Posts

Beiju - Town Meeting

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Beiju - Movin On. Background - Beiju shares the first track "Movin On" off her upcoming EP. Demain is due July 7, 2017. Raised in the outskirts of Paris, Caitlin Seager was heavily influenced by contemporary jazz and the avant-garde art world as a child before moving to New York City at 18. She began singing in the growing Brooklyn DIY scene at such venues as the storied 285 Kent alongside local stalwarts like DIIV with her group Night Manager, culminating in full-length releases on Fire Talk and Big Love. As the front singer in Night Manager she developed her acrobatic vocal style that has become her signature. Beiju, her debut as a composer and producer, was initially a way for her to experiment with the funk and house music that resonated with her from her youth. Sonically the record nods to James Blake, kaytrananda, FKA TWIGS and FlyLo but remains grounded in her unique lived experiences. The relationship to time, and the unending struggle between motivation and acti...

The Last Dinosaur - First Blush - The Human Circuit - Deer Tick - Fassine

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The Last Dinosaur - Grow. Background - Poignant, dreamlike, beautiful: The Last Dinosaur’s The Nothing is a record to swim in. The brainchild of Londoner Jamie Cameron, it’s an album that addresses a tragic event from his teenage years, and transmutes that experience into a cathartic work of art. At 16, Jamie had met kindred spirit James Macdonald at music college and recorded the 2004 album Good Morning Sunshine… and Goodnight with him under the name When I Was a Little Girl, a well-received debut through the independent label Where It’s At Is Where You Are. But a year later, Jamie was in a car crash that tragically claimed the life of his best friend. Out for the day with one of Jamie’s sisters and another friend, the car aquaplaned and hit another car at a junction. James’ injuries were the worst among the passengers, and when he passed away, Jamie was in a state of shock. “I’d had a pretty idyllic life until then, nothing particularly bad had happened,” Jamie says. “That wa...

Moderate Rebels - Bell X1 - Katie Buchanan

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Moderate Rebels - Liberate. Background - Pursuing their sonic manifesto “to use as few words and chords as possible”, London four-piece Moderate Rebels have followed their debut single ‘God Sent Us’ – a ‘Lamacq Livener’ frequently spun on BBC 6Music and Radio X – with a blistering five-track EP to be released on 2 June on Everyday Life Recordings. “We want to acknowledge the conditions of the era we find ourselves in and generate feelings of transcending them,” say the band. To this end, ‘Proxy’ was recorded in a small South Bermondsey studio while Moderate Rebels were reacting to stimuli including (but by no means limited to) Spacemen 3, La Dusseldorf, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Roxy Music, Black Box Recorder, Jenny Hval, Death In Vegas and MGMT. The resulting five tracks, each stamped with the quartet’s muscular hypnotic euphony, lend themselves to expansion and are being showcased at gigs via extended 15-minute versions (two per show). The second of these nights is at The Finsbur...

Allie & Ivy - Slothrust - The Ramona Flowers - Rips

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Allie & Ivy - Money. Background - Money is the latest indie jam from Sydney electropop singer-songwriter, Aleisha (Allie) Conlay who goes by the musical pseudonym, Allie & Ivy. This three minute pop gem boasts Allie & Ivy’s signature summer vibes, with sunshine-bright melodies, shimmering synths and chant-like vocals. But what might initially seem to be a shallow money-loving anthem actually has a deeper meaning once you realise it is, in fact, Allie’s tongue-in-cheek way of getting the opposite point across: “Money is a sarcastic commentary on the consumeristic, money-centric society we live in right now, and the idea that we spend well beyond our means when it comes to material possessions,” Allie explains. “Greed is now normal and acceptable in our society. This song is an attempt to ridicule the status quo.” Allie & Ivy’s fresh sound and penchant for catchy hooks and infectious melodies have gained accolades both in Australia and internationally with success ...

Karl Walsh & The Happy Future - FELIN - Silas Hite - Dan Raza

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Karl Walsh & The Happy Future - Wonderful. Background - Karl Walsh & The Happy Future stunning album 'Birds' is set to be released on June 30th. The Happy Future was formed in Manchester in 2015 by Karl Walsh who was originally signed to Factory Records by Tony Wilson. Walsh, also a founder member of acoustic trio To Hell With Burgundy, played all over the world with Bob Geldof, The Pogues, Barclay James Harvest and Graham Parker before relocating to France where he wrote three novels. Returning to the UK in 2012 Walsh formed The Visitors with Mike Crook and Frederick Apps, releasing their debut album ‘Above You’ on Earliest Records. The Happy Future’s first gigs were played as a trio with Frederick Apps on drums and Philip John on Bass. John, a multi-instrumentalist had previously fronted his own bands and enjoyed the challenge of utilising his vast musical knowledge to add a sophistication to Walsh’s catchy tunes. Frederick Apps cut his teeth playing with bands in...

Jason Loewenstein - Dan Wilson

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Jason Loewenstein - Machinery. Background - Jason Loewenstein shares "Machinery" video with 'Spooky Action' out 6/16 on Joyful Noise Recordings. Jason Loewenstein has been a major force behind lo-fi pioneers Sebadoh ever since their pivotal 1991 record, “III”. Along with fellow partner in crime Lou Barlow, Loewenstein has co-created some of the most influential releases in indie-rock, including the pivotal 90's albums “Smash Your Head on the Punk Rock”, “Bubble & Scrape”, and “Bakesale”. Way back in 2002 Jason Loewenstein released his first solo album “At Sixes And Sevens” via Sub Pop. Now 15 years later, the follow-up has finally arrived. “Spooky Action” contains 13 new songs of unwavering rock. The self-recorded, self-produced album is as solidly engaging as anything in Loewenstein's formative lineage. Bandcamp here . Straight down the line rock, that just cuts to the chase, ensures 'Machinery' stands out. Vocals are notable despite bein...

Frøkedal - So Below - Alexa Dark

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Frøkedal - Stranger. Background - Acclaimed Oslo, Norway based artist Frøkedal is now sharing her new single ‘Stranger’. Celebrated by the likes of The New Yorker, The Sunday Times, The Independent and Q Magazine; new single ‘Stranger’ is a worthy successor to her Norwegian Grammy-nominated debut LP of 2016, ‘Hold On Dreamer’. The track explores the promise of new beginnings – both in a lyrical and more literal sense – with ‘Stranger’ signalling the first in a series of standalone singles this year for Norwegian singer/songwriter/producer Anne Lise Frøkedal.  “I was working with my own dogma on the last album,” Frøkedal explains, “the fact that I wanted everything to sound very simple and ‘less is more’ in terms of instrumentation. This time round, I wanted to work song-by-song for a little while, just to liberate myself I guess. We just followed the track and did what we thought was best for each individual song, and somehow they ended up sounding quite natural and organic...

Singer Soldier - Gilbert Neal - The Hentchmen - Livingmore

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Singer Soldier - Bones To Ashes. Background - Inspired by organic instrumentation, Singer Soldier is an alternative country band from Metro Detroit that is founded by Nick Marko on vocals/guitar and Darrell Bazian mandolin/guitar.  Influenced by Mazzy Star and Johnny Cash, Singer Soldier takes eclectic instruments like bassoon, cello, violin, synth, glockenspiel, banjo and guitars creating a folk, classical sound. The albums ambient interludes craft an absorbing texture to the songs and fluidity to the records. Nick Marko tells us "I was produced by Michael Ivins of The Flaming Lips, released two national records under Sony and Greyday and have recently completed the second album, Illusions Of Stability, under my solo project called Singer Soldier. It has elements of alternative rock, alt folk, classical and electronic". Website here , Bandcamp here . 'Bones To Ashes' is the first of six songs on 'Illusions Of Stability'. This is a fabulous collection...

Avalanche Party - Ruby Cikada - Ratboys - Cool Ghouls - Surfer Blood

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Avalanche Party - I’m So Wet. Background - Avalanche Party frontman Jordan Bell says; “This is a song born from staring at the Irish Sea, in all its frothing, rolling, flirtatious glory, battered and broken by the gale and rock to which it is eternally bound. A tempting, trembling, perilous Vista which, direct to our brain, shouted ‘Yes! …I’m So Wet’. Add to that a few verses inspired by our tour manager’s Army background and we were ready to go. With water comes life - and we are alive indeed.” Released via Leeds’ Clue Records (Allusondrugs, NARCS, Team Picture), ‘I’m So Wet’ follows the band’s previous R1 and 6Music supported single ‘Solid Gold’. Having previously toured with the likes of The Amazing Snakeheads, VANT and Public Enemy, Avalanche Party are currently on an extensive UK & EU run - taking in a set at this year’s Camden Rocks, June 3 (5pm at Be At One, Camden High St). Avalanche Party’s sound and energy brings an intensity and immediacy reserved for only the mos...