Addressing past-heartbreaks during the midst of post-Valentine’s Day gloom, Sulene dropped a new indie-pop single off of her upcoming EP, he·don·ic, set to release on March 5.
Photo Credit: Spencer Kohn
I wrote it after I got a text from an ex that he was getting married. I guess I hadn’t thought about this relationship for a long time and it brought up all sorts of things. Sometimes the gift of time and growing up is being able to look back and sorta see things differently, more clearly. I found myself feeling angry. My friend group is really close with this person so I constantly hear about him, and I’d always act like it doesn’t bother me even though I felt hurt by the things that had happened surrounding our breakup. I wrote this song after that text and I guess I stopped pretending that I feel the same way all my friends feel and just said my truth.
Sulene, on “i still think you’re so fake”
The definition behind the EP’s title, he·don·ic, implies that the album as a whole relates to pleasant or unpleasant sensations, a theme that is present in the newest single. The topic of past heartbreak is never easy for an artist to revisit, and even harder to express through song. Sulene cites a painful and difficult process behind he·don·ic, but also a liberating aspect to exploring new music styles and providing closure. You can stream her newest single, “I still think you’re so fake” here on platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music.
On February 3rd, Brooklyn-based electronic rock artist White Cliffs (Rafe Cohan) released an endearing claymation music video accompanying his newest single, “Just Like You.” Garnering a lot of attention from fans to art enjoyers alike, the video is impressively mesmerizing and perfectly captures the feeling of imposter syndrome. The single kicks off the beginning of his upcoming EP, Stockholm, to be released February 19th.
The music video is directed, produced and edited by Rafe Cohan himself and features two clay creatures, identical except for color, that are constantly molding themselves into vibrant animations and dancing around each other. Previously having expressed his struggle with accepting his true self, Cohan created a perfect visual aid to his music and the message he wants to send.
I wrote the song about our playful and hypocritical struggle with accepting our true selves. And that struggle is just a part of pursuing a career as a musician… You’re constantly drawing this attention to your project, and in the process, you end up learning quite a bit about yourself, both good and bad. Usually, you experience some denial or imposter syndrome, but after time passes, you are left with acceptance.
Rafe Cohen, on the meaning behind “Just Like You”
With this track, the artist set out to challenge conformity and use unconventional means, such as a Roland organ/strings synthesizer that allowed him to experiment at the base level, the underlying chords. This idea alongside an unorthodox topic and video meshes together beautifully to create a sense of ease and nostalgia.
Peter Matthew Bauer, solo alternative/indie recording artist and founder of New York art-rock band, the Walkmen, shared his newest track “Mountains On Mountains” with Brooklyn Vegan to hype up and premiere. Also known for his solo tracks “Liberation! (Mexican Summer)” and “Mount Qaf (Divine Love),” Bauer founded his own record label/artist management company, Fortune Tellers, representing names such as Starcrawler, Liily, Matt Costa, Lushlife, Caveman, and Caroline Kingsbury.
This is the first track of my own that I’ve recorded and decided to release in a long time. I’m not entirely sure how to explain it: it’s a pretty dark song about certain types of people and memories fading away. But it also has this feeling of no expectations, so it leaves me with a sense of optimism and presence in the end. Nick Stumpf and I started recording it for a fundraiser for Fairfight around the elections. Later we decided to take this barebones live recording and make it into something more proper and special.
Peter Matthew Bauer on “Mountains on Mountains”
The track draws inspiration from his unconventional upbringing in a yoga cult. Also, it captures elements of Sufi mysticism and ideologies of western phenomenologist and Islamic scholar Henry Corbin, while simultaneously crediting nostalgia of the late 90s and early 00’s music age in New York City. This song is the first of many singles anticipated from Bauer. Originally it was written and organized to perform at festivals benefitting Fairfight, an organization that works to promote voting rights and equality in Georgia.
Stripped-back but also cinematic, perhaps referencing the mid-’00s NYC scene and where it stands now.
Six Degree Records has announced a new Witch Camps album, titled I’ve Forgotten Now Who I Used to Be, due for release on March 12th. The album is a collection of exceptional field recordings captured at Ghana’s “witch camps,” the isolated locations where women accused of witchcraft banded together to form a community. Premiered by the release of “Hatred Drove Me From My Home,” the album consists of a vocal/instrumental look into the lives and culture of women accused of witchcraft, held in the camps.
Belief in witchcraft is sometimes also used as simple scapegoating for the arrival of bad luck such as foul weather or illness. More commonly, it is a justification for pre-existing hate and prejudice. A member of my own family was driven out of her village in Malawi as a child after she was accused of being a witch due to having a white father— a fate that could have been my own if our places of birth were simply swapped.
Umuhoza Delli on persecution of women in Ghana
GRAMMY Award-winning producer and author Ian Brennan is taking the lead in producing this project alongside his wife, Italian-Rwandan film maker, author and photographer, Marilena Umuhoza Delli. The couple has dedicated their lives to providing a platform for marginalized and underrepresented voices. This project just another important opportunity to give a platform to those who need it.
Photo Credit: Marilena Umuhoza Delli
Consisting of 20 songs with beautiful vocals in regional dialect, and instruments created from the immediate environment, I’ve Forgotten Now Who I Used To Be is now available for preorder on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. Listening to the preview alone, it’s incredible to see what these talented women were able to create with objects like corn-husks, tree limbs, tin cans, teapots, and a balloon leftover from a political rally.
Six Degrees Records has shared “Love, Please” the second song to be released from I’ve Forgotten Now Who I Used to Be which arrives via Six Degrees Records on March 12.
Originally premiered on the Bonnaroo Virtual Roo-ality, Turkuaz played a set of Remain in Light alongside two Talking Heads members, Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew. Although the album came out in 1980, the legacy of the band and passion of the existing band members continues to carry on well into 2021.
Turkuaz Announce “Remain in Light” Shows with Talking Heads
Based in Brooklyn, Turkuaz is a band of nine members that strive to combine and perfectly balance harmonies of powerful voices, a variety of instrumentals, and an intense consonance incorporating elements from multiple genres.
Remain in Light and Talking Heads have been part of the soundtrack of our lives, and a huge inspiration to us as a band since day one. It was definitely unlike anything I had ever seen and is still unlike anything I have ever seen. It was right about the time we were starting this band. We wanted to cover their material as much as we could so we could get inside the arrangements and figure out what was going on—what made it feel that way and sound that way.
Dave Brandwein [ Turkuaz’s guitar/vocalist] on the collaboration with Talking Heads
Originally set to tour alongside Harrison and Belew in the summer of 2020, COVID-19 unfortunately interrupted their plans and derailed live music for the foreseeable future. Turkuaz’s “Ophidiophobia” had garnered a lot of excitement, having yet to be performed live, so it was added alongside the Remain in Light tour. As live concerts seem unlikely anytime soon and the band was itching to perform, Bonnaroo Virtual Roo-Ality offered them a chance to perform several setlists together to an adoring virtual audience.
The setlist consisted of “Psycho Killer” by Talking Heads, “Houses in Motion” by Talking Heads, “Ophidiophobia” by Turkuaz, followed by the final “Crosseyed and Painless” by Talking Heads. The chemistry between the band and Talking Heads members is evident in their performance and how perfectly they bounce off of each other’s vibe.
What a joy it is to be playing music with Adrian Belew again. Having recently produced music for Turkuaz, it was like I was introducing close friends who had never met. We all left the rehearsal very excited.
Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads on performing alongside the band
Singing-songwriting couple, Katya Diaz and Chris Hierro, combine artistic forces and sound to form Break Out the Crazy, their soulful band that prides itself on breaking genres and blurring the lines between them. The worldly couple is released their newest single, “Fool For You,” on January 29, a song that explores the theme of risking everything for love.
Katya Diaz has a lengthy background of touring internationally, both a singing and dancing background, for artists such as Passion Pit, Beyoncé, Alejandro Sanz, and Thalia. She worked as a vocalist for Snarky Puppy‘s Family Dinner DVD in which she sang background for Lalah Hathaway’s Grammy-winning live performance of “Something.” For the past five years, she’s shifted her sights onto songwriting, even writing the national commercial for JC Penny’s 2015 spring campaign and getting to work alongside acclaimed writers Itaal Shur and Stewart Matthewman.
Writing and producing Latin music from a young age, Chris Hierro has worked with many popular artists such as Leslie Grace, Eli Jas, and Prince Royce. He toured as a keyboardist and backup vocalist for some of Latin music’s most popular artists, including Jerry Rivera, Obie Bermudez, and Alejandro Sanz. One of his most noteworthy songwriting and producing achievements is reaching the #1 position of the Billboard Tropical Airplay Charts with the hit, “We Never Looking Back” featuring Toby Love.
Together, the recently married duo has composed singles in multiple genres and themes, ranging from soulful love songs to tropical pop songs made to dance to. Their newest single, “Fool For You” is accompanied by a powerful and hypnotic music video showcasing the couple’s passion for both their music and each other.
Old Fame, an indie rock band from Rochester today release their long-awaited single “Act II.” With strong influences of psychedelic post-rock and emo, the band follows up previous singles “Short Cub” and “Cumberland” with “Act II,” all part of their EP Nowhere to Be, to be released in the next few months.
Old Fame is Ben Armes (vocals, guitar), Doug Kelley (drums), Evan Clark (guitar), Jay Asarese (bass) and they’ve been a part of projects including Like Vintage, Alberto Alaska, Emulet, and Heavy Lies the Crown.
Due to the chaos of 2020 and the COVID-19 restrictions that shut down the band’s studio, the second half of Old Fame’s EP that was originally meant to be released in 2020, was pushed back to February 2021. With fans eager for the long-awaited conclusion to Nowhere to Be, Old Fame today share their latest, “Act II.”
Given the challenge to describe the track in one word, nostalgic comes to mind first. “Act II” brings the listener back to the days of owning a myspace profile or listening to 92.7. It’s a song full of emotion and passion one can only suppose was strengthened by the hardships of 2020.
Writing new songs gave us time to refocus on the world around us and incorporate our feelings in response to current events into the songs. We spent many weeks file sharing home-recorded demos back and forth until covid restrictions were temporarily lifted allowing us to safely rehearse and head into Wicked Squid Studios to record with Ian Fait & Josh Pettinger.
Doug Kelley
The build-up and flow of the song are impressive given the band’s smaller presence in the alt-rock community. The EP in its entirety showcases the band’s journey, as well as shows what they’re capable of, paving the way for future works to crush the scene.
Below, you can find the link to their newest song as well as explore their music in its entirety. If you’re a fan of alternative rock, they might be right up your alley.
PLUSH is an all-girl rock band comprised of four members, all under the age of 21, with a mission to embody the heart of rock and make a name for themselves in the music industry. With powerful vocals and a sound that holds true to the genre, the four girls set out to break the boring, repetitive mainstream culture and bring back classic rock.
If you’re a fan of The Voice, you might recognize the lead singer, Moriah Formica, a contestant back in 2017 who was affectionately referred to as “The Rock Goddess” by Miley Cyrus. Drummer Brooke Colucci, otherwise known as Rock Angel, is a well-established artist on social media, with acknowledgment from John Lennon, solidifying her talent and standing in the rock community.
Guitarist Bella Perron is a freshman at Berklee College of Music with an artsy presence on YouTube, regularly uploading impressive, drool-worthy guitar covers. Bassist Ashley Suppa ties the group together with beautiful bass backing, even being noticed by Ace Frehley of KISS.
The mission of PLUSH is to bring the heart of rock back to the mainstream with a new fresh spin on the sounds you already love. PLUSH hopes to inspire young women everywhere to follow their dreams, regardless of whatever challenges may lie in the way.
Moriah Formica
On January 18, 2021, PLUSH dropped a promo for their upcoming single, “Hate,” available to be pre-saved and expected to drop on Apple Music and Spotify. The excerpt shows how well the band flows together, as well as the emotion and passion each member brings to the table, leaving nothing to be desired. The song focuses on a topic relatable to many, wanting to hate someone who broke her heart. But being unable to forget the love she had for them, she hates that she still loves them.
On January 14th, 2021, The String Cheese Incident released a heartwarming cover of the Tony Rice classic “Old Train,” paying homage to the bluegrass legend and his untimely death. The tribute begins with a short and sweet message thanking Tony Rice for his “incredible gift of music,” and acts as a promise to carry Rice’s legacy onwards.
The String Cheese Incident performing
David Anthony Rice was born in Danville, Virginia, on June 8th, 1951, before moving across the country to Los Angelos, first introducing Rice to the concept of bluegrass. Through this move, he discovered his first big influences, guitarists Clarence White and the Kentucky Colonels, and his immense passion for music only grew stronger throughout his upbringing.
Tony Rice’s guitar playing shaped a generation of musicians. His impeccable tone, taste and timing were unmatched and highly regarded by players and listeners alike. We are very fortunate to have so many great recordings of his life’s work. If you haven’t had the pleasure of hearing him perform, check out the Tony Rice Unit and David Grisman Quintet albums. I recommend you start with the album “Manzanita.” We’ll never forget you, Tony!
Bill Nershi
He experienced his first big break when he moved back East to pursue playing professionally, joining iconic banjo player J.D. Crowe’s band, the New South, and releasing an album together in 1975; J.D. Crowe and the New South. This album was endlessly praised for its progressive sound in the bluegrass era, becoming so well-known among fans to where it was lovingly referred to as Rounder 0044, its record label catalogue number.
The young guitarist seemed to only get bigger and better, breaking boundaries in the music business. Joining Grisman’s Quintet in San Francisco allowed him to embrace experimentalism within his music, and establish himself as an iconic household name and a legendary guitarist.
New opportunities of collaborating with John Carlini, Ricky Skaggs, Norman Blake, and Bela Fleck ensured his growing success and recognition, tackling all sorts of musical boundaries before he was unfortunately required to stop singing in the mid-1990s due to muscle tension dysphonia, a condition which constricted the muscles around his voice box. Rice continued to play the guitar with unbridled passion and energy until 2013, when he developed lateral epicondylitis and played his iconic Martin D-28 for the last time to a public audience at the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame.
Tony Rice passed away on Christmas morning at the age of 69, his death first being announced by the International Bluegrass Music Association. The String Cheese Incident shortly followed up with a cover of his song, “Old Train” as a heartfelt goodbye to an inspiring guitarist.
It is with a heavy heart we say goodbye to one of the most iconic voices and musicians in bluegrass. David Anthony “Tony” Rice passed away, Dec. 25, at his home in Reidsville, NC. Few will ever match his skill and influence. Rest in Peace, Tony.
