Comprising of lead singer Sean McGrath, guitarist David McCabe, and drummer Ian Bailey, Stolen City pride themselves on their fun and energetic live performances. This release comes off the back of a whirlwind 2019 that not only saw the band sell out 3 nights at Academy 2, Drop Dead Twice and upstairs in Whelans, but also saw lead singer Sean, at the end of his birthday night out, share the stage with Lewis Capaldi in The Olympia to sing the scot’s hit Bruises together!
The new single (The Tower) was written as a letter by lead singer Sean to his girlfriend Amy to explain that no matter what she has, or will go through in life, that he will be there to help her through it. With addiction & violence occurring in the home when she was a child, it has had a knock-on effect in her later life leading to PTSD and depression. Sean wrote the song to show Amy that he would help her through anything that she came up against in her life, whether it was something in her past, present or future. Stolen City hopes that this song shows people that no matter what’s going on in their lives or the lives of others close to them that there is always a reason to carry on and someone there to help you through those hard times.
LINKS:
https://facebook.com/OfficalStolenCity
https://instagram.com/stolen_city
https://twitter.com/stolen_City
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Joel Rothwell – Oxygen
While these days, rubbing shoulders with well-known faces at events such as Cannes Film Festival may be commonplace, Bury-born Joel Rothwell’s down-to-earth nature and clean-cut image have stemmed from the family around him nurturing his long-harnessed dream to become a chart-topping success. With a stylishly crafted formula of honest story-telling accompanying his guitar-driven electro-pop sound, the first of 4 inspired songs recorded with Brighton producer Toby Scott – ‘Just Don’t Know’ tells the story of a chance encounter, forbidden attraction and the inherent dilemma faced from within.
Rooted from a childhood spent with his eldest sister Rebecca imitating their musical heroes, the stars have never seemed too far out of reach, which has led to formulating a creative partnership which has seen them writing together for a number of years. More recently, through his father’s film company, Joel was able to enhance his credentials as a multi-talented performer in his latest film project SKINNED, which also featured his songs ‘Satellite’, and the as yet unreleased ‘Animal’.
It was recording and preparing to release his debut album under the Steelworks Studio label, under the support of songwriter and producer Eliot Kennedy (famed for working with the likes of the Spice Girls, Bryan Adams, Lulu and Take That), that led to Joel taking part in his biggest gig to date. The Vulcan Experience aircraft hanger at Robin Hood airport in Doncaster was host to a sell-out charity event that raised over £65,000 for Help for Heroes, in which he shared the stage in following none other than Gary Barlow.
From being wrongfully expelled from Bolton School until the age of 16, it was at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in Blackburn where he nurtured his ability and pursued his dream of a career in music. Joel is now based at a studio in the vibrant Spinningfields area of Manchester, while also having spent time writing and recording at Tileyard Music in London alongside chart musicians such as Sigala, Mark Ronson, and Ella Eyre. Through a blend of passion, talent, and determination, Joel firmly believes he has what it takes to stand out in such a competitive industry and match the ambition of his dreams.
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/thatjoelrothwell
https://www.instagram.com/thatjoelrothwell
https://twitter.com/joelrothwell
http://joelrothwell.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQN6VLKZZ6M -
Keir – Shiver
With a burning heart, a searing voice and explosive choruses, Keir is not afraid to play with fire. At 25 years old, the singer-songwriter displays a bright mind and a dark soul, nourished on heartache, Weltschmerz and decades of pop-music history – ready to spit it all back out into the future like fuel on a flame.
Keir may stand on the shoulders of soul divas and rock gods, but his craft shows no sense of retro fetishism. This is what the blues sound like in the 21st century, and there’s barely a trace of those worn-out, 12-bar formulas. Instead, Keir offers simultaneously a distillation and an innovation of that musical ritual: transforming inner turmoil into a tune – not to spread misery but to exorcise demons, and in the best case, incite compassion. The first single “Shiver” is a shining example, a seductive groove that shudders with red-hot, angst-ridden sensuality.
Musically, there’s enough mass that you start to feel a gravitational pull, and in lyrical tandem, Keir reveals a heavy heart. But there’s nothing heavy-handed about his words – piercingly sharp when needed, yet bold enough to stay soft. Always honest but often ambiguous, like a painting made of poetry. Ambitious melodies that reach for the radio; a sonic rawness he’s unwilling to tame for the sake of pop appeal.
With his younger brother Kyle on drums, Keir began his eponymous project as a duo. While attending college in Bristol, he found he had trouble with authority. “I didn’t want to know about music theory,” he recalls. “That’s when a song becomes incredibly dull.” Most of his progress was made outside of the classroom, not simply studying music but living it: in the studio, on the stage, and in his sleep. Making music is what he does, and when he doesn’t know what to do with himself, he makes music.
Keir has mastered the art of vocal expression and surrounds himself with equally talented musicians. “I have too much self-loathing to work alone,” he says. In the writing process, Keir doesn’t sweat any lack of proficiency. “I learned to write songs by not knowing how to play chords,” he explains. His perspiration, rather, comes from a primal approach: typical session might mean getting holed up in a room, shouting at each other, getting naked and pounding on the piano.
The further production process, however, places emotions and timbres in perfect alignment. Unhinged, yet exacting: it’s a combination that works not just in the studio but in a concert setting too. Keir and his band have wowed audiences throughout the UK and Europe, including a tour with The Drums and, notably, the Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg, whereas an unknown act he won a standing ovation.
Keir’s creations are neither middle-of-the-road nor left-field, neither over-polished nor DIY – or perhaps a little bit of both. Or neither. Whatever the case, Keir is consumed by music, and in turn, his music is ready to consume you.
LINKS:
https://www.keirmusic.com
https://www.instagram.com/soundofkeir
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2YOYjcNXjBJSW1STwwhE74?si=1kucgH6fQyebPk9ngE2XqQ
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH3jUJBzsR1ChPSXjgYMvvg
https://facebook.com/219951008349474 -
deM atlaS – Bad Loves Company (The Visual EP)
Produced entirely by Ant, the beat-making half of Atmosphere, the project will be available worldwide October 19, 2018 via Rhymesayers Entertainment.
deM atlaS’ new album Bad Actress is only the latest in a string of releases–including the 9-song EP DWNR that, according to Pitchfork, “splits the difference on ‘depressed’ and ‘party mode.’” In some ways the new work feels like a debut, not just because it’s his first proper LP, but because it represents the culmination of a twisting creative path that Turner’s patiently been following since his teens. He was a poet, a painter, and the frontman for a rock band before he found his space in Minneapolis’s prolific rap scene. Once there, a philosophy of saying yes to any opportunity that passed his way quickly led him from playing shows for nugs of weed to a showcase in front of Rhymesayers CEO Siddiq, and a single recording session with Atmosphere beatmaker Ant that kept going until they’d made almost an entire album together.
The title Bad Actress comes from Turner’s inability to hide his true feelings, and he’s packed the album with unguarded emotions centered around a lifetime of unhealthy relationships, struggles with mental illness, and an indomitable drive to overcome them. Musically it draws from every stage of Turner’s young career, from the high school rock singer to the scruffy DIY-er who self-recorded his Charle Brwn EP while figuring out the basics of Garageband to the confident, versatile vocalist he is today, equally at home crooning and screaming as he is rapping over beats by heavy hitters like Ant and MF DOOM.
From the grime-caked beats to the confessional lyrics to the supercharged guitars laced throughout, Bad Actress is an album that’s deeply rooted in Minneapolis’s singular hip-hop scene, where boom-bap never went out of style and raw honesty still beats flashy materialism. Turner’s soulful singing voice, and his ability to navigate from the acidic Sly Stone funk of “Gratitude” to the acoustic balladry of “Music Man” to the purple-tinged minimalist gospel of “Runnin Back” make it clear that he’s one of the young talents who’s going to author the next chapter in the city’s storied musical history. After all, an atlas isn’t only a collection of maps, but a man who’s strong enough to carry the weight of the whole world on his shoulders.
SOURCE: Official Bio
LINKS:
https://rhymesayers.com/artists/dematlas
https://twitter.com/dematlas
https://www.instagram.com/dematlas
https://www.facebook.com/dematlas