|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Japanese heavy heroes Crossfaith have announced that their new SPECIES EP will be released on Friday May 22 through UNFD. The five-track offering features recent single, ‘Endorphin’, as well as today’s new track ‘Digital Parasite’. As the opening track, ‘Digital Parasite’ finds Crossfaith getting “dirty and heavy”, as told by vocalist Ken Koie.
“I felt an explosion from the song and I knew the lyrics should be aggressive and offensive,” he starts, adding that the band looked toward “people selling their soul to get fame. We need to be honest to the music, to ourselves and to our audience but some people are happy to start cheating and I don’t care for it.”
“Playing heavy music is howI feel alive. We want Crossfaith to be the band making music that no one has ever heard before,” says Ken. And from the opening battle cry of ‘Digital Parasite’ through the unifying anthem of ‘Truth of Insanity’ and ‘Your Song’s glitching sorrow, the release sees the five-piece indeed breaking entirely new ground. On its themes, Ken adds that the industrial rave of ‘Endorphin’ is about finding yourself in a world that makes you doubt everything and champions the idea of facing those questions head on while ‘Truth of Insanity’ is a call to arms.
“In Japan, there are so many contradictions from the government. There will always be a minority of people who only think about themselves but we can fight. We can think. This song is a trigger to start a war against the world of contradiction,” he states.
Crossfaith have a history of working with their peers; Enter Shikari, Beartooth and Ho99o9have all appeared on previous releases, and there’s a new team up to be had on SPECIES EP with Osaka-native rapper Jin Dogg featuring on ‘None Of Your Business’.
“That song’s about straight up anger,” Ken declares. “So many people are fuelled by jealousy and I know the most important thing is to push forward but those people bother me, so this song is about telling them to shut their fucking mouth. It’s very straight forward.”
The EP closes out with ‘Your Song’ declared by the band as “the most emotional Crossfaith song of all time”. The track speaks of the emptiness and sorrow of a time that will not return, whether that’s death or the loss of a friendship or a lover.
“It’s about farewell,” adds Ken. “I feel sadness but those emotions make me strong and teach me to not take things for granted. It’s not a ballad but it is a very beautiful song. I think people will be surprised by it,” he promises, adding that that’s the manifesto of Crossfaith at large.
“I believe this EP will set the course for the band for the next ten years. We’ve already started making more new music. We’re not going to stop.”
Electro-pop-soul artist, Zach Maxwell’s latest EP ‘Kill the Kingdom,’ is a rallying cry against the Patriarchy and the systemic corruption of our society. A master at blending soulful, electro-pop vibes with unique funk-infused dance music, Maxwell’s four-track body of work delivers pop music with a call to action.
The four-track EP carries universal metaphors that act as a call to arms for anyone who is looking to change the future for the better, by confronting issues from the past and tearing down what is currently holding them back, both in their inner world, as well as in the outer world.
Produced, written and recorded by the artist himself, “Kill the Kingdom” is anchored around global dance grooves, big 808’s, neo-soul chords, and Maxwell’s signature vocals. He finds inspiration from music icons such as Prince, Sam Cooke, Michael Jackson, Phish, and old school acapella gospel music.
“This EP is my way of alchemizing my anger, and disillusionment of us all living under the shadow of our broken Patriarchal system,” said Maxwell. “I called upon both my own dark experiences of growing up with the patriarchal figures in my childhood, as well as my frustration and sadness at the state of affairs in America and the world today. The idea of this EP was born on the day my partner had a miscarriage and 21 white men in Alabama simultaneously passed the strictest abortion law this country has seen since Roe. V. Wade. I had to channel my sadness and anger somewhere, and “Kill the Kingdom” is what came out.”
Maxwell was a top performer at this year’s Denver Underground Music Showcase and has come from sold-out performances at intimate venues in the heart of Denver.
Website | Spotify | Soundcloud | Facebook | Instagram
Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there?
Currently I’m Based in Toronto and the music scene here is absolutely awesome! There’s a huge sense of community and people are so down to earth and friendly.
How did you first start playing music?
My dad was a musician so it was kinda baked in to me as a kid.
I remember when he bought me my first guitar when I was 10 and I never really put it down.
What have you been working up to recently?
Currently I’m putting out singles from my upcoming EP!
Your latest single ‘Help Me’ is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this track?
The song comes from a very real place of when I was going through one of the hardest times in my life. It was a late addition to the album and really tells my story. The sound was something we focused on a lot; we wanted something dark, edgy, and powerful.
Where and when did you record/produce and who with?
We recorded this back in may of 2019 and it was produced by the super talented Joel Stouffer
How did you approach the songwriting for Help Me?
Help me was the very first person. It was really easy to write actually it pretty much just says everything that was on my mind at that moment.
How did the recording take place?
We actually recorded the whole song in the basement of my house. I built a home studio a while back so everything besides mix and master was done here.
What programs/instruments did you use?
This song was produced on ableton with the help of Joel Stouffer. This song was mainly digital instruments as we wanted a very lo-fi sound to it.
How did the concept for the Help Me video come about?
The video concept came to me very easily. I really wanted this desolate desperate feel and for that me and my team agreed to head out to the dessert in LA.
Where and when did you film and who did you work with?
We filmed in one day at the El mirage desert in California, just outside of LA. I worked with my incredible video guys who came on the trip from Toronto called Red Tip Productions. The director’s name is Dave Redman and he is an absolute genius.
What did you find most challenging and rewarding during the creation of the video?
The most challenging was the fact that I was sick and it was about 100 degrees fahrenheit out there so that was super hard. But after powering through that, when we wrapped up, I felt so happy that I pushed myself through it. Other than that it all went down pretty smoothe.
You have a new album coming out in a few months, what can we expect?
In my opinion, You can expect a little bit of everything from mental health to heart break. This album is special to me and I hope that everyone can relate to at least one of the records.
Where are you at in the creation of your new album?
It’s finished! Now we’re just putting out music consistently, and putting the full album out early summer.
Who are you listening to at the moment?
Currently on my most recent played is: The 1975 cause im a die hard.. The band camino cause they’re perfect, and Bazzi!
What do you like to do away from music?
During the winter I snowboard quite a bit, I love cooking, hiking and spending time with my dog Mika! I also love working out and meditating.
Favourite food and place to hangout?
Easily North of Brooklyn Pizzeria in Toronto such a great spot for a pint and a pie!
“These guys are onto something magical… get on them early, folks”
– Forté Mag
“Beautifully restrained indie-pop”
– Pilerats
“Amazing.”
– Bridget Hustwaite, triple j
Melbourne indie-pop trio Stonefox have today released ‘Time’, the contemplative, philosophical second single from their forthcoming EP, due to release in early August via Seeking Blue (MrSuicide Sheep’s label).
Premiering via theMusic.com.au and receiving its first play on Unearthed TOPS, the track showcases the band’s gift for smooth production and entrancing vocals; ‘Time’ continues their musical exploration of being consumed by a hurtful relationship, and, specifically, lamenting the wasted time spent in it. “Time is about looking at a difficult time in your life from an outside perspective. It describes the second stage of being hurt, feeling hopeless and defeated,” explains singer Jenna Russo.
“it’s like looking at the night sky and feeling insignificant in the scale of it all, [Time is] about realising that life is exhausting and that you want to have someone alongside you to go through the motions with,” Jenna continues.
This single is the latest piece in Stonefox’s ‘left-of-centre’ pop puzzle. ‘Lightning’ which dropped in February this year, has already earned over 100K streams on Spotify as well as coverage from outlets such as triple j Unearthed, Forté Mag, Amnplify. Stonefox have put immense work into the EP, spending 12 months bouncing between studios across Victoria and New South Wales with producer Jean-Paul Fung (Client Liaison, Last Dinosaurs, Lime Cordiale) and many hours writing together by a wood fire in rural Victoria.
Their upcoming EP As You Fall In will follow the release of their landmark debut EP Surface which has attracted over 6.5 million Spotify streams to date and praise from international figures like Majestic Casual, La Belle Musique and South America’s DJ Alok.
‘Time’ is OUT NOW via Seeking Blue
|
|
April was due to be the month beloved indie outfit The Dandy Warhols went back out on the road to play tour dates on the East Coast of the United States. Instead, like so many of us, they find themselves bunkered down in Portland and (in drummer Brent DeBoer’s case) Melbourne, beginning the journey of adjustment to the new living restrictions imposed because of ‘the virus’. But like a flower blooming through the cracks of a concrete pavement, true magic can often yield strong under such painstaking confinements; as is the case with the conjuring of The Dandys’ sixth studio album Tafelmuzik Means More When You’re Alone.
The epic 4-hour LP, released through Bandcamp Wednesday 1 April, rejuvenates a new appreciation of play, experimentation and innovation, paying homage to the light-hearted baroque collection of ‘Tafelmusik’ that used to be played during the banquets of yesteryear. A true gift to unsuspecting fans the world over, the recordings took shape after the four-piece finished their fifth studio album Odditorium or Warlords of Mars. “It started out with me pushing everyone to play different instruments,” explains Dandys’ guitarist Peter Holmström. “I ran a drum machine through some effects and then we just fucked around. Courtney and I had keyboards of some kind and Brent was playing bass and Zia was playing the Farfisa.”
“Peter had us all whipped up into plugging power tools into guitar pedals and recording every single instrument in our 12,000 square-foot studio,” says singer-guitarist Courtney Taylor-Taylor. “There was no goal or end in mind; at the time, it felt like the culmination of around 15 years of collecting antique, toy or eccentric musical instruments.” A lover of Tafelmusik with a penchant for dinner parties, Courtney felt it only natural to finally create the perfect music to accompany them. She reminisces “At some point during one of our dinners, we noticed that the emotionally buoyant nature and ambiguity of it was perfect. We began organizing it for long multiple-course meals. This gave us a loose framework and really led us to look at the long flow of a three-to-four-hour musical trip.”
There’s something poetic and beautiful about the timing of this release. As musicians around the world are putting together material in various formats to entertain their respective fans, The Dandy Warhols have yet again done what they do better than anyone else and taken a sideways step out of the current convention by bringing out a record originally created for a banquet when everyone’s in isolation.
Keyboardist Zia McCabe explains why the record is being made available now, rather than at a later date. “I saw on our fan page all the posts of old live shows, videos and interviews people were posting in lieu of seeing us live and realised these guys were starving for new material and there was no way we could get a new album to them in time. I’d recently listened to our never-released Tafelmuzik album and realised it would be perfect. Not only because we could get it out quick, but the music itself felt like just the right medicine for these troubled times. Okay, it’s not a cure for COVID-19, but it could help cure the boredom of being stuck inside – and its light-hearted nature could lift the spirits of people while they organise their own drawers and cabinets.”
She signs off with: “I also think it will be a very special treat for everyone who first enjoys this musical journey alone when they finally get to hear it as the backdrop next time they’re allowed a proper feast with some of the friends they’ve been missing.”
Tafelmuzik Means More When You’re Alone is out now via The Dandy Warhols Bandcamp music.dandywarhols.com.
$1 from each purchase will go to Sweet Relief Musicians Fund, a charity who provide financial assistance to musicians.
For further information on Sweet Relief and to donate, visit: sweetrelief.org
For further news and information on The Dandy Warhols, visit: dandywarhols.com
Listen to Zia’s Coronavirus Spotify Playlist here
Andy Eichhorn is an accomplished vocalist, songwriter and guitarist. Growing up in a small town on the prairies, Andy stood out as unique at a young age with his passion for British & American pop music. He knew how to hunt down albums and magazines before the dawn of the internet to feed this passion for music that wasn’t being played on the radio at the time. Looking back, he realized that the diverse songs that WERE being played on the radio in the 80’s would be his greatest influence.
His keen desire to sing, play guitar & write songs combined with some years of music lessons at the hands of his supportive parents afforded Andy considerable success playing, writing & recording throughout his life, most notably the acclaimed Canadian band Zuckerbaby.
As singer & co-writer in Zuckerbaby, Andy travelled Canada coast to coast, recorded & released 2 major label albums spawning 5 singles. Andromeda, Heavy & Shampoo were released from their debut album and Overexposure & Holiday from their second record. The band filmed 4 music videos with Andromeda reaching #13 on the MuchMusic video countdown. Zuckerbaby were (are!) a great live band & shared the stage with many of the bands that Andy still admires today.
“Where’s Andy?” As his friends, family and bandmates know, he has a special way of disappearing. He pulled his best “Andy” ever over the last few years by not stepping foot on a stage or into a recording studio, other than a few shows with Zuckerbaby. During this time, Andy has been writing his own music with no real plan to do anything with it.
That all changed when he reconnected with friend & Producer Lorrie Matheson who invited Andy to his studio, Arch Audio to hang & record some of the songs he’d been working on. Now almost complete, his solo 5 song EP will be released soon.
When I wrote the song “Anxiety” I felt the urgent need to express how society has distorted our values and morals. We live in a very strange world today and unfortunately many of us suffer from mental illness in silence. I hope this song can bring some comfort to listeners knowing they are not suffering alone.” – Pat Rossi
A self taught multi instrumentalist, songwriter, singer and producer – his acclaimed songwriting skills led him to perform with Bon Jovi after winning the XM/Sirius Satellite Radio Songwriting Competition as he was selected over thousands of songwriters around the world. He has also worked with and performed alongside artists 3 Doors Down, Gilby Clark of Guns N Roses, Jonas and The Massive Attraction, Savoir Adore and many more. Rossi has had numerous songs air on radio stations around the world. His most popular hit This Is The Day by The Falling landed on the top 50 Active Rock charts in Canada.
Dance/pop star Florian Picasso marks his comeback in a big way this week, releasing ‘Like You Do’ (ft. Gashi & Ally Brooke), the first of many new tracks to come and the beginning of Picasso’s collaboration with Universal Music.
|
We’re living in strange times, complex realities in which social distancing has ceased to be an abstract concept to become our day to day. The time has come to act, it is here, it is now and you can be part of it.
Isolated Radio was born with a single goal: to create and keep the clubbing scene connected, which right now feels locked up. Make the most of the options that the lockdown offers us, learn and reinvent yourselves to return being a stronger, more sustainable and united scene. The change is already happening, clubbers from all corners of the world are demonstrating that their capacity for solidarity and desire to share have no limits.
As a differentiating point, Isolated Radio has launched its own original, limited and exclusive t-shirt campaign through Everpress, that combine classic electronic tracks with the most fashionable items. Change your PJs, track pants, and your old t-shirts from the store down town for messages that have influenced several generations now, all adapted to the lockdown, security and protection of those who need it most. But with humor, a lot of humor. You can see and get the t-shirts here.
We’re living in strange times, complex realities in which social distancing has ceased to be an abstract concept to become our day to day. The time has come to act, it is here, it is now and you can be part of it.
Isolated Radio was born with a single goal: to create and keep the clubbing scene connected, which right now feels locked up. Make the most of the options that the lockdown offers us, learn and reinvent yourselves to return being a stronger, more sustainable and united scene. The change is already happening, clubbers from all corners of the world are demonstrating that their capacity for solidarity and desire to share have no limits.
As a differentiating point, Isolated Radio has launched its own original, limited and exclusive t-shirt campaign through Everpress, that combine classic electronic tracks with the most fashionable items. Change your PJs, track pants, and your old t-shirts from the store down town for messages that have influenced several generations now, all adapted to the lockdown, security and protection of those who need it most. But with humor, a lot of humor. You can see and get the t-shirts here.
|
|
After the overwhelming success of Delivered, Live’s inaugural streaming event last weekend, the show has been locked in to return on a weekly basis.
Hosted by sartorial star of stage and screen, Henry Wagons, Delivered, Live has evolved into a more concise 2.5 hour variety show, and will hit the event’s YouTube channel this Easter Sunday at 7pm. Further weekly episodes are scheduled for the following nine weekends.
“Diverse streaming gig shines when weirdness faced head-on” SMH
The focus of the show will still be live music, but this will also be supported by sets from local comedians (including a regular appearance by Sami Shah, looking back at the week at the week that was) and expert panel discussions hosted by much loved TV and radio personality Myf Warhurst.
This week, join Henry Wagons on Delivered, Live along with live sets from Freya Josephine Hollick, Tim Rogers and Hayley Mary (The Jezabels).
As with the initial event, the majority of revenue raised by sponsors and ticket sales will go directly back to the performers on the show, the crew supporting them, and their nominated live music venue. The inaugural show sold 2,200 tickets, generating over $40,000 in revenue, which was distributed to artist and creative industries affected by the COVID-19 crisis across Victoria.
For this week’s event the recipients of those funds are as follows:
Freya Josephine Hollick nominates – The Eastern Hotel, Ballarat and Stive Collins
Hayley Mary nominates – Major Toms, Kyneton and Jeff Hahn
Tim Rogers will announce his nominees on the night.
Line-ups will be announced weekly, with all musical and comedy guests performing live in our custom-made, socially-distanced studio.
Producers The Handshake Agency thanks its sponsors – Victorian Government, Four Pines, The Music, Oztix, Small Time Group, Harry The Hirer and Audio Technica.
Tix can be purchased here
Delivered Live can be viewed here
More info here
