song, sung by Gambian-born Yusupha Ngum and recorded live with the band in Melbourne, speaks of a love that grows as new lessons are learned.

Ausecuma Beats will release their full debut EP on November 22, ahead of performances at Melbourne Music Week +Strawberry Fields later this year.
(Nov 29 - Dec 1 @ Strawberry Fields - Nov 21 @ Melbourne Music Week).

Ausecuma Beats was imagined to celebrate diversity in music, and express rhythm as the core of their shared musicality. The nine-strong ensemble hail from Australia, Senegal, Cuba and Mali (AU-SE-CU-MA). They promote unity, recognised through the power in diversity with shared vision. Their individual stories are unique, each treading their own path, each with commitment, strength and focus to catalyse the unique sounds of Ausecuma Beats.

Ausecuma Beats comprises 4 percussionists enhanced by melodic overtones from guitar, kora and sax, offering the Melbourne music scene a unique and exciting musical experience.

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Jasmine Rodgers - Rod Picott - Union Duke - Mercvrial - Rose Ette

Jasmine Rodgers has shared a live video recording for 'Underwater' featuring Scott Matthews. It's a refined modern folk song and this production really is quite special.

Rod Picott has a voice just made for intimate Americana music as is witnessed with 'Mama's Boy' where his raw and personal vocals are so engaging.

Folk rock (perhaps with the emphasis more on rock) comes in the form of  'Ladidadida' by Union Duke a vibrant and hook laden song from beginning to end.

Two new singles for the price of none as Mercvrial share a couple of videos for 'Carnival' and 'Otherworld'. There both from their upcoming EP 'The Stars Like Dust' and the band deliver some fabulous shoegaze mixed with dream pop.

We featured the audio for 'Skin' by Rose Ette a couple of months back, however they now have a brand new video for the song, so I thought it's a fine tune, lets give it another play.
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Jasmine Rodgers - Underwater (featuring Scott Matthews).

Jasmine Rodgers releases Underwater, a live recording made at Kore Studios in May. Featuring Ivor Novello Award winning Scott Matthews, Underwater also features Danny Keane on cello. “I wanted to capture us all together in one room because I think the energy is different and more intense. I’ve been fortunate enough to support Scott on his last tour and I knew it would be really fun to do this. It’s a song with deep meaning for me and both Scott and Danny got it.” Filmed by Pavel from Ropo Films, the video is available to see here.

Jasmine Rodgers is a London born musician of mixed parentage and says this has nurtured a deep love of many different genres. Her solo shows feature her complex guitar picking styles and intricate vocals, effortlessly veering from folk to rock music, which is why Ivor Novello award-winning musician Scott Matthews invited her to support him on his latest tour (last one NCEM, York, 25th Jan 2019). Her song ‘Follow You’ was recently featured on Fatea Magazine compilation.

Her solo forays take her to more folk based territory, and last August she travelled up to Shetland to perform at a sold out show with Jenny Sturgeon (Jenny Sturgeon Trio, Salt House). Jasmine also has a solid fanbase in the Japanese anime world thanks to her work as frontwoman to British rock band Boa, who wrote and performed the soundtrack to award winning anime Lain Serial Xperiments.

Jasmine is currently working on new material set for release later this year and her recent collaboration with Scott Matthews and Danny Keane has culminated with a live video recording at Kore Studios.


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Rod Picott - Mama's Boy.

Rod Picott's brand-new album is Tell the Truth & Shame the Devil. Many of the new songs were promted by a heath scare that rattled Picott through the winter of early 2019.

Fact is, physicans don't make telephone calls at night. If they do, you take it seriously.  "I've already called in a prescription," the doctor said when he called Picott one evening. "They're waiting for you. Your heart is about to either A) seize up or B) jump out of your chest and it will be messy. You don't have enough paper towels if B happens."

It took several weeks to chase down the devil causing the heart issue during which time Picott also underwent back surgery. In the end, the sum of his health issues informed Picott's new album profoundly in both the writing and the recording.

Along with hiis modest recording gear, Picott set about making an album as honest, raw and uncontrived as his spine would allow. Tell the Truth & Shame the Devil opens the door even wider on his typically vivid vignettes.

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Union Duke - Ladidadida.

Webster’s Dictionary defines “Union Duke” as a raucous collision of alt-rock and twang, bringing crowds to their feet with songs from the heart.

Soaring harmonies, driving rhythm, and infectious enthusiasm have seen these five guys from youth to young manhood. With three albums, countless festival stages, and hundreds of thousands of kilometers in the rearview, the band is excited to be touring new music, filming videos, and winning new fans everywhere they go.

In the two years since their last record Golden Days, Union Duke has been steadily travelling and unravelling across the country, and they’re ready to share the lessons they’ve learned with a slate of new music. In the coming months, four new songs of love, distance, heartache and revelry will be finding their way into your ears, eyes and hearts.

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Mercvrial - Carnival / Otherworld.

International collective Mercvrial release not one but two singles - "Carnival" and "Otherworld". Both come from the band's upcoming EP The Stars Like Dust out everywhere on August 9th.

Mercvrial is an eclectic group with shoegaze and dream-pop tendencies that imprint on the sounds of Ride, Slowdive, The Chills and other artists of the like that they embraced during their formative years. On their new singles - “Carnival” and “Otherworld” - we hear thick guitar beds provide backdrop to atmospheric vocals.

Their accompanying music videos take on inspiration from Rain Parade’s “This Can’t Be Today” and Prometheus respectively, using vintage footage of carnival and sci-fi scenes. The videos also nod to VH1’s TV show Pop-Up Video, where brief pop-up factoids and comments of the band and visuals appear throughout.

The Stars, Like Dust - the new EP from Mercvrial takes its name from the Isaac Asimov work of the same moniker. It explores the size and significance of human beings on a big rock hurling through space and the ensuing feelings of existential bewilderment. The Stars, Like Dust will be available on all platforms August 9th.



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Rose Ette - Skin.

Rose Ette debut new first video "Skin" from their debut album "Ignore the Feeling" (Miss Champagne Records). “You said you were ready to listen, didn’t you?” Oh get a grip, he replied, keys already jammed in the ignition. I thought you meant something serious. He revs the engine up, neck bowed toward the wheel, not at you. Nu-metal blares from the radio and squashes the silence.

What good is rock and roll without a love story? Even in 2018, among the uneven power struggles and problematic dudes, someone is going to look across the room at someone else and wish they could stand over there, instead of standing here alone. Pretty basic aspect of the human experience, yeah? But somehow, though we can define our political stances in unambiguous terms, our affection remains a mercurial subject for words. On some days, it’s easier to argue with a GOP granddad over the existence of global warming than to face that someone across the room and tell them just what magnetic force draws you near.

“Oh, boo hoo,” say the stable, the pairs coupled in high school, the loveless bachelors in IT. But in the realm of Rose Ette – ostensibly modern-day Houston, spiritually Olympia or London from two or three decades back (respectively) – the mental hurdles that block both parties from honest and true bonds are real struggles worth fighting for. With their proper debut Ignore The Feeling, our four romantics (led by singer/guitarist Teresa Vicinanza capture those challenges in a bell jar; even manic obsessions and unwanted stalkers shine with the opal glow of Lush, or Camera Obscura, or any of your favorite C86 tapes from your lost (or invented) youth.

Don’t let these bottled sprites deceive you, though - even with the sweet perfumes of girl groups and C86 tapes long gone, Rose Ette still bear claws. Three years ago, their first EP Jungle featured the unpolished diamond of “AH AH”, a shredded telegraph from a much murkier garage (and, admittedly, a completely different crew). That tempered snarl still comes out here on “Awake”, a hefty slice of Speedy Ortiz-sized fuzz to remind everyone that the battle’s not yet over: “I’m awake, but I’m running out of time.” You can’t stage a head-on assault when old enchantments still grip the blade, after all.

Mind you, Rose Ette can fire back with charms of their own when they take the stage. Back in August, the gang picked up a limited run of Ignore the Feeling LPs before their day show at Athens Popfest. Right after their blissful set at Little Kings Shuffle Club, folks piled up at the merch table for a copy, and the line backed up to the patio. Our protagonists have allured many a crowd in the past three years, jumping on bills with Deerhoof, Fred Thomas, Dressy Bessy, and La Luz, to name a few. Like a heart possessed by either desire or stress (or both at once), these illusionists don’t stand still.

Of course, all love-weary prose aside, Ignore The Feeling simply snaps a deceptively rosy thumbnail of a band in flux. And while Rose Ette might stand up for the silenced lover, don’t expect Vicinanza and her crew to soften their own voice any time soon.


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