Manchester outfit Sea Fever release their debut album ‘Folding Lines’ on (CD/DL), with its vinyl version following on October 29th on the band’s own label Sea Fever through Kartel Music Group. Stream ‘Folding Lines’ here.
The band announced a series of live shows to celebrate the album release, kicking off with a special album launch at Manchester’s Night & Day tonight october 22nd, before heading to London for an exclusive live in-store performance at Rough Trade East on Oct 29. Tickets available here. Sea Fever is a five piece collective fronted by Iwan Gronow (Haven, Johnny Marr) on vocals and guitars, alongside singer Beth Cassidy (Section 25), the collective also features New Order’s Tom Chapman and Phil Cunningham – with Tom on bass, guitars, synths and programming and Phil on guitars, while powering the band’s pulsing beats is Elliot Barlow.
Sea Fever explains that their coming together as a unit felt inevitable: “We’d wanted to work with each other for ages, so when we finally sat down in the studio, the band just seemed to come together naturally. It felt like we were really free to explore the kinds of music that have always inspired us, we dug right through the record crates of our minds to shape the sound of Sea Fever.”
Race Banyon shares ‘Ride This Out’, the b-side of his recently released single ‘Attention’, via EMK – the new electronic music platform launched by Kartel Music Group – Stream ‘Ride This Out’ here.
‘Ride This Out’, sees Race Banyon exploring cathartic euphoria and ‘crying on the dance floor’ emotional and soothing textures, representing his “longing for the club and human connection.” It’s the perfect flip side to the uplifting Chicago House-influenced ‘Attention’, whose energy, sprinkling pensive synth lines and club-ready banger qualities have been praised by Faze Magazine, Dummy and This Song Is Sick.
‘Ride This Out’ and ‘Attention’ follow on from the release of ‘EP 2’, a perfectly balanced body of work, singles including high tempo ‘Back & Forth’, the London In Stereo and Indie London-approved ‘Pressure Off’ and deep house R&B-tinged cut ‘We Need It’.featuring late-night cinematic synths, tech-house club constructions and propulsive beats, While his previous releases, including the single ‘Move With Us’ – taken from EP 1, saw support from the likes of Clash, which praised his “experimental take on melody and structure” to the work of Jon Hopkins and James Holden.
I love “Say My Name” because it flips the script on the traditional cheating narrative.
In a way, this classic Destiny’s Child track is saying ‘I know it’s happening, stop playing games – at least own it.’
Following my first two Trilogy EPs, I am reconnecting with the music of other artists and delivering these songs as my own. This is the first in a series of covers that I will be sharing ahead of Trilogy III’s release.
With “Say My Name,” I decided to bring a bit of a male perspective to this performance and have it hit a little harder with more grit and dirt on the production.
This song is soulful, unapologetic, and sexy. I’ve always been a massive fan of Destiny’s Child and hope you enjoy my interpretation of this iconic track!
My official cover of “Say My Name”is available to listen to now across platforms.
Thanks for taking the time to listen,
Theo Tams
NYC-based synth-pop trio, Moon Kissed, share their sophomore album, I’d Like To Tell You Something Important, today, and tonight they’ll celebrate at their sold-out album release party at Elsewhere in Brooklyn, NY. Along with the new album, the band are releasing a brand new music video for focus track, “Saturday Night,” today.
Vocalist Khaya Cohen says, “This album, like Moon Kissed itself, is meant to be taken and used as permission and a tool for coming into one’s own and feeling confident in one’s skin. Everyone should have their own journeys with the album and make it their own. For me (Khaya,) this album very much speaks to my experience as a woman. It starts out light and flirty, then gets angry, then gets broken down and sad, coming to terms with some harsh realities. It is very much a catharsis and healing to perform and experience for me.”
Giving some insight into focus track “Saturday Night,” Cohen says, “‘Saturday Night” was written in an attempt to wake up and experience life to the fullest. We live in the greatest city in the world, we are young and hot, we have one life and we’re going to live it. Every generation will live through their share of dark times, but the song wants to emphasize that every now and then letting loose, feeling free and alive, and connecting with each other through positivity is necessary. No more standing in the corner – we’re gonna make out with our friends and stay out until dawn – it’s Saturday Night after all.”
Soulful Chicago-based duo The O’My’s return with new single “Lonely”—their first release of the year and a teaser of more music to come later this fall via ADA / Warner Music Group. Singer-guitarist Maceo Vidal-Haymes and multi-instrumentalist Nick Hennessey celebrate intimate connection on the new track, while the upcoming body of work will further delve into the human experience, interaction and its absence.
“Lonely” has an inescapable warmth in its endearing sound. Written over a concentrated period of isolation during the pandemic, it channels their raw introspection and emotion into blissful motifs. The comforting falsetto harmonies sung by Vidal-Haymes glide over a gentle yet rich drum groove as tasteful brass instruments garnish the essence of the song. All these textures come together impeccably to embolden the duo’s message of community and compassion as Vidal-Haymes croons on the bridge, “You make me better than I ever was without you.”
Vidal-Haymes states, “Lonely is not simply a love song but an affirmation of the healing and transformative power of relationships and love. During the pandemic we learned to depend on and make space for ourselves. The isolation allowed for us to take away distractions and hone in on our intentions and identity. By that same token, the pandemic’s isolation forced us to not only reflect on ourselves but also on those people in our lives that bring us love, strength and compassion.” He adds, “We hope listeners take away the understanding that we cannot make it in this world alone. The work of living a good life starts within but needs companionship and community to flourish.”
Born in the very late 80’s, Joseph Dubuc-Lavoie grew up in the woods about an hour away from Montréal. Like most old enough country kids he moved into the big city for a while and then he went west and wild for a few years. No one knows what really went on over there. He left with a guitar and a few vocal ideas, then came back with a great electro-organic sound and a good amount of bass. Our DA, Jeff Moran, here at Ad Litteram fell upon the music through a friend and like him, we just loved his work right away.
So, to be perfectly honest, we don’t know much more than you do about Joseph.
You’ll think of Portishead or alt-J, if you need references. Joseph has that special touch, something that we call heartfelt electronic music. He works in his own studio and does everything by himself. We all wear Many Masks; one for each situation in life. Joseph seems to be most comfortable with all of them when he is left alone to create. Now the time has come to share his Many Masks with the world.
Like us, once you’ll get to know him, you won’t miss when you didn’t.
New York-based indie-pop artist Cade Hoppe is releasing his debut EP, ‘Tell Me How It’s Worth It.’ Working with producer Harper James (of Eighty Ninety), Cade has created a stunning 5-track EP that hits the sweet spot between hazy indie-rock and catchy pop.On ‘Tell Me How It’s Worth It,’ Cade’s distinct baritone vocals deliver meaningful vignettes of love, loss, transition, and desire with lyrics that wade through a gamut of emotions and experiences: he explores the pain of wanting someone or something you can’t have (“Loverly High”), taking blind leaps of faith (“On My Way Down”), unrequited love (“Click Boom Run”), not knowing how to say goodbye (“Borrowed Time”), and learning to accept love from those who love you just as you are (“Afterparty”).“At its core, ‘Tell Me How It’s Worth It’ is about leaving behind what’s no longer good for you in order to find what is,” Cade explains of the EP’s concept. “Each of the five songs play a different role in that process and an important thing to note is that the story isn’t exactly linear, because in my experience, the process of leaving someone or something for the greener grass is always messy. Each song came together a little bit differently—there are songs that were written right in the heat of a feeling while there are others that are written with a little more perspective after the fact. Ultimately, this group of songs made the most sense because they perfectly describe a heavy period of transition in my life.”
Delivering nothing but straight #GREEZE, Nottingham’s residing emcee, Snowy, has unveiled his highly anticipated 6-track EP, ‘SIRIUS’; a speckle of Grime packed with a fiery punch.
STREAM/DOWNLOAD: SNOWY – SIRIUS
As far as grime goes, it’s a continuous topic that’s sparks controversy from both the older generation and gen-z. Some may say it died out, however, Snowy is one of the many emcees that’s still pushing its vigorous energy and shell-worthy bars to the forefront of Black British music. Embodying nostalgia from the offset, the ‘SIRIUS’ EP houses skilful production from the likes of Massappeals, MoreNight, Jikay, MNKN 1st, Milan, Frost, and JackDat, all of which add their own modern-day spin to a genre that’s helped create our current landscape. From the pre-released bangers, ‘All That Matters’, ‘Reckeh’, and ‘Sezzin’, with guest appearances from Kyeza and FLYD4T, Snowy continues to solidify his reputable grit and versatility as he glazes elements of grime, garage, dubstep and trap into one seamless body of work.
RIAA platinum-certified indie-pop duo flora cash is proud to announce today’s release of their eagerly anticipated new album. our generation is available now via the Swedish/American band’s own Flower Money Records at all DSPs and streaming services; a limited-edition line of our generation fashion is available exclusively via www.floracash.com/merch. The physical versions of the album are planned for Spring 2022.
our generation includes such recent tracks as “soul mate,” “feeling so down,” “the bright lights,” “we used to laugh / 9 to 9,” and “a good childhood” each of which is streaming now on all digital platforms. The song “soul mate” has 6 million streams on Spotify and closing in on 1.5 million views on YouTube.
The story of flora cash coming together has been recounted many times, how Minneapolis-native Cole Randall uploaded his music to Soundcloud and caught the attention of Sweden-based Shpresa Lleshaj. The pair soon began playing music together, forming a relationship that would eventually blossom into marriage. What is less known is the difficult and unordinary childhoods both had to endure. Lleshaj’s family escaped the war in Kosovo. She and two other siblings, led by her mother and father, made their way north across the entirety of Europe; sometimes walking hours through endless fields in the pitch black of night before finally arriving and settling in, what was for them, a sort of Promise Land, in Sweden. In the States, Randall’s father was incarcerated when he was young. His mother worked her way through college and it was Cole’s grandfather who became his de facto father, whose advice that he should “aim high…cause 99 percent of the people never really live before they die,” is repeated throughout the new album’s powerful “a good childhood.”
Johnny Ashby is a British singer/songwriter based in Los Angeles, California. Ashby found a love for music through his Dad’s mixtapes. As a teen, he played guitar in various bands and after leaving college, stepped into the session world. Deciding to move to California with nothing but a suitcase full of clothes, a guitar he built himself and dreams of playing the legendary Troubadour, the songwriter dove in headfirst and has not looked back since.
His upcoming debut album Time Of Our Lives, is soaked in sincerity and authenticity, giving us a calm and meticulously produced collection of pop-indie tracks. Ashby’s influences such as The Lumineers, Noel Gallagher and John Mayer come rushing through, which he blends with ambient, ethereal sounds and guitar playing reminiscent of Radiohead, as well as the effortlessly cool, laid-back feel of Chet Faker. His sound is flooded with haunting but warm strings, familiar, acoustic, rhythmic strums, punchy drums and Ashby’s rich vocals which dance alongside gorgeous backing harmonies. Written and co-produced with Sebastian Fritze, Fredrik Eriksson and Bill Delia from the band Grizfolk, there is both tragedy, euphoria and fun mixed into the album, but with an overwhelming sense of the importance of living life to the fullest. Ashby confides, “This album has been a long time in the making! Being my first full-length record this feels like such a big part of me and artistically it shows a big part of who I am. I really wanted to break that barrier between myself and the listener and be as honest as I could be with these songs. It’s a little peek into what I’ve been feeling and who I am as an artist.”
Last night, BRIC, a leading contemporary, multi-disciplinary arts and media institution anchored in downtown Brooklyn, hosted the opening night of it’s annual BRIC JazzFest, one New York City’s premiere jazz showcases that brings together legendary figures, groundbreaking artists and newcomers stretching across the spectrum of jazz. This year’s BRIC JazzFest at BRIC House in the Ft. Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn is sold out for the first time in the festival’s seven-year history.
The festivities opened with a set by trumpeter and composer Adam O’Farrill, who is not only the son and grandson of music royalty, but a Brooklyn native. O’Farrill is one of the fastest rising young stars in creative music. In addition to his own band, he has done noteable sideman work with noted leaders like Mary Halvorson, Rudresh Mahanthappa, and Anna Webber. He previewed music from his upcoming recording, Visions of Your Other (Biophilia, November 12 release) in his set. O’Farrill’s music gently swelled and receded gradually drawing the listener in.
O’Farrill’s set in the Gallery was occasionally punctuated by additional trumpet pyrotechnics and powerful sounds coming from the adjacent Ballroom space where former Jazz at Lincoln Center trumpeter and noted jazz educator Sean Jones, now based in Baltimore, was leading a New York-based quartet through an enthusiastic set based on jazz standards with gospel inflections. The familiarity ran so deep that some attendees were playing air keyboards along with the group’s noted pianist Orrin Evans.
Another rising star, vibraphonist Sasha Berliner, originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, but a Brooklyn resident for the last five years, followed on the Gallery Stage, offering rambunctious, free-flowing music. In contrast to the quartet she led at BRIC JazzFest in 2019, she performed with a quintet featuring saxophonist Jaleel Shaw. Much of the music is from a new recording that she hopes to release this winter.
Rising star vibraphonist, composer & bandleader Sasha Berliner plays the opening night of BRIC JazzFest 2021 at BRIC House (photo by David Andrako)
The second act in the Ballroom was GRAMMY-winning vocalist Kurt Elling’s much-buzzed-about jazz-funk amalgam SuperBlue band featuring eight-string guitarist Charlie Hunter, known for his simultaneous combination of guitar comping and bass lines and numerous jazz-funk outfits of the past 30 years. For this special performance, ace drummer Nate Smith joined the proceedings, subbing for Butcher Brown’s Corey Fonville, who shares southern Virginia roots with Smith. Smith, an alumnus of BRIC JazzFest himself, whose recently-released second album See The Birds has been generating much buzz of its own, set the tone for the set with hard funky beats, over bluesy material, and boisterous scatting by Elling.
The closing set on the Gallery stage was by guitarist Yasser Tejeda, another up-and-coming player. Tejeda led a four-piece band through a variety of songs that highlighted both the versatility and power of Dominican rhythms. He was a different sort of guitar wizard sometimes playing atop intricate rhythmic figures and sometimes integrating his axe into them.
Vocalist Cecile McLorin Salvant poked around the audience during the early portions of the evening, but at 10:25, she and pianist Sullivan Fortner took the stage to close out the first night. The two have an easy rapport, often working out the set list on the spot, and deep complimentary chops. Salvant dramatizes every song, highlighting each plot twist and turn with her sweet high range and commanding low notes. Fortner played showstopping solos full of stride piano technique one moment and sometimes backed Salvant entirely by strumming the strings inside the piano. Yet for all of their passionate innovation, they vibed like they were playing on a stoop, not closing the first night of a major jazz festival. It was the Brooklyn spirit through and through.
Brooklyn has a long and storied history in jazz, and BRIC JazzFest builds on that tradition. Two of the music’s greatest legends grew up in the borough; pianist Randy Weston was born there in 1926 and drummer Max Roach moved to Kings County at age four in 1930. Both credited the vibrant music scene they encountered as youths with nurturing their sonic genius. The great trumpeters Freddie Hubbard and Lee Morgan held their clash of the titans, Night of the Cookers (Blue Note Records) at Club La Marchal in Crown Heights in 1965. And in the ‘80s, Fort Greene was the landing spot for a new wave of jazz innovators arriving from Chicago and New Orleans including the likes of Terence Blanchard, Lester Bowie, Donald Harrison, Joseph Jarman, and both Branford and Wynton Marsalis.
BRIC JazzFest will continue Oct. 22 and 23 at BRIC House featuring the likes of Sun Ra Arkestra, Nick Hakim, Fred Wesley and the new JBs, Thana Alexa: ONA, Linda Diaz, Madison McFerrin and more.
rising Philadelphia rapper Poundside Pop drops “BOGUARD,” a blistering new single that also features booming vocals from his fellow Philly native and mixtape legend DJ Drama. Listen to “BOGUARD” HERE.
Rapping over hammering percussion and climactic horns, Poundside issues ominous warnings to his competition, alongside vivid stories of his rise.“They ain’t let me in the game, I had to boguard,” he raps. “If you niggas think it’s sweet then I’ma show y’all.” DJ Drama, as always, makes his presence felt through foreboding adlibs that add to the ecstatic intensity of the track. “BOGUARD” fires off like a signal flare for the rest of the rap world—if they aren’t already familiar with the ascendant 22-year-old, it’s probably time to fix that.
With menacing bars, a knack for melody, and a confidence that’s as infectious as his hooks, Poundside has steadily carved a space in the Philly rap scene since unloading his 2017 song “O.S.S.,” an aggressive yet melodic tune powered by the authentic street energy of his native North Philadelphia. In the years since, he’s only continued to build momentum and develop his craft as a lucid, energetic rapper on projects like 2018’s OSS Soundtrack and 2020’s Wock and Roll. Over the years, he’s become a voice for trench survivors, block dwellers, and fellow rebels, and songs like “BOGUARD” prove he’s up to that responsibility—delivering anthem after anthem for listeners who, like him, have had to work to make it out of tough times.
