This week’s episode includes the latest from The Goood Things, 50 Foot Wave, Caesaria, Hands Off Gretel, Kolumbus, The Crosiers, and the Blue Soap Music Blue Soap Box Top 10 in independent tracks.
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An Interview with x-blu
Jammerzine has an exclusive interview with the musical masterminds behind the project known as x-blu. Fresh from the heels of their new single titled ‘Fear’ (review HERE), x-blu are having a stellar initial year of inception with a solid debut and a bright future.
In today’s interview, we talk with Gary Parker (guitar, key boards, vocals and production), Dani Tagen vocals, production, and creative director), and Sybil Mayard (vocals, keyboards, production and digital director) about the beginnings of the project, ‘Fear’, and what is coming in the near future for x-blu. Consider this the ‘I heard about them when….’ moment while you watch. Enjoy!
Check out our other features with x-blu HERE.
About x-blu
x-blu are an Avant-garde/Post Punk band who formed at the beginning of this year in Thamesmead, SE London and are influenced by The Velvet Underground, Joy Division and Doves.
In this short space of time, the band have already built a reputation for passionate live performances and the innovative use of digital media. They are a band from diverse backgrounds and equality and diversity are at the heart of their ethos. x-blu are Gary Parker (guitar, key boards, vocals and production) Dani Tagen vocals, production, and creative director) and Sybil Mayard (vocals, keyboards, production and digital director).
Whilst encapsulating Punk, Soul and Electronica they are a digital media band working in visual art, film, music, poetry, live performance and video. This is their debut single ‘Fear’.
LINKS:
https://www.instagram.com/xblu.music
https://www.facebook.com/xblu.music
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUADoM-aX56VME65giJIKSQ
https://www.x-blu.com -
An Interview With A Shoreline Dream
Talking with Shoreline Dream was a complete joy. I have to start this out by saying that. As a musician myself, Ryan and Eric epitomize the namesake of musician in the truest sense of the term. They are not out to impress anyone, they are out to connect. They don’t label their music for anyone, they leave their music up for your interpretation. As far as music itself goes, this is how classics are made. And today we talk to both of the main components that is A Shoreline Dream, and in turn, get a glimpse into the minds behind the music. Enjoy!
Check out our review of their latest single ‘Room For The Others’, which was released July 14th, 2017. Buy links below.
About A Shoreline Dream
‘Room For The Others’is the fourth single from their ever-evolving new album, which is being released digitally one track at a time, before the full vinyl-only album is finally ready. After fine tuning the song over the winter months, it has become a favorite for the duo to play, partially due to the resonance of the song’s message.The song deals with the struggle to come to terms with, and attempting to overcome, the biggest fear in life…change. With the recent loss of close family and friends, A Shoreline Dream frontman Ryan Policky has instead taken those potential negatives and turned them into a message of personal reflection.
“Given the nature of all the amazingly overwhelming things going on these days politically, socially, etc., this track became a personal reflection on it all. Both the good and the bad. The love and the sadness,” says Ryan Policky. “I found myself feeling emotions from all sides of the spectrum, and room for the others is just that… a spectrum of emotions. This song goes out to those who may have ever felt just a little bit of place… who just wanted to stand in line with the rest.”
While the original wave of shoegazers chose textures and otherworldliness over conventional clarity and 90’s post-rockers opted for progressive and fluid structures rather than traditional form, A Shoreline Dream are the keepers of both of those flames. Delivering a heady cocktail of dream-pop, shoegaze, neo-psychedelia, goth and progressive rock, the new single also brings a gothic undertone set against a pulsing, energetic rhythm and is, on the whole, more in keeping with northern European atmosphere than the warm sidewalks of Denver’s suburbs.
A Shoreline Dream, comprised of Ryan Policky and Erik Jeffries, originate from Barnum, Colorado. Their music is often referred to as “progressive shoegaze,” indicating their blending of lush sampled textures, organic instrumentation and vocals layered like a synth. But it is the studio’s final treatment of the song that is the real joy, affecting a cavernous production style, and haunting and ethereal resonance in keeping with the semi-lucid and sonorous nature of this music.
While A Shoreline Dream have not re-invented this particular musical wheel, they have certainly re-treaded it, painted it interesting colors, and added some shimmering gloss before taking it out for a spin, ultimately leaving multi-colored vapor trails throughout the neighborhood.
Over the past 10 years, A Shoreline Dream has churned out numerous acclaimed releases under their own label (Latenight Weeknight Records), working with legends such as Ulrich Schnauss, Mark Kramer and The Engineers (for whom they remixed a song for progressive label gods K-Scope). They also opened for Chapterhouse for their final appearance.
“Room for the Others” by A Shoreline Dream is available through iTunes and can be ordered via Bandcamp.
Featured image credit Ryan Policky.
LINKS:
http://www.ashorelinedream.com
http://www.facebook.com/A-Shoreline-Dream-173485236012279
http://ashorelinedream.bandcamp.com/
http://twitter.com/ashorelinedream
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3hfpwdCJzLO3epBifJcBSA -
An Interview with January Jane
Jammerzine has an exclusive interview with Mitch C. Mitchell and Pat Via from BMG artists January Jane. I’ll start this off with a simple truth. These are the types of artists I love to interview. Not only are they living their dream as major label artists. They made it happen on their own terms. And not only that, they seem to be a tight knit family that deserves to be where they are. Mitch and Pat are totally cool. Fame has not phased them whatsoever. I get the feeling they have the same friends and dreams they had when they first started out. Those aren’t always the types of artists who make it big, but they are almost always the ones that stay big. They are the ones their fans love not only for the music but for their character. And that’s where ‘love’ turns into ‘in love’.
And today we get to talk with Mitch and Pat about their new EP ‘Your Drug’ (review below) as well as their thoughts on music, their music, and where they are taking it. This is more of a good conversation than an interview, and that’s how you get to know good people. Enjoy!
About January Jane
“The story of January Jane is so absurd – but then, everything about being in the music business is absurd,” says January Jane guitarist Mitch C. Mitchell with a laugh.
He’s correct: January Jane has taken an unusual path so far – but this strategy seems to have worked, because BMG is set to release the band’s much-anticipated EP, Your Drug, on September 17, 2021. Every track is ridiculously catchy, overflowing with melodies that are at once smooth yet highly textured, seamlessly blended with unapologetically emotional lyrics.
It’s an exhilarating moment for the band as they take a brief pause for reflection as they prepare for the whirlwind ahead. As lead vocalist and lyricist Pat Via says, “We feel like we’re at this jumping off point right now. We’re ready: we hope that we’ll soon be overwhelmed!” he says with a laugh.
Via writes the lyrics because he’s the one who has to deliver them in a way that will connect with fans, both in the recorded versions and in a live setting. Mitchell doesn’t mind handing over that particular duty: “If it’s a very cool lyric but it’s not from Pat’s heart, the audience will know it,” he says. Besides, Mitch, along with Peter Scialla, who joined the duo in 2014 on keyboard and piano, are busy writing the band’s music.
It’s an equitable and agreeable division of labor, and it was that way from the moment this band formed. Via and Mitchell met by chance at an art gallery opening in New York. Meeting up the next day to try to write together, they clicked so well that they had an outline for their first song sketched out in a mere 10 minutes.
This type of instant creative chemistry is extremely rare, so they immediately knew they were onto something special. In fact, January Jane has been such a revelation for both Via and Mitchell that they decline to discuss anything that came before it in their musical careers. “I don’t feel like anything that happened before this band matters,” Via says. “I’d rather talk about the story we’re writing now.”
Then, another New York City night cast its spell and delivered yet another surprise, when after wrapping up a show they were invited to a private gathering at a loft in the Meatpacking District: as they walked through the door they heard the sound of a piano rising from the center of a crowd that had gathered in a circle around the source of the music. They were immediately drawn in, and pushed their way past the pack to the grand piano in the center of the room, where they saw Peter Scialla manning the keys from within the eye of the hurricane. Peter seemed to sense their presence and looked up briefly from his keyboard, waving them over, before returning his gaze to the black and white keys in front of him. As the night progressed and they made their way through another bottle, singing and playing together to the impromptu crowd, they all realized they had found the missing piece, and Peter became part of January Jane.
With their epic songs, January Jane quickly gained a loyal fan base. One of their earliest supporters was Matt Pinfield, the DJ, journalist, television host, and all-around music industry legend. Pinfield has proven instrumental for the band: he took them under his wing and produced some of their early recordings (under the auspices of his own label, Whiskey Vinyl). Those songs, in turn, brought them to the attention of BMG, who quickly signed them. As always, when the opportunity came, January Jane’s members were prepared to grab it with both hands. As Via puts it, “It’s about staying ready for when the big lights get turned on.”
Being backed by BMG’s world-reaching might is exactly what January Jane’s members want, at this point. As Scialla explains, “We’ve put so much into this band – now we absolutely want to get it out there in a very big way.” Via agrees: “What band doesn’t want to be the biggest band in the world? When you have a label like BMG behind you, you get the opportunity to do that. Why walk when you can ride?”
“Taking this time to write and record has given us the chance to really explore creatively and find our unique sound,” says Mitchell. Also, the members understand that this type of band launch takes a long time to get ready, so they don’t mind waiting until everything is right for it.
As a primer for the music of January Jane, Your Drug is the perfect taster for what’s in store. From the cover of the Hall & Oates “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)” which updates the ‘80s hit by adding a modern cinematic swirl, to the epic soar of the title track “Your Drug” whose pulsating keyboards leads you right into an escalating chorus reaching anthemic heights, the EP carries a sneaky familiarity that is immediate and enduring. The lead single “Versions of You” with its fluid melodies and hooks sinks deep, cementing their indelible and transcendent mark on the contemporary pop rock genre.
Now, with their new EP finally in sight, January Jane say they’re especially excited to support the album with a tour, because live shows have long been a strength for this band. They’ve routinely sold out shows at larger theater venues like the Gramercy Theater in New York, as well as appearing at prestigious festivals such as SXSW multiple times.
January Jane have often performed charity concerts, benefitting the Akron Children’s Hospital and The Dream Foundation, among other causes. Their most unusual benefit show, in 2018, found them headlining the October Ball, held at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, with proceeds going to the Bigs & Littles NYC Mentoring program.
This desire to spread love is at the heart of what January Jane has been about from the start. In fact, it is this pure love – for the music itself, and all the good it can do – that seems to ensure that January Jane’s future will stay bright. “We’ll never run out of ideas, because we love making music more than anything – every step of the way is fun,” Mitchell says. And there’s no reason to think their luck will change: “That chance meeting that Mitch and I had has somehow gotten us this far,” Via says, “and wandering into Pete’s studio in the time that followed was pure luck. We’ll just keep riding on those chances. It’s serendipitous.”
LINKS:
https://www.januaryjane.com
https://facebook.com/JanuaryJane
https://twitter.com/januaryjane
https://www.instagram.com/januaryjane
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkM7uWL6oc9-d_vj0XB_fUw
https://tiktok.com/@januaryjane
https://open.spotify.com/artist/6ODcblM0A3Z5emvZK3H7R6