C9 Entertainment’s latest single album features their artists CIX, EPEX, Cignature, Younha, and Lee Seok Hoon. The single album includes three tracks: “Merry Merry Christmas”, “Santa knows that”, and “New Year’s Eve”. They also released a music video for “Merry Merry Christmas” which will surely brighten your holiday spirits.
Irish electro-crooner PERRY BLAKE has unveiled new single “Death of a Society Girl”, the first bit of new music from the artist since 2020.
WATCH VIDEO HERE || STREAM / BUY HERE
An ambient and atmospheric track that blends swirling electronics with gently babbling synths and Blake’s token trademark silky sleek vocals, the new track also features actor Paul McGann (Withnail & I, Doctor Who).
Showcasing his knack for creating swelling soundscapes that are eerie and extravagant all at once, the track also comes complete with two new remixes: the Inertia Remix, a buzzing deep house cut that tips Blake’s usual brand of melancholia on its head, and the Cinematic Remix by KomestiQ & Will Kelsey.
Born in County Sligo, North West Ireland, Perry Blake released his eponymous debut album in 1998 to massive critical acclaim across Europe. Dubbed “one of the best debut’s in ages” by Q Magazine, the record became a bestseller in France and established Blake as one of the most highly regarded singer-songwriters in Europe.
Forging his own style of delicate, downtempo music with melancholic style and a soft singing voice, Blake has seven studio albums under his belt including 1999’s ‘Still Life’ (containing contributions from Steve Jansen) and 2002’s ‘California’ (co-produced with Italian composer Marco Sabiu and featuring Dickon Hinchliffe of Tindersticks and ex-Prefab Sprout drummer Neil Conti).
Citing the likes of Leonard Cohen, David Sylvian, Scott Walker and Nick Drake as musical influences, Blake’s music has been used to soundtrack two french films ‘Presque rien’ and ‘Trois Petites Filles’ and he has collaborated with the likes of Françoise Hardy and Émilie Simon.
His music has been praised by Uncut, The Sunday Times, Q Magazine and more, with Hot Press praising his 2019 LP ‘Songs of Praise’ as “a resilient rebirth”.
Acclaimed singer-songwriter Waiting For Smith has unveiled the stunning video for “Heal”, the latest track to be taken from the Amsterdam-based Londoner’s new six-track EP Trying Not To Try which was produced and co-written by Dane Etteridge (Lewis Capaldi, Declan J Donovan, & StLundi and is out now.
The themes of Trying Not To Try are centred around mental health and becoming. If that sounds like heavy going, it most certainly isn’t; Lloyd tackles these subjects with lightness and optimism, with pin-sharp melodies and hooks that are instant earworms. The songwriter shares, “Over the past few years I’ve been on a real search to explore my mind while pursuing music, beginning with a year in bed after an accident. I read and watched everything I could to be inspired. I tried many forms of therapy and healing in search of a calmer approach to life’s ups and downs – realising I couldn’t control my life but I could control how I reacted to it. The EP came out of those early discoveries of philosophy, meditation and The Tao Te Ching. This all helped to find out what I was looking for: Ask for it, and then let go of the outcome. And that is the meaning of Trying Not To Try”.
For the video for “Heal”, Waiting For Smith sat in a studio meditating for 8 hours throughout the day, while out on a nearby street passers-by were asked the question: What is it that you would like to heal? They were then invited to write their answers on his body. People from all nationalities, all backgrounds and around 17 languages were involved. The idea was that a non-judgemental and still presence would present the perfect canvas to be written on, and by being listened to and heard these volunteers were able to let go of what they didn’t need.
Waiting For Smith is Harry Lloyd, who decided to dedicate his life to music after breaking his back aged 24 and spending a year in recovery. He had always been musical – Lloyd began writing songs aged 7 and has been playing drums and piano since the same age – but finding himself bedbound for a year he learned the guitar and, after finding comfort in poetry, started writing songs with a renewed sense of purpose. Once mobile again Lloyd formed Waiting for Smith, named after endlessly waiting for their original drummer Smith, who always failed to show up.
Stefano is a singer, songwriter and piano virtuoso who fuses soul, pop and classical for an enthralling musical journey. The talented songwriter’s music is marked by hope, love and connection in the aim to heal.
Born in Italy, Stefano took to music at an early age and began classical piano training at age seven. He quickly gained notoriety by performing on popular Italian TV shows, and since then has collaborated with famed songwriters, as well as the famed director Franco Zeffirelli. Honing his craft further, the musician and singer has ultimately composed and scored motion picture soundtracks under the guidance of award-winning filmmaker Jamal Joseph.
2019 marked the beginning of his solo project, when Stefano began collaborating with famed producer Chico Bennett (Madonna, Lady Gaga, The Killers, Prince). His debut single “Prayer” highlights the songwriter’s warm and confessional vocals brimming with such passion, and yet such delicate vibrato tones. Stefano’s otherworldly vocal delivery glides with memorable melodies over intimate piano. The moving lyrics detail the act of loving again after hardship and disconnection. With comparisons to Sam Smith, Andrea Bocelli, and Michael Bublé, “Prayer” marked a graceful and exciting debut for this generational artist on the rise.
In Stefano’s single “We Are The Power,” the songwriter invites us all to take part in healing the world together. The glorious composition features soulful vocals, a soaring melody, and a vivacious chorus complete with a gospel choir for a most heartfelt demonstration of love, optimism, and vitality. “Find My Way” was born as a musical tribute to the Motown world that has been highly influential to Stefano’s musical taste and sound since he was a young child. Thematically, the song was inspired by his mother, who raised Stefano to pursue big dreams and share his gifts with strength, patience, and heartfelt dedication. “False Horizon” is a festival inspired song featuring stylistic tangents of iconic California desert vintage, while “Don’t Say Goodbye” is a song that puts a spotlight on second chances in life and relationships.
It’s been seven strange years since The Veils’ last studio album Total Depravity, and Finn Andrews has a new double LP to show for it. …And Out Of The Void Came Love is the result of this tumultuous period of injury, isolation and new life…
“Time is a tempest tearing you apart
Time has a well-known distrust of the heart.”
Following the release of Total Depravity, Andrews released a solo album and began a worldwide tour. One night, while lashing out at a particularly intense moment on piano, he broke his wrist on stage. “It sounds wild and Jerry Lee Lewis-esque, but it was an absolute fucking nightmare,” Andrews says. He played on and finished the rest of the tour, but it wasn’t until he got it examined much later that he realized what a bad move that was. “The scaphoid bone in my wrist had died, which I didn’t know was possible. My sister said that at least it was a really ‘on brand’ injury for me.”
Finn’s convalescence meant a lengthy hiatus from touring, so he did what he does best and stayed at home and wrote songs. “I was in a cast and couldn’t use my right hand. I sang the melody lines, then recorded the right hand piano part, then the left hand part. It might have been an interesting, avant-garde process if it wasn’t also just profoundly annoying.”
“I speak to the darkness and I vent to the void
I fill in the sad bits with the parts I enjoyed”
Just when his hand had healed sufficiently for him to play again, The Veils found themselves in need of a new record label but Finn set about starting to make a new record regardless. Producer Tom Healy invited Finn to his small studio underneath the old Crystal Palace ballroom in Mount Eden, and they listened through the legions of songs he had amassed throughout the previous year.
“Tom was incredibly patient, it was a really laborious process – I brought a lot of junk down there and we had to sift through it all to try and find the parts worth saving.”
Following another two years of intermittent recording between lockdowns, Finn’s wife became pregnant, and yet more songs started coming.
The Pink Grenade EP glistens with echoing vocal energy, dreamy synthesizers, grungy acoustic guitar and an obnoxious in your face 808 basslines and some overly aggressive electric guitars. “alt-hop lo-fi shoegaze indie punk. Fuxk a genre”, she says. “I just try to find stories and beauty in everything. Photography and film inspire me just as much as music does.” Raised on the music of Nirvana, No Doubt, Linkin Park, Kid Cudi Rihanna and Paramore, LESS KILLJOY always found inspiration in music of all kinds but the one thing that kept her coming back to her favorite artists was always the shared experience of an artist with their fans. “I can’t begin to count the number of times music has been my escape and my way of communicating. I truly don’t know any other way and if I can connect with even one person in a positive way I think I’ve won”.
You can expect an overload of honesty, self-help therapy songs on LESS KILLJOY’s freshmen EP. She shares the truth about growing up in the suburbs, losing friends, coping with depression, loneliness, bullying, all while living with secrets… like being in love with girls. Being an only child and living in a place where she felt like no one understood her definitely shaped LESS KILLJOY “the writer” and having nothing better to do than play guitar/drums/piano and go to concerts definitely made her into the energetic live performer she is today.
Unapologetically exploring themes of self-evaluation and acceptance, she says, “I want people that listen, to somehow feel like they’re being seen and accepted for exactly who they are. As an artist I’m trying to be fearless with what I share with the world. I don’t want to hide my true feelings about life and the world I live in. I want to be me on and off stage. Authenticity shouldn’t be a selling point in an artist bio… it should be a prerequisite for making music. We all have a voice inside us, the only way I can fail is to ignore that voice. I did that for too long.”
LESS KILLJOY hopes to build a community of people who feel safe around one another, despite their race, gender, sexuality, age, or socioeconomic status, her raw honesty and true passion for inclusivity makes her one to watch. Having already established a significant social media following, there’s no doubt that LESS KILLJOY is set to have a very successful year off the back of her daring debut.
Brooklyn-based songstress Enisa has shared her latest single “Olè.” The single is written by Enisa and co-written with Carmen Reece (notable cuts include Beyoncé, Ariana Grande, Fifth Harmony, Ciara, and Kendrick Lamar). “Olè” is accompanied by a companion visual streaming now. The single is also a follow-up to the “Just A Kiss (Muah)” in-studio performance. The official visual for “Just A Kiss (Muah),” which MTV News referred to as “captivating,” is now approaching 4M views.
Enisa has used 2022 to her advantage releasing a flurry of exciting singles this year following the release of her Fake Love EP. These releases include official visuals and in-studio performances for “Zoom” and “Just A Kiss (Muah).” Enisa says of her new single: “I wrote “Olè” to give myself a self-confidence anthem that I needed at the time. I wrote this song with the World Cup in mind as well, when I closed my eyes, I pictured people all around the world singing the chorus and shouting “OLÈ.” I’m so happy people were loving the short snippet I posted, so I had no choice but to give you guys the whole song finally! What better time to have this song out, while the World Cup is heating up! I hope you love this song & I hope the lyrics hit your heart. Love you all & thanks for the support. OLÉ!”
Zelly Ocho is an American rapper and recording artist from Cleveland, Ohio. Known for his chopper-like rap cadence, Zelly has released multiple projects a year including Vlamily and VLAD. He frequently collaborates with producer 16yrold, K Sauve and Trippie Redd. In 2020, Zelly created VLAD, his positive movement and lifestyle.
Listen to Remember Me now on streaming platforms Apple Music, Spotify and SoundCloud.
Follow Zelly Ocho on Instagram, and Twitter.
Pop superstar in-waiting Bree Runway unveils her surprise release, WOAH, WHAT A BLUR! – an ode to her fans for their ongoing support, and to a year of nourishing herself and her craft. Bree says of the record,
“Bree now is more awake than she’s ever been. I’m pressing restart after what a blurry year this has been,” she says of the collection of songs and its title. “I became alive again putting this together, for a minute I wasn’t in the room, but I am now. Working with the producers I love and feeling more empowered has me ready to embrace who I am and my strengths. WOAH WHAT A BLUR! is an embodiment of how blurry this year felt personally and professionally. It’s visiting the deep depths of my soul and showing everyone exactly that.”
Produced by long-term collaborators EASYFUN, LIOHN & Khlar (ATM, APESHIT, DAMN DANIEL), WOAH, WHAT A BLUR! is bathed in self-love, shedding away any doubts about how Bree sees herself and the artist she’ll be going forward.
The banger that is BREEE!, leans further into Bree Runway’s braggadocio spirit, utilising the LIOHN & Khlar’s and EASYFUN’s graceful balance of synths, soft piano-keys with a menacing bass informing her every note. “She can’t sleep where I sleep, tell her to get like me,” she warns, BREE oozes confidence and taps into her rap leaning side.
Nigerian Afrobeats prince Oxlade releases today the new version of his global viral smash KU LO SA with GRAMMY® Award-nominated, multi-platinum, and chart-topping singer/songwriter Camila Cabello – listen here.
“Camila was the only option I wanted on the remix because she is music and she also is a pure person, a pure soul, it was to me just a dream come true. KU LO SA is a special song to me personally, so it was something of a joy to see her resonate with the way I love the music itself and being excited as I am to put out the song. This made me feel extra special. She even called it “our” song.” [Oxlade]
“I was so excited when Oxlade asked me to be on his remix for “Ku Lo Sa” because I have been such a huge fan of him, his music, and Afrobeats. Writing my part of the song was so easy and I knew this was going to be something special as soon as we started recording and working on the remix together.” [Camila Cabello]
Camila Cabello’s bewitching vocals naturally joins Oxlade’s smooth flow furthering track’s sensual and pop appeal. The remix will come together with a music video starring both artists to be released next week.
While his identity has been shrouded in mystery since emerging in 2018, cult-favorite New Zealand-based phonk rapper SXMPRA has become a fast force in the underground rap world. Today, the enigmatic rapper has shared latest single, “LOCKJAW,” via 10K Projects. Get it HERE.
Continuing his prolifically consistent rollout this year, “LOCKJAW,” is a ruthless king-hit of unruly underground rap. Produced by close friend and collaborator Dozy Doe, the track’s ominous intro build-up, blistering bass lines, and pounding 808’s straddle the line between the gritty underground rap and hardcore nu-metal words SXMPRA was raised on, setting the sinister scene for a paralyzing blow of dizzying raps, fast and furious flows, and raw and outspoken storytelling.
“Dozy and I created this song with the intention of having a catchy element while still staying true to both of our usual gritty sounds,” says SXMPRA. “We aimed to create a dark atmosphere paired with a high tempo and aggressive top line that snatches the listeners attention, drawing them in and keeping them intrigued with multiple switch ups.”
Social Drag is a ‘90s rock inspired, original project from singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer, Emily Hulslander. As frontwoman of the project, Hulslander is the sole songwriter and producer, enlisting various members of the Los Angeles musical community to round out the line up for live shows and studio recordings. Single “Drug Like You” evokes Weezer (the Blue Album era) as well as Liz Phair, with its chunky guitars, melodic hooks, and slightly satirical lyrics. The song’s lyrics draw comparison to feelings of euphoria, loss of self control and the excitement and high of a new relationship that you can’t get enough of. The upcoming self-titled EP is slated for release in mid Jan. 2023.
Hailing from the barrier islands of South Carolina, Andrew Christopher Rutherford Royal has a deep connection with the land and embodies a non-traditionalist’s interpretation of the eastern South. He writes Southern Gothic cameos which he weaves into often dark, Indie Americana. After writing and curating the works for an album he records and mixes the music for Rutherford Royal (as well as other artists) in his remote cabin studio overlooking a hidden waterfall in southern Tennessee.
Cementing her position as one of the UK’s brightest new stars, Mica Millar wins ‘Soul Act of the Year’ at Jazz FM Awards 2022, alongside a second nomination for ‘Breakthrough Act of the Year.’
Each year the prestigious Jazz FM Awards celebrate the utmost excellence of emerging soul and jazz musicians, and this year stars from across the international music scene descended on Shoreditch Town Hall, with Mica opening the ceremony with a special live performance.
The monumental win follows on from two massive album launch shows Mica played in September for the release of her debut album ‘Heaven Knows’, with a sold out show at the capital’s prestigious Jazz Café followed by a special hometown performance filling out the iconic Albert Hall in Manchester, from which she shares a live performance of her song ‘Will I See You Again’ to celebrate – watch HERE.
On her win, Mica says: “I’ve never won an award before so this feels really special. I just love soul music so much and it’s taught me so many lessons about love, empowerment, hope, faith, lessons in history… for me, it’s also taught me how to connect with and express matters of the soul and I’m so grateful for this. To win ‘Soul Act of the Year’ is really incredible.
Previous recipients of the ‘Soul Act of the Year’ award include Philip Bailey, Jon Batiste, Jill Scott, Moonchild and Poppy Ajudha.
“This year really has felt like a year of breaking through, it’s been incredible and I’m so grateful to everyone for all of the support I’ve received since releasing ‘Heaven Knows’ and particularly to Jazz FM who have been amazing at really getting behind me and the album. To be acknowledged for my work in a genre that I have so much respect and love for is a real honor”.
Mika Orr is an award-winning Brooklyn-based filmmaker, writer, director and producer of fiction and documentary projects under Mikooka Projects, which she founded in 2008. Her work focuses on the intersections of identity, migration, fantasy and intercultural convergence.
Making films since the age of 15, Orr began her career as an independent film director when she was 18. She was the lead Cinematographer on award-winning feature documentaries (Chronicle of a Kidnap and Stains). She has had numerous documentaries broadcast on Israeli National Television and was the Cinematographer / Director of a BTS documentary of Academy Award winner Natalie Portman’s directorial debut, A Tale of Love and Darkness. Her production company, Mikooka Projects, has made over 80 marketing videos and branded content for Google and other major international brands. She earned her master’s degree with honors from School of Visual Arts in 2017.
In 2022, Mika released her project #AMiNORMAL – a documentary/animation comedic web series about the human effort to define “normal.” The series (premiered at IDFA) was a co-production with ARTE, a French/German television channel, and Kan, the Israeli public broadcaster.
Currently, Orr is working on her first feature-length documentary film following the lives of three displaced children around the world, shot over the span of more than two years in Uganda, Colombia and Germany.
Award-winning indie filmmaker and producer Mika Orr announces the upcoming New York City premiere of her latest short film, DUET, at the upcoming NY Short Film Festival this November. Written and directed by Orr, DUET will be one of 100 short films to be screened at the Festival, taking place at Cinema Village (22 East 12th Street) in Manhattan from November 12-18, 2022. The screening of DUET will be on Wednesday, Nov 16th, between 8-9 pm.
DUET is a 21-minute short fictional film about how the lives of two eight-year-old girls, May and Shadmit, who dislike each other, eventually become oddly intertwined forever. The film was shot in Israel and NY, and stars young actors Talia Kadoury (Little May) and Hili Levy (Little Shadmit). The film was produced by Hila Ben Shushan for Mikooka Projects, a production company that Orr founded in 2008.
Orr, who wrote and directed the film, says it was loosely based on her own childhood experiences. Orr says, “As a child of divorced parents, I experienced quite a few encounters with new romantic partners of my parents. When I was eight, the girl I hated most in my class moved into our home as a result of her mom and my dad becoming a couple. That was the inspiration behind the story of ‘DUET’. The gap between reality and fantasy is an area that I enjoy exploring and what gave rise to ‘DUET’ being a love story.”
DUET is also in the unique position of being recognized as both an LGBTQ film as well as a children’s film, due to the story being told from the point of view of two young girls who become step sisters and eventually, possibly, even lovers. The film has been officially selected by several film festivals in either category, including winning Honorable Mention in the Best LGBTQ Film category at the SENE Film Festival in Rhode Island, and being accepted to many children film festivals around the world, including the Moscow International Children’s Film Festival.
The film first premiered in 2020 at the Out On Film Atlanta’s LGBTQ Film Festival in San Francisco and has been featured in 24 other film festivals in 11 countries.
DUET has won a number of awards, including:
2021 Best Woman’s Film at Iowa Independent Film Festival
2021 Best Short Film at the ReadingFilmFest
2021 Honorable Mention Best LGBTQ Film at the SENE Film Festival
2021 Best Experimental Film at Short To The Point Film Festival
Orr’s past awards include Best Director at the 2018 Los Angeles Diversity Film Festival and Best Woman Filmmaker at the 2017 LA Indie Film Festival for her short, Professional Cuddler.
As with all of her films over the past 15 years, DUET has music as a focal point, with the two main characters growing up to be professional musicians. The film also features an original song, entitled “Surrounded By People,” written and produced by Adam Ben Amitai and sung by Alex Moshe (“Folly Tree”), who plays “Adult May” in the film. The song is out now on all music streaming platforms.
Orr says she is thrilled to finally premiere the film in New York City where she is currently based. “I’m excited to introduce the film to my friends and colleagues in the city where I received my degree in filmmaking. ‘DUET’ represents how far I’ve come as a filmmaker, and it will be meaningful to sit and watch it with my peers as an audience member.”
The screening of DUET at the NYSFF will be on Wednesday, Nov 16th, between 8-9 pm, at the Cinema Village, located at 22 East 12th Street, New York, New York 10003.
For more information and tickets to the NY Short Film Festival, go to newyorkshort.com.
Australian/English savant of purposeful pop, Mereki today returns with her new single “Presence.” Whilst in a writing room above the studio where Dhani Harrison and Graham Coxon of Blur were recording, Mereki was inspired by the guitars reverberating through the walls and began singing a melody that became the first verse. After sharing her melody with Harrison, the two were motivated to work together to complete Mereki’s composition. “Presence” displays Mereki’s ability to merge healing messaging with an irresistible dance beat. With a robust and accomplished songwriting and recording career attached to her name, she is now ready to move into an era focused on her own music – Stream.
On today’s release, Mereki said, “I’m not saying that I’m enlightened and I live in ‘Presence’ all the time, far from it, I’m just trying to say that I know what it is when I can, and it’s so beautiful. I want to share that with people because I truly believe that when I can pull myself back into the present moment, really ‘be here now’, then everything is so lovely. I want that for me, and for you, and for everyone. My mind gets the better of me all the time and I need to train it not to, and I guess this song is kind of an anthem for that.”
Placing haunting vocals and isolated keys at the forefront, The Hails today release the stripped version of their single “Exonerate.” A transformation of a once confident groove, the somber rework takes the meaning of this song to a much more introspective and delicate place. The ability to take a once-upbeat and swaggering confidence and translate it into an aching sense of melancholy, once again proves the musical prowess of The Hails – Stream.
When the original version of “Exonerate” was released in late October, listeners were quickly magnetized by the band’s new era. A flood of editorial praise came from Billboard, Consequence, EARMILK, Riff Magazine and many others excited by the direction the Miami five-piece is headed in. The same weekend as the single’s release, The Hails took it to the stage of the III Points Festival, winning the crowd’s energy over with a track that had only been out for 24 hours at that point.
Brooklyn-based alt-pop singer-songwriter Sabrina Song shares her long-awaited, delicate third EP When It All Comes Crashing Down, produced, written and engineered by Song herself, out everywhere now. Alongside the full release, Song shares the latest melancholic, piano-driven single & accompanying stirring video, “Down” out now. The dark, weighty tune sees Song earnestly wrestling with the fears that come with falling in love.
The four track collection from Sabrina Song is a tender, observational glimpse at the artist’s assessment of relationships in her life where she discovers her own strength as she learns to advocate for herself, further solidifying both her sound and sense of self. Song explains, “‘When It All Comes Crashing Down’ represents a personal and musical evolution for me. The majority of my songwriting prior to this project was extremely inward-facing, working through my internal issues, insecurities, doubts, and streams of consciousness. I began writing this project at the end of college, and finished writing it through the end of last year. It was a period of rapid growth and transformation for me, and for the first time in a long time, I felt real security in who I am as a person and artist. I found the ability to turn outward, and begin evaluating my relationship dynamics, holding people accountable that I’ve let walk over me in the past, and being the best person I can be in the friendships and relationships that I hold dearly in my life. The result is four songs that find me trying to advocate for myself in my romantic and platonic relationships, and find a stronger sense of self and happiness.”
THE GOSPEL make their debut with a seasonal cover of The Velvet Underground’s “I Found A Reason”, via No Big Deal Music
STREAM ON ALL SERVICES HERE || YOUTUBE HERE
Sounding like a pre-Christmas gathering of Mark Lanegan, Spacemen 3 and The Polyphonic Spree, this gothic, gospel twist on the Lou Reed-penned classic may be short on traditional festive cheer, yet its lush and languorous arrangements are sure to thaw even the iciest of hearts.
Originally featured on The Velvet Underground’s fourth album, ‘Loaded’, here The Gospel transform the 1970 cut with their own cinematic stylistics, adding sweeping string sections, glistening shoegaze-tinted synthesisers, and rich multi-layered vocal harmonies. Guided by Jimmy Sweet’s earthy baritone, the results make for a transcendental interpretation of one of The Velvet’s most seminal and understated moments.
The band’s first official studio release, frontman Sweet says of their choice of cover: “It’s a modern cinematic synth take on the classic Velvet Underground song.”
Produced by Rex Whitehall and Luke Stidworthy, “I Found A Reason” was mixed and mastered by Jason Shaw (Cambodian Space Project).
A supergroup of sorts, The Gospel are a cinematic synth and percussion band featuring LA‘s own Jimmy Sweet (Hot Hot Heat), Danni McCormack (Mel from hit 90’s TV series ‘My Parents Are Aliens’), Charis Anderson (Curse Of Lono), Heather Bell (Nova Hawks), and Hazel Cotogno (Poussez Posse). Infusing ornate arrangements with the vintage grittiness that oozes from the 1970s analogue synthesisers they use, their otherworldly music deftly traverses the void between Nick Cave and Goldfrapp.
Formed in the UK with Sweet now based in Manchester, The Gospel recently launched themselves onto the scene with a string of live dates, attracting an ecstatic review from Louder Than War’s John Robb who praised: “The music is mind-blowing…it feels like the Gospel are going to be making a big noise soon.”
Since Alyssa Reid released debut single “Alone Again” in 2012, this instant classic has gone on to sell over a million copies worldwide.
The song has been streamed more than 50 million times, been certified Double Platinum in Canada and Silver in the UK, won a SOCAN Award, a JUNO Award and MMVA nominations. It reached #2 on the UK singles OCC chart, and it hasn’t slowed down in the decade that followed.
In 2021 Ultra Records released their 25 year anniversary remix collection that included Initi8’s remix of Alyssa Reid’s “Alone Again” and it quickly caught the attention of radio programmers and fans around Europe. Between the original and the remix, “Alone Again” has been played on over 20 radio stations in 8 difference European countries, charting 11 different times in the past year!
The 2022 “Alone Again” 10th anniversary is an elegant, emotional, acoustic arrangement of a timeless record.
Backed by a grand piano and an orchestra, the 10th anniversary is a beautiful addition to the “Alone Again” collection.
The last ten years have seen a flurry of change for Dave Brandwein: he got married, and got divorced. He got sober, drunk, and sober again. He oversaw the growth of Turkuaz, the nine-piece funk band he’s fronted since college, into an international touring powerhouse. Finally, in the fall of 2021, he saw Turkuaz disband, halting upcoming tour dates and bringing the band’s future into question. His new solo project, Band For Sale, might sound like the biggest change of all, but in fact, it’s just the opposite.
“People are going to hear this music and think it’s some kind of departure for me,” says Brandwein, “but the truth is that Turkuaz has always been the departure. I grew up on The Beatles, Paul Simon, Jackson Browne, and the sounds of the 60’s and 70’s. This album is who I’ve always been deep down.”
Following the reveal of well received single Let Me Go, LA duo Emotional Oranges today reveal their new project, The Juice Vol III. Their final offering before promising to return with a whole new sound in 2023, this body of work captures the late night R&B vibes that have seen the duo pick up hundreds of millions of streams and embark on tours across the US, UK, Europe, Asia and Australia.
Tracklist:
1) Bounce
2) She Got A Man
3) Petty
4) Slide All Night
5) Make Me Wanna
6) On My Way
7) Devotion
8) Let Me Go
Having collaborated with Vince Staples, Becky G, Kiana Lede, Chiiild and more, Emotional Oranges have
left an indelible footprint on modern music since debuting with their hotly received first track, Motion. Since then, their music has been featured on such shows as Love Island and Gossip Girl, they’ve sold out shows tours in the US and Europe and built a passionate fan base. 2023 will see the duo fly to even great heights, with their upcoming Pulp Fiction tour set to span North America.
Email: neill@outloudculture.com
