Formed in Liverpool in 2016, Acadian Driftwood makes roots music for the digital age. The band draws on both Americana and their own British musical heritage to produce a diverse alchemy of rock, blues, country, and surrealism.
The band have already earned airplay and support from BBC Radio Merseyside’s Dave Monks and are winning an army of fans thanks to their presence on Liverpool’s vibrant music scene.
“The UK’s freshest purveyors of British Roots n roll, a uniquely British take on roots rocks it would be wrong to pigeon-hole Acadian Driftwood.”
Paul Osborne, Shindig Magazine“As soon as I heard them I had to play the tracks.”
Dave Monks, BBC“Influences shape music and they rarely come with more credibility…showing true potential, the songwriting is strong and the playing organic.”
Denis Parkinson, Liverpool Etc“Spirited melody and tranquil harmonies, although an expected contrast, combine with the lyrical darkness to create an amazing sound.”
Aimee Steven, The Back Door“This is not generic music that has been thrown off an assembly line; this is handcrafted music that has been handled with patience and care.”
Richard Bradshaw, The Culture Journal“Boasting a sea of talent among the three of them Acadian Driftwood delve deep into the roots of musical history, harnessing the best of country and blues and fusing it into modern day jams.”
Matthew Wood, Get Into This
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/acadiandriftwoodmusic
https://www.instagram.com/acadian_driftwood_
http://www.acadiandriftwood.co.uk
https://twitter.com/acadiandriftwud
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Minx – Love You, I
Minx is a female MC from the UK who’s been working back and forth between her native London and NYC, real name Madeline Dunbar, she’s an extremely talented rapper, singer and songwriter.
Having performed all around the world alongside some great artists including Billy Slaughter and the Stonelove Sound System (Ochio Rios, Jamaica) Ninja Man and Turbulance (St Mary’s, Jamaica), Aceyalone and MC Supernatural (Las Vegas) and performing on the CUNY university float for NYC pride.
She released her first project ‘Bars and B.L.T’s’ in 2016. This Mixtape was written and recorded in Yonkers, NYC. The title aptly chosen with regards to the number of big sandwiches she was eating whilst writing lyrics in old 50’s Diners, it comprised of classic 80’s and 90’s instrumentals that she made her own.
Since then she has been releasing singles with features from Mr. MFN and Genovese and has been working hard on lots of new material. Some of the work that includes features from an incredible talent like Innocent?, Oowop the Don, Shabaam Shadiq, Nutso, MC White Owl and Tragedy Khadafi.
As a live performer, she is exceptional. She will seduce you with sultry hooks then attack with big bars, all the while with her tongue firmly in cheek, taking you on a journey through Hip-Hop, humor and heart.
This is Minx’s latest release ‘Love You, I’ and it’s her take on the ups and downs of a modern relationship, think Lily Allen and Monie Love having a party with Lauryn Hill and you’re halfway there. This is the sound of a young woman with a lot to say and it’s her time to say it.
LINKS:
https://www.minx4music.com
https://www.facebook.com/minx4music
https://soundcloud.com/minx4music -
Courtney Farren – Nothing Like It
Singer/ songwriter Courtney Farren has announced her debut album ‘Nothing Like It’, which is being preceded by the title track of the same name. This six-track LP features guitar and piano songs recorded earlier in spring of this year.
Born and primarily raised in the San Francisco Bay area, Farren has made New York City her current home base. Having moved 12 times in childhood to various northern California locations created restless settlement patterns, which followed her into adulthood, having lived in four very different cities in 2017 alone – San Francisco, Palm Springs, Las Vegas, and now New York.
“What is a break up anyway? I was broken up, though, surely… Bad joke. I can’t speak for my ex’s feelings, but this album contains mine. I started seeing someone and I let it consume me in a few ways. One of those ways led to a lot of songs. I wrote this album over the past year,” explains Courtney Farren.
“I think this record is a good representation of what is to come in my music. I am constantly working and reworking my sound and style in order to best showcase my songs, and I am looking forward to sharing what is produced from those transformations along the way.”
Now that she lives in The Big Apple, Farren regularly plays shows, makes videos, and is finding her place in the local music scene. Upon moving to New York, she teamed up with Brett Sullivan of American Anymen, a good friend who was able to quickly help organize/book shows and make videos to support her pursuit of a career as an artist.
Courtney’s emotionally driven and heartfelt songwriting and performances lend themselves to her current live setup of guitar and vocals. While she is often very casual in the way she introduces her songs, when she sings, her words are fueled by honesty and a sense of urgency.
“Two tracks – ‘Right Now’ and ‘Hard To Tell’ – were actually both written on the same night about a night I ended up seeing my ex in New York last year before I ended up moving here,” explains Farren. “I wrote the title track ‘Nothing Like It’ after a particularly heart-wrenching week spent with this person. I realized that I was no longer ignorant to the feelings I had so recently only known from books and films. I started getting really interested in piano and keyboard shortly following this, and began writing songs more in the vein of ‘Someone’ and ‘Change Your Mind’, which I wrote a few days apart during a short stint living in Vegas.”
Often found carrying around a journal (or two or three) and always writing, she translates these recollections to her detailed accounts of her life and relationships in her songs. Nearly entirely focused on music and writing, she often manages to find time to watch cartoons and play the occasional video game with her brother.
Courtney Farren releases ‘Nothing Like It’ on October 6 and will be playing many live shows, both at home and in Europe, in support of this album, including a mini-tour with American Anymen and guest appearances by many talented artists along the way.
SOURCE: Official Bio
LINKS:
http://courtneyfarren.com
http://www.facebook.com/courtneyfarrenmusic
http://twitter.com/CourtneyFarren
http://www.soundcloud.com/courtneyfarrenmusic
http://www.youtube.com/user/h3ll0courtney/videos
http://www.instagram.com/courtneyfarrenmusic -
Beauty in Chaos ft. Kat Leon – Stranger (Holy Wars – Cruel World Mix)
Beauty in Chaos have teamed up with holy Wars’ Kat Leon and Nick Perez to come up with a completely different and sublimely beautiful reimaging of ‘Stranger’ from the ‘Out of Chaos Comes…’.
The video is a clear departure stylistically from the past videos of Beauty in Chaos. Featuring a more haunting and introverted visual, the video encapsulates with dark precision the mood of the new song, taking a dark turn from the original version in ways that almost hint ‘alternate universe’.
Not quite industrial, not quite darkwave, not quite post-modern, not quite dystopian, the Holy Wars Cruel World Mix of ‘Stranger’ rolls uphill to a dark crescendo with the bravado of original music and the swagger of legends.
Check out our Q & A with Michael Ciravolo, curator of all things beautiful and chaotic, about this new mix below.
How did you and Kat Leon come to work together?
I stumbled on Holy Wars after they opened up for a Schecter band… Papa Roach. I thought Kat had an amazing voice. I checked out a few of their videos on YouTube and just reached out. She and Nick came by and we hit it off well. They are nice, genuine and some of the hardest working people I have met in this business. After Michael Rozon and I did the music to what eventually became ‘Stranger’, I sent it to her and she poured her heart, soul and ‘story’ into the lyrics. It is my favorite track on ‘The Storm Before The Calm’, and I look forward to having her on the next record.
The new video seems to be an even bigger departure stylistically than the previous video. Is that a conscious decision and is the new remixes an influence on that?
I think if you look at all our BIC videos, I think you will see sort of that ‘pattern’. I strive for each video to be as different visually from its predecessor as possible. I had seen Fre’s work on a few Holy Wars’ videos and felt it was a perfect visual counterpart to Nick’s remix. With this in mind, I was happy that I could pull the ‘Temple Of Desire’ video together as quickly as we did as we needed to sit between this new ‘Stranger’ video and ‘A Kind Cruelty’. This new video is also as different visually as it is musically from the original version that closes out ‘The Storm Before The Calm’ vinyl.
Is the current album of remixes showing a hint at what the new album could be or may be?
I certainly love the ‘elements’ that the great and diverse cast of artists used in creating their individual remixes on ‘Out Of Chaos Comes…’. Not sure what of that will seep into the new album yet. I do know that I am looking forward to having both Kat Leon and Cinthya Hussey; who are a big part of this remix album, on what comes next. I think my off-the-cuff description of ‘Bauhaus meets Bjork’ is going to have to suffice…. for now 🙂 .
Check out our other features with Beauty in Chaos HERE.
ABOUT ‘STRANGER (HOLY WARS – CRUEL WORLD MIX)’
Beauty in Chaos announces the third video/single from their ‘Out Of Chaos Comes…’ album – ‘Stranger’ (Holy Wars -Cruel World Mix) featuring Kat Leon. This extreme sonic treatment to the original ‘Cocteau Twins-esque’ version that appears on ‘The Storm Before The Calm’ was created by Holy Wars guitarist Nick Perez.
BIC’s main-man Michael Ciravolo says “Since Beauty In Chaos is not a typical band, our videos are really the ‘face’ of BIC, I strive for each video to be different and as much of a 180-degree shift from the previous as possible! Fre’s video treatment on this video is certainly light years different than ‘Temple Of Desire’ so I can check that box! ‘Stanger’ is one of my favorite songs we have done. This was certainly a popular choice for many of the artists to remix, and I really love what Nick did with the song and his deconstructing approach, injecting sort of Massive Attack / ‘90s NIN sonics to it. As soon as I heard it, I knew it would be perfect for Fre’s editing style.”
Kat Leon adds “The reimagination of “Stranger” by Nick Perez (Holy Wars) is one of my favorites. I love how he restructured the song and made a new arrangement giving it an overall mechanical, dark, and industrial vibe. The music video for this track, edited by Fre Pacheco, compliments the song well with its intense and thought-provoking imagery. The idea to bury one’s self is the feeling in this video- using footage I previously shot waiting for the right track to showcase it and this remix of Stranger seemed to be a perfect fit. I would say the video for this remix was much of a remix itself using footage from my personal arsenal, footage from the original “Stranger” music video, and additional imagery bridging all worlds together.”
“The Cruel World remix is a dark cinematic interpretation of “Stranger”. The original piece was so lush and beautiful that it seemed it would be a great challenge to make it ugly and cold using heavy distortion, industrial elements, and tape”
Nick Perez (Holy Wars)CREDITS
‘Stranger’ written by Kat Leon, Michael Rozon, and Michael Ciravolo
Kat Leon; voice
Nick Perez: guitars, synths, and drum programming
Michael Ciravolo: guitars
Michael Rozon: pianoVIDEO CREDITS
Created and edited by Fre Pacheco (Flares and Glitches)
Additional footage by Erin Nahifeh and Arden Fisher
Drone footage by Leo Lesh
Original ‘Stranger’ video footage by Leslie Gladney and Eric ThirteenLINKS:
https://www.beautyinchaosmusic.com
https://www.facebook.com/beautyinchaosmusic
https://www.instagram.com/beauty.inchaos
https://twitter.com/MichaelCiravolo
https://www.beautyinchaosmusic.com/music-store
https://www.beautyinchaosmusic.com/bic-blog
https://soundcloud.com/33-3-music-collective
https://beautyinchaos.bandcamp.com