Kent, UK born, Jaz Mattu blends rock, pop, and funk with his music to create a truly unique sound. He sings, plays guitar, bass, synths, and drums – but is the first person in his family to pick up a musical instrument, which he did at the age of 13 after seeing Nirvana’s Smells like Teen Spirit video on MTV.
He pleaded with his mother to get him a guitar and for some reason she did. It seemed to keep him out of trouble and off the streets during those “difficult teen years!”
He took a break from music until finishing university and starting his “proper” job as a software engineer, where he sat at his desk on his first day and figured there was no way he could do that job for the next 40 years… and so he decided to get back into music again.
His 4 track Saachrine Times e.p. came out in January 2017 and was the starting point of the Sanguine Man album. The album is available now and contains 14 tracks of quirky pop, music to rock out to and music to reflect over.
Jaz played plenty of jam nights in Kent with his backing band from 2017 onwards and has now started playing in London at venues like The Fiddler’s Elbow, The Dublin Castle and The Water Rats. He’s currently booking more gigs as we speak.
LINKS:
https://www.instagram.com/jazmattuofficial
https://twitter.com/jazmattusounds
https://www.facebook.com/JazMattuOfficial
http://jazmattu.com
-
Scott Swain – It’s Too Late
Drawing on influences from Americana, Country, and Alt Indie, Scott Swain is a UK based singer-songwriter (with no fixed abode as he travels around in his camper-van with his dog at the moment).
Although he has been likened to Nick Cave, and even The National, his main source of influence is cinema.
Each of his songs is written about particular films which have left their mark on him. In June 2017 he began writing and recording his debut EP, which was finally completed in January 2018 thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign.
On It’s Too Late, Scott says:
“It’s too late is mainly inspired by the French film Irreversible – a hard to watch film about taking the wrong actions following a deeply traumatic event. The overall vibe of the music is inspired by one of my favorite bands, The Smashing Pumpkins”.
When listening to his music, a glass of good bourbon is optional.
Scott’s Social Media links are here and you can stream and download the single now.
LINKS:
http://www.scottswainmusic.com
https://www.facebook.com/scottswainmusic
https://www.soundcloud.com/scottswainmusic
https://www.twitter.com/scottswainmusic
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtkZpI4DKatrseCxHFizj9g -
Aisles – Club Hawaii (Live from Estudio del Sur)
Aisles have been regarded as Neo-Prog, but their approach to music goes far beyond. Their soulfully crafted combination of rock, progressive rock, art rock, fusion, world music and other styles illustrates the band’s unique liberal and eclectic music vision, reaching their own sound by forming an identity which makes it unmistakably unique to anyone’s ear, and a spirit in which prevails above all, the desire to create.
SOURCE: Official Bio
-
Clark Twain – Fly High (Like Richard Branson)
Sanguine indie pop artist Clark Twain has announced his debut single ‘Fly High (Like Richard Branson)’, a fun and upbeat track that is infectious with high positivity. Hailing from Austin, Texas, this song is the first single off his coming debut album ‘Life is Wonderful’.
The fun, high-flying accompanying video was directed by Vanessa Pla, who also co-produced it with Clark Nowlin. His music is influenced by Death Cab for Cutie, the Flaming Lips, Ben Kweller, and John Mayer. Thematically, for this single and the accompanying video, he also took inspiration from an unlikely, but intrepid source – Richard Branson.
‘Fly High’, which features a soundbite of Richard Branson speaking excitedly about flight at high speeds, is dedicated to the Virgin mogul and is timed to release on July 18, Branson’s birthday. With an ardent sense of optimism, he looks forward to a “world with color; a journey with many turns”, asserting “where we’re going, it’s going to be one hell of a ride”.
“I want to live a life like my biggest hero Sir Richard Branson, so I figured the best way to start was to do things that terrified me. I got my hands on a houseboat (Branson lived on one until he was 30) and then a private jet, and the vision for reenacting his life story in a music video was born. Making this music video terrified me. With it behind me, I learned that fear is always smaller when it’s behind you! Thanks for the inspiration Richard to challenge me and push my own boundaries,” says Clark Twain.
“Fun, adventure, and business as a force for good – these are the ingredients of Branson’s life and my own. We both love rock n’ roll and shaking things up for good. That’s what this video is all about it. It honors Sir Branson and I hope it inspires others to take this on!”
Clark Twain is the solo moniker of Clark Nowlin, who began playing guitar at 10, cutting his teeth on Metallica and Nirvana covers with friends in the attic and starting his first band a few years later. He eventually quit his day job to fully immerse himself in the world of music “because the gig money put enough gas in my tank”. After touring and recording with Tim Halperin and Marshall Young for a few years and supporting various artists, he amassed recording gear, learned the ropes, and began producing various musical projects.
“I knew that if I didn’t make a solo album and put out my own music, it would haunt me. That’s what I’m doing now. In an honest state of writing about what’s real for me – a song that embodies my own aspirations – that’s how this single was born,” says Clark Twain.
“Last November, I went to Cozumel for 11 days. The only book I brought with me was Richard Branson’s autobiography ‘Losing My Virginity’, which inspired me to write this song and make a music video re-enacting the big pieces of his story: adventure, business as a force for good, and of course fun. I decided to throw myself into all of these situations… a lifelike Sir Richard’s is one of great fun and chaos!”
Clark dedicated a solid 6-month block of time to working on his new material, beginning in January of this year, and splitting time between Elmwood Studios in Dallas, Clark’s home studio in Austin, and in Denton, Texas with Brack Cantrell, one of Clark’s all-time favorite producers, who also mixed his new material. Mastering was performed by Jon Törnblom.
“If music is to serve any purpose, it’s to remind us that we’re alive and that we’re not alone. For me, making it is a sign that I’m alive. Connecting with it is a sign that this big mysterious journey called life isn’t new territory and that whatever situation we’re in – someone’s already been there and has made it through,” says Clark Twain.
“I’m an eternal optimist and truly believe the best is yet to come in our experiences here on Earth. If there’s a shred of this hope embodied in this music, I’ve achieved my goal. I hope that these sounds put a little wind-in-your-sails when needed on a still day.”
The song eventually meshes into Mike Oldfield’s ‘Tubular Bells’ – the first album released on Virgin Records. In fact, this label was created for the purpose of putting out this record. It quickly became an international sensation, selling tens of millions of records and becoming the theme for “The Exorcist”. This success allowed Virgin Records to sign the Sex Pistols, XTC, and many groundbreaking artists and eventually artists such as The Rolling Stones and Janet Jackson. ‘Tubular Bells’ was the initial snowball that got enough momentum to create the avalanche we know as the Virgin empire today.
LINKS:
http://clarktwain.com
https://www.facebook.com/Clark-Twain-1563597527101436
http://www.instagram.com/clarkin
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvpeieaYohK7OkHgeyk82KQ/videos
https://soundcloud.com/clarktwain
https://clarktwain.bandcamp.com