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twst Shares “Are You Listening? (Hikikomori Baby 0001)” Video

Barion McQueen — Sat, 06 Jun 2020 17:35:02 +0000

twst, the project of Welsh songwriter, vocalist and producer Chloé Davis, unveils the “Are You Listening? (hikikomori baby 0001)” video today—watch here. twst’s debut EP, TWST0001, is set for release on June 12.

“With this video, I wanted to draw on the poignant events that humankind has experienced in the last year,” twst says. “I wanted it to feel overwhelming and anxiety-inducing, and for it to visually move at the same hectic pace that the song does. Each line refers to a variety of different problems that really fucking bother me—it’s fake news, climate change, over consumption, internet addiction, misogyny—all part of an apocalyptic feeling that’s kind of looming right now.”

“Hikikomori baby comes from the Japanese social phenomenon known as ‘hikikomori’—a psychological condition where people shut themselves off from society, often staying in their houses for months on end. I can definitely relate to these feelings of isolation and wonder where the line blurs between a psychological condition, and what we just dismiss as modern, technology-based life.”

“Of course, it seems all too relevant now—the pandemic has put almost the whole world into isolation, yet we are technically more connected than ever. I found this parallel pretty striking, as although we’re still all at home and in extreme circumstances, the noise of technology and events doesn’t stop. The narrative of the song deals with this overstimulation with a cripplingly lonely callout—am I actually being heard? Being noticed? Does what I care about matter? Do I make a difference at all with my views?”

The EP will feature “Are You Listening?—which earned twst Radio 1 plays with Annie Mac and Jack Saunders—and previously released tracks “Always” and “Girl On Your TV,” all of which she co-produced with Danio Forni. The original version of “sad girls club but u gotta be cute,” which premiered via V Magazine, finds twst producing on her own. The new video follows the Tayhana remix of “sad girls club but u gotta be cute”—listen here, and previously shared remixes of “Girl On Your TV” by Clams Casino—listen here, and Strict Face—listen here.

Born and raised in Barry, Wales, twst grew up working in her father’s chicken factory. At 14, she left home and formal education and relocated to a recording studio in the South Wales Valleys where she began teaching herself about music production and pop culture. Now based in London, twst writes, produces and directs all of her music and videos, mostly within the four walls of her bedroom, and frequently collaborates with other creatives she has befriended from London’s close-knit music community.

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Car Seat Headrest’s “Making A Door Less Open” Out Now on Matador Records

Barion McQueen — Sun, 03 May 2020 15:01:18 +0000

Making A Door Less Open, the new album from Car Seat Headrest and their first collection of entirely new music since 2016, is out now on Matador Records—get it here.

The album is already receiving critical praise:

“…these songs represent some of the most direct and accessible music Toledo has ever made. What’s new here, apart from the rippling synth lines and programmed beats, is the sense of fresh-start possibility and hard-won optimism that infuses nearly every track. Like R.E.M.’s Green, Guided by Voices’ Under the Bushes, Under the Stars or the White Stripes’ Elephant, it’s the sound of an underground band not so much refining itself for mainstream consumption as embracing the pop capabilities it’s always possessed.”—The New York Times

“Car Seat Headrest has become one of most exciting bands in indie rock, a position it gained by continually challenging itself…Mr. Toledo is a terrific lyricist with a penchant for odd and funny lines that don’t seem to belong in rock songs…some of the best indie rock songs of the year.”—Wall Street Journal

“That you could hear all the other potentialities in these songs seems to be Toledo’s point, or at least one of them. Transformation is something that’s hard to capture in the moment—you really only know it’s happened after it’s finally done, or maybe the process never ends. Toledo has made an album that’s bleary, empathetic, desperate, and at times a little messy. Making A Door Less Open embraces those contradictions that we as humans can thrive from: You can be a private person and make blisteringly confessional music. You can wear a mask and bear your soul. A door doesn’t have to be all the way open or all the way closed; maybe it can just be halfway.”—Stereogum

“Making A Door Less Open is Car Seat Headrest’s most ambitious project yet; and, most importantly, it lives up to that ambition, every angle of the album feeling exciting and vital. It’s a necessary re-envisioning of rock music for 2020, and it’s clear that whatever the future of music may look like, Car Seat Headrest will have a place in it.”—Clash

“A new record that pushes their lo-fi signature into newly polished (and labyrinthine) space…Making a Door Less Open invests in the psychic thickness of life’s tiny, everyday moments. Think Proust’s madeleine chased with light drugs and distortion pedals…Car Seat Headrest once again achieves that rare feat of musical engineering: the creation of rich environments that foster feeling, not dictate it.”—PopMatters

Making A Door Less Open features previously released tracks “Hollywood”—which is chart bound at Alternative radio with adds from nearly 30 stations nationwide including New York’s ALT 923 and L.A.’s KROQ, “There Must Be More Than Blood,” “Can’t Cool Me Down” and “Martin.”

Created over the course of four years, Making a Door Less Open is the result of a fruitful “collaboration” between Car Seat Headrest, led by Will Toledo, and 1 Trait Danger, a CSH electronic side project consisting of drummer Andrew Katz and Toledo’s alternate persona, Trait. Read a statement on the album from Toledo, as Trait, here.

Comprised of Will Toledo, Andrew Katz (drums), Ethan Ives (guitar) and Seth Dalby (bass), Car Seat Headrest has either released 11 or three albums to date, depending on the way you look at it. A prolific songwriter, Toledo took his moniker from making early recordings in the private environment of his family’s car, releasing a dozen self-recorded and produced albums on Bandcamp and building a tight-knit following. Toledo has since gone from an empty five-seater to selling out tours and filling festival main stages. 2015’s Teens of Style was a collection of songs from his early years. The band’s proper Matador debut, Teens of Denial, followed in 2016 and catapulted them to overnight commercial success and widespread critical acclaim, as well as highlighting Toledo as a prodigious lyricist. 2018’s Twin Fantasy, an epic re-imagination of an album originally released in 2011, demonstrated newfound scale, depth and ambition.

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A Modern Day Look at the Music Industry with Hip-Hop Artist RG

Barion McQueen — Thu, 30 Apr 2020 13:20:02 +0000

Something we thoroughly enjoy is talking to artists and people who are out there, following their passion. It inspires both us and our readers and shows us that it is possible, with enough faith and dedication.

This week, we had the pleasure of talking to RG, hip hop artist coming out of Montreal, and founder of Friendly Neighbor Records, which he still helps manage to this day. Starting out in 2013, RG had quite a bit to say, not only about the hip hop scene, but about life in general, about goals and drive, which our readers know are big subjects for us.

“I wish I would have been more humble at the beginning, I thought I was the best and I really wasn’t. I was far from it. I wish I would have been more open to growth and experimenting with my music, like I am now,” RG tells us.

This seems to be the case with many young, starting out artists. And while we think that this sort of mentality is what drives you, to a certain extent, and gives you the confidence that you can succeed, it can also be a hindrance. There’s definitely a lot of power to this notion of learning from others.

We asked RG how important social media is for his brand, because we’re genuinely interested to see how online presence impacts people from various walks of life and different business areas.

“Social media is everything to my brand, it’s how I communicate with my fans as well as the platform that I showcase my work on. If I didn’t have social media, I’m sure that I’d still find a way to reach the people, but it would be a lot harder.”

Reminiscent of the days of yore, when artists could not connect with fans as easily as they would’ve liked and putting out music was a lot harder, this definitely reminds us how crucial social media has come to be in our lives.

But RG cautions that building a business and a brand for yourself is no walk in the park, simply because you have better outlets and it’s easier to reach people.

“People nowadays just aren’t willing to build up their platform. They just want everything right now, without putting the work in to get it.”

To us and to RG, as well, this is perhaps the biggest pitfall of our digitally driven era, that people assume it’s easy just because you have the benefits of the Internet and the online community. As such, they’re reluctant to actually work for it.

But RG isn’t. As someone who’s been consistently working at building a name for himself and for his record label for the past seven years, as well as someone who dabbles in photography and film and has worked as a fashion designer for big brands, RG definitely understands the meaning of hard work.

We had to ask him, of course, what was in his current media playlist and which artists he feels most influenced by. He credits Wiz Khalifa, Post Malone and Frank Ocean, among many others.

Finally, we asked him what he would say to someone just starting out or even just dreaming of starting out, and I have to say we found his answer very inspiring:

“Do what you love! Be smart about it of course, work a crappy job so that you can pay the bills but at the end of the day just do what you love and try to build a career out of it. A lot of people are unhappy, working jobs that they hate but it doesn’t have to be that way forever. Work at Burger King but build something up on the side until that becomes your main hustle and you’re able to pay the bills off of that. You’ll be much happier in the end!”

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Ella Vos Debuts “Burning Bridges” Video

Winston Buzzy — Sat, 25 Apr 2020 15:41:39 +0000

NEW ALBUM TURBULENCE FORTHCOMING

Breakout star Ella Vos shares the video for her latest single “Burning Bridges” today via American Songwriter—watch here. The track is from her highly anticipated second album Turbulence.

“‘Burning Bridges’ has a serious message but more than that, it’s a feel-good song about healing from the past and taking care of yourself,” Vos says. “In this video, I return to my past home, AKA a traumatic memory, and literally dance it off. I wanted this to be fun and a little silly, because at times life is crazy, and all you can do is laugh. Through this cathartic experience I proved to myself that I can overcome hardship and find joy again.”

“Burning Bridges” follows the album’s title track, “Turbulence”—watch the video here, which Idolator called “an uplifting and deeply relatable anthem about rolling with the punches.”

In 2019, Vos released the Watch and Wait EP, an exploration of her 2018 diagnosis with cancer through a deeply personal lens. The project received critical acclaim from The New York Times, Uproxx, who called it “cathartic and confessional,” Earmilk, who remarked, “[Vos] pours her life and soul into this latest, and it’s breathtaking,” and more. Vos, now in recovery, went on to play a series of music festivals and embarked on a full headline tour.

Acclaimed for her dreamy soundscapes and songwriting that explores modern women’s lives in their totality, Vos’ 2017 debut album Words I Never Said—an inquiry into the postpartum depression she experienced after the birth of her son—was praised by the likes of Rolling Stone, HuffPost, Nylon, Coveteur, Dujour, MILK and Earmilk. Vos has consistently sold out shows across North America. With more than 250 million streams to date, Ella Vos’ songs have soundtracked ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” MTV’s “Catfish,” E!’s “Life of Kylie” and The CW’s “The Originals.”

ELLA VOS / OFFICIAL / FACEBOOK / INSTAGRAM / TWITTER / YOUTUBE

For more information, please contact
Reid Kutrow, Krista Williams or Carla Sacks at Sacks & Co., 212.741.1000,
reid.kutrow@sacksco.com, krista@sacksco.com or carla@sacksco.com.

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The Strokes’ The New Abnormal Out Now – First New Album In Seven Years

Winston Buzzy — Sun, 19 Apr 2020 22:00:15 +0000

photo credit: Jason McDonald

The New Abnormal, the sixth studio album from The Strokes, is out today via Cult/RCA—stream HERE.

Tonight, the band will be doing a Reddit AMA on the r/music channel at 6:30p.m. EST. Tune in and ask them a question HERE.

Of the album, Associated Press raves, “a superb slice of indie rock, varied, exciting and complex, with elements of glam, straight-down-the-line rock and dreamy pop,” while Under the Radar praises, “the most vital and consistent the band has sounded in over a decade.”

The band recently debuted a new, ongoing pirate radio series, featuring the five-piece in conversation. Watch HERE.

The New Abnormal features previously shared tracks “Brooklyn Bridge To Chorus,” “Bad Decisions” and “At The Door.” The music video for “At The Door” premiered during the band’s performance at Senator Bernie Sanders’ University of New Hampshire rally. The album is The Strokes’ first in seven years and was recorded at Shangri-La Studios in Malibu and produced by Rick Rubin. The album’s cover artwork is a painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Bird on Money.

THE NEW ABNORMAL TRACK LIST

1. The Adults Are Talking

2. Selfless

3. Brooklyn Bridge To Chorus

4. Bad Decisions

5. Eternal Summer

6. At The Door

7. Why Are Sundays So Depressing

8. Not The Same Anymore

9. Ode To The Mets

The Strokes are singer Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr, bassist Nikolai Fraiture and drummer Fabrizio Moretti.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT CARLA SACKS

AT SACKS & CO., 212.741.1000, CARLA@SACKSCO.COM.

OR SARAH WEINSTEIN DENNISON
AT RCA RECORDS PUBLICITY, 212.833.5593,
SARAH.WEINSTEIN@RCARECORDS.COM

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