@skopemag news – wednesday – november 25, 2020 @ 10 am est

@skopemag HQ – http://smarturl.it/skope

London indie artist Matilda Mann releases new EP ‘Because I Wanted You To Know’

The new EP features new single “Paper Mache World” and previous singles “Happy Anniversary, Stranger”, “Robbed”, and “Japan”. Her new EP sees her working with Rich Cooper (Billie Martin, Lucy Rose, Mystery Jets), Rob Milton (Easy Life, Holly Humberstone), and Matt Maltese.

Emerging Country Star, Taylon Hope, Shares New Christmas Single, “My Christmas Lights’

Country music songwriter and performing artist, Taylon Hope, has released a new Christmas single in time for the holiday season titled, “My Christmas Lights.” The song was penned by Hope and Bill DiLuigi with studio production by acclaimed music producer, Kent Wells in Nashville.

Rising Star Morray Follows Up “Quicksand” with Heartfelt “Switched Up” Video

Bursting out of Fayetteville, North Carolina with a versatile voice and an entrancing charisma, Morray arrived fully-formed and took the internet by storm. Following up his breakout hit “Quicksand,” the artist shows a ragged and soulful side in “Switched Up,” his new video single. Alternately rapping and singing in his expressive church-trained tenor, Morray weaves within plaintive piano chords and syncopated snare snaps, venting his anger towards a fake friend who betrayed him. He locks into the beat, finding the pocket and switching up fast-paced cadences as he mixes witty basketball references with pangs of raw emotion: “You was my n****a, man, you was my homie, man, I put my guard away/And I learned that friendships fade like Penny Hardaway.” In the video, Morray posts up in his living room with some homies, expressively delivering his rhymes with the passion and commitment of an award-winning actor.

Copenhagen-based artist LINN releases debut EP ‘Happy Metal’

To mark the release of her EP, LINN has also shared a new video for the final track on the EP, “I’m Out Of Alcohol, You’re Out Of Your Mind”.

An intriguing and captivating closing track, the new single was written in the first weeks of the spring lockdown in an impromptu studio in her boyfriend’s parent’s basement. The idiosyncratic leftfield art-pop track sees LINN merge manipulated drums (played by her boyfriend) with cyclical alien vocals, and a driving bassline (played by her boyfriend’s brother, Mads).

Maggie Szabo Rings In The Holidays with a Cheery New Single, “Come Celebrate Christmas”

This holiday season is going to be interesting for us all and, thanks to 2020, most likely not as jolly and surrounded by friends and family as we’d like. Festive, holiday music is now more important than ever to keep our spirits high and Maggie Szabo’s “Come Celebrate Christmas” will have you cheerfully sipping eggnog on your virtual happy hours and merrily opening presents via Zoom on Christmas morning.

Elder Island unveil sleep dread-inspired video for new single “Feral”

Elder Island today release an eerie new music video for their haunting single “Feral,” the first taste of new music from their upcoming sophomore album. The striking visual brings to life the uncomfortable dread of childhood nightmares, laced with anxiety and the fear of what awaits when you finally fall asleep.

Jennifer Castle’s new album, Monarch Season

Jennifer Castle’s sixth full-length record, the moon-suffused Monarch Season—an album as delicate and diaphanous as its namesake butterfly—stands, in a literal sense, as her first proper “solo” album, performed alone in her coastal kitchen, windows open to the insects and the wind and the reflection of the moon on Lake Erie, entirely without human accompaniment (though a chorus of crickets provides rich interstitial support throughout.)

Galimatias shares slick new single “Shy Dancer”

Of the track, Galimatias shares, “I’m always looking for a unique sound. This one started away from the computer, on my OP-1 and cassette tape recorder. I recorded the melody onto tape and slowed it down to half time. That process introduces artifacts that you just can’t think your way to; an obscure, beautiful tonal quality. I played the sequence back on tape and timed it with the original signal while recording onto a handheld recorder. Once I had that loop, the inspiration came and took care of the rest of the song.”

Black Violin Releases Debut Holiday Album ‘Give Thanks’

Today, the hip-hop-meets-classical duo Black Violin released Give Thanks, their debut holiday album. “Give Thanks employs playful storytelling, whimsical strings, and hard-hitting rhythms to highlight the unifying pillars of the holiday season: Giving back to others and being wholeheartedly thankful,” Black Violin says of the full-length.

ELLIE GOULDING RELEASES NEW EP ‘SONGBOOK FOR CHRISTMAS’

The six-track EP consists of several seasonal favourites from throughout Ellie’s illustrious career so far; from the 2010 John Lewis Christmas cover of Elton John’s ‘Your Song’ to ‘The Writer’ off Ellie’s debut album ‘Lights’, which also celebrated its tenth anniversary earlier this year. Amazon Music’s version of the EP will exclusively feature Ellie’s UK #1 Amazon Original cover of Joni Mitchell’s ‘River’.

Vintage Culture, Fancy Inc, Drunky Daniels & Msiz’Kay link up on new single ‘Happy’

Vintage Culture, Fancy Inc, Drunky Daniels and Msiz’Kay have joined forces on new single ‘Happy’, out on Friday 20th November.

Combining tropical African percussion, euphoric synths and Msiz’Kay’s impassioned vocals, ‘Happy’ is an inspirational club track with love and happiness at its core. The similarly upbeat official video is shot in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Msiz’kay’s hometown and captures him jovially walking the city streets, capturing the unbridled energy and joy that emanates from passers-by.

FLAWLESS REAL TALK Releases FEMALE EMPOWERMENT ANTHEM ‘EVERYTHING’

Hip-hop artist and entrepreneur, Flawless Real Talk, announced today the release of his newest track titled “Everything,” an uplifting melody written to provide a voice for female empowerment in the current world via his own record label, R.i.S.E. The track is an anthem dedicated to all of the powerful women in the world setting a positive example, with lyrics written by the artist himself to show appreciation and give value to each and every female.

Steve Hackett Launches Video for ‘Andalusian Heart’

Iconic guitarist Steve Hackett, releases his new acoustic album Under A Mediterranean Sky on 22nd January 2021 as a Limited CD Digipak, Gatefold 2LP + CD + LP-booklet and Digital Album via InsideOut Music. Under A Mediterranean Sky is Steve Hackett’s first acoustic solo album since Tribute in 2008 and takes inspiration from Steve’s extensive travels around the Mediterranean with his wife Jo.

Dan Auerbach, Dave Brainard, Brit Taylor = Dream Team

Real Me, the self-reflective debut 10-song album by emerging Americana sensation Brit Taylor, is available now on all music platforms. From the highly acclaimed debut single “Waking Up Ain’t Easy” to the title track “Real Me,” the album is a musical journey through self-discovery and an exploration of Taylor’s voyage to finding her “real me”. The album, which tips its hat to traditional country while making the old completely new, is produced by Grammy-award winning producer Dave Brainard and features a handful of songs Taylor co-wrote with The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach.

P-ROCK – “I’m STR8”

Yung Stakks | “Intro” Music Video | @yungstakks_

Rapper and Recording Artist Yung Stakks blesses the streets with the “Intro”, his first installment of ‘Risk Taker’. The Chicago, IL and Chine Music’s vet proves in this one he’s ready and he’s been ready to make his mark, cause his “whole lifestyle crazy gone wild”.

IANN DIOR RELEASES NEW SINGLE “HOLDING ON”

Puerto Rican-born, Texas-raised artist iann dior returns with new single and music video “Holding On,” out now via 10K Projects. The single arrives at the end of a breakthrough year for the young singer and rapper. iann began 2020 with “Sick and Tired” featuring Machine Gun Kelly and Travis Barker, followed by his EP I’m Gone; a diverse, 9-track offering that features the Gold certified rap hit “Prospect” featuring Lil Baby. iann is also featured on 24KGoldn’s “Mood” which currently sits at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for its fourth week. iann’s 2020 successes earned him the #1 spot on Billboard’s Emerging Artist chart and his first ever platinum-selling record with “Mood.”

ARTEMIS ORION REVEALS DEBUT EP “HONEY”// LISTEN HERE

Following up recent single midnight thoughts and You Are Your Own Home, LA-based newcomer Artemis Orion reveals stunning debut EP honey, a stellar electronic indie offering showcasing beautiful vocals over sparkling electronic beats.

LIL GNAR RELEASES NEW SINGLE AND MUSIC VIDEO “HEY!” WITH INTERNET MONEY AND LIL KEED

Rising rapper Lil Gnar finishes off 2020 strong with his single and music video “HEY!” featuring Internet Money and Lil Keed, out now via 10K Projects. “HEY!” is the second single released ahead of his upcoming mixtape GNAR LIFE 2. The track follows up the massive success of his previous single “Diamond Choker” which boasts a verse from Lil Uzi Vert and has amassed over 3.2M streams on Spotify in its first month.

Ricky Eat Acid Release New LP Today

Do you know that feeling you get when hearing certain music for the first time – it’s sort of like nostalgia for something you can’t actually remember, or didn’t actually happen. Lately, it’s been happening to me with the Ernest Hood album Neighborhoods so strongly I almost feel myself ‘living a thousand different lives, to completion, in the blink of an eye, and forgetting them again like dead dreams brushed from tired eyes in the morning light’ to quote a long time favorite writer. I don’t really have a better way to describe it, but it comes up a lot in the blank static void of other people’s lives on the internet. You’ll see it a lot in Youtube comments, on old flash videos, really anywhere you turn if you look under the proverbial logs in the online forest, beneath the leaves on the forest floor, where the salamanders live. When I was a kid, I got the same sort of feeling when playing certain videogames – Earthbound, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, Majora’s Mask, and so on – it was like the kind of “Wanderlust feeling” that’d come from reading certain books, watching certain movies, but for somewhere that wasn’t real, and couldn’t actually be accessed, except maybe in dreams I suppose.

Montreal indie folk band Rosier share existential “Mad River”

Montreal-based band Rosier share their third single “Mad River”, off their forthcoming ‘Légérement’ LP. You can listen here and watch the lyric video here.

“Mad River” is a song about existential questions and feelings of helplessness. Singer Beatrix Methé juxtaposes geographical and metaphorical places which continue to haunt her imagination. Imbued with tones that are both abrupt and harmonious, the music will capture you with its nostalgic sweetness, only to then leave you in a fever of heart-wrenching uncertainty.

San Francisco-Based Alternative Veteran San Francisco Songwriter Floyd Gets in Holiday Spirit Early with Christmas Cover

San Francisco-based alternative artist Floyd, announces her Christmas cover, “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).” To describe Floyd as being “eclectic” would be a vast understatement. The singer, songwriter and instrumentalist is inspired by lifelong musical influences ranging from Tori Amos to U2 to Cyndi Lauper and pairs anthemic vocal melodies and aggressive pop foundation

Floyd Premieres New Christmas Song

SHALLOW SIDE GETTING DOWN & DIRTY FOR THEIR NEW MUSIC VIDEO OF “REVIVAL”

Shallow Side have released a music video for “Revival” today. It is the 2nd music video to be released from their Saints & Sinners album released through Thermal Entertainment. It is the follow up to their debut video “Sound The Alarm” which can be viewed on their YouTube channel. Saints & Sinners has over 5 million streams on Spotify alone.

The band have also released a remastered version of the song today available on all DSPs.

Ashley Jordan shares cinematic music video for “Gone Girl”

The emotionally charged video shows the aftermath of a relationship gone wrong. Actors McKenzie “Kenzie” Klem and Brian Dole bring the storyline to life about a seemingly good relationship gone sour and the impending aftershock of the breakup, with Ashley sharing, “‘Gone Girl’ is about how easy it is to walk the line of insanity when you feel your life is falling apart over love-gone-bad. Everyone on set could feel Kenzie and Brian’s passion and intensity as they told the Gone Girl story and allowed us all to witness their downfall.”

Alt Pop Gabe Kubanda drops single ‘Dancing on the Edge’

Alt Pop artist Gabe Kubanda releases his next single, ‘Dancing on the Edge’. Co-Produced by Devon Quartullo and Cory Barker, the song’s upbeat funky style delivers a message of “surviving the rough times to get through a better tomorrow.” – Gabe Kubanda

Gabe Kubanda recently did a livestream performance at the Craig Ranch Amphitheater in Las Vegas for the i-Voted Festival, the largest single night digital concert in history, alongside artists such as ANBERLIN,
3OH!3, Young the Giant, Whitney Peyton, and hundreds of others.

Josh Stevens – “Hello Darling”

“Hello Darling was written about my daughter and it is truly an honor that my friends and team in Tokyo, Japan at Octave Music saw the value to bring it out to the world. I believe the age old theory of well written music can transcend borders, cultures and languages holds true. I am thankful for the opportunity to share my experience through this music.” Josh Stevens

FROM JOY ROAD TO THE UNIVERSE, COURTNEY BELL DROPS DEBUT ALBUM, POVERTY STRICKEN

Detroit native Courtney Bell releases his debut album, Poverty Stricken revealing harsh truths and realities of his upbringing on Joy Road. Courtney expresses his most vulnerable moments leading up to a spiritual awakening and continues his mission to bring a sense of enlightenment to the streets. The album took about 2 years to create and is executive produced by Raymond Burton, Pay Cash and Derrick Rendle. Additional production comes from Justice League, !llmind with features from DCMBR, Janae Lynn and TDE’s REASON. Singles from the album include: “PSA,” “ICE,” an upbeat track about glorifying materialism over the spirit and “Say You Wanna,” which shows Courtney’s softer side.

TORONTO R&B ARTIST SAVANNAH RÉ RELEASES HIGHLY ANTICIPATED DEBUT EP OPIA TODAY

Today, fresh off the announcement of being named Amazon Music’s Breakthrough Artist of the Month, Toronto R&B songstress Savannah Ré makes her highly anticipated debut with the release of Opia, out now via Universal Music Canada, the country’s leading music company. An evocative collection of songs she nurtured and perfected over the past three years, Opia celebrates the strength found in vulnerability. “In order for me to get the body of work that I wanted to get, I had to dig deep. I had to do the work,” shares Savannah Ré. “I want to let people see me and connect with my music but for that to happen, I have to be my authentic self and that comes from introspection – it takes a lot of time and maturity to do that.”

New Music: Gentleman’s Dub Club Release New Single “Castle in the Sky” On Easy Star Records!

The new single from Gentleman’s Dub Club, “Castle In The Sky,” is an appropriate way to kick off a new album cycle, as it perfectly captures the overall sonic direction of the new work, while showing off how the band continues to grow musically with each new creation. Building from the vibes of their recent, soulful cover of Bill Withers’ “Use Me,” as well as continuing the loose themes explored on 2019’s Lost In Space album, “Castle in the Sky” rides an infectious rhythm accentuated with lush, multi-tracked violins, over which lead singer Johnny Scratchley urges his love to join him and “build a castle in the sky.” Scratchley says, “Castle in the Sky is a dream-filled love story where fantasies are woven into reality. Breaking down the walls to find the truth that binds us all.”

Laura Jinn Shares Debut EP, ‘Sick!’ Out Now On All DSPs

Today, Brooklyn-based artist/producer Laura Jinn releases her debut EP, Sick!, as well as sharing track by track commentaries with Glam Glare and Madness to Creation. With infectious songwriting and swirling sonic textures, Sick! is a maddening listen. Complete with bubbling beats and hyper-pop production, Laura Jinn digs into your psyche with her unnerving but addictive vocal delivery.

Jinn’s debut EP Sick! is a 5-track EP comprised of 15 minutes of maniacal electro goth pop chaos. Jinn made the demos in 2019 while sifting through memories of a turbulent few years to write songs that unearth a hilarity in paranoia, claustrophobia and obsession. The EP is centrally preoccupied with sickness: who has it, and who decides what it is? What would it feel like to embrace your sickness, to accept it totally and to luxuriate in it?

Acclaimed Alt/Industrial Songwriter Matt Boroff Premieres Latest, Electronic Spiked Single via American Songwriter

The sound on “Future Crimes” was a new experiment for him. He even took the song as far as to include a dubstep- styled modulated bass line in the last minute of the track. This is a kind of adventure Boroff thinks every artist needs to go on every so often.

Matt Boroff Premieres Latest, Electronic Spiked Single “Future Crimes”