I love it when a guest in one of our exclusives is brutally honest and to the point. That’s the way the world should be. It cuts through the bullshit and things get done a lot faster and more proficiently. And today’s guest is a perfect example. That guest is Slug from Atmosphere. It’s that very honest, both with others and introspectively, that helped make Slug what he is today: A legend in the music industry and a founder of one of the most respected labels in that industry, namely Rhymesayers Entertainment.
Today I get to talk with Slug about the importance of being honest to one’s self, as well as their following. We also get in depth about ‘Mi Vida Local’ (My Local Life) and the meaning of the music and the process of making the album. We also get some updates of the Mi Vida Local Tour (tour information below) and the supporting acts.
Think of this more as a conversation with a true innovator.
Atmosphere on tour
US Hip-Hop legends Atmosphere return to Europe for the Mi Vida Local Tour. After extensively touring North America since the release of their ‘seventh’ album, Mi Vida Local, the kings of indie Hip-Hop will be coming across the pond for eight exclusive live shows this April.
Mi Vida Local has received extensive critical acclaim since its October release and showcases their innovative and defining style of Hip-Hop. With over 20 years in the game and such a phenomenal back catalog, Slug and Ant promise a run of unforgettable performances.
Main support for the Mi Vida Local Tour Europe will be from newer Rhymesayers signee deM atlaS off the back of his debut album Bad Actress, which was produced entirely by Ant (Atmosphere) and was also released October 2018. The innovative rapper/singer/crooner also released his spellbinding 5-song visual EP, “Bad Loves Company” in line with the album. Additional supporting artists include The Lioness and DJ Keezy.
Featured image credit: Dan Monick.
LINKS:
https://rse.lnk.to/MiVidaLocal
https://rhymesayers.com/artists/atmosphere
https://www.facebook.com/Atmosphere
https://twitter.com/atmosphere
https://www.instagram.com/atmosphere
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Jammerzine’s The Week in #Indie for 5/30/2022
Chuck Wright gives Jammerzine an exclusive interview for the release of his new album and project titled ‘Chuck Wright’s Sheltering Sky’. We also have an exclusive interview with Wallis Bird for her new album titled ‘Hands’. Also exclusive interviews with Chris Tavener, Alysia Kraft, and Kenny Dubman. Premieres and new albums/singles/videos from Sunstroke Rain, Roqy Tyraid, Kat Koan & the Lost Souls, and Sam Louis.
About Chuck Wright
Jammerzine has an exclusive interview with Chuck Wright. Chuck has released the debut eponymous album ‘Chuck Wright’s Sheltering Sky’, released via Cleopatra Records. And we have the privilege of getting an exclusive interview with the mind behind this music.
In this interview we talk about Chuck Wright’s Sheltering Sky as well as his other projects and passions, past and present. The album features over 40 guest musicians including Dream Theater keyboardist Derek Sherinian, Skid Row guitarist Scotti Hill, TSO/Sweet’s Joe Retta, Flotsam and Jetsam’s Ken Mary, Yngwie Malmsteen vocalist Jeff Scott Soto, Mr. Big drummer Pat Torpey, Lorelei, Whitney Tai, House Of Lords guitarist Lanny Cordola and more.
LINKS:
https://facebook.com/ChuckWrightOfficial
https://instagram.com/chuckwrightbass
https://twitter.com/chuckwrightbass
https://www.ultimatejamnight.com
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3n9oVvR7ONdsGYE99JQcut?si=w7FPrYlJTnSGlEaKaTjo9g
https://www.youtube.com/user/chuckwrightbassAbout Wallis Bird
Jammerzine has an exclusive interview with Wallis Bird. Wallis has released her long awaited new album titled ‘Hands’. To listen to ‘Hands’ is an event for the ears. You can get more of the story behind that in the interview. But to listen to an album recorded within and reflected of the times they were recorded in can be an introspective experience if done by the right artist.
Wallis is that type of artist, in my opinion. An already unique artist in her own right, her style and signature sound is expanded musically, lyrically, and socially. This is a timestamp for societal humanity as well as the times we are currently in, and, what I would call, a time-capsule album.
LINKS:
https://www.wallisbird.com
https://www.facebook.com/wallisbird
https://www.instagram.com/wallisbirdofficial
https://twitter.com/wallisbirdAbout Alysia Kraft
Jammerzine has an exclusive interview with Alysia Kraft as well as a first look of her new video titled ‘Hamilton Pool’, with both the single and video releasing today. Having already proven herself with Whippoorwill and The Patti Fiasco, Alysia breaks free on her own with a song dedicated to that perfect moment.
Subtle like an anthem yet sweet like finding that perfect someone, ‘Hamilton Pool’ is the best way to inspire listeners aspire anyone to have that form themselves: by placing that message within the actual feelings and moment that inspired the song itself.
LINKS:
https://www.helloiamalysiakraft.com
https://www.instagram.com/alysiakraft
https://www.facebook.com/helloiamalysiakraft
https://www.tiktok.com/@helloiamalysiakraftAbout Chris Tavener
Jammerzine has an exclusive interview with Chris Tavener. With his new EP titled ‘Easy Ways To Be Happy‘ recently released, we get an early preview of the process of making the album plus a glimpse of the musician behind the music.
In this interview, we talk with Chris about the songwriting process, writing with that bit of snark and social commentary lacking in most new music, and his future plans with his music.
LINKS:
https://www.christavener.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/ChrisTavener
https://twitter.com/ChrisTavener
https://shop.christavener.co.uk/shopAbout Kenny Dubman
Jammerzine has an exclusive interview with guitarist/songwriter Kenny Dubman. With the release of his new album titled ‘Conflicted’, we get a behind the scenes look at that new album plus what inspires Kenny and his songwriting process.
More a good conversation than an interview, we get the feel for the inspiration behind Kenny’s music and find out that he’s just as much an honest and good person as he is an astonishing musician.
LINKS:
http://www.kennydubman.com
https://www.facebook.com/ken.dubman
https://www.instagram.com/kennydubman/About Sunstroke Rain
Sunstroke Rain is set to drop her new album titled ‘Spark’ on June 11th. Sunstroke Rain delivers a fresh sound with ‘Spark’ that envisions diversity with sheer creativeness.
Powerful percussion lays a foundation of electro-hooks and that distinctive personality that Sunstroke conveys as an artist that loves what she does. A signature sound that sounds as distinctive as any example of original music.
LINKS:
https://www.sunstrokerain.com
https://www.facebook.com/sunstrokerain
https://www.instagram.com/sunstrokerainAbout Roqy Tyraid
Roqy Tyraid has released his new video for the track titled ‘Tyraid Tuesday 10’. With the lyrics sung subtle like an assault rifle, Roqy sounds off with beautiful rebellion and lyrics meant for kings within a track too short for most yet just right for all. This is how to utilize the mic. By getting the point across like a sonic Picasso. Take this to heart after filtering it through your mind.
LINKS:
https://song.link/gb/i/1619913768
https://roqytyraid.bandcamp.com
https://twitter.com/RoqyTYRAID
https://www.instagram.com/roqytyraid/
https://www.facebook.com/TheCultureIsBackAbout Kat Koan & the Lost Souls
Kat Koan & the Lost Souls have released their new video for the track titled ‘Fangs Out’, from the upcoming album ‘Cocoon’, dropping June 7th. As Kat explains, the song is a sonic ‘note to the self’, but I feel it’s more of a call to arms to the self.
That ‘get off your ass’ feeling brought on from the all-too-long lockdown. Call it what you will, the style is signature, with hints of the influences listed below, but filtered through that ‘katty’ litter we will all soon be familiar with. A snarky swagger permeates the track with each lyric and coincides with that lazy rebellion of the music. This is the attitude this decade should take.
LINKS:
https://www.instagram.com/katkoanmusic
https://katkoan.bandcamp.com
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCccTfc134JXLgjOdkqJ12LAAbout Sam Louis
Sam Louis has released his new single titled ‘No More Running’. A mix of decades come together in anthemic styles to coalesce in a melting pot of musical mental mastering. Heavy guitars accentuate an already powerful hook and pop sense of timing with a flawless set of vocals, and it all works.
A quasi mix of 90210 and OU812 come together in a form of originality and creativity rarely achieved but always acknowledged.
LINKS:
https://www.samlouis.com
https://www.facebook.com/SamLouisMusic
https://www.instagram.com/samlouismusic
https://twitter.com/gnocchibaby
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1ulTtPTKXPppYNOhdZCVy5?si=E7kgm8i7S4SZCmFTlPHsaA
https://www.youtube.com/c/SamLouisMusic
https://www.tiktok.com/@samlouismusicClick HERE to watch Season 8 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’.
Click HERE to watch Season 7 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’.
Click HERE to watch Season 6 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’.
Click HERE to watch Season 5 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’.
Click HERE to watch Season 4 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’.
Click HERE to watch Season 3 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’.
Click HERE to watch Season 2 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’.
Click HERE to watch Season 1 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’. -
K Michelle DuBois Premieres ‘Waves Break’ on Jammerzine (The Week in #Indie Segment)
Starting with a sonic mixture reminiscent of both Duran Duran and vintage The Police with a blissfully decedent assault of guitars and bass, K Michelle DuBois delivers an energetic juggernaut in the form of her new single titled ‘Waves Break’. The hook sneaks in like an army invading an unsuspecting country and just never lets up after. This song is pure power in the form of a pop song filled with caffeine and spitting our fire throughout.
As of June 28, 2019, ‘Waves Break’ is available at online stores, such as iTunes, and streaming platforms such as Spotify. Her 2018 ‘Harness’ album can also be obtained directly from the artist via Bandcamp, and her ‘Untold’ collaboration can be found via Lights That Change’s Bandcamp.
About K Michelle DuBois & ‘Waves Break’
Atlanta-based indie pop artist K Michelle DuBois presents an upbeat and fun summer single ‘Waves Break’. This is the first taste of her forthcoming album, which will be released later this year.“We fully went for a surfy new-wave vibe with layers of percussion. Waves Break began with a fascination with fearlessness in people (especially females) who love surfing, skateboarding or any sport where they get beat up and dive right back in,” says K Michelle Dubois.
“The lyrics evolved to be metaphorical as well as staying on topic while blending in double-meaning wordplay – ‘I keep you close to my chest’ and ‘you know where the shark’s prey’. The instrumentation of Waves Break has an early Duran Duran, Bowie, Gang of Four vibes.”
This new single follows up her third solo release ‘Harness’, as well as the singles ‘Wild Weed’, ‘Orchid’ and ‘Love and Only Love’. DuBois also recently collaborated with Wales-based post-punk dreampop artist Lights That Change on the single ‘Untold’.
While most of DuBois’ solo output intertwines classic power-pop with 90s college rock, ‘Harness’ boasts a heftier sonic tone than her previous album ‘Astral Heart’ (2016) with its bouncy rhythms, jangly guitars and sing-song charm.
Based in Atlanta, GA, Dubois’ counts Blondie’s ‘Autoamerican’ and Divinyls among her influences, along with Stevie Nicks, Roxy Music, Flaming Lips, Grandaddy, and Fever Ray. DuBois’s live band includes Chandler Rentz (drums), Jim Prible (bass), André Griffin (keys) and Dan Dixon (guitar), who also recorded, produced and mastered this album at RCDC studio in Atlanta.
K Michelle DuBois got into music very young, building harmonies to pass the time during the family’s frequent road trips. DuBois began writing her own material as a teenager in Nashville after receiving a bass guitar for Christmas. She crafted her early songs on bass, a Yamaha synthesizer and a drum machine in her parents’ four-track studio, but a flood of creative possibilities came upon discovering open-tuning on acoustic guitar, thereafter solidifying her commitment to songwriting.
After forming her first band Ultrababyfat and releasing ‘Silver Tones Smile’ (1998), the group’s infectious pop-punk sound garnered national attention, leading to opening slots for numerous noteworthy acts Pavement and PJ Harvey, and a 2001 stint on The Warped Tour as one of the few female-led bands showcased in the festival’s lineup.
After the band disbanded in 2005, DuBois formed Luigi to explore her more progressive, art-rock leanings. After seven years together and ample critical acclaim, she re-emerged as a solo artist under the tempered guidance of producer Ben Price at Studilaroche, releasing her debut album ‘Lux Capone’ in 2012. DuBois also contributes vocals for Atlanta-based dream-gaze collective Parsons Rocket Project.
LINKS:
http://www.kmichelledubois.com
https://www.facebook.com/KMichelleDuBoisMusic
https://www.twitter.com/kmichelledubois
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoQgGNlVSlwQhtWDpAAu44w
https://www.instagram.com/kshelldubois
https://squareup.com/store/kmd-projects
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2M8M9NxuEmOAaqlbEHN5LW?si=T_ffSKKLTJugWZUaS4bMLA
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/k-michelle-dubois/536605594 -
Black Needle Noise Releases ‘Seed of Evil’ Video ft. PIG a.k.a. Raymond Watts of KMFDM fame (The Week in #Indie Segment)
John Fryer, the globally recognized producer and curator of the project known as Black Needle Noise, has dropped his new video titled ‘Seed of Evil’ featuring <PIG> a.k.a. Raymond Watts of KMFDM fame. A contoured divide between the industrial overtone and gothic underpinnings, ‘Seed of Evil’ crosses that great divide into a darkly original mindset with grinding rhythm and a purely black chord progression.
The video adds to the musical mindfuck just short of epileptic orgasm designed to muse as much as it is to shock. Decadance now has a soundtrack.
‘Seed of Evil’ is out now, available digitally across online stores, such as Apple Music, and streaming platforms such as Spotify. It is also available directly from the artist via Bandcamp.
Check out our other articles about Black Needle Noise HERE.
Watch the full episode of The Week in #Indie HERE.
Click HERE to watch Season 6 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’.
Click HERE to watch Season 5 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’.
Click HERE to watch Season 4 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’.
Click HERE to watch Season 3 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’.
Click HERE to watch Season 2 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’.
Click HERE to watch Season 1 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’.ABOUT JOHN FRYER & ‘SEED OF EVIL’
John Fryer, the legendary producer, and artist in his own right unveils the latest offering from his Black Needle Noise project – the new video for ‘Seed of Evil’ with PIG, an unholy collaboration from two of the most celebrated and talented forces in industrial music.
Vocalist Raymond Watts‘ plows forth with a sinister growl over Fryer’s menacing atmospherics. The track’s foreboding lyrics speak of allowing evil to overcome one’s self.
Formed in the late 1980s, PIG has blazed quite a trail – not surprising with Raymond Watts has been a visible part of the industrial music scene as a founding member and lead singer with KMFDM through their most prolific and successful period (1984-2003), as well as Nine Inch Nails, Schaft, Schwein and Einstürzende Neubauten, among others.
Conceived and edited by Fryer and Joseph Seuferling of Psionic Broadcast, this dark and twisted visual escapade (a Psionic Broadcast and Black Needle Noise Production featuring actress Anjela Piccard) was filmed by John Fryer and Piccard (L.A.) and by PIG (London).
“Joseph Seuferling first came to my attention when I saw he had a film called ‘I Am God’ and BNN had not long just release a song with the same name. So I contacted Joseph and asked if he would like to meet next time he was in LA. Anjela & I went to meet with Joseph Seuferling at the Roosevelt Hotel and whilst we were talking, I asked him he would like to make a video for “Seed Of Evil”. He liked the song so he agreed to make a video. So Raymond shot his footage in London and Joseph got to work,” says John Fryer.
The 1st part of the video Joseph made and turned it into a trailer for the song and The World Tour Of Hollywood that Black Needle Noise was about to embark on. Joseph ran out of time to finish the video so I took over the editing to finish it. Anjela and I shot our footage here in LA and then I got to editing, making sure to keep the same style Joseph had set. Once I had finished it, I sent it to Joseph and he added some final touches. The result of all our hard work is quite amazing, even if I do say so myself.”
As one of the most innovative sonic architects of our age, “John Fryer has practically soundtracked your entire life” (Impose Magazine). His musical imprint is massive, having shaped the sound of bands from Nine Inch Nails and Cocteau Twins to HIM and Depeche Mode. He is also one of just two masterminds behind This Mortal Coil (along with Ivo Watts-Russell – not only producing but also keyboards, strings, and synthesizer sequencing).
“When John Fryer called, it was like cream was fed to my poison crop. I was thrilled to lend Satan’s little helping hand to Black Needle Noise. The result from this marriage made in hell was appropriately called ‘Seed of Evil’ … it pours out of me into the night, where the devil tries it nice and tight,” says Raymond Watts.
John Fryer adds: “After many a moon passing, we finally got to work together again. I had to find the right song for Raymond but I think we have a great noise-pop hit on our hands. It’s been a real pleasure working with Raymond on this and I can’t wait to hear it in the clubs.”
John Fryer started his career in 1979 at London’s Blackwing Studios (London) and soon began working with seminal bands on the 4AD, Mute, Rough Trade and Beggars Banquet record labels, including Depeche Mode, The Wolfgang Press, and Cocteau Twins. His achievement in helping develop the latter’s pioneering ethereal and ambient sound ultimately led Watts-Russell to recruit Fryer as his partner for This Mortal Coil.
A sense of expectation about his music has never left him – expectations he often exceeds from release to release, having produced many groundbreaking artists along the way, including Love and Rockets, Swans, HIM, Cradle of Filth, Clan of Xymox, Nitzer Ebb, Dead Can Dance, Yaz (Yazoo), Xmal Deutschland, Fields of the Nephilim, De/Vision, Stabbing Westward and many others. Over the past two decades, John Fryer has also produced several film soundtracks, including Seven, Clerks, Johnny Mnemonic, Mortal Kombat, Faust and Resident Evil: Apocalypse.
Featured image by Anjela Piccard.
CREDITS
- Music and all noises by John Fryer
- Lyrics by Raymond Watts
- Vocals by PIG
- Video shot by Anjela Piccard and John Fryer (L.A.) and by PIG (London)
- Styled by PIG, Anjela Piccard, and John Fryer
- Actress Anjela Piccard
- Concept/Editing by Joseph Seuferling & John Fryer
- A (Psionic Broadcast) & Black Needle Noise Production
LINKS:
https://www.blackneedlenoise.com
https://blackneedlenoise.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/BlackNeedleNoise
https://www.facebook.com/John.Fryer.Official
https://www.instagram.com/black_needle_noise
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTC_bNQDfUviTBDiBHYAiSg/videos
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3KkYK2dnIfRb9EDrCRndB6