VARA SINGLE PREMIERE
VARA has had two top five remixes on the billboard Dance Club Songs Chart under his belt (Demi Lovato, ZZ Ward) and “Break Down The Walls” catapults VARA’s solo project into the world. In VARA’s words “I love this song for many reasons, it’s haunting arrangement and aggressive beat but mostly because it’s a blast to sing. It is a singer’s song.”
BRIGHTENER NEW SINGLE
brightener is an indie rock quintet led by songwriter Will Sturgeon, a native of Palm Desert in California’s Coachella Valley. Hailing from the desert, Sturgeon’s songs are of course sunny, but his lyrics wander from playful to thoughtful, giving brightener tracks a sun-faded sense of longing. brightener’s newest release, the single “When The Lights Come Up” backed with “Haven’t You Noticed,” is out today via New Professor Music. The song, which is available to share via SoundCloud, is Sturgeon’s most self-assured and breezy track to date. Sturgeon says, “This song is about anticipation. I met a girl on vacation in my town and we hit it off. She went back home to the other side of the country, and we stayed in touch for a month before deciding to fly and meet up with each other in the middle of the country for a weekend.”
https://soundcloud.com/newprofessor/sets/brightener-when-the-lights-come-up/s-kuIvE
HELEN JANE LONG RELEASES STUNNING 4TH ALBUM ‘IDENTITY’
As you know, Helen Jane Long is an award-winning film composer whose musicology brings indie culture to classical and soundtrack music. This one-time Warner Bros. composer left it all behind to create her own record label, publishing company and destiny. Her signature sound is cinematic classical and she’s kicking and dragging it into the future with her stunning fourth release, “Identity”.
Helen is a classically trained pianist who taught herself to play string instruments; a competitive athlete whose music inspires audiences and filmmakers; and an intensely serious musician who possesses a cheeky sense of humor when it comes to her chosen profession.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/identity/id1095068968
J DILLA X NAS
This Friday J Dilla’s longstanding company PayJay (revived by The Estate of James Yancey as a functioning imprint) have partnered with Mass Appeal Records to release Dilla’s long lost vocal album, The Diary. Initially intended for release in 2002, The Diary was shelved by its parent label, which led to Yancey’s break with the major label system and instigated his migration to California to embark on the extremely fertile period that followed (which encompassed the making of the canonical classics Ruff Draft, Jaylib, and Donuts).
JULIETTE LEWIS DEBUTS NEW SINGLE “HELLO HERO”
Juliette Lewis has premiered her new single “Hello Hero” via Nylon.com TODAY, April 13th. Click HERE to listen! For the song Juliette teamed up with Isabella “Machine” Summers of Florence and the Machine to co-write and co-produce the much anticipated track. Producer Isabella “Machine” Summers describes the “Hello Hero” sound she created with Juliette as “post rock n roll love punk pop!”
http://www.nylon.com/articles/juliette-lewis-hello-hero-song-premiere
DARIO SLAVAZZA ANNOUNCES DEBUT EP ‘GUILTY STEPS’
From the midst of Oakland’s newest generation of brash, experimental music comes songwriter Dario Slavazza, who announced his debut EP, Guilty Steps, today with a premiere of its first single, “Ocean Eyes”, via the SF Weekly. Guilty Steps, the first of three EPs Slavazza will deliver in the next year’s time, is due to arrive on June 10.
KRYSLE LIP DEBUTS FIRST TRACK “ELECTRIC MIRROR”
Producer, songwriter and performer, KRYSLE LIP, is proud to announce the release of his single, “ELECTRIC MIRROR.” The track is a first listen from forthcoming, debut album, INTRAVENOUS THERAPY, slated for a Summer 2016 release.
https://soundcloud.com/kryslelip/electric-mirror/s-HsUAl
EN VOGUE ARE BACK
Beauty, class, transcendence…the award-winning, multi-platinum female group, En Vogue, embodies the very definition of each word. After countless accolades, 20 million albums sold, multiple Grammy nominations, American Music Awards and Soul Train awards, the ultimate girl group of the 90s has now evolved into legendary R&B icons affectionately known as the “Real Funky Divas”. Today, En Vogue is redefining the idea of beauty, music and style with original members Cindy Heron-Braggs, Terry Ellis, and newcomer Rhona Bennett.
https://soundcloud.com/envoguemusic/deja-vu-mp3
STACE CADET ANNOUNCES NEW VIDEO FOR ‘MOLLY HAPPY’
Inserting some intergalactic optimism onto the dancefloor, Melbourne’s newest dance recruit, Stace Cadet has just released his debut single Molly Happy, alongside an accompanying music video that may or may not have been shot on Mars. To celebrate his release that has impressively already climbed to number 2 on the ARIA club charts (lastweek), Stace Cadet has today announced a national tour set to kick off in Melbourne on April 15, heading on through Adelaide, Brisbane and finishing up in Sydney on June 11.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6_JOaPvYak
MS. LAURYN HILL IN ASSOCIATION WITH TIDAL X ANNOUNCES DIASPORA CALLING!
Ms. Lauryn Hill, in association with TIDAL X, has announced Diaspora Calling!, a three-day series of music and art experiences, to take place at Brooklyn’s beautiful and historic Kings Theatre. Starting tonight through Friday April 15th, Ms. Hill will present a series of events, focusing on various forms of visual art, featuring performances by artists from Africa, and throughout the African diaspora. The grand lobby of the Kings Theatre will be transformed into an art gallery, featuring some of the most innovative and iconic contemporary artists of the African diaspora, with a special focus on art and artists from Haiti.
Of the event, Ms. Hill states: “Diaspora Calling! is a collection of works intended to celebrate the rich tapestry of artists from the African Diaspora while also illumining persistent and irrepressible themes… Even if we work independently, we are a resounding collective voice, both reconciling and embracing our relationship to history, our origins, our future and to ourselves.”
THE MIDNIGHT MULES NEW SINGLE
The Midnight Mules are an indie- rock four-piece hailing from P-Town Western Australia, described by Xpress Magazine as sounding like “the illegitimate offspring of The Hives & Weezer.” With strong elements of indie-rock, pop and punk ‘The Mules’ as they have been affectionately named by their fans, have made a name for themselves as one of Perth’s most entertaining, high energy live acts!
The Mules are pleased to announce the launch of their new release, aptly titled, “Still Here”. This is the the third offering from The Mules following their 2011 release “PoP CoC” and 2013 debut EP, First World Problems.
BLAAK HEAT NEW SINGLE
Blaak Heat, the Parisian-American psych/stoner/eastern rock trio, have shared their new track ‘Mola Mamad Djan’. Out May 13th on Svart (Oranssi Pazuzu, Beastmilk, Opium Warlords), the track is the second single from the ‘Shifting Mirrors’ album.
You can see the premiere with Rock a Rolla HERE.
Originally performed as a traditional Middle Eastern folk song throughout the years (With versions by Farida Mahwash, Abdul Rahim Sarban and many others), this track celebrates its Afghan and Persian origins in a heavier, modernist fashion.
CYBERPUNKERS ‘FEEL THE DISCO’ EP
Electronic Masked duo CYBERPUNKERS prove once again that they’re the masters of mixing it up with the release of their Feel The Disco EP. Released on Big Fish Records, Feel The Disco is a high energy, 2 track Electro-House / Bass-House banger featuring throbbing basslines, distorted samples, and glitchy synths that are guaranteed to push any dancefloor into overdrive!
WE NEVER MET “COME PLAY WITH FIRE”
Silke is a singer/songwriter/studio-geek based in North London. Working in loco or online from her recording studio in Islington, she has sung for projects and labels all over the world, working with artists and producers such as Simon Harris, Dominic Miller, Matt Butler, Spencer Cozens, Urban Myth Club, Phil Conil and many more.
Peter Clasen is an electronic artist based in Brussels. Over the years he has been more than busy with such acts as Neven, Bix Medard and Goo Goo Gish.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2Dnj81Xoxw
UNIVERSAL MIND PROJECT: “THE FORCE OF OUR CREATION” LYRIC VIDEO RELEASED
The international progressive metallers UNIVERSAL MIND PROJECT just released a lyric video for the track “The Force Of Our Creation” from their upcoming debut album “The Jaguar Priest”. The album will be released in Europe and North America on April 29th through Inner Wound Recordings and in Japan on May 25th through Bickee Music.
WATCH MEMPHIS ASH’S “CONFESSIONS”
As I’m tallying up Memphis Ash’s Soundcloud plays for the past year or so, I found myself asking, ‘why haven’t I heard of this kid way before now?’ and, ‘why isn’t this 2 million+ figure reflective of my bank account?’ I stopped counting after 2 million and change. “Confessions” the track for which this visual was shot, was released 6 months ago and, to my knowledge, has not appeared on any blogs or music sites with the exception of Genius. How then does it have over 500K plays?
WORLDARTS ANNOUNCES OPPORTUNITY FOR UNDISCOVERED BANDS
WorldArts, the interactive network that provides musicians a platform to engage with fans, peers and industry professionals, has announced a brand new undiscovered artists and band contest, where unsigned musicians have the opportunity to be the guest on the final episode of the highly regarded successful first season of NIC HARCOURT’S TRANSMISSIONS. The show is a live performance and interview web series hosted by noted radio and TV personality, journalist/tastemaker Nic Harcourt and directed by musician/producer Kita Klane. The first season has featured Silversun Pickups, Lucinda Williams, Chicano Batman, Fantastic Negrito, and more. Music fans can watch NIC HARCOURT’S TRANSMISSIONS here: worldarts.com/transmissions. The competition provides a rare opportunity for unknown artists and bands to obtain valuable exposure and reach new audiences through the WorldArts platform.
GILLBANKS “CHILDHOOD”
Childhood however is a deliciously acerbic track that weaves together all the spit and fuzz of prime Stephen Malkmus, with the knowing assuredness of a fresh-faced Graham Coxon. It’s a hypnotic brew, and a killer second step by this fresh, dizzyingly raw talent.
BLUE OCTOBER SHARES VIDEO FOR TITLE TRACK OF NEW ALBUM
The sound on Home, the 8th album by Blue October, is described by the band’s frontman and creative force Justin Furstenfeld as desert rock: it’s all about space, atmosphere, big rock drums and that vocal that seems to talk to you in your ear (Justin is also a storyteller with a widely popular one-man touring show, Open Book). The melodies on Home were written by Justin on a small synthesizer, during road trips through the Texas and California desert landscape, and the lyrics came effortlessly. He affirms that Home “is the best piece of work we’ve ever done.”
“SWANG N BANG” IS THAT RETRO HOUSTON SLAB JOINT
Although A-N-T’s project “Drop Top Music” was already in the can when he sat down with Trakksounds for a beat listening session, he heard this beat and had both verses written within 30 minutes. The results felt just right and A-N-T knew it had to be included on the album.
“The Bun B sample and the track itself went right along with the theme of #DropTopMusic it only took me like 30 mins to write both verses. It instantly put me in that zone. When it came time for the video I knew it had to be epic and symbolize Houston slab culture. It was the 1st video released off #DropTopMusic since it dropped so we pulled out all the stops; or In this case drops.”
“Swang N Bang” on YouTube:
PENTATONIX RELEASES MUSIC VIDEO FOR “IF I EVER FALL IN LOVE” FT. JASON DERULO
Since bursting onto the scene in 2011, multi-platinum selling recording artist Pentatonix have sold more than 3.2 million albums in the U.S. alone, won 2 Grammy Awards, sold out venues worldwide, amassed over 1.5 billion views on their YouTube channel with over 10.3 million subscribers and appeared in the feature film Pitch Perfect 2. Their latest release, Pentatonix debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 and Current Albums Chart and is certified gold by the RIAA. The first single, “Can’t Sleep Love” has over 18 million views on YouTube. The group’s holiday album, That’s Christmas To Me, is certified double platinum by the RIAA and features their recent 2016 Grammy winning track, “Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy.”
LIVING HOUR “SEAGULL”
Living Hour shares a music video for “Seagull,” the lead single from their self-titled debut LP today via Stereogum. The video is about parental sacrifice and also about getting through a tough Canadian winter.
ETCHES “LOVE IS”
Liverpool quintet ETCHES have announced the release of their brand new single Love Is. Immediately accessible, and yet never predictable, the Merseyside outfit’s latest effort reveals a band at the top of their creative game, crafting emotionally captivating music that speaks directly to the listener.
“PH”
LuckyMe are very proud to present the debut album from Parc en Ciel – ‘Path Integral’.
Parc en Ciel is a distillation of the solo work of Mathieu Thomas, a multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer from Scotland via Paris. Influenced by scientific discovery, the natural world and harmony, the album veers from to spare and simple layered arrangements to more dense synthesized pieces.
PHOEBE RYAN PREMIERES OFFICIAL VIDEO FOR CURRENT SINGLE “CHRONIC”
LA-based songwriter turned indie-pop artist Phoebe Ryan has premiered the official video for her latest single “Chronic”. The visual follows Phoebe and her band mates as they blossom from bullied high school nerds into full blown rock stars performing at the homecoming dance. “Chronic,” dubbed a “dreamy electro-pop track” by SPIN, has accumulated 1.4 million global Spotify streams to date, while the lyric video alone has garnered over 100K views so far.
http://www.spin.com/2016/03/phoebe-ryan-chronic-stream/
“I CAN’T LOVE YOU ANYMORE”
Bobby Wilson son of the late hit recording artist Jackie Wilson and born in New York was brought up in the foster care system in Carolina and named Bobby Brookes.
It was in his childhood that he discovered his real identity, that he was the son of legendary Jackie Wilson.
Bobby completed two years of study at the Midlands Technical College in Columbia followed by a semester at the University of South Carolina in electrical engineering and then went on to serve in the United States Navy.
#THANKYOUKOBE
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Nights’ song “Thank You” is featured in an official Kobe Bryant farewell tribute video.
https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/720458154677559297
VICE MEDIA DEMAND THAT INDIE ROCK BAND VICEVERSA CHANGE THEIR NAME
The alternative youth media empire headed by flamboyant CEO Shane Smith, is demanding that struggling Los Angeles band ViceVersa immediately cease and desist from using their name.
Vice Media, the $2.5 billion dollar global company with high profile investors such as The Walt Disney Co, WPP and 21st Century Fox, has served the band with a Cease and Desist demand citing that band’s trademarked name “ViceVersa” might make consumers think they are connected.
The Cease and Desist requires that the band immediately shutdown their presence across social media platforms, their www.viceversa.la website and stop the selling of any branded merchandise. In addition Vice Media want to see documentary evidence of how much money the band has made over the past 3 years.
The 3 band members; Zeke Zeledon, Sarah Corza and Ariel Fredrickson released a video statement in response to Vice Media’s demands in which they outlined their position and showed how different their band logo is to the Vice Media moniker.
XYLAROO NEW SINGLE
Xylaroo are Holly and Coco Chant: two sisters, two peas in a pod, two harmonious voices cut only from the same cloth as each other. The girl’s first single ‘Sunshine’ which included a Dolly Parton quote, and the B-side an amazing cover of Arctic Monkeys’ ‘I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor’ has been getting rave reviews and extensive radio play across all stations.
Their new single ‘On My Way’ on on May 20th via Sunday Best/ PIAS is an upbeat melodic number which highlights their beautiful harmonies and songwriting skills, this is sure to be another smash.
https://soundcloud.com/xylaroo/on-my-way
THE EVERYMEN SHARE NEW TRACK “CO-DEPENDENT’S DAY”
Ernest Jenning Record Co. is excited to announce These Mad Dogs Need Heroes, the long-awaited new album from New Jersey’s reigning kings of the road and preeminent party rockers The Everymen. The album, which was recorded in Muscle Shoals, AL with Ben Tanner of the Alabama Shakes, will see a release on May 27, 2016. To ring in the announcement, the group has shared the album’s opener “Co-Dependent’s Day.” The track premiered via Consequence of Sound, who called it “a soulful, melodic rocker that nods to doo-wop’s heyday.”
RADIOHEAD MANAGEMENT STATEMENT
At an industry event in London last night Brian Message was asked about new Radiohead music. Quotes attributed to him and taken from his talk have subsequently appeared, describing him as Radiohead’s manager. Brian Message is not Radiohead’s manager – he is a partner in Courtyard Management but plays no operational role, and therefore any quotes from last night’s event, or any supposition arising from them, should not be attributed to Radiohead’s management or be seen as official quotes on behalf of the group.
Radiohead are managed by Chris Hufford and Bryce Edge at Courtyard Management.
NAI HARVEST STREAM NEW SONG “JELLY”
Sheffield’s finest garage-punks, Nai Harvest, follow a successful headline tour and dates at SXSW with the release of the second half of their upcoming AA single “Just Like You / Jelly” – the melodic and direct “Jelly”. This and the recently released “Just Like You” mark the first new material from the band since last year’s critically acclaimed full length “Hairball”.
DEL SUR NEW SINGLE
South Carolina’s purveyor of psych-driven indie, Del Sur is back with the premiere of the new track Dirty Honey Lunar Lovely. The track will be featured on the group’s forthcoming release Eating in Bed which will see a release April 29th via Rough Beast Records.
“Del Sur is mainly bedroom dreamer Michael Collier, a Charleston, SC, fellow whose vintage surf music visions float through minimal, slightly gauzy indie pop ideas that already feel like they too are far off in the rearview mirror of his banana bike.” – Eric Davidson, CMJ
WOLKOFF NEW VIDEO
Written and directed by Frank John Young, the “While You Still Can” video is about crossing tracks with the inner child in all of us, and follows Joanie and her adorable 9-year old doppelganger (if this isn’t the cutest video you see all day, I give up). More info on Wolkoff and her new album below, really hope you can check it (and the video) out.
NEW WILD BELLE SOPHOMORE ALBUM
Chicago band Wild Belle’s sophomore Columbia Records album DREAMLAND is out today, available everywhere physically and digitally. Wild Belle, comprised of Natalie Bergman and Elliot Bergman, worked on DREAMLAND with an eclectic group of musicians that they pulled together including Doc McKinney, Pat Carney, and Brooklyn’s Dap Kings Homer Steinweiss and Nick Movshon.
http://www.wildbelle.com/dreamland
DEAR BOY “LOCAL ROSES”
Flood Magazine has premiered the official music video for Los Angeles-based band Dear Boy’s new single “Local Roses” from their forthcoming EP produced and mixed by Doug Boehm (Girls, Tokyo Police Club, Superhumanoids) due this Summer. “Local Roses” is also streaming and available to share via SoundCloud. Dear Boy’s Ben Grey says, “The idea we were kicking around when we first got together with our director, Baley Wynn, was to make a sort of surreal [version of] A Hard Day’s Night. Then, as it does whenever we work with her, it totally became its own thing. Our band is heavily influenced by early ’90s brit-pop, so we wanted to shoot something that captured the spirit of that era. ‘Local Roses’ is lyrically such a melancholy song, so marrying it with a little bit of playfulness in the video seemed like a natural way to go. We’re all best friends, so it was really easy to slip into that place.”
PREMIERE: Dear Boy See in Only Black and White in “Local Roses” Video
RICHARD ASHCROFT “HOLD ON”
Harvest Records has signed critically acclaimed U.K. artist Richard Ashcroft in the U.S. and will release These People – hisfirst album in six years – on May 20. “Hold On,” a track from the new album, premiered today on BBC Radio 2 and can be heard HERE.
http://smarturl.it/RASH_HoldOnStream
THE FLAMING LIPS DIGITALLY RELEASE COVER OF DAVID BOWIE’S “SPACE ODDITY”
The Flaming Lips have announced the release of their cover of David Bowie’s classic “Space Oddity”, which you can listen to on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, and Spotify. They recently played Carnegie Hall’s Bowie tribute shows last month.
THE MEGAPHONIC THRIFT NEW SINGLE
Earlier this year, Norwegian four-piece The Megaphonic Thrift won a Grammy award in Norway for “Best Indie Album” for their latest release Sun Stare Sound. The album will finally see it’s US release later this year on Old Flame Records (Cloud Nothings, Ski Lodge, Shark?).
Today, the band shared “Blistering Heat,” the first single to be released from the album.
Stream it via Soundcloud:
THE AVETT BROTHERS RELEASE NEW SINGLE “AIN’T NO MAN” TODAY
Gearing up for the June 24 release of their anxiously awaited new album True Sadness [American/Republic Records], THE AVETT BROTHERS uncover its first single “Ain’t No Man” at all digital retailers today. Fans may also pre-order the full-length now and receive an instant download of “Ain’t No Man.”
STILL PARADE “CHAMBER”
Still Parade, aka Niklas Kramer, has garnered huge support since he became the, not quite “darling”, but perhaps the “alluring Femme Fatale” of The Hype Machine. Regularly described as enigmatic, his personality at first was shrouded under a veil of mystery, with the release of his debut single, “Anchors”, in 2013, which as since garnered over 700k plays on Soundcloud, and was featured last year in an ad campaign for Victoria Secret. 2014 brought the release of the Fields EP, along with live performances at festivals and headlining shows across Europe including London, Paris, Amsterdam, and of course, Berlin.
http://www.undertheradarmag.com/news/premiere_still_parade_chamber/
BAS ANNOUNCES TOO HIGH TO RIOT HEADLINE TOUR
Bas announces today that he will hit the road for a summer North American headlining tour that kicks off on June 3rd in Miami, FL. Joining Bas on tour will be labelmate and South Central rapper Cozz, Atlanta rap duo Earthgang, London duo The Hics, and also Ron Gilmore; the producer/musician/J. Cole collaborator responsible for much of the last Bas album on the production side. Full dates and ticket links available below.
The New York-based musician is touring in support of his second album Too High to Riot, which was released in March on Dreamville / Interscope Records. Recorded in London, Los Angeles, and New York, Too High To Riot features guests J. Cole, Cozz, The Hics and KQuick and production by Ron Gilmore, Cedric Brown, Ogee Handz + DikC, Soundwavve, KQuick, Cam O’bi, Subdaio, and The Hics. Since its release, Too High To Riot, has accumulated over 40 million streams.
MK X BECKY HILL
The new video for MK’s single with Becky Hill, “Piece Of Me” is out now, and it reminds us that we are only weeks away from another red-hot summer of fun.
Directed by Carlos Lopez-Estrada in LA for Black Dog Films, the surreal video appears to be shot as if through an Instagram filter. Two young couples kiss in the back of separate cars, but the weird twist is that the cars are attached to the heads of two skateboarders. The skateboarders eventually crash into each other, catapulting the two couples out of the windscreen. They are then pushed together with each other’s partners while in mid-air. A tongue-in-cheek ode to the haphazardness of young love and the track’s lyrics, the video suits the pairing of MK’s upbeat piano chords with Becky Hill’s soaring vocals.
AUTOEROTIQUE “THE SOUND” FEATURING MAJOR LAZER
First premiered on Major Lazer’s Apple Beats1 radio show, Lazer Sound, in the Fall, the highly anticipated future bass house anthem is now officially released. With heavy rotation by festival powerhouses such as Kaskade, Skrillex, and Diplo, chances are you’ve already heard it. “The Sound” is an infectious dance floor shaker that is high octane from start to finish. It’s a track that will certainly “blow up the place”.
