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INsiders Guide

INsiders Guide: Rence, AJ Mitchell, Alex Bent + the Emptiness, Halia Jack, Rebekah Hawker, Erin Bowman, Elephant Heart, Peyton List

Rence continues to create a bold blend of his own; he blurs the lines separating pop, alternative, indie, and hip-hop effortlessly. “Darkside” tows the line between organic acoustic guitar and glitch-y beats. His voices slips towards a fiery falsetto as he promises, “I’ve got a darkside, I save it for you.” Be on the lookout for the premiere of the music video very soon!

About the song, he commented, “‘Darkside’ is about who I am – or who I’m not – right now. I wrote it questioning the kind of person I’ve been and wondering at what point does that start to change. The song is real-time honesty, and even though I literally just wrote it, its core has been in my mind for a while. It feels so good to get it out.”

Meanwhile, his previous single “Expensive” [feat. Noah Cyrus] continues to make waves and turn heads. The song is nearing 3 million global streams, while the music video has amassed over 500K YouTube/VEVO views. Of the latter, Billboard wrote, “Though the beat is quite dynamic, with synths and a toe-tapping bass line, the clip takes a darker turn, following closely with the lyrical meaning.” He also recently spoke at length on this current chapter and more to come with Substream Magazine in addition to sitting down with ONS,The Knockturnal, and ECHO around his sold out live debut at Baby’s Alright in New York.

Right now, Rence is hard at work on his debut EP, coming very soon!

Visit the “Darkside” now.

Buzzing Illinois-born singer and songwriter AJ Mitchell releases his brand new Slow Dance EP.

He paved the way for the EP with the singles “Talk So Much,” “Move On,” and the title track “Slow Dance” [featuring Ava Max]. An epic duet of rapidly rising pop stars, the latter already amassed 3.5 million total streams and attracted critical praise right out of the gate. Additionally, the four-track project includes the upbeat new anthem “Out My Mind,” which vaults into a high-energy hook and showcases his impressive range.

AJ previewed the EP during a special New York City Slow Dance release party for tastemakers, peers, and friends this week.

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Slow Dance fuels AJ Mitchell’s ascent to pop stardom. Be sure to tune in to this year’s MTV Video Music Awards on Monday, August 26th to see a special performance from the rising artist himself and stay tuned for more big news soon.

2019 has shaped up to be a breakout year for Mitchell. Amassing 40 million-plus streams since just January, he served up a string of scorching singles, including “All My Friends,” “Talk So Much,” “Move On,” and “After Hours” with Nina Nesbitt. In addition to features by Billboard, Just Jared, JR., Idolator, and more,Seventeen predicted, “your soon-to-be-favorite album.” Not to mention, he packed gigs across the country, delivering one unforgettable performance after another. Most recently, AJ was announced as one of Vevo’s newest LIFT acts of 2019, a coveted slot previously given to artists such as Sam Smith, Halsey, Khalid and Billie Eilish.

Singer-songwriter Alex Bent has released his latest album as Alex Bent + the Emptiness. Baby marks the follow-up to his Vanilla Blue EP from last year, and it hears him working with Brockhampton collaborator Jack Larsen, producer Connor Barkhouse and  Samurai Champs’ Merv xx Gotti and Jeah.

Baby was supposed to be a love letter to someone, but ended up being one to myself,” Bent told Exclaim!

Halia Jack will have you spellbound with her brand new lyric video ‘Threw it Away’. Enriched with an eclectic landscape “Threw It Away“ possess’s all that is right in Soulful Pop – It attacks and breaks in all the right places. An incredible vocalist with a one of a kind sound Halia’s voice is magnetic and she draws such emotion through every word she sings. 

‘Threw it Away’ compartmentalises the fragments of a relationship as the ex comes back into the picture and is eloquently pieced together as it deals with unsaid feelings about the situation. A wordsmith at heart Halia channels all the emotions into an uplifting powerful track. Echoing an old school vibe to the track, think TLC and Janet Jackson, ‘Threw it Away’ pays homage to 90s RnB, whilst giving it a contemporary twist. 

Steeped with heart and soul Halia Jack’s music is both authentic and unapologetic at the same time and her tracks are a pathway to her innermost thoughts and she isn’t afraid to share. ‘Threw it Away’ is the second piece of the puzzle and follows her single ‘Waited Long Enough’, taken from her forthcoming project ‘Dreamland’. The project formulates and incredible body of work fuelled with an open honesty when it comes to matters of the heart and showcases her growth not only as an artist but as a person. 

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Already on the radar of music gatekeepers including Pop Justice and The 405, Halia Jack is destined for great things. Reconstructing the DNA of pop music Halia is carving out her own identity and ‘Dreamland’ is a true reflection of that. The infectious melodies and introspective lyricism effortlessly marry together to form a mesmerising body of work.

Arguably, the defining characteristics of a modern musical artist with breakout potential are aesthetic in nature. Carefully chosen fonts are assigned to enigmatic monikers and pseudonyms; vowels optional, excessive punctuation encouraged. In this environment meticulous stage curation is a limiting factor, with the correct fabric and lighting acting as key nutrients for rapid stage eutrophication. Rebekah Hawker’s defining characteristic is that she, inarguably, needs no such frivolities to capture and hold one’s attention.

The ability to command an audience is a quality that most of us do not possess and yet every great performer must. And it is in her contrasts that Rebekah Hawker manages to achieve this perfectly. On one hand her lyrics and melodies are a serious affair, evoking powerful images that resonate unbiasedly. They can be fierce or they can be fragile, but they can never be taken lightly. They speak of a life lived, not imagined, giving an authenticity to the ups and downs strewn throughout her musical tales. Yet on the other hand, her audience interaction and stage persona are so wonderfully light and refreshing that she transforms what could be a sombre experience in a joyful, cathartic journey. Humble, self deprecating, earnest and consistently hilarious, she smiles often and easy, and it takes only one look through a typical crowd to see that it’s contagious. Sometimes, a performer can be said to never leave a dry eye in the house. With Rebekah, there is never a frown.

There is an undeniable sense when watching her perform that you’ve been gifted that rare chance to see an artist before they were famous. Someone you will tell your friends and colleagues about, subtly bragging years later that you were there first. Yet in describing her, it’s always with a slight vagueness and allegory. It is so easy to liken and compare her to artists we hold dear to our hearts, in more of a spiritual homage than direct similarity, for though Rebekah may be singular we can all find something familiar and comforting within her music. She coaxes out vivid memories and emotions, her music amorphously accompanying them as though there all along. Somehow, Rebekah Hawker exists as part of our past, present, and undoubtedly our future. Are you listening?

Rebekah Hawker is a country folk singer-songwriter from Barrie, Ontario, that city you drive through on your way to the cottage. She sounds like an equal-parts mix of the following artists: Kathleen Edwards, Joni Mitchell, Kacey Musgraves, Patsy Cline and Martha Wainwright. She has played in venues across Canada, most recently as an artist on the Via Rail Train. You can catch her on tour this summer in support of her debut EP, ‘Careful Women,’ out August 23rd.

Singer-songwriter, Erin Bowman, is thrilled to announce her debut EP,Apartment 101, to be released on November 1st. Erin has released the second single “Something to Say” which is out now and featured on Atwood Magazine. The EP will also feature her already released single “There You Go Again” that hit the Top 10 on Sirius XM this summer

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“I felt like I was lost but I needed to figure it out myself,” Bowman says. “It’s hard to be going through a tough time and have advice and comments thrown at you from every direction. I felt like people could tell I wasn’t myself and I became super aware of that and that made it worse. All I wanted was to be ok and that can take some time. In the bridge I sing “or is this just a passing thing?” It’s been over a year since I wrote that song and I’m happy to say it turns out it was just a passing thing.”

In support of her new EP, Erin is also announcing a unique national U.S. Indie Music Store Tour. Admission to the in-store performances are free, and Erin’s debut EP ‘Apartment 101’ will be available exclusively on CD at the performance to purchase before the digital release on November 1st. The tour is partnered with Music Choice and Xprnc Media who will be capturing her first performance at Fingerprints in Long Beach, CA on a five camera shoot for future release.  See all tour dates below. More dates to be announced.

Michael Fitts, President of Xprnc Media, says, “We are excited to partner with Erin Bowman in marketing her tour on our digital screens across the US and by capturing her tour launch in-store performance at Fingerprints for later broadcast on our network.”

In the coming week, Erin will be the Featured Artist for the MLB Network featuring the song “There You Go Again” that will run on ‘MLB Central’, ‘MLB Tonight’ ‘Quick Pick’ MLB Network Showcase’, ‘Plays of The Week’ & ‘Play Ball’.

‘2019 called for a new musical direction for Erin Bowman. After the success of her release “Good Time Good Life,” (a debut performance on Good Morning America, closing out the 2017 Radio Disney Music Awards, and placements including Target, Beaches Resort, Academy Awards(Oscar’s) promo, and countless others) Bowman found herself working on music with a slightly different sound. Recorded in London and scheduled to be released on November 1, 2019, ‘Apartment 101’ is a lyrically driven, wearing her heart on her sleeve 8 song debut EP. With a series of YouTube videos Bowman will give an intro video to each of the 8 songs from her very own apartment: Apartment 101.

(Photo credit: Dorian Drislane)

Los Angeles, electronic duo, Elephant Heart’s new single, “The Digital” is out now and the music video is featured exclusively on Your EDM

The Digital” will be featured on the upcoming Elephant Heart debut album along with the already released tracks “Lenguas” “HIYA” and “WARFARE.”

The duo says, “Humans are interesting creatures. Since the beginning of time, we’ve made Kings and Queens. We follow the leader. It’s just what we do. But people who have the power to change the world are not just the politicians…. the Kings and Queens of pop culture influence the world. People are watching, listening and imitating.”

Call it musical serendipity. Call it spiritual harmony. Call it human oneness. However you label it, there’s a certain aura to Elephant Heart, Los Angeles’s duo who are on a mission to spread universal love and positivity through their genre-bending music and uplifting message.

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Officially formed in 2016, Elephant Heart is a world electronic collective started by married couple Jason and Victoria Evigan. Rooted in their shared passion for international travels, world beats and global cultures, as well as their nonprofit organization Picture This, founded in 2014, Elephant Heart creates genre-bending music that pulls multicultural influences from far and wide. A collaborative creative unit, Elephant Heart combines the studio prowess of Jason, an award-winning singer/songwriter/producer who’s worked with Madonna, Maroon 5, David Guetta, RÜFÜS DU SOL, ZHU and Ellie Goulding, and Victoria, who serves as the group’s vocalist, songwriter, lyricist and producer.

Elephant Heart first broke out with their debut double-single “HIYA” and “WARFARE,” released in June 2018 on their independent imprint, Chumba Music. An inspiring love song about truth, “HIYA” is an uplifting “worship chant” featuring hypnotizing vocals, bright melodies and an empowering chorus. A dark yet bouncy East-meets-West fusion, “WARFARE” blends electronic components with world bass elements and exotic percussions, while addressing the issues of mental illness and the global suicide epidemic in its context.

Love is at the core of everything to do with Elephant Heart. It’s what’s driven Jason and Victoria to create an ever-evolving project aimed at promoting global awareness and enacting positive change in the world we all share. What once started as a dream between two partners today stands as a global community of like-minded individuals creating music, visual art, global collaborations and impact projects that celebrate creativity for the sake of creativity. And with new music in tow, the couple now enters the next chapter in the ongoing Elephant Heart story with full hearts and open minds.

This is Peyton List‘s debut music video and she was really in the driver seat for the entire video production process. She directed and produced and conceptualized the creative behind each scene. Having a visual and telling a dramatized story behind the song was an incredible experience for the actress and vocalist.

The 21-year-old media darling, who has over 16 million followers on Instagram alone has appeared on magazine covers, in national fashion ads, starred in feature films and has even hosted an event at the White House. You may know Peyton List on the fan-favorite Disney’s Jessie and Bunk’d .

The beauty brand TOO FACED, was weaved in throughout Peyton’s music video. It fit the video’s aesthetic, and was a great prop for most of the video.

Peyton is the face of the brand’s “better than sex” eyeliner so the actress and vocalist, naturally incorporated the brand into the video to identify her on-going commitment as their brand ambassador.

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neillfrazer@hotmail.com

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