I am really enjoying this video, it is creative and brings new energy to the music and lyrics. Enjoy.
Cubicolor – Rituals
Reply
Resa
Norway is a hotbed of talent with television shows such as Ragnarok and music covering every genre including the thriving heavy metal scene as well as softer pop sounds such as Resa who dropped an EP for our listening pleasure.
Opening with the electronic shoegaze music of Sunday, the first song in the EP, we could easily fall into the trap of thinking this is really chill listening until you check out the lyrics. Sunday is not church music although the melody could easily go there, it’s the lyrics that jump out and jolt the listener into paying attention to what Resa is singing about.
She is singing about being held down by her on again off again lover, which sounds more like being emotionally submissive as opposed to being physically restrained. Resa submits herself to being held down and submissive on Sunday but will not hold the door on Monday because Resa will not be pinned down because she is not ready to ‘subject in full’ even if it does feel conflicting. Resa gives us raw and emotional lyrics over a smooth bed of music on Sunday.
The next song shifts gears to a happy go lucky sounding song that brings a big old smile to my face, “You Need A Puppy”. This song sounds like two fast and true friends sitting at a coffee bar and talking about the boyfriend of Resa’s friend. The advise that Resa gives her is that she doesn’t need a man because he will leave you and hurt you but a puppy will make you happier. You don’t need a man, “you need a puppy’. I love it, the EP is totally worth a listen even if it only had one song, this one.
The next two songs, ‘Love ain’t Free” and “Borrowed Time” deal with the theme of broken relationships and then we get to the title track of this EP which is also the closer. ‘Dumb and Numb’ is a song of resignation, we’re in a rut but it’s a good rut so let’s just keep going. This track features only a solo guitar but it works, it gives the song an almost lounge music or jazz club feel, chill but not chilly.
I confess that it took me more than one listens to really ‘get’ this EP but once it got to me I enjoyed it immensely. I’m glad I didn’t give up on this music, now I want to listen to it again, not because I have a review that I need to post, but because I enjoy the music. Thanks for another great Norwegian export Resa.
Rex
I have been listening to recorded music as long as I can remember and over the years there have been a few albums that needed time to grow on me, take for example Zoom Daddy by The Swirling Edies. This was their third album and I had enjoyed the previous two so I anticipated another fine listening experience. That didn’t happen. From the opening track, I felt off-put by this recording and left it on the shelf for a couple of years. But then I gave it another listen, and then another and now after repeated listens I really like the album.
Rex and their new single, ‘Lovers Like We Used To Be’, from their soon to be released EP did not need time to groove a music stream into my life. From the opening with that delicious bass-thumping away and to the lyrics expressed by the vocals of guitarist and lead singer, Jonathan Rex, I was hooked. I did not need time or multiple listens to love this music, I was a victim of Rex immediately.
The music and vocals kept me searching my brain for other artists that Rex sound like, candidates included one of my favourite bands The Call, who are led by the thumping bass of lead singer Michael Been, but I ultimately settled on Rex sounding like Rex. Their sound is built on the vocals and lead guitar of Jonathan Rex who was born with flamenco in his blood, while drummer Nout Kooij was raised as a die-hard punk, and bass player Sara Elzinga was introduced to blues music before she could walk. That is Rex, with their own signature sound.
For their single, Lovers Like We Used To Be, Jonathan Rex says: “It’s a story that happens on a certain night, when you think it’s better to leave a person because all that you have done together is repetitive. You’re left feeling frustrated, but soon realise that it’s your own patterns that causes the friction. When you return, it’s too late and realise you hardly knew her.”
Rex hail from Amsterdam but toured extensively, pre-Covid-19, around Europe and Great Britain. Their second single Palaces features an edgier sound that testifies to this band being more than a one-trick pony. Check them out, they have two singles out, LLWUTB and Palaces, and they have an EP coming soon.
L I S T E N
https://open.spotify.com/track/0yDNFsuhz4lTyJZVTTHwH1
D I S C O V E R
https://open.spotify.com/track/0yDNFsuhz4lTyJZVTTHwH1
https://soundcloud.com/rexabandcalledrex/lovers-like-we-used-to-be-1
https://www.facebook.com/rex.abandcalled.rex/
https://www.instagram.com/rex.abandcalled.rex/?hl=nl
For press enquiries contact jgreen@mysticsons.com
Review by Norman Weatherly https://weatheredmusic.ca/
Karaoke
Here’s a bit of fun to ease us towards a new reality, I think this is very appropriate for that purpose. Can’t We Just Be Friends Again by Tungz, the Karaoke version.
Feed Me With Love
What happens when four very talented Swedes get together? No, the answer is not to feed me with Raggmunk, although I would not turn that down. The correct answer is “Feed Me With Love”, the new single from Charla K, Alex Shield, Discrete and NEIMY, four talented individuals. All four of them brought their unique talents to the recording and we are blessed with a very danceable song, ‘Feed Me With Love’.
This song started with Charla K dabbling with some piano bits and pieces and her partner Alex adding some lyrics. Feed Me With Love sat on the shelf for two years and then NEIMY and Discrete were invited into the songwriting process to help with the lyrics and production in that order.
Charla recalls it this way; “Alex and I stumbled on the entire melody in a matter of hours. We never had to bang our heads to flesh out ‘Feed Me With Love.’ The painless songwriting process left us focusing on other projects until we brought NEIMY and Discrete onboard. The four of us secured the song’s irresistible pulse.”
Discrete adds to the conversation and explains, “I wanted to project the aesthetic from a decade ago onto contemporary house, so I experimented with some clean synths until I settled on what you hear on the track. Together with the guitars, the track sounds simultaneously like 2010 and 2020.”
“Feed Me With Love” is irresistible, the heartbreaking lyrics of Charla, Alex and NEIMY soar through Charla amazing voice and mesh seamlessly with the production of Discrete. This is a song to dance along with all summer, the album will be dropping soon as well, I look forward to having all three singles from the album and the new and unheard material, it will be like Christmas in the summertime.
D I S C O V E R
https://www.instagram.com/whoisdiscrete
https://www.facebook.com/whoisdiscrete
https://www.soundcloud.com/whoisdiscrete
https://www.youtube.com/c/whoisdiscrete
https://www.twitter.com/whoisdiscrete
https://www.music.apple.com/se/artist/discrete/1392478878
Press enquiries please contact james@mysticsons.com or johan@mysticsons.com
Uneasy Rider
‘Did my best, all though it comes to show
That I was wrong,’
-Magnus Bechmann from his album ‘Uneasy’
‘Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.’
– Step 10 of AA
‘The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.’
– M. Scott Peck
In 1969 we had ‘Easy Rider’ written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper and Terry Southern. in 2020 we have ‘Uneasy’ by Magnus Bechmann. ‘Uneasy’ is the second track from the album of the same name by Norwegian Magnus Bechmann. The last we heard from Magnus was in 2017 when he released his debut EP ‘Loners Get Lonely Too’ which received great reviews and being named band of the week by The Guardian. The first single from this new album was ‘What Do You Know’ which received great reviews and radio listings in his home country. The years between now and then have been a time of growth for Magnes and it is evident in this new music that shows us a more mature and gifted musician and writer.
‘’Uneasy captures a situation most people are familiar with but really uncomfortable with. Situations in everyday life that are usually not a big deal can grow totally out of proportion. – Magnus Bechmann
The album ‘Uneasy’ will be released as singles spaced out over the remainder of the year as individual ‘chapters’. As Bechmann himself says, ‘’viewing it as a writer listening from the outside, it can seem a bit overwhelming to take in everything at once – after all, I don´t want the listener to feel too disillusioned. But there is really no way around the fact some situations in life are a bit unpleasant. In a way, you can look at the lyrics as the bitter pill and the accompanying music as the spoonful of honey to make it all go down smoother’’.
Uneasy is easy to listen to but be forewarned that it will grow on you after repeat listens and for me at least that meant I was going to develop a good case of ‘stuck song syndrome’.
‘Uneasy’ dropped Friday 24th April 2020 on Sailor Music.
Follow Magnus Bechmann:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/magnusbechmann
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/magnusbechmann
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/magbechmann
Soundcloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/magnusbechmann
Håvard Bakken – Sailor Music havard@sailormusic.no
The Bluest You
Welsh up and coming band Kidsmoke may be singing about feeling blue but it left me feeling more alive. “The Bluest You” is a teaser single from their forthcoming album which will drop this summer until then we can enjoy the catchy hooks and jangly guitars that are definitely not the blues.
The band tells us: “This song is a live favourite of ours. It is a fly on the wall look into a household where one person’s depression is affecting everyone else who lives
there. The song doesn’t address the feelings of the person suffering with depression, it is a sort of commentary from the viewpoint of the rest of the family.”
Initially inspired by Low/Heroes-era David Bowie, the track was intended to be an
instrumental – but after intense rehearsals and the addition of some Matt Berninger-
influenced lyrics, it morphed into something completely different and became the
track we hear today. I am glad they expanded it to more than it was initially intentioned to be.
Dialogue about mental health is something that we should be engaging in, and listening to, as we are doing with this edgy song from Kidsmoke. The song rocks gracefully with guitars that cut through the song like a hot knife through butter. Kidsmoke layer synths, strings, guitars and smooth vocals together and produce a very listenable song, I look forward to the album.
Stay safe and enjoy the music folks.
D I S C O V E R
https://www.facebook.com/kidsmokemusic
https://twitter.com/Kidsmokemusic
https://www.youtube.com/c/kidsmoketheband
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5lykQy1YNNZ6Ims4gx2rZ5?si=E1D4xLdCR9eWoIt26eFxLg
For press enquiries please contact james@mysticsons.com
Jazzapocalypse
One of the definitions of apocalypse according to Dictionary.com is “a prophetic revelation, especially concerning a cataclysm in which the forces of good permanently triumph over the forces of evil.” Jazzboy jumped all over the word revelation and that turns out to be a case of good triumphing over evil, or over bad music at least.
After listening to the single “Jazzapocalypse”, from the forthcoming EP due to be released June 5, I came up with my take on this song. I think it sounds like Jon and Vangelis creating music on a keytar and an Atari 2600 and I mean that to be flattering because I like Jon and Vangelis, especially “Friends of Mr Cairo” and lots of decent songs were composed on the Atari 2600 and it paved the way for the synth-driven sounds of the 90’s raves and current music such as Jazzboy’s Jazzapocalypse. Jazzboy muses, “To me, it’s depicting the alien-like feeling of a new self, growing under your skin and bursting out unexpectedly, painfully. The death of a soul, and the birth of a new one.”
The video that compliments the song Jazzapocalypse, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG0-N_JMpcI1HEoS8DTafPQ takes place in a cluttered bedroom within a larger building. I’ll let Jazzboy explain it to you. “The idea for the video was to illustrate the feeling of an inner-apocalypse, in a fantasy-like, Shakespearian fashion. It’s the violent tale of a dying butterfly witnessing the birth of a brand new one. It’s about metamorphosis, cycles of love, death and rebirth.”
Did I like the music and video” I am not big on video’s in general but I was OK with this one, but hey, my favourite video is from 1986, Sledgehammer by Peter Gabriel.
Did I like the song? I listened to it easily 30 times and it grew on me a bit more with each listen. I still don’t know where the jazz in Jazzapocalypse comes from but this is decent synth-pop and can be listened to 30 times without hating it.
New single ‘Jazzapocalypse’ will be available on DSPs from April 27th and the EP of the same title is due for release June 5th. Do your ears a favour and listen to this music, it may not be jazz but it is darn good music.
D I S C O V E R
https://open.spotify.com/artist/6EaFxUvBz6JbPruye7gwGN?si=NzXnxg1uT9O4UBW_vMdHI
A
https://soundcloud.com/user-307531497
https://www.instagram.com/jazzboyworld
https://www.facebook.com/jazzboyworld/
https://twitter.com/jazzboyworld
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG0-N_JMpcI1HEoS8DTafPQ
For UK press enquiries, please contact tom@mysticsons.com
Ollie
Ollie is a tortured soul. Ollie was involved in more than one accident in his life but it is a car accident that he attributes much of his current state of mind and creative force to. However, there is enough lyrical evidence to leave me thinking there was a relationship wreck that also left him in emotional pain equal to, if not greater, than the scars, both physical and emotional, caused by the car accident. Ollie is also dropping a new album on April 17th via BMG Records.
This album, “maybe this was supposed to happen”, takes us on a journey through pain, despair, depression and ultimately to happier days. Here is a breakdown of a few of the tracks as experienced through my ears.
Track one tells us through dispatch voices that there was a car accident and it opens the album with dark and brooding tones.
In track two Ollie tells us that “life can hurt, life is pain, then get on your feet again”, which has some optimism amidst the pain and then he makes a confession to us, “I’m so afraid of going through change, does anybody feel the same?” It takes courage to admit our fears to others and to then reach out and ask if anyone else feels the same way that we do.
Track three sinks down the self-loathing well with Ollie confessing that “nothing’s ever good enough” and then he strikes upon some lyrics that speak to the world that we find ourselves in during the Covid-19 pandemic, “What’s another day I spend inside, Like everything I do is a waste of time.” Another day spent inside could easily be relevant to the millions of us experiencing lockdown in our homes, not just a day but rather weeks that could stretch to months and that could lead to the lyrics referring to another day spent inside our heads which can be equally scary.
I like this quote that I learned from addiction counselling: “your mind is like an unsafe neighbourhood; don’t go there alone.”― Augusten Burroughs
Ollie continues with the self-loathing, the feeling that he can’t do anything good enough and the feeling that everything he does is a waste of time.
Track five really hits home for me, I get the feeling that Ollie is talking about someone close who is experiencing dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, check out these lyrics and see what you think.
“When you no longer speak or know who I am
Tell you I love you when I know you can’t
Push off emotions, I’ll be strong for you
The way that you were growing up in my youth
Give back the time you gave up for me
Tell you the memories I’ll forever keep
Till one day I lay in this bed that you sleep
Pray my future children do the same for me”
Wow, just reading that line again as I pasted it in almost caused me to choke up. I have two mothers that are both going through the ravages of ageing, one of them no longer speaks or even acknowledges that I am talking to her, even when I tell her that I love her. Unfortunately, we can’t even visit them during this pandemic so staying strong means Facetime and preserving the memories until we pass them to the next generation.
More lyrics about self-isolation: “Sit alone in my room just barely getting along”
“I spend all of my time inside just playing beats at my desk
Hate saying these next words but I’ve been feeling depressed”
Lyrical evidence that I think points to a love that caused pain but is very real and Ollie embraces both the pain and the love.
“Cause real love never dies, it don’t mean we never fight, it
takes pain and sacrifice, no real love never dies”
Ollie, and vicariously me the listener, close out the album on optimistic terms. True love never dies and there will be happy days when the sun shines through our window, and during Covid-19 days that is about as close as we get to fresh air.
“Happy days, happy days, sun shining through my window, I can’t change, what I cant
change, I’ve been learning how to let go,”
God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change,
the courage to change the things we can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
Ollie is a troubled soul, as we all are, but I am glad he is embracing that pain and moving forward and looking towards happy days.
Wait a minute! I almost forgot to mention the music while I was focused on the lyrics. The music is hip/hop/r&b/pop/country, the latter of which Ollie attributes his small-town upbringing. Check it out and decide what sounds you hear within Ollie’s unique pallet of soundscapes.
Stay safe and enjoy the music, happy days my friends.
Release Date: 17th April 2020 via BMG Records
https://www.olliemusicofficial.com/
https://www.facebook.com/OllieRaps/
https://www.instagram.com/ollie_raps/
https://soundcloud.com/olly-raps
https://www.youtube.com/user/OfficialOllyMusic
TicTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/se9gy9
Bad For You
![Bad For You [SINGLE ARTWORK] (1)](https://weatheredmusic.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/bad-for-you-single-artwork-1.jpg?w=300&h=300)
Add another pandemic song to your playlist with this offering from aka george.
L I S T E N
https://soundcloud.com/antifragile_music/bad-for-you-aka-george/s-lxAap
I’ll let his own words speak, there isn’t much I could add to it other than the fact that I like aka george’s music and approach to that music:
“i know you journalists and bloggers have short attention spans, so i’ll keep it brief.
i know you’re tired of every new artist’s bio extolling the virtues of their artistry – PRs banging on about how they’re the next <insert brit nominee here>.
thing is… i don’t think you know how famous i am.
in 2013, i was the GET LUCKY kid. my cover of Daft Punk’s “get lucky” broke the internet. i played all the instruments, filmed it at my mum’s house and uploaded it that night. it got 10 million views and pharrell DM’d me to say well done.
it put the name george barnett on the map. it also put george ezra on the map. back then his name was george barnett too. people mixed up the georges, he changed his name to ezra and the rest is history. (for anyone who’s interested, ezra’s song “did you hear the rain?” is about me. apparently he’s still bitter).
insanity ensued. within a year i had my own private jet and a chain of burger restaurants. just kidding, but major labels were in contact. i was flown to berlin to meet with universal music. warners were calling me up every other day. all my other songs were blowing up.
and then, that summer, in the middle of a tour, i deleted it.
after that, i also deleted:
1.A SINGLE I WAS PROMOTING AT THE TIME.
2.ALL OTHER COVER VERSIONS ON MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL.
3.AN ENTIRE ALBUM I HAD MADE THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
… and i changed my name to AKA George.
i’ve been told i’m very self destructive. in my defence i hated the idea of being a youtuber. i didn’t want to be in the same category as conor maynard – i wanted to be an artist. i realised pretty quickly the attention i was getting was based entirely on numbers; specifically the number of views on the “get lucky” cover: a sure way to get dropped about 18 months later, which I didn’t want.
so instead, I wrote a load of songs that BBC introducing liked. i did gigs, played at Glastonbury, got a publishing deal and in the process found out what I did want. that kind of stuff takes time. now I know.
***CUT TO NOW***
i met tom sarig and signed to antifragile. i like him. and i like them.
at the risk of sounding like i reside up my own anus, i have an unwavering belief that music should be a PASSION. i love pop but i’m not interested in making cookie cutter music. whether i’m writing about sex, love, loneliness or revolution i want the songs to carry big emotions.
i write big, i sing big, i perform big. spirit is important…. and i always put my spirit into it – 100%.
so that’s where i’m at. if you want to know anything else about me, give me a call:
07802 414613
here’s my latest song “bad for you”. when asked for a quote, i said this about it:
“Bad for you is about being in a toxic relationship… but being unable to resist it. I was craving it like a drug. I knew it was bad for me but i was never going to stop. I’m one of those people who goes all in. I don’t like half measures, if I’m doing something I’m doing it 100%. That can cause problems sometimes – you can get in too deep and things become messy, especially in a relationship – but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
it’s a pretty good song. and even if you don’t like it it’s still only 1 minute 54 seconds.
i would promise not to delete it this time… but i can’t be trusted to keep promises.”
New EP on Anti Fragile Music coming in April 2020.
D I S C O V E R
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/akageorgex/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/akageorgex/?
YouTube: http://bit.ly/2kZSZ18
Twitter: https://twitter.com/akageorge
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/46ibooryHP4WiU2X6JRFrY?si=mDOAl-72Qb-So-xoYsdcMQ
Weathered Music 