Anya M. Wassenberg's Blog: Art & Culture Maven, page 46
February 4, 2020
Polished Pop: Amanda Easton - Polaroids & Postcards (Independent / 10 December 2019)
Polished Pop:
Amanda Easton - Polaroids & Postcards
(Independent / 10 December 2019)
• Stream on Bandcamp.
• Stream on Soundcloud.
"I was packing up my Mum's house when I discovered a box of old letters and photos of mine and it brought back lots of memories! These songs are all from personal experiences - some joy and love, some heartbreak."
That's how singer-songwriter Amanda Easton describes her latest release, Polaroids & Postcards. It's a quirky EP of electronic pop characterized by her clear and expressive soprano. She has a theatrical sense of songwriting and vocalism that adds layered dimensions to the tracks.
The Man Who Fell To Earth is, obvs, inspired by Bowie, coming out in an esoteric stream of consciousness. Her voice has a shimmery edge, perfect for the moody and astmospheric Eye to Eye.
If I have one quibble about the EP, it's that her voice deserves a fuller sound to back it up, at least on some tracks. Sometimes minimalism is...minimal. Her voice is strong and compelling in I Saw The Message, all moody and sexy, and the instrumental accompaniment doesn't really do it justice.
The title track is a standout, with churchy organ and intriguing rhythms to add to her flexible soprano.
Amanda's a veteran of Australia's music industry. She has previously released two full-length albums, and three EPs, and has performed all over the world. Two of her singles have placed in the top 10 of the independent Aussie charts, and her music videos and live performances have appeared on Australian MTV and other shows.
As a lead and backing vocalist, she's been heard in TV commercials and co-writes with many other Australian and international artists. One of her recent co-written singles, The New Bohemians, is up for an Australian Songwriting Award.
Tracklisting:
1. Man Who Fell to Earth
2. Eye to Eye
3. I Saw the Message
4. Letter to a Small Boy
5. Polaroids & Postcards
6. Rockabilly Blue
Websites:
OfficialFacebookTwitterInstagramBandcampYoutube
Polaroids & Postcards:
Amanda Easton - Polaroids & Postcards
(Independent / 10 December 2019)
• Stream on Bandcamp.
• Stream on Soundcloud.
"I was packing up my Mum's house when I discovered a box of old letters and photos of mine and it brought back lots of memories! These songs are all from personal experiences - some joy and love, some heartbreak."
That's how singer-songwriter Amanda Easton describes her latest release, Polaroids & Postcards. It's a quirky EP of electronic pop characterized by her clear and expressive soprano. She has a theatrical sense of songwriting and vocalism that adds layered dimensions to the tracks.
The Man Who Fell To Earth is, obvs, inspired by Bowie, coming out in an esoteric stream of consciousness. Her voice has a shimmery edge, perfect for the moody and astmospheric Eye to Eye.
If I have one quibble about the EP, it's that her voice deserves a fuller sound to back it up, at least on some tracks. Sometimes minimalism is...minimal. Her voice is strong and compelling in I Saw The Message, all moody and sexy, and the instrumental accompaniment doesn't really do it justice.
The title track is a standout, with churchy organ and intriguing rhythms to add to her flexible soprano.
Amanda's a veteran of Australia's music industry. She has previously released two full-length albums, and three EPs, and has performed all over the world. Two of her singles have placed in the top 10 of the independent Aussie charts, and her music videos and live performances have appeared on Australian MTV and other shows.
As a lead and backing vocalist, she's been heard in TV commercials and co-writes with many other Australian and international artists. One of her recent co-written singles, The New Bohemians, is up for an Australian Songwriting Award.
Tracklisting:
1. Man Who Fell to Earth
2. Eye to Eye
3. I Saw the Message
4. Letter to a Small Boy
5. Polaroids & Postcards
6. Rockabilly Blue
Websites:
OfficialFacebookTwitterInstagramBandcampYoutube
Polaroids & Postcards:
Pop Single: Marva Holiday - Reflections (Independent / 31 December 2019)
Pop Single:
Marva Holiday - Reflections
(Independent / 31 December 2019)
• Stream "Reflections" on Spotify.
Marva Holiday's soulful vocals are centre stage in the new single by the music industry veteran. Reflections builds on Marva's 2016 release of To Love Somebody, a remake of the classic Bee Gees hit as a duet with Joe Chambers.
Marva wrote the lyrics for the song, about relationships - and her relationship to relationships, if I can describe it like that. As an older woman, she sings about strength, resilience, and independence, themes that also applies to her career in music.
"It's difficult for female performers who are middle-aged and older to return to the music business once it's decided that they're 'too old,'" she notes in a media release. "I was pushed out of the industry by ageism, but I'm not letting that stop me from coming right back, right now!"
Former staff writer with Motown Records publishing arm, with a 1973 hit single "Woman in My Eyes" as sung by Stacie Johnson, you'd think that her future was assured. Yet, after hitting the club circuit for several years, she retired from performing in 1977.
It was a song she co-wrote and performed back in 1967 that revived her career in 2005. Unbeknownst to Marva, she'd become popular in the UK as part of the Northern Soul craze, and made her concert debut there in 2005.
She's got an EP of original material to follow.
"One of my goals is to inspire older women," says Holiday. "I will demonstrate that it IS possible to dust off one's deferred dreams and 'go for it.' Age is nothing but a number. Making music, whether mine or that of others, energizes me. I will write and perform as long as there's an audience."
Marva Holiday - Reflections
(Independent / 31 December 2019)
• Stream "Reflections" on Spotify.
Marva Holiday's soulful vocals are centre stage in the new single by the music industry veteran. Reflections builds on Marva's 2016 release of To Love Somebody, a remake of the classic Bee Gees hit as a duet with Joe Chambers.
Marva wrote the lyrics for the song, about relationships - and her relationship to relationships, if I can describe it like that. As an older woman, she sings about strength, resilience, and independence, themes that also applies to her career in music.
"It's difficult for female performers who are middle-aged and older to return to the music business once it's decided that they're 'too old,'" she notes in a media release. "I was pushed out of the industry by ageism, but I'm not letting that stop me from coming right back, right now!"
Former staff writer with Motown Records publishing arm, with a 1973 hit single "Woman in My Eyes" as sung by Stacie Johnson, you'd think that her future was assured. Yet, after hitting the club circuit for several years, she retired from performing in 1977.
It was a song she co-wrote and performed back in 1967 that revived her career in 2005. Unbeknownst to Marva, she'd become popular in the UK as part of the Northern Soul craze, and made her concert debut there in 2005.
She's got an EP of original material to follow.
"One of my goals is to inspire older women," says Holiday. "I will demonstrate that it IS possible to dust off one's deferred dreams and 'go for it.' Age is nothing but a number. Making music, whether mine or that of others, energizes me. I will write and perform as long as there's an audience."
Russian Rock: Apache Rose - Tiny Love (Independent / 8 October 2019)
Russian Rock:
Apache Rose - Tiny Love
(Independent / 8 October 2019)
• Stream on Spotify.
• Stream on Youtube.
From Russia with Love...and ROCK... Tiny Love is billed as a feel-good song about failure and perseverance by Russian rockers Apache Rose.
Apache Rose is the brain child of Ilya Novokhatskiy along with a fluctuating cast of musicians. He fell in love with American and British rock after spending time in the US as a child.
In interview with Gig Radar, Ilya talks about the song, their debut release. "We always write the music first and then the lyrics. That way the music provides the emotional fuel for lyric-writing. And often words just come out of my mouth being driven by the song. The first lines of Tiny Love are "My tiny love is not loud enough" is actually a reference to Soundgarden's song Loud Love and the Stone Temple Pilots album 'Tiny Music'. That's the 90-s channeling through me."
The rhythmic heavy rock sound also has its roots in Seattle's heyday, with vocals that are supple with a hard edge. It's got the bombast of radio rock, with tight chops to back it up. There are some interesting rhythmic changes, and a sophisticated sense of songwriting that keeps it interesting.
Despite the long distance and indie status, Apache Rose is gradually reaching fans in North America online. One suggestion though: rethinking the name of the band.
Written & produced by Ilya Novokhatskiy
Stay in touch:
FacebookInstagramSoundcloudYoutube
Apache Rose - Tiny Love
(Independent / 8 October 2019)
• Stream on Spotify.
• Stream on Youtube.
From Russia with Love...and ROCK... Tiny Love is billed as a feel-good song about failure and perseverance by Russian rockers Apache Rose.
Apache Rose is the brain child of Ilya Novokhatskiy along with a fluctuating cast of musicians. He fell in love with American and British rock after spending time in the US as a child.
In interview with Gig Radar, Ilya talks about the song, their debut release. "We always write the music first and then the lyrics. That way the music provides the emotional fuel for lyric-writing. And often words just come out of my mouth being driven by the song. The first lines of Tiny Love are "My tiny love is not loud enough" is actually a reference to Soundgarden's song Loud Love and the Stone Temple Pilots album 'Tiny Music'. That's the 90-s channeling through me."
The rhythmic heavy rock sound also has its roots in Seattle's heyday, with vocals that are supple with a hard edge. It's got the bombast of radio rock, with tight chops to back it up. There are some interesting rhythmic changes, and a sophisticated sense of songwriting that keeps it interesting.
Despite the long distance and indie status, Apache Rose is gradually reaching fans in North America online. One suggestion though: rethinking the name of the band.
Written & produced by Ilya Novokhatskiy
Stay in touch:
FacebookInstagramSoundcloudYoutube
January 27, 2020
Ségou ‘Art – Festival sur le Niger February 4 to 9 2020
With material from a media release:
Ségou ‘Art – Festival sur le Niger
February 4 to 9, 2020
• Follow Them On Facebook
The 16th Ségou’ Art – Festival sur le Niger is a special edition, dedicated to reconciliation and social cohesion, centred on the theme of ‘Migrations & Identity’
Last year, in 2019, the Festival sur le Niger (“Festival on The Niger”), a large festival of traditional arts and culture, held on the banks of the river Ségou, combined with Ségou’ Art, a celebration of contemporary African art. Traditional and contemporary artists in the worlds of visual arts, music, dance, theatre, and crafts come together, along with an agricultural fair, in the newly revitalized multidisciplinary festival. The Festival also includes workshops, a symposium, master classes, and an industry conference.
On the theme of ‘Migrations & Identity’, speakers will include Prof. Ibrahima Wane (Senegal), Prof. Mahamadé Savadogo (Burkina Faso), Prof. Yacouba Konaté (Côte d’Ivoire), Prof. Lupwishi Mbuyamba (RDC), Prof. Ismaël Maiga (Mali), Dr Jenny Mbaye (Senegal/France), M. Simon Njami (Cameroon), Dr Fodié Tandjigora (Mali), M. Mamadou Ndiaye (Mali) and Mme Ramata Diaouré (Mali).
From Segou'Art 2019Highlights of the festivalCultural Caravan for Peace
A Sahelo-Trans-Saharan project promoting peace in the Sahara and Sehel's regions. This year's festival will focus on the cuisine of northern and southern Mali and the invited countries.
Fair of Ségou
Over 200,000 vistors and abouyt 400 creatives from Mali, West Africa, and more than 30 Africn countries will participate in the fair, which includes Scène Biton, dedicated to young artists.
Art exhibitions
Emerging visual artists are promoted in Bi Mali (Contemporary Mali), a series of exhibitions in painting, sculpture, photogrpahy, and vido.
Experienced artists such as Abdoulaye Konaté and Cheick Diallo will also exhibit, as well as conduct master classes. Other participating artists include Viyé Diba (Senegal), Siriki Ky (Burkina Faso), Wadi Mhiri (Tunisia) and Barthélemy Toguo (Cameroon).
The following galleries will participate in the exhibitions: Kôrè Gallery (Mali), George Camille Gallery (Seychelles), Centre Soleil d’Afrique (Mali) and Bamako Art Gallery (Mali).
Segou'Art Festival 2019Traditional events
Traditional Malian culture will be featured in a number of events, including Baara, canoe races, Kôrèdugaw, Dogon Masks, Puppets (Markala, Pelengana), Tindé (Touareg dance & music) and Samoko blowers.
Ségou ’Art | Festival on Niger, is a creative format of the Festival on Niger, which in addition to music, focuses on contemporary art through a contemporary art fair, and all the traditional components of the Festival on Niger (Giant Concerts on the banks of the Niger River, Theater, Dance, Workshops, Conferences, Ségou Fair, Traditional Events, Cultural Caravan for Peace.). Ségou ’Art, in addition to the traditional components of the Festival on Niger, consists in bringing together gallery owners, collectors and art lovers, art critics around the works of young emerging talents from Africa and elsewhere, not only to make them known, stimulate local consumption, but also to initiate a reflection on the development of visual arts in Africa, and to create the optimal conditions for their emergence through a local art fair.
The 16th Ségou’ Art – Festival sur le Niger will take place in Ségou, Mali from the 4th until the 9th of February 2020. For more information visit the Festival website.
From 2019:
Ségou ‘Art – Festival sur le Niger
February 4 to 9, 2020
• Follow Them On Facebook
The 16th Ségou’ Art – Festival sur le Niger is a special edition, dedicated to reconciliation and social cohesion, centred on the theme of ‘Migrations & Identity’
Last year, in 2019, the Festival sur le Niger (“Festival on The Niger”), a large festival of traditional arts and culture, held on the banks of the river Ségou, combined with Ségou’ Art, a celebration of contemporary African art. Traditional and contemporary artists in the worlds of visual arts, music, dance, theatre, and crafts come together, along with an agricultural fair, in the newly revitalized multidisciplinary festival. The Festival also includes workshops, a symposium, master classes, and an industry conference.
On the theme of ‘Migrations & Identity’, speakers will include Prof. Ibrahima Wane (Senegal), Prof. Mahamadé Savadogo (Burkina Faso), Prof. Yacouba Konaté (Côte d’Ivoire), Prof. Lupwishi Mbuyamba (RDC), Prof. Ismaël Maiga (Mali), Dr Jenny Mbaye (Senegal/France), M. Simon Njami (Cameroon), Dr Fodié Tandjigora (Mali), M. Mamadou Ndiaye (Mali) and Mme Ramata Diaouré (Mali).
From Segou'Art 2019Highlights of the festivalCultural Caravan for PeaceA Sahelo-Trans-Saharan project promoting peace in the Sahara and Sehel's regions. This year's festival will focus on the cuisine of northern and southern Mali and the invited countries.
Fair of Ségou
Over 200,000 vistors and abouyt 400 creatives from Mali, West Africa, and more than 30 Africn countries will participate in the fair, which includes Scène Biton, dedicated to young artists.
Art exhibitions
Emerging visual artists are promoted in Bi Mali (Contemporary Mali), a series of exhibitions in painting, sculpture, photogrpahy, and vido.
Experienced artists such as Abdoulaye Konaté and Cheick Diallo will also exhibit, as well as conduct master classes. Other participating artists include Viyé Diba (Senegal), Siriki Ky (Burkina Faso), Wadi Mhiri (Tunisia) and Barthélemy Toguo (Cameroon).
The following galleries will participate in the exhibitions: Kôrè Gallery (Mali), George Camille Gallery (Seychelles), Centre Soleil d’Afrique (Mali) and Bamako Art Gallery (Mali).
Segou'Art Festival 2019Traditional eventsTraditional Malian culture will be featured in a number of events, including Baara, canoe races, Kôrèdugaw, Dogon Masks, Puppets (Markala, Pelengana), Tindé (Touareg dance & music) and Samoko blowers.
Ségou ’Art | Festival on Niger, is a creative format of the Festival on Niger, which in addition to music, focuses on contemporary art through a contemporary art fair, and all the traditional components of the Festival on Niger (Giant Concerts on the banks of the Niger River, Theater, Dance, Workshops, Conferences, Ségou Fair, Traditional Events, Cultural Caravan for Peace.). Ségou ’Art, in addition to the traditional components of the Festival on Niger, consists in bringing together gallery owners, collectors and art lovers, art critics around the works of young emerging talents from Africa and elsewhere, not only to make them known, stimulate local consumption, but also to initiate a reflection on the development of visual arts in Africa, and to create the optimal conditions for their emergence through a local art fair.
The 16th Ségou’ Art – Festival sur le Niger will take place in Ségou, Mali from the 4th until the 9th of February 2020. For more information visit the Festival website.
From 2019:
January 17, 2020
#CUTMR2020 Come Up To My Room at the Gladstone Hotel January 16 to 20 2020
With material taken from the artists' statements
#CUTMR2020
Come Up To My Room
at the Gladstone Hotel
January 16 to 20, 2020
• Part Of DesignTO
The city of Toronto celebrates "design as a multidisciplinary form of creative thinking and making, with over 100 exhibits and events forming Toronto's design week," from January 17 to 26.
GiaimoAt the Gladstone Hotel, already an icon in the city's design landscape, Come Up To My Room, part of DesignTO, takes over all four floors with a series of installations occupying the rooms (second floor) and the hallways (third and fourth). This has been one of my favourite artsy events in the city year after year, as the curators - Astrid Ho, Megan Feheley, and Lee Petrie this year - put together a fun, eye popping show that provokes thought and entertains at the same time.
There were 24 artists, designers, and design groups who participated this year.
Special Events
Love Design Party
January 18 - 7 to 10 p.m.
Free - in the ballroom
Dance and drink with the Queen West design crowd at this annual extravaganza - free while capacity allows.
Love Design Shop
January 18 - 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Free - in the ballroom
Check out the unique wares at this shopping event, featuring Kristen Lim Tung, Holly Stapleton, haeven studio, 100 Years of Love, Queenie.X.cermics, Kotoba Jewellery, Poppysmicks, Mr. RL ++
It's difficult to say there were highlights, because it was all so interesting, and the whole experience is immersive as you explore the hotel, but here are some of the installations that left an impression.
Dennis Lin, untitledDENNIS LIN
Untitled
Dennis Lin is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design. Patterns of consumption, and the earth's threshold to maintain them, are reflected in the way Lin pushes the physical thresholds of the woods and metals that compose his sculptures.
Noni Kaur, Plasmic PlayNONI KAUR | PLASMIC PLAY
Noni Kaur’s practice explores how culture and materials are adapted or transformed in different environments according to the posthuman experience. This site-specific installation traces the agency of cellular, plasmic, and parasitic forces in both human and non-human worlds.
Alexandra Majerus, In This PlaceALEXANDRA MAJERUS | IN THIS PLACE
With the participation of Ewan Atkinson, Bart Sims and Melanie Springer.
This installation centres on Turner’s Hall Woods, Barbados, which has the island’s only remaining pre-colonial vegetation.
Structural Design Build Workshop, The Chair ProjectSTRUCTURAL DESIGN BUILD WORKSHOP | THE CHAIR PROJECT
Jon Bennett, Stephanie Boutari, Graham Brindle, Christy Cheng, Kate Holbrook-Smith, Elizabeth Lenny, Steven Lin, Joshua MacDonald, Mia Milanovic, Emma Moseley, Mariah Palantzas, Caitlin Perry, Amanda Reyes-Martin, Alex Robinson, Alyssa Tang, Coco Xiong, Sarah Zheng and Elizabeth C. English (coordinator)
The Structural Design Build Workshop is a fifth year course, the culmination of the sequence of four structures courses at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture.
Janina Anderosn, Cut-OutsJANINA ANDERSON | CUT-OUTS
Cut-Outs uses collage to investigate how images construct meaning while serving as a site for the artist and others to explore cross-cultural identity, multiculturalism and the displacement that compounds as borderlines are drawn and redrawn, migration patterns shift and swell over generations of assimilation and dislocation.
Maxwell Lander
Maxwell LanderMAXWELL LANDER | CYB3R
Cyb3r is an experimental, multimedia, immersive experience of the queer erotic. Informed strongly by the artist’s upbringing in the 90s, Cyb3r utilizes the technological landscape of 2019 (XR, IoT devices, 3d printing) to craft an experience of queer sexual play.
From 2019:
#CUTMR2020
Come Up To My Room
at the Gladstone Hotel
January 16 to 20, 2020
• Part Of DesignTO
The city of Toronto celebrates "design as a multidisciplinary form of creative thinking and making, with over 100 exhibits and events forming Toronto's design week," from January 17 to 26.
GiaimoAt the Gladstone Hotel, already an icon in the city's design landscape, Come Up To My Room, part of DesignTO, takes over all four floors with a series of installations occupying the rooms (second floor) and the hallways (third and fourth). This has been one of my favourite artsy events in the city year after year, as the curators - Astrid Ho, Megan Feheley, and Lee Petrie this year - put together a fun, eye popping show that provokes thought and entertains at the same time.There were 24 artists, designers, and design groups who participated this year.
Special Events
Love Design Party
January 18 - 7 to 10 p.m.
Free - in the ballroom
Dance and drink with the Queen West design crowd at this annual extravaganza - free while capacity allows.
Love Design Shop
January 18 - 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Free - in the ballroom
Check out the unique wares at this shopping event, featuring Kristen Lim Tung, Holly Stapleton, haeven studio, 100 Years of Love, Queenie.X.cermics, Kotoba Jewellery, Poppysmicks, Mr. RL ++
It's difficult to say there were highlights, because it was all so interesting, and the whole experience is immersive as you explore the hotel, but here are some of the installations that left an impression.
Dennis Lin, untitledDENNIS LINUntitled
Dennis Lin is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design. Patterns of consumption, and the earth's threshold to maintain them, are reflected in the way Lin pushes the physical thresholds of the woods and metals that compose his sculptures.
Noni Kaur, Plasmic PlayNONI KAUR | PLASMIC PLAYNoni Kaur’s practice explores how culture and materials are adapted or transformed in different environments according to the posthuman experience. This site-specific installation traces the agency of cellular, plasmic, and parasitic forces in both human and non-human worlds.
Alexandra Majerus, In This PlaceALEXANDRA MAJERUS | IN THIS PLACEWith the participation of Ewan Atkinson, Bart Sims and Melanie Springer.
This installation centres on Turner’s Hall Woods, Barbados, which has the island’s only remaining pre-colonial vegetation.
Structural Design Build Workshop, The Chair ProjectSTRUCTURAL DESIGN BUILD WORKSHOP | THE CHAIR PROJECTJon Bennett, Stephanie Boutari, Graham Brindle, Christy Cheng, Kate Holbrook-Smith, Elizabeth Lenny, Steven Lin, Joshua MacDonald, Mia Milanovic, Emma Moseley, Mariah Palantzas, Caitlin Perry, Amanda Reyes-Martin, Alex Robinson, Alyssa Tang, Coco Xiong, Sarah Zheng and Elizabeth C. English (coordinator)
The Structural Design Build Workshop is a fifth year course, the culmination of the sequence of four structures courses at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture.
Janina Anderosn, Cut-OutsJANINA ANDERSON | CUT-OUTSCut-Outs uses collage to investigate how images construct meaning while serving as a site for the artist and others to explore cross-cultural identity, multiculturalism and the displacement that compounds as borderlines are drawn and redrawn, migration patterns shift and swell over generations of assimilation and dislocation.
Maxwell Lander
Maxwell LanderMAXWELL LANDER | CYB3RCyb3r is an experimental, multimedia, immersive experience of the queer erotic. Informed strongly by the artist’s upbringing in the 90s, Cyb3r utilizes the technological landscape of 2019 (XR, IoT devices, 3d printing) to craft an experience of queer sexual play.
From 2019:
January 9, 2020
Folk/Americana: Magical Beasts - Yes, My Love, I am Reaching (Independent / December 20, 2019)
Folk/Americana:
Magical Beasts - Yes, My Love, I am Reaching
(Independent / December 20, 2019)
• Stream the album via Bandcamp
• Stream and playlist via Spotify
Led by musician and composer Ned Paulus, Magical Beasts offers a dreamy, melodic, even haunting version of folk and Americana. The sound overall is lush, with instrumentation that includes banjo, ukelele, and pedal steel guitar along with violin and the usual acoustic guitar and bass.
The pace is languid, and the six songs talk about love and devotion - but devotion replete with sexual imagery. Love, sex, and yearning come together. The band released it around the Winter Solstice intentionally. "It is very much a Winter record," says the media release.
The various threads of vocals, acoustic guitar, fiddle, and percussion weave into a trance-like groove in Darling. The lyrics are simple, and tell a story in the true folk tradition.
Darling, come and walk beside me
Your hand in mine, watch the world you see
Darling, bring your horses to me
Teach me to ride in the sun by the sea
In grace with this garden where we bloomed into being.
Little Buds brings the spring, a faster pace, and a musical awakening. As with the other tracks, the sense of familiarity in the folk idiom is a little deceptive, masking the inventive song structures and textures.
Harmonies take unexpected turns, and what begins simply ends as a multi-layered and trippy sonic landscape. It's folk and Americana with an idiosyncratic twist.
Musicians:
Nathan Paulus: Vocals and Guitar; John Herbst: Vocals, Banjo and Ukulele; Josh Miller: Vocals and Bass; Matt Carroll: Drums; Ethan Pikas: Pedal Steel, Dobro and Banjo; Jess McIntosh: Vocals and Violin (Darling, 7 Nights, Little Buds); Sharon Hoyer: Vocals (Farthest Shore); Katie Stimpson: Vocals (Farthest Shore, Come Find Me, In Praise); Joseph Dittman: Fender Rhodes (In Praise)
Tracklisting:
1. Come Find Me
2. 7 Nights
3. Darling
4. In Praise
5. Little Buds
6. Farthest Shore
Websites:
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/magicalbeasts/
Twitter https://twitter.com/Magical_Beasts
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/magical_beasts_band/
Darling:
Magical Beasts - Yes, My Love, I am Reaching
(Independent / December 20, 2019)
• Stream the album via Bandcamp
• Stream and playlist via Spotify
Led by musician and composer Ned Paulus, Magical Beasts offers a dreamy, melodic, even haunting version of folk and Americana. The sound overall is lush, with instrumentation that includes banjo, ukelele, and pedal steel guitar along with violin and the usual acoustic guitar and bass.
The pace is languid, and the six songs talk about love and devotion - but devotion replete with sexual imagery. Love, sex, and yearning come together. The band released it around the Winter Solstice intentionally. "It is very much a Winter record," says the media release.
The various threads of vocals, acoustic guitar, fiddle, and percussion weave into a trance-like groove in Darling. The lyrics are simple, and tell a story in the true folk tradition.
Darling, come and walk beside me
Your hand in mine, watch the world you see
Darling, bring your horses to me
Teach me to ride in the sun by the sea
In grace with this garden where we bloomed into being.
Little Buds brings the spring, a faster pace, and a musical awakening. As with the other tracks, the sense of familiarity in the folk idiom is a little deceptive, masking the inventive song structures and textures.
Harmonies take unexpected turns, and what begins simply ends as a multi-layered and trippy sonic landscape. It's folk and Americana with an idiosyncratic twist.
Musicians:
Nathan Paulus: Vocals and Guitar; John Herbst: Vocals, Banjo and Ukulele; Josh Miller: Vocals and Bass; Matt Carroll: Drums; Ethan Pikas: Pedal Steel, Dobro and Banjo; Jess McIntosh: Vocals and Violin (Darling, 7 Nights, Little Buds); Sharon Hoyer: Vocals (Farthest Shore); Katie Stimpson: Vocals (Farthest Shore, Come Find Me, In Praise); Joseph Dittman: Fender Rhodes (In Praise)
Tracklisting:
1. Come Find Me
2. 7 Nights
3. Darling
4. In Praise
5. Little Buds
6. Farthest Shore
Websites:
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/magicalbeasts/
Twitter https://twitter.com/Magical_Beasts
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/magical_beasts_band/
Darling:
RnB/Reggae/Hip Hop: Har'Monique - Oh Lawd (Independent / 2 November 2019)
RnB/Reggae/Hip Hop:
Har'Monique - Oh Lawd
(Independent / 2 November 2019)
• Stream it on Spotify
Upbeat and infectious, you won't be able to stop moving to Oh Lawd, a new single from Har'Monique. The song has a bouncy groove with a modern reggae feel and classic RnB harmonies and fluid vocals.
Har'Monique (aka Monique Fraser) grew up in Brooklyn, New York. The budding writer - she'd started her first novel at 12 - relocated with her family to upstate NY at 13. It was a boyfriend - a music engineer - who would turn her onto the world of music.
Her sound began with the classic RnB that she drew up with, influenced by greats like Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. But, along the way, she's developed her own sound, infusing reggae, RnB, and hip hop idioms.
Har'Monique is working on ther first full-length album, and this is the lead off single.
Looking forward to more from this talented artist.
Produced By: Kontrabandz
Stay in touch:
Facebook music page: https://m.facebook.com/mrs.maddi13/
YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ9slRIAdssIg4dAPFL4Avw
Instagram: @har_monique23
Har'Monique - Oh Lawd
(Independent / 2 November 2019)
• Stream it on Spotify
Upbeat and infectious, you won't be able to stop moving to Oh Lawd, a new single from Har'Monique. The song has a bouncy groove with a modern reggae feel and classic RnB harmonies and fluid vocals.
Har'Monique (aka Monique Fraser) grew up in Brooklyn, New York. The budding writer - she'd started her first novel at 12 - relocated with her family to upstate NY at 13. It was a boyfriend - a music engineer - who would turn her onto the world of music.
Her sound began with the classic RnB that she drew up with, influenced by greats like Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. But, along the way, she's developed her own sound, infusing reggae, RnB, and hip hop idioms.
Har'Monique is working on ther first full-length album, and this is the lead off single.
Looking forward to more from this talented artist.
Produced By: Kontrabandz
Stay in touch:
Facebook music page: https://m.facebook.com/mrs.maddi13/
YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ9slRIAdssIg4dAPFL4Avw
Instagram: @har_monique23
Lithuanian Rock: Robertas Semeniukas - Backstage Stories (Independent / November 20, 2019)
Robertas Semeniukas - Backstage Stories
(Independent / November 20, 2019)
• Stream it on Spotify
• The Album "Backstage Stories" 2xLP & CD
Robertas Semeniukas is a great find if you like your rock with a hard edge and a strong groove. Naturally, guitar reigns supreme, with a sound that ranges from snarly to fluid and melodic, and virtuosic chops to keep everything interesting. You don't have to understand Lithuanian to enjoy the well-crafted songs and polished musicianship.
Of the 20 tracks, 8 are instrumental. This is rock in what you'd call a classic vein, heavily influenced by 1980s and 1990s bands, but with a modern gloss to it, and a sense of musical experimentation that isn't often associated with that era in Western pop music. Robertas wrote or co-wrote all the tracks except for one cover, the blues composition You Gotta Move by Mississippi Fred McDowell.
Within the rock/metal genre, the prolific composer, singer and musician mines a variety of moods. Songs like Nesustok and Kai tu sugrįši į namus add harmony vocals and acoustic guitar for a softer sound. The instrumental tracks, like Flying High (S.V.J.S.), still have an anthemic feel, and a head banging pulse.
Killer Boogie From China is just that - at least, it's a boogie, the Chinese angle I'm not so sure about. Journey Home is a standout track, an instrumental with a jazzy sense of rhythmic and harmonic changes. Būna tau is a sweet piano ballad. As a vocalist, he has a nice range of tones and expression.
Robertas also serves as producer and arranger on the album. A veteran of the music industry, he's performed at music festival from North America to Russia and China, and many points in between. In Lithuania, he has a busy career writing music for television projects, and as a session musician, in addition to his own recording and performing.
Robertas Semeniukas & Giedrius Balčiūnas (Mr. Jumbo) ☆Camera work, video editing by Giedrius Balčiūnas
Musicians:
Robertas Semeniukas: Guitars and Vocals; Jonas Lengvinas: Drums; Tadas Zukauskas: Bass
Tracklisting:
"1. Kai nieko nebelieka"
"2. Nesustok"
"3. Flying High (S.V.J.S.)"
"4. Gitarų šėlsmas"
"5. Kai tu sugrįši į namus"
"6. Per bangas"
"7. Killer Boogie From China"
"8. Journey Home"
"9. Būna tau"
"10. Stormy Day"
"11. You Gotta Move"
"12. Eat My Dust"
"13. Negerki, broleli"
"14. Icebreaker Comes To Town"
"15. Asian Sky"
"16. See Jam"
"17. Song 4 Editoo"
"18. Dream Song"
"19. Šilo kopa"
"20. Nebilia lankoj"
Stay in touch:
★Web: https://www.semeniukas.com/
★FB: https://www.facebook.com/SemeniukMusic/
★Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robertsemeniuk
*Twitter: https://twitter.com/robertsemeniuk2
*YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Semeniukofficial
The album was released Nov 20th, 2019 on digital, CD and limited edition 180 g 2xLP gatefold vinyl, featuring a 12 pages booklet.
Kai nieko nebelieka (Guitar solo)
(Independent / November 20, 2019)
• Stream it on Spotify
• The Album "Backstage Stories" 2xLP & CD
Robertas Semeniukas is a great find if you like your rock with a hard edge and a strong groove. Naturally, guitar reigns supreme, with a sound that ranges from snarly to fluid and melodic, and virtuosic chops to keep everything interesting. You don't have to understand Lithuanian to enjoy the well-crafted songs and polished musicianship.
Of the 20 tracks, 8 are instrumental. This is rock in what you'd call a classic vein, heavily influenced by 1980s and 1990s bands, but with a modern gloss to it, and a sense of musical experimentation that isn't often associated with that era in Western pop music. Robertas wrote or co-wrote all the tracks except for one cover, the blues composition You Gotta Move by Mississippi Fred McDowell.
Within the rock/metal genre, the prolific composer, singer and musician mines a variety of moods. Songs like Nesustok and Kai tu sugrįši į namus add harmony vocals and acoustic guitar for a softer sound. The instrumental tracks, like Flying High (S.V.J.S.), still have an anthemic feel, and a head banging pulse.
Killer Boogie From China is just that - at least, it's a boogie, the Chinese angle I'm not so sure about. Journey Home is a standout track, an instrumental with a jazzy sense of rhythmic and harmonic changes. Būna tau is a sweet piano ballad. As a vocalist, he has a nice range of tones and expression.
Robertas also serves as producer and arranger on the album. A veteran of the music industry, he's performed at music festival from North America to Russia and China, and many points in between. In Lithuania, he has a busy career writing music for television projects, and as a session musician, in addition to his own recording and performing.
Robertas Semeniukas & Giedrius Balčiūnas (Mr. Jumbo) ☆Camera work, video editing by Giedrius Balčiūnas
Musicians:
Robertas Semeniukas: Guitars and Vocals; Jonas Lengvinas: Drums; Tadas Zukauskas: Bass
Tracklisting:"1. Kai nieko nebelieka"
"2. Nesustok"
"3. Flying High (S.V.J.S.)"
"4. Gitarų šėlsmas"
"5. Kai tu sugrįši į namus"
"6. Per bangas"
"7. Killer Boogie From China"
"8. Journey Home"
"9. Būna tau"
"10. Stormy Day"
"11. You Gotta Move"
"12. Eat My Dust"
"13. Negerki, broleli"
"14. Icebreaker Comes To Town"
"15. Asian Sky"
"16. See Jam"
"17. Song 4 Editoo"
"18. Dream Song"
"19. Šilo kopa"
"20. Nebilia lankoj"
Stay in touch:
★Web: https://www.semeniukas.com/
★FB: https://www.facebook.com/SemeniukMusic/
★Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robertsemeniuk
*Twitter: https://twitter.com/robertsemeniuk2
*YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Semeniukofficial
The album was released Nov 20th, 2019 on digital, CD and limited edition 180 g 2xLP gatefold vinyl, featuring a 12 pages booklet.
Kai nieko nebelieka (Guitar solo)
January 6, 2020
2020 Beethovenfest Bonn March 13 to March 22 2020
From a media release:
2020 Beethovenfest Bonn
March 13 to March 22, 2020
• Find out more
• Check out the concerts
A festival in the city of Beethoven's birth. In addition to its traditional autumn season, the Beethovenfest Bonn is offering a second season of celebrity orchestras for the anniversary year 2020, from 13 March to 22 March 2020. Some concerts are already sold out.
The heart of the Bonn Beethovenfest is the music of Ludwig van Beethoven. Here performances by internationally acclaimed artists and ensembles give local, regional, nationwide and worldwide impetus to the preservation of his oeuvre. To the present day the festival has created dramatic interdisciplinary ties to Beethoven's past, present and future.
Today Beethoven is still considered one of the greatest innovators in music history. He was born in Bonn in 1770, and in 2020 Bonn will celebrate the 250th anniversary of his birth.
Bonn, GermanyThe traces he left behind in the city are still visible: his birth house and the Bonn Beethovenfest, held every year in September, bear witness to the 22 years during which he left his mark on Bonn, and vice versa. His musical genius and humanistic convictions were rooted in the enlightened attitudes that prevailed at the court of Elector Maximilian Franz; his love of nature was awakened in Rhine Valley and Bonn's picturesque countryside. Both these features resound in his music, even in the late works of his Viennese years.
• 2020 Beethovenfest will begin at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, March 13 and ends on Sunday, March 22
Can't make it to Bonn in March? All of Germany is celebrating 250 years of Beethoven.
Revolutionary. Visionary. Cosmopolitan. Not to mention one of the most frequently played classical composers: Ludwig van Beethoven was an extremely talented artist. To this day, his music still unites people all over the world.
#DiscoverBeethoven is all about German destinations, scenery and visions that influenced the grand master. Take a stroll in Beethoven's footsteps. Throughout the year, you can be inspired by milestones in history, personal stories, outstanding events, innovative sound sensations and unexpected perspectives.
• Discover Beethoven's life and work at exhibitions, concerts, festivals, dance performances, plays, talks and more - check out the link.
2020 Beethovenfest Bonn
March 13 to March 22, 2020
• Find out more
• Check out the concerts
A festival in the city of Beethoven's birth. In addition to its traditional autumn season, the Beethovenfest Bonn is offering a second season of celebrity orchestras for the anniversary year 2020, from 13 March to 22 March 2020. Some concerts are already sold out.
The heart of the Bonn Beethovenfest is the music of Ludwig van Beethoven. Here performances by internationally acclaimed artists and ensembles give local, regional, nationwide and worldwide impetus to the preservation of his oeuvre. To the present day the festival has created dramatic interdisciplinary ties to Beethoven's past, present and future.
Today Beethoven is still considered one of the greatest innovators in music history. He was born in Bonn in 1770, and in 2020 Bonn will celebrate the 250th anniversary of his birth.
Bonn, GermanyThe traces he left behind in the city are still visible: his birth house and the Bonn Beethovenfest, held every year in September, bear witness to the 22 years during which he left his mark on Bonn, and vice versa. His musical genius and humanistic convictions were rooted in the enlightened attitudes that prevailed at the court of Elector Maximilian Franz; his love of nature was awakened in Rhine Valley and Bonn's picturesque countryside. Both these features resound in his music, even in the late works of his Viennese years.• 2020 Beethovenfest will begin at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, March 13 and ends on Sunday, March 22
Can't make it to Bonn in March? All of Germany is celebrating 250 years of Beethoven.
Revolutionary. Visionary. Cosmopolitan. Not to mention one of the most frequently played classical composers: Ludwig van Beethoven was an extremely talented artist. To this day, his music still unites people all over the world.
#DiscoverBeethoven is all about German destinations, scenery and visions that influenced the grand master. Take a stroll in Beethoven's footsteps. Throughout the year, you can be inspired by milestones in history, personal stories, outstanding events, innovative sound sensations and unexpected perspectives.
• Discover Beethoven's life and work at exhibitions, concerts, festivals, dance performances, plays, talks and more - check out the link.
Dual Citizen: A Ghanaian Canadian Memoir by Kwame Stephens (Paperback – Oct 28 2019)
Dual Citizen: A Ghanaian Canadian Memoir
by Kwame Stephens (Paperback – Oct 28 2019)
• Get It On Amazon
when dawn breakstomorrow, when the dawnbreaksI will be miles awayon my way to a new landquite different from this one
In 1989, Kwame Stephens packed up his life in Ghana and immigrated to Toronto, Canada. At the time, he felt he was making a brand new start, and would be sowing new and permanent roots in his new home - even if certain aspects of his new landscape were dismaying.
It was in March 1989 when I made my first Trans Atlantic fight from Amsterdam to Toronto. I remember looking below from the plane and seeing fields of white snow. I’d seen snow before. It snows in Lesotho in Southern Africa where I'd visited twice in my teens. What freaked me out was the “snow as far as my eyes could go”.
The book is an intimate portrait of his life and travels, with pictures, and poetry that adds a different perspective and slant.
He's candid about issues like his dismay at the differences between his new, freer life in Canada, and the old rules of Ghana, and the mixed feelings it engendered.
Gradually, over time, the lure of his homeland drew him back, and over multiple visits, even as he settled into Toronto's multi-ethnic vibe, made friends, and his new life, he came to understand his true nature was that of a citizen of both worlds. It's an absorbing and engaging memoir that looks at the realities of immigrant life.
by Kwame Stephens (Paperback – Oct 28 2019)
• Get It On Amazon
when dawn breakstomorrow, when the dawnbreaksI will be miles awayon my way to a new landquite different from this oneIn 1989, Kwame Stephens packed up his life in Ghana and immigrated to Toronto, Canada. At the time, he felt he was making a brand new start, and would be sowing new and permanent roots in his new home - even if certain aspects of his new landscape were dismaying.
It was in March 1989 when I made my first Trans Atlantic fight from Amsterdam to Toronto. I remember looking below from the plane and seeing fields of white snow. I’d seen snow before. It snows in Lesotho in Southern Africa where I'd visited twice in my teens. What freaked me out was the “snow as far as my eyes could go”.
The book is an intimate portrait of his life and travels, with pictures, and poetry that adds a different perspective and slant.
He's candid about issues like his dismay at the differences between his new, freer life in Canada, and the old rules of Ghana, and the mixed feelings it engendered.
Gradually, over time, the lure of his homeland drew him back, and over multiple visits, even as he settled into Toronto's multi-ethnic vibe, made friends, and his new life, he came to understand his true nature was that of a citizen of both worlds. It's an absorbing and engaging memoir that looks at the realities of immigrant life.
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