‘Caravan’, the new single and video from the Indie-Pop duo known as Ummagma, is a bit of a power-departure from their previous work in that it is more upbeat and, honestly, downright danceable in parts. Is this a stylistic rebellion? I think not. Musical groups, the good ones anyway, naturally evolve and progress. ‘Caravan is a positive sign of such musical movement. Combining more diverse instrumentation such as the varied percussion and clashing guitars, the song shows a more perfect blend of genre-crossing and just plain good old innovation. A lesson for musicians.
Ummagma’s ‘Caravan’ single is out on May 8. The ‘Compass’ LP will be released on June 21 via Leonard Skully Records, available on black vinyl and CD with artwork by Alexander Kretov and also digitally everywhere, including on iTunes, Amazon, and Spotify. In the meantime, it can pre-ordered directly via Bandcamp.
About Ummagma
Indie pop electronic rock duo Ummagma has announced their new album ‘Compass’, to be released in June via Manchester-based label Leonard Skully Records. Their third long-play, this is the duo’s first album in seven years and also the first time the band is releasing a record on vinyl.
Ahead of this album, they present the ‘Caravan’ single, along with a special B-side ‘Ty i Ya’. The title track is an invigorating pop-rock anthem inspired by the musicians’ own journeys and infused with Carpathian gammas and percussion.
‘Ty i Ya’ is a vibe-injected upbeat track, with infectious Daft Punk-esque bassline, that Alexander Kretov composed and performs in his native Ukrainian language. This is the first single Ummagma has ever released in a language other than English, stepping beyond the confines of past songwriting limits.
“Caravan is about a personal journey – one that begins in the mind before any borders have even been crossed,” says Ummagma vocalist Shauna McLarnon. “The trip is so much better when you truly want to be part of it. You map your own destiny in many ways and dreaming is a great place to begin.”
The ‘Compass’ LP is beguiling in its post-genre nature. It is an album of grace and change, of familiarity and exploration, of emotion and euphoria, of sky-scraping cinematic highs and intimate and intriguing lows. This is the sound of a band allowing themselves to jump creative divides, to kick down musical barriers, and rip up the rule book or perhaps just ignore the fact that there ever was one in the first place.
Formed in Moscow in 2003, McLarnon hails from northern Canada while Kretov is originally from western Ukraine. Now based in Peterborough, Ontario, the couple completed this album over the course of five years and multiple moves, ultimately hauling their studio with them across the Atlantic and setting up all over again. With such transience in the real world, how could their sonic world reflect anything other than the same fluidity and movement?
This record follows on the trail of their ‘LCD’ EP with Robin Guthrie (Cocteau Twins) and Dean Garcia (Curve), and ‘Winter Tale’ EP with 4AD dream pop pioneer A.R.Kane. Both of these were released in 2017.
They say you can tell a lot about someone by the company that they keep, and the same holds true for a band. Ummagma’s collaborations speak volumes. Apart from these three dreampop-shoegaze icons, they’ve worked with Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark’s Malcolm Holmes, Swervedriver’s Graham Bonnar, and nu-disco kingpin Alexander Robotnick.
Ummagma’s music has always presented an exhilarating positive vision, showcasing their ability to wander diverse musical pathways. Representing Ukraine among 23 countries, they won the Alternative Eurovision on Amazing Radio in 2013, and have been featured in a full-page spread in Rolling Stone Russia. In 2015, their collaborative ‘New Born’ album with Sounds of Sputnik also received a Jagermeister indie award, Russia’s most esteemed music award.
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/ummagma
https://ummagma.bandcamp.com/
https://twitter.com/ummagma
http://www.youtube.com/ummagma
https://www.soundcloud.com/ummagma
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Jammerzine’s The Week in #Indie for 11/4/2019
Jammerzine’s The Week in #Indie for the week of November 4th, 2019 includes exclusive interviews with dUg Pinnick, Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir, and Danny Chavis from The Veldt. Also featured are premieres from Lunar Twin, North America, Owen Denvir, RISE, The Summercamp, and Too Many T’s.
About dUg Pinnick
Rare is it when I get to talk with someone of such knowledge and depth. Rarer still is when that learned musical scholar is also one cool and down-to-earth guy. That guy is dUg Pinnick. dUg is a virtual one-man walking history of music. Having honed his style and tone in the ’70s and solidified his place in music in the ’80s with King’s X, dUg played it all, done it all, heard it all, and been it all. And now we get the honor of hearing some of those stories and much more from the badass of bass in this exclusive interview.
In this interview, we get the latest news on King’s X’s new album and tour (dates below), the dirt on his other bands including KXM with George Lynch and Ray Luzier as well as his reflections on his just-completed Jimi Hendrix tribute tour with Joe Satriani and even a much-needed health update on King’s X bandmate Jerry Gaskill and so much more! Consider this interview a lesson in musicianship and a guide to living free.
LINKS:
http://www.dugnation.net
https://www.facebook.com/dugpinnickfanpage
https://www.instagram.com/dugpinnick
https://twitter.com/dUgpinnick_
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/dug-pinnick/id73055633?uo=8&at=1001ldnQ
https://www.youtube.com/user/douglaspinnick
https://www.kingsxrocks.com
https://www.facebook.com/KingsXofficial
https://www.youtube.com/user/alienbeans
https://twitter.com/kingsx
https://www.instagram.com/kingsxofficialAbout Fly My Pretties
When I first found out about New Zealand’s Fly My Pretties, I was astonished at how much of a collaborative effort it is while being as smooth running as it is. Their new album, and first studio album titled ‘The Studio Recordings Part One’ is an audio dynamite stick filled with the diversity that only a well crafted and tightly knit family of artists who know how to work together and work off the feeling of each other. And it shows (embed playlist below).
And in this interview, we get to talk with the brainchild of this effort, Barnaby Weir. In the interview, we get to know the roots of this family tree as well as the creative process that comes with each effort that Fly My Pretties undertakes plus much, much more.
LINKS:
http://www.flymypretties.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fly-My-Pretties/70526150479
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1D2FFBD9ABFB296E
https://twitter.com/FlyMyPrettiesNZ
https://flymypretties.bandcamp.comAbout Lunar Twin
Lunar Twin returns with a sonically dreamy and melodic turn for the evolution of their careers with their new single and video titled ‘Leaves’. The track is one of those that creeps up to you in a good way and lends that tender surrender of the ears and mind and gives that beautiful turn for the serene with soulful vocals and a quietly ascending cinematic progression with a steady yet poignant backbeat. Think U2 as a more electronic band with an original twist and emotional delivery that only Lunar Twin can deliver.
LINKS:
http://www.lunartwin.com
https://www.facebook.com/Lunartwin
https://lunartwin.bandcamp.com
https://twitter.com/lunartwinmusic
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuvRCdg_rfg6YBMd324hNXg/videos
https://soundcloud.com/lunar-twin
https://instagram.com/chriscontrollerAbout North America
East London quintet North America releases new single ‘Leave Us To Fate’. A rolling ballad encompassed in ethereal guitar work, the song is a bittersweet reflection on love’s subjugation to fate.
Frontman P.F. Phillip says, “Leave Us To Fate is a bittersweet goodbye to love now lost, a reminiscence of a romance that inevitably could not be.” Torn apart by separation, the protagonist encourages himself and his former lover to live and carry on, while admitting to a hopeless desire that they meet again in an unknown future.
Written, recorded, produced and released by the band themselves, ‘Leave Us To Fate’ is a cathartic release of emotion that encapsulates the band’s lyrical poeticism and sense of indie grandeur.
North America is a London based 5-piece creating viscerally energetic and introspective indie-rock that embodies the anthemic quality of their songwriting. Hailing from São Paulo and California, frontman P.F. Phillip met guitarists Gabe Coulter, Jack Rennie, bassist Sandro Giacometti, and drummer Sam Roberts at the world-famous Metropolis Studios before forming North America in 2017 over a refined appreciation of trashy American comedies and questionable pizza joints.
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/northamericaofficial
https://www.instagram.com/northamericaofficial
https://twitter.com/northamericabnd
https://soundcloud.com/northamericaofficial
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYLulTJDkFWPGiIEg55ArxQAbout Owen Denvir
Owen Denvir dropped his new EP titled ‘Sticks’ on November 1st, 2019. With the panache of a showman and the creativity of a troubadour, Owen gives a varied and stylistic set of tracks that truly lay credence to his body of work and showcase his talents as a singer. And Owen really has the voice for this body of work. His range is perfect for what he is utilizing it for but that weathered emotion within is what is the most captivating. Layer that amongst the solemnly orchestrated music and you have that true magic bottled by an artist.
LINKS:
http://www.owendenvir.com
https://www.facebook.com/OwenDenvir
https://twitter.com/owendenvir
https://www.instagram.com/owendenvirAbout RISE
RISE delivers a score for her beautiful voice in the form of her new single and video titled ‘Temples’. The meaning of this video is striking in its execution, having been filmed in and around select abandoned properties on the West of Ireland. Shot with grainy and subdued aesthetics that perfectly flow with the music in a very cinematic way, ‘Temples’ encapsulates that silent drama within us all that constantly blur the borders between complicity and compliance and that struggle that helps, or hurts us in finding that medium.
RISE is a musician that knows how to write and perform what she feels and isn’t afraid to face those demons that stifle us all when confrontation results. Simply beautiful.
LINKS:
https://www.riseofficial.net
https://www.facebook.com/talitharise
https://www.instagram.com/r_i_s_e_music
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7HpWYxWrJpeNlyhlDGD14M
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgctenga8Vhhxj65Ap2-LSg
https://twitter.com/RISE_MusicianAbout The Summercamp
The Summercamp drop their new video and track in the form of their new song titled ‘Pull’, and we have this premiere right here! These party-pirates from Pittsburgh have what a lot of artists in the mainstream lack these days; personality. Built on the base of a smooth groove and super-sounds-of-the-seventies style bass groove in what must be either a Precision or Jazz (musician-speak there), The Summercamp delivers said personality within the lines of the lyrics and throughout the video. This, to me, is the perfect example of a ‘jam band’. I say this because that groove is indicative of such. These guys bring the party and the video shows that with its creativity and originality.
And for those thinking that groove is consistent through the track, wait until the 3-minute mark when the song and video take a dramatically dark turn and get downright dirty. You will love it!
LINKS:
https://www.thesummercampmusic.com
https://www.facebook.com/thesummercampmusic
http://instagram.com/the_summercamp
https://thesummercamppgh.bandcamp.com
https://artist.landr.com/music/628810020652
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5JdLem1bxjdsTBPhTM1bsx?si=z6BPLcd_ThCr6addriVKQQ
https://twitter.com/the_summercampAbout The Veldt
The Veldt is a band that has earned more than their reputation as shoe-gaze and alt-rock legends and pioneers. And now that is more evident in their new tour with guests including Seefeel, Your 33 Black Angels-Micah Gaugh-Honeychild Coleman & Haunted Horses among others (dates below).
And, in this interview, I get to talk with Danny Chavis. Along with his twin brother Daniel (vocals, guitar), and Hayato Nakao (bass), Marvin Levi (drums) and Alex Cox (guitar), are continuing to expose the masses with some of their new music (check out ‘Thanks to the Moth and Areanna Rose’ HERE) with a special glimpse of what to expect via the Raliegh, NC based show ‘Oak City Session’ below.
LINKS:
http://www.theveldtmusic.com
https://www.facebook.com/VeldtThe
http://twitter.com/veldtthe
http://www.reverbnation.com/theveldt
http://theveldtmusic.bandcamp.com/releases
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCExvaP_PYVCPOyuvoFaVXkw/videos?sort=dd&view=0&shelf_id=0About Too Many T’s
Too Many T’s does it again with a catch-all-be-all true-to-form-wonder-of-words with their new video and single titled ‘Everyday People’ featuring french mega-mind ProleteR. To me, Too Many T’s is a perfect example of those artists who keep hip-hop pure and relevant in today’s world of increasing white noise. They are musical purists in the truest sense of the term. And they find like minds to consistently work with. In the ever-shrinking bubble of originality look no further than this dynamic duo to deliver us from evil.
‘Everyday People’ combines old school beats with older school horns and lifts them out of history with relevance that only comes from those who understand the relevance. I have officially met the artists in who, the old ways have joined then new.
LINKS:
http://toomanyts.com
https://www.facebook.com/toomanyts
https://instagram.com/toomanyts
https://www.twitter.com/toomanytsClick 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’. -
Brocarde Releases ‘Last Supper’ Single (The Week in #Indie Segment)
London-based Brocarde has just released her new single Last Supper. Never one to focus on just one project, she also launches the Last Supper Clothing Collection (featuring lyrics from the single), Last Supper Photography Book and Last Supper photography ibook.
The track has been played on hundreds of radio stations all over the world including Kerrang! Radio and Planet Rock Radio – where it’s been played for over 5 weeks.
Brocarde always had a keen interest in performing and storytelling, but she didn’t launch her music career straight away. It was jewelry making that came first and it wasn’t long before word spread and her designs were spotted on Lady Gaga and Katy Perry.
Riding the crest of the wave, she spent every waking hour making jewelry in the hope that the company would give her a platform to launch her music. The bigger the company grew, the more its ethos escaped her. The brand did provide her with a platform to launch music, but not the kind that cuts into your soul, not the kind that made her feel alive. So before she drowned in a sickly, sticky vat of bubblegum, she decided to burst her own bubble.
She closed the jewelry company and never looked back. She went to LA to finish the album she had started and discarded every song that she had previously written. Brocarde made a promise to herself that she would never compromise her vision, and to never be filtered for commercial success. During her time in the studio, her love for making clothing continued.
At this point in her life she was unshackled, supercharged and sassy as hell, so she created a brand called Twisted Bitches. She created t-shirts with slogans like “Pussy Power” and “No F*cks Given”. Her designs were modeled by rainbow haired girls and embraced by the “alternative” community, after being stocked on Dolls Kill.
The first song Brocarde wrote in LA was “Last Supper”. The song and her vision for it existed long before she stepped foot inside a recording studio, and every tiny detail was alive inside her head, from the video concept to the clothing she would be wearing. The song tackles her personal experiences with celebrity culture. It begs the listener to question their relationship with social media and loved ones, and it asks the all-important question “What will you consume at your last supper?”.
The video, written and directed by Brocarde takes the viewer on an uncensored journey and tackles a host of controversial issues such as cannibalism, religion, and abuse of power, which leaves them open for interpretation and discussion. It’s a twisted fairytale with haunting darkness that’s usually only present in horror movies.
Brocarde approaches music in a different way. She is genre-less. She uses instrumentation to capture the emotion in her words. She straddles a multitude of worlds; her vulnerable, fragile side is captured by an orchestra of delicately plucked strings; her full throttle sass makes you stand up and take note, and her angst and frustration marry with the heavy metal undertones.
Brocarde is cinematic, captivating and an artistic storyteller.
Last Supper is out now and the second single and album will follow later in 2019.
LINKS:
http://brocarde.com
https://www.instagram.com/brocarde
https://twitter.com/brocardemusic
https://www.facebook.com/brocarde
https://youtube.com/brocarde
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/last-supper-single/1451735351 -
Radio Retro (JammerStream One)
Radio Retro is an original show featuring historical events, as they happened, as well as your favorite shows and commercials from the golden age of radio. Each week we recreate an era in history using archived shows and advertisements from the days when your radio was considered a piece of furniture.
Radio Retro aired from 2012 to 2014 on JammerStream One.