Balbec find symmetry in space, Parlez-Moi d’Amour share their conspiracy theory, Silent Nancy pipe up, The Resolute are on the move — and we’re just getting up to speed on today’s submissions 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, get up to speed on these numbers:
EXCLUSIVE: Balbec | Symétrie Noire
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Dream-Rock.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Parisian outfit Balbec move around somewhere between post-punk and psyche-rock. Joining forces of a Gainsbourg-gone-martial and a Bardot-turned-sorceress, their latest release explores more personal themes with unwavering rage and electric trance. Definitely, Balbec do not conform to the labels, and cheerfully play with musical stereotypes. You can bet that their upcoming album will greedily explore shimmering horizons and contain other improbable nuggets.”
Parlez-Moi d’Amour | Complot
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Electro-Punk.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “PMA are: 1 | A singer who writes and composes, films, hosts on Radio France, after training at the Beaux-Arts in Bordeaux. 2 | A bass player who has played amplified bass tuba with Akhan Shukar in Bordeaux, then Al’de Bond in Auxerre. 3 | A guitarist who moved from an acoustic duo (Machinchose) to an electro-punk duo (Non-Non 1.0), performed for fashion shows and created sound installations on the exterior of a fine arts museum during lockdown. Here is the new single from the album Pour Tous, a slightly punk electro fantasy. It’s called Complot (Conspiracy), and the clip was released a few days after the album’s release last March.”
Silent Nancy | Inside Voices
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: Reggae.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Nashville 2020: The singer Katie Burke wakes up sober and Skypes with her fellow musician Rocksteady Fred in Sweden. Together they are the duo Silent Nancy and they talk about how to fill their upcoming album with fantastic music like their single Inside Voices. They say: “Sit down, be quiet! Above all, the school system ensures that the citizens of society are educated to a homogeneous mass. There are benefits to the system but does a monologue from a textbook develop thinking individuals in the classroom? Anyone who questions prevailing norms risks being classified as messy and deviant. Silent Nancy will never keep quiet. Inside Voices, the second single from this duo offers cool reggae, Burke’s fantastic voice, some soul, hip-hop and a lot of joy!”
The Resolute | Running From Truth
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: Modern Rock.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “We live to create. We’ve set out on a journey to release a song each month and would love for you to join us … This is our third single Running From Truth. We are taking a DIY approach to our art by controlling all aspects from the writing, producing, recording and mixing of our music to the creation of our own videos. We’ve had many learnings in our musical journey and feel fortunate to come together as The Resolute.”
Carmelo | Bimbo
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “I am a young artist of 23 and I have just posted the trailer of my subtitled video clip. It will be my second song on YouTube.”
Clintiss | Mars à Montréal
HOME BASE: Canada / France.
GENRE: Neo-Classical
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Clintiss creates a rich, rhythmic brand of piano music full of reliefs and variations. The French-Canadian artist made his debut with Charlie Dahl and The Royal Big Band (2010) and then with MoooN (2012), serving in both bands as lead singer and songwriter. Since then, he has spent hundreds of hours at his piano, at home, in piano bars and on stage, looking for the musical language that could reconcile his classical learning and his taste for modern pop music, like indie music, post rock or neoclassical. “For me,” explains Clintiss, “composing a piano solo piece is the fruit of a long journey and a lot of hard work… My personal challenge was to create a piano language that I couldn’t manage to find or hear anywhere else, a fusion between the demanding classical technique and the different musical repertoires that have influenced me over the years — classical, symphonic, pop, electronic music… I hope to have succeeded in developing something unique, sometimes a little peculiar, straddling several worlds. In Mars à Montréal, I wanted to illustrate in music this intermittent space between two periods — one which annoys us (winter), and another in which we project ourselves intensely (spring).”
Antiopë | Therapy
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Electronica.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “I am a French producer, mainly in melodic techno/electronica, and I released my first EP on March 19.”
Bleu Déjà | Sens Contraire
HOME BASE: Canada / France.
GENRE: Folk-Rock.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Sens Contraire (Opposite Direction) is the flagship track of my eponymous debut EP, released in April 18. Recorded in Montreal at Studio le Hublot with Denis Ferland in 2020, this track clearly evolves in a mysterious and melancholy rock universe. I wanted to bring up the idea of life choices — sometimes drastic — that allow you to break free and perhaps find yourself free.”
Aleksey Alekseev | Pink Storm
HOME BASE: Russia.
GENRE: EDM.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “I am glad to present a new work called Pink Storm. The piano, chorus, and analog synthesizer all come together in a beautiful musical synergy, which I am happy to present to you for listening.”
Innocenzo Genna | Clouds
HOME BASE: Belgium
GENRE: Neo-Classical.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “The piano compositions of Innocenzo Genna fall within the categories of minimalism and modern classic, with frequent combinations into blues and jazz. He is similarly conservative as a composer, for his music drawing heavily on harmonic and melodic practices found in 18th and 19th-century European compositions. Clouds is his latest track. He says: “The basic melody of this composition was inspired by a documentary about Japan I was watching. I immediately wrote dawn the notes and recorded, without further developing. Some months later I found the music file on my computer and I was surprised, because I had completely forgotten. I liked the melody and I started to elaborate more around that. I finally found the right notes when traveling on the mountain of Central Italy. While lying in the grass and watching the clouds, the basic theme came back to my mind and I got the idea how the music could develop. Clouds was born.”
J. J. Ann | Aurore
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: R&B.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “J. J. Ann, whose real name is Juliette Jeanne Ann Sineux, is a French singer-songwriter and musician. Hailing from Paris, Juliette is passionate about sound design and synthesizers. She composes, accompanies and sings for various bands and artists, shifting between rock, folk, hip-hop, jazz, electronic music and more. These varied experiences have helped her broaden her technique and strengthened her desire to explore new sounds. Her first EP Contemplations, which will be released soon, invites listeners on an inner journey where melancholia and dreams combine with theatrical effect. This album made for the screen mesmerizes with its mix of soaring and organic soundscapes accompanied by electronic and techno beats.”
