Toby Season Volume 1 is a reflection of ToBy and Aleksander Vinter’s experience in the public domain as artists and equally, as humans. As such, “90’s Babies” acts as the perfect bridge into the world ToBy lyrically unfolds for listeners, track-by-track in Toby Season Volume 1; a project entirely composed in the few months ToBy has lived in Los Angeles full-time. “90’s Babies” lends itself to the idea of people being so distracted by their phones that have an ‘in real life’ conversation with anyone anymore is impossible.
ToBy says of the single: “When coming up with the ’90’s Babies’ concept we took a long hard look at the ideas of storytelling outlined in Joseph Cambell’s Hero of a Thousand Faces. We wanted to create a universe spearheaded by the version of ToBy that acts as the “zero to hero” type, ambling through life until he comes face-to-face with powers beyond his understanding. The choice to go 3D in the music video came from studying different styles of art that both Aleks and I grew up with; namely anime and mecha tv shows and comic books. ’90’s Babies’ was the first song we had ever worked on together (2 or 3 years ago), so it felt right to give it the spotlight as the single for the upcoming mixtape.”
ToBy concludes: “My sense of humor and Aleks’ artistic intuition collides together in what we feel like is poised to be one of the most interesting videos to come out in the modern rap scene.”
Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more information on ToBy’s upcoming mixtape.
LINKS:
http://tobyseason.com
https://twitter.com/official_toby
https://www.facebook.com/OfficialToByMusic
https://soundcloud.com/officialtobymusic
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Folk Devils – Forever
Folk Devils, the London group that took their name from a well-known academic text on media scapegoating*, have returned with their first new music in 33 years. The band blazed a trail across the UK’s independent music scene of the mid-80s with their unique brand of post-punk energy, known for their acclaimed indie-chart singles “Hank Turns Blue”, “Beautiful Monster”, three John Peel sessions, plus live dates opening for Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, The Fall, The Gun Club, Screaming Blue Messiahs, and others.
The 3-track “Forever” EP lands on 10” (Clear Red Vinyl)^ and Digital on September 18, 2020, via Optic Nerve Recordings and features two new compositions, the title track “Forever” and “My Slum Soul”, plus an incendiary new version of an old live favorite “Ink Runs Dry”.
Recorded at London’s famous Konk Studios in North London and mixed and co-produced by Grammy Award-winning engineer Rik Simpson, the re-born Folk Devils drew inspiration for new recordings from the release of their 2016 career retrospective “Beautiful Monsters (Singles & Demo Recordings 1984-86)” and the excellent reactions at subsequent live shows around the UK with kindred spirits Membranes, Inca Babies, The Wolfhounds, and The Cravats.
Founder members, guitarist Kris Jozajtis and bassist Mark Whiteley, reformed the group by recruiting members of a short-lived 1987 version of Folk Devils; guitarist Nick Clift and drummer John Hamilton.
Together with singer Dave Hodgson they soon discovered they had created a well-oiled twin-guitar juggernaut that brimmed with the same restless, twisted blues that characterized the first and second iterations of the band from 1983-87 when they were fronted by the highly underrated and now sadly-departed singer/songwriter Ian Lowery.
Hodgson, a fellow transplant from the North-East, had known Lowery in the early 80s prior to Folk Devils when the two were in their respective post-punk bands Ski Patrol and Parting Shots.
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/FolkDevilsUK
https://twitter.com/Folk_Devils_UK
https://www.instagram.com/folk_devils_uk
https://folkdevils.bandcamp.com -
Modesty Blaise – Girls Just Wanna Dance
Modesty Blaise has released their new video for the track titled ‘Girls Just Wanna Dance’. That quirky, almost show tune shtick vibe about is what catches the ears and opens the eyes. This song is catchy. And I mean catchy in a stuck in your head fashion. This is a good thing, trust me. Partly because Modesty Blaise will put a smile on your face. And the story-tell factor of the video adds punch to the punchline and puts some stammer in your step.
As of February 5, ‘Girls Just Wanna Dance’ is available digitally everywhere, including Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp. ‘The Modesty Blaise’ album will be released on March 26 by from Lo-Fi to Disco! and distributed by Broken Silence (for Europe), Shellshock (for the UK), and Tedium House – Revolver USA and Midheaven mailorder (for North America).
ABOUT MODESTY BLAISE
Bristol-based avant indiepop outfit Modesty Blaise has announced that the impending release of a new album via German label From Lo-Fi to Disco! A baroque pop collection titled ‘The Modesty Blaise’, this is the band’s third studio album and their first LP in 20 years since releasing their head-turning ‘Melancholia’ LP (2001), featuring hit single ‘Carol Mountain’.
Ahead of this, they present the lead single ‘Girls Just Wanna Dance’, a perfect orchestral pop song and live favorite singalong that is more Music Hall than Dance Hall. A longtime set closer, ‘Blaise fans have been crying out for it to be recorded and here it finally is. You can bounce around your own kitchen to it and rip your own sink out just for fun.
This new release was preceded by a string of singles, including ‘Natalie Vendredi’ with its endearing nouvelle vague video, which will also be included on the album.
Modesty Blaise has been around for a few decades in various guises. After forming in late 1993, the band quickly recorded their debut single ‘Christina Terrace’ with the esteemed Edwyn Collins at the helm, garnering them immediate success with a live appearance on ITV and inclusion among many many end-of-year top music rankings. This acclaim however was not enough to quell the kind of internecine warfare that Modesty Blaise has become famous for.
After ‘Melancholia’, the band faced one delay after another with line-up changes and deteriorating personal circumstances. An all-too-familiar spiral, the years went by slowly but, no matter how bad it got, Jonny still had his guitars in his mum’s attic.
“When everyone else was in their bedrooms working on guitar solos and dreaming of being a rock god, I was reading biographies of Cole Porter and listening to Gershwin and Jerome Kern and Irving Berlin. I try to write concise things, with deliberate moves away from that where necessary,” says frontman and songwriter Jonny Collins.
“Melody, arrangement and counter melodies… The 3-minute pop single is, I’d contest, the summit of great art. It is timeless, and we consistently get it wrong confusing art with commerce. If your art (or your pop record) sounds like today, it may sound like yesterday pretty soon. Pop iconoclasm”.
Oher career highlights include supporting Robbie Williams at London’s O2 Arena, inclusion in a Rough Trade compilation, an ITV company documentary on Jonny Collins, and a BBC Radio session involving seventeen people.
LINKS:
https://www.modestyblaise.net
https://modestyblaiseuk.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/themodestyblaise
https://www.instagram.com/modestyblaiseuk
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4lnNm8g0IYG9H90ZIzsOZw/videos -
RĀI – Love’s On The Way
RĀI (pronounced Ray) is a singer, songwriter and true lover of R&B music. Originally from South Carolina (now residing in Harlem, New York), RĀI’s music is a vibe. He infuses elements of both new and traditional R&B to intentionally create chill, unassuming, timeless music. He sees each song as a piece of art that is influenced more by his life and experiences and not just by what’s hot and trending. R&B has seen changes in style, trends and youth increasingly celebrated over substance, tradition, and maturity but RĀI has an appreciation for all things R&B and believes the two can peacefully exist.
“I’m a singer who grew up loving how R&B music changed the world and made people feel. I’m not changing my music to fit a radio format or gain Instagram followers or whatever. My music is the truest expression of who I am today. I’m trying to create music that people will want to hear next year or the year after that and after that. If it doesn’t pop right now, it doesn’t pop. I am committed to making good music and I’ve found a peace that right now that may not be the most lucrative endeavor and I’m good with that.”
RĀI’s musical inspirations are Donny Hathaway, Marvin Gaye, Luther Vandross and Maxwell. With his latest project “Love’s on the Way”, he sought to create an album that was effortless in nature with such a strong vibe that once you pressed play you would just let it ride. And ultimately, that never goes out of style.
“I approached creating my latest project similar to how I imagine a designer approaches creating a collection. Painfully detailed. Each piece unique. Each appealing for different reasons, but it all goes together. I am committed to making good music and I’ve found a peace that right now that may not be the most lucrative endeavor, and I’m good with that.”
Indie artist RĀI brings nostalgia to R&B/soul music fans with the release of his second single “Love’s On The Way,” from his debut album of the same title, due out June 8. Anyone with a love and appreciation for R&B music associated with talented singers like Maxwell and others will love this song!”
– ThisisRnB, April 16, 2018“Rumors of R&B’s demise have been greatly exaggerated over the years. Yes, the genre has seen its fair share of changes, with style, trends and youth increasingly celebrated over substance, tradition and maturity. Nonetheless, there are still artists in that latter category putting in work, such as South Carolina native and current Harlem resident RĀI.“
– SoulBounce, April 12, 2018“This is a performer who, as a writer and singer alike, is a definite proponent of the groove in music, but he isn’t beholden to it. “Back to Life”, like its title perhaps implies, works through a number of well-timed changes that gives the song different looks that, nonetheless, sound like they are part of the same overall package.”
– Indie Band Guru, March 14, 2018“He has a seemingly light touch as a singer…but there’s strength in that delicacy discerning listeners will hear on certain turns of phrase. There are a number of abiding qualities in his singing and two of the most distinctive are heard in how he carefully orchestrates his singing to run alongside the arrangement while never overshadowing it and his phrasing from one refrain to another has subtle distinctions that underline how he never sings anything quite the same way twice.”
– Gashouse Radio, March 5, 2018LINKS:
https://www.therealrai.com
https://www.facebook.com/therealraimusic
https://twitter.com/raimusicworld
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSuyZwMM7G4v4XK0EKHydIg
https://soundcloud.com/therealraimusic
https://www.instagram.com/raimusicworld