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
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Tiny Fighter – Tell Me
Swedish-Australian indie pop outfit Tiny Fighter have announced their new ‘Tell Me’ EP, to be released via Stockholm-based label Bay Terrace Records. Ahead of that, they are previewing the title track, which features stunning deadpan vocals from frontwoman Therese Karlsson.
The new EP was recorded and produced by legendary multi-Grammy, Gold & Platinum Award producer Thomas ‘Plec’ Johansson at The Panic Room in Skövde, a quiet country town in southern Sweden. This collaboration allowed them to further refine and push their sound.
On previous releases, they recorded in Los Angeles and Stockholm with Daniel Rejmer (Foals, Ben Frost, Girls Names), extending on the more melodic moments from their previous work with bands such as Fire to the Stars and Mid-State Orange.
Tiny Fighter offers an enticing mix of indie-rock and berserker chamber pop. Despite the staggering odds against them ever meeting, Therese Karlsson (a truck driver from Kalmar in southern Sweden) and Tim Spelman (a doctor from Melbourne, Australia) met in Stockholm and began collaborating in 2017. Tiny Fighter quickly expanded into a 5-piece with the addition of Tommy Wilen, Marcus Wallberg, and Robin Zimmermann, bringing all the dynamics and volume of their recorded material on to the stage.
“Tell Me is an appeal for clarity – both personally and politically – in a setting where distrust and ambiguity appear increasingly to dominate people’s relationships, both with each other and the broader world in general. It’s about exasperation, about a need for a simple, straight answer – tell me, yes or no,” says Therese Karlsson.
Tiny Fighter has quickly built a strong reputation for their stirring live performances and for their ability to tastefully mix catchy indie-pop with darker themes and arrangements. Sharon Van Etten, Catpower and Agnes Obel number among their influences, as d Gyllene Tider, Mitski, Veruca Salt and Kim Shatturk/The Muffs.
“After starting life as a duo, this is the first recording with a full band, and I think that’s reflected in the stronger, fuller sound compared to our earlier singles,” says Tim Spelman.
Based on the success with their first three singles ‘New Century’, ‘Want Friends’ and ‘Hollow Talk’, Tiny Fighter have grown from an artsy studio project to a full-fledged live band capable of selling out tours and filling larger music venues. Tiny Fighter completed a run of sold-out shows throughout Scandinavia and Europe in the summer of 2018, followed by a North American tour in November 2018.
Tiny Fighter will be returning to North America in May 2019 for a run of the east coast and Midwest dates. They kick things off on May 6 in Toronto for performances during Canadian Music Week.
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/tinyfighterz
https://tinyfighterz.bandcamp.com
https://twitter.com/TinyFighterz
https://www.instagram.com/tinyfighterz
https://www.youtube.com/c/tinyfighter
https://soundcloud.com/tinyfighter
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0TqpxHIKbhZJzcXreXDEvv
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/tiny-fighter/1338567635 -
KnightressM1 – Butterfly
KnightressM1 has released her video for the track titled ‘Butterfly’. That continuance for an original sound from an artist who knows what she wants to achieve creatively is evident throughout ‘Butterfly’. Emily Palen has that captivating resonance sonically and musically both as a musician and songwriter that most people try to emulate much less maintain as a part of the self.
‘Butterfly’ is the perfect introduction to this artist as it shows both of those qualities plus brings forth a massive hook and enhances her instrument of choice, the violin, into a realm that most are not used to hearing. This is brilliant.
The ‘Dreams and Devastation’ LP is available now across digital outlets such as Apple Music and streaming platforms such as Spotify.
About KnightressM1
San Francisco Bay Area outfit KnightressM1 presents their new single ‘Butterfly’, the first track on their debut album ‘Dreams and Devastation’, an ambitious concept album that explores both the emotional depths of personal transformation and the journey of cosmic awakening. Co-produced by Palen and esteemed producer John “Lou” Lousteau (Foo Fighters, Iggy Pop, Joan Jett), it was recorded at Foo Fighters’ acclaimed Studio 606 near LA.
The accompanying video sees frontwoman Emily Palen as executive producer/ artistic director, and Van Spronsen Productions / Shena van Spronsen as executive editor/ director of photography with videography by Nick Bellarosa and Evan Lanam.
“Butterfly is about coming to grips with our own personal power, owning that and not letting anyone take it away from us. With grace and compassion, we can walk through the world harnessing our ultimate potential which as creative beings is our greatest service to the world. Our society, in its dysfunctionality, survives in its exploitation by manipulating and leeching off of people who are in servitude to its demands. Once we own the birthrights of our power, creative potential, and joy they no longer control us. This is how we break the system,” says Emily Palen.
KnightressM1 also presents a new mini-documentary on the band (below), produced by Evan Lanam, where Palen is accompanied by Larry Boothroyd on bass and Chad Tasky on drums.
Formed in 2011 by violinist, vocalist, pianist, and composer Emily Palen with support from drummer Rob Ahlers (50FOOTWAVE, Kristin Hersh), KnightressM1 was joined by bassist Uriah Duffy (Whitesnake) for this studio album. Fueled by a deep-seated necessity to defy limitation, their heavy driving bass and rhythm are rounded out with lots of harmonic layering and beauty.
Earlier, the band presented singles ‘Lock & Key’ and ‘Polarity Integrate’. KnightressM1 is the sonic manifestation of Palen’s heart. Their music is fascinating in the integration of specific musical frequencies – the further Palen ventures in this sonic journey, the heavier and heavier the sound gets. The crushing intricate rhythm section blends harmoniously with her driving, searing electrified violin tone as the lead.
“This is also a tale of my own healing, songs that helped me to get through impossible places. Music that saved my life. Everything that I have ever been through, every person I loved, lost, gained; every abandoned heartbreak, every dagger’s edge now makes sense in the context of this album. It was all so I could write these songs and experience the power of being within my own authenticity,” says Emily Palen.
“Music has always lifted me into an untouchable space, even when everything around me is breaking, when I am in unbearable soul pain, beyond what I myself can repair, the music takes that pain and morphs it into beauty and power. When I’m completely honest with the music, it alchemizes the deepest sadness and betrayal into an unbreakable strength and love. We become greater because of the life we have lived, not in spite of it.”
The embodiment of musical manifestations, KnightressM1 is based on the thematic concept of a female galactic warrior, who comes to Earth to bring justice, hunt corruption, and restore the truth. Within universal language, M1 is code for unity. This is her identifier. Her frequency. KnightressM1 (KM1) is the vessel through which Palen creates and shares her unique contributions to what is more commonly known here on earth as the music industry.
Palen is a classically-trained virtuoso who has spent her life mastering violin, piano, singing, and composition. As a young adult, she began exploring the concept of transmitting consciousness through improvisation. Emily explored this power through sacred solfeggio in the steadfast belief that these specific audio tones have transformative power.
Since releasing her first solo violin improv album ‘Glass ~ Live at Grace Cathedral’ in 2012 and ‘Creation’ a year later, she’s become a sponsored artist with Engl Amps, a crucial part of KM1’s tone, and has played or recorded with Foo Fighters, Eric McFadden and Gretchen Menn, among others, both as a live performer and a compositional recording artist, Earlier, she became a finalist in the ‘My Grammy Moment’ competition and played live with an orchestra at the Grammys, conducted by John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin).
LINKS:
https://www.knightressm1.com
https://www.facebook.com/knightressm1
https://www.instagram.com/knightressm1_band
https://youtube.com/emilypalen
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1rTKwDlXBNJnuOvmUhEQVy
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/knightressm1/id941125533 -
American Anymen – Flag Burner
NYC-based anti-folk punk outfit American Anymen has announced they will release their new EP in mid-September. Called ‘Flag Burner’, this release addresses multiple contentious aspects of today’s governance and society, and the corrupt situation prevalent today in the echelons of power.
This is the band’s 12th album, following up on the band’s ‘Start My Center’ LP, which was produced by Jen Turner (Natalie Merchant, Here We Go Magic), also known for her involvement in recording Swans’ ‘The Glowing Man’. The band also recently explored their softer side on the recently-released ‘Oui’ EP, which entailed a collaboration with French songstress Lise. Both releases were critically acclaimed.
American Anymen was created in 1999 in NYC’s Lower East Side. With an unconventional approach to guitar, their sound is an eclectic mix of folk punk with indie rock and old-school hip-hop. With singer/songwriter and guitarist Brett Sullivan as its core, American Anymen’s current lineup also includes Joey Patches (drums and vocals), Scott Fragala (bass and keyboards), and Jen Turner (guitar and vocals).
Unique to American Anymen is the band’s strong political and ethical importance. While previous releases explore such issues as the downside of globalization, social injustice, police brutality, corruption and inequity, The new American Anymen release is their response to what has become known as Trump’s America.
“Flag Burner is a reaction to the fascist in the White House,” says American Anymen’s Brett Sullivan. “It was written with the idea that messages being subtly delivered in poetic lyrics were simply not enough in a Trump America. So the songs are blunt and literal. We have to speak out against these people, and the culture and rhetoric they promote. Locker room talk should not be their norm.”
‘Flag Burner’ is out as of September 15 and is available to stream from American Anymen’s Bandcamp.
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/americananymen
http://americananymen.bandcamp.com
https://twitter.com/americananymen