Alexander Laurence's Blog, page 1157
August 10, 2020
Swedish electronic duo Kite leave escapism behind on new Blanck Mass collaboration 'Bowie 95'
Swedish electronic duo Kite leave escapism behind on new Blanck Mass collaboration 'Bowie 95'+ Produced together with Blanck Mass (Benjamin John Power from F-Buttons)
Photo Credit: Milkdrop Studio
STREAM / EPK Swedish synth act Kite are releasing new track Bowie ‘95. It’s an ode to being lost, and the existential dread that comes from having to engage with the ‘real world’. Made up of singer Nicklas Stenemo and keyboard player Christian Berg, the band tell us “The lyrics addresses both the feeling of guilt of not being more part of making the real world much better, but also the acceptance that music and escapism have an important role to play in people’s lives.”
Like recent single ‘Teenage Bliss’ the new song has been produced together with Blanck Mass (Benjamin John Power). The pair tell us that “When we started Kite the band F*** .Buttons were a big source of inspiration to us. Since then we have been following Benjamin John Powers brilliant music as Blanck Mass. We are now extremely excited to announce that we are working on the production of two new Kite tracks with him.”
The band have brought their projection filled, brain melting visual live show to audiences in Scandinavia, Germany, the US, Canada and China. It sometimes even includes cats shooting laser beams out of their eyes, and when their performing their sold our show’s at Stockholm’s Royal Opera House – a 16-piece orchestra.
The pair combine an adventurous nature with pop sensibilities, throbbing beats and an early nineties aesthetic. Their lean approach to songwriting – a methodology of ‘cut the fat’ results in tight, focussed songs that never outstay their welcome.
‘Bowie ‘95’ available to stream now.
Photo Credit: Milkdrop StudioSTREAM / EPK Swedish synth act Kite are releasing new track Bowie ‘95. It’s an ode to being lost, and the existential dread that comes from having to engage with the ‘real world’. Made up of singer Nicklas Stenemo and keyboard player Christian Berg, the band tell us “The lyrics addresses both the feeling of guilt of not being more part of making the real world much better, but also the acceptance that music and escapism have an important role to play in people’s lives.”
Like recent single ‘Teenage Bliss’ the new song has been produced together with Blanck Mass (Benjamin John Power). The pair tell us that “When we started Kite the band F*** .Buttons were a big source of inspiration to us. Since then we have been following Benjamin John Powers brilliant music as Blanck Mass. We are now extremely excited to announce that we are working on the production of two new Kite tracks with him.”
The band have brought their projection filled, brain melting visual live show to audiences in Scandinavia, Germany, the US, Canada and China. It sometimes even includes cats shooting laser beams out of their eyes, and when their performing their sold our show’s at Stockholm’s Royal Opera House – a 16-piece orchestra.
The pair combine an adventurous nature with pop sensibilities, throbbing beats and an early nineties aesthetic. Their lean approach to songwriting – a methodology of ‘cut the fat’ results in tight, focussed songs that never outstay their welcome.
‘Bowie ‘95’ available to stream now.
Miserable Chillers Share New Album 'Audience of Summer,' Out Now Via Baby Blue
MISERABLE CHILLERS SHARE NEW ALBUM
AUDIENCE OF SUMMER OUT NOW VIA BABY BLUE
DONATING 50% OF PROCEEDS FROM BANDCAMP DIGITAL SALES TO BED-STUY STRONG
LISTEN & SHARE: Miserable Chillers - Audience of Summer
Stream
LISTEN & SHARE: Miserable Chillers - "Saga's Sword" [Official Single]
Stream
LISTEN & SHARE: Miserable Chillers - "The Glass" [Official Single]
Stream
LISTEN & SHARE: Miserable Chillers - "La nave del olvido" [Official Single]
Stream"The song really captures the feel of a curious young child exploring and actively pursuing new experiences, as Gallego even adds some ribbiting frogs and glimmering forest sounds to complement the track’s shiny guitar riffs and marimba-sounding percussion."
- Look At My Records
"Feels like an oasis hidden from the outside world’s prying eyes; dulcet baroque pop meets the relaxed attitude of 80s yacht rock, congealing to a final product that feels both dreamy and present, music perfect for poolside listening and internal reflection."
- The Deli
"Miserable Chillers kinda sounds like what Ben & Jerry would name their rap group, and honestly—given the recently evident badassery of the world’s wokest ice cream entrepreneurs—we def wouldn’t put it past the duo to make the pivot from frozen treats to sick beats... "
- Bands Do BK
"Moving deftly on a bouncy beat, blips and bleeps, keys, trancy guitar lines and Gallego's comfortable cool croon it feels part lounge rock, art rock, with psyche / baroque pop affections. Gallego's melodies are always engaging as are his oftentimes askew lyrics."
- American PancakeLast Friday, Brooklyn-based sophisti-pop project Miserable Chillers released Audience of Summer, their latest full-length album out now via Baby Blue . Whimsical, prismatic, and evocative, the record follows Gallego's fascination with the ideas of exploration and growth. Audience of Summer is out on all streaming platforms and available for purchase (cassette / digital album).
Miserable Chillers and Baby Blue will be donating 50% of the proceeds from digital album sales of the record on Bandcamp to Bed Stuy Strong . Limited edition cassette tapes are also available for purchase.“I think of myself as a late bloomer, a lot of obvious things have only recently started to appear obvious to me,” says Miguel Gallego reflecting on intuition and his creative practice during the peak of the 2020 pandemic. Currently based in Brooklyn, New York, Gallego grew up in suburban New Jersey to parents from Mexicali, in Baja California. It was in these early days in New Jersey that Gallego formed an important, slightly enchanted relationship with nature, which lent itself to both obvious and not so obvious realizations about the world around him. Gallego cites vivid childhood memories of days living beside a “bizarrely bucolic” creek straddled by woods in suburban New Jersey and the palpable effect it had on his definition and perception of nature. He learned years after moving that what he thought was an escape to a world untarnished by human involvement was in fact man-made, an artifact of a previous era with a very intentional design. This realization lent itself to an intellectual growth spurt; Gallego learned that our surroundings often grow in complexity the longer you take them in.
These formative experiences with nature have eerie parallels with Gallego’s first forays into music. Gallego’s fascination with songwriting began early, eventually extending into a recording practice that began when he received a Tascam digital 8-track as a sixteen year old. It was not until six years later that Gallego assumed the Miserable Chillers name and became more active in NYC’s local music community. In the years that followed, Gallego took time to find his voice as a musician, and meditated heavily on what kinds of stories he needed to tell. He went on to release three EPs and a handful of splits, including 2019’s meandering and improvasation-heavy Schoënblintsjia, refining his craft as a songwriter along the way. Gallego is now getting ready to release his debut full length, Audience of Summer, a record that explores this strange and premeditated experience of going outside and the inescapable impact of climate change.
Over the past six years, Miserable Chillers has shifted from a bummer pop act grounded by indie rock guitars to what can now be best described as literary baroque pop. Audience of Summer is not only the product of afternoons spent listening to Prefab Sprout, Clube da Esquina, and Kate Bush, but also an amalgam of imagination, myth, and deep contemplation. Pulling heavily from Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Audience of Summer is deliciously esoteric, and brilliantly arranged. Recorded, produced, and mixed by Miguel Gallego (Miserable Chillers) himself, with additional sound design by composer and producer Connor Hanwick, the record also features contributions from friends and collaborators like Jeremy Stoddard Caroll on pedal steel guitar, Sarah Goldfarb (Red Widow, Ovaeasy) on cello, Megan Braaten (You’re Sister) and Kabir Kumar (Sun Kin) on backing vocals, among others.
All of these parts and personalities come together with expert precision. Listening to “La nave del olvido,” an early track on the record, synth parts get prismatic, and textured percussion gives the song a hazy depth that feels plucked from a heat wave. “City of Eyes,” the record’s oldest track, uses field recordings taken in industrial East Williamsburg, and references an essay by the writer James Agee. “All the lordly idiot light/in the morning/this summer in the city of eyes/that’s what’s making me cry,” Gallego sings in impressionistic harmony with Braaten.
Audience of Summer is, as Gallego puts it, “a document of where I was before things changed permanently and abruptly.” It is a record about the relentless march of time and how we try to make sense of it, and the vulnerability that comes with moving forward. “I feel a personal affection for myself growing as a person and as an artist as I made this,” Gallego says of these songs. Listen to Audience of Summer and you’ll feel that sense of affection, too.
- Sophie Kemp
Audience of Summer - Tracklisting
01. Saga’s Sword
02. La nave del olvido
03. Animal Trial
04. City of Eyes
05. The Glass
06. Card Captor
07. Calendar for Annie
08. Cargo Cult
09. Antipodes
MISERABLE CHILLERS LINKS
Website - Facebook - Soundcloud - Bandcamp - Instagram
BABY BLUE LINKS
Website - Bandcamp - Instagram - Facebook
AUDIENCE OF SUMMER OUT NOW VIA BABY BLUE
DONATING 50% OF PROCEEDS FROM BANDCAMP DIGITAL SALES TO BED-STUY STRONG
LISTEN & SHARE: Miserable Chillers - Audience of SummerStream
LISTEN & SHARE: Miserable Chillers - "Saga's Sword" [Official Single]
Stream
LISTEN & SHARE: Miserable Chillers - "The Glass" [Official Single]
Stream
LISTEN & SHARE: Miserable Chillers - "La nave del olvido" [Official Single]
Stream"The song really captures the feel of a curious young child exploring and actively pursuing new experiences, as Gallego even adds some ribbiting frogs and glimmering forest sounds to complement the track’s shiny guitar riffs and marimba-sounding percussion."
- Look At My Records
"Feels like an oasis hidden from the outside world’s prying eyes; dulcet baroque pop meets the relaxed attitude of 80s yacht rock, congealing to a final product that feels both dreamy and present, music perfect for poolside listening and internal reflection."
- The Deli
"Miserable Chillers kinda sounds like what Ben & Jerry would name their rap group, and honestly—given the recently evident badassery of the world’s wokest ice cream entrepreneurs—we def wouldn’t put it past the duo to make the pivot from frozen treats to sick beats... "
- Bands Do BK
"Moving deftly on a bouncy beat, blips and bleeps, keys, trancy guitar lines and Gallego's comfortable cool croon it feels part lounge rock, art rock, with psyche / baroque pop affections. Gallego's melodies are always engaging as are his oftentimes askew lyrics."
- American PancakeLast Friday, Brooklyn-based sophisti-pop project Miserable Chillers released Audience of Summer, their latest full-length album out now via Baby Blue . Whimsical, prismatic, and evocative, the record follows Gallego's fascination with the ideas of exploration and growth. Audience of Summer is out on all streaming platforms and available for purchase (cassette / digital album).
Miserable Chillers and Baby Blue will be donating 50% of the proceeds from digital album sales of the record on Bandcamp to Bed Stuy Strong . Limited edition cassette tapes are also available for purchase.“I think of myself as a late bloomer, a lot of obvious things have only recently started to appear obvious to me,” says Miguel Gallego reflecting on intuition and his creative practice during the peak of the 2020 pandemic. Currently based in Brooklyn, New York, Gallego grew up in suburban New Jersey to parents from Mexicali, in Baja California. It was in these early days in New Jersey that Gallego formed an important, slightly enchanted relationship with nature, which lent itself to both obvious and not so obvious realizations about the world around him. Gallego cites vivid childhood memories of days living beside a “bizarrely bucolic” creek straddled by woods in suburban New Jersey and the palpable effect it had on his definition and perception of nature. He learned years after moving that what he thought was an escape to a world untarnished by human involvement was in fact man-made, an artifact of a previous era with a very intentional design. This realization lent itself to an intellectual growth spurt; Gallego learned that our surroundings often grow in complexity the longer you take them in.
These formative experiences with nature have eerie parallels with Gallego’s first forays into music. Gallego’s fascination with songwriting began early, eventually extending into a recording practice that began when he received a Tascam digital 8-track as a sixteen year old. It was not until six years later that Gallego assumed the Miserable Chillers name and became more active in NYC’s local music community. In the years that followed, Gallego took time to find his voice as a musician, and meditated heavily on what kinds of stories he needed to tell. He went on to release three EPs and a handful of splits, including 2019’s meandering and improvasation-heavy Schoënblintsjia, refining his craft as a songwriter along the way. Gallego is now getting ready to release his debut full length, Audience of Summer, a record that explores this strange and premeditated experience of going outside and the inescapable impact of climate change.
Over the past six years, Miserable Chillers has shifted from a bummer pop act grounded by indie rock guitars to what can now be best described as literary baroque pop. Audience of Summer is not only the product of afternoons spent listening to Prefab Sprout, Clube da Esquina, and Kate Bush, but also an amalgam of imagination, myth, and deep contemplation. Pulling heavily from Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Audience of Summer is deliciously esoteric, and brilliantly arranged. Recorded, produced, and mixed by Miguel Gallego (Miserable Chillers) himself, with additional sound design by composer and producer Connor Hanwick, the record also features contributions from friends and collaborators like Jeremy Stoddard Caroll on pedal steel guitar, Sarah Goldfarb (Red Widow, Ovaeasy) on cello, Megan Braaten (You’re Sister) and Kabir Kumar (Sun Kin) on backing vocals, among others.
All of these parts and personalities come together with expert precision. Listening to “La nave del olvido,” an early track on the record, synth parts get prismatic, and textured percussion gives the song a hazy depth that feels plucked from a heat wave. “City of Eyes,” the record’s oldest track, uses field recordings taken in industrial East Williamsburg, and references an essay by the writer James Agee. “All the lordly idiot light/in the morning/this summer in the city of eyes/that’s what’s making me cry,” Gallego sings in impressionistic harmony with Braaten.
Audience of Summer is, as Gallego puts it, “a document of where I was before things changed permanently and abruptly.” It is a record about the relentless march of time and how we try to make sense of it, and the vulnerability that comes with moving forward. “I feel a personal affection for myself growing as a person and as an artist as I made this,” Gallego says of these songs. Listen to Audience of Summer and you’ll feel that sense of affection, too.
- Sophie Kemp
Audience of Summer - Tracklisting
01. Saga’s Sword
02. La nave del olvido
03. Animal Trial
04. City of Eyes
05. The Glass
06. Card Captor
07. Calendar for Annie
08. Cargo Cult
09. Antipodes
MISERABLE CHILLERS LINKS
Website - Facebook - Soundcloud - Bandcamp - Instagram
BABY BLUE LINKS
Website - Bandcamp - Instagram - Facebook
August 7, 2020
Icona Pop Release New Single 'Feels In My Body' Today
ICONA POP RELEASE NEW SUMMER SMASH, 'FEELS IN MY BODY’(RECORD COMPANY TEN/ULTRA MUSIC)
LISTEN | WATCH“FEELS IN MY BODY”
Global chart-topping duo Icona Pop are back following their 2020 smash collaborations with heavyweights Steve Aoki and Hayden James, this time with another banger called "Feels In My Body,” which is out now via RECORD COMPANY TEN/ULTRA Music. The song also comes paired with a music video, shot by director Gustav Stegfors and acclaimed Director of Photography, Crille Forsberg (David Bowie, Adele, ZAYN). Watch HERE .
Speaking about their new feel good-summer jam, Icona Pop’s Caroline Hjelt and Aino Jawo reveal, “Feels In My Body is all about hitting your peak, being so full of energy that you want to burst and share it with everyone around you.”
Listen to “Feels In My Body” HERE.
“Feels In The Body” follows two massive collaborations this year for Icona Pop, including “ Right Time ,” with Australian producer and songwriter Hayden James, which Rolling Stone said “captures the feeling of the dance floor during this time of isolation,” and “ I Love My Friends ,” the lead single off Steve Aoki’s recent album, Neon Future IV .
Swedish chart-topping duo Icona Pop continue to slay since their 2013 full-length debut, This Is… Icona Pop, which garnered critical acclaim from the likes of Pitchfork and Rolling Stone as the duo performed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Today Show, Good Morning America, and America’s Got Talent in addition to featuring on the iconic HBO series Girls and a popular Saturday Night Live sketch. They canvased the globe on sold out tours with Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, and One Direction and joined Tiësto for the banger “Let’s Go” in 2014. Along the way, the duo has performed alongside everyone from Avicii to The Chainsmokers as well as gracing the stages of Ultra, Tomorrowland , Mark Ronson’s Club Heartbreak, and more. Since then, they have consistently filled the gap in music when it comes to upbeat, carefree, quality dance-pop.
Last year, the girls DJ’d across Europe, Asia and North America as well as released a string of bangers including their Yves V and Afrojack collaboration for “ We Got That Cool .” In addition, IconaPop continued their message of inclusivity, self-acceptance and positivity on the road for their WorldPride tour, culminating with a show-stopping performance at Stockholm Pride that included a special appearance from Sporty Spice herself, Melanie C.
Stay tuned for more news and music from Icona Pop.
ICONA POPOFFICIAL WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE
Steve Von Till's new album 'No Wilderness Deep Enough' + debut book 'Harvestman: 23 Untitled Poems and Collected Lyrics' out today on Neurot Recordings
Steve Von Till’s No Wilderness Deep Enough & Debut Book Harvestman: 23 Untitled Poems and Collected LyricsOut Today on Neurot Recordings
Listen & Share: Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple
“a brooding piece kept in motion by long drags of strings, around which simmer eerie synth drones, industrial percussion, gothic piano and Von Till’s booming voice.”Rolling Stone
“This album soars and transcends genres... one of the heaviest and most thought-provoking records of the past decade” CVLT
“meditative...a swirling, hypnotic mélange of ambient, neo-classical and gothic Americana” Revolver
“explores ambient soundscapes, giving emphasis to the words and poeticism of his lyrics. The spiritual tug and introspection of his prior solo outings remains intact” Consequence of Sound
“powerful and thought provoking” Decibel
“a haunting, eerie dirge that's not a million miles away from Neurosis' softer side (or Nick Cave's recent albums)” Brooklyn Vegan
“for all the enormity of its spacious meditations, they also offer us a chance to stretch out, take a breath, and even tap into untouched sources of strength before we head into the next storm.” Chicago Reader
“Perfect to getting lost in... dark, spacious ambient arrangements anchored by solemn, soothing vocals” Exclaim!
“Mesmerizing” The Pit
“rich with neoclassical strings, and deep, gravelly vocals” New Noise Magazine
“positively gorgeous. Atop a haunting backdrop of strings and piano, Von Till sounds like Nick Cave or latter-day Johnny Cash, his deep, powerful bellow capturing the full essence of his being” Metal Sucks
Today sees the release of Steve Von Till’s solo album No Wilderness Deep Enough. The record’s six pieces of music shape a hallucinatory landscape of sound that plumbs the depths of the natural world's mysteries and uncertainties—questions that have vexed humanity since the dawn of time asked anew amidst a backdrop that's as haunting as it is holistic.
The album comes paired with Von Till’s debut book, Harvestman: 23 Untitled Poems and Collected Lyrics which offers a voice of existential wisdom and experience to provide comfort and perspective in an era of uncharted territory. View the book trailer here.
Von Till's charted an extraordinary musical path over the last several decades, from his main duties as singer and guitarist of the boundary-breaking Neurosis to the psychedelic music of his Harvestman project and the unique folk songs he's released under his own name. His fifth solo album, No Wilderness Deep Enough, came to fruition during jetlagged nights in his wife’s childhood home in Germany. It was further embellished with mellotron and electronic treatments in Von Till’s home studio in North Idaho. Viewing the emerging result as an ambient instrumental album, he consulted friend and engineer Randall Dunn (Marissa Nadler, Earth) about adding live cello and french horn and piano in a proper studio. After enlisting Brent Arnold on cello and Aaron Korn on french horn, he challenged Von Till to sing over the music and make it his next solo album.
Lyrically, No Wilderness Deep Enough touches on themes essential to living in the world around us, as well as co-existing with ourselves and others. "It's about personal longings and loss, and the loves and insecurities we all feel combined with meditations on humanity as a whole," Von Till explains while discussing his main artistic aims behind the album, as well as his poetic expressions captured in Harvestman. "I'm exploring the great disconnect: from the natural world, from each other, and ultimately from ourselves—trying to find meaning and depth in re-establishing those connections, to find a resonance in purpose and acknowledging the past while looking towards the future and still being in the moment."
Press Bobby Cochran No Wilderness Deep Enough Track Listing:
1 - Dreams of Trees2 - The Old Straight Track3 - Indifferent Eyes (Official Video)4 - Trail the Silent Hours5 - Shadows on the Run6 - Wild Iron
Harvestman: 23 Untitled Poems and Collected Lyrics (Official Book Trailer)by Steve Von Till
First printing: Limited hardback editionBeautifully illustrated with linocuts by MazatlPublished by Astrophil Press at the University of South DakotaSteve Von Till: Online | Facebook | InstagramNeurot Recordings: Online | Facebook | Instagram
Listen & Share: Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple
“a brooding piece kept in motion by long drags of strings, around which simmer eerie synth drones, industrial percussion, gothic piano and Von Till’s booming voice.”Rolling Stone“This album soars and transcends genres... one of the heaviest and most thought-provoking records of the past decade” CVLT
“meditative...a swirling, hypnotic mélange of ambient, neo-classical and gothic Americana” Revolver
“explores ambient soundscapes, giving emphasis to the words and poeticism of his lyrics. The spiritual tug and introspection of his prior solo outings remains intact” Consequence of Sound
“powerful and thought provoking” Decibel
“a haunting, eerie dirge that's not a million miles away from Neurosis' softer side (or Nick Cave's recent albums)” Brooklyn Vegan
“for all the enormity of its spacious meditations, they also offer us a chance to stretch out, take a breath, and even tap into untouched sources of strength before we head into the next storm.” Chicago Reader
“Perfect to getting lost in... dark, spacious ambient arrangements anchored by solemn, soothing vocals” Exclaim!
“Mesmerizing” The Pit
“rich with neoclassical strings, and deep, gravelly vocals” New Noise Magazine
“positively gorgeous. Atop a haunting backdrop of strings and piano, Von Till sounds like Nick Cave or latter-day Johnny Cash, his deep, powerful bellow capturing the full essence of his being” Metal Sucks
Today sees the release of Steve Von Till’s solo album No Wilderness Deep Enough. The record’s six pieces of music shape a hallucinatory landscape of sound that plumbs the depths of the natural world's mysteries and uncertainties—questions that have vexed humanity since the dawn of time asked anew amidst a backdrop that's as haunting as it is holistic.
The album comes paired with Von Till’s debut book, Harvestman: 23 Untitled Poems and Collected Lyrics which offers a voice of existential wisdom and experience to provide comfort and perspective in an era of uncharted territory. View the book trailer here.
Von Till's charted an extraordinary musical path over the last several decades, from his main duties as singer and guitarist of the boundary-breaking Neurosis to the psychedelic music of his Harvestman project and the unique folk songs he's released under his own name. His fifth solo album, No Wilderness Deep Enough, came to fruition during jetlagged nights in his wife’s childhood home in Germany. It was further embellished with mellotron and electronic treatments in Von Till’s home studio in North Idaho. Viewing the emerging result as an ambient instrumental album, he consulted friend and engineer Randall Dunn (Marissa Nadler, Earth) about adding live cello and french horn and piano in a proper studio. After enlisting Brent Arnold on cello and Aaron Korn on french horn, he challenged Von Till to sing over the music and make it his next solo album.
Lyrically, No Wilderness Deep Enough touches on themes essential to living in the world around us, as well as co-existing with ourselves and others. "It's about personal longings and loss, and the loves and insecurities we all feel combined with meditations on humanity as a whole," Von Till explains while discussing his main artistic aims behind the album, as well as his poetic expressions captured in Harvestman. "I'm exploring the great disconnect: from the natural world, from each other, and ultimately from ourselves—trying to find meaning and depth in re-establishing those connections, to find a resonance in purpose and acknowledging the past while looking towards the future and still being in the moment."
Press Bobby Cochran No Wilderness Deep Enough Track Listing: 1 - Dreams of Trees2 - The Old Straight Track3 - Indifferent Eyes (Official Video)4 - Trail the Silent Hours5 - Shadows on the Run6 - Wild Iron
Harvestman: 23 Untitled Poems and Collected Lyrics (Official Book Trailer)by Steve Von TillFirst printing: Limited hardback editionBeautifully illustrated with linocuts by MazatlPublished by Astrophil Press at the University of South DakotaSteve Von Till: Online | Facebook | InstagramNeurot Recordings: Online | Facebook | Instagram
CHARLOTTE ROSE BENJAMIN RELEASES PARTY CITY SOLO EPVIA NEON GOLD RECORDS + BLACKBOOK PREMIERES "CURSED"
NEW YORK’S CHARLOTTE ROSE BENJAMIN
RELEASES PARTY CITY SOLO EP
VIA NEON GOLD RECORDS / MOSHI MOSHI HERE
BLACKBOOK PREMIERES “CURSED” HERE
DEBUT PARTY CITY EP HERE
MADE-AT-HOME “AUTOPILOT” MUSIC VIDEO HERE
Hi-res photos - credit Jared Kocka hereAboutCharlotte Rose Benjamin - Party City Solo EP tracklist:
01. “Autopilot” - Acoustic
02. “Cursed” - Acoustic
03. “Party City” - Acoustic
Today, NYC singer-songwriter Charlotte Rose Benjamin releases her new Party City Solo EP HERE - an acoustic addendum to her debut Party City EP HERE, which also came out earlier this year via Neon Gold Records / Moshi Moshi.
Charlotte Rose says: "I spent most of my time during the lockdown at my parents house on Martha’s Vineyard where I grew up. All I’ve wanted to do is watch movies I’ve already seen before and listen to songs I already know all the words to. It’s like comfort food. It’s been cool to revisit songs from the EP in the same way. I wrote these songs alone, and I’ve played them more on stage by myself than with a full band. In a lot of ways they sound more familiar to me this way. There’s an element of loneliness in everything I write, and I think that really comes through when the melodies are laid bare like this."
Charlotte, who is performing background vocals on Gus Dapperton’s forthcoming album ORCA, earlier starred in his videos for the breakout hit “I’m Just Snacking” and “Post Humorous”. Besides this she counts The Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne as a fan and is certainly One To Watch.
Earlier on in the pandemic, stuck in isolation, along with the rest of the world, Charlotte set about making a video for “Autopilot” at home, primarily using PhotoBooth - watch it HERE. That cut from her sterling debut Party City EP garnered attention on both sides of the Atlantic with support from CLASH, Huw Stephens and BBC Radio 1, BBC 6 Music, Radio X, and Spotify's global New Music Friday.
Charlotte says: "I've always had a hard time controlling my emotional compass and tend to inwardly dwell. I kept having this dream, which I hear is common when living in a tiny New York City apartment, where I discover a whole new room in my home through a door in the closet or someplace unexpected and realize I have so much more space than I ever thought. When I wrote it I was sort of caught between fantasizing about being totally alone, pushing people away and then feeling super lonely and reaching out to anyone I knew who might give me attention. Someone told me to "just go on autopilot" as if there was a switch I could flip somewhere inside me that would make me function normally. I told them I wasn't f***ing flying a plane.
So, making a music video for "Autopilot" alone in a room on Photo Booth during the COVID-19 crisis kinda made sense. I think a lot of people are struggling with feeling desperately lonely right now. Little creative projects like this have been saving me from losing my mind."http://www.charlotterosebenjamin.com
https://www.facebook.com/charlobenji
https://www.instagram.com/charlotterosebenjamin/
https://charlotterosebenjamin.bandcamp.com/
RELEASES PARTY CITY SOLO EP
VIA NEON GOLD RECORDS / MOSHI MOSHI HERE
BLACKBOOK PREMIERES “CURSED” HERE
DEBUT PARTY CITY EP HERE
MADE-AT-HOME “AUTOPILOT” MUSIC VIDEO HERE
Hi-res photos - credit Jared Kocka hereAboutCharlotte Rose Benjamin - Party City Solo EP tracklist:01. “Autopilot” - Acoustic
02. “Cursed” - Acoustic
03. “Party City” - Acoustic
Today, NYC singer-songwriter Charlotte Rose Benjamin releases her new Party City Solo EP HERE - an acoustic addendum to her debut Party City EP HERE, which also came out earlier this year via Neon Gold Records / Moshi Moshi.
Charlotte Rose says: "I spent most of my time during the lockdown at my parents house on Martha’s Vineyard where I grew up. All I’ve wanted to do is watch movies I’ve already seen before and listen to songs I already know all the words to. It’s like comfort food. It’s been cool to revisit songs from the EP in the same way. I wrote these songs alone, and I’ve played them more on stage by myself than with a full band. In a lot of ways they sound more familiar to me this way. There’s an element of loneliness in everything I write, and I think that really comes through when the melodies are laid bare like this."
Charlotte, who is performing background vocals on Gus Dapperton’s forthcoming album ORCA, earlier starred in his videos for the breakout hit “I’m Just Snacking” and “Post Humorous”. Besides this she counts The Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne as a fan and is certainly One To Watch.
Earlier on in the pandemic, stuck in isolation, along with the rest of the world, Charlotte set about making a video for “Autopilot” at home, primarily using PhotoBooth - watch it HERE. That cut from her sterling debut Party City EP garnered attention on both sides of the Atlantic with support from CLASH, Huw Stephens and BBC Radio 1, BBC 6 Music, Radio X, and Spotify's global New Music Friday.
Charlotte says: "I've always had a hard time controlling my emotional compass and tend to inwardly dwell. I kept having this dream, which I hear is common when living in a tiny New York City apartment, where I discover a whole new room in my home through a door in the closet or someplace unexpected and realize I have so much more space than I ever thought. When I wrote it I was sort of caught between fantasizing about being totally alone, pushing people away and then feeling super lonely and reaching out to anyone I knew who might give me attention. Someone told me to "just go on autopilot" as if there was a switch I could flip somewhere inside me that would make me function normally. I told them I wasn't f***ing flying a plane.
So, making a music video for "Autopilot" alone in a room on Photo Booth during the COVID-19 crisis kinda made sense. I think a lot of people are struggling with feeling desperately lonely right now. Little creative projects like this have been saving me from losing my mind."http://www.charlotterosebenjamin.com
https://www.facebook.com/charlobenji
https://www.instagram.com/charlotterosebenjamin/
https://charlotterosebenjamin.bandcamp.com/
FINNEAS Releases Deluxe Version of Debut EP 'Blood Harmony'
FINNEAS RELEASES DELUXE VERSION OF DEBUT EP, BLOOD HARMONY – OUT TODAYFEATURING A BRAND NEW VERSION OF THE HIT “LET’S FALL IN LOVE FOR THE NIGHT (1964)” AND “BREAK MY HEART AGAIN”
“LET’S FALL IN LOVE FOR THE NIGHT” NOMINATED FOR ‘BEST ALTERNATIVE VIDEO’ AT THE MTV VMA’s - VOTE HERE .
BLOOD HARMONY EP AMASSES 290 MILLION GLOBAL STREAMS
‘LET’S FALL IN LOVE FOR THE NIGHT’ CONTINUES TO GROW AT TOP 40 AND SCANS GOLD IN NORTH AMERICA
LISTEN
“LET’S FALL IN LOVE FOR THE NIGHT (1964)”
LISTEN
BLOOD HARMONY (DELUXE)
BUY
BLOOD HARMONY (VINYL)
Today, five-time GRAMMY Award®-winning musician, songwriter and producer FINNEAS returns with a new digital, deluxe version of his critically acclaimed debut EP, Blood Harmony . Written and produced entirely by FINNEAS, the nine-track collection exemplifies his skills as a songwriter, producer and storyteller. The new expanded version of the EP features all seven of the original EP tracks, plus fan favorite, “Break My Heart Again” and a brand new version of “Let’s Fall In Love For The Night.”
Listen to “Let’s Fall In Love For The Night (1964)” HERE .
Speaking on the new version of the track, FINNEAS reveals, “When I was originally producing this song, It took me down two different directions. One inspired by the rhythms I loved in outkast and gorillaz songs which became the original production and the other, which became this. A production inspired by the vinyl I loved and listened to throughout my childhood. I wanted to make a lullaby version and give it to the people.”
Explaining the title of the EP, FINNEAS shares, “I would love for this title to remain ambiguous to listeners and for everyone to be able to imbue it with their own meaning and justification. The most common use of the term blood harmony is an English expression for what it sounds like when siblings sing together, that biologic chemistry—I think that speaks for itself.”
To date, FINNEAS’ Blood Harmony EP has racked up an impressive 290 MILLION GLOBAL STREAMS adding to his total 470 MILLION CAREER STREAMS. Meanwhile, “Let’s Fall In Love For The Night,” which peaked in the Top 15 at Alternative Radio and is currently growing at Top 40 radio, scanned GOLD in North American this week. The song’s video [watch HERE] was directed by Sam Bennett, and shot in FINNEAS’ hometown of Los Angeles in entirely one-take. Last week MTV revealed FINNEAS was nominated for an MTV VMA Award for ‘Best Alternative Video.’
Visit http://vma.mtv.com/ to vote for FINNEAS.
Earlier this year, FINNEAS performed “Let’s Fall In Love For The Night” on NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (watch the performance HERE, and catch his interview with Fallon HERE), which followed an exciting start to the year when he received impressive 5 GRAMMY Awards® including the prestigious Producer of the Year, Non-Classical and Best Engineered Album, Non Classical as well as Record of the Year, Album of the Year and Song of the Year with his sister Billie Eilish for her groundbreaking No. 1 debut album WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? and hit single ‘bad guy.’
FINNEAS co-produced (with Stephen Lipson) and co-wrote the official theme song and title track for the upcoming James Bond film, No Time To Die , alongside his sister Billie Eilish. The track features orchestral arrangements by Hans Zimmer and Matt Dunkley, and guitar from Johnny Marr. The song made its live debut alongside Zimmer and Marr on stage at this year’s BRIT Awards in London. Watch HERE . FINNEAS also joined his sister for the 92nd Oscars, where they performed a stunning rendition of The Beatles’ Yesterday during the show’s In Memoriam segment.
FINNEAS’ trademark production can also be heard on recent songs Selena Gomez, JP Saxe and Julia Michaels, Camila Cabello, Tove Lo, Trevor Daniel, Ben Platt, Bruno Major, Celeste, as well as Billie’s new single, “my future,” which he co-wrote with his sister.
Stay tuned for more updates from FINNEAS coming soon.
TRACKLIST: I Lost A Friend
Shelter
Lost My Mind
I Don’t Miss You At All
Partners In Crime
Let’s Fall In Love For The Night
Die Alone
Break My Heart Again
Let’s Fall In Love For The Night (1964)
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Industrial-Electronic Project Chiasm Releases "Are You Okay?" Remixes For Bandcamp Friday; Features John Fryer, Stabbing Westward, Jean-Marc Lederman (Front 242/The Weathermen)
ChiasmThe Industrial-Electronic Project Of Emileigh RohnReleases “Are You Okay?” RemixesFor Bandcamp Friday (August 7) HERE New Collection Features Original With Collaborator John Fryer(Black Needle Noise & Producer Behind Depeche Mode, NIN)Plus Remixes From Stabbing Westward, Jean-Marc Lederman (Front 242/The Weathermen) & More “Are You Okay” Is the Second Single From Forthcoming Full-Length Album Missed The NoiseTo Be Released Via Indie Industrial Label COP International
(Photo courtesy of Chiasm) Industrial-electronic act Chiasm today releases a brand-new collection of remixes for her single “Are You Okay?” for the next edition of Bandcamp Fridays. The initiative kicked off in March to support artists impacted by the pandemic with distributor Bandcamp waiving its commission fees the first Friday of each month in order to put the money directly into artists’ pockets for each sale. Purchase the collection of “Are You Okay?” remixes HERE. The project of Detroit-based musician Emileigh Rohn, Chiasm has become known for cultivating lush, eclectic, eerily dystopian sonic landscapes with delicately balanced vocals for the past 20-plus years. Her new song plays directly into the current landscape we find ourselves in amidst COVID-19, racial tensions and economic distress with a poignant “check-in” for listeners—and to let them know they are not alone. For the remix project, a who’s who of talent contributed their very distinct tastes on the song. The album kicks off with the original track featuring Chiasm’s regular collaborator John Fryer (Black Needle Noise and the noted producer behind Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, 4AD, Cocteau Twins and Love and Rockets). Remixes are courtesy of Stabbing Westward vocalist Christopher Hall, Jean-Marc Ledermann (Front 242/The Weatherman) and more. 
“Are You Okay?” Remix Collection Cover Art The full tracklisting is as follows:1) Are you Okay? John Fryer [original]2) Are you Okay? Stabbing Westward Remix3) Are you Okay? Jean-Marc Lederman Remix4) Are you Okay? Third Realm Remix5) Are you Okay? Glass Apple Bonzai Remix6) Are you Okay? Unitcode:Machine Remix7) Are you Okay? Shawn Brice LovelessLove Remix8) “Knocking” Acclimate Remix Of working on the song, Christopher Hall (Stabbing Westward) says, “From the very first time I heard ‘Are you Okay?’ I was immediately drawn into the song. What really intrigued me was the fragile vocal performance combined with the lyrics that expressed not only a traumatic personal pain but also deep compassion and empathy for the person who had caused the pain. As cool as the track was, I heard a different soundtrack to the scene that was playing in my head, something that matched the fragility of the vocal but also grew to greater intensity to capture the extremes of the feelings. I was surprised when Emileigh asked me to sing on the song and it took me a few days to figure out how my voice could help lend anything. It was really fun and cathartic to work on the track and I'm very grateful I was granted the opportunity.” Jean-Marc Lederman adds, “My understanding of English is alright, I think, but we non-English native speakers do get songs on a pure acoustic level at first even though we do grab pieces of the lyrics here and there. So for me, listening to the original mix of ‘Are You Okay?’ was more like hearing an encapsulated moment in life, a whole little world in itself. First the music appears, then the vocals—a vehicle for sadness and sorrow but also, compassion and someone opening their heart to the pain of a fellow human, a global impact, one one-size-fits-all ‘I'm hurting’ statement. When I got the stems for the remix, I wanted to go to an ominous ambiance, something simple dragging you into its own sonic logic. With Emileigh's vocals, she grabs you and whispers a terrible story in your ear, and you cannot escape from that moment. And it's when all unfolds that you're facing the terrible truth: isn't Emileigh talking about you?” “Are You Okay?” is the second single from Chiasm’s full-length album,
Missed The Noise
, to be released later this year by COP International—the label home of Stabbing Westward, Deathline International and Suicide Queen. The newest release follows a long line of notable releases from Chiasm (established in 1997), including the 2001 album
Disorder
with the track “Isolated” that was featured in the television show NCIS as well as in the Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines computer game. Rohn has also collaborated with genre stars Attrition, Carphax Files, Jean-Marc Lederman, Third Realm, :10:, and Acclimate. All of Rohn’s previous releases had been self-written, programmed, performed and produced in her Michigan studio known as the MausHaus. The music, and the project name (which refers to the optic chiasm, a crossing of optic neurons in the brain that allow people to have continuous and peripheral vision), are in dedication to her full-time career in the field of science. 
(Photo credit: Paul Natkin)
(Photo courtesy of Chiasm) Industrial-electronic act Chiasm today releases a brand-new collection of remixes for her single “Are You Okay?” for the next edition of Bandcamp Fridays. The initiative kicked off in March to support artists impacted by the pandemic with distributor Bandcamp waiving its commission fees the first Friday of each month in order to put the money directly into artists’ pockets for each sale. Purchase the collection of “Are You Okay?” remixes HERE. The project of Detroit-based musician Emileigh Rohn, Chiasm has become known for cultivating lush, eclectic, eerily dystopian sonic landscapes with delicately balanced vocals for the past 20-plus years. Her new song plays directly into the current landscape we find ourselves in amidst COVID-19, racial tensions and economic distress with a poignant “check-in” for listeners—and to let them know they are not alone. For the remix project, a who’s who of talent contributed their very distinct tastes on the song. The album kicks off with the original track featuring Chiasm’s regular collaborator John Fryer (Black Needle Noise and the noted producer behind Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, 4AD, Cocteau Twins and Love and Rockets). Remixes are courtesy of Stabbing Westward vocalist Christopher Hall, Jean-Marc Ledermann (Front 242/The Weatherman) and more. “Are You Okay?” Remix Collection Cover Art The full tracklisting is as follows:1) Are you Okay? John Fryer [original]2) Are you Okay? Stabbing Westward Remix3) Are you Okay? Jean-Marc Lederman Remix4) Are you Okay? Third Realm Remix5) Are you Okay? Glass Apple Bonzai Remix6) Are you Okay? Unitcode:Machine Remix7) Are you Okay? Shawn Brice LovelessLove Remix8) “Knocking” Acclimate Remix Of working on the song, Christopher Hall (Stabbing Westward) says, “From the very first time I heard ‘Are you Okay?’ I was immediately drawn into the song. What really intrigued me was the fragile vocal performance combined with the lyrics that expressed not only a traumatic personal pain but also deep compassion and empathy for the person who had caused the pain. As cool as the track was, I heard a different soundtrack to the scene that was playing in my head, something that matched the fragility of the vocal but also grew to greater intensity to capture the extremes of the feelings. I was surprised when Emileigh asked me to sing on the song and it took me a few days to figure out how my voice could help lend anything. It was really fun and cathartic to work on the track and I'm very grateful I was granted the opportunity.” Jean-Marc Lederman adds, “My understanding of English is alright, I think, but we non-English native speakers do get songs on a pure acoustic level at first even though we do grab pieces of the lyrics here and there. So for me, listening to the original mix of ‘Are You Okay?’ was more like hearing an encapsulated moment in life, a whole little world in itself. First the music appears, then the vocals—a vehicle for sadness and sorrow but also, compassion and someone opening their heart to the pain of a fellow human, a global impact, one one-size-fits-all ‘I'm hurting’ statement. When I got the stems for the remix, I wanted to go to an ominous ambiance, something simple dragging you into its own sonic logic. With Emileigh's vocals, she grabs you and whispers a terrible story in your ear, and you cannot escape from that moment. And it's when all unfolds that you're facing the terrible truth: isn't Emileigh talking about you?” “Are You Okay?” is the second single from Chiasm’s full-length album,
Missed The Noise
, to be released later this year by COP International—the label home of Stabbing Westward, Deathline International and Suicide Queen. The newest release follows a long line of notable releases from Chiasm (established in 1997), including the 2001 album
Disorder
with the track “Isolated” that was featured in the television show NCIS as well as in the Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines computer game. Rohn has also collaborated with genre stars Attrition, Carphax Files, Jean-Marc Lederman, Third Realm, :10:, and Acclimate. All of Rohn’s previous releases had been self-written, programmed, performed and produced in her Michigan studio known as the MausHaus. The music, and the project name (which refers to the optic chiasm, a crossing of optic neurons in the brain that allow people to have continuous and peripheral vision), are in dedication to her full-time career in the field of science. (Photo credit: Paul Natkin)
Dawes release new song, "St. Augustine At Night"; new album out Oct 2
DAWES DREAM OF “ST. AUGUSTINE AT NIGHT”
POWERFUL NEW SINGLE HERALDSEAGERLY AWAITED SEVENTH STUDIO ALBUM
OFFICIAL LYRIC VIDEO STREAMING NOW AT YOUTUBE
GOOD LUCK WITH WHATEVER ARRIVES VIA ROUNDER RECORDSON FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2
FRONTMAN, TAYLOR GOLDSMITH NOMINATED FOR EMMY AWARD
photo credit: Clara BalzaryVeteran rockers Dawes have announced today’s premiere of their profound new single. “St. Augustine at Night” is available at all DSPs and streaming services; an official lyric video is streaming now via YouTube.
“‘St. Augustine at Night’ is a song about one’s relationship to their hometown,” says Dawes’ frontman Taylor Goldsmith, “but also is a song about the varying degrees in which we all watch our lives pass us by.”
LISTEN TO “ST. AUGUSTINE AT NIGHT”
WATCH “ST. AUGUSTINE AT NIGHT”
“St. Augustine at Night” marks the latest single from the Los Angeles-based band’s eagerly awaited seventh studio LP, GOOD LUCK WITH WHATEVER. Produced by 6x GRAMMY® Award-winner Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit) at Nashville’s famed RCA Studio A, the album arrives via Rounder Records on Friday, October 2; pre-orders are available now.
PRE-ORDER GOOD LUCK WITH WHATEVER
GOOD LUCK WITH WHATEVER was first heralded by last month’s premiere of “Who Do You Think You’re Talking To?” The high-spirited track is joined by an official companion video, directed by actress/filmmaker Caitlin Gerard and streaming now at the official Dawes YouTube channel. Last month also saw Goldsmith nominated for an Emmy Award for “Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics” for the song “Memorized” from the NBC show This Is Us.
“Who Do You Think You’re Talking To?” was met by widespread applause upon its July premiere, with Rolling Stone hailing it as “a turbo-charged Eighties heartland rocker that finds Goldsmith narrating an interaction between two people, one of whom is still plagued by a past relationship.” “From the sounds of ‘Who Do You Think You’re Talking To?,’ bringing everyone closer to the process has led to a bigger sound,” declared Consequence of Sound. “As Goldsmith’s classic melodies and riffs continue the thread of Dawes’ decade-long career, the percussion snaps like a whip crack and Lee Pardini’s keys reach Roy Bittan levels of drama as they’re pushed to the forefront.”
LISTEN TO “WHO DO YOU THINK YOU’RE TALKING TO?”
WATCH “WHO DO YOU THINK YOU’RE TALKING TO?”
GOOD LUCK WITH WHATEVER – which marks Dawes’ first release on their new label, Rounder Records – follows a series of acclaimed self-released albums including 2013’s STORIES DON’T END, 2015’s ALL YOUR FAVORITE BANDS, 2016’s WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE, and 2018’s PASSWORDS, all of which reached the top 10 or higher on Billboard’s “Top Rock Albums” and “Americana/Folk Albums” charts.
From its first downbeat, GOOD LUCK WITH WHATEVER sees Goldsmith grappling with the expectations of adulthood on a remarkable cycle of new songs fueled by many of the same elements that first earned the band worldwide attention and applause – graceful melodies with kinetic riffs and intricate musical interplay. Throughout the album, Dawes once again prove incredibly adept at pushing the emotional limits of the classically structured rock song, a testament to their tightly honed yet imaginative musicianship and the gripping specificity of Goldsmith’s songwriting. A culmination of their entire catalogue and decade-long career all wrapped up in nine glorious tracks, GOOD LUCK WITH WHATEVER reclaims the rugged urgency and easy confidence of Dawes’ early work while tapping into the veteran band’s intense musical connection more effectively than ever before.
“In the past, I’ve definitely been more precious about the way I wanted the songs to sound, but that’s never as fun,” Goldsmith says. “The music we make is everyone’s mode of expression, and the other guys all have chops that I don’t have and never will. The fact that we’re able to lean on each other and celebrate each other as individuals just makes us so much more excited about getting to play together in this band.”
Dawes is: Taylor Goldsmith (guitars, vocals), Griffin Goldsmith (drums), Wylie Gelber (bass), Lee Pardini (keys).
DAWESGOOD LUCK WITH WHATEVER(ROUNDER RECORDS)RELEASE DATE: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2
TRACKLISTING:Still Feel Like A KidGood Luck With WhateverBetween The Zero and The OneNone Of My BusinessSt. Augustine At NightWho Do You Think You’re Talking To?Didn’t Fix MeFree As We Want To BeMe Especially# # #
CONNECT WITH DAWES:DAWESTHEBAND.COMINSTAGRAMFACEBOOKTWITTERYOUTUBE
Nigerian superstar Yemi Alade shares new track "True Love," featured in Beyoncé's Black Is King, fifth LP forthcoming
NIGERIAN SUPERSTAR YEMI ALADE DEBUTS NEW TRACK “TRUE LOVE”FEATURED IN BEYONCÉ’S BLACK IS KINGFIFTH LP FORTHCOMING
August 7, 2020—Award-winning Nigerian superstar Yemi Alade debuts a new track, “True Love,” today from her forthcoming fifth LP—listen here.Yemi also recently appeared in Beyoncé’s
Black Is King
, performing her two contributions to
The Lion King: The Gift
, “DON’T JEALOUS ME” and “MY POWER.”“True Love” follows “
BOYZ
,” an uptempo Afropop track, which Okayafrica praised for its “booming production” courtesy of frequent collaborator Vtek. “BOYZ” marked the first new music from her this year.Poised for a U.S. breakthrough year, Yemi Alade is an artist, actress and entertainer of Yoruba and Igbo descent who has released four albums: King of Queens in 2014—whose hit single “
Johnny
” launched her to worldwide fame and has reached more than 100 million views on YouTube, Mama Africa (The Diary of an African Woman) in 2016, Black Magic in 2017 and Woman of Steel in 2019. In addition, Yemi has collaborated with a number of global stars including Angelique Kidjo and Rick Ross.Yemi’s breakout single “Johnny” made her the first African female artist to earn over 100 million views on Youtube and Vevo and is the most viewed video by an African female artist ever. From 2014 to 2016, she won the MTV Africa Music Award for Best Female twice and was a two-time nominee for Best International Act at the BET Awards and the MOBO Awards. With a massive social media following of nearly 15 million, partnerships with global brands like L’Oréal and Coca-Cola and numerous magazine cover shoots, Yemi Alade is one of the most ubiquitous names in African music. Her music has been lauded by Rolling Stone, The Guardian, Essence, The FADER and many more.
August 7, 2020—Award-winning Nigerian superstar Yemi Alade debuts a new track, “True Love,” today from her forthcoming fifth LP—listen here.Yemi also recently appeared in Beyoncé’s
Black Is King
, performing her two contributions to
The Lion King: The Gift
, “DON’T JEALOUS ME” and “MY POWER.”“True Love” follows “
BOYZ
,” an uptempo Afropop track, which Okayafrica praised for its “booming production” courtesy of frequent collaborator Vtek. “BOYZ” marked the first new music from her this year.Poised for a U.S. breakthrough year, Yemi Alade is an artist, actress and entertainer of Yoruba and Igbo descent who has released four albums: King of Queens in 2014—whose hit single “
Johnny
” launched her to worldwide fame and has reached more than 100 million views on YouTube, Mama Africa (The Diary of an African Woman) in 2016, Black Magic in 2017 and Woman of Steel in 2019. In addition, Yemi has collaborated with a number of global stars including Angelique Kidjo and Rick Ross.Yemi’s breakout single “Johnny” made her the first African female artist to earn over 100 million views on Youtube and Vevo and is the most viewed video by an African female artist ever. From 2014 to 2016, she won the MTV Africa Music Award for Best Female twice and was a two-time nominee for Best International Act at the BET Awards and the MOBO Awards. With a massive social media following of nearly 15 million, partnerships with global brands like L’Oréal and Coca-Cola and numerous magazine cover shoots, Yemi Alade is one of the most ubiquitous names in African music. Her music has been lauded by Rolling Stone, The Guardian, Essence, The FADER and many more.
Aerial Ruin Reveals Acoustic Performances of "The Bastard Wind" & "Heaven Torn Low I (the passage)"
AERIAL RUIN REVEALS ACOUSTIC PERFORMANCESOF "THE BASTARD WIND" & "HEAVEN TORN LOW I (THE PASSAGE)"
FROM COLLABORATIVE ALBUM WITH BELL WITCH:STYGIAN BOUGH VOLUME I AVAILABLE NOW ON PROFOUND LORE
Album Artwork By: Adam Burke
Earlier this summer Bell Witch and Aerial Ruin released their highly acclaimed collaborative album, Stygian Bough Volume I. This week Aerial Ruin’s Erik Moggridge has revealed two acoustic performance videos which feature excerpts from the album. “The Bastard Wind” debuted via CVLT Nation and “Heaven Torn Low I (the passage)" debuted via Rock Hard Germany. The two acoustic versions are streaming now via YouTube below.
Watch & Share: “The Bastard Wind”(excerpt, Aerial Ruin acoustic version)Watch & Share: “Heaven Torn Low I (the passage)”(excerpt, Aerial Ruin acoustic version)
On Stygian Bough Volume I, renowned doom duo Bell Witch (Dylan Desmond and Jesse Shreibman) fully integrated themselves with dark folk elegist, Aerial Ruin (Erik Moggridge) for a collection of five transcendent songs that defy categorization. Of these acoustic performances, Moggridge comments:
"These are simple videos of yours truly at home filmed/recorded with my intelligent-phone. While I have made videos like this for my Aerial Ruin only material, the format felt different when using it for my collaborative work with Bell Witch and it’s been interesting to channel Stygian Bough songs through this lens."
While Moggridge has been a part of Bell Witch's sonic fingerprint on all their prior records, perhaps most notably for his vocals on their previous acclaimed full-length, Mirror Reaper, he’s now part of the very fabric that make up the striking and visceral songs that comprise Stygian Bough Volume I.
While live activities are on hold for now, stay tuned for further updates from the trio in the coming weeks and months.
LISTEN + SHARE STYGIAN BOUGH VOLUME I:BANDCAMP | SPOTIFY | APPLE
Early acclaim for Stygian Bough Volume I:
“The Bastard Wind” is a real epic, with rises and falls and peaks and valleys. It starts as a soft, ritualistic hymn. From there, it builds and builds into a swirling, elemental cacophony. It’s got multiple movements, but the whole thing hangs together. Like the best epics, it sweeps you away to another place. At times, it’s absolutely beautiful.” STEREOGUM
"Over gorgeously stretched-out songs (two exceed 19 minutes), its haunted and heavy melancholia vacillates between acoustic passages and roaring walls of distortion" SEATTLE TIMES
"Stygian Bough Volume I isn't metal...it's a slowcore/folk album with the occasional foray into doom. It has its heavy moments, but it's overall no more metal than, say, Mount Eerie's Ocean Roar." BROOKLYN VEGAN
“...a beautiful bummer team-up” NPR
“a master class in slow-burning buildup, ebb-and-flow dynamics and cataclysmic catharsis” REVOLVER
“deafeningly melancholic, crumbling every headstone in the cemetery” AV CLUB
“doom metal album of the year” BLABBERMOUTH
“this takes the listener on a journey through vast expanses of music” DECIBEL
“purvey a doomy slowcore overcast with a meditative sadness”CONSEQUENCE OF SOUND
“simply crushing in its emotional and sonic weight” NO CLEAN SINGING
"A near-perfect crossover of bleak funeral sludge and gothic loner-folk"METAL HAMMER
“provides pensive tone that immediately draws the listener in” MXDWN
“it's exactly the epic, haunting funeral doom you'd expect given the lineup”METAL INJECTION
"great beast tearing itself apart at the seams" EXCLAIM!
“some world-shifting stuff” INVISIBLE ORANGES
Photo By: Mackenzie Stone
More about Stygian Bough Volume I and the collaboration:
While Moggridge has been a part of Bell Witch’s sonic fingerprint on all their prior records, perhaps most notably for his vocals on their previous acclaimed full-length, Mirror Reaper, he’s now part of the very fabric that make up the striking and visceral songs that comprise Stygian Bough Volume I.
The addition of guitar to the bass and drum-only dynamic came naturally as the threesome discussed potential models for their joint effort. Ulver’s unorthodox folk album Kveldssanger came up as did Candlemass' mile marker Nightfall. But the real fuel to Stygian Bough Volume I was the Bell Witch track, “Rows (of Endless Waves)", which was not only Moggridge’s first appearance with Bell Witch but also a track that has deeply resonated with Desmond over the years. With the approach in place, Bell Witch and Aerial Ruin collectively wrote desolate yet mystical songs, making up an album of deep, dark undertows and careful respite.
The themes explored by Bell Witch and Aerial Ruin were independently tackled from different angles but were mainly from similar spaces. Whereas Bell Witch plumbed the depths of purgatory—a place of atonement between life and death—across three full-lengths, Moggridge’s Aerial Ruin have centered on the loss of the self and the spiritual places the vacancy ultimately leads to. For Stygian Bough Volume I, Bell Witch and Aerial Ruin topics of choice intersect and complement, continuing in spirit but with a broader vantage point where "Rows (of Endless Waves)” left off.
Stygian Bough Volume I Track Listing:
1 - The Bastard Wind2 - Heaven Torn Low I (the passage)3 - Heaven Torn Low II (the toll)4 - Prelude5 - The Unbodied Air
Bell Witch: Web | Facebook | Twitter | InstagramAerial Ruin: Web | Facebook | Instagram
FROM COLLABORATIVE ALBUM WITH BELL WITCH:STYGIAN BOUGH VOLUME I AVAILABLE NOW ON PROFOUND LORE
Album Artwork By: Adam BurkeEarlier this summer Bell Witch and Aerial Ruin released their highly acclaimed collaborative album, Stygian Bough Volume I. This week Aerial Ruin’s Erik Moggridge has revealed two acoustic performance videos which feature excerpts from the album. “The Bastard Wind” debuted via CVLT Nation and “Heaven Torn Low I (the passage)" debuted via Rock Hard Germany. The two acoustic versions are streaming now via YouTube below.
Watch & Share: “The Bastard Wind”(excerpt, Aerial Ruin acoustic version)Watch & Share: “Heaven Torn Low I (the passage)”(excerpt, Aerial Ruin acoustic version)
On Stygian Bough Volume I, renowned doom duo Bell Witch (Dylan Desmond and Jesse Shreibman) fully integrated themselves with dark folk elegist, Aerial Ruin (Erik Moggridge) for a collection of five transcendent songs that defy categorization. Of these acoustic performances, Moggridge comments:
"These are simple videos of yours truly at home filmed/recorded with my intelligent-phone. While I have made videos like this for my Aerial Ruin only material, the format felt different when using it for my collaborative work with Bell Witch and it’s been interesting to channel Stygian Bough songs through this lens."
While Moggridge has been a part of Bell Witch's sonic fingerprint on all their prior records, perhaps most notably for his vocals on their previous acclaimed full-length, Mirror Reaper, he’s now part of the very fabric that make up the striking and visceral songs that comprise Stygian Bough Volume I.
While live activities are on hold for now, stay tuned for further updates from the trio in the coming weeks and months.
LISTEN + SHARE STYGIAN BOUGH VOLUME I:BANDCAMP | SPOTIFY | APPLE
Early acclaim for Stygian Bough Volume I:
“The Bastard Wind” is a real epic, with rises and falls and peaks and valleys. It starts as a soft, ritualistic hymn. From there, it builds and builds into a swirling, elemental cacophony. It’s got multiple movements, but the whole thing hangs together. Like the best epics, it sweeps you away to another place. At times, it’s absolutely beautiful.” STEREOGUM
"Over gorgeously stretched-out songs (two exceed 19 minutes), its haunted and heavy melancholia vacillates between acoustic passages and roaring walls of distortion" SEATTLE TIMES
"Stygian Bough Volume I isn't metal...it's a slowcore/folk album with the occasional foray into doom. It has its heavy moments, but it's overall no more metal than, say, Mount Eerie's Ocean Roar." BROOKLYN VEGAN
“...a beautiful bummer team-up” NPR
“a master class in slow-burning buildup, ebb-and-flow dynamics and cataclysmic catharsis” REVOLVER
“deafeningly melancholic, crumbling every headstone in the cemetery” AV CLUB
“doom metal album of the year” BLABBERMOUTH
“this takes the listener on a journey through vast expanses of music” DECIBEL
“purvey a doomy slowcore overcast with a meditative sadness”CONSEQUENCE OF SOUND
“simply crushing in its emotional and sonic weight” NO CLEAN SINGING
"A near-perfect crossover of bleak funeral sludge and gothic loner-folk"METAL HAMMER
“provides pensive tone that immediately draws the listener in” MXDWN
“it's exactly the epic, haunting funeral doom you'd expect given the lineup”METAL INJECTION
"great beast tearing itself apart at the seams" EXCLAIM!
“some world-shifting stuff” INVISIBLE ORANGES
Photo By: Mackenzie Stone More about Stygian Bough Volume I and the collaboration:
While Moggridge has been a part of Bell Witch’s sonic fingerprint on all their prior records, perhaps most notably for his vocals on their previous acclaimed full-length, Mirror Reaper, he’s now part of the very fabric that make up the striking and visceral songs that comprise Stygian Bough Volume I.
The addition of guitar to the bass and drum-only dynamic came naturally as the threesome discussed potential models for their joint effort. Ulver’s unorthodox folk album Kveldssanger came up as did Candlemass' mile marker Nightfall. But the real fuel to Stygian Bough Volume I was the Bell Witch track, “Rows (of Endless Waves)", which was not only Moggridge’s first appearance with Bell Witch but also a track that has deeply resonated with Desmond over the years. With the approach in place, Bell Witch and Aerial Ruin collectively wrote desolate yet mystical songs, making up an album of deep, dark undertows and careful respite.
The themes explored by Bell Witch and Aerial Ruin were independently tackled from different angles but were mainly from similar spaces. Whereas Bell Witch plumbed the depths of purgatory—a place of atonement between life and death—across three full-lengths, Moggridge’s Aerial Ruin have centered on the loss of the self and the spiritual places the vacancy ultimately leads to. For Stygian Bough Volume I, Bell Witch and Aerial Ruin topics of choice intersect and complement, continuing in spirit but with a broader vantage point where "Rows (of Endless Waves)” left off.
Stygian Bough Volume I Track Listing:
1 - The Bastard Wind2 - Heaven Torn Low I (the passage)3 - Heaven Torn Low II (the toll)4 - Prelude5 - The Unbodied Air
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