Dallas Based Experimental Pop Artist Lily Taylor Drops Her New Album "Amphora"
Dallas-based vocalist and experimental-pop chanteuse Lily Taylor is excited to release her anticipated new album “Amphora”. The album arrives after the release of pre-album singles "Ever New," "Kepler Wells" and "J&J."
Dallas-based vocalist and experimental-pop chanteuse Lily Taylor is excited to release her anticipated new album Amphora. The album arrives after the release of pre-album singles "Ever New," "Kepler Wells" and "J&J." Recorded at Elmwood Recording in Oak Cliff, TX, Amphora was produced by a dream team of talented producers, Black Taffy, Lily Taylor herself and Alex Bhore. The track-listing includes ten original songs, each one a masterpiece in its own right.
On Amphora, Lily Taylor demonstrates exceptional artistry by blending various elements including looping pedals, keyboards, and her captivating vocals. She has created a sonic bed that draws out a captivating melody, taking listeners on a transcendent journey. This stunning musical journey is sure to captivate listeners with its mix of avant-pop, ambient pop, and experimental sounds.
Amphora takes its name from the Ancient Greek vessel, the amphora, which served as a container for precious liquids. In this case, Lily Taylor is the vessel, delivering a musical experience that is both powerful and delicate. The themes of duality, time, and introspection run throughout the album, creating a deeply personal and introspective atmosphere.
Lily Taylor is no stranger to the music scene in Dallas, TX, where she has collaborated with various musicians, performance artists, poets, dancers, artists, and designers, as well as booked local line ups for various venues around DFW. Her captivating vocals and performances create a unique and immersive experience for listeners. Taylor continues to teach private voice lessons and hosts a radio show called BandWidthTX on 92.9FM KUZU LP Denton, Texas.
Lily Taylor was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Performance and Composition of Contemporary Music from College of Santa Fe in New Mexico in 2004, with a focus on vocal studies. After many years working as a professional musician, arts administrator, and private teacher in Santa Fe, New Mexico and San Francisco, California, Taylor released her critically acclaimed solo album The Ride in 2014 while residing in Dallas, Texas.
Pop Artist Bava Unveils Her Debut EP "Imitate" and Seductive Title Track Visual
Popstar-in-waiting Bava wraps a bow around her opening remarks as a newcomer in her impressive debut EP titled “Imitate.” The release gets a companion in the shape of her incredibly sleek and seductive video to its title track.
Popstar-in-waiting Bava wraps a bow around her opening remarks as a newcomer in her impressive debut EP titled “Imitate.” The release gets a companion in the shape of her incredibly sleek and seductive video to its title track.
Speaking about the EP release, Bava explains “This EP felt like a mini heroes story. We start smack bang with raw self-reflection, then we're just taken on a serotonin drive with Itsy Bitsy and Back to Me, and then we plummet into the depths of anger and then we're back in this resolution at the end. It felt like these five songs gave me this journey arc that mimicked the journey arc I was on myself. I was this inhibited Haitian girl making music, then I formulated my sound, then I'm shot into the stratosphere with Taki Taki, and then I'm brought back to my depths with the way the world goes. I'm now coming out and I'm a little bit tougher.”
With her prior released EP tracks, Bava has been creating music inspired by bold, energetic pop sounds on “Itsy Bitsy” and “Back to Me (Me Ma Moop)”, whereas more recently “I Wish” found Bava in a slightly more vulnerable light, in all its emotive ballad-like glory, and “$EX SELLS” with its tongue-in-cheek, gritty, industrial quality.
Although she is a new artist only releasing her debut EP, she has already received impressive support online, on TikTok, Instagram and Youtube, amassing almost 3 million followers and accumulating over 1 billion views. She’s also been supported by likes of key tastemakers such as NYLON, PAPER & MTV amongst others. In doing so, she continues to grow as a budding force in upcoming pop music today.
The launch of the Imitate EP is just the beginning of an important, future alternative pop star. Listen to “Imitate” below, stream it on your preferred music service and connect with Bava on her social media.
Seattle’s Mason Lowe Releases His Dazzling Debut Album “Morning People” on Killroom Records
Mason Lowe (drummer of Seattle’s feel-good classic rock inspired outfit Bread & Butter) has just released his debut solo LP "Morning People" on Seattle’s Killroom Records.
Mason Lowe (drummer of Seattle’s feel-good classic rock inspired outfit Bread & Butter) has just released his debut solo LP Morning People on Seattle’s Killroom Records. The album's focus track, Hanging Around, is a delight, featuring three-part harmonies and jangly guitars. The composition has a happy, sixties vibe with a slacker/grunge aesthetic that breathes summer cool. Reflecting on the process of creating Hanging Around Lowe explains, “This was the first song written for the record. It was a rough time. I dealing with the first few dips of the Covid roller coaster and my personal life was kind of a wreck. And yet, here comes this delightfully candid song about having a crush on someone! It surprised me! The honesty of the lyrics in this song set the course for the whole record.” The accompanying video for Hanging Around features Shane Herrell (Bread & Butter) and Maria-Elena Juarez (Acapulco Lips), together with Lowe, cruising around Seattle, all squished into a Chevy Astro Van. The troupe encounters lost dogs, discovers gas station treasures, and finds wild greenery that all ends up journeying with them while they madly play instruments. It’s hilariously tongue in cheek, positively refreshing, and ultimately hummable.
In order to complete the album, Lowe descended into his home studio: one of the dankest basements in the Pacific Northwest. Lowe’s debut solo effort, Morning People, seeks to combine the sounds of glam rock, 60’s girl groups, and grunge. The result is an open-hearted, sunny record that is a nostalgic sweet pop album that is hopeful and utterly sentimental. Nods to Big Star, The Shangri-Las and The Beach Boys are present throughout. Morning People was recorded by Lowe during the height of the pandemic while he was struggling to keep the doors open at a Seattle human services nonprofit. But these are not 12 songs of loneliness and exhaustion. This is a dozen songs about hot crushes, friendship, and love. Mason dragged his weary buns into the basement with 6-packs of Rainier tallboys to record heavy riffs, light harmonies, and tight arrangements. How tight? None of the songs on this album make it to the three-minute mark. Where did this burst of positive energy come from? "I have no idea,” Mason says. "Work was really tough. I had a lot on my mind. But I dived into music in a way I never have before. This was a super serious time, but the songs that came out are really poppy and fun. I don't know why. I'm not a sunshiny person."
Discussing his philosophy on what makes a good song Lowe had to say, “When I’m listening to music, I love it when a song takes me out of myself. Maybe it's just one part that makes me go ‘What just happened? Was that even real?’ It makes me think of the scene in Christmas Vacation where the dude is talking about having a metal plate in his head and whenever the microwave is on, he pees his pants and forgets his name. I want every song on this record to have something - an arrangement, a texture, a moment that zaps you and pulls you out of your day. And maybe makes you pee your pants.” This all informs Lowe’s tremendously playful style of songwriting and lyrics. Morning People is chock full of “microwave moments” and the multitude of hooks both heavy and mellow will please even the most discerning music fans.
Austin Indie-Punk Outfit Big Loser Release Their New EP "Left On Delmar Drive"
Austin indie-punk outfit Big Loser have just released their new EP “Left On Delmar Drive”. The four tracks that make up “Left On Delmar Drive” have a sense of playfulness despite the fact that the lyrical content is all about a recent and bitter break up.
Austin indie-punk outfit Big Loser have just released their new EP “Left On Delmar Drive”. Fronted by Chase Spruiell, Big Loser writes anthemic indie-rock songs with a tinge of punk influence that lift Chase's wonderfully snarky and self-deprecating lyrics.
The four tracks that make up “Left On Delmar Drive” have a sense of playfulness despite the fact that the lyrical content is all about a recent and bitter break up. "Running at just over the ten-minute mark, you can whack this four tracker on repeat and let these indie pop gems really sink in." - Maximum Volume Music.
Tokyo Artist/Producer Fox Spirit Unveils His Brand New Album "Kegare"
Tokyo based artist and producer Fox Spirit has just released his album entitled “Kegare”. “Kegare” is an unfiltered view of Tokyo from a bicultural individual who sees the city from within and from the west.
Belonging to the "lost generation" of Hip Hop, Atsu Nakayama began recording music as Fox Spirit in 2020 during his studies in Liverpool. Born in Philadelphia, and raised in Tokyo, Fox Spirit wandered the earth as a foreigner to all lands, trying to find peace in an ever-changing environment. Being the same age as the late XXXTENTACION and Juice WRLD, two voices of his generation, Fox Spirit carries their legacy by embodying the angst mood and depressive tendencies of said lost generation.
Influenced by the messages of Nas and Kendrick Lamar, Fox Spirit spills the struggles of living in Tokyo, a spiritual metropolis, and the anxious future that awaits.
Fox Spirit’s motto has two folds: “Embrace and Endorse all Emotions” and “i am here for u.” Fox’s music is an attempt to save humanity from the tiring, confusing, and unfair world, hoping his music can save those in desperation. However, Fox Spirit’s purpose is not to drag people out of the real world to find momentary peace in fantasy, rather it is to provide solid ground for people within the harsh reality.
Embracing the lack of national identity, the alienation Atsu feels amongst all countries is like a shape-shifting fox pretending to be human. But through interactions with people from all over the world, Atsu ultimately sees no difference between nations. “We are all unique, but all one in the same. The ultimate goal is to unite all people across the world and welcome the surface-level differences with his music.”
A total of 13 songs were written in the span of two years after Fox’s return to Japan. Kegare is an unfiltered view of Tokyo from a bicultural individual who sees the city from within and from the west. Speaking about his background Atsu says,
“Originally born in Philadelphia, US, I first came to Tokyo early in my life due to family circumstances. I spend my entire childhood there. Despite being Japanese, I always struggled to fit in with Japan. It was always a mystery for me as well to know why that was the case. There was a sense of awkwardness when talking honestly or kindly to others. There was a hint of not fitting in with others for caring for another. All these positive attributes seemed to fall flat.
After graduating high school, I spent the next four years in Liverpool to immerse myself in the city where the Beatles are from. For the first time, I found true comfort, where all aforementioned qualities of myself were felt appreciated.
Though there were struggles that come with being a foreigner — cultural dissonance and racism — I found true friendship and true love during the years spent in the west.
The lingering mystery of why my positive attributes felt unappreciated started to become clearer:
1) People in Japan prioritize society first. Individuality second.
2) Therefore, conforming is the basis. Standing out (negatively or positively) is a disturbance.
Though it did not matter anymore for I was no longer in Japan. That was until the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
All plans being back to blank, there was not much choice but to return “home,” while being fully aware that it was somewhere I never wished to be. Hating everything and everyone, I became a hikikomori. A hermit withdrawing from all social interactions. Never leaving home and doing nothing.
That was until I finally started reading. One of which was Kojiki, an old sacred text from Shinto. The deities Susano, Amaterasu, and Tsukuyomi were born while Izanagi cleansed himself from kegare. The term intrigued me and after reading more, I found that “kegare” is a Japanese concept that translates to defilement, similar to the concept of sin. Death, disease, sex, are examples that contribute to kegare. After reading about the discrimination towards Burakumin due to “kegare,” I was appalled by how much this value system holds weight in this society.
The whole concept infuriated me. Throughout my life in this city, I have been defiled for being myself. In fact, I claim this whole city is defiled for being disingenuous. In reality, Japan does not prioritize society at all. Like anywhere in the world, all it comes down to is themselves and standing on a higher pedestal.
My ambition is to be a disturbance in hopes for the city to break down and rebuild itself for real kindness to prevail.”
Listen to “Kegare” right now, stream it on your preferred music service and connect with Fox Spirit on his social media.
Australian Born Khmer/Viet Producer Maggie Tra Shares Her New EP "Temporary Feelings", With Phan Thuỷ
Australian born Khmer/Viet producer Maggie Tra releases an ambient floating experimental EP “Temporary Feelings” with Vietnamese artist Phan Thuỷ. The EP sees Phan Thuỷ creating a healing narrative playing the đàn tỳ bà, alongside Maggie Tra’s floating production.
Australian born Khmer/Viet producer Maggie Tra releases an ambient floating experimental EP “Temporary Feelings” with Vietnamese artist Phan Thuỷ.
After the success of their first collaboration together in 2021 on ‘Broken Rice,’ the two artists’ decided to work together again on a new EP.
The EP sees Phan Thuỷ creating a healing narrative playing the đàn tỳ bà, alongside Maggie Tra’s floating production. The 4-track EP bridges modern electronic music with traditional sounds to bring generations together through gentle sounds.
On the single, Maggie said, “Temporary Feelings’ is a meditative healing EP that aims to bring listeners into a peaceful space. Sometimes we just get caught up in life, I hope this EP allows people to slow down and enjoy the sounds”.
Released via SYS Sister Sounds Label, the single ‘Gentle Intentions’, off the EP, has been played on NTS Radio, Triple RRR and FBi Radio.
Listen to “Temporary Feelings” on Bandcamp
Connect with Maggie Tra: Facebook
Mandi Crimmins Releases Her Hyper-Confessional Mental Health "BORDERLINE" EP
Mandi Crimmins is making her official artist statement with her new EP, “BORDERLINE” - a concept rock EP about mental health that takes listeners on a rollercoaster of highs and lows. The EP is an epic experience of introspection and high emotions bursting with raw-edged hyper-confessional lyrics.
Mandi Crimmins is the chaotically-relatable rockstar you’ve been searching for. This Los Angeles-based Berklee grad is known for her vulnerable raw lyrics and unhinged pop hooks that draw the listener in. Mandi suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder and does not hide that, but instead uses it to connect and relate to listeners also struggling with mental illness. Her fierce authenticity has garnered her a cult following of 40k on TikTok, with the mental health community rallying behind every release.
Since moving to Los Angeles from her hometown in Massachusetts, Mandi has developed her sound into a raw gritty realness that’s an addiction to hear. This gained the attention of alt-rock band The Haunt, who has served as a main collaborator of Mandi’s since.
Mandi is making her official artist statement with her new EP, “BORDERLINE” - a concept rock EP about mental health that takes listeners on a rollercoaster of highs and lows. The EP is an epic experience of introspection and high emotions bursting with raw-edged hyper-confessional lyrics. From chaotic, high-energy moments to darker, melancholy periods, the EP covers a range of emotions, but one thing remains constant - her totally unfiltered approach.
Mandi shares, “While I was in the process of writing the EP, I actually ended up getting diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. Writing to me is therapeutic and usually whatever is weighing on my mind most comes out during the writing session. After I finished the EP, I realized that I had been writing about my diagnosis before I even had it. They all perfectly described what it feels like to be in my head.”
Her music speaks for itself with its raw, real power that meets songwriting prowess - you can’t help but be addicted. With her storytelling lyrics and vulnerability, Mandi confides, “I hope more than anything that my music inspires someone to get help if they're struggling. I hope it makes people feel seen, validated, and strong.”
Ezza of Choom Gang Drops His Brand New Album "Fully Alive"
Brand new to DCWS is “Fully Alive”, the newly released 5th solo album by Canadian rapper Ezza of Choom Gang. The Niagara region native pulls from a potent pallet to create and curate a truly comprehensive yet cohesive piece of art with this album.
Brand new to DCWS is “Fully Alive”, the newly released 5th solo album by Canadian rapper Ezza of Choom Gang.
The Niagara region native pulls from a potent pallet to create and curate a truly comprehensive yet cohesive piece of art with this album. Influences from every era and every region of rap are sprinkled throughout, as a true love and passion for the craft and culture of hip hop is readily on display here.
The “Fully Alive” album is comprised of 12 tracks, and features Sayzee, Pluto Hann, JubElectron, 290 Jones, DJ K-Flip, Humble Had, Yung Next, Pattearns, and Thili.
Jim Jones Teams Up With HitMaka for Their New EP “Back In My Prime”
Harlem hero Jim Jones teams up with producer HitMaka for their EP “Back In My Prime”. The eight-track project displays Jim’s ability to adapt his sounds to the ever-changing times in hip-hop culture.
Released through EMPIRE, Harlem hero Jim Jones teams up with producer HitMaka for their EP “Back In My Prime”. The eight-track project displays Jim’s ability to adapt his sounds to the ever-changing times in hip-hop culture.
The stand-out singles “Gunshot” featuring BEAM and “I Am” featuring Stefflon Don prove their musical chemistry.
“YKTV” featuring Ty Dolla $ign shows Jim rapping in a graceful manner. He opens the song with lines reflective of his failures leading to success. He raps, “I’m trying to leave my son a legacy, for my dogs I’m trying to leave a better pedigree… So many nights I slept in a crack den, I done took a bunch of L’s trying to stack M’s”. Jim’s mature cadence compliments his signature fly talk where he talks of having his lover covered in “furs dragging like a broken exhaust” and flooded with jewelry on her neck.
“Back In My Prime” is what happens if “Harlem: Diary of A Summer” was a wine aged by eighteen years. The beats are smoother and the maturation of Jim’s storytelling and cadences packs a stronger punch than his 2005 run in music. Rather than what the title of the EP implies, Jim is entering into a new prime at this point of his career.
Check out the “Back In My Prime” EP right now, stream it on your preferred music service and connect with Jim Jones and HitMaka on their social media.
Stream and Share “Back In My Prime”
Capo Corleone and Kuba Więcek Drop Their Collaborative Hip-Hop and Jazz Infused EP "Thank Myself"
Capo Corleone’s latest project, “Thank Myself”, is a collaboration with notable Polish jazz musician and global producer Kuba Więcek. Check it out now.
Capo Corleone is an international recording artist & music executive based out of Los Angeles, CA. He is the CEO of C2 Management and the founder and former CEO of Tree4ort Records. His music has graced many stages and television screens throughout his tours in Europe and the United States, earning the alternative Hip-Hop artist the global success he has received today.
His latest project is a collaboration with notable Polish jazz musician and global producer Kuba Więcek. Their 2022 singles "Fly", “Brakes" and “Thank Myself” were released with international acclaim as "Corleone continues to shape the sound of the future" [Earmilk, 2022]. All three singles charted several times in the United States, Poland, and globally.
Now, they are unveiling their anticipated EP, Thank Myself, a combination of tracks that touch on everything that makes us human. From the difficulties, the pain, the rejection, the travel, the good feelings, and lastly and most importantly, the gratitude we all eventually face. This EP forces listeners to reflect on themselves, with Corleone opening up about his own, personal experiences.
The seven-track release is based on a new sound that’s authentic and original to both Corleone and Więcek’s influences in Hip-Hop and Jazz. This hybrid of genres is natural for a duo that is one part Sax one part Emcee. A sound that’s different from their peers.
Title-track “Thank Myself”, as well as the overall theme of the EP focuses on a central topic of self-gratitude for one's own accomplishments, self-will, determination, and love for oneself. “I want to encourage people to thank themselves for their scars and to thank themselves for remaining strong despite the obstacles and naysayers. These are the things that make us the powerful human beings we are all capable of becoming” says Corleone.
Sky-rocketing to a charted position in the Apple iTunes Hip Hop Charts ahead of artists like Drake, Kanye and Eminem, Capo Corleone continues to garner huge success. He also wrote the walk-out song for World boxing champion Nina Meinke. He is frequently a guest on TMZ and was previously a radio host of The Fixxx on Dash Radio. Alongside Więcek, whose collaborations have seen huge success with Warner Music Poland, and most recently, the title of winner of the Fryderyk Awards – New Face of Fonography for Jazz, they collaborate with Zalia’s unparalleled pop successes to shape the sound of the future.
Stream "Permit", the Newly Released EP by Electronica Musician and Producer Lamedd
Electronica musician and producer Lamedd showcases an atypical and shapeshifting creative approach on the intensely personal, explosive new EP "Permit", out now independently.
Electronica musician and producer Lamedd showcases an atypical and shapeshifting creative approach on the intensely personal, explosive new EP "Permit", out now independently. With equal attention given to horror and beauty, rage and love, we get an unflinching and unfiltered glimpse into the mind of a fascinating artist at the peak of his powers, so far. Leading with the notion "Express what you are not allowed to", this is an artist who keeps the art at the forefront, allowing for some personal mystique and unique interpretation. Walking the line between Experimental Electronic/IDM, Noise, Ambient and Avant-Garde, Lamedd expresses himself freely.
"Permit boasts the ability to express my violent urges, weakness, softness, impulsiveness and power in the same breath.
I allowed my music to scream, wail, cry; To express without any filters. I improvised the tracks without fully knowing where I was going.
But above all, I think, Permit describes my experience as a gay man in a somewhat violent and rough place." - Lamedd
"Permit" is Lamedd's 3rd album and is available now on streaming platforms. Currently, Lamedd is busy working on album #4.
Listen to “Permit” now, stream it on Bandcamp and connect with Lamedd on his website and social media.
Psychedelic Prog Rock Quartet What Strange Beasts Unveil Their 26-Track Album "Starlight's Castaways"
Psychedelic Prog Rock quartet What Strange Beasts may hail from Washington, but they have their sights set for deep space on their dazzling, sprawling new 26-track album "Starlight's Castaways", out now!
Psychedelic prog rock quartet What Strange Beasts may hail from Washington, but they have their sights set for deep space on their dazzling, sprawling new 26-track album "Starlight's Castaways", out now on streaming platforms. Made up of a group of friends who connect like family, this band tackles deep subject matter, science, philosophy and the human predicament with ample emotion and personal touch. Lyrically and musically, they are in sync and collectively setting the controls for the heart of the Sun.
From the band: "When we write a song, it's personal. It's always personal. The characters and concepts in the music are metaphors for emotions we are all experiencing to varying degrees and the stories give us a way forward with those feelings."
On their seemingly quantum entangled connection, Aaron Kremer says "The chords for Ocean Glass came to be in response to a long time relationship fading away, and wishing that wasn't so. While playing it one day in the rehearsal space, Ben started singing words about trying to reconnect with someone, someone not spoken to in a long while. Stopped playing and asked him "How'd you know that's what this song is about?" "I could tell by the chords you were playing," he said.
Jonathan added lyrics from his own similar experience, and Mo added both gentle and searing lines that fit the theme perfectly That's the level of connection and communication between all of us"
A thematic sequel to their immersive debut album "The Maestro's Tale", "Starlight's Castaways" showcases What Strange Beasts as a formidable melodic force, brimming with vocal harmonies, celestial arrangements and an ever-pulsing rhythm section. Ample technical wizardry abounds, and yet you get the clear impression that these are real people with real emotion behind the curtain.
"We built this album around a space theme to reflect on feelings of distance, isolation, loss, introspection, and ultimately the relief of interpersonal connection. We wrote that which we felt while hunkered down in our own 'space ships' through the harrowing trials, and the few stolen moments of joy, of a global pandemic. As a lyric notes: "Every hour's a gift: The signals, the noise, the sorrows and joys.""~ Jonathan Maxwell
"Because of the pandemic, instead of playing live, all we could do was write. And so what wrote what was on our minds and in our hearts. Six feet apart in a garage with masks on, we pressed forward, adding more and more as time went on. And once more, what seemed like an eclectic and disparate bucket of ideas from the four quadrants of our galaxy came together like a kind of cohesive constellation that pointed a way toward the stars. Our grief and frustration was punctuated by wry humor and a persistent hope that we would all find our way--together.
"And maybe it's best to let sleeping dogs lie / You can't clear away all the clouds in the sky."" ~ Benjamin Ruby
NYC Multi-Instrumentalist Musician Andrea Ward Shares Her Newly Released Album "Ribbon of Water"
NYC multi-instrumentalist musician, dancer, choreographer, filmmaker and untethered mystic Andrea Ward occupies a realm all her own. This one-of-a-kind artist merges music and movement as one on ethereal, wholly atypical, label-defying album "Ribbon of Water".
NYC multi-instrumentalist musician, dancer, choreographer, filmmaker and untethered mystic Andrea Ward occupies a realm all her own. This one-of-a-kind artist merges music and movement as one on ethereal, wholly atypical, label-defying album "Ribbon of Water", out now. Undisturbed and unaffected by current trends, Andrea Ward's uniquely inspired musical alchemy melds a harmonious collection of subgenres, drawing inspiration from Icelandic Pop, Norwegian Rock, Experimental, Alternative Pop, Permanent Wave and Avant-Garde sounds. Not succumbing to stylistic limitations helps Andrea uses music as a tool to delve deep within, to welcome the dark, broken aspects of our selves and let go of that which we cannot control.
About the new release, Andrea shares “The album is influenced by water, and water is the ultimate guide for letting go, for yielding to forces beyond our control. I developed injuries this year and came to a point where my body broke down from anything, and my voice as well. Unable to do a lot of things and unable to speak, I was forced to relinquish control of life, and just flow. One song on the album is “Visiting Rooms,” inspired by Alzheimer’s which runs in the family. It’s just about visiting the different rooms of consciousness, and of life, as if we’re all walking each other through experiences that slowly teach us to let go, which is what we’ll have to do completely in the end. And each experience leaves a mark on us, mentally, physically, and I can look at a person and see the way that life has beaten them up, has shaped them. It’s made me proud of my broken-ness in a way. It makes life’s endeavors all the more meaningful when we’re dealing with limitations. When I think of life as something that’s slowly devouring me, slipping me away, it makes me want to give myself to life all the more."
By combining musicality with her immense knowledge of movement and a direct, intimate relationship with the subconscious mind, Andrea Ward speaks her truth from a wellspring of great depth and limitless creative energy. With a creative spark that greets reality yet borders on the esoteric, Andrea's work encompasses a unique and sacred space all it's own for listeners to access.
Life often imitates art, and this was the case in Andrea's life. In December, the house she recorded the album in burned down, the same week that she'd decided to let go of some massive ideas about life.
"I had just done a meditation that night of painfully saying goodbye to ideas and projects I had once held closely to my life plan. It was Dave Pelletier's house, basically a majestic art sanctuary in the woods he had built 20 years ago. Jump ahead 20 years and I met Dave by such interesting means. I was traveling through Europe and needed a place to settle to record. I intended to stay for a few months, I ended up staying for a year. We were connected in really deep ways. I created absolutely everything there, the music videos, the underwater footage, I threw Dave's drum set in the pool for some cool underwater shots, I healed my spine there, I healed my grief. Dave is like no other human being. His channels are all open, plants grow faster around him, technology goes haywire...That house, and the fact that it's no longer there, makes the memory of my time there even more of an enigma. The way that art projects assembled quickly in that house was as if the Earth energy was stronger there, or maybe the house had escaped the modern conventional world. I feel that Dave saved my life. He saved my life and I burned his house down! Just kidding, we don't know how the fire happened, but Dave was really strong through it all, losing such special works of art, incredible paintings and sculptures. The designer of the house (Steven Henry Lee) claimed it was his big "Magnum Opus." For me the fire was like a wild animal, like nature throwing its divine fit. It's not like the anger that throws dishes across the room. It's simply a shove out the door, and a wordless thank you for the time spent.”
Listen to “Ribbon of Water” now, and connect with Andrea Ward on her website and social media.
Alt-Indie Pop Artist RIZ LA VIE Shares His Debut LP "Haven", Plus Title Track and Video
Los Angeles-based alt-pop musician RIZ LA VIE shares his highly anticipated debut album “Haven” out everywhere now including a limited run on vinyl. Alongside the release, LA VIE shares the album's title track with an accompanying video.
Los Angeles-based alt-pop musician RIZ LA VIE shares his highly anticipated debut album “Haven” out everywhere now including a limited run on vinyl. Alongside the release, LA VIE shares the album's title track with an accompanying video. Plus, RIZ LA VIE will hit the road across North America this spring on The World Could Be A Haven Tour beginning in Phoenix, AZ with support from Johan Lenox and Ayleen Valentine. Tickets are on sale now, along with brand new merch.
The album's title track explores loss, but even in the deepest depths of sadness, it sees LA VIE determined to find the silver lining. The track swiftly embodies the thesis of the album as its themes speak to the album as a. whole. On its subject matter and overall message, LA VIE explains, "The lyrics speak to the choice one can make to not dwell on negative emotions, but instead to find refuge in the power of one's own mind. The message is one of personal strength and the constant effort needed to nurture one's own inner haven."
Its accompanying video, directed by Quinton Dominguez, opens with LA VIE seated in a movie theater, ready to watch a movie of his newfound life in Los Angeles. The film and the track's lyrics follow LA VIE's emotional effort to hold onto optimism, freedom and safety. Dominquez explains, "Reflecting the framework of the mind in real time, 'Haven' takes us on a trip through RIZ’s world in LA." The director continues, "We collaborated on this video over a period of 4 months, putting our energy into making an expansive video that encapsulates RIZ LA VIE in his current form."
With “Haven”, RIZ LA VIE expands on the vibrant sonic world he's built with previous releases, but this time, shares more of himself with his fans. Experimenting with new production elements and blending genres, LA VIE pushes boundaries like never before, culminating in his most realized, ambitious work to date. Over 15 tracks, LA VIE embarks on a search for a sense of safety and security, both internally and externally–within himself, in his relationships, community, environment, and in the world at large. "The album," explains LA VIE, "reflects my journey facing the struggles of trying to find a home in a city like New York, during a recession and eventually having to move to another city like Los Angeles. It showcases the ups and downs of forming new connections, and the impact of losing some friends temporarily and some permanently, both for the better and for the worse."
In perpetual pursuit of hope and optimism, the project chronicles LA VIE's courage in the face of adversity as he ultimately discovers his own strength and confidence. LA VIE continues, "The album also expresses my determination to not fall victim to fear-mongering, and trying to find light and positivity in difficult times."
Collaborators on the album include Vic Wainstein (Tyler the Creator, Mac Miller), Daniel Hartzog (Tom the Mailman, ericdoa), Lucy Blomkamp (6LACK, Mallrat) and Johan Lenox (BROCKHAMPTON, Metro Boomin, Shawn Mendes). It was mixed by KES (Ed Sheeran, Jacob Banks) and mastered by Mike Bozzi (Kendrick Lamar, Steve Lacy).
Speaking to the album title, LA VIE explains, "It evokes imagery of a safe place for boats and ships, representing the artist's journey as a metaphor for their own life journey, much like a ship navigating through storms and troubled waters to find a safe haven. The album is a reflection of the journey the artist had to go through to find that inner and outer peace and stability, and it comes across as an album that is relatable, reflective and empowering."
The previously shared single "FYP," offers LA VIE the space to express the discomfort and fear that accompany a cross-country move, and the aftermath of leaving home to land in a new environment, surrounded by new people while the place he once called home remains. LA VIE says the track, "is a representation of my love affair with New York City, even while living in Los Angeles. It reflects my feelings of longing, FOMO, and passion as I see my beloved city moving on without me, such as through concerts and billboards, while LA tries to capture my attention. It's a story of my longing for my true home and my deep emotional connection to it."
Listen to the “Haven” album now, get your tour tickets HERE, and connect with RIZ LA VIE on his website and social media.
London Based Alt-Pop Duo REYKO Unveil Their Third Album "Fantasía"
After spending last year touring the UK, Germany, France, Mexico, Spain and Serbia to promote their second album 'Pulse', now alt-pop duo REYKO present 'Fantasía', their highly anticipated third effort.
REYKO - a London based alt-pop duo composed of Spaniards Soleil and Igor - have gathered a loyal fanbase and millions of streams in the last few years with their eclectic, genre-defying amalgam of ridiculously infectious pop songs and inventive, quirky sounds inspired by anything from psychedelic pop, electronica to art-punk. You have probably already heard many of REYKO's songs in a series or a commercial– 'Cruel Summer', 'Élite' or 'Toy Boy', just to name a few – but you just don't know that you did.
After spending last year touring the UK, Germany, France, Mexico, Spain and Serbia to promote their second album 'Pulse', now REYKO present 'Fantasía', their highly anticipated third effort. Just like the album's artwork, with 'Fantasía' REYKO have created a multicolour universe: a kind of collage of themes, sounds and styles that, when you listen to it, takes you on a trip through the duos inspirations, seen through Soleil's and Igor's eyes. Glimpses of influences that can be heard in the duo's sounds are as wide-ranging as Jane Birkin, Beatles, Kraftwerk, Ramones, Manu Chao or Billie Eilish.
In 'Fantasía', there are songs sung in English, and others sung in Spanish. There's even a couple of instrumentals, such as the album closer '6pm'. There are love stories (the opener 'Tú y Yo'), euphoric anthems (the luminous 'Already There'), tales of heartbreak (the jazzy 'Josephine') and romantic ballads ('Siempre Estaré Contigo'). There's psychedelic electronica, fuzzy rock guitars and jazzy pianos. In 'Fantasía', REYKO opens the door to their own world, full of overlapping layers. The world created by Soleil and Igor is, after all, a big celebration of life with all its ups and downs, angles and nuances.
Stream "Dead Reckoning", the New Album by Canadian Singer-Songwriter Kate Fenner
Canadian singer-songwriter and lionhearted truth teller Kate Fenner's new album "Dead Reckoning" carries the existential weight of life, death and shared trauma on it's shoulders, and as such becomes a challenge to sum up in words.
Canadian singer-songwriter and lionhearted truth teller Kate Fenner's new album "Dead Reckoning" carries the existential weight of life, death and shared trauma on it's shoulders, and as such becomes a challenge to sum up in words. It's the palpable and unprecedented depth of the emotion and raw energy that is Kate Fenner's currency here. When facing genuine hardship, wisdom may rear it's elusive head and all else seems trivial compared to it's looming presence. Out of struggle and self-reflection, Kate Fenner has created an album beyond simplistic definitions and worthy of study. Kate's uniquely powerful voice is both haunting and fragile throughout. For anyone dealing with loss, death or the relentless struggle in between, there are ample gems to discover throughout "Dead Reckoning". In the tradition of artists like Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen and Patti Smith, this is indeed serious music dealing with intensely human themes.
Warren Zanes on Kate Fenner’s Dead Reckoning: "Dead Reckoning approaches the territory of popular music as a notably wide territory, establishing outposts in a number of traditions without ever settling anywhere. Perhaps because this type of nomadism is a liability in the marketplace—where in the shop do we put this recording?--we don’t see it as much as we once did, and it’s music’s loss. The sheer scope of Dead Reckoning struck me. As pianist Jason Moran so rightly puts it, Kate Fenner’s songs “think beyond region.” It’s an arresting effect that found me unable to place this music and grateful for that.
Dead Reckoning has elegance about it. While it has moments that are elemental, just voice and piano, it also goes big when a song’s emotion calls for it. At times there’s a grandeur in the layered sound that reminds me of Dusty Springfield’s best, some of Leonard Cohen’s most memorable, even if it resembles neither. In the way Dead Reckoning suggests certain musical pasts (even as it dislocates them), whether girl group harmonies or nineties drum loops, the recording has a sophistication to its knowingness. There’s a hauntedness to the beautiful, almost Beatles-like madness of “Soul-maker,” the distant background vocals on “Cautionary Tale” and “Son of a Gun,” producer Scotty Hard’s piano and string arrangements animating “Received Wisdom”. And while the cast of musicians includes several of New York’s most notable players, at the center of it all is Kate Fenner’s voice, as singer and writer. As Hard puts it, “Her voice is so powerful, in both subtlety and dynamics. As I kept saying to the band while we were tracking the basics, ‘Just follow Kate’s voice. She’ll show you the way’.”
Unsurprisingly, Kate's singing style falls outside the easy categorizations by genre that so often organize voices, particularly women’s voices: R&B, Americana, Pop. There’s a homelessness to her singing style. She’s in very good company in this regard. Like the handful of singers who faced the “what is this?” reaction to their individuality as singers--Dylan being the most notable, but Morrissey, Joni Mitchell, and Tom Waits being others--Kate sounds too much like herself to be stored under any other name. There are beautiful swells, emotional peaks, just as there are moments of an almost spoken, confessional intimacy. Her wide vibrato conveys an unmistakable sense of the voice-as-instrument. But the singing always hangs on the word, reminding me of the song’s place as a poetic form. This is a writer gifted with a singing voice.
Thinking of Dead Reckoning as a literary thing, I see it as work written in the face of life’s accumulations. Meaning, it’s a recording that could only be made after the other records were done, after first and second and third apartments were frail memories, after years of touring and eating shitty food on the road, after raising children in the city, after saying goodbye to lifelong friends who once seemed like they might cheat death. People throw out words like “mature” and “adult,” but I’m not sure that’s what I’m after. Dead Reckoning doesn’t lose itself beneath the weight of seriousness, though. Musically or lyrically. It’s punctuated by a spirit that has humor, acceptance, even joy. It’s the kind of record you can bring to many people and many places. As collaborator Tony Scherr adds, “Kate is one of my small stash of artists whose music I need near wherever I go.” So take Dead Reckoning with you. It will probably follow you there regardless."
Kate Fenner on Dead Reckoning: "When my friend Mike was dying in December of 2019, I came across an Amy Hempel poem about the failure of language when faced with things like death— “
At the end, I wanted to comfort him.
But what I said was, Sing to it. The
Arab proverb: When danger approaches, sing to it.”
Mike was not the first loss, nor was he to be the last, in the past few years of my life. My parents went, naturally; but it was the consecutive losses of my friends—bandmates, soulmates, mentors—that stung and bewildered; each one barely fifty years old when cruel variations on cancer made their way through my friends’ bodies, turning off all the lights.
In some cases, I was fortunate enough to be with them through this process, allowed to love and care for them at this most intimate juncture. In every case, I was tempted by the idea that I could make it better for them. That I could give them something to take with them, and they could leave something behind for me to hold, something slight but durable to set me in my life. In the end, all I felt I did was walk them to the threshold and watch them disappear. The term “dead reckoning,” apart from it signifying in this case just what it sounds like, is a navigational strategy to recalculate your position by estimating the direction, the drift, and the distance you’ve travelled.
I know life by definition is contoured by the loss of it. This time feels particularly burdened with loss, real and impending; maybe every time has felt that way. I’m left with love as the only defense—loving people and letting them know they were loved by you. Dead Reckoning really is a reckoning during a period of seemingly endless loss and an attempt to determine a “way of living that is not waiting,” as I recently heard poet Jorie Graham say in an interview. Singing is my way of loving, loving even danger. Here I sing to my friends, my parents; their ghosts; and to you. I hope you can hear it."
