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Jammerzine’s The Week in #Indie for 8/24/2020

In this episode of The Week in #Indie we feature an exclusive interview with former The Toadies guitarist Darrel William Herbert about his new album.

Mantis and the Prayer Release ‘Murder Ballad and the Blue’ (The Week in #Indie Segment)

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.

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About Mantis and the Prayer

Enigmatic Rock band Mantis and the Prayer are returning with a AA side single release, ‘Murder Ballad and the Blue’ which features the songs ‘I Know You’ and ‘Go Too Far’ which are written on themes of tragedy and disconnection. The EP juxtaposes the melancholy subject matter with Pop sensibilities and upbeat catchy rhythms. The vocals capture the drama and energy of Mantis and the Prayer, who cite Syd Barrett, Pink Floyd, and David Bowie as influences.

Always filling their songs with emotional storytelling, Mantis and the Prayer is a three-piece Rock band from Melbourne, Australia. Releasing their first album ‘Butterflies and Demons’ in 2016, they have since gone onto place their music on the soundtrack for the independent movie ‘Queen of Hollywood Blvd’ which was featured on the film festival circuit and had a cinematic release in Los Angeles. Characterized by delicate vocal harmonies and stinging guitars, Mantis and the Prayer present theatrical Rock that deals with themes of tragedy, triumph, love, and loss.

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-prayer

Black Bordello Releases Eponymous Album (The Week in #Indie Segment)

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.

ABOUT BLACK BORDELLO

After a few years of gigging in and around London, Peckham’s Black Bordello is an established live force. Following a succession of well-received singles ( Spectre Man, Backache, Leeches ) The London group has released a full-length debut album that melds Vaudeville, Jazz, and Gothic Rock in one complete and overwhelming maelstrom.

Originally the project of Sienna Bordello, much of the album’s material dates back to Black Bordello’s 2017 inception, although it has now been honed to streamlined perfection. However, as the band’s line up has stabilized, a singular sound has emerged that fuses the band’s seemingly disparate influences.

Sienna’s influences come from across the board from “the loaded rebellion” of PJ Harvey and Poly Styrene to the emotional integrity of Bessie Smith and the post-modern vibe collages of Post Normal. The latter of which she was introduced to by her university lecturer the late, great writer Mark Fisher. “I sheepishly told him I couldn’t make music because i didn’t have any of the right ‘stuff’. He told me that was bollocks and showed me some bands who recorded at home without all the fancy gear and software, Garage Band and Audacity became my playground as I discovered there is no right way”

Of her own musical beginnings, Sienna says ” I got very into pre-war Jazz and started singing standards at the Jamboree in the Cable Street studios, where I later ended up illegally living. I would get up and sit with the band and sing a song or two, normally Billie Holiday or Bessie Smith, as dancers with day jobs partnered up and practiced swing dancing in hoards on the old scratched parquet floors. I had fun but it wasn’t always easy”

After Sienna’s scatting was deemed too experimental for the jazz standards group, she looked for a new musical vehicle. After bonding with keys player Andrew Marriott over similar fish tattoos at a Brockley party, Black Bordello swiftly took shape, with the group taking their name from Sienna’s family restaurant ‘Il Bordello’.

Now roughly 3 years after the band’s first show, a fully realized self-titled album is finally ready for release. From the Dreaming era of Kate Bush’s theatre of ‘Leeches’ to the heady prog swagger of ‘Prufrock’, a wild range of music is on show. ‘Baby’ is a noisy Jazz sprawl and ‘Spectre Man’ is as maudlin a ballad as you’re ever likely to hear. This is a vital debut album by one of the capitals most exciting new bands.

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/1503188893

Plastic Barricades Releases ‘Tunnel (Acoustic Shed Session)’ (The Week in #Indie Segment)

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.

ABOUT BARRICADES & ‘TUNNEL’

London alt-rock duo Plastic Barricades is releasing Tunnel, have released their third single from the upcoming LP Self-Theories. The track comes with a trippy music video that continues the tradition of an unaltered DIY approach and was shot using a digital microscope. Sometimes it feels like life is this winding road with plenty of tunnels. You go in, it is dark and uneasy, and pretty soon you start wondering how long this tunnel is.

Visibility is reduced, you cannot increase your speed or turn back. It starts to feel claustrophobic. Your thoughts are amplified, loudly reverberating in your head. All you can do is keep reminding yourself that no tunnel lasts forever and you will make it out of this one, like all the previous ones you’ve been to – and you will see sunlight again!

TUNNEL FACTS:

The song was written and recorded in a backyard Shed Studio in North-West London, mixed by Paul Love and mastered by Andy Baldwin at Metropolis Studios.
Video for the single, created by PB art-director Elina Pasok and Dan Kert, was made using a microscope with up to 1000 times magnification and no CG.
Imagine if you could see your worries and anxieties under a microscope? What would they look like?
Single release date – 6th of July 2020
Self-Theories LP due in autumn 2020

Romantic and honest, gloomy and curious, melodic and melancholic, Plastic Barricades chronicle life in the troubled yet fascinating XXI century, asking questions and trying to find answers. Inspired and influenced by almighty Radiohead, Foo Fighters, Oasis, Coldplay, Muse, Death Cab for Cutie, Placebo, Snow Patrol, The Shins, Nirvana, and many others, the band loves to experiment with styles, sound, and approach.

Based between London and Paris, Plastic Barricades are Dan Kert on guitars and vocals and Paul Love on drums and production.

LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/plasticbarricades
https://twitter.com/plasticb
https://www.instagram.com/plasticbarricades

Behind the Beauty: Remixing the Chaos (Supercut Edition)

Go behind the scenes of the making of the new remix album by Michael Ciravolo’s Beauty in Chaos project titled ‘Beauty Re-Envisioned’. Including interviews with the creators as well as commentary by the likes of Ashton Nyte, Rolan Bolan, Zakk Wylde, dUG Pinnick, Wayne Hussey, Evi Vine and more as we peek behind the curtains of SAINTinLA Studios in Los Angeles to get the story of the evolution from record to remix track by track to better see the beauty behind the chaos.

Now with reworked scenes as well as remastered audio and video plus bonus content!

Starring:

Michael Ciravolo
Michael Rozon
Tish Ciravolo

Directed by:

Ryan Martin & Sophia Ciravolo
Music video segments directed by Vicente Cordero @ Industrialism Films.

Featuring musical contributions from:

Wayne Hussey
Al Jourgensen
Michael Rozon
Zakk Wylde
Ashton Nyte
Michael Aston
Robin Zander
Rolan Bolan
Pete Parada
Tim Palmer
John Fryer
Ummagma
Kitty Lectro
dUg Pinnick
ICE-T
Michael Anthony
Mark Thwaite
Evi Vine
Simon Gallup
Kevin Haskins
Sine Division
Betsy Martin
Paul Wiley
Kevin Kipnis
Tish Ciravolo
Statik
Johnny Indovina
Dirk Doucette
Roman Marisak
Alex Kretov
Sounds Of Sputnik
Tim Perry
Ulrich Krieger
Lola Bates
Danny Lohner
Marc Danzeisen

LINKS:
https://www.beautyinchaosmusic.com
https://www.beautyinchaosmusic.com/the-albums
https://www.beautyinchaosmusic.com/beautyreenvisioned
https://instagram.com/beauty.inchaos
https://www.facebook.com/beautyinchaosmusic
https://twitter.com/MichaelCiravolo
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10660966

Fly the Nest Releases Wild Ride (The Week in #Indie Segment)

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.

ABOUT FLY THE NEST

Dublin native Stephen Cooper AKA Fly The Nest started playing music at a young age, performing in various bands. It wasn’t until last year that he started the solo project Fly The Nest, under which he writes and releases his own music.

Stephen also wrote music for sync licensing and says that “Writing for film and TV has opened up another facet of my creativity. It’s helped me find my sound, which I like to call ‘Cinematic Rock’.

The project also encompasses Stephen’s time spent on the live circuit in Scandinavia where he spends a lot of his time, traveling between Ireland and Denmark.

The name Fly the Nest came from traveling and moving on from a previous musical journey to the one he’s currently on.

‘Wild Ride’ is Stephen’s brand new single and has ‘feel good’ anthem written all over it, welcome to ‘Fly The Nest’.

LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/flythenestofficial
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7bsdKGo4cOlAYj1i5HMsRL?si=rQ9qGWU7S46Pm5sTBhVCXw

An Interview with Sami Chohfi (The Week in #Indie Segment)

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’.

The video and track titled ‘This Majesty’ we get but a glimpse of Sami’s style and soul. As a musician, a person, and a world traveler. Filmed on location in India (details below) ‘This Majesty’ shows the majestic side of merging song, solitude, and serenity in ways that only a person listening with an open mind can truly understand. Open that mind and heart and inherit the message that we are all individuals that form a collective known as the world.

The video and single ‘This Majesty’ is out as of today (August 7, 2020). The full album ‘Extraordinary World’ releases on September 1, 2020, via all digital platforms.

Featured image by Alexandre Suplicy.

ABOUT ‘THIS MAJESTY’

This Majesty was written in Amboseli National Park, Kenya shortly after the passing of Sami’s older brother Joshua. The production team felt the video for this song needed to be filmed in the most stunning and grandiose of locations of India, including Nahargarh Fort, Hawa Mahal, and the Taj Mahal.

Sami’s Personal Notes about the song: I remember my time in Kenya so very vividly, waking up in the morning to the most beautiful sunrises and gazing off into the majestic Mt. Kilimanjaro. When we lose the ones we love we feel an emptiness. I am reminded constantly that those who have gone from our lives are always with us. In our triumphs and failures, in our happiness and grief and in all the magical moments we continue to experience.

ABOUT SAMI CHOHFI

While Sami Chohfi is a Brazillian-American singer/songwriter based in Seattle, he is undeniably a modern citizen of the world. His upcoming solo debut, Extraordinary World, was written across six countries over the last two years. From his journeys across Cambodia, France, India, Kenya, and The Philippines as brand ambassador for the clothing line Be Good to People® to touring with his band Blue Helix across his family’s native country of Brazil, Chohfi’s songwriting takes a rock upbringing and spins it with musical influences from around the world.

His upcoming single, “This Majesty” is arguably one of the album’s most personal examples of how travel seeped into his songwriting, written in Kenya’s Amboseli Park in the wake of his older brother’s passing.

“He loved climbing the highest mountains and I was constantly reminded of him as I gazed upon Mt. Kilimanjaro,” Chohfi adds. “In my experience from the many cultures I have been exposed to over the last two years, most believe that when we lose someone we love, we never truly lose them. I don’t think I will ever feel like those I loved and lost are gone from this place… we carry them with us.”

With a video shot at world-renowned sites like the Taj Mahal and breathtaking footage of India in a pre-corona world, Extraordinary World serves as a timely reminder that, in Chohfi’s words, “all people just want to fit in, beloved, and be understood.”

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/15568916

An Exclusive Interview with Ashton Nyte (The Week in #Indie Segment)

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.

ASHTON NYTE’S ‘WAITING FOR A VOICE’

Dubbed the “lovechild of Johnny Cash and Nick Cave” by NPR, the new work sees Nyte blending poetry with haunting acoustic minimalism, animated by his rich, diverse baritone voice. Waiting For A Voice, Nyte’s 7th solo album was largely written and recorded after his 36 date European tour with Wayne Hussey (The Mission) concluded in October last year and features his most personal songwriting to date.

The album contains 11 original songs, written, performed, and produced by Nyte, along with an intimate rendition of David Bowie’s “Heroes,” dedicated to Nyte’s father, who passed earlier this year. The accompanying 134pg book expands on themes explored on the album, and is available in hardcover and paperback, along with vinyl, CD and digital versions of the album.

“In quiet desperation, I pulled the words aside To cover up the violence That blurred my aching my mind. And gazing through the portholes Deafened by the noise I spoke into the ocean I’m waiting for a voice.”
– (Waiting For A Voice – Ashton Nyte)

Now based in the USA, Ashton Nyte is a South African born composer, singer, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and writer. He has released 7 solo albums, in addition to 9 albums as The Awakening, one of South Africa’s most prominent alternative rock bands. He has also contributed lyrics and vocals to several projects – most recently Beauty In Chaos, which features members of The Cure and Cheap Trick among others.

Ashton has 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. He is a prolific songwriter, with a released catalog of over 250 songs, including an Afrikaans-language album, “Moederland” (2014) which was named one of the top 10 albums of the year by Netwerk24 in South Africa.

Ashton has toured extensively and headlined festivals in the US, Europe, and South Africa, including Ramfest and the Oppikoppi Festival to over 30 000 people.

Last year also saw Ashton working on the score of “Don’t Let Go,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2019. He is currently working on a number of album re-issue projects, along with on-line performances, and will tour the new book and album when it is safe to do so.

ABOUT ASHTON NYTE

The artist has released 7 solo albums as Ashton Nyte, and 1 as Ashton Nyte And The Accused, in addition to 9 albums as The Awakening, one of South Africa’s most prominent alternative rock bands. Now based in the USA, Ashton Nyte is a South African born composer, singer, multi-instrumentalist, writer, and producer. Nyte’s signature style focuses on his uniquely rich and widely diverse vocal abilities, while his instrumentation ranges from minimalist acoustic guitar ballads to epic arrangements.

Ashton is considered to be the “musical chameleon” of South Africa and has been described in the major press as “Johannesburg’s Bowie” for his widely varying music styles and theatrical performance style. With a released catalog of over 250 original songs, Ashton has had dozens of top ten singles and airplay on major independent radio stations around the world.

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” (Washington, DC). Nyte has toured extensively and headlined music festivals in the USA and South Africa to upwards of 30 000 people.

Ashton has 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. His first Afrikaans-language album, Moederland (April 2014) was named one of the top 10 albums of the year by Netwerk24. From 2016 – 2018 Nyte completed a 17 date tour, spanning 12 European countries, as well as a national US tour and smaller European tour.

He contributed vocals and lyrics to new albums by MGT (guitarist for Peter Murphy, The Mission, Gary Numan) as well as Michael Ciravolo’s “Beauty In Chaos” project, which includes members of The Cure, Cheap Trick, Ice-T and many more. The Nyte / Ciravolo composition “Bloodless And Fragile” was featured in the television program “The Purge” on the USA network in 2018. Nyte released a new album, “Chasm” as The Awakening on 26 November 2018.

2019 saw Ashton working on the score of the movie “Don’t Let Go” with composer Ethan Gold. The movie stars David Oyelowo (Selma), Storm Reid (A Wrinkle In Time) and Mykelti Williamson (Forrest Gump) and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2019. Ashton also contributed to the second and third Beauty Chaos releases and completed a 36 date European Tour with British indie artist Wayne Hussey (The Mission) in September / October 2019. Nyte released “Waiting For A Voice”, his 7th solo album and the first book of poetry, short stories, and musings, on 20 July 2020.

Featured image by Christian Fraude.

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/theawakeningsa

An Interview with Social Media Celebrity Nicole Ciravolo (The Week in #Indie Segment)

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.

ABOUT NICOLE CIRAVOLO

Nicole Ciravolo is an actor and screenwriter from Los Angeles, CA who has been using TikTok as a creative outlet during the quarantine. She’s been acting and doing comedy since she first snuck into her parent’s room to watch SNL. Whether it’s TikTok, stand-up, a sketch at Second City, or her own screenplay, Nicole loves to weave social commentary in with her work.

LINKS:
https://www.instagram.com/nicoleciravolo
https://www.youtube.com/c/nicoleciravolo
https://www.tiktok.com/@nicoleciravolo
https://twitter.com/nicoleciravolo

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

About Ashton Nyte

Take a look at what ‘Waiting For A Voice’ is and get a copy HERE.

Check out our other features about Ashton Nyte HERE.

About Nicole Ciravolo

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/nicoleciravolo

About Fly the Nest

LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/flythenestofficial
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7bsdKGo4cOlAYj1i5HMsRL?si=rQ9qGWU7S46Pm5sTBhVCXw

About 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/ListenToHoldOn

About 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/UCto1cEbMQWo7QDAUImhQzRA

About Plastic Barricades

LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/plasticbarricades
https://twitter.com/plasticb
https://www.instagram.com/plasticbarricades

About Black Bordello

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/1503188893