Zoe & Cloyd - Victoria Staff - Burr Island - Anya Baghina

Zoe & Cloyd - We’ll Meet Again Sweetheart.

In May, Asheville, North Carolina duo Zoe & Cloyd will release their album, Songs of Our Grandfathers, which weaves together the musical legacies of Natalya Zoe Weinstein and John Cloyd Miller’s families. Both of their grandfathers were hard-working practitioners of musical styles — klezmer and bluegrass — birthed in two different cultures and originally separated by thousands of miles, yet Weinstein and Miller artfully blend them in exciting and innovative ways. 

Ahead of the album release, Zoe & Cloyd have released four singles from the album, and now they share a music video for one, “We’ll Meet Again Sweetheart,” from the rich bluegrass heritage of John Cloyd Miller’s grandfather.

Says Miller, “This classic bluegrass number was one of four sides my grandfather Jim Shumate recorded with Flatt & Scruggs for the Mercury label in 1948. That early lineup of the Foggy Mountain Boys — featuring Jim, Mac Wiseman, Cedric Rainwater and, of course, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs — was a force of nature and set the standard for bluegrass moving forward. We were excited to revisit the energy and tastefulness of that iconic recording." It’s a track that will bring a smile to those who know every note of the vintage recording even as it reflects Zoe & Cloyd’s unique creative touches.

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Victoria Staff - Olive and Ruby.

This is a thoughtful and beautiful song that is delivered with vocals that are full of touching emotion and combine wonderfully with a perfectly matched musical backdrop.

Victoria Staff has the following to tell us: "Is it a cliche to say I don't remember not writing music? You can blame my parents for putting me in piano lessons at five, they say it "developed character." But from day one, I was more interested in playing the pieces I made up than the music I was assigned.

I write music for the same reasons I run and bake and hang out with friends and family – it makes me feel better, and I'll continue to write music as long as it makes me happy. And that's what I want you to hear in my music, holding on to the memories I want and finding a way to process the memories I need to let go of.

There was a coffee shop in Vancouver that I spent a lot of time in while I lived there. It shut down during the pandemic and I was devastated. First and foremost – they had INCREDIBLE banana bread and chai lattes, but also this shop was a keystone in my Vancouver life and it was gone forever.

I wrote "Olive and Ruby" so I could try to hold onto the way I remembered the cafe. I didn't want it to be one of those memories that just turns lackluster with time and fades. I wanted to make sure I held onto all the little bits that made that place familiar."

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Burr Island - Distant Stars.

From the UK’s West Country, duo and best friends, Tom England and Oskar Porter, are to release their stunning debut single ‘Distant Stars.’ Recorded at Kundalini Studios in Devon and produced by Steve Cradock (Ocean Colour Scene/Paul Weller/The Specials/P.P. Arnold), the song explores themes like the expansiveness of the cosmos and how selflessness can allow us to open up to the boundless beauty of the universe.

Burr Island say, “It's about trying to discover a greater truth in life through someone we love.” With its raw instrumentation, tight harmonies, and bursting positivity, ‘Distant Stars’ will leave you feeling uplifted and full of life. Having harnessed a core following round the Glastonbury type fields of yore, Burr Island are an Alternative Indie Folk duo, whose close harmonies have brought comparison to the iconic Simon & Garfunkel, however, their originals and equally introspective lyrics bring new meaning to that golden era of San Francisco ‘happening’ hippie spirit, as channelled through their beloved West Country, as they take you on their own Burr Island; an intimate, melodic journey and state, in search of meaning and humane value.

The duo, born in 2022 after a decade of friendship, explore themes of growth, beauty, and truth in their music. The West Country pair grew from strength to strength in 2022 with several headline shows, plus recording at Kundalini Studios in Devon with Steve Cradock (OCS). In September, they supported Steve Pilgrim & Paul Weller at Union Chapel in London, before embarking on their biggest venture yet, a UK December Tour supporting Ocean Colour Scene, playing at multiple O2 Academy venues and music halls. They’ve since landed a live agent, PR and a very passionate team who intend to see Burr Island break through to a mainstream audience as only the very best do.

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Anya Baghina - For Now.

Indie pop artist Anya Baghina is proud to release “For Now”, the lead single from her upcoming self-titled album. due for release this summer. Anya Baghina spends "For Now" self-analyzing and talking to herself, trying to understand why she makes certain life choices and how to follow her own intuition rather than others'. It's about accepting insecurity and doubt, realizing you don't have to follow another's path or follow someone's footsteps.

Anya Baghina releases her debut self-titled LP on June 23rd, 2023. It was mixed by Lucas Knapp (Dear Life Records, Double Double Whammy), mastered by Elaine Rasnake at Daughterboard Audio, and produced by Jonathan Franco. Accessible melodies are balanced with sometimes nonlinear song structures and progressive arrangements, ranging from shoegazey dream pop to slide guitar-fuelled jangly indie folk to synth-driven ambient soundscapes to distorted indie rock. Its lyrics oscillate from resigned to hopeful, biting to patiently observant, and grief-stricken to something approaching peace.

In "For Now", Anya Baghina says she is talking to herself, trying to figure out why she's made certain decisions in life and how to follow her own guidance. "When I mention 'her' in the song, it’s a personal reference to my mother, who passed away in 2017. It’s about coming to terms with insecurity and doubt, and realizing you don’t have to follow a path that is laid out for you. As a result of my efforts to become the person she wanted me to be, I lost myself. During that time, I created an artist residency as a safe place for grief and re-discovery. It was my opportunity to 'take a seat and listen carefully' and find my own voice" says Baghina.

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Dub Pistols - Waldo Witt - H.Hawkline - Zoe & Cloyd

Dub Pistols - Moving On.

Legendary party-starters Dub Pistols release their new single ‘Moving On’ featuring MC and D.J. Natty Campbell. After announcing their forthcoming album Frontline to be released March 10th through Cyclone Records, this notorious touring band are carrying the summer atmosphere into these winter months with their infamous blend of dub, hiphop, ska and jungle. Dub Pistols will also be playing a series of exclusive release week shows partnered with some of the UK’s best independent record stores- they will also be signing physical copies of the record. Listen to ‘Moving On’ Here. Watch ‘Moving On’ Here.

Having recently celebrated their 25th anniversary, the collective release the third and final offering before releasing their forthcoming LP. New single ‘Moving On’ sits amongst multiple genres as frontman and legendary DJ, Barry Ashworth wanted to write something in a different vein to anything the band have done before. He explains, “‘Moving On’ is kind of dark with a ‘Ghost Town’ feel. But it still has an uplifting message”. After going over ideas and melodies that he had written with Ashley Slater, Barry then worked with King Yoof to give the track its darker edge before bringing in Natty Campbell to voice the verses.

Natty Campbell adds, "It was a pleasure as always to collaborate with Barry and King Yoof on ‘Moving On’, it was one of those tunes that came very easily, the beat is a bit different and it was good fun to showcase different styles of vocals while lyrically sending a positive message. It's one of those tunes that goes off live and has everyone singing, so it's great to be involved in the dub pistols musical family and contributing more tracks"

Not many acts stay together for a quarter of a century and still remain firing on all cylinders. However, Dub Pistols juggernaut rolls on, exploring fresh sonic pastures and accelerating into 2023. The multi-cultural collective has involved dozens of artists and musicians over the years — some remaining for years, a few for the duration, and others just popping in for a guest appearance. Their sound has accordingly morphed a variety of times since their inception: taking in dub, punk, jungle, ska, breakbeat, hip-hop and a whole lot more, it’s been a long road travelled.

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Waldo Witt - Without A Sound.

"This was one of the last songs I wrote for the album, I was really embracing some of my earlier musical influences - the ones that first got me really excited about music like Syd Barrett and Brian Wilson. So it's kind of this psychedelic journey through time, looking through a lens of bright eyed bliss and innocence, and using that lens to try to make sense of or understand the chaos of recent years."

Long Daze, Dark Nights is the upcoming album from Waldo Witt. The artist embraces 60s and 70s psychedelia inspirations like Todd Rundgren, King Crimson, and Brian Wilson, alongside a continued adoration of 80s soft rock and disco, resulting in a vibrant sounding record, full of hooks and charismatic structural twists.

Even in its nostalgic glow, Long Daze, Dark Nights doesn’t linger too long in the past. Hook-heavy throwback odes are abundant, though also resonating with modern production and thematic pursuits. Offering poignant reflection following the past several years of tumult, the release explores themes of uncertainty, instability, and unpredictability. Waldo, his wife, and their van road-tripped through much of the pandemic, and many of the release’s lyrics were written while traveling in isolated areas throughout the country, like rural Montana and Colorado.

The result is filled with introspection and soul-searching, representative of how artistic creation can lead to great self-discovery. The release, in particular, pursues how one feels the need to create and make art. “It leads you to the experience of being completely in the moment, which is what it’s all about,” Waldo says. “The ups, downs, in betweens – all are expressions of the aliveness of being.”

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H.Hawkline - Empty Room.

H.Hawkline (Huw Evans) has shared a new track, “Empty Room” which is taken from his upcoming fifth album, Milk For Flowers out on Friday March 10, 2023 on Heavenly Recordings. This follows previous album tracks “Milk For Flowers”, “Suppression Street” and “Plastic Man”.

Talking about the track, Huw said: “A song about the middle, written before and after. I used to think that if I stayed very still, I could stop time. Houses possess this ability: moments become trapped in stillness, the whole room frozen, too big to fit through the door. I think it was me who moved. My coat buttons are made of snow, I fasten them on the beach as I think of you.”

Having used the same video for “Milk For Flowers” and “Plastic Man”, Huw extends and slightly alters the concept by again using the video for “Empty Room”, except this time with a different ending, as he explains: “This is the last time you watch the video. The ending is different but we arrive the same way as before. I wanted the ending to feel like reality but to be honest, I've never ordered a White Russian in a Stetson.” His most personal and confessional record to date, the album, was produced and features musical contributions from long-time collaborator and celebrated solo artist Cate Le Bon.

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Zoe & Cloyd - We'll Meet Again Sweetheart / Bei Mir Bistu Sheyn.

Right on the heels of Valentine’s Day, klezgrass practitioners Zoe & Cloyd release two new Organic Records singles — and with that kind of timing, what could be more appropriate than a pair of love songs that showcase the complementary musical legacies embodied in the title of their forthcoming full-length album, Songs Of Our Grandfathers?

From the rich bluegrass heritage of John Cloyd Miller’s grandfather comes “We’ll Meet Again Sweetheart.” Says Miller, “This classic bluegrass number was one of four sides my grandfather Jim Shumate recorded with Flatt & Scruggs for the Mercury label in 1948. That early lineup of the Foggy Mountain Boys — featuring Jim, Mac Wiseman, Cedric Rainwater and, of course, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs — was a force of nature and set the standard for bluegrass moving forward. We were excited to revisit the energy and tastefulness of that iconic recording."

With Miller’s smooth lead vocal, bassist Kevin Kehrberg’s echoes of Rainwater’s active bass work, ace banjo man Bennett Sullivan's recap of some of Scruggs’ signature licks alongside a few twists of his own and Natalya Zoe Weinstein’s loving recreation — on the same fiddle used in 1948 — of Shumate’s original work, it’s a track that will bring a smile to those who know every note of the vintage recording even as it reflects Zoe & Cloyd’s unique creative touches.

Paired with the Flatt & Scruggs favorite is an even more widely known song with long-obscured roots in the once lively world of New York’s Yiddish language theater: “Bei Mir Bistu Sheyn.” The spelling reflects the duo’s reversion to the song’s original Yiddish, as explained by Natalya, whose winsome vocal is framed by well-crafted solos from Miller (here on mandolin), Sullivan (guitar) and Kehrberg that reveal the influence of klezmer music on the more widely known “gypsy jazz” of subsequent versions:

“‘Bei Mir Bistu Sheyn’ was originally written in 1932 by composer Sholom Secunda and lyricist Jacob Jacobs for the Yiddish theater. The title means ‘To Me You Are Beautiful.’ The Andrews Sisters recorded the English version in 1937, and the song became a worldwide sensation. Not surprisingly, this song was in my grandfather’s repertoire as well, and I used to play it with my father on piano. For our recording, I even learned the Yiddish lyrics!”

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Vök - Carley Arrowood - Spud Cannon - Zoe & Cloyd

Vök - Lost in the Weekend.

Icelandic trio Vök have shared the bold and cinematic video for their dynamic new single Lost in the Weekend, which is out now through Nettwerk Records.

Following the release of their acclaimed 2019 album In the Dark, which was written and recorded by the band in collaboration with producer James Earp (Bipolar Sunshine, Fickle Friends, Lewis Capaldi), Vök have been nestled away in their Reykjavík studios working on new material. The result is some of their most atmospheric work yet and Lost in the Weekend is an early taste of their progressive alt-pop sound.

Based around a semi-autobiographical character, Lost in the Weekend focuses on the ease of over-indulgence when you’re living in the moment and the purposeful loss of a sense of self. Mixed by David Wrench (Frank Ocean, Goldfrapp, The xx), it builds playfully, launching into a bold chorus, which musically echoes the meaning behind the song. The video, directed by Einar Egils, portrays the story of a man who loses himself in the weekend to celebrate who he is and conveys an overall message of everyone accepting who they are and being who they want to be.

Lead singer Margrét says; “With the video for ‘Lost in the Weekend’ we wanted to focus on the importance of showing your true self and letting one’s inner personality come out. Whatever you are on the inside, don’t be afraid to show it. Let’s celebrate our diversities.”

Through their unique and lushly layered sound that blends electro and indie with forward-thinking pop and a self-assured aesthetic, that is just as striking as their sound, Vök continue to cement their position as one of the most exciting alternative bands right now. Following two critically acclaimed albums, Lost in the Weekend is just the first musical moment in an exciting year for Vök, with further new music announced soon. Vök are Margrét Rán (vocals), Einar Stef (bass/guitar) and Bergur (drums).

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Carley Arrowood - My Kind of Nightlife.

Following the demonstration of her fiddle virtuosity on the instrumental “Ducks On The Millpond,” Mountain Home Music Company’s Carley Arrowood returns to form with a strong vocal performance that builds on the success of last year’s “Goin’ Home Comin’ On” by offering a different angle on a similar theme.

Written by producer-bassist Jon Weisberger and Music Row hitmaker Jenn Schott, “My Kind Of Nightlife” gently contrasts crowded downtown streets and “cafes and honky tonks full of sound and light” with the glow of lightning bugs “dancing in the air” and “the call of the nightbirds.” “That’s my kind of nightlife,” Arrowood sings with a self-assurance born of her own experience and preferences, while the song’s relaxed tempo, lush harmonies and subtle instrumental backing all combine to transport the listener to the chorus’s front porch swing and an idyllic night in the country.

"It was a fun day getting to write this with Jon,” recalls Schott, whose long list of credits includes cuts by Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, Mickey Guyton, Pam Tillis and the Eli Young Band. “I’m so thrilled Carley recorded it — and her singing and playing are both fantastic!”

Backed by the same crew that recorded “Goin’ Home Comin’ On” with her, including Steve Martin Banjo Prize and five-time IBMA Banjo Player of the Year recipient Kristin Scott Benson, Wayne Benson on mandolin, Daniel Thrailkill (guitar, harmony vocals) and her sister, Autumn (harmony vocals), Arrowood sings and plays not just skilfully, but with an interpretive sensitivity that belies her youth and suggests that she’s already a fully mature artist.

“‘My Kind of Night Life’ paints such a beautiful picture of simplicity,” she enthuses. “It captures the very essence of nostalgia and, for me, reminds me of my childhood with every line. I grew up on a dirt road in western North Carolina, and my summer evenings were spent barefoot in the backyard, playing endless pretend and catching lightning bugs with my sister and brother with nowhere in particular we had to be.”

“During the pandemic, and especially now that I’m planning my wedding,” she notes of her recently-announced engagement to Thrailkill, “I’ve come to cherish the nights when my whole family is home together, and I look forward, Lord willing, to the days when I can raise a family in the same way: running barefoot in the yard, catching lightning bugs, and just simply loving the life that God gives us.”

Syntax Creative · Carley Arrowood - "My Kind of Nightlife"

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Spud Cannon - Juno.

Today, Poughkeepsie rockers Spud Cannon are sharing "Juno," the first single off of their forthcoming LP, Good Kids Make Bad Apples, out June 25th via Good Eye Records.

Recorded as a part of an all-nighter, one-take, not-campus-approved sessions on a squash court at the band's now alma mater, Vassar College, "Juno" captures the undeniable energy of a night out on the rails with your friends.

"It was the spring of 2019: we were on the verge of breaking up," the band's Jackson Walker Lewis detailed to Consequence of Sound. "I was on the verge of graduating, and we had no budget for a third album. After every legitimate venue on campus was booked up, we opted instead to throw a secret show in the squash courts at the suggestion of Lucy, who thought the court’s location would make it easier to evade security.

The show sounded terrible, but during our ‘soundcheck’, I thought the court sounded magnificent. I’ve always adored the Beach Boys wall-of-sound style, and suddenly the mere thought of recording an entire record in the squash courts consumed our imaginations.

That summer, we’d hang out at Meg’s house in Poughkeepsie, write, party, and on the final day of each ‘mini-vacation’, head to the courts. We’d wedge a door, wait till after closing time, and then sneak in with all of our gear and record from 12am-6am before they opened in the morning. We wanted to capture our live sound, so we recorded together, sans metronome, and decided we’d need to get pure takes of each song.

While some came easy, 'Juno' was arguably the hardest. It took two separate nights, and I think in the end we did something like 70 takes overall to get one we were happy with."

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Zoe & Cloyd - Chestnut Mountain.

Despite its distinctive flavor, the appeal of bluegrass music is broad enough to have gained fans literally the world over. Still, direct, personal ties to the music and the communities in which it originated can lend an extra dimension to a performance, and just such a connection underpins the latest single from Organic Records’ Zoe & Cloyd.

With its themes of memory and the losses created by suburbanization and rural dislocation, “Chestnut Mountain” is a moving tale that’s all the more compelling for being based on John Cloyd Miller’s family history — one that not only embodies the lyric’s themes, but connects to bluegrass’s earliest days through his grandfather. Jim Shumate was not only the inheritor of the family’s Chestnut Mountain homeplace, but also a one-time fiddler for iconic bluegrass artists Bill Monroe and Flatt & Scruggs — in fact, it was he who brought Monroe and banjo legend Scruggs together in late 1945, paving the way for the explosive musical combination that created bluegrass itself.

"‘Chestnut Mountain’ is a song I wrote about our family homeplace in Wilkes County, NC,” says Miller, who sings lead on the song. “My late grandfather, bluegrass fiddler Jim Shumate, was born there in 1921. There is so much history on that mountain. When I was young, the whole area was relatively remote and undeveloped aside from a few almost impassable roads. Later, a developer came in and tried to get my grandparents to sell their part, but to no avail. To my grandparents, that land was priceless. I'm so thankful that they held out and that my cousins and I have this place to share with the next generation.”

“I remember Grandpa saying he used to hear his Uncle Erbie playing fiddle from across the holler when he was a boy,” he continues. “When I'm up there, I always try to imagine what it was like for him growing up there. I picture the cabin, the farm animals and the garden, and I always listen for the sound of the fiddle wafting on the breeze."

Deeply nostalgic, yet precise in its sentimentality, “Chestnut Mountain” matches the elegant minimalism of its words with a sensitive ebb and flow in the harmonies and instrumental backing from Miller (guitar), Natalya Zoe Weinstein (fiddle, vocals), banjoist Bennett Sullivan and bassist Kevin Kehrberg. With its empathetic solos, delicate touches of dialogue between vocals and instruments, and a finely tuned build-up that culminates in an emotional, alternating repetition of the narrator’s basic wish — “I want to go back in time” — that’s echoed by the rise and fall of unison lines from banjo and fiddle before the final, restrained closing, this is a performance that exemplifies the authenticity that lies at the heart of Zoe & Cloyd’s music.

Syntax Creative · Zoe & Cloyd - "Chestnut Mountain"

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Classic Water - Kindsight - Meg Webb - Zoe & Cloyd - Hailey Whitters

Classic Water - Tomorrow.

Dutch indie band Classic Water return with their fourth single Tomorrow. A song about desperate times and corresponding desperate measures, but as the lyrics say: “tomorrow this will all be gone.” A soothing thought at the start of this new year.

The music video is based on the artwork designed by visual artist Viktoryia Shydlouskaya-Dijk and animated by Classic Water’s keys player Lotte van Leengoed.

Classic Water introduced themselves in 2020 with singles Living Likeness, It’s Never Easy and Carthage. Debut album Concrete Pleasures will be released on March 12th 2021.

Tomorrow is a song about someone driven to desperate deeds and is partly inspired by the Talking Heads’ Listening Wind. The narrator leads the listener to the brink of the deed in the first half of the song, after which a long instrumental part follows where multiple melodies and rhythms combine into something like a hypnotic stretch of endless highway.

The songs of Classic Water bring to mind driving through dusty backroads of deserted villages, thinking back on what once was but will never be again. The surreal words of singer Tom Gerritsen are guided by stretches of intertwining melodies, alternated with brief bursts of rock and roll. In an earlier life, Tom released folk music as The T.S. Eliot Appreciation Society, playing over 180 shows in Europe. Seeing Classic Water perform live is a visceral experience. The debut album Concrete Pleasures was recorded and produced by Stacy Parrish (T Bone Burnett, Alison Krauss & Robert Plant) in a 14th century farmhouse in Sweden.

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Kindsight - How I Feel.

Kindsight is a new act from the Copenhagen indie scene and the first act outside of Sweden to sign with Rama Lama Records (Melby, Chez Ali,  Steve Buscemi's Dreamy Eyes etc.). Last fall, the young quartet released the two very promising debut tracks 'Who Are You' and ' Terminal Daze'. Two warm, nostalgic and atmospheric indie pop songs that got them praise such as "your new favourite band". Now, the slow-burner 'How I Feel' follows and expands the sound of this promising act.

Kindsight are Nina, Søren, Anders and Johannes and formed out of Nina and Sørens shared love for The Sugarcubes. According to the band, the two of them then recruited drummer Johannes to "drag him out of an unsettling obsession with jazz-music" and bass player Anders was chosen "only because of his looks and his ability to fit into small bags.".

The quartet makes retro-tinged indie pop that is instantly appealing and addictive. Nina's vocals crowns the atmospheric soundscape perfectly and makes Kindsight something that's been missing in Scandinavia for a long time.

Kindsight on 'How I Feel': Nina was once gripped by an overwhelming need to tell the world how she felt. Everyone agreed that it seemed like a fair deal, as she is the lead-singer. A longing ballad with a hazy view was built to heed her demand. But as it turns out, Nina hasn't got a clue how she feels. How I Feel is out now on all platforms via Rama Lama Records.

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Meg Webb - What's The Logic.

Meg Web who is sharing her new video and single "What's the Logic." The track was co-produced by the legendary Jason Falkner (Beck, Jellyfish), in which he also lent a hand on drums, bass and additional synths. The video was directed and shot by Jessica Calleiro and filmed by Calleiro and Matt Boman.

Meg grew up as a classically trained multi-instrumentalist learning violin, piano, harp, cello, synths, bass, flute, tenor guitar and a recently added marimba. Growing up as a competitive dancer (you can see some of her smooth moves in the video), as well as a softball, basketball and soccer player. Raised in Woods Cross, Utah, until  2009, when she was 16, she completed her GED and fled to Arizona (pretending to be a foreign exchange student from Czechia so she could hang out with her cousin at her school) to escape Mormonism and play shows with her bandmate who lived there.

Meg Shares: “The inspiration was an anti-inspiration-where all hope and trust flew out a window and I was starting from scratch with everything~ ideas about people, the internal and external workings. A question to and about them and myself."

Webb moved to Laguna Beach in 2011 after hitchhiking through, deeming it her personal paradise. There she was a street performer for 4 years, and in Los Angeles,before landing her first commercial. Then she started learning about analog sound engineering in San Francisco. Now back in LA, Meg Webb is in full force with her gorgeous and dreamy blend of indie goodness.

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Zoe & Cloyd - Paper Crowns.

Following the exuberant, traditional bluegrass of their last single, Organic Records’ Zoe & Cloyd return with a sweet, original take on another kind of tradition: the enduring theme of a parent’s love. Written and sung by the semi-eponymous duo of Natalya Zoe Weinstein (fiddle) and John Cloyd Miller (guitar), “Paper Crowns” is classically framed in a direct address to their daughter, even as its contemporary language and asymmetric rhythms reveal it as thoroughly modern.

The track is further testimony to the sensitivity of Zoe & Cloyd’s bandmates, Kevin Kehrberg (bass) and Bennett Sullivan (banjo), whose sympathetic playing offers just the right support for the song’s bright imagery of “paper crowns and dancing curls.”

“We started writing ‘Paper Crowns’ on our daughter's fifth birthday, a cold and rainy day in February,” notes Weinstein. “I was feeling nostalgic for her younger years, as five felt like a big turning point in her transition from toddlerhood to school age. Little did we know how much her life (and ours) would change in the coming year, and how the loss of early childhood innocence would be especially poignant as the pandemic set in. But no matter her age and come what may, she'll always be our little girl."

With its celebratory chorus — ”today you’re turning five years young, another ring around the sun” — and sharp eye for details (“muddy boots and tangled hair, pink and purple everywhere”), “Paper Crowns” is just the kind of personal, yet universal song to capture the timeless emotions of parents across the years and around the world

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Hailey Whitters - The Ride (feat. Jordan Davis).

Rising country star Hailey Whitters announces LIVING THE DREAM, a deluxe edition of her critically-acclaimed 2020 album THE DREAM featuring five new songs, will be released on February 26 via Pigasus/Big Loud/Songs & Daughters. The deluxe album finds Whitters moving from fantasizing about “the dream” to actually living it, calling upon her close friends and collaborators Brent Cobb, Jordan Davis, Hillary Lindsey, Little Big Town, Lori McKenna and Trisha Yearwood to contribute vocals to the fresh tracks.

Following the release of her current single “Fillin’ My Cup” (feat. Little Big Town), Whitters has dropped “The Ride” (feat. Jordan Davis), the second track to be pulled from LIVING THE DREAM.

“Jordan Davis took me out on his very first headlining tour when I was only an independent artist. I thought that was a bold statement for him to make, and I am very appreciative of him taking a chance on me,” explains Whitters. “He's one of the key reasons I've been able to say I'm "living the dream", so when thinking about who to collaborate with on this project, he was a no-brainer. I just love his voice and everything he's bringing to the country format.”

“All of the artists featured on this project are responsible for me being able to hang up the apron strings and make music full-time,” says Whitters about LIVING THE DREAM. “The royalties from Little Big Town’s cut on ‘Happy People’ helped pay for part of THE DREAM, Brent Cobb and Jordan Davis were two of the first artists to take me on tour, Lori McKenna and Hillary Lindsey are my two songwriting idols and favorite co-creators, and Trisha Yearwood is one of the first artists that got me excited about moving to Nashville and pursuing country music. I wanted to show fans full circle what ‘living the dream’ looks like for me – from where I started with ‘Ten Year Town’ to the bucket list moments that have resulted since I released my record, THE DREAM. I felt it was important to show them what can happen when you don't give up on yourself.”

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Zoe & Cloyd - Bearcraft - The Equators

Zoe & Cloyd have a brand new single 'Hoffman's Hora/David's Frailach' and they really are digging right back into their musical roots with this gorgeous taste of instrumental Americana based on music from days gone by. === Bristol-based music collective Bearcraft just released their distinctive new track 'Outside In The Morning Snow' a song where the hooks gently dig deep. === The Equators brand new song 'Nice To Be Nice' comes 35 years since their fabulous cult album 'Hot' and their timeless Ska music sounds fresh and beautiful.
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Zoe & Cloyd - Hoffman's Hora / David's Frailach.

With their latest Organic Records single, Zoe & Cloyd reveal once again their unique ability to blend mountain music with the klezmer music legacy of Natalya Zoe Weinstein’s family on “Hoffman’s Hora/David’s Frailach.”

Incorporating two klezmer tunes — the first from a 1923 recording by xylophonist Jacob Hoffman, the second from sheet music in the handwriting of Weinstein’s grandfather — the medley marks a further refinement of the synthesis Weinstein and John Cloyd Miller have been exploring since the formation of Zoe & Cloyd, including “Berditchever Sher” and “Zisa Meydele” on 2019’s I Am Your Neighbor. Woven together with their authentic renditions of Appalachian old-time, folk and bluegrass songs, as well as their roots-inspired originals, it’s an integral part of the duo’s musical identity.

"These two klezmer instrumentals were in my grandfather, David Weinstein's, repertoire,” says Natalya. “He was a professional musician who emigrated from Russia (what is now Ukraine) in 1923, and made his living here in America playing music for weddings, functions, and events.” - “Horas and frailachs were dance tunes, and often were unnamed. This version of ‘Hoffman's Hora’ was named for an early recording of Jacob Hoffman and Kandel's Orchestra. I couldn't find another version of the frailach, except my grandfather's handwritten one, so we named it ‘David's Frailach.’”

Weinstein’s violin and Miller’s guitar echo the sparse arrangement of their 1923 source on the opening “Hoffman’s Hora” before upright bass and bluegrass banjo — supplied by band members Kevin Kehrberg and Bennett Sullivan — join in to provide propulsive rhythm and melodic embroidery to the strains of “David’s Frailach.”

“I think that bluegrass and klezmer blend together well because of their folk history and sensibilities,” Weinstein notes. “It’s a beautiful fusion!”

Syntax Creative · Zoe & Cloyd - "Hoffman's Hora / David's Frailach"

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Bearcraft - Outside In The Morning Snow.

Bristol-based music collective Bearcraft return with their addictive and foreboding new single Outside in the Morning Snow. Taken from their forthcoming electronically charged LP, ‘Fabrefactions’, out on 4th September, the track explores the essence of acceptance of impending doom from fractious political factions or forces of nature. Speaking about the track, Dicky said, “When life, as Stephen Pinker puts it, is a battle against entropic forces, peril is always close. Morning Snow is about that, and about the solace that can be found in accepting this foreboding reality. ”

Amidst swirling synth patterns and ghostly harmonies, Bearcraft weaves a tapestry of vivid imagery, evoking a sense of drama and peril. Accompanying the release will be a video shot on VHS by Say Goodnight Films, which further accentuates the lyrical narrative with dreamy aesthetics. Speaking about the production process, Paul from Say Goodnight said, “Beginning with abstract concepts and building a narrative was helpful on where we could utilize the location of home/space we had during lockdown to create an original and dreamy video.”

Fabrefactions is Essex born musician/producer Dicky Moore aka Bearcraft’s lead protagonist’s second album following his debut Yestreen. Over the album’s ten tracks, Fabrefactions moves upriver along the Thames, from Margate, through Leigh-on-Sea and into the capital of England. That journey is mapped out in gorgeous organic electronics, in overheard ghost stories and half-remembered urban myths. Here are tales of runaways and banshees, estuary witches, acid trips and seafront car-cruising, set to sounds that evoke everything from bankside industry to underground dancehalls and the ambient push and pull of the shoreline.

Fabrefactions was written whilst staring out the window of a council flat in Dalston after a diagnosis of acute hearing loss; recorded in the corner of an artist’s studio in London Fields before being mixed next to the motorway in Bristol (over a period of ten years). Fabrefactions was recorded with Joe Reeves (Shitdisco, Age of Consent), mixed by Ali Chant (Gruff Rhys, PJ Harvey, This Is The Kit) and mastered by Anthony Chapman (Franz Ferdinand, Future of the Left, Klaxons); all music by Dicky Moore. All vocals by Dicky and artist/musician Sam Sally. Fabrefactions will be released on 4th September on independent label Australopithecine Records.

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The Equators - Nice To Be Nice.

This summer anthem stemmed when The Equators came back from their holiday in the Gambia with a local phrase and greeting they kept hearing: Nice to be Nice.

Back in their hometown of Birmingham, they wrote this song to promote the Joy and Happiness of Togetherness that resonates in the saying, a much needed upliftment for the summer, recorded at Oxygen Studios and Friendly Fire Music and produced by Robin Giorno.

The Equators have reformed 35 years after their cult album HOT! released at the height of Stiff Records in 81, and have been reconquering stages around the UK.

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