Herman Dune is David Ivar’s musical project. It was started in 1998 in Paris, France. David is a French/Swedish citizen who began playing antifolk in Paris at a time when no DIY scene existed, let alone with songs performed in English. In 2001 he started the MOFO music festival in Paris which featured acts like Daniel Johnston, Bonnie Prince Billie, The Silver Jews, Dinosaur Jr., and The Moldy Peaches.
After spending years in a Lo-Fi territory with the label Shrimper (The Mountain Goats), 2006 found Herman Dune signing to EMI/Source (UK Virgin) and releasing two albums. The album “Giant,” was certified Gold in France and both records had Herman Dune touring non-stop for the next two years. Herman Dune played 42 States in the USA and many festivals including; SXSW, End of the Road, Green Man, Benicassim, Primavera Sound Festival, All Tomorrow’s Parties, and Central Park Summer Stage festivals.
In 2008, Funny Or Die-produced the video for the song “Tell Me Something I Don’t’ Know,” featuring John Hamm and a puppet made by Jim Henson’s Studio.
Through a “Never-ending” life on the road, Herman Dune has toured with Arcade Fire, Jolie Holland, Kimya Dawson, Of Montreal, and opened for Sleater Kinney and Wanda Jackson. Whenever in the UK, he was always welcome at BBC1 to record exclusive sessions and holds a record for tracking 10 John Peel Sessions with the mythical British DJ.
David Ivar has also been recognized as a visual artist and his work has been seen in Playboy, Flaunt, and Spray magazines. His art has been shown at the FIAC in Paris, Art Basel in Miami, Triennale in Milano. He’s had multiple exhibitions in galleries in Paris (Nivet-Carzon, Agnes B), New York City (Cinders Gallery), Los Angeles (Small World Books), and institutions and galleries in Europe. David Ivar has written and recorded the soundtracks for theatrical movies like Mariage A Mendoza (Edouard Deluc), Blockbuster (July Hygrek, a NETFLIX film), and Chasing Bonnie & Clyde (Olivier Lambert).
David Ivar – On writing the album:
“Sweet Thursday” is the third volume of the Cannery Row trilogy by John Steinbeck. After leaving France in all kinds of clashes and hurries, I felt that in my new home in San Pedro, California, I had found my own Cannery Row. I moved to Santa Cruz Street, by the harbor, where life starts at 4 AM. The nine songs of “Sweet Thursday” were recorded live with my band (Kyle McNeill & Lewis Pullman) and produced by myself and Kyle. It was then mixed by Adam Selzer (M.Ward, Langhorne Slim).”
Now an Immigrant in California, I set up a studio in my backyard, gave up my phone, stopped touring and started working intensely on music and art. I also drove around the South Bay in my 1992 Toyota with its old cassette deck. Most songs on “Sweet Thursday” are inspired by this new life and the doubts and fears of being an alien resident in the shift of the US during this current administration.
At a recent show of Mike Watt & The Missing Men in a warehouse on the docks near my house, Mike shouted out to the audience, “Release your own stuff! Put out your own music!”. I felt like the King of the San Pedro Punk Scene was pointing at me to inspire me in my process of going back to doing things myself, my own label, my own everything!
The album has strong visual themes to me and I decided to work with video artist Brett Sullivan of the NYC antifolk band American Anymen to help realize music videos for the entire album. I really dug his editing style in connection to music, so when he came up with the idea of a video campaign for “Sweet Thursday”, almost a movie, I really jumped on the idea and we got to work filming music videos about San Pedro that inspired the album so much.
LINKS:
http://www.davidivar.com
https://www.facebook.com/HermanDuneYeah
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Only Takes A Day – Reach
Written by vocalist Shaanvir Rehal, ‘Reach’ is a conscious and dynamic display of lyricism that sidesteps the braggadocio of commercial hip-hop to arrive at something both honest and infectious. Injecting hip hop beats with a masterly display of finicky acoustic work, Shaan’s track was the spark that got percussionist Fabien Waldheim involved in the project, and together the duo explore the bleakness and banality of pop culture with a song that’s life-affirming and touchingly relatable. ‘Reach’ explores the many contradictions in the modern condition: rampant materialism is a source of anxiety to many, but the promise of a more comfortable life through it is something we all, to some extent, strive towards.
Unashamedly proud of his nerdiness, Shaan lyrically cuts something of a Gambino-esque figure, though possessed with a probing curiosity that penetrates further and lashes harder than his american peers. ‘Reach’ is a positive message. It tells us listeners that we are not alone in our thoughts, and that through expression we can find a connection with each other and the world around us that transcends our angst.
Influenced by a wide range of music from Bob Dylan to J Dilla, Only Takes A Day combines spoken word influenced rap lyrics and sung hooks with live instrumentation. Having formed at a house party jam in the summer of 2014, vocalist and guitarist Shaanvir Rehal and percussionist Fabien Waldheim cut a separate path to the americanised rap that’s homogenising commercial music right now. Their approach is uniquely their own, with Shaanvir’s lyrics often feeling like forays into his own head, while Fabien’s beats take the place of traditional sampling to provide an organic dynamism that can’t be achieved through machines.
With only one song in their repertoire back in September, the duo has expanded their setlist and their live presence in London’s music scene, headlining shows across the capital. Over the last couple of years, they’ve travelled across the UK to perform at festivals nationwide including Glastonbury, Wonderfields, Hazy Days, Subsonic and Homeless not Hopeless. Their artistic integrity remains their biggest draw, and in doing whatever they want they’ve ended up striking a chord resonant with the people they play for. Their endearing authenticity and classic musicianship feels almost radical in today’s Soundcloud rap climate, and as their art continues to expand, so too will their influence. It may not have taken a day, but rest assured their day will come.
LINKS:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtOa4nbU1k8KR9JFAopch2A
https://soundcloud.com/onlytakesaday
https://twitter.com/OnlyTakesADay
https://www.instagram.com/onlytakesaday
https://www.facebook.com/OnlyTakesADay
https://open.spotify.com/artist/18ZwiU4AXEvU5YgA1sz3hb?si=gF1sglw0S6e8TJAx8PxTUw -
September Mourning – Glass Animals
Hard Rock Graphic Novel Art Project September Mourning has released the official music video for their newest single, “Glass Animals.”
Shortly after Glass Animals drops, Image Comics is releasing September Mourning The Complete Collection co-created by Lazar and Marc Silvestri, co-written by Mariah McCourt and David Hine, illustrated by Sumeyye Kesgin and Tina Valentino and published by Top Cow. “In a world where Reapers prey on the souls of the living, imprisoning them in the shadow-land of Mortem, there is one last hope for humanity…. September Mourning” describes Lazar. The graphic novel will be sold in comic stores, books stores (Barnes & Noble) nationwide and on Amazon.
‘Glass Animals’ is about the fragmented soul. It’s about the realization that we are all broken. Something or someone has broken us and within that broken state we ultimately find the strength to survive. Musically, it’s a little bit of a tribute to one of our favorite bands: The Deftones. The song ties into the comic book as well…. Hannah is a broken soul who, through the help of September and Claire, finds the strength to face her personal demons and live again.
– Emily Lazar (Founder)To support the release of the graphic novel and new music, September Mourning will be hitting the road, supporting Smile Empty Soul. Before and after the dates, the band will also be doing a handful of headline shows that will be announced soon. Doing this tour the band will also be stopping by local comic retailers for a special meet and greets and acoustic performances.
“September Mourning’s debut album (Volume II) and comic books (A Murder of Reapers/ The Hand of Fate) tells an epic tale of “heartbreak, loss, pain, joy, love, redemption, but most of all, courage…” while the comic books chronicle the first chapter of her story.” Produced by Sahaj Ticotin and Howard Benson, September Mourning revives the concept of rock star meets superhero. If Marilyn Manson and X-Men’s Storm had a kid, it would be September Mourning, who also cites influences as varied as Motionless In White, Disturbed, and Muse.
“For me, the project is a story, a theatrical art piece,” September explains. “Music is the backbone, but for this to work, it has to include the imagery and the narrative all symbiotically linked into the whole. Music taps into your innermost being. There’s something very intimate and personal about it.”
The character of September Mourning is a human-reaper hybrid, who feels the need to give some human souls a second chance and thus toys with Fate. To expound on this narrative, September is working with iconic comic book artist Marc Silvestri, who started out on the original X-Men comics and went on to form Top Cow Productions (Witchblade, The Darkness). Together, they are putting together the story of September Mourning in graphic form, to accompany, and enhance the musical message.
Having performed at large festivals like Rock on the Range and Download Festival and shared the stage with acts like Marilyn Manson and Avatar, September Mourning has already built up an impressive fan base, which she calls her “Children of Fate,” constantly encouraging them to have “the courage to embrace their passion… to allow yourself to follow your heart and not be a slave to your fears. To know that the only boundaries that exist in our lives are the ones we allow.”
LINKS:
http://www.septembermourning.com
https://www.facebook.com/septembermourning
https://twitter.com/SeptmbrMourning
http://instagram.com/septembermourning -
Vandebilt – Dream In Colour
Vandebilt {ˈvændəbɪlt, pronounced in three syllables ‘Van’, ‘Duh’ & ‘built’} is a four piece dance-floor inspired indie disco band from Sunderland, in the North-East of England.
Taking their name from the Paul McCartney song “Mrs. Vandebilt”, the band are not one for gimmicks or Instagram inspired fads or the rush of the industry and take inspiration from the song of their name – don’t worry, no need to rush. Their music is honest, positive and centered around the band’s experiences of love, lust, and loss as well as frequent experiences of north-east working clubs.
LINKS:
https://tippingpoint.lnk.to/vandebilt-dreamincolour
https://www.facebook.com/vandebiltmusic
https://www.instagram.com/vandebiltmusic
https://twitter.com/Vandebiltmusic