Speelburg is ready for you, Digital Monx have been around, FTC live up to their acronym, New Language know you’re out to get them and more in today’s Roundup. I’d say that’s enough work for a holiday, wouldn’t you?
1 | Speelburg | When You Want Me
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Rising electro-pop artist Speelburg has officially announced the details for his debut studio album Porsche, due out Sept. 18, and has released his new single When You Want Me. The tantalizing foot-stomping track sees the multi-faceted artist and producer playing most of the instrumentation himself, except for the brass played by his friend Paul Silver. The video for When You Want Me is a fast-paced, self-produced and directed visual filmed in his hometown of Brighton, England. “When I was writing Porsche, I really wanted to make sure I wasn’t just writing love songs or songs about grief,” shares Speelburg (Noah Sacré). “I challenged myself to write faster-paced, more urgent songs. My running playlist is all songs between 150 and 160 BPM, because each step falls on the beat and that’s something I had in mind when I wrote When You Want Me. This is a song about cosmic longing, like when you find someone and you’re both linked through time and space. Be it love, infatuation or friendship, I’ve got a few people in my life where it just feels like our frequencies are humming in tandem. Wherever we find ourselves in the world, it’s like no time has passed and we’re always available to each other, night and day and in any dimension.”
2 | Digital Monx | Everywhere We Go ft. Racquel Jones
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Digital Monx is the new project by Balkan Beat Box founders Tamir Muskat and Ori Kaplan where the two producers team with a unique voice on each track. Today the global bass pioneers release Everywhere We Go, fronted by Thievery Corporation’s Racquel Jones. Recorded in Jamaica, New Mexico, and Tel Aviv, Everywhere We Go is an eclectic fusion of sounds blending Jamaican dancehall with darbuka percussion patterns West African kalimbas and with a chorus featuring the Turkish zorna, a double reeded flute. It’s a lesson about people coming together for a common cause, erasing distances with the force of communication and will. “The video is about people who strive, flourish, and live fully with their differentness,” say Digital Monx. “It’s about the human spirit.”
3 | FTC | Flatten the Curve
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Following the release last month of the benefit track Flatten the Curve, which features members of Minutemen, Runaways, Redd Kross and more artists and bands from the punk, indie and hard rock world, the wide array of contributing musicians decided to create a video to accompany the track. Sequestered and observing social distancing guidelines and rules, many of those participating in the track submitted self-shot footage for the fun and arresting video. “This video is like a bizarre Rock ‘n’ Roll alternate reality,” says songwriter/vocalist/backing vocalist/guitarist Frank Meyer (The Streetwalkin’ Cheetahs, Blind House) who wrote the song and directed the video. “Nowhere else would you see members of Minutemen and The Adolescents rockin’ next to members of KIX and JetBoy. Where else would you see the singer of The Runaways and Josie Cotton alongside members of Fishbone, Screeching Weasel and The Supersuckers? It’s like my whole record collection made a record together and then a video… Actually I guess they did!”
4 | New Language | Paranoid
THE PRESS RELEASE: “L.A. alternative rock outfit New Language have released a captivating new music video to visually express the mindset of their new single Paranoid. It completes the band’s EP1_2020 visual trilogy as they rev up for the release of their full length due out later this year. The band states, “Paranoid was initially written in response to the repeated gun violence we see here in the U.S. and around the world. Paranoid was a theme we felt could all be related to in some regard. As a small experiment, we asked peers, family, fans, and friends, “What makes you paranoid?” The answers were all over the place and it quickly became apparent how we all share the same feeling but for such varying reasons. Is it losing control? Is it not meeting expectations? Is it violence? Are we paranoid because the person standing next to you is paranoid? The list could go on and we can be better at understanding everyone’s reasons.”
5 | Wolves in Argyle | Wasteless
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Oakland punk/garage rock unit Wolves in Argyle — who feature within their ranks former members of The Gits, The Oozzies and more — are pleased to unveil their official new video for Wasteless. The track serves as the closer of their debut full-length, Dangereux. Says the band, “The song is In reference to Voltaire’s famous quote, ‘Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.’ It’s time for a more altruistic world and changing the world of lies we’ve been forced to live in.”
6 | All Things Blue | Dicking Around
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Dream-punk band All Things Blue announced their debut album Get Bit will be released Oct. 2. Along with the album announcement, the LA-based outfit led by frontwoman India Coombs (or simply Blue) and collaborator Jon Joseph are releasing new single Dicking Around. The song looks darkly inward as an all-too-casual narrator contemplates acting on their worst impulses. Sonically toying with the paisley underground sound of the 1980’s but with a distinctly modern flair, Dicking Around utilises an expansive array of swirling guitars, psychedelic electronic flourishes and a potent rhythm section. Coombs said: “The phenomenon Edgar Allen Poe once coined ‘the imp of the perverse’ rang true to me as a strong parallel of the tone in Dicking Around. The mind can be surprising without what feels like the ability to help it. I wrote this as a wrap for thoughts of acting on my own worst impulses despite recognising they’re naughty hehe.”
7 | Hayvanlatr Alemi | Thundercloud Museum
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Turkish psych threesome Hayvanlatr Alemi unveil new video from their mesmerizing album Psychedelia in Times of Turbulence. The album features progressive compositions that take their cue from drone metal, stoner rock and psychedelic doom, while subtly preserving the overtones of their brand of folkloric psych rock. Thundercloud Museum presents a footage used for the art project Yıkçık, showed in 2014 in İstanbul by Fikirtepe. The track was composed by Özüm İtez, arranged by Hayvanlar Alemi, and recorded by Matt Bordin at Outside Inside Studio, Montebelluna. Video by Onur Ceritoğlu.”
8 | Evicshen | Fever Pitch
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Victoria Shen (aka Evicshen) is an experimental sound artist who has worked with electronics for over a decade. Her practice blurs the lines between sound, visual, and tactile art. Her debut LP Hair Birth is the result of several weekends locked in a studio creating cacophonous, wondrous synth noise with Harvard’s Buchla 100 and Serge modular systems. She tracked hours of stems before cloistering herself in a painstaking editing process. Hair Birth is not limited to audio though — Shen wants the full expression of the album to be experienced visually, haptically, and to be embodied as a living breathing artifact. In a total integration of sound and image, Shen has created an album that you listen to, through its own art.”
9 | Dukes of Chutney | Little War
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Dukes of Chutney’s long-awaited debut album Hazel explores life’s wandering ways while widening its path. Recorded from remote yet commonly tranquil corners of the world over a six year span, the transcontinental trio of Dustin Lynn, John Paul Jones and Petra, explore the different spaces and places, between nothingness and nature, that nurture inner and outer peace. On Little War, the first offering from Hazel, Dukes of Chutney concoct a dream beat about love for the sake of love. Even when love can lead to conflict when laid bare and vulnerable, Little War is redemptive as it is immersive in its call for care before conflict. “Pretty much everything we do is without purpose,” the Dukes admit, in line with their pursuit of joy.”
10 | INTRCPTR | Dusted
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Los Angeles-based duo INTRCPTR — formed by guitarist Ben Carr of 5ive and drummer Larry Herweg of Pelican — present a brand-new official video for the track Dusted, from the band’s second EP, II, released last year. The video sees its debut as the band announces its dissolution. Herweg humbly offers with the video and break-up announcement, “Kenneth Thomas, a longtime friend and collaborator with Pelican and other labelmates, made the perfect sendoff for our band. Upon getting the finished video this past week I found out Ben was relocating back to the East Coast. This past week we were also scheduled to open for Shiner in L.A., but like all live shows it got postponed indefinitely. It would’ve been a great last show together, but the world has different plans for everyone right now. Thank you to everyone that listened, came out to our shows, helped us put out our music, etc.”
11 | Sacre | 00:00 AM Hades’s Blessing
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Electro-pop duo Sacre share the music video for 00:00 AM Hades’s Blessing, from their forthcoming album Love Revolution. The album is part of Sacre’s exciting project that harnesses music, photography and storytelling. 00:00 AM Hades’s Blessing takes two simple yet unexpected colours and runs with them, allowing the two tones to envelope the music video. ”We have shot this music video in our house of Amsterdam with our three cats (they were mainly involved in finishing the meals and watching us laugh) and two friends from Paris. They are the ones who played the role of Bebe and the android in our story and on the artworks. In fact, they partly inspired us the role they play! As the song is very minimalist, we wanted the aesthetic of the music video to be very pure, with a combination of two colours that could express our message: pink for love and yellow for hope. The story follows the idea of the lyrics where a stripper and an android begins to fall in love with each other. First looks, first dreams. The result is mechanic like an android, sensual like a stripper.”
12 | Toots & The Maytals | Got to Be Tough
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Following the astounding global reception from the announcement of his highly anticipated forthcoming studio album Got To Be Tough, and the release of his latest timeless single (of the same name), the legendary founder of Reggae, Frederick “Toots” Hibbert has revealed the official music video for Got To Be Tough. It is a reminder that through Toots’ creative veins run all the roots and shoots of the Black Diaspora. Blues, soul, r’n’b, funk, jazz, reggae, African griots — Toots honours, embodies and owns them. Throwing down an authoritative guide: how to survive and thrive among our Earth’s challenges.”
13 | Richitta | Quit Playin
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Up-and-coming R&B/hip-hop artist Richitta offers up a brand new empowering anthem in the form of her latest single Quit Playin. Channeling the fierce strength and authenticity of some of the most notable female icons of the ‘90s and early 2000s, such as Aaliyah, Lauryn Hill and Brandy, on Quit Playin, Richitta’s soulful vocals and hard-hitting verses shine bright alongside scintillating pop-flecked rhythms. Through honest lyrics, she makes a powerful statement, reminding her listeners to recognize their own worth. “Quit Playin came from a place of being tired of not being valued. I reached the point where I was fed up and over it,” she says. “Most importantly, this song meant breaking the cycle of not putting myself first.”
14 | Zoe Polanski | The Willows
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Violent Flowers is a glistening collection of Experimental Dream Pop from Israeli singer, songwriter, and film composer Zoe Polanski. Written in collaboration with producer Aviad Zinemanas, Violent Flowers uses Polanski’s tranquilizing voice as a guide across a vibrant landscape of inner musings that reflect her visual, and often cinematic, approach to songwriting. Single The Willows is inspired by Polanski’s encounters and reflections with the violence of the Israeli-Palenstine conflict evoking ambient electronica on the slow motion dance floor. “I wrote The Willows after spending a few months far away from home, traveling with a guy across the U.S. It was a surreal affair I had with a musician which I really admired, and it ended painfully. When I returned to Israel, the 2014 Gaza conflict started, and I remember being stuck in my room, which was on a rooftop in Jaffa, hearing long sirens and then explosions over my head. I recall being conflicted between empathizing with the civilians in Gaza and southern Israel while at the same time longing for being as far away from this as possible. I longed to go back to those magical days of traveling, and writing the song kind of helped me do that. Years later I recorded a demo of it on a 4-track, and then played it to Aviad when we met. It was the first song we ever worked on together.”
15 | Home Counties | Dad Bod
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Home Counties return with their second single Dad Bod, and announce the release of their debut EP Redevelopment, out Sept. 4. This time Home Counties turn their attention to the ‘progressive’ metropolitan man and his relationship with middle-class privilege. Zig-zagging into even wilder, more exciting territory — Dad Bod succinctly showcases the band’s aptness for wonk-pop doozies. Songwriter and vocalist Will Harrison said: “Dad Bod explores modern middle-class masculinity, with a particular focus upon the ‘progressive’ metropolitan man. The song initially takes a light-hearted standpoint listing the aesthetic traits and status symbols of modern men before moving on to address a darker side which is hidden behind the comfortability and respectfulness of a Dad Bod.“
16 | Dan Michaelson | Colourfield II
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Dan Michaelson releases his new album Colourfield on July 24. Opening with a sharp intake of breath from the musicians before launching into a full scale wall of orchestral sound, Colourfield II utilises every element of the forthcoming album’s palette with force. Inspired by the repetitive cycles of east coast minimalism, the sweeping melancholia of Etta James, and with a nod to the classic film scores of John Williams, brass and strings fight for attention, melting into a field of flutes and piano before returning for a fanfare close. On making the decision to step back from singing and lyric writing, the thinking was simple, “everyone gets tired of the sound of their own voice sometimes …”
17 | Thomas Bartlett | Lucida
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Acclaimed pianist/producer Thomas Bartlett has announced the release of his extraordinary debut solo album. Shelter arrives July 24. A collection of eight disarmingly beautiful piano nocturnes written as a love letter to his partner, British actress and singer Ella Hunt, as well as to New York City itself, his home for 21 years, Bartlett recorded the album in his home over two days following the beginning of lockdown. Shelter is heralded by today’s unveiling of Lucida. “In the total strangeness of the moment and the lockdown,” Bartlett says, “I gave myself permission to do a thing that I don’t usually do, in terms of how these pieces to me are kind of shameless in their sentimentality.”
18 | Remington Super 60 | Still Near
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Remington Super 60 is an indie pop group hailing from the town Fredrikstad in Norway. It was founded by the group’s songwriter and bedroom producer Christoffer Schou late 1998. Originally set up as a Casio pop band, the sound has gone back and forward but always been inspired by Christoffer’s musical heroes Burt Bacharach, Brian Wilson, Velvet Underground as well as newer bands such as New Order, Stereolab, High Llamas, Cornelius and Yo La Tengo. The band has released several albums, EPs on various indie labels around the world, and appeared on numerous compilation albums since its early start.”
19 | Alex Young | Projection
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Having been somewhat quiet in recent times, D.C. based producer and DJ extraordinaire Alex Young relaunches himself as he unveils new single Projection, the latest from EDEN’s collaborative project New World Tapes. Synth-laden with suspenseful bass and knocking Hip-Hop beat patterns, Alex creates the perfect lo-fi, atmospheric measure, moving elegantly with an earnest and subdued performance that blends rap and vocals in an emotionally present way.”
20 | Die Robot | Fanatic
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Electro-Industrial band Die Robot return from isolation with a new single release and a new video! The band’s new single Fanatic initially premiered in February at their sold-out show at Oregon’s Museum of Science and Industry. With the world being affected by the global shut down during the pandemic, Die Robot took to the studio record the new single. Barbie Saint of Die Robot explains why they wrote Fanatic: “Being in lockdown due to the Covid-19 allowed us the time to work and record in our home studio at our own pace. Fanatic is actually a lighthearted love dance song. Sometimes if you want someone too much, you can became a fanatic.”
21 | Obylx | Invincible
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Bristol-based producer Obylx has released his single Invincible. It draws parallels to the contemporary works of Imagine Dragons, Kasbo and Zayde Wolf. As a result, his sound remains unique with dynamics that cannot be tied to the shackles of genre. Influenced by the likes of Bowie, Grandaddy, Radiohead, Phillip Glass and Randy Newman, Obylx draws from a wide spectrum of reference points while at once never fully committing to any particular one — navigating deftly between obscurantism and pure genius. Explaining the meaning behind the single, Obylx tells us, “This song is not meant to be interpreted as me being invincible; more that ideas can have a lasting effect. If something is worth pursuing then follow that realisation and that idea can become something that will outlive us all.”
22 | Jarreau Vandal | My Way
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Jarreau Vandal follows his previous single, Nothing Nice feat. Kojey Radical and Gaidaa, with the Afrobeat groove My Way. The track sees Jarreau team up with emerging R&B singer Col3trane. Co-written by Ari Pensmith (GoldLink, Beyoncé), My Way is the third single to be taken from Jarreau’s forthcoming EP Superhero: The Villain Within, to be released on July 16. The impressive up-tempo EP is impossible to pinpoint a genre. Raised in a musical family, Jarreau first found his passion for music playing drums in his church band, and via his producer Grandfather. Growing up listening to gospel, soul and jazz, Jarreau’s eclectic sound transcends those genres, percussion, and his later discoveries of R&B, funk, hip hop and pop. Other guests on the EP include Nigerian musician Tay Iwar and L.A.-based singer-songwriter Kiah Victoria.
