Latest News
Sofia releases download track ‘Untamable (Kandylion - Remix)’!
Sofia has returned with a brand new track, the Kandylion remix of ‘Untamable’. The original mix previously featured on Sofia's debut EP Once Upon A Time.
'Untamable (Kandylion Remix)' premiered on Gay Times and you can stream and download the track for free via Sofia's SoundCloud channel.
The video for EP track and single Friendly Little Ghost premiered on The Huffington Post and you can watch it now on Sofia's YouTube channel.
Originally produced Daniel Cantor, who’s recorded with esteemed acts such as Alison Krauss and Wyclef Jean to name but a few, ‘Untamable’ takes on a completely new lease of life with this remix, with a pumping house beat and high energy chorus. It’s already causing a storm on dance floors in New York City, and it’s set to make an impact once it’s unleashed on the UK.
Kandylion is an up-and-coming DJ and Producer working in the Brooklyn and NY LGBT circuit. She studied alongside Sofia at Berklee College of Music and regularly DJs parties at prominent New York City venues such as Webster Hall, Littlefield, and Iron Bar. She has also produced other upcoming tracks tracks with a number of NYC and Boston based artists including Janet Krupin, Matr and XNY.
Sofia is half Venezuelan and half Lebanese, giving her a wealth of influences to draw from. Both countries are considered third world, dealing with issues of violence, political turmoil and corruption. As a result she feels a sense of duty and social responsibility and considers herself an advocate for social change and World peace. Her debut EP, Once Upon A Time, was released in March 2014, and was recorded after a long battle with Crohn's disease in her third year at college. She wanted the songs to represent her story, hence the EP’s title - after all, all songwriters are story tellers.
With Sofia’s next single, Ice Cold Love, due for release 18th May 2015 while she puts the finishing touches to her debut album In The City, 2015 looks set to be her biggest year yet.
Introducing… Leon Of Athens!
"…electronic pop songs inflected with folk…" - Guardian
Leon of Athens (aka Timoleon Veremis) has released free download track 'Lifeline' to celebrate the re-release his single Global, taken from the album of the same name.
Global is out 1st June 2015 via Mimosa’s Dream Records through Believe Digital.
The video and stream for 'Lifeline' premiered on Clash Magazine's website, and you can stream and download the track for free via Leon Of Athen's SoundCloud page.
You can also check out the video that accompanies the track on Leon's YouTube channel.
Check out the sun soaked video for Leon Of Athen's single Global on YouTube.
Global is a mesmerising shift of oceanic energy and sublime pop action. Pumped up, bright tones are infiltrated with soulful vibes and stirring brass, laced with an underlying melancholy. The song documents the life of a character who has been travelling forever, literally and metaphorically. He's lived through thousands of years, searching for a resting place amongst the mayhem. He stands, his tears turned to ice, in the hope of humanity changing.
Produced by Tony Doogan, who’s worked with the likes of Mogwai and Belle & Sebastian, this indie dance track brings together elements of electro and acoustic tones, as folk, pop and rock come together to paint a world of musical colours. Leon's vibe is upbeat and euphoric, with social awareness running throughout.
Leon Veremis is originally from Athens in Greece, his sound evolved while living in the city's counter cultural quarter, Exarchia.
The first material he released was inspired by a country in crisis, making headlines there and in the US; within just a few months he was playing to audiences of thousands in Greece.
Now based in London, Leon’s music draws influences from acts such as MGMT, Grizzly Bear, and St Vincent, to name but a few. His album, Global, heralds a more optimistic point of view, incorporating themes of love, fantasy, dreams and ideas, all drawn together by a social documentary style.
Global is released 1st June 2015 via Mimosa’s Dream Records through Believe Digital.
Rag Foundation single ‘Run’ out now!
Rag Foundation have released their latest single, Run, via Rhondda Street Studio Recordings. It's available to buy digitally on iTunes.
Check out the kaleidoscopic video for Run via the band's YouTube channel.
You can also stream 'Run' via the ABoF SoundCloud page.
The single is taken from their upcoming fourth album, The Sparrow and The Thief, and is a wonderful showcase for their ability to create sumptuous vocal harmonies interlaced with intricate indie folk compositions which bear comparison to the likes of Noah & The Whale and The Decembrists with elements of Fleetwood Mac. Coming from a folk background, the band have always been fascinated by the dark stories behind certain songs - murder, betrayal, infidelity - essentially all the good things in life. While there are some definite themes interwoven throughout the track, Rag Foundation want people to discover them for themselves, as who knows what hidden corners and connections could be hiding inside?
Rag Foundation are Neil Woolard (vocals), Richard Cowell (guitar & vocals), Daniel Kilbride (bass & vocals), Kate Ronconi (fiddle, banjo, keys & vocals) and Huw Rees (percussion & vocals), five people brought together by their working class, traditional roots. Based in Swansea, the band are as comfortable performing traditional welsh songs written centuries ago as they are writing contemporary, alternative folk that explores the darker side of humanity.
With another single due for release in June, followed by their fourth album The Sparrow and The Thief, Rag Foundation will be spending 2015 touring the UK spreading their music as far as they can.
Run is released via Rhondda Street Studio Recordings, iTunes.
Siv Jakobsen unveils new EP ‘The Lingering’!
"...glittering acoustic melodies, swooning strings and acoustic bliss."
- The Line Of Best Fit
Siv Jakobsen is pleased to announce her latest EP, The Lingering, released 26th May 2015 via The Nordic Mellow Records.
The second single taken from the EP, Dark, premiered on The Line Of Best Fit and you can watch it now via Siv's YouTube channel.
You can also stream the single via the ABoF SoundCloud page.
Dark and How We Used To Love, opening tracks which have also been released as singles, explore themes of mortality, loneliness, heartbreak and existential angst, which sets the tone perfectly for the rest of the EP. Even a reworking of Britney Spears’ chart smash Toxic is imbued with such heartfelt emotion that the lyrics are given a new lease of life. From start to finish, whether it’s the romantically tragic ‘Fix You’ or narrative driven ‘Buried In Treasure’, The Lingering is a testament to Siv’s ability to capture and convey emotion with her voice and an almost endless supply of heart piercing lyrics. She is a songwriter who, one day, could stand proudly beside inspirational artists such as Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez, as well as her contemporaries Ane Brun and Laura Marling.
Siv has been performing in Europe and the US since 2011, creating emotive music that embraces the themes of melancholy and sadness. She honed her talent while living in a tiny apartment in Brooklyn which she describes as “a door with a bed”, firmly immersing herself into the world of the struggling artist and challenging herself to reach greater heights.
You can catch Siv's enchanting live show when she plays the following dates at The Alternative Escape as part of this year's The Great Escape Festival:
16th May - Marwood Coffee Shop & Studios - Brighton
With support for previous singles from the likes of The Line Of Best Fit and Folk Radio UK, and a summer spent gracing the stages of The Alternative Escape as part of The Great Escape Festival as well as Slottsfjell in Norway where she’ll be playing alongside artists such as Tove Lo, SOAK and Angus & Julia Stone, 2015 looks set to be Siv’s biggest year yet.
The Lingering is released on 26th May 2015 via The Nordic Mellow Records.
Single Dark is released via Nordic Mellow Records and available to buy digitally on iTunes, Amazon and BandCamp.
Piney Gir releases ‘Keep It Together’ video!
"A retro delight…" - The Guardian
"…open-hearted pop that has you clutching your knees with glee"
- Drowned In Sound
Piney Gir has releases the video for Keep It Together the first single taken from her forthcoming album, mR hYDE’S wILD rIDE.
The video premiered on Artrocker and you can watch it now via Piney's YouTube channel.
You can also stream the single via the ABoF SoundCloud page.
Keep It Together, deftly channels 60s beat pop and Stereolab all at the same time - a lover's lament laced with urgency and optimism, piped-in directly from her space-age, bachelorette pad. The rest of the album collates twelve pop stories about a young woman coming to terms with the hope and regret that accompanies love and loss. Piney's easy way with melody belies an album of new and different shades. Album opener ‘Gold Rules’ is a finely-honed, heavenly tune even as the song celebrates unreachable riches and glibly states the fact, “you can’t take it with you anyway.”
Other stand-out tracks include ‘Tilt A Whirl’, a piece of fairground philosophy that dates back to Piney’s childhood years when she would accompany her grandmother on something akin to the Waltzer. As the song spins, with Farfisas swirling around life's ups and downs "like a shooting star or a hope combustible..." become metaphors among the lights and sounds. ‘Mouse Of A Ghost’ fuzzes up like Pineys-in-Toyland channelling her inner riot grrl, with boxy guitar blasts that remind us all that you can rock just as hard, if not harder, in a gingham dress.
After a decade spent in the UK it feels like Piney's finally made England hers by rediscovering America, re-imagined from London's rainy streets, channelling her inner Jekyll and Mister Hyde. These tunes beautifully stitch together English folk, American pop, mariachi moments, trail songs and baroque beats. Sometimes it's like an alternative musical history of a storybook amusement park ride. And need we mention, it's a wild ride you're going to love.
To support the album's release, Piney Gir will be touring the UK. Catch her live at the following dates listed below:
16th May - Alternative Escape - Brighton
4th June - The Cellar - Oxford
8th June - Bicycle Shop - Norwich
12th June - The Cellars - Portsmouth
17th June - Green Door Store - Brighton
18th June - The Bassment - Chelmsford
20th June - Four Bars - Cardiff
Keep It Together is released 27th June 2015 via Damaged Goods
Album, mR hYDE’S wILD rIDE, is released 8th June 2015 also via Damaged Goods.