Calista Kazuko - Lene Lovich

Calista Kazuko - Press Stop & Rewind / Sweet Jailbird.

‘Press Stop & Rewind’ and ‘Sweet Jailbird’ were written by Calista and long-term collaborator Elliott James Frisby. The songs were recorded at London’s Smokehouse Studios. Nuno Fernandes (Bryan Adams, Jeff Lynne) and Dennis Weinreich (Queen, Supertramp) feature as producers.

The beautifully shot videos – dark, sensuous vignettes with deadly narratives, were made with filmmaker Philip Reinking and depict Calista’s sordid fantasies, murderous moments, subsequent incarceration and dreams of escape.

“I could not be more delighted to be releasing these two songs,” says Calista. “Their fun, OTT extravagance perfectly punctuate this creative chapter before the campaign for my new album, ‘Empress’, starts in January. It was an honour working with such a musical dream-team as producers Nuno Fernandes and Dennis Weinreich – and creating visuals with filmmaker Philip Reinking was the icing on the cake.”

Calista Kazuko is a singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist known for her cinematic genre-bending and controversial boundary-pushing. After studying at London’s Royal Academy of Music, specialising in classical/jazz piano and composition, Calista – daughter of the late renowned violinist Paul Robertson – has been performing and winning fans across the world with her dynamic voice and captivating songs. Her EP 'Project: Love Me' was released in 2017 to critical acclaim and Calista is now recording her debut solo album ‘Empress’. She founded and recently launched charity-based arts collective Voice of Aiko and is also penning her first piece of music-theatre, Mary Quake, with playwright Stephanie Martin. WEBSITE.

'Press Stop & Rewind' has a seductive Jazz vibe that exudes both mischief and just a little menace. The theme continues with 'Sweet Jailbird' where the distinct rhythm alongside some refined piano are only half the story. On both tracks the vocals are sublime and on the latter the background vocals are just so cool, this really is just so good...



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Lene Lovich - Lucky Number.

March 2019 sees the Lene Lovich Band taking to the road to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Lene's classic debut album Stateless. Containing the smash hit "Lucky Number" and other perennial Lene favourites including "Home", "Say When", "I Think We're Alone Now" and the celebrated ballad "Too Tender to Touch", Stateless was an immediate success when it was first released by cult post-punk label Stiff Records, and has held it's place in fans' affections for four decades. Lene Lovich’s work spent over four and a half months in the Top 40 charts after the release of her debut album in 1978 in the UK and 1979 in the US.

The tour will be fans' only chance to catch Stateless performed in it's entirety. The show also includes other Lene favourites, such as the Thomas Dolby-penned hit "New Toy", as well as a handful of songs from Lene's highly regarded second album Flex.

“It is incredibly flattering to know that people are still interested in Stateless after all these years. And it is always humbling to learn what it has meant to people on a personal level. We all have music which becomes the soundtrack to our lives, and to know that people are still listening is the highest compliment that you can ever be paid as an artist and a performer.

Far from being near nostalgia, taking the album out on the road for its anniversary year is a way of saying thank you, both to the fans who have appreciated it for so long, and also to the songs themselves, which have meant so very much to me and gave me such a wonderful start on this journey.” - Lene Lovich, November 2018. TICKETS.

March 2019 Tour Dates:
Friday 8th – Riverside, Newcastle
Saturday 9th – G2, Glasgow
Sunday 10th – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
Friday 15th – O2 Institute, Birmingham
Saturday 16th – Club Academy, Manchester
Sunday 17th – The Waterfront, Norwich
Thursday 21st – The Garage, London
Friday 22nd – Concorde 2, Brighton
Saturday 23rd – O2 Academy, Oxford.

It's not often a we feature forty year old songs on Beehive Candy, but some new anniversary tour dates and the fact it's 'Lucky Number' from Lene Lovich is more than enough reason & I get to be a little nostalgic for a while.


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Maria Matveeva & Deep Forest - French For Rabbits - Post Lovers - Slum Summer

Maria Matveeva & Deep Forest - Kalinushka.

Soprano opera singer Maria Matveeva together with well-known French Grammy-award-winning composer and producer Eric Mouquet aka Deep Forest shared their latest single “Kalinushka” this week, to be taken from their upcoming collaborative three-track EP titled "Siberian Trilogy Project" set for release on the 21st December. In addition to her career as a lyric soprano in the Opera, Matveeva has experimented various musical genres. She is always on top of her game - and in the past she has collaborated with notable musicians such as David Bowie’s pianist, Mike Garson, notable for working with the likes of Nine Inch Nails, The Smashing Pumpkins, Alessandro Alessandroni Jr and Alex Elena, just to name a few. Matveeva’s latest delivery, "Siberian Trilogy Project" is an experiment with an innovative musical idea, which fused different styles: lyric voice, electronic sounds and the ethnic elements.

Since 1992, Deep Forest has been dubbed as pioneers of “ethnic electronica”, mixing ethnic with electronic sounds and dance beats or chillout beats. Nominated for a Grammy Award in 1994 for Best World Music Album, and in 1995 he won the Award for the album Boheme. Deep Forest also became World Music Awards Winner - French group with the highest 1995 world sales. Their albums have sold over 10 million copies to date, and has since toured the world extensively. Since then, Deep Forest has still been going strong, collaborating with dozens of similarly like-minded artists and working closely with label giants Sony and Epic, respectively.

Her pallette of influences come from artists such as current collaborators Deep Forest, Michael Cretu (Enigma), Mike Oldfield and Lisa Gerrard (Dead Can Dance), although her experimental twists and turns, and sonic vocal delivery could compare her best to artists such as Enya, Sarah Brightman or Sinead O’Connor for her theatrics in vocal technique and dramatic stage presence.

Maria’s latest single from her collaborative project with Deep Forest is a flawless mix of traditional folkloric sounds and contemporary electronic production, fused together to create a sound both unique and mesmerising. Beginning with layers of Maria’s vocals, showcasing her virtuosity as well as her passion for vocal texture, the track then progresses hypnotically, riding on Deep Forest’s downtempo beats and melodic electronic basslines. “Kalinushka” will have listeners humming along to Maria’s choral and folkloric melodies in no time, while their bodies will not be able to escape the urge to move to Deep Forest’s crisp drum-beats. MARIA MATVEEVA, DEEP FOREST.  

I was not sure what to make of 'Kalinushka' at first, but it was different in a good kind of way so I stuck with it. I was quickly more than intrigued, this is addictive material, as the subtle electronic backdrop and charismatic singing combine to become oh so moreish.

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French For Rabbits - Highest Hill.

Oxford, MS label Muscle Beach Records are announcing the release of New Zealand’s French For Rabbits’ The Weight of Melted Snow on January 19th, 2019, along with the new track “Highest Hill.”

Written as an exercise on transposing a fictional, yet very real, complex emotional desire to hold love while also desiring to hurt the person and how those past traumas play themselves out in new situations,“Highest Hill” follows this experience through it’s winding, uncomfortable path. French For Rabbits’ lead singer Brooke Singer explains that "writing music is a bit of a mystery process…the words seem to proceed without any logical thought process, so once I write something I often have to go back and re-listen to understand what I’ve just written about! 

The verses of Highest Hill kind of play out like a movie scene – they’re quite visual. The song formed around a fascination with the way people can hold conflicting emotions at the same time, and how messy that can be. I was exploring this character who wanted to make the person they love, hurt. It’s kind of about blame - whether that blame is misguided or not."

Led by the soft, smoky voiced Singer, French for Rabbits have been pioneers of atmospheric, delicate dream-pop in New Zealand since 2012. Now Wellington based, the band started out as duo in the small coastal township of Waikuku Beach and have since received international acclaim for their emotionally evocative music. Having toured with Agnes Obel in Europe and Lorde in their native New Zealand, 2019 will see the band hitting the U.S. for the first time with a tour around their official SXSW showcases (Dates TBA) WEBSITE.

'Highest Hill' is soft, melodic and full of emotion. A gentle rhythm, soothing vocals and musical arrangement that builds by a few layers into a rich accompaniment give this piece real charm.

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Post Lovers - Tiger.

Post Lovers, the Athens-based act of songwriter and vocalist Eleni Karageorgou are excited to announce the release of their self-titled debut album, due out on December 10th via Inner Ear and share the album's first single "Tiger". It follows 2017 debut 7" single "Melbourne/Going Anyway".

Post Lovers play short indie folk tunes, blending a-bit-too personal songwriting with playful backing vocals, all set in a 90's background. In their debut self-titled album Karageorgou generously shares her thoughts with the listener providing a resounding female answer to the male-dominated contemporary songwriting. 13 songs succeed one another naturally without revealing their full potential at once.  Masterly crafted tunes, fragile memories and feelings have been transformed into songs that deal with the savagery of love, family and human nature. The album was recorded in the spring of 2018 at Suono studio and was produced by Coti K.

"Post Lovers debut LP is music and comments made throughout the lifetime of a cat named Rouga. "Tiger" is a storytelling song about a psychologically distressed river." - Eleni Karageorgou

The musicians contributing in Post Lovers are:Stavros Georgiopoulos – bass, vocals, Danae Eco – keys, percussion, vocals, Danae Palaka - drums, Nikos Tselios – electric guitar, vocals, Eleni Karageorgou – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keys, vocals. FACEBOOK.

The musicians on 'Tiger' are refined and subtly provide an appealing and quite engaging backdrop for the stylish and individual vocals that give even more to this beautiful song.

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Slum Summer - Trampoline.

Slum Summer is a San Diego based indie rock/pop band, formed in 2016 by two British and two American musicians. A special relationship: a special new band.

Hugh J Noble (guitar/vocals) grew up in the village of Wymeswold in England where he played drums in an early incarnation of The Wave Pictures (Moshi Moshi Records), before moving on to writing and recording his own songs, self-releasing several records and touring in the UK and USA under various names, pretending to be a band but always lacking the get up and go to actually form one. On moving to San Diego, he decided to get up and go and actually do it at last, and set about the laborious and occasionally terrifying process of weeding through all the weirdos on Craigslist to find the closest thing to normal that was out there: Slum Summer! DJ Anderson on drums, Jen Edwards on guitar, and Scotland’s own Grant Stewart on bass, all occasionally joining in on backing vocals when they’re feeling extra boisterous.

The band was drawn together by their overlapping areas of musical influence, and their relationship deepened as they developed their mutual love for taking long drinks breaks when they’re supposed to be rehearsing. In two uncharacteristic bursts of decisiveness, they whittled down Hugh’s list of 318 suggested band names to decide on Slum Summer, then pared down the almost 318 songs he had written to the handful which make up this, their debut album. 

The band self-recorded "ABABO" over a weekend at San Diego’s Ursa Polaris studio, with some extra recording done at different members’ homes over the following weeks. The album is a fair representation of Slum Summer’s musical interests, with the band utilizing different approaches to underpin Noble’s abstruse story-telling lyrics, thick with obscure references. Across the record you can hear them drawing from the same headwaters that fed the alternate-reality pop hits of Alien Lanes-era Guided By Voices, the slack romanticism of Pavement, the headlong rush of Boyracer, the noisy melodicism of The Clean and their Dunedin cohort, and the brooding folk- and classic-rock inflected works of Jason Molina. You may also detect knowingly inexact attempts to reach at different times for both the menacing crunch of early Black Sabbath and the tender balladry of Jackson Browne. FACEBOOK.

'Trampoline' is a vibrant indie rocker with distinctive vocals that certainly add a British feel to this trans-Atlantic band. It's fresh, catchy and with a hint of quirkiness hard to resist.

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Wild Child - Sands

Wild Child - 1996 (E.P).

Yesterday Austin, TX's Wild Child released a surprise EP titled 1996 that includes three brand new songs. The EP arrives as the band kicks off their headline tour that will make stops in Boston, Philadelphia, New York and many more.

"We probably had 20 songs in consideration for our fourth LP Expectations and these songs didn’t seem to fit in the final sequencing but we still really liked them," said co-frontman Alexander Beggins. "'1996' was one of the first tracks we recorded for Expectations with Scott McMicken up at Mt. Slippery back in the summer of 2017. We recorded a full version of the song one day, woke up and scrapped it the next day and started working on a new version messing around with drum machines and midi toys. We now play a hybrid version live. "Best Lay" and "Hold On, Hold You" were recorded in our hometown in Austin, TX with the ever talented Adrian Quesada. We work really well and quick together and ended up recording 6 or 7 songs with him for the record. We had a really fun day in the studio trying to figure out who can sing the lowest on 'Hold On, Hold You.'"

The 1996 EP release follows the band's best-selling album to date Expectations released earlier this year on Dualtone Records. For Expectations, the band traveled across the world to work with multiple producers (and accomplished musicians in their own right) on the album, including Chris Walla (formerly Death Cab For Cutie), Chris Boosahda (Shakey Graves), Scott McMicken (Dr. Dog), Max Frost and Adrian Quesada (Brownout, Black Pumas). The album has been warmly received by fans, and has seen Wild Child achieve their strongest radio play yet, with lead single “Think It Over” reaching #15 on AAA. The band’s best selling record to date has also led to 1.8 million monthly listeners on Spotify, and over 75 Million aggregate streams and counting on the service for their entire catalog. Current tour dates and more on their WEBSITE.

We have the video for 'Hold On, Hold You' along with the E.P. which adds the tracks '1996' and 'Best Lay' which is useful as all three songs are very different affairs. Always melodic and full of gorgeous hooks, whether a little feisty are just plain romantic, this is a beautiful E.P.  


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Sands - Burning Man.

London-local songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sands will be releasing his brand new double A-side single, ‘Tomorrow’s Gone’ / ‘Burning Man’, on November 30, via Spaghetti Sounds. Composed, produced and performed by Sands himself, the single follows on from his sophomore EP “Waves Calling”. Sands has already received extensive support from tastemaker publications.

Over the years Sands has worked with producer, engineer and mixer Brett Shaw (Florence and the Machine, Foals, Daughter); Jonas Verwijnen, who did indispensable mixing work for Moon Duo; and Martin Glover aka Youth, famed for his collaborations with Killing Joke, The Verve, Paul McCartney, The Cult, The Orb, Echo And The Bunnymen, Primal Scream and many others.

The mastermind behind the Sands project, Andrew Sands, is based in London. Sands began playing from a young age, but maintains that it was really his discovery of records that inspired him to make music, as well as his experimentation with a variety of different instruments. Starting with drums, Sands soon found, in guitar, his main songwriting tool, then at a later stage, the keyboard and synths too. With Sands’ multi-instrumentalism and skill in sound engineering, as well as his range of influences, it’s no wonder that this talented musician has worked within many different genres.   

On the double A-side single, Sands comments, “‘Burning Man’ is something I had for quite some time, basically I was just waiting for the right moment to put it out, and this seemed a good match,” and goes on to explain, "’Tomorrow's Gone’ is on my latest EP - ‘Waves Calling’ - it's a new wave/electronic track. This version was the original demo. I went more 60's psychedelic, and thought it was good enough to be mixed and put out just leaving it like that, quite bare and mantra-like till the end crescendo. I think here lies the soul of the song.” WEBSITE.

One half of the double A Side 'Burning Man' is a well crafted and expansive aural delight. Beyond the production it's also a fabulous mixture of musical ideas, where psychedelic vibes, synths and acoustic instrumentation, and hypnotic vocals (and voices) combine to create a hard to resist song.

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Lusterlit - Erin K - The Fame - Kazyak

Lusterlit - Meat Cake.

Meat Cake is the new double-A-sided single of Lusterlit songs inspired by comic book artist and author Dame Darcy's series of the same name, and written for her Bushwick Book Club event with Brooklyn Book Festival. Lusterlit were so inspired by her renaissance-mermaid royalty that they immediately started planning a Lusterlit record.

The relentless indie drive of "Wax Wolf" and the chamber/hip-hop epic "Cutting" are now available at Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music and on blue vinyl, courtesy of Brooklynphono!

These helpings of deep hooks and vivid storytelling feature the duos dark cinematic blend of spiraling vocals over acoustic/electric landscapes of vintage beatboxes, swirling guitars, keyboards and brutal drums.

Lusterlit produces Bushwick Book Club (founded in 2009), the international performance series featuring songwriters and performers of all kinds, putting on regular shows featuring new music, art and snacks inspired by a chosen work of literature. Lusterlit formed to perform and present the songs they have written for Bushwick Book Club as fully produced recordings, alternating lead vocals and harmonies while supporting each other on guitar, bass, piano, synth, traditional Korean drum, accordion and more. WEBSITE.

The new single 'Meat Cake' comprises of 'Wax Wolf' and 'Cutting', and helps explain my attraction to the duos music (this being their fourth feature). The sharing of lead vocal duty in itself ensures a level of variety, however it goes deeper than that, their knack for enticing musical hooks, and the intrigue that the lyrics always provide are key. Add in the choice of instrumentation and the whole combination is always fresh. Enough praise, they have a book club to run...

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Erin K - Happiness.

Berlin based, American born musician Erin K is excited to announce the release of new single Happiness, taken from upcoming album I Need Sound due for release early 2019. The album features a beautiful mix of IndieFolk / Retro-Pop sounds and is the follow up to successful debut album Little Torch (over 3m Spotify streams), released last year.

Happiness explores the titles theme personified in the form of a character on a journey; who tries to connect to different individuals along the way and become disheartened as each encounter cannot engage with his emotion. The video explores the themes of liberation and rebirth. Filmed in West Cork, Ireland the video is inspired by the aos sí; celtic folklore of fairies and forest spirits; and was the second time Erin K had collaborated with director Nathan Erasmus having worked together on the video for 'Assholio' previously which aired at the Oscar and Bafta recognised Animated Encounters film festival, IndieCork; 2018 Fastnet Film Festival in Schull as well as winning the audience award for best short at the Small Axe Radical Film Festival too.

With songwriting influences including Jaymay, Lily Allen and Kate Nash, Erin is known for her fearless and original lyrics. Her mainly autobiographical songs are sometimes inspired by strange and uncomfortable events; often with a lighthearted portrayal of a harmful or weighted experience. The songs on the album are delivered with light-hearted humor and wit, showcasing a vast range of songwriting topics; from heartache… to toothache!

Erin describes Happiness as a song “that explores the theme of happiness personified in the form of a character on a journey. He tries to connect with different individuals along the way and becomes disheartened as each, for different reasons, cannot engage with his emotion. A boy, for example “who you can tell loves his band, ‘cause they all look so alike”, refuses him in favour of his own darker emotions that contribute to his creativity. In another moment, he is rejected by a girl unable to let go of the sorrow around a death for fear of losing the memories attached. In a nutshell, it’s a story narrating the complexities around perceived simple emotions, like happiness, and our ability or refusal to engage with them.” FACEBOOK.

'Happiness' is intrinsically catchy and stylish from start to finish. The lyrics add more, the video is totally aligned to the songs theme, in all this suggests that the early 2019 album release will be quite something.


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The Fame - Wide Awake.

The Fame ask the question (and go on to answer it) What do you see when you look in the mirror?  

“Wide Awake,” our debut single, focuses on the topic of self-reflection and the happenings of everyday life.

While crafting the song, we collectively drew from personal life experience  and our rock music inspirations to create something that anyone can relate to.

“Wide Awake” is the first single to be shared from our upcoming debut EP. Produced by Brian Moncarz (Our Lady Peace, Moneen, Circa Survive), the EP is set for release in early 2019. WEBSITE.

Notable alt rocker 'Wide Awake' mixes superb (and just right for rock) vocals with solid backing harmonies and a feisty and powerful musical backdrop. It's one of those songs that stands out for all the right rock and roll reasons.

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Kazyak - 10,000 Flowers.

10,000 Flowers is an album-closing, shoegazey mood-piece that explores the idea that one might handle things differently if given the chance. The song’s simplest message is about letting go, and the first and last line are perfect bookends for the wider story. In the first line, Frey shows angsty vulnerability and admission of fault with, ‘I may not have regrets but I might do it different.’ And the closing line, ’When are you going to let 10,000 Flowers bloom?’ can be paraphrased by asking when will you let go?

Kazyak is an indie rock band based in the Twin Cities. The band has recorded 2 EPs (1 unreleased)  and an LP (unreleased) and finds it's source in a deep pool of experimental music. The live lineup  includes: Peter Frey (guitar), Andy Wolfe (guitar), Pat Hayes (synth, piano), Tyler Safranek  (bass),  and Nick Grewe (drums).    

The band finds its source in a deep pool of midwestern music, drawing on the abstract side of Bob  Dylan's songwriting and lofty sonic architecture from the likes of 12 Rods, Fat Kid Wednesdays,  Tiki Obmar, and Halloween, Alaska. The group has shared the stage with many, including LA indie  rockers the Local Natives and Duluth-based Trampled by Turtles, and continues to collaborate  closely with Minneapolis-based engineer/drummer Brett Bullion.    

'10,000 Flowers' softly opens with a gentle melodic feel and some distinctive and pleasing vocals. Some beautiful acoustic guitar and subtle swirling synths add even more to this intimate yet atmospheric song.


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