Wht Rice play with dolphins, ØLSKXX plays king of the hill, NineteenHateHate isn’t playing at all, Sinister Lover plays alone 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. But first, take in this top-notch crop of coolness.
Wht Rice | Dolphin In The Picture
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Hip-Hop.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “To die and to be reborn on the shore. The devil works in my veins and my ass. Rough wind pushing its dryness in your eyes. Dance in wine, bury your feet in white sands, until you can see further. Cigarettes and hazelnuts. The air is soft like suede. If I had a son, I’d name him Dwight. If I had a daughter I’d do the same. Because I can’t stop thinking about you. Wht Rice just released his first full independent album called Mermaid Mand. Today he presents you Dolphin In The Picture, his very first videoclip. The song is about all the grey areas in life. Like looking at old vacation photos and finding a dolphin you never knew was in the frame.”
ØLSKXX | King Of Mount Trytra (With Stick Up Boys)
HOME BASE: Finland.
GENRE: Hip-Hop.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “ØLSKXX (pronounced Olsk-ex-ex), aka Olsky, is an italian music maker based in Finland. The single King of Mount Trytra features the Stick Up Boys, an anonymous collective from Brighton who have been heralded as the “new sound of urban pop music.” Stick Up Boys sing tongue-in-cheek lyrics about isolation in a faraway land with a dandy, laissez-faire attitude and psychedelic mood. “The boys interpreted marvellously the idea I had for the song, adding their very own flavour and highlighting the creeply fun aspect of the whole concept,” says ØLSKXX. ØLSKXX’s sound is a blend of abstract hip hop beats, lo-fi sounds and downtempo electronica. He is inspired by producers like Flying Lotus, Madlib and El-P.”
NineteenHateHate | FuckDaOpps
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: Rap-Metal.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Over simmering production from Anthony Chognard (Montreal) , Seattle’s own NineteenHateHate liberates a new personal effort with his latest single FuckDaOpps. Strutting with a justified confidence, the artist shares the fruits of his labor over a menacing beat with an infectious chorus. FuckDaOpps is his fourth single.”
https://youtu.be/amobCm_-K3g
Sinister Lover | Sinister Lover
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Indie-Rock.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “The album Life in a Bubble Gum Machine is the first bit of music Sinister Lover has ever made. Xavier was inspired to make this album by fellow country man Orville Peck, PARTIME, and John Maus. Rooted in ’80s aesthetics but channeled through very youthful and poetic lyrics, Life In A Bubble Machine unravels itself as a collection of tales and legends extracted from Xavier’s life. The entirety of the album was made in three months in Xavier’s bedroom.”
Rodeo FM | Summer Rain
HOME BASE: Germany.
GENRE: Americana.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Summer Rain is the second single of upcoming album “upgrade of truth” by Berlin-based Americana band Rodeo FM. A serene journey to the heart of darkness… Rodeo FM have been around for quite a few years, released two albums and a few singles and sessions. They have played a couple 100 shows from the South of France to the Eastern Ukraine (up until March 2020). They have been said to sound like a mix of Tom Petty, Gram Parsons and Whiskeytown.”
Halcyon | Neon Knights
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Soul/R&B.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Halcyon, the pseudonym of Sergio Roberts, was born and raised in the Netherlands by a Surinamese father and a mother from the Caribbean. Sergio spent a big part of his childhood in Antigua, where he started singing in the local church. Although music was not stimulated at home, Sergio decided to pursue a career in music after moving to Amsterdam. “’Living in Amsterdam gives me much more of a chance to openly and unapologetically be me, as a queer man that wants to express himself. I’m thankful that Amsterdam quickly made me feel at home and less of a standout.” Accompanied by a nostalgic 80’s atmosphere and Halcyon’s warm and soothing R&B vocals, Neon Nights is an ode to those nightly moments you never wanted to come to an end, but will always relive in your memory. ‘I want to dedicate Neon Nights to one of my best friends who passed away recently. The golden moments that him and I shared emotionally, are exactly the kind of memories Neon Nights cherishes.”
https://youtu.be/Khh2LRxtJ_M
Rook | Détour
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Folk-Pop.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Rook makes music at the crossroads between French chanson, reggae and pop. On stage, he sublimates the genres with naturalness, giving all his place to groove. It was during his childhood in Senegal that Julien Imbert (alias Rook) forged his musical influences: Positive Black Soul, Daara J, Alpha Blondy, Salif Keita, Cesaria Evora, and of course reggae. Once settled in Quebec, now his home, he set up the reggae-fusion band RookieRook & Compagnie, with up to eight musicians. His latest single, Détour, accompanied by a music video shot in Western Canada, precedes the arrival of an EP. These new songs mark a resolutely pop turning point in the artist’s career, which we’ll see again in 2021 with an album and several explosive collaborations.”
Random Koslow | A Never-Ending Fall
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Pop-Rock.
THE TRANSLATED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “I tried to put in this piece all the happiness that I had to build this album, a work of 20 years which finally resulted thanks to the investment of wonderful musicians. The album itself deals with this work of liberation and this desire to create. This piece is, I believe, the most faithful illustration, by telling the story of this solitary star condemned to turn eternally in its orbit, and which only aspires to open up to others. It’s an album that I wanted to be fresh, elegant but also full of energy.”
Émile Gruff | Petite Furie
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Indie-Rock.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Daniel Laflamme, alias Émile Gruff, was ‘born’ in February 2011. In October 2012, Émile Gruff began recording a debut album; “A beautiful pear, ripe to the point, ready to give life to a great appetite”. In 2018, a second album, Débouler vers le ciel, was released. Regarding the third album, Une fin rire?, which will be released in two parts, Émile Gruff promises us a dense album, with many songs and an instrumental part that will highlight the immense talent of the musicians. “I’ve always been inspired by Brian Eno’s artistic approach and I think I got a little closer to it with this album. Several collaborators came to put their “magic touch” on my songs including Pascal Racine-Venne (percussion), Joëlle St-Pierre (xylophone) and Amélie Pître (voice).”
DONT3 | Out Right Now ft. Prvnci
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: Rap.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “DONTE GRIFFIN AKA DONT3 IS A MUSIC PRODUCER FROM SAN ANTONIO TEXAS. MUSIC HAS BEEN AROUND HIM ALL HIS LIFE. HIS UNCLE TEACHES MUSIC IN FLINT MICHIGAN, MOM PLAYS TRUMPET, AND HIS SISTER IS IN THE CHOIR. DONT3 GOT TO A LATE START AND HAS BEEN PRODUCING FOR THREE YEARS AND MAKING GREAT WORK FEATURING PRODUCTION FROM PEOPLE LIKE LONDONBLUE AND DAVE SAVA6E. ALSO FEATURING ARTISTS LIKE BLAKE ANTHONY AND PRVNCI. HE DEFINITELY HAS SOMETHING FOR EVERY MOOD.”
Pajarito | Le Depart
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: World.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Berklee College of Music graduate, Conservatory Gold Medal in France, I worked as composer/arranger and instrumentAalist in the USA for six years (with Karmin) in electronic music, jazz and world music. Currently based in Paris, France, working as a producer/ composer/arranger and instrumentalist for my personal project Pajarito. Here is my latest track, not easy to classify into one particular music genre, as I love combining styles and traditions from all over the world, with always an electronic touch into it. This track is very moving, it makes you travel. It’s called Le Départ (The Departure), and I sincerely feel that it would be a great addition to any movie/serie/ad.”
The Peter Foret Project | Color Me Gone
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Jazz-Rock.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “The Peter Forêt Project is comprised of 25 full-time professional rock, jazz and classical musicians from Canada’s national capital region. In between concerts, tours, theatre shows, backing international stars and other music projects the band members are separately involved in, they congregate at studioNINE in Navan, Ontario to record Peter Forêt’s original songs. The music reflects the diverse influences, experiences and tastes of the band. Jazz, Afro/Cuban, R&B, Gospel, Blues, Reggae….woven into the fabric of mature, elegant pop/rock. Featuring the voice of Michael Curtis Hanna, son of the iconic American jazz pianist Sir Roland Hanna.”
Follow the Bit | Shut Up
HOME BASE: Italy.
GENRE: Modern Rock.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Jimmy Sillani, one-man band based in Milan, Italy. Writing, playing, singing, recording and mixing in my home studio, with a DIY approach. Shut Up is a song that takes sides against ignorance, against hate speech on social networks, against those who feed stupidity and racism.”
Creeptones | Hell and Ice
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: Psychedelic Pop.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Creeptones formed in 2010 in Asbury Park, NJ. We’ve played hundreds of gigs, and have recently released our second album Hell + Ice. We love writing music and have so many new ideas to share with the world. In the covid era we’ve been building an amazing live streaming setup with a sound controlled lighting rig, moving cameras, and multiple angles! We perform original music, requests, covers, and “sing the comments” where the viewers write the song as we create on the fly!”
Martin Rott | Stories
HOME BASE: Germany.
GENRE: Electronica.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Born in Ohio, Martin grew up in Germany with mom and dad being classical violinists, receiving drum lessons from age 6, whilst developing self-taught piano, guitar and bass skills playing in school and church bands. Leaving home at age 16 to join his first rock band he went on to earn a professional music education including studies at Berklee in Boston, the Conservartory of Enschede, NL, a diploma from the School of Music and Perf. Arts Mannheim and a BA in music production from the Popakademie Mannheim, where he wrote and produced his first LP for his indie-pop duo Anstatt Blumen. After teaching drums, playing in and producing several bands from all genres he worked as an in-house producer of Austria’s largest commercial studio in Vienna until game score giant dynamedion welcomed him to their team of external composers in 2014. Since then he’s scored dozens of episodes for German TV, and several films. In his Berlin studio, with his grand piano placed next to the production desk, Martin works on finding a unique sound for every theme he writes. Emerging from this work, he’s planning to release two solo EPs and one album with his very own artistic vision of beats and soundscapes, to make room for some of the many ideas based on pictures wich haven’t been captured on film yet.”
NKA | Loving This
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: R&B.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “NKA has worked with artists such as Enchantée Julia, Kiddy Smile, Lous and The Yakuza, Yusan and Akua Naru, to name a few. She also collaborated with film directors Harry Roselmack (Fractures) and Jean Paul Goude (Eau Vive Chanel). NKA now extends these experiences with an invitation to discover her multilayered universe. NKA offers images and captures of her sensitive universe, reminiscent of a contemporary and alternative soul. Her verses stir together French and English just as spontaneously as she captures the influences of her eclectic Paris, and her cultural heritage that traces back to the English speaking regions of Cameroon. Contemporary R&B, Gospel, Jazz, Hip-Hop, and French Pop circulates within her creative incubator. She invites us in that inspirational bubble where you’ll find other talented artists, dear friends, and free spirits made in Paris. She crystallizes candid emotions and experiments with word play. Her voice is left there ever so softly, on freshly written songs or older ones that remain relevant throughout the years.”
Demsky | Cold Coffee
HOME BASE: Japan.
GENRE: Synth-Pop.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Now residing in Tokyo, Demsky takes a lot of his inspiration from artists like Tycho, Lemon Jelly and the beat-making, post-rock scenes that he’s heavily involved in. His music has been featured in various programs such as the docuseries Descending, and he works with numerous YouTubers including Ramen Adventures. Lessons of love, understanding, choices, perseverance, and adaptability are some of the themes in Demsky’s sound. “I have been crafting ambient sounds for 10 years, but have brought it to the stage just in the last year.”
