Shimmering guitar lines and a pared-back arrangement serve as a backdrop to Rayon’s heartfelt confessions of failure and imperfection. ‘Made Of Gold’ chronicles those times when the wellsprings of our emotion overcome our flood barriers and overflow as we fail to uphold our own often fastidious psychological standards. “Hard times are no stranger to my door,” he sings, relating his personal struggle with our complicated and erringly human interior lives. It’s a richly layered song that thrums with the splendor of Rayon’s voice. Combining vintage and modern influences, ‘Made Of Gold is a haunting, soulful, and eminently relatable song which lays bare the touching contradictions at the heart of the human experience. It’s an impressive sleight of hand from an artist who is carving an original and beguiling space in contemporary music.
Often people think because you present yourself in a certain way, that you have everything together. Made Of Gold song attempts to show that even though these words that I try to live by are ‘made of gold’, I somehow still fall in doubt and I’m most certainly not perfect. I’m a closed person in general so this EP contains some personal songs, and I guess its a way of people getting closer to me.
About ‘Closer’ EP
Written and self-produced by Rayon himself, and mixed and mastered by Alberto Coin, Closer is a set of songs that draws listeners deep into Rayon Nelson’s artistic world. Confessional and tender in tone, the four songs that comprise the EP meditate on the concept of identity from four distinct viewpoints. From the soulful and relatable psychological interiority of lead track ‘Made Of Gold’, Rayon lays himself open. Following that, there’s the familial ‘Granny’ – a poignant thank you message to his grandparents, which he contrasts with ‘Where Were You?’, a heartfelt message to an absent father. Closing with the expansive and ambitious ‘Freedom’, Rayon steps outside of his persona and empathizes with the global oppressed. By his own admission Rayon is a guarded figure, but through the humbling honesty of ‘Closer’ he lays himself bare, and in so doing he reveals himself to be a relatable, charming, flawed, but also an incisive lyricist with an inimitable new sound.
EP Track Listings
- Made Of Gold
- Granny
- Where Were You
- Freedom
About Rayon Nelson
Lauded for his captivating and soulful vocals, Rayon Nelson has achieved remarkable status for an independent artist. With eclectic influences from Jamaica, London, and Suffolk, his music presents an inspirational and compassionate lyricism, set often to a sonic backdrop which encompasses a broad fusion of styles. Shaped by early exposure to an array of different music such as reggae, old school gospel, and soul from artists including Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff and Lauryn Hill, Rayon Nelson’s work is a matchless synthesis of the styles and vibes that formed him. He was shortlisted for Glastonbury festival, performed at Isle Of Wight Festival, and often featured on BBC Introducing and BBC 1Xtra whilst remaining unsigned. His latest EP ‘Yung Solo’ has attracted over 380k streams on Spotify, and has been featured in numerous blogs such as Hilly Dilly while attracting major industry interest. After a one year hiatus, Rayon is now releasing his Closer EP and intends to firmly make his mark in the music industry this year.
LINKS:
https://www.rayonsofficialmusic.com
https://www.facebook.com/rayonsofficialmusic
https://soundcloud.com/rayon-nelson
https://twitter.com/rayonnelson
https://www.instagram.com/rayonnelson
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Sa-Roc – Goddess Gang
Goddess Gang is the ultimate squad anthem of 2018. “Goddess Gang” barrels through staid interpretations of femininity and turns respectability politics on its head with a spitfire lyrical cadence and 808 heavy track reminiscent of the dopest HBCU marching band. Throughout the Sol Messiah produced banger, Sa-Roc rejects conventional expectations of female rappers so prevalent within the industry, demanding to be judged not on her appearance, but lyrical skill alone. At one point she rhymes, “Beauty irrelevant, this is not pageants. I’m a rap dragon. Every time I open my trap its fire and your outlook ending up tragic”, warning all who underestimate her talent to beware.
The video, directed by Tommy Nova, symbolically employs color-saturated visuals to both engage the viewer and to illuminate the faces of women that have long been rendered invisible from historical narratives, religious iconography, and traditionally gendered career roles. The song perfectly punctuates this imagery with jarringly bright horns and staccato percussion, challenging the world to prepare for a future defined by our own terms. To put it plainly, it’s a certified bop. Only one thing remains in question. You ready?
About Sa-Roc:
Sa-Roc has carved out her own lane through a combination of airtight wordplay and intelligent concepts. Over the course of her illustrious career, she’s released a series of independent releases, performed alongside the likes of Talib Kweli, Dead Prez, and Atmosphere, and she’s one of the few MC’s to perform regularly as a featured artist with The Roots, all around the country. Sa-Roc landed an underground hit in 2014 with “The Who?” featuring David Banner before signing to Rhymesayers Entertainment. In 2017, she delivered a fiery cameo on “We Got This” from Brother Ali’s All The Beauty In This Whole Life LP, before joining him as direct support on his Own Light Tour across North America, which she followed with an unforgettable performance to an audience of over 30K at Soundset Festival.Then she made waves in 2018 with the release of her newest single, “Forever”, quickly racking up 400k streams on Spotify and over 1M views on YouTube. She also appeared William Feagins Jr.’s film, The Possibility Of Her, this year–a feature-length documentary that highlights 12 women of color who are actively involved in non-traditional careers or passions, echoing many of the same obstacles overcome by Sa-Roc in her own career.
LINKS:
http://sarocthemc.com
https://rhymesayers.com/artists/saroc
https://twitter.com/sarocthemc
https://www.facebook.com/sarocthemc -
Andreas S Jensen – Only Die Once
Andreas has written, produced and remixed songs for artists like; Sam & The Womp, Armand Van Helden, Kevin Lyttle, Nerina Pallot and Vybz Kartel, and has sold close to a million copies of his songs worldwide.
Andreas writes catchy, alternative pop songs mentioning inspirations from artists like David Bowie, Tom Petty, Elliot Smith, Jeff Buckley, Johnny Cash, Lou Reed, Elvis Costello and The Zombies….
Andreas also gigs with reggae/breakbeat/Drum and Bass pioneers Dub Pistols.
in 2011 Andreas started visiting the Austin, Texas-based House Of Songs; a collaboration project supported by songwriting collection societies from around the world.
Andreas’ solo debut ep Disconnected was released in January 2014, featuring three songs written and partly recorded at the Austin retreat in collaboration with local writers.
A DIY video of the song Unchanged was shot on an iPhone in Andreas’ girlfriends London flat and the song Take My Heart And Go received support from Tom Robinson on BBC6 Music.
The coming album Disturbed will feature performances by an impressive group of London session players, friends Andreas has met via his producer and session work including: Adam Falkner on drums (Babyshambles/Dido), guitarist Garo Nahoulakian (Nadine Shah), Antonia Pagulatos on violin and viola (Gorillaz, Blur), cellist Ben Trigg (Arctic Monkeys, Unkle, Jamie Collum), Jesper Lind (Jack Savoretti), Nikolai Bjerre (Lamb), Jack Cowens (Dub Pistols/Bondax), and many others.
As a writer/producer Andreas’ co-writes has sold close to a million copies with artists like Kevin Lyttle (USA), Armand Van Helden (USA), Nate James (UK), Stefanie Heinzmann (Tyskland) and as a remixer, producer, session player and engineer he has collaborated with people like Dido, Rizzle Kicks, Vybz Kartel, Sam And The Womp, Beenie Man, Nerina Pallot, Loick Essien and many others.
Andreas writes catchy, alternative pop songs with inspirations from artists like David Bowie, Tom Petty, Soundgarden, Elliot Smith and The Zombies.
SOURCE: Official Bio
LINKS:
https://AndreasSJensen.com
https://twitter.com/andreassjensen
https://youtube.com/user/AndreasSjensen1
https://facebook.com/AndreasJensenMusic -
Greywind – Am I Asleep?
Greywind has released their new video for the track titled ‘Am I Asleep?’. Starting with that subtle burn of a hook and the lush vocals of Steph O’Sullivan on vocals and the brilliant guitar work of her brother Paul, ‘Am I Asleep?’ hits you right in the creative feels in such a way that it will stay with you and become a part of your musical conscious. This song is beautiful.
ABOUT GREYWIND
Making little secret of their ambitious global plans, Greywind is fast proving themselves as a force to be reckoned with. Raised in the Irish town of Killarney, their mutual passion for expansive, stadium-sized rock music has since propelled them beyond the confines of stifled opportunity and into realms of superstar potential.
Produced by Romesh Dodangoda (Bring Me The Horizon) the duo’s brand-new single, ‘Am I Asleep?’ bursts with textual, cinematic magnitude. The track’s sweeping post-rock soundscapes alternate between tender, evocative and aggressive. Steph O’Sullivan’s voice is the magic ingredient that elevates Greywind into another dimension. And don’t miss the epic accompanying video, see here.
Greywind: “During the writing process for ‘Am I Asleep?’, we were heavily inspired by movies. We’ve always aimed to bring a cinematic sound to our music and visuals, and we wanted to expand on that more than ever.”
Formed by siblings Steph (vocals) and Paul O’Sullivan (guitar), Greywind are an alternative rock duo from Killarney, Ireland. Armed with a powerful mission statement, painstaking years calling out to be noticed were condensed into a single week, when the first song they uploaded to SoundCloud was picked up by Zane Lowe and Daniel P Carter on Radio 1, a deluge of industry interest followed, and a bidding war with all the major record labels.
The band’s eventual 2017 debut album, Afterthoughts would go on to address the dark heart of the human condition and lay out the foundations for the band’s thirst for stardom. Recorded at Sonic Ranch Studios in Texas with Grammy-award-winning producer, Jason Perry, the album was released through Universal and charted in the Official UK Rock Charts on the day of their sold-out debut headline show in London.
In 2020, Greywind toured with the American rock band, Palaye Royale, and was selected to perform for the US Embassy. They’ve also played some of the biggest stages around the world, including Reading and Leeds Festival, Isle of Wight Festival, Download Festival, Rock Am Ring, and have supported the likes of You Me At Six, Thrice, and The Coronas. Greywind has been heavily backed by BBC Radio 1, Zane Lowe, and MTV.
LINKS:
https://greywindband.com
https://twitter.com/greywindband
https://instagram.com/greywindband
https://www.facebook.com/greywind
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QFfYJq7jdx8GnVrePpZm4?si=oJgIZGaoSiaDjO4l9YkqKg