Alternative singer-songwriter Jenn Vix has teamed up with Danny Chavis of shoegaze pioneers The Veldt to present the ‘Into The Veldt Mix’ of ‘Complicated’. Featured on her new ‘Unlocked’ EP, this new version is trippy with psychedelic underpinnings and a very urban gazey vibe.
Here Danny Chavis re-envisions this song, contributing guitar and other instrumentation. As a principal member of The Veldt, he has a rich history of collaborations with the likes of TV On The Radio, Mos Def and Lady Miss Kier (Deee-Lite), and touring with Phantogram, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Pixies, Throwing Muses, Echo & The Bunnymen, Cocteau Twins, Manic Street Preachers, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Oasis, Chuck D, Living Colour, and Schooly D.
The accompanying video for this track was directed, produced and edited by Renan DeAraujo, a 27-year-old, Brazilian filmmaker who loves to tell stories with light and rhythm. The video features Jenn Vix herself, along with actor Michael French. Not long ago, Vix presented the new video for the original version of ‘Complicated Man’, working with the same team.
“My interpretation was to put Jenn’s personality on the screen, and in particular, the overall feeling of the track; a mysterious and delicate mood, at the same time. I was trying to express the character’s point of view,” says DeAraujo.
Based in Rhode Island, Vix is a solo electronic-rock recording artist, songwriter, producer and recording engineer, who has, over the years, ventured into other genres including alternative rock, trip hop, darkwave, modern new wave and electro-industrial.
This five-track release sees Vix at her best. With weighty lyrics surrounding personally challenging experiences, her vocal delivery on ‘Complicated Man’ has earned her comparisons to Shirley Manson of Garbage.
“I wanted to explore different sounds, and it felt good to do so. After my illness, it took me a year and a half to be able to even listen to music again. Change is scary, but it can also be refreshing. I recently had to burn a few bridges, but they say that the brightest light can come from the bridges you burn. I agree,” explains Jenn Vix.
Vix has collaborated with some quite achieved artists in the alternative realm, including two members of The Cure, Tin Machine and David Bowie and Iggy Pop’s bands. The track ‘Unlocked’ features John Ashton, original guitarist of The Psychedelic Furs. Ashton previously collaborated with Jenn Vix twice previously, on tracks ‘The Woman with No Fear’ and ‘Weirdo’, which are found on her five-track EP ‘Strange Buildings’.
“Jenn’s haunting voice draws you in immediately and possesses a vulnerability that feels genuine,” says John Ashton. “Her music is where minimalist groove electronica meets gritty rock guitar and melodic bass, which for me, is far from a bad neighborhood to be hanging around in. It’s dark and vibey.”
On past releases, Jenn Vix has collaborated with Reeves Gabrels, current guitarist for The Cure and former guitarist for David Bowie and Tin Machine, and with Andy Anderson (The Cure and Iggy Pop), as well as Dirk Ivens, Belgian electro-industrial pioneer of Absolute Body Control, The Klinik, and Dive.
Her work with Marco Pirroni (Adam Ant, Rema Rema, The Models, Sinead O’Connor) resulted in her cover version of Shirley Collins ‘Turpin Hero’ being featured on the compilation album ‘Shirley Inspired’. Vix also recorded vocals on tracks by Rodney Linderman (a.k.a. Rodney Anonymous) of The Dead Milkmen.
LINKS:
http://jennvix.band
http://www.facebook.com/jennvixmusic
http://jennvixmusic.bandcamp.com
http://soundcloud.com/jenn-vix
http://www.youtube.com/user/jennvixvids
http://twitter.com/jennvix
http://www.instagram.com/jennvix
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Ask Carol – Run With You
Ask Carol have released their new video for the track titled ‘Run With You’. And, with this being their first actual music video, there is no better way to make their visual debut than with the eye candy set forth with ‘Run With You’. Constructed not only as a visual accompaniment to the song but as an artistic statement in of itself, the video gives visual punctuation to the percussiveness of the song while highlighting the hook and becoming almost a canvas for the song to paint on instead of the music becomes a soundtrack. This is essential because, as someone who reviews music every day, is exactly what a music video should be; an introduction to the music.
ABOUT ASK CAROL
“Run With You” is Ask Carol’s first-ever real music video, made by the band themselves, under the corona-lockdown. Filmed around Carol’s home in the Norwegian woods, this short story portraits two girls, two sisters, desperate to getaway. One of the sisters is in a bad, abusive relationship, reluctant to get away, while her sister tries to convince her otherwise. Eventually, she’s had enough, and the abused sister takes matters into her own hands. They escape together as the story unfolds in a dark, Nordic environment that sets the mood for this dramatic story. Given the special circumstance of the corona-lockdown and that Carol, Ask (Ask is a real Norwegian name) and Carol’s sister was quarantined together, the three is the only people involved in the music video. Carol and Ask filmed, produced, directed, acted in, and edited the music video, and Carol´s sister played the sister in the movie. A real Corona-lockdown DIY project.
“Run With You” is Ask Carol’s first single of 2020, a catchy disco-punk alt-pop tune with a retro vibe. Intimate vocals and grungy guitars setting the mood, with a dreamy background and pulsating beat.
The first of several releases planned for this Summer and Fall, leading up to debut album early 2021. The song was written long before these challenging corona times, but lately, the song has come to mean something more to us. We feel it represents a longing for just going away, to get away from it all, a feeling that has grown more intense as we all have to stay home for such a long time…
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/askcarol
https://www.askcarolmusic.com -
Someday – Last Lesson
Trippy and musically fantastic, the new track from Italian band Someday titled “Last Lesson” is a fast-paced hook-laden track with hooks galore and a steady two-speed rhythm that chugs along with carefree reckless abandon. Until you listen to the lyrics. But, as in life, happiness is always made sweeter from the bitterness of sadness. Let that be your last lesson.
About Someday
Seahorse Recordings presents the new 10-track album from Someday, called ‘This Doesn’t Exist’. Now based in Turin (Torino), this trio is comprised of Daniele Bianco, Michele Fierro, and Fabio Digitali. The first single from this album is ‘Last Lesson’.This is Someday’s debut album, entailing a search for balance and essentialness that may be appreciated by fans of early Tokyo Police Club and Foals, Bombay Bicycle Club, Placebo, Born Ruffians, Hot Hot Heat, and The Stills. The band cites numerous influences, including early Sparklehorse, The Smiths, Joy Division, Placebo, Sonic Youth, The Cure, Paolo Conte and La Crus.
“Our song ‘Last Lesson’ was inspired by a true story happened some years ago, a very common and sad story. What happened made me think that, sometimes, when “something strange embraces you” and you think you are helpless, you just have to wait, nothing else… because maybe the solution is simple but you can’t just see it,” says Daniele Bianco. “As usually happens with bands, the first album is both a starting point and a goal… I hope it’s only the beginning because we have a lot of other stories to tell, and some of them are ready for the telling.”
“‘Last Lesson’ came about naturally, as it often happens when music works well… we play, we look in each other’s eyes and we know immediately that the song just works. It sounds sweet and disturbing… like the feelings we often feel,” explains Michele Fierro. “We are very happy because it is like we always wanted it to. Every song has its particular feeling and it sounds like we imagined. We can’t wait to play it live.”
Aptly titled ‘This Doesn’t Exist’, the lyrics from this album speak about what no longer exists, never existed and will never exist. Lead tracks ‘Last Lesson’ and ‘Clean Couch’ are about people or animals that have gone to a better place. ‘Little Choices’ cites that we have no more achievable choices. ‘Shelters and Picture’ note places that are no longer reachable. ‘Jokes’ explores imaginary lives built on a lie, while ‘Maurizio’ tells of lives that have lost something very important. ‘Forgotten’ reveals certainties that are nothing but obvious illusions.
Through this album, the band highlight the trivial occurrences of ordinary lives, with shifting musical trajectories between dark and post-rock (Forgotten, Waitings, Little Choices) to indie pop (Clean Couch, Shelters, Picture), as well as new wave and light psychedelia (Last Lesson, Gliding, Jokes). ‘This Doesn’t Exist’ is full of black and white atmospheres but celebrates the many shades of grey in between.
Someday was formed in Collegno, a city close to Torino (Piedmont, Italy) by two childhood friends – Daniel Bianco (guitar/vocals/lyrics) and Michele Fierro (bass). Initially rehearsing in Michele’s living room and Daniel’s cellar, they began making demo tapes, had several singles on Italian music compilations, and eventually released their debut EP “Flowers in the Cellar” and two singles ‘Divano Pulito’ and ‘Rifugi’ in 2016, produced by Luca “Vicio” Vicini of Subsonica. They were then joined by drummer Federico Segato to form a trio, who was subsequently replaced by Fabio Digitali.
SOURCE: Official Bio
LINKS:
http://www.facebook.com/somedaytorino
http://someday.bandcamp.com
http://twitter.com/somedaytorino
http://soundcloud.com/somedaymusic
http://www.instagram.com/somedaytorino
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV_7mHdPn5FT-IHasZIuHVA -
Lex Audrey – Godgiven
Please meet Vienna based three-piece Lex Audrey
Featuring Niklas Apfel (vocals, guitar, samples), Patrick Pillichshammer (drums, sampling pad) and Lukas Staudinger (bass, synthesizer), with a nod to Audrey Hepburn the band asks their audience to take a closer look at the world. This look should also meet their debut EP ‘God Given’.
On ‘God Given’ they confront their audience with contrasts, they combine euphoria and sadness and manage to shift the musical boundaries between Rock, Pop, and Electronica.
The band sees the world in red, yellow and blue but when these three primary colors are mixed they turn to black.
Welcome to the world of Lex Audrey.
LINKS:
http://www.lexaudrey.com
https://twitter.com/lexaudreymusic