Ricky Montgomery performed to a sold-out crowd at Gramercy Theatre in NYC on Thursday, December 2. The rising indie-pop star put on an incredibly dynamic and entertaining performance for the passionate audience.
From the moment that Montgomery ran on stage up until the end of his three-song encore, the crowd at Gramercy Theatre matched his exuberant energy. The young crowd proudly held up homemade signs and loudly sang along to every song through their masks. When Montgomery instructed them to jump during a song, the floor shook under the force of the audience.
Montgomery hasn’t always had such a positive experience with his music. Taking a year off of music in 2018, the artist nearly called it quits entirely in 2020 after struggling to gain traction with his 2016 debut album. Luckily, TikTok worked its magic for the artist! His 2016 tracks, “Mr Loverman” and “Line Without a Hook” went viral on the platform and catapulted his career overnight. He quickly signed to Warner Records and has been garnering over 10M streams per week across his catalog ever since.
It’s clear that Montgomery is thankful for his career and the opportunity to perform for a dedicated fanbase. The artist met every shout of “I love you” with an acknowledgment and a thanks, even smiling for an extended period of time when a fan asked him to pose for a photo while on stage.
Montgomery has begun releasing new music under Warner Records, with his latest single “Sorry For Me” going viral, yet again. We look forward to watching Montgomery grow his career and release more incredible music.
Miles Francis captivated their late-night audience on Wednesday, October 6, at Baby’s All Right. Originally set to perform at 10 p.m., scheduling delays led to a slightly later start to the already late-night show. Despite the wait, the audience at Baby’s All Right was buzzing.
The New York City native lived up to their reputation as one of the best-kept secrets of the local music scene. The show began with Francis walking through the crowd and jumping on stage enveloped in a silver morph suit. An intrigued audience watched as Francis acted out hurriedly ending a phone call.
After quickly unzipping their morph suit, Francis and their supporting band jumped into an energetic opening number. Francis performed a carefully curated mix of their discography, making sure to perform their two latest releases, “Service” and “Popular.” With their effortless dancing and humorous stories rounding out the set, it’s clear that the stage is a second home for Francis.
Miles Francis is currently working on their debut album, set to release in late 2021. Listen to his latest single, “Popular” here.
Spencer Barnett, rising indie-pop genius from Brooklyn, has just released a new music video for his catchy single, “Dancing.” The video features groovy moves from Spencer and a unique color palette that makes it delightful to both the eyes and the ears.
“Dancing” is written and produced by Spencer Barnett alongside Jon Hill and Alessandro and Gianluca Buccellati [Arlo Parks, Tei Shi] and follows the release of Spencer’s dynamic Welcome To My Mind EP. Welcome To My Mind is the final part of Spencer’s three-part EP trilogy which came directly after debut EPs I’m Fine (“Waste My Time”) and Reckless (“17”). His first EPs gained him lots of attention from influential tastemakers such as Paper, V MAN, Ones to Watch, and Flaunt. They also led him to be included on the most coveted playlists on Spotify and Apple Music.
Welcome To My Mind blends soulful melodies, indie rock leads, and bedroom-inspired guitar riffs while keeping his youthful side through majestic lyrics. “Dancing” encapsulates the fun feeling of youth while incorporating mature musical and production skills. The video is a perfect next step for the up and coming indie artist that has an exciting future ahead of him.
Standing at only a mere 4 days old, “Chaos! Chaos! Chaos!” the new single from Arthur Moon has already amassed thousands of streams and landed on playlists alongside huge artists like The Japanese House, Sufjan Stevens, and St. Vincent. Before the mark of their one year anniversary, they earned themselves an NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert.
It’s clear this band is praised for their excellence, and their new single hits the mark the very same.
The Brooklyn avant-pop group, led by composer and singer Lora-Faye Åshuvud with collaborators Cale Hawkins, Martin D. Fowler, Dave Palazola and Aviva Jaye, released the single while announcing their new album to be released in the fall under the same name: “Chaos! Chaos! Chaos!“
And that’s just what the single is: a beautiful and haunting chaotic musical masterpiece. Boarding on the genres of indie and electropop with elements from jazz and a choral influence, Arthur Moon is able to seamlessly meld these opposing musical soundscapes in a captivating and genius way.
“Avant-pop group Arthur Moon are more than happy to deconstruct the conventions of typical pop music”
-Billboard Music
Not a single time during my first time listening through to the single did I know where the next note would land. Against dissonant to resolving vocals and piano vamping that explored multiple keys sometimes within the same measures, there was a sense of peace in the chaos. The droning electronic sounds complimented rather than clashed with the more organic instruments.
The vocals evolved from melodic singing to speak-singing with a metallic overlay, creating chaos in the mix. But never did the chaos not resolve, paving the way for a beautiful jazz piano solo overtop the synth drone.
Rather than staying in the confines of one genre, Arthur Moon seems to reconceptualize boxing artists into one genre over another. They explore so many different soundscapes that at one point, I scrapped the idea of attempting to label them as alt or pop, instead praising their ability to operate outside of anything I’ve ever heard before.
“Dump the heteronormativity and get on Arthur Moon’s wavelength instead”
-Refinery 29
“Chaos! Chaos! Chaos!,” sung by lead Ashuvud who identifies as queer, was released for Pride Month. The music video captures two queer women dancing alone together in the purple light, expressing themselves and their love unequivocally. Their music shows the same queering of pop, electronic, and experimental music. Ashuvud is not afraid to defy traditionalism, bringing a unique approach to timbre, melody, and rhythm throughout all of her pieces.
The unpredictable nature of Arthur Moon’s music alludes to a rejection of heteronormativity within music and a huge step towards the acceptance of queer music which is so very crucially important, particularly in a month honoring our LBGTQIA ancestors. Following the accolades from monumental influences in the music industry, including Billboard and NPR Music, it’s clear Arthur Moon is on the verge of blowing up. If you want to secure bragging rights of knowing their name and following their music before they’re the household name they’re bound to become, stream their new song asap!
Indie pop artist Jann Klose will take New York stages live following the release of his radio hit single “Love You The Most” and the gradual reopening of performance venues around the country.
On June 13, he will perform an in-person show at the beloved Tarrytown Music Hall. Additionally, fans interested in viewing the performance virtually are invited to stream the concert live online. On Friday, June 18, Klose will then be performing live from The Bitter End. The show will also be available to fans for live streaming beginning at 8:15 PM ET.
For tickets for Jann’s performance at Tarrytown Music Hall, 13 Main Street, Tarrytown NY, visit here.
The performance at The Bitter End, 147 Bleecker Street, downtown Manhattan, is open to patrons of all ages. Tickets are $15 per seat, and range from $60 to $90 per table, and are currently available for sale. Purchase tickets and find more information here.
The award-winning indie pop artist’s melodic single “Love You The Most” with Alicia Madison is gaining momentum on US Top 40 radio. The song rose from number 118 to number 58 on Mediabase’s charts after only six weeks of radio play. Meanwhile, the music videos for this romantic ballad’s English and Spanish versions have collectively accrued more than 4 million streams on YouTube and Spotify. In South Africa, where Jann grew up, his audience has reached an astonishing 27 million listeners on pop radio and is continuing to expand throughout New York and across the nation.
Jann Klose and Alicia Madison: “Love You The Most”
Jann’s passion for all things music is undying, and the pandemic certainly posed no qualms for him. The New York-based artist spent much of his time during quarantine writing music and discussing music writing with friends and colleagues via Zoom. To maintain a sense of community during such uncertain times, he created the “Making Sound with Jann Klose” podcast. In his podcast, Klose hosts Rock Hall inductees and chart-topping artists to discuss their creative processes, sources of inspiration, industry secrets, PR strategies, and all other things music. The podcast has frequently reached Apple’s Top Podcasts under the Music Interview category.
Listen to the “Making Sound with Jann Klose” podcast on Apple Music and watch the official English and Spanish music videos for “Love You The Most” below.
Brooklyn-based indie-pop artist Sulene, releases her twist on the famous Destiny’s Child song, “Say My Name”, following the release of her EP, he•don•ic.
Sulene was born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa but when she turned 19, she came to the U.S with plans to start her music career. In 2013, she graduated from Berklee College with a degree in film scoring and moved to Brooklyn and began to sing and write songs.
The following years consisted of her playing the guitar for Betty Who, Candy Hearts– now known as Best Ex, and for Nate Ruess of the band Fun. She’s performed on live television, her music has been featured on television shows and films. Her music has been a hit in clubs throughout the city and has made an impression on President Obama. In 2017 Sulene released her first solo EP titled, Strange— which she wrote in hotel rooms and tour buses.
On March 5, 2021, Sulene droppedhe•don•ic, which she wrote, produced and recorded in her apartment in Brooklyn. He•don•ic tells the story of her relationship with hedonism and addiction which was a difficult process for her. The dark and candid lyrics were accompanied by beats consisting of synths and guitars. The EP allowed her to express herself in a different way, and she kept that going with her new spin on Destiny Child’s “Say My Name.”
Sulene grew up listening to their music and admired it. She covered the hit song about two years ago during a live show but wanted to switch up its energy. With the pandemic putting a halt on live music shows, she decided to record the cover and release it. While her version slows down and strips away the beat and takes a chill route, the lyrics and emotions behind the song remain the same. Sulene’s cover of “Say My Name” is available on all streaming platforms along with a visualizer on Youtube.
NYC indie-pop artist, instrumentalist and visual artist, Gerald Slevin, releases his new single “Kiss to The Future” from his upcoming album Quantum Jitters.
Picture of Gerald Slevin from Infraredmag
“Kiss to The Future” is Slevin’s first single, with a message of unity and optimism during these uncertain times. His inspiration came from his 4-year-old daughter during a hike when he saw her look to the sky and blow a kiss. She told Slevin that she was blowing a kiss to the future and that touched him. That accidental yet wholesome moment resulted in the song’s creation in 15 minutes.
The song is the first step towards Slevin’s solo career after fronting Brooklyn’s artpop group,The Color Bars. They gained attention from their psychedelic performances filled with layered vocal arrangements and instrument swapping. Slevin aims to do different and new things with every creation resulting in the band exploring vocals, art and instruments. While most of the group’s recordings were done by him, any time he was around other musicians it pushed him to explore new sounds and learn new instruments and skills. His innovative and unique productions will not change in his solo endeavors.
What does feel different, though, is the promotion side of it. It’s very liberating to be able to put music out under my own name, as simply an artist in the world, without the complications of describing the music as coming from a ‘band’ or a ‘project’. Having done that for so long, it feels very empowering to be more straightforward about it all
Slevin is an NYC native, however he recently moved to Ithaca, NY which inspired him while creating his album. In Ithaca, he is surrounded by nature with gorges and waterfalls all around and tall pine trees on his street. “Great horned owls live in them and sometimes I stalk them in the middle of the night. It sounds weird, but these kinds of experiences almost always cause melodies to start playing in my head. I sing them into my phone so I don’t forget them, and eventually that turns into a song,” said Slevin. There was a major shift from living in the social, chaotic city to living Upstate filled with tranquility and focus.
“Kiss to the Future” releases everywhere on Feb. 12 and is accompanied by a colorful music video. As a visual artist, Slevin creates his own cover art. The visuals match the message about looking forward to the future. This single is Slevin’s debut as a solo artist and he is starting with a message about being actively optimistic. This is the beginning of his solo journey and a taste of what is to come from his album Quantum Jitters.
The Kind is Garneau’s fifth studio album and resonates with the themes present in his debut album Music For Tourists. This album was written and recorded during a rough time in his life when his father passed away. Garneau goes through the motions and expresses grief and transparency. It serves as a release of emotions and explores his relationship with his father, setting boundaries, growing into and accepting self, and resilience. With every song, you feel the authenticity in his lyrics and empathize with his journey. The Gay Times presented the record and acclaimed it as “beautifully haunting.”
Along with Garneau’s candid lyrics was the production coming from versatile musician Patrick Higgins. Their creative collaboration thrived through patience and understanding. The album was carefully crafted and made with the intent of staying true. Higgins respected the time Garneau needed to tap into his most artistic self, leading to every song’s completion before entering the studio. His mellow instrumentals complemented the mood of the words in each track. The beats didn’t overpower the words, it helped bring them to life.
Garneau announced that he’s playing a live-streamed release show in New York’s oldest theater, Hudson Hall Opera House, on Feb. 14. Higgins will join him and play the drums, bass, synth, and programming. They are performing the whole album onstage. The show will be airing at 3 p.m and tickets can be found on Dreamstage.
WOLF, an indie-pop artist from Queens, NY (aka Julia Wolf), released her first single of the new year, “Villain,” on January 14. As an up and coming singer-songwriter, WOLF has begun to experience the harsh realities of becoming a musical figure in today’s climate. While being a non-confrontational person, WOLF responded in the only way she knows how: “coming back bigger and fresher.”
WOLF began her career buildup at the end of 2019 from her bedroom. She released freestyles and snippets of her music via her social media platforms. WOLF curated lots of attention, turning the heads of new fans and industry professionals. This recognition led to millions of streams and hundreds of thousands of followers on both Spotify and Instagram in less than a year. Additionally, the heavy buzz has even allowed the release of her very own clothing line, Girls in Purgatory.
“Villain,” produced by Jackson Foote, is a tribute to the shy kids and to the ones that always over-accommodate. WOLF uses her signature 808s and the addition of a vintage guitar to create a mesmerizing tone. Her voice effortlessly blends with the beats she builds off of which adds a sense of groove to her music. The single holds an empowering message when looking to overcome adversity. One must always stay true to themselves, and if people want to make someone out to be the villain, then so be it.
As the world is trying to recover from drawbacks of the Coronavirus, WOLF is an inspiration to look out for. Her music provides an outlet of hope during these times of turmoil, similarly to the optimism of Ok Cowgirl. New motivation to start off the new year!
