Armies is a pop/rock duet and band hailing from Portland, Maine, led by songwriter, producer, guitarist and vocalist Dave Gutter and vocalist/songwriter Anna Lombard. Armies’ debut album was ranked as one of Rolling Stone Magazine’s “Top 15 Great Albums You Didn’t Hear in 2015” last December, just three months following its release. Fusing pop, rock, blues, and electronic music with intricate and spell-binding male/female duet vocals, Armies’ live show is a high energy mix of club beats, poignant songwriting with nuances of the blues.
Gutter’s genre-bending songwriting style has led to collaborations with David Bowie, Gramatik, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Eric Krasno, Aaron Neville, Griz, Carlos Santana, OHX, Soul Rebels, Res, Naughty by Nature, Funkmaster Flex, Imogen Heap, Spose, The Eels and Black Violin. Gutter’s song “Torture” as performed by Gramatik and Eric Krasno was used in the trailer for the award-winning Netflix Original series “Narcos” and in the Summit/ Lionsgate feature “Step it up: All in.”
SOURCE: Official Bio
LINKS:
http://wearearmies.com
https://www.facebook.com/armiesmusic
https://twitter.com/armiesmusic
https://www.instagram.com/wearearmies
https://soundcloud.com/armiesmusic
https://open.spotify.com/artist/6uenGiQw5fVInI2vHSd6cj
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Nova Flares – Gut Splinter
Nova Flares is the solo project of Jason Wagers, whose music as a solo artist cleverly combines shoegaze with neo-psychedelic and surf rock. Nova Flares is the solo project of Jason Wagers, whose music as a solo artist cleverly combines shoegaze with neo-psychedelic and surf rock. The result is mighty fine bedroom jangly surf pop packed with flowing dreamy harmony and charming, lo-fi goodness. This hypnotic guitar shimmer packs the magic punch intended.
Hailing from Berea, Kentucky, he moved to Louisville at 18 where he played in various bands until deciding to put out his own album under the name The Corridors. Writing, recording and producing all tracks in his apartment studio, Wagers released the debut album in April 2017, only to be crushed by a British record label claiming to represent a band by the same name, who demanded he cease using this name. By that time, Wagers was eager to start a solo project in a completely new direction, inevitably creating a very specific atmosphere in his new compositions.
This music is heavily influenced by neo-psychedelic bands of the 90’s through to those currently active, such as Black Market Karma, Mystic Braves, Holy Wave and The Brian Jonestown Massacre.
Jason Wagers has dubbed his sound “surfgaze”, the style borrowing gazey elements that can be traced back to My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Beach Fossils and The Jesus and Mary Chain, while also being influenced by surf and beach-goth-psych bands like The Growlers, La Luz, The Warlocks and the Allah-Las.
The bright, reactive sound of this music inspired the project’s name ‘Nova Flares’. A nova is an astronomical event causing the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently ‘new’ star that slowly fades from view. This involves an interaction between two stars and causes a flare up, which is perceived as a new entity that is much brighter than the stars involved. Ironically, this new project was also born from the destruction of The Corridors.
“The songs I create through Nova Flares are supposed to be very cinematic and capture memories and feelings from situations I’d experienced in my childhood and adult life, but these songs are also meant to be left open-ended so that the listener could have their own personal sensory experience as well,” says Jason Wagers.
Playing in bands and writing music since the age of 14, he eventually learned enough in the music sphere to start producing his own records, appreciative of the freedom and ability to record his own songs and release his own records. Growing beyond guitar to also bass guitar, drums, and piano and also dabbling with vocals over the years. His Nova Flares project provided the perfect opportunity to develop his skills even further.
“Nova Flares is my next step up as a project. I am more excited than ever to share my new music with the world! These songs are past experiences expressed through sound. Each song is applicable as a personal sonic memoir to the listener,” explains Wagers. “I imagined video sequences while recording every song for this project and, as a result, all of the songs sound very cinematic and picturesque.”
While ‘Gut Splinter’ will be released on March 9 via online stores and streaming platforms, it is already available for pre-order via Bandcamp.
SOURCE: Official Bio
LINKS:
http://www.novaflares.com
http://www.facebook.com/NovaFlaresMusic
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzWnmNOsho0FcVdC8xSLqbw/videos
http://www.instagram.com/novaflares
http://twitter.com/Nova_FlaresBand
http://novaflares.bandcamp.com -
Charlie Melrose – The Original Ghost
Touching upon the hook-laden electro grooves of Lady Gaga and Christine & The Queens, UK’s fast-rising art-pop/neo soul creator ‘Charlie Melrose’ delivers news of her single and video release.
‘The Original Ghost’ tackles her dad ‘ghosting’ her. Charlie was born into a musical family – her Auntie is 80’s music royalty, Hazel O’Connor (D-Days, Will You, Breaking Glass) and her father is Neil O’Connor. Throughout her childhood, her father would be away a great deal due to the requirements his career in music, especially while working with The Human League but as a child this was something Charlie says she found hard to deal with and didn’t really understand. In Charlie’s words ‘Instead of hating him, I just used to see him as this amazing person who kept leaving because I was probably rubbish… you know how children’s brains work?’
In the end, her father’s work took over and Charlie felt like she was totally dropped – which undeniably many daughters and sons would have an affinity with. Despite Charlie’s attempts to try and have a relationship with her father, he ended up cutting off contact and ‘Ghosting’ her. That is the backdrop to Charlie’s new single.
The story of their relationship both as a child and as an aspiring musician is a fascinating and heart-rending story. ‘The Original Ghost’ is Charlie’s attempt to come to terms with some of the confusion that affected her childhood and still burdens her today as an adult, her story as she explains resonates with many thousands of children who are now adults; the song’s lyrics combine both sadness and empowerment.
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/charliemelrosemusic
https://twitter.com/Charlie_Melrose
https://www.instagram.com/charliemelrose
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/the-original-ghost-single/1441276392
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0xPg9VQMYIHLCVxB0zHjNS?si=DunLQNBlTVywa-X43RX5qg -
Voice of Aiko – Prescription Dream
In collaboration with Voice of Aiko, Arts Council England, and charities REST, MIND & APRIL, Enya Belak Gupta unveils a powerful new film to help tackle the global prescription drug crisis. Prescription Dream is a slick and stylish documentary that illustrates with chilling insight the terrible impact prescription drugs can have. The tense, unnerving tone employed throughout represents the helplessness and confusion of dependency sufferers. The film was released online on Wednesday 17th October 2018 with the aim of generating cultural discourse around this pressing issue. Working with Stakk Media and partner charities, the Prescription Dream will be released with a weekly vlog series sharing people’s personal stories of their experiences with prescription drugs. Voice of Aiko is also running musical workshops with those affected as part of the campaign.
What drove us to launch this project was hearing the shocking statistics and stories about what potential harm medications prescribed by the doctor can cause and how easily this can be helped by us just talking about it more, allowing people to make informed choices. We hope that with this emotional song, Enya’s stunning video, the artistic workshops and the weekly vlog we can raise awareness on this very important subject.
For more information please visit:
http://benzoinfo.com
http://www.w-bad.org
http://www.april.org.uk
http://www.mindincamden.org.uk/resources/articles/minor-tranxDirected and Concept by Enya Belak Gupta
Starring Calista Kazuko
Director of Photography: Aadhar Gupta
Edited by Enya Belak Gupta
1st AD: Elena Osipova
Gaffer: Sam Robinson-Horley
Spark: Ana Ferreira De Lima
Camera Assistant: Philip Reinking
Makeup Designer: Esmeralda Velia
Styling and Production Design: Enya Belak Gupta & Calista Kazuko
Color Correction: Teleking, Ljubljana
Grader: Fran Sokolić
Executive Producer: Aadhar GuptaShot at Leman Locke Hotel in London.
Music by Calista Kazuko, Samim Winiger, Miguel Toro & Jack Brown
In collaboration with London based charity REST (MIND) who provides support for individuals who may be experiencing difficulties due to Benzodiazepine dependency.
SPECIAL THANKS:
- Melanie Davis
- Jason Harrington
- Millie Kieve
- Locke Hotels
- Zoran Mihailović
- Sam Robinson-Horley
- Samantha Sheridan
- Lorraine Solomons
- Heather Yeomans
- Pink&Green Colors
About Voice of Aiko
Voice of Aiko is a creative collective of musicians, filmmakers, and artists joining forces to campaign for real societal change. Aiko’s first project Prescription Dream sees founder Calista Kazuko collaborate with fellow musicians Samim, Miguel Toro, and Jack Brown and filmmaker Enya Belak Gupta to spotlight an ongoing global prescription drug epidemic. In England alone, there are an estimated 1.5 million people suffering from medically prescribed benzodiazepine dependency, and more than 1 million patients are taking dependence-forming drugs unnecessarily. Antidepressants are also a major problem, with statistics showing that roughly 50 Americans die from prescription painkiller overdoses every day. In partnership with charities REST, MIND & APRIL, Aiko’s Prescription Dream project will raise awareness and open dialogue on this devastating issue. The campaign includes a series of musical workshops with Let’s All Create which use art to help heal those who have been affected. Voice of Aiko is grateful to be supported with public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.SOURCE: Official Bio
LINKS:
https://twitter.com/VoiceofAiko
https://www.facebook.com/VoiceofAiko
https://www.instagram.com/VoiceofAiko
https://tinyurl.com/voiceofaiko-spotify