Following on from the laid back vibe of previous single ‘Summertime Somewhere’, Dublin multi-instrumentalist Sam Ludlow has released his new single ‘Cruise.’Sam Ludlow spreads hip hop elements over a dreamy melody filled with soft, intricate instrumentation. The song exudes an instant soothing charm with jazz-drizzled piano twinkling between radiant guitar licks and warm melodies as Sam’s vocals venture from velvety croons to rap. Blending themes of escapism and reality through rosy-hued, witty lyrics, ‘Cruise’ is a well-crafted display of refined musicianship from Sam Ludlow.
After a truly amazing reception to his debut album ‘Territories’ late last year, BK Pepper has released his single ‘Alerts’ along with a cinematic video. Dublin-based composer BK Pepper recorded his debut album in a number of locations, from Abbey Road to a converted swimming pool. The hard graft paid off with acclaim from the Irish media, international radio and blogs. Classically trained on piano and trombone, BK Pepper’s musical projects include composing for film and theatre and touring with both orchestras and rock bands.
‘Alerts’ is a beautiful and elegant piece of music that boasts BK Pepper’s compelling and emotive musicianship. Graceful strings drift over a rippling electronic underbelly while clean keys on piano exude an icy tone. This rich blend of orchestral grandeur and electronic expression creates a dramatic soundscape that builds wonderfully. The violin strides through warm cello refrains as BK Pepper meticulously creates a masterful body of work that is compelling, rich in texture and emotion. ‘Alerts’ is a passionate piece of music sure to stir the soul.
BK Pepper worked alongside director Hector H Romero on creating a Sci Fi battle for control of boundaries in the new cinematic video.
Bio : Lewis Ross is an emerging indie folk artist from the Scottish countryside.Lewis released his first EP – Colder Days – at age 19, including the track ‘Signs of Life’, a co-write between himself and Benjamin Francis Leftwich. The EP has now reached over 1 Million Organic Spotify Streams and received massive support from Aperion YouTube channel with ‘Signs of Life’ reaching over 2.5 million views on their channel. Since then, Lewis has taken the past 2 years out of the music scene to work on his sound and style and is now back with his brand new single, “This Town”.
Track: This Town
Why We Like It: It’s a delicate, passionate song dipped in the emotive songwriting of Lewis Ross. With a sweet and melancholic melody saturated in lyrics of loneliness and isolation, the track is a bittersweet tear-jerker. Ross’s warm vocals soothe and lament through a spacious backdrop of tender acoustic guitar and icy keys allowing his beautiful tone to convey the striking and painful lyrics. With just the warmth on guitar creating a subtle element of comfort, ‘This Town’ is a mature, well crafted, and utterly stirring new single.
Bio : Dublin songwriter and musician Dan Fitzpatrick, aka Badhands has composed and recorded a powerful and evocative collection of songs inspired by the World’s Oceans. Funded by the Arts Council’s Covid-19 Response Grant the project captures Fitzpatrick’s lifelong fascination with the sea, blending the styles of his award-winning soundtrack work and the alt-folk sound of his work as Badhands, with a mix of musical influences including Ennio Morricone, Scott Waker, PJ Harvey, and Radiohead. Each song on this EP represents one of the 5 Oceans, reflecting a personal interpretation of some of their distinct characteristics; but also linking together with overlapping musical themes to form a broader, singular piece
Track: Indian Ocean
Why We Like It: It’s a dark, luring track shrouded in dazing psychedelic synths, mystery, and cinematic melodies. The deep enticing vocals create an eerie atmosphere for the verses while a strident galloping guitar and steady rhythm anchor the track’s wispy haunting tendencies. The song unfolds becoming more psychedelic as it reaches its crescendo allowing the falsetto by Dan Fitzpatrick provide a contrasting sweetness and sense of innocence. There are many twists and turns within the track as it ventures from dark ominous soundscapes to gritty desert- esque refrains and back to eerie psychedelia again before landing on an elegant piano and string outro. ‘Indian Ocean’ is one heck of a thrill ride.
Bio : Glasgow trio Baby Strange are back with their new single, ‘Club Sabbath’.Baby Strange have also announced the release of a brand new EP ‘Land of Nothing’ which features ‘Club Sabbath’ and recent single ‘More! More! More!’ and will be out via Icons Creating Evil Art on 30 April 2020. They’ll be heading out on an extensive UK headline tour in June 2021 under the moniker ‘Land of Nothing Tour’.
Track: Club Sabbath
Why We Like It: Fueled with 80’s dance-infused soundscapes ‘Club Sabbath’ is that kinetic anthem ready to get you up and dancing. Driving on a swarm of rowdy guitars and pummeling drums this brisk raw slice of post-punk is infectious, fun, and sure to get the blood pumping through your veins. With witty lyrics and a sharp groove-infested bassline, this high energy swagger steeped number is the perfect mosh pit banger.
Bio : Bristol three-piece How Nice have released the lyric video to their single ‘Water’.
Track: Water
Why We Like It: This dynamic indie-rock number exudes raw passion and tight edgy instrumentation. With rasped vocals and pounding drums, the track oozes swagger and charm. The trio spread a bittersweet melody over a bubbling backdrop while ethereal guitars soar and crash to create a biting indie song laced in mature songwriting and crisp production. Featuring a thrilling guitar solo, rousing bass rumbles, and catchy as hell chorus ‘Water’ is a fantastic new single from How Nice.
Still Corners have released their fifth studio album ‘The Last Exit.’ I caught up with songwriter/producer Greg Hughes and vocalist Tessa Murray to discuss the new album, getting lost in the desert, and how The Good the Bad and the Ugly helped them hone their focus when they struggled to achieve their acquired vibe in the studio.
Photo Credit : Bernard Burmin
Still Cornors are a unique treasure. Their inspiration can come from anything and everything, and their free-spirited nature seeps into their songs, creating an intoxicating and luring sound that conjures a world of its own.
‘The Last Exit’ follows the hypnotic desert noir sound we have come to know Still Corners for; however, there is something more mystical about this album that completely consumes the listener into a world created entirely by Still Corners. This world is isolated, calm, and filled with subtle wild elements expressed through a unique and intriguing lens.
“We came up with most of these song ideas when we were in the desert. We had a guitar and pen and paper and just wrote songs. We drove around a lot, going down little roads, seeing where they went. There are old buildings in ruins, old gas stations from the 50s with big signs falling down. Strange sounds at night. We love all that stuff so we wove it into an album.”
Talking about the inspiration behind the album Sill Corners explain:
“We call it “desert fever”, it’s not a medical condition, it’s the sudden need to leave the city and go to the desert, it’s a desire for isolation. This was the main inspiration behind the album. The air, the animals, the heat, the ghosts, they all influenced this record.”
The atmosphere within the tracks feel vast and spacious. The pristine guitar, shimmering keys, and soft drums all seem to compliment this vast lonely space.
“A lot of ideas for the songs we thought of when we were out in the desert. But we had to take that atmosphere back to the studio. So I took a lot of photos and pasted them all over the wall to remind us of the feeling there. Also if we were stuck for a part we would project on a big wall the Good the Bad and the Ugly and mute it and play music over it to help us zero in on the vibe.”
Not only are the musical arrangements mesmerising, but Still Corners are also known to have a sublime knack for creating suspenseful and mystical stories through their lyrics. In ‘The Last Exit,’ lyrics such as “I’ve been driving through the darkness, Got no destination in mind. And it’s a shame that I had to disappear. The last exit” is exceptionally impactful. The mystery and chilling loneliness in just these lines alone is superb. I wondered if they spend a long time crafting the lyrics to have that impact, or does it just come in a flow of inspiration
“Thank you. It’s really a bit of both. Sometimes I’ll be strumming guitar with Tessa singing over it and something will come out fully formed. Other times we get stuck on a word or phrase. When that happens you just leave it, it will come eventually. Often the answer pops into your head while you’re busy doing something else, like walking or watering plants. Your brain likes to overthink things, by doing a mundane task you can quiet it down a bit so you can access the reservoir of creativity better.”
The duo initially had the album written and ready to go but Covid changed a lot, including how it turned out. The pair found new inspiration resulting in this captivating version we hear today.
“We trashed half the record and wrote 5 new songs. The other songs were good but the pandemic laser-focused us and we were able to bring more to the table. It made the album better.”
Tessa has a wonderfully smoky and haunting tone to her voice. I wondered if her vocal style was something that she had to develop to suit the band’s sound, or was it something that just came naturally to her?
“Thank you, I just sing and let whatever comes out come out, I’ve worked on it over the years, experimenting with various techniques but mostly it’s just a natural flow.”
‘The Last Exit’ blends various genres into Still Corners’ sound, adding new exciting facets and sounds for the listener to devour as each track unfolds. ‘The Mystery’ marks a more indie-pop tone in the album. It provides a lighter texture which boasts excellent jangly guitar and upbeat rhythms accompanied by chilling haunting elements while also showcasing the duo’s constantly evolving sound.
“We’re always trying new things and different ways to inspire. We were driving around the Mojave desert and decided to deliberately get lost on a road. I don’t recommend this to anyone by the way! We thought if we couldn’t find our way back we’d just turn on our computer navigation to guide us back. Well, we were out there for a few hours and thought yes, we are now suitably lost. We had a sandwich and a drink and enjoyed the view. When we got back into the car and turned our phones on, no signal. We drove around a bit, no signal. Now we’re getting a little worried. It wasn’t until dark and a few hours later that we got back, it was scary as hell but we made it and thought let’s write a song about it!
The album draws to a close with ‘Old Arcade,’ a mellow track laced in lush, delicate instrumentation and rich, warm textures. I always find the last track interesting on an album. It can bring a journey to an end or provide a cliff-hanging glimpse of what’s to come. This song seems to take you off into the sunset on a nostalgic trip. I wondered what made the duo choose to close the album on ‘Old Arcade’ and was it a difficult task selecting the last song?
“We had written the whole album but knew we needed something that would bookmark the journey the album took you on. It had to have a certain vibe and feeling. One day I was strumming and Tessa came over and was lying down on the carpet looking at some photos we had taken and there was one of an old pinball machine. She just started singing over my chords, it was amazing really. We recorded it and the next day when we were listening back to it we knew that should be the last song.”
Besides not getting lost in a desert, the duo gave some words of wisdom for anyone who wishes to start a career in music.
“There’s a saying that goes “that person worked 10 years straight and then they were an overnight success!”. I think that sums up an artist’s typical career path. It’s not always like that but most of the time when you look into someone who’s had some form of success you find they’ve been doing it for ages. So you have to work hard but it’s fun work. They say music chooses you, it’s really more a vocation or a calling than a job.”
For anyone who is utterly enamoured and obsessed with ‘The Last Exit,’ you will be happy to know Still Corners’ creative flow never stops, and they are already working on more music.
“We’re very excited to have this new album out and we have a tour planned in Oct 2021 so hopefully that will get pulled off. We’re working on new music too”
Super-producers Rat City joins forces with Norwegian pop star Dagny on their new single, ‘BAD’. ‘BAD’ follows on the heels of Dagny winning the Track of the Year on P3 Gold’s annual award show with the song “Somebody,”, also produced and co-written by Rat City (P3 is the Norwegian equivalent of the BBC Radio 1). Rat City’s debut artist single “Kind of Love” catapulted to #1 on Shazam and #1 on Norwegian radio for 7 consecutive weeks. The song has crossed 35 million streams , and spent 20 weeks on Spotify’s top 20 chart. The band has also collaborated with major talents Kiesza and Tungevaag. Dagny sprang to success with the upbeat and contagious single ‘Backbeat’ in 2015, which broke around the world on Top 40 radio, and made her a star. With acclaim from Billboard, The Guardian and NYLON, Dagny went on to co-write Katy Perry’s smash ‘Never Really Over’ and collaborate with luminaries such as Seeb, Steve Aoki, NOTD, Wombats, and Crystal Fighters. She is now one of Norway’s leading, most respected, and most exciting artists with over a billion combined streams to her name.
‘BAD’ is an infectious slice of pop perfection. Lavished in intricate synths, dramatic beats and power pop, the track is an instant shot of adrenaline. Strings flutter through a driving electronic soundscape and groove riddled bass while elegant keys bounce throughout. Dagny’s warm soul-filled vocals glide and caress the catchy melody. At times her voice is delicate and sweet while at other times her voice is powerful as she controls the bubbling instrumentation with a compelling command and fun spirit. The song erupts with intensity for the chorus however Dagny’s vocals ooze charisma throughout. ’BAD’ is an irresistible well-crafted pop tune sure to be revolving in your head for days.
About ‘BAD’s empowering message, Dagny states:
“I wrote “Bad” in Stockholm with Gustav Nyström and Hilda Stenmalm, before I went into the studio with Rat City who really helped bring the song to life. For me, the song is about finally standing up for yourself and being strong and bold in a challenging situation. It’s quite a dramatic song and lyric, which is quite the opposite of what I am, but sometimes it’s fun to be a more extreme version of yourself when you write.When I went into the studio I poured my heart into the song and took on the role of being BAD, I think it worked well and I’m really happy with how it’s turned out. I’m not one to hold a grudge and sometimes letting it all go in the studio is the way to stop that from happening.”
‘The Barrios (The Mask Mixes 2)’ is the fresh new single to come from Australian progressive pop act SweetCell. A remix of a single from their 2020 debut album, ‘The Barrios (The Mask Mixes 2)’ was initially inspired by a series of photographs depicting a Spanish neighbourhood. It is the second single to be released in the Mask Mixes series.
Cinematic and doused in psychedelic hues ‘The Barrios (The Mask Mixes 2)’ is an engaging remix from SweetCell. The track swirls through a darker soundscape for the remix as SweetCell spreads synths over an icy backdrop of jaunty guitars and punchy drums to create a striking and eerie rendition that contrasts the anthemic rock sound represented in the original. Melodically lush and well crafted ‘The Barrios (The Mask Mixes 2)’ provides an intriguing glimpse into the versatility of SweetCell.
Hawke have released their new single ‘Gonna Be Alright’. The young Dublin act was formed in 2018 by two friends in the shadow of the world-famous Guinness Brewery (in the south of the city) and features Richie Power (vocals/keyboards) and Eoghan MacMahon (vocals/guitar). Irish rock legends Aslan quickly declared themselves major fans, with frontman Christy Dignam proclaiming Hawke The Band “the next big thing” to emerge from a country that consistently punches above its weight in terms of quality music.
‘Gonna Be Alright’ is a soaring heartfelt number boasting the refined musicianship of Hawke. The band use a bittersweet melody, smooth vocals and uplifting instrumentation to create a heart-stopping, soothing tune sure to have you swaying and singing along in no time. With warm guitars glittering over a lush blanket of swooning keys and buoyant bright drums, the track soars and sweeps the listener up in a passionate flurry of alternative rock. The track becomes more anthemic and atmospheric as it progresses, reinforcing the uplifting and inspiring nature of the song while the velvety vocals and backing vocal coos exude an easing comfort.
‘Gonna Be Alright’ is a spirited indie rock gem displaying the majestic songwriting and compelling sound of Hawke.
Richie says of the debut track, “We went for an uplifting melancholic anthem with this one. I don’t think lyrically it’s been any more relevant than what it is now during this pandemic – and, with another lockdown being announced, we figured it made sense for us to release it now.”
Bandmate Eoghan continues, “We wrote this song on a warm June afternoon, but at a time when personally I was feeling quite dejected and not in the finest of moods. The last thing I wanted to do was write songs, but we pushed ahead. About an hour later this little baby was written. I think that’s as good an epitome of life as you’ll get. Sometimes you just have to plough forwards, even if life is kicking you in the balls, Eventually it pays off.”
Bringing us a fresh and innovative sound, 3-piece Surrey band Lavender Hill have released their debut album release, ‘Lavender Hill’. The tracks reflect the band’s broad musical influences gathered in a collection ranging from pop to hard(ish!) rock. Lavender Hill began life as a few friends jamming together on acoustic guitars with a beer or two, gradually growing the line-up to include bass and drums. Like all good rock and roll stories the band went through multiple line-up changes before crystallising into a trio composed of original members Razz Betts (Drums), Silver (Lead Guitar and Vocals): and Rob Gwynn (Bass) who joined them 3 years ago.
‘Lavender Hill’ is an energetic album brimming with Lavender Hill’s engaging musicianship. The tracks flow on powerful classic rock soundscapes filled with sweeping rhythms and punchy melodies. Oozing sharp riffs through ‘The FIre; and rock n roll bravado of ‘Picture’ the band create a dynamic and edgy sound softened by melodious tones and rich textures, while the country twang of ‘Chainsaw’ shows a more swagger element to the band’s sound.
The band surge their own brand of quirky rock into the tracks creating a sultry dark soundscape while songs such as ‘Temptation’ exude jazz elements on piano which glide through the tunes luring backdrop and rooted bass. The lyrics are as diverse as the music, addressing emotions as far apart as love and anger with a little humour thrown in.
‘Lavender Hill’ is a strong collection of tracks which display the fun genre-blending and songwriting of Lavender Hill.
‘2020 Reprise’ is the latest single to come from Canadian singer-songwriter Norine Braun. Initially released in 2020 on bandcamp, ‘2020 Reprise’ takes the reflective song and gives it the full band treatment. Norine Braun is an award-winning artist (Canada Council For the Arts Award, Los Angeles Music Awards) based in Vancouver, Canada. From New York City to Quebec City to Tokyo and beyond, Braun has performed at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games, at theatres, festivals, coffeehouses, casinos, and clubs.
Electronic soundscapes swirl through a punchy alternative setting in ‘2020 Reprise’ -aptly expressing Braun’s powerful songwriting. With sharp whines on guitar cutting through a muggy synth backdrop, the track creates a gripping atmosphere. Heartfelt vocals provide the song’s emotional core while turbulent and edgy instrumentation curves and pivots around a strong drum beat creating a dynamic and emotional listening experience. The song progresses to a shredding guitar solo and expressive crescendo as Braun displays her engaging and passionate musicianship through this emotive gem.
Macca Taylor has released his new single, ‘How It Goes.’Growing up with a healthy obsession for music, Macca started to write and produce original material from his Birkenhead loft in early 2017. He released three singles in 2020 and received support from BBC Introducing via Dave Monks on Radio Merseyside and Tom Robinson on Radio 6 Music, crowned ‘Waters Unknown’ as Macca’s ‘strongest release to date.’
‘How It Goes’ is a soothing lo-fi pop track glittering with the bright and deft songwriting of Macca Taylor. Coating the song in soft, comforting tones, Taylor drifts a sweet, dreamy melody over a cushioned beat, and catchy guitar refrains to create a buoyant and mellow tune. From the laid-back bedroom pop hues to acoustic sounds and electronic embellishments, ‘How It Goes’ is a joy to listen to. Accompanied by ethereal synths Taylor’s velvety vocals provide an airy, light texture to the song allowing the infectious groove on bass and drums to anchor the listener within the song’s breezy atmosphere. With elements of nostalgia and melancholia blended among the cheery foot-tapping instrumentation, ‘How It Goes’ is a well crafted delight for listeners to indulge in.
Stream ‘How It Goes’ Below
Author : Danu
Indie: (n) an obscure form of rock which you only learn about from someone slightly more hip than yourself.
