Panaviscope make some interesting friends, Arielle Diba has it good, Flingue do double duty, Alvin Chris hopes for the best, Nicolet are one with nature — and they’re just a few of the umpteen submissions landing today from Groover, a platform that connects artists with critics like me for a small fee. You can (and should) visit to my Tinnitist Top 150 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, wade into this pool of great new music.
Panaviscope | Snakes Are Your Best Friends
HOME BASE: Switzerland.
GENRE: Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Panaviscope, the one-man band formed by Alex, comes back with a new single. Snakes Are Your Best Friends explores an instrumental and resolutely rock side of Panaviscope. In this track, the vocals form a psychedelic tapestry that hangs over saturated guitars, raw drums, and a distorted Farfisa. The song evokes the modern masters of the genre, such as Temples, Tame Impala and Father John Misty. The lyrics are an abstract evocation of the weariness brought about by life in society and the loss of self that results from time spent with a soulmate.”
Arielle Diba | So Good To Me
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: R&B.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Originally from Cameroon and based in Paris, Arielle Diba is an artist whose warm and singular voice pierces the heart and delights the mind. Her music bears the traces of her travels and her dual culture in a rich repertoire combining soul, Afrobeat, hip-hop and gospel. Through her lyrics, the singer invites groove lovers to join her in a parade royal and emotional. Never has love, hope, gratitude and acceptance been proclaimed with so much strength and sensitivity.”
Flingue | Corps à Corps + Marseille Saint-Charles
HOME BASE: Belgium.
GENRE: Folk-Pop.
THE TRANSLATED & EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Stan is a musician, Ben is a director. They were childhood friends, lost sight of for 15 years. With the lockdown they realized they were living one kilometre from each other. Flingue was born on April 12, 2020. Since then they have no desire to stop. Flingue don’t ask a thousand questions. They make music because they like it and like to tell stories like poems. Flingue is French for gun, but it’s a water gun because we’re real good guys. We try.”
Alvin Chris | Pire Que Mieux
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Rap.
THE TRANSLATED & EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “It is through his nonchalance that Alvin Chris unveils his analysis of the modern world. It sheds light on the hypocrisy of propriety, the superficiality of the digital age or the fear of the gaze of others. Chris returns after an eventful 2020 with the release of his first project Enchanted. Pire Que Mieux is an ode to reclaiming oneself. A guitar and his voice: This is how Alvin captivates us once again.”
Nicolet | Le Retour Des Animaux
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Folk-Pop.
THE TRANSLATED & EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Nicolet announces his second album Dans La Nuit Basse, scheduled for May 21. The project led by Etienne Hamel also unveils Le Router Des Animaux, a pop ballad about the desire to live in the vastness of the elements. The song opens the album by projecting the central themes of the exodus and its duality. This so-called duality is also reproduced in the clip directed by Charles-André Coderre, justapoxing textures and panoramas from the urban environment to others specific to the rural world. With ’80s resonances, the song evokes those “beats we hear in the night” when we fade away for the benefit of nature.”
Nathan’s Brother | Vigilante
HOME BASE: Netherlands.
GENRE: Folk-Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Nathan’s Brother purposely creates songs that are not ‘larger than life,’ but rather have the intimacy of a band performing in your living room. Starting of as a guitarist / bassist doing more and more vocals and occasionally using the piano to write songs, this eclectic musician from The Netherlands eventually took up drums to become a true one-man band. His debut album Spot On is therefore a true rendition of the music inside a single man’s head, exploring the territory between alt-country, Brit-folk and indie-pop.”
Laila Moon | Via Negativa
HOME BASE: Spain.
GENRE: Electronica.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Laila Moon started experimenting with sound a decade ago while studying fine arts in Barcelona as a means to explore sound with image and isolated from it, making short films, visual art and soundscapes. Later on, her focus turned towards the metaphysical and trance inducing potential of sounds which led to a more vocal based experimentation with repetition as a main theme. Between ambient and soundscape, she works with experimental processes where the voice is the main material. A captivating journey, which we invite you to discover and share.”
Secret Sun | Mon Oiseau De Malheur
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Anne-Marie Campbell and Simon Landry are the power couple known as Secret Sun. These are the two cool people you wish had been your parents when you were a rebelling teenager. In 2014, the Montreal band gave life to their music for the first time with their debut LP Cold Coast. The semi-shoegazing electro-pop album made it into living rooms around the world through popular TV shows such as Pretty Little Liars, Grey’s Anatomy and Vampire Diaries. Mon Oiseau De Malheur (My Bird Of Misfortune) is theire first single entirely in French. Lancinating and luminous, the piece is adapted from a song taken from their album Winter Love. It features lovers possibly adrift against a background of anxiety about climate change.”
Demain J’Arrête | Erratum
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Folk.
THE TRANSLATED & EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Demain J’Arrête (Tomorrow I Stop) was born out of this period of introspection imposed on us by this crap (to be polite) of Covid-19. Having always sung in English, I wanted to try my mother tongue so that I could convey more things.”
Eric John Kaiser | Loin
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: Folk-Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Parisian-born Portland musician Eric John Kaiser has carved a unique niche in the Americana scene. He has released six studio albums recorded in Paris, Portland and Quebec. His album Made in Gaspésie charted the week of its release in the Billboard World Chart.”
Iphis Well | Laissez-Moi Danser
HOME BASE: United States / France.
GENRE: Dance-Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Iphis Well is a French author and composer. Her music is a cocktail of pop cut with sharp house bass. Very affected by the measures born from the health crisis, she has decided to cover Laissez-Moi Danser by Dalida in a pop-house style that characterizes her.”
Franck Dansaert | Tribute No. 4
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Neo-Classical.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “My recent compositions are in a mostly classical register with excursions movie music. My musical tastes are very wide (Mozart, Beethoven, John Williams, Mike Oldfield, Hans Zimmer, etc.). This piece composed in 2015 and reorchestrated this week starts with a few chords on the piano to gradually gain in intensity until the end while power, with solo soprano and bass. This work wants to bring a message of hope of rebirth to people going through difficult times.”
Jordi Forniés | Night Watcher
HOME BASE: Spain | Singapore.
GENRE: Neo-Classical
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Jordi Forniés is a Spanish musician, composer, and visual artist based in Singapore. Always contemplative and expansive, his compositions draw on neoclassical and ambient electronic music. Forniés composes for piano, strings, and small ensembles, working with studio recordings alongside electronic elements. He has composed for films and made music for documentaries and video installations. He is a member of the Composers Society of Singapore.”
Ink Sticks & Stones | Vaste III
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Neo-Classical.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Vaste III is the third piece from the upcoming instrumental suite EP Vaste by Toronto composer/singer-songwriter Ai Rei Dooh-Tousignant, who goes by the moniker Ink Sticks & Stones. The piece is introspective, meditative, and slow, forcing the listener to stop and take a few minutes to contemplate the feelings of time and growth. Vaste III pays homage to the trees of the boreal forest: to their stability, their strength, and their longevity. The piano acts as the forest floor — a stable support for the cellos, violas and double bass who gradually come in. The full Vaste EP is slated to be released on May 14 and is a departure from the sounds of Ink Sticks & Stones’ previous folk-rock album All That Gets Left Behind. In its entirety, Vaste is an intimate voyage based in electro-ambient and contemporary classical music that will stimulate your creative senses.”
Vanlee | Foutu
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Synth-Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Originally from the Paris region, I started in rap. I took a radical artistic turn with my composer friend Lilergin. This is our second single. Our first album is already ready — 17 tracks in very different genres that can be listened to in one block. It should be out this summer.”
KZ | Manila
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Hip-Hop.
THE TRANSLATED & EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Manila is a breath of fresh air for the summer, with the artist showing the desire for a new life. Leave the bad stories behind to focus on the best to come with a catchy rhythm and a chorus that stays in mind. KZ gives us back a taste for true love.”
Divine Anger | Guru Of Hate
HOME BASE: Germany.
GENRE: Metal.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Believe it or not, Divine Anger are a metal band from another dimension. One moment, they were playing the biggest gig of their life. Next, they woke up here, in a reality that is home to you but alien to them. For the time being, the six musicians are stranded in our reality but are pushing hard on their metal journey as they try to get back home. The band play expressive power metal — a style that ranges from melodic to aggressive but is always catchy as hell! You will mainly hear clean vocals in their songs, but you will also often hear screams, growls, or blends from these different vocal styles, inspired by subgenres like melodic death metal or alternative metal rather than specific bands. Guru Of Hate plays at the extreme end of Expressive Power Metal. Growling, thundering double bass, down tuned guitars and eerie synth sounds create so much power that no listener can miss the message. The world has already seen enough confusion, hatred and suffering. Do not follow evil leaders, because most of them are gurus of hate. Thus, tainted gurus, because originally a guru is supposed to help dispel the darkness and they do exactly the opposite and ultimately manage people’s hatred.”
Metò | Gan Eden
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Folk.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Metò is a Quebec City multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter and producer who moves through a multitude of tones and textures in his musical compositions. From his bedroom and a friend’s basement, he organically sewed a tunic of sound to produce his first EP Alstroemeria. Now the young singer-songwriter comes back with a video for his magnificent song Gan Eden, diving back into his triumphant melodies and romanticized epiphanies, somewhere between pop and folk, going straight to the heart.”
Kobzx2z | Mes Larmes
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Rap.
THE TRANSLATED & EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Being passionate about music since childhood, it is only after having experienced difficult things in my life (family problems, romantic breakup) that I started to write and sing. Mes Larmes (My Tears) is the start of my life.”
Lucas Parax | Où On Va
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Indie-Rock.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Lucas Parax works in his home studio, putting together rock melodies with lyrics that are often, but not always, obscure. After a first EP in 2020, Parax persists with another EP. It might be a bit more pop, without denying a rock purpose. Où On Va (Where We Are Going) is the second single from the upcoming DIY EP, which will be released in June.”
Nathan Zanagar | Espagnol
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Pop-Rock.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Nathan has been singing since the age of three. In his free time, he plants trees. He doesn’t like to be put in a box, he doesn’t like labels, even for his music. He says he’s simply trying to be himself, whether it’s an N turned upside down, or a Z that fell down. Nathan recently released his debut EP Continents Carnivores in three different languages, featuring the songs Gimme Shelter, Espagnol and Sacs en Plastique reflecting Nathan’s strong opinions on environmental issues. His video for Espagnol showcases his funnier side and original dance moves. He says: “Espagnol is a song inspired by my very mediocre years of learning this language in high school. I also had fun directing and choreographing the video. We did it with very little money but with a lot of joy.”
Denys And The Roses | Isaac Way
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Dream-Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Denys And The Roses blend grunge and lo-fi with a punk attitude to create what they call Hysterical Blues. The French band come back with a dreamlike video for Isaac Way, a collaboration with the director Juliette Liautaud. The song, which bears the name of the London street where it was written, is a folk ode to time and friendship. It recreates a cocoon, a refuge in this childhood garden where the wisteria buds are blooming, offering a poetic metaphor wishing us a bright future that is both naïve and mischievous.”
Nicolas Tourney | Hasta la Fin de los Tiempos
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Electronica.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Nicolas Tourney is an experimental musician, digital artist and manager of the label Snow in Water Records. His musical work focus on questions relating to perception and the act of listening. His soundworks have been broadcast since 2018, and he has released albums at a dozen labels in Europe and North America. Besides this solo work, Nicolas Tourney plays in different musical projects: the duo Seuil Optique with Sig Valax, The Library Music Institute, the impro-collective Looking North, and the glitch project Nonsound. He’s also sound designer for children’s music, interpreter of contemporary music (especially NY’s school composers), and invents new soundtracks for old movies like The Naked Island or Alphaville.”
Tyndiaye | Oumdé
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: World.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Oumdé is a song about all my origins. Each sound carries a tinge of hope … All our sunrises and sunsets, every day, every night, all our mornings and all our nights, all our dawns and all our twilight, The crossroads of all possibilities, the happy medium, the eternal beginnings and the countless ends. Love, joy, life, the world.”
The Civil Union | Dominoes
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Synth-Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Though their moniker may bring up images and sounds of country-folk bluegrass twang, The Civil Union’s sound actually lives in an energetic dream-pop scape containing lush choruses, spirited synth interludes, and pleasing reverb-soaked vocals. The husband and wife duo’s latest single Dominoes wastes no time in picking up the intensity with its enticing bassline and pulsing drum beat. Naomi Pahl’s vocals shine as she sings of chasing a dream with the one you love. “It talks about the feeling of creating a different existence, with the person you love,” the Pahls say. The synth-led interlude explodes as bright guitar melodies accompany the pounding bass. It’s as if Cocteau Twins decided to go disco. Self-described as “Twenty One Pilots meets ABBA,” The Civil Union’s extraordinary sound was found out of happenstance more than by design. The duo was in the process of jumping into recording their debut self-titled album when a hurricane of dismay fell upon them — their house, containing all of their musical progress — was burglarized. The duo had to essentially start from scratch but created a more “expansive” version of the original album. They took risks, added new sounds, and came out stronger, and with an alt-dream pop sound that they continue to build to this day. “We feel like there are no boundaries or expectations as we are a relatively new band (in pandemic years), so we’ve been enjoying the evolution process. We feel like every song we make gets us closer to the ‘sound’ we want.”
Eric Baudry | Marie-Composée
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Folk.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “La Futilité is Eric Beaudry’s first solo recording project after working with La Bottine Souriante and many other project. This album features seven folk songs tinged with different musical genres. Marie-Composée is a single for spring that will make you want to take a walk in the sun!”
David Lafleche | Everyday Son
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Folk.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “David Lafleche is a guitarist, musical director and music producer. He is the son of musical director and conductor Jacques Lafleche and Hélène Levasseur. He’s also the nephew of Gisele Mackenzie Lafleche, the legendary Canadian singer. David is prominent in the Quebec and Canadian production scene as a musical director, leading him to work with artists such as Vincent Vallières, Jeffrey Piton and Marie-Mai as arranger-producer. Everyday Son is honest, gentle and human.”
Matt Dave | Privado
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: World-Pop.
THE TRANSLATED & EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: Matt Dave lets his music do the talking.
Cobra Fantastic | 2 Funky 4 U
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Funk.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Who would have guessed that the baddest, hippest, funkiest players in all of Paris were actually members of an alien race bent on world domination? After years of honing their skills, writing sick tunes, and blending (almost) perfectly with the human population, the intrepid band of funkateers known as Cobra Fantastic are reunited at last, and Planet Earth will never be the same again. It’s a Zappa-meets-P-Funk-meets-Sun-Ra monster robot groove machine, and it’s coming for you. Earthlings, put on your sunglasses. And get ready for The Funkabopulation. Will the human race be able to handle such a high dose of funk?”
Electrik Ants | Drip
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: Hip-Hop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Electrik Ants from Dallas were founded by brothers Dylan and Jeff Collins, who grew up on hip-hop as much as jazz and classic rock. Think Outkast, Lettuce and Jamiroquai at a party hosted by Gorillaz. Drip is a modern hip-hop fusion song, incorporating elements of jazz, funk, Latin and rock with a hip-hop attitude.”
Carsie Blanton | Party At The End Of The World
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: Country.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Carsie Blanton writes anthems for a world worth saving. Inspired by artists including Nina Simone and John Prine, her songs swing blithely from sultry jazz ballads to pop-punk protest anthems, all with an equal dose of moxie and mischief, bringing her audience together in celebration of everything worth fighting for. On her new album Love & Rage, Blanton explores themes of justice, protest, and apocalypse, leavened with her trademark sense of optimism and humor. If we’re headed for the end of the world, Carsie Blanton wants to make sure we go down fighting, laughing, and singing. She says: “About half the time, I think the human race is doomed and there’s nothing we can do about it. On those days I alternate between despair and hedonism. This one’s about hedonism.”
https://soundcloud.com/carsieblanton/01-party-at-the-end-of-the-2/s-bMu7fSrv4FB?in=carsieblanton/sets/love-rage-masters-129//s-bjkS5iC41Kd
Ev | Ascend | Ahead & Leaving Up | These Blues | Love & Visa
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Folk.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “I’m a goaltender, golfer and musician making uplifting acoustic rock/blues. Ahead & Leaving Up is a song about moving on from a relationship with your head held high. Love & Visa sets a singalong chorus in an acoustic-rock love song.”
Cedric Pytel | Song For Later
HOME BASE: United Kingdom.
GENRE: Jazz-Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “London’s, Cedric Pytel is a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter passionate about jazz, Latin music and any related genre. Born from a Swiss father and a Dutch mother Cedric has lived in a number of countries, regularly performs alongside Latin American, British, French, African musicians and his music is a reflection of the multiculturalism that he embraces. He says: “This newly released tune is dedicated to my three-year-old daughter and the world, the future that lays in front of her.”
Adams Traktor | Divided
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: Folk-Punk.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Adams Traktor is a music project formed by JR Smith from Seattle to explore, expand, and in many ways bend the music genres that have influenced progressive modern music. Smith was joined inthe studio by Gregory Darling (a Billboard-charting artist), Manny Elias (the founding drummer of Tears for Fears) and special guest bassist Fernando Saunders (a critically acclaimed songwriter, producer and recording artist who has played with Lou Reed, Suzanne Vega, Eric Clapton, Slash and Jeff Beck, to name just a few). Divided is about the irreducible space between life, love, and death. We are divided at inception, yet forever bound to the things and people around us. We are entangled by the gravity of our hearts and minds, yet forever divided. We love and do great things madly and heroically, always knowing this moment will pass; it will end. Divided until no more. Live life aggressively with passion and commitment.”
Angelo Ferreri | I Don’t
HOME BASE: Italy.
GENRE: House.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Angelo Ferreri has been around since 2004 and is well known for his contagious rhythms that turn dancefloors into madness every single time. I Don’t is another club banger.”
