On Friday, January 6, Annie in the Water released “Frozen Lake,” a song 369 days in the making, having been written on January 2nd, 2022.
The song’s genesis comes from keyboardist Matt Richards, who arrived home from a New Years Eve trip to Lake Placid with a few friends, and having been listening to indie artists like Snail Mail and Pinegrove, he was inspired to sit at his piano the moment he got home.
Richards explains the story behind the song:
This is about how over the summer of 2021 I went to Lake Placid with my then-girlfriend, and from the perspective of now being there again during the winter after we broke up, standing on the frozen lake, looking back at the docks where we were standing in the summer time, questioning the nature of our relationship and breakup.
Matt Richards, keys/vocals, Annie in the Water
Annie in the Water spent 2022 recording “Frozen Lake” mostly separately in their own creative spaces, rather than all together in the studio to try to give the tune a “bedroom” approach. When the recording was finished, the band had it mixed by recording engineer Corey Hayward in his self-made studio space.
The track released on January 6, 2023.
Annie in the Water recently also released Live at Artfarm, Vol. II, a collection of live versions of five songs recorded at Artfarm Recording in the Catskill Mountains. Most tracks on the live album were performed over the course of 2022, meant to highlight newer tracks that have yet to be featured on a studio release. Give a listen below.
Brooklyn based record label Razor-N-Tape has added 79.5, a disco-dj-dance band also out of Brooklyn, to their label. To celebrate, 79.5 came out with a thrilling single “Club Level” to rival their last instant-classic “Terrorize My Heart” from 2018.
79.5 is a six-piece band, and what sets them apart in the world of dance music is their woodwind section. With Izaak Mills on saxophone and flute, they can’t lose. His saxophone is reedy and penetrating, relieved by the strutting rhythm section — Andrew Raposo on Bass and Caito Sanchez on drums. Riding this superb beat is the hypnotic voice of Lola Adanna; she channels 80s disco with her breathy tone and echoing sound, it’s intoxicating. Kate Mattison, a singer-songwriter and composer created 79.5 back in 2010, with an imaginary radio station in mind for their band name.
The last big hit from 79.5, “Terrorize My Heart” found its way onto Q-tip’s DJ sets and Questlove’splaylists, their co-sign cementing the song’s place in the disco canon. If that’s any indication, “Club Level” will be taking over dance floors everywhere soon.
When you’re on the floor, lights flashing, inhibitions missing, “Club Level” is the perfect song to throw your head back to. Adanna’s sensual voice paired with sharp saxophone is thrilling, it’s a worthy addition to any New Year’s Eve party playlist, and I’m sure you’ll want to bring it into the new year as well.
On Wednesday, December 14th, Legacy Dumbo hosted Bronx Rapper A Boogie wit da Hoodie for a fan meet and greet. Fans were admitted into the event only after purchasing A Boogie’s new album Me VS Myself on CD and waiting in the line of over 600 fans. The wait was a small price to pay for meeting a 23-time platinum artist. During the event, A Boogie was singing along to the music, dancing, and posing for pictures with every fan that entered the room.
A Boogie has one more stop on his record store tour at DBS Sounds in Atlanta. In February, the Bronx Rapper will start his two-month world tour, where on March 4th, he will stop at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn to perform for his home city of New York.
Legacy Dumbo is no stranger to hosting top-tier celebrities like A Boogie. Just last week, they had producer Metro Boomin in the shop signing autographs for fans. Aside from being a celebrity hotspot, Legacy Records is a mellow place to shop for new and old records and, overall, have a great time. The store has multiple record players to test the product and a couch area to hang out and enjoy the music. It is always a good time at Legacy Dumbo.
Bad Mary, New York punk veterans and tight knit family band composed of lead singer Amanda Mac, her husband, father and professor, released a video EP for their A Very Bad Christmas — three punk rock takes on classic Christmas songs. Their covers of “Silent Night,” “Angels We Have Heard High” and “Little Drummer Boy” juxtapose Blondie, Joan Jett-esque vocals against traditional medieval illustrations in the three-part video EP. The EP will release on all streaming platforms December 6.
The band has animated medieval paintings of Mary and Jesus, children’s choirs, angels and little animals in little two-dimensional movements so they mouth the lyrics and move their hands to the beats of each song. The short videos are so well executed because the aesthetics are consistent through all the songs, and though it might be sacrilege, it’s undeniably funny to hear pop punk renditions of “Silent Night” come from little baby Jesus’ mouth.
In “Angels We Have Heard On High,” an angel with the voice of Amanda Mac flies down onto the scene while singing to toga-clad farmers, as goats and puppies hop around, like paper dolls. The angel’s halo spins and the hooves of the goats are heard in the background, overlaid onto the song.
“Silent Night” has Mary holding baby Jesus, and lovingly rocks him to sleep with a screaming rendition of the Christmas classic. Halfway through, Joseph and Mary suddenly acquire a pair of sick shades and baby Jesus starts to go absolutely crazy on the electric guitar, all while enveloped by a heavenly light. The children’s choir joins in with an occasional “Woo” and “Yeah!”
The band, Mike Staub on bass, Bill Mac on Drums and David Henderson on guitar, specializes in using music as a force to find humor in the mundanity of life. Where Christmas songs could be called repetitive and boring, either overtly religious or overtly ambivalent, Bad Mary confronts the silliness of Christmas time, and has fun with its traditions. The medieval scenes portrayed are full of frollicking creatures, chaotic dancing and a love of music. The accompanying EP will be released on all platforms December 6, pre-save here.
Whether you have spent the last week cheering on Morocco, Brazil or Argentina, Enisa caters to all World Cup fans in her latest single “Olè.” In the music video — which has already accrued over 20,000 views — Enisa dons the colors of three different teams, looking past rivalries in an ode to the camaraderie of the World Cup.
Enisa is a first generation American born and raised in Brooklyn. Her roots in NYC go deep, she attended Brooklyn College, where she honed in her sound: a beautiful combination of contemporary European and American pop, with some Balkan quirks. Her global approach to music in general is on display more illustratively than ever in “Olè,” which celebrates teams across continents and cultures.
Though “Olè” is an uplifting song, Enisa said she wrote it at a time when she was needing self-confidence and was looking for encouragement. When listening to lyrics, the song would be empowering to both the average person and a world-class soccer player, feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders while lining up for a penalty kick. The song inspires coalition and support, a relief from the pressures of life in the city.
“I wrote this song with the World Cup in mind as well,” Enisa said. “When I closed my eyes, I pictured people all around the world singing the chorus and shouting ‘Olè’.”
This single closes out an exciting and productive year for Enisa, who released her first seven song EP, Fake Love and three other singles in 2022. Listen to “Olè” here, and see the video before.
Buffalo-based indie singer-songwriter Marina Laurendi has released a stunning music video for the track “Stay Mine,” off of her EP of the same name that came out in August.
Marina Laurendi is a singer/songwriter and musician, originally from the Western New York area. She started performing as an actress, singer, and dancer at a young age. Her career in musical theater led her to NYC, where she performed around the East Coast and Off-Broadway. Her music takes influence from the pulse of the NYC scene and the calmness of her Western NY upbringing.
Since the release of her EP, she has garnered over 10,000 streams on Spotify, and she was recently a quarter-finalist in this year’s competition to open at the Hollywood Bowl. When talking about the track and accompanying video, Laurendi said it is about the longing to have beautiful shared experiences with someone that matches your personality.
I had this sense of restlessness when I was writing it like I was just dying to start filling my life with these crazy adventures that make you feel like you can be forever young and I think that translated into the song. When we’re performing it, I always visualize it like a scrapbook of amazing memories so with the video, Luke Haag, our director/videographer, really helped me hone in on the best way to convey that. The whole thing is snapshots of this relationship where we really see the good, bad, and the ugly. It’s a healthy mix of reality and this pipe dream of what could be.
Marina Laurendi
The music video shows an intimate portrait of the highs and lows of a relationship. It matches the song’s build-up, as the passion between the couple is met with growing tension and a darker side of the love is revealed. The song focuses on these perfect imperfections as Laurendi sings the opening line, “you’re my favorite headache.” An interesting part of the video is that some of the scenes were shot at multiple locations around Buffalo and the Niagara Falls area. Laurendi also channels old Hollywood and the sounds of Lana Del Rey and Phoebe Bridgers throughout.
Marina Laurendi showcases that she is here to make a splash in the industry and become the next star. She recently has performed at places like The Bitter End in NYC, Hard Rock Cafe in Niagara Falls, Nietzsche’s and Ironworks Buffalo, just to name a few. To stay up to date on new show announcements, go to her website.
16-year-old viral sensation Havanna Winter is lighting up this holiday season with her festive new single, “Daddy’s Kissing Santa Claus.” The track is accompanied by a hilariously outrageous Christmas video with an 80s-inspired twist. The video co-star’s Havanna alongside a great group of people including Guevara, Marsha Molinari, Vince Rossi, Jordan Xidas, and more.
“‘Daddy’s Kissing Santa Claus’ is such a fun song,” says Havanna Winter. “It’s chaotic and catchy, and it gets stuck in your head. I feel like it’s very relatable because most of us have experienced some Christmas gatherings that didn’t go as planned. I think that with all the serious things that have been going on in the world lately, people need a break from it, especially over the holidays, and to just be able to relax and have a laugh with some funny and happy vibes.”
Havanna Winter gained worldwide attention in 2020 with a series of hugely popular TikTok videos, she now has over 6 million followers across social media. Born in Norway but raised in Los Angeles, CA, the wildly talented musical artist, actress, and influencer gained popularity with a trio of singles released throughout 2022. Some of her most famous being “rain rain go away,” “Heaven To Me,” and “Hollywood Forever.”
The still-evolving young artist is determined to bring a similarly vivid and creative approach to modern Pop, infusing retro influences with forward-facing spirit to create something altogether her own.She has already released 3 singles this year with an album to come next year all guided by Executive Producer Maya K (Bebe Rexha, Anita, J Balvin).
Listen to more of Havanna Winter and “Daddy’s Kissing Santa Claus” by clicking the link here.
WonderFront Music Festival fulfilled a memorable weekend on Day 3, when the multi-genre event was brought back in action. On Sunday, November 20th, WonderFront pulled together an outstanding finale including headliners Cage The Elephant, GRAMMY-award winning artist Gwen Stefani and special guest SchoolBoy Q.
The comeback of WonderFront amped up the lineup since the covid outbreak in 2019 and overall executed a thrilling weekend, living up to high hopes and exceeding festival goer expectations.
Noah Cyrus, an American singer/songwriter began the first show of her 2022-2023 tour at the start of Day 3 of WonderFront. On this sunny Sunday afternoon, Noah, sister of well known Miley Cyrus, performed in San Diego’s very own Seaport Village. Glowing on stage, Cyrus sung from recent 2020 album release THE END OF EVERYTHING tracks “July,” “Lonely” and hit single “Again”(feat. XXXTENTACION).
Electronic dance duo by the stage name of HippieSabotage put on an electric performance at the CoorsLight stage. Brothers Kevin and Jeff Saurer performed one of many shows they’ve done in the SoCal city of San Diego. Best known for appealing dance/electronic music and top releases “Devil Eyes” and featured song “Habits(Stay High)” by indie artist Tove Lo.
To carry through Day 3, ThunderCat took the stage. His groove says it all with his flashy red bass guitar, yellow dreads and sparkling pants suit. Fans went wild when “Funny Thing” was played, one of his many viral hits.
Another memorable show on Sunday was returning DJ trio Cheat Codes. After covering them previously at The Westcott Theatre in Syracuse, Cheat Codes continue to appeal to their crowd, engaging with fans as lead singer Trevor Dahl jumps up on the rail guard shaking hands with show goers. Cheat Codes is well notable for hit singles “Sex” released in 2016, and “No Promises” (feat. Demi Lavato).
Headliner Cage The Elephant held a thrilling show on Sunday evening at the WonderFront Music and Arts Festival. Opening the show with their most well known releases from 2013 album Melophobia, “SpiderHead”. Lead singer of the rock band Matt Shultz makes the crowd go crazy for his erotic jumping, dancing and enthusiasm during his performance. Slamming down on stage with his guitarist, and coming out on stage wearing a memorable outfit of yellow striped pants, bedazzled shoes and leather coat.
Matt Shultz lead the band on quite the wild ride of the show, making it clear he loves what he does and does an outstanding job as lead vocalist for the alternative rock band. As part of their Night Running Tour, Cage The Elephant plays features from the album Social Cues, including the title track and “Black Madonna.” The band left quite the imprint on their fans Sunday evening and an amazing show to remember.
The release of WonderFront’s special guest took show goers by surprise when announced that rapper ScHoolboy Q was taking the stage. As one of raps emerging voices, ScHoolBoy Q began his music career in 2007, his first album Setbacks leading him into the spotlight, gaining a huge rise of attention that launched him into the rap community.
To wrap up the long weekend, Gwen Stefani went bananas for the fans and brought the crowd to a standing uproar, encouraging show goers to sing with her and chants “If I could escape” from fan favorite single “The Sweet Escape.” Stefani began her solo music career back in 2004 when releasing her first solo album “Love.Angel.Music.Baby.” Hit singles “Rich Girl,” “Hollaback Girl” and “The Sweet Escape” proved her to be a commercial success.
Gwen expressed her excitement to perform in San Diego as a solo star, continuing her growth and fame of her music career. Stefani blows her show to full extremes with a team of background dancers, live instruments and a dramatic outfit change from black to a yellow-checkered two-piece set. The pop star carried the energy through her show and sang a well-remembered encore of “HollaBack Girl.” The fans went bananas as they screamed “This shit goes bananas!” to conclude a fulfilling, memorable Day 3 of the notoriously fun WonderFront Music and Arts Festival, leaving show goers ecstatic and in high hopes for what the 2023 lineup will bring to the table.
NYC’s Mortal Prophets have released five singles ahead of their album, Me and The Devil, which is set for release on December 9. The songs – all covers – teeter between Leonard Cohen and Nick Cave, and bring something completely new to the table.
“Pretty Girl In The Pines” is an adaptation of the folk classic by Lead Belly and a famous performance of “Where Did You Sleep Last Night,” was covered during Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged concert. In the Mortal Prophet’s version, it starts as an eerier version of Lead Belly’s, but drops into German electronica house, then introduces searing electric guitar. This amalgamation of genre electrifies, aptly, some of the oldest songs in our American folk canon.
The stirring bluesy sound in these singles feels alive, because it is. In making this debut EP, Mortal Prophets’ lead John Beckmann sent his rough tracks to William Declan Lucey, an Irish producer and multi-instrumentalist and member of Rubyhorse. Beckmann entrusted Lucey with the task of adding or subtracting tracks from Beckmann’s raw files to the album, and this collaboration between the two artists led to some of the more surprising and exciting moments — Dana Colley’s saxophone on “Baby Please Don’t Go,” for one, gives the song transformative capacity.
There’s anger that’s jutting out behind gritted teeth in “Grinning In Your Face.” Beckmann gets to the core of the legendary Son House original. “It’s really a song of betrayal, and back stabbing, yet the musician rises above it all, and laughs in their faces, and continues his life undeterred. I think we can all relate to that on some level,” Beckmann said about his cover.
“Crossroad Blues” feels most like a Nick Cave song, gothic and earnest. Music writers say things like, “John Beckmann’s vocals shine on this record,” but Beckmann’s voice doesn’t “shine.” It’s totally matte, deep and dark, but with low opacity, like he’s singing through fangs bared — a voice that can be brutal, ravenous, in “Grinning In Your Face,” but here it is ultimately deeply mournful, loathing, that masculine kind of somber, you know, blue.
In December, Long Island-based alternative acoustic rock band, Phil Firetog Trio & Co. will close out the holiday season with a festive and heartwarming set at Beach Brewing Co. in Westhampton Beach, NY. Their first show at the brewery is on December 30, the perfect way to end the year. The show follows their newest holiday single, released today, that speaks directly to their home community, “Long Island Christmas Eve.”
Thanks to the musical talents of Phil Firetog Trio & Co — Firetog on lead vocals and guitar, Johnny “Pots” Potocnik on drums and Liam Gordon on bass — anyone can fulfill a secret desire to be from Long Island for the duration of the song. The tune is catchy, as most Christmas songs are engineered to be, so I’ve been singing it while home in Washington, D.C. for the holidays. This has been confusing, I’m sure, for family and friends.
Phil Firetog Trio & Co. have an indie-pop take on rock and roll, that feels nostalgic for decades past and, overall, spreads positive messages through chords. Their upcoming gigs come as they arrange and prepare material for 2023, so there is much to look forward to in the next year from the band, including two more shows at Westhampton beach Brewing Co. on January 21 and February 4.
Tickets to their show at Westhampton Beach Brewing Co. are on sale now on their site.
