Fresh off the release of their violin-driven pop punk single “Just Make Sure You’re Happy,” Texas-based quintet Postcards From The Moon are back with a new music video and single called “Wish You The Best.” Violinist Rolando Valentin Ramon sets down the high-pitched instrument and picks up a guitar for the finely tuned ballad.
“Wish You The Best” comes from the band’s new EP, Me Without You, out now on all online platforms. The song begins with quick and sweet piano riff before launching into a swaying groove and lyrics that could be the millennial anthem for a failed friendship.
“I wrote this song about an ex-friend of mine,” says vocalist Caleb Rangel. “It’s about me not holding grudges for the way things ended and simply wishing her the best. I only want her to be happy. The lyrics were influenced by a Snapchat story. Another friend of mine was going through something similar and was posting photos with captions that really got to me. I used a lot of her original words as lyrics in this song, after getting the ‘okay’ from her of course.”
Me Without You is the sophomore EP from the self-proclaimed “Sad Boys of San Antonio” and is mostly a reflection and acceptance of things we cannot change. It was produced by Kevin W. Gates (Never Shout Never, Stephen Jerzak, The Ready Set).
LINKS:
https://www.pftmband.com
https://www.facebook.com/pftmband
https://instagram.com/pftmband
https://twitter.com/pftmband
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Michael Rhodes – Feel It (Live At St Lukes Church, Kentish Town)
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 -
The Alpha Fire – Trail of Tears
Syracuse rock band The Alpha Fire has released the official music video for their single, “Trail of Tears.” Filmed by Wade Spencer (Imagen Records) at the abandoned Seneca Army Depot in Upstate NY, “Trail of Tears” is a third person narrative which journeys inside the mindset of a lost soul. It is a dark and brooding representation of the seriousness of the current mental health crisis in America.
The Alpha Fire is a 5 piece rock/alternative band from Upstate New York. Never to be contained by one style or genre, The Alpha Fire maintains its signature sound through the intense delivery of seasoned vocalist Jon Lamanna, the beautiful harmonies of Jesse Maty (guitars, synth, vocals) and the eclectically original lead guitar work of Naren Ananda. Bassist Bryan King adds the perfect foundation.
Formed in 2016, the band has already achieved significant regional notoriety, having recently been selected to represent Central New York as the regional winner of Cumulus Media’s national “Next2Rock” competition. With the release of their debut full-length album Embers, The Alpha Fire will soon be a household name in the world of progressive rock and alternative music, naturally attracting fans of other genres as well through its diverse and undeniably original sound.
“The best live band in New York State”
– Randy Peck, owner, The Montage Music Hall – Rochester NY“The best unsigned band in the country”
– Scott Dixon, Assistant Program Director, WAQX-FM- Syracuse, NYLINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/thealphafire
https://twitter.com/TheAlphaFire
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkvSFpHw_zYDCP5qduMi10Q
https://www.instagram.com/thealphafireofficial -
Beauty in Chaos ft. Kat Leon – Stranger (Holy Wars – Cruel World Mix)
Beauty in Chaos have teamed up with holy Wars’ Kat Leon and Nick Perez to come up with a completely different and sublimely beautiful reimaging of ‘Stranger’ from the ‘Out of Chaos Comes…’.
The video is a clear departure stylistically from the past videos of Beauty in Chaos. Featuring a more haunting and introverted visual, the video encapsulates with dark precision the mood of the new song, taking a dark turn from the original version in ways that almost hint ‘alternate universe’.
Not quite industrial, not quite darkwave, not quite post-modern, not quite dystopian, the Holy Wars Cruel World Mix of ‘Stranger’ rolls uphill to a dark crescendo with the bravado of original music and the swagger of legends.
Check out our Q & A with Michael Ciravolo, curator of all things beautiful and chaotic, about this new mix below.
How did you and Kat Leon come to work together?
I stumbled on Holy Wars after they opened up for a Schecter band… Papa Roach. I thought Kat had an amazing voice. I checked out a few of their videos on YouTube and just reached out. She and Nick came by and we hit it off well. They are nice, genuine and some of the hardest working people I have met in this business. After Michael Rozon and I did the music to what eventually became ‘Stranger’, I sent it to her and she poured her heart, soul and ‘story’ into the lyrics. It is my favorite track on ‘The Storm Before The Calm’, and I look forward to having her on the next record.
The new video seems to be an even bigger departure stylistically than the previous video. Is that a conscious decision and is the new remixes an influence on that?
I think if you look at all our BIC videos, I think you will see sort of that ‘pattern’. I strive for each video to be as different visually from its predecessor as possible. I had seen Fre’s work on a few Holy Wars’ videos and felt it was a perfect visual counterpart to Nick’s remix. With this in mind, I was happy that I could pull the ‘Temple Of Desire’ video together as quickly as we did as we needed to sit between this new ‘Stranger’ video and ‘A Kind Cruelty’. This new video is also as different visually as it is musically from the original version that closes out ‘The Storm Before The Calm’ vinyl.
Is the current album of remixes showing a hint at what the new album could be or may be?
I certainly love the ‘elements’ that the great and diverse cast of artists used in creating their individual remixes on ‘Out Of Chaos Comes…’. Not sure what of that will seep into the new album yet. I do know that I am looking forward to having both Kat Leon and Cinthya Hussey; who are a big part of this remix album, on what comes next. I think my off-the-cuff description of ‘Bauhaus meets Bjork’ is going to have to suffice…. for now
.Check out our other features with Beauty in Chaos HERE.
ABOUT ‘STRANGER (HOLY WARS – CRUEL WORLD MIX)’
Beauty in Chaos announces the third video/single from their ‘Out Of Chaos Comes…’ album – ‘Stranger’ (Holy Wars -Cruel World Mix) featuring Kat Leon. This extreme sonic treatment to the original ‘Cocteau Twins-esque’ version that appears on ‘The Storm Before The Calm’ was created by Holy Wars guitarist Nick Perez.
BIC’s main-man Michael Ciravolo says “Since Beauty In Chaos is not a typical band, our videos are really the ‘face’ of BIC, I strive for each video to be different and as much of a 180-degree shift from the previous as possible! Fre’s video treatment on this video is certainly light years different than ‘Temple Of Desire’ so I can check that box! ‘Stanger’ is one of my favorite songs we have done. This was certainly a popular choice for many of the artists to remix, and I really love what Nick did with the song and his deconstructing approach, injecting sort of Massive Attack / ‘90s NIN sonics to it. As soon as I heard it, I knew it would be perfect for Fre’s editing style.”
Kat Leon adds “The reimagination of “Stranger” by Nick Perez (Holy Wars) is one of my favorites. I love how he restructured the song and made a new arrangement giving it an overall mechanical, dark, and industrial vibe. The music video for this track, edited by Fre Pacheco, compliments the song well with its intense and thought-provoking imagery. The idea to bury one’s self is the feeling in this video- using footage I previously shot waiting for the right track to showcase it and this remix of Stranger seemed to be a perfect fit. I would say the video for this remix was much of a remix itself using footage from my personal arsenal, footage from the original “Stranger” music video, and additional imagery bridging all worlds together.”
“The Cruel World remix is a dark cinematic interpretation of “Stranger”. The original piece was so lush and beautiful that it seemed it would be a great challenge to make it ugly and cold using heavy distortion, industrial elements, and tape”
Nick Perez (Holy Wars)CREDITS
‘Stranger’ written by Kat Leon, Michael Rozon, and Michael Ciravolo
Kat Leon; voice
Nick Perez: guitars, synths, and drum programming
Michael Ciravolo: guitars
Michael Rozon: pianoVIDEO CREDITS
Created and edited by Fre Pacheco (Flares and Glitches)
Additional footage by Erin Nahifeh and Arden Fisher
Drone footage by Leo Lesh
Original ‘Stranger’ video footage by Leslie Gladney and Eric ThirteenLINKS:
https://www.beautyinchaosmusic.com
https://www.facebook.com/beautyinchaosmusic
https://www.instagram.com/beauty.inchaos
https://twitter.com/MichaelCiravolo
https://www.beautyinchaosmusic.com/music-store
https://www.beautyinchaosmusic.com/bic-blog
https://soundcloud.com/33-3-music-collective
https://beautyinchaos.bandcamp.com