Melanie Fiona has discovered herself while recording her new album, Awake, her first studio effort in three years.
The singer revealed how important its been to be authentic as a artist as she's been working on the new album. “I feel like sometimes people know my songs but haven’t gotten the opportunity to know me,” she tells VIBE.
Melanie continues to say that Awake will give her fans a new appreciation for her music. She says, “I want to make people feel good and I want people to feel that they are not alone, that this album and me as an artist represent a voice for people to feel like, ‘Yeah, that is the life we’re living and we’re living it together so let’s do our part to move forward positively, and do some really great things while we are alive here.”
Sara Bareilles Announces 'What's Inside: Songs From Waitress' Album
By Jason Lipshutz, New York | September 24, 2015 11:07 AM EDT
Sara Bareilles performs at Jacobs Pavilion on July 11, 2014 in Cleveland, Ohio.
Patrick R. Murphy/Getty Images
The ‘Blessed Unrest’ follow-up will include songs from Bareilles’ new ‘Waitress’ musical.
Sara Bareilles will combine two high-profile musical projects with the release of What’s Inside: Songs From Waitress, her fourth studio album due out Nov. 6 on Epic Records. The follow-up to 2013’s The Blessed Unrest will include songs from Waitress, the new musical for which Bareilles wrote music and lyrics.
The "Love Song" singer-songwriter, who worked with producer Neal Avron on the new set, will issue the studio version of lead single “She Used To Be Mine” this Friday (Sept. 25). Waitress is currently running through Sept. 27 at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Mass, and will head to Broadway in April 2016.
“I fell more deeply in love with the writing of the musical Waitress than I had ever imagined," says Bareilles in a press statement. “It proved impossible for me to imagine handing over the songs to the show before selfishly finding a way to sing them myself. This is a deliciously self-indulgent project and I'm sorry, I'm not sorry.”
Prior to her new sorry-not-sorry project, Bareilles scored an album of the year Grammy nod with The Blessed Unrest, which included the radio hit “Brave.” In addition, Bareilles will release her first book, Sounds Like Me: My Life (So Far) In Song, on Oct. 6.
Natalia Lafourcade on Her Multiple Latin Grammy Nods, Growing Pains & Finding Her Sound
It’s been a huge week for Natalia Lafourcade -- and one in which she hasn’t slept much. But that’s quite all right, because the Mexican indie pop darling has been celebrating her five Latin Grammy nominations, including album of the year for Hasta La Raíz and song and record of the year for its title song.
It was a rather unexpected triumph, since Lafourcade hasn’t had a presence on the Billboard charts in years, but it’s also a reaffirmation that great music from quieter artists is still being recognized in a major way.
The magic is in Lafourcade’s collaboration with fellow Mexican singer-songwriter (and former Sin Bandera member) Leonel García, who scored the most nominations (six) this year -- three of them for Lafourcade’s “Hasta La Raíz,” which they co-wrote. The two had worked together on several past projects, including García’s Todas Mías album in 2013 and her own tribute album to the late Mexican icon Agustín Lara Mujer Divina in 2012.
Already certified platinum in Mexico, Hasta La Raíz is physically out today (Sept. 25) in the U.S., where many are bound to discover it for the first time. The Latin Grammy nominations will likely boost interest, as well as a string of stateside concerts starting this month. As part of her U.S. trek this fall, Lafourcade will play in venues she’s never played before, such as Lincoln Theater in Washington D.C. and Irving Plaza in New York City.
We caught up with the gifted 31-year-old backstage at The Fonda Theatre in Hollywood the same day in which the nominations were announced, right before she hit the stage as part of the Latin Grammy Acoustic Sessions. Fellow nominee Julieta Venegas also performed.
Sessions Free Listen On Spotify
Congratulations, first and foremost, on all the Latin Grammy nods! Now that Hasta La Raíz is being released here in the U.S., what do you hope will happen?
I hope they’ll connect to it. When I released the album in Mexico I was hoping people would like it and enjoy it, but beyond that, I was hoping they would connect to the things that I’m saying. It’s been amazing to see how people were drawn to it there immediately after it came out. It all happened really fast.
Why do you think that was?
Well, when you release an album, you never know what’s going to happen; you don’t know if they’re going to like it or not. I was just hoping that my music would keep them company -- in their homes or in their cars or while they’re running or going to school or whatever. So now I feel very fortunate and also very thankful. Their support makes it worth it – all the work that we do.
Your previous album was a tribute to Agustín Lara. What was the process of writing and recording original material again after that?
At first it was challenging and intimidating. I was going through this phase three years ago when I was just starting the Agustín Lara project and I was trying to write [original] songs but I had this block; the inspiration wasn’t there. I was hoping that that would go away one day and thankfully, it did.
At what point did you decide you wanted to work with Leonel García again for this album?
I was torn – on the one hand, I wanted to work by myself so I could find that connection, and on the other hand, I wanted to share the process for the first time because it would be different, since I’m used to just working alone. Leonel and I became really good friends when we first worked together a few years ago. So by the time I knew I wanted to share the process, I also knew I wanted Leonel to be a songwriter as well as a producer. And I’m so glad I did, because I’ve learned so many new things. Normally you do things your way, but once you learn someone else’s process you can pick certain things and use them.
The U.S. tour is coming up. What can people expect?
Now it’s wonderful because we can finally bring the band with me for shows in the U.S. and give people the same experience that we offer in Mexico. It used to be smaller shows, just me and my guitar. So we’re sharing my music in a bigger way. I’m excited.
Do you remember your first Latin Grammy awards in 2003, when you were up for best new artist?
That time I didn’t know what all this means. Everything was new. I didn’t know anything about the music industry. What I wanted to do was sing and share my music but beyond that, I didn’t know what I wanted. I remember being at the awards show with Juanes, Beto Cuevas, Shakira, Maná, Gustavo Cerati. They were the artists that I looked up to so it was an overwhelming, weird feeling, like ‘What am I doing here?’
How does being recognized with these kinds of nominations and awards feel different now?
Now, it means a lot and it feels different because I did go through a phase when I didn’t know what to do with my career seven, eight years ago. I moved to Canada and I was going through this period where I was trying to reach and explore, and figure out who I am. After that, when I went back to Mexico, my career was gone. I had to start all over again and that was actually nice -- I don’t regret anything. I’m happy that I could rebuild what I wanted to do and be real, not the thing that others tell you to be. Now it feels great because I get to share what I do with my amazing band and my team, who has supported me so much. It took me a while to find this comfortable place and this is it.
In-Residence: Diane Birch, Evolving Her Sound and Learning By Doing
Sep 29, 2015
In today’s musical landscape, it’s extremely challenging to create something unique. With a sound that references everything from classical to futuristic soul/R&B, singer/songwriter Diane Birch is doing just that. In anticipation of her third album, due in early 2016, Master & Dynamic selected Birch to be the first member of our In-Residence program. Birch’s music shows the evolution of an artist who has carved her own path, and the 10,000 caught up with her to talk about what’s behind her unique sound.
While Birch’s earliest exposure to music was classical and opera, her true musical education came from playing in hotel lounges and jamming with friends from the time she was a teenager into adulthood. Local gigs in Portland, Oregon led her to venture down to L.A., thinking she would write music for films and continue to play piano at hotel lounges. In the spirit of improvisation, Birch wouldn’t plan her sets, but instead meld together riffs that came to her in the moment. While her style contains elements of both jazz and classical music, Birch does not consider herself a classical or jazz musician to avoid being “boxed in” in her thinking and limiting herself in creating music. She’d rather not be bound by a specific structure, but instead “do what comes” to her naturally, making her music unpredictable, but also refreshingly unexpected.
Birch always had a love for music, and knew from a very early age she wanted to be a musician, but never really envisioned a career as a singer, which is remarkable given her early success. So far Birch has released two studio albums, Bible Belt in 2009 and Speak A Little Louder in 2013, both on S-Curve Records. Bible Belt was full of Birch’s original songwriting and featured elements of gospel, doo-wop, Americana, and Motown. Her second album Speak A Little Louder tapped into her love of dark 80’s inspired pop and new wave, colored with subtle hints of R&B and soul. Birch was influenced both by secular music (her father was a preacher) and her adolescence in Portland, Oregon where Birch connected mostly with the goth and punk street kids. The combination of both influences is what led to her being such a unique artist.
For her third album, which is currently in the works, Birch is excited to have more creative freedom. When listening to her new song “Nite Time Talking” (available exclusively on our SoundCloud), it’s clear her sound has evolved over the last few years. She is looking to create a juxtaposition of a “girl with pretty voice, playing the piano” and something “really gritty.” For her current work, she references everything from R&B to church choirs as her inspiration and says she “has no interest in writing a radio hit.” For the past year, Birch has been experimenting with new music and producing everything herself in her apartment on a laptop and uploading teasers straight to SoundCloud. Her two focuses have been a new self-produced album and a side project that combines experimental solo piano and organ music called Fine Dining (with exclusive tracks also available on our SoundCloud) described by Birch as “a deconstruction of my classical training with references to the times I played in hotels and bars, but more about repetition, meditative loops and improvisation."
Though she’s had success in releasing multiple albums and continually reinvents her sound, Birch never formally learned how to read music. She instead relies on her trained ear, acquired through the Suzuki method, which focuses on ear training and learning by listening. She feels this method allowed her to find her own style, instead of “a piece of paper telling [her] what to do.” Throughout her career, Birch has consistently pushed back against compartmentalizing her sound. In her most recent work, you can hear what that freedom sounds like. Check it out below in an exclusive playlist Birch curated for Master & Dynamic’s SoundCloud account:
One week until the worldwide release of Sananda’s new album THE RISE OF THE ZUGEBRIAN TIME LORDS! If you pre-ordered on iTunes you will instantly receive album track "Les Paul Man (Love Is Love)” directly to your music library. - SM Staff
Lady Gaga Covers Chic for Tom Ford Fashion Campaign 10/04 Link
Chic guitarist Nile Rodgers has produced a cover of his band's 1978 hit "I Want Your Love" that pop superstar Lady Gaga recorded for a new fashion campaign by designer Tom Ford.
Lady Gaga's rendition of the classic disco tune serves as the soundtrack to a new video promoting the designer's spring/summer collection. As the song plays, an array of models -- including Gaga herself -- dance down a runway.
Since her star-making appearance on Empire, V. Bozeman’s career has taken off. Over the summer, the singer-songwriter debuted “Smile,” a soulful collaboration with Timbaland, who signed her to his Mosley Music Group label.
In the feel-good video, V and her mentor lift spirits while trading high notes. They are joined by an assortment of people hugging and dancing around them, inspired by Timbaland’s demand to “see you smile.”
Timbo is in the studio working on Opera Noir, his first album in almost six years. He also returns as executive music producer for the second season of “Empire,” which premiered last week. (Source: Rap-Up)
R&B sensation, Christopher Williams is back to wake us from dreamin’ with his new single, “Too Late,” an edgy, mid-tempo joint written and produced by G. Flowers and Avyon.
Christopher’s voice confidently commands the track, letting his love interest know that she shouldn’t wait too long to be with him as he sings: “See, I’m not the one trying to change you / See, I’m just the one here to save you…Why be so cautious / When everything that you want is in your face?”
With a sensual guitar and thumping bass, “Too Late” is just in time for cuffing season.
Williams says that he is ready for his return to the music game, “…words can’t describe how excited I am for my fans to see what I have been working on…The time is now and I am ready to connect with them all as well as meet new ones along the way.”
Christopher Wiliams’ new album, Simply Christopher is due out March 2016. “Too Late” will be available on iTunes and all digital retailers on October 23. Take a listen below:
You can take a black guy to Nashville from right out of the cotton fields with bib overalls, and they will call him R&B. You can take a white guy in a pin-stripe suit who’s never seen a cotton field, and they will call him country. ~ O. B. McClinton
Premiere: Odetta Hartman Makes Futuristic Folk On “Creektime”
Ease into springtime with Odetta Hartman‘s pastoral pop vision. The young singer-songwriter is surely familiar with New York City’s folk tradition, but on new track “Creektime,” she’s more concerned with creating her own future. Taken from her upcoming album 222, the song finds Hartman exploring the balance between nature and machines. Her striking voice glides over the minimalist production, the crisp, programmed percussion balancing against delicate banjo plucking.
“‘Creektime’ is a gamble: an audio adventure that introduces many of the sonic themes off my newest record 222, which will be released later this spring” Hartman describes via email. “‘Creektime’ interweaves traditional string instruments with found sounds and programmed samples to create a truly unique auditory story. Constructed around a country porch banjo lick, punctuated with actual gun shot field recordings, and elaborated with percussive surprises, the song’s atmosphere evokes the hauntingly ethereal mood of the entire project.”
Listen to “Creektime” below and follow her on Facebook for more.
After 30 million album sales, four Grammys and three BRIT Awards, Seal has reunited with the legendary producer Trevor Horn for his new album ‘7’ which will be released on November 6th.
The album represents the duo’s first collection of original material since 2003, having previously created such defining hits as ‘Kiss From A Rose’, ‘Killer’ and ‘Crazy’.
Throughout ‘7’, Seal explores love and all of its implications, idiosyncrasies, and intricacies.
“The album concerns the most sung about, most talked about, and most documented emotion – love,” he explains. “I tried to capture all of the wonderfully different dynamics of love, whether it’s the anger, the acceptance, the bliss, the sadness, the elation, or the recklessness. It’s this emotion and the ways it makes us feel. It’s about the extreme joy and the extreme regret as well as all of the crazy things love makes us do.”
The album’s first single ‘Do You Ever’ was today premiered by Ken Bruce at Radio 2.
‘7’ restarts Seal’s storied partnership with Trevor Horn that began with his 1991 #1 debut album ‘Seal’ and continued with the huge #1 follow-up ‘Seal II’ (1994), 1998’s ‘Human Being’, 2003’s ‘Seal IV’, and most recently ‘Soul 2’ (2011). As a result, there’s an unspoken, yet unbreakable bond they share.
“We barely spoke about music in the studio,” Seal admits. “We talked more about life and our relationship over the years. He just understands how to place my voice. On the one hand, you have this elaborate production and signature of Trevor Horn, but you never lose sight of what it is I’m saying. That’s the narrative. There’s no producer who understands how to sustain and keep focused on the narrative of my voice and what I’m trying to say better than Trevor does. He pushes me, and we left it all on the court. He taught me a work ethic and approach to making records that will stay with me until the day I die.”
One of the album’s highlights is ‘Every Time I’m With You’ which begins with a stark piano melody punctuated by Seal’s instantly recognisable croon before it builds into a climactic, soulful refrain that resounds over a rich musical panorama.
“I just tried to imagine the one thing your significant other would most want to hear from you,” he says. “You ask your partner, ‘Why do you love me? Why are you with me?’ and the response is, ‘There are many reasons, but one of the main reasons is, every time I’m with you, I feel wanted.’ I can’t think of many things that are more beautiful, which I’d either want to say or hear. It was my attempt at being romantic! Whether or not, I achieved it, only time will tell,” he laughs.
Elsewhere on the album, Seal goes right to the heart of the club with a ‘Life On The Dancefloor’ which pairs a syncopated house beat wrapped in horns with a massive hook. He artfully juxtaposes that spark with the intense wail of ‘Padded Cell’ bolstered by propulsive synths and a robust delivery. However, the record’s centrepiece is his personal favourite, the sombre yet striking ‘The Big Love Has Died’. Everything culminates on ‘Love’. Pairing his voice with just a piano, it’s his most vulnerable and vital moment as he declares, “Love only makes you strong, love only makes you heal, love only hates with love.”
Neil, Kimberly and Reid Perry of The Band Perry perform at the white party dinner hosted by Andrea and Veronica Bocelli sponsored by Cartier during 2015 Celebrity Fight Night Italy benefiting The Andrea Bocelli Foundation at Andrea Bocellis private reside
Photo by Jonathan Leibson/Getty Images for Celebrity Fight Night
Late on Friday (October 9), The Band Perry took to Instagram to reveal the cover and title of their third studio album 'Heart + Beat' (pronounced heart plus beat). Featuring three horizontally cropped pictures of each respective band member laid on top of one another, their faces spell out the album title. With each of their faces painted yellow (more on that in a minute), Kimberly's spells 'HEART' in white lettering, Neil's has a '+' sign, and Reid's spells 'BEAT.' The rest of the background is black, making for some very stark imagery.
Speaking to Taste of Country, the band explained their new association with the color yellow, "Everything is so colorful and enthusiastic and happy," Kimberly Perry told them. "We’re walking out of the studio with giant smiles on our faces."
"[Focusing on making music] felt really empowered and electrified," Kimberly continued. "[We] woke up each day really excited to go into the studio, and yellow is a color that exuded that for us in this new era."
That color is in abundance in the video for the album's lead single 'Live Forever,' as we see various characters falling down, oozing yellow blood, and being inspired to get back up again. The pop/rock empowerment enthem that strives for immortality is one that sees them usher in a more commercial, crossover era that has been somewhat polarizing. Certainly, the 'look' they've been going for lately is one that harks back to 90s mainstream fashion, and there's little twang to be found on the new single. Despite this, the track is currently in the top 30 at country radio just eight weeks after release.
While the band have not commented on a release date for the album, industry publication Hits Daily Double have the scoop on a November 20 release date. That puts them in the same week as Adele's highly-anticipated new record, as well as others from Andy Grammer, Queen and R Kelly. If they were hoping for a high debut on the Billboard 200, they might have their work cut out for them.
A pair of reissues from McCartney's most neglected solo era reveal gems worth reassessing
The new frontier for Beatlemaniacs: reclaiming Eighties Paul. It's one of the weirdest areas of the man's career, full of buried treasures ripe for discovery. On the map of McCartney's music, fans usually avoid the Eighties as the zone marked "Here Be Broad Street." But the newly reissued Tug of War and Pipes of Peace prove it's worth the search, even if it means tiptoeing around a few toxic-waste dumps. Check out "So Bad," from 1983's Pipes of Peace — that piercingly bittersweet melody, the way his voice soars in the high notes ("there was a paaain"), the modest ache of the chorus. The Eighties production goop is tough to stomach (even from George Martin) and the lyrics are barely even a first draft, yet it's a lost Macca gem nobody else could have written or sung.
Tug of War arrived in 1982 as McCartney's first proper pop album in years — 1980's delightfully odd new wave experiment McCartney II had been a discreet way for him to resume his solo identity after ditching the Wings brand name. Stevie Wonder shows up twice on Tug of War: the Prince-like synth-funk jam "What's That You're Doing" and the not-remotely-Prince-like hit "Ebony and Ivory." But the highlights are the piano ballads "Wanderlust" and "Here Today," McCartney's startlingly personal elegy for John Lennon: "What about the time we met?/I suppose you could say we were playing hard to get." This reissue adds outtakes that didn't fit conceptually because they were too much like Silly Wings Songs: the New Orleans shuffle "Stop, You Don't Know Where She Came From" and the bagpipe-crazed country B-side "Rainclouds."
Pipes of Peace holds up even better, despite a certain something called "Say Say Say," the mega-smash Michael Jackson duet, perhaps neither artist's finest moment. Both Macca and Jacca sound more unhinged on their other duet, a utterly nonsensical Philly-soul ditty called "The Man" — not to be confused with 1976's "Listen To What The Man Said," though it's probably the same man. There's also the fantastic outtake "Simple As That" and "The Other Me," where he croons this immortal bit of Macca verse: "I know I was a crazy fool/For treating you the way I did/But something took hold of me/And I acted like a dustbin lid." Don't let the dustbin lid close on Eighties Paul. The goodies are there if you do some digging.
Enya Returns with New Album Dark Sky Island October 2015 Link
Grammy-winning singer Enya is back with a new album. It's called Dark Sky Island, and it'll arrive November 20.
The album, created by Enya, lyricist Roma Ryan and engineer Nicky Ryan, was inspired by Roma's work on a series of poetry books with an island theme. The specific inspiration came from Sark, which is part of the Channel Islands.
It's the first so-called "Dark Sky" island in the world, which means that it attempts to preserve a natural night sky, free of artificial light.
"This album has a theme of journeys," Enya says in a statement. "Journeys to the island; through the length of a lifetime; through history, through emotions; and journeys across great oceans. So although it's not a 'themed' album, as such, we nevertheless have an underlying connection between songs."
The album is now available for pre-order, and if you do it, you'll get an instant free download of the first single, "Echoes in Rain."
Club-cool R&B star makes a case for pop greatness on a confident EP
On her breakthrough 2013 mixtape,Cut 4 Me— which finally saw a physical reissue this year — Washington-born, Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Kelela Mizanekristos established herself as an artist to watch, pairing breathy, Nineties R&B-influenced vocals with somber, skittering dance beats provided by an A-team of producers from forward-thinking electronic labels Fade To Mind and Night Slugs.
Her new six-track EP picks up where that tape left off, offering a dizzying array of emotional peaks and valleys. Opener "The Message," co-written by Venezuelan producer Arca (who's done superlative work with Björk, FKA Twigs and Kanye West), sees Kelela lamenting the dissolution of a relationship over a slow-burning groove. Her greatest strength continues to be the malleability of her voice: From the woozy pitch-shifted title track to the rumbling, euphoric "The High," she displays the control of a veteran performer.
The highlight is "Rewind," a Miami-bass-meets-London-warehouse-rave anthem where Kelela displays her pop star aspirations to thrilling effect (her coy laugh at the song's 2:25 mark is especially reminiscent of Janet Jackson). More than simply a stopgap to tide fans over until her debut LP comes out, Hallucinogen is a fully-realized vision from an artist who's poised for a long and fruitful career.
Kelela on 'Hallucinogen' EP, Writing 'Bangers' That Carole King Could Cover
"I think I hit a groove, and I finally know how it's going to work," says rising R&B star of process that led to new release
Kelela refines her cutting-edge R&B on her latest EP, 'Hallucinogen.' Roger Kisby/Getty
The singer Kelela seemed to emerge fully formed in 2013 with Cut 4 Me, an artful debut mixtape that emphasized atmosphere over groove: Vocals seeped and curled like smoke around off-kilter, bass-heavy beats. But since then, this rising star has kept a low profile, appearing on songs with Bok Bok, Kindness and Future Brown, but off on releasing a fresh batch of solo material.
Today, Kelela returns with the Hallucinogen EP, which finds her expanding her roster of collaborators and pushing her songwriting into new areas. Recent single "Rewind" is unabashedly movement-compelling, with a thin, crispy beat that evokes Nineties classics like K.P. & Envy's "Shorty Swing My Way" or "My Boo" by Ghost Town DJ's. "All the Way Down," on the other hand, merges the singer's penchant for ambience with a heady bounce.
Rolling Stone caught up with Kelela to talk about her last two years, the new EP and the album she's working on for 2016.
What have you been up to in the last couple years since Cut 4 Me? There's a few things I wanted to try out. I like to try out different methods to get to good songs. I wanted to make sure that if you were wondering why the mixtape was a mixtape, your question would be answered on the next release. I wanted to make sure that you when you heard the next release, you knew exactly why the other thing was a mixtape.
For me, that meant going in on songwriting. It's something that I've always wanted to push all the way with. And by that, I mean doing whatever I do and then consulting someone who's on a constant quest to find the most resonant melodies and lyrics. For the past couple of years, I've actually been working on the album, and out of that larger body of work, I was encouraged to create an EP. I pulled from the tracks that were meant for an album — essentially the ones that made the most sense together, centered around "A Message." I knew the places I needed to focus: Songwriting was one, and the other was I wanted to consult someone who really makes pop music but isn't just a songwriter — also a producer. And I had been with working with Ariel Rechtshaid.
Do you believe there's a difference between an album and a mixtape? Yes. There's no hard line; it's more about how many of these boxes did this project check. When I called Cut 4 Me a mixtape, I was thinking about a few elements: One is used instrumentals. The project is more centered around introducing you to an artist; it's not meant to be seminal. It's "hi," "hello," a thing that you first hear.
Being a mixtape also implies that it's not about being refined. It's not about going to try and make something that's perfect; it's more about keeping it moving and putting that shit out there. For an album, you won't hear instrumentals that were on previous projects. For an album, you're definitely going to hear bridges. Love me a bridge! With the mixtape, I just wanted to show you what the idea is and then keep it moving. I never meant to go all the way. This is the idea, you get it — it's the verse; it's the chorus; "bye bye." With the album, I am going in. The EP is part of the same pursuit. I made "The Message" two songs into making the mixtape. But it's not a thing where I put out everything at once. I felt like that would be a great "and then there was this." So I held off, and I'm really glad — it feels very much like step two.
"I think what the mixtape did was say, 'Hey, guys, I'm not playing,'" says Kelela of her 2013 debut, 'Cut 4 Me.' Timothy Saccenti
Did the mixtape serve to help introduce you to people you wanted to consult on songwriting? I think what the mixtape did was say, "Hey, guys, I'm not playing." That goes for songwriters and that goes for producers. On this EP, I have Arca; I have Asma Maroof [one half of Nguzunguzu], Nugget, Kingdom, Girl Unit, myself and Obey City. On top of all that, you have to sprinkle a bit of Ariel Rechtshaid. When it comes to production, a lot of the people that I've worked with have definitely focused on a sound. I have made it my business on this record to focus on resonance to balance out the individuality in the production, to bring them to [the] center. I am allowing someone to do their entire thing, and then I'm choosing the elements from that that I take.
So you're doing some curating? I'm curating a lot. It's a lot of curatorial work. I'm not trying to show them what I think; it's more like they're doing what's intuitive for them, and then there's a lot of overlap.
Was it easy to transition into this new way of working? It's a gradient. There's one song on the mixtape, "Floor Show," where I consulted someone, Mocky. I remember asking him, "What do you think about this?" He was like, "Well, this part you have as your bridge is actually your chorus." It wasn't a hard transition; I had done a little bit of it before. Songwriters just started trickling into my life in a really beautiful way.
I think there's probably three ways that people make records these days. One is when there's a couture label context, where it's all about the vision the artist has, and then you're negotiating that with the label head. Then there's a traditional indie model, which is also centered around the artist. Traditionally when we think of major-label models, we think of the way I'm doing the record right now. Taking a little bit from over here, a little bit over there, putting that together with this songwriter and adding a last sprinkle of somebody else.
With the other two [models], traditionally there's not a lot of back-and-forth. It's been a little bit tricky, because I've had to have a conversation with every producer and tell them I'm not simply taking a major-label model — "I want to do something creative, and I want to layer some of your work with other people's, but I definitely want to bring it back around to you." It's not the type of game where you're handing off stems and you may never hear that shit again until it's on the radio. Trying to hybridize all those ways of working has been a huge chunk of the challenge. I want to have agency, but I also want their blessing. I think I hit a groove, and I finally know how it's going to work — probably for the rest of my life.
Congratulations. Thank you. It feels good to know you're probably not going to get to a banger by starting on piano. I need to know for myself: Could you just start with a chord and then add the drums and then make that thing happen? In actuality, most bangers are bangers before they have vocals on them. There's certain things that I've learned that I had to find out experientially.
Speaking of bangers, let's talk about "Rewind." I heard an Obey City track that had a bass line in it, and I was like, this bass line goes so hard — I have to put a major melody over it because it's so good. And I know it's a Miami-bass feel, and I kind of know where I want to go. So I got with Nugget, and I asked him to make me a Miami-bass sketch. We wrote most of the song together. I had the song and a skeleton of the track, and I gave it simultaneously to Kingdom and to Girl Unit and I gave them two different directives. I told Girl Unit to make it classically the thing that we know: "Give me, like, Miami bass on 1,000, and then at the end, give me your most basic trap outro." Then I told Kingdom, "Can you do all the weird shit? Give me some palette." I need to take it out of this context. It needs to sound like, "Who, where are we?" They both did their thing, and I blended their pieces together. It's a process. I don't want you to have to be a head to be into it. But if you are a head, I want you to be like, "Yesssss!" I want to check both boxes every time. And that's what I've tried to take to one million on the album — make whatever's resonating with you hit just as hard as a thing that's subverting and throwing you off.
I always tell people, Carole King has to take this song to piano. That is the goal. She might be like, "I don't know what's going on in that production; I'm not really sure what's going on the track. But that song. Goes. Hard." I want her to go to her piano and be like, "What are the chords, and how does the melody go?" [I want] somebody who does that to be like, "That's how you fucking do it."
After spending her young childhood at sea, essentially living at a South African yacht club when not sailing across the Indian Ocean, Aimee DeBeer moved to England, Texas, and finally, New York. Although she's classically trained in opera, the musician has found her own voice and sound, rebelling against the formal rules she learned at the Manhattan School of Music. The 26-year-old has already played at New York local favorites, including Pianos, Rockwood Music Hall, and Baby's All Right, but here we're pleased to announce her debut EP Strange Fiction (due for release next month) and premiere "Oblivion," her first official single.
DeBeer's Instagram and music videos are filled with dizzying, surrealistic images, but lyrically, she draws inspiration from musical icons like Lou Reed and Johnny Cash and literary notables, such as John Steinbeck, for their ability to ground themselves in reality. "It's these old men," she says with a laugh. "I think they tell things very honestly. It's not flowery language. It feels real and uncontrived. They're not afraid to speak of intense emotions."
Taking this inspiration to heart, DeBeer's songs express her own struggles, but in an emotionally open way, allowing listeners to interpret and apply thematic elements to their own lives. On "Oblivion," over languid bass and keys, the musician's angelic voice croons, "Breathe for me / How does it hurt? / Between the bottles and lines / Well don't you feel like dirt?" She continues, "And lay back / On this spinning wheel / And we'll go round, round, round / ‘til we don't know how we feel."
Before her show on October 17 at the Living Room during New York's CMJ Music Marathon, we spoke with DeBeer over the phone.
NAME: Aimee DeBeer
AGE: 26
BASED: New York
CHILDHOOD AT SEA: My father builds boats; that's something he's always done. He's busy building one right now, that [he and my mom] are gonna retire on—that's the plan. So as a kid, we lived in Durban, South Africa at a yacht club, on the boat. [laughs]We moored there. We sailed across the Indian Ocean sometimes. My parents did a voyage from South Africa to Brazil. I grew up around very adventurous, open-minded people.
MOVING MAINLAND: I moved from South Africa to England, and then to Texas. In many ways, in Texas—where it's very conservative, a religious environment—having these very free spirited parents, I really felt isolated. So I dove into my own world, discovered music, and identified with that as an outlet of expression. I moved to Texas in elementary school, so I didn't really start writing [music] then, but I started collecting and growing attached to it. "OBLIVION": I wrote that song about two years ago and it's about the Wheel of Fortune—a lot of my songs are about the unknown. I wrote it in a time when I was surrounded by people who had very strong viewpoints about where they were going, what they were going to accomplish, and were somewhat manipulative and ego-driven. This song is about how nobody knows where they're going and to relax; there's this Wheel of Fortune. I envisioned it as a merry-go-round—you lay back on it and things sort of get dizzy, but that's the way life is. Everything feels sometimes dizzy or like a blur.
MUSICAL INFLUENCES: Growing up, I listened to Elvis—mainly stuff I could steal from my parents or could get at used bookstores. I was into Joni Mitchel, Fiona Apple. Later on I discovered Lou Reed; I was really into the Velvet Underground. Bob Marley was my mom's favorite, so I listened to a lot of Bob Marley growing up, too. Lately I've been listening to Perfume Genius. I've been really into his last album. It comes out of nowhere—it's very silent in that way and then evolves, rather than music that hits you over the head. I think there's something very intimate and personal about it.
SURREAL IMAGERY: Surrealism is about the unknown. With a photograph, you can say what's real and not real, but nobody really knows what is real and what isn't real. I like the element of mystery, an element that's slightly thrown off, that makes you more aware of possibility. My mom's a painter, but I don't consider myself to be a naturally visual person. I'm far more conceptual and definitely musical.
CLASSICALLY TRAINED: I was writing my own music, but wanted a formal education, and as a kid, your parents are like, "Go to college!" So I went to college for music. If you learn all the rules, it's more exciting to break them. I know the rules, but I don't really care anymore about them.
BABY BOOMER: When I was probably seven years old, my dad thought I would fit in better with the culture [in Texas] if he bought me country music CDs. He bought me a Dolly Parton album and I thought Dolly Parton was the coolest person ever. So to be honest, I think that was the time [I realized I wanted to pursue music]. As a kid, I just sang to everyone. I would be on a train singing to people. They called me Boomer when I was a baby, because I had this booming voice and I would sing weird melodies all the time.
AFTER MOVING TO NEW YORK, I LEARNED... That life is even more confusing than I thought. To try to sort things out, I write songs. I try not to control it too much. I spend a lot of time alone, which is part of writing music. There's a meditation to it.
I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW... That they're not alone. They're not as weird as they think they are. My music should be comforting in a way. I would like to take people on journeys. The future is confusing, but you shouldn't be scared. We all feel it, even if we don't want to admit all the time that we're scared. Single:
MEG MYERS IN LOS ANGELES, JULY 2015. PHOTOS: BRIAN HIGBEE. STYLING: SEAN KNIGHT. HAIR: MICHAEL LONG AT FORWARD ARTISTS. MAKEUP: ERIN SALGADO-MOFFETT USING HOURGLASS COSMETICS AT JEDROOT. SPECIAL THANKS: THE HUDSON L.A.
The past two years of Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter Meg Myers's life reflect those of her childhood: constant motion and a frequent change of scenery. Born in Nashville, Myers spent much of her young years surrounded by the Smoky Mountains as a Jehovah's Witness, but as a teenager she moved to Ohio and then Florida. Since her debut EP Daughter in the Choir and 2013's Make a Shadow, she's hardly had a place called home, only briefly returning to L.A. between tours around the world. It was this constant flux that led to many of the tracks on her debut album, Sorry, which will be released this Friday via Atlantic Records.
"I've been on the road for about two years and that's definitely changed me and shaped a lot of things, and the making of the album," she explains. "I've just been beaten up, man."
Through tracks like "Motel," "Parade," and "The Morning After," Myers explores various—and often quite intimate—elements of travel and touring. On "Motel," which she claims as one of the album's standout anthems, the 28-year-old breathily sings "I wanna love / Wanna live / Wanna breathe / Wanna give / But it's hard / And it's dark / And I'm falling apart," atop catchy guitars, drums, and even notes of violin—a departure from her more synth-based EPs. We first spoke with Myers in 2013, but before Sorry's release, we caught up over the phone.
EMILY MCDERMOTT: You released your debut EP in 2013 and now have your full-length. How do you feel like you've grown since then? Both musically and personally?
MEG MYERS: Being on the road impacted my writing of the music, for sure, and the feeling of it. I always write about what I'm going through, and back then it was a lot of break ups, love, pain, and things in that realm. Being on the road, I've dealt with a little bit of that in the last couple years, but I have a song called "Motel"on the album, which is about traveling and life. I think the album has a lot more songs about life and traveling and getting so down from exhaustion and then finding anything to pull yourself up and get through it, somehow find the hope in life. I have a lot of that on the album, and definitely wouldn't happen without being on the road.
MCDERMOTT: What helps you find that hope?
MYERS: There are a few things, and one is nature, which is difficult to get on the road because you're always traveling from city to city. It's like, "Oh, I can't wait to go on tour, travel, and see the world." But no, I don't see the world. I see the van, the highways, and the green room. Then I see from the stage. That's it. So the way I find joy is pretty much to shut my mind of, go within, and meditate. I've been doing a lot of meditating. The last tour, we stopped maybe three times the whole time to go on a little hike. It's crazy how much that actually helps, just getting outside and away from people.
The people around me are also really funny; the guys in the band make me laugh a lot, no matter how exhausted we are, just making fun of things and not taking things so seriously. That's something I've learned: I used to take things so seriously and now I can't, because if I do, I can't survive. The only way to survive is to laugh at things no matter how dark they are. MCDERMOTT: After touring for two years, how do you think the live shows changed the music?
MYERS: The EPs that I put out are a lot more electronic, pop sounding and the live show has a lot of energy, a lot more rockin'. It's a lot more raw and visceral. I think that still will be the case, but the new album has a lot more rock elements, more live instruments. I want to keep that rawness and energy to the live show, but I would like to step it up on the next tour and have it sound more like the album than what we've been doing.
MCDERMOTT: Is there one song that you really feel is representational of the whole album?
MYERS: Three songs are going through my head right now. I would say "Motel" or "Feather"—which actually will be the first and last songs on the album—represent me the best, what I have changed, and what I have been going through. But I keep going back to this one song that seems to really speak to me; it's really, really dark and it's called, "I Really Want You to Hate Me." I always gravitate towards the painful stuff.
MCDERMOTT: In your last interview with us, the writer asked you if you were morbid and you said yes.
MYERS: [laughs] Morbid, I don't know, probably much less... But, I guess in what way? My humor is, that's what it is. Because I'm not; I don't like doing weird, dark things. I'm actually a wholesome person, and maybe kind of a prude. The type of music that I write can be that way, but I like doing wholesome, good things. Probably the reason why I'm not this crazy, dark person doing weird things is because I can express it through the music.
MCDERMOTT: So then would you consider yourself, aside from your music, a glass-half-full type of person?
MYERS: It's 50/50 with me. I'm just a really moody person and I'm a woman, so I'm affected by the people that I'm around; I'm sensitive to other people, their feelings can really affect me. I've really been working on, in the last few months, only surrounding myself with people I know I'm going to get good, positive things from. Also it just depends on how much sleep I get or if it's that time of the month. [laughs] But I feel like I might be kind of extreme. I think I either am really low or really, really high.
MCDERMOTT: Are the darker days more conducive for writing? Or what was the writing process like?
MYERS: I was struggling, I was having a pretty hard time during the making of the album—never having any time off. I'm a major hermit, so it's really hard for me to constantly be around people because the only way for me to love myself and know who I am, how I feel, and find positivity is to be alone to recharge. I was getting really drained and definitely expressing a lot of that through the music.
The writing process was me and Andy Rosen the studio, going in, writing music and melodies. Sometimes I would just spew out the first verse or the first chorus. That was usually what it was like, to be in there for 10 hours a day. I was probably in a darker place, but there are a couple songs that are more upbeat than anything I've ever written. I think I'm tapping into that side now too, which is nice, to be able to do both. The fact that I have few of those on the album, I'm so excited about. It gives this energy and mix of darkness and positivity. It was really nice to express that side of myself for the first time ever, the more light-heated.
SORRY WILL BE RELEASED FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, VIA ATLANTIC RECORDS AND IS AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER HERE. FOR MORE ON MYERS, VISIT HER WEBSITE.
GENEVIÈVE BELLEMARE IN LOS ANAGELES, AUGUST, 2015. PHOTOS: CARA ROBBINS. HAIR: CHRISTINE NELLI FOR EXCLUSIVE ARTISTS MANAGEMENT USING T3 AND KEVIN MURPHY. MAKEUP: JUSTIN STCLAIR FOR EXCLUSIVE ARTISTS MANAGEMENT USING ARMANI COSMETICS. SITTINGS EDITOR: SHERAH JONES/EXCLUSIVE ARTISTS MANAGMENT.
When listening to the first single from Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter Geneviève Bellemare's forthcoming album, it's hard to believe the 23-year-old has remained slightly under the radar. Her catchy pop melodies and smooth production enhance her already soulful, jazz-esque vocals, which could easily maintain a harmonizing life on their own. Following her debut EP Live and Die, which was released almost exactly one year ago, Bellemare is now gearing up to release her debut full-length, Melancholy Fever, on September 18 via Verve Music. Below we're pleased to premiere the first single, "Shenanigans."
Although she finds inspiration from Astrud Gilbert, the Cocteau Twins' Elizabeth Fraser, and Little Dragon's Yukimi Nagano, Bellemare arrived in L.A. after growing up in Vancouver and McMinnville, Oregon, where she listened to the likes of Whitney Houston and Celine Dion. She began singing in church choirs at an early age, but soon gave up training her vocal chords in favor of dancing. Upon hearing her mother play Diana Krall around the house, however, she refocused herself and began honing her own unique vocal techniques and tones, slowly gaining enough confidence to consider herself a singer, rather than a dancer.
For the tracks on Melancholy Fever, Bellemare collaborated with others during the writing process for the first time in her life. "I never really thought that was something I was willing to do," she says. But when given the opportunity to work with producers Mitchell Froom (Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello), Paul O'Duffy (Amy Winehouse), busbee (Ingrid Michaelson), and more, it's hard to say no. Prior to this single's release, we spoke with the musician over the phone to learn more.
NAME: Geneviève Bellemare
AGE: 23
BASED: Los Angeles, by way of Vancouver and McMinnville, Oregon
LONG TIME COMING: The album's been done for almost two years. It took me about a year to make, but I had 30 or something songs, which doesn't sound like much over 12 months, but yeah... Then everybody—the label and management and stuff—sifted through and picked the album. The idea behind the EP was to give a teaser for the album. I do think if we released it a year or two ago, it would've been not the best idea ever. We've been waiting for the right time to do it.
WORKING WITH OTHERS: I never co-wrote with people, so I didn't think that was going to work, but then when I did, everything was really surprising—how your style of writing can change. Each person I worked with was able to pull something different out of me. One producer didn't have the type of writer's mentality where he was like, "Okay we have to make a verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, chorus." He wasn't as structured as other producers and I like that because it brought something out that maybe appealed to people who like to listen to songs that wouldn't make it on the radio. Then other producers, like Paul O'Duffy, who did "Shenanigans," he's really good disciplining me. He's like, "No, there has to be a conclusion in a song, there has to be a full feeling." But then he also doesn't necessarily make me feel like I'm giving anything up or selling myself out. Working with people was seriously one of the best experiences I've had writing music.
CAT GOT HER TONGUE: [Growing up,] my dance teacher was also a vocal teacher, so I went up to her after class one day and said, "Can you give me voice lessons and I'll watch your cat in exchange?" She went on trips all the time and needed someone to feed the cat. She said, "Okay," and we started doing voice lessons at her house. To be honest, when I was going to voice lessons I really didn't give two shits. I wasn't really listening to her. I wasn't being a dick, but I wasn't in there to learn vocal techniques. It was more just that I wanted a place to sing really loudly and make sure that it was something I felt really confident about. I had brothers at my house and they had friends over that were cute; I wasn't going to sing in my room and be embarrassed. I didn't tell my mom or anyone in the beginning that I was taking voice lessons because I have this weird thing where I don't like to tell people I'm trying stuff until I'm like, "Okay, I'm confident, you can know now that I'm doing this." HER FIRST TIME: I don't remember exactly, but I was on my porch when I think I was 14. I had a bottle of wine, which in retrospect is weird, because I see 14 year olds now and I'm like, "Oh my god I was such a child!" [laughs] So I had a bottle of wine and a cigarette, and I was singing a song to myself and then I started recording it on my phone or a recorder or something. After that I went inside and started piecing it together. Over the course of the next few days I put it together. Then I decided I was going to do the Battle of the Bands at my high school, which was really terrifying. So I got this brother and sister together, and this guy Eric Valentine—he stayed with me in my next two bands—and I did "Ain't No Sunshine," a cover of "Young Girl,"and the song that I wrote, which has a funny stupid title, "Canadian Ethnicity," which doesn't really make sense.
JAZZ AGE: When I moved to Oregon, I stopped singing and started focusing on dance; I was on a dance team. But I happened to hear my mom listening to Diana Krall and I started singing along to it. I remember thinking, "Oh, I think I sound different now. This sounds good to me." So I started exploring that. In general, jazz [singers], they have so much vocal control, but then at the same time it's so freestyled. I really like that contrast. It was really interesting to me; I had never listened to it or paid attention to it before. '90S KID: I grew up listening to Whitney [Houston] and Celine Dion. They spoke to me because it was very big sounding and their voices were very large. Now, a huge influence is Elizabeth Fraserand Cocteau Twins. One of the producers actually showed her to me and I had never heard her. He played "Song to the Siren" and I was obsessed from that point on.
JUST LIVING LIFE: To be honest, I've been so busy working and living like a normal person in L.A.—not going to studios and stuff—it's a little difficult for me to have as much motivation to be writing. When I worked at a grocery store, I'd be facing—meaning pushing all the stuff forward so it looks neat—and I'd be singing and writing songs. That's what I would do while I was there. But when you shift gears and you're put in a room and have deadlines, it shifted something a little bit; I think now I have to put myself in a mode, and I've been so busy that I'm not in that mode. I'm getting really itchy to do that, though. I'm ready to go make another album. I'm ready.
MELANCHOLY FEVER WILL BE RELEASED SEPTEMBER 18, 2015. FOR MORE ON GENEVIÈVE BELLEMARE, VISIT HER WEBSITE.
A lot of young artists play to their strengths, but being young artists they don’t have a firm grasp on their own identity yet, so their strengths resemble that of their influences. Finding an untraveled musical path in today’s saturated market is no easy task. The likes of indie-pop, synthpop and alternative R&B artists have hit a point of cultural dominance. So it would make sense that their footsteps would linger, leaving traces of their sound and style in the music of aspiring artists.
Enter Kacy Hill, GOOD Music’s newest signee. It is quickly apparent why Kanye signed her after only hearing ‘Experience’, a single song. The talent is there, lyrics beautifully sung in an airy legato that seemingly evaporate into the instrumentals they glide over. Somewhere in close proximity to James Blake, Ellie Goulding and The Weeknd you will find Hill’s spectrum of sound. At least the sound of her EP, Bloo.
While the synthesized electronic elements dominate the general architecture, there are enough organic elements to notice. Being that the project is her first real introduction into the big leagues, it’s skimpy five-song, 20 minute length bears a lot of weight. An interesting decision to note right away is that the last two tracks on the project are producer remixes of the first two. So really we only have three new tracks to help acquaint ourselves with Hill.
The first, ‘Foreign Fields’ represents her almost immediate transition into her new lifestyle thanks to the likes of Kanye West and company. It combines separated piano notes and an almost static-like electronic element that graduate to a charged-up chorus, then dies back down into her ethereal vocals and it works wonders. On ‘Arm’s Length’, Hill releases some dormant energy as she channels a distanced relationship. Piano notes hit like a hammer and are backed by a drum and synth. The chorus is empowering and reflects something that those with ears for radio music will definitely recognize; not to put it into the category of radio music, but it would definitely thrive in that environment. Then a song written in a similar vein, ‘Shades Of Blue’, that moves from its familiar electronic elements via the room-filling bashing of drums.
As I mentioned before, the final two tracks are remixes and don’t really give us any more of an insight into Hill other than maybe her own musical interests. The Stockholm-based producer, Young Gud’s remix of ‘Foreign Fields’ is good, yet not much more than we have come to expect from mainstay producers like Avicii or Zedd. Ending the album on an unfortunate low note, the remix of ‘Arm’s length’ is almost completely void of Hill’s vocals and producer Bodhi’s remix is more generically representative of low-level dance pop than it should be, given its great source material which turns out to be much more interesting. Ultimately, we are given the briefest glimpse of material from an artist who clearly has the talent, both in singing and writing, to carry a project longer and more ambitious. Hopefully, her debut album is wider in scope and the remixes are left to the YouTube channels. But for now, we are given at least three, very telling tracks that show signs of someone who could be the next big artist.
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Few musicians are credited with potentially revolutionising a genre one single into their career, but that’s the expectation that has been heaped on Kacy Hill. The former American Apparel model sent the internet into a frenzy last September, when she uploaded her enchanting, left-field pop track, “Experience”, to YouTube, with an accompanying video, starring an enigmatic Kacy, veiled by a plastic visor. The resulting praise seems even more deserved when Kacy casually lets slip that “Experience” was one of the very first songs she ever wrote, leading us to believe that, along with peers like FKA Twigs, Shura and Raury, the LA-based musician is ushering us into a new phase of clever pop music.
And it wasn’t just the blogs and music journalists that were bowled over by her airy falsetto and alluring visuals; one of the biggest names in the business had also clocked Kacy, and during the week of her shoot with Hunger it was announced that she had been signed to Kanye West’s GOOD Music — a sure-fire sign of huge things to come. But before the world knows her name, we sit down with the deep thinker to find out why songwriting has been a process of self-discovery and why subtlety is the key to everything.
Hunger: “Experience” was defined as “future-pop” in the media. Is that a tag you’d agree with?
Kacy Hill: It’s a cool thing to call it future-pop because pop music is moving in a direction where it’s a little less calculated. I guess there’s still a formula to it, but I think people are tired of listening to the same thing over and over again. I’ll happily accept to be put and perceived in the category of something that is progressing.
Pop music has a lot of stereotypes attached to it. Do you think people are sick of it?
There are some negative connotations associated with saying “I write pop music” because there’s an expectation that it’s supposed to be shallow — all “let’s go to the club and put our hands up” — but I think pop music is so much more than that. When I think of albums that I’ve listened to over and over again through the years, it’s all pop music and I think it’s cool to be able to make something that doesn’t have a time stamp on it. That’s the ultimate goal now: make this thing called future-pop but still have it be accessible five or ten years down the line.
How important is honesty and authenticity to your sound?
It’s hard for me to try and write something that isn’t honest. I’ve worked with people who have told me to write party songs, and that’s not what I do because I feel like music has to have a purpose. It’s always good to feel like at the end of a song you’ve got something out of it, and that’s what I want to do. I think Frank Ocean is amazing at making music with purpose, as is Kanye West. I think Kanye is the king of doing it, really. Even if he just makes a party anthem, it’s one with so much substance that he really makes you think.
So is having a message important to you?
Not everything has to be groundbreaking, but as long as there’s some spark on a writing level, and your song speaks to someone, then as a songwriter your goal is accomplished.
all clothes Helen Lawrence ring Topshop
What did you want to say with “Experience”?
“Experience” was one of the earliest songs I wrote, and I just felt like it was an honest representation of me. It’s literally about experiencing life and taking everything for what it is, struggling through and not using anything as a crutch. At that point in my life it was really significant because I was struggling a lot. I felt really lost, and wasn’t sure which direction to go in, so it’s about all the experiences life can offer, whatever they are, and I wanted to portray that in the most honest way possible for me.
You’ve landed on a lot of ones-to-watch lists, but talk us through your musical awakening. How did you get to where you are now?
It started when I met a photographer named Stephen [Garnett] — who actually did the video for “Experience” — back when I was modelling and he wanted to work on a music project, so I said, “Yeah, why not?” A few months passed and I didn’t hear from him, and then last August he introduced me to Jaylien [Wesley], who produced “Experience”. At that point I’d never written music before, but we sat down and started working, and Stephen basically made me sit there until I wrote an entire song, even though I kept saying that I didn’t know what I was doing! It ended up happening very naturally and nothing felt forced; we just liked working together. At the time I was a part-time dancer working at an ice-cream store and two weeks later I ended up getting a dancer’s slot on Kanye’s Yeezus tour. It was a very weird chain of events. So my life turned into rehearsing for that and then going to the studio at about one in the morning to make music. At the time I thought of music as just a little hobby, but then once I finished the Kanye tour I began to take it more seriously and it sort of just came together.
Has music always been a big part of your life?
Honestly it wasn’t until being on the Yeezus tour that I realised that I really wanted music to be my career. It’s impossible to be in front of that many people and not feel something. The energy and creativity was amazing, and seeing all of that made me want to do it more. It was hard to go back to my normal life after that, and to be honest I didn’t really know what else I could do.
And now you’re signed to Kanye West’s label, GOOD Music. Why did that feel like the right place for you?
Number one, I saw the amount of creativity, hard work and vision that goes into everything he does, and I wanted to be a part of that. I also wanted to be with a label that care about music and that understand what they’re putting out, so I think that was the biggest factor for me. They release music because it’s good, not because they need to sell lots of records
"Music makes me understand myself better. You're forced to be really honest when you write"
How involved has Kanye been in the decisions, and have you learned anything from him?
As it’s still early on in my career and the recording process, it’s been mostly me figuring out my sound up to this point. Everyone is starting to get involved now, but there’s been a lot of self-discovery, which I’m very grateful that the label allowed. They stepped back and let me figure things out for myself, but in the future we’ll see what happens!
How comfortable are you with the idea of celebrity? Is it something you’d welcome?
There’s something really interesting about people wanting to know all about a person. That sounds very weird, but the idea of celebrity interests me on a human level, wanting to know everything about someone’s life is kind of cool, as long as it’s at a healthy level, not obsession! I think I’ll always want to have a little bit of secrecy because I’m a private person. I’ve never been good at sharing too much of myself, but I am becoming more open to the idea of other people being involved in what I do.
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Does it ever get easier to let your guard down?
I think so. Even when you’re writing music, you end up letting your guard down. You don’t always even realise it, but you’re telling people really personal things about your life that you probably wouldn’t tell anyone otherwise. That experience almost conditions you to become more open about your life and your thoughts. There’s a curiosity in everyone to want to know about people’s lives, and now, because of technology, you can delve into anyone’s life without any guilt. People can talk about you however they want, which is really scary sometimes, but it’s interesting to watch.
So what is your view of our society at the moment?
I think that we’re in a transitional phase. We’re at a place where technology has surpassed our intellectual ability, and so I think that we’re having a hard time catching up with how quickly we can make things happen. That’s a scary place to be because I don’t think there’s much sensitivity to consequences now — even on a small scale, like people saying what they want on the internet without any form of reprisal. You can be completely anonymous, which is dangerous. I feel like we move away from positive information and cling to the weird stuff like celebrity tabloids and scandal. And on a global scale, in America there’s a devotion to, and a great deal of money put into, military efforts and nuclear weapons, which makes you realise that we’ve built so much that can destroy the planet, but what’s the purpose when, on a local level, we still don’t have enough good schools. It frustrates me to watch — it seems like we’re moving backwards. We create technology to destroy things and seem to have so little regard for humanity.
You’ve also spoken about creating music that redefines how pop interacts with fashion. What do you plan to do?
I think music and fashion are immensely important. As consumers, people don’t just want music now; there always has to be something to go with it, and fashion and music go so well together. It creates an aesthetic along with a sound. I want to take advantage of the fact that they marry so well together because visuals are very important to me. I don’t want to be just a designer in sound. Wow, that sounded really pretentious! But I don’t want to limit myself. When I’m writing music I imagine visuals going alongside it. I was modelling and doing photography for a while, and that has definitely stuck with me. Fashion is the most acceptable way to tell someone who you are without saying anything. It’s one of the best forms of self-expression.
The visual message that comes across with a lot of female performers now is one that is overtly sexual, which is something that has led to a lot of discussion, but in “Experience” the sexuality is very subtle. How do you strike a balance?
Subtlety is the key to everything and I’m not really trying to sell sex with what I do. I want my music to speak for itself and I don’t think that I need to be too explicit. I’m not saying “buy my music because you want to look at me”. Again, I think that in “Experience” I wanted to focus on what I do and introduce myself. The intrigue had to be in the subtlety.
Read the rest of Kacy’s interview in issue eight of Hunger, out now, and stay tuned for her exclusive new track and Dirty Video coming soon.
We last heard from Lily Elise a few months ago, when the fiery pop star was gearing up for the release of “Taken,” the spellbinding single from her EP of the same name. “Taken” officially premiered on Billboard in March, solidifying Elise’s place as a formidable talent in the arguably muddled world of pop music.
Now, Elise releases the song’s video, which gives us an up-close and intimate look at the striking young singer in her most vulnerable state. Everything about the video – from the camerawork to the choreography – screams heartbreak, sex and seduction, and leaves you unable to turn away. “If you’re into any kind of edgy pop, R&B, or even EDM, we’ve got a feeling you’re going to dig this one” affirmed Billboard. “Taken” is a “mesmerizing mix of a little of all three.”
When you’re a singer, songs can be written for you. When you’re an artist, the songs have to come from your soul. In 2013, Elise knew she had to define who she was and what she wanted to say to the world. Following her heart, Elise boldly eschewed the idea of going to labels and opted to start from the bottom. For two years, she churned out song after song in blind-date writing sessions, fueled by angst from a destructive relationship. Those sessions led to the release of her mesmerizing EP, Taken.
“’Taken’ is the breakup song of the EP,” shares Elise. “Growing up, my grandma always said to me, ‘The space for what you want, is being taken by what you settled for.’ What I’ve always wanted, with a deep sense of certainty, is to share my music and my voice with the world.”
Elise’s EP consists of collaborations with Felix Snow (Sza, Gallant, Nicole Sherzinger), Dan Nigro (Sky Ferreira, Aluna George, Twin Shadow), Mighty Mike (Dojo, Sirah, Kelly Clarkson), Erik Belz & Danny Score (Jez Dior) and more. It’s first single, “Generator,” which All Things Go declared “a stunning combination of pop and R&B that few can pull off” was released last November and hit #1 on the Twitter hype chart.
Elise’s follow-up to “Generator” was “Suitcases,” which set the Internet positively abuzz with it’s tantalizing sound and minimalist production. “As soon as you hit play on this record, you will be entranced by her beautiful voice,” declared Good Music All Day about “Suitcases.” “With some simple, pop production that has hints of electronic, this song is both upbeat and tranquil at the same time.”
“The songs on Taken are a culmination of two years of hard work,” shares Elise. They tell a story of struggling to find myself in the midst of an unknown career path and a destructive relationship, from beginning to end.”
Glenn Danzig will dig up his musical influences on a new covers album titled 'Skeletons,' due out next month Paul Brown/Evilive
Glenn Danzig will dig up his musical influences on a new covers album titled Skeletons, which features the former Misfits singer putting his mark on tracks by Elvis Presley, Black Sabbath, ZZ Top and Aerosmith. The covers LP, Danzig's first album since 2010's Deth Red Saboath, will arrive on November 27th. Pre-orderSkeletons now through the Nuclear Blast America site.
"These are my skeletons," Danzig said in a statement. "You may or may not know that I dig these songs. You could say that some of this music is the actual basis and skeleton of what I listened to growing up – ultimately informing the kind of music I like. It's the foundation. If you took Elvis and Sabbath out of my life, I probably wouldn't be the Glenn Danzig you know! I'm glad both sides are represented on this record."
In addition to Black Sabbath's "N.I.B.," Presley's "Let Yourself Go," ZZ Top's "Rough Boy" and Aerosmith's "Lord of the Thighs," Danzig will also tackle cuts from the Troggs ("With a Girl Like You"), the Young Rascals ("Find Somebody") and, most surprisingly, the Everly Brothers' "Crying in the Rain." "It's very creepy and dark," Danzig told Rolling Stone of his piano-based version of the 1962 single.
However, Danzig couldn't release an album of influences without at least tapping into the horror and exploitation film genres that so heavily inspired the Misfits. The singer represents that side with opening cut "Devil's Angels," the theme from the Roger Corman-produced biker flick of the same name, and "Satan" from Satan's Sadists.
In June, Danzig sat down for a lengthy video interview with Rolling Stone where the horror punk icon detailed the story behind his Skeletons selections. "Elvis is actually kind of how I got into music," Danzig said. "When I was a kid, I was cutting school pretending I was sick and I would lie at home watching old movies, and Jailhouse Rock came on with Elvis. I was like, 'I want to do this. This is great.' And that's how I veered to music." Danzig also revealed that he was in the middle of recording an album devoted entirely to Presley covers.
In addition to Skeletons, Danzig is also in the midst of his Blackest of the Black tour, which concludes with a Halloween concert in Los Angeles. Check Danzig's official site for tour dates.
Skeletons Track List
1. "Devil's Angels" (from Devil's Angels soundtrack) 2. "Satan" (from Satan's Sadists soundtrack) 3. "Let Yourself Go" (Elvis Presley) 4. "N.I.B." (Black Sabbath) 5. "Lord of the Thighs" (Aerosmith) 6. "Action Woman" (The Litter) 7. "Rough Boy" (ZZ Top) 8. "With a Girl Like You" (The Troggs) 9. "Find Somebody" (The Young Rascals) 10. "Crying In The Rain" (The Everly Brothers)
Chris Young's New Album to Feature Vince Gill, Cassadee Pope
Due in November, the singer-songwriter's 'I'm Comin' Over' LP also marks his first turn as a producer
Chris Young will release his 'I'm Comin' Over' album in November. Mat Hayward/Getty Images
Chris Young invited fans to help announce the track listing for his upcoming fifth studio album, I'm Comin' Over, this week, asking online users to share the news via social media in exchange for a look at the song list. They revealed 11 new songs including the gold-certified title track and two big-name guest stars, Vince Gill and Cassadee Pope.
Set for a November 13th release, Young co-produced the album (a first for him) with Corey Crowder and co-wrote nine tracks, making this his most personal and challenging release to date.
"Making this record, it just feels different," says the singer. "Nothing changed for the sake of change. It changed because it was the right way to go. . . Half the songs on the record were written by me, Corey (Crowder) and Josh (Hoge). That became the nucleus of this record, and that was really different for me."
Back in September, Young told Rolling Stone Country he was involved in the entire creation process —from songwriting and pre-production to stitching together each and every melody. But not wanting to diverge to far from Number One hits like "Gettin' You Home" and "Tomorrow," themes of love and rejection pepper the new project.
"I think love — or the lack of it — is easily relatable for everybody," he said. "There's always other [topics], as least for me as a songwriter. There's a summer song on this record and different things, for sure, but falling in love and falling out of love — trying to decide whether you're in or out of it, all that stuff — is really easily relatable for people. I've definitely lived my share of love songs and breakup songs."
"I'm Comin' Over" (the song) is a Top 15 example of that outlook, while Gill lends harmony vocals to the reflective "Sober Saturday Night." "I Know a Guy" feels like classic, broken-hearted country with a clever twist. But the love song that really stands out in Young's mind is "Think of You," a regret-filled, conversational duet with Pope. It's the first male-female duet Young has ever included on an album.
"It is a little bit different because if you tell somebody, 'Hey, we wrote a male-female duet,' they're going to instantly think it's a ballad," Young said. "But this one is not; it's more of a tempo song, and it's an interesting perspective on how when you're in a relationship with somebody for so long, all of your friends start to think of you as a pair. So when that's over, it can be really strange, not only for you, but also for the people you're around."
Young's upcoming 'I'm Comin' Over' tour with Eric Paslay and Clare Dunn kicks off October 22nd in Savannah, Georgia, wrapping up December 5th in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
(L-R) Singers RaeLynn, Martina McBride and Cassadee Pope perform on stage during Pandora Presents: Women In Country at The Altman Building on October 14, 2015 in New York City. (Getty for Pandora)
NEW YORK – Martina McBride was joined by fellow singers Cassadee Pope and RaeLynn to support female artists at Pandora's Women in Country night in New York City Wednesday. While all three singers had reasons to celebrate, it was RaeLynn who had the biggest news of the evening.
"I just engaged the day before yesterday," the 21-year-old gushed. "Oh my God I absolutely had a heart attack."
The "For A Boy" singer said her fiancé Josh Davis told her to get "dressed up for dinner for his new job" but when she went downstairs to meet him, she found the first of four clues that lead to different places that were significant to the couple.
"The last place was the first place he kissed me and he was sitting there waiting with a box," she recalled. "Oh my God I thought I was going to cry and bawl like a baby, but I couldn't. I was just like, 'Is this real life? Is that ring real?'"
RaeLynn wasn't the only singer present with reason to celebrate; Fellow "Voice" alum from Blake Shelton's team on the show Cassadee Pope just released her latest single, "I Am Invincible."
"The message I wanted to send my fans and to people in general is to feel empowered and be confident and not apologize for who you are and 'I Am Invincible' does that really well," Pope told FOX411 Country.
McBride also shared her plans for new music.
"I'm working on my new album which hopefully will be out early next year," McBride told us. "I'm really excited. I think it kind of goes back to the sound of 'Evolution' or 'Wild Angels' back then when it was about real songs and songs about real life…it's very rootsy and organic and I love it so far."
McBride also commented on the state of female artists in country music today.
"I think it's an issue. I don't think there's a lack of female country artists, I think there's a lack of female country artists getting played on mainstream country radio right now," she explained. "There are a lot of females making great music out there…I think it's cyclical and I think it'll come back."
Album review: The Honeycutters delve into love, loss on poignant 'Me Oh My'
Me Oh My is the latest album by The Honeycutters, a country roots Appalachian honky-tonk band based in Asheville, North Carolina.
www.amazon.com
"Me Oh My" by The Honeycutters
Rating: 5 Stars
The opening verse of the title track of The Honeycutters’ latest album “Me Oh My” is one of the most devastating yet poignant music moments of 2015. “I had a baby but the good Lord took her. She was an angel but her wings were crooked. I guess he figured he could love her better than me.”
Singer-songwriter Amanda Anne Platt performs the song as a woman who accepts the tragedy but struggles to forgive. The song doesn’t dwell on the tragedy, though, but veers into a thoughtful commentary on the state of the modern woman. Platt sings, “Some girls marry and some girls wait. Some girls worry that it’s too late. And some girls do better without that ball and chain.”
Released on April 21 by Organic Records, “Me Oh My” is packed with mature Americana songs written and performed with raw honesty and genuine humility. It’s a country collection of real life and real emotions delivered by a real woman who’s lived in the real world for a while. She’s a woman who takes nothing for granted because experience has been a tough teacher. She’s a woman who knows love isn’t a fairy tale. She’s a woman who can appreciate the simple comfort in the warmth of a decent man holding her hand even if he’s not the man of her dreams.
The Honeycutters bill themselves as a country roots Appalachian honky-tonk band based in Asheville, North Carolina. Supported by talented musicians, Platt's songs are performed with a confident, easy grace and emotionally enhanced by the band’s mandolin, pedal steel and dobro. “Me Oh My” is filled with many beautiful moments, musically and lyrically, that delve into the universal themes of love, loss and acceptance.
Highlights on the album include the shuffling opener “Jukebox” about a woman who asks a down-on-his-luck man to take a chance on her and enjoy the moment. The woman tells the man: “Now taste those tears. It seems your luck has all been shot, and you got nothing left to promise God. He’s tired of listening anyhow. But I’m still here, and I’ve been waiting my whole life for someone just to see me twice the way you’re looking at me now.”
The ironically upbeat “Ain’t It the Truth” is about a woman in a codependent relationship with a man who cheats on her all the time. Despite the pity of the town’s residents and the advice of a friend, the woman struggles to walk away even though she knows she’s a fool for staying. “I tell myself over and over I should be getting out of here. Go home and find myself a good boy who won’t be laughing at my tears.”
“Little Bird” dips into the darker, desperate side of love as Platt sings: “The time has come to bring it home ‘cause night will fall even if I’m alone. I’ve always known I can’t make you mine.” The song was selected as a finalist at MerleFest’s Chris Austin Songwriting Contest in 2011.
“Not That Simple” aches with longing and unrequited love about a woman’s desire for a man she knows is out of reach. However, there’s more to the story. “Lord knows I’m not the first to fall for what I couldn’t have.”
“Wedding Song” is one of the sweetest songs about a relationship between two grown-ups that you’re likely to ever hear. Ultimately, it’s about the healing power of love. “I know I’ve never been the lucky kind, but when you’re with me honey, it’s like money, like I’m throwing loaded dice.”
With 14 songs ranging from hopeful to melancholy, “Me Oh My” is one of the best albums of 2015 because it boldly traverses the meandering highways of the heart, never afraid to turn down the darker roads while always looking for signs of love, hope and forgiveness along the way. And while the roads may be dusty, the music of The Honeycutters and Platt’s voice shine through the darkness like a Carolina sunrise.
Hear Cassadee Pope's Defiant New Single 'I Am Invincible'
Singer stands strong in empowering track, and talks overcoming creative frustrations and role of women on country radio
Cassadee Pope has released the empowering new single "I Am Invincible." Stephen Lovekin/GettyImages
There are undeniably two different sides to Cassadee Pope — the half that grew up on country idols like Shania Twain and Garth Brooks on the Florida coast, and the half that head-bangs at a Fall Out Boy concert. Both sides can be heard loud and clear on her new single "I Am Invincible," premiering exclusively on Rolling Stone Country (listen below). More commanding than anything The Voice winner has ever released as a solo artist, it lets her vocals run loose on the Paramore-meets-Carrie Underwood power ballad — and leaves the twanging to the mandolins. Two sides, for sure: but two halves also make a whole, according to Pope.
"That's a huge part of who I am," the singer tells Rolling Stone Country about her rock & roll influences and soft spot for bands like Blink-182 and All Time Low. "I grew up singing country music, that's a huge part of who I am, too, but I've always had that rock edge. And I don't want to ever neglect that, because it wouldn't be authentic to me. So this song feels really empowering and inspirational."
Indeed, "I Am Invincible" follows in the footsteps of other motivational pop anthems of late: Rachel Platten's "Fight Song," Katy Perry's "Roar," Lady Gaga's "Born This Way," except with pants on (Pope's currently in Las Vegas, where she's currently "staying out of trouble" — i.e. no Perry-style "Waking Up in Vegas" antics). Written by Brett Boyett and Nash Overstreet, the song struck a chord with Pope, who had been feeling burnt by the process of writing for her next record, heading into sessions daily but internalizing the nagging pressure of having to craft a hit.
"There were a few times this year when I was just writing, and writing, and writing, and I didn't feel like I was writing the right songs," she says. "I can't rush the process, and I can't be upset I'm not writing a hit in every session. It's all part of my growth."
"I am Invincible" also came to have particularly poignant resonance for Pope in the era of "Tomatogate" — radio consultant Keith Hill's remarks that females were the tomato garnish on the lettuce of their male colleagues. She even opens the track with a steadfast, spoken dedication: "for my girls, the fighters, the warriors."
"It came at the perfect time," Pope says, "because I was feeling so empowered, especially around a time when females were finally getting a little more recognition in country music. . . Kelsea [Ballerini] is so great, and Kacey [Musgraves] too. Everybody is making moves and it's the perfect time to prove [Hill] wrong."
Pope's already had her own breakthrough moments. Her debut solo single, "Wasting All Those Tears," hit platinum status, and she took the crown on The Voice after leaving behind a successful angsty teen alterna-pop band, Hey Monday. But still, she approached Hill's comments with a complicated set of emotions. On one hand, they infuriated her, but on the other, she had no choice but to agree. If you turn on the radio at any given moment, you're much more likely to hear her onetime Voice mentor Blake Shelton than Musgraves — though Ballerini did recently break the mold with a Number One single.
"When [Hill] said that, I was offended," Pope says, "but didn't think, 'That's not true.' Because it is true. Though I didn't see it as much of a negative as some people did. It opened up the conversation a little more, and radio has done their best to make changes. I'm hoping that continues."
Courtesy Big Machine Label Group
She's willing to bet that by 2016, the tides will have turned completely — which just so happens to be when her next album is due. She's currently in the demoing and songwriting process, having compiled "enough songs for three albums," and working with such varied names as Sarah Buxton, Nathan Chapman, Kip Moore and Lady Antebellum's Charles Kelley. Though one might expect her partnership with the Springsteen-loving Moore to appeal to their mutual thrash-guitar roots, they surprisingly came up with something a little softer.
"We got together and wrote this really sweet love song, a duet," she says. "I was not expecting that to come out of him. So it was a really unexpected writing session, but it came out really great." Since Pope hasn't yet selected the songs for her next LP, details are scarce, but she does divulge that everything will strike the same balance as "I Am Invincible," melding rock with country touches and its storytelling approach.
"I've done a lot of experimenting," she says. "I've gone super-country, and a little more Shania pop-rock. And I want to stick with the empowerment [theme], because that can be something people turn to me for, and I love that direction." Appropriately, she'll perform "I Am Invincible" at this weekend's Special Olympics opening ceremonies in Los Angeles.
Pope's move to Nashville this past December has made the process of writing and developing those inspirational anthems all the more simple. Snagging an apartment downtown, she's been taking advantage of the city's live music scene and impromptu jams.
"I didn't realize how many shows or little acoustic things are happening every night; it's like heaven," she says. "I get to go see my friends play all the time."
As much as she loves the country songwriting scene, she also recently indulged her past a little, with a visit to the Fall Out Boy show at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena (not only is she a fan, but they were also onetime tourmates of Hey Monday). "That kind of music still has a special place in my heart," she says. "I felt like I was a kid again. I still enjoy that kind of music, and that will never change. But it's a different story doing it. I'm in a different mind frame now than when I was 18 years old. I was definitely more dramatic, definitely more emo."
More country, less emo, but she'll still spin fellow Floridians and kings of the acoustic bummer strummer, Dashboard Confessional, from time to time. "Every once in a while I'll go back and listen, and it's fun," she says. "Helps me remember where I came from."
Sananda Maitreya, formerly known as Terence Trent D’Arby, has traded some of the bravado in the timbre of his earlier work (“Wishing Well,” “Sign Your Name”) for something happier and more tranquil for his latest, the recently released album, The Rise of the Zugebrian Time Lords.
Find the perfect example in his new video for “Blanket on the Ground” that premieres exclusively on Yahoo Music.
Sananda Maitreya, formerly known as Terence Trent D’Arby, releases new video, “Blanket on the Ground.”
For this new sound he calls “post millennial rock,” Maitreya fuses electric strings, playful bass groves, sparse xylophone chimes, and dramatic, pungent horns to set the mood for the song that declares nature as the ideal romantic setting.
As he sings “Blanket’s on the ground / Heaven’s all around / And I’m still in love with you,” the video finds a clown planning a surprise proposal for his lady. For the location he’s picked a quiet space in the woods for a picnic (hence, the blanket on the ground concept). The backdrop is complete with butterflies, a bright spring day, magic, and all things peaceful.
Björk has announced Vulnicura Strings (Vulnicura: The Acoustic Version), a remake of her 2015 LP that only features strings and her voice. It will be released digitally and on CD on November 6, with vinyl following on December 4. She's also shared the remade "Lionsong", which you can listen to below.
In addition to violin solos by Una Sveinbjarnardóttir, the release also features the world's only viola organista, an instrument originally designed by Leonardo da Vinci. According to Björk's website, "the instrument uses a friction belt to vibrate individual strings (similar to a violin), with the strings selected by pressing keys on the keyboard (similar to an organ)."
Earl Bynum has reached a level of national and international recognition
Bellany Group (used with permission)
Songwriter, a master vocal arranger Earl Bynum is preparing to release his long awaited self-titled solo project “Earl Bynum” in 2016 and leads off with a soulfully expressive single “Call Him."
The multi-award winning vocalist and producer has a a vast catalog of songs and projects in his repertoire and is the Executive Minster of Music at Mount Lebanon Baptist Church "The Mount" which has four locations - Chesapeake, VA, Elizabeth City, NC, Peninsula, VA and Charlotte, NC. He is also the International Minister of Music for the Gospel Heritage Foundation.
The Stellar Award winner has written for and directed the Virginia Mass Choir, served as 1st Vice President to the Virginia Gospel Radio Announcers Guild and has recently served as worship leader for the annual Hampton University Minister’s Conference. He has reached a level of national and international recognition through aggressive touring completing fifteen world tours to the countries of Denmark, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Japan earning the moniker “Mr. International.”
His other achievements include directing The Mount Unity Choir to a streak of accolades harvesting some of music’s highest honors including Steve Harvey’s 2013 Hoodie Awards Best Church Choir, 2013 Gospel Blue Mic Choir of the Year Award, and 2013 DMV Christian Music Award for Album of The Year.
For ”Bishop K.W. Brown Presents Earl Bynum and the Mount Unity Choir Live CD/DVD project/ Bynum led his 100-voice choir on to receive three 2014 Stellar Gospel Music Award nominations – Contemporary Choir of the Year, Choir of the Year and Recorded Packaging of The Year. The album also debuted on Billboard’s Top Current Gospel Albums at #8.
Bynum has released the official music video for "Call Him" directed TSGS Films and produced by X. Scott and Sean Wilson. “Call Him” features guest vocals by Andra Cross is available on all digital outlets now. “Earl Bynum” will be available in 2016 via Mann-Up Muzik and eOne Distribution. Bynum enlisted the production talents of Kendall Wyatt, George Tyler, Andre Cross, Bobby Foreman, Cedric Rouson, Simon Richardson and Kenneth (KC) Williams for his highly anticipated solo record.
Van Norden is an acoustic folk artist based in Vancouver. Yet his debut EP release, At First Sight, isn’t what you’d expect from a folk rocker mainly because it’s an EDM album. The EP consists of three tracks, all variations on the title track tune Love at First Sight (in listening order): subliminal remix, Extended Mix, and Radio Edit. You won’t find any folk influence on At First Sight. It’s not a bad thing unless you have a built in expectation for it. Yes it’s possible to wear different hats, and Van Norden does so effortlessly.
The EP launches into the ‘subliminal Remix’ of Love at First Sight. The rendition happens to have a corresponding video found here. You don’t have chew on dried mushrooms to enjoy this stimulating work of cinematography, but it wouldn’t hurt… unless you take too much. Either way the video is full of lush landscapes that scream Americana. Worn out homes in the middle of—what look like—old nuclear testing grounds. Jagged pediment that penetrates miles of grassy desert and blue skies so deep they’ll make your eyes and ears pop. The panoramic visuals are truly avant-garde, and it’s all punctuated with a hypnotic electro groove.
Despite the moniker the ‘Extended Mix’ isn’t simply a longer rendition of the same tune. A bridge section links electro dance grooves with transient dub step. Everything is tied together with mellifluous lyrical lines. The ‘Extended Mix’ takes a more atmospheric approach on an idea that conjures up dreamy nostalgia: love at first sight. The Radio edit is more similar to the latter track than the former. The obvious difference between the final tracks is that the production value is higher on the ‘Radio Edit’. The synth groove seems to sparkle though every melodic vocal lapse.
Love at first sight isn’t a conventional EDM album. The arrangements, intricate harmonies, and overall synth-soundscape have a touch of soul only to be found in folk music. Also there’s an element of indie that seems to peek though what has become a commercial genre without being too dreamy (if you don’t know what I mean… listen to indie dance music). Van Norden has produced a catchy EP that showcases his musical growth and determination to approach EDM from a unique angle.
Gerald Scott charts on Billboard Top 30 with new single, 'Any Day Now'
The track is the first single from the upcoming CD, Next Level, scheduled to release in early 2016.
Tehillah Enterprises (used with permission)
Gospel recording artist Gerald Scott has a new hit with his new anthem of hope,“Any Day Now." The memorable track about blessed expectation is being sung in churches across the nation. The song recently shot up the Billboard Hot Gospel Songs Chart, where it’s been sitting in the Top 30 for several weeks. A clever mix of contemporary Christian music and passionate praise and worship, “Any Day Now” was created in an atmosphere of worship.
"Any Day Now" is the first single from the upcoming CD, "Next Level," that is scheduled to be released in early 2016. Right on the heels of the success of the single, Scott will be releasing his brand new single, “Jesus On My Side,” very shortly.
Gerald Scott is a noted songwriter who recently joined the staff of mega-church Ebenezer AME Church in Fort Washington, MD, under the musical leadership of award-winning recording artist and choirmaster Ricky Dillard.
Adele confirms long-awaited third album is called 25 and reveals new 'make-up record' has helped her let go of 'old junk' in her life
Adele shared lengthy Facebook post announcing new album called 25
Singer revealed material will focus on new chapter of her life
She first sparked excitement among with snippet of rumoured new song last weekend
30-second clip on a black screen was aired during adverts for The X Factor
Marks Grammy award-winning singer's first new material since 2012
Rumours that her third album is to be released as early as next month
Published: 06:40 EST, 21 October 2015 | Updated: 08:01 EST, 21 October 2015
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Adele has finally broken her silence about her upcoming third album.
The Grammy award-winning singer released a statement on Wednesday morning which confirmed the record will be called 25, and revealed the songs are inspired by the 'turning point' in her life when she transitioned into a 'fully-fledged adult'.
In her heartfelt Facebook message, Adele said her new material, her first since 2011's hit factory 21, is a 'make-up record' about letting go of the baggage of her past and focusing on the future.
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New material: Adele has delighted fans by finally confirming the imminent release of her third album, called 25
The statement took the form of an essay about the 27-year-old star's biggest regrets in life, including wasted opportunities and wishing her life away.
It began: 'When I was 7, I wanted to be 8. When I was 8, I wanted to be 12. When I turned 12 I just wanted to be 18. Then after that I stopped wanting to be older. Now I'm ticking 16-24 boxes just to see if I can blag it! I feel like I've spent my whole life so far wishing it away.'
'Always wishing I was older, wishing I was somewhere else, wishing I could remember and wishing I could forget too. Wishing I hadn't ruined so many good things because I was scared or bored.'
'Wishing I wasn't so matter of fact all the time. Wishing I'd gotten to know my great grandmother more, and wishing I didn't know myself so well, because it means I always know what's going to happen. Wishing I hadn't cut my hair off, wishing I was 5'7. Wishing I'd waited and wishing I'd hurried up as well.
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Social media statement: The singing sensation broke with tradition by sharing a personal statement with her fans, in which she described the new album as a 'make-up record'
Adele - who welcomed a son named Angelo with her partner Simon Konecki in 2012 - went on to explain that she had matured over the last few years and was no longer interested in obsessing over the past.
'My last record was a break-up record and if I had to label this one I would call it a make-up record. I'm making up with myself. Making up for lost time. Making up for everything I ever did and never did.
'But I haven't got time to hold onto the crumbs of my past like I used to. What's done is done.Turning 25 was a turning point for me, slap bang in the middle of my twenties.
'Teetering on the edge of being an old adolescent and a fully-fledged adult, I made the decision to go into becoming who I'm going to be forever without a removal van full of my old junk.'
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Moving on: The star confessed the writing process had helped her get ride of the 'old junk' and heartbreak of her past, revealing that turning 25 was a major 'turning point' in her life
She continued: 'I miss everything about my past, the good and the bad, but only because it won't come back. When I was in it I wanted out! So typical. I'm on about being a teenager, sitting around and chatting shit, not caring about the future because it didn't matter then like it does now.
'The ability to be flippant about everything and there be no consequences. Even following and breaking rules...is better than making the rules.
'25 is about getting to know who I've become without realising. And I'm so sorry it took so long, but you know, life happened.'
The announcement comes after Adele whipped her fans into a frenzy after apparently teasing a snippet of her new song with a mysterious 30-second advert during The X Factor.
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Excitement: The news comes after Adele whipped fans into a frenzy after apparently revealing a snippet of her new song during a 30-second advert during The X Factor on Sunday evening
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Mysterious: Viewers took to Twitter to express their excitement after hearing a snippet of the song accompanied by lyrics on a black screen.
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Long wait: It would be Adele's first new material since the birth of her son Angelo in October 2012 and comes almost five years on from the release of her last album, 21
The star has not released her own music since October 2012 when she made a comeback with James Bond theme tune Skyfall, which won her an Academy Award.
It would be Adele's first new material since the birth of her son Angelo the same year and comes almost five years on from the release of her last album, 21.
Viewers took to Twitter to express their excitement after hearing a snippet of the song accompanied by lyrics on a black screen.
The distinctly Adele-like voice was heard singing: Hello/It's me/I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to meet/To go over everything.
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Lying low: The Grammy award-winning singer has not released her own music since October 2012 when she made a comeback with James Bond theme tune Skyfall, which won her an Academy Award
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Excitement: The lyrics on the black screen continued: 'They say that time's supposed to heal ya/But I ain't done much healing...'
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Keeping fans in the dark: It has widely been rumoured that Adele's new album is due out next month but no official announcement has been made
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In demand: In August it was reported that she had been working on new music with the likes of OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder, who produced and co-wrote Rumour Has It on 21
'They say that time's supposed to heal ya/But I ain't done much healing...'
Fans immediately began reacting, with one tweeting: 'The 20 second of Adele's new song already has me in tears.'
Another added: 'How do you release a 28s snippet? With such deep words. I'm not ready for the chest pains Adele is gonna give me.'
It has widely been rumoured that Adele's new album is due out next month but no official announcement has been made about a specific date.
In August it was reported that she had been working on new music with the likes of OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder, who produced and co-wrote Rumour Has It on 21, Gnarls Barkley's Brian Burton and other music luminaries.
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Award-winning: In 2013, Adele won an Academy Award, a Grammy and a Golden Globe for her song Skyfall
Reaction: Fans were whipped into a frenzy on Twitter, tweeting their excitement after hearing the short clip
There was hope that Adele would drop a third album last year after she dangled the title of 25 in front of fans, but that never materialised.
In 2013, Adele won an Academy Award, a Grammy and a Golden Globe for her song Skyfall.
Her last album, 21, sold 4.6million copies in the UK and 11 million in the US.
Adele has kept a relatively low profile since Skyfall's release but the mother-of-one was pictured out and about at Glastonbury festival in the summer.
There was no name or release date on the 30-second advert.
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