New York-based Australian chanteuse MAY releases her new single 'Ballerino.' Pulling influences of Nina Simone and Leonard Cohen through a prism of haunted soul, MAY’s heartbreaking vocal soothes before barrelling to a cinematic crescendo.
'Ballerino' is an ode to a Parisian moment lost in time and the struggle to reconcile past and present. Accompanied by a haunting music video featuring a choreographed ballet routine, the dancer's movements mirror the song's beauty and pain, where love and acceptance ultimately triumph.
'Ballerino,' is the first of several songs planned for release in 2017.
Swedish duo Smith & Thell have emerged as two of the most successful new songwriters and producers out of Sweden during the last year or two. They have over 20 gold and platinum records to their name for other artists, and over 200 million streams to date. Last year at the prestigious Denniz Pop Awards, they were awarded "Best New Artist” by their peers, a jury of the most successful Swedish writers led by the one and only Max Martin.
The pair have released two singles, in the leadup to their forthcoming debut album "Soulprints" to be globally released April 2017 through Playground Music Scandinavia AB. Listen to breakthrough single "Statue"
Listen to second single "Row"
Maria Jane Smith and Victor Thell, collectively known as Smith & Thell, met as teenagers at a local music event in their hometown of Helsingborg in Southern Sweden. Since then, they have spent their time establishing themselves as one of Sweden's most sought after songwriter and producer combos. They have contributed as writers on songs for major label artists that have combined to be streamed over 200,000,000 times (in Scandinavia alone).
After deciding to launch their own artist project, Smith & Thell, they submitted their original song “Statue” to be considered for Sweden’s prestigious Denniz Pop Awards. With a panel led by multi-platinum producer Max Martin, the jury selected Smith & Thell as the “2015 New Artist of The Year” which is the same honor that was given to international superstar Tove Lo in 2014.
”Statue" is a strong, hopeful anthem about ripping the metaphorical bandages off your emotional wounds and letting your real feelings out”. The duo chose to write about this subject matter for very personal reasons since at age 13, Maria tragically lost both her parents. "I wasn’t mentally ill, just heartbroken and sad. Reluctantly, I was medicated by all these doctors, but what I wanted and needed was therapy, understanding and human connection, not pills" she says. The songs message has already resonated with fans as the group receives messages daily thanking them for being so open and honest about the issue of “over prescribing” which millions of people are effected by all around the world. Their second single ”Row” was released worldwide on October 7th, 2016.
Like the band's namesake, their music moves in cycles and rhythms much like all humans and living creatures. Getting signals from external sources as well as inner cues, The Lunar Effect traverse the phases and phenomenon of existence with a blend of psychedelia and primal rock.
Jon Jefford describes it thusly,
“The album as a concept is really influenced by space, time and other worlds. We were very aware of this throughout the writing and recording sessions. Everything from the artwork and music to some of the lyrics has an extra-terrestrial feel, questioning who we are. It’s no Ziggy or Floyd but for us it definitely flowed, even the title Strange Lands. That was originally from a song that didn’t make the cut, but the name stands. “Waking up in a strange land, we’ve all done it.”
Vocals/Guitar/Piano/Harmonium - Jon Jefford
Guitar - Jim Harris
Bass - Mark Fuller
Drums - Daniel Jefford
'Strange Lands' can be streamed and purchased as a download via the band's Bandcamp page
There's a party in the hen house and feathers are flying with these crazy fun loving roosters. Who doesn't love hip-swinging music from a band that enjoys playing together so much it's contagious and starts a ruckus from the first song to the last. Warning: Side effects include uncontrollable giddiness, cravings for shots of Tequila, belly laughs and dance floor mayhem.
MFC Chicken is back in action with Colonel Spencer back from spending another well-dressed summer hidden deep within the Canadian Wilderness. The Chickens are ready to take Europe by storm with a new album and extended tour of Spain and the UK.
After debuting an expanded all-star DELUXE line up at Spring 2016's Hipsville Festival to great acclaim and significant excitement, MFC Chicken have taken this new and improved recipe into the studio for their latest and greatest album to date, GOIN' CHICKEN CRAZY. It keeps that same raw Chicken energy, humour and party vibe that you fans have all come to know and love while adding extra punch and power with a load of special guest talent.
In addition to the core line up of Spencer Evoy (Tenor Sax and Lead Vocals), Alberto Zioli (Lead guitar and vocals) Zig Criscuolo (Bass) and Ravi-Low Beer (Drums), the Deluxe line up includes Chuchi Malapersona (Oh! Gunquit) on baritone sax, Dan Criscuolo (The Fuzillis) on baritone guitar, Tim Harrison (The Caezars) on piano, as well as veteran Chickens The Reverend Parsley on guest keys and Fernando Terror sharing double lead vocals with Spencer on one of the albums' most lyrically inappropriate tunes.
In addition to their new album released in November 2016 on Dirty Water Records, MFC have more exciting poultry products in the pipe line. They've been in the studio with Sister Cookie, recording two more exciting tunes for their second collaborative single and, after an unforgettable performance backing up the legendary GARY US BONDS at the Surforama Festival in Spain, they're in the process of collaborating with the R&B legend for a brand new single. Stay tuned for updates!
My Sunday ritual starts with coffee, coffee, dash of baileys, recliner, headphones and Palmyra Delran's Trash-Pop Shindig on SiriusXM #21 followed by the walking encyclopaedia and spinner of the best R&R on the plant, Steven Van Zandt, and diggity dang doodle Chris Carter's British Invasion is a wealth of obscure tunes and insight. Anyhoo, I kept hearing these groovy retro grrls garage psych tunes and had to wrest myself from my recliner to get close to the device and see who it was making me shuffle and jimmy jam in my recliner and every time it was The Darts laying down some of the tastiest tunes I've heard in a very long time. The two Arizona desert gypsies, singer and keys player Nicole Laurenne, bassist and singer Christina Nunez and two LA streetwise vamps, drummer and singer Rikki Styxx, guitarist and singer Michelle Balderrama seemed destined to wreak havoc on the music scene, having formed just in 2016 they've melded like four spilt tubes of Gorilla glue with missing caps mixing it up with sticky grooves you have to peel off your ears.
Every song on their debut LP is a full onslaught of adrenaline released raw retro raunchy unadulterated shimmy and shaking rock and roll and if it doesn't have you swinging from a chandelier you probably need a defibrillator to shock you back to life.
Release Date: January 13th 2017 on Dirty Water Records. Put this record on your essential listening agenda. It will stick with you until your Best of 2017 List, Giddy up dang doodle!
“I’ve always wanted to an all-girl band, with bad ass girls that are awesome,” says singer Nicole Laurenne (who also plays keyboards) in The Darts. And the key there is “bad ass”. Because this ain’t elevator music. This band is more heavy and aggressive sounding than any of the ladies’ previous bands – which include ’60s garage revalists The Love Me Nots, Motobunny, Zero Zero (Nicole), The Two Tens, The Dollyrots, Thee Outta Sites (drumming singer Rikki Styxx), The Love Me Nots, Casual Encounters, The Madcaps (bassist/singer Christina Nunez), Brainspoon (guitarist/singer Michelle Balderrama).
Christina will tell you clearly that, “The Darts are a little dirtier and little angrier than what we’ve done before.” But one has to ask, if guys were playing like this would it still be describe as “aggressive”? Maybe not. What this is, basically, is just good ol’ fashioned rock’n’roll, a little rough around the edges (as all good rock’n’roll ought to be), with a certain old-school punk feel and, most of all, a good time vibe.
The band formed in early 2016 when, after watching each other’s bands from the sidelines for years, Arizona natives Nicole and Christina got the idea of writing some songs and making music together and recruited the other two members from down in Southern California. With six songs ready, Rikki and Michelle recorded their tracks in Los Angeles and then Nicole and Christina tracked their parts in Phoenix. Arizona producer Bob Hoag then masterfully stirred the mess together over a piping hot console resulting in masterful tunes full of garage riffs, girl-group harmonies, fuzz bass, Farfisa organ, pounding drum fills, and all-around lo-fi-turned-hi-fi goodness.
Their song “Take What I Need” powered its way into the rotation on Little Steven’s radio show, and proclaimed ‘Coolest Song in the World” and the band got a very glowing shout-out from Steven King via Twitter. After all that, they only played their first live show together in October 2016 and then signed to Dirty Water Records just a few short months later.
While The Darts offers a new creative outlet for the ladies, all are already seasoned musicians. Laurenne and Nunez are both veterans of the recently-disbanded Love Me Nots, Styxx has kept the beat with The Dollyrots and Balderrama is a member of the long-running Los Angeles band Brainspoon.
The Darts are about to begin a nationwide tour that’ll keep them on the road through January; after a bit of a break they’ll return to touring in March. The Darts are touring across the southern states of the US in January 2017 with Oakland’s all-girl rock duo Steel Cranes, and then will be poised to invade Europe on tour in May where they will kick your ass
JAN 14 PHOENIX Valley Bar
JAN 18 EL PASO Lowbrow Palace
JAN 19 SAN ANTONIO Limelight
JAN 20 AUSTIN The Blackheart
JAN 21 HOUSTON Notsuoh
JAN 22 NEW ORLEANS Siberia
JAN 23 AUBURN DeRailed
JAN 24 NASHVILLE Springwater
JAN 25 MEMPHIS DKDC
JAN 26 DALLAS Three Links
JAN 28 TUCSON Flycatcher
JAN 29 PHOENIX Rebel Lounge
