Jamel Thomas is a rising hip hop artist from Toronto, Canada. After releasing his first LP “One On The House” in February of 2018, Jamel was able to break onto the university and college radio scene, getting play on over 100 campus stations; some notable mentions are: American University in Washington DC, University of Maryland, St. Louis University, the University of Texas and University of Notre Dame. The album charted in the top 5 on over 10 stations, making it to the NACC (North American College and Community) radio charts, peaking at #23 and competing against noteworthy artists from labels such as Roc Nation and Mass Appeal.
In 2019, Jamel released his first music video for “It Starts At Home” with a string of new music videos to follow. He is also planning to release a new, much-anticipated album this September. There is a captivating, high-energy element to Jamel Thomas’s music featuring an alternative hip hop sound distinct from anything else that’s out. Jamel describes himself as “Kendrick Lamar meets Drake meets The Weeknd,” but strives for originality in every song, infusing elements of R&B and Pop into the mix. He is committed to innovation and will continue to surprise his audience in the months to come!
LINKS:
http://jamelthomasmusic.com
https://facebook.com/jamelthomasmusic
https://twitter.com/jamelthomasndr
https://instagram.com/jamelthomasndr
https://youtube.com/jamelthomasndr
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Rayon Nelson – Made of Gold
Shimmering guitar lines and a pared-back arrangement serve as a backdrop to Rayon’s heartfelt confessions of failure and imperfection. ‘Made Of Gold’ chronicles those times when the wellsprings of our emotion overcome our flood barriers and overflow as we fail to uphold our own often fastidious psychological standards. “Hard times are no stranger to my door,” he sings, relating his personal struggle with our complicated and erringly human interior lives. It’s a richly layered song that thrums with the splendor of Rayon’s voice. Combining vintage and modern influences, ‘Made Of Gold is a haunting, soulful, and eminently relatable song which lays bare the touching contradictions at the heart of the human experience. It’s an impressive sleight of hand from an artist who is carving an original and beguiling space in contemporary music.
Often people think because you present yourself in a certain way, that you have everything together. Made Of Gold song attempts to show that even though these words that I try to live by are ‘made of gold’, I somehow still fall in doubt and I’m most certainly not perfect. I’m a closed person in general so this EP contains some personal songs, and I guess its a way of people getting closer to me.
About ‘Closer’ EP
Written and self-produced by Rayon himself, and mixed and mastered by Alberto Coin, Closer is a set of songs that draws listeners deep into Rayon Nelson’s artistic world. Confessional and tender in tone, the four songs that comprise the EP meditate on the concept of identity from four distinct viewpoints. From the soulful and relatable psychological interiority of lead track ‘Made Of Gold’, Rayon lays himself open. Following that, there’s the familial ‘Granny’ – a poignant thank you message to his grandparents, which he contrasts with ‘Where Were You?’, a heartfelt message to an absent father. Closing with the expansive and ambitious ‘Freedom’, Rayon steps outside of his persona and empathizes with the global oppressed. By his own admission Rayon is a guarded figure, but through the humbling honesty of ‘Closer’ he lays himself bare, and in so doing he reveals himself to be a relatable, charming, flawed, but also an incisive lyricist with an inimitable new sound.EP Track Listings
- Made Of Gold
- Granny
- Where Were You
- Freedom
About Rayon Nelson
Lauded for his captivating and soulful vocals, Rayon Nelson has achieved remarkable status for an independent artist. With eclectic influences from Jamaica, London, and Suffolk, his music presents an inspirational and compassionate lyricism, set often to a sonic backdrop which encompasses a broad fusion of styles. Shaped by early exposure to an array of different music such as reggae, old school gospel, and soul from artists including Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff and Lauryn Hill, Rayon Nelson’s work is a matchless synthesis of the styles and vibes that formed him. He was shortlisted for Glastonbury festival, performed at Isle Of Wight Festival, and often featured on BBC Introducing and BBC 1Xtra whilst remaining unsigned. His latest EP ‘Yung Solo’ has attracted over 380k streams on Spotify, and has been featured in numerous blogs such as Hilly Dilly while attracting major industry interest. After a one year hiatus, Rayon is now releasing his Closer EP and intends to firmly make his mark in the music industry this year.LINKS:
https://www.rayonsofficialmusic.com
https://www.facebook.com/rayonsofficialmusic
https://soundcloud.com/rayon-nelson
https://twitter.com/rayonnelson
https://www.instagram.com/rayonnelson -
The Inoculated Canaries – Count Me Out
New York-based rock band The Inoculated Canaries has released the Official Music Video for their single, “Count Me Out,” off of their upcoming Trying Times. Trying Times, their second EP, was released January 12th.
“Our songs come from personal experiences: beginnings and ends loves and loss. Ultimately to experience as much as possible and to not take yourself too seriously”
– Inoculated CanariesWhat do you get when eclectic creativity gets twisted with diverse musical influences and incubates in an atmosphere of unrestrained inspiration? The hatching of The Inoculated Canaries. With The Inoculated Canaries, you get a full-on aural and visual package of brightly intense ingenuity and polished musicianship.
The New York foursome is rounded out by Michael Rubin on guitar and vocals, James Terranova on drums, Dylan Gross on bass, and Brian Sweeney on keys. With their diverse musical interests spanning from Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix to Punk Rock sensibility a la Green Day, Blink 182, Streetlight Manifesto, and Reel Big Fish, mixed with their formal jazz training and performance to the dramatic flair of musical theater, these guys bring a lot more to the table than anything categorizable, and it shows.
“The Canaries has felt like 10 different bands throughout its lifespan,” says Michael “We keep adding to our style because there are so many great influences we can learn from. I spend 8-9 hours a day with these jerks and it absolutely contributes to how tight our live shows are. I know what James is going to do before James even knows he’s gonna do it.”
Their debut EP, THE BLUE LAWS, was soon followed by the singles “DON’T BE LATE” and the acoustic version of “JERICHO”.
“Our songs come from personal experiences: beginnings and ends loves and loss. Ultimately to experience as much as possible and to not take yourself too seriously” – The Inoculated Canaries.
Several live performances include Winterfest, opening for The Mowgli’s.
The band most recently announced the release of their long-awaited follow-up EP, TRYING TIMES with the unveiling of a colorful and irreverent music video for the track “COUNT ME OUT.”
The band’s mission is simple: to bring back ROCK! And while that’s a mission a lot of emerging artists are taking on, it’s one that this quartet is uniquely suited to address.
LINKS:
https://theinoculatedcanaries.com
https://www.facebook.com/theinoculatedcanaries
http://www.thepictaram.club/instagram/theinoculatedcanaries
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2xbllUZKJ2S7vk555hWwlA -
Folk Devils – Forever
Folk Devils, the London group that took their name from a well-known academic text on media scapegoating*, have returned with their first new music in 33 years. The band blazed a trail across the UK’s independent music scene of the mid-80s with their unique brand of post-punk energy, known for their acclaimed indie-chart singles “Hank Turns Blue”, “Beautiful Monster”, three John Peel sessions, plus live dates opening for Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, The Fall, The Gun Club, Screaming Blue Messiahs, and others.
The 3-track “Forever” EP lands on 10” (Clear Red Vinyl)^ and Digital on September 18, 2020, via Optic Nerve Recordings and features two new compositions, the title track “Forever” and “My Slum Soul”, plus an incendiary new version of an old live favorite “Ink Runs Dry”.
Recorded at London’s famous Konk Studios in North London and mixed and co-produced by Grammy Award-winning engineer Rik Simpson, the re-born Folk Devils drew inspiration for new recordings from the release of their 2016 career retrospective “Beautiful Monsters (Singles & Demo Recordings 1984-86)” and the excellent reactions at subsequent live shows around the UK with kindred spirits Membranes, Inca Babies, The Wolfhounds, and The Cravats.
Founder members, guitarist Kris Jozajtis and bassist Mark Whiteley, reformed the group by recruiting members of a short-lived 1987 version of Folk Devils; guitarist Nick Clift and drummer John Hamilton.
Together with singer Dave Hodgson they soon discovered they had created a well-oiled twin-guitar juggernaut that brimmed with the same restless, twisted blues that characterized the first and second iterations of the band from 1983-87 when they were fronted by the highly underrated and now sadly-departed singer/songwriter Ian Lowery.
Hodgson, a fellow transplant from the North-East, had known Lowery in the early 80s prior to Folk Devils when the two were in their respective post-punk bands Ski Patrol and Parting Shots.
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/FolkDevilsUK
https://twitter.com/Folk_Devils_UK
https://www.instagram.com/folk_devils_uk
https://folkdevils.bandcamp.com