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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Syteria – Revolution
Syteria premiered their video for “Revolution” from their debut album “Rant 0 Bot”. The video was directed by Andrew Staley, while the concept and production were created by Syteria’s vocalist Julia Calvo. Also on board are Drop D Films and Restless Focus, to augment guitarist/composer Jackie Chambers composition. Editing Guru Mike Brierley had the task of making it come together on the screen.
“The major corporations have had their say too long and the people are starting to fight back. Then from among the shadows, a hero is rising!” says Syteria.
Syteria is the stroppy offspring of British heavy metal rock band Girlschool with the talented lead guitarist Jackie Chambers leading the pack. Jackie has been lead guitarist of Girlschool since 1999, but when you are taking Syteria into account that is where the similarities stop. For those of you that were lucky enough to see their far to a quick tour of South East Asia or their Friday night UK headline gig in the V Lounge in Great Yarmouth, these girls and boys rock, but in a different more urgent way than Girlschool. The band is more Runaways/Joan Jett Solo than Iron Maiden or Saxon.
Syteria’s album Rant 0 Bot itself starts off with the anthemic “Revolution.” The video and song sound exactly as the title suggests, music to start a revolution too!
Cover photo by Yellow Mustang Photography.
Syteria is:
Jackie- Lead guitar and Backing Vocals
Julia- Lead Throat
Kiera- Bass guitar and vocals
Pablo- Drums and VocalsLINKS:
https://www.numberonemusic.com/syteria
https://www.facebook.com/syteriagirls
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxhTNvKJfLjHNV0FzdrIlCw/videos
http://syteria.co.uk -
LaRissa Vienna and the Strange – Haunted
Denver, CO based Alternative Rock Band LaRissa Vienna and the Strange has revealed the Official Music Video for their single, “Haunted,” off of their upcoming, debut LP Neptune VII, due out September 1st. “Haunted” was directed by Daniel Rachlitz and Demi Dehererra.
“I wrote Haunted” about the guilt of missing someone from your past. It is a song about the shame of desiring things you can’t have. For the music video, each band member has a storyline of what “haunts” them, whether it be relationships, alcohol abuse, or mental illness. Everyone has that one thing that haunts them, and in the music video, we wear it on our sleeves.”
– LaRissa ViennaInfluenced by David Bowie, Marilyn Manson and Shirley Temple (with a tattoo on her shoulder to match), LaRissa Vienna is a force to be reckoned with. Her somber, ghostly rock tunes will entrance you and run chills down your spine while the melodic, story-telling guitar mixed perfectly with the melancholy tones of her voice and the bass stays loyal to the hard-hitting drums.
Despite the soothing rock tones, LaRissa Vienna’s live show is nothing short of electric; despite standing only 4 feet 11 inches tall, her fiery energy demands the attention of every soul in the audience.
Starting out as a solo artist in 2008, LaRissa Vienna made her mark on the Denver music scene by writing and producing her own music, which she dubs “spooky rock.” Coming off of the local success of her 2015 and 2016 EPs, Strange Siren and Make the Pain Pretty respectively, and having had accumulated over 100,000 views on her “Underwater” music video within just a month of its release, Vienna is set to release her debut album, entitled Neptune VII” in September 2017.
There’s a definite camaraderie on the project, which finds her further honing her craft and establishing herself as a versatile artist within the rock realm, navigating the genre with grace and authority. Centering at its core around reconnecting with your inner child, the album’s lyrical content tackles the subject of facing the inevitable changes that come with growing older. Never shying away from autobiographical honesty, what results is arguably Vienna’s most personal project to date, embracing change and heartbreak as a natural course of life.
“The Strange” is Nick Workman – the lead guitarist with wild hair who has experience in every style. Aaron Mendoza on bass, influenced by The Cure and Coheed and Cambria, has experience in experimental bands and plays perfectly with the compelling drum styles of Luke Wolff. The classically-trained violinist Vanity Welch adds a perfect unique touch to the band.
LaRissa Vienna and the Strange intend to inspire and influence fans to be creative and express themselves by leading by example.
LINKS:
http://larissaviennamusic.com
http://facebook.com/larissaviennamusic
https://twitter.com/larissa_vienna
https://www.instagram.com/larissaviennastrange -
Spray – Anthologised By Cherry Red
British synth band and self-styled indie-pop chameleons Spray have announced their forthcoming single ‘Anthologised by Cherry Red’, which is slated for release on May 11.
Founded in 2001, Spray is comprised of Ricardo Autobahn (synthesizers) and Jenny McLaren (vocals, guitars), both formerly of the Cuban Boys, who took their chaotic technopunk to number 1 on the Festive 50 (twice), recorded one of the best Peel Sessions ever and went head-to-head with Sir Cliff Richard in a Christmas Chart Battle (but ultimately lost). Their hit single ‘Cognoscenti Vs Intelligentsia’ (a.k.a. ‘The Hamster Dance Song’) sold a million copies, reached number 4 in the UK single charts, landed them on Top of the Pops and, in the words of John Peel, was “the most requested song I’ve had since ‘God Save The Queen’.
In a mathematically constructed list presented by RockListMusic.co.uk, the Cuban Boys registered as the 30th most popular band in the history of the John Peel Show, ranking ahead of the Inspiral Carpets (31), The Cure (34), Nirvana and The Stone Roses (=tied at 35). BBC producer Mike Engles selected the Cuban Boys’ first Peel Session as one of his top 10 all-time favorites, alongside Nirvana, The Damned and Ivor Cutler.
‘Anthologised by Cherry Red’ came about after a chat Ricardo Autobahn had with a fellow musician. When asked what he was currently up to, he uttered the beautiful phrase “oh, I’m at that stage in my career where I’m being anthologized by Cherry Red”. A lot of Spray’s inspiration and ideas come from everyday comments and this went straight to the band notebook.
“The song is not a critique of Cherry Red as we’re actually big fans of the label. It’s more a straightforward story song about a fading rock band finding success in their twilight years,” says Jenny McLaren. “It’s also an observation about the state of the music industry. If the business is based on catalog reissues, where are the catalog reissues of the future going to come from?”
Spray’s music is influenced by Sparks, The Buggles, DEVO, Pet Shop Boys, the KLF, Chvrches, and The Big Moon.
“This is spiky, new-wave electronic pop with a sense of humor. But we take our sense of humor very seriously. We aim for big choruses and funny lyrics, disco beats, and deafening synths,” says Ricardo Autobahn. “We try and write songs about things that aren’t normally written about in pop. There are enough songs now about love and cars, we try and go beyond that”.
Following the demise of the Cuban Boys, Autobahn and McLaren formed Spray, turning their attention toward synthpop and releasing their debut album ‘Living In Neon’ in 2002 on U.S. indie label Ninthwave Media. This was followed by ‘Children Of A Laser God’ in 2006, which included their smash cover of Lisa Lougheed’s ‘Run With Us’ (also ‘The Raccoons’ theme song).
Spray was the secret weapon behind the UK’s 2006 Final at Eurovision for Daz Sampson ‘Teenage Life’, having written and produced it, as well as singing the treated vocals for that track. Ricardo Autobahn and Daz Sampson would also collaborate on a dance version of ‘Rhinestone Cowboy’ under the name Rikki and Daz, recording it with the legendary Glen Campbell himself and filming its expensive video in the Arizona desert. This track went top 10.
Spray also recorded a novelty track as the Barndance Boys called ‘Yippie I Oh’, which became a top 30 hit. Under the moniker, The Attery Squash, Ricardo’s track ‘DEVO Was Right About Everything’ was remixed by Devo themselves. More recently, Spray recorded music with anarchic BBC star Hacker T. Dog.
Ricardo Autobahn writes music for TV and radio, which can be heard from BBC4 to ITV2 and from Australia to the USA. He also plays keyboards with Welsh punk-pop legends Helen Love, also known for their collaboration with Joey Ramone.
Throughout all of this, the duo has continued to record their verbose off-kilter indie-disco synthpop. Later on this year, Spray will release their fifth studio album, whilst undertaking their first live shows. ‘Anthologised By Cherry Red’ is the first material to be released, reflecting the band’s archetypal sound – a celebration-of-all-things-pop tinged with cynicism, despair, and the band’s ironic humor.
Spray ‘Anthologised by Cherry Red’ will be released on May 11 across all the standard online music stores and streaming platforms.
LINKS:
http://www.facebook.com/spraynet
http://spray.bandcamp.com
http://www.twitter.com/spraypopmusic
http://www.instagram.com/spraypopmusic
http://www.youtube.com/user/spraynetdotcodotuk
http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/spray/5903199
http://open.spotify.com/artist/0lF1G9Lj5OsNKzBXmZWdcd?si=6XETlVr1RIenyJ0aYOvUTw
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spray_(band)