@skopemag news – wednesday – february 24, 2021 @ 2 pm est

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

Chicago Rap Duo Mother Nature Share New Single

Rising Chicago female rap duo Mother Nature have a new mixtape on the way this spring and today they’ve released the first single and video. Watch the two trade bars beneath the EL Train in “MOMENTZ” produced by BoatHouse, an impressive display of their back and forth conscious lyricism. With early supporters from Jamila Woods to Oshun to The Free Nationals, Mother Nature has created a palpable buzz in the Chicago scene and this release is only a tease of what’s to come this year…

Moody, joyful, pulsing music from Vermont; get lost in Black Fly’s “Kingdom”

Black Fly, aka enigmatic Vermont-based musician and visual artist Joseph Rittling, today shares his second cerebral single and video for “Kingdom.” The new track also serves to announce his debut album Black Fly 01 coming out April 23rd, 2021 via Samedi Records (altopalo).

NZ sextet, The Phoenix Foundation (ffo: The Chills, Ultimate Painting) | Share new single feat. Fazerdaze

The band returned late last year with their sixth album, Friend Ship, which secured some positie reviews at MOJO, Uncut, PopMatters, American Songwriter, KEXP and more – it featured some neat collabs with Tiny Ruins, Nadia Reid, Anita Clark and the NZ Symphony Orchestra becoming something of a celebration of the NZ music scene, really hammering home the sense of community that exists. This new single acts as a continuation from that release, enlisting another NZ talent in the form of Fazerdaze (who released her Pitchfork-tipped debut album, Morningside in 2017). Adding somewhat to this NZ feel of the recent record, the band have collaborated at length with Taika Waititi previously, scoring the acclaimed soundtrack for Hunt For The Wilderpeople as well as providing tracks for Boy, Eagle versus Shark and What We Do In the Shadows – in October, the band were in conversation with Jemaine Clement of Flight of the Conchords fame.

UK Alt-Metal Upstarts VEXED Announce Debut Album, “Culling Culture”, out May 21, 2021

The UK’s most exciting new talent, fearless alt-metal upstarts VEXED, instantly turned heads and took names with the release of two recent standalone singles – including the fearsome “Elite” featuring Thy Art Is Murder’s CJ McMahon – creating a palpable underground buzz and giving fans a hefty sample of what to expect in the future. Now, the wait is over – the crushing Hertfordshire foursome have resurfaced with the announcement of their aggressive and uncompromising debut full-length, Culling Culture, out May 21, 2021 via Napalm Records.

1782: cast ire of gloom with new single “The Chosen One” streaming now

Sardinia-based harbingers of occult doom and sludge 1782 premiere a sulfur-laden new track taken from their upcoming sophomore full-length ‘From The Graveyard’ on Heavy Psych Sounds. Stream it now via Doomed and Stoned website!

“Surely the kind of album that would have been banished to the flames during the 1980’s Satanic Panic in many a church parking lot (with a fate worse for the band centuries earlier), this haunted new eight-track testament is not for timid nor tepid. From The Graveyard is the real doom deal.” describe Doomed and Stoned editors.

Danny Golden Announces New EP ‘Changes’ + Releases First Single “I Can’t Change”

Today, Austin-based musician Danny Golden announced an April 23rd release date for his new EP Changes. The announcement comes with the first single “I Can’t Change” — Under The Radar praised the song’s “inviting melodies and plainspoken lyrical approach” along with its “towering layers of shoegaze guitars and crashing percussion.”

New > Magic Island > shares video for ‘So Wrong’ single > announces new album ‘So Wrong’ > out 14th May on Mansion and Millions > Listen Here

Berlin’s Neukölln is so much more than a borough or a neighbourhood. It has become a symbol – for supposed social issues, for the new chapter in the history of the once-divided city that is both open to the world and hidden from it at the same time, cosmopolitan and yet oh so very Berlin. And right in the middle of it stands Emma Czerny, better known as Magic Island. Since her EP debut she has been reigning over the underground pop scene of the city, with songs that seem as intimate and vulnerable as they are artistically intricate, carrying both a love for pop music in them as well as experimental lo-fi and a great love for the r’n’b sound of the Nineties.

Rising Soul/R&B Singer, Akeylah Simone, Celebrates Her Heritage and Black History Month On New Single “Black Is Beautiful”

Virginia based Soul artist, Akeylah Simone, was presented with an opportunity to create a song for a local contest. The COVID pandemic, coupled with civil rights activism across the country, turned her project into an open letter to the Country, and the result is beautiful, emotional and deeper than Akeylah ever planned.

PUSSY RIOT RELEASE “TOXIC” FT DORIAN ELECTRA (PROD. 100 GECS’ DYLAN BRADY) + OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO

NADYA says: “In 2021 Pussy Riot is going to celebrate its 10-years-anniversary. It’s been 10 years of a radical experiment – of creating exclusively art that’s inherently political. Every single art piece we create is political, there can’t be exceptions to this rule.

Roan Yellowthorn Share “Vampire” Single From ‘Another Life’ LP Produced by John Agnello (Kurt Vile, Waxahatchee, Alvvays)

New York indie-pop duo, Roan Yellowthorn, is set to release their forthcoming new album, Another Life, which was produced by John Agnello (Kurt Vile, Waxahatchee, Alvvays) and is due out May 14, 2021 via Los Angeles-based label Blue Élan Records. Lead singer Jackie McLean recently revealed she wrote much of the 11-song set as a reflection on a childhood marked by frequent mental and emotional abuse that continued into young adulthood. McLean channels her healing process and the rebuilding of her own sense of self-worth through laid-back ’80s era synths and airy, often bright, dream-pop sounds that contrast the very heavy lyrical content.

Chad VanGaalen Shares “Nightwaves,” New Single From Forthcoming Album

Following on the heels of “Samurai Sword,” multi-media auteur Chad VanGaalen has shared “Nightwaves,” the newest single from his forthcoming World’s Most Stressed Out Gardener LP (out March 19, 2021 via Flemish Eye and Sub Pop).

Hip-hop orchestra Ensemble Mik Nawooj debuts new track and video “Who Would Be Born”

Inspired by Herman Hesse’s Demian, “Who Would Be Born” is an apocalyptic rap score on the destruction of the world and Gnostic god Abraxas. “The general idea of this piece was to portray the end of the old and beginning of the new,” EMN’s composer JooWan Kim says. “The whispers at the end of this piece are magical syllables within the Mik Nawooj universe called ‘Syllables of Transmutation,’ which allow the user to open up all five energies of internal organs and transform into a god.”

Karate, Guns & Tanning (shoegaze/post-punk/dream pop) release electrifying new single/video “Artifacts”

Roaring to life with pounding, Bonham-sized drums and mesmerizing, otherworldly electronic synth textures, “Artifacts” was meant to evoke the unsettling feeling of being trapped by something not quite tangible (sound eerily familiar?!). Meanwhile, similarly hypnotic, fuzzed-out basslines and haunting vocals maneuver around intricate riffs (+ welcome back, ripping guitar solos!!), creating an electrifying, ghostly atmosphere unto itself. Named after a sign above a strip mall in rural Indiana, Karate, Guns & Tanning is the culmination of a 15-year collaboration between two intuitive experimental songwriting witches, Valerie Green (she/her, Indianapolis) and Paige Shedletsky (she/her, Louisville), who initially met in Colorado in 2005 while waitressing together at a creepy diner fit for a David Lynch set. Now rounded out by the Indianapolis-based guitarist Joy Caroline Mills (she/her) and drummer Daniel Guajardo (he/him), the fierce energy is palpable on the bands’ stand-out debut, Concrete Beach.

Fog Lake announces new album ‘Tragedy Reel’ | Listen to lead-single “Jitterbug”

Fog Lake is the solo project of Newfoundland, Canada artist Aaron Powell. Over the last ten years, his lo-fi recordings, described as “harrowing nostalgia,” have explored the dark valleys where everything has settled and must be understood. On his new album, Tragedy Reel, he reflects on small-town alienation and loss spanning his years living in rural Newfoundland.

Metalcore Band SLIVERS Releases Official Music Video for Single “Fragmented”

Slivers is the culmination of years of collaboration between Kyle Skellington and Ron Hutchinson. After releasing Worn Callous in 2018 a full band was formed. With songs fueled by the sounds of current J-rock, Metal, and Post-Hardcore of the past, the band looks to release new music and connect with the world for years to come.

The Gloria Record (Mineral) share unheard track and announce reissue of ‘Start Here’

Start Here, the brilliant debut album from The Gloria Record is back on vinyl at long last. Originally released in April 2002, the ten songs are bolstered with four bonus tracks including rarity ‘The Dead Brother’, a live version of ‘L’Anniversaire Triste’ and demos of ‘I Was Born In Omaha’ and ‘My Funeral Party’.

The Stars of Disaster Reveals “Hey Dorkmeyer”

The Stars of Disaster started playing together in February 2019, in Pittsburgh, but the songs started coming in 2014. Anthony Schiappa had made a go of it as an airline baggage handler in upstate New York, an academic in NYC, and an exile in Scandinavia. After returning to his Steubenville, OH, basement, trying to stave off the terrors of clock-punching and memory, he rediscovered his childhood love of making loud music.

NYLON Premieres Jetty Bones’ “Nothing” Video | Debut LP ‘Push Back’ Out This Friday 2/26

Ohio singer and songwriter Jetty Bones is releasing her debut album Push Back on Friday, a project that ends with a song based off a suicide note she’d left five years prior. That should be clue enough that it’s not a lighthearted listen, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t moments of euphoria to be found. On her newest and last single, “Nothing,” she tears through deciding whether to divorce herself from something she loves over a sparkly pop beat that’s like a direct shot of serotonin. With its perky drums and sparkly wash of synths, the song makes you want to get up and dance even as she sings: “Cause I might lose my mind if I can’t get you back/ And something you might find/ Is that you’re missing me when it’s too late.” It’s the kind of song you want when things are bad and you gotta make yourself feel better…

HVME X TRAVIS SCOTT’S “GOOSEBUMPS” CLIMBS TO #1 ON DANCE RADIO

After sweeping up over 280 million streams and receiving critical acclaim from Billboard and more, HVME & Travis Scott’s “Goosebumps” is the #1 dance song in the country! Vaulting from the #4 spot to the top, it claims #1 on the Dance Radio Chart and emerges as the #1 Greatest Gainer on the Dance Radio Chart. Becoming a crossover hit, it also hit a new peak at Pop Radio, as it heads for the Top 20.

Hard Rock/Metal Band PREY FOR SUNDAY Release New Single “Dont Let It End” + Official Music Video

Prey for Sunday is a Hard Rock/ Metal band that was formed in Los Angeles, California in 2018. Founded by Guitarist/Songwriter Neal Grusky, Lead Singer/Songwriter Tony Persico, and Bassist Shad.

Neal and Tony worked with Producer/Songwriter Peter Strzelecki to write and record the first Prey For Sunday album. Realizing the immediate chemistry they shared a vision; a need to create a unique, memorable sound that would go on to become Prey for Sunday – Music that’s made to stand the test of time. They pride themselves in creating musically dynamic songs, with meaningful, melodic, and “like it is” lyrical content.

Ottawa, ON’s Bilingual Rockers TAMING SARI Release Emotional & Raw New Ballad: “Gone and Run Away”

Ottawa, ON-based rockers Taming Sari have just released their fourth single — and very first ballad; the emotional and raw “Gone and Run Away” is available now.

Between the musical composition, vulnerable lyrics and blazing vocal delivery, the four-minute, 50 second-spanning ballad was made to convey emotion to the audience. It’s also jam-packed sonic elements similar to that of the Southern rock country scene and some of Canada’s finest modern rock acts — think The Glorious Sons or Rival Sons.

Will Stratton Shares New Track “Tokens” || Announces New Album ‘The Changing Wilderness’ Due Out 5/7 On Bella Union

Of the track Stratton says: “Tokens is a song addressed to the fraternal twins, the most frequent subjects of songs since songs were created: time and love. The afternoon that I was writing it, the weird weather we were having that summer was on my mind. I was thinking about how my perception of time is so tied to my perception of the changing seasons, and consequently, how my perception of time hasn’t been quite as sharp as it once was. I was also thinking about the ending of one of my favorite movies, the 2014 Paul Thomas Anderson film Inherent Vice. The way time shimmers and shifts in that movie is fascinating to me, verging on hypnotic, and I was trying to evoke a little of that feeling in this song.”

ICYMI: Hoorsees Share Self-Titled Debut LP Via Kanine Records

Parisian indie four-piece Hoorsees have today shared their debut full-length album. The self-titled release is available digitally and on limited edition white 12″ vinyl via Kanine Records.

The Hoorsees album is a showcase of shimmering “mid-fi” guitar pop that blends lush melodies with the laidback flavor of 90s slacker rock. In these nine tracks, singer/songwriter Alex Delamard delivers wry lyrics that equally scorn himself, those around him, and the situations he finds himself. These weary dispatches are delivered in songs with names like “Fuckhead”, “Give It Up” and “Get Tired”. Despite the pervasive melancholy that is woven throughout the songs within Hoorsees, it would be wrong to consider this a “downer” record. The songs are lifted way above their weighty topics by the crystalline guitar lines of Thomas Gachod and the bright airiness of bassist Zoé Gilbert’s voice. Behind this, Nicolas Conte’s gently insistent drumming locks in with Gilbert’s playing to produce a driving backbeat that builds the group’s music into a wave of sound.

UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP X LITEBOXER

Meet Liteboxer, a new at-home workout experience, where boxing and gaming are merged through beat-based music programming. Liteboxer’s addictive approach to fitness merges trends in connected fitness with rhythm gaming (think Dance Revolution, Beat Saber, Guitar Hero). And with Liteboxer’s Punch Tracks, Liteboxer is the only fitness platform where you can choose your own music.

Record Heat (FKA Spirit Animal) Announces New EP and NFT ‘1’ Out March 12th

Brooklyn based alt-pop band Record Heat (fka Spirit Animal) announce the release of their new EP, 1, out March 12th via The Orchard. The 3 track EP will include the band’s previously released tracks “Just Hits” and “Nathan” along with closer, “Network,” co-written with mega-producer, Nolan Lambroza. Record Heat will also be releasing a limited edition NFT, making them one of the first bands to experiment with cryptoart dedicated to bringing fans a unique artistic experience.

RECORD HEAT (FKA SPIRIT ANIMAL) ANNOUNCES NEW EP 1 OUT MARCH 12TH

Haunted Shed (Athens, GA) Release Psychedelic New Single “Umami Bomb” // Debut Album ‘Faltering Light’ Out April 2 via Strolling Bones Records

Today, Haunted Shed has released “Umami Bomb,” the second single from the band’s debut album Faltering Light (out April 2 via Strolling Bones Records). Accompanying the song is a kaleidoscopic music video featured this morning by Magnet Magazine who praised it’s “jittery new-wave appeal” saying “You don’t have to be a culinary half-wit to appreciate ‘Umami Bomb.’”

MAGNET Exclusive: Premiere Of Haunted Shed’s “Umami Bomb” Video

MENSA DEATHSQUAD Celebrates Vengeance and Victory with CYCLIST out TODAY!

Following the electro-punk noir single “Nothing Is Ever Enough” and the monstrous fury of “Famous,” electronic darkwave band Mensa Deathsquad (Brandon Phillips) is releasing their new full-length record Cyclist today, February 23, 2021.

Stratford, ON Pop Singer Katelyn Biehn Sits Mellow with New Single, “Daydreamin’”

After two years away from the music scene, Canadian singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Katelyn Biehn is sitting mellow with her newly released single: the innately romantic “Daydreamin'” — available now!

Similar to the rest of the Stratford, Ontario-based singer’s discography, the two-minute, 55 second-spanning comeback single is a beautiful blend of the pop and R&B genres. The guitar and bass-driven instrumentals are complimented by Katelyn’s smooth delivery, perfect pitch and mellow demeanor.

Jude Gwynaire New Single Release ‘Blue-Eyed Girl From Kilkenny’

With a song title like “Blue-Eyed Girl from Kilkenny,” you might expect a full on Scottish or Irish jig or reel, complete with fiddles and bagpipes. Although Jude Gwynaire’s single does have a Celtic feel running through it, it is not strictly a traditional piece of Highland music.

In fact, the track’s opening riff sounds surprisingly close to a rock & roll guitar riff. Granted, it’s not exactly AC/DC, but it could – if instrumented differently – have turned into a pretty rockin’ affair. However, over this riffage is placed a melodic, Celtic-associated melody. About one third of the way through, Flute-ish playing can also be heard.

This unusual combination makes for an instrumental that’s difficult to describe. It makes us wonder just what this blue-eyed girl from Kilkenny is actually like. Is she an old-fashioned, traditional Irish girl, a Celtic girl that wants to break out of the expected role at home, or something in between? This music doesn’t really tell us too much. It creates a mood, and then suggests the listener fill in all the blanks.

@skopemag Q&A Featuring Jude Gwynaire ‘Blue-Eyed Girl from Kilkenny’