NYS Music 202​0

Category: Audio

  • Escaper releases new single, “Open Sky”; announces upcoming studio album ‘Apotheosis’

    With their new single “Open Sky,” Brooklyn’s Escaper give a taste of their upcoming studio release, Apotheosis, their first official studio album in nearly two nears. Due out on June 19, “Open Sky” fits the mood of the country right now – comtemplative, melodic and a needed reminder to take time to celebrate the simple beauty of human existence while the world is on pause.

    Guitarist Will Hanza says of the album,

    “[Apotheosis] represents change and growth for us as a band, as well as individually… On “Open Sky”, the first single from the album, we feel a freedom of being.” “Open Sky” represents the sheer Escaper way of breaking free of confinement and allowing our most true selves through. The idea… reflects the climb to self actualization.”  

    The single was recorded and mixed by John Davis at The Bunker Studio in Brooklyn, and colorfully exhibits the refined sound of Escaper’s dedicated core of musicians. “Open Sky” is the combination of each band member’s individual expertise combined with their musical sensibilities, keeping your feet moving and brain grooving as you listen.  

    An airy sequence starts off “Open Sky,” with light percussion and keys being introduced before a velvet smooth bass line frames the song as Hanza and company work into the structure of the song. The song has a full-bodied quality to it, with no one member standing out more than the others. “Open Sky” finds Escaper firing on all cylinders in a groove that is reminiscent of their live performances.

    Escaper continues to bring fans both new and old their weekly Escaper at Home video series, and listeners can expect a great deal of fresh content ahead of Apotheosis‘ release on June 19 on Ropeadope Records.

  • Jay-Jasmin releases new interstellar single “Bitch I’m From Venus”

    “New” and “single” refuse to encapsulate the anthology of neo-futurisms encased in the declaration from Jay-Jasmine in “Bitch I’m From Venus.” Ten-thousand lens shatters post-modern divides between interstellar imagery laced to ancient industrial breakbeat trance-pop, all to be reconfigured in Jay-Jasmine’s mythical resonance.

    Jay-Jasmine’s non-conforming, non-binary and cosmic celestial opus unifies contrasting mediums into parallel summits tracking a visceral explosion of sensory. “Bitch I’m From Venus,” doesn’t long for a lost downtown meets uptown outburst of vogue vibrancy, it details a blueprint where concrete runways adjoin synthetic neon lights stripping lineal wisdom into self-defined bodies. The canvasses Jay-Jasmine’s melodic articulation jar offers no delusion of the intended revolution it embodies.  

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CAYDXCbp8LZ/

    The track is inspired by ancient Divine Feminine energies of the goddess Venus who has 10,000 names. “Earth is experiencing a return in these energies and I wanted to make music showing that in the form of an alien invasion in NYC”. JAY-JASMIN is very inspired by fantasy and sci-fi and uses a blend of styles to create a work that has not been seen before and illustrates a new dimension. The main message of the song is to overthrow the patriarchy and raise the vibration of the planet through a revolution of love and freedom. 

  • New Jersey Pop Punk outfit FRND CRCL share new single “Loose Cannon” just in time for summer.

    New Jersey’s FRND CRCL (pronounced Friend Circle) comes in hot just in time for summer with their new single “ Loose Cannon” off their sophomore album Internet Noise.

    Delivering their new single with angsty, punk-driven lyrics and catchy melodies reminiscent of early 2000s pop punk akin to the likes of Sum 41 and Blink 182, the track is essentially about embracing the mentality and spirit of punk rock, with lyrics referencing the choice of not selling out in college and even a comparison to the heartbreaker himself, Ben Stiller. FRND CRCL deliver their youthful hooks over crunchy and distorted guitar passages and twinkling lead melodies. If one thing is clear about this group it is that they certainly don’t cut the “pop” out of pop punk. 

    The track is produced by FRND CRCL and Tyler Skye of Monoplane Recording Studios, this is the second single premiering off of the upcoming sophomore album Internet Noise, which dropped May 1.

    Formed in 2018, Aaron Smith (Drums) and Dom Giacalone (Lead Guitar), along with dual vocalists Zac Johnson (Guitar) and Adam Skirvin (Bass), combine their individual musical backgrounds to create a new approach to the genre. Utilizing 2010 era pop structures and punk rock riffage, FRND CRCL is not afraid to incorporate lyrical wordplay, the occasional pop culture reference, and influences from various genres across the board.

  • PEAK releases a unique psych-funk fusion sound with “Hot Clips Volume 1”

    Based out of Brooklyn, indie-funk artist PEAK is eroding the border between techno and funk with their new album Hot Clips Volume 1.  The collection is PEAK’s latest release that explores a wide array of emotion, and doubles as something techno-funk and indie enthusiasts look to for a unique fusion of both worlds.  Imagine as if you’re riding in a ship through a space galaxy, and you entered into a psychedelic time travel where influences of authentic 60’s bands and modern funk-rock combine seamlessly; PEAK would be the pilot of this ship and the realm is Hot Clips Volume 1.

    The album takes off with “What It Is About Her,” a track that’s experimental right off the bat with a techno beat growing into a full acoustic drum sound.  The vocals join the steady instrumental flow, and provide as a comforting blanket through exploring emotion about a girl.  Throughout the track, the band proves their unique dynamic changes with the blend of rock and bright electro-synth solos.  PEAK is able to take you on a comfortable roller coaster, with the peak (no pun intended) being the psychedelic journey track “Baromtric Pressure,” followed by the funky feel-good track “Win Some, Lose Some” that brings you back down to earth.  Once you start the adventure of listening to Hot Clips Volume 1, it’s hard to snap out of the attractive trance brought on by the upbeat dance beats and wild keyboard solos.

    Hot Clips Volume 1 is the launch of a live series from PEAK featuring Jeremy Hilliard on guitar on vocals (Turbine), Kito Bovenschulte on Drums (Particle), Josh T. Carter on Bass (Hayley Jane and the Primates) and Johnny Young on keys and vocals (Mick Taylor, Artimus Pyle). PEAK released their debut studio album Electric Bouquet (produced by Dave Brandwein of Turkuaz) in 2018, and have since since been steadily touring to perform at prominent venues, and releasing music for everyone to enjoy.  

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B_DhBH9p4yz/

    Written over a period of time from Fall 2019 to Winter 2020 during tour, this collection of songs were some of the band’s favorite jams until they were solidified with the help of keyboardist and mixing engineer Johnny Young.  With all of these great influences brought to one table, the band was able to bring these jams to life and capture their emotion while maintaining a fun techo vibe.

    Key Tracks: What It Is About Her, Baromtric Pressure, Wild Ride, Can’t Love Somebody

  • Listen to Queens Duo Runitup Apply ‘Pressure’ on latest single

    A breakout single isn’t the easiest thing to find. If it were, millions of aspiring rappers would have landed record deals. And although the ball seems to get rolling after that first big hit (save for the one-hit wonders, of course), an artist is still dependent on their initial ability to connect with an audience. For most, the components of the ever elusive-hit record seem to be simple (distinctive instrumental vocals, engaging lyrics, etc..) yet, the subtle ways in which they are applied often escape aspiring artists. Which is why when one finds one of those elusive records, they hold on to it, play it and share it to the world.

    “Pressure,” the latest release from cousins and Queens duo Runitup Rich and Runitup Sho feels like one of those songs. With a Lil Uzi Vert-esque flow and delivery throughout, the Runitup duo seem to have found the exact medium they had been searching for. “The sound we started with was just something we mimicked and thought it sounded like a bump and as we kept going and following music trends, we decided to start trying to be more melodic,” says Sho. “With my background and singing and Rich’s chop-and-go flow, we came up with a sound that was still us but gave an opening for a broader spectrum of music.” 

    It isn’t just the distinctive guitar riffs nor the infectious chorus, but the duo’s effervescence throughout the song that will likely coax listeners into joining them in sing-a-longs. With the record also falling shy of two minutes, there will be plenty of people playing it on repeat. 

    As Runitup continue to establish themselves, they refrain from thinking about fame and opulence. The duo is more focused on growing, exploring their sound, evading any hastiness. “Who knows what the future holds as we continue making music. We get to see more of what the supporters of our music want, and we can form a better direction for Runitup as a whole.”

  • Helena Halberg releases pick-me-up single “Last Love”

    Helena Hallberg drops “Last Love” to pick us up from where we left off in NYC coffee shops crooning breakups in back alley poetics over bouquets of taunting stanzas. Somewhere between sober and sauced, the disobedient tempo paces folk to a spirited jazz gig in a backroom; challenging the distance between breakups and landslides.

    If contemporary feminist acuity impaled the deck to lull and roar all together “I am not here to be your mother, I am not your teacher,”  Hallberg’s “Last Love” is an ode to one’s own time. This time she cuts a mischievous long finger to self-realization in the full glory of independence.

    Social distancing suddenly doesn’t feel so lonely but instead a sigh of relief for a party of one. If you’re looking for a tack you can play over and over to a thousand different mood sets, Hallberg will cover you in a blanket with the thought of wherever you are is exactly where you’re meant to be if you just own it. If only transistor radios weren’t extinct but mercifully Hallberg’s uptempo asserts itself with the same temporal defiance on Spotify as it might on vinyl. 

    In the meantime of Hallberg’s next music release, check out her weekly live streams and stay updated with her latest content via Facebook and Instagram.

  • Listen to Spaghetti Eastern Music’s latest, the ambient “Peace Within”

    Spaghetti Eastern Music, a genre-leaping solo project from NYC and Woodstock guitarist/keyboardist Sal Cataldi has released his latest single “Peace Within.” An ambient piece that slowly unfolds in a series of waves, this aural meditation gives the listener an instrumental chapter of chill with an apt tonic for these troubled times.

    Using an echoey piano, vibraphone and phased strings, ones that could be a lost track from Eno’s “Another Green World,” Cataldi provides a soothing musical bedrock. This is complemented with sustained drones from a duo of Ebow guitars, drenched in reverb, setting the stage for the lead guitar which propels the searching melody of the piece. The calming and cavernous ambience created is periodically shocked and heightened with heavily processed, thunderous percussive accents.

    Cataldi’s cheekily titled debut album, Sketches of Spam, and his January 2020 single, “Her Lemon Peel Raincoat (Because It’s Raining),” have drawn notice from critics at a multitude of prestige outlets like The New York Times, Time Out NY, Jazz Times and The Huffington Post.

    The single is available for download and streaming via Bandcamp, CD Baby, iTunes, Spotify. The track was recorded by Cataldi during the Covid19 crisis at the studio aboard his houseboat in Port Washington, Long Island, Houseboat Garlic Knot Studios, and at his Sonic Garden in West Saugerties, right down the road from Big Pink. The track was mixed and mastered by Grammy-winning engineer Bob Stander at Parcheesi Studios.

  • Teddy Midnight release “My Eyes” off upcoming EP “Airdnb’

    Nearly two years after the release of their last studio effort, Teddy Midnight has announced an all-new EP with Airdnb, due out May 29. The first single, “My Eyes,” was released this past week and is group’s first collection to be produced, recorded, and mixed entirely in their new Brooklyn studio. 

    The forthcoming EP is a departure from the disco/house sound of their last release, French Press from 2018, and explores producers Sean Silva and Adam Magnan’s influence from the rhythms of drum n bass, jungle, and hip-hop. The trio spent the past year and a half writing and recording using vintage synths and live instrumentation as the basis for the record. Over the course of the EP’s 5 tracks, the group navigates new sonic territory to bring break-neck tempos and fresh atmosphere to their already diverse repertoire. Guest vocalists Lars Viola and David Schnurman are featured on two separate tracks with instrumentals filling the three remaining spots. 

    Additionally, the band has debuted a music video for “My Eyes,” in which each member performs via a digital video conference call. The video was recorded during the eighth week of COVID-19 quarantine in New York City.

    The single “My Eyes” features New York City rapper Lars Viola in his first collaboration with the group. As the name Airdnb would suggest, the hip-hop track showcases the Teddy Midnight take on drum n bass grooves while leaving plenty of space for MC Lars to paint a picture of a stressful world in need of sweet release from everyday anxieties. His thoughtful discourse is driven by live drums and capped off with impassioned synth work by keyboard player Danny Caridi.

    Amidst the COVID-19 outbreak, Teddy Midnight is working to reschedule their postponed spring tour dates with more fresh music to come. After successful winter dates with jamtronica leaders The New Deal and others, newly scheduled shows will highlight material from Airdnb and continue to feature their ever expanding live-production sound. 

  • B.A.D.A. releases new single “Exile”

    Brazil/NYC-based electro/indie-pop duo B.A.D.A. explore the inner workings of an artist’s journey in their new video for “Exile,” title track to their upcoming album. “Exile” is a dark pop thriller, held almost entirely on a minimal synth bass line, murmured vocals and melodic sorrow.

    Aiming for conceptual depth while standing out in the overpopulated electronic-indie-pop scene is B.A.D.A.‘s ambitious mission. Brazilian artist/producer Pedro Cesario and Brooklynite multi-instrumentalist/producer Carey Clayton devoted the whole of 2019 to this mission after the vision for Exile came to Cesario during Burning Man in 2018. The story that underlies the single is very personal to Cesario, who states, “I quit music after experiencing a traumatic experience recording a demo when I was ten years old. The lyrics and film represent the creative hiatus in my life and my search for that grit again as an adult.”

    The self-produced, trilingual album was recorded internationally throughout 2019, first in a cabin in Woodstock, NY, then at the Abbey Road Studios in London, and finally in Clayton’s bedroom in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. B.A.D.A. worked with the house engineer of Abbey Road, John Barret (George Ezra, James Bay), several guest musicians, and mastering engineers Luke Moellman (Great Good Fine OK) and Chris Gehringer (Janelle Monae, Harry Styles) along the way to create an auditory and visual experience through their music.

    While the album navigates the same sonic palettes as contemporaries Bon Iver, The Japanese House, and Muna, B.A.D.A.’s sound unashamedly flaunts its romance with the dance floor, and each song seems to be specifically designed to soundtrack a lysergic trip. The uniqueness of the concept lives in the fact that the album’s scores are a blueprint of the journey itself, as the artists use their own identity and experience as a white canvas to perform the transformation. 

    The duo originally started as a remote project between Brazil and New York City, before Cesario decided to join Clayton in the city so that they could materialize the project into the real world. “Exile” materializes an unobvious music journey that reflects the chaotic state of pop in the turn of the decade, where boundaries of language, genre or identity no longer apply.

  • Hearing Aide: Timothy Alice and the Dead Star Band ‘SpaceStation AM500’

    SpaceStation AM500 is the debut album from Timothy Alice & the Dead Star Band, a trio hailing from Buffalo, NY. Timothy Alice (stage name for Timothy Patrick Henderson) displays an astonishing number of influences in both his writing and singing styles throughout this record. With the help of Matt DiStasio on bass and Bub Crumlish on drums, Alice’s lyrics paint incredible pictures of an America we can all recognize today. You could be on the Great Lakes, in a sprawling metropolis, or the last bar on the highway between this state and that; each of these locations share a tale that Timothy Alice invokes with each track.

    The opening track, “2 Am,” paints a picture that many may find familiar. The promise and elation of this song invokes the feeling of many 2 am’s we’ve all felt while bar-hopping around New York State – still full of energy and grit, while openly wondering where the night is going to take you. “It’s 2 AM and this place is jumping. I’m just trying not to lose my head again.”  The song feels like a packed bar with 2 hours left before last call, full of vigor and hope.

    SpaceStation AM500 mixes soul, blues, R&B and folk roots into a delightful set of songs with so much heart and movement in them. The band excels at feeling like you’re on the road with signs flying by in the darkness during “Just Take My Hand.” “Shadow on My Tail,” the longest track on the album, really showcases the soul in Timothy’s voice and also features a ripping solo from guest guitarist Andrew Kothen. The album also features a love song to the Windy City. The soul in Timothy’s voice while singing “Oh, Chicago” makes me long for a city I’ve only ever been to twice.

    As the night grows longer and we get further into the album, “Honeypie” provides a tale of distorted love, building up to a cacophony that would be exception to see live. “4 Am,” the final track on the album, really highlights the difference two hours can make in a night. It tells a somber and sobering tale that we’ve all experienced in our lives, regardless of what time the clock is showing. With the help of an amazing band, Timothy Alice’s lyrics paint pictures of an America we can all recognize today. Whether he’s a in a league of his own or the product of a new generation of storyteller, he shows us all that we have a lot of great music and art coming our way in this next decade.

    Key Tracks: 2 Am, Just Take My Hand, Honeypie

    https://timothyalice.bandcamp.com/album/spacestation-am500