Harts has already had a huge 2016, releasing two hit radio singles in “Peculiar” and “Power“, as well as touring non-stop – storming the UK and Europe earlier in the year, before returning home for a triumphant set on the hallowed Splendour In The Grass stage in July. He is now poised to unleash his sophomore album, the follow up to his critically acclaimed debut Daydreamerin 2014, and the follow up EP Breakthrough in 2015 – records that caught the attention of some of the biggest names in music, including the late, great icon Prince, who became a mentor to the young Melbourne phenom.
Despite the mammoth sonic scale already exhibited by “Peculiar” and “Power” and set to be revealed across all of the album’s 14 songs, Smoke Fire Hope Desire was remarkably self-recorded in Harts’ home studio in Melbourne – its impressive scope the culmination of what the “one-man music-making machine,” attributes to spending years developing his sound as a performer and a producer. The album is the sound of an artist who has locked his musical identity and his voice into his sights, and as Harts admits has allowed himself to be influenced by, “a lot of what I was seeing in the world around me – very current day issues, mixed with my own thoughts and challenges in my life.”
The result is a record that seems destined to find success on both a local and a global level.
Smoke Fire Hope Desire track-listing:
1. Smoke (Intro)
2. Fear In Me
3. All Rise
4. Fire (Interlude)
5. Peculiar
6. Power
7. Deeper The Hole
8. Hope
9. Unfamiliar
10. Wisdom (Interlude)
11. Realize
12. Here I Go
13. Desire (Interlude)
14. Ain’t Too Far Gone
The Beat Is Dead is the new solo debut LP from Girl In A Coma frontwoman Nina Diaz, announced recently alongside her NPR Tiny Desk Concert and lead album track “January 9th”. Today, displaying the feistier side of her ecletctic 13-song collection, she unveils the colorful video for post-punk 80s synth driven album single “Trick Candle”.
Girl In A Coma is the critically hailed indie-punk band that was famously nurtured by Joan Jett, opened for Morrissey and Tegan and Sara, and earned multiple Independent Music Awards. The Beat Is Dead shines a light on Nina’s electrifying rock’n’roll repertoire and introspective nature, simultaneously tapping into a dark emotive place and the triumphant strength of her journey to sobriety.
Hailed for enrapturing crowds with her wildly seductive live performance & warm sense of humor, Nina Diaz will kick off a national tour this weekend with stops in NYC, Philadelphia and Chicago as well as a support date for Cyndi Lauper on 9/17 in Albuquerque.
9/10: San Marcos, TX @ SMTX Pride
9/10: San Antonio, TX @ Mission Pachanga
9/17: Albuquerque, NM @ Sandia Casino w/ Cyndi Lauper
9/23: Houston, TX @ Fitzgeralds
9/24: New York, NY @ The Studio at Webster Hall (9:45 set time)
10/6 Savannah, GA @ Wormhole
10/8: Arlington, VA @ Iota Cafe
10/9: Philadelphia, PA @ Milkboy
10/13: Columbus, OH @ Skully’s Music Diner
10/14 Indianapolis, IN @ Radio Radio
10/15: Kansas City, MO @ Riot Room
10/17: Chicago, IL @ Double Door
10/18: St. Louis, MO @ Fubar
While singing the blues in smokey bars throughout Northern Minnesota, 12‐year‐old Cobi always had a vision of touring the world. He was 8 years old when a family friend first taught him a few basic chords on the guitar. With money earned from mowing lawns, Cobi soon bought an electric guitar and began teaching himself to play his new instrument by ear, relaying heavily on his Godfather’s extensive eclectic music collection.
Cobi went on to team up with five other musicians in Boston to form the group Gentleman Hall, a synth heavy alternative rock band who would later sign with Island Def Jam Records. With local radio play and multiple TV syncs, the band performed at the Billboard Music Awards and were named “Best Breakout Boston Artist” at the MTV VMAs.
Cobi left Gentleman Hall in 2014 and moved to Los Angeles to follow his heart and desire to play his soulful style of rock and folk.
In 2016 Cobi toured as a guest vocalist for the electronic act Above and Beyond performing at iconic venues including Royal Albert Music Hall, The Hollywood Bowl, the Sydney Opera House, the Greek Theater and more.
Cobi’s debut single was released on May 6th 2016. As powerful of a song as they come, “Don’t You Cry For Me” caught the ear of industry veteran Lyor Cohen who immediately signed Cobi to his new label 300 Entertainment (alongside Grammy nominated artists Fetty Wap and Highly Suspect).
The track features a seventies vibe with a piano and moog under Cobi’s soaring vocals complimented by his layered backing vocals. The track reached #1 on Spotify’s Most Viral Chart (World) and has surpassed 10 Million streams to date.
Cobi is currently on tour with his band, performing at venues and music festivals throughout the US and Canada. He’s set to tour alongside Boy & Bear October 2016.
After taking a break since his smash hit “We Run” to concentrate on developing his sound, iSHiis back in full swing with “There For Me,” which features the gripping vocals of Shenie Fogo. Videos for both tracks are below.
iSHi first saw success in 2011 when his musical abilities were employed by Tinie Tempah to produce “Written In The Stars,” which sold over 3 million singles, generated over 60 million streams, and topped the UK charts at #1 and #6 on the Hot 100. A few years later, iSHi recruited the vocal and songwriting talents of Pusha T for his 2015 hit “Push It,” and garnered more than 17 million streams on Spotify. In addition, his work sparked the interest of Professor Green, resulting in their collaboration on “Read All About It,” which sold over 500 thousand units and landed at #1 on the UK charts. iSHi has been tapped by renowned artists Coldplay, Steve Angello, Kygo and Avicii for official remixes. His last release, “We Run,” featuring famed artists French Montana, Wale & Raekwon currently holds over 3 million streams on Spotify alone. He has since been receiving support from heavy hitters such as Capital Xtra, Shade 45, Hot 97’s DJ Enuff and Annie Mac who dubbed “We Run” as her “Hottest Record in the World” on her BBC Radio One series.
NENA coming to America: it’s one of the great unrequited love stories of pop culture history.“99 Luftballons” was the first German-language song to enter the US charts since Marlene Dietrich, yet although the pop queen toured all over the world, she never made it over to the US to perform. NENA has continued to rule the charts in Germany with sixteen studio albums and countless hits, and now is finally her time to take America by storm.
In the 33 years since it was released, NENA’s “99 Luftballons” (“99 Red Balloons”) has had an unmatchable impact on popular and music culture. Although NENA never stopped making music – she’s had a three-and-a-half decade career of hits and 16 studio albums behind her in Germany – and has toured in countries as far as Japan, NENA never got to tour the US. It’s one of those flukes in music history where what should have happened didn’t happen. But in NENA’s own words, “…now’s the right time. It’s always now!…When you want to do something and it just doesn’t happen, you shouldn’t be sad or disappointed because, well, 35 years later, it happens! It’s perfect timing.”
At the heart of NENA is a rock’n’roller with unbeatable stage presence and energy to spare, whether she’s playing to regularly sold-out crowds at the biggest arenas or more intimate club venues. Just take a listen to NENA’s latest outing – the excellent, energetic and rocking live album Live at SO36, recorded during a within-minutes sold-out concert at the famed Berlin club SO36. The opening rocking riffs of “Noch Einmal” NENA struck on her Telecaster sent out a shockwave of energy that carries through an entire night. From pure rockers to new-wave favorites to the touching ballads that fans sing along word-for-word, NENA can electrify a crowd with her incomparable, instantly recognizable voice and her own brand of rock’n’roll that includes influences of The Ramones, Blondie, and Talking Heads, among many others. The dancing never lets up with NENA until the lights finally go on at the end of the night. That’s what NENA is going to ultimately bring to the US – an amazing live energy that can shake an entire audience to its core.
She’s captured the hearts of Germany: her numerous top ten hits and 25 million sold records are proof of that. Now it’s time to share that with America. NENA’s most recent studio album, Oldschool, is the perfect fusion of her constant drive for artistic development and genuine authenticity. Produced and co-written by German hip-hop superstar Samy Deluxe, it blisters with a sense of immediacy and newness while especially playing lyrically with references to her past.
NENA has never been a nostalgia act; she still delivers onstage an exhilarating mix of her amazing and expansive discography. With that much spark, it’s a recipe for an utterly mind-blowing evening. American fans that missed the opportunity to see NENA when they were first introduced to her now have that chance. To paraphrase her latest single, there’s no time like “Genau jetzt” (right now).
NENA will be playing San Francisco on September 30, Los Angeles on October 2, and New York City on October 4.
Celebrating a decade of continuous critical acclaim and international success, Joan As Police Woman returns, this time working alongside fellow Brooklynite, Benjamin Lazar Davis.
They will be releasing their album Let It Be You on Oct 21 via Reveal Records/BFD*/RED Distribution.
A deeply soulful artist, Joan As Police Woman (Joan Wasser) has famously worked with Antony (Anohni), Rufus Wainwright, Lou Reed and David Sylvian. She recently performed at the Lincoln Center Out of Doors Tribute to Lou Reed. Benjamin is a talented multi-instrumentalist who currently performs with Okkervil River, Cuddle Magic and Bridget Kearney (Lake Street Dive). Joan and Ben met each other after separate trips to Africa; Ethiopia for Joan as part of Damon Albarn’s Africa Express, and West Africa for Lazar to study traditional music. They initially bonded over Central African Republic Pygmy musical patterns and wrote this album together loosely inspired by this music. The band recently performed at the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn Festival.
Previously going by the band name ‘2001’ the duo released a pair of partner videos featuring Fred Armisen (SNL, Portlandia); one for the song “Overloaded” with Ben on lead vocals and “Broke Me In Two” featuring Joan on lead. Both directed by Benjamin Gregory, the video for “Overloaded” features Joan and Ben as mechanics fixing Armisen’s car, while “Broke Me In Two” flips Armisen to the mechanic role with Joan and Ben cruising around town.
“Overloaded is one of the first songs we wrote together,” Joan explains. “From conception to final song, took only a couple of hours. In rehearsals we had been jamming on this riff together called “Hindewho” by Mbuti Peoples of Central African Republic (which is a duet using just a single note flute and voice). You can maybe hear that melody, it was certainly an influence for our song. Elsewhere on the “Let It Be You” record you might hear the influence of Ba Benzele Pygmies, especially on our loops and the complex rhythmic guitars. We tweak natural acoustic sounds and chop them up digitally and bit crush the electrics to make this new palette of sounds. As with “Broke Me In Two” we asked our comedian/musician friend Fred Armisen to appear in the music video, pretty much everything that comes out of his mouth is smart and funny but he plays it straighter here. We are looking forward to getting out and playing shows and for people to hear the record.”
The band will be touring Europe in November and December. Performing with a full band, Joan As Police Woman and Benjamin Lazar Davis will showcase songs from the new album and re-imagine landmark recordings from her four previous Joan As Police Woman albums (Real Life, To Survive, The Deep Field, The Classic). Click HERE for a full list of dates.
Right around a month ago, I posted a track from Tall Heights called “River Wider” (check it here), and now we’ve got another new track from them called “Infrared”. And again….I gotta say, this one is even better! They just keep getting better!
Interview Magazine premiered the track yesterday —- and you HAVE to go check it out. Their debut major label album, Neptune, will be out August 19th via Sony Music Masterworks.
Also, here’s a video of “Spirit Cold” live, for your listening and viewing pleasure.
Tour Dates
8/20: Schwenksville, PA @ Philadelphia Folk Festival
8/27: Hunter, NY @ Doctorow Center for the Arts
9/14: Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
9/15: Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern
9/17: Ashland, OR @ Brickroom
9/21: Los Angeles, CA @ Resident
9/29: Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
9/30: Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse Music Hall
10/5: Washington, DC @ DC9
10/6: New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
10/15: Portsmouth, NH @ Word Barn
10/20: Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom & Tavern
10/21: Chicago, IL @ Schubas
10/22: Cedar Rapids, IA @ CSPS Hall
10/23: St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club
10/27: Goshen, IN @ Ignition Garage
12/16: Boston, MA @ The Sinclair
12/18: Albany, NY @ The Egg
This track from Drop Out Vegas has been hiding in my messages for over a month. Today I finally got around to listening, and whoa! What a hidden gem!
Singer Skyler James explains, “‘Sleep Alone’ is a coming out story of bad relationship and hook up experiences, told in a way to bring a voice to the Tinder & Grindr generation, and to hope for a better day for those with low self confidence.”
Busman’s Holiday — made up of Bloomington, IN-based brothers Lewis and Addison Rogers — has spent the past few years touring with acts like Kishi Bashi and Saintseneca and winning over audiences with their heartfelt songs and memorable banter. The duo recently released a 7″ via Joyful Noise Recordings that pairs new single “Beach Song” with the pedal steel-driven ballad “LaVaughna,” and today, they share a video for the A-side.
Shot in the band’s hometown of Bloomington, the “Beach Song” video is lively and celebratory, pairing perfectly with the lighthearted vibe of the song it accompanies.
The Rogers brothers’ vocal harmonies and storytelling lyrics evoke images of their hometown in Southern Indiana and bring their songs’ subjects to life. Known for their spirited live show, they may kick off a set with an exultant, driving harmony or a ballad in a melancholy mode, but not before having a laugh and sharing stories with their audience.
Recorded with engineer/producer Mark Lawson (Arcade Fire, the Unicorns) and arranger Matt Nowlin, the new 7″ comes as a follow up to 2014’s A Long Goodbye and is meant to give fans a taste of the duo’s upcoming LP, due out in October on Joyful Noise.
“…ludicrously infectious…It’s a slice of absurdist neon-drenched pop with an equally surrealist accompanying video” – Stereogum
Holiday Mountain’s psych-aerobics video for “Cómo Te Llamas?” has debuted to give the first taste of the upcoming album SHIA, due August 12. Imagine if Adult Swim had Carmen Miranda direct an aerobics instructional video after taking four tabs of acid, the internet would implode, and thus, we would have Holiday Mountain’s “Cómo Te Llamas?”. Laura Patiño and Zander Kagle teamed up with Mexican Institute of Sound and director Brittany Reeber to create the final product, creating a unique, futuristic Cumbia-electronic hybrid .The video and single serve as the official announcement for the upcoming full-length, SHIA, out this fall.
About “Cómo,” singer and subject of the video Laura Patiño explains, “[the video] was inspired by my long time love for Jane Fonda-esque aerobics videos, absurdist artists like Eric Andre, and what we call ‘digital-punk’ style video editing; born from Youtube culture and the cyber revolution that has allowed us as humans to put out whatever expressions we want regardless of how unorthodox they are. I wanted the viewer to feel empowered by the fact that we have full ownership of our unique bodies while also acknowledging our culture’s ludicrous commodification of individual body parts, youth, and what it means to be healthy.”
The Austin duo of Patiño and Kagle combine hip-hop, electronic, reggae, dub, and Cumbia to create their own genre of heavy futuristic dance. Patiño cites surprising influences, such as Billie Holiday and Amy Winehouse, that, along with the visuals and Kagle’s production, manifest itself as art in the leagues of Major Lazer, Die Antwoord, and Peaches. SHIA is a balanced mix of freaky club bangers with a touch of vulnerability and sweetness. Says the band, “For us, SHIA signifies the end of compromise and the end of fearing what others will think or do when you become exactly who you want to be. SHIA is realization with a fuck-everything-else attitude.”
Holiday Mountain is an electronic music duo founded by Mexican-American songwriter/keyboardist Laura Patiño and drummer/producer Zander Kagle. The two met in Boston while attending Berklee College of Music and together found a genre-expanding sound, fusing together their affinity for pop, hip-hop, and electronic music. The result is a force so strong that when describing their sound, NPR exclaimed, “resistance is futile.”
“After witnessing their atomic live set, you’ll be rendered breathless,” says SPINMagazine, who also named the band one of their favorite things from SXSW 2015. “Make sure to watch to the end,” urges The Wall Street Journal, as audience members are regularly exposed to glittery crowd surfing, sweaty drum solos, and being fed cake until they reach “a cacophonous climax.” (SPIN)
Holiday Mountain’s addictive blend of upbeat, hyper-electro sounds and the ability to not take themselves too seriously while addressing deeper subjects places the band in a perfect position to become the next big thing. Let go and lose yourself in “Cómo,” viewable now and catch the band on tour opening for Beats Antique this fall, and prepare yourself for SHIA in its entirety.
Catch Holiday Mountain Live:
7/16 – Austin, TX – Solstice Festival
9/24 – Abeline, TX – Key City Block Party
9/25 – Austin, TX – Pecan Street Festival
10/27 – Tulsa, OK – Cain’s Ballroom *
10/28 – Dallas, TX – The Bomb Factory *
10/29 – Austin, TX – Emo’s *
10/31 – San Antonio, TX – The Aztec Theater *
* = with Beats Antique
Musically Amusing 