| New Music: Alternative |
| New Music USA - New Music Magazine - New Music Blog - New Music Promotion |
| New Music USA |
| New Music Magazine / Blog / Promotion |
| The Cure's "Bestival Live 2011" |
The Cure is set to release Bestival Live 2011,
a 2-CD set of their live performance at
September's Bestival in the U.K. on December
6. It's their first live album since Paris and
Show in 1993. It's also the first to include an
entire show from beginning to end.
a 2-CD set of their live performance at
September's Bestival in the U.K. on December
6. It's their first live album since Paris and
Show in 1993. It's also the first to include an
entire show from beginning to end.
| The Commuters |
| Genre: Alternative, Indie, Melodic Rock Comparison: Snow Patrol, U2, REM, Sugar, The Smashing Pumpkins |
The Commuters might hail from New York, but their kinetic, personally revealing anthems capture an alt-rock essence that aspires toward
worldwide appeal. Their commercial debut (As I Make My Way – EP) was released at the end of August, and is comprised of 4 songs --
"As I Make My Way," "Bombs Away," "Fallen From Grace," and "You'll Stay Right Here" -- all from their upcoming album, Rescue, due out
this winter. Their video for "As I Make My Way" was added to mtvU's rotation in early October and they have received extensive airplay at
college radio stations throughout the US.
Right from the outset of both releases (mastered by White Stripes/Ryan Adams collaborator Fred Kevorkian), The Commuters’ signature
attributes are front and center. Lead single, “As I Make My Way,” has it all: an unforgettable hook, huge guitars that ring and echo and a
grounded rhythm section that anchors the track’s precise tension. Elsewhere, you can hear traces of Peter Gabriel’s work with Daniel
Lanois nudge against the delicate bite of Automatic/Monster-era R.E.M. The latter is particularly evident in the title track’s feedback thrust
and circa-Bends Radiohead gets channeled via the poised, melodic moodiness of album standout “Fallen from Grace.” And what ties all
this together are the Commuters’ poignant lyrics, which eschew cryptic sermonizing, focusing instead on transparently human experiences
and emotions.
Such richness and diversity on an inaugural release is no happenstance. As their name suggests, the Commuters have traveled through
a lifetime of musical influences, but it’s their own personal global journeys that have guided the foursome to something universal but
prevailingly intimate. Before forming the Commuters in 2010, Canadian-born, Philippines-raised frontman Zeeshan Zaidi (whose parents
were born in Pakistan and India) spent many years in the music industry. His early accomplishments included producing Grammy-
nominated artist Ryan Leslie’s first demo, and he subsequently worked in the marketing departments of major labels in New York helping
to develop the careers of other versatile artists, including OutKast and Cee Lo Green. During this time, Zaidi was also honing his craft as
a singer, songwriter and musician, performing around New York’s open mic circuit. When the time arrived to put his own abilities as a
performer front and center, he immediately shared a dozen demos of his songs with childhood friend, New York-based producer and soon-
to-be Commuters guitarist Uri Djemal, who was also raised in the Philippines (by parents of Israeli and American descent). The two got to
work co-producing the album at Djemal’s Madpan Studios in Manhattan, where he had produced many well-known artists in New York’s
indie-rock scene. Says Zaidi: “Uri’s studio was a few blocks from my apartment and he was telling me for years to come work on my songs
there. One day — when I knew it was time — I just walked over and we started.”
Soon, they were joined by Djemal’s previous collaborator, French-raised Ben Zwerin on bass and Italian-American upstate New York
native Paul Amorese behind the drums, solidifying the current lineup. Zwerin, the son of an American rock critic and Jazz trombonist
based in Paris, had previously played and toured extensively with many renowned world and jazz musicians. Amorese had been playing
professionally since the age of 14, performing in numerous bands throughout New York City and state. The material that would become
Rescue had firmly connected with its improbable shepherds.
Having established themselves at noted hometown venues in Manhattan and Brooklyn, including Arlene’s Grocery, Fontana’s and Spike
Hill, and received blog acclaim in the U.S. and abroad, the Commuters are eager to build their US presence and also extend their
experiences outward to an international audience. As Zaidi explains, the already-dynamic tracks on Rescue “sound energetic and alive”
on stage. “We love creating songs in the studio but performing them for live audiences is even more exciting,” he continues. “A lot of our
online fans in different countries ask when we’re going to play in their hometowns – and we want to make it to all those places.”
And while every band aims to last, the Commuters’ unique combination of its members’ personal histories and creative backgrounds
leading up to this moment foreshadows a longer and brighter future than most. “Our hope and our goal is to be around for as long as
possible,” says Zaidi. "We want to build this over time — the first album is just the start.”
>>>For more info: www.thecommuters.com
worldwide appeal. Their commercial debut (As I Make My Way – EP) was released at the end of August, and is comprised of 4 songs --
"As I Make My Way," "Bombs Away," "Fallen From Grace," and "You'll Stay Right Here" -- all from their upcoming album, Rescue, due out
this winter. Their video for "As I Make My Way" was added to mtvU's rotation in early October and they have received extensive airplay at
college radio stations throughout the US.
Right from the outset of both releases (mastered by White Stripes/Ryan Adams collaborator Fred Kevorkian), The Commuters’ signature
attributes are front and center. Lead single, “As I Make My Way,” has it all: an unforgettable hook, huge guitars that ring and echo and a
grounded rhythm section that anchors the track’s precise tension. Elsewhere, you can hear traces of Peter Gabriel’s work with Daniel
Lanois nudge against the delicate bite of Automatic/Monster-era R.E.M. The latter is particularly evident in the title track’s feedback thrust
and circa-Bends Radiohead gets channeled via the poised, melodic moodiness of album standout “Fallen from Grace.” And what ties all
this together are the Commuters’ poignant lyrics, which eschew cryptic sermonizing, focusing instead on transparently human experiences
and emotions.
Such richness and diversity on an inaugural release is no happenstance. As their name suggests, the Commuters have traveled through
a lifetime of musical influences, but it’s their own personal global journeys that have guided the foursome to something universal but
prevailingly intimate. Before forming the Commuters in 2010, Canadian-born, Philippines-raised frontman Zeeshan Zaidi (whose parents
were born in Pakistan and India) spent many years in the music industry. His early accomplishments included producing Grammy-
nominated artist Ryan Leslie’s first demo, and he subsequently worked in the marketing departments of major labels in New York helping
to develop the careers of other versatile artists, including OutKast and Cee Lo Green. During this time, Zaidi was also honing his craft as
a singer, songwriter and musician, performing around New York’s open mic circuit. When the time arrived to put his own abilities as a
performer front and center, he immediately shared a dozen demos of his songs with childhood friend, New York-based producer and soon-
to-be Commuters guitarist Uri Djemal, who was also raised in the Philippines (by parents of Israeli and American descent). The two got to
work co-producing the album at Djemal’s Madpan Studios in Manhattan, where he had produced many well-known artists in New York’s
indie-rock scene. Says Zaidi: “Uri’s studio was a few blocks from my apartment and he was telling me for years to come work on my songs
there. One day — when I knew it was time — I just walked over and we started.”
Soon, they were joined by Djemal’s previous collaborator, French-raised Ben Zwerin on bass and Italian-American upstate New York
native Paul Amorese behind the drums, solidifying the current lineup. Zwerin, the son of an American rock critic and Jazz trombonist
based in Paris, had previously played and toured extensively with many renowned world and jazz musicians. Amorese had been playing
professionally since the age of 14, performing in numerous bands throughout New York City and state. The material that would become
Rescue had firmly connected with its improbable shepherds.
Having established themselves at noted hometown venues in Manhattan and Brooklyn, including Arlene’s Grocery, Fontana’s and Spike
Hill, and received blog acclaim in the U.S. and abroad, the Commuters are eager to build their US presence and also extend their
experiences outward to an international audience. As Zaidi explains, the already-dynamic tracks on Rescue “sound energetic and alive”
on stage. “We love creating songs in the studio but performing them for live audiences is even more exciting,” he continues. “A lot of our
online fans in different countries ask when we’re going to play in their hometowns – and we want to make it to all those places.”
And while every band aims to last, the Commuters’ unique combination of its members’ personal histories and creative backgrounds
leading up to this moment foreshadows a longer and brighter future than most. “Our hope and our goal is to be around for as long as
possible,” says Zaidi. "We want to build this over time — the first album is just the start.”
>>>For more info: www.thecommuters.com
| Exit 451's "The Sea Above The Sky" |
| Genre: Alternative rock |
The existence of Exit 451 has come about through some long-term musical relationships, much hard work and an in-depth knowledge
of the music industry. Exit 451 is the brainchild of three founding members: Alain Avon (guitar, piano, arrangements), Martin Avon
(bass, arrangements), Jean-Philippe Alepins (vocals, lyrics, piano) and additional musicians to complete the group (drums, additional
guitars, etc.)
In 1990, brothers Alain and Martin Avon founded what was to become one of Montreal’s most popular underground bands: Imaginary
Steps. In 1991, they released a successful pop-rock album entitled Maybe Tomorrow (featuring the single The More I Learn).
The success of this recording led them to play in New York, and made the charts around the world; it also gave them the opportunity to
support major bands in many venues. Then, in 1993, they released the critically acclaimed alternative rock album What Good Will it Do,
and played more shows than ever before.
In the following years, despite losing their lead singer, the brothers continued to write original music, worked in many professional
recording studios until 1999 when JP Alepins (singer/songwriter) joined the band. The next years were critical for the three musicians.
In 2001, management difficulties became quite the issue and the band’s unity was put to the test. Despite everything though, they still
believed they had something to say as a musical trio. The problem was getting the proper support to go on and release the music they
were recording.
The year 2004 was a turning point in the trio’s career. Along with a new partner, they re-opened a famous recording studio in Montreal
under a new name: The Bank Studio 451 (www.studio451.ca), today one of the best recording facilities in North America. It took years
of hard work to bring the studio back to its glory. Then, in 2008, the trio decided it was time to go back to writing music and they started
to work on the album of their dreams. In 2009 they became Exit 451 and hired producer Mark Howard of Daniel Lanois’ crew to record a
very original and mesmerizing pop-rock album, The Sea Above the Sky, that was mastered by Gavin Lurssen at Lurssen Mastering (L.
A.). This album was made possible thanks to the implication of The 451 Recording House label in the project.
>>>For more info: www.exit451.ca
of the music industry. Exit 451 is the brainchild of three founding members: Alain Avon (guitar, piano, arrangements), Martin Avon
(bass, arrangements), Jean-Philippe Alepins (vocals, lyrics, piano) and additional musicians to complete the group (drums, additional
guitars, etc.)
In 1990, brothers Alain and Martin Avon founded what was to become one of Montreal’s most popular underground bands: Imaginary
Steps. In 1991, they released a successful pop-rock album entitled Maybe Tomorrow (featuring the single The More I Learn).
The success of this recording led them to play in New York, and made the charts around the world; it also gave them the opportunity to
support major bands in many venues. Then, in 1993, they released the critically acclaimed alternative rock album What Good Will it Do,
and played more shows than ever before.
In the following years, despite losing their lead singer, the brothers continued to write original music, worked in many professional
recording studios until 1999 when JP Alepins (singer/songwriter) joined the band. The next years were critical for the three musicians.
In 2001, management difficulties became quite the issue and the band’s unity was put to the test. Despite everything though, they still
believed they had something to say as a musical trio. The problem was getting the proper support to go on and release the music they
were recording.
The year 2004 was a turning point in the trio’s career. Along with a new partner, they re-opened a famous recording studio in Montreal
under a new name: The Bank Studio 451 (www.studio451.ca), today one of the best recording facilities in North America. It took years
of hard work to bring the studio back to its glory. Then, in 2008, the trio decided it was time to go back to writing music and they started
to work on the album of their dreams. In 2009 they became Exit 451 and hired producer Mark Howard of Daniel Lanois’ crew to record a
very original and mesmerizing pop-rock album, The Sea Above the Sky, that was mastered by Gavin Lurssen at Lurssen Mastering (L.
A.). This album was made possible thanks to the implication of The 451 Recording House label in the project.
>>>For more info: www.exit451.ca
| Vicky |
| Genre: Rock, Alternative, Pop, Metal Comparison: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Bjork, Skunk Anansie, Queens of the Stone Age, The Smashing Pumpkins |
If you've never experienced a Vicky concert, then you're in luck. I've driven for five, six hours and slept
in my car to see them, but unlike sex the first time was special. It meant something. Standing in the
throbbing crowd at my first Vicky concert, more than half drunk, not knowing when I lost contact with my
friends and not caring one bit, making up words to a chorus I first heard not a minute ago just to sing
along with the crowd - that's when it hit me. Between the guitars jangling my arms and the bass drum
kicking my stomach, a stray thought crystallized:
In a Vicky concert, the crowd is a body and Vicky is a boot stamping down on its face forever.
And the crowd loves it.
As someone who doesn't know what they're talking about would say, the quartet has come out of
nowhere and taken the Icelandic music scene by storm. The reality is different, but more satisfying. The
foursome of Ástrós, Eygló and Lotta - with the drummer Orri, who has long since given up objecting to
being to a girl band - started out playing small gigs in shit venues. They have risen to become one of
the foremost rock bands in Iceland through years of playing whatever venue they can get, sticking
through the sweat and broken strings and gaffer tape until early morning, and generally rocking the
fuck out. All along the way they've grown harder and tighter. Harder and tighter.
All this gaffer tape and sweat shone through on "Pull Hard", Vicky's debut album from 2008. Aside from
spawning singles like evil creatures fed after midnight, "Pull Hard" catapulted the band on tours to
China and the United States. Having endured hurricanes, volcanoes and lost kittens in preparation for
their next album Vicky is primed like a grenade and ready to explode onto the stage. their new album
Cast a Light will be out in 2011.
>>>For more info: www.vickytheband.com
in my car to see them, but unlike sex the first time was special. It meant something. Standing in the
throbbing crowd at my first Vicky concert, more than half drunk, not knowing when I lost contact with my
friends and not caring one bit, making up words to a chorus I first heard not a minute ago just to sing
along with the crowd - that's when it hit me. Between the guitars jangling my arms and the bass drum
kicking my stomach, a stray thought crystallized:
In a Vicky concert, the crowd is a body and Vicky is a boot stamping down on its face forever.
And the crowd loves it.
As someone who doesn't know what they're talking about would say, the quartet has come out of
nowhere and taken the Icelandic music scene by storm. The reality is different, but more satisfying. The
foursome of Ástrós, Eygló and Lotta - with the drummer Orri, who has long since given up objecting to
being to a girl band - started out playing small gigs in shit venues. They have risen to become one of
the foremost rock bands in Iceland through years of playing whatever venue they can get, sticking
through the sweat and broken strings and gaffer tape until early morning, and generally rocking the
fuck out. All along the way they've grown harder and tighter. Harder and tighter.
All this gaffer tape and sweat shone through on "Pull Hard", Vicky's debut album from 2008. Aside from
spawning singles like evil creatures fed after midnight, "Pull Hard" catapulted the band on tours to
China and the United States. Having endured hurricanes, volcanoes and lost kittens in preparation for
their next album Vicky is primed like a grenade and ready to explode onto the stage. their new album
Cast a Light will be out in 2011.
>>>For more info: www.vickytheband.com
| Xavier & Ophelia |
| Genre: Synth Pop, Electronica, Pop, Alternative Rock, Indie Comparison: The Sundays, Sixpence None the Richer, Goldfrapp, Edie Brickell, Norah Jones |
Multi-instrumentalist songwriter and producer Dave Tough fell in love with the angelic voice and guitar
work of DeAnna Moore when searching for demo singers on Myspace in 2009. They met and soon
realized that they both shared a love of artists such as Fiona Apple, Goldfrapp, and Edie Brickell as well
as a penchant for older jazz standards. The name Xavier & Ophelia (X&O) originated from a pair of
children’s dolls.
X&O’s music collectively has been placed in movies, television, and commercials. Musically, they tend to
combine Bachrach-eqsque melodies with electronic production intermingled with live instruments such
as the acoustic guitar and drums. The duo released their first 9 song effort, X&O, in 2011. They
continue to explore new sounds and textures from their studio in Nashville, TN.
>>>For more info: www.xandomusic.com
work of DeAnna Moore when searching for demo singers on Myspace in 2009. They met and soon
realized that they both shared a love of artists such as Fiona Apple, Goldfrapp, and Edie Brickell as well
as a penchant for older jazz standards. The name Xavier & Ophelia (X&O) originated from a pair of
children’s dolls.
X&O’s music collectively has been placed in movies, television, and commercials. Musically, they tend to
combine Bachrach-eqsque melodies with electronic production intermingled with live instruments such
as the acoustic guitar and drums. The duo released their first 9 song effort, X&O, in 2011. They
continue to explore new sounds and textures from their studio in Nashville, TN.
>>>For more info: www.xandomusic.com
Born in Montreal Canada, Charmian Devi has been an original singer/songwriter for many years. Formerly, the founder and lead singer of the punk
band Wretched Ethyl formed in Vancouver, Canada, the band released two independent CDs and toured extensively across North America.
Following the end of Wretched Ethyl, there was the alternative rock band, L.I.A.R formed in London, U.K and the band performed in London clubs
for two years. Devi has since formed a duo with collaborator John Lok, writing soulful and melodic alternative pop songs. They are currently in
the Music Placement division at Gotham Records in Los Angeles for non-exclusive licensing opportunities.
http://www.charmiandevi.com
band Wretched Ethyl formed in Vancouver, Canada, the band released two independent CDs and toured extensively across North America.
Following the end of Wretched Ethyl, there was the alternative rock band, L.I.A.R formed in London, U.K and the band performed in London clubs
for two years. Devi has since formed a duo with collaborator John Lok, writing soulful and melodic alternative pop songs. They are currently in
the Music Placement division at Gotham Records in Los Angeles for non-exclusive licensing opportunities.
http://www.charmiandevi.com
| Alternative Pop from Charmian Devi |
| A unique and bold sound that is driving, groovey and electric reminiscent of daring music innovators, Patty Smith and Bob Dylan. |
| Music Genres: Indie / Alternative / Rock / Pop / Folk / Top 40 |
MICHAEL KORB is a singer-songwriter from St. James, New York, a small,
tightly-knit community close to Long Island’s North Shore. He grew up in a
musical household, where he taught himself how to sing, record and play several
different instruments.
The shy, awkward Korb began developing a following once he finally began
playing in public on Long Island’s open mic folk circuit in 2006. Seeing Mike live
almost gives one the impression that he’s channeling something otherworldly -- his
lyrics are shards of dark poetry, often floating on a quivering falsetto, and the
sounds coming from his guitar sometimes seem too impossibly layered to be
played by only one person.
In 2008, during a life-crushing bout with insomnia, Mike worked through recurring
themes in his past, writing and self-releasing his debut full-length, GHOSTS.
Tracks like "Circles," "Slow Incline" and "Close Your Eyes" got some attention
from college radio, and Mike played shows out of state for the first time.
On his 2010 Winged Disk release SLEEPWALKER, Korb deals with the phantasms
of the present. Michael performs all tracks on the album, which was recorded at
his home Sixth Street Studio in St. James, New York -- often in the wee hours of
the morning. Songs like "Missing Persons Report" and "Off the Deep End" explore
human connections and emotional consciousness -- SLEEPWALKER is a map of
Mike's inner world. Although influences like Radiohead, Jeff Buckley and Elliot
Smith can be felt, the ethereal vocals and lush guitar experimentation are distinctly
Korb’s. Even the way Mike writes his songs is unique.
"First, I try to come up with the ugliest, most horrible chord I can," he chuckles.
"Then, I try to write a really beautiful song around that ugly chord."
Now with a new band and a drive that keeps him moving constantly, MICHAEL
KORB is gaining momentum; when he is not walking around St. James in his
pajamas, he can be found performing anywhere from small coffee houses to large
theatres, dive bars to wineries, and beyond.
http://www.michaelkorbmusic.com
tightly-knit community close to Long Island’s North Shore. He grew up in a
musical household, where he taught himself how to sing, record and play several
different instruments.
The shy, awkward Korb began developing a following once he finally began
playing in public on Long Island’s open mic folk circuit in 2006. Seeing Mike live
almost gives one the impression that he’s channeling something otherworldly -- his
lyrics are shards of dark poetry, often floating on a quivering falsetto, and the
sounds coming from his guitar sometimes seem too impossibly layered to be
played by only one person.
In 2008, during a life-crushing bout with insomnia, Mike worked through recurring
themes in his past, writing and self-releasing his debut full-length, GHOSTS.
Tracks like "Circles," "Slow Incline" and "Close Your Eyes" got some attention
from college radio, and Mike played shows out of state for the first time.
On his 2010 Winged Disk release SLEEPWALKER, Korb deals with the phantasms
of the present. Michael performs all tracks on the album, which was recorded at
his home Sixth Street Studio in St. James, New York -- often in the wee hours of
the morning. Songs like "Missing Persons Report" and "Off the Deep End" explore
human connections and emotional consciousness -- SLEEPWALKER is a map of
Mike's inner world. Although influences like Radiohead, Jeff Buckley and Elliot
Smith can be felt, the ethereal vocals and lush guitar experimentation are distinctly
Korb’s. Even the way Mike writes his songs is unique.
"First, I try to come up with the ugliest, most horrible chord I can," he chuckles.
"Then, I try to write a really beautiful song around that ugly chord."
Now with a new band and a drive that keeps him moving constantly, MICHAEL
KORB is gaining momentum; when he is not walking around St. James in his
pajamas, he can be found performing anywhere from small coffee houses to large
theatres, dive bars to wineries, and beyond.
http://www.michaelkorbmusic.com
| Indie Rock from Michael Korb |
| Music Genres: Indie / Alternative / Rock / Pop |
Indie quintet led by Seth Richardson's powerful and unique vocal talent.
Electric viola acts as an infectious counterpoint to vocals while bass acts
as a tertiary melodic voice with guitar and drums making unusual rhythmic
team.
Voices in the Trees began as the mellow songwriter project of
singer/guitarist Seth Richardson and bassist Gary Brown, but from the
beginning the group was destined for something even more awesome.
Gary recruited the buy-one-get-one-free pair of Mollie Harrison on the
viola and drummer Patrick Harrison to fill out the line-up, and later
Bradford Sims was recruited on the guitar to allow Seth more vocal
freedom.
Such a collection of strongly opinionated, creative minds from such varied
musical backgrounds forged a multifaceted, dynamic blend of raw
alternative rock and folksy, world-music influences that cannot be
duplicated. After several months of serious gigging, tireless rehearsals,
and a rough demo to refine their sound, Voices in the Trees entered the
studio to record their first album: The Death of Viola, a long running
project and an important learning experience for everyone involved that
the band is pleased to finally release to their hungry fan base.
But just hearing the album is not truly experiencing Voices in the Trees,
as the recordings pale in comparison to the live show. With the band
firmly established for over a year now, Voices in the Trees has begun
branching out to play shows outside of the Birmingham area and create
converts as far as their sound will reach.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Voices-in-the-Trees/101308731171
Electric viola acts as an infectious counterpoint to vocals while bass acts
as a tertiary melodic voice with guitar and drums making unusual rhythmic
team.
Voices in the Trees began as the mellow songwriter project of
singer/guitarist Seth Richardson and bassist Gary Brown, but from the
beginning the group was destined for something even more awesome.
Gary recruited the buy-one-get-one-free pair of Mollie Harrison on the
viola and drummer Patrick Harrison to fill out the line-up, and later
Bradford Sims was recruited on the guitar to allow Seth more vocal
freedom.
Such a collection of strongly opinionated, creative minds from such varied
musical backgrounds forged a multifaceted, dynamic blend of raw
alternative rock and folksy, world-music influences that cannot be
duplicated. After several months of serious gigging, tireless rehearsals,
and a rough demo to refine their sound, Voices in the Trees entered the
studio to record their first album: The Death of Viola, a long running
project and an important learning experience for everyone involved that
the band is pleased to finally release to their hungry fan base.
But just hearing the album is not truly experiencing Voices in the Trees,
as the recordings pale in comparison to the live show. With the band
firmly established for over a year now, Voices in the Trees has begun
branching out to play shows outside of the Birmingham area and create
converts as far as their sound will reach.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Voices-in-the-Trees/101308731171
| Indie Rock from Voices In The Trees |
| Music Genres: Indie / Alternative / Rock |
Angelina Bentley & the Cosmic Party... a stoney, sexy blend of dream-
pop, folk rock with a bit of alternative new age... former frontwoman
for girl rockers Draggin' Suzy, Angelina Bentley embarks on her first
solo project singing from the heart what she hears in the heavens…
"Stevie Nicks meets Annie Lennox on the way to Enya's castle...
soothes, inspires, transports…”
Celestial songstress Angelina Bentley has emerged from her chrysalis to
create Angelina Bentley & the Cosmic Party with more than just a little
bit of help from her friends... her offering is a new album called "Kings
& Butterflies"... it is a moody, sexy blend of dream-pop, folk rock
mixed with a bit of alternative new age... it explores the nature of
illusion (inspired by Zuangzi's Butterfly Dream ) and the return or
Awakening to the light of one's Authentic Self.
This project was created to take the listener from one emotional space
to another expanding on the themes of light and dark and the fusion of
the two... Available for download on Itunes http://itunes.apple.
com/us/album/kings-butterflies/id359295291 and Amazon MP3...
"Kings & Butterflies" was brought to fruition through the mirth and
magic of producer Joe Varela of Black Lab Studios, the patience and
expertise of Bill Bentley of Bill Bentley Productions, comrade and co-
writer -the incomparable Sparky Grinstead and the heavenly Erin "The
Dove" Oliver... "This album is so close to my heart and I feel it has met
my intention of creating a vehicle to transport the listener to a more
heart centered, peaceful state of being."
http://www.cosmicparty.com
pop, folk rock with a bit of alternative new age... former frontwoman
for girl rockers Draggin' Suzy, Angelina Bentley embarks on her first
solo project singing from the heart what she hears in the heavens…
"Stevie Nicks meets Annie Lennox on the way to Enya's castle...
soothes, inspires, transports…”
Celestial songstress Angelina Bentley has emerged from her chrysalis to
create Angelina Bentley & the Cosmic Party with more than just a little
bit of help from her friends... her offering is a new album called "Kings
& Butterflies"... it is a moody, sexy blend of dream-pop, folk rock
mixed with a bit of alternative new age... it explores the nature of
illusion (inspired by Zuangzi's Butterfly Dream ) and the return or
Awakening to the light of one's Authentic Self.
This project was created to take the listener from one emotional space
to another expanding on the themes of light and dark and the fusion of
the two... Available for download on Itunes http://itunes.apple.
com/us/album/kings-butterflies/id359295291 and Amazon MP3...
"Kings & Butterflies" was brought to fruition through the mirth and
magic of producer Joe Varela of Black Lab Studios, the patience and
expertise of Bill Bentley of Bill Bentley Productions, comrade and co-
writer -the incomparable Sparky Grinstead and the heavenly Erin "The
Dove" Oliver... "This album is so close to my heart and I feel it has met
my intention of creating a vehicle to transport the listener to a more
heart centered, peaceful state of being."
http://www.cosmicparty.com
| Angelina Bentley & the Cosmic Party |
| "a stoney, sexy blend of dream-pop, folk rock with a bit of alternative new age" |
| Music Genres: Dream-Pop / Folk / Rock / Alternative / New Age / Top 40 / Pop |
Fleet Foxes Announce the Release of Second Album, Helplessness Blues,
Out May 3rd, 2011 & Tour Dates in North America, London and Europe
On May 3rd Fleet Foxes will release Helplessness Blues (Sub Pop/Bella
Union), the much-anticipated follow up to their 2008 self-titled debut. The
release of the twelve-track album will coincide with the band’s first North
American tour dates since August 2009 followed by a string of UK and
European dates. The tour will begin in Vancouver on April 30th and end in
London England. More tour information, including North American ticket
pre-sale, provided below. Fleet Foxes have made the title-track of the album
available for download now.
Helplessness Blues was recorded over the course of a year at Avast
Recording, Bear Creek Studios, Dreamland Studios, and Reciprocal
Recording. The album was recorded and mixed by Phil Ek and co-produced
by Fleet Foxes and Ek. The piece that appears on the album cover was
illustrated by Seattle artist Toby Liebowitz and painted by Chris Alderson.
Fleet Foxes is Robin Pecknold, Skyler Skjelset, Christian Wargo, Casey
Wescott, Josh Tillman and Morgan Henderson.
Out May 3rd, 2011 & Tour Dates in North America, London and Europe
On May 3rd Fleet Foxes will release Helplessness Blues (Sub Pop/Bella
Union), the much-anticipated follow up to their 2008 self-titled debut. The
release of the twelve-track album will coincide with the band’s first North
American tour dates since August 2009 followed by a string of UK and
European dates. The tour will begin in Vancouver on April 30th and end in
London England. More tour information, including North American ticket
pre-sale, provided below. Fleet Foxes have made the title-track of the album
available for download now.
Helplessness Blues was recorded over the course of a year at Avast
Recording, Bear Creek Studios, Dreamland Studios, and Reciprocal
Recording. The album was recorded and mixed by Phil Ek and co-produced
by Fleet Foxes and Ek. The piece that appears on the album cover was
illustrated by Seattle artist Toby Liebowitz and painted by Chris Alderson.
Fleet Foxes is Robin Pecknold, Skyler Skjelset, Christian Wargo, Casey
Wescott, Josh Tillman and Morgan Henderson.
Photo and text used with the permission of Sub Pop Records
| Fleet Foxes Release Second Album |
| Music Genres: Indie / Alternative / Rock |
| The Trews |
| Music Genres: AAA, Rock If You Like: The Hold Steady, Mumford and Sons, Kings of Leon, Jet, The Black Crowes |
By the beginning of 2010, the Trews were feeling a little uncertain. The band had been on an upwardly mobile streak since “Not
Ready to Go” first came pumping out of Canadian radio back in 2003. They wasted no time piling success on top of success,
watching their stature grow with multiple hit singles and an incomparable live show, courting exhaustion while they fanned out
across the world and carved an eccentric and stubborn path through an industry demanding that they always “compete.”
The tensions were audible on 2008’s No Time for Later. The band’s third album was its most accomplished and satisfying. But
as a formal exercise in broadening their songwriting chops while making a hermetically perfect studio recording – all while
shoveling enough hits into the mouth of the beast – it emerged uptight and dark, maybe even a little claustrophobic. Not
insignificantly, the second single was called “Paranoid Freak”.
As the first leg of touring wrapped up on their sidelong 2009 Acoustic – Friends & Total Strangers retrospective, for the first time
in years the Trews found themselves facing time off and a blank canvas. As Colin MacDonald bluntly puts it, “We didn’t really
know what to do.” The rest of the tour was months away. The band had forward momentum but nowhere to go.
Enter Gord Sinclair. The Tragically Hip bassist surfaced amidst this rare period of suspended animation and offered the Trews a
little shelter at the Hip’s fabled Bathouse Recording Studio. He said they could cool their jets, make some demos. “And I’ll hang
out for a couple days, drink some beer, and listen to what you guys have got going on,” he suggested. It sounded like a holiday
to John-Angus MacDonald.
“We were just looking to run away a little,” the guitarist admits. “And we wanted to do something fun, organic, be a band again,
all that stuff.”
And so bassist Jack Syperek, drummer Sean Dalton, and the two MacDonald brothers faded into the bucolic splendor of Bath,
Ontario, where they had so much fun and got so organic that a couple months later, the Trews had a new album – Hope and
Ruin. Or maybe it should be called Order Out of Chaos.
In any event, the band insists that it all happened by accident, or “guerilla style,” in Colin’s words.
“It was like anything was up for grabs,” continues John-Angus, “And we just needed to get a hold of where we were at, which is
why we retreated to Bath. We went there to try and figure out what kind of record was in us.”
So what kind of record was in them? In contrast to the cinched, vaguely political alt-rock of No Time for Later, the Trews swing
low and loose on Hope and Ruin, which Sinclair unexpectedly found himself co-producing with John-Angus. Their customary wall-
of-guitar is there on tracks like the explosive and somewhat insane “People of the Deer” – albeit bigger and more visceral than
ever – and “The World I Know” puts a perverse twist on the kind of Aerosmith redux the band accomplishes in its sleep. “I’ll Find
Someone Who Will” is their patented classic-rock, power-pop hybrid, and naturally more fun than a sugar rush after a blast of
nitrous.
But title track and single “Hope and Ruin” is something altogether different, superimposing chiming guitar and Colin’s reflective-
yet-triumphant lyrics onto a pumping disco beat, while the guitar atmospherics of “Stay with Me” are redolent of a certain world-
devouring, ‘80s rock giant. Opener “Misery Loves Company” suggests an alternate universe punk version of Cheap Trick while
“Dreaming Man” is even more outré; a lambent, silky shuffle that the band whipped up over breakfast one day. Equally,
“Burned” goes from a funky, clavinet-goosed intro to an inspired jam that Colin wanted to sound “like Little Feat at 2 am at some
big, summer festival.” Ditto the way piano dances around John-Angus’ super-reverbed slide on “Love Is the Real Thing”.
And perhaps most striking of all is the album’s centerpiece, “If You Wanna Start Again”, where the Trews actually find a credible
détente between the grandeur of mid-tempo Foreigner and their own reliably good taste. It should be mentioned that their
drummer was the force behind this particular masterpiece, right down to its ecstatic “woo-hoo” chorus. “It’s so killer,” says Colin.
“That was Dalton.”
John-Angus puts it best: “It was like our first record again,” he says, of the band’s most collaborative, exploratory, and intuitive
effort in years. “When you make your first record, you don’t know who the songwriter is. Those roles aren’t established yet. The
band is just trying to be the best band they can be. And we were back there.”
This meant building each song from scratch, on a day-to-day basis, until the four of them were ready to hit record and take “the
Jimmy Iovine approach” to tracking. Which, John Angus explains, amounts to “just playing it till it feels right.”
Notwithstanding that what you’re reading here is a band bio and a therefore a big, obvious marketing tool, let it be said that only
a deaf person, a fool, or a damn liar would argue that Hope and Ruin feels anything but right. If the Trews were tired when they
walked into the Bathouse, they were rejuvenated by the time they walked out, having found hope in ruin. This is the record
where the Trews sound like they’re having a flat-out gas.
“It was glorious,” reflects Colin. “I hope people like the record because if they do, I’ll be, like, ‘Yes! We can have fun while we’re
doing it!’”
www.thetrewsmusic.com
Ready to Go” first came pumping out of Canadian radio back in 2003. They wasted no time piling success on top of success,
watching their stature grow with multiple hit singles and an incomparable live show, courting exhaustion while they fanned out
across the world and carved an eccentric and stubborn path through an industry demanding that they always “compete.”
The tensions were audible on 2008’s No Time for Later. The band’s third album was its most accomplished and satisfying. But
as a formal exercise in broadening their songwriting chops while making a hermetically perfect studio recording – all while
shoveling enough hits into the mouth of the beast – it emerged uptight and dark, maybe even a little claustrophobic. Not
insignificantly, the second single was called “Paranoid Freak”.
As the first leg of touring wrapped up on their sidelong 2009 Acoustic – Friends & Total Strangers retrospective, for the first time
in years the Trews found themselves facing time off and a blank canvas. As Colin MacDonald bluntly puts it, “We didn’t really
know what to do.” The rest of the tour was months away. The band had forward momentum but nowhere to go.
Enter Gord Sinclair. The Tragically Hip bassist surfaced amidst this rare period of suspended animation and offered the Trews a
little shelter at the Hip’s fabled Bathouse Recording Studio. He said they could cool their jets, make some demos. “And I’ll hang
out for a couple days, drink some beer, and listen to what you guys have got going on,” he suggested. It sounded like a holiday
to John-Angus MacDonald.
“We were just looking to run away a little,” the guitarist admits. “And we wanted to do something fun, organic, be a band again,
all that stuff.”
And so bassist Jack Syperek, drummer Sean Dalton, and the two MacDonald brothers faded into the bucolic splendor of Bath,
Ontario, where they had so much fun and got so organic that a couple months later, the Trews had a new album – Hope and
Ruin. Or maybe it should be called Order Out of Chaos.
In any event, the band insists that it all happened by accident, or “guerilla style,” in Colin’s words.
“It was like anything was up for grabs,” continues John-Angus, “And we just needed to get a hold of where we were at, which is
why we retreated to Bath. We went there to try and figure out what kind of record was in us.”
So what kind of record was in them? In contrast to the cinched, vaguely political alt-rock of No Time for Later, the Trews swing
low and loose on Hope and Ruin, which Sinclair unexpectedly found himself co-producing with John-Angus. Their customary wall-
of-guitar is there on tracks like the explosive and somewhat insane “People of the Deer” – albeit bigger and more visceral than
ever – and “The World I Know” puts a perverse twist on the kind of Aerosmith redux the band accomplishes in its sleep. “I’ll Find
Someone Who Will” is their patented classic-rock, power-pop hybrid, and naturally more fun than a sugar rush after a blast of
nitrous.
But title track and single “Hope and Ruin” is something altogether different, superimposing chiming guitar and Colin’s reflective-
yet-triumphant lyrics onto a pumping disco beat, while the guitar atmospherics of “Stay with Me” are redolent of a certain world-
devouring, ‘80s rock giant. Opener “Misery Loves Company” suggests an alternate universe punk version of Cheap Trick while
“Dreaming Man” is even more outré; a lambent, silky shuffle that the band whipped up over breakfast one day. Equally,
“Burned” goes from a funky, clavinet-goosed intro to an inspired jam that Colin wanted to sound “like Little Feat at 2 am at some
big, summer festival.” Ditto the way piano dances around John-Angus’ super-reverbed slide on “Love Is the Real Thing”.
And perhaps most striking of all is the album’s centerpiece, “If You Wanna Start Again”, where the Trews actually find a credible
détente between the grandeur of mid-tempo Foreigner and their own reliably good taste. It should be mentioned that their
drummer was the force behind this particular masterpiece, right down to its ecstatic “woo-hoo” chorus. “It’s so killer,” says Colin.
“That was Dalton.”
John-Angus puts it best: “It was like our first record again,” he says, of the band’s most collaborative, exploratory, and intuitive
effort in years. “When you make your first record, you don’t know who the songwriter is. Those roles aren’t established yet. The
band is just trying to be the best band they can be. And we were back there.”
This meant building each song from scratch, on a day-to-day basis, until the four of them were ready to hit record and take “the
Jimmy Iovine approach” to tracking. Which, John Angus explains, amounts to “just playing it till it feels right.”
Notwithstanding that what you’re reading here is a band bio and a therefore a big, obvious marketing tool, let it be said that only
a deaf person, a fool, or a damn liar would argue that Hope and Ruin feels anything but right. If the Trews were tired when they
walked into the Bathouse, they were rejuvenated by the time they walked out, having found hope in ruin. This is the record
where the Trews sound like they’re having a flat-out gas.
“It was glorious,” reflects Colin. “I hope people like the record because if they do, I’ll be, like, ‘Yes! We can have fun while we’re
doing it!’”
www.thetrewsmusic.com
| DIG (Directions in Groove) |
| Music Genres: Jazz, Electronic Jazz, Hip Hop / Rap, Urban, Soul If You Like: Tortoise, Medeski Martin and Wood, The Headhunters, Portishead, Roy Ayers |
Acclaimed Australian acid-jazz / groove / funk band Directions In Groove (DIG) are back with the original DIG lineup - featuring
keyboardist and vocalist Scott Saunders, saxophonist Rick Robertson, guitarist Tim Rollinson, bassist Alex Hewetson and
drummer Terepai Richmond, alongside new guest vocalist Laura Stitt.
The band, which hailed from the suburbs of Sydney, honed their live set with a residency at Kinselas back in the early 90’s.
They self-financed their first EP, which at the time was the highest selling release of it’s kind, and with an ever growing audience,
set out to tour nationally. They released several distinctive acid-jazz / groove / funk albums through the 1990s, including the
much lauded "Speakeasy" and "Deeper" which both went on to achieve double platinum status. Tracks such as "The Favourite",
"Reinvent Yourself", and "Hip Replacement" were radio and television staples, the band garnering widespread critical acclaim,
including this from Rolling Stone magazine: "DIG are the future of Australian music. They know what to do and how to do it."
With extensive JJJ airplay, great press support and consistent touring, dig crossed over into the mainstream with their mix of
jazz/dance/old school funk and electronica, and evolved to incorporate new grooves, melding drum'n'bass and trip hop into the
mix. They took their unique style across the globe, touring Asia, North America and Europe including the Montreux Jazz Festival,
North Sea Festival, and Phoenix Festival on the same stage as Herbie Hancock, Bootsy Collins and The Roots. Dig also played
in the Acid Jazz scene supporting Us3, Galliano, The Groove Collective, Corduroy, The Young Disciples, appearing at club and
festival shows with Norman Jay and Giles Peterson.
www.directionsingroove.com
keyboardist and vocalist Scott Saunders, saxophonist Rick Robertson, guitarist Tim Rollinson, bassist Alex Hewetson and
drummer Terepai Richmond, alongside new guest vocalist Laura Stitt.
The band, which hailed from the suburbs of Sydney, honed their live set with a residency at Kinselas back in the early 90’s.
They self-financed their first EP, which at the time was the highest selling release of it’s kind, and with an ever growing audience,
set out to tour nationally. They released several distinctive acid-jazz / groove / funk albums through the 1990s, including the
much lauded "Speakeasy" and "Deeper" which both went on to achieve double platinum status. Tracks such as "The Favourite",
"Reinvent Yourself", and "Hip Replacement" were radio and television staples, the band garnering widespread critical acclaim,
including this from Rolling Stone magazine: "DIG are the future of Australian music. They know what to do and how to do it."
With extensive JJJ airplay, great press support and consistent touring, dig crossed over into the mainstream with their mix of
jazz/dance/old school funk and electronica, and evolved to incorporate new grooves, melding drum'n'bass and trip hop into the
mix. They took their unique style across the globe, touring Asia, North America and Europe including the Montreux Jazz Festival,
North Sea Festival, and Phoenix Festival on the same stage as Herbie Hancock, Bootsy Collins and The Roots. Dig also played
in the Acid Jazz scene supporting Us3, Galliano, The Groove Collective, Corduroy, The Young Disciples, appearing at club and
festival shows with Norman Jay and Giles Peterson.
www.directionsingroove.com
| Kids of 88 |
| Music Genres: New Wave If You Like: Mgmt, Phoenix |
Introducing slutty new wave/electro duo Kids Of 88, who are Sam McCarthy and Jordan Arts. They describe their music as "a cross
between a late 80s police drama intro theme and a sophisticated super hussy". With sleazy basslines and mind-numbingly catchy
hooks, Kids Of 88 are all about poking tongues and making sweaty suggestive innuendos.
Some kids are just different. Jordan Arts and Sam McCarthy knew it from their first, strange meeting of minds at school. Asked to bring
their favorite song to class, most 12-year-olds naturally dug out Backstreet Boys or Britney CDs. To their mutual surprise, Sam and
Jordan both lugged in Jimi Hendrix LPs.
An alliance of outsiders was forged that day. As fashions shifted from dance to nu-metal and hip-hop, the two Auckland teenagers
evolved from hitting tin pots to coaxing beats, buzzes, cheeky rhymes and killer tunes from any combo of gadgets fit to plug in and twist
to their own often wicked ends.
"Jordan and I were both born in 1988," says Sam. "The name Kids of 88 sort of captures what we're doing, picking up bits and pieces of
pop culture, sifting the debris from yesteryear and making something new."
"I could trace the dance influence back to playing pots and pans in the living room, banging along to a Stereo MCs video," Jordan adds.
"But we both went through all kinds of music, played in all kinds of bands to get to this point." "I think our first recording was a live desk
track Jordan's dad took off a DAT recorder," he says. "It was the most amazing thing to have one of our own songs burned onto CD. It
sounded horrible, probably, but it was pretty cool to hear your first MP3 at the age of 14 or 15."
Armed with a precocious store of musical history, rough-edged performance skills and state-of-the-art digital recording know-how, Kids
of 88's frenzied home production unit was in full swing before they were old enough to vote.
"My House" hit the New Zealand Top 10 in 2009, and the duo's irreverent take on teenaged sexual politics was suddenly on the global
pop radar from Sydney to New York and Los Angeles. An international blur of handshakes and backslaps culminated in a deal with
Sony Music in mid 2010. Meanwhile, somewhere in the USA, the Kids landed a remix for Ke$ha's single of the moment, "Tik Tok". In
turn, Cobra Starship came knocking for a similarly sexy treatment for their "Hot Mess" single.
Before their own album was halfway finished, they'd earned a reputation as an outfit that could mash anything to anything else and
come up roses. Back in Auckland, they put the finishing touches to their now hotly anticipated debut album for the Dryden Street label.
Between the steamy club-floor insinuation s of "Just A Little Bit", the mysteriously intimate groove of "Downtown," which both also hit the
Top 10, and the opaque character sketch of "Feed The Birds", their debut album SUGARPILLS slowly defined its sordid allure.
"What would a movie be like if this was the soundtrack?" Sam muses. "That's what often directs the lyrics. They might range from really
cheeky things that we won't disclose to more specific things, like the bitter side of relationships, or little niche things in pop culture we
like to run with." "What surprised us about the album was how much of a melting pot it is," says Jordan. "We feel like we pulled off a four-
on-the-floor stomp with 'My House' so that released the pressure and allowed us to be bit more eclectic, go off on tangents."
"That moment when you show a song to another person and they get excited, it can just bounce off in any direction," says Sam. "That's
the moment we live for. It's that energy that makes a track really take off."
Having just supported Passion Pit in Auckland and Scissor Sisters in Australia, Kids of 88 are operating as a four-piece band in a
sweaty club near you, which has recently included a stop at the CMJ Music Marathon in NYC.
In fact, the U S of A features heavily in the Kids’ plans for 2011. Their new single, “Just A Little Bit,” was released in the states in
November, and in February Sony Music is taking the band’s debut EP to college radio in anticipation of a late spring U.S. release of
SUGARPILLS. A U.S. tour is also in the works for early 2011.
Additionally, Kids Of 88 were chosen to support Ke$ha on her December 2010 European tour which hit the following markets: Zurich,
Paris, Brussels, Barcelona and Madrid.
between a late 80s police drama intro theme and a sophisticated super hussy". With sleazy basslines and mind-numbingly catchy
hooks, Kids Of 88 are all about poking tongues and making sweaty suggestive innuendos.
Some kids are just different. Jordan Arts and Sam McCarthy knew it from their first, strange meeting of minds at school. Asked to bring
their favorite song to class, most 12-year-olds naturally dug out Backstreet Boys or Britney CDs. To their mutual surprise, Sam and
Jordan both lugged in Jimi Hendrix LPs.
An alliance of outsiders was forged that day. As fashions shifted from dance to nu-metal and hip-hop, the two Auckland teenagers
evolved from hitting tin pots to coaxing beats, buzzes, cheeky rhymes and killer tunes from any combo of gadgets fit to plug in and twist
to their own often wicked ends.
"Jordan and I were both born in 1988," says Sam. "The name Kids of 88 sort of captures what we're doing, picking up bits and pieces of
pop culture, sifting the debris from yesteryear and making something new."
"I could trace the dance influence back to playing pots and pans in the living room, banging along to a Stereo MCs video," Jordan adds.
"But we both went through all kinds of music, played in all kinds of bands to get to this point." "I think our first recording was a live desk
track Jordan's dad took off a DAT recorder," he says. "It was the most amazing thing to have one of our own songs burned onto CD. It
sounded horrible, probably, but it was pretty cool to hear your first MP3 at the age of 14 or 15."
Armed with a precocious store of musical history, rough-edged performance skills and state-of-the-art digital recording know-how, Kids
of 88's frenzied home production unit was in full swing before they were old enough to vote.
"My House" hit the New Zealand Top 10 in 2009, and the duo's irreverent take on teenaged sexual politics was suddenly on the global
pop radar from Sydney to New York and Los Angeles. An international blur of handshakes and backslaps culminated in a deal with
Sony Music in mid 2010. Meanwhile, somewhere in the USA, the Kids landed a remix for Ke$ha's single of the moment, "Tik Tok". In
turn, Cobra Starship came knocking for a similarly sexy treatment for their "Hot Mess" single.
Before their own album was halfway finished, they'd earned a reputation as an outfit that could mash anything to anything else and
come up roses. Back in Auckland, they put the finishing touches to their now hotly anticipated debut album for the Dryden Street label.
Between the steamy club-floor insinuation s of "Just A Little Bit", the mysteriously intimate groove of "Downtown," which both also hit the
Top 10, and the opaque character sketch of "Feed The Birds", their debut album SUGARPILLS slowly defined its sordid allure.
"What would a movie be like if this was the soundtrack?" Sam muses. "That's what often directs the lyrics. They might range from really
cheeky things that we won't disclose to more specific things, like the bitter side of relationships, or little niche things in pop culture we
like to run with." "What surprised us about the album was how much of a melting pot it is," says Jordan. "We feel like we pulled off a four-
on-the-floor stomp with 'My House' so that released the pressure and allowed us to be bit more eclectic, go off on tangents."
"That moment when you show a song to another person and they get excited, it can just bounce off in any direction," says Sam. "That's
the moment we live for. It's that energy that makes a track really take off."
Having just supported Passion Pit in Auckland and Scissor Sisters in Australia, Kids of 88 are operating as a four-piece band in a
sweaty club near you, which has recently included a stop at the CMJ Music Marathon in NYC.
In fact, the U S of A features heavily in the Kids’ plans for 2011. Their new single, “Just A Little Bit,” was released in the states in
November, and in February Sony Music is taking the band’s debut EP to college radio in anticipation of a late spring U.S. release of
SUGARPILLS. A U.S. tour is also in the works for early 2011.
Additionally, Kids Of 88 were chosen to support Ke$ha on her December 2010 European tour which hit the following markets: Zurich,
Paris, Brussels, Barcelona and Madrid.
| Hudson K |
| Music Genres: Alternative, Rock, Pop If You Like: Florence and the Machine, Tori Amos, PJ Harvey, Cat Power, Amanda Palmer |
Hudson K is the brainchild of singer/songwriter Christina Horn. Combining influences that span decades, Christina’s work dwells in the
abstract, emerging in timeless forms. Drawing her inspiration from other such artists as Tori Amos and Tom Waits, Hudson K has
crafted their own unique sound of avant-garde and pop fusion. Incredibly photogenic and fashion-minded, Horn is a glamorous figure
for the alternative music realm; a seeming star-in-waiting, successor to that mystical/sexual rock-heroine crown.
The New York-born Horn pulls from her music school education and her experience producing scores when it comes to writing songs.
She also cites Bat for Lashes and Andrew Bird as influences, while echoes of Bjork and PJ Harvey are heard throughout Hudson K’s
transforming indie rock sound.
Classically trained on piano, Horn has been able to escape the trappings of concert piano, to cut out her own niche in psychedelic
experimentalism. “I hope that, as time goes on, I’m able to peel away more and more layers of myself to the point where I’ve made
something, and become something, that is no longer comparable to my past.”
Before she began composing and performing her own quirky, intricate pop songs, Christina proved her musical prowess as part of
Erick Baker’s regular band, as pianist and background vocalist. During this time she began to compose the songs that would make up
her first solo record. Synthesizing a blend of Regina Spektor, My Brightest Diamond, Portishead, and Neko Case, Horn then adopted
the name Hudson K for her solo career. When unveiled, in May, 2010, the set was called Shine; its title is emblematic of the entire
artistic process, and the self-delusion that comes with performing.
Shine's songs are literary, evocative, and complicated; their dramatic ebb and flow is wildly varied, but a smooth and cohesive ride
through and through. All told, you could listen to this one for years and never get sick of it; like your favorite book or movie, you'll
always find something new whenever you come back.
Hudson K’s music is bold and vivid. Her live shows are made up of thunderous marching band drums, desert guitar, ballet school
piano, harpsichord, sub-bass snarls, hand-claps and naive beats. There are also interludes of exquisite heartbreak; the piano ballad
'Champion' has on more than one occasion left audience members in tears. Her debut album Shine is a very special record, a
cohesive collection of songs so haunting and mesmerizing it makes a striking impression on all who hear it.
For more information, visit www.hudsonkmusic.com
abstract, emerging in timeless forms. Drawing her inspiration from other such artists as Tori Amos and Tom Waits, Hudson K has
crafted their own unique sound of avant-garde and pop fusion. Incredibly photogenic and fashion-minded, Horn is a glamorous figure
for the alternative music realm; a seeming star-in-waiting, successor to that mystical/sexual rock-heroine crown.
The New York-born Horn pulls from her music school education and her experience producing scores when it comes to writing songs.
She also cites Bat for Lashes and Andrew Bird as influences, while echoes of Bjork and PJ Harvey are heard throughout Hudson K’s
transforming indie rock sound.
Classically trained on piano, Horn has been able to escape the trappings of concert piano, to cut out her own niche in psychedelic
experimentalism. “I hope that, as time goes on, I’m able to peel away more and more layers of myself to the point where I’ve made
something, and become something, that is no longer comparable to my past.”
Before she began composing and performing her own quirky, intricate pop songs, Christina proved her musical prowess as part of
Erick Baker’s regular band, as pianist and background vocalist. During this time she began to compose the songs that would make up
her first solo record. Synthesizing a blend of Regina Spektor, My Brightest Diamond, Portishead, and Neko Case, Horn then adopted
the name Hudson K for her solo career. When unveiled, in May, 2010, the set was called Shine; its title is emblematic of the entire
artistic process, and the self-delusion that comes with performing.
Shine's songs are literary, evocative, and complicated; their dramatic ebb and flow is wildly varied, but a smooth and cohesive ride
through and through. All told, you could listen to this one for years and never get sick of it; like your favorite book or movie, you'll
always find something new whenever you come back.
Hudson K’s music is bold and vivid. Her live shows are made up of thunderous marching band drums, desert guitar, ballet school
piano, harpsichord, sub-bass snarls, hand-claps and naive beats. There are also interludes of exquisite heartbreak; the piano ballad
'Champion' has on more than one occasion left audience members in tears. Her debut album Shine is a very special record, a
cohesive collection of songs so haunting and mesmerizing it makes a striking impression on all who hear it.
For more information, visit www.hudsonkmusic.com
| Heartour |
| Genre: Alternative, Electronica, Rock, Pop Comparison: Beck, Depeche Mode, The Killers, The Postal Service, Moby |
Heartour is the creative outlet/alter ego of popular Los Angeles based band The Ruse’s drummer Jason
Young. Having been a member of touring bands since he was a teenager, Young began recording solo
material as Heartour in 2002. Ever since the first release in 2003 (Three), Young has been extra prolific,
in addition to producing and performing with The Ruse he has dropped a full solo album every couple
years.
Influenced heavily by big sounding bands like U2 and Led Zeppelin as well as contemporary acts My
Morning Jacket, LCD Soundsystem and Metric , Heartour’s progressive Electronic sound has grown by
leaps and bounds with each project. However it was not until 2009’s Ate that he began to believe that he
had something more than a pet project. The positive fan and critical feedback made it clear that the
music he was making had a space in the marketplace. With renewed energy and new ideas Young
released his best work to date in early 2011 in the form of Submarine Sounds.
With the freedom and ability to produce, write and perform all instruments, Heartour decided to make a
completely digital album. Taking full advantage of the litany of music technology on the market, he
purposefully negated live instruments giving the album a heavily synthesized 1980’s sounding vibe. The
sound resonates so much so that it also influenced the albums title. “It sort of has this underwater feel to
it with all the reverbs and squishy tones” says Heartour. He plans to release at least two videos
supporting the project in the coming months.
Heartour has successfully harnessed a fun, eclectic and outside the box sound that everyone should
hear.
>>>For more info: heartour.com
Young. Having been a member of touring bands since he was a teenager, Young began recording solo
material as Heartour in 2002. Ever since the first release in 2003 (Three), Young has been extra prolific,
in addition to producing and performing with The Ruse he has dropped a full solo album every couple
years.
Influenced heavily by big sounding bands like U2 and Led Zeppelin as well as contemporary acts My
Morning Jacket, LCD Soundsystem and Metric , Heartour’s progressive Electronic sound has grown by
leaps and bounds with each project. However it was not until 2009’s Ate that he began to believe that he
had something more than a pet project. The positive fan and critical feedback made it clear that the
music he was making had a space in the marketplace. With renewed energy and new ideas Young
released his best work to date in early 2011 in the form of Submarine Sounds.
With the freedom and ability to produce, write and perform all instruments, Heartour decided to make a
completely digital album. Taking full advantage of the litany of music technology on the market, he
purposefully negated live instruments giving the album a heavily synthesized 1980’s sounding vibe. The
sound resonates so much so that it also influenced the albums title. “It sort of has this underwater feel to
it with all the reverbs and squishy tones” says Heartour. He plans to release at least two videos
supporting the project in the coming months.
Heartour has successfully harnessed a fun, eclectic and outside the box sound that everyone should
hear.
>>>For more info: heartour.com
| The Ladies Of Sport |
| Genre: Alternative, Indie-Pop, Alternative Pop Comparison: Gorillaz, Beck, Cake, The Postal Service, Radiohead |
One February New York City evening, two sisters newly moved from Los Angeles sought escape from the blustering 2°F chill. Ann and
Mary Kohatsu happened to stumble into The Library, a Lower East Side dive bar, where Rich DeCicco just happened to be drinking. East
coast man next door meets striking Japanese twin ladies, forever changing each other’s lives. This unlikely trio of musicians forms the
Brooklyn-based alt-pop band, The Ladies of Sport.
The band’s debut album Empires Fall launched in February of 2009. Subtle grooves support this record packed with catchy songs.
Starting in May 2011, new singles released by The Ladies of Sport juxtapose elements of their old sound with added edge. With more
organic elements like acoustic guitar and live drums, the latest tracks are more aggressive and biting, yet still melodic
and catchy.
Lead singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist Rich DeCicco’s divulges, “I’ve spent a lot of my early 30s thinking about mortality. Many of the
lyrics in the new singles build from Buddhist ideas on impermanence and desire. I practice Vipassana meditation, which is mostly about
clearing the mind…it helps me to let go and enjoy the creative process for what it is, without worrying about the end product. It’s about
getting over things you can’t control…the grasping at stuff and trying to hold it to you when it’s all going to be gone and there’s nothing
you can do about it.”
The new single, Bridge to Brooklyn, echoes this sentiment, observing how the city offers amazing opportunities yet can slowly steal the life
from you. Another track, Irish Brothers speaks to conflicting feelings about his closeness to his siblings, yet still feeling like an outsider.
He was the favorite/Everyone knows
Too big for this world/Too big for his clothes
Frank as a murder/Strongly opposed
And me a black jellybean always on retreat
A beggar in a world of kings and queens
Observing ecstasy
- “Irish Brothers”
All of The Ladies of Sport releases are available on iTunes and at TheLadiesOfSport.com, with the latter hosting exclusive B-Sides and
instrumental versions. The band members are always busy writing and recording, and fans who follow the band on Facebook and Twitter
can keep up to date with their new releases.
The Ladies of Sport are all products of musical parents. Rich’s parents knew it was time to buy a drumset when at age 4, he ruined their
pots and pans. Mary and Ann’s father worked for Yamaha demonstrating early model synthesizers, and their mother sang and played
drums. As children the twin’s parents forced them to improvise on musical instruments, a practice they resented, but now an asset for
their roles in The Ladies of Sport.
Growing up on opposite coasts, they all developed into very different souls. Rich is tempestuous and prone to anger while the twins are
graceful and patient. Their songs reflect these differences, contributing to the great depth shown by The Ladies of Sport.
>>>For more info: www.theladiesofsport.com
Mary Kohatsu happened to stumble into The Library, a Lower East Side dive bar, where Rich DeCicco just happened to be drinking. East
coast man next door meets striking Japanese twin ladies, forever changing each other’s lives. This unlikely trio of musicians forms the
Brooklyn-based alt-pop band, The Ladies of Sport.
The band’s debut album Empires Fall launched in February of 2009. Subtle grooves support this record packed with catchy songs.
Starting in May 2011, new singles released by The Ladies of Sport juxtapose elements of their old sound with added edge. With more
organic elements like acoustic guitar and live drums, the latest tracks are more aggressive and biting, yet still melodic
and catchy.
Lead singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist Rich DeCicco’s divulges, “I’ve spent a lot of my early 30s thinking about mortality. Many of the
lyrics in the new singles build from Buddhist ideas on impermanence and desire. I practice Vipassana meditation, which is mostly about
clearing the mind…it helps me to let go and enjoy the creative process for what it is, without worrying about the end product. It’s about
getting over things you can’t control…the grasping at stuff and trying to hold it to you when it’s all going to be gone and there’s nothing
you can do about it.”
The new single, Bridge to Brooklyn, echoes this sentiment, observing how the city offers amazing opportunities yet can slowly steal the life
from you. Another track, Irish Brothers speaks to conflicting feelings about his closeness to his siblings, yet still feeling like an outsider.
He was the favorite/Everyone knows
Too big for this world/Too big for his clothes
Frank as a murder/Strongly opposed
And me a black jellybean always on retreat
A beggar in a world of kings and queens
Observing ecstasy
- “Irish Brothers”
All of The Ladies of Sport releases are available on iTunes and at TheLadiesOfSport.com, with the latter hosting exclusive B-Sides and
instrumental versions. The band members are always busy writing and recording, and fans who follow the band on Facebook and Twitter
can keep up to date with their new releases.
The Ladies of Sport are all products of musical parents. Rich’s parents knew it was time to buy a drumset when at age 4, he ruined their
pots and pans. Mary and Ann’s father worked for Yamaha demonstrating early model synthesizers, and their mother sang and played
drums. As children the twin’s parents forced them to improvise on musical instruments, a practice they resented, but now an asset for
their roles in The Ladies of Sport.
Growing up on opposite coasts, they all developed into very different souls. Rich is tempestuous and prone to anger while the twins are
graceful and patient. Their songs reflect these differences, contributing to the great depth shown by The Ladies of Sport.
>>>For more info: www.theladiesofsport.com
| ©2011 NewMusicUSA.biz |
| My Brothers Banned |
| Genre: Alternative rock |
My Brothers Banned evolved from a Thursday night community music
gathering. Born in historic Mohegan Colony, local musicians met on an
open air stage weekly to make music. The regulars often ended up playing
old time, folk, blue grass and rock favorites acoustically. When the weather
became cold, the hard core few met in a living room weekly; eventually
writing material and honing a sound that’s a blend of many styles. The
banned takes influences from R.E.M, the Jayhawks, Teenage Fanclub,
Gram Parsons, Uncle Tupelo, Whiskeytown, Ramones and the Meat
Puppets, finding a balanced blend of acoustic, electric instruments, found
objects and raw energy.
In the beginning banned members had roots in punk rock and then felt the
gravitational pull towards American roots traditional music. As “Off White
Trash Studios” developed, new bands came here to record and many
offered to be part of the Banned. Our current recording efforts reflect a
growing pool of diverse talents. A group effort building our sonic stone
soup.
The Brother line up has included Lyle Puente, Hillie the Kid, Eric Puente,
Koji Mabuchi, Larry Ohlmann, Quinn Murphy, Daphna Elroy, Georgy
Kronfeld, Cora Impenna, Margaret Canning and a revolving cast of millions.
Currently the Banned has released three full albums, and one 4 song EP.
All releases are available on itunes, amazon, and the rest of the usual
handy digital outlets.
We are always on the look out for new brothers and sisters.
We bend with the wind and fall down laughing…….
>>>For more info: www.mybrothersbanned.com
gathering. Born in historic Mohegan Colony, local musicians met on an
open air stage weekly to make music. The regulars often ended up playing
old time, folk, blue grass and rock favorites acoustically. When the weather
became cold, the hard core few met in a living room weekly; eventually
writing material and honing a sound that’s a blend of many styles. The
banned takes influences from R.E.M, the Jayhawks, Teenage Fanclub,
Gram Parsons, Uncle Tupelo, Whiskeytown, Ramones and the Meat
Puppets, finding a balanced blend of acoustic, electric instruments, found
objects and raw energy.
In the beginning banned members had roots in punk rock and then felt the
gravitational pull towards American roots traditional music. As “Off White
Trash Studios” developed, new bands came here to record and many
offered to be part of the Banned. Our current recording efforts reflect a
growing pool of diverse talents. A group effort building our sonic stone
soup.
The Brother line up has included Lyle Puente, Hillie the Kid, Eric Puente,
Koji Mabuchi, Larry Ohlmann, Quinn Murphy, Daphna Elroy, Georgy
Kronfeld, Cora Impenna, Margaret Canning and a revolving cast of millions.
Currently the Banned has released three full albums, and one 4 song EP.
All releases are available on itunes, amazon, and the rest of the usual
handy digital outlets.
We are always on the look out for new brothers and sisters.
We bend with the wind and fall down laughing…….
>>>For more info: www.mybrothersbanned.com
