SKOPE NEWS FOR FEBRUARY 3, 2016

HASTER “THE UNSCENE”

“The Current Sea”, the brand new album of “Best Metal/Hard Rock Metal” winners at the 2013 Artist In Music Awards, HASTER, is out now via Musicarchy Media. The release comes after a successful Kickstarter campaign in which Haster reached 70% of their target after 24 hours only and a series of US shows in November/December.

HASTER released the video for the first single, “The Unscene”. The video is an allegory of the current state of the music industry, in which ‘making it’ takes a toll on the artists’ lives. “The Current Sea” as a whole points the finger at the music biz.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTydNJuLQT4

THE BLACK LILLIES FORGE ONWARD FOLLOWING GEAR THEFT

The Black Lillies would sure love to have their instruments back, but the Knoxville, Tenn.-based Americana band have been blown away by the outpouring of support they’ve received following the theft of their van, trailer and gear early Monday while they slept in a Houston, Texas, motel.

The unexpected silver lining from losing one-of-a-kind vintage instruments, personal belongings and merchandise including copies of their October release, Hard to Please (only their van was recovered), has been a massive show of love from fans, fellow players and others sympathetic to their plight. In fact, the band gained 1,500 new social media fans in a 24-hour period. As word spread of the theft, social media took over; the band’s Facebook post went viral and a fan-requested donation site raised more than $40,000 in two days to help cover substantial costs not borne by insurance — including the true value of their instruments.

http://theblacklillies.com

FLORRIE NEW SINGLE MARCH 25

FLORRIE announces her brand new single, ‘REAL LOVE’ which is due for release on March 25th through Xenomania/Epic Records.

‘REAL LOVE’ is composed by Florrie and co-written/produced with Joacim Persson (Robyn, Miley Cyrus) in Los Angeles. The track is bold and imaginative and shows Florrie is back stronger than ever to take the pop world by storm.

Following a series of independent releases, Florrie recently signed a global deal with Sony Music. Across her independent releases Florrie garnered countless national radio evening plays, including BBC Radio 1, who made her last releases their ‘Future Superstar’ and ‘Next Hype’ and called her ‘a future pop star’. Florrie’s music has been described by NME as ‘world-beating pop’ and ‘dreamy electro pop’ by Sunday Times Culture.

https://www.facebook.com/florrie.music

AUDIEN X LADY ANTEBELLUM

Grammy-nominated producer Audien has joined forces with revered country music trio Lady Antebellum on electric new single, ‘Something Better’. Having originally approached Lady Antebellum to record the vocals as he felt the trio’s harmonies were perfectly suited to the songs call-and-response structure, Audien’s flair for producing glossy, anthemic electro-pop feels fully realised on ‘Something Better’.

NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED FOR THE 51st ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS

Nominations were announced today for the 51st ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS®, Country Music’s Party of the Year®, honoring country music’s superstars and hottest emerging talent. Hosted by Dierks Bentley and reigning ACM Entertainer of the Year Luke Bryan, the ACM Awards are produced for television by dick clark productions and will be broadcast LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 3, 2016 at 8:00 PM – 11:00PM ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network.

Dierks Bentley announced the nominees for six categories including Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, Vocal Duo of the Year, Vocal Group of the Year, and Album of the Year live today on “CBS This Morning.” Additionally, “Entertainment Tonight” co-host Nancy O’Dell revealed nominees for the newcomer categories, Single Record of the Year, Video of the Year and Vocal Event of the Year on ETOnline.com.

http://www.acmcountry.com/

MAT SHOARE STREAMS ‘MEMORY MUSIC NO 1’

Kansas City, MO-based emotive singer/songwriter Mat Shoare is pleased to release Memory Music No1 EP. The EP evokes two different approaches to life. From the pessimistic, and often angry, tracks such as “One of My Songs” to the, patient and upbeat “I-Yi-Yi”, Shoare explores and writes his own life experiences. Adding to the offering, Shoare will also embark on a national tour kicking off February 11th at Columbia, MO’s Café Berlin.

ESKOBAR “TO THE RESCUE”

Eskobar achieved the status of the second biggest ever Swedish indie pop band after Kent, MTVs Best Nordic Act, massive world tour with Sting, and they’ve literally been through it all: from a tiny lil village in Sweden to massive deals, tours, LA, Japan, money, crazy lifestyle, issues and addictions coming with that territory, a lot of fakeness (is that a word?) surrounding one, labels and agents expecting so much even Beyoncé would struggle with it (I’m only guessing, B and I haven’t been acquainted… yet), then getting dropped big time, no friends around (except me of course and my goodness I saw it all), and dealing with all this one way or the other…

R.I.P. “TREMBLE”

After they announced the release of their debut album “In The Wind” earlier this year, Portland-based heavy metallers R.I.P. are unveiling today the first excerpt off this stormy full-length. Tremble to the hectically low-tuned riffs of R.I.P. now, and remember: the madness has just begun.

http://theobelisk.net/obelisk/2016/02/03/r-i-p-in-the-wind-tremble/

OKEECHOBEE MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL UNVEILS FIRST-EVER “PoWoW! A LIVE SUPERSTAR MASHUP”

Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival will make musical history with “PoWoW! A Live Superstar Mashup,” a once-in-a-lifetime collaborative concert that will, for the first time ever, unite acclaimed GRAMMY Award-winning superstar vocalist Miguel with visionary frontman Win Butler of GRAMMY Award-winning Arcade Fire. Together they will lead a genre-busting band of master musicians that include the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame guitarist/singer/producer/songwriter John Oates (of Hall & Oates), budding superstar Kamasi Washington, legendary pioneers of funk The Meters’ George Porter, Jr. and Zigaboo Modeliste, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, world champion DJ and scratchmaster Chris Karns and Eric Krasno & Neal Evans of Soulive. Major special guests – both announced and unannounced – will take the stage, guaranteeing an unforgettable evening of surprises, invention and excitement.

http://okeechobeefest.com/

JOHN 5 NEW ALBUM & TOUR & VIDEO

John 5 and the Creatures announced dates for the upcoming spring tour beginning in March 2016. Exclusive Meet and Greet packages will be available for select dates on www.john-5.com and show tickets can be purchased directly through the venue.

To kick off the tour announcement, John 5 teamed up with Fender Musical Instrument Products to debut his new music video for his latest single, “Behind the Nut Love” on www.fender.com. Originally recorded in 2005, today’s version features Ian Ross and Rodger Carter, collectively known as John 5 and the Creatures. The new version will appear on the upcoming album Guitars, T!ts, and Monsters.

http://www2.fender.com/experience/artists/exclusive-john-5-debuts-new-video-behind-nut-love/

JOHN CARPENTER ANNOUNCES ‘LOST THEMES II’

On Halloween 2014, the director and composer John Carpenter introduced the world to the next phase of his career with “Vortex,” the first single from Lost Themes, his first-ever album of non-soundtrack material. In the months that followed, Lost Themes rightfully returned Carpenter to the forefront of the discussion of music and film’s crucial intersection. Carpenter’s foundational primacy and lasting influence on genre score work was both rediscovered and reaffirmed. Lost Themes achieved numerous international milestones, including NPR First Listen; features in dozens of press outlets including the Los Angeles Times, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and The Guardian; three magazine covers; and Top 200 chart success in the U.S. and the U.K. The album was also a mile marker in its label’s catalog being one of the best selling albums in Sacred Bones’ eight-year history. So widespread was the acclaim for Lost Themes that the composer was moved to embark on something he had never before entertained – playing his music live in front of an audience.

Today, Carpenter announces the schedule for his first live tour dates and in true Carpenter spirit, a sequel to Lost Themes: Lost Themes II, which is due for release on April 15th via Sacred Bones.

http://www.theofficialjohncarpenter.com

FIELD MUSIC STREAM

Over the past four years, North-East siblings Peter and David Brewis have threaded their way through one extra-curricular project after another but were inevitably drawn back to working together on their own songs. “As much fun as we might have had on our own or collaborating, we missed just spending time in the studio, the two of us, trying things out and playing together.” explains David.

http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2016/feb/01/listen-to-field-music-new-album-pre-prelease-commontime-exclusive-album-stream?CMP=twt_a-music_b-gdnmusic

FIDLAR SHARES NEW MUSIC VIDEO FOR “WHY GENERATION”

This morning, FIDLAR shared their new emoji inspired music video for “Why Generation.” Watch the clip HERE.

Directed by longtime collaborator Ryan Baxley (“Cocaine”, “40oz. On Repeat”, “West Coast”) and animated by Nolan Fabricius, the clip reimagines FIDLAR’s notoriously rowdy live show in a world created entirely out of the popular social messaging characters.

BIRDS OF CHICAGO’S “REAL MIDNIGHT” PREMIERES VIA PASTE

The title track from Real Midnight, the forthcoming sophomore album from Birds of Chicago, premieres today via Paste, listen here. Produced by Joe Henry, Real Midnight, is set for release February 19.

The band recorded the album with Henry (Solomon Burke, Bettye Lavette, Rodney Crowell and Emmylou Harris, Carolina Chocolate Drops) in Los Angeles at Henry’s own Garfield House studio. The result is an elemental, spiritual rock’n’roll sound that has been described as secular gospel.

http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/02/birds-of-chicago-real-midnight.html

LYRIC MICHELLE “MISS DIRECTION” PRODUCED BY CHRIS ROCKAWAY

After a rousing and well reviewed live performance event that drew all of Houston’s music savviest to Walters last Thursday, Lyric Michelle’s long-awaited album, “Miss Direction” is here. Song after song, bar after bar, this daughter of Nigerian parents and transplant by way of Chicago rolls out the story of her life, accompanied by the amazing talents of Kam Franklin (The Suffers), Fat Tony (a fellow Nigerian), Jack Freeman, Kyle Hubbard, Kitty Beebe and more.

“Miss Direction” on Soundcloud:

RADIO EXILE “NO PITY ON THE HIGHWAY” VIDEO

You simply can’t argue with the list of legendary artists that the members of Radio Exile have either performed on stage or in the studio with – Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Hall and Oates, Allison Krauss, Billy Idol, John Waite, members of Pink Floyd, Styx, Journey, Van Halen, the Rolling Stones, and Black Sabbath. And working with these renowned names has obviously rubbed off on their sound, as evidenced by the unmistakably classic rock sounds heard throughout their self-titled album, and their recently released video, for the track “No Pity on the Highway”: https://youtu.be/e2v3WDQLCXk

Charlie states, “‘No Pity on the Highway’ just kind of captures that great classic rock sound of the late 70’s, with Dave’s Bonham-esque intro and Kenny and Jimmy’s great guitar riffing.” Chandler adds, “It makes you feel as if you were rolling down the highway, so the lyrics kind of developed out of that, but kind of taking on life as being the highway that you are travelling down.”

MIGOS BACK AT IT ‘YRN2’

Bringing Migos back up in your awareness with the Dab phenomenon going viral a zillion times over and them having great success with their new YRN 2 release. With jail time over, new music out and radio fully on that means the press work is back on for them.

Their song “Look At My Dab” has taken off and is in rotation on the radio country wide (They still have 2 songs on constant rotation nationwide as well). They have done all this independently. If you have interest in doing something with them let us know.

http://www.livemixtapes.com/mixtapes/37544/migos-young-rich-niggas-2.html

LEON BRIDGES RELEASES MUSIC VIDEO FOR “RIVER”

Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and R&B artist Leon Bridges premiered the music video for his song “River” today on Vevo. Bridges uses the powerful visuals for his elegiac, Gospel inspired song “River” to send a message of hope, along with the video’s additional intention of raising questions rather than providing answers. The video, directed by Miles Jay, pulls inspiration from real events taking place across the country.

http://smarturl.it/RiverVideo

DAYE JACK IMMORTALIZES “HANDS UP” ON KILLER MIKE COLLABORATION

At the culmination of a year marked by high-profile incidents, two generations of Atlanta hip-hop collaborated to voice their concern around the growing frequency of officer-involved shootings. In the resulting “Hands Up,” 20-year old Daye Jack and veteran wordsmith Killer Mike shine as they tackle the polarizing conversation to uplift a pained community.

https://youtu.be/GeFM_PU7fcA

TODAY IS THE DAY NEW VIDEO

Visionary metal outfit TODAY IS THE DAY has issued their newest official video hailing from the band’s tenth LP, Animal Mother, with an appropriately haunting and intense new visual depiction of the album’s opening title track. “Animal Mother” was directed and filmed by David Hall of Uneasy Sleeper, whose penetrating and captivating style has also been witnessed in several previously released videos from TODAY IS THE DAY, as well as with videos from the likes of Brutal Truth, Misery Index, and many others.

http://www.revolvermag.com/news/today-is-the-day-premiere-new-music-video-animal-mother.html

HALESTORM HIT THE ROAD HARD IN 2016

Atlantic recording group Halestorm has announced details of a major North American headline tour. The dates – unveiled earlier today via BandsInTown – begin April 1st at Reading, PA’s Reading Eagle Theatre in the Santander Arena and extend through late May (see attached itinerary). Support throughout the trek comes from special guests Dorothy and the legendary Lita Ford. In addition, the tour will include stops at a number of festivals and summer radio concerts as well as a pair of much anticipated dates alongside the one and only Rob Zombie, slated for May 18th at Bloomington, IL’s Cellular Coliseum and May19th at Saginaw, MI’s First Merit Bank Event Park.

http://news.bandsintown.com/view-article/2016/02/01/exclusive-halestorm-announce-us-spring-tour

BRAVES VIDEO: WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT

“We wanted to create something that would start a conversation. A conversation about gender, race, expectation, stereotype, media, patriarchy and matriarchy. This video is intended to make you feel. Feelings of elation, anger, surprise, embarrassment, hope. Everyone of you will feel something different and our desire is that those feelings lead to discussion and open up conversations that have been silent for too long.”

JONAS RATHSMAN “COBALT”

Jonas Rathsman continues his fine run of form in 2016 making his debut on Solomun’s stellar imprint DIYNAMIC MUSIC. ‘Cobalt’ is a slick and propulsive track with staccato bass, driving percussion and lots of turbulent late night synths. After getting club plays from the likes of Ewan Pearson, Danny Daze, Carl Craig and Joseph Capriati, it was soon picked up by Annie Mac and Pete Tong on BBC Radio 1, and was Triple J’s record of the week on The Friday Night Shuffle.

‘Cobalt’ features on the sixth installment of Diynamic’s much loved ‘Four To The Floor’ series, which is out on 5th Feb. Behind each of the four tracks are a crack selection of artists old and new, all of whom are making their debut on the label run so famously by Solomon.

http://bit.ly/1KSCs5q

LION BABE UNVEIL SLICK NEW VIDEO FOR “WHERE DO WE GO”

Wrapping up 2015 as one of the year’s most exciting and talked-about breakthrough acts, New York duo LION BABE, comprised of singer-songwriter and performance artist Jillian Hervey and instrumentalist and producer Lucas Goodman, kick off the new year in spectacular fashion with the video debut for their latest single, “Where Do We Go.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsFokAUkXjs

GOLDEN DAZE ON SPIN WITH NEW TRACK

Formed by Ben Schwab and Jacob Loeb, Golden Daze is a collaborative songwriting duo. Inspired by 60’s melodic rock and contemporaries like Cass Mccombs and Brian Jonestown Massacre, Golden Daze drenches their straightforward earthly pop tunes in ethereal drones and tape flutter. The duo, originally from the Midwest (Schwab from Ohio and Loeb from Chicago), are based in Los Angeles and will be releasing their self-titled debut LP on Autumn Tone Records on February 19.

http://www.spin.com/2016/02/golden-daze-creates-a-hybrid-rock-with-never-comin-back-stream/

WIWEK STREAM “REBELS”

Rising Dutch producer Wiwek has announced his debut OWSLA EP, The Free and Rebellious, out February 26th. The EP is his first full project on the label since catching widespread attention for his innovative “jungle terror” genre. Wiwek created a sound that didn’t exist before, blending big room, hip-hop, tribal and bass elements that have become a quintessential genre at clubs and festivals worldwide. The Free and Rebellious features Wiwek’s highly-anticipated collaborations with Skrillex, Elliphant and Yellow Claw, as well as new originals with Sirah and Big Freedia. Read more about the upcoming EP below and pre-order starting this Friday, February 5th.

JASON COLLETT SHARES NEW ALBUM ‘SONG AND DANCE MAN’

Toronto songwriter Jason Collett has shared his upcoming sixth full-length album, Song And Dance Man, prior to its release this Friday, February 5 on Arts & Crafts, via Yahoo Music. Produced by Bahamas’ Afie Jurvanen, Song And Dance Man’s thirteen songs bear the wit and melody of classic Jason Collett: contemplative reflections on getting older, backed with an affinity for freewheeling disco music.

https://www.yahoo.com/music/album-premiere-hear-jason-colletts-song-and-183511818.html

BENT SHAPES NEW SINGLE

Bent Shapes make their Slumberland Records debut on March 11th with the release of Wolves of Want, the Boston outfit’s new album recorded with Elio DeLuca of Titus Andronicus. “Realization Hits,” the album’s second single, is playful in nature yet a biting piece of social commentary. Listen to it here:

CRADLE OF FILTH TOUR

After being forced to postpone four shows due to visa issues, CRADLE OF FILTH’s long-awaited Inquisitional Torture North American Tour 2016 is finally underway! The debaucherous trek kicked off in Charlotte, North Carolina Sunday evening and will run through March 8th, razing twenty-three cities with an included appearance at this year’s 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise. Support is being provided by Butcher Babies and Ne Obliviscaris. Tickets are available now at THIS LOCATION.

http://www.ticketmaster.com/Cradle-of-Filth-tickets/artist/781459

ELLE KING DRESS AT RHOF

2x Grammy-nominated artist Elle King visited the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Friday, Jan. 29, 2016, prior to a performance at Cleveland’s Masonic Auditorium. The “Ex’s & Oh’s” singer made the special trip to see her dress, now on display inside the Museum’s “Right Here, Right Now” exhibit.

The red kimono style dress was worn by King during at Sonic Sessions concert at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on June 5, 2015. Additionally, King participated in a meet and greet with lucky contest winners in conjunction with the Grog Shop, the evening’s concert promoter.

https://rockhall.com/media/assets/images/originals/475/92a/64dec7.jpg

THE FOURTH ANNUAL LEVITATE MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES 2016 LINEUP

The fourth annual Levitate Music and Arts Festival proudly announces its 2016 lineup featuring “The Wheels of Soul Tour” with Tedeschi Trucks Band, Los Lobos, and North Mississippi Allstars, alongside Rebelution, Lettuce, Stick Figure, Moon Taxi, Twiddle, Nahko and Medicine for the People, The Movement, and Ron Gallo. The event takes place at the historic Marshfield Fairgrounds [140 Main Street, Marshfield, MA] on Saturday, July 9, 2016. New this year is the option to camp at the beautiful Wompatuck State Park on Saturday night in a private area for Levitate fans. General admission tickets are currently on sale at:

http://www.levitatemusicfestival.com

JONNY AVERY NEW VIDEO

Jonny Avery is a singer/songwriter from New Zealand who mixes soulful melodies with delicate guitar work. After moving to Wellington to complete his Masters in Music at the New Zealand School of Music, Jonny released his debut solo EP ‘Atonement for Eden’. He has had a busy year, performing regularly around New Zealand. Recently he opened for Australian heavyweights Pendulum on their ‘Rhythm And Vines’ tour. Jonny’s influences include Paul Simon, Jeff Buckley and James Taylor.

THE WEEKND’S ‘BEAUTY BEHIND THE MADNESS’ RECEIVES RIAA DOUBLE-PLATINUM CERTIFICATION

In addition to his seven 2016 GRAMMY Award® nominations and his very first Academy Award® and Brit® nods, THE WEEKND’s critically acclaimed, chart-dominating third full-length album, Beauty Behind The Madness [XO/Republic Records], receives a double-platinum certification from the RIAA for sales in excess of 2,000,000 copies. It’s yet another milestone in the multi-platinum visionary’s storied career thus far.

http://www.amazon.com/Beauty-Behind-The-Madness-Weeknd/dp/B011D0KARI

EXWHY ALBUM STREAM

Recently, Atlanta’s quartet, Exwhy, premiered an advance stream of their forthcoming album The Feels with the renowned music publiciation CMJ. The stream comes out a week ahead of the album’s official release – February 5 (via Other People Records).

Album Premiere: Exwhy – The Feels

INVERLOCH NEW SONG

Melbourne death/doom veterans INVERLOCH have shared a second crushing track from their highly-anticipated full-length debut Distance | Collapsed.

“The Empyrean Torment,” currently playing at indie music portal Stereogum, demonstrates the band’s monumental mastery of tension and texture, and can be streamed now.

http://www.stereogum.com/1856574/inverloch-the-emypyrean-torment-stereogum-premiere/mp3s/

BENJAMIN BRIM VIDEP “EVEN SINNERS”

“Even Sinners” takes a dark look into the realm of religion and the forces of right and wrong. Compelling performances by BENJAMIN BRIM serves as a backdrop to this video while subliminal and abstract images related to different religious deities becomes our focus. Visuals from current events and archival footage mix together giving “Sinners” a sinister mood that fits the vibe of the song as Ben’s lyrics come to life on screen.

RÜFÜS ‘BLOOM’ DEBUTS AT #1 ON ARIA ALBUM CHARTS

Off the back of their second #1 ARIA album chart debut with sophomore album BLOOM bumping Adele from the top spot on the weekend, Aussie dance trio RÜFÜS have today announced a national BLOOM album tour for April/May, kicking off in Adelaide on April 29 and heading through Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, Tasmania and Brisbane before finishing up in Auckland (NZ) on May 27.

2016 is shaping up to be RÜFÜS’ biggest year yet; with BLOOM’s two lead singles landing in triple j’s Hottest 100 countdown last week (You Were Right #12 and Like An Animal #28), securing a spot on the coveted Coachella line up for April, announcing a UK/EU tour for March and already selling out the London show (with a second show announced), as well as last week dropping an official video clip for new single, Say A Prayer For Me.

https://www.facebook.com/rufussounds