Violent Vickie - Kama Vardi - Ellevator - Keeper E.

Violent Vickie - Division Remixes (Album).

Violent Vickie returns with Division Remixes LP just out on May 6, featuring remixes by Kontravoid, Fragrance, Blood Handsome, in3briant, Dimension 23, Maduro, Ben Arp (C/A/T), Barium Network, Solem Youth, Niet!, Di Auger, Torturetekk,   At0shima 3rror, 40 Octaves Below, 20 Watt Dream, and Ms. Mynx vs. OsO.  The remixes are a wide range of dark electronic genres from darkwave, synthpop, EBM, dark electro, darkrave/witchwave, electronic, industrial, and post-punk.

Violent Vickie is a Los Angeles based Dark Synth-Riot artist consisting of Vickie and co-producer/recording guitarist E.  Vickie has toured with Hanin Elias of Atari Teenage Riot and has shared the stage with Pastel Ghost, Trans X, The Missing Persons,  Them Are Us Too, Aimon and Jessie Evans (The Vanishing).  She has toured the US, Mexico, Canada & Europe and played Insted Fest, Solidarity Fest, Shoutback Fest & Gay Prides and Ladyfests.  Vickie’s tracks have been released by Crunch Pod, Emerald & Doreen Recordings (Berlin), Riot Grrrl Berlin, & LoveCraft Bar (PDX).  Her track "The Wolf“ was featured in a National Organization for Women film and she was interviewed for the documentary “GRRRL”, part of the museum exhibit “Alien She”.  Her LP "Monster Alley” was voted best album by KALX and her tracks have been remixed by 25+ artists.  Violent Vickie's Division LP was released in September 2020,  followed by a remix album of "Under The Gun" in February 2021 and a cover of Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire in July 2021.

Upcoming Violent Vickie shows:

5/22 LA Macabre Fest @ The Offbeat Bar (LA)
5/27 New Orleans, LA @ Carnaval Lounge
6/11 Inland Empire, CA @ Dr Strange Records
10/8 Absolution Fest @ Crowbar (Tampa, FL)

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Photo - Roni Taharlev

Kama Vardi - Bread & Wine.

Critically acclaimed Tel Aviv songstress Kama Vardi returns with a gorgeous new song ‘Bread & Wine’, the first single to be taken from her forthcoming Somewhere East EP which will follow in September 2022.

Written in a little shack in the rural part of north Israel during the harshest moments of the pandemic, ‘Bread & Wine’ is described by Vardi as “A sort of dialogue between two lovers, wanting to be together but disillusioned by the reality of their changing love.”

The imaginative and cinematic video tells the tale of an isolated woman who brings home a disembodied and abandoned suit from a laundromat, a suit that soon comes to life as the man of her dreams, before disappearing again into its old world. It conveys the subtle feelings of hope and loss present in the song, as Vardi expands “It’s like a rude awakening from a dream of perfect, evergreen love that never changes.”

‘Bread & Wine’ is indicative of Vardi’s dreamy and timeless sound where simple production and harmonies leave space for the songwriter’s lyrics to take centre-stage, often poignant life observations told through the lens of the curious characters brought to life in her songs and delivered in Vardi’s softly whispered vocal.

Kama Vardi has previously released a debut album Forgetmenot (2012), followed by the Satchel-Sof Ma’arav EP (2016), and most recently her 2020 long-player Moonticket. The latter was warmly received by the western media with coverage in Uncut, Financial Times and American Songwriter, whilst in her homelands of Israel  the album’s singles had play from the biggest radio stations, including Glglz and 88fm, with the latter placing its first single ‘Whatever Will Be’ (2019) at no. 9 in their ‘Songs of the Year’ chart, with the track also featured on Shazam’s most searched for songs in Israel, and was included on both Apple Music’s ‘Israeli Essential Rock Song Of The 2010s’ and ‘100 Best Songs of 2019’ lists.

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Ellevator - STAR.

The Hamilton, Ontario-based trio, Ellevator have tjust released their Chris Walla-produced debut album, The Words You Spoke Still Move Me via Arts & Crafts. The record arrives alongside the video for the album track, "STAR" and comes following earlier tips from NPR, Consequence, The Needle Drop, Exclaim, FLOOD, The Line of Best Fit, Under the Radar, CBC and more. The band will support the release of the new record with Canadian dates this May with support coming from Pleasure Craft, Deanna Petcoff, Luvr, Emma Worley, Quinn Mills, Equal, Alicia Clara and Lastli across different dates – full run below.

The band, which is comprised of Nabi Sue Bersche, guitarist, Tyler Bersche and bassist/synth player, Elliott Gwynne, will deliver on the promise of their self-titled 2018 EP with their long-awaited debut album. The record was pieced together across numerous locations but primarily while living together at The Bathouse (a Kingston-area facility owned by Canadian alt-rock legends The Tragically Hip) and comes off the back of earlier dates with Amber Run, BANNERS, Cold War Kids, Arkells and Dear Rouge. Across 12 tracks, it inhabits an emotional landscape that is both breathtakingly intimate and impossibly vast, documenting various experiences to turn universal (existential longing, romantic power struggles, the neverending work of true self-discovery) and highly specific (e.g., frontwoman Nabi Sue Bersche’s journey in extracting herself from a cult) storytelling into a truly hypnotic body of work, giving rise to the kind of radiant open-heartedness that radically transforms our own perspective.

Ellevator poses a fantastic ability to sculpt these mammoth, melodramatic post-rock and indie-rock soundscapes, somewhat inspired by the late-aughts sounds of Spoon, Metric, Interpol and Arcade Fire, as well as the stadium-ready sounds of U2, Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel. "STAR" finds the band tapping into their knack for soaring guitar lines and driving percussion while commentating on the distorted image that social media can often present.

Speaking about the new single which arrives with a stunning visual directed by the band's frequent collaborator, Cam Veitch, Nabi says: "There are so many ways to disguise ourselves I don’t think we even notice we’re dressing up anymore. Good art has a human point of view, which is to say it’s nuanced, complicated. It often doesn’t have a clear agenda that’s easily distilled, packaged, and sold. Flattening that perspective into something that fits neatly between the clean lines of social media has been difficult for me. Learning how to do it has changed the way I see the world, brought out ugly instincts, and magnified my vanity and insecurity. The wildest part is that this sort of curation and performance is no longer reserved for people like me: artists who pay people lots of money to convince you to listen to our music. Any fourteen-year-old on TikTok has given at least as much careful attention to their brand as I have. But the neurochemical trick these platforms play is just the latest version of a very old phenomenon. We’ve always built our identities carefully: showing the world our good side is an intrinsic part of evolution, whether it’s holding our arms high to make the bear think we’re bigger than we are or an Instagram story of our eight-car-garage.

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Keeper E. - My Favorite Song.

Steeped in unease and constructed in an unprecedented time, Keeper E.’s new collection of songs comprises a portrait of an anxious existence that’s as deeply worried as it is catchy against all odds.

thank u and please and don’t go is packed with a litany of one-line worries and shame spirals: “I’m always driving in somebody’s blind spot, thinking I’m going to crash”; “I never know expressions and I’m so embarrassing”; “Who will take care of me if I take care of you?” The stress reaches its apex on “What If We Lose Everything,” a mid-tempo climate-change lament scattered through with unsettling dissonant notes: “There’s no way to go back,” she concludes, with considerable disappointment.

Glittering with silvery vocals, playful synths and driving rhythms, Keeper E. invites us into a dreamlike world inside her mind, sharing pages of her journal combined with intriguing melodies. Her songs have a romanticized hopefulness, looking back on past loves, regrets, and fearfulness with gratitude and hope.

Speaking on the focus track, “My Favourite Song'', is about hoping that singing along to your favourite song will take away all the pain and suffering in the world. It’s kind of a joke, like obviously just listening to a song won’t solve anything, but also it’s been my experience that sometimes music is all that can help you out of a hard time. This song talks about personal hardships like not feeling satisfied and always expecting the worst, and it also talks about the unfair power balances in the world and how the life I have is built on these unfair societal structures. In the end, it feels like the anthem of the song convinces you in some way that singing along to your favourite song must in some way help to balance things out, and will always make you feel better.“

Keeper E. is proving herself one of the most exciting new pop acts from Atlantic Canada, with an official showcase at The Great Escape in Brighton and tour dates across Canada planned in support of the release of her sophomore EP, thank you and please and don’t go, which is set for release on May 6, 2022.

But for all the personal anxieties explored in these songs, Elwood’s music is at its most confident, deeply thoughtful and wise beyond its lived experience. Born in Nova Scotia, Elwood began playing the violin at three years old, moved onto piano by four, and found her own musical voice while in university studying classical piano. Though she claims to be a technological Luddite, her production skills rival any hitmaker, and she crafts the indie-pop base of Keeper E. in solitude, with little outside influence.

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Crystal Eyes - O-SHiN - Avalyn - Violent Vickie

Photo - Walter E. Neuman

Crystal Eyes - Like A Movie.

The Calgary, Alberta-based psych-rock/dream-pop band, Crystal Eyes are now sharing their new single, "Like a Movie" which comes off the back of support for earlier releases from FLOOD Magazine, Brooklyn Vegan, Exclaim, CBC Radio and more. The new single is the latest to be lifted from the forthcoming second record, The Sweetness Restored which is set for release via the beloved Madrid label, Bobo Integral (Motorists, Ducks Ltd, Quivers) on April 22.

Crystal Eyes, who are made up of Erin Jenkins (singer/guitarist) and a revolving cast of musicians, currently Jordan Tettensor (guitar), Joleen Toner (synth), Will Johnson (bass) and Paul de Andrade (drums) describe the new record as a "feel-good self-help record for the age of existential dread." The Sweetness Restored displays a kind of wistful self-awareness right from the start, it's a collection of ten tracks that flirt with musical influences ranging from new wave, psych-rock and shoegaze, with songs driven by melody and steeped in texture.

Recorded at Montreal's Breakglass Studios with producer/engineer, Andrew Woods (The Operators, Legal Vertigo, Basia Bulat) before being mixed by Mark Lawson (Arcade Fire, The Unicorns, Peter Gabriel) the record contains thoughtful attention to musical detail thanks to the talented team of artists behind the project. And with the beautiful, warm tones of the Neve console, it's at once a unique sound, but one that feels comfortingly familiar. The prolific Scott' Monty' Munroe (Preoccupations, Chad VanGaalen) contributed bass and the talented Eve Parker Finley composed and performed string arrangements.

With the new single, the band once again harness saccharine psych-pop sounds and place these into a jangle-pop formula. Speaking about the track, singer Erin Jenkins says: "'Like a Movie" is three minutes of indie rock bliss in the artistic vein of Sharon Van Etten or Alvvays. The secret to its sound is a classic Hammond organ with Leslie speakers, a kick-ass guitar solo and the backing of a string quartet that calls to mind flashbacks of Neutral Milk Hotel. If love is 'like a movie', how will the ending be?"

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O-SHiN - Visitor.

O-SHiN, the project of rising electronic producer Stefanie Martens, has shared new single ‘Visitor’. In the last 6 months, O-SHiN shared critically acclaimed singles ‘Holy Night’ and ‘Silence Is My Nature’, both of which called to mind the technicolour electronica of acts like Four Tet and Maribou State and garnered widespread support from the likes of BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 6 Music and Clash Magazine.

In 2016, Stefanie was travelling from Rome to Amsterdam when she found herself onboard an aeroplane with a terrorist. The harrowing experience had a profound effect on the artist. “For the first time in my life, I experienced the fierce feeling of death being really close, not knowing if you’ll survive or if these are your last seconds on earth,” she says. “It was an intense experience and this song [Visitor] helped me cope with the emotions I was feeling at the time.”

Born in Germany after her parents returned home from the Soviet Union in the 1970s, O-SHiN found her voice through experimentation, and an inner journey that continues today. The name O-SHiN, meaning “time for a good cry” in Japanese, is symbolic of her relationship with existence. Moving from Germany to the Netherlands, spending a lot of time in Sweden and the States, she finally settled in Berlin, a fertile breeding ground for her artistic outlets.

O-SHiN’s long awaited debut album is complete and scheduled for release in Autumn 2022. With her new material, O-SHiN encapsulates many of the conflicting emotional and societal dilemmas that she has observed since she was a young girl. Issues like loss, acceptance and also appreciation for life have become particularly prominent following her experience on board the flight. ‘Visitor’ is out now via Galaxy Cat Records.

O-SHiN · Visitor

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Avalyn - When We Were Nothing.

This week sees the release of AYALYN's  stunning new single "WHEN WE WERE NOTHING," an abstract look back at the highs and lows of naïve youth. Avalyn formed in late 2021 after long-time friends Andy Power (Guitar & Vocals) and Ben Croft (Lead Guitar) decided to start writing together due to them both being dissatisfied with their previous musical efforts. Soon joined by Cain Garcia (Drums) and Emily Turnbull (Bass & Vocals), the band appeared all over their local music scene in 2021, including playing their first gig supporting Junodream alongside Lime Garden at The Shipping Forecast in Liverpool, as well as going into Whitewood Recording Studio with Robert Whiteley to record their latest offering. 

Influenced by the great punk powerhouses, Avalyn takes their cues from the likes of My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive & Lush. What emerges is the ferociously uplifting sound that can be heard on the group’s latest track; "When We Were Nothing," out now. Featuring mastering work from the Lead Singer & Guitarist of the seminal 90s Shoegazing band RIDE, Mark Gardener, the track melds brooding experimentalism, with an unshakeable punk sound. Thrashing guitars play under Power’s haunting vocals, as he sings about the euphoric uncertainty that comes with youth, and the always present, uncertain future. 

“When We Were Nothing was the second song we ever wrote together as a band,” says Power. “Our guitarist Ben brought in the main riff and I could tell from the beginning it was going to be great, so I wrote a verse for it and then we wrote the lyrics together.  Everything really came to life once we brought it into the practice room with the addition of Cain’s drum part and Emily’s bass and vocal Recording with Rob Whiteley was a lot of fun as we felt like he was able to help give us the freedom to experiment with the sounds we wanted as well as being able to put all our ideas together into a cohesive mix. The mastering job from Mark Gardener was the final touch that has taken the song to another level and we’re excited to continue working with him going forward.”

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Violent Vickie - Lovelace (Kontravoid Remix).

After performing in Florida and Mexico, Violent Vickie returns with “LOVELACE” (Kontravoid Remix) , a sad, powerful darkwave remix of her original track. “LOVELACE” (Kontravoid Remix)  is the third track off of Violent Vickie's Division Remixes LP which will be out in April 2022.  Vickie wrote "LOVELACE" after watching a disturbing documentary about Linda Lovelace's experience in the porn industry. 

Violent Vickie is a Los Angeles based Dark Synth-Riot artist consisting of Vickie and co-producer/recording guitarist E.  Vickie has toured with Hanin Elias of Atari Teenage Riot and has shared the stage with Trans X, The Missing Persons,  Jessie Evans (The Vanishing),Them Are Us Too, Pastel Ghost and Aimon.  

Her track "The Wolf“ was featured in a National Organization for Women film and she was interviewed for the documentary “GRRRL”, part of the museum exhibit “Alien She”.  Her LP "Monster Alley” was voted best album by KALX and her tracks have been remixed by 25+ artists.  Violent Vickie's Division LP was released in September 2020,  followed by a remix album of "Under The Gun" in February 2021 and a cover of Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire in July 2021.   Violent Vickie’s “Division” Remixes LP will be out in March 2022.

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Anna Westin - Violent Vickie - Vakili Band

Photo - John Haney

Anna Westin - Bright Burning Mess.

Singer, songwriter, and poet Anna Westin, who hails from the UK by way of Canada, has released the second single from her upcoming album, LEV (the Hebrew word for “heart”). The single, “Bright Burning Mess”, which also opens the album, begins with some of Anna’s spoken word poetry, creating an atmosphere of intimacy and setting the thematic tone for the record as a whole. As the spoken intro of the song slowly gives way into a sturdy folk rock groove, Anna Westin’s entire musical style gently unfolds before you, drawing the listener with some of the album’s catchiest vocal melodies and lush backing instrumentation before dissipating back into the ether as Anna’s poetry returns in the track’s outro.

Speaking to her inspirations for “Bright Burning Mess” and how the process of creating this song was the moment that unlocked the album as whole, Anna writes: “At first it was just a collection of songs. It was only later that the more recent songs brought it into a whole concept for an album. So, probably sitting in my new flat in Margate, wondering whether I should have moved to a town I didn’t know by the sea, excited about the possibility of what was next, mourning an old love. I remember distinctly - the flat, with one sofa, before the furniture was bought - the cold blast of sea air, the sense of anticipation, and making sense of a few dreams that I kept having. That’s where 'Bright Burning Mess' started, and where the album emerged essentially.

There’s a Turner painting of the sea bed that reminds me of the movement of the piece - where Turner paints this churning brown muck that is caught up in the crystal blue storm sea, and there’s a bit of that in the piece - a sense of the underriding ’stuff’ pulled up from the deep, and the clear blue that transmits its own burning brightness of light across the horizon, reflecting sunset and moon and light and the vastness above, as it settles, as the day clears, like when we are going through something that causes the foundations to be broken up, and then find that we are on the other side, that the sea within has settled, and we are in the middle of a burning glorious brightness. All just feels like it has settled - like it is well again.”

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Violent Vickie - The Gloom (Dimension 23 remix).

After recording a DJ set for Rinse France, Violent Vickie returns with “THE GLOOM” (Dimension 23 Remix) , a dark punky dance remix of her angsty song by the Techno Trance producer of the 1997 rave hit "I. M.O.K.R.U.O.K" known as Dimension 23. “The Gloom” (Dimension 23 Remix)  is the second track off of Violent Vickie's Division Remixes LP which will be out in March 2022.

Violent Vickie is a Los Angeles based Dark Synth-Riot artist consisting of Vickie and co-producer/recording guitarist E.  Vickie has toured with Hanin Elias of Atari Teenage Riot and has shared the stage with Trans X, The Missing Persons,  Jessie Evans (The Vanishing),Them Are Us Too, Pastel Ghost and Aimon.

She has toured the US, Mexico, Canada & Europe and played Insted Fest, Solidarity Fest, Shoutback Fest & Gay Prides and Ladyfests.  Vickie’s tracks have been released by Crunch Pod, Emerald & Doreen Recordings (Berlin), Riot Grrrl Berlin, & LoveCraft Bar (PDX).  Her track "The Wolf“ was featured in a National Organization for Women film and she was interviewed for the documentary “GRRRL”, part of the museum exhibit “Alien She”.

Her LP "Monster Alley” was voted best album by KALX and her tracks have been remixed by 25+ artists.  Violent Vickie's Division LP was released in September 2020,  followed by a remix album of "Under The Gun" in February 2021 and a cover of Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire in July 2021.   Violent Vickie’s “Division” Remixes LP will be out in March 2022.

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Vakili Band - Fathers Sound.

In anticipation of the album, Walking Sideways, Vakili Band have released the new single, “Father’s Son,” on January 28, 2022, with a video to come. Fronted by powerhouse vocalist/songwriter/guitarist Lily Vakili, Vakili Band cites artists such as Patti Smith, Prince, Iggy Pop, and Rage Against the Machine among their influences, and “Father’s Son” pays tribute to those influences, with lyrics that embrace rebellion.

“My lyrics are a poem with references and nods to what it is to be an outsider, loner, non-conformist - an artist, a son, a woman, a person that doesn't accept easy categorization,” she says. “There's anger in being in that place of otherness - and self-doubt too: ‘I find myself in an indiscriminate rage over misperceived aggressions and slights.’” 

Inspired by a riff written by lead guitarist Ben St. Jack, the song came together when bassist Matt Jovanis and drummer Gordon Kuba locked into an intense percussive groove and Joel Dorow introduced a melodic line on harmonica. The horn section - a new addition to the band’s sound - came to Vakili in a dream. “When it works this well, as a singer/performer, I feel completely unconstrained and can be more experimental with vocals,” Vakili states.

Born in Honduras and raised in Thailand, Puerto Rico, and Iowa, Vakili worked in theatre and went on to carve out a successful career as a biotech lawyer while continuing to nurture all manner of dreams, including making music. She’s since released three albums - two as a solo artist, and one with the band.
Walking Sideways shows the growth of Vakili as a songwriter, vocalist, and bandleader, and the group as a whole. As the band gears up for the release on February 25 2022, they are enjoying the return to the stage. “Performing music live is a pursuit of ecstasy, connection, desire, and love... it’s real, heady stuff,” Vakili says. They’ll next perform at NYC’s Mercury Lounge on January 31, 2022.

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Selci - Violent Vickie - KAELI - In The Pines - KAVYA

Photo - Annabeth Trondsen

Selci - Ghost.

Calgary-based art-pop artist Selci released their latest single “Ghost,” mixed by Sylvia Massy, with a stunning visual accompaniment, directed by the artist herself. Watch + share via YouTube. “Ghost” offers a first taste into what will be a fruitful 2022, as Selci puts the finishing touches on a two-part album project, details of which will be announced next month.

Discussing “Ghost,” Selci noted that, “it’s about being ghosted - literally and figuratively. The first verse is about the elusiveness of truth. This feels augmented in our current reality with the lack of trustworthy sources and the influx of political conspiracies. The second is about being ghosted by a love interest and washing it away with liquor. The third is an outcry - it gives me the feeling of falling to my knees in surrender to the things that I cannot control in this life. This song is very much a response to the political climate of the past two years. It takes the laments of modern life and compares them to ghosts.”

For Selci, the pairing of music to the visual, is a natural extension of expression. “The video for ‘Ghost' recreates famous 19th century paintings of mythological women,” they noted. “In contemporary styling we recreated Charles Mengin’s ‘Sappho', Waterhouse’s 'Echo and Narcissus', and Mallais’ ‘Ophelia'. Contemporary dancers dance like ghosts in front of giant human-like statues in Calgary, known as 'The Brotherhood of Mankind'. In its time, it was created as a celebration of colonization, framing it as a gift to the rest of the world - a dated and simply incorrect view of colonization, and continued harm it has brought to Indiegneous peoples.

Continuing with that theme, the scenes of women dancing in red dresses is an intended nod of awareness to the inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in Canada. The final scene - featuring a woman, apple in hand, being clutched by another hand from below, is a commentary on the Garden of Eden, and forced assimilation into the Catholic Church.”

“Ghost” follows Selci’s September single “Type and Send.” The two tracks show the versatility and dynamic range of Selci’s sonic palette. And with a two-part album set for 2022, the Selci is ready to take on the world.

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Violent Vickie - Get To Me (Fragrance Remix).

After touring Mexico, Violent Vickie returns with “GET TO ME” (Fragrance Remix) , a gothy-y dance remix of her "sad girl" song by the French producer and remix artist known as  Fragrance.  “GET TO ME” (Fragrance Remix)  is the first track off of Violent Vickie's Division Remixes LP which will be out in February of 2022.

Violent Vickie is a Los Angeles based Dark Synth-Riot artist consisting of Vickie and co-producer/recording guitarist E.  Vickie has toured with Hanin Elias of Atari Teenage Riot and has shared the stage with Trans X, The Missing Persons,  Jessie Evans (The Vanishing),Them Are Us Too, Pastel Ghost and Aimon.  She has toured the US, Mexico, Canada & Europe and played Insted Fest, Solidarity Fest, Shoutback Fest & Gay Prides and Ladyfests.  

Vickie’s tracks have been released by Crunch Pod, Emerald & Doreen Recordings (Berlin), Riot Grrrl Berlin, & LoveCraft Bar (PDX).  Her track "The Wolf“ was featured in a National Organization for Women film and she was interviewed for the documentary “GRRRL”, part of the museum exhibit “Alien She”.  Her LP "Monster Alley” was voted best album by KALX and her tracks have been remixed by 25+ artists.  Violent Vickie's Division LP was released in September 2020,  followed by a remix album of "Under The Gun" in February 2021 and a cover of Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire in July 2021.  Violent Vickie’s “Division” Remixes LP will be out in February 2022.

 

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KAELI - No Mans Land.

 “There is no other time when I feel more alive. Being on stage, singing about what I have experienced and felt, and getting to share that with people who feel the same way, it’s a feeling like no other” says KAELI. New to the music scene, but not unfamiliar with the stage, KAELI is a singer-songwriter from London. Beginning her career by treading the boards in theatre, and eventually touring arenas worldwide as a featured vocalist for film star Hugh Jackman, it hasn’t been a conventional route into the music industry. But 2021 sees KAELI finally find her own voice. Combining soaring vocals, and honest lyrics with an effervescent pop sound, KAELI hopes to bring her lively energy and openness to every track.

KAELI is signed by Abubilla Music, and plans to release her debut EP in late 2021. Growing up to Scottish parents in a small village in Hertfordshire, KAELI never wanted to be in the spotlight. In fact, it wasn’t until her parents saw how crippling her shyness was that they decided to put her into drama and singing classes at the age of 8. It all went downhill from there. Coming into her own, a young KAELI found her passion and spent her free time performing and taking classes, or listening to the soundtracks of her favourite musicals and Disney movies. It was where she felt most at home, feeling theemotion of every song that these characters were singing.

It was a purely natural progression for her to pursue performing as a career, and after attending prestigious schools such as LAMDA and the Guildford School of Acting, KAELI went on to have a successful stage career in the West End, performing in shows such as ‘Les Misérables’, ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ and the original cast of ‘Tina the Musical’. However, her career took a new turn after being asked to join Hugh Jackman on his 2019 world arena tour of ‘The Man. The Music’. The Show, as one of his featured singers.

Performing in venues such as Madison Square Garden, the Hollywood Bowl and the O2, KAELI travelled across the US, Europe and Australia, playing to packed out houses alongside the Hollywood star. Whilst touring, KAELI would use spare moments on the bus to work on new music and demos, as she found herself more and more inspired by her travels and experiences. Encouraged by the team on the tour, and Hugh himself, KAELI decided to pursue her songwriting further, and reached out to London label Abubilla Music on her return. She signed to the label in 2020, after some time developing her writing with the team, and began writing her debut EP. “This EP explores the different genres of music that I love, whilst also allowing me to explore where I fit in this musical world. I think each song shows a part of me, a part of how I respond to the world and to relationships, and paints a really vivid picture of who I was when I wrote each song. I see it as a kaleidoscope of 

KAELI, that’s helped me uncover exactly where I want to sit with my next record. I can’t believe I’m talking about my next record already but I feel so fired up now that I can’t wait to start writing it with this new found clarity. I just hope this first one gives everyone a taste so they’re hungry for more!”

KAELI · No Man's Land

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In The Pines - Jeez Louise.

Cincinnati, Ohio quartette In The Pines announced that their third full-length studio album, Impossible Daze, will be released on January 28, 2022 via Soul Step Records. To mark the announcement of Impossible Daze, the band has shared “Jeeze Louise," a laid-back and lo-fi cut that highlights the band’s proclivity towards immersive and atmospheric vocal harmonies.

“‘Jeeze Louise’ was one of the tunes where we knew exactly how we wanted it to sound, but we weren’t sure of the best way to go about it,” says guitarist & vocalist Michael Shular. “We wanted it to sound like it was done out on the front porch, real loose, just like we were pickin’ around, having a good time. We wanted a low fi sound so our engineer decided to run it through a cassette player in the front room of the studio using an old 50’s Altec broadcasting mic. While we were recording he was pressing on the tape to give it that warbly old school sound. It was really satisfying hearing the final result, it had exceeded our expectations and has become a favorite of ours.”

“The verses allude to some of the more exciting parts of love - the feelings of excitement and courage in a happy new relationship,” says bassist & vocalist Patrick Zopff. “Those images are contrasted with the chorus, which is a desperate apology. (“Babe I’m awful sorry, oh jeez Louise!”) It’s supposed to evoke the feeling of surprise and shame upon the realization that you can hurt someone despite the best of intentions. All of this is performed with a little whimsy, sincerely bittersweet… We chose to strip down the arrangement to just banjo, guitar, and vocals, to make it feel like four friends drunkenly singing together on the porch on a warm summer night.”

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KAVYA - Know Me Better (E.P).

KAVYA's new 4 track EP depicts the artist’s diverse creative interests ranging from fashion, art, music, and acting all of which make her thrive and are integral in shaping the person she is today.

‘Know Me Better’ is KAVYA’s humble attempt to share her personality, interests, dreams, and vulnerability with her audience through her music. In February 2021 in association with VH1 Supersonic plug-in, 'Know Me Better’ the documentary was released which highlighted Kavya's relationships with the women in her life, her interest in art, cinema, visual identity followed by a live performance. Through the next three months, we delve into her different creative worlds and bring to the forefront all the things that make her come alive.

KAVYA (Kavya Trehan) is a 27-year-old singer-songwriter from New Delhi, India who’s been performing since the age of 14. Over the course of time, she’s collaborated with some of the leading producers in India and toured with her band, MOSKO. Her solo project is a celebration of raw emotion and her roots, where all songs have been developed from guitar parts and trusty voice notes. In order to constantly evolve as an artist, in 2016 she started writing music using Ableton. Since then, she is on a relentless spree of releasing her own material that has more of an R&B, electronic, and indie-pop feel.

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Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters - Render Sisters - Violent Vickie - the Slowinks -

Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters - New York / Open Up Your Door.

There’s no doubt that the coronavirus pandemic has challenged every artist to think differently about their work, but Amanda Anne Platt and her band, The Honeycutters, are probably one of the few inspired to work on an innovative project at once more sweeping and yet more intimate than anything they’d previously done — a concept suite built from songs recorded under the straitened circumstances of quarantine and envisioned as a “deconstructed album,” released, not as a package, but in a monthly series of paired singles.

For the first Organic Records release, Platt has chosen two numbers — "New York” and “Open Up The Door” — that exemplify the project’s essential concept of duality and its ultimate title: The Devil / The Deep Blue Sea. As she explains, “I’ve always liked that saying. For me, the two groupings of songs represent different sides of the creative process, with The Devil including the more manic, upbeat, outgoing — maybe even grotesque at times — and The Deep Blue Sea being more reclusive, contemplative, understated. As an artist I’ve spent a long time judging myself when I’m at either extreme, so it’s nice to have an opportunity to celebrate the balance they provide one another. As a good friend of mine put it, ‘Sometimes you’re drowning in The Deep Blue Sea and you need The Devil to pull you out.’”

With Evan Martin’s nervously insistent cymbal taps, rolling keyboard and steady drums underpinning a pared-down, two-chord progression, “New York” offers listeners their first glimpse of The Devil — and a bit more of a pop sensibility than is usual for Platt. It’s a note of departure, a message of admiration, and an image-laden, poetic love letter to her home state that carries plenty of punch in Matt Smith’s electric guitar and bassist Rick Cooper’s simmering bass lines.

“‘New York’ is a song I wrote when my parents were selling the house that I grew up in,” the singer recalls. “I hadn’t lived there for a long time at that point, but it came at a time when I was saying goodbye to a lot of people and places that had meant home and comfort to me, and it just felt like kind of a final break from something I had been. This makes sense to me as the first ‘A side’ for just that reason- goodbyes sometimes make the best beginnings. We’re not in Kansas anymore… or New York.”

The first “B side,” on the other hand, serves up a more melancholy meditation on creativity, artistic ambition and, perhaps, the enforced idleness of quarantine. In "Open Up Your Door" the mournful sobs of the steel guitar (Smith), and the warm, R&B flavor of Martin’s electric piano echo Platt’s wistful tones, as she looks back at “all the miles I tried to fly on broken wings” to recall “those hungry days we had, And dreams that kept us up ‘cause we wanted them so bad.” And while the narrator offers that “tonight I think I’d trade every memory I made to get that back,” she still offers a wistful toast to hope as the song subsides into an instrumental coda that is somehow sparse and lush at the same time.

Still, Platt’s wit emerges when she notes, “‘Open Up Your Door’ in title alone would have been a good kicker for the B sides. It’s a call to the muse — don’t forsake me, I’m still here and I have all this shit to make sense of.” And irreverent though it may be, that’s a sentiment that augurs well for the entire series to come, The Devil / The Deep Blue Sea.

Amanda Anne Platt · New York / Open Up Your Door

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Render Sisters - Black Roses.

Pop-country duo Render Sisters from Pine Bluff, Arkansas continues to grow as up-and-coming singer-songwriters with their harmonious new upbeat single “Black Roses,” available across all major digital music platforms (linktr.ee/rendersisters) on Friday, April 2. However, fans can listen to the new tune now on their SoundCloud. Stella and Mary-Keaton Render co-wrote the song with hit-making Nashville songwriter Britton Cameron (Don Williams, Jon Pardi, Dillon Carmichael), who's been writing with and developing the sister duo since their emergence in 2020.

“Black Roses was such a fun and unique song to write with Britton,” said Mary-Keaton. “We laughed and joked around about roses not always symbolizing true love, and how black roses demonstrate the reality of what relationships can become.”

The Renders Sisters also have a brand new video for “Black Roses” which they’ll premiere in the coming weeks. Shot in and around Nashville, the video was Directed by country music icon Pam Tillis, who has been mentoring and working with the girls on the artistic direction of their music videos since last year.

“We had such a blast working with Pam while she directed our fun-filled video,” Stella laughed. “She always has a great perspective on how to best visually portray the song’s message. The energy we felt with her while filming was simply amazing. My favorite part was getting to eat the yummy donuts during the video!”

Render Sisters · Black Roses

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Violent Vickie - Circle Square.

Los Angeles-based Dark Synth-Riot artist Violent Vickie's  "Circle Square" Video is out now. The music video for Violent Vickie's "Circle Square" is a layered, rhythmic collage directed by AJ Strout of Ex Corpse Art Collective.

The video was shot on Vickie's Photobooth computer app in her apartment during the pandemic when in-person creativity was not a possibility. Much like Violent Vickie's epic Serotonin project, the black and white video features the counterculture design and aesthetics that visual artist AJ Strout has presented at goth clubs throughout Los Angeles. 

"Circle Square" is a gloomy, noisy electronic track with forlorn and haughty vocals that, conceptually, is an exploration of the illusion of not belonging. Released on Violent Vickie's Division LP in September 2020, "Circle Square" is a mix of techno/electro beats and noisy synth texture reminiscent of the dark techno tunes that Vickie once partied to in Oakland warehouses.

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the Slowinks - Stay With Me Awhile.

Get ready to kick up your heels, because today Montreal's The Slowinks release their debut album Stay With Me Awhile on (weewerk) and all digital platforms.
With a sound that combines Classic Country, Jazz and Western Swing, Montreal’s The Slowinks have successfully charmed their hometown and are now poised to do the same to the wider world. Stay With Me Awhile was recorded in February 2020 by acclaimed Quebec singer/songwriter Fred Fortin at his home studio in the wilds near Lac Saint-Jean, with its eight tracks capturing The Slowinks in their purest form yet.

Fronted by powerhouse vocalist Felicity Hamer—formerly of United Steel Workers of Montreal—the drummer-less combo also features lead guitarist Martin Tremblay, rhythm guitarist Olivier Pépin and double bassist Mathieu Deschenaux who together infuse their original songs (plus covers of the Tin Pan Alley standard “Ain’t Got Nobody” and the soul classic "Let Them Talk") with an undeniably modern energy, while adhering to tradition.

Listeners got a taste of The Slowinks' at their rowdiest on the album's first single “One Shoe,” on which Felicity cuts loose in full Rose Maddox-meets-Neko Case fashion. However, Stay With Me Awhile also delivers its fair share of  heartache on songs such as “Nobody But You,” while the band proves to be just as potent en français with “Solange.” In fact, Stay With Me Awhile’s haunting title track began life as one of Martin’s demos with French lyrics. Felicity chose to write new lyrics in English to reflect her own experience of trying to hold onto someone she lost, and in the process gave the song an entirely different power.

Felicity says, “Just weeks after our return from recording, the pandemic hit Montreal and the song has since taken on even more meaning. This is just one of those songs that feels like a memory—‘These streets are filled with ghosts, hard to crack a smile. I miss you the most, stay with me awhile.’”

Indeed, one of the great joys in listening to Stay With Me Awhile is in knowing it was recorded just before the pandemic, when there was still fun to be had. Those days will come again, hopefully sooner than later, and The Slowinks are ready to provide the soundtrack.

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