Ravages morph, Dynah opens a blank page, Tales in Space make it better, Brian Hartshorn is out at sea and more in today’s submissions from Groover, a platform that connects artists with critics like me for a small fee. You can (and should) subscribe to my Tinnitist Groover Top 100 playlist HERE, or you can listen to it via the widget at the lower right of every page on this site. If you want to be in an upcoming playlist, click the link just below the widget or go HERE.
Ravages | Métamorphoses
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Synth-Pop.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Empty streets, masks: while shooting their new video Métamorphoses with director Jérémy Vissio, Ravages were unaware that the future would catch back with them so quickly. Nourished by science-fiction (their name comes from an anticipatory novel by French author René Barjavel), influenced by utopian architecture, modern pop music and their scientific backgrounds (Martin graduated from Polytechnique school of Paris, and Simon has a master’s degree in Artificial Intelligence), the two Parisian musicians are back with a new single. After having enjoyed success with their indie-pop band Exsonvaldes, they are now exploring the path of new French electronic music, but song-oriented (think Morr Music, New Order, Malik Djoudi, Phoenix …). An ode to change, in between French chanson-pop and post-punk, Metamorphoses offers complex melodic patterns, mixed with analogic effects and humanist lyrics. Music for troubled modern times.”
Dynah | Page Blanche
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Pop.
THE TRANSLATED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Five letters for a baptism: Dynah, the new tailor-made pop costume for the musician Melody Linhart. Coming from the acoustic world of jazz, soul and folk, the singer opens a blank page — from the name of her first single — and begins a new musical epic, this time in French and carried by electro-pop minimalism between Clara Luciani and James Blake. Throughout collaborations, from Paris to London, via Spain and the Netherlands, Dynah adopts a new way of writing, urgently, without make-up. She seeks simplicity: “The songs impose themselves.” The young woman sharpens her pen and writes a song moment as precisely as a movie scene, composing by imagining that it weaves an adornment for a character. In this new playground, Dynah has fun and frees herself: “Pop is a pretext for talk about love and sensuality.” Fragility, dreams, pleasures, motherhood, Dynah explores pop like and deliciously confronts her words with electronic sounds. To this are added French producers (Nicolas Gueguen, Martin Chourrout, Guillaume Martial and Lionnel Buzac) playing the goldsmiths to give birth to the first EP Dynah.”
Tales in Space | Better With You
HOME BASE: Australia.
GENRE: Indie-Pop.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Sydney artist Tales in Space are here to share an uplifting indie-pop tune, Better With You, born during these challenging times. Better With You is a positive reflection of how important your family members are and how life is so much better with your loved ones around. The track lifts your spirits with a steady construction of warm tones of drums and guitar, before bursting into a powerful heartfelt chorus. Tales in Space find a lush blend of organic RnB quirks, mixed with a hint of signature synth pop vibes. Luke Bertoz, the architect behind Tales in Space, has been deeply immersed in song writing at his Coogee studio, creating album number 2, Weapon Of You, due for release on Aug. 14.”
Tenuta Mocajé | 2.39
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Pop.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “What is there to know? Jé, violinist and pianist seems more at ease in the dark, with closed doors and windows, a life in music to play, to accompany artists in their work. Inspired by classical, film music and rock from the ’70s Tenuta Mocajé — for those who would ask — is an imaginary place with uncertain access, near and far at the same time in which everyone would come to write their own story … 2.39, the first extract from Ténuta Mocajé, a late hour where everything can turn upside down, life takes unexpected paths, stories are made or unmade, moments of expectation and creation, anxiety or appeasement then light come back…”
Barton Hartshorn | Like The Sea
HOME BASE: France/England.
GENRE: Indie-Pop.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Barton Hartshorn is a singer-songwriter currently living in Paris. Born in Rochdale, England, Barton has toured with other acts as a drummer (Angus Stone, Gossling, Bo) and produces his albums and those of other artists in his Paris studio. He is also the lead singer and songwriter from the group Dictafone. A few days before going into the studio to record his new album, Barton Hartshorn unveiled his new single in the pure tradition of Brit Pop and in the vein of McCartney or Mika. Like The Sea was written whilst on tour in Australia. Over the last few months when most people were in lockdown, Barton remembered the track and how strangely appropriate the lyrics were. In the song he imagines that someone is the cure and sings about wanting to go to a far away land. The upbeat, feel good track was inspired by the Paul McCartney song Come And Get It that didn’t make it onto The White Album in 1968. The Beatles track has a relentless forward motion and a typical McCartney melodic twist that Barton wanted to recreate. “
Max Hartock | En Transe
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Jazz.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Having multiplied the artistic collaborations which led him to improvised music, the drummer and composer Max Hartock released his first album. Called West Indies, in reference to the distant Caribbean, the quartet he founded escapes there at the gates of modern jazz, guided above all by melody. The album displays a solar, naive, always sincere musicality. Each song illustrates the personal and musical journey of the drummer. Cradled from an early age by his father’s West Indian music — kompa, gwoka, bèlè — Hartock tinged his music with this sonic heritage, suggested over the notes. Influences which will then follow the contours of other musical regions, pop, rock, song but also, at the sources of jazz, those of improvised music.”
Axxis | Shôko
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: EDM.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Axxis is a french EDM producer. He starts learning guitar at the age of 14, playing rock, punk, grunge and metal music. Then, at 20 years old, he goes to rave parties and starts making underground electronic music. Wanting to know how to make his music sounds better, he focuses on EDM and sees the potential of it in terms of production, energy, and musicality (Zedd, Skrillex, Knife Party, KSHMR…) The first place reached on musicworx and being supported by Lumberjack, he decides to try to make his way through the EDM scene. “Shôko is an EDM / Future House track that refers to a night club in Barcelona (Spain). I think it definitely reflects what I felt the first time I’ve been there. A great club with access to beach, nice vibes, and nice people. With its future house sounds, it fits perfectly with sounds related to Hexagon, STMPD Records, or Obvious Records.”
Glass Slipper | No One Above
HOME BASE: Austin, Tex.
GENRE: House.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “If the shoe fits, this Austin-based duo assuredly intends on making you dance in it. An amalgamation of roots ranging from Chicago House and Eurodance to Gospel and Bay Area Deep House, the formidable force known as Glass Slipper — Brad Eller and Lisa Cork-Twiss — have developed a unique perspective for their take on dance music. Their diverse sound is effortlessly transferred into their fabled live shows, fitting them perfectly into any aspect of the programming of an event — from building the vibe in a room to peak-time bangers. A product of Houston’s music scene, Lisa grew up singing Gospel in the church. Inspired by her songwriting mother, her early entrance into releasing recordings saw her join the Eurodance group Real McCoy from 1996-1998. Brad forged his own path, cutting his teeth as a DJ during San Francisco’s famed House music explosion in the early 2000s. Graduating from mixing records to live performance, he began making studio-based productions before moving to Austin. After reading a 2013 interview with Lisa and reaching out to her for a remote collaboration, the duo realized they both resided in the same area. It wasn’t long before this instant classic combination of her voice and his music led to the release of their first project. Since their first release, 2014’s Surge on South Africa’s Oh So Coy Recordings, Glass Slipper’s tracks have routinely placed in Top 100 charts and their productions grace the catalogs of high-profile labels such as: Moulton Music, Delve Deeper Recordings, and Gent’s & Dandy’s Records. Glass Slipper has certainly found the shoe that fits, and they are certainly going to make you dance in it.”
Edouard Cheritel | Heart
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Neo-Classical.
THE TRANSLATED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Heart is a long and slowly evolving piece, starting with a piano mixed with echoes of itself, treated by a multitude of effects. The song then evolves with the arrival of the Juno 106, also swimming in a sea of effects. The guitar solo, so proud, completes this piece of music. I am a French composer based in Paris. At the age of four, I started learning the clarinet at the conservatory and stayed there for 21 years. During this long development, I learned to write and play chamber and symphonic music. I studied classical composition for 15 years and modern composition for another 6 years. In the meantime, I have experimented with electronic music while being a member of several electronic and pop groups. The biggest commercial success was my project Employee of The Year, which released two albums, played several times on television and provided several pieces for commercials. I finished a first series of solo compositions called Suite No1 in 2019. They form a first compact suite composed of four movements combining my classical composition skills and an electronic call, resulting in a melancholy journey. In addition to my activities concerning the ongoing Suite series, I am currently working on my first play, which is a musical adaptation of the novel by Boris Vian, and “we will kill all the awful.” To help me in this process, I decided to compose one minute of music per week, to publish it without filter, accompanied by a selected photo of portraits, which corresponds to the images I have in mind, at as the novel progresses.”
Dmitri Jones | I Don’t Wanna Dance
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Synth-Pop.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Dimitri Jones is a singer, songwritter and performer based in Paris. Strongly influenced by Pop, Queer and Punk culture, his first record: I Don’t Wanna Dance is an open door on Dimitri’s inner world, and exhorts to be the most absolute version of yourself in the age of standardization.”
Dreadlox Holmes | Black Stars
HOME BASE: U.K.
GENRE: Hip-hop.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Dreadlox Holmes is a British-born, Jamaican-raised, and now Paris-based Music Producer / Guitarist / Lyricist / Composer / Songwriter / Enunciation Coach for French singers singing in English / Performer. He enjoys creating many different genres of music. Black Stars, written a couple of years ago, but just released, is an empowerment anthem for black people worldwide who’ve been down trodden for centuries, In light of the George Floyd killing, this is something to give us some confidence and much-needed pick me up and positive energy to keep going. The song crosses genres including Trap, Hip-Hop Rap, Rock & Funk.”
Oris Beats | With You
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Soul/R&B.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “I’m Oris, I’m a 22-year-old music producer. I was in Toronto last year and I built some connections with artists from the city and I made this track for my project with one of them: YL Vision. We had a good connection in the studio so we decided to create an R&B song for my EP.”
