With powerhouse vocals atop a classic Americana-folk-blues arrangement, Sarah King releases “The Longest Night” on December 20, 2023 – just in time for the winter solstice, which is, indeed, the longest night of the year. LISTEN HERE.
“I think we can all relate to the feeling of ‘I love you and I’m leaving you anyway,’ when situations may not exactly be wrong, but we can tell they’re not right,” King says, explaining that the song was inspired by a long-term on-again/off-again relationship that always seemed to be “on” during the winter solstice. “Although that relationship has been permanently off for years, I was apparently still holding onto something about it somewhere deep within. When this song came out of me, I felt a weight lifted.”
To support his forthcoming album Creation Myth, Hot Sugar will release fifth single H2SO4, which dropped Friday, December 29th. H2SO4: an unsettling, expressionistic, ambient track named after the molecular formula for Sulfuric Acid.
Brazilian producer DJ Glen returns to the label with ‘Fanfare’ out now via Dirtybird Records.
Closing out the year with a raucous, ‘Fanfare’ is a fitting title for DJ Glen’s latest original. Anthemic in all the right ways, ‘Fanfare’ is instantly enticing with its high-spirited melodies and energy-inducing builds. An eclectic tech-house hit made for dancefloors far and wide, ‘Fanfare’ is sure to find its way into countless DJ sets this New Year’s Eve.
“Last year, I spent the day in the studio with Claude VonStroke and one of our conversations was about how snare rolls have been overused. I thought it could be used in a different way, and decided to sample and convert the swing to the drum machines with the best punch I could do. The rest is my analog machines screaming as usual in a lucky session and a “Whos Afraid Of Detroit” inspired lead to stay in the dancefloor mind like an earworm for ages.” – DJ Glen
Contemporary pop artist Kristin Carter is pleased to share the official music video for her current single “I’m Still Here”, which is currently on YouTube.
“I’m Still Here” Official Music Video: youtube.com/watch?v=Hl98snq7dX0
Written by the Vancouver-based artist – who also co-produced with Marcus Ramsay – “I’m Still Here” is an enchanting sound bath composed entirely from Carter’s own voice using expressive harmonies and overtones that allow the strong and purposeful lyrics to come alive. The music video was directed by award-winning filmmaker Eva Tavares.
In speaking about the video, Carter says, “When I shared this song with Eva, she developed the idea of a forgotten statue as a metaphor for the song’s message of resilience and strength – a figure that could invoke sadness and poignancy at first glance, but ultimately awe at its continued survival. With a gifted team surrounding us, we used this vision as a means of reflecting the strength of the human spirit.”
The music video for “I’m Still Here” continues Carter’s re-birth in adult contemporary-leaning pop after notable acclaim in the country genre, including the Top 20 Canadian radio single “Karma”, back-to-back semi-finalist nods in SiriusXM’s Top of the Country contest, and 3.8 million digital streams.
“I’m Still Here” the first glimpse of Carter’s fiercely artistic 2024 debut album, “Full Bloom”, which lends itself to a myriad of sonic explorations while acting as a larger study of the human experience.
Between now and the album release this coming spring, Carter wants “I’m Still Here” to inspire others to reflect on their own lives and respect their own resilience.
Kristin Carter’s “I’m Still Here” is on all digital streaming platforms. The music video is now available on YouTube.
Rising singer-songwriter Chloe Stroll released a remix of her debut single “Run” with powerhouse electronic duo PINES. Stream/download “Run” (PINES Remix) HERE and check out the accompanying visualizer HERE.
The new remix transforms the already melodic and futuristic single into an electronic, upbeat masterpiece, giving this reimagined version a life of its own.
Rock band New Years Day is thrilled to share their powerfully defiant new single “I Still Believe,” out now and streaming here. The song comes from the band’s forthcoming 5th studio album, Half Black Heart, set to be released on March 1, 2024. Pre-order/pre-save Half Black Heart now, here: https://newyearsday.lnk.to/HalfBlackHeart.
“The first song we wrote for our new album was actually ‘I Still Believe.’ It was during the summer of 2020, amidst the challenges of the Covid pandemic, when it felt like all our previous efforts and all the work we had put in the years prior were in vain,” shares Ash Costello. “Personally, I felt lost and uncertain about what lay ahead. However, a voice within me urged me to persevere, to never give up, and to maintain faith that things would eventually fall into place as they were meant to. I realized the importance of not overthinking and simply embracing the present moment. ‘I Still Believe’ is a heartfelt anthem dedicated to anyone in need of a reminder that with unwavering self-belief, anything is possible.”
New Years Day announced Half Black Heart in late 2023, following the release of “Vampyre” and “Secrets”. The record also features the band’s 2022 hit “Hurts Like Hell”. Last fall they also embarked on The Kiss of Death Tour with In This Moment and Ice Nine Kills, in addition to being featured on WWE NXT’s Halloween Havoc. Fans can catch New Years Day back on the road this spring with Lacuna Coil. They’ll also be performing at Welcome To Rockville and Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival. For a full list of dates, please see below or visit: nydrock.com.
Pop punk YouTube star NOAHFINNCE has released his anthemic new single “3 DAY HEADACHE” today. Sonically, the track showcases the artist’s pop side and was penned by Noah about the hitting a wall of burnout — an all too relatable feeling for many recording artists. It’s the final single to be released ahead of his debut album release and the lyric video can be seen here.
“3 DAY HEADACHE is a song about being so exhausted and burnt out that I gave myself a migraine,” explains Noah on the new song. “I feel like I’ve been in a constant cycle of burnout, breakdown, bounce back for my whole adult life so why not put it into a cheesy lil bop?”
NOAHFINNCE is gearing up for the release of his long-awaited debut album. Pulling inspiration from My Chemical Romance, Bring Me The Horizon, 100 gecs, Kesha and The Prodigy, ‘Growing Up On The Internet’ will be released via Hopeless Records on March 8, and can be pre-saved here and pre-ordered here.
The album was co-written with of Danny Jones and Dougie Poynter from McFly, and produced by ST£FAN, Julia Sykes, LAWRENT (Chain Smokers, Cheat Codes), Thomas Mitchener (Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, The Damned) and Arcades (BTS). It features the brand new “3 DAY HEADACHE”, plus previous releases including anti-terf song, “SCUMBAG”, title track “Growing Up On The Internet” and “I Know Better”.
‘Growing Up On The Internet’ takes you on a journey exploring Noah’s formative years, where he found himself navigating a suddenly accessible and unknown internet world. Going against the grain, having resilience in the face of adversity and trans and LGBTQ+ rights, are just some of the themes woven throughout the 11 tracks.
He explains, “I only recently began processing the effect that growing up on the internet with hundreds of thousands of eyes on me, has had on my development as a person. It’s impossible to separate who you are as a person and who you would be without people on the internet telling you who you should be – I’m sure a lot of my generation and generations to come can find solace in somebody recounting their frustrations with the world as it is now.
As a society, we’re entering uncharted waters where nobody quite knows the repercussions of having unrestricted access to any thought any person has at any time. Human beings weren’t built to perceive and compare ourselves to millions of others, we were made to pick berries and build relationships within our local communities.”
Dirtybird Records is starting the New Year with a slate of fresh faces and the fourth installment of its Best of the Birdfeed compilation. Serving as the label’s first release of 2024, Best of the Birdfeed Vol. 4 marks almost 10 years of their Birdfeed website and subscription service, which offers exclusive releases, event and merch discounts, games and rewards, and is the hub for all things Dirtybird.
Like the main label, Birdfeed has become a breeding ground for international house and techno talent, with Vol. 4 shining a light on artists from Australia, Brazil, France, Italy, the UK, and more. The compilation opens with BOSA’s groovy slow-roller ‘Put The Sauce On’, before diving into Good Neighbor’s underground heater ‘Bruh’, and Abbud’s bubbly single ‘Minimalism’. Continuing with a spirited collaboration ‘Bailando’ from JYNX & Tegi and a textured original ‘Quick & Slow’ from PlaygroundGraffiti, the compilation offers a delectable variety of Dirtybird sonic inspirations.
From the dark techno tones of Andrea Giudice’s ‘Lifestyle’ to low-end rhythms of Back Groove’s ‘Future’, Vol. 4 explores the breadth and depth of sounds to emerge from the sub label. Closing with Ray Vingh’s quirky track ‘House Musick’ and OinarK’s off-kilter ‘Crazy Things’, Vol. 4 celebrates the latest and greatest Birdfeed releases to be promoted to the main label.
Email:neill@outloudculture.com
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