Dolche has an extremely moody Sunday, Fredz and Vercors put a French spin on the proceedings, Edourd visits another world 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 a spin through these intriguing offerings:
Dolche | Sunday Mood
HOME BASE: Italy.
GENRE: Folk-Pop.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Dolche is the new project of the Italian/French singer-songwriter Christine Herin, whose musical career boasts five albums and more than 500 concerts around Europe. Multi-instrumental and multicultural, Dolche’s music is a dreamy and powerful voyage inside her very personal and unique universe. Her music has often been compared to the works of Feist, Peter Gabriel, Bjork, Joni Mitchell and Aznavour. One last bold video to announce next month’s full album Exotic Diorama, Sunday Mood is a musically intrepid and genre-agnostic song — Dolche’s war declaration to gender violence and abuse. “I went through a rough time, a dark moment in my life and I composed this song thinking about how hard and long the process of getting out of there had been and than about how sudden and easy it was, in the end, to take that decisive first step. I wanted the Sunday Mood video to show the liberation from violence, from insecurity and abuse. I dedicate it to all my sister women.”
Fredz | Personne ne Touche le Ciel
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Rap.
THE TRANSLATED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Young Montreal rapper of barely 18 years old, Fredz is one of the most promising of the new Canadian rap scene. He combines his music and his studies of literature, which no doubt explains why his pen is so mature at such a young age. He is inspired by Romeo Elvis, Nekfeu or even Lord Esperanza.”
Vercors | La Nuit Finira
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Folk-Rock.
THE TRANSLATED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Vercors is a Franco-Quebecer trio made up of the Quebecois musician and director T and two French musicians, Max and Ferval. The group is accompanied on stage by a collective of French and Quebec musicians. The name of Vercors is a triple reference to the resistance maquis, to the French author Vercors, as well as to Alain Bashung’s song La Nuit Je Mens. La Nuit Finira is their second single.”
Edouard | Another World
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Electronica.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “When it comes to reinvention, electronic music producer Edouard knows it best. A part of the French Touch movement of the ’90s, his previous project found itself an integral part of Europe’s house music scene. His latest reinvention is eclectic blend of electro, pop, dance, house, synthwave and other electronic styles. Armed with an extensive collection of vintage and modern synths, some of which he designs under the name Edouard Digital, he composes tracks tracks fashioned for the times with a retro twist inspired by French electronic music pioneers such as Daft Punk, Jean-Michel Jarre, Air, Justice, Laurent Garnier, Cassius, Bob Sinclar, Martin Solveig and Alex Gopher. Another World harks back to Kraftwerk and early Daft Punk, and is a hymn to hope in the current crisis.”
Louis-Étienne Santais | La Plage du Nord
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Classical.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “After garnering success with his indie-pop projects Fjord and Ghostly Kisses, Louis-Étienne Santais is now unveiling his solo piano compositions for the very first time! If his work recalls the influence of composers such as Nils Frahm, Ólafur Arnalds, Jean-Michel Blais and Alexandra Streliski, the composer and producer from Quebec City remains above all a self-taught pianist who skillfully and spontaneously combines classical music with modern pop minimalism.”
Edenya | Sabrina
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Folk-Rock.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Edenya was formed in 2010 by Marco, songwriter and guitarist-keyboardist. At the beginning, Edenya was an instrumental project, inspired by movie soundtracks but it has never stopped evolving over the past 10 years. In 2013, Edenya integrated vocals with the collaboration of the Cameroonian singer Ida Rose. After nearly four years of collaboration, Ida Rose left the band and Edenya hired singers Elena and Rémi. Edenya is inspired by many musical styles from rock to folk, including progressive music and trip-hop. The soft and powerful voices combine wonderfully with Marco’s guitar, sometimes energetic and sometimes delicate, immersing the listener in intense atmospheres and emotions. Sabrina, a song from the album Silence, is an emotional, melodic song with a beautiful female voice and a catchy chorus.”
Emmanuel Della Torre | La Nostalgie de l’Ours Blanc
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Folk.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “His Stetson Dallas Cowboy on his head, his guitar bending on his shoulder, his harmonica on C, Emmanuel Della Torre comes with his latest song. A song about the limitless human exploitation of the Arctic area. Picture yourself as a polar carnivore, seeing his land melting like snow in the sun, and the oil industry threatening animals made of blood, flesh and bones. Listen now to La Nostalgie de l’Ours Blanc. The new album Le Folk, l’Or et l’Horizon is coming soon.”
Les Cons Cernés | Alien
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Indie-Rock.
THE TRANSLATED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Cons Cernés’ rock is a bit like Dr. Pepper: 23 shady flavors more or less identifiable which, when mixed, taste like the sky. The group will look for these ingredients in the ska of Madness and the tunes of Offenbach as much as in the texts of Richard Desjardins and the jams of Charlie Parker. Sometimes, they even sing a Celine song when they’re in a tank and no one is there to see them (but it’s a secret). Because are more seriousn about the production of their music than their talent should allow, they succeeded, following violent threats, in convincing world-class producer and Juno winner Francis Perron (Voivod, Bears of Legend) to record their first studio album Juke-Box, Charlotte. Les Cons Cernés put all their energy and, above all, their budget, into finishing their album, making videos with papier-maché puppets and trying to conquer the Internets, while avoiding the bailiffs and the bikers who knock on the door of their practice room to be reimbursed for various debts. Despite their previous musical experience, the band members must relearn how to live on music and fresh water with a current fanbase consisting mostly of their parents and girllfriends. Thank goodness they love toast, and the tap water in Trois-Rivières is delicious.”
Generik | Need U
HOME BASE: Australia.
GENRE: EDM.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “International globetrotting DJ Generik bounces back to deliver some much-needed 2020 feel good house music in the form of sun-kissed piano house anthem Need U. Performing from Ibiza to Las Vegas, New York to Bali, Amsterdam and London, Generik’s schedule before the global pandemic kept passport officers working overtime. Following remixes for Halsey and Dillon Francis, a return to Australia in 2020 has seen Generik focus on new music and his own imprint, the latest being Need U alongside U.K. newcomer Fourcès. The track pairs driving drums and hands in the air piano for a pure cut of floor-filling trans-Atlantic House music!”
https://youtu.be/F8g1BZxIAMU
New Bleach | High
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Pop-Rock.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “When all else fails, you’ve got to start anew. You’ve got to destroy what was to mold what’s to come. New Bleach is the new indie-pop project from two members of renowned Francophone rock band Caravane. Dominic Pelletier and Raphaël Potvin wished to explore new sonic territories and creating music that feels current, but intimate. The visceral need to escape is at the heart of the creation of the single High. This desire that sometimes translates into a road trip or the consumption of reality-transfiguring substances gave birth to this song that sounds like a collage of modern and vintage influences. To reinforce this transcendent state of mind, the band invites in a trip through the synthetic sounds of the present and the organic textures of ’70s rock. Over the aerial melodies of Yamaha’s legendary PS-20, a rhythm that transports and uplifting electric guitar tones, New Bleach shapes an expressionist love story against a psychedelic road-movie backdrop.”
Daniele Nick | Adesso
HOME BASE: Italy.
GENRE: Pop-Rock.
THE TRANSLATED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Daniele Naticchioni (Daniele Nick) began his musical studies at the age of 9 by attending various music schools studying mainly drums and guitar. During the training period he had the opportunity to record a series of records in the studio both as an official band member and as a shift player. The experience gained led him to approach and learn other instrumental knowledge and then move on to a solo project with 24 individual singles of various kinds while having an expressly rock soul. Introspection and the social are the basis of his texts. Represented by the symbolism of the “different,” it carries forward ideals centered on truth, transparency, freedom, social justice and dispassionate love for music. He loves to call himself a mad artist because of his unruliness, totally dragged by art, he embraces the madness of creation.”
Meresha | Look How Far
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: Pop.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Meresha is a singer, multi-instrumentalist, DJ and producer with a deep, wide-ranging soulful voice and a quirky sonic vision. She is an #AlienPop innovator; so far the first in the genre. “My single and album Look How Far are out Friday. The lead song at one level is about finding new love. More broadly, though the song is about how far I and the listener, have come in our pursuits. The album contains 15 other Alien Pop tunes, and I’m sure you’ll find a fave.”
Fabiz | Motel
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Soul/R&B.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “I have just released my first project Thermopile. What is Thermopile? It is a device that allows to transform the external temperature into electricity in other words, our mood (hot, cold, etc.) transcribed here in musicality. The aim of the EP is to make the listener crescendo from a high temperature to a very low temperature. That’s why it’s titled Thermopile. Motel is a melodic song with a funky rhythm.”
Beesqueeze | Lost At Sea
HOME BASE: Malta.
GENRE: Psychedelic Rock.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Beesqueeze is a Maltese dance high-power garage pop/rock duo. The band consists of Kriz Zahra (guitar, bass, synth and vox) & Chris Mallia (drums, vox, guitar and fx), two individuals full of energy. From their tiny home studio, the band experiment with a variety of electronic sounds, beats and rhythms, whilst maintaining a warm rawness to their sound. Beesqueeze describe their music as Alterdelic (alternative / psychedelic) dance-rock, and rightly so, as their sound is a pumpy and vibrant combination of alternative rock mixed with psychedelic pop influenced by acts such as The Strokes, MGMT, Tame Impala, Gorillaz and Pixies. The band are currently working on their debut album. With the second single Lost at Sea, Beesqueeze take us on a deep and dark trip to inner lost places. Guitar and synth feedback-spiked, melancholic dark energy, drones and psychedelic layers, remind us of early ’80s shoegaze bands and mysterious ’70s soundtracks like Susperia. Produced in a modern way by David Vella (Phillip Boa, Beangrowers) and Beesqueeze in the legendary Temple Studios in Malta.”
Magon | Change
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Psychedelic Rock.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Paris-based Israeli psych-rock singer, songwriter & producer Magon’s debut album is Out in the Dark. His new single Change was born out of a year-long period during which everything changed in his life. This sweet ballad sounds like the perfect mix between indie rock and psych-pop between Ty Segall and The Velvet Underground. On this track, the production, made entirely by Magon, is denser and more ambitious, leaving room for adventurous sound effects. Magon, like a contemplative poet, witnesses the passage of time.”
Laïn | On Sera Sur
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Synth-Pop.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Laïn lives at night, only at night and the unlikely characters she meets are a real source of inspiration: “At night, Paris brings together those who lose their minds and sleep, like me.” The texts that she writes in parallel are imbued with these encounters. Laïn has its own way of never overdoing it while taping us to the ceiling, a cross between Gainsbourg, Christine & the Queens and Claude Nougaro, with her own words written in the language of the greatest. Laïn just releasing the first album Clean. With On Sera Sur (We Will Be Sure), based on a text originally written for Alain Bashung by the author of Osez Joséphine (Jean Fauque), Laïn delivers a resolutely human hymn, in a musical aesthetic with Orwellian images. Hope in 1984 … ”
Sadie Jemmett | At My Window
HOME BASE: United Kingdom.
GENRE: Folk-Pop.
THE BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Sadie Jemmett’s extraordinary songs reflect a remarkable life, from a wildly bohemian childhood and teenage runaway to her role today as one of the most original singer-songwriters to excite our ears in many years. 2020 has proved to be a creative and productive time for Sadie. She is busy writing songs for a U.K.-based musical, a Hollywood film, and her next album. First single At My Windowby the late, great singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt, from the album of the same name recorded in 1987. “I originally covered this song as part of a soundtrack for a play that toured theatres in France and the U.S.A. This version was recorded during lockdown and is dedicated to my brother, who suffered quite seriously from COVID-19. It is one of my favourite Townes Van Zandt songs and its melancholy lyrics captures the collective mood right now of longing and isolation.”
