Gardens are rich in symbolism: they can represent fertility and abundance, but also entropy and decay. With our new single, I wanted to write about this twofold nature—the cyclical pattern found in all of existence—from the perspective of human relationships.
Kaleidoscopic, lush and dreamy, this song is a reverie, a daydream. It is a story about the bittersweet nature of love and beauty, and how I can't seem to experience either without an awareness of their inevitable breakdown. But the mood of "The Garden" isn't sad, it celebrates this mystery.
We travelled to the Château de Villandry in France's Loire Valley to shoot the song's video several years back. We had only a day to shoot after scoring a flight deal to Paris but each of the pieces fell into place when the Chateau granted us permission after telling us they loved the music and our videographer, Fred Yurichuk, was able to book a last minute flight.
"The Garden" was written in a burst one afternoon but was nothing but a rough demo when we travelled to France to film the music video; therefore its recording took influence from the visuals as we set to perfect the final version of the song.
The guitar-driven, indie rock/dream pop/psych act, HotKid, is the work of Canadian producer/songwriter/ lead guitarist, Shiloh Harrison. Harrison is also a co-founder of boutique indie label, Fortune Stellar Records.
Harrison’s soothing vocal delivery and ability to write enduring pop songs has helped nurture a cult fan base around the globe. HotKid has appeared live as a two, three, and four-piece band on stages across Canada and the US with the likes of July Talk, Dilly Dally, and Sloan, as well as at notable festivals such as NXNE, CMW, Riverfest Elora, and the Toronto Festival of Beer.
HotKid’s 2017 single, “Caught In The Light,” from the Late Night Mornings LP, received steady air play on CBC3, satellite radio, college radio, as well as commercial radio attention. Her 2015 video for “Here 4 U” appeared regularly in rotation on Canadian network television (Much Loud), as did 2013 track, “Rip It Into Pieces.” Catalogue track, “Yours and Mine,” from the 2010 EP, Under The Street Light, continues to receive consistent satellite radio play and playlist adds.
HotKid has worked with JUNO Award-winning producer, Adam King (Ria Mae/Lowell/Tegan and Sara), as well as Canadian underground icons, Ian Blurton (Public Animal/C’mon/Change Of Heart) and Rick White (Eric’s Trip/Elevator/Unintended). These two different worlds of pop production and raw live band based music inform HotKid’s ability to create a sonic blend all its own.
The Lagoons are the DIY musical project of Southern California-raised, jazz-trained, multi-instrumentalist brothers Ryan and Joey Selan. The duo writes, produces, and records their music out of their home studio. They released their debut album Midnight Afternoon in 2020, notching millions of streams alongside praise from fans and critics alike.
It came on the heels of years of tastemaker support that found them featured everywhere from Ones To Watch to Paste Magazine’s studio sessions, all the while topping 50 million streams on their breakout single “California.”
On the live circuit, The Lagoons have sold out multiple headline tours with stops everywhere from Los Angeles to New York, supported by a range of artists including Tim Atlas and Future Generations. With the recent release of “Snowy Mountain,” subsequent release of “Daybreak,” and plans for more singles throughout 2021, The Lagoons have a prolific year in store.
A Canadian-born singer/songwriter with laconic and cordial delivery, blends britpop vocals and Delta ruckus riffs with rusty Lo-Fi country. Klein's debut album Jesse's Hotel is picturesque and sensual that cuts to scenes of lust to dreams of dark romance. The songs are a well thought out lyrical moan that coax the listener from pain to madness, creating a channel between a dreamful whisper and a sinful confession.
The percussive guitar notes are a folky parallel to Klein’s haunting tenor voice laid out, looking down at underbelly of the America’s. He is reverberating a style lonely and clear, like the sadness of Morrison , ,jangle of Neil Young and the poise of Marc Bolan. With lead singles such as “Sunshine” (written for our next lover who died tragically) and “What’s my name”(questions himself inside a dream) his New sound calls across to the underground British scene back to California.
This album hides damaged personal conflict and darkness behind a thumping Western twang, transmitting a signal that will leave you blue. This self released album features avant-garde four time Juno winner, Warner music product, Dine Alone records and former guitarist of the Sheepdogs Leot Hanson, is proficient and dirty on lead guitar from track to track.
This self produced and co-produced album with Aspen Beveridge whom also is a product of Warner music drenched the tracks with his talent as a multi instrumentalist. The record was recorded on the prairies of Saskatchewan and mastered in Toronto by Harry Hess.
Scottish singer-songwriter Astrid Williamson announces details of her ninth album Into The Mountain – to be released on her newly re-launched label Incarnation Records - and shares the album’s first single 'In Gratitude'.
The stirring 'In Gratitude' was inspired by writings Williamson found in a folder intriguingly titled Into The Mountain, capturing moments from a year-long tour she undertook with Dead Can Dance in 2012-13. These, a mix of poetry, music, and journal, were developed on an acoustic piano across ten separate nights and form the forthcoming new record of-the-same-name.
As Williamson expands “My intention was to stay as close as possible to these initial sparks of inspiration rather than relying on already well-worn paths of development that I might have found more familiar or comfortable.”
First single 'In Gratitude' is described by Williamson as “part letter to a lost, or perhaps hoped for lover, part diary from the life of a touring artist.” The song’s rich alt-folk soundscapes and the vivid emotional intelligence of both Williamson’s lyrics and emotional delivery offer an intensity befitting of the song’s themes of gratitude, desire, loss, reflection, and acceptance. It makes for a compelling and powerful listen and is indicative of the Into The Mountain record as a whole, which moves from the darkly confessional to the joyously beautiful to reflect Williamson’s own life experiences.
Swedish singer Tilde, born to a Swedish mother and British father, brings her own special blend of soul and contemporary pop that warms the heart and draws inspiration from iconic voices such as Donny Hathaway, Nina Simone, Amy Winehouse and many more.
Growing up in Gothenburg, the second largest city in Sweden, she began writing music at an early age. Attending different music schools and playing local venues with different bands as she went along. As one of Sweden's biggest musical scenes; Gothenburg, which has quite the history of producing big names (like José Gonsalez, Håkan Hellström and Laleh), offered quite a lot of opportunities for young artists to emerge and Tilde was no exception. Gathering a lot of attention and coming close to signing a deal with major labels.
However, just as things were looking bright she was diagnosed with a severe illness that ultimately put her promising career on hold. Fast forward a few years and some time spent abroad in Spain and South America recovering from her condition she arrived back in Sweden in 2017 to pick up right where she left off. The next year she recorded what would become her debut album.
The Album,“Nothing Gold Can Stay”, was released to great reviews with the largest newspaper on the west coast Göteborgs-Posten dubbing it “Timeless” and including the title track in the Top10 of their “Best of the decade – from Gothenburg” list. Since then, she has impressed audiences in her native Sweden and abroad with her captivating voice and compelling songwriting and is currently about to release her second offering following her debut called “Pink Moon” on November 19th.
Norwegian alt-pop artist Helven has shared dreamy new single 'if i could be like you', the second to be taken from her debut EP volume 1, due out via Jansen Records on Jan 14th 2022. Helven, aka 21-year-old Jenny Bakke, fuses together honest, true and contemporary lyrics with inspiration from pop music of the past, capturing the experience of life as a 21-year-old woman in the 2020’s.
Inspired by the many lessons her brother, who has autism and Landau-Kleffner Syndrome, has taught her, Helven is on a mission to wear her heart on her sleeve. Each of the five tracks that make up volume 1 focuses on a different emotion that she has struggled to express in the past: envy, care, love, sadness and frustration.
Last month Helven shared debut single ‘u my homie’. Delivering her signature smoky vocals atop laidback trip-hop beats, the lyrics were pulled from text messages and notes Helven wrote whilst helping her childhood friend through a tough time. Today, she shares new single 'if i could be like you', a track that deals with the secretive and painful feeling of envy. “You know that I would do anything to be like you” she sings, atop gentle guitar strums and hazy synths. “I have always tried to love myself, at least most of the time. But occasionally I’m haunted by jealousy” she says. “For a time I felt like I would do anything to be like someone else, to have lived another life and even to die like someone else. But now I'm glad I chose to be me.”
Attaching a particular feeling to the autobiographical stories she tells in her music has helped her find a true sense of self. Her message to her generation is simple. “In order to survive in this increasingly chaotic world, we need to listen to our feelings more, and express them proudly”. 'if i could be like you' is out now via Jansen Records and available to stream and download via all of the usual channels, volume 1 will follow on January 14th.
Presentation by the band: The Unite The States Project is a newly formed concept formed by New Jersey rock musicians and featuring Ram Jam's Myke Scavone who have decided to write and release a 5 songs EP to protest what is happening in the United States and all over the globe.
“The "Unite The States Project" is a concept from four New Jersey musicians who come from an original recording band with Full Lengths and EPs released in the US and Europe, but who decided to use an alias on this project as to not offend any fans. Even though the band is split between leaning left and right in the political arena they all agreed that the current state of things are corrupt and needed to be addressed. They decided to write and release a 5 songs EP to protest what is happening in the United States (and all over the globe).
The so called "woke" mentality and the Governments’ links to the so called Big Business/Big Tech/Big Pharma lobbies to the disadvantage of common people. The Unite The States Project first single/video "Battle Stations" depicts a bit of it all in a pop rock kind of vibe. Lyrically the song covers everything from woke mentality to the fake/propagandized media to expose the general state of corruption.
The overall goal of the Unite The States Project is to show - no matter where you stand politicly - that we can still come together for a united cause and that it’s time for the people to take notice of what is happening in our countries before we end up in a Marxist world, which has been tried before and didnt turn out so well.”
Wayne Olivieri, Gar Francis, Johnnie Rago, Dan Skye, Special Guest : Myke Scavone (Ram Jam/The Doughboys), Unite The States Project.
'Easy Has Never Been The Way' is the much welcomed new Peter Joly album release, where once again we have a continued demonstration of masterful songwriting that will hit you where it matters - right in the soul.
Streaming now on Bandcamp the eleven new tracks are also delivered in eco-friendly wallet jacket adorned with original artwork by master painter Henia Flynn.
Peter tell us "I couldn't be more proud of this record; produced by Chicago's own uber talented Jon Williams and chock full of notable Chicago players whom I've recorded and performed live with spanning these two most recent projects."
Lilly Hiatt returns with Lately via New West Records. The 10-song set was co-produced by Lilly and her drummer Kate Haldrup at Death Ladder in East Nashville, TN. Lately is the follow up to Hiatt’s highly praised Walking Proof, which was among the first records released to feel the full wrath of the soon-to-be raging pandemic that would bring the world to its knees. Despite the timing of its release, the long player was named a “Best Album of the Year” by Rolling Stone, No Depression, Magnet Magazine, and more.
Met with critical acclaim, Slant Magazine said in their 4 out of 5 star review, “Lilly Hiatt’s Lately is the artist’s most daring, experimental album to date,” while American Songwriter said “It marks a certain maturity that underscores Hiatt’s authenticity as both an artist and individual, and the strength she possesses when it comes to propelling that presence forward. Ultimately, Lately becomes a timely testimonial to all she’s achieved thus far.” Holler said “...she’s forged her own distinct fusion of country balladry, confessional indie pop and classic rock” while Glide Magazine said “...if there is any justice in the world, Lately will find the audience it truly deserves.”
As each day passed following the release of Walking Proof, more events were postponed, moved, and ultimately canceled. The sudden stillness forced Lilly to take a long, deep look inside and despite having a new album just released, she went back to doing what she does best: she picked up the guitar and started to write. What could have been devastating ended up being therapeutic, and Lilly learned how to find fulfillment in quieter places versus the adrenalized life she was used to.
Oracle Sisters - Take the Lead (Live with the Elmire Quartet).
Parisian trio Oracle Sisters have just shared ‘Midnight Afternoon - Live at La Ferme with the Elmire Quartet’, a stunning three track EP of completely new material, recorded at their now iconic studio in the south of France. This is closely followed by the band setting off on an 18-date tour across the UK & EU where they will preview never-before-heard material from their highly anticipated debut album, to be announced soon, and which the band first spoke about with V Magazine.
Undisputed riders of the heart Oracle Sisters have partnered with friends The Elmire Quartet for an EP that pairs the band's trademark romanticism with understated, timeless string arrangements. Midnight Afternoon opens with "Take the Lead", an invitation to waltz away the final minutes of dusky daylight. "Silk Sunset Streams" is a diary entry; a lonely serenade from the heartworn soul of a poet wandering through the longest of afternoons. The record closes with hazy, rose-tinted memories of friendship on the epistolary "Old Friend".
Oracle Sisters’ are modern musical revivalists, influenced by jazz, rock and roll and 100 years of bards and composers. Written across Europe and recorded in the south of France, this new EP “is an intimate, live and arranged performance of our earliest songs, written from experience and some of the first we worked on arriving in Paris, taking about 3 years, while working on other stuff (Paris I, II and the upcoming album), to get the recordings and arrangements perfect,” the band say.
Critically acclaimed Israeli Folk/Pop musician MARBL has released her new single “Everybody’s Getting Marries.”
MARBL about the song: “The new song “Everybody’s Getting Married” is a humorous song that’s winks at those who think that there’s only one right way to live. The video tells the story of a young woman running away from her wedding in the last minute.
Tomer (who created the video) and me, wanted the situation to be as crazy and exaggerated as it can get, to make our point clear - I think that interviewing and dictating someone else’s life is much crazier and rude. People can be happy and live an amazing life with or without a wedding, with or without kids, in their own pace, due to their own wishes and life-map they draw to themselves. It’s our party, and our party only. Now go pour yourself a glass of wine and chill.“
MARBL, who also works as a vocal coach in Tel-Aviv, was able to generate a great media response worldwide with several singles and her last EP "The Flight of the Hawks". In addition to countless reviews, some of her songs have been included in editorial playlists by Amazon and Spotify.
Have you ever written a letter to the one that almost was, but never sent it? How about a letter to your future self, reminding you of the good, the bad & all the milestones in your life? What if you sent the postcard that your friend convinced you not to… would your whole life look different? Venice, California artist Monica Aben pulled the shoebox packed with letters & postcards from under her bed, and whilst reminiscing about the past, wrote a collection of songs that explores every unsent word from those pages, all encapsulated in her new EP Postcards.
This five-track release includes her latest single Reasons to Reminisce – a song that sees Monica stumbling on a thread of messages on an old cell phone to discover how much she’s changed. Through reminiscing, she realised you can learn from mistakes, feel none of the old feelings but still have appreciation for the person you once were.
Monica recorded Reasons to Reminisce with producer Justin Glasco & Ingrid Michaelson guitarist Brandon Walters. Mix duties were left to the Grammy winning Ryan Gilligan (Kanye West, Calle 13) before mastering engineer Jett Galindo (La La Land OST, Weezer) gave the release its final polish.
Other tracks on the EP include her previous two singles: CPH – an ode to Copenhagen & staying connected to your inner-self while building a life in a new city; and Kids In L.A. – about looking back on the best of times with the best of friends, while coming to terms with although life has moved on, you remain friends with your ‘besties’ from back in the day. There are also additional tracks That’s Alright – about having the courage to be yourself when changing direction, and Last Local In Venice – about how the true soul of her home town, Venice / Los Angeles has changed through recent gentrification.
Toronto's Casper Skulls are today sharing their new single and video, "The Mouth" – this track follows on the heels of recent singles tipped by FLOOD, Exclaim, Brooklyn Vegan and more arriving as the latest from their forthcoming album, Knows No Kindness, which is out November 12, 2021, via Next Door Records. The new record follows previous support from Stereogum, MTV, Brooklyn Vegan, Billboard, KEXP and more, as well as dates opening for the likes of PUP, Thurston Moore, Speedy Ortiz and Charly Bliss.
Once again latching onto the band's new direction of icy folk-inflected rock, taking cues from the likes of Neko Case, and Gillian Welch, the new single "The Mouth" peels back those heavier tones previously associated with the band to find a sound that allows singer, Melanie St-Pierre's lyrics to shine through. Expansive, dreamlike notions are still at play here with guitarist, Neil Bednis finding something more lyrical in his playing drawing inspiration from George Harrison and Neil Young. Written early on in the process of Knows No Kindness, "The Mouth" helped layout the blueprint for how the record would sound as a full piece.
Knows No Kindness is a deeply personal body of work for the band, in particular St-Pierre who tells stories of her life growing up in small-town Northern Ontario, specifically Sudbury and Massey. This new song reminisces on a park called The Mouth Park in Massey where the Spanish and Sauble rivers meet; it was a spot that was regularly frequented by St-Pierre as a child following in the footsteps of her mother and grandmother who used to go when they were growing up.
Speaking about the track, Melanie says: "The park has a bit of a legacy in my family. My grandmother used to take my mother swimming there when she was young, and later my mother would take my sister and me. Every spring hundreds of trilliums grow along the dirt road leading to the park. The protest pictured in our album art, of which my grandmother was a big part, helped save the area from having nuclear waste dumped into it. I’m very grateful for this area and go often to check on it and sometimes bird watch."
Following on from this year’s debut single ‘noman’ - hailed as “pop perfection” by Wonderland, and recent follow-ups ‘upstream’ and ‘roses’, emie nathan last week unveiled her debut EP ‘white light’, set for release on November 26th ... You can now watch a video for the title track now out via Platoon.
A seven-track offering, the EP picks up the baton of nathan’s crystalline, soaring, Maggie Rogers-esque pop and fleshes it out, offering deeper insights into her internal world than ever. The first comes in the form of ‘white light’’s title track - which is now available to stream. An expansive highlight of the EP, it draws on the New York and London-based singer’s Jewish heritage, using the holiday of Yom Kippur (the day of atonement) as a stepping off point for some wider questions.
“I was inspired by the concept of “starting over” to write an irreligious song about reconciling with one’s own shortcomings and choosing to be a better version of themselves moving forward,” she explains. “Separating the religious ideology for a moment, atonement and reconciliation are two very real and widely applicable actions we as humans face all the time. I wanted to write something that encourages improvement in whatever way that manifests. When I try to envision an image of sorts that best represents self-reflection and working to right wrongs, I visualise the brightest light you could possibly imagine. It doesn’t really take shape or assume a form, it is just ever present and forceful in its shine. If we can embody this image of goodness and take it with us into our daily choices, I think we as people can do a lot better for each other and for ourselves going through the day to day motions.
“I grew up in a reformed Jewish household which meant we practised as Jews, but largely stuck to the traditional side of the religion that centres itself around family, food and song. My brothers and I have largely forged our own individual perspectives and relationships regarding our religion as we have grown up, but I think we can agree on how much of the hidden meaning can be translated as good advice for life. Make mistakes? Own them. Hurt someone? Apologise. Hurt yourself? Heal and move on.”
Lydia Brownfield announces the release of the single “We Are Bound” on October 12. Through gentle strumming and Brownfield’s nurturing vocals, the single serves as a reminder that what we teach our kids is who they grow up to be. We can either lift up or tear down. It’s completely up to us. It’s off the upcoming album, Dig, due out November 19.
A plea for empathy, the song focuses on the idea that we all play a part in everyone’s life. Brownfield says, “I was feeling particularly isolated and also very frustrated, mostly within the political climate, near the end of 2019. Watching our political leaders only looking out for themselves was sad and infuriating. I wanted to write something to remind myself – we have the power to heal each other, to teach each other right from wrong and to lift up those who are down or less fortunate.”
The single produced by Fred Blitzer features Brownfield and Jeff Dalrymple on acoustic guitar, Andy Harrison on electric guitar, Jeff Martin on drums, and Phil Maneri on bass. Brownfield also added strings and piano.
The album travels the euphoric highs of being in love and the dramatic lows of breaking up and discovering internal power. Through genre-bending twists and turns of folk, punk, and pop, it explores the journey of getting caught up in someone else and losing sight of one’s journey of self-discovery.
Lafayette, Louisiana musician Renée Reed shares the second single and title track "J’ai rêvé" from her forthcoming digital EP coming November 2 while touring with Whitney across the US.
The song is one of two French covers on the record. "J’ai rêvé" was written and originally recorded by Joëlle Patural in 1979. The EP also includes two original songs by Renée sung in English.
Renée says this about "J’ai rêvé": "I originally found this song on youtube a few years ago, and it took my breath away. The video hardly had any information about it or the artist, Joëlle Patural, which made it even more intriguing for me. I have since tracked down a copy of the LP from 1979, and even exchanged a few messages with Ms Patural. She said she wrote the song when she was about my age and longing to travel and see the world but feeling stuck in her small hometown. I think it’s such a beautiful song, and I want it to go out into the world."
These songs were recorded during the same four-track album sessions as her stunning self-titled debut album, released earlier this year. That album garnered early praise from tastemakers Gorilla vs. Bear and Gold Flake Paint and a 7.7 Pitchfork review which describes her music as "full of dreamy, odd notes, and a sense of unreality shimmers around her songs."
