UK artist Bentley Jones has experienced success that most independent artists can only dream of; +25 million YouTube views, +6.2 million artist sales, and remix credits for the likes of Britney Spears, will.i.am., Madonna, Calvin Harris, Taylor Swift – even Lady Gaga follows him on Twitter.
Debuting in Japan in 2009 his first single broke the Japanese Top 5 and his album was the first major Japanese album to be released by a British artist. Since then he has been independently successful around the world topping various charts, touring as well as composing scores for video-game franchises such as The X-Files, Tekken, Sonic the Hedgehog, Gradius and QQ Dance.
LINKS:
http://www.bentleyjones.com
http://www.facebook.com/BentleyJonesMusic
http://twitter.com/Bentley_Jones
http://www.youtube.com/BentleyJonesMusic
http://www.soundcloud.com/BentleyJones
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Claudio Conti – Old Clouds Fell
Claudio Conti is an Italian songwriter whose style is rooted in the same romantic pensiveness that marks the music of Tim Buckley, Nick Drake, Gene Clark. and Tim Hardin. Largely drawn to psychedelic music, folk rock, and 80’s indie rock, he considers Gram Parsons, The Doors, The Smiths and early R.E.M. as his main influences.
His new 14-track album ‘Garnet Dusk’ is a very ambitious and personal album with moods alternating between the chaotic experiences of a man in his early to mid-thirties, the solidification of his beliefs and worldview, including its flaws and qualities.
‘Garnet Dusk’ addresses such issues as migration and maturity – the product of deep thinking about the impervious, inevitable situations that life dishes up, usually not on a silver platter. This album was equally inspired by the sound of the ocean as by a woman’s departure. This is Conti’s attempt to explain unusual encounters like ships passing slowly in the night.
“This album is about the mysticism of love and rediscovered affection. The truth in children’s eyes and parents’ lack of consideration. And the frustrations, the illusions of flippancy that take us far from certain situations and on a detour towards the firmness of our insight, the channel of real life, where we find the life source that we really need,” says Claudio Conti.
Back in 2003-04, Conti self-released a sequence of home recordings called ‘Botticelli’, followed by the ‘Handmaids Skim The Marble’ EP in 2008 and the ‘Northern’ EP the following year. Having spent a significant amount of time in the UK and the United States, his various life experiences there allowed him to further shape his expressive-musical style and influences, resulting in the album ‘Every Forest Has Its Shadow’ (2012), which he fully wrote and then recorded with psychedelic folk rock band Magic Salad.
After a two-year hiatus, Conti split his time between Chicago, Los Angeles, and London last year, and decided to officially release his first solo album ‘Saltworks’ (recorded in 2013-14) with Seahorse Recordings and was very well received by Italian magazines and webzines.
This latest album ‘Garnet Dusk’ is like fire in the sky, lasting just a short while but holding your core intuitions – carpe diem. Then comes the night with its glorious shadows and blinding lights… a reel for the poets… a tryst for the unsatisfied.
“A sumptuous violin courtesy of Alessio De Vita immediately demands the full attention of the listener as Conti’s light, calming tones perfectly accompany. It magically refrains from upping the tempo and serves as an almost angelic call to the heavens”
– Louder Than War“Claudio Conti uses a folk scenario in which he weaves songs that you never get tired of – this is a pleasant and fluid earful… an inward-looking journey the artist leads us on discreetly”
– Rockit“Here unfolds a cherished and evocative dimension with swaying images of pure and luminous harmony”
– Music Map“Claudio interprets this genre uniquely, sneaking in races of British folk-rock under the influence of Jeff Buckley’s intimate vocal dynamics and the liquid atmosphere of a superb electric guitar”
– TempiDuri“You could easily become enveloped by the notes in Conti’s music or the genuineness of his vocals”
– Sound36 MagazineLINKS:
http://www.facebook.com/Claudio-Conti-1479110699037058
http://twitter.com/claudioconti70
http://soundcloud.com/claudio-conti-1981
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkwofKkFAABqlS_hjhcTpmA/videos
http://open.spotify.com/album/3qE7dqbAJTLmCSI7TgYbUs
http://itunes.apple.com/it/album/saltworks/id949723409
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=claudio+conti+saltworks
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/claudioconti -
The Swagger – Chin Up Boy
The Swagger returns with a vengeance in the form of their new video titled ‘Chin Up Boy’. The new single drops on October 18th. In the meantime, we get this slick and wonderful video that tells the story of a young boy taking that journey into manhood and dealing with the trials of life. The video is produced with the looks of a million dollars and perfectly encapsulates the meaning of the lyrics while keeping to the beat.
The song is one of those late summer slow anthems with a powerful hook and chord progression that defines the swagger of The Swagger and shows the world that they are here to stay. Brilliant music for the masses.
ABOUT THE SWAGGER
We are The Swagger – an original 4 piece British rock band from Hornsey, North London UK formed in March 2011. The band consists of two brothers Lee Stevens (Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar), Paul Stevens (Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals), originally playing small London pubs and clubs as The Mad Hatters UK, The Swagger was born in 2011.
With influences including The Beatles, The Kinks, The Who, Oasis, Ocean Colour Scene, and Stereophonics, The Swagger’s music is modern acoustic pop-rock with a catchy yet gritty aesthetic, combining melodic 60’s style harmonies and classic 90’s Britpop indie-alternative.
The band recently took a year out to re-group and are now back with a bang with their brand new single ‘Chin Up Boy’ released on the 18th October 2019 recorded at Ghost Town studios in North London with Producer Oliver McKiernan of (Echobelly) also The Swagger filming a very eye-catching video about bullying for the single Directed by Mat Green of MHG Music Videos which has got people talking.
The Swagger also recently toured with Cromm Fallon & The P200 around the West Coast of America playing shows in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Long Beach California, San Diego & Oceanside California which was a real success who gained a following in the States and received positive acclaim.
Previous single ‘Heart ‘N’ Soul’ which was released as a FREE Digital Download via Bandcamp in 2016 received rave reviews/press from around the globe – Ahead of this the band previewed their new video which features a surprising storyline and unexpected ending, cloaked in dark humor – a clever road trip with a twist, showing they have a true sense of irony. The Swagger recently played a SOLD OUT show in London @ The 02 Academy Islington for their single launch and have also given away a FREE download of brand new demo penned “Want It All” which has already got people talking.
Both singles recorded at Far Heath Studios in Northamptonshire UK, produced by The Swagger & Mike Bennett (Ian Brown, Neville Staple, Doctor & The Medics) and engineered, mixed & mastered by Angus Wallace (Wishbone Ash, Spiritualized, The Fall).
The Swagger debut EP was made up of four original tracks penned ‘She Gonna Blow My Mind’, ‘Stoned’, ‘Keep On Fighting’ & ‘Ride’ which caused quite a stir during their live performances and have captured peoples attention. Their eponymous debut EP self-released via Bandcamp limited edition of 100 CD each hand-numbered on July 22nd (2016), , recorded at the famous Konk studios owned by Ray & Dave Davies of The Kinks in North London and was produced by Graham Bonnar (Swervedriver / The Brian Jonestown Massacre), engineered by Josh Green (Madness, Robbie Williams, Franz Ferdinand) and was mixed & mastered by Pat Collier (The Vibrators) at Perry Vale Studios, South London.
The band originally recorded their first demos at Tigersonic Studios (Holloway, North London) in late 2015 with co-producer Felix Macintosh, and pretty soon found their way to Konk Studios in Hornsey, North London with Producer Graham Bonnar and guitar tech Brendan Quinn (Divisionists) who also helped shape their sound.
“I saw The Swagger in a local bar near Turnpike Lane. They came on and blew my head off. Live they have the same energy as the early punk bands,” explains Graham Bonnar. “Lee has written over a hundred songs and they all could be singles, so I offered to produce their debut EP. We got Pat Collier from The Vibrator’s fame to mix. Pat did a stellar job. We go way back as he also did Swervedriver’s first single “Son of Mustang Ford. I also brought in Brendan Quinn of Divisionist, who I played some shows with last year in Europe with Rosco and Pete Bassman from Spacemen 3”.
The band has supported Creation Records’ Hurricane #1, arranged through supporter Alan McGee, as well as Slydigs and Trampolene in addition to headlining The Cavern Club in Liverpool for the IPO Festival 2017, also headlining Bannerman’s Bar in Edinburgh and receiving positive acclaim by John Power (Cast/The La’s) at Brixton Jamm, London in 2014.
LINKS:
https://theswagger.bandcamp.com
https://facebook.com/theswaggerofficial
https://facebook.com/groups/theswaggermusic
https://twitter.com/theswaggermusic
https://instagram.com/theswaggermusic
https://musicglue.com/theswaggermusic -
Ben Walsh – She Gives Me Love
Ben Walsh is a rare kind of musician these days. Born and raised in the Australian beach-town-slash-hippie-enclave of Byron Bay, his long blond hair and flat-brimmed hat make him easy to identify as a music-maker. But perhaps nothing tells you as much about Walsh as his smile: a big, broad, toothy grin that seems to make his whole face open up. He smiles often and he smiles easy and talking to him, you get the sense that his facial muscles may actually be more comfortable smiling than they are at rest. He’s the kind of person where you feel like he could connect with anyone and form a true friendship within the first 5 minutes of talking to them – and as life so often imitates art, that’s exactly what he seeks to do with his music.
SOURCE: Official Bio
Photo by C.D. Hale.
LINKS:
http://benwalshofficial.com
https://www.instagram.com/benwalshmusic
https://twitter.com/benwalshmusic
https://facebook.com/iambenwalsh
https://youtube.com/benwalshmusic
https://music.apple.com/au/album/she-gives-me-love-single/1490064441
https://play.google.com/store/music/album/Ben_Walsh_She_Gives_Me_Love?id=Bdhad4rprh5uwdrn562gsumujue