NYS Music 202​0

Author: Chuck DeFilippo

  • Artist Spotlight: NYC Singer-Songwriter, 16-Year-Old Simone

    Simone has our attention. Instantly hooked with off the cuff, blunt storylines and edgy alternative guitar, the 16-year-old singer/songwriter has crafted a name for herself, where music transcends beyond her years.

    It’s just Simone. No fancy names or alter egos. The young and upcoming artist jumped into live performance at the age of ten at a Nashville open mic. “It was terrifying. I was definitely the youngest kid there and I was surrounded by these experienced, mature, 20 to 40-something-year-olds. I just remember begging my dad to take me home because I was so intimidated and nervous.”

    Simone

    But her music transpired. “I kind of blacked out while I was performing. The sound of applause and encouragement from the audience was so unreal and amazing. I immediately fell in love with performing and being able to share my songs to different people. It was a really important experience.” 

    The New York singer broke out two years later with her first batch of work in 2017. Stories in My Mind, Simone’s debut was released and arguably the most transformative, in her music and personal life. These years are life changing for most of the world, and to capture them through song and pure self-expression is quite magical.

    “I was dealing with a lot of mental health struggles. And realized that instead of holding all of these emotions inside, I could write about them. I have changed a lot since that first EP, as a songwriter and just as a person. I would’ve liked anything that came out of those first recording sessions because I was just so excited to be there. It was something I dreamed about for so long.”

    Aside from her professionalism, Simone gets to the point. Her song titles first make you chuckle, proving to be point blank and ever reliable. “It took awhile for me to arrive at the full transparency and honesty of my current songwriting process. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that when I started writing, there was a lot in life I had never experienced, or could even understand.” Songs like “Fuck, I’m Tired,” prove this point to be evermore true in a witty, clever way.

    Now that I’m a little bit older, and get to watch R-rated movies and know a lot more about the world, romance and emotion. I find that people connect more to songs that are truthful. At the end of the day, we all go through a lot of similar things, and it’s so much more valuable to talk about it then to pretend it doesn’t exist. 

    Simone takes on independent singer/songwriter with her June 2020 release of Sad Songs For Depressed Girls, a three-track EP written and produced all on her own accord. This release featured “Fuck, I’m Tired,” as well as a sentimental “Julia.” The the heartfelt tenure of Simone’s guitar and falsetto will perk your ears. It’s as if you knew “Julia” better than she knew herself. Perhaps a lifelong, childhood best friend. The story is vivid and of self preservation.

    Julia smoked weed alone in parking lots she said it helped her thoughts stop wandering off. And for a moment she felt free, but it all was temp-or-ar-y. And she stopped wishing for a heartbeat.

    If you’re not into getting goosebumps, try the airy pop tracks of To Be Honest, released March of this year. This five-track EP, produced by Danny Ross, puts Simone’s songwriting in a different light. The songs are ones you dance to, and soundtrack worthy. Syncopated drums and grooving bass create foundation for the hooks of “The End of the World” and “Can’t Get Enough of You.” To Be Honest gets a little more sentimental as the record plays on.

    Danny and I listen to a lot of tracks as a reference point when beginning a session. There’s a ton of pop influence, like Conan Gray, Taylor Swift, Troye Sivan, Lorde… the list goes on. I wrote the songs at different points in my life, but they all tell different stories about love and youth. Some were inspired from personal experiences and others from plot lines in TV shows. I’m excited to see what people will think. 

    Danny Ross is an indie rock frontman turned mad scientist pop producer mining new sounds for the TikTok generation with classic songwriting craft. He features Simone countless times on his Spotify portfolio.

    Simone has crafted her skill and knows what it takes to make a hit song. “What I like about a song, either one that I write or one that I’m listening to, is a good hook that gets stuck in your head. If I write a song that’s all over the place and doesn’t have a lyric or a melody that people want to listen to over and over again, then I’ll usually leave it behind.”

    A catchy chorus is so important to me, because it keeps the listener entertained throughout the song and excited when the chorus comes back around. I’m a sucker for a catchy chorus.

    From the beginning Simone watched a lot of TV shows and movies surrounded by music that influenced her career. She was obsessed with soundtracks from Lemonade Mouth and High School Musicial. “That was a huge phase in my life and it got me really interested in performing and singing.” This was supported by her parents, a backbone in her path. Music was always around. 

    Currently Simone is listening to Taylor Swift – always. But has been into curating other up-coming female artists, like herself. Search, Holly Humberstone, Silver Sphere, and beabadoobe. In Simone’s words “They’re all killing it.”

    Simone has more planned for 2021. After a strong year of music, her latest releases are the best yet. “I’m really proud of how I’ve grown in my songwriting and vocals, and I hope that comes across. I made these new tracks with Danny Ross, who I made the To Be Honest EP with. He’s amazing, and It was so fun to work with him again. I brought new songs to him and he brought them to life, and I’m so happy with how they turned out. I don’t wanna give too much away, but I’m really excited.”

    Follow Simone on her website and Instagram.

    Hey, if you like Taylor Swift, Conan Gray, Lorde, or anyone in that arena, you might like my music. I’m a 16-year-old singer/songwriter and I am influenced by a lot of pop and alternative artists. My songs are relatable, sometimes depressing, and sometimes fun. Whether you need a good cry or a good dance, I got you.

  • International Slam Champion Miss Yankey Debuts EP ‘Shadow Work in the Waters’

    Words flow like water as Miss Yankey breaks into the musical sphere, with her debut EP, Shadow Work in the Waters, officially released tomorrow, December 22. The independent release raises the bar for the already established UK multi-genre poet.

    Shadow Work in the Waters is just being released in the UK and will be available as a NYS Music First Play, and first in the United States, via the Soundcloud link, below at 7 p.m. EST.

    Miss Yankey

    Miss Yankey creates the perfect chemical reaction, where music, clever word-forging and style meet, writing both free flow and traditional. Her work exposes a limitless flow under the heart’s horizon. From love and relationships, to history, politics, mental health, space travel and more, Miss Yankey offers cutting a edge breath, lopping off the bud, to watch something more beautiful bloom in its place. The London based artist explores in all forums as a performance poet, writer, musician, workshop facilitator, host and public speaker.

    Her poetry guides you through your own mind from a multitude of different perspectives. While her style favours the obscure and silenced, her words speak truth as if it was your own.

    https://soundcloud.com/missyankey/sets/shadow-work-in-the-waters/s-6nWFDGIO8WD?ref=clipboard&p=a&c=1

    Shadow Work in the Waters EP will debut tomorrow December 22 in the UK, branded as Spoken Word meets Trap Soul. All of the tracks capture you, as you chase each verse with your fingertips spread wide. You can’t keep up, lyrically. It inspires your deepest subconscious.

    Opening track, “I Still Pray For You,” is limitless. Miss Yankey’s prayer ask a magnitude of questions that opens the mind for an EP to come. Ominous effects flow fluid like water and lack typical song structure.

    “Return My Sun,” drags a deep low-fi beat underneath Miss Yankey as she speaks. In the likes of nobody else, Miss Yankey reflects in musical and poetic harmony. Connecting to the listener or her own self, these boarders are non-existent.

    Simply put, Miss Yankey weaves a spellbinding web of lyrical storytelling over some killer beats. Be prepared to be submerged as each track takes you further into a lagoon of raw emotion. This is a whole new vibe.

    Stand-out lyrical track “Karmic Dealer” shows off Miss Yankey’s draw, with a more pronounced backbeat:

    I still whisper I Love You whilst you sleep

    What i mean is

    I visit you frequently in my dreams.

    The geometry of you and I, is patterned like the flower of life.

    Our physics are quantum.

    Four-time international slam champion, Miss Yankey, has a mass of accomplishments. Most notably, she’s a member of the international collective, Flo Poets, who are mentored by X7 Grammy Award nominated Natalie ‘Floacist’ Stewart. Miss Yankey fused her skills with music UK Rapper Logic’s recent album release I Am King on his opening title ​“Black King​.” She was also featured on Robbie Maddix’s “Feelings” (Music House and formerly Stone Roses) and “One Less​” recently released on Local Talk Records.

    Having spent much of lockdown in the studio, Miss Yankey shows off her gifted lyricism and vocals, which will appear on a steady stream of projects and collaborations as we break into the new year, 2021, and beyond. Stay Tuned.

    Shadow Work in the Waters Track List:

    1. I Still Pray For You
    2. Return My Sun
    3. Karmic Dealer
    4. Want
    5. 36524
    Miss Yankey
    Photo by Zak Kilby and @zedkimages

  • Kung Fu Aides Toys for Tots with 10th Annual Livestream

    Connecticut funk-fusion band, Kung Fu, aides Toys for Tots as they gear-up for a heartfelt livestream tomorrow, December 19, 2020. Proceeds will go to Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital.

    Kung Fu Toys For Tots

    Kung Fu and Toys For Tots make a heart-warming combo. The benefit has become a cherished tradition, annually held and Toad’s Place, a landmark venue in the Connecticut music scene. The venue has collected tens of thousands of dollars worth of toys for kids at their annual sold out shows.

    The band improvised this year, going virtual. Tomorrow, The Warehouse, Fairfield Theatre Company’s 640-capacity, industrial and state of the art venue will host the livestream for its tenth consecutive year. The benefit continues to embody a sense of giving and selflessness around the holidays, as the band pulls out all the stops for the hometown celebration to benefit those less fortunate.

    If you have ever been to Fairfield Theatre Company, or met Kung Fu, both have a heartwarming persona, making it the perfect matchup for Toys for Tots. Locals flock the venue as is, the band, deeply rooted in their community.

    Kung Fu Toys For Tots
    KVisit Kung Fu on FACEBOOK

    We are sending love to Kung Fu, The Warehouse @ FTC and all of you who have continually showed your support during the holidays, especially this year. The livestream is courtesy of MKDevo, with lights by Matt Calabrese. Kung Fu will be donating 33% of the total proceeds to the Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital at 1 Park St, New Haven, CT.

    Saturday December 19 at 8 p.m. ET. Tickets will be $14.99. You can purchase tickets from The Warehouse’ website, or view the event on Facebook.

    Watch Kung Fu Toys For Tots Past Events:

    Kung Fu feat. Jon Herington & Bernard Purdie: “The Fez >Green Earrings”

  • Post-Rap’s DIE the Monk Unveils Impurity in ‘The Beauty Complex’

    DIE the Monk is a music alias that explores the macro imperfections of the worlds porous skin. In his latest release, The Beauty Complex, the post-rap artist turns a musical effort emotive. Thus, dissecting brash human composition in real time.

    London born, Sebastien Carnot, deems the stage as his battleground, “where the enemy of the past meets the savior of self-preservation.” Likewise storytelling through dramatized musical ideas and industrial sounds are the essential elements to his craft. The Beauty Complex surely isn’t everyones spot of tea, but the inter-workings of the album shed light on modern warfare in the likes of self-destruction and social [media] evolution.

    DIE The Monk
    The Beauty Complex album art. Released Nov. 19, 2020.

    Carnot pursued the DIE the Monk persona in 2018 when he felt the urge to express energy outwards and publicize his secrets. The realization becomes apparent through The Beauty Complex: that we are all Monks, stewing on our own thoughts for better or for worse.

    I was aiming to create a dancy album full of industrial noises. Messages in this album surround feelings of concern for: self-preservation, mindlessness, over-thinking, and listening to your gut.

    The 9-track DIY opens with “The Void,” a ghoulish opera that crosses the threshold of your inner black hole. With no hope of return, the monk’s musical tinure holds true to the genres dystopian harmony. Immense reverb, choir like voices and a seemingly subconscious conversation drives the listener indefinitely inward.

    “Driver,” may have suited as a better opener, as it sucks you into a heavy trance. Envision London’s late night, underground dance tunnel thriving through all hours, until the explodes into a fountaining half-time.

    Point blank song titles provoke emotion in its purest form. “Timid” takes on a mystical intro. Opening with heavenly exploration, the music weaves into a darker reality of ones insecurities. Off-the cuff raps leave hints of social media and Instagram complexes, but in monk’s reply “I’m not a pretty picture.” None of us are.

    Influenced by artists like Shabazz Palaces, JPEGMAFIA, Xiu Xiu, and Macula Dog, DIE the Monk has carved an underground vibe that transcends pop-up backyard and basement shows. In 2018 DIE the Monk released his debut album, Privacy, filled with drama and dark underlying tones. In the last year a follow up album, Deep End, captured a love disaster, where on his third effort DIE the Monk states “The Beauty Complex is just the beginning.”

    The Beauty Complex is surely an acquired taste, yet worth the exploration in its musical and social exploration. The driving and infinite electronic colours will keep the listener entwined. No “Pressure.”

    More DIE the Monk on Facebook & Instagram

  • Premiere: Matt Butler Cultivates Cinematic Compassion with ‘Counting The Days’

    Profound Storyteller, Matt Butler, releases a cinematic and heart-stabbing single “Counting The Days” today, Friday, November 27. A stripped down acoustic demo also companies the release.

    The Manhattan singer-songwriter gets your heart pounding immediately, boasting you up as Mr.Tough Guy, but let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. If you’re a Matt Butler fan, you’re sentenced for life. After an interview with Matt at the last instalment of Vans Warped Tour, it was clear he is the real deal. Remarkably his synergy of music, storytelling and humbleness are all backed by a hunger to improve. That will never let the fire die in Matt’s eyes. He makes things real. He makes it personal.

    Matt Butler
    “Counting The Days” is overwhelmingly vivid, released Nov. 27, 2020.

    So many palatable emotions rush through your body throughout “Counting The Days” that it’s hard to react. The track opens with an ominous yet eloquent acoustic strumming. Sixteenth-note bass drum kicks make the listener’s heart anxious, ready to unleash a lifetime of pain.

    Music is a provocative tool. Opening lyrics immediately cue a 35-mm story reel in the listeners head. Some close their eyes in hopes music will spark their mind’s subconscious and craft inspiration, “Counting The Days” takes out all of the guess work.“Sound of the flies buzzing like a drill / Blood pooling on the table with the beer he spilled / I was frozen still.“

    Butler goes on. “Too hot outside to dig a hole in the sand. And too tired to hide the gun in my hand. There was never a plan.” The strings carry momentum, as the tape reel plays, and the image sways on your mind with the heavy 2 & 4 backbeat that Butler carries.

    Now, let’s get back to Mr. Tough Guy. Butler hits home here with the stereotypical male complex, that builds you up as each chorus replays. It is easy to feel like that kid, or cowardly man Butler depicts, as the alter ego makes him stand up. As you anchor your feet into the floor, Butler sucks you right into the shoes of the protagonist. It’s unclear who Butler is singing about: You? Me? Himself?

    Alright, did you come around here looking for a fight?
    Okay, cause boy you look like you got something to say
    Well I just might, are you ready old man to say goodnight?
    God be praised, now I’m locked in here
    I’m just counting the days
    It was always gonna be this way

    Matt Butler
    Photo Courtesy of Matt Butler.

    Butler’s songs are rooted deep in hardship. For those who don’t know Matt, he travels to prisons across the country; singing, sharing and engaging a locked-up community. These stories are so vivid that they bring a tear to your eye. Matt is compassionate and helps these people overcome through song. That effect is compounded on the average listener.

    Moreover, when we last interviewed Butler he was on the brink of music school. Now that dream has come to fruition. “I actually produced most of this new track myself, been learning Logic and Ableton during quarantine,” said Butler.

    ” [I] did a day of tracking vocals and overdubs in the studio and Rocky, the engineer, really helped get the sound. It’s my first real genuine attempt at self producing.”

    Read More About Matt Butler on NYS Music

    Matt Butler shows have an organic and mysterious quality. There are tears, but there is also laughter. Whether he’s performing at a theater, a state prison or delivering a keynote for a mental health conference, Butler delivers an experience that engages and transforms his audience. Everyone ends up feeling a little more whole, more human, and more connected – often with a changed view of the world around them.  Blending rock and folk styles with a few lingering hints of his punk roots, Butler’s music shines a light into some of the darkest corners of our world. He paints vivid pictures of pain and truth while exposing the glimmers of hope that only exist in those raw moments where redemption is born. 

    “I was drawn to music for as long as I can remember, but music seemed very difficult and inaccessible… You have to risk being rejected and judged. That’s part of the plan, that it’s so scary. I think that whatever you’re scared of doing most, that’s probably what it is that you’re supposed to be doing – on an evolutionary level.”

    Matt Butler – Vans Warped Tour Interview with Chuck DeFilippo
    Read more at NYS Music…

    Manhattan’s own, Matt Butler took an early set on the Monster Energy Stage. The folky, singer-songwriter gave a refreshing outsider’s perspective that pushed Warped fans outside of their comfort zone. Butler has gathered the sounds and stories of the road, shaped in ‘Warped’ roots; he grew up playing in punk and rock bands at CBGB’s and Arleen’s on the lower East Side. “My Favorite bands in high school were Nirvana and Fugazi… my favorite album was Ten by Pearl Jam,” said Butler. “I got more into folk and songwriting because of a band called The Replacements and Bruce Springsteen [laughing]. That’s always the bridge – as we say that in Boardwalk Hall, very appropriate.” 

    Butler’s set featured numerous tracks recorded this past March, but not yet released including soon-to-be single, “Tell Lucy That I Love Her.” Butler wrote the tune inspired  by a tour of state prisons, and at this point he has played around 200 jails in the past 16 months. The idea quickly boomed from a fan-funded endeavour to Butler securing his 501(c)(3) non-profit, to officially bring curated arts programs to jails and underserved institutions – a heart-wrenching inspiration and driver for his music. At certain times it can be as little as four people in a room where they collectively share stories, experiences and music. “It’s a way to see the country, I’ll tell you that. This new song (Lucy) comes from the perspective of someone incarcerated.”

    https://youtu.be/Iqto9tBus0M

    “Counting The Days” Lyrics

    Sound of the flies buzzing like a drill
Blood pooling on the table with the beer he spilled
I was frozen still

Too hot outside to dig a hole in the sand
And too tired to hide the gun in my hand
There was never a plan
 
But when I saw him sitting there watching TV
I knew he wasn’t planning on letting me be
One of us was always gonna end up dead
But he never saw it coming when he got up and said
 
Alright, did you come around here looking for a fight?
Okay, cause boy you look like you got something to say
Well I just might, are you ready old man to say goodnight?
God be praised, now I’m locked in here
I’m just counting the days
It was always gonna be this way
 
All summer long he was always around
Had a job painting houses in another town
But couldn’t hold it down
 
So I’d go out at night and I’d come home late
He’d have the lights turned off but he was wide awake
He was happy to wait
 
But I didn’t mind the hits I took
If it got my little sister off the hook
I can still hear the sound of her screams
And I can hear him shouting every night in my dreams
 
Alright, did you come around here looking for a fight?
Okay, cause boy you look like you got something to say
Well I just might, are you ready old man to say goodnight?
God be praised, now I’m locked in here
I’m just counting the days
It was always gonna be this way
 
I’ll tell you right now I always knew I was gonna end up in these prison blues
And if I had a choice, I’d do it again
When I hear that voice I say Amen
 
Alright, did you come around here looking for a fight?
Okay, cause boy you look like you got something to say
Well I just might, are you ready old man to say goodnight?
God be praised, now I’m locked in here
I’m just counting the days
It was always gonna be this way

  • Greenwich-born Country Singer Hal Ketchum Dies at 67

    The late, great Hal Ketchum passed away at 67 years of age Monday night. A social media post from his wife explained his passing was due to complications from dementia. The world certainly feels a little smaller now.

    Born April 9, 1953 in Greenwich, New York, Hal Ketchum went on to be a widely-loved, yet under-the-radar country singer of his day. Leaving New York at 17, finding home in Texas and finally residing his later life in Nashville, respectively.

    Hal Ketchum
    Hal Ketchum – The Egg

    After his 1988 debut, Threadbare Alibis, under Watermelon Records, Ketchum would release his mots notable hits “Small Town Saturday Night” and “I Know Where Love Lives” off of Billboard #2, Past the Point of Rescue. The album reached Gold status as well as “Small Town Saturday Night,” which peaked #2 on the US Country charts. The talent went on to earn acclaim on nearly 20 Billboard mentions.

    Growing up traveling, on long open roads with a pile of country cassettes, Hal Ketchum grabs hold of your heartstrings early on, a lost art, of country breeze strumming onward. He embodies that stand-up, “tough as nails, hard as steel,” southern gent, that’s utterly sentimental. Hal Ketchum is country. Despite not living his life in the limelight when compared to other hits of his day, Hal hit the sweet spot balancing a hearty career, family and now, heartfelt-fanbase.

    Read more Hal Ketchum at NYS Music

    Andrea Ketchum, Hal’s wife, revealed he had been (officially) diagnosed with Alzheimer’s back in 2019. Accounts of him already battling the disease had stringing for “for some time now.”

    Don’t worry Andrea, it surely will. Especially on the angelic vibrato of “gold,” as Ketchum’s voice touches our hearts and his guitar fades up into heaven. God bless, long live country and we send the most beloved prayers to The Ketchum Family, and friends.

    May his music live on forever in your hearts and bring you peace.

    Andrea Ketchum
    Seven Day Music Marathon Day 5: Hal Ketchum At The Egg, May 8, 2015

    This was soft country at its finest, but at times the tempo picked up to a good foot tapping and head bobbing and that was the only workout the audience was getting tonight. “Small Town Saturday Night” was one of these songs, a pure American song through and through, full of twang and Mellencamp lyrics and guitar.

    [The comedian bantered] “What am I, a jukebox?” Hal shook his head and an audience member said “Play what you want!” with a bit of applause in favor. “Chickadee” was dedicated to his five grandchildren, and “Mama Knows the Highway” was played despite not being practiced, but came off perfect. Hal said afterwards, “Good country music will never steer you wrong.”

  • Indie Rock’s White Cliffs Two-Lane Travel Creation ‘Six Cylinder Run’

    Ignition on, as we drive off into the horizon with Brooklyn based White Cliffs. The two-sided single, “Six Cylinder Run,” was bred from an impromptu cross-country trip, released Friday, Nov. 13. The single marks a kick off too future releases as we move later into the year.

    Rafe Cohan, aka. White Cliffs is a virtuoso of all things music with a slew of singles and EP’s being released since 2018. A musical chef, if you will, blends his talents as a guitarist, pianist, percussionist, singer and songwriter. Moreover, his producing talents fuse these ingredients to create a numbing effect, synonymous with wide open roads and endless travel.

    Photo Credit: Oskar with a K

    The title track, “Six Cylinder Run,” instigates the hype of a road trip. Suspended echoing-synth leads layer as Cohan sets off with his newfound friend. Tight drum beats prove calming as we move steadily down the highway at 75.

    Artists, and travellers alike, can relate to the bottomless feeling White Cliffs emulates across both tracks. He is nor here nor there, constantly in motion. Thus, the void is created. It is a void where musical expression blooms. We stew on its endless exploration. We harness creativity, but we never interrupt the drive.

    Last summer I met this new friend. I didn’t know him very well but we became very tight when he was moving to LA… He was supposed to drive across the country so I went with him and we made an EP starting with me in the passenger seat of a car with no real instruments, just on a laptop.

    White Cliffs
    Watch “Six Cylinder Run” music video here, released November 18.

    “On My Mind” gives you a second wind with a phat dub-bass ostinato. Written to back-half the trip, your neck begins to sway with the landscape. It’s getting late, but you seemingly rejuvenate, despite hours to go. The only gripe with these releases is the short sub-three-minute track length, aiding to an industry shift in a shorter attention span.

    Listen to “Six Cylinder Run”/”On My Mind” HERE

    ‘On My Mind’ is 2AM and you have hours ‘til you get to the hotel, pulling this U-Haul trailer and this is like hell. We worked on the songs in the hotel, we brought a bunch of gear with us, little synths, monitors, working on it in Albuquerque and in LA.

    Dubbed as a purist, and lost in the art of producing, White Cliffs opens our minds to the days on the road. Listeners relate, especially with touring or traveling experience that encompasses the music industry. Cohan has experimented and crafted, leading him to debut under the moniker White Cliffs in 2017. He has toured with Big Wild, Elderbrook, STS9, in addition to performing at New York City’s Panorama Festival.

    With this cook in the kitchen, passengers are left feeling incomplete in its length. The singles don’t transcend the journey, leaving us audio-less quickly. In hopes of accumulating a larger album, White Cliffs will certainly lure his future listeners into the carpool lane for one last late night drive. For now, toss both singles onto your road-trip mixtape.

    Take a deeper look into “Six Cylinder Run” and producing craftwork.

  • Shubh Saran Becoming a Musical Medium of Genres

    Brooklyn based musical fusion, Shubh Saran, is Becoming a musical world map for genres. In a cell-phone driven society, you would open your GPS to navigate outward. Saran, 29, becomes a medium, channeling a multitude of genres inward and back out through his compositions. The Indian native fuses traditional music, with punk, blues, rock and his head-on studies in Jazz.

    The Delhi high school student made Berklee dream come true, honed his passion amongst a “best-of-the-best” melting pot at the college. He has resided in multiple countries, grabbing musical influence at every turn, and it shows. Now calling New York home, Saran’s latest creation, Becoming, is a must explore.

    The title track and lead single off the album was originally released Nov. 12, 2019.

    The 5-track EP is an navigation to new color palettes that will re-texture the ears of the most seasoned listener. The goal is not a means to an end; It is an exposition of clashing sounds that provoke a journey of unforeseen turns.

    Take The title track “Becoming” as example. Saran cresendos into a collapsing overture, filled with dual-drum-sets, arching strings and key pads. Everything peaks at once until Saran reels you back in with his ethereal guitar passage. It draws you into the basement of Berklee’s practice rooms and jam-sessions; the moment where you are sucked in reverse to the doorway, as an unknown musical fusion burst from its seams.

    Pairs of drums, Saxophones and strings create a flam-like density. An illusion of the same track being overlapped in slight delay should sound abrasive yet this creates an ever-expanding feeling. The 5:09 track feels like one deep inhale. Its healing breath ends abruptly.

    ‘Becoming’ definitely wasn’t written as the single off the album, nor was the EP supposed to be named after the song, or vice versa. As I started writing it, though, I began to realize that this is the anthemic song that really sums up the whole message of the EP.” 

    Shubh Saran
    Shubh Saran Becoming – Released February 10, 2020

    Saran’s musical quests become physical as he travels across the globe with his work. Strength, musical and cultural growth bloom in the cyclical nature of Suran’s playing. Most recently he took this EP on tour to with performances and workshops across New Delhi, Goa, Gurgaon and Mumbai. “I compose in a modern jazz sort of idiom, but I decided to revisit the music I grew up with as a teenager… it was Blink-182, punk rock, Green Day, the kind of music you don”t associate with ”serious music”,” Saran told Outlook India. Saran is giving back, filling the music void he had as a high school student. He excites the musical realm and young artists alike.

    “I’ve always liked artists who have long music careers, where their first album is really different from their last album, and you can see the evolution and influences over time. I’m just celebrating that by being who I am as a musician.”

    Track Listing:
    1. Becoming
    2. Storm
    3. Safe
    4. Comfort (feat. Hannah Sumner and JAE SOTO)
    5. Dust

  • Orange Corner Debut “Hippie Baby” Gets Out the Cradle

    Image a bastard-child bred from a strange co-mingling of iTunes libraries. A mash of genres and unforeseen turns have fused a free flowing debut single from Orange Corner, named “Hippie Baby.”

    Buffalo New Yorks’ five-piece multi-genre performance band, Orange Corner, has no filter. The band leans heavily on funk, obvious trips of psychedelic rock, metal, reggae, hip-hop and electronic genes are all dispersed. It is no suprise they get lost in improvised jams, which keeps their live sets in motion, fresh and new. If you like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Incubus, Pink Floyd, Jamiroquai or Talking Heads, Orange Corner and “Hippie Baby” will quickly gain your attention.

    orange corner
    Orange Corner “Hippie Baby” album art.

    “Hippie Baby” is not for the faint of ear. It’s the epitome of a toddler running rapid, musically challenging the norms of song structure. Orange Corner’s take it or leave it approach sucks you right in as Drummer Tj “Thor” Carson creates a dynamic ploy across the toms. Seemingly out of time, “Hippie Baby” lures with swaying bass and lots of texture.

    By the time the band kicks off, in the eight-plus minute track you get it, and sink into the groove. Yet, the band does play with you heart-rate as they sink back into a musical somber, filled with guitar overtones, cymbal textures, and electronic ‘spaceship’ synth.

    Orange Corner takes you for ride with “Hippie Baby.” filled with an unexpected pit-stops, like Randy Pawlak’s ‘out-your-mind’ bass lick as he and Thor quest the band onward.

    Upon attending an Orange Corner performance, be prepared to
    endure musical movements of vast magnitude. Once it’s showtime, a fresh sonic pallet is tastily presented, and the crowd quickly becomes enthralled in an upbeat mix of soaring solos, rhythmical nuances, and downright infectious vocals.Whether it’s through dancy improvised medium or tethering originality with appropriate covers, this band has a knack for cleverly stimulating the amygdala….

    Orange Corner Bio

    Orange Corner’s circle has been growing through WNY grass-roots festival, Tedfest. Last year the band had 700 people pass thru the day/night, across three stages, 20+ bands, and a load of vendors.

    Check out more WNY YOU NEED TO SEE BANDS Here

    Meet Orange Corner:
    Nathan Addenbrooke: Funk-n-soul driven vocals, rhythm guitar, percussion
    Randy Pawlak: In-the-pocket, out-your-mind bass & bubbly backseat banter
    Thomas Leaming: Lavish lead guitar love generator
    Tj “Thor” Carson: The groove-hacking, head-banging drummer
    Tommy McDonald: White keys, black keys, spaceships and synth leads

  • Arlo Guthrie has Gone Fishing: New Beginnings for the Folk Singer in Touring Void

    By now the word has gotten out. Arlo Guthrie, renowned folk singer and music industry icon has hung up a “Gone Fishing” sign. A lengthy and heartfelt Facebook post marks a change so abrupt on the hearts and ears of fans across the nation. But don’t make wake, we’re off to the Inlet to cast a line.

    It’s been a great 50+ years of being a working entertainer, but I reached the difficult decision that touring and stage shows are no longer possible. I’ve cancelled the upcoming shows, and am not accepting offers for new ones. That’s the short version. For the longer version continue reading…

    Arlo Guthrie’s ‘Gone Fishing’ Facebook Farewell
    Arlo Guthrie

    See The Original Facebook Farewell Here

    Guthrie’s message was missed by other major sources. While this marks the end of touring and live performances, it is also dawns a new beginning. His life will continue to influence the industry, while he basks in his accomplishments.

    The road weighs on the toughest acts, constantly touring and performing. Especially for Guthrie, as he battled mini strokes and checked out to make a gig the next day.

    “Then, on Thanksgiving Day 2019 (of all freaking days) it happened again. This time I was on my way to The Church / The Guthrie Center to help out with our annual Thanksgiving Dinner that we hold every year. I had pulled over to fuel up and realized I couldn’t continue to drive safely, as everything was spinning around, sort of like the old days, but without the help of illegal substance… [the next day he] had an important gig at Carnegie Hall in New York – The end of an annual series I’d been doing for decades and it was Sold Out. I had to be there. It was imperative.”

    Arlo Guthrie’s ‘Gone Fishing’

    The Cooney Island-born singer had big shoes to fill in the likes of his father, and he did. Now it is time to kick them off using the six-plus months a year he would be on the road to enjoy the sand and sun. Likewise, Guthrie is a hallmark, being an original Woodstock performer and tipping his hat at recreations in 2015 and the 50th anniversary.

    Guthrie recounts memories of his original Woodstock performance at 22.

    Read More Arlo Guthrie on NYS Music

    Just months ago, Arlo Guthrie released a heartfelt rendition of Stephen Collins Foster’s “Hard Times Come Again No More” with pianist Jim Wilson.

    A heartfelt voice among a world pandemic, released July 31, 2020.

    Hats off and best wishes to Guthrie as music, culture and storytelling are in his blood. Despite no longer touring, this will not be the last of Guthrie’s legacy. For now, Arlo Guthrie has just gone fishing.