INsiders Guide

INsiders Guide: Elohim (feat. Wiz Khalifa), Soaware, Devin Kennedy, NOA, Dani Ivory, Cody Lovaas, Cat Turner, Colour of the Jungle, Raised on TV, Close Talker, Saint Slumber and Elliot Lee

Los Angeles artist / producer Elohim has released the official video for her new collaboration with Wiz Khalifa on single “FYM.” The song released last month via 12 Tone Music here and stems from a personal story which Elohim describes, “My mom always told me we were rich in love instead of money. It never made sense until now. Love is completely invaluable and the reason we are all here. I am grateful to have Wiz on this record. He embodies a true icon that is full of love.”

Describing the filming of the video, Elohim adds, “I flew in from tour for 24 hours to shoot this video and it was the best experience. such an amazing team and wiz is the kindest soul. sharing love and light is my goal in life, being surrounded by it is a special surprise.”

Italian alt/electro-rock duo Soaware unveil their video, IBehold,” ahead of their debut self-titled album, due out July 12, 2019. “Soaware amalgamates heavier ‘90s grunge sonics with swirling ‘80s-related synths scintillation on their music.” (Rebel Noise). The track is “a great example of the mix of emotions you’ll hear on Soaware’s debut.” (Pure Grain Audio) “SOAWARE are helping people win over their own demons.” (Metal Nexus)The song details the woes of unrequited love and the pains of falling in love. Combining eclectic rock and electronic elements, Soaware have created an immersive piece that echoes the intense emotions of its writers.

(Photo Credit: Matthew Peters)

Devin Kennedy adds another track to his hit list on blissed-out new single, “No Worries.”  The Berklee College of Music graduate has seen rapid success since his string of singles in 2018. These days, his music is everywhere, with successful rotation on Los Angeles radio stations as well as features on “Today At Apple Playlist” in Apple stores nationwide, and BMI’s Music Monday. He’s partnered with “’Steereo’ to stream his music for over 100k listening minutes in Lyfts and Uber’s across the U.S. In 2018, he was awarded “Best New Emerging Artist” by Hollywood Music in Media and sold-out his first headlining show at Los Angeles’ Peppermint Club LA.  Hard at work on new music, he calls his new single “No Worries” one of his favorite songs yet.

Devin Kennedy’s chill “No Worries” is an anthem for the anti-FOMO crowd. Written and produced by Kennedy, the lite-R&B track glistens to a cool groove, the perfect backdrop for Kennedy’s wistful falsetto and soulful aesthetic. All about settling into the quiet of a moment with the one you love, “No Worries” is the perfect soundtrack to a romantic night in or a quiet dinner with friends and family. The bossanova-infused groove and layered vocals build an atmosphere of relaxation, reminding us all to be in the moment and let go of negative influences. Devin Kennedy uses his flawless songwriting and memorable sound to craft this soulful summer night single, “No Worries.” 

(Photo Credit: Dortas Photography)

NOA is a Toronto-born, pop singer-songwriter who’s about to take the music industry by storm. NOA’s music blends vibrant, catchy melodies with resonant emotional themes — from relationships to female empowerment and self-realization. All the while, NOA’s artistic voice maintains a fun, lighthearted tone that helps lift her fans above the noise and negativity of everyday life.

NOA was recently on Season 2 of CTV’s hit show ‘The Launch’ where she worked with Scott Borchetta (Big Machine Records) and the legendary Ryan Tedder (One Republic). She has already been featured in some of the most-read publications in the world including Rolling Stone, E-talk and Buzzfeed. NOA’s dedicated fans have followed her to sold out shows from Toronto’s Drake Hotel to Los Angeles’s Hotel Cafe, and the community grows everyday. After a year in Los Angeles filled with songwriting and honing her sound as an artist, the 22 year old songstress is ready to share her voice with the world.

Her new single “Hypocritical” blends vibrant, catchy pop melodies with resonant emotions all the while remaining fun and lighthearted.

Dani Ivory hails from Pittsburgh, PA and is now in Nashville TN where she lives with her husband and new baby. Her abilities as a  singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist are unmatched in comparison to some other artist out there. With her brilliant musical talents her resume is quite impressive, with  having played for several of the today’s top artists in the music industry Beyonce, Imagine Dragons, 2NE1, Rhye just to Name a few. Dani is now undertaking her own original music. Taking  Influence by her vast array of musical tastes from RNB, soul, Pop Dance and EDM her first hit BLACKOUT from the upcoming album, DREAMLAND, set for release in 2019.

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Her NEW Song Little White Lie  in her own words….. “White Lie came on my Vintage 1976 Fender Rhodes one late night while I was still living in Los Angeles…I pretty much wrote the entire verse and pre-chorus in a few minutes with the chords.  I believe I had just learned a Stevie Wonder song “Love is in Need of Love Today” that day and the chord changes were one of the sources of inspiration for this song.  Another source of inspiration was my contemplation of how people (myself included) in Hollywood and Los Angeles tend to sugar coat the truth, after all, its HOLLYWOOD!  A lot of people say what you want to hear to skate over the surface avoiding any type of conflict or even sometimes trick another person into thinking something they’re not.  I too was also guilty of this from time to time.  So this is kind of an ode to wanting to get out of this bad habit.  I couldn’t tell you how many people told me “fake it ’til you make it” in that town and I had never heard it until I got there.  The Bridge draws inspiration from Fleetwood Mac andJ Dilla stylistically.”

Cody Lovaas has simple and confessional lyrics in soulful vocals, melodic acoustic performances, and smooth pop production. Lovaas plays with the boundaries of pop, acoustic, and electronic music, crafting a variant that retains pop’s effortless melodies while exchanging the genre’s cosmetic compositions for sincere and wistful love stories.

Lovaas’s records have premiered on Billboard, Idolator, Culture Collide, Ones to Watch and We Found New Music just to name a few. In 2017, he released his debut single, “Lie,” which garnered over 5MM plays and appeared on Spotify’s Chill Vibes and Pop Chillout playlists. The following year, he dropped “Find,” a single produced with artists Shallou and Kasbo that reached 16MM streams. His most recent single, “Prove It,” earned 3MM streams and a place on Starbuck’s Coffeehouse playlist. The releases, added to in-store playlists across thirty-three major retail chains internationally, propelled him into video sessions with iHeart/Z100, Daytrotter and PopDust. Lovaas was fourteen and performing at an intimate open mic in his beachside hometown of Carlsbad, CA, when he caught the attention of Jason Mraz, who promptly began to mentor him and develop him as his protégé. Lovaas quickly emerged as an intuitive and prolific songwriter. Throughout his teenage years, he found his way up the coast and into studio sessions in Los Angeles. By writing hundreds of songs before the age of twenty, Lovaas cultivated an honest and impressionistic style. Today, his writing draws on a youth spent falling in and out of love in a small beach town and demonstrates the restraint and maturity of a seasoned artist. Now he releasing his music video  for the track “Love No More”

 

CAT TURNER returns with her new EP release ‘Situation: A Need for More’. The electro-synth artist first made waves with her debut EP receiving national airplay and drawing comparisons to artists like Grimes and Tove Lo. Her Clash Music-approved single ‘Waster’ saw her unpicking the complexities of millennial relationships, and live performances have included the Electric Picnic festival and slots with fellow ones-to-watch Pillow Queens.

Turner has won praise for her goth-pop sound, complete with her distinctive raw vocals and driving synths. She was recommended by Hot Press in their ‘Hot for 2019’ list, signalling the Galway-based singer-producer as one of the most promising voices on the Irish music scene and ‘Situation’ marks an ever-growing confidence for this exciting young artist. As always, there is a real sense of honesty with the lyricism on the new single as Turner dissects her own experiences –

“It’s a song about everything I’m not doing. I’m very driven and tend to get into my own bubble in life. It burst a little recently and I realised I was really missing out on a lot in life and generally just in what was going on around me. The song is that realisation and trying to figure out what to do with that.”

Colour of the Jungle are a five-piece rock band, whose captivating songwriting and raucous energy has been resonating with audiences from Munich to the South coast of England. Their catchy-but-emotional, approachable-yet-raw sound is built upon sexy bass-driven rhythms and edgy instrumentation, creating music that sticks in the head and the heart.

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The group of five friends initially started jamming for fun before swiftly moving to the studio where they soon discovered their true potential and recorded their debut EP The Jungle Book. The four-track release perfectly captured the complex basslines of John Harris, confident drum beats of Dan Fiford, rhythmic riff and leads of Joe Costello and Brendan McVeagh, and intriguing lyrics of Jack Evans.

Their latest single ‘Steel Tray’ narrates pushing through tough times, when you feel the world is against you. Evans’ gritty vocals sing about the current status of societal issues and how life can often feel like you’re swimming upstream. Strutting with confidence, the single features jangly guitars and stomping percussion, all underpinned by an infectious and sun-soaked melody. Inspired by iconic rock and roll greats such as Kings of Leon, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and The Growlers, Colour of the Jungle are sculpting their own identity of modern garage rock with the release of ‘Steel Tray’ currently available worldwide.  

Los Angeles alternative rock trio, Raised on TV is comprised of two brothers and their high school friend. Keaton Rogers (guitar, vocals), Kacey Greenwood (drums) and Ryan Weiss (bass) combine their energetic, driving, and melodic sound, pulling influences from many 60s and 90s rock bands and fuse it all together to make something that is uniquely their own. Following the release of their debut full length album Season 1, which detailed growing up and the journey into adulthood, the band are soon to be releasing their highly anticipated sophomore album Season 2. The second instalment of their work, which was completed at Dave Grohl’s esteemed 606 Studios and Ethan Kaufmann’s Elephant in the Room in Hollywood, focuses on a different stage of life. The band reveal, “It’s beyond adolescence and teen angst. There’s still some angst, but maybe that angst is more adult? Dealing with financial struggles, relationship struggles, losing friends, etc”.

Leading single ‘Soul on Fire’ narrates rediscovering one’s self in the midst of the digital age. “It’s about the fantasy of throwing your cell phone literally out the window, which is one of the lines in the song, and not caring whatsoever, which has become so hard to imagine”. The idea of disconnecting from the internet and all it entails, only to reconnect with your truest self. The idea of letting go of that dependency we now have as human beings to cell phones and the internet. Sonically ‘Soul on Fire’ bursts with adrenaline while maintaining a sense of self-reflection. Built upon multiple layers, the track narrates a traditional and infectious rock feel. The dreamesque verses lead you down a rabbit hole of self-introspection, giving you an insight into what to expect from Season 2.  

The authenticity of the band is shown through the use of organic instruments, Rogers reveals,  “We wanted the single to sound like we sound in the garage, or on stage, to have that live feel, but to also have that attention to detail”. With influences ranging from the classic rock of the 60s and 70s such as The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and The Who, to more recent great rock bands like Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins and Foo Fighters, the three-piece have created a sound of equal capacity. A sound with enough energy and life that can engage crowds and make people move.

Raised on TV have seen success having played numerous festivals and sold-out audiences at tours across the States. They have also opened for established acts such as Jefferson Starship and Marcy Playground. Having garnered notable Spotify playlists and extensive media acclaim, Raised on TV are now gearing up to get back on the road for “The Off the Couch Summer Tour of 2019”, where they will be playing across America and Canada. ‘Soul on Fire’ is currently available worldwide.

(Photo Credit: Ben Giesberecht)

Canadian indie rock trio, Close Talker are thrilled release their new single, “Pace.” “Pace” is third single, off their new album, How Do We Stay Hereto be released August 30th. The band has also released the songs, “Half Past Nine” and “The Change It Brings.”

The band describes the song as, “’Pace’ is about fearing your friends will grow up long before you are ready to. It’s about people in your inner circle moving on without you, and beginning to ask the question “whose side are you on?” It gives a voice to growing pains, where you start to see your friendships, like everything else, fall victim to time. The video was directed by Ben Giesbrecht in Florencia Bay, BC. In most cases, our videos are slow paced, serious, and ambiguous. For this one, we threw all of that out the window and made something completely spontaneous. Taking a step back, I think itcaptures a lot of what this song is trying to say, which is to still remember the times when you didn’t care about having it all together.”

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In support of their new music, Close Talker will be touring all around North America and Canada. They are set to premiere North America’s first ever 3D – 360 degree Silent Headphone Concert Series. The band will be collaborating with visual artists in each city and performing their new album, front to back, all to a seated audience wearing headphones. The audience will be experiencing real time 3D mixing, putting each listener in the middle of the band, hearing instruments and voices swirling around them. Collaborating with esteemed galleries and art institutions across Canada, the band is excited for their music to be experienced in an inclusive and multi sensational context. This will allow the audience to lose itself in both the immersive audio and the live visual components. Close Talker is fully pioneering this new genre of live music and is excited to utilize this technology in a meaningful and communal way.

Alt-Pop band, Saint Slumber are thrilled to unveil the music video to their single, “MANTRA” that is being featured in Affinity Magazine and Indie 88.MANTRA” is off their new EP and last chapter of their Trilogy, YOUTH//3to be released August 16thYOUTH//3 will continue to tell the trilogy’s story of the trials, tribulations, growth and celebrations of the youth coming into their own. 

The band says, “As the official visual to kick off the YOUTH//3 album cycle, we had such a good time filming MANTRA.  We wanted to create something bold and stark: a visual that strongly represented the duality that the song itself speaks about, and we’re so excited to finally share it with you”.

With the goal of breaking a full-length album into three parts, both YOUTH//1 (Red) and YOUTH//2 (Blue) The previous EPs were met with an outpour of press and industry support which garnered coverage from BillboardEarmilkAlternative PressNylon and other prominent media outlets throughout their respective campaigns. In 2018 the band played a handful of iHeartRadio Music Festivals in Philadelphia, PA sharing the stage with artists such as 30 Seconds to MarsWalk the MoonPortugal. the ManThe Struts, and more! The band wrapped up their 2018 touring schedule with an East Coast / Midwest run with Young Rising Sons and then headed straight into the studio shortly thereafter to begin recording YOUTH// 3 with producer Nicholas Goncalves of 8 Graves.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixt08C46_V8

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.

Now, as a self-taught adult with a clear vision, Elliot Lee is on a mission to destigmatize honesty, delivering listeners with an outlet to speak candidly about their struggles and highlighting that we are never alone in whatever we are going through. Elliot Lee reveals, “It feels so satisfying to wrap up uncomfortable messages in pretty, stomachable packages that make people want to dance and sing but also low-key cry about all of the sadness in the world at the same time”. 

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. 

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‘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.  

neillfrazer@hotmail.com

 

 

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