Growing up in Bridgeport, Ohio, Clemont fell in love with music through the influence of her father, a guitar player who always had music playing in the house. Being surrounded by stacks of records from a young age gave her a deep appreciation for the rhythm and soul of music that would set the foundation for her pursuit as an artist.
Living in a small town, she always felt like an outsider—more often staying home recording demos on her karaoke machine than going out. These early recordings eventually blossomed into what would be her first official EP, ‘In The Beginning’, produced by Jesty from Holy Mattress Money.
As an artist, Clemont sees herself somewhere between the sugary whimsy of Doja Cat and the blue wave laid back charm of Mac DeMarco; earning her the reputation of being equal parts dance-ready and heartfelt at the same time.
The ‘In The Beginning’ EP marks her transition from bedroom pop hopeful, to a deep pop R&B goddess—growing as a songwriter by drawing on familiar influences while taking bold new steps that hit all the right keys.
She gets inspiration from every facet of life whether it’s the good, the bad, looking at the past, or contemplating the future, closing chapters, or starting new ones. Kate Clemont likes to share time between her hometown and her sweet new spot in West LA where she retreats every year. In The Beginning is out now on Declared Major records, available on all major platforms.
Sunset was written during an odd time in my life. I was adjusting to a new chapter, going through the motions of anxiety and depression, swapping and trying different antidepressants, and generally going through a bit of a rough and stressful patch.
During this period of time, I became really reminiscent of my past, which was a happier time for me. It was something that I held onto to remind myself that I was in love with life once- which really gave me the strength to push through my hard times because I knew that I could, and would, feel that way again.
With this song, I wanted to paint a picture of appreciating simplicity during hard times. When life gets crazy, sometimes we need to step away, take a deep breath, and do something blissfully simple like sitting on a roof and watching the sunset.
This EP is really special to me. Music has been the core of my existence since as early as I can remember. It all started when my parents bought me a keyboard when I was little. I taught myself to play by ear, and would always make little songs and skits to perform for my family.
As I grew up and life began to change, I used music to cope. When I couldn’t make sense of my feelings or the things I was going through, good or bad, I would put that strange energy into a song. Turning my hardships and emotions into art was, and still is, beautiful to me.
Sharing my music with others made me feel extremely nervous and vulnerable at first, and although I still get that feeling from time to time, it ultimately makes me feel strong and proud of my work. The songs on this EP are short stories of my life. They’re like little pieces of me that set the stage and help to describe the person I am today. They detail what I consider to be the highest of highs and the lowest of lows of my journey through life.
LINKS:
https://callmeclemont.com
https://clemont.bandcamp.com
https://ffm.to/sunset1
https://ffm.to/sunsetremix
https://www.instagram.com/callmeclemont
https://www.facebook.com/callmeclemont
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Your 33 Black Angels – Hott Funn
Your 33 Black Angels (a.k.a. Y33BA) has announced their new album ‘Eternities I’, which is their seventh long-play to date, to be released in early May. Ahead of that, they are previewing the lead track ‘Hott Funn’.
Recorded over three years and more than 60 studio days with endless mixes in the making, ‘Eternities I’ is 13 tracks that are built to stand as the culmination of Y33BA’s labors.
Based out of New York City, Y33BA is a long-running noise-pop freakshow. This genre-defying project has its own stamp of dark pop, electro-paisley new wave space rock, with a dose of crunk bass and rhythm. They produce elegant vibrant melodies with strange, novel sounds. This is the New Age underground for the End Times.
How do a group that has danced around sensibilities and sounds refresh the template? More cutting-edge instruments and riskier, avant-garde pop songs than ever. Imagine Madchester, and imagine dream pop meets Aphex Twin. Imagine the bastard child of Arthur Russell, Rain Parade and Rza and add original 21st century sound design and guitar webs.
This is a radical, angry, watermark record. Designed to embrace and rattle against the times. Combining haute popcraft with touches of the undercurrents of our lives–acid house, Paisley Underground, synth wave, field recordings, minimal electronica and epic RAWK.
As well, the Y33BA wordsmiths have always been equal part poetry fans as lyricists, so the Poesia Concreta of Augusto de Campos or Guillaume Apollonaire may have as much influence as wonderful lyricists like Neil Hannon, Bjork or Serge Gainsbourg. Breaking rhythms and broken meter match the polarized sounds from start to finish.
Formed in 2003, Y33BA debuted with the album ‘Lonely Street’ in 2007, which was a vinyl-only limited edition. Once the initial pressings sold out, Y33BA released the album on CD and digitally. They followed up with ‘Tales of my Pop-Rock Love Life’ (2008), ‘Pagan Princess’ (2009), ‘Songs from the Near Bleak Future’ (Optical Sounds, 2010), ‘Moon and Morning Star’ ( Optical Sounds, 2012) and ‘Glamour’ (2015).
In that time, they have played over 500 shows across Europe and North America, sharing the stage with some rather fine acts during recent tours. The Monochrome Set selected Y33BA as the direct support act for its first New York City show in 30 years. La Femme, The Veldt and Dyr Faser have toured or shared many nights with the group. The band has also played with King Tuff, Blitzen Trapper, Suuns, Six Organs of Admittance, Blonde Elvis, B-17 and We Melt Chocolate.
The video for ‘Hott Funn’ was made by Richie of Vinyl Villains. “Richie is a mysterious Bushwick programmer that doesn’t leave his loft til the light has disappeared and the day has turned to dark. He is part vampire, part design whiz. He has invented an automated animation program that turns songs into aliens, furry creatures, whatever the sound seems to suggest. Obviously, Your 33 Black Angels has a very alien sound, but he might have horses singing to Neil Young, vegan cupcakes singing Fiona Apple, dolphins singing Supergrass, etc. Richie is so ineffable and distant, we don’t even know his last name. All we know is he commands legions of aliens, faeries, and elves. Literally, that’s what he does!”
Y33BA ‘Eternities I’ is slated for release on May 7 and will be available across digital stores and streaming platforms. It can also be pre-ordered via Bandcamp. The band’s album release show will take place on May 10 at Alphaville in Brooklyn.
“A delight of jangling guitars, spacey-sweet vocals, and electronic squiggles, a psych record rooted in beat-pop and experimentalism”
– Village Voice (on ‘Glamour’)“One of this year’s treasures… is worth the hunt for its pop-wise rattle (Pavement with a case of the Strokes) and singer Josh Westfal’s resemblance, in dry, frank voice and cautious optimism, to another local institution: Lou Reed on the Velvet Underground’s fourth album, Loaded”
– Rolling Stone (On ‘Lonely Street’)“This is dark electric frenzied New Wave space-rock, blasting by like a fiery and unexpected sonic guest, clearly defying genres and interacting with cosmic messengers”
– Big Takeover Magazine“Retro-leaning, though hardly flower pop fetishists… pacey keyboard textures and groove-oriented arrangements, while their penchant for laid-back Daniel Johnston vocals and warbly lo-fi riffs more closely resembles the classic college rock of Pavement and Built to Spill”
– NOW Toronto (On ‘Songs from the Near Bleak Future’)“Your 33 Black Angels are known for frenetic, unpredictable shows. the interlocking guitars sometimes surged into what seemed like an eternal groove”
– Washington Post (live review)LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/your33blackangels
https://y33ba.bandcamp.com
https://twitter.com/y33ba
https://www.instagram.com/y33ba
https://soundcloud.com/y33ba
https://itunes.apple.com/bn/artist/your-33-black-angels/271047566 -
Atmosphere – Delicate
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.
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 -
Mayflower Madame – Sacred Core
Mayflower Madame returns with a new video for their single titled ‘Sacred Core’. With a root in the gaze and a finger on the pulse of the alt, the Madame gives a dark and brooding opus with equal parts introspection and extroversion combining to make an almost holy sounding trinity of mind, motion, and music. The soul is sacred and the id is core from the hearts of Mayflower Madame. Inhale, ingest, intake, and introvert.
‘Prepared for a Nightmare’ was released on vinyl and CD on June 12. It is available through Bandcamp in all formats, as well as digitally via iTunes and Spotify.
Check out our other articles about Mayflower Madame HERE.
ABOUT MAYFLOWER MADAME & ‘SACRED CORE’
Norwegian psychedelic post-punk outfit Mayflower Madame presents the third single ‘Sacred Core’ off their new second album ‘Prepared for a Nightmare’, released via French label Only Lovers Records in collaboration with Portland’s Little Cloud Records and Parisian label Icy Cold Records,
“Sacred Core is a song about getting lost, drifting away and trying to find the way back to your safe haven – guided by swirling, hypnotic guitars and an insistent, heavy beat. Compared to the shoegazey post-punk of the album’s previous singles “Vultures” and “Swallow”, this track digs deeper into haunting, psychedelic territories, yet still maintaining our trademark dark and atmospheric sound,” says frontman Trond Fagernes.
The accompanying video was directed by Astrid Serck, who also created the videos for previous singles ‘Swallow’ and ‘Vultures’.
“To me, the song is like an open landscape – it’s grounded, but at the same time moving. I wanted to capture that feeling visually with footage from windmill fields and beaches, where there’s constant movement – like rhythm, as opposed to the solid ground. A contrast between motion and stillness. Something to hold on to as well as something loose and vibrating,” says Astrid Serck.“The core is what you hold on to. The motion is what you can let go. The sunbeams are blinding you, like a sacred light. The ceiling of a church is another symbol of sanctity. The moon is dancing, in disturbing ways, on the screen. In the video, there is also an abandoned house, left with the door open. It´s a metaphor for the feeling of something that is lost, you can go back there, but only the memories are left. In addition, there’s live footage of the band filmed from shows in Oslo and San Diego.”
‘Prepared For a Nightmare’ presents a dark and distinctive blend of post-punk, shoegaze and psychedelia. Here, the band delves deeper into their own distinctive blend of psych-noir and post-punk with elements of shoegaze and noise-rock.
Hailing from Oslo, Mayflower Madame is Trond Fagernes (vocals, guitars, bass), Håvard Haga (guitars) and Ola J. Kyrkjeeide (drums). Formed in 2011, they first rehearsed in a desolate industrial building, sharing space with a carwash company. Their hazy, smoke-laden sound was conceived naturally amidst these gritty surroundings. They soon recorded a four-track demo and became ‘Unsigned Band of the Week’ on a major Norway stations.
After a few years of touring, Mayflower Madame finally released their debut album ‘Observed in a Dream’ in 2016, followed by the ‘Premonition’ EP in 2018. Through eight tracks of theatrical psych-gaze exploration and dark romanticism, the album conveyed the wintry feeling of their home country – icy and gloomy, haunting, and majestic.
Mayflower Madame has shared the stage with bands like Killing Joke, Moon Duo, Night Beats, Psychic Ills, Froth, The Underground Youth, Crocodiles, Cosmonauts, and La Femme. They have also toured North America, the UK, and Europe.
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/mayflowermadame
https://mayflowermadame.bandcamp.com
https://www.instagram.com/mayflowermadame
https://www.youtube.com/user/MayflowerMadame/videos