Exclusive interviews with Michael Ciravolo from Beauty in Chaos, Marty Willson-Piper from Noctorum, Scottish band The Rah’s. Exclusive premieres from Desert Ships, Crooked Ghost, Parabola West, Jamel Thomas, The Mootekkis, and Foxfeather.
-
An Interview with Drew Davies (The Week in #Indie Segment)
This interview was a real treat for me. To become a fan of someone’s music that you get to review and to actually get to write about how that music stands out as it’s own is a true privilege. That artist is Drew Davies. I’ve gotten to review two of his tracks so far: ‘Man on the Run‘ and ‘Living the Dream‘. Both tracks stand out in their own individual ways, and each is a musical monster in their own creative right.
And now I get to talk with the mind behind the music and how those tracks came to be and much, much more. There are a few true surprises in this interview (I would have never guessed his origins in music). We also get a detailed glimpse of his views on the current music scene and what he has coming up next. I guarantee, Drew will be one of your next favorite artists.
About Drew Davies
Persistence is a word that’s rather easily thrown around in this era of the five-minute social media fad. But in this golden age of the hashtag Drew’s goals have always been keenly focussed on producing music close to his heart.Through friendships and loved ones come and gone, successes, setbacks and everything in between, Drew has poured himself into his musical labors, and now he’s produced his most personal work to date.
Whilst Drew hails from the North of England he is an adopted Londoner; he’s trod the boards of venues and festivals across the UK and Europe with various bands, worked in musical collaborations, written for other artists and sang in session gigs to get by. From cutting his teeth and paying his dues in some of the seediest venues you’ve ever likely to see to recording in some of the top studios on the planet; these experiences all played their part in his arrival at this vantage point, from which he brings forth his debut solo album.
Musically Drew pulls from a vast array of influences that stretch from 50s rock n’ roll to modern electronica. From the hook-filled, to-the-point numbers of Roy Orbison or Tom Petty, to the cinematic synth sounds of John Carpenter, Vangelis, and Kavinsky, the music is imbued with a heavy tenderness; wrapped up in the genre-bending timelessness of artists like Bowie, Queen or Eurythmics.
“When I wrote ‘Living The Dream’ I had recently removed myself from a number of unhealthy relationships and thrown myself into my work. Whilst I had become somewhat of a hermit in those days I also met a wonderful woman and started a love affair.
The song is about going your own way; but it’s also a snapshot of that period in my life; the lyrics were quite a tongue in cheek; centering on the rejection of the ‘rock n roll’ lifestyle that had been thrust upon me, the new love in my life and the scene from where I was writing the song…”
In preparation for the release of Living the Dream, Drew has readied a full backing band complete with dueling guitars, bass, synthesizers, drums and two backing singers; bringing the full sound of the songs to the stage as they can be heard on the record. Having debuted earlier this year at London’s iconic Troubadour club the band have gone on to play notable London venues and are preparing to tour the UK and beyond.
Self-produced by Drew, the album was recorded at Tileyard Studios in London, before arriving at the hands of mixing engineer Steve Honest (Oasis, Michael Jackson, Fleetwood Mac), with mastering by John Webber (George Michael, David Bowie, Super Furry Animals) at the legendary AIR Studios.
LINKS:
https://www.drewdaviesmusic.com
https://www.facebook.com/drewdaviesmusic
https://www.twitter.com/drewdaviesmusic
https://www.instagram.com/drewdaviesmusic
https://drewdaviesmusic.bandcamp.com -
Flor and the Sea Premiere ‘A Candid Lie’ Video (The Week in #Indie Segment)
Flor and the Sea have officially released their new video titled ‘A Candid Lie’. As if filmed in a different era where people could convene in harmony and not intervene for quarantine, ‘A Candid Lie’ surrounds the current state of things with a sonic atmosphere of inclusion and infusion of love and endurance in that ‘you are not alone’ and, after we survive, we should remember to thrive.
In regards to the album ‘Kings & Queens’, Grandiose is scope from that first track (A Candid Lie), and continuing the solid set of hooks throughout, this ambitious set of songs sets a style and mood within the confines of the audio that show Flor and the Sea as impressive songwriters as much as expressive artists.
While each track fits in the overall sound, each has its own personality traits that range from introspection to extroversion and everywhere in between. Progression and virtuosity in the guise of mainstream pop.
Click HERE to watch Season 6 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’.
Click HERE to watch Season 5 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’.
Click HERE to watch Season 4 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’.
Click HERE to watch Season 3 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’.
Click HERE to watch Season 2 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’.
Click HERE to watch Season 1 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’.ABOUT FLOR AND THE SEA & ‘KINGS & QUEENS’
The songs of Flor and the Sea’s debut EP Kings & Queens invite their listeners to surrender themselves to the stream of music: to dream, to dance and to defy the world’s insistent tumult for a moment. Rich in stylistic fusion, pop elements meld with electronica references throughout their songwriting, inviting a host of esoteric influences from dubstep to synth pop to trap to join them. It’s a melting pot of style that recalls the work of Flume, Miike Snow or Alt-J.
Co-produced by composer Dieter Dolezel and mixed by Moritz Enders (Casper, Kraftclub), the songs are a multidimensional exploration of sound. From the lilting, mythology-evoking arpeggios of ‘Arcadia’ to the propulsive electro ambiance of ‘Dark Minds’, and the bleak dystopian piano keys chiming throughout ‘Reconnect’, Kings & Queens reveals a restless group with a unique musical chemistry, one not keen on traveling the same musical road twice.
Munich-based indie/electropop duo Flor and the Sea was originally founded in 2015 as a five-piece project. With the release of debut singles ‘Hold Your Breath’ and ‘Shed No Tear’, as well as bigger live gigs at Digital/Analog Festival and the Muffat Winterfest among others, the band generated a lot of buzz in short time and was featured as ‘Band of the Week’ by the Suddeutsche Zeitung/SZ Junge Leute in early 2017. After the band split up later that year, Marc Aretz (guitar/synth) and Chaem (vox) decided to keep Flor and the Sea alive as a duo.
They redesigned their sound from scratch, incorporating influences from bands like Alt J, Radiohead, and Portishead. The singles ‘Dark Minds’ and ‘Reconnect’ were birthed from the rubble and led to widespread acclaim, receiving regular airplay on radio stations like Ego-FM, Bayern 3, M94.5, and BR Puls, and landing positive reviews on international blogs like Composer’s Toolbox and York Calling. Capping it all, the duo performed live on Radio Fritz ‘Live on Air’ for the first time.
Alongside the production of their debut EP Kings & Queens, Flor and The Sea also resumed live performances in 2019 and put together an elaborate new program with their own light show, visuals, masks, and the support of additional live musicians. The first taste of this show was presented at renowned festivals Theatron Musiksommer and Sound of Munich Now in 2019.
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/florandthesea
https://www.instagram.com/florandthesea
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5HoDDKUkVEuqEEk5ZRDjMj -
Traveller – All This Time
The summer of 2012 saw Gerry Sheridan and Simon Usher begin their songwriting partnership, which progressed to become Traveller in January 2016 when they were joined by Martin Yves on guitar and Brian Socha on bass.
By spring 2016 the band had written and recorded their debut EP at Chamber Studios in Edinburgh. Taking just four days to complete, ‘All This Time’ enabled Traveller to connect to an ever-growing fanbase who are drawn to their Anthemic Rock wall of sound.
Gerry started out playing violin and piano focusing more on Classical music before teaching himself guitar and concentrating his efforts on more contemporary music; his songwriting is influenced by bands such as The Stereophonics, The Beatles, Crowded House and Travis.
Simon started playing the piano and taught himself both the piano and drums from an early age by listening to artists such as Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Elton John, Sting, Pink Floyd, Crowded House, as well as Coldplay and U2. Drummers such as Steve Gadd provided the initial inspiration for him to focus on his writing and playing.
Martin remembers seeing his dad play the harmonica that sparked the inspiration for him to dedicate himself to music and a lifelong appreciation for all styles of music though he’s particularly passionate about the late sixties to early seventies Rock, especially the sonic experimentation and sound of Pink Floyd.
Brian’s influences are very diverse from Rock and Pop to Jazz, Funk and Soul, from Frank Zappa to Pink Floyd, Brian’s bass playing provides a solid foundation for the band’s music.
“There’s a sonic harmony that is often created by the band during rehearsals and it’s often from this that sparks the imagination to write” explains Simon. “We write about life’s journey, from the people we meet along the way to all the various experiences that we have, both good or bad…”
LINKS:
http://travellerband.com
https://facebook.com/travelleruk