Moonshine Booze present ‘Happy’ as the second single off their debut album ‘Desert Road’, released via Seahorse Recordings. Along with that, they reveal a new surreal video shot against the backdrop of vivid Kafkaesque scenery. Written by Emiliano Zapata and realized with the masterful supervision of videographer Jessica Montebello, who shot and edited the clip, in addition to her tremendous artistic contribution involving certain peculiar characters.
This story juxtaposes the immense landscape of the scorching desert with a smoky and dark journey that projects through an illusory door. Darkness and light, solitude and freedom side-by-side and yet opposite, and the fragile equilibrium of the characters, such as the emblematic clown, obsessed by chronic mood swings. These are allegories of the most arduous and torturing journey the mind can conceive – a journey towards happiness and the demolition of ‘social rules’ that inevitably tide the mind within stringent tormentous borders.
Combining grit blues rock with alternative country, Moonshine Booze’s music has been described as psychedelic country blues-tinged rock, as well as brazen desert alcoholic acoustic rock. The album’s release was preceded by their first single ‘The Place’, along with a fiery retro-freakish yet humorous video.
Moonshine Booze formed in the summer of 2014 in Teramo, Italy. This trio is comprised of Andrea Manila (vocals), Emiliano Zapata (guitar) and Fabio Manchos (drums). The video for ‘The Place’ was a collaborative effort between Emiliano Zapata and Josh Heisenberg, with Zapata writing the scenario, Josh handling the filming and editing, and both on direction.
Having been active on the music scene for over twenty years in various bands, both in Italy and The USA, the trio has gathered and elaborate experiences from different musical genres, putting them to good use in their new project.
The initial idea behind this band was to put out a series of classic covers from Johnny Cash to Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Little Walter and J.B. Leonor, which were to be completely rearranged while still preserving the rude and crude grooves of their roots.
After honing their sound during several years of playing many small venues (the band prefers such intimate venues), Moonshine Booze realized that they had developed their own unique sound – a sort of cynical mix of western-funk-tex-mex-rock in a bluesy tone sauce and with bizarre touches, setting them apart from the standard fare in the ‘rock’ realm.
The idea led the band to finally isolate themselves in the studio for over three months to write, record and complete their debut album ‘Desert Road’. Strongly influenced by the likes of The Who, Johnny Cash, The Rolling Stones, Tom Waits, The Kinks and ZZ Top, they managed to create 14 unique tracks for their debut release, integrating what the band had collectively gained from their previous musical experience. In the recording process, they did not follow any formal rules or standard, but simply adhered to the motto “if it sounds good … it’s good!”.
‘Desert Road’ is now available across digital stores and streaming platforms and can also be found via Seahorse Recordings’ Bandcamp.
LINKS:
http://www.facebook.com/moonshinebooze
http://soundcloud.com/moonshinebooze
http://seahorserec.bandcamp.com/album/moonshine-booze-desert-road
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Arlo – Rivers
East London based soul/ pop artist ARLO recently revealed gorgeous new pop song, ” Rivers”. Having been featured by Spotify New Music Friday and gaining the acclaim of a variety of publications, ARLO has revealed a stunning Jackson Ducasse directed video for the track.
The past few months have seen the fast riser take big strides forward, with two London sellouts at Camden Assembly and The Waiting Room as well as Mick Jenkins collaboration “Changing” cementing ARLO as an artist to watch throughout 2019. Clocking up over a million Spotify streams as an independent artist and press support from the likes of Complex, Highsnobiety, Nylon, The Independent and more, ARLO has been putting together a stellar catalog of releases and will continue to do so this year. Add him to your ones to watch list.
You can catch ARLO headlining 02 Islington Assembly on June 5th, 2019. Grab your tickets HERE.
LINKS:
https://www.iamarlo.com
https://twitter.com/iam_arlo
https://www.facebook.com/iamarlomusic
https://www.instagram.com/Iam_arlo -
Skyfever – Kings
“Kings was written after a lost weekend involving a lot of whiskeys, Muhammed Ali documentaries, Game of Thrones and rediscovering early U2 albums. Embracing the war within and who you really are is an important mantra within our band and this song is the anthem for that way of life.
It is the focal track of our ‘Rear View Mirror’ EP and has been playlisted at the stadiums of the New York Yankees, Carolina Panthers, and Tennessee Titans “
About Skyfever
Skyfever is a rock band from Ireland who is breaking through in a big way, with their music being selected for play in a number of famous sports stadiums. Their infectious rock music has filled the stadiums of Liverpool FC, Chelsea FC, the Tennessee Titans, the world famous New York Yankees and also at the Carolina Panthers 75,000 seater Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. With this band, rock finds its rightful home!Legendary rocker Alice Cooper is a fan, and last year he endorsed the band by not only playing their track, The Returning, to listeners of his worldwide-syndicated radio show, Nights with Alice Cooper, but also by personally sharing their track on social media and praising their talent. In fact, radio stations across the USA have recognized Skyfever and they have been played on stations from Philadelphia (WCLH) to Chicago (WZRD) to Nashville, Tennessee (Under the Gun Radio).
The UK has got behind Skyfever too, with Jim Gellatly (Amazing Radio) playing their music and the renowned Fred Perry Subculture website name-checking them alongside Otherkin, Heathers and Squarehead as ‘Top 20 Dublin Bands to Watch’.
Skyfever is Luke Lang on vocals, Brian Clarke on guitar/sounds, Tyson Harding on guitar, Ciaran O’Brien on bass and Karl Hand on drums.
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/Skyfevermusic
https://twitter.com/skyfever1
http://www.skyfevermusic.com
https://www.instagram.com/skyfevermusic
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4HPFvyJT6JkaEaoZFFUurl
https://www.snapchat.com/add/skyfevermusic01 -
Holygram – A Faction
German post-punk shoegaze outfit Holygram present ‘A Faction’ – the second single off their long-awaited debut LP ‘Modern Cults’. Comprised of eleven tracks, this album will be released on CD and double vinyl, as well as digitally via Cleopatra Records, on November 9, 2018.
This news follows the lead single ‘Signals’. Prior to that, the Cologne-based outfit released their self-titled EP in 2016. Holygram cleverly blends new wave and Krautrock with post-punk and shoegaze to achieve headstrong multi-layered bliss. This is a thoroughly contemporary homage to the sound of the ’80s with a resolute look to the future – the result is driving, dark and catchy.
Produced by Maurizio Baggio, who also produced The Soft Moon’s ‘Deeper’ and ‘Criminal’ albums, this long-play was recorded at Cologne’s Amen Studios. The new video for ‘A Faction’ is produced by WE OWN YOU GmbH and directed by Jan-Peter Horns with animation by Alison Flora.
Holygram is Patrick Blümel (vocals), Sebastian Heer (drums), Marius Lansing (guitars), Pilo Lenger (synthesizers) and Bennett Reimann (bass). Formed in 2015, the band’s approach to making music references the past, while remaining future-oriented. Hard-to-combine elements cleverly come together to become the soundtrack of a city that appears threatening in the twilight.
The new album intensifies Holygram‘s contemplation of themes such as big cities, alienation and anonymity, hope and memories, love and identity. These reflections interact closely with the band’s unmistakable signature sound. Atmosphere oscillates between the brutal sounds of the big city and the fragility of the people that lose themselves in it – intelligently observed scenarios of a world falling apart in which individuals have long ceased to play a leading role.
The band recently accompanied British synthpop legends OMD on their 2017 European tour and have played numerous festivals, including Mailfeld Derby, Wave-Gotik-Treffen and New Waves Day. Wrapping themselves in dense wafts of mist and cool lighting on stage, they’ve made quite a name for themselves on the live circuit.
As of November 9, the ‘Modern Cults’ LP will be available everywhere, but can already be ordered via Cleopatra Records on CD and vinyl, and also digitally via Bandcamp. The album will be released in Europe via Oblivion / SPV.
Holygram will be touring Europe and US/Canada this fall with one of the biggest electronic bands on the planet, VNV Nation, as well as DE/VISION for the North American tour. They will hold two release shows – the first, in Cologne on Nov. 9, marks the end of their European tour, while the Los Angeles release show on Nov. 14 (at The Viper Room) kicks off their North American tour.
LINKS:
http://holygram.band
https://www.facebook.com/holygram.official
https://holygram.bandcamp.com
https://www.instagram.com/holygram_band