Born in Nigeria but now based in London, Michael Rhodes is a singer who channels the gospel and soul sounds of the 1960s, bringing joy and vibrancy to his songs, as well as imbuing them with his winning personality. Feel It is a self-composed track which sees Michael in full effect, with his soaring counter-tenor voice and upbeat tempo being hard to resist.
Written by Michael three years ago, Feel It is based on unrequited love which, rather than defeating Michael, sparked something of an awakening and led to him looking for happiness in everyday life wherever he could find it – something he hopes will inspire others to do the same. Though Feel It is rooted in a soul and gospel singing style, the inclusion of electronic horns adds a contemporary feel, without it sounding quite like anything else out there.
To support the track’s release, Michael performed a live showcase at St. Luke’s Church, Kentish Town, London, video footage of which demonstrates Michael’s ease with an audience and ability to express himself through his music. With further tracks ready for release and looking to play live across the UK, Michael Rhodes is a singer with real potential and whose passion and sincerity set him apart from the crowd.
LINKS:
https://soundcloud.com/michael-rhodes-8/feel-it
https://open.spotify.com/album/11qKBGrRcenKGOQc9OWzam
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU4_NvS2aaXrRllOwCmPovQ
https://www.facebook.com/iamMichaelRhodes
https://www.instagram.com/michael_rhodes1
-
Araya – Color Palette
Araya has dropped his new video for the track titled ‘Color Palette’. A smooth groove mix of gazed out guitars and a lazy swagger, ‘Color Palette’ gives that laid back bravado with a suave sense of the feels and everything in between to make this a feel good track for this year of healing.
ABOUT ARAYA
Araya is a Brooklyn based, Thai-Chilean singer & songwriter, whose introspective lyrics covering themes ranging from inclusivity to identity coupled with his serene vocal ability has already garnered the attention of various blogs and magazines, (Paper Mag, Fashionably Early), distribution companies (United Masters flagged Araya as an emerging artist and featured him on their collaborative Apple Music and NBA playlist, Base:Line), and playlisting placements (TIDAL Rising: Pop, was made the cover of Dummy Mag’s R&B, Pop & Soul Spotify Playlist).
Araya’s main focus this past year has been perfecting the musical aspect of his artistry and more specifically, working tirelessly on his debut LP, Atlas, which is slated for release in January of 2021. The lead track ‘Color Palette’, a track that pays homage to the importance that design plays in Araya’s world, will be available on all digital streaming platforms on January 5th. The 14-track album includes released tracks ‘Gemini’ and ‘World’, as well as tracks such as ‘Baby’ and ‘Muay Thai’ which take the listener on a journey of introspection.
Born and raised in Long Island, NY, Araya has long dreamt of pursuing a career in music. Having written songs from the age of 10, Araya uses music as a medium to comprehend and channel his emotions into reflective tales of self-acceptance and understanding.
“I think my music is mainly inspired by curiosity to forever learn and further investigate certain parts of myself that have led me to a deeper understanding of my place here. I think music has provided me a space to dissect my thoughts and experiences in an organic way that is lasting. The drafts of both my perspective and choices come to represent me and my journey.”
After a brief stint attending the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan, Araya came to the realization that although his time in college had allowed him to form meaningful relationships with like-minded creatives and hone his artistic talents in fields outside of music such as photography and graphic design, ultimately remaining in a college environment wasn’t conducive with Araya’s lifelong ambition of sharing his sound and identity with the rest of the world.
“Atlas is my personal map/guide to self-discovery; each major event, revelation, and freedom has led to furthering ever-changing versions of both myself and my art. As the project neared completion, I had felt like a weathered superhero amongst my own set of avenger accomplices; I had just felt so comfortable, confident, and able. It wasn’t until I stepped out of the way of my own self; put my worries and anxieties aside to nurture my dreams that I felt able to feel an honest safety in myself and my people. Finding this sort of “Eden” right under my nose in my own strengths and special qualities is the first major thing I hope to pass on to my fellow humans floating through this universe. It’s all inside of us and we’ve always been enough, that’s how I and my art feels existing right now.”
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/Arayaworld-104328554948857
https://twitter.com/arayaworldly
https://www.instagram.com/arayaworld
https://apple.co/34glWgV
https://spoti.fi/2EJN5QF
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtBuKK69DJosstwWifv7nEw -
Blacklite District – Goodbye (Regular & Minecraft Version)
Spearfish, SD based electronic alternative rock act Blacklite District (BLD) has released two videos for their single, “Goodbye,” off of their third LP, Instant Gratification, one an official video and the second a Minecraft video.
Blacklite District follows no rules. With sounds of everything from electronic, EDM and hip-hop, to hard rock and alternative, the band truly stands out from the pack of what has become today’s generic sounding “Active Rock”. Formed in 2012 by Kyle Pfeiffer and Roman James, ages 12 and 11 respectively, the band grew organically in their local music scene through the years to come. In 2011, BLD was discovered by Grammy Award-winning producer, Stephen Short (Paul McCartney, Queen), which resulted in a 10 day recording session at the world’s largest residential recording studio, Sonic Ranch, just outside of Mexico in Tonillo, TX. The group re-located to Los Angeles and played some of the most famous venues in the world for the remainder of 2011.
In 2013, the group released “With Me Now” as the lead from it’s debut album Worldwide Controversy. “With Me Now” immediately went to #1 on SiriusXM channels Octane and Faction, hit the Top 40 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Chart (#32), and sold 100,000 copies. BLD went on a very successful US tour with Saving Abel in Jan-Apr 2014, with 26 of those shows SOLD OUT. After a legal battle with their management and record label, Blacklite District went on hiatus in late 2014.
On August 23, “The Struggle” was release to radio and To Whom It May Concern went for pre-order at digital retailers. Revolver Magazine premiered the music video for “The Struggle” on August 25. The band also announced a 41 date tour called “The Struggle Is Real Tour”. Blacklite District released a Nightcore remix of “The Struggle” to YouTube on September 6, which got over 2,000,000 plays and resulted in the single breaking the Top 40 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Indicator chart at #36.
One month later, on October 6, the group released a Nightcore remix of “We Are The Danger” which got over 400,000 plays on YouTube. A couple of weeks later, the band released “Broken Souls” to radio, as well as a Nightcore remix which resulted in 500,000 plays and hitting #30 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Indicator. This was the second song in the month of October to break the Top 40 (along with “The Struggle.”)
“The Ghost of You and Me” was released as a music video and a Nightcore remix on December 28, 2016. The song was yet again a success for Blacklite District resulting in 400,000.
On January 20, 2017, BLD released “Living In A Nightmare” as the first single from upcoming album Instant Gratification. With a coinciding Nightcore release, “Living In A Nightmare” broke the Top 25 on the BDS Indicator chart, marking the bands highest spot in chart history. The song has been streamed over 250,000 times.
On February 24, famed radio DJ Lou Brutus posted the bands video for “Cold As Ice”, which was released the same day. The song scored a whopping 350,000 streams in its first week alone, and as of May 2017, has over 3.5 million combined views on YouTube. “Cold As Ice” serves as the second single from Instant Gratification. In the summer of 2017, “Cold As Ice” was added to Spotify’s “Rock Hard” playlist, and was put into rotation on SiriusXM’s alternative channel Faction. In October, “Cold As Ice” was added to rotation on SiriusXM Octane, and it’s Minecraft music video has over 10 million views on YouTube. There are about 4 videos about a Herobrine invasion with zombies and “nether watchers” and how the main character, a player in a blue suit, survives. There are 4 songs in total in the order of The Struggle, Cold as Ice, We are the Danger (possibly not from Blacklite District), and Just so you Know.
Blacklite District released their third album Instant Gratification on September 22, going Top 10 on Amazon’s Top Electronic Albums chart.
LINKS:
http://www.blacklitedistrict.net
https://www.facebook.com/pg/BlackliteDistrict
http://www.twitter.com/officialbld
https://www.instagram.com/blacklitedistrict -
Vix 20 – Tron Takes the Train
Vix20 is Gary Mills and CJ, two music industry veterans who grew so disillusioned with the state of every element of the music industry that they both walked away vowing not to return…fast forward a few years, now rejuvenated, though no less prickly about the Modern Age, they return, to quote the band themselves, “we’re hard rockers turned to the dark side of pop”. As evidenced in their single, Digital Age, their passion for power-pop (don’t say ‘punk-pop’ to them, it suggests too much jumping around) and dexterity with words combines to become insanely catchy 3-minute thunderbolts. Completing the Vix line up is long time conspirators Rich Norris and Kill, with a busy year ahead the next single is planned for April and the band will appear at the International pop overthrow festival in May at the legendary Liverpool venue The Cavern.
LINKS:
https://www.vix20.com
https://www.instagram.com/vixtwenty
https://www.facebook.com/vixtwentymusic
https://twitter.com/Vixtwenty
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuPABFfRP8fWPKkp6mA9Kkw
https://open.spotify.com/artist/01fEKKUsAN1pp9jguVrTQG?si=0cMw1OI6R6mM2iO_42M6sw