URL: www.hughiemac.com/

Singer Hughie Mac has been quietly building a mammoth reputation as one of the last true blue lounge singers in America over the last few years, and his new record, titled Hughie Mac Sings Some Great Songs, Pt. 3, is by far his most exquisite and accessible offering to date. Styled for fans both young and old, Great Songs, Pt. 3 is one of the most affectionately simple and unfiltered glimpses into a subgenre of pop that has been grossly overlooked in recent years. Vocal standards have never sounded so concise and cutting as they do in the clouded musical climate of 2018, and Hughie Mac is just the man to bring them back to the surface.

It’s not easy to make some of the songs included on Hughie Mac Sings Some Great Songs, Pt. 3 sound fresh and non-recycled, but Mac’s individually tempered vocal style splashes a colorful texture onto these tracks that didn’t exist beforehand. He nimbly dispatches tunes like “Hello Mary Lou” and “I Have Dreamed” as if they were his own written word, and there’s never any need to question his ability to tackle virtually any composition and come out victoriously. His abilities are incalculable, but his self-control as an artist is really something to marvel at.

There’s a magnetism in Hughie Mac’s voice that is so easy to get completely lost in. I get the idea that he could sing almost anything, be it a Dean Martin classic or a few pages out of my mom’s recipe book, and make it into a gold standard without having to give much effort. Regardless of how hard he has to try, it’s clear in Great Songs, Pt. 3 that Mac never gives less than 110% of himself when he enters the studio, and we never get the impression that he’s trying to fill up space or woefully connect narratives in this LP.

I think that Hughie Mac would also sound awesome in collaboration with a live jazz band or even something a little more classical by design; he has so much versatility and knowledge of musicality that his options are practically limitless when considering what he might record next. He’s got the dexterity to do more complicated songs, but he also has the relaxed charisma that it takes to really make a slow song or a stripped down ballad feel larger than life. Finding songs for Mac to play isn’t the problem; the real challenge lies in finding ones that are up to the pedigree of his facilities.

The future looks overwhelmingly bright and positive for Hughie Mac and his career in the wake of his new album’s surprising (to some) success, and my gut tells me that he’s only just begun to show us what he can do when he’s got all the necessary recording tools at his disposal. Mac isn’t looking for his musical identity, but he also isn’t afraid to try new things and see what sort of opulence he can render as a result. If his next record contains the same level of showmanship that this one does, his status as a rising icon in this era of music will be solidified and impossible for even the most discriminating of critics to deny.

I-TUNES: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/hughie-mac/1173657813

Clay Burton

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From a critical standpoint, American indie pop has never been more enthralling than it is right now, and eclectically stylized artists like Mikey See are the precise reason why. Like many of the other gems of 2018, See is creating his brand of rhythm from scratch, honing talents that have long been buried within his psyche and developing them using techniques that go against the grain of what traditional pop musicians have employed in the past. In “Love My Body,” the explosive single from his highly praised debut EP, See invokes all of the raw sexual energy of funk and exotic jazz minus all of the pomp and frills of radio pop, and in a complete twist of irony ends up creating something that is more appealing to mainstream ears than anything the establishment has rendered in the last half decade.

When I listened to “Love My Body” for the very first time, I knew that I was listening to a surefire hit for both See and the highly competitive southern California scene that he’s conquering at the moment. From the very start of the song, there’s a brutally catchy backbeat that grabs our focus and leads us around like a young pup on a leash. Mikey See gradually pours the rhythm through the speakers, and before we have any time to assess what’s taking place, we’re completely engulfed in the white hot heat that drives the chorus. I can’t say for certain, but I feel like anyone, even the most dedicated of wallflowers, would have a hard time resisting the urge to bust a move to this single.

INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/iammikeysee/

Mikey See comes off so composed in this song that I could have been easily convinced that he was working on his second or third album rather than pushing a debut release. He doesn’t sound like the typical first-timer in the studio; there isn’t any nervousness, unneeded bells and whistles or the feeling that he’s holding back from unleashing his full potential. It’s just Mikey See, a microphone, a melody and us, and that combination is the perfect formula for creating something that is both magically innovative and divinely ancient at the same time. He’s onto something good, and anyone with a pair of ears could tell you that he’s going to make a fortune with it.

If you haven’t heard his self-titled debut or for that matter aren’t familiar with Mikey See and everything that he’s doing both in and out of music right now, “Love My Body” is the perfect jumping off point to get familiar with his persona as an artist and as an individual. There are plenty of reasons that I could list as to why I think we’re witnessing the birth of a real star in See, but I’ve always found it annoying when critics like myself try to play lawyer for an artist that we believe to be relevant to the future of music. Instead I’ll just tell you to give “Love My Body” a spin at the soonest possible occasion. Trust me, it will be well worth your time.

SPOTIFY: open.spotify.com/track/2UfDvBn3H8B0VaTPFIq8qx

Clay Burton

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FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/getinvertigo/?__tn__=*s-R

To the critics who would say rock n’ roll hasn’t had a pulse in ten years and further that those who try and resuscitate its life force are wasting valuable talent, In/Vertigo presents “Bad Enemy” a blistering new single from their upcoming debut extended play, out everywhere that independent music is sold this autumn. A lot of my peers in the journalism community have been in love with this idea that rock is dead, hip-hop is dead, even pop is dead, but I for one have never bought into any of it. The underground is where all music lives and breathes regardless of the industry, and that’s exactly where In/Vertigo came together and found that they could be pretty brilliant when they put their heads together.

Looking for real rock amidst all of the chaotic white noise occupying the FM dial lately hasn’t been easy for the novice listener, but in reality it’s been right where it always was – existing just beneath the surface of commercialism where nothing can tarnish its pure relentlessness. In the Canadian wilderness, In/Vertigo found inspiration to make music as bold and beautiful as the nature around them, and their hometown of Calgary has seen their sound expand into a gargantuan powerhouse over the last couple of years. Now the group is ready to make the leap into the big leagues, and although this is only their first ever recorded song, I think that we’re bearing witness to the rise of an unstoppable giant.

“Bad Enemy” is dangerous and mischievously confident in its warring momentum, but more than anything else it’s In/Vertigo’s attitude that really makes this a standout song for the year. Vocalist Reed Alton is one of the more physical frontmen in the game right now, and not only does he spellbind us with his nimble navigation of the complex construction of “Bad Enemy,” he actually creates a lot of sincere melody along the way. Alton doesn’t compete for all of the glory though with guitarist Shaddy Elsaghir, who competently bludgeons us with one cruel riff after another, nor bassist Duncan McCartney and drummer Keaton Byfield who handle things on the backend with expert level care. Together these cats are making enormous waves, and Americans are bound to start feeling the mist in the coming months.

I’ll have to see them live and in person to know for certain, but if In/Vertigo’s sound translates onto the stage as well as it does through the speakers of my headphones then this could be the hottest touring act of the 2020s. I’ve been a harsh critic of the live rock circuit for the last half decade because it’s felt like no one was putting everything into their performances anymore; that isn’t the case with this crew. If anything, In/Vertigo put themselves out there so much that their vulnerability could be construed as avant-garde when stripped down to its bare bones. In either case I plan on finding out for myself what the secret is to their success, and I’m sure the band will give me plenty more material to study in the next couple of years ahead.

RELATED ARTICLE:  sleazeroxx.com/reviews/invertigo-invertigo/

Clay Burton

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URL: delsuelo.net

For the last week it’s been extremely difficult for me to get the jazzy sway of The Musician’s Compass: A 12 Step Programme out of my head. A progressive rock companion to Del Suelo’s book of the same title, it loosely follows the same plot as the novel. Featuring the protagonist Devon of the fictional folk punk outfit North By Choice, listeners shadow Devon as he chases after fame and glory in the rock n’ roll world, only to find that the journey to stardom is often littered with a lot of demons to encounter along the way. Del Suelo is one of the most enigmatic figures in all of indie rock today, but in this record his diehard fans get to know a side of him that most artists in his position would never dream of exposing.

Devon, much like Pink in the legendary Pink Floyd rock opera The Wall, is a character who stands to both gain and lose everything in the heat of the spotlight, and it’s only when he starts to embrace the power of the music he yields that he begins to learn a little more about himself and shed the pain and trauma that comes with a life of artistic suffering. Much like the novel, we can’t help but stay glued to our headphones as the story unfolds, constantly wondering whether or not Devon is going to make it through to the light at the end of the tunnel, and more importantly, what will be waiting for him when he gets there.

The Musician’s Compass doesn’t get so progressive in arrangement that these songs couldn’t be released on their own. In fact, “Pack Rats” has done quite well getting the attention of listeners who would otherwise avoid progressive pieces completely. I think the problem with most concept albums is that the people responsible for making them frequently don’t know how, or to whom, to properly market them. But Del Suelo isn’t even concerned with the marketability of this album – it speaks for itself in terms of aesthetics and doesn’t need a big ad campaign to get people interested in its statement. By not caring about the bottom dollar, Del Suelo has actually discovered the perfect marketing formula.

It’s been a hot debate lately as to whether or not art rock, and really all of progressive music, has a place in today’s modern format where pop songs rarely have any continuity between each other on an LP, and most artists with such lofty ambitions have tended to veer away from the mainstream completely. I think that with The Musician’s Compass: A 12 Step Programme, Del Suelo proves that progressive rock can still serve a pretty important purpose in 2018 and beyond, and you don’t even have to be all that familiar with his work to be able to see the impact he’s having. I loved this album, and I think that with time and the right exposure it will come to share the same iconic status as other titanic releases of its medium have.

BANDCAMP: delsuelo.bandcamp.com/releases

Clay Burton

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URL: www.garydouglasband.com/

A thinking listener can’t argue much with the message and imagery in the words for “Nothing Ever Goes as Planned”. The new single from The Gary Douglas Band spares no punches revealing our society as an unforgiving, violent, and inhuman world where the best laid plans of the best among us are often subverted by selfishness, madness, and greed. It’s notable, however, that the song never succumbs to despair. The musical mood harbors a light downcast air, but the sonic spirit of the tune leans much more to the exhortative side of things, a quality especially underlined by the song’s chorus. Full on backing voices answer the lead vocals during the chorus and Douglas caps things off with his most passionate moments at its conclusion. Rarely are any songs as put together as “Nothing Ever Goes as Planned”, everything slides into place, every idea and motif pays off for the listener.

Few elements in the song succeed as well as the vocals. Douglas may not have a bevy of releases to his credit, but he takes on this song like a canny veteran of both the studio and stage and applies both the right amount of force and personality to bring this song to life. The thoughtful consideration of his phrasing helps accentuate the quality of Douglas’ lyrics and mitigates some of the darkness in its imagery. The tone of the backing vocals has a much different feel than we hear from Douglas and the stark contrast between those sounds adds a lot to “Nothing Ever Goes as Planned”. The vocal melody matches up nicely with the arrangement without ever imitating it and it’s another important contrast making “Nothing Ever Goes as Planned” work so well.

The song musically hinges on the acoustic guitar and percussion. The acoustic guitar maintains a fairly consistent tone throughout the song, but the drumming brings an evolving character to the performance that gives it genuine flair. Listening to how the drums are recorded provides a microcosm for how the production enhances “Nothing Ever Goes as Planned” and the artful way the mix frames the song is a big part of its success. Most of the song has a warm crack in its snare drum sound that gives the single an emphatic and unwavering pulse.

“Nothing Ever Goes as Planned” is a magical second single from The Gary Douglas Band’s second album. The pending sophomore release Deep in the Water thus far shows a songwriting who has refined and developed on the talents we heard with the band’s debut Keepin’ Faith. It’s music and songwriting that stands behind its passion, never backs off, and unflinchingly gives the listener its take on the world with an ear always turned towards entertaining its audience as well. It’s uniformly successful. The Gary Douglas Band illustrates how passion survives no matter what paths we pursue in life and our deepest personal happiness comes when we obey our inner voice. “Nothing Ever Goes as Planned” is full of soul, artfulness, and a deadeye aim on its message.

FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/garydouglasband/

Clay Burton

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KKBOX: www.kkbox.com/hk/tc/album/APucOxkzFmHep0F2Nyni009H-index.html

A slick drum beat walks us into the neon heat of “Forever Music,” a slice of old school flow from DawgGonDavis’ awesome new EP Anthem Pandemonium, and while it leads us directly into its songwriter’s twisted world of abstract humor it also triggers an insatiable desire to shake our bodies to its oddly romantic groove. DawgGonDavis is not a household name in the hip-hop world, but if you’ve been keeping an eye on the indie rap scene her elegantly off the wall tracks have been hard to avoid. Finally assembled into an extended play, DGD’s hardcore fans are guaranteed to be enthralled by her most ambitious release yet while new listeners will get hooked on her infectiously glowing style.

DGD is only a part time musician, but when she gets into the studio she’s totally involved in every stage of the process. From the composition of the music to the careful crafting of the lyrics, she doesn’t leave out a single detail when constructing her songs, and audiences won’t have to listen very hard to notice the difference in her material above everyone else’s. DGD’s primary objective in her career isn’t to rack up a bunch of platinum records but to raise awareness for charity, and that’s a big motivation to keep her extremely attentive to her records.

Anthem Pandemonium is crudely designed (in a good way) on purpose, and rather than coming off as totally outsider-branded and inaccessible to mainstream listeners it adds a creative flair that you won’t typically find scanning the radio. Hip-hop has the problem of often taking itself too seriously, and by consistently using her platform for self-deprecation and jovial banter DGD isn’t just making good music, she’s humbling the genre that she celebrates. Many artists half her age have tried this and failed miserably, but she makes it look effortless.

Stylistically DGD isn’t influencing the future of rap music or even the Midwestern scene that she’s come to call her own, but she’s still having a lot of fun getting us to have fun in the face of such dark and depressing circumstances in our country. With so much fighting and division between people in America these days, it’s nice to hear an artist who openly wants to take the tough subjects and have a laugh with them at no one’s expense. She’s tough as nails in her vocal delivery and straight forward in her songwriting, which actually could make her a good artist for us all to lean on in the years to come.

Whether it’s cancer, the fear of unacceptance or the intimidating task of making a record that everyone will love, there isn’t anything that can keep DawgGonDavis from accomplishing what she sets her heart out to do. For one of the more inspirational and relaxing listens of the year, I highly recommend checking out Anthem Pandemonium and its four stunningly original rap songs. When life gets us down, art is always there to pick us back up, and thanks to this gifted and talented woman 2018 is a little less gloomy than it started out to be.

DawgGoneDavis’ music on SPOTIFY: open.spotify.com/artist/17zkKolXnMXBF26UdTSVBp

Clay Burton

DawgGonDavis’ music has been heard all over the world due to the radio plugging services offered by Musik Radio Promotions. Learn more – musikandfilm.com/

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FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/wave21band

Perhaps it isn’t such a bold prediction based on the quality of this release, but I expect Wave 21 will be around for years to come. The Canadian based country rock outfit are solid and often all around inspired, but they are particularly notable for the presence of sisters Mary-Lynn and Emmy-Lou Doroschuk, a songwriting tandem responsible for penning each of the ten tracks on the band’s debut collection. Their talent is DNA driven; the band’s bassist and violin player on this release, Stefan Doroschuk, is Mary-Lynn and Emmy-Lou’s father, a former member of Men Without Hats, and encouraged the sisters’ early musical development by rewarding the young girls ten dollars for each melody or song they created. As a result of this early motivation and wood-shedding their craft, the Doroschuk siblings come off as impressively polished songwriters from the first.

This polish doesn’t announce itself with immense fanfare. Instead, songs like the opener “Ya Ya Ya” illustrate it subtly. Though the lyrics aren’t entirely sun-streaked joyful, the song has an irrepressible air and Mary-Lynn’s singing easily matches its energy. She has a canny knack for phrasing reaching far beyond her years, further testament to how hard she’s worked to hone her chosen craft since a young age. One of Wave 21’s key musicians, lead guitarist Nick Rivera, turns in a particular key performance for this song. “Here We Go”, the album’s second cut, is similar to the first track in some respects, but Wave 21 opts for dispensing with the electric guitar flourishes and rumble we heard with “Ya Ya Ya” in favor of an energetic acoustic guitar attack. It has, undoubtedly, one of the best choruses you’ll hear on an album full of such strong suits, but the commercial appeal of the tune is just as key to its potential success.
“It’ll Be One of These Days” is another of those songs with likely large commercial appeal. Despite the maturity and hard-won wisdom shining through, Mary-Lynn dispatches the vocal with a lot of empathy and youthful vigor while the backing vocals, a consistent highlight of the band’s debut, punctuate things quite nicely. “The Fun Times” is another winner with its deliberate pacing, surprising musical turns, and a band performance that’s every bit as committed as what we hear from another stellar Mary-Lynn vocal. It’s one of the album’s longer songs as well, one of only two running over four minutes, but Wave 21 confidently extends themselves in these moments and come up with memorable tunes.

Many fans and listeners will flock to the tune “Catch Me” and much of the credit should be ascribed to Stefan Doroschuk’s violin contributions. The instrument, essentially, acts as a second vocalist for the song and its “duet” with Mary-Lynn’s voice, as well as secondary vocals, with spectacular results. The clean, unvarnished simplicity of “Set Me Free”, the album’s briefest tune, doesn’t make it a lesser number than the other nine tunes but, instead, serves up another side of Wave 21’s musical character without upsetting the album’s balance. It definitely has a distinctive sound, particularly with the production effects surrounding the vocals, but it plays fully in lockstep with the other tracks. “Far Away”, the debut’s concluding track, shows listeners another example of how the band’s songwriting excels integrating their strong verses with climatic choruses underlining the ocean of feeling behind each of the band’s songs. Wave 21 will make a mark with this fine debut album.

YOU TUBE: www.youtube.com/channel/UC0rm0gWc7RWsOeR8PrKtEGA

Clay Burton

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URL: marieldarling.com/

Pop music has been leaving a lot to be desired as of late, and it hasn’t just been critics who have been saying so. From coast to coast and from one end of the globe to the next, audiences have been craving something different from the everyday, run of the mill pop music that has come to be the only thing mainstream radio seems to want to play. Plastic themes like cheating girlfriends, buying cars with cash just to crash them and trying to discover the meaning of life through a lot of pointless self-indulgence are archaic to the millennial listener; they need something more calculated, more detailed and frankly full of more life. That’s where Mariel Darling and her song “No Mirrors” come in. In the song, Darling literally looks deep into a mirror and tells us what she sees, and it isn’t someone who fits into average terminology or characterization. She sees an individual, a free spirit, a person who isn’t able to fit in with the rest of the crowd and wouldn’t want to anyway. Her words are cutting and true, and they represent the start of an important new movement that pop music needs to embrace.

“No Mirrors” would work well even if it was just a straight vocal track rather than the multifaceted electro-pop ballad that it is in this setting, and that says something about the quality of Darling’s skills as a performer. She doesn’t need a synthesizer or even a band behind her to get her message to the people, and the wisdom that perpetuates her narrative isn’t the kind that takes a lot of years on earth to obtain. It takes common sense logic and a lot of love for humanity itself. In reality, it takes someone like Mariel Darling and her knack for looking at things through the lens of optimism, which isn’t something that we should try, it’s something that we need to put into practice as a people and as a society at large. If everyone spent more time being themselves rather than trying to blend in, we might actually learn what genuine diversity can do for us all.

I cannot wait to hear a full length studio album from Mariel Darling. Based on the sprawling nature of “No Mirrors,” I don’t think it’s premature to suggest that she’s ready and willing to take the leap into primetime and come up with her head above water. Unlike a half century ago when an artist only needed a couple of singles to generate praise and credibility from critics and audiences alike, it takes an entire record for most of my peers to really start giving am artist the credit that they deserve. I don’t know whether or not I would want a full blown electronica album from Darling or something more squarely focused on her vocals because I think that either one could and would be a commercial smash hit. I’m sure I’ll have the chance to find out in the next couple of years as her sound continues to expand and become a brand all its own.

TWITTER: twitter.com/marieldarlingxo

Clay Burton

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URL: www.mynameismkx.com/

With so much variety in music to choose from today, it can be wicked difficult trying to find artists that are the real deal and making music that is different than anyone else yet still immersed in a modern, contemporary style that suits our current consciousness. An artist’s vulnerability is at the heart of distinguishing themselves from anyone else making similar sounds, and vulnerability can be expressed almost exclusively through the intimacy of their lyrics. Showing all of us that he’s as much of a poet as he is a show-stopping performer in person, MkX’s “One Sided Love” isn’t just a great dance anthem but also a loving look into its composers gentler, more private side.

INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/mkxmusic/

In the timeline from his first releases to today, we’ve seen a lot of growth and maturity in MkX’s sound and approach to making a song. He still has a little more work to do in not drowning out some of the edgier moments in his music with treble-laced synthetizations, but “One Sided Love” is quite obviously his most accomplished piece to date, proudly highlighting his ability to be introspective as well as charismatic. And with such a widely appealing narrative, MkX is also showing us that his music doesn’t have a certain market attached to it, freeing him from any of the obligatory expectations that come with making a flat out “pop” or “rock” release. I get a strong sense of individuality in everything he’s given us so far, and I don’t expect that aspect of his artistic direction to change anytime soon (and God knows that anyone with half a wit wouldn’t want it to).

YOU TUBE: www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSR4o_gVYv4

As much as I believe he rejects expectations and limitations associated with pop stars, MkX does exhibit a number of leadership qualities that could make him a good role model for artists just starting out and pursuing a career in this field. You can’t have an ego, you can’t have a hard time taking criticism, and you definitely can’t rely on other people in your scene to lead the way for your music to happen. If you’re like MkX, the only person you’re depending on is yourself when it comes to forging your own identity and brand, and that’s really the only way to get to the top without sacrificing your own soul or that of those around you.

The future is upon us, and it’s time to decide what we want our pop music to look and sound like as we enter the 2020’s bravely and without attachment to the past. Do we want music that celebrates indulgence and cheap pleasures, or do we want music that relates to the very nature of the human condition in a way that we can all find some solace in despite all of the noise and chaos surrounding us? I for one am hoping to see MkX’s style of feel good music come out as the dominating force, and if he keeps producing tracks like “One Sided Love,” my hopes will be satisfied in no time at all.

SPOTIFY: open.spotify.com/track/2NOtSte1nDljlEEsRaF14F

Clay Burton

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READ THE TESTIMONIALS: musikandfilm.com/?s=testimonials

”Working with Musik and Film Radio Promotions has been glorious. Because of built-in relationships with thousands of radio stations worldwide, it has enabled me to chart both nationally and internationally amongst major label artists.” -Madlyn

That is what just one artist has to say about Musik and Film, a full-service Radio Promotions company and record label with Distribution, and a number-of other services which can be found at their site which makes up a great business card, especially once you see who’s on the team and what they do. You will find that this is no small-time assembly of music professionals.

CURRENT ARTIST ROSTER: musikandfilm.com/artists-2/

The work of Stephen Wrench, Rhonda Houston, Robyn Robins, Terry Nails, Wayne Killius and Jey Mayberry come together from a long line of experience in all fields from production and publicity to A&R AND most importantly distribution services. It takes an army to do all these things and they seem to have all bases covered, including a radio promotion show with a playlist and testimonials on their huge website. They make sure the artist goes in the direction they seek by providing so much in one company that’s capable of connecting all the important dots and keep them connected for the better.

GENRATING REVENUE: musikandfilm.com/thanks-to-fuser-for-the-tips-on-musik-radio-promotions-fuser-has-released-9-singles-listen-to-how-fuser-used-their-promotions-to-successfully-tour-and-make-money-off-their-music/

“As a non major label, you do not have access and direct links to major national radio fm stations and other options for promotion and without promotion no one will be aware about the artist.I have tried most of the different services and companies offering for airplay promotion with different costs which are more or less expensive and they have been mostly a disappointment with very limited results or limited amount of stations to be reached. It is of course crucial that the material have a potential.

“I have used Musik and Film service for 3 of my artist and the outcome is way above my expectations and the amount of countries that have downloaded the songs.I was counting to maybe have a couple of hundred stations but it is over 10,000 stations including syndicated radio and fex BBC in the US. Film and music is the only one that delivers a result. If you need airplay, use Musik and Film Radio Promotions.” Roland Billberg (CEO, Billberg Entertainmnet Ltd)

MOER ABOUT MUSIK AND FILM: musikandfilm.com/about-us/

They also provide such up to date artist news as: Musik and Film Productions Present S3 EP32 Euro Indie Music Chart Top 20 Countdown Show as a running headline for their Radio Promotion show hosted by Jey Mayberry and company president Steve Wrench, just top provide more examples in this review. Not being an artist, I still find it useful for all things concerning the indie music world, it’s more than just a service that way, check their website and see all there is to see, because it’s the best way to find out what they’re up to on a daily-basis. It will become a go-to for all your music industry needs, even if you’re not a musician you can refer them to anyone looking for their services. More of what artists have to say

RELATED ARTICLE: emigfoundation-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/aaron_emigfoundation_org/EfK0-Ga9G4JFsjHPmFwemmgB1zBBcSx0cUM8cdGGVYx7jA?e=VDYqzU

Clay Burton

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INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/thechordaes/

I’ve always hated bands that release an album to some success and follow it up with a record that’s more or less the same in its bare bones both lyrically and musically, but features a much more pronounced volume than what their previous work had contained. You can’t make something louder and consider it creative growth; it’s cheap, easy and doesn’t do much to ensure your longevity in this business. Young artists looking for guidance should follow the lead of The Chordaes, who last year released a much anticipated follow up to their debut full length album Touch the Ground, an extended play titled In Itinere, which not only ushered in a number of evolutionary changes for the band, but also highlighted all of the key themes that made their initial offering so easy to get into.

The primary single from In Itinere, “California,” is climbing through the indie ranks this summer at rapid speed, and it isn’t because it’s a more amplified version of “What Do You Want From Me,” the song that brought The Chordaes into the public fold for most of us following the New York scene in the last few years. Accented with a laid back vocal and dexterous conducting of the strings, “California” slickly invokes sentimental vibes alongside reflective ones to make a benevolent environment that circles us like a shark hunting its prey in the first stanza before devouring us during the chorus. The Chordaes aren’t trapping us in their gaze; they’re inviting us into their trance and letting the music finish us off.
The tonal balance of “California” is one that is sadly becoming all too sparse in pop music lately. So many artists are illiterately stabbing at existentialism and self-absorbed subject matter and classifying it as woke contemplations, but few are giving us much more than one perspective to observe things from. The Chordaes don’t stumble into megalomania, and they make a serious effort to avoid trite marketing devices to appeal to people’s pseudo intellectualism. “California” could have been recorded under a much more predictable premise sonically, but the band resisted the urge to splurge and we, the listeners, are the ones to benefit.

Creating a song that is mellow and yet still full of lively energy isn’t as easy as some of the greats have made it seem. We can listen to a track like this and take away from it the amiable tone of wonderment that is created by the lyrics, or we could just as well become magnetized to the conflicting melancholy in the song’s music that arguably makes “California” such a brilliant listen. When a band can create music that is as multidimensional as this is, I try not to pick at it too hard critically. This kind of music is, in essence, the basic definition of art; totally open to individualized interpretation.

The Chordaes left plenty of room to stretch out with In Itinere, and smart money says that “California” is likely just a glimpse of what’s to come for this group. As provocative and enthralling as their music is, the exotic undercurrent of their present style leads me to believe that there’s a lot more experimentation left to be done in their upcoming work, which hopefully we won’t have to wait too long to hear. Their time is now, and I must say, what an awesome time it is.

SPOTIFY: open.spotify.com/artist/5yPGAFGmYD6t57iZUl5g1X

Clay Burton

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R.W. Roldan “Falling Star”

URL: www.rwroldan.com/

As aficionados of art, we often take for granted how difficult it can be for a performer who has been around for a while to keep things fresh and original rather than trying the same formula over and over. It isn’t as easy as it sounds; just look at Queens of the Stone Age, one of the most critically acclaimed and musician-beloved rock bands of the last quarter century. I’ve been a devoted follower of everything QOTSA has done since their inception, but what has happened to the Joshua Homme-led band in the last five years has been tragic to watch. In an effort to stay relevant, the band has sunk as low as to pander to the club crowd in hopes of selling a dance rock record that is not only unoriginal but fails to meet any of the expectations that longtime fans like myself were expecting. It’s a sad ending to a band that changed my life and a lot of other people’s, despite never quite cracking the mainstream the way a lot of their fellow alternative rock bands did in the 90’s and 2000’s. Thankfully though, the same ill-fate is not shared by my favorite indie country singer, R.W. Roldan, who isn’t exactly making the most original music in the world, but is at least making something palatable that I can rely on for easy-listening.

SOUNDCLOUD: soundcloud.com/ray-william-roldan/falling-star-1/s-Xm6nV

I didn’t much care for Roldan’s first album, but I started to come around after he cut his sophomore LP dropped in the subsequent years that followed. Sometimes it takes artists a minute to come into their own, and Roldan has certainly done a lot of growing up as a composer in the last 10 years. Now, his hybrid of blues, country rock and delicate folk music isn’t coming off as choppy as it once did. In fact, his new single “Falling Star” is almost a quantum leap for an artist that I once would have dismissed as part of a dying scene. In “Falling Star,” Roldan delivers what is by far the best vocal performance of his career as a singer to date. Although it’s lacking a little bit on the visionary end, at least for what I feel like he’s capable of, this single is nevertheless a song that tells me that its songwriter might finally be ready for the primetime.

I-TUNES: itunes.apple.com/us/album/falling-star-single/1385222598?app=music&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

It’s important to give everyone in our lives a second chance to grow and learn from their mistakes and short comings. More often than not, the brightest stars in our life tend to shine the brightest when we give them that space, that room to grow. Whether you’re familiar with R.W. Roldan or not, and especially if you were dismissive of his style in the past, I sincerely encourage you to give his new music a listen ahead of his upcoming fourth full length album, Can You Feel This, which is scheduled to come out later this year. Personally, I’m very eager to hear how his sound continues to come into full color.

YOU TUBE: youtu.be/hUUj8HxHT5E

Photo Credit: Myke Wilken

Clay Burton

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STAR FL:EET MUSIC POOL: www.starfleetmusic.com/record_pool/index.php/featured/52-vip-featured-artist/4274-av-super-sunshine-time-bomb

Club music has changed a lot in the last four decades. When we break down the timeline of electronica dating back to its earliest roots in the discotheques of the 1970s all the way to present day artists like AV Super Sunshine, whose song “Time Bomb” gets a fascinating remix stylized and intended specifically for club play this summer, we are able to come to a couple of really important conclusions about the genre as a whole. For one, electronica is never going away, it’s only going to get bigger and more popular. And perhaps even more importantly, electronica isn’t going to stand still but rather constantly advance, and artists like AV are living proof of this fact.

AV Super Sunshine doesn’t just want to make us dance; he wants to makes us think about the very reasons why we love to dance in the first place. Bodies in motion generating heat together, creating an unseen chemistry that binds us and can even result in the conception of another human life. AV taps into this in his club remix of “Time Bomb” and amplifies the conversation into layer after layer of pure sonic bliss. In other words, he uses the studio as a tool of divine intervention.

Music can be a beacon of hope in dark days of depression and loneliness, and AV Super Sunshine has been through enough pain and trauma in his life to understand just how important his medium is to keeping the peace and sanity of the world. A survivor and not a victim of strife, AV puts all of his passion and emotions, no matter what they may be, into his music, and his attention to detail really shows up in everything he records. I’ve been following his work for a hot minute, and I must say that this latest batch of remixes could be his finest hour yet.
“Time Bomb” as a club track has a unique crossover appeal to rock music fans, and that’s something that I haven’t really been able to say about any electronica track since at least the late 1990s when industrial music briefly broke into the mainstream (only to self-destruct when left to the devices of commercial integers). AV Super Sunshine is a rockstar of the EDM world, but he swings like a Rolling Stone in this track with more ferocity than we’ve seen from him before. Could this be a hint at what future compositional experiments are to come? I really hope so.

As cinematic as “Time Bomb” is, it’s still relatively simple and to the point, which is a design that pop music is really desperate for right now. Everything is getting over the top in music right now in all the wrong ways, and despite the fact that AV Super Sunshine makes music that is bursting at the seams with color and exhilaration, he knows where to draw the line, and his restraint is worth commending. To take a page from AV’s playbook, I won’t waste any more time selling you on how amazing his work is; I’ll just tell you to go out and snag a copy of his latest release as soon as possible.

REVERBNATION: www.reverbnation.com/play_now/29911618

Clay Burton

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URL: www.streakingintongues.com/

I don’t care how long you’ve been making music or how popular your marketing approach might be. You could be a master poet with a dozen or more publications under your belt and a knack for rhymes that would make even the most gifted linguist do a double-take; your lyrics are absolutely worth nothing if you don’t have good music to back them up. The pop music establishment seems to have forgotten this, and Streaking in Tongues have arrived to give them a little refreshment. Their new record Kindergarten Prayers doesn’t rely on delicately woven lyrics alone to touch our souls; in fact, their lyrics make up a mere fraction of their identity.

Streaking in Tongues puts a lot of value on making music that isn’t one dimensional, and even if you’re not familiar with their sound right now, Kindergarten Prayers is sprawling enough to leave an impression on even the snobbiest of music enthusiasts. Their efforts especially weren’t in vein with this record, which is stacked high with 22 different songs working together to bring the band out of the studio and into your living room through a pair of speakers and a hard working turntable. This is their best work yet, and after hearing their first incredible two albums I didn’t think I’d be able to say that.

I would love to hear these guys do a straight noise record, but it would need to be rooted in the ambience that Kindergarten Prayers highlights for us so immaculately. The tones of this album are never overstated, and while it might be a little frustrating for discriminating noise aficionados to separate the atonal from the harmonious moments of tempered melody, I see it as the most progressively minded ambient music I’ve heard in at least 15 years if not longer. Say what you will about their DIY production, but this is as virtuous as avant-garde pop gets without being totally foreign to mainstream ears.

Whether it’s making original music videos, experimenting with multimedia and modern performance techniques or just making records like Kindergarten Prayers, Streaking in Tongues has got their hands in almost every portion of the art world right now, and their ambitious reach is getting impossible to ignore. When artists make a play for exposure starting from the ground and moving up (as opposed to buying their way in via another means of recognition), their music has time to cultivate and really grow into its own. This band is doing everything the right way and they aren’t even having to suffer for it. Anyone else sense a living legend in our presence?

If I ever have the chance to see Streaking in Tongues perform in a live setting, I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Bands like this one only come around every great once in a while, and more frequently than we like to acknowledge, they don’t get the attention that they deserve until they’ve stopped recording and playing all together. I wouldn’t dream of missing the opportunity to see history before my very eyes, and I think that anyone else who has listened to Kindergarten Prayers knows exactly what I mean.

SPOTIFY: open.spotify.com/artist/1yMeAzPQ6ku0XOH4o6ZBM8

Clay Burton

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Conceptz – Splash (single) feat. Bennie Blanco

DIGITAL DJ POOL: digitaldjpool.com/Songs/177700/Conceptz-ft-Benny-Blanco-Splash-Dirty

In a sexy, smoothly crafted bevy of colorful vocal tones and rhymes melded directly into the music, Conceptz drops another masterpiece in their latest single, “Splash,” which sees the hip-hop duo teaming up with fellow lyrical genius Benny Blanco in what could easily be described as the breakout song of the year. “Splash” is a slick hard jam steeped in swirling ambience and guaranteed to get even the most dedicated of wallflowers out onto the dance floor, led by a hard funk beat that doesn’t stop once it gets started. As a devout hip-hop fan, this is exactly the kind of track that I look for every summer, and it delivers all of the white hot goods that I look for in any relevant pop song.

“Splash” surprisingly contains some of the most original rapping that I’ve heard in years, which really says a lot considering all of the remarkable fresh talent hitting the music scene today. What shouldn’t surprise anyone is the work ethic that Conceptz brings with them into the studio all day, every day. You don’t just compose a song like “Splash” out of thin air; you write a basic outline, develop the rhythm, experiment with the samples and modulate everything until the listener is completely hypnotized by the sonic oasis that they’ve just entered. Conceptz doesn’t cut corners on anything. They’re all in, even on a track designed to be a radio-friendly single that will introduce a wider audience to their exciting sound and style.

You can tell that Conceptz is comprised of two men who clearly have more chemistry than your average music duo, but you may not know that the pair are actually brothers by blood. In the last seven years, including a brief hiatus, they’ve been consistently creating intensely satisfying music without borders or barriers, and there’s a lot for younger artists just starting out to learn from these two performers. Amateurs try to do what Conceptz does, while true pros will take a page from their innovative stylization and chart their own route away from the rest of the crowd. I think that’s the ultimate narrative behind all of the music that they create, and it would be nice if the rest of pop music reflected their sincerity.

I’m so eager to hear a new full-length from Conceptz in the near future, having just gotten into this hip-hop sensation recently. Going back over their previous work, you can see an evolution in both their songwriting and their presentation of the finished product, and time is proving to be on their side in terms of artistic development and evolution. Snag a copy of “Splash,” which is available everywhere this summer, and see for yourself why critics and fans can’t stop talking about what this pair of lyrical magicians are dispatching these days. If you’re a fan of catchy, memorable music that leaves you feeling a little more upbeat and energetic about the day ahead, you won’ be disappointed in what this song has to offer.

PANDORA: www.pandora.com/artist/conceptz/splash-single-explicit/splash-clean-feat-benny-blanco/TRlrqvr3xg34946

Clay Burton

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