‘The Layered Effect’ by US rapper/producer Andy Cooper offers a punchy reminder of the creative fun to be had in digging for breaks, stringing up loops and layering up strata of sound. Brimming full of delightful inflections from the world of Jazz, Easy Listening, Film Soundtracks and Hollywood voices, it’s a perfectly stitched sound patchwork that pays loving homage to the classic, funky days of early rap. A touching testimony to the joys of Hip Hop then and now.
More than just the skinny white dude who’s into old school beats, Andy Cooper has won his stripes after a twenty year stint with Hip Hop trio Ugly Duckling, then a couple more hanging out with The Allergies, not to mention the recent release of eight 7” singles, an EP and now his second solo LP. What is utterly charming is how enamored and respectful he is how it was at the beginning AND of how it still should be. Far from being the “old timer/delusional revivalist” he describes in ‘Last of the Dying Breed’, Cooper cares not about color or age, but that rap stays fresh, exciting, competitive, similar to a precious martial art.
For Andy, rap is a noble form. He’s a wordsmith extraordinaire, snappy and audacious, tipping his hat “to all the microphoners who still bring that dedication and expertise to their craft” and choosing to work with equally rapid sparring partners like Blabbermouf and MC Abdominal. Ownership of the genre is a constant theme throughout the LP. Like a contact sport, you punch and fight your way to the mic and once there “no one can take it from me”. Reverance is constantly being paid to the dons that went before, overtly Rick Rubin & the Def Jam crew, but covertly the Reggae sound systems and jazzers of old.
Not a sloppy note or shabby rhyme here. It’s an album that pops and fizzes with quirky beats and funky rhythms from start to finish. With production lines neater and sharper than a pair of sta press trousers, it’s impossible not to be seduced by the sheer buoyancy of the lyrics, beats, and intention. A refreshingly entire body of work with no low points, only head-nodding highs. It’s good to stumble across a Hip Hop album that has you giggling, thinking, singing and wearing out the soles of your shoes all at once.
LINKS:
http://www.youtube.com/user/uglyducklingvideos
http://www.instagram.com/andycooper75
http://www.facebook.com/acooper75
http://soundcloud.com/rocafortrecords/sets/andy-cooper-the-layered-effect/s-qKLg0
http://rocafortrecords.com
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Jammerzine’s The Week in #Indie for 8/10/2020
Exclusive interviews featuring singer/songwriter Sami Chohfi, solo artist and frontman for The Awakening Ashton Nyte, and social media celebrity Nicole Ciravolo as well as video, single, and album premieres from Fly the Nest, Zenith Volt, CloudRunners, Plastic Barricades, Black Bordello, and Mantis and the Prayer.
About Sami Chohfi
Sami is the type of artist that holds the world in his heart and wears that heart on his sleeve. To listen, in this interview, how and why his songs came to be is not only an inspiration for the musician but a lesson in humanity. I wish more people were like Sami. The world would be a much kinder place. and, in this interview, we get a history and reasoning behind his new single and video titled ‘This Majesty’ (video below) as well as his upcoming album titled ‘Extraordinary World’.
LINKS:
https://samichohfimusic.com
https://twitter.com/samichohfimusic
https://www.facebook.com/samichohfimusic
https://instagram.com/samichohfimusic
https://itunes.apple.com/artist/sami-chohfi/1460610496
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4xdpDgzzdLx365502fJweY?si=uTDiAQHiTpyR0iR_8zaKLQ
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sami-chohfi-45290879/
https://pandora.com/artist/sami-chohfi/AR7gVzlwtg77gzX
https://www.youtube.com/samichohfimusic
https://music.amazon.ca/artists/B001RWYDFS?tab=CATALOG&ref=dm_wcp_artist_link_pr_s
https://soundcloud.com/sami-chohfi
https://listen.tidal.com/artist/15568916About Ashton Nyte
Ashton Nyte has recently released his album and companion book titled ‘Waiting For A Voice’. This is a wonderful interview, to say the least. More of a conversation, actually. What we get is that voice we’ve all been waiting for. And that voice is the type of voice we need in this day and age. I’m not talking phonetically. I mean spiritually. Musically.
Both the album and book are from the mind of someone who observes and interprets. The songs are the music that sews the heart to the sleeve and the book is a brilliant and compassionate collage of lyrics, poetry, and autobiographical segments. And the result is a medium of solitary substance that, I hope, the listener inherits as much as they ingest.
And what we get today is that deep conversation with Ashton, where we talk about the album and book ‘Waiting For A Voice’ and get in-depth about both an introverted human being giving the world a voice we’ve been needing but also that inspiration that we can use to move forward.
Take a look at what ‘Waiting For A Voice’ is and get a copy HERE.
Check out our other features about Ashton Nyte HERE.
LINKS:
https://ashtonnyte.com
https://facebook.com/ashtonnyte
https://youtube.com/ashtonnyte
https://instagram.com/ashtonnyte
https://twitter.com/ashtonnyte
https://theawakening.com
https://facebook.com/theawakeningofficial
https://youtube.com/theawakeningsaAbout Nicole Ciravolo
We are mixing it up when it comes to interviews. As you know, normally we interview musicians, but today, we are branching out and have reached out to an internet celebrity in the form of TikTok sensation Nicole Ciravolo. Having already gotten major press from the likes of Buzzfeed (article HERE), Nicole has not only began captivating audiences on the TikTok platform but is someone who is seasoning her resume and honing her craft. Having already gained experience via Second City, Nicole is expanding her experience via the various outlets out there and gaining an audience with her personality, style, and skillsets after having literally conquered TikTok with millions of views and likes while also rapidly approaching a million followers.
And today we get a glimpse of things to come with this exclusive interview with Nicole. We discuss her plan for the future, as well as her take on the state of entertainment in this new era of the pandemic and #metoo and the big secret of how to engage with premium content plus her take on the recent battle between TikTok and the U.S. Government. Enjoy!
LINKS:
https://www.instagram.com/nicoleciravolo
https://www.youtube.com/c/nicoleciravolo
https://www.tiktok.com/@nicoleciravolo
https://twitter.com/nicoleciravoloAbout Fly the Nest
Fly the Nest, aka Stephen Cooper, is set to drop his new single titled ‘Wild Ride’. Energetic from the start and passionate throughout, ‘Wild Ride’ is a blossoming track of layered guitars and harmonizing vocals that set the mood and take the stage in ways that harken back to that turn-of-the-century power-pop when rock ruled the world and songwriting mattered.
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/flythenestofficial
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7bsdKGo4cOlAYj1i5HMsRL?si=rQ9qGWU7S46Pm5sTBhVCXwAbout Zenith Volt
Zenith Volt has premiered the new single titled ‘Hold On‘ right here on Jammerzine. Starting off as an electronic burst of energy from the first note, this First Listen garners the attention with ecstatic energy and electric harmony in ways that only a true artist can muster. Designed for the dancefloor and mastered for the masses, ‘Hold On’ gives that certain something we all need to erode the isolation and ‘go through the motion’ and lets us ‘hold on to what we got’, which is each other. This is brilliance with bass.
LINKS:
https://www.zenithvolt.com
https://www.facebook.com/zenithvolt
https://snd.click/ListenToHoldOnAbout CloudRunners
CloudRunners have premiered their new song titled ‘The Only One’ right here on Jammerzine. As a bonus, we also get what is becoming rarer and rarer in the days of the pandemic and that is a video. What I get with that initial listen is a cross between the alternative progressiveness in the underground music scene in that wonderful but all-too-short era in music between 1989 and 1991 when we got absolutely original bands such as Live and School of Fish. This band is of that caliber and level in originality and musical personality. The song itself is a well thought out lesson in songwriting with a solid hook and imaginative vocal-harmony intense chorus.
Let CloudRunners be your next favorite artist.
LINKS:
https://www.cloudrunnersmusic.com
https://www.facebook.com/CloudRunnersMusic
https://instagram.com/CloudRunnersMusic
https://www.twitter.com/CloudRunnersUS
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCto1cEbMQWo7QDAUImhQzRAAbout Plastic Barricades
Plastic Barricades release an acoustic version of their song ‘Tunnel’. The song is one of those types of tracks that really shows it’s true colors when stripped bare and revealed and compared to the original (video below). Plastic Barricades is a band that obviously shines live and let’s hope, for all of our sakes, that those live venues open up soon.
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/plasticbarricades
https://twitter.com/plasticb
https://www.instagram.com/plasticbarricadesAbout Black Bordello
Black Bordello have released their eponymous album. A solid fusion of a little of everything from Fusion to vintage show and everything in between but one thing is for sure, this is all Black Bordello. In all of their glory. And this is what I love about #indie music. That unbreaking originality and melding of influences. This is the love of music put to record.
LINKS:
https://www.blackbordello.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/siennabordello
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0LhmtJ38vRhd35Eg3oC1nt
https://music.apple.com/us/album/leeches-single/1503188893About Mantis and the Prayer
Mantis and the Prayer drop the new EP/Double AA Single titled ‘Murder Ballad and the Blue’. The first track, titled ‘I Know you’, is a sonically diverse yet subtle track with a somber vocal track coupled with layered guitar and an almost light orchestral with cinematic flare. Almost done in a way as to enhance the meaning of the lyrics, ‘I Know You’ is a melancholic soliloquy for the isolated.
‘Go Too Far’, while appearing more upbeat, is just as melancholic in emotion but from a different creative angle. With more of an upbeat demeanor, ‘Go Too Far’ achieves originality with subdued sound effects and an original chord progression that chugs away with the beat.
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/MantisAndThePrayer
https://twitter.com/TheMantisPrayer
https://www.instagram.com/mantisandtheprayer
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3LZeCFFqBGxsSWSs9J5jCN?si=cAkHBCoER_ekv876GZwmpQ
https://soundcloud.com/mantis-and-the-prayerClick HERE to watch Season 6 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’.
Click HERE to watch Season 5 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’.
Click HERE to watch Season 4 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’.
Click HERE to watch Season 3 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’.
Click HERE to watch Season 2 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’.
Click HERE to watch Season 1 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’. -
An Interview with Ashton Nyte (The Week in #Indie Segment)
The Awakening was born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1995 as the creative expression of artist Ashton Nyte. Nyte is the sole songwriter, vocalist, producer and primary instrumentalist behind The Awakening, accompanied by hand-picked musicians for live performances. Dubbed “dark future-rock” and “Johannesburg’s Bowie” by the press, Ashton came to prominence in 1997 with The Awakening’s chart-topping rendition of The Sound Of Silence, followed by another five #1 singles and twelve top 10’s. The anthemic single The Dark Romantics became a staple on alternative dance floors around the world, one of the many gems of The Awakening’s catalog of 8 full-length albums, 3 EPs and 2 greatest hits collections.
Ashton Nyte and The Awakening have toured extensively and headlined festivals in the US, Europe, and South Africa, including Ramfest and the Oppikoppi Festival to over 30 000 people. Nyte and The Awakening have been featured in a diverse range of media, from Rolling Stone and Metal Hammer to Dark Beauty and Fangoria.
As a solo artist Ashton Nyte has released 7 stylistically diverse albums in addition to his work released as The Awakening. After relocating to the US in 2008, Nyte released the cinematic dark-folk album “The Valley” which was toured from New York to New Orleans, played on over 200 US stations and drew comparisons to Nebraska-era Springsteen and Johnny Cash.
Nyte toured South Africa in March / April 2014 to promote The Awakening’s “Anthology XV” release, as well as the release of “Moederland”, his first Afrikaans-language album. “Moederland” was named one of the top 10 Afrikaans albums of the year by Netwerk24 and enjoyed two number 1 singles on Afrikaans radio and featured the Nyte-penned duet with Karin Hougaard.
Nyte’s most recent solo album, “Some Kind Of Satellite” (2015) received critical acclaim and was featured in a variety of press including Gothic Beauty, Sonic Seducer, Dark Beauty, Giuseppina and Auxiliary Magazine, among others. The album saw the artist perform a national sold out headline tour of South Africa, in addition to performing with British alternative rock legend, Wayne Hussey. Nyte’s works have been featured on NPR/PRI in the USA, and he has performed live in-studio to 125 million listeners on the international radio show “Border Crossings”. A prolific artist and activist, Nyte has also written and performed in theatrical productions and organized philanthropic events including his “Rock Against Rape” concert series, and presenting a lecture series at US universities focusing on tolerance and acceptance.
2016 saw Nyte collaborate with British guitarist Mark Gemini Thwaite (Peter Murphy, The Mission, Gary Numan) on MGT’s debut solo album, along with Ville Valo (HIM), and a host of other alternative music luminaries. Nyte also completed a 17 date sold out tour, spanning 12 European countries with The Awakening in October 2016. The tour was in support of UK band The Mission’s 30th Anniversary and included prestigious European venues like O2 Shepherd Bush (London), Hard Club (Porto), Markthalle (Hamburg) and many more. The Awakening was the only support for their leg of the tour and crowd response and merchandise sales reflected an ongoing growth for the love of Nyte’s voice and various musical incarnations. Nyte performed with MGT at the Wave Gotik Treffen festival in Leipzig, along with a UK date in June 2017.
In 2018 Nyte co-wrote and co-produced the second MGT album, called “Gemini Nyte”, with Nyte as the only vocalist and lyricist. The album also featured Paul Ferguson (Killing Joke) on drums and was toured with Jyrki69 (The 69 Eyes) across the US in March of 2018. Nyte is currently completing a range of releases for 2019 and has contributed lyrics and vocals to 3 songs on Michael Ciravolo’s “Beauty in Chaos” project, which features members of The Cure, The Mission, Ice-T, Ministry, Cheap Trick and more. The Nyte / Ciravolo composition “Bloodless And Fragile” was used in the television program “The Purge” on USA network. The Awakening has just released a new album, “Chasm” on 26 November 2018 with first single “Back To Wonderland” currently receiving airplay worldwide.
Ashton Nyte ended off 2018 with working on the score of the movie “Relive” with composer Ethan Gold. The movie stars David Oyelowo, Storm Reid and Mykelti Williamson and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2019.
Check out the full interview HERE.
LINKS:
https://theawakening.com
https://facebook.com/theawakeningofficial
https://youtube.com/theawakeningsahttps://ashtonnyte.com
https://facebook.com/ashtonnyte
https://youtube.com/ashtonnyte
https://instagram.com/ashtonnyte
https://twitter.com/ashtonnyte -
Jammerzine’s The Week in #Indie for 5/13/2019
Jammerzine has an exclusive interview with Ryan Policky from Brim Liski as well as premieres from Amo Amo, Burning House, Lartist Yan, Membranes, Saint Sapphire, The Magic Es, and Ummagma.