Jammerzine’s The Week in #Indie presents a special about the best in independent music. We all know that 2020 wasn’t the best of years and we’ve all had to endure isolation physically and mentally. But we must highlight those wonderful bright sides of this year with this presentation of great music.
Ethan Gold has officially released his new video for the single titled ‘Not Me. Us’. Beginning as a somber anthem the song slowly builds up to the hook with pop-sensibility and a craft only a good songwriter can achieve, ‘Not Me. Us’ gives a poignant reflection on the better qualities of humanity with the craft of a poet and the form of an artist.
‘Not Me.Us’ is out now everywhere digitally, including stores such as Apple Music, and streaming platforms like Spotify.
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With the slogan ‘Make Sensitivity Cool Again’, Gold makes lullabies of strength for the quieter half of the human race. This is catchy art rock, for people who still dream. With personable flair and depth, Gold sings about the longing for human connection in the city, and also for the natural world.
“I wrote ‘Not Me. Us’ as an anthem to reflect the times. I started with the then-current Bernie slogan “Not Me Us” – a simple phrase, a moral protest against the lack of compassion, lack of empathy, and narcissism that’s become a point of pride for current political leadership in many countries. As a person who’s primary political motivator is a concern for our biosphere, I found this phrase very appealing, as it respects the interconnectedness of all life,” says Ethan Gold.
“Musically I went with a sound that’s more traditionally American. There’s a power in those idioms. I wanted to call out the hard fight everyone is having in the country, while also allowing everyone to feel, in a time where the dominant feelings are factionalism and fear, that the things which unite us could still be greater.”
Raised in San Francisco during the long extended hangover after hippie times, Ethan Gold is son to Beat author Herbert Gold and Melissa Gold, a collaborator and girlfriend of legendary concert promoter Bill Graham – the two died together in a helicopter crash. A childhood of constant change and chaos may have led Ethan to the unique way he approaches music. Today he lives and dreams songs, writing much music while asleep.
“There’s huge economic inequality destroying American life. A country that pioneered the notion of everyone being able to be comfortably middle class is now breaking into bitterness and division as a huge majority of the population is frightened, living paycheck-to-paycheck, and at the risk of bankruptcy from one unexpected illness or job loss. Even people working multiple jobs are having trouble making ends meet,” says Ethan Gold.
“So I put a mosaic of families in the song and video. A father who’s sick but can’t afford treatment. A son falling into hatred. A mother working two jobs but barely surviving. A young daughter hopeful. Proud grandparents who see their life’s work crumbling as their children slide down the economic ladder. We could all be all these people; this is every family. The struggles so many are having aren’t so different from each other.”
In 2013, Gold suffered a serious head injury. After a long recovery, he now credits the temporary dissolution of his cognitive ability with upgraded inner power, creativity, and clarified mission: in a world that seems more and more combative, bringing sensitive people and quieter things – music and poetry and the living earth – back into their magnificence.
The ‘Not Me. Us’ single follows Gold’s most recent offering – ‘Never Met A World Like You’, an environmental song with highly impactful video, to coincide with the first climate strikes. He also performed, for the first time after his head injury, at three L.A. rallies in late 2019.
Following his acclaimed ‘Songs From A Toxic Apartment’ LP during his recovery, 2018 brought the release of the naive-electronic ‘Expanses (Teenage Synthstrumentals)’ and Gold’s tribute to childhood favorites ‘Live Undead Bedroom Closet Covers’. Gold also handled film scoring for Blumhouse supernatural thriller ‘Don’t Let Go’ and brother Ari Gold‘s feature films ‘Adventures of Power’ and ‘The Song of Sway Lake’, which features John Grant and The Staves singing Gold’s songs.
This track was produced and engineered by Dave Tweedie (So You Think You Can Dance, No Doubt, Flipsyde, Akon). Gold and Jay Ponti produced the video, with editing and effects by Adam Laiben.
Ethan Gold has just finished recording his upcoming double-album ‘Earth City’, which explores themes of longing — for human connection, for romance, for city nightlife, and ultimately for connection to the threatened natural world. Release expected later this year.
This week Jammerzine has an exclusive interview with hip-hop legend R.A. The Rugged Man as well as new music and videos from Prof, Black Needle Noise, Diamond Shake, Drew Davies, Ethan Gold, Lazaris Pit, Lycio, and the new charity video from Indie AllStars for the British NHS titled ‘Chasing Rainbows’.
R.A. The Rugged Man is one of those artists who remains humble despite having a career that has not only spanned decades but has crossed genres and included the likes of Ice-T, Ghostface Killah, Wu-Tang Clan, Mobb Deep, and many others as well as spanning music and film. But what really impresses me is that he remains both humbled and grateful for what he has worked for. And that, to me, is the mark of a true artist. Someone who not only remembers his roots but holds on to them with reverence.
And it is that reverence that shines throughout his latest album titled ‘All My Heroes Are Dead’ released April 17, 2020, via Nature Sounds Records.
In this interview, we talk with R.A. about his beginnings as well as the new album and how it further advances his evolution of revolution that is his music and much, much more. Check out the album below!
Check out our other articles about R.A. The Rugged Man HERE.
LINKS:
https://ratheruggedman.net
https://twitter.com/ratheruggedman
https://facebook.com/RATheRuggedMan
https://www.instagram.com/ratheruggedmanofficial
https://www.youtube.com/user/RAtheRuggedManTV
Prof has dropped his new video for the single titled ‘Squad Goals’. This has got to be the most original and interesting video I have seen this year, by a longshot. I know that’s a hardcore way to start a review, but this video demands that declaration. I mean, Mr. Rogers, PTSD, pill-popping, and more in under four minutes. Try fitting that many lucid subplots together in anything, even involving music.
Having said that, this music is brilliant. Steady. Rhythmic. Staccato. Each deserving itself as a sentence. One thing I like about the Rhymesayers artists is that they bring entertainment and introspective reflection back into music, but now Prof brings the fun.
LINKS:
https://rhymesayers.com/artists/prof
https://facebook.com/profgampo
https://instagram.com/profgampo
https://twitter.com/profgampo
John Fryer, the globally recognized producer and curator of the project known as Black Needle Noise, has dropped his new video titled ‘Seed of Evil’ featuring <PIG> a.k.a. Raymond Watts of KMFDM fame. A contoured divide between the industrial overtone and gothic underpinnings, ‘Seed of Evil’ crosses that great divide into a darkly original mindset with grinding rhythm and a purely black chord progression.
The video adds to the musical mindfuck just short of epileptic orgasm designed to muse as much as it is to shock. Decadance now has a soundtrack.
‘Seed of Evil’ is out now, available digitally across online stores, such as Apple Music, and streaming platforms such as Spotify. It is also available directly from the artist via Bandcamp.
Check out our other articles about Black Needle Noise HERE.
LINKS:
https://www.blackneedlenoise.com
https://blackneedlenoise.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/BlackNeedleNoise
https://www.facebook.com/John.Fryer.Official
https://www.instagram.com/black_needle_noise
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTC_bNQDfUviTBDiBHYAiSg/videos
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3KkYK2dnIfRb9EDrCRndB6
Diamond Shake continues his momentum with the release of the fourth video in his series titled ‘Shake’. Continuing his video partnership with French animator Dominique Bloink, the visualization and integrity of style are maintained with brilliance and the marriage of panache and originality are excelled with the dark beauty of the video and the emotional grit of the song. Almost its own undefinable thing, ‘Shake’ becomes it’s own in such a way that you find out who did what, if you don’t know who this is, just to see who could come up with such a thing. Let this sink into your memory.
Check out our other articles featuring Diamond Shake HERE.
LINKS:
http://www.diamondshake.com
https://www.instagram.com/thediamondshake
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUT0cqzCanrCsAlqgaZRqhQ
http://www.soundcloud.com/diamond-shake
Drew Davies has just released his new single titled ‘X and Y’. Sounding like a song that gets right down to business, that business seems to be the sound of an original artist. When I first hear the name Drew Davies I think of originality. And that is not a word to toss around. Listen to ‘X and Y’ for example. It sounds signature from the first note. And the passion is evident in everything from the voice to the hi-hat and everything in between. Beautiful chord progressions accompanied by stellar vocals and a steady backbeat, ‘X and Y’ continue the evolution of Drew’s musical journey that is rapidly defining itself into a wonderful legacy.
Speaking of the single, Drew Davies tells us, “I wrote ‘ X and Y ’ on women’s day a few years ago. It’s a song that on one hand calls for equality for all people, no matter their age, sex, or orientation; whilst on the other hand, calling out hypocrisy stemming from the kinds of people who say one thing publicly and another behind closed doors. It was originally written on piano but for the single and album we decided to add a pseudo-Tarantino vibe with vintage guitars and synthesizers.”
Check out our other articles about Drew Davies HERE.
LINKS:
https://www.drewdaviesmusic.com
https://www.facebook.com/drewdaviesmusic
https://www.twitter.com/drewdaviesmusic
https://www.instagram.com/drewdaviesmusic
https://drewdaviesmusic.bandcamp.com
Ethan Gold has officially released his new video for the single titled ‘Not Me. Us’. Beginning as a somber anthem the song slowly builds up to the hook with pop-sensibility and a craft only a good songwriter can achieve, ‘Not Me. Us’ gives a poignant reflection on the better qualities of humanity with the craft of a poet and the form of an artist.
‘Not Me.Us’ is out now everywhere digitally, including stores such as Apple Music, and streaming platforms like Spotify.
Lazaris Pit drops their new single titled ‘You Don’t Tag Me in Memes Anymore’ plus the B-Side ‘Cloudsculpting’. This is the perfect ‘capture the band in the moment’ moment. We get that garage-perfect sound with that quirky attitude and tight-yet-loose feeling in the vein of Dinasaur Jr. and the like but all Lazaris Pit in execution and scope.
With ‘Cloudsculpting’ we get the same side of a different coin with an adventurous song climbing to the top with varied guitar chord progressions and a hypnotic varied beat with that lovely feeling of falling apart at the seams while sticking together tightly in that true alt-rock sound at its purest.
‘You Don’t Tag Me In Memes Anymore’ is available everywhere digitally, including Spotify and Apple Music. The full ‘Coniphers’ album will be released on May 22.
LINKS:
https://www.lazarispit.com
https://lazarispit.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/lazarispit
https://twitter.com/themLPboys
https://www.instagram.com/lazarispit
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_mbHlwbaZgIBhb56ybbiAg
Lycio has officially dropped their new single titled ‘Somebody’. The sweet combination of electronic and soul collide in glorious fashion with a solid rhythm and backbeat that throws emotion on the dancefloor and showcases vocalist Genie Mendez’ beautiful vocal range oozing with feeling and meaning every word.
Speaking of ‘Somebody’, Genie Mendez tells us, “I actually thought I’d try a different lyrical approach with this song. I’m rarely one to write about romance and our songs are usually entangled with expressions of my own mental health. So to have such a lyrically open chorus where I’m so clearly talking about unrequited love is definitely a first for us. Although I’ve still kept the verses dark and mysterious, this song is definitely about wanting someone so bad but them not quite wanting you back. Then you get this really catchy chorus, and I did want it to be as catchy as a Jess Glynne or Fickle Friends track, ‘cause they’re really good at grabbing the listener like that. So I hope you all enjoy listening to it the way we enjoy performing it.”
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/lyciomusic
https://twitter.com/lyciomusic
https://www.instagram.com/lyciomusic
he Covid19 pandemic has proved how essential they are and funding cuts need to be addressed. Stoke-on-Trent DJ, Terry Bossons wanted to thank them by the power of music. The rainbow has been the symbol of the NHS, so the song ‘Chasing Rainbows’ by Shed Seven is a fitting tribute. Terry asked Rick Witter of Shed Seven to get involved with the video project and without hesitation, he jumped onboard.
Next, a crescendo of indie music royalty joined the fold: Nigel Clark and Matthew Priest (Dodgy), Clint Boon (Inspiral Carpets), Gary Powell (The Libertines), John Power (Cast), Keith Mullin (The Farm), Chris Helme (Seahorses), Dave McCabe (The Zutons), Alan McGee (Creation Records), Baz (The Fratellis), Ryan & Jack Dooley (All The Young), Alfie (Holloways), Matt Bowman (Pigeon Detectives), Johnny Dean (Menswear), Leon Meya (Northern Uproar), James McColl (The Supernaturals), Rikki Turner (Paris Angels), Billy Bibby (Catfish and the Bottlemen) teamed up with radio royalty Mark Radcliffe and Eddy Temple-Morris (plus a few surprise guests) to make this happen in just seven days.
To donate to the UHNM (University Hospitals of The North Midlands Charity) to fund equipment, facilities and research to enhance the care of patients in the hospital please click HERE.
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