(Photo Credit: Tom Oxley)
#20: The 40 Most Anticipated Albums of Fall 2018…”Tunstall is back with the inspirational and emotionally charged song, bringing the same energy and powerful voice that scored her a pair of top 40 Billboard Hot 100 hits more than a decade ago: “Black Horse & The Cherry Tree” in 2006 and “Suddenly ISee” in 2007. “The River” builds up with rocking, rhythmic guitar textures and a catchy chorus that is signature of her work.” – Billboard
Brit and Ivor Novello Award-winning artist KT Tunstall is thrilled to share her music video for the song “Little Red Thread.” This past year, KT released her 6th studio album “WAX,” out now via Rostrum Records. “WAX,” landed at #30 on Billboard’s Independent Albums Chart and the single “The River” sits at #19 on Billboard’s AAA Songs Chart. KT’s latest body of work is a trilogy of albums following the themes of soul, body and mind. Released in 2016, the first album ‘KIN’, covers the theme of the soul and received rave reviews.The second album in the trilogy ‘WAX’ was released in October 2018 and focuses on the body and our complex relationship with physicality. ‘WAX’ was featured on Spotify’s ‘New Music Friday’ playlist in a dozen countries worldwide, receiving critical acclaim from both national publications and specialist music outlets in both the UK and USA.
KT says, “The story of Little Red Thread…What if there was something physical that showed the connection between people; millions of red threads between our hearts – people on airplanes connected to people on the ground, all crisscrossing. You’d end up with a gigantic knot in the middle where we all tangle up with one another, and when you pull on one little thread it moves everything… “
A new electronic duo under the name Tan has appeared in the underground music scene of Copenhagen. Members Mathias Riis and Andreas Bengtsen have appeared in various gloomy postpunk – and psychedelic music projects, but the melodic and pulsating retrowavy sounds of Tan brings color to the picture. The two friends joined forces in the summer of 2016, with a vision of melting rave and club inspired vibes with melancholic and gloomy soundscapes under the self-proclaimed genre Sad Disco.
“We wish to combine something trashy with something glamurous, as if you could teleport yourself back and forth from Berghain in Berlin to a beach club in Miami” the duo says.
Accompanied by dancers and drag queens, their live sets seem to continuously expand the forms of their retrofuturistic take on music into new territories, which makes TAN an interesting act. The group works inside a trippy universe, where evocative soundscapes meets hypnotic techno beats, all mixed into a neon-colored club formula. Their new song “Blossom” is their take on 80s dream pop with gloomy synth patterns and taiwanese vocals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b2yzJZenHc&feature=youtu.be
Brooklyn based artist Elliot Lee fuses dark pop melodies with edgy vocals and innovative electronic soundscapes to create an unpredictable sound, acting as a voice for the voiceless. With an admiration for the lulling alt-pop of artists like Billie Eilish and Lana Del Ray and the homegrown rebellion of Twenty One Pilots, Elliot Lee holds an awareness of what music that is unhindered by norms can do for the underrepresented. This bravado oozes through the cracks of her homemade music, with tracks that are laced with late-night-slumber-party confessions and existential cognizance. Having grown up in a nomadic lifestyle that carried her family around the country, Elliot Lee found stability in the universality of music.
Thematically, Elliot Lee’s music focuses on the concept of overthinking and how it can severely impact one’s ability to cope with life and its obstacles. “Each song is a representation of what was taking up the most space in my brain while I was writing the lyrics, and the writing process itself helps me to work through the issues instead of just quietly ruminating like I otherwise do”, admits Lee. Inspired by the feeling of loneliness, the music acts as a reminder that you are never alone.
‘Upside Down’ is about feeling like you are at the bottom of the world, always in the worst headspace and always running into obstacles in the path toward a fulfilling life, and wishing it could all be the exact opposite. The empowering track emits an uplifting feeling through its crispy beats and fast-paced vocals. ‘Dirt’ narrates frustration toward those who don’t understand how much music means to so many people. Elliot Lee confides, “When I was in LA briefly, the people I worked with didn’t understand or respect my message and my path, therefore getting in the way of my goals as an artist. Being told that no one is going to listen to my lyrics made me feel like dirt”. Featuring edgy instrumentation, feisty lyrics and layered gritty electronic sounds, the single truly packs a punch. ‘Good Bad Ugly’ breaks down the concept that our idols are all living perfect lives. It implores the listener to look inward and analyze what parts of themselves they’ve been hiding in order to seem like they’re okay, and also urges them to embrace all the parts of who they are because if they’re always fighting to be someone they’re not, they will lose themselves. “Our struggles don’t define us; we are all a mixture of good, bad, and ugly, just like everyone else”, explains Lee. Sonically the single showcases infectious lyrics, bright keys and shimmering synths.
With the desire to inspire others to stop being so hard on themselves for mistakes, failures and things that are out of their control, Elliot Lee has crafted a sound that she hopes will be the starting point for unity. Together, with her eccentric fashion style and unique sound, Elliot Lee is releasing her most authentic work to date. Having already garnered close to a million hits on Spotify alone, Elliot Lee is ready for the next chapter of her musical endeavor.
The sixteen-piece collective known as The Urban Renewal Project is back and doubling down on the live-band hiphop aesthetic that has set them apart from their jazz-funk and fusion contemporaries. Between coast-to-coast tour dates with rap legends Camp Lo and a transpacific festival appearance in Jakarta, Indonesia last year, the Los Angeles-based group has found time to record new material that explores an updated version of the Golden Era hiphop sound—infectious rap hooks, concentrated horn lines and a heavy dose of live drums—creating positive vibes just begging to be danced to. Long-time collaborator Elmer Demond and his laid-back flows are joined by the manic and unpredictable newcomer Slim da Reazon, as well as the band’s once-and-future bassist Dustin Morgan, a.k.a. Yung Jinja, now rocking the mic. The trio rhyme over instrumental grooves devised by bandleader R.W. Enoch and the group’s 13 instrumentalists while Alex Nester provides effortless soul, pop and funk vocals to complete the ensemble.
‘Red Eye’ is inspired by the bands tour to Indonesia where they performed at Java Jazz Festival in Jakarta. Elmer Demond and Slim da Reazon weave those Southeast Asian experiences together to paint a picture of late nights on the road with The Urban Renewal Project. Demond reveals, “We met some amazing people over there, and I studied with some local gamelan musicians and worked with them to record on authentic balinese instruments for elements of this track (‘gamelan’ is the local bahasa word for the Indonesian traditional orchestra)”.
‘Red Eye’ is from their forthcoming EP titled ‘Love Glory Duty Death’.
neillfrazer@hotmail.com
