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Introducing… Melissa Bel!
After a fateful night in Vegas, Toronto-bred Melissa Bel followed her heart and took the leap to move to the UK with her new found love. Her latest album In The Light, due for release on 4th November 2016 via Belhop Records, tells the story of this journey.
Taken from the album is single Stay Gone, which you can listen you via Melissa's Soundcloud page now.
You can also watch the powerful video for Stay Gone via Melissa's YouTube channel.
In The Light charts the journey of how a girl from Canada met the love of her life in Las Vegas whilst attending a friend’s wedding. Little did she know, this meeting would change her life forever and she’d be relocating to the rural coasts of Devon as a result. Each track on the album showcases a different side to Bel, filled with the killer combination of infectious pop beats, powerful soul vocals and heartwarming ballads. Opening track ‘Real Tonight’ is an upbeat, funky rendition of ‘that’ night in Vegas, highlighting Melissa’s incredible ability to write an impressive pop hook akin to the likes of Meghan Trainor and Taylor Swift. Previous single Stay Gone along with tracks ‘Dirty Word’ and ‘Big Boys Don’t Cry’ captivate instantly with their contagious pop-infused melodies. Whereas title track ‘In The Light’ is a vulnerable ballad encapsulating the naked hope and fear of finding profound, visceral love.
Melissa grew up listening to soul, classic rock and draws inspiration from the likes of Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin and Christina Aguilera amongst others. She also regularly receives creative support from producer/songwriter Justin Gray who has worked with artists such as Joss Stone, John Legend and Amy Winehouse and also produced Melissa’s album.
Melissa is certainly not afraid of hard work, having already released three albums over six years and played numerous live shows including Montreal’s Festiblues and supporting Juno Award winning Canadian artist Matthew Good. With In The Light Melissa has truly found her voice, promising her most vulnerable and electrifying album yet.
In The Light is out on Friday 4th November 2016 via Belhop Records.
Law Holt shares new track ‘Summer’s Coming’!
"...explosive..." - The Line of Best Fit
“…playful pop with sinister undertones…” - DIY
“…a voice that could move mountains…” - The Skinny
Law Holt has unveiled track Summer's Coming, taken from debut album City, due for release on 26th August 2016 via Soulpunk.
The track premiered on Clash and you can also stream it now via Law Holt's Soundcloud page.
Law describes Summer's Coming as "A bittersweet city-song about the easy junky promises of a man who can’t help himself. Too wasted to be a lover, but with a loving soul. Crying out to his best friend from some kind of forced rehab in the country for her to come and save him. But she’s already given him everything she can. So he dies, probably, in an act of emotional revenge. Or maybe he just dies inside."
You can also watch the video for 'Spit', featured on Law's full-length City via her YouTube Channel.
Alternatively you can stream the track via Law's Soundcloud Page.
After the sessions for the album had finished, in the basement studio where City was recorded, producer Tim London found a folded A4 sheet of paper amongst some lyric notes. Written in three types of coloured biro were these
exact words:
“You don’t know a damn thing. It’s a witchy awareness, and if you could take a little swig from the bottle you might get the telepathy. But right now, you don’t deserve it, cos you think pop is fucking in a photo-booth in a shopping mall, you think it’s the reflection of the tip of your penis vibrating in the dark screen of your laptop. American. Packaging. Wanker.”
“It’s a mock wedding. I’m fucking fed up with it. Don’t judge me. Just because you lost your soul. My tears are real, wet salt. My feelings are raw.”
“OK, in the end I’ll probably forgive you, even if you refuse to dance. I’ll forgive you long enough to make another album from the whole story, which is all it is, from the fantasy, which is all you are.”
“In the end, I’ll use you like you used me, ‘boy’. Then you’ll be discarded like a limp condom on a Spanish beach. Then I will have won and you’ll just be an itch, a gnat bite on my memory. Then people will listen to these songs and they will know how a little, insignificant prick can inspire joy in a woman as he fades away. You. Are. Not. Even. A. Dot.”
When Tim asked her who it was addressed to, Lauren refused to answer and just said, “it’s private”.
Having been described as “the Death Grips of pop”, her sound is hard to define but has received critical acclaim from The Skinny, Guardian, Clash, The Line of Best Fit, DIY and many more. Law transcends genres, time and sound. Loneliness, darkness and romance are themes she regularly explores. She describes her music as “Law themed” and she’s spot on - you can look, but there’s no one quite like Law.
Law Holt’s album City is out on 26th August 2016 via Soulpunk.
Stream ‘Cadavers’ by Schnarff Schnarff now!
"...drawing upon influences from grunge and metal, through to pop-punk and emo." - Team Rock
"...darker lyrics propel the band’s sound forward..." - Punktastic
Schnarff Schnarff are pleased to announce the streaming track 'Cadavers', taken from their forthcoming album The evil that we do…, out on 9th September 2016 via Black Dug Records.
Skilfully constructing a sound that is undeniably their own the Glasgow based five piece have drawn on influences ranging from metal to pop-punk and grunge to emo, a sound that has seen them pick up recent support from the likes of Team Rock, Punktastic and BBC Introducing Scotland.
On 'Cadavers' Schnarff Schnarff exhibit the deeper complexity to their sound, this time offering a nod to the grunge-heavy sound inspired by the likes of Nirvana, adding a dissonance and grit to an already wonderfully eclectic alt-rock album. The track premiered on Team Rock and is now available to stream on the Schnarff Schnarff Soundcloud page.
'Cadavers' follows the recent release of free download track ‘Mario 1-2’, which premiered exclusively on Punktastic, where the band embrace their post-hardcore influences, channelling the likes of Bluetip and At the Drive-In to perfection. Download the the track from the Schnarff Schnarff Soundcloud page or by clicking the embed below:
It’s easy to see why BBC Radio Scotland’s Vic Galloway described Schnarff Schnarff as “staccato grunge pop” with tracks such as ‘Flip The Cross’ and former single ‘This Is How We Get Some’ delivered with the impetus and snarl of bands like Biffy Clyro, Saves The Day and Taking Back Sunday. Myles Bonnar’s (vocals) lyrics and expertly delivered vocals are flanked impressively by Jamie Douglas (drums), Paul ‘Thunder’ Tracey (bass) Richard Douglas (guitar) and Andrew ‘Turtle’ MacLean (guitar) as Schnarff Schnarff really let loose, showcasing their ability to marry hooks and choruses to complex time changes, mighty guitar riffs and metronomic drum fills.
Originally hailing from Inverness, the band formed while they were all scattered throughout the UK, bonded together by a desire to go against the grain of the current accepted norm in music with the aim of producing music similar to the bands that influenced them growing up. After relocating to Glasgow they haven’t looked back since, continually creating music and playing live shows, before recording their album with renowned Scottish producer, Paul Savage (Mogwai, The Twilight Sad, We Were Promised Jetpacks).
Over the last few years Schnarff Schnarff have gained support from the likes of Radio 1 (Huw Stephens), 6 Music (Steve Lamacq), BBC Scotland (Vic Galloway), Amazing Radio’s Jim Gellatly, Team Rock and Punktastic as well performing at festivals T in The Park, Belladrum, Wickerman, and Brew at the Bog.
The evil that we do… by Schnarff Schnarff is released on 9th September 2016 via Black Dug Records.
Fiona Soe Paing releases exclusive download track ‘Heartbeat’!
Fiona Soe Paing has released an exclusive download of Heartbeat, which features on her forthcoming album Alien Lullabies, due for release on 29th August 2016 via Colliderscope.
The track premiered on The National and is also available to download now via Fiona's Soundcloud page.
You can also watch the animated video for Heartbeat via Fiona's YouTube channel now.
Fiona Soe Paing creates unsettling electronic soundscapes on her debut album Alien Lullabies. It exists in a world between worlds, a strange avant-garde place where the half Burmese, half Scottish electronic producer and vocalist creates dark, dreamy soundscapes.
Alien Lullabies is a collection of off-world, vocal based electronic tracks, that combine a phrasebook Burmese, English and abstract improvisation. The album is the soundtrack of the Alien Lullabies live show, a mesmerising live performance and cinema hybrid, with projected 3D animation by collaborator Zennor Alexander, who created a dark, animated fairytale to accompany the album.
Whilst writing the album, Fiona was staying on Waiheke Island in New Zealand, at the off-grid Eco Village, which was founded by the crew of the original Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior - this is where the surreal sounds of Alien Lullabies were born.
Fiona often combines abstract vocals and cutting edge electronica to create strange and intense sounds, which can be heard on tracks ‘Winters Day’ and ‘Tah Stin Koh Mpor’. Channeling a sound akin to Björk, Laurel Halo and Mira Calix, ‘Heartbeat’ and ‘Tower of Babel’ are perfect examples of Fiona’s skill with manipulating sound and transforming it into art.
Amongst Fiona’s supporters are BBC Radio 1’s Mary Anne Hobbs, BBC Radio 3’s - World On Three show, BBC 6Music’s Tom Robinson, BBC Scotland’s Vic Galloway and Mary Ann Kennedy as well as Depeche Mode’s Vince Clarke. Previous releases have included a track sung in Burmese, released through Warner Music on the Sound of The World compilation by legendary BBC presenter and musicologist, the late Charlie Gillett.
Fiona Soe Paing’s album Alien Lullabies is out on 29th August 2016 via Colliderscope.
Maria Kelly shares acoustic version of single ‘Black & Blue’!
"...silky smooth vocals that spin widely relatable tales."
- Consequence of Sound
"Maria Kelly has really begun to become a more multifaceted artist whose music and visual work go hand in hand."
- The Last Mixed Tape
To celebrate the success of her latest single Black & Blue, Irish singer-songwriter Maria Kelly has released a stunning acoustic version of the track, which is out now via Veta Records and available to buy on iTunes.
You can stream the delicate acoustic re-make now via Maria's Soundcloud page.
The charming video for Black & Blue premiered on Nialler9 and you can also watch it via Maria's YouTube channel now.
The audio for Black & Blue premiered on Consequence of Sound and is also available to stream via Maria's Soundcloud page now.
Maria left quite an impression last year with debut single Before It Has Begun - a mournful finger-picked song that shows off Kelly’s pin-drop vocals and beautiful lyricism. Her latest single Black & Blue still feels vulnerable, with a hint of foolish optimism, managing to effectively captivate her talent for bittersweet storytelling - fans of Regina Spektor and She & Him will feel at home here.
"Black and Blue is about foolish optimism; waiting around for something that’s never going to come,” Maria Kelly explains. “I wrote it as a kind of ‘see ya later!’ to a certain time in my teenage years. I spent so long waiting for something that was clearly not on the way and this song attempts to look at that situation, accept it, laugh at it and move on.”
Growing up in Mayo, Ireland, Maria spent many years crafting and developing her sound into a stunning combination of delicate indie-folk. She has been writing music since the age of 10 and has already played numerous shows in both the UK and Ireland supporting the likes of Orla Gartland and Wyvern Lingo. Maria has also received praise from various online publications including Consequence of Sound, The Irish Times, Nialler9 and For Folk's Sake to name a few. Maria is working in the studio on new tracks for her next EP and developing her live sound in preparation for a busy 2016.
Black & Blue is out now via Veta Records and available to buy on iTunes.