NYS Music 202​0

Tag: new music

  • 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.

  • Queens Rapper Kyngjo Drops Music Video for ‘Calling Me’

    On the heels of a run of successfully executed song releases, Lefrak City rapper Kyngjo has unveiled the official music video for his most popular record “Calling Me,” continuing to build buzz with the prospects of a debut project drawing ever closer. His journey as a rapper dates back to just over two years ago – as hopes for a future in basketball became bleak, thanks to an injured knee – now with his mind fully focused on being a successful rapper, he hopes to etch his name amongst a list of legendary Queens natives. 

    Produced by Multi-platinum and Grammy-nominated producer TheBeatPlug – who gained notoriety with producer credits on Joyner Lucas’ viral record I’m Not Racist – “Calling Me” follows the classic adage that as a rapper, women will follow, and so too will interminable and deceit-filled adventures bound to leave those involved with querulous significant others. The record sees Kyngjo divulge tales of his experiences playing the side piece to a spurned woman who has now fallen for him and… won’t stop calling. The Dream of Dre directed music video brings to life the tension between significant others when Kyngjo is involved with the women having to convince their man that he is indeed “just a friend.” 

  • Hearing Aide: Levi Robin “Where Night Meets Day”

    New York-based folk artist Levi Robin has released his brand new album When Night Meets Day, which takes us on a journey through a powerful collection of songs that Levi spent writing over the course of several years. Much of the album is influenced by Levi’s fascination and dedication to the kabbalistic and Chassidic teachings of Torah, though it may not be conveyed in a way the listener expects or recognizes.

    For one, most everything is written in parable. Also one might expect spirituality to come with some sort of detached enlightenment, heavenly contentment and unbounded idealism, and that would be true if the soul was in a heavenly world right now, but in truth we are souls embodied in a material world, facing challenges and concealments, tests and tribulations. Our lives are of extreme paradox with dynamic highs and lows. And so, Where Night Meets Day is Levi’s invitation to you; to enter a purposeful and intentional embrace of life’s dichotomies, night and day, life and death, pain and pleasure, detachment and embrace, transience and eternity…

    The album opens up with “No Other,” a carefully picked guitar track that smoothly transcends into an upbeat folk song. This song truly launches the album and sets the mood for the record. Throughout the album are songs like “Alabama” and “Hey Love” that have a pleasant atmospheric, airy tone accompanied with soft vocals, which serve as a blanket for all your potential fears and anxiety. Levi has been hard at work on new material with Grammy-nominated bassist, composer, and producer Stu Brooks and Grammy-nominated producer and engineer Joel Hamilton. Be sure to stay tuned this year for more music and content releases from Levi Robin.

    Key Tracks: No Other, Days of our Youth, Alabama


  • Hearing Aide: Gawain and the Green Knight release new single “Doctor”

    Brooklyn-based Folk duo, Gawain & The Green Knight, are delighted to share their new single “Doctor”. The song continues the two’s exploration of universal aches as told by history’s ghosts- a path first started down on their debut EP, ​Ghosties​.

    gawain the green knight

    Written by Alexia Antoniou and arranged by Mike O’Malley, the song considers the strangeness of one’s anxieties manifesting physically in the body and expresses it through a doctor struggling to locate their own particular pain. Featuring the duo’s usual latticework of guitar, bouzouki, and close harmony, the song is worked into a grand panic by a cinematic string section.

    The group has been playing across the city at prominent NYC venues, and even in the midst of global chaos, the two folk architects are bringing their music right to your computer with their live streams every Monday at 3pm on their Facebook page. Stay tuned into their social media for news and music updates.

  • 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.

  • Premiere: Tiger Darrow releases plot twist single “Brother’s Girl”

    ​Brooklyn-based Pop Creative multi-hyphenate, Tiger Darrow, has released her new single, “Brother’s Girl.” The heavy synth dark pop song portrays a story of forbidden love for the unattainable. 

    The song begins with seductive and fantastical lyrics as the singer describes the feeling of falling in love with someone special, however, they’re unavailable. Darrow enjoys writing her lyrics in a colloquial way full of surprise to her listeners. The poetic storytelling of this stripped song introduces a plot twist to the story when the singer announces the love she has been describing is in fact for her “Brother’s Girl.” Her earthy and smokey vocals over the skittering trap beats create a roguish pop sound filled with infectious melodies.

    Tiger Darrow
    Photo provided by Gramophone Media

    Darrow’s musical upbringing began at the age of two when she began learning how to play the violin. Her love for music led her to attend a Performing Arts High School in Dallas, Texas where she learned guitar and cello. Graduating with a degree in Songwriting from NYU, Darrow continued to pursue her passion and built her reputation as a young, multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter and producer writing for other artists, as well as, pursuing a solo career. Opening for artists such as Edie Brickell and The New Bohemians, The Eagles, and Erykah Badu, Tiger Darrow also performed as a sideman for Durand Jones and The Indications, Zack Villere, Camille Trust and Wakey!Wakey!

    Darrow’s music has evolved tremendously since releasing her first album at the age of 16. The Dark-Alt Pop Singer is taking a new direction and creating new music with sounds inspired by Billie Eilish, Julia Michaels, FKA Twigs and St.Vincent. In support of the artist’s latest release, Darrow sets out to perform a multitude of shows around the NYC area at prominent music venues.  

  • Premiere: Tiger Darrow releases plot twist single “Brother’s Girl”

    ​Brooklyn-based Pop Creative multi-hyphenate, Tiger Darrow, has released her new single, “Brother’s Girl.” The heavy synth dark pop song portrays a story of forbidden love for the unattainable. 

    The song begins with seductive and fantastical lyrics as the singer describes the feeling of falling in love with someone special, however, they’re unavailable. Darrow enjoys writing her lyrics in a colloquial way full of surprise to her listeners. The poetic storytelling of this stripped song introduces a plot twist to the story when the singer announces the love she has been describing is in fact for her “Brother’s Girl.” Her earthy and smokey vocals over the skittering trap beats create a roguish pop sound filled with infectious melodies.

    Darrow’s musical upbringing began at the age of two when she began learning how to play the violin. Her love for music led her to attend a Performing Arts High School in Dallas, Texas where she learned guitar and cello. Graduating with a degree in Songwriting from NYU, Darrow continued to pursue her passion and built her reputation as a young, multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter and producer writing for other artists, as well as, pursuing a solo career. Opening for artists such as Edie Brickell and The New Bohemians, The Eagles, and Erykah Badu, Darrow also performed as a sideman for Durand Jones and The Indications, Zack Villere, Camille Trust and Wakey!Wakey!

    Darrow’s music has evolved tremendously since releasing her first album at the age of 16. The Dark-Alt Pop Singer is taking a new direction and creating new music with sounds inspired by Billie Eilish, Julia Michaels, FKA Twigs and St.Vincent. In support of the artist’s latest release, Darrow sets out to perform a multitude of shows around the NYC area at prominent music venues.  

  • Premiere: Tiger Darrow releases plot twist single “Brother’s Girl”

    ​Brooklyn-based Pop Creative multi-hyphenate, Tiger Darrow, has released her new single, “Brother’s Girl.” The heavy synth dark pop song portrays a story of forbidden love for the unattainable. 

    The song begins with seductive and fantastical lyrics as the singer describes the feeling of falling in love with someone special, however, they’re unavailable. Darrow enjoys writing her lyrics in a colloquial way full of surprise to her listeners. The poetic storytelling of this stripped song introduces a plot twist to the story when the singer announces the love she has been describing is in fact for her “Brother’s Girl.” Her earthy and smokey vocals over the skittering trap beats create a roguish pop sound filled with infectious melodies.

    Darrow’s musical upbringing began at the age of two when she began learning how to play the violin. Her love for music led her to attend a Performing Arts High School in Dallas, Texas where she learned guitar and cello. Graduating with a degree in Songwriting from NYU, Darrow continued to pursue her passion and built her reputation as a young, multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter and producer writing for other artists, as well as, pursuing a solo career. Opening for artists such as Edie Brickell and The New Bohemians, The Eagles, and Erykah Badu, Darrow also performed as a sideman for Durand Jones and The Indications, Zack Villere, Camille Trust and Wakey!Wakey!

    Darrow’s music has evolved tremendously since releasing her first album at the age of 16. The Dark-Alt Pop Singer is taking a new direction and creating new music with sounds inspired by Billie Eilish, Julia Michaels, FKA Twigs and St.Vincent. In support of the artist’s latest release, Darrow sets out to perform a multitude of shows around the NYC area at prominent music venues.  

  • Hearing Aide: Rhys Tivey releases latest single “Ready”

    In his new single “Ready,” Rhys Tivey captures loss and revival of self through the epiphany of love song simplicity and precision. Sober in its depth and playfulness, we taste a life after disappointment, the epiphany of renewal. The song narrates the journey of melting regret and defiance to avail oneself to new possibilities. Its January release references the New Year temperament of resolution and release of past griping.

    Rhys Tivey – Photo courtesy of Gramophone Media

    The track begins in a nostalgic vibe with Rhys’s sotto voce vocals accompanied by soft piano chords. As a minimal, driving beat drops in to counterbalance distant trumpets and alluring vocal pads, the song builds with hints of hope, before hitting a bridge of soaring yet contained chaos.  “Ready” is a triumphant glimpse at his upcoming album Unsteady, where the intimate undertakings of an artist simultaneously reveals past stories and tentatively persists towards the hope of new chapters. 

    Rhys is definitely on the “ones to watch” list, so plan on catching one of his shows in the future.  Rhys performs at prominent venues all around the Northeast and is currently in the works of an epic album release set to premiere in spring 2020. 

    You can stream “Ready” on all music platforms, and follow his social media: SPOTIFY / INSTAGRAM / TWITTER

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