Kat Leon Archives | Jammer Direct

Beauty in Chaos ft. Kat Leon – Stranger (Holy Wars – Cruel World Mix)

Beauty in Chaos have teamed up with holy Wars’ Kat Leon and Nick Perez to come up with a completely different and sublimely beautiful reimaging of ‘Stranger’ from the ‘Out of Chaos Comes…’.

The video is a clear departure stylistically from the past videos of Beauty in Chaos. Featuring a more haunting and introverted visual, the video encapsulates with dark precision the mood of the new song, taking a dark turn from the original version in ways that almost hint ‘alternate universe’.

Not quite industrial, not quite darkwave, not quite post-modern, not quite dystopian, the Holy Wars Cruel World Mix of ‘Stranger’ rolls uphill to a dark crescendo with the bravado of original music and the swagger of legends.

Check out our Q & A with Michael Ciravolo, curator of all things beautiful and chaotic, about this new mix below.

How did you and Kat Leon come to work together?

I stumbled on Holy Wars after they opened up for a Schecter band… Papa Roach. I thought Kat had an amazing voice. I checked out a few of their videos on YouTube and just reached out. She and Nick came by and we hit it off well. They are nice, genuine and some of the hardest working people I have met in this business. After Michael Rozon and I did the music to what eventually became ‘Stranger’, I sent it to her and she poured her heart, soul and ‘story’ into the lyrics. It is my favorite track on ‘The Storm Before The Calm’, and I look forward to having her on the next record.

The new video seems to be an even bigger departure stylistically than the previous video. Is that a conscious decision and is the new remixes an influence on that?

I think if you look at all our BIC videos, I think you will see sort of that ‘pattern’. I strive for each video to be as different visually from its predecessor as possible. I had seen Fre’s work on a few Holy Wars’ videos and felt it was a perfect visual counterpart to Nick’s remix. With this in mind, I was happy that I could pull the ‘Temple Of Desire’ video together as quickly as we did as we needed to sit between this new ‘Stranger’ video and ‘A Kind Cruelty’. This new video is also as different visually as it is musically from the original version that closes out ‘The Storm Before The Calm’ vinyl.

Is the current album of remixes showing a hint at what the new album could be or may be?

I certainly love the ‘elements’ that the great and diverse cast of artists used in creating their individual remixes on ‘Out Of Chaos Comes…’. Not sure what of that will seep into the new album yet. I do know that I am looking forward to having both Kat Leon and Cinthya Hussey; who are a big part of this remix album, on what comes next. I think my off-the-cuff description of ‘Bauhaus meets Bjork’ is going to have to suffice…. for now 🙂 .

Check out our other features with Beauty in Chaos HERE.

ABOUT ‘STRANGER (HOLY WARS – CRUEL WORLD MIX)’

Beauty in Chaos announces the third video/single from their ‘Out Of Chaos Comes…’ album – ‘Stranger’ (Holy Wars -Cruel World Mix) featuring Kat Leon. This extreme sonic treatment to the original ‘Cocteau Twins-esque’ version that appears on ‘The Storm Before The Calm’ was created by Holy Wars guitarist Nick Perez.

BIC’s main-man Michael Ciravolo says “Since Beauty In Chaos is not a typical band, our videos are really the ‘face’ of BIC, I strive for each video to be different and as much of a 180-degree shift from the previous as possible! Fre’s video treatment on this video is certainly light years different than ‘Temple Of Desire’ so I can check that box! ‘Stanger’ is one of my favorite songs we have done. This was certainly a popular choice for many of the artists to remix, and I really love what Nick did with the song and his deconstructing approach, injecting sort of Massive Attack / ‘90s NIN sonics to it. As soon as I heard it, I knew it would be perfect for Fre’s editing style.”

Kat Leon adds “The reimagination of “Stranger” by Nick Perez (Holy Wars) is one of my favorites. I love how he restructured the song and made a new arrangement giving it an overall mechanical, dark, and industrial vibe. The music video for this track, edited by Fre Pacheco, compliments the song well with its intense and thought-provoking imagery. The idea to bury one’s self is the feeling in this video- using footage I previously shot waiting for the right track to showcase it and this remix of Stranger seemed to be a perfect fit. I would say the video for this remix was much of a remix itself using footage from my personal arsenal, footage from the original “Stranger” music video, and additional imagery bridging all worlds together.”

“The Cruel World remix is a dark cinematic interpretation of “Stranger”. The original piece was so lush and beautiful that it seemed it would be a great challenge to make it ugly and cold using heavy distortion, industrial elements, and tape”
Nick Perez (Holy Wars)

CREDITS

‘Stranger’ written by Kat Leon, Michael Rozon, and Michael Ciravolo

Kat Leon; voice
Nick Perez: guitars, synths, and drum programming
Michael Ciravolo: guitars
Michael Rozon: piano

VIDEO CREDITS

Created and edited by Fre Pacheco (Flares and Glitches)
Additional footage by Erin Nahifeh and Arden Fisher
Drone footage by Leo Lesh
Original ‘Stranger’ video footage by Leslie Gladney and Eric Thirteen

LINKS:
https://www.beautyinchaosmusic.com
https://www.facebook.com/beautyinchaosmusic
https://www.instagram.com/beauty.inchaos
https://twitter.com/MichaelCiravolo
https://www.beautyinchaosmusic.com/music-store
https://www.beautyinchaosmusic.com/bic-blog
https://soundcloud.com/33-3-music-collective
https://beautyinchaos.bandcamp.com

Beauty in Chaos – Stranger (ft. Kat Leon)

Beauty in Chaos release the new video for the track titled ‘Stranger’ from ‘The Storm Before The Calm‘ album. This time around partnering with Holy Wars/Pep Squad member Kat Leon, BIC Curator Michael Ciravolo takes a mellow turn and really finds that special place between disarray and serenity. The chemistry between Michael and Kat is symbiotic in the fact that their talents within their craft complement each other on an almost spiritual level. The sustained guitar almost sings and answers Kat forming an interaction that is left to the imagination.

The video is an almost auspicious merger of the song and the meaning of giving the impression of slight sadness and subtle hope. Directed by Leslie Gladney, the video for ‘Stranger’, to me, is a subtle creative departure that further highlights what I have said in the past few months; Beauty in Chaos is in a state of change. This is the time to listen.

We recently asked Kat and Michael a few questions about ‘Stranger’ and more. Read on to get more of the details as well as what is coming up from Kat and Michael below!

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE SONG AND THE VIDEO ‘STRANGER’?

Michael Ciravolo: I am going to defer to Ms, Leon on the lyrics as they are very personal and close to her. They do resonate deeply with me, and I am really happy that the musical soundscape Michael Rozon and I crafted led her down the path to writing this. To me, the video was meant to do convey a cinematic backdrop to her telling the story … her story.

Kat Leon: Stranger is a special song to me as it was the first song since my “Mother Father” EP in Holy Wars that touches on grief and life after loss. It has been a while since a song made me feel connected to expressing such deep and personal feeling again but when I heard this track by Beauty in Chaos, there wasn’t anything more fitting. This song focuses on the internal feeling of losing disconnection with myself and the struggle and search for finding my identity again through acceptance. This video gives an intimate look into this feeling.

WHAT WAS IT LIKE WORKING WITH EACH OTHER AND HOW DID THAT COME TO BE?

Michael Ciravolo: I was on YouTube watching a live clip of one of our longtime Schecter bands, Papa Roach, and it turns out her band, Holy Wars opened the show. I went down the YouTube ‘rabbit hole’ and got to a video of her and her guitarist, Nick Perez doing sort of a mash-up of NIN’s ‘Closer’ and Zeppelin’s ‘Whole Lotta Love’. I was certainly intrigued and dug further and really feel in love with her voice and lyrics on her songs. I simply reached out … and now we have ‘Stranger’!

Kat Leon: It was so easy to work with Michael. He is so supportive and gives a lot of freedom for me to create over something beautiful and I feel it was a perfect fit. I told him I wanted to write these lyrics that were so personal and he really made me feel comfortable to explore some of the saddest thoughts I have. We actually met online after a video I did where I covered a mashup of NIN’s “Closer” with Led Zeppelin’s “Whole lotta Love”. He was very complimentary of my performance and asked if I would be interested in singing on one of his tracks. And the rest was history. Since then, he has become like family to me and Holy Wars’ Nick Perez.

YOU BOTH HAVE A UNIQUE SOUND TOGETHER, DO YOU THINK IT’S POSSIBLE TO DO ANOTHER COLLABORATION IN THE FUTURE?

Michael Ciravolo: Like most of the BIC collaborations, this was pure creative joy. ‘Stranger’ came together really easy and natural. I strategically placed ‘Stranger’ as the album’s final cut, which to my ears ends this record perfectly. To jump ahead a bit, which is what my brain does, I plan this to lead into the next studio album which I would plan to be with all female singers. I would absolutely love to work with Kat again, maybe even this time on a heavier track.

Kat Leon: Definitely. In some ways, “Stranger” felt like its own thing on the album and so I would surely be interested in doing another collaboration in the future.

WHERE DO YOU THINK ‘STRANGER’ WILL GO CREATIVELY WHEN IT IS REMIXED FOR THE NEXT ALBUM?

Michael Ciravolo: To let a bit of the proverbial ‘cat’ out the bag, ‘Stranger’ has certainly been to the most requested song to remix from the new album. It is so open and can be taken in a lot of different directions. I actually just got a remix today from someone in a pretty big band that took it in sort of an ambient/trance route .. and it works beautifully. I think the remix styles will run the gamut on this one. We are already discussing a video concept with one of them.

Kat Leon: I can’t wait to hear what everyone’s interpretation of the song is but I am expecting to hear some dark, industrial vibes and some trailer epic sounds as well.

WHAT ARE YOU BOTH WORKING ON NOW BESIDES BIC?

Michael Ciravolo: I’ve been fortunate to have been invited by Wayne Hussey to part of the ReMission International project. This is a great bunch of artists, many who take up a large part of my record collection that have come together to record a version of The Mission classic ‘Tower Of Strength’, with 100% of monies earned going to Covid-19 charities. I never would have dreamed of being on a track with Gary Numan, Martin Gore, Midge Ure, Bill Duffy, Julianne Regan; and this is just a few involved. The song and a few cool remixes will be out on August 28th.

BIC producer Michael Rozon will be working next month with Silence In The Snow at our SAINTinLA Studio. They are a great dup that know you have covered. Cyn M. has asked me to possibly add some textures on the tracks, so that will be fun as I do really like the band. She and I have also started a song that will certainly be part of the ‘all-female’ concept I mentioned above.

Kat Leon: I am about to release a single called “IHATEMYSELF” in Holy Wars. A song that is been highly anticipated by our fans. We’ve been playing it live for the last year and has been the song everyone keeps asking us when it will be released so I am very excited to get this one out. I also released a solo EP under Kat Leon of a collection of songs for film and tv and debuted a project Pep Squad.

VIDEO CREDITS

Directed by Leslie Gladney

Filmed at Tiger Lab Studio, Van Nuys, CA

voice: Kat Leon
guitar: Michael CIravolo
statue woman: Sophia Ciravolo

‘Statue’ Makeup by Nicole Ciravolo

STUDIO CREDITS

Kat Leon: voices
Michael Ciravolo: guitars and textures
Michael Rozon: bass, piano, synth
Dirk Doucette: live drums
recorded, mixed and produced by Michael Rozon at SAINTinLA STUDIO
additional recording by Nick Perez

ABOUT ‘THE STORM BEFORE THE CALM’

Recorded at Ciravolo’s own SAINTinLA Studio, this album was recorded, mixed, and produced by Michael Rozon, Grammy-nominated for his work with Ministry.

Earlier, Beauty in Chaos previewed several tracks from this record, including ‘A Kind Cruelty’ featuring Curse Mackey (Pigface, My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, Evil Mothers), ‘The Delicate Balance of All Things’ featuring The Mission frontman Wayne Hussey, and ‘Almost Pure’ featuring Steven Seibold of industrial-synth-punk legends Hate Dept. and the Martin Atkins-led Pigface. This album also features collaborations with Ashton Nyte (The Awakening), Rafe Pearlman, Kat Leon (Holy Wars), and mezzo-soprano Adrienne LaVey.

ABOUT BEAUTY IN CHAOS

Beauty in Chaos is the brainchild of guitarist Michael Ciravolo. Originally from New Orleans and now based in Los Angeles, he is best known as President of Schecter Guitar Research. He also played guitar in Human Drama for 30 years, in addition to playing live and recording with Michael Aston’s Gene Loves Jezebel since 1998.

“Undaunted and unscathed by the studio software/hardware meltdowns and the unprecedented global pandemic shutdown, here is our new album. I am in complete awe of the amazing artists; some returning, some new that have lent their voices and words to make this record possible. And I‘m eternally grateful to our growing BIC FAMILY that continue this journey with us,” says BIC curator mastermind Michael Ciravolo.

“To me, ‘The Storm Before The Calm’ represents a rewind and a fast-forward. Rewind to the ‘80s and the great albums that lived on my turntable, that set a mood, a vibe… even the feeling of temperature.. as well as a crystal ball, look into the next evolution of Beauty In Chaos. Beauty wrapped in chaos. Dark, but always, with a light”.

In 2018, Beauty in Chaos released their acclaimed debut album ‘Finding Beauty in Chaos’, followed by the ‘Beauty Re-Envisioned’ album (2019). Other BIC artists include Simon Gallup (The Cure), Al Jourgensen (Ministry), Robin Zander (Cheap Trick), Pete Parada (The Offspring), dUg Pinnick (Kings X), ICE-T (Body Count), producer Tim Palmer, guitar icon Zakk Wylde, Ashton Nyte (The Awakening), Kevin Haskins (Bauhaus, Love & Rockets), Rolan Bolan, Michael Anthony (Van Halen), Michael Aston (Gene Loves Jezebel), Paul Wiley (Marilyn Manson), Michael Aston and Dirk Doucette (Gene Loves Jezebel), Pando (A Flock of Seagulls), UMMAGMA, Evi Vine, Johnny Indovina (Human Drama), Danny Lohner (Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson), Betsy Martin (Caterwaul / Purr Machine), Kevin Kipnis (Purr Machine) and KITTY LECTRO, among others.

Beauty in Chaos ‘The Storm Before the Calm’ Album Taster

Beauty in Chaos have officially released ‘The Storm Before The Calm‘ on May 22, 2020. It would appear that Michael Ciravolo, the curator of Beauty in Chaos, is in the midst of a clear stylistic shift with ‘The Storm Before The Calm’. On some levels, this is not surprising. With the roots that were ‘Finding Beauty in Chaos‘, and the almost extreme re-interpretations that were ‘Beauty Re-Envisioned‘, the remix album that followed.

What we get here, in turn, is a project that is in transition. The title track, for example, is an exotic and captivating and almost operatic, and sometimes erratic, soliloquy featuring Adrienne LaVey. That in itself is a bold move. And it works. It works so well that the album, in some ways, steers clearly into the post-modern and art-concept realms. That can either work or backfire, but here, it works in such a way that it becomes the third act of the concept that is the album and even defines the title of that album.

While the title track can be considered the peak of the crescendo that is the album as a whole, what we get within that perceived buildup is songs that reveal themselves as chapters of a grand story. Each with contributions of characters that we meet along the way. And, to me, that is what Beauty in Chaos is. A celebration of music and the people within it and what makes music universal.

‘The Storm Before The Calm’ will be released on CD and digitally tomorrow (May 22, 2020), with June for a 180g-vinyl release (black & blue duo-tone numbered limited edition vinyl). CD and digital orders come with an 8-page digital booklet with lyrics and a 25+ minute title opus not found on the vinyl version. The CD and vinyl release also come with the full digital download. ‘The Storm Before The Calm’ can be ordered here.

WE HAD A CHANCE TO ASK MICHAEL A FEW QUESTIONS ABOUT ‘THE STORM BEFORE THE CALM’ TO GET A CREATOR’S INSIGHT!

How did the concept for The Storm Before the Calm form and how do you feel it is different from the last album?

I certainly set out to do a darker, starker EP. Both of our other records, ‘Finding Beauty In Chaos’ and ‘Beauty Re-Envisioned’ were such ‘big’ listens, that I felt a more easily palatable release was in order! I had delved back into some of my favorite vinyl from the ‘80s. ‘Pornography’, ‘Disintegration’, and ‘First and Last and Always’.

I loved that those records evoked a ‘mood’ … wanting you to take the top-to-bottom listen journey. And for the most part, forsaking the big grand ‘hooks’. This was what I set out to do. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to tell which 4 songs would have been the EP! In typical BIC fashion, we expanded a bit with a few curve balls to end each side of the vinyl … which is my preferred listening medium.

The songs are a bit of a departure from the last album. What do you feel was the biggest stretch or derivation from the previous music in your opinion?

I think I had more of a ‘sonic’ concept going into this one that I had on ‘FBIC’. The music, at least to the first 4 songs were written over a 2-week period. It really was just me in a room with a drum machine and guitar, recording the ideas on my iPhone. Pretty low tech, huh! I think the stretch comes in the last 2 songs written, ‘Temple of Desire’ and, my personal favorite, ‘Stranger’.

Both are a bit of a departure from the other darker songs, but I think they help round this out as a pure album listen. To me, ‘Stranger’ is the perfect lead-in to where we take BIC next. The CD only 29-minute ‘title’ track, which I feel is an odd mix of David Lynch, Pink Floyd, and Trent Reznor, is a departure unto itself!

What are your plans for the next video?

This COVID shutdown has certainly thrown a bit of a wrench into our video plans, but things are opening up a bit here in Los Angeles. Currently, we are planning to shoot a video for ‘Stranger’, which features the amazing Kat Leon from Holy Wars. I think she has an amazing voice and is an extremely talented lyrist, which is very important to me. If my memory serves me, I think you did a feature interview with her a few months ago? Our concept, as always, is to be different from any previous BIC videos.

We both want to do something very somber and cinematic. Hopefully, this will be out in late June… and that it won’t be the last video from this record.

How have recent events reshaped how you are getting the music out there?

Other than delaying us completing a video to go with the album launch, we have probably been affected less than most other bands and artists that depend on touring. The downside to what BIC is at the moment is doing the Zoom concerts that are so popular right now are all but impossible. Each singer involved with this record is each in the midst of dealing with things with their own projects.

Although each singer would have probably done something, I just didn’t feel right about asking them or honestly taking the time it would take to do this on the scale I think that BIC should be done at. Instead, I chose to focus on new videos as well as laying the groundwork for another ‘remix’ record that I would like to release on Halloween. I also have started working on new material … with the first involving Cyn M. from Silence In The Snow.

ABOUT ‘THE STORM BEFORE THE CALM’

Recorded at Ciravolo’s own SAINTinLA Studio, this album was recorded, mixed, and produced by Michael Rozon, Grammy-nominated for his work with Ministry.

“To me, ‘The Storm Before The Calm’ represents a rewind and a fast-forward. Rewind to the ‘80s and the great albums that lived on my turntable, that set a mood, a vibe… even the feeling of temperature.. as well as a crystal ball, look into the next evolution of Beauty In Chaos. Beauty wrapped in chaos. Dark, but always, with a light”.

Featured image photographer: Anabel DFlux.

An Interview with Kat Leon (The Week in #Indie Segment)

Holy Wars is a band that is as diverse as it is determined. That is ever more evident in this exclusive interview with Holy Wars’ frontwoman Kat Leon. Kat survives by thriving from her life and putting into her craft. That is a talent I wish everyone had. We would be in a much better world, I think.

And what we learn in this interview is how the music of Holy Wars, as well as Kat’s solo work, are part of an anthology of life. Some of it is dark, some of it light, but all of it real. And what we get in the end is a life in progress. We are all in our own personal holy war, whatever that may be, and what we get through Kat’s voice and the music of her and collaborator Nicolas Perez is a reflection of progression through originality and creativity. This is the very definition of what music is, or at least what it is at its best.

Watch the entire episode of ‘The Week in #Indie’ HERE.

LINKS:
https://www.holywarsmusic.com
https://www.facebook.com/HolyWarsMusic
https://holywars.bigcartel.com
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2dTOWcCL0cYviin0Uz1lj4?si=g4oe1jMzQA67awHSFaBa6Q
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/holy-wars/987826411
https://instagram.com/holywarsmusic
https://twitter.com/holywarsmusic
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKpgMRG6ocgGYRS750lo0LA
https://www.iamkatleon.com
https://www.instagram.com/iamkatleon
https://www.facebook.com/iamkatleon
https://twitter.com/iamkatleon
https://soundcloud.com/iamkatleon

Jammerzine’s The Week in #Indie for 9/23/2019

Jammerzine’s The Week in #Indie for the week of September 23rd, 2019 includes exclusive interviews with Holy Wars frontwoman Kat Leon, 50FOOTWAVE and Kristin Hersh drummer Rob Ahlers, musician, Ragdoll guitarist, and YouTuber Leon Todd, Dalton Dexchain from Dalton Deschain & the Traveling Show, and Diamond Shake. Also are premieres from Cellista, Nigel Thomas, Tony Volker, and Sebastian Straw.

About Kat Leon

About Rob Ahlers

Currently, on tour as part of Kristin Hersh’s Electric Trio, we got a rare glimpse of 50FOOTWAVE drummer Rob Ahlers, who actually talked with us from the road. In the middle of the current tour featuring himself, Kristin, and multi-instrumentalist Fred Abong, Rob was gracious enough to call us and give us the latest information on the current tour with Kristin, his beginnings in the music industry, and how he manages to juggle the life of a touring musician as well as husband and father. Consider this interview a life lesson and guide for all of you musicians out there thinking of making the transition into fulltime.

LINKS:
http://www.kristinhersh.com/
http://www.facebook.com/50footwave/
http://www.facebook.com/strangeangels
http://50footwave.cashmusic.org/
http://twitter.com/kristinhersh
http://www.youtube.com/user/throwingmusic/videos

About Leon Todd

Leon Todd is more than a musician in my opinion. He’s a mentor, a tutor, a reviewer, and a magician of sorts. Also, he’s a Youtuber. And a pretty stellar one at that. He has taken his passion for music and found roughly 5,610,970 (as of 9/12/2019) views from people looking to better their guitar playing or looking for new gear to better their sound. And among those 5 million+ is me. He has introduced me to so many different types of gear and, not just that, ways to experiment with my tone and setup as to make me sound better. To me, this is the very essence of Youtube. To all of you who think it’s a website to find all the funny little things that cats do can go over to Instagram and see what everyone’s having for lunch.

Leon is a full time working musician with his band Ragdoll as well as a teacher of music who has literally taken the career he loves and has made a Youtube channel dedicated to helping those guitarists out there who wish to better their tone and playing. And he does this in such an entertaining way as to not only NOT make you feel stupid (believe me I have felt stupid enough in this life 😉 ) but in a way that makes it entertaining. All good teachers teach their students in a way that is best for them and that way usually is done with a combination of information, determination, and with interest and enthusiasm.

LINKS:
https://www.youtube.com/user/kingcrimsonscourt
https://www.facebook.com/Leontoddmusic
https://instagram.com/leon_ragdoll
https://www.facebook.com/ragdollrock
https://ragdollrock.bandcamp.com

About Dalton Deschain

Dalton Deschain is someone who I hold in high regard when it comes to #indie music. And now, after discovering said music in 2015, I finally get to speak with him. He is a very unique multi-talent, to say the least. In addition to his band, Dalton Deschain & the Traveling Show, he also has a comic book series titled MONOCUL, which has a unique and dark blend of pulp stylings in Dalton’s now-signature appearance.

Dalton and his band also bring that blend and influence, which they describe as ‘pulp-punk’. That style is never more evident in their new single titled ‘Man/Thing’ above. In this interview, we talk about the new single as well as the upcoming album titled ‘Casey’ and the connection between their previous EPs, ‘Casey’, and their future album slated for release. With Dalton and the band, you get a continuation within the music, as you will learn in this interview, which can create a lasting relationship between band and fans.

LINKS:
http://www.daltondeschain.com
https://www.facebook.com/daltondeschainmusic
https://instagram.com/daltondeschain
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-collateral-vignettes-ep/id934670609
https://soundcloud.com/daltondeschain
https://patreon.com/monocul

About Diamond Shake

In this Jammerzine Exclusive is about survival. Not only survival but coming out the other side a better person. That person is Diamond Shake, aka Matthew Hitchens. Matthew has that enviable ability to take the bad aspects of life and make them work for you. You will hear about that in this interview, and it is something you want to listen to because Matthew is sharing his life lesson. And the result is his project Diamond Shake.

His new album titled ‘From Method to Madness ‘ drops November 15 and his new single/video ‘Let it Die’ drops tomorrow. That being said, this is a perfect time to get to know the wizard behind the curtain and learn about him as a person as well as a musician. After that listen, you will be a new fan of both Diamond Shake and Matthew Hitchens.

LINKS:
http://www.diamondshake.com
https://www.instagram.com/thediamondshake
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUT0cqzCanrCsAlqgaZRqhQ
http://www.soundcloud.com/diamond-shake

About Cellista

Cellista brings the listener into her dark, almost cinematic musical universe with her new single titled ‘Confessions’. Starting almost like somewhat of a proclamation, Cellista brings forth her lyrically lucid, musically ethereal and haunting score with a poetically dissonant yet beautiful musical piece that says as much with the music as it does with the words. ‘Confessions’ may be indescribably dark, but the more you listen to it, you begin to see a faint light, and that light brings new meaning to the lyrics, which can be a revelation in the form of a confession.

The album, ‘Transfigurations’, is available now on limited edition CD and at shows and comes with a full-length book and download code. It can be found everywhere digitally, including Bandcamp, where the book is downloadable as a PDF for anyone purchasing the album there. The book is also being released separately via online retail sites like Amazon.

LINKS:
http://www.cellista.net
https://www.facebook.com/cellista.music
https://twitter.com/xcellistax
https://www.instagram.com/xcellistax
https://www.soundcloud.com/xcellistax
https://cellista.bandcamp.com
https://www.youtube.com/user/xcellistax/videos
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3sZ132TtThqqirlRB9BjFp

About Nigel Thomas

Nigel Thomas is back and better than ever with his new album titled ‘Well Well’. Ever since our interview with him back in 2015 I’ve thought that Nigel is one of those rare talents that not only continuously grow musically, but is not afraid to grow. That is actually not all that common in the music industry. An artist might have some major success with a single or an album and finds it difficult to move forward stylistically because of fear of losing that audience. But Nigel embraces the change with 10 tracks of hook-filled original tracks that are as diverse within the album as the album is diverse within Nigel’s catalog.

One constant that I found in ‘Well Well’ is the ‘go left when I thought it would go right’ twists and turns musically that I found pleasantly unexpecting. Right down to the chord changes there are bits and pieces that I would have never expected but they are there and they fit perfectly. Not only outside of the box but, at times, all around it.

LINKS:
https://www.nigelsongs.com
https://www.facebook.com/nigelsongs
https://twitter.com/nigelsongs
https://play.spotify.com/album/1gsC7y3s98eAg4CKk0STFb
https://soundcloud.com/nigelthomas
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/travelling-man/id1078458895

About Tony Volker

Tony Volker gives another stellar performance with his new album titled ‘Where The Light Gets In’. His stylings have always been a bit eclectic, which is something I love, but his pop and hook writing skills really shine on this latest outing. I compare him somewhat to Michael Penn because of that unique blend of endearing quirkiness, originality, and use of instruments from, not only different stylings but different cultures. And they blend so well.

‘Where The Light Gets In’ is out now on all digital platforms.

LINKS:
https://www.tonyvolker.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/musictonyv
https://twitter.com/tony_volker
https://soundcloud.com/tonyvolker

About Sebastian Straw

Sebastian Straw proves that he is a consummate songwriter with his new video for the track titled ‘My Friend’. The song starts off with a brilliant hook that captivates with its beautiful acoustic guitar and vocal melody but then reality kicks in with an out-of-left-field chorus in the style of Radiohead that really takes the song to a different level than expected. Added brilliance with the cello accompaniment and the walking bassline that chugs along and keeps the song anchored.

The album ‘Welcome Yesterday’ will be released on October 18 and will be available across digital stores and streaming platforms.

LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/sebastianstrawofficial
https://soundcloud.com/sebastianstraw
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZgElWHFjCG9gCjXBCQcFbA
https://www.instagram.com/sebastianstrawofficial
https://twitter.com/SebastianStraw

Poster photo by Heather Koepp Photography.

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’.

LINK:
https://jammerzine.com