@skopemag news – thursday – february 18, 2021 @ 12 pm est

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

RITT MOMNEY RELEASES NEW TRACK “NOT AROUND”

“Not Around” marks Ritt’s first piece of original music since the 2019 release of his debut album Her and All of My Friends and follows the steady success of his cover of Corinne Bailey Rae’s “Put Your Records On,” which he was inspired to record after the tour cancellation. Ritt’s viral rendition of the song has amassed over 300M combined streams worldwide to date and is currently #13 at Pop Radio and Top 30 at Adult Pop (#27).

PAUL STANLEY’S SOUL STATION DEBUT ALBUM NOW AND THEN SET TO RELEASE MARCH 19

Now set for release on March 19, Now and Then is the first-ever full-length album from Soul Station: A band gathering some of today’s leading musicians to pay tribute to the greatest artists and songs from the R&B and soul catalog to keep this vital music current. While a surprise to many, Stanley’s early pivotal roots in this music has quietly turned this passion into a celebrated touring and recording band. Stanley’s 15-piece ensemble group has toured the U.S. and Japan, but it wasn’t until recently that they were able to get in the studio together and record Now and Then.

Night Lovell Fills Up His Black Book in “Counting Down The List”

Combining an incantatory flow with a deep basso voice, Night Lovell is a master of mood. On his new single “Counting Down The List,” the fast-rising Canadian rapper deepens his atmospheric approach as he comments on his burgeoning success. Produced by Shaq France, “Counting Down The List” finds Lovell maneuvering around sliding 808s and horror-film pianos as he brags about his success with the ladies. As Lovell details his debauched desires, it becomes clear that he uses his vices to distract from deep-seated emotional pain: “Rolling, rolling, rolling in my grave/I still feel the pain/Calling out my name/Thought they was my blood but they showed they not the same.”

DEF LEPPARD LAUNCH BAND-CURATED THEMATIC ARTIST COMPILATIONS

Inviting further immersion into their dynamic catalog, legendary British rock ‘n’ roll icons and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame® inductees Def Leppard proudly introduce a weekly series of Thematic Artist Compilations, launching across platforms today and continuing every Friday through April 9. Band members Joe Elliott, Rick Allen, Rick Savage, Phil Collen, and Vivian Campbell personally curated these ten playlists by theme. Each weekly playlist showcases yet another side of the group through their music. It just kicked off with the hyper-charged “Electric Warriors” assembled by Elliott.

Peter Matthew Bauer Shares “Mountains on Mountains” Via Brooklyn Vegan, Look Out For More Music in 2021

Like much of Bauer’s solo output, “Mountains on Mountains” is esoteric leaning in nature, drawing influence from his upbringing in a yoga cult, the crisscrosses of that experience with the current climate of mass cult thought, as well as Sufi mysticism and work of the western phenomenologist and Islamic scholar Henry Corbin. A direct influence on one of the lyrics was Peter Sloterdijk’s book Neither Sun nor Death. It also has hints of nostalgia for the late 90s and early 2000s in both New York City specifically, and playing music throughout America at that time. In a sense, the song is about how that specific generation of 20th-century weirdos and the communities surrounding them feel like they are disappearing.

HYPER POP PHENOMENON CMTEN UNLEASHES NEW SINGLE “ALONE (FEATURING RILEY THE MUSICIAN)”

This time around, CMTEN dives inward between a deluge of wobbling bass, warped video game-style synths woven around an infectious slice of pure pop. CMTEN’s first new music of 2021 locks into a seesawing vocal call-and-response with fellow maverick RILEY THE MUSICIAN as they extol the virtues of isolation. Sneaking lovelorn emotionally charged lyrics under a blanket of distorted glitch, it culminates on one final high register transmission, “Drive me home, I just want to be alone, yeah.” A new anthem for the pandemic era.

KARA MARNI AND EARTH, WIND & FIRE’S VERDINE WHITE JOIN FORCES ON “TRIPPIN (TRIPPED OUT SOUL MIX)”

Critically-acclaimed British R&B/soul artist to watch Kara Marni has today released “Trippin (Tripped Out Soul Mix)” – a special collaboration with the legendary Verdine White of the GRAMMY-award winning group Earth, Wind & Fire. The track is a soul rework of her feel-good R&B anthem “Trippin,” which samples Amerie’s “1 Thing” and teases what’s to come from her third EP due out this spring.

SOFÍA VALDÉS RELEASES DEBUT EP VENTURA

Panamanian-native singer/songwriter Sofía Valdés has released her debut EP Ventura, out now on Warner Records. Entirely written and co-produced by Sofía, Ventura acted as a conduit for introspection and more macroscopically, her culture. “Ventura is a collection of songs I wrote in the past 4 years. Some were written at recess with my best friend in high school, some in my kitchen, some in my dorm room. All are very special songs I hold close to my heart. Ventura means ‘good luck and good fortune’ in Spanish. While I was going through certain situations, I was writing about how I felt like it was the worst thing that could’ve happened to me at the time. But now, I see it as feelings that brought me to these songs which ended up changing my life for the better.”

PAUL STANLEY’S SOUL STATION – SOULFUL RENDITION OF THE SPINNERS’ “COULD IT BE I’M FALLING IN LOVE” AVAILABLE NOW

Now set for release on March 19, Now and Then is the first-ever full-length album from Soul Station: A band gathering some of today’s leading musicians to pay tribute to the greatest artists and songs from the R&B and soul catalog to keep this vital music current. While a surprise to many, Stanley’s early pivotal roots in this music has quietly turned this passion into a celebrated touring and recording band. Stanley’s 15-piece ensemble group has toured the U.S. and Japan, but it wasn’t until recently that they were able to get in the studio together and record Now and Then.

Angelus Apatrida Releases Visualizer Clip For “We Stand Alone”

“This new album is the culmination of one year working nonstop during a global pandemic. We’ve been able to get all the bad feelings and emotions lived during 2020 and transform them into something good with positive attitude; no doubt this is the best bunch of songs that we’ve ever created, full of creativity and incredible sound and production, back to the roots. If you’re with us for a long time, we’re pretty sure you’re gonna enjoy this like the first time, and if you’re new in the office, this is the best card invitation for your first contact. It’s pure power and raw energy, the most aggressive, angry and violent songs together in one straight-to-your-face album. This is hostile music for hostile times. Watch out your neck and enjoy the double AA,” states Angelus Apatrida about the album release.

TEMPLE BALLS ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM “PYROMIDE”

Frontiers Music Srl is thrilled to announce the release of the upcoming third album, and label debut, from Temple Balls, “Pyromide” on April 16, 2021. The hard rockin’ Finnish band is ready to take the world by storm and today, they have fired their latest salvo with the new single and video, ‘Thunder From The North’.

Really From share lead single “Try Lingual” from their upcoming self-titled record

“Try Lingual,” the lead single from Really From’s self-titled and third album, sees the quartet at their most all-encompassing. Thematically, it’s an apt setting for exploring Chris Lee-Rodriguez’s personal struggles with learning Spanish, and Michi Tassey’s with Japanese, in order to better communicate with their families and communities. At first calm and collected, then brassy, chaotic, and disjointed, “Try Lingual” is wrought with the anxiety of struggling to keep up. Tassey and Lee-Rodriguez sing as foils to one another, as if to encourage the other to unlearn their self-blaming habits.

Peggy Seeger | final album announce + new single out today

Peggy Seeger will this year release what is ‘likely’ to be her final album of original material, ‘First Farewell’ on April 9, 2021 via Red Grape Music. Mellowing, however, is not Seeger’s style and she’s not going quietly. Her remarkable 24th solo album underscores her importance & continued relevance as a songwriter and performer, cementing her place as one of the most uncompromising and inspiring female artists of any genre and age. Peggy today releases ‘The Invisible Woman’, the first track to be lifted from ‘First Farewell’ – which will be accompanied by a 26 UK tour including London’s Cecil Sharp House on May 27, 2021. ‘The Invisible Woman’ is now available to stream across all platforms from here, with a live video featuring Peggy’s sons Neill and Calum MacColl also released today and streaming here.

JUICYPEAR manages to stay on course with their latest synth-y, chillwave-inflected, indie-pop effort, “Keep Your Love On”

Like pretty much everyone, JUICYPEAR didn’t particularly need 2020. But, 2020 definitely needed some JUICYPEAR.

Comprised of Jacob and Jasmine Mayeda – partners in both music and life – JUICYPEAR helped make the last half of 2020 as sweet as it could be. Or, at least, a little less sour. The husband-and-wife team released three highly acclaimed and soulful power-pop singles, “Golden Sky,” “Rollercoaster,” and “Caught Up.”

Venezuelan Artist Collective Rawayana Releases New Single + Visuals “Camarones y Viniles”

Latin Grammy nominated Venezuelan artist collective, Rawayana, releases second single off their forthcoming album “Camarones y Viniles.” The vibey psychedelic rock track, produced by Cheo Pardo (former member of Amigos Invisibles), is an audiovisual display of the tongue-in-cheek and satirical nature of the band and touches on the clichés of hipster culture.

LIL MOE 6BLOCKA RELEASES “RISKY” FEATURING 22GZ

Chicago rap prodigy Lil Moe 6Blocka returns today with a vigorous new single, “Risky,” assisted by the Brooklyn drill innovator 22Gz. The song and its accompanying video find Moe eviscerating doubters and recounting his rags-to-riches story over menacing piano and room-rattling bass.

FLO MILLI RELEASES VIDEO FOR “ROARING 20s”

Jon Stickley Trio brings musical wit to “Future Ghost”

On their first release of new material since last year’s Scripting The Flip, Organic Records’ Jon Stickley Trio continues to refine its powerful, cutting-edge approach to acoustic instrumental music.

From the opening acoustic guitar arpeggios, “Future Ghost” unfolds as a juxtaposition of moods and meanings, using intermingled minor and major scales and ambiguous harmonic moves to create characteristically memorable melodic phrases. Meanwhile, as Stickley and violinist Lyndsay Pruett glide from alternating solo passages to intricate unisons, drummer Hunter Deacon’s steady groove, spare fills and occasional rhythmic shadowing of the other Trio members effortlessly guide the group toward the relaxed, satisfying end to “Future Ghost”‘s succinct 3+ minutes.

BK Drill’s Next-Up DUSTY LOCANE Gets Ready to “Rumble”

With tens of millions of streams in the bank, basso-voiced Brooklyn bruiser DUSTY LOCANE is ready to blow. Looking to continue his rip-roaring run to stardom, DUSTY LOCANE shares “Rumble,” a high-energy slice of Brooklyn drill. Produced by BlazinBeatz, who layers horror movie strings with drill’s signature staccato hi-hats and sliding 808s, “Rumble” finds the three-time Rolling Stone-charting artist establishing that he’s not one to be trifled with. The self-described “demon on the loose” doesn’t start fights, he ends them, sparing no time for those talking out the sides of their necks: “I hope that you you ready to rumble/Cause I bring my weapon with me, I don’t tussle.”

Burn Down Eden – Release Music Video For “Witch’s Scorn”

Burn Down Eden is continuing to put a spell on the Metal Community with their second single „Witch´s Scorn” of their third upcoming album release. An evil and brutal, yet emotional song showing how multifaceted this band and especially this upcoming album release is. The band broaches the issue of the inscrutability of the relation between men and women and depicts toxic relationships. You can hear all the lies, hatred & false accusations in this song.

Edie Brickell & New Bohemians’ “Horse’s Mouth” debuts today

The song is the third unveiled from the band’s anticipated new album, Hunter And The Dog Star, which will be released February 19 via Thirty Tigers (pre-order here). The album features eleven new tracks including “Tripwire” and “My Power,” which debuted this past fall to critical acclaim. Of the song, American Songwriter praises, “Upbeat and empowering at the exact time we need a song to lift our spirits, it is at once vibrantly new while also resounding with the timeless vibe of a classic R&B hit,” while The Dallas Morning News declares, “a funky mid-tempo rocker steeped in ‘70s pop and vintage Lou Reed.”

THE SNUTS RELEASE NEW SINGLE AND VIDEO “SOMEBODY LOVES YOU”

A love song for the ages, with its title rooted in the desire to check in on people closest to us, “Somebody Loves You” sees the band step into a new direction.

“Three simple words: ‘Somebody Loves You’, spray painted all across my city. It is a simple but powerful reminder,” frontman Jack Cochrane said of the track. “As the days disappeared into months, I noticed myself and everyone around me scrambling to stay in touch, to check up on each other. There was something really special about this to me. I don’t think anyone really saw that coming. It shouldn’t take a global pandemic to remind us how important the people we care about are, but I’m kind of glad it did.”

DASHA Glistens In Breezy Self-Love Anthem “$hiny Things” – Out Now via Quadio Records

“$hiny Things” is filled with retro 00’s elements, mixed with a breezy guitar and harmonies remnant of your favorite pop superstars. While accented with nostalgic flare, the track experiments with modern elements keeping it fresh.

Behind it’s sparkle lies a deeper message. Dasha explains, “This song is all about confidence in the person you’re with and within yourself. The ‘shiny things’ are everything that other people have that you don’t. Instead of letting that lead to insecurities you gotta focus on all the shiny things that you have that others don’t.”

RYANHOOD ANNOUNCES NEW LP “UNDER THE LEAVES” OUT APRIL 16 + TACKLES CULTURAL SCAPEGOATING IN NEW SINGLE “THE FIGHT” OUT TODAY

“The more we fight, the more we invigorate the thing we’re fighting against. And without knowing it, the more we as people eventually become the kind of thing we’re fighting against,” Ryanhood vocalist and lyricist Cameron Hood told American Songwriter about the song’s premise of cultural scapegoating. “It’s not about telling another person or group how they should be processing their fears or hurts differently,” he continues. “It’s about noticing how you do it. It has to start with you… with me.” Hood drew inspiration from the likes of French historian René Girard and Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek, Martin Luther King, Jr., and even Psalm 46. The message is intelligent but never pretentious and shines against the backdrop of bandmate Ryan David Green’s intricate guitar work and arrangement.

Ryanhood Is Battling Hydras and Fighting the Good “Fight”

Sir Charles Ent. | “Late Night” | Music Service

Dallas, Texas rapper and recording artist, Sir Charles Ent. comes with another Club/Street banger. “Late Night” giving you that constant head nod, with his catchy lingo “late night” is the type of track that will have your girl dancing to. bar after bar.

Listen to LA songwriter Valeree’s soul-pop lament “Broke”

“Broke” is an anthem for those that are just trying to stay afloat. Valeree admits that she has struggled with poverty and has even been homeless at various moments in life and she wanted to illustrate that “stuck” feeling in a song, while still conveying a message of hope and perseverance. She goes on to explain, “I chose this song as the single because I felt it was exciting, fun, and catchy, while also being the most different from anything I’ve done.”

YEИDRY RELEASES NEW SINGLE + VIDEO “SE ACABÓ”

Dominican trilingual Afro-Latina songstress YEИDRY releases “Se Acabó” ft. Mozart La Para, one of Dominican Republic’s most esteemed artists globally renowned for his freestyle ability. Her new single is accompanied by striking visuals filmed in her hometown of Herrera, Dominican Republic and directed by Kieran Khan under the production of Black Sheep Music Management.

OLIVER TREE RETURNS WITH NEW TRACK “OUT OF ORDINARY”

Ugly is Beautiful arrived last July and immediately rocketed to #1 on Billboard’s “Top Rock Albums” and “Top Alternative Albums” charts while also debuting among the top 15 on the overall SoundScan/Billboard 200. Now boasting more than 800 million worldwide streams, the album features an array of iconoclastic hit singles including the RIAA platinum certified “Alien Boy” and RIAA gold certified “Hurt,” both of which are joined by wildly inventive companion videos streaming now at Oliver Tree’s hugely popular official YouTube channel. Other highlights include “Cash Machine,” “I’m Gone,” “Bury Me Alive,” and “Let Me Down,” to name but a few. In addition, Oliver later partnered up with 90s punk-pop heroes blink-182 for an exclusive rework of “Let Me Down,” which debuted at #24 on Billboard’s “Hot Alternative Songs” chart.

JONAS BLUE & AWA KICK OFF 2021 WITH HOUSE BANGER “SOMETHING STUPID”

Loaded with dancefloor energy, Jonas has hit the ground running in what’s going to be an exciting 12 months. Bursting with euphoria from the off, AWA arms the track with huge melodies that explode into an electric chorus, channeling the iconic synth sample of Robin S’ 90s hit “Show Me Love.” The track is worthy of any club or festival stage and boy, do we need that right now!

AWA’s exhilarating lyrics document the nervous excitement of early love, tangled up in the feeling of being gloriously out of control, knowing you need to take a step back before saying something stupid.

LEIGH NASH BRINGS HER VISION OF UNITY IN THE RELEASE OF POWERFUL NEW SONG “GOOD TROUBLE” AVAILABLE NOW

Grammy Award nominated singer-songwriter, Leigh Nash, has released her latest single, “Good Trouble,” available now wherever you find great music. The beautifully melodic and impactful track, produced by Sam Ashworth, explores the racial disparities that permeate our society and acknowledges the change that must come for true equality to be achieved. Joining Leigh on the track is Grammy nominated artist, Ruby Amanfu, who brought her own perspective and unifying message to this anthemic ballad.

Alejandra Guzmán Reveals Her Dark Side With Her New Single and Video, “Lado Oscuro”

2021 starts off with a big bang for superstar Alejandra Guzmán and the launch of her power ballad single and video, “Lado Oscuro,” written by Guzmán, Benjamín Díaz, and Alejandra Zéguer, and produced by Guzmán herself. They reveal La Guzmán at the peak of her form and give a deep insight into her soul.

The single and its powerful video, filmed in a church in the center of Mexico City, produced by Alejandra Guzmán and directed by Ángel Flores, speak for themselves. Her millions of fans around the world have been waiting for the real Guzmán: here she is.

HAYLEY WILLIAMS RELEASES ALL-NEW ALBUM FLOWERS for VASES / descansos

“This isn’t really a follow-up to Petals For Armor. If anything, it’s a prequel, or some sort of detour between parts 1 and 2 of Petals. The meaning of the album as a whole is maybe entirely different from diving into each song in particular,” says Williams. “For me, there’s no better way to tackle these individual subjects other than holistically. The ways I’ve been given time (forcibly, really) to stew on certain pains long enough to understand that they in fact, need to be released…indefinitely. I may never have been offered such a kindness; an opportunity to tend to the seeds I’d planted, to harvest, and to weed or prune what is no longer alive, in order to make space for the living. I wrote and performed this album in its entirety. That’s a career first for me. I recorded it at my home in Nashville, the home at which I’ve resided since Paramore released After Laughter. 2020 was really hard but I’m alive and so my job is to keep living and help others to do the same.”

Toots and The Maytals’ ‘Got To Be Tough’ Gets Re-Imagined By Until The Ribbon Breaks.

Today, Trojan Jamaica/BMG officially released the powerful Until The Ribbon Breaks’ re-imagination of Toots and The Maytals’ “Got To Be Tough” (the title track of the album released in August via Trojan Jamaica / BMG). The track will receive its radio airplay debut tomorrow evening on KCRW (with Jason Kramer between 6PM – 8PM PT) and is available now across all digital platforms. Trojan Jamaica/BMG has confirmed all proceeds from the single will be directed to Black Lives Matter.

Depression literally attacks stopnowstartagain in video for “Liplock”

For Houston, TX emo act stopnowstartagain, the new single “liplock” was an outlet to express what he’s been feeling.

“This song is about how difficult it is to actually talk about things that bother you,” explains the artist. “So, instead I wrote a song about it. I sing one song, cause I can’t talk. It stays on my tongue, like a liplock.”

FOO FIGHTERS: MEDICINE AT MIDNIGHT NEW ALBUM OUT NOW

The rock doctors will see you now: Foo Fighters have finally unleashed all nine doses of their much heralded new album, Medicine at Midnight (Roswell Records/RCA Records).

Medicine at Midnight’s release ends the wait that was first kicked into high gear last year with the Mainstream Rock/Rock Airplay #1 “Shame Shame” and bludgeoning “final f*ck you to 2020” (UPROXX) “No Son of Mine,” and more recently the epic ballad to cathartic scream of “Waiting on a War.” While anticipation has built exponentially with each new track, early critical notices been amongst the most enthusiastic of the band’s 26 years in the game, including:

“(FOUR STARS) Brighter and more optimistic than anything they’ve ever done… Even the harder-rocking songs overflow with ear candy.”—ROLLING STONE

“One of Foo Fighters’ best albums of this century.”—WALL STREET JOURNAL

Watch “Girl Power Jam” lyric video from Bob’s Burgers Valentine’s Day available on DSPs worldwide from Sub Pop

Today, Sub Pop has released Bob’s Burgers Valentine’s Day which features songs from the 20th Television’s Emmy-award winning hit comedy, now in its eleventh season.

The Bob’s Burgers Valentine’s Day release features music performed by the main cast members – Bob (H. Jon Benjamin), Linda (John Roberts), their children Tina (Dan Mintz), Gene (Eugene Mirman), Louise (Kristen Schaal) and handyman Teddy (Larry Murphy).

PRATEEK KUHAD SHARES “cold / mess (on piano)”

In October, Prateek announced his signing to Elektra Records, making history as the first solo Indian act to join the storied label. The news was heralded by the re-release of his 2018 breakthrough EP cold / mess, lauded by Atwood Magazine an “an utterly breathtaking, expansive piece of indie folk mastery.” The collection has racked up critical praise from NPR, Vulture, Billboard, Uproxx, and former President Barack Obama, who featured “cold / mess” on his 2019 Songs of the Year playlist.

Prateek Kuhad shares ‘cold / mess (on piano)’

New // Oscar Scheller & Katie Gavin of MUNA – “Good Enough”

Speaking about the single, Oscar explains “I was in New York as I’d flown out to see a girl there, but it didn’t work out how I had imagined. I was super bummed and after aimlessly wandering the streets of Manhattan I wrote two songs and one was ‘I’m Enough’. It was my response to the experience, a sort of conversation with myself to remind myself I am enough, with or without someone. No need for external validation or acceptance. It’s really important to keep reminding yourself of that however “Live Laugh Love” it sounds, it’s the gospel.”

Vic Mensa shares “Shelter” ft. Chance The Rapper & Wyclef Jean

Chicago rapper and activist VIC MENSA has tapped music heavyweights Chance The Rapper and Wyclef Jean for “Shelter,” a powerful single that challenges the American system responsible for a history of overcriminalization, racial injustice, and issues that affect the lives of people in underserved communities. “Shelter is a spiritual note, a healing frequency…” states Mensa. “It was inspired not by Hollywood or Paris, but by what’s going on on the ground – in the real world, with the real people.” Adds Wyclef, “The journey of this song was so important. It’s very crucial we, as musicians, use our voice to represent those who are not so easily able to be heard.”

AS EVERYTHING UNFOLDS Release New Single “Grayscale” – Debut LP ‘Within Each Lies The Other’ out March 26th

Vocalist Charlie Rolfe about the new single:
“When everything around you seems grey and dark, it can be hard. But there’s beauty is everything, life in dead flowers, colors in dark hours. No longer seeing life in black and white, wrong or right, learning to see life through a new lens creates a whole new perspective and makes it easier to live with whatever issues you have. Embrace it.”

tmdistant, 7th Obi And Tom Did It Reach New Heights On ‘elevate’

The psychedelic world and dazzling production on the cloud rap banger ‘elevate’ sees artist’s tmdistant, 7th Obi and Tom Did It aiming high after a challenging year. For tmdistant, it’s his first solo release in over 6 months and a reintroduction to the world. Dotted with sonic intricacies throughout, the track is built over trap-infused production by Tayko and Novapeppered with an infectious hook by Irish rapper 7th Obi, providing an energetic song with replay value.

Danny Kroha (The Gories) releases Third Man solo album, shares video for “Detroit Blues”

Detroit Blues is largely comprised of Kroha’s interpretations of traditional folk, blues and gospel songs from the public domain, created with an assortment of anachronistic DIY instruments like the one-string washtub bass, jug bass and The Diddley Bow.