Philadelphia-based Tulipomania is releasing their new maxi-single ‘Off the Map’, together with the remix of ‘On the Outside’ by London-based electronic producer Spinello. This three-track offering is being released via Sursumcorda Recordings just 10 months after their latest EP, which saw the band offer the original version of ‘On The Outside’, along with the Seahawks remix of ‘Don’t Be So Sure’.
On ‘Off the Map’, band members Tom Murray (lead vocals, bass, drums) and Cheryl Gelover (synthesizer, background vocals) were joined on guitar and glockenspiel) by Mitch Smith, who also contributed to the band’s eponymous first album. Recorded and mastered by Richard Hartline, the final mix was produced by Mark Plati, famed for his work with such artists as The Cure, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Philip Glass crafted the final mix, in addition to producing, recording, mixing or performing on most of Bowie’s musical output from 1996 to 2003.
To date, Tulipomania has released four albums, as well as numerous singles. Their music is built on conflict and contrast, internal battles between hazy dream-pop and angular indie, between fractious and shattered vocals and muscular beats, swirling psychedelia and sonorous, drifting keyboard washes, between sinister atmospherics and raw guitars.
Tulipomania’s music has variously been referred to as ‘cult synth punks’, ‘glam-leaning’, ‘art-rock’ and ‘muscular chamber pop’, while many reviewers are quick to reference the affinity with early 4AD Records’ output, an association that is underlined by the fact that the duo have utilized legendary 4AD graphic designer Vaughan Oliver for album packaging.
‘Off The Map’ is a trance-like dark moody affair with bluesy elements, with Murray’s smoky deep tenor sparingly backed by Gelover’s vocals. ‘On the Outside (Spinello Remix)’ is a more upbeat offering and is dramatic, dark and dubby. It was created by Spinello (a.k.a. Shane Woolman), a London-based producer and remixer, who also hosts shows on NTS Radio, Resonance FM and New New World, in addition to working at The Wire magazine and DJing as part of The Wire Soundsystem.
A rather art-conscious duo, Tulipomania round out their already notable collection of notable videos by presenting not one, but two, new animated music videos to accompany this release. The animation was created by band members Cheryl Gelover and Tom Murray. This resolute juncture between music and visual art has always made Tulipomania videos stand out among their peers.
The collage-animation process for the ‘Off The Map’ video was quite intensive, with Murray and Gelover alternating fragmented self-portraits with imagery they pieced together, frame by frame, from thousands of individual sheets of paper. These fragmented self-portraits alternate with imagery torn and pieced together, matching the contradictory mood of the lyrics. The result is a stunning visual that reinforces the contradictory nature of the song’s lyrics.
Similarly, the video for ‘On the Outside (Spinello Remix)’ features vintage objects animated frame by frame as torn paper and tape collages on sheets of black paper. Loaded with a quaint naiveté, this animation was inspired by the inclusion of a space-age era broadcast layered into the Spinello Remix.
This video for ‘Off the Map’ has been chosen as an Official Selection at the BAFTA qualifying Aesthetica Short Film Festival in York, UK. Described as “artistic and inventive” and “gorgeous”, the music videos created by Tulipomania have been featured in many other film festivals worldwide, including the London Short Film Festival (England), Leeds International Film Festival (England), Aesthetica Short Film Festival (York, England), Encounters (Bristol, England), Zubroffka (Poland), StopTrik (Croatia, Poland), Brooklyn Film Festival (USA), and Animation Block Party (USA).
The ‘Off the Map’ maxi-single is being made available across the main online stores and streaming platforms, and can also be ordered from Tulipomania’s Bandcamp.
LINKS:
http://tulipomania.com
https://twitter.com/tulipomania.com
https://tulipomania.bandcamp.com
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SNKT – Lost in Love
SNKT has just released his new single and video titled ‘Lost in Love’. Take this for what you will, but, this is a fun song. It’s not so much in your face but it is wildly infectious. SNKT’s vocals are stellar in an original popstar fashion and perfectly compliment the music. And that music, while steady, is signature. Coming from a new artist, having found his sound really shows where SNKT is headed. And it’s atmospheric.
ABOUT SNKT
SNKT is the stage name of Stockholm-based artist Jack O’Connor, but while his alias comes from a Swedish word for ‘saint’, O’Connor is far from anointed as he unpacks sins across his upcoming debut No Saints.
Born and raised in Ireland, O’Connor began writing and producing music in university, pulling from his country’s gift for storytelling with a coming-of-age soundtrack by Robyn, Kate Bush, and The Knife. Taking from his experiences discovering his queer identity along with the rush of an Irish college experience, SNKT inherently began as a project born out of club pop adoration met with searingly candid confessionals.
“I realized that when you’re the one with the pen, you can easily portray yourself in the best light possible,” O’Connor adds. “I found myself being more honest in terms of writing where I saw faults in both parties. This is where I thought of the ‘saint’ idea, in that there were no saints in these relationships.”
Considering the personal nature of his latest batch of songs, O’Connor decided to approach No Saints as its sole writer and producer after working with Grammy Award-winning producer Philip Larsen among others. The end result is one of the most fully formed, ebullient pop debuts in recent memory anchored by O’Connor’s deft vision of heartfelt dance music.
Lead single “Lost in Love” is peak club hours excellence in an alternate universe where dancefloors are unencumbered by lockdowns. Written during an isolating period this past summer, “Love” finds O’Connor grappling with the pandemic alongside the end of a fleeting romance doomed from the get-go. Love and lust factor heavily across No Saints, but at its core, SNKT’s debut is a document of unvarnished personal growth and acceptance in real-time.
“I feel like this record is very me,” O’Connor concludes. “Growing up gay in Ireland had its challenges, though I learned so much of myself through music, and I feel this record is, in part, a tribute to all the great music I was raised on that gave me strength when I was weak. Through this record, I was able to truly be my unashamed gay self and I hope to be able to spread the same joy that I was able to hear and feel in my teenage years to anyone who’s going through a rough time.”
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/snktstockholm
https://snkt.streamlink.to/LostinLove -
Morgin – Inna Dat (Ft. Boosie Badazz)
Echoing the sounds of EnVouge and Cardi B. Morgin is the fast-rising R&B infused Rap artist hailing from Birmingham AL. Starting off in 2018 with freestyle videos in her car, she decided to take music seriously.
Morgin wrote her first song in 2016, which was inspired by altercations with her high school boyfriend. Starting Her senior year, she began to write more & more, but never told a soul; it was 2018 when she decided it would be her “pop-out” year to start releasing music.
Keeping close confidants of her mom and BFF’s she uploaded her first music video, by the next morning there were over 2000 views.
Morgin’s lyrics reflect on her everyday life growing up in Birmingham. From “Haters, baby daddies & growing up (in her own words) ‘that b*tch’ in the hood”. On her IG stories, she always shows love to artists like “Nba YoungBoy” who is one of the artists who inspire her, because of his age & success, along with Cardi B “She inspires me because no one believed in her and she still made”.
The first song she released, titled “No Hook”, was dropped on her Youtube Channel along with a visual. Morgan says she wrote the song the morning of the studio session, and that the song is based on true events that happened prior to recording. She is currently working with J.Reid the producer, who reached out to her via Instagram, after seeing her freestyle.
Morgin said that Reid hit her in the DM & told her she was dope. She reminisces on telling him that she wasn’t making any new music at the time because she didn’t have a recording studio in Alabama. “He told me I was too hard to not be making music, we set up a date for me to come to Atlanta & we have been locked in ever”.
LINKS:
https://twitter.com/moneybagmo_
https://instagram.com/officialmorgin -
Half the Animal – Bad Bad Love
Formed in 2016, Los Angeles-based alternative rock quartet Half the Animal produces an infectious sound, which blends catchy, hook-laden rock attitude and pop-driven styles. Originally founded by vocalist Chase Johnson and drummer Nick Gross—who were featured cast members in the hit MTV reality TV series ‘Laguna Beach’ during their formative days as the band Open Air Stereo—Half the Animal also includes bassist Evan Smith (Silversun Pickups/Chromeo/Big Data) and classically trained guitarist Dan Graham.
Half the Animal made an impact with their memorable debut single “Babylon,” a grandiose, stadium-sized rock anthem that became the band’s first-ever viral hit, garnering over 1 million streams online, collectively, since its release in July 2016. The song quickly earned the band nationwide industry attention and strong radio support on multiple SiriusXM channels, including Top 40 radio station Hits 1 and The Pulse, as well as regular airplay on tastemaker Los Angeles stations ALT 98.7 and KROQ, which featured Half the Animal on their celebrated Locals Only program. Collectively, Half the Animal also count over 1 million YouTube views to date and have been featured on ‘Billboard’ and Ones to Watch (Live Nation).
In fall 2017, Half the Animal released the successful follow-up single “Bad Bad Love” via the group’s independent imprint Noise Nest Records. Featuring a lush soundscape built atop hypnotic vocal melodies, piercing piano chords and dreamy synths, the track was highlighted on Spotify’s influential New Music Friday playlist. The band also launched a 33-date US Fall tour in September 2017 alongside Atlas Genius in support of the track.
LINKS:
http://www.halftheanimal.com
https://www.facebook.com/halftheanimal
https://twitter.com/halftheanimal
https://www.instagram.com/halftheanimal