BEEHIVE CANDY

Wendy McNeill - This Hope. Background - Wendy McNeill does not need any further presentation, since the debut album 'Such A Common Bird' 2004, she has released five albums, made music and toured together with Ane Brun, The Tiny and worked with Loney Dear. Her sixth album "Hunger Made You Brave" has just been released and this week we get a music video to the single "This Hope". In this part of the world tonight- through the shadows there’s a bell that’s ringing- In this part of the world tonight- there’s a growl and the softest sigh- In this part of the world tonight- there’s a child, and I see her dancing- as she pivots her face toward me- she’s kicking at stars and laughing In this part of the world tonight- there’s a bear weightlessly lumbering- through the steps of a twice dead girl and the promise of a different world- In that part of the world tonight- there’s a river and a father crying sees wind messing with the reflection not the message that t...

Polychrome - Don't Be A Stranger. Background - “Don’t Be A Stranger” is an ode to Stranger Things title sequence composers Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein of Survive. Analog synths accompany Victoria’s ethereal vocals in the opening of the second single of the album. The track paints a parallel universe to the rest of the album, making it a standout track. Opposing the glossy synths of the lead-single “Final Kiss”, “Don’t Be A Stranger” leads the listener into ghostly, uneasy sonic territories. The track ends with distortion filters on both Victoria’s vocals and the lead synth, pulling us into a post-apocalyptic digital nightmare. 'We were binge-watching the Stranger Things on Netflix in between recording sessions, and we love the theme music Survive did. We had some time off whilst mixing the album, and so we had the idea of making the theme tune into a song - as an homage to the original. We got busy with the synths and vocoders, and just as we were finishing, there was a spo...

Ay Wing - Strange Background - “'Strange' tries to find humour in an age where many of our own identities seem based on an insta-filter and the right angle.” Ay Wing A parody of 21st-century digital narcissism, the video partnering ‘Strange’, the latest dazzling electro-pop release from Ay Wing, features the singer cast as various iconic movie characters, transported into the social media arena, taking selfies in the most precarious situations. Thus we have everyone from Princess Leia to Morticia Addams to Uma Thurman’s Mia Wallace wielding the selfie stick at inopportune moments. Inspired by Andy Warhol’s celebrated “...famous for 15 minutes” quote, ‘Strange’ continues Berlin-based singer-songwriter Ay Wing’s run of smart, slick poppy nuggets, with its bouncy synth foundations, indisputable earworm of a chorus and even a Baroque-style breakdown all sure to rack up the likes and shares on the very social media channels it cheekily pokes fun at. The track forms part of a ne...

Ghostly Beard - Going Away. Background - There is an enigmatic bigfoot-like character that just came out of the woods after 15 years of being lost. He goes by the handle Ghostly Beard, and he’s a visionary artistic entity with a boundlessly creative sweep that encompasses soft rock, jazz, prog-rock, fusion, pop, classic rock, and more. Ghostly Beard’s kaleidoscopic creativity has garnered him comparisons to such diverse artists as Steely Dan, Pink Floyd, James Taylor, Genesis, XTC, Cat Stevens, Weather Report, Michael Franks and Chicago. He crafts immersive dreamy sonic landscapes that emotionally blur the line between dark catharsis and subtle rays of hope. Now, he lets us into his universe with an eclectic clutch of thoughtfully sequenced EPs and albums to be released in the coming months. Ghostly Beard will release his third and best album to date. The songs collection forms a unique blend of many influences ranging from classic rock, soft rock, progressive rock, jazz, blues ...

YOWL - Warm (in the Soft White Fire of Modern Living). Background - Peckham five-piece YOWL have announced their new single 'Warm (In The Soft White Fire Of Modern Living)'. The single follows the release of YOWL's second single and video for ‘Dark Room’ and UK tour with label mates LICE including a sold out headline show at Sebright Arms. It was then on to Europe to play Pitchfork Avant-Garde and London Calling Amsterdam. Alongside the new single, YOWL have also announced two new live dates including a headline London show at Bermondsey Social Club on 31st May 2018 and a show supporting IDLES at the Trades Club in Hebden Bridge on 1st August 2018. The full list of YOWL's forthcoming live dates is as follows: 28th April – Portsmouth Psych Fest 28th April – Sticky Mikes, Brighton (Free entry) 6th May – Sounds From The Other City, Manchester 25th – 27th May – Dot to Dot Festival 31st May – Bermondsey Social Club, London 21st July – Truck Festival, Oxford 1st August –...

Bonnie Li - Décroche. Background - Berlin based Bonnie Li’s new single ‘Décroche’ tackles addiction, and the way it affects both an individual and those suffering around them. In the band’s words “Décrocher is a French verb which means to pick up the phone. It also means to take down what was hooked, to kick off a habit, to switch off. The song explores the highs and the lows of an addiction and its effect on its entourage.” The track is sung in three languages – English, French and Mandarin. Bonnie tells us “I wanted to describe the topic using three different languages: the song starts in French showing the poetic and melancholic aspect of the addiction, the chorus is in Chinese Mandarin representing the little cute voice that draws you back to it, the rest of the verses are in English, because it’s a matter that speaks to everyone.” With crystal clear production, trip hop samples and hypnotic vocals, the song is underpinned by a throbbing bass line that creates intense feelin...

Childcare - Big Man. Background - Pushing beyond the echo-chamber, Childcare follow the slinky art-rock of Put Down Your Pen with the bold and brooding Big Man, an alternative take on dealing with bubble-breaking disagreement and family friction. The second single from their upcoming ‘Luckyucker’ EP, Big Man seeks to address the difficulties of contrasting world views, immigration and accusations of liberal elitism, all in a tidy 3 minutes and 53 seconds. Frontman Ed Cares explains: "There's a place for fighting and affirming the values you stand up for, but too often we ridicule and dismiss those we disagree with. I'm bored of broad-brush Tory bashing and of hearing that everyone who voted for Brexit is stupid. This song is a reminder that we need to listen and try and understand those who believe differently from us." The band will head out on a two week UK headline tour in October to support the release of the ‘Luckyucker’ EP. With a sling of festivals includi...

Eliza Shaddad - White Lines. Background - Eliza Shaddad is back with 'White Lines', the first preview from her long-awaited debut album Future. Eliza Shaddad's singular artistry was not formed in any one crucible alone, her work is the flourishing product of modernity without borders. Born to Sudanese and Scottish parents, she’s the descendant of a long line of progressive artists and poets dating back to the 1800s. She also speaks four languages and holds an MPhil in Philosophy and spent a postgraduate year at the Guildhall School studying Jazz Vocal Improvisation. Not beholden to the politics of indie or commercial regionalism, every facet of her music, from vocals to lyricism to performance and production, is the purest distillation of herself. Even without the fascinating esoteric trivia that radiates from of her unique background, Eliza is a musician fit for the world stage. Having released two EPs on indie label Beatnik Creative, her music has found acclaim among...

The Vryll Society - Andrei Rublev. Background - Liverpool psychedelic rockers The Vryll Society announce the arrival of their latest psych-driven single Andrei Rublev, creating further anticipation ahead of the release of their debut album this summer. Inspired by scenes from Andre Tarkovsky’s 1996 arthouse classic film, Andrei Rublev is an emotive charge of hip-hop drums, crunching bass lines and hypnotic guitar solos, hinting further at the themes and ideas likely to form the basis of their upcoming record. Having produced a series of critically acclaimed singles over the last few years, including live stalwarts ‘A Perfect Rhythm’ and ‘Shadow Of A Wave’, the fast-rising Merseyside outfit are primed for their first full-length release, with impressive appearances at the likes of Glastonbury, Reading & Leeds and TRNSMT helping them develop a staunch grassroots following. Extensive support from BBC Introducing has arrived in the form of slots at their SXSW and Glastonbury sh...

Luna Neptune - Elspeth and Elijah. Background - Psych folk producer Luna Neptune releases new single 'Elspeth & Elijah’  and accompanying music video for the 2nd single from the artists upcoming EP ‘Next Automated Wave’.  Fully written, recorded and produced by Luna Neptune, mixing and mastering was completed by Alex Fernandes. Jim Gellatly had the exclusive first radio play on his show on Amazing Radio on Sunday 15th April 2018. Melodic and memorable, Elspeth and Elijah features haunting guitar lines, and glitch beats to make an old folk trope - love lost at sea - contemporary and relevant. The video, filmed and edited by Luna, was shot around Hastings after a nasty flu sent her looking for fresh air, and so she decamped to stay with family on the English south coast. The video is a dream-like postcard of seaside Britain – kitsch, nostalgic, but also hinting at economic depression. The track is a response to the way in which “Britannia rules the waves” has been mytho...