James Moore's Blog, page 112

New Music Video – “Little Prince” by Debbie Chou

Musician/songstress extraordinaire Debbie Chou has been a known figure in the NYC indie rock scene for years, having lent her talents to indie/psychedelic group The Barrens. There’s no sense of predictability in her work, which walks the line between dream pop, post-punk, art rock and downtempo electronic. For her new single “Little Prince”, Debbie has teamed up with Colin Fitzgerald (editor) and Chloe Lee (director of photography) to release a visually impressive video that brings you into a claustrophobic but beautiful labyrinth-type world that perfectly communicates the emotions of the song.

Enjoy the stunning vocals and dreamy atmosphere of the song/video below! Recommended for fans of: David Bowie, CHVRCHES, Bjork, The Breeders, Portishead

From the news release:

Set in a specially constructed Dollhouse, the cinematography by Chloe Lee features Debbie as a beauty observing a mysterious and fantastical world she cannot penetrate despite her passion. The video, edited by Colin Fitzgerald (a former band mate in The Barrens), takes you deep inside the singer-songwriter’s psyche, is both intimate and simply sweet.

 Following the reception of the “Little Prince” live-screening debut at New York City’s Rockwood Music Hall last December, the venue immediately asked Debbie to return for another show on Sunday, March 30 at 8PM. If you can’t wait until March to see and hear her, you can catch her at Pianos on Saturday, February 15 at 8PM (this is her birthday show and bound to be a really fun time) and Bowery Electric on Wednesday, March 12 at 6:30PM.

As featured on Indie-music.com, Examiner.com, I Am Entertainment Magazine, Antimusic.com, and recommended by countless music publications, “Your Band Is A Virus! Expanded Edition” is the ultimate music marketing guide for serious independent musicians and bands. Get your copy now.

6 New(ish) Acts to Look Out For in 2014

One of my favourite things about a new year is getting a new wave of sounds and faces in the music industry. It freshens things up and it’s great to see and hear a bucketload of talent. Here are my faves of the new year thus far!

Courtney Barnett

The artist I’m most excited about for ’14, is Courtney Barnett. The Aussie singer subtly exudes such confidence in her song-writing, that you just have to sit up and take notice. It sounds like she’s not overly bothered, or even trying, such is the care-free nature of his first trio of songs released, the best of which ‘Avant Gardner’ is below. Her songs meander down a path, that would otherwise be predictive or boring, were it not for interesting worldplay, ‘I’d rather die than owe the hospital till I get old/ I get adrenaline straight to the heart/I feel like Uma Thurman post-overdose and kickstart’. Barnett is one of the strongest wordsmiths I’ve heard in a while, with lyrics you care about, even if she often DOES talk about the mundane…one to look out for at your local massive summer festival, for sure.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcnIhzaDTd0

The Fat White Family

Known for their raucous performances and ridiculous song titles, The Fat White Family may be a short-lived flash in the pan…but for now they’re bloody good! With a spot on the NME Radar Tour alongside Cerebal Ballzy and The Amazing Snakeheads at the backend of 2013, they impressed a huge amount of people. Their debut LP has actually been released, but expect them to garner so much more attention with the backing of the NME now. The aforementioned ridiculous song titles include: ‘Who Shot Lee Oswald?’, ‘Bomb Disneyland’ and the less-crazy, but suitably brilliant nonetheless, ‘Cream of the Young’. I’m very excited by this lot, they seem to have a cracking sense of humour, alongside some interesting, varied musical output. Whether they’ll be a mainstay is another thing, but as I say, enjoy it whilst it lasts!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r95X2tXd8b0

Hozier

The first time I listened to Hozier, I thought of James Blake immediately. And whilst there are similarities between the two, which is no bad thing, Hozier has different qualities. Blake is more understated, whereas Hozier is a ‘shoutier’ version, whose songs whilst pretty slow and steady, DO occasionally pick up. I’m not entirely convinced as of yet, it’d be interesting to hear more tunes from the Irishman, although his video for ‘Take Me to Church’, is pretty interesting and exciting for a brand new artist to put out. So, in a sense, kudos Hozier!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYSVMgRr6pw

Jungle

Jungle appear to be this year’s Rudimental, an act bridging the gap between pop and dance music. Their output so far has been fairly similar, but throw in some guest vocalists and watch it diversify. For now, though, we have to deal with ‘The Heat’ and ‘Platoon’, no bad thing, and it is impressive to see such catchy rhythm from a relatively unknown duo, parallels to another electronic couple, Disclosure, can also be made. They’re happy, no frills and, as I say, a bit samey for now, but Jungle could be the biggest electronic newcomer of 2014.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4UckOGdZtI

Dan Croll

Dan Croll is an interesting one. His videos look like faux Wes Anderson-shorts, and he also looks like he could be a quirky character straight from one of Anderson’s offbeat pictures. But no, he’s another of the ‘folk revival’. Sure ‘Home’, below, isn’t the most original tune, but it’s catching in its own right and you just think Croll has something about him some of the other pretenders to the ‘folk’ crown don’t have. His voice has an English-American quality to it, the music sounds very ‘Middle England’, but chuck in some haunting backing vocals and it all fits together pretty nicely, building to a nice crescendo, not too dour, not too sickly sweet; just right.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYpqI4oD224

Bipolar Sunshine

An intriguing amalgamation of spoken word, electronic beats and rap, Bipolar Sunshine are exciting. It sounds so fresh and unique to hear, something that is becoming more and more difficult to register, but the below song ‘Love More Worry Less’, may take influences from the likes of Snow Patrol and may sound slightly familiar, but listen on, for your own sake! An album should be on the way, but with spots on ‘ones to watch for 2014′ a plenty, the future looks bright for Adio Merchant (of Kid British fame), as his second project should have more staying power than the first.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vj5ScTpFPPo

Got anymore suggestions for me? Give me them in the comments below!

As featured on Indie-music.com, Examiner.com, I Am Entertainment Magazine, Antimusic.com, and recommended by countless music publications, “Your Band Is A Virus! Expanded Edition” is the ultimate music marketing guide for serious independent musicians and bands. Get your copy now.

6 Most Anticipated Music Releases of 2014 (July-December)

Here’s the second chapter in a look at 2014′s releases…

Lana Del Rey

Yet another ‘marmite’ artist, the jury is still out for me on Lana del Rey. I do find her voice amazing at times, but it is slightly numbing that her belated success has only come after a re-branding process that saw her become Lana, after previously going by ‘Lizzie Grant’. Her second album ‘Born to Die’, was a mixed bag for me, her talent undoubtedly there but the diversity of the songs proving to be pretty non-existent, most were slow, trudging ballads that eventually got somewhere but took the longest route possible to get there.

With rumours of new electronic influences, and performances announced for the Coachella extravaganza, 2014 is going to be a big year for Ms Del Rey, whether it’s successful or not, is another matter…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwuHOQLSpEg

blink-182

Blink were a band at their peak in the late 90′s/early 00′s period that saw pop-punk become mainstream. Since then, they’ve had a greatest hits release, a hiatus and a return, all in the space of 5/6 years. Well now their second post-reunion record is being prepped for a 2014 release and they’ve got a headliner slot at the prestigious Reading & Leeds festival sorted for August, the year is looking good for the guys. With most of my generation having some sort of contact with the band during their childhood, it’ll be nice to see them on a big stage setting, rattling through a stackful of hits! Hopefully the upcoming album exceeds the decent predecessor ‘Neighborhoods’, but even so, it is just nice to see them back again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H86730HjLVA

Frank Ocean

Frank Ocean is one of the most interesting artists out there at the minute. His debut solo album is something I still listen to on a fairly regular basis and is such a thoroughly, creative urban album, perhaps rivalling even ‘Yeezus’, in those stakes, but achieving so much more success with it. With his flows genuinely amongst the most unique in the business at the moment, Odd Future member Ocean is one to watch for sure, with an album coming in the latter half of the year, he is sure to build on his debut’s success, and cement his reputation as one of rap’s most unique performers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s26qTrH2atA

Enter Shikari

A band I’ve only got into fairly recently, St. Albans finest, Enter Shikari are an interesting bunch. They can be described as anything from metalcore to trance and even drum and bass! What we get is a meld of a number of different acquired tastes, that when given a true chance, is actually surprisingly decent. Their famed live performances are also worth a watch too, for the energy of frontman Rou Reynolds alone, and you can be sure to catch them in a high slot at R&L come August-time. It’s hard to know where the band are going to take their sound next, it really could become anything; reggae and heavy metal anyone?! A band that never fail to entertain at least.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oww-7cxOBUk

Kanye West

Yes, the ‘Yeezus’ man has only just popped back into the mainstream with his infamous collection of tracks last year, but rumour has it that he is working on an immediate follow-up for late 2014. For me, I enjoyed his latest record, for it was a challenging, daring record that I think drastically outreached people’s expectations- albeit some were more negative than positive. His antics in pop culture, are also a hit-miss combination, but it means that he is amongst the most-talked about musicians on the planet…good job team Kanye!

This, along with the long-awaiting follow-up to the Jay-Z collaboration ‘Watch the Throne’, also in the pipeline, means that love him or hate him Kanye is gonna be around for a little bit longer yet- cringey music videos, debatable releases and all!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBAtAM7vtgc

Solange Knowles

The oft-forgotten about sibling of another famous Knowles, is pretty talented. The song below is from her release last year, and it is a catchy, pop ballad that is distinctively different from her big sister’s most recent efforts. No, Solange is more delicate than her powerful sis’ vocals, and it works well with an electro-pop soothing quality to her tunes. She played at Glastonbury last summer, and is already pencilled in for some tasty slots around the world, with a fourth studio album believed to be just around the corner. Expect more of the same, as gradually critics and fans are beginning to flock to Solange.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hy9W_mrY_Vk

Agree? Disagree? Sound off in the comments!

As featured on Indie-music.com, Examiner.com, I Am Entertainment Magazine, Antimusic.com, and recommended by countless music publications, “Your Band Is A Virus! Expanded Edition” is the ultimate music marketing guide for serious independent musicians and bands. Get your copy now.

6 Most Anticipated Music Releases of 2014 (January-June)

With a new year, comes a whole new bunch of releases from some of the most revered artists around, let’s look at some of the biggest and best to come during the first half of 2014…

Warpaint

American indie rockers Warpaint see their second studio album released in just a couple of weeks time. The follow-up to 2010′s ‘The Fool’, is more “keys-based”, and has already had a single on a Calvin Klein advertising campaign, a hint that the all-girl trio are ready to explode onto the mainstream perhaps? Maybe not, bit with rap and hip-hop influences thrown into the mixture, a diverse record is very much on the cards, and with touring ongoing across Europe and Australia, before a UK stint in February, you can be sure to catch them somewhere!

Bombay Bicycle Club

One of the UK’s most ‘bookish’ groups doesn’t mean Bombay Bicycle Club are boring. Sure they’re never going to match the sheer energy or aggression as a band like Enter Shikari, but then that is why they’re completely different from their English counterparts. No, whilst BBC have their roots heavily steeped in acoustic guitar music, they have introduced some electronic elements, as seen in first single ‘Carry Me’.

They’ve also told fans that the album will be full of ‘unexpected surprises’, a quote often used by bands promoting a new piece of music, but with this lot you believe what they say, as they’re experimenting with new instruments and creating some interesting tunes, that sound as good as their previous work, whilst differing just about enough to remain fresh. With a UK tour in support of the record, I’ll see whether they’ve improved on the live music aspect, but 2014 will be a strong year for the guys and gals of BBC that’s for sure.

Beck

It feels like Beck’s been around for an age. The 43-year-old rose to prominence back in the early 90′s with his experimental records, and his Valentines Day release will be his 12th studio album! So why is he still on an ‘anticipated list’? Let me tell you. Still regarded as one of the most creative men in modern day music, ‘Morning Phase’, is harking back to his 2002 album ‘Sea Change’, with a potentially pretentious press release stating it will “hark back to the stunning harmonies, song craft and staggering emotional impact of that record, while surging forward with infectious optimism”.

As I said, pretentious, eh! But keep the faith, three singles self-released by the artist last year are strange symphonies of work, that may not be fully fledged success in themselves just yet, but are snippets of what goodness is potentially just around the corner.

Azealia Banks

One of the most talked about names in modern-day music, Ms Banks is a strange character indeed. This first collection of tracks has been in the reckoning since way back in 2011, with every ‘Anticipated’ list garnering her name, yet here she is in 2014 with nothing other than some single releases and festival appearances to the rapper’s name. With a riotous following on Twitter, and these live performances strengthening her stature within the music world, if her debut release ever manages to arrive, expect it to be loud, brash and, most importantly, challenging.

Metronomy 

Metronomy are one of those bands that really should’ve blown up by now. They’ve had quirky tunes aired on advertisements and songs that ‘you’d know but not know who was the artist’, but never really been admired alongside some impressive tracks. Hopefully, ‘Love Letters’, the release of which is imminent, will change all of that. First track, ‘I’m Aquarius’, is a song that delivers on so many aspects, whether it be the poppy, repetitive ‘shoop-doop-doop-ah’, that is insanely catchy or the down-played backing beat that follows it all the way throughout, lead singer Joseph Mount’s haunting vocals completing the piece in such a subtly impressive manner.

This slice of the album is so promising, it’s getting me into their back catalogue in anticipation of the new release, but what strikes me the most is the confidence amongst the band. ‘I’m Aquarius’, is an amazingly-confident track to introduce an album with, it seems so subtle and modest that it takes a few listens to truly get under its skin, but once you manage that, you’re locked in and it’s on solid rotation from now till I get more of a listen to this interesting album.

St Vincent

Another interesting artist, St Vincent is as close to a piece of living artwork as there can possibly be at the moment. Her work with David Byrne is daring, yet full of quality, produced to the maximum to great success. Past solo projects are more of the same with the result defining the term ‘art rock’, but gaining little more than critical success. No, St Vincent is never going to hit the popularity of a Lady GaGa, despite their similar ‘projects’, but that is a very good thing, for the unique qualities of her song-writing and high production values, mean that this new record, whilst it may not be heard by millions or sell a whole lot, will be as exceptional as her previous three releases. Electronic, acousticy goodness.

Stick around for a look at the second half of the year, coming up very, very soon!

As featured on Indie-music.com, Examiner.com, I Am Entertainment Magazine, Antimusic.com, and recommended by countless music publications, “Your Band Is A Virus! Expanded Edition” is the ultimate music marketing guide for serious independent musicians and bands. Get your copy now.

Get locked in Blood Orange’s new groove

Dev Hynes’s second full-length release as Blood Orange is a collection of lush and funky songs focused on the deep inner emotions of love’s onset and it’s ultimate estrangement. It’s called Cupid Deluxe.

At the front door “Chamakay” shuffles in with a smooth drum beat and vocals from Hynes that yearn and burn. He exhales every note, breathing deep breaths of serial longing on the microphone. His ache is front and center. His harmonies are weighed down by it. The song fades off with a slather of saxophone, an instrument that resurfaces often throughout the record.

Hynes is a British composer and songwriter. He has recorded albums as Lightspeed Champion and also with the band Test Icicles. Blood Orange came about after the dissolution of that band and the hiatus of Lightspeed Champion. Coastal Grooves was the first Blood Orange release with an emphasis on electronica and an R&B mood.

The tools at Hynes disposal could all be from the Eighties. Mainly, the groove of a chunky bass, a spirited guitar, to-the-point beats, synthesizers that cup the edges, and that wandering sax. It flutters along with a jogging bass line on “Uncle ACE,” while jabs of thick synthesizers compete with spiny guitars.

“Chosen” is a cresting wave of saxophone falling over an archepelaggio of crimped bass and guitar. “On The Line” meshes a hypnotic keyboard loop with a subtle bass grope. “Tell me baby, are you mine?” Hynes asks with a desperate energy in a drifting duet with Samantha Urbani, who lends her voice to seven tracks.

Hynes’s songs are quick dents into the lovelorn psyche. Each one instantly catches fire and burns steady with a groove that churns. He is the male version of Solange, who he has worked with. They both grace their flittering, midnight R&B with impish quivers. They both use their music as a vehicle of emotion.

On “You’re Not Good Enough” a guitar twang dips into the sappy romantic tale of a love left unrealized. The vocals alternate between the sexes, each one equally distraught. Hurling from the record’s blueprint is “Clipped On,” a blend of early 90s, record-scratching hip-hop with a bass line Sade would turn into gold.

As great as the songs on Cupid Deluxe are, they don’t expand much. They get locked in their groove, then become prisoners to that groove. It’s not always a bad thing, but there is a desire for surprise at times.

Every track on Cupid Deluxe has a deep longing and emotional pull to it. With Blood Orange, it is a formula that has become Hynes’s forte. With his pumping blood red heart infused with every note of his music he has birthed indie rock’s version of “soft rock.”

As featured on Indie-music.com, Examiner.com, I Am Entertainment Magazine, Antimusic.com, and recommended by countless music publications, “Your Band Is A Virus! Expanded Edition” is the ultimate music marketing guide for serious independent musicians and bands. Get your copy now.

Why Artists & Labels Should Steer Clear Of Reviewshine

One of the most difficult things for artists to do is find legitimate, results-based services and companies to work with in the promotion of their music. Sometimes the presentation is strong and there are enough partnerships to create the impression of validity, but it’s a challenge to find an outside perspective or neutral review. For those of you considering using Reviewshine to promote your music, this is an outside, unbiased review.

I’m an a very choosy publicist, and I don’t work with demo level artists. I work with “music with depth” only, and all artists are at a professional level. I’ve tested Reviewshine.com 3 times over the past 2 years, all with strong artists. Outside of Reviewshine, I’ve garnered over 150 press pieces and CD reviews for these artists. Within Reviewshine, not a single one. In fact, not even a response. This is a common issue with automated services such as Beatwire and Reviewshine.

Let’s look at the details and potential issues. Reviewshine is an automated system that delivers music submissions to a list of music blogs, 77 in total, mainly in the Americana, Country and Folk genres. They charge $59 to send your music to these blogs. Many of the blogs recommend you use Reviewshine. Now, as you go through their list, you’ll find that over 10 of those publications are defunct/have not posted in months and should probably be removed from the public list. Not much chance they’ll be covering you if they haven’t blogged since April of last year.

But how is the engagement for an automated service like this? Out of the 77 publications, on my latest test, going by an artist who was sent their way in early December, a total of 5 publications opened the submission and took a look. This number probably won’t go up by more than one or two now that a month has gone by, meaning that less than 10 percent of publications (6.5 percent to be exact in this case) are even paying attention to Reviewshine’s submission process/considering their artists. And this is only the amount who are OPENING the messages. In my case, none have covered. The rest are going unopened/unconsidered.

So far, in my campaign with this particular artist, I’ve generated over 25 press pieces/reviews and she’s been receiving critical acclaim. She has label backing, star guests, a quality music video, and touring plans for 2014.

In my eyes, they need to talk to their bloggers and find out how they can achieve a higher engagement rate, because it’s unacceptable to have an open rate this low in any case. Much like other automated submission services, the bloggers quite obviously do not check what’s being sent to them by Reviewshine, and that’s a fact.

My personal opinion is that I’d recommend artists and companies focus their promotion efforts elsewhere rather than spending the money on Reviewshine. They need to improve their service before it becomes a viable option for anyone. This post was done merely to spread the word to those who otherwise may get roped in.

Happy promoting, everyone!

As featured on Indie-music.com, Examiner.com, I Am Entertainment Magazine, Antimusic.com, and recommended by countless music publications, “Your Band Is A Virus! Expanded Edition” is the ultimate music marketing guide for serious independent musicians and bands. Get your copy now.

Childish Gambino’s follow-up is as daring as ever, as ‘Because the Internet’ finally drops

Donald Glover is a strange man.

An established comedian, writer on ‘30 Rock’ and star on cult US sitcom ‘Community’, he is a funny, funny man. But, it turns out music is his main passion, as he returns with his second official album release, ‘Because the Internet’, and his alter-ego Childish Gambino comes to the front, as Glover sheds his humorous nature and goes full throttle, to make his mark on the rap scene. This doesn’t mean he’s gone serious though, oh no…

Recent single, ‘3005′  was a good indicator of the album, a fun, bouncy track with a progressive backing beat, and Glover’s unique flow is still present, it’s an ultra-listenable song, that has a pretty NSFW music video to match (although it IS at the bottom of this review!). However, was it representative of the entire album? Let’s find out…

‘because the internet’ is a dark, disconnected album that sees Gambino (as he shall now be known), slip into a dark descent that continues from last year’s mixtape ‘Royalty’, and could be read into the fact that the internet has infact disconnected millions from their lives, rather than connected.. The album is split into five segments and there is an accompanying screenplay that amasses 70-odd pages if you have time for a read. It follows a story that is bleak and has a couple of positive notes, amongst a dirge of dark, dingy beats.

Opener ‘WORLDSTAR’ dives straight in, with an eccentric beat and a similarly matching flow from Gambino, he mimics the sounds of guns, phones and a money counter with a ‘BRRRR’. It’s mad and wacky and goes into a dark place, but is a chilled start to this eclectic slice of hip-hop.

‘the worst guys’, drags along Chance the Rapper for a fun song with references to Akon, Playstation and ‘vacaSHUN’. It’s his style of rhyming that I have a love for, Gambino and Chance work well in tandem and the end result is a whirring tune with lyrics you generally never truly know what is going to pop up next. ‘shadows’, sees Gambino test out his singing, and with the backing drum beat, it all sounds pretty Frank Ocean-y (new adjective). We skip to spoken word and singing, as Gambino talks of his crazy love, and the writing really does take the forefront of the track, once again. It may unintentionally become a bit of a ramble, but this is a confident, understated track, that just drags out its conclusion for a little bit longer than necessary with a sluggish guitar riff.

 ’telegraph ave. (“Oakland” by Lloyd), is a cracker, one of my top three favourites from this collection. It has a link back to the past with the ‘I’m ready to go’ lyric, reminiscent of ‘Heartbeat’ from first record, ‘Camp’, but the pay-off from this song is a far more mature progression, the most serious tune of this album. Singing mixed with rapping also works to a great extent too, with Gambino’s rapping really excelling when put in direct contrast to his singing ability, which isn’t bad it is more about the distinct differences between the two.

Over to ‘sweatpants’, the song to leak from the LP and it was a more representative sign of the album than single ’3005′, for sure. The beat is dark, repetitive, but despite this I like it. It gets a bit of a dashing of humour and the flow of Gambino really is here for all to see, the onomatopoeia reference: brilliance. If anything it could maybe end a little bit TOO soon. Then it’s over to the second part of this 1,2 punch: ‘3005′. By far my favourite track, it is a party song, for sure. And in this respect, it seems a bit out of place, Gambino sounds as familiar as ever here, with echoes of ‘Camp’ present aswell, as the newer features of his music. The chorus of ‘hold up, hold up, hold up’, is brilliant. If you don’t like this song, I don’t know if I like you…

‘the party’ sounds like a meld of ‘Yeezus’ and classic Gambino, before diverting into ‘no exit’, which sounds like it’ll go off somewhere else, before remaining with the beats of ‘because the internet’, and an eccentric high-pitched backing vocal alongside some dark spoken word lyrics. 

‘flight of the navigator’, is a dreamscape. A more chilled reflectionary track, it is pretty, delicate and beautiful. Gambino gets a chance to soften up his flow and gets his singing out again towards the end. A nice change of pace that really reflects the wide variety of this album, no two songs are exactly the same. Next track, ‘zealots of stockholm’, is probably my least favourite. It mixes the dreamy nature of the last song, with the Kanye-esque dark style and it doesn’t work for me whatsoever. It sounds like a mess of a song.

‘urn’, though is a nice interlude, echoing Ocean with both vocals and the soft backing beat that accompanies it. ‘pink toes’, opens with ‘rainbows, sunshine, everywhere we go’, can you think of a happier lyric, EVER?! Gambino gets in a female vocalist, make of that what you will, in this sunshine-drenched romance. He sounds smitten! The eccentrically titled ‘earth: the oldest computer’, is a bit of a strange one, it varies in its tone and you never know where it is going, even in its ‘Daft Punk-esque stage’. Azealia Banks is a little bit wasted here too, just out of interest!

Ending with ‘life: the biggest troll’, another strangely titled tune, is a chilled out song once again, the interesting, colourful backing beat merely the backdrop to a driving Gambino. He sounds a bit angry, yet strangely relaxed at the same time, it’s an intriguing thing. It’s a confident end to a confident album, I wouldn’t  say triumphant, just confident!

Whilst this second LP may not hit all the high notes of ‘Camp’, for my liking at least, it is a collection of tunes that don’t sound like anything else currently on the market. Keep an eye out, this could the release that finally exposes Childish Gambino AND Donald Glover to the mainstream. The next step for the alter-ego, will be something that may just change the game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-hSHO_Lh0M

As featured on Indie-music.com, Examiner.com, I Am Entertainment Magazine, Antimusic.com, and recommended by countless music publications, “Your Band Is A Virus! Expanded Edition” is the ultimate music marketing guide for serious independent musicians and bands. Get your copy now.

3 Things DIY Artists Can Learn From Pretty Lights

The following is a guest post by Billy Bones, a music marketing expert who works with record labels in improving their marketing strategies. He is also the founder of Booking Agent Info, the celebrity contact information database.

Pretty Lights has done what many DIY artists have strived to do: Achieve success not only in touring, but in music sales and merchandise as well. Pretty Lights has been successful in all three areas by being innovative and patient in building a loyal fan base. There are a lot of key tactics that a DIY artist can take away from the Pretty Lights approach. In this post, we’ll explore three strategies Pretty Lights has utilized in order to become a successful artist on his own terms.

1. Use Free Music to Build a Fanbase

Though there are many musicians and music marketers who argue against giving away free music, Pretty Lights has shown how powerful it can be. In hip-hop, giving away free music by way of mixtapes has become common in order to build your fan base. In fact, hip-hop sees giving away free music as a way to stay relevant in an increasingly competitive landscape. The practice was looked down on in other genres, and the concept wasn’t really explored until Radiohead adopted the “pay what you want” model for their In Rainbows album. Before Radiohead adopted this model, Pretty Lights had already given away his debut album away for free. His reasoning was that, “No one was buying music they hadn’t heard and didn’t know about.“

New artists who have yet to build a fan base for themselves can use this strategy to help build a community around their music. The music you give away for free will still have to be marketed, but by giving away the music you are giving a potential fan one less barrier to consuming your music. As your fan base increases, you can start asking them for their email in exchange for an album, or to tweet in exchange for a song. The key to giving away free music is that you are utilizing this strategy to not only get people to listen to music, but get the people who like your music to spread it. Pretty Lights has made his music accessible through apps and Soundcloud, but you can’t actually download the album unless you go to his website. When you go to his website to download it, he asks you for a donation or for your e-mail. By bringing them to his website, he is creating a community and hub for his music, where people can stay updated on his releases and consume content.

2. Be Creative In Finding Ways To Reach New Fans

Another area where Pretty Lights has excelled in marketing his music is in his distribution strategy. With so much music to consume on the Internet, you have to be creative in finding ways to reach new fans. Jay-Z gave away a million free copies of his album Magna Carta Holy Grail to Samsung Galaxy owners through a partnership with Samsung. Before the Jay-Z campaign, Pretty Lights partnered with BitTorrent (known for pirating music) to give away his music for free, resulting in millions of downloads of his music bundle. That’s a lot of people exposed to his music. While a major label would have put their team of lawyers to work, Pretty Lights gained an unbelievable amount of exposure.

What can artists take away from this? While not everybody will have the ability to set-up a giveaway with Samsung or a deal with BitTorrent, the main takeaway is to be creative in how you distribute your music. The status quo is to distribute music through digital stores like (iTunes, Beatport, Amazon), or streaming music sites (Spotify, Rdio, Grooveshark), but there are many other ways people access music. Whether legal or illegal, the key is knowing how to use the different avenues to your advantage. DIY artists can partner with a platform who has a big audience and utilize it in order to increase their reach. Whether it’s partnering with a blog for a release or an app for distribution on mobile phones, finding creative avenues for distribution is important in order to break away from the clutter. Also, when you do this type of partnership it’s important to make it unique to that platform as Pretty Lights did by creating a free bundle of music and videos.

3. Monetize Your Community

Not only has Pretty Lights done an amazing job of building his fan base, he has done an even better job of monetizing it. Through his clever marketing he manages to consistently sell out shows and sell out merchandise. Even though his most recent album was available for free on his website it didn’t stop fans from buying it—it debuted in the Top 40 Billboard charts. Pretty Lights maintains a connection with his community of fans through Facebook, Twitter, email, and his website. Anytime he has a special on his merchandise, he’ll be sure to let you know on his Facebook page. When he has a show in your area, you get an email. How? Because you gave him your zip code when you downloaded one of his albums. Pretty Lights also occasionally partners with other companies for exclusive product lines that are only sold through his website. He recently partnered with headwear brand Lacer on an exclusive hat. It was limited in quantity and sold only on Pretty Lights website. An update to his Facebook page and a quick email was all he needed to sell out of the line within a few days.

Once you build a community, your fans will want to support you. Pretty Lights doesn’t constantly bombard his fans with promotions. Instead, he strategically reaches out to them when he has news. So what can you do to monetize your fan base? Utilize Facebook and email to promote your shows. Sell your music. Even if you give away your music for free, your super fans will still buy your music if you sell it. It’s the 80/20 concept: 20% of your fans will account for 80% of the income that you make from your music. Also, partner with a company to create merch. They’ll cover the overhead of manufacturing the merchandise, and even help you market it. By doing this, it allows you to avoid keeping inventory while reaping the benefits of utilizing their marketing tools while also selling to your audience as well. Focus on building your community first, then after you build a community of fans, you will have an audience to monetize.

Conclusion

Of course, in order for any of this to be successful, Pretty Lights first created great music that people wanted to consume. Yet even though Pretty Lights is undoubtedly a talented artist, without the novel brand and business approach, the masses beyond the local fan base may not have heard a single track. Independent artists just starting out or spinning their wheels after a few years in the business, take these lessons learned and make them work for you.

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Billy Bones is a music marketing expert who works with record labels in improving their marketing strategies. He is also the founder of Booking Agent Info, the celebrity contact information database.

As featured on Indie-music.com, Examiner.com, I Am Entertainment Magazine, Antimusic.com, and recommended by countless music publications, “Your Band Is A Virus! Expanded Edition” is the ultimate music marketing guide for serious independent musicians and bands. Get your copy now.

The 12 Greatest Releases of Music in the Year 2013

#12

Amok 

by Atoms For Peace

Thom Yorke’s out-of-thin-air “Supergroup” finally gives us a stamped-and-sealed debut album of new material from the brains and spinal cords of Flea, Nigel Godrich,  Joey Waronker and Mauro Refosco. Amok is everything Yorke’s solo album, The Eraser, is only with rhythms more tribal and persistent, songs that expand and experience rapid evolution.

It’s always a driving groove coming forward, reaching for you with two out-stretched hands. Give in. The groove won’t leave the room until you do. Submit. The ghosts in the chamber are let loose on “Judge Jury And Executioner,” as a click-click-clap beat rattles beneath Yorke’s to-the-courthouse! vocals. “Ingenue,” is a shadowy dance track built around what sounds like a melting accordion.

Yorke, as always, stuffs all his creative energy into every breath. Flea clearly has found himself in a mental space higher than the Red Chili Hot Peppers (with no disrespect) could ever get to; and it’s easy to tell from his manic grins that he’s elated. His bass is aggressive and time-churning throughout Amok. He picks up the rattling percussion and electronic whirlwinds of his counterparts. It’s a beautiful mixture of musicians and they’ve given the world something not quite heard.

**

#11

New 

by Paul McCartney

While some “professional” journalists like to say “It’s nowhere near Abbey Road” whenever Paul McCartney puts out anything, those who actually listened in the now without constant comparison were moved by the richness of color and unwavering optimism featured on “New”, his most consistent effort in years. Paul works with multiple producers, but never does the experimentation lead things astray, and even forays into electronic music (as on “Appreciate”) make you wish for a completely electronic McCartney release. More importantly, the message is sound, coming from a place of depth and experience. Success all around.

“Alligator” and “Queenie Eye” are album highlights and recommended listening, with “Queenie Eye” being most reminiscent of the Beatles, although still sounding modern/right now. Welcome back, Sir Paul!

**

 #10

…Like Clockwork

by Queens Of The Stone Age

Queens Of The Stone Age’s, …Like Clockwork, is the best categorical Rock album of the year. After a break that saw releases from side projects, Them Crooked Vultures and Eagles Of Death Metal, Josh Homme returned from the California desert with old friends in tow.

First track, “Keep Your Eyes Peeled,” travels at a lowly lurk, like carefully stepping through a graveyard at night. When that first strike of sludge guitar hits, it’s instant euphoria. The tempo shifts from song to song. “I Sat By The Ocean,” is the most overtly Queens-sounding with those slithering, braying guitars. Homme’s drugged, careless snarl is in full effect on the record’s best song, “If I Had A Tail.” “Tears of pleasure, tears of pain, they trickle down your face the same,” he sings along with the undeniable boogie.

As the title may suggest, this album is another chip off the ol’ Queens Of The Stone Age block. It begins and ends with the grave, with slight detours in the middle with spirits rising and circulating. Homme feathers his vocals a little more and soundscapes creep in, but once it begins to sound too pretty, there is an off-note, a pinged sharp, that uglies it. …Like Clockwork is a borderline masterpiece of paranoiac rock and roll.

**

#9

Fuzz

by Fuzz

I’ve often wondered why the trend of studio perfection has become so all-pervasive, even when it comes to genres such as rock, punk and metal, when artists such as The Stooges once exemplified another approach entirely. You know those triggered kicks throughout your whole metal album? Not that effective. It needs to go.

Sharing this view is San Francisco’s Fuzz, led by notable garage rocker Ty Segall on drums/vocals, and featuring Charles Moothart and Roland Cosio on guitar and bass. Play their self-titled debut from front to back and you’ll hear real passion. This is the sound of a band playing, the sound of a band in a room. The guitar work is downright mean, with plenty of emphasis on not only ignoring the idea of perfection, but actively pummeling it. Screeches and wails abound. This band is part Stooges, part Sabbath, part Nirvana, and what a refreshing, overly distorted and blissful musical approach.

Real rock n’ roll in 2013. Who would have thought?

**

#8

Nothing Was The Same

by Drake

Hold up. Hold my phone.

The opening song, “Tuscan Leather,” is a six-minute spiral that sounds more like an outro, or an encore. It’s fitting, then, that the rest of the album is a murky wormhole torpedoing through Drake’s past. It’s filled with proud moments, cherished moments long-forgotten, moments of thankfulness and ego-tripping and plenty moments of love lost. The trick is to find yourself somewhere in the lyrics. “Furthest Thing” buzzes like a massage chair as he copes with the wretchedness of love’s aftermath. Singlehood’s despair gets him paranoid and choked up and who knows how crazy he’d be if it weren’t for the naked women swimming and the money floating in.

Drake and his maestro Noah “40″ Shebib have concocted a perfect zoned-out piece of music with R&B and hip-hop twists in every beat. The pricking bass on “Wu Tang Forever” pinches the back of the neck and crawls up and down the spine. Jhené Aiko singing the refrain, “I love me enough for the both of us,” on “From Time,” is the female vocal track of the year. Her inflections are so chilling and fragile you have to just fall to the ground before her.

“Hold On (We’re Going Home),” has a classic sound with a simple beat, but with more raw feeling than all the top ten Billboard songs of the whole summer combined. To quote Drake’s father in “Poundcake/Paris Morton Music 2.” “Only real music’s gonna last. All that other bullshit is here today and gone tomorrow.”

**

#7

Electric Lady

by Janelle Monae

Prior to the release of “Electric Lady” until soon after, I was closely keeping my eye on the press coming out for Janelle Monae, as I wanted to see if it was indeed possible for an artist with true integrity to rise to the top in the pop world, among the many strippers and soft porn music videos, that is. The answer is, it takes what must have been a near impossible battle and she doesn’t yet command the same audience that Rihanna, Beyonce or Lady GaGa do, but she’s made it, and she did it on her own terms, with class, and some of the most inspiring pop, jazz, soul, r&b, and funk to come out in the past 10 years.

Prince won’t lift a finger for most people I’m sure, but he LOVES Janelle Monae. That should tell you something. From the Stevie Wonder funk of “Ghetto Woman” to the supremely addictive title track to the yearning soul of “Sally Ride”, “Electric Lady” is an excellent album worthy of many repeat listens.

**

 #6

Yeezus

by Kanye West

Kanye West harnessed the pent-up aggression that hits him during bonzai rants and erratic interview responses and outrageous misunderstandings and he called it Yeezus. Of course. Polarizing album from a polarizing artist. Why not rap over groddy blasts of distorted crud? Why not talk directly to Jesus? Why not strip an album of nearly every recognizable trait from previous work? Don’t judge him Joe Brown!

Yeezus is the album Kanye West wanted to make and like he’s always done, his current influences steered the ship. The album is sharp and metallic. It’s minimal, with only a few industrial-tinged sounds playing at a time. It’s a joy to think of these sounds coming at full volume from the speakers of true to-the-bone hip-hop fans. The drum pound of “Black Skinhead” destroys. It’s “fuck up your whole afternoon shit,” for sure. “Send It Up” is k-hole dubstep with the most straight-forward, but addicting beat. “Bound 2″ is a modern love song that everyone will remember years and years from now.

There’s no doubt Yeezus might not be the easiest album to like, but, taken within the context of rap music, one much recognize the boundaries it’s not only crossing, but destroying. He broke through the ceiling.

**

 #5

Silence Yourself

by Savages

A band with a manifesto, hey? And feedback? No, Refused has not returned and this is not the same punch in the face “New Noise” was, but we have to pay attention in 2013, in a world literally covered with the softest, sweetest indie music suitable for Grandma’s playlist, when a new band comes out with a fearless message wrapped in a bundle of noise.

Armed with solid musicianship/sense of dynamics and a passionate, unique vocalist, Savages may not be the most accessible group, but they’re certainly converting hordes of people unsatisfied with the current musical status quo. For a single track description of why Savages are needed right now, just press play on the vicious “I Am Here”, and as it explodes you may be left thinking “Why do so few musicians do this right now?” Playing from the heart may or not fit in, and that’s the beauty of being unconcerned.

**

 #4

Push The Sky Away

by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

After the tales of city grit and rattled attitude of Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!, plus two dirty, filthy, nasty Grinderman albums, Push The Sky Away was immediately surprising by how gentle and meandering most songs are. Rather than hurling at you at the strike of a match, the Bad Seeds wind you in like a relentless fish at the end of a line.

“Tree don’t care what the little bird said,” Nick Cave observes in “We No Who U R,” a teary lament concerning forgiveness. It stays steady and wavering right into the next song. The tempo remains fairly consistent and blurred through much of this collection. On “Water’s Edge” Cave smears about the thrill and chill of love. Warnings roll off his tongue in a frantic jumble. Most thrilling of Push The Sky Away is Cave’s sprawling dialogue; a scrapbook of diary entries with pages from Us Weekly and Science mixed in. With the billowing crash of noise removed, his lyrics have been able to offer the same amount of damage.

“Jubilee Street” is one of the best songs written this year. Cave transcends the fraudulent memories of a relationship gone rotten. “A girl’s gotta make ends meet / even on a place called Jubilee Street.” Then, later, “I got a fetus on a leash.” Push The Sky Away is the fifteenth album from the Australian group and yet, they still remain one of America’s ill-forgotten rock-and-roll entities. They should be so lucky.

 **

#3

One Of Us Is The Killer

by Dillinger Escape Plan

While “Option Paralysis” was certainly a career highlight for Dillinger, “One Of Us Is The Killer” came very close to it’s heights and stands as a more than worthy follow up. They’re still as relentless and purposefully angry as ever, and if you had left the DEP underground mafia, one close listen to this album will pull you back in. A notably relentless yet inspiring instrumental track is “CH 375 268 277 ARS”, which seems to be Dillinger influenced by NIN but doing it their own way.

“Hero Of The Soviet Union” is another necessity in this set, with vocalist Greg Puciato once again detailing his frustrations overtop of frustrating, glitchy, frantic music that suddenly opens up into an all-encompassing, vast expanse, a shower of sound in the final minute. If you’re a Vampire Weekend fan, probably not your cup of tea.

What most people seem to respect about DEP is that you get the sense they’re not putting you on. There’s no posing here, no idol worship and no typical metal imagery. This is heavy music as art. And with the dead horses getting passed around all the heavy music sub-genres constantly, you have to be thankful for the one percent or less who think outside the box.

**

#2

Psychic

by Darkside

It takes a minute to settle in with the opening eleven-minute track, “Golden Arrow,” but once it goes, and the plucking bass and walking drum beat hit, you are entranced. Psychic by Darkside is one of the greatest psychedelic records to come along since the likes of Druqks or Rounds impregnated minds over a decade ago. It embraces the sonic dishevelment and ethereal sound collages of Aphex Twin and Four Tet, but adds something those two artists never tried. Psychic is feathered with sublime, whispered vocals that fuse with the sound, but add a layer of pumping human heart.

On “Heart” the vocals are eerie and high-pitched. On “Paper Trails,” they’re deep and hushed, while the guitar beckons. It’ll corkscrew right into your forehead and the rising organ will leave you numb. A glaze of histrionic guitar spreads over dark beats of sinister dub on “Metatron.” Aside from the pounding drums and some great guitar licks, it’s not always immediately clear what instruments, or for that matter, sounds, you are hearing.

No other record was able to build the atmosphere Psychic did. It has just the right balance of groove and experimentation, structure and annihilation, soul and psychedelia. It’s a record that gives a glimpse of music’s future evolution, where the knack of surprise remains as the only true bastion of originality.

**

#1

The Next Day

by David Bowie

David Bowie had been out of the spotlight for quite some time, since 2013′s mostly solid “Reality” album. If you have the right perspective and aren’t too cynical, it’s typically at least a welcome event/good experience when a musician of Bowie’s caliber return with a new artistic offering. “The Next Day”, though, was something nobody expected.

Managing to cover a wide spectrum of the singer’s talents spanning many genres and moods, it’s an intensely dark release, refreshing in it’s honest exploration of Bowie’s inner truth. The lyrics are nothing short of brilliant and the vocals are charged with passion and regret. Possibly the most striking aspect of the release was it’s sharp contrast to the current music culture, which was probably one of the reasons it was so necessary and well received.

“Here I am, not quite dying

My body left to rot in a hollow tree

Its branches throwing shadows on the gallows for me

And the next day,

And the next,

And another day” – The Next Day

Much of our focus on “success in the music industry” tends to be honed in on trivial data detailing that “Katy Perry’s new record didn’t sell well. What does this mean?” or “90 percent of Idol finalists don’t maintain solid careers in music”, but a single listen to “Heat” or “Love Is Lost”, knowing that this album went to number 1, will show that it’s possible to create appealing art and find success. Without getting stuck in the comparison game (one of the mind’s worst tendencies), let’s just say that “The Next Day” is both a very welcome addition to Bowie’s catalog and a truly great album in it’s own right.

**

Honorable Mentions

Melt Yourself Down by Melt Yourself Down

Mind Control by Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats

Tomorrow’s Harvest by Boards of Canada

Wakin on a Pretty Daze by Kurt Vile

Loud City Song by Julia Holter

Body Music by AlunaGeorge

Asymmetry by Karnivool

13 by Black Sabbath

Palms by Palms

Weapon by Skinny Puppy

Trouble Will Find Me by The National

Golden Sun Of The Great East by Juno Reactor

Ruled by Passion, Destroyed by Lust by The Asphodells

As featured on Indie-music.com, Examiner.com, I Am Entertainment Magazine, Antimusic.com, and recommended by countless music publications, “Your Band Is A Virus! Expanded Edition” is the ultimate music marketing guide for serious independent musicians and bands. Get your copy now.

The Haxan Cloak conducts waves of doom on Excavation

The music of The Haxan Cloak could be the internal soundtrack in Walter White’s head as he runs around Albuquerque covering his tracks. It’s dark, foreboding and urgent; the monotonous heartbeat of waking demons.

Excavation, released this year on Tri Angle Records, is a jet-black pack of drone and ambient suspense. It doesn’t really exist as a set of songs, but more as a lurching morass of chemical sound. There are metallic thrusts of bass and industrial-grade beats. The sound constantly moves in and out of place, mimicking the slow and steady breathing of external beasts.

The man behind the blackened soundscapes is Bobby Krlic, of the UK, and one has to wonder what working on music of this nature does to the solid mind. His last full-length album was 2011′s The Haxan Cloak. Excavation continues his slip into the sludge. It rises very slowly over the opening tracks, until suddenly the sound is everywhere.

The swelling strings on “Mara” create killer-around-the-corner horror movie suspense. Play this, unknowingly, in the middle of the night and anyone sleeping will surely wake suddenly, fearing an approaching death. It’s dramatic and horrendously climactic.

“Miste,” halfway through, opens the record a bit, allowing some pale color to leak in. A slithering bass line creaks along as the speakers fill up with the noise of dark matter. A slight rip comes through the black tarp on “The Mirror Reflecting (Part 2).” As the track cranks up a little bit of sonic light pierces the veil with pitched swirling tones.

The structures, at times, are reminiscent of the IDM brain-fuck lacings of Autechre, but with less bells and whistles, and an even bigger expansion of space. Silence plays as pivotal a role here as the noise. Krlic labors over creating something that mentally draws the listener into its grasp, then leaves them on the side of the road, bracing for the next creeping composition.

“Dieu” pulsates darkly. It sounds like a bundle of leftover loops coming together and rebelling like the buckets and brooms in Mickey Mouse’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. The final track, “The Drop,” defies most descriptors. I’d like to think there is an appropriate term to describe the song, but as it played over its twelve-plus minutes, I fell deeply into a state of psychosis and it’s debateable, yet, if I’ve pulled myself from it.

As featured on Indie-music.com, Examiner.com, I Am Entertainment Magazine, Antimusic.com, and recommended by countless music publications, “Your Band Is A Virus! Expanded Edition” is the ultimate music marketing guide for serious independent musicians and bands. Get your copy now.