Big Freedia is an accomplished "Bounce" Rapper who lives in New Orleans and performs six or more times a week in various venues throughout the city. Bounce is an original urban music rising up from the intimate and fun-loving nature of the housing projects which dominate the city's street culture. "Sissy Bounce" is the informal name for a derivative of Bounce that has risen to prominence in recent years and features explicitly gay and cross-dressing musicians and themes. Big Freedia is at the forefront of this movement and has had several New Orleans hit singles such as "Gin in My System" and "Azz Everywhere!" from her albums "An Ha, Oh Yeah" (1999) and ...
Bakelite 78′s repertoire is an eclectic mix of swing, Dixieland, blues, proto-country, and cabaret, as well as a plethora of originals in hybrids of these styles. Founding member Robert Rial arrived in Chicago in 2000, eager to engage in the music he loved most: dance orchestra music/swing, country-blues, dixieland, tin pan alley, rock and American folk. He played his guitar and tenor banjo and took solace in his 78 R.P.M. records (some discs were made from an early form of plastic similar to Bakelite). “Bakelite 78′s” preserved the music of the early 20th Century, and the band was born to keep classic crooner vocals & speak-easy jazz/lounge/cabaret alive. The original lineup of Bakelite 78 perfo...
Your Spaceship comes from inside...The Carpet Squares began in February 2009 as a recording project of Nick Fazzini (vocals, guitar, sequencing, bass) and Brian Strain (drums, vocals, keyboards, bass). After a decade of writing and performing together, the two musicians found themselves without a band and separated by nearly 200 miles from Monday through Friday. Refusing to stop making music, they set out to write and record a full-length album of new material. They built a modest project-studio in an old basement whose rafters were completely covered with carpet samples by a previous resident - The Carpet Squares were born. Fazzini and Strain holed up in their basement studio for most weekends over the next two years to create their...
Chasing Lions is a Pop/Punk/Alternative band out of Austin TX. We formed in early 2011, and have been progressing ever since. Our music is full of transparency, honesty, and energy. Our lyrics are based on life in general (love, hate, happiness, depression, etc) and stuff that we all go through. We'll tell you upfront that a lot of our lyrics have a spiritual or faith based foundation; We hope that doesn't turn you...
All of the songs Timothy Showalter writes as Strand of Oaks are based on true stories. And in Strand of Oaks songs, lovers get divorced, murder John Belushi’s drug dealer, go bowling with mythical giants, watch their youth slip away and commune with John F. Kennedy’s illegitimate son. Obviously, Showalter has allowed himself many liberties with what constitutes the truth, and his commingling of fact and fiction, of humor and heartbreak simultaneously distinguishes him from the bearded, acoustic-toting singer-songwriters he’s so easily compared to: immerse yourself in a Strand of Oaks record and confessionals turn into metaphor, autobiography transferred into tall tales.This has been Strand of Oaks’ M.O. o...
Namesake frontman Daniel Pujol lives in a strange world, all the time. Whether in college, on tour, in between jobs, or writing a record, he is getting by and getting weird in Nashville, Tennessee.PUJOL arose from the ashes of MEEMAW in 2009 to carry on the Nashvillian ideals of DIY and self construction through adeptly crafted songs based firmly in meaningful lyrical content. It’s these motives and songs that have taken PUJOL from the basements of Middle Tennessee to stages across the country and have garnered notice from more than just those with their ear to the ground.Releasing a plethora of singles and cassettes over the past two years on Jack White’s Third Man Records, Nashville’s Infinity Cat...
Kristian Matsson, aka the Tallest Man on Earth, is a 29-year-old songwriter from Dalarna, Sweden. The first recordings from the Tallest Man on Earth surfaced in 2006 via a self-titled EP released on the Swedish independent label Gravitation. Matsson followed this EP with his 2008 full length, Shallow Grave, an album that drew accolades from the likes of NPR and Pitchfork. Many in North America were introduced to the Tallest Man on Earth on a tour with Bon Iver, including a stop for two shows at the legendary New York City venue Town Hall. The Tallest Man on Earth was winning over audiences through powerful performances, taking the stage alone with his acoustic guitar and captivating the crowds night after night.Fans continued to...
Taking cues from several decades of alternative rock, Mute Math (also known as MUTEMATH and MuteMath) fuse together New Order's synth-dance epics, the Stone Roses' shambling shuffle, Radiohead's chilliness, Air's ambient pop, and the booming vocals of mainstream pop/rock. Singer Paul Meany, formerly of the Christian rock group Earthsuit, was working in New Orleans when he began a long-distance musical correspondence with drummer/programmer Darren King, who was based in Springfield, Missouri. The two began sending CD-Rs back and forth up the Mississippi River, eventually putting enough songs together to convince King to relocate to New Orleans and start a proper band. After adding guitarist Greg Hill and bassist Roy Mitchell-Cardenas, the ne...
Conveyor is a band of four gentlemen, living in Brooklyn.Brooklyn-based music project spawned by the fated juncture of a wandering tarot of musicians in Gainesville, FL. Was it kismet or perhaps a primordial summon which led these gentlemen purveyors of sound to individually tune in and migrate North to the bustling seductress known as New York CIty? Their retort is Sun Ray, a debut EP birthed and released in the warm embrace of Spring 2011. Brimming with lucid, homey synths layered over acoustic guitars and harmonious vocals, they channel extraterrestrial bible-thumpers drenched in love, spouting acid-soaked pop unabashed to beam with the simultaneous embrace of life/death realities backed by a polyrhythmic, pulsing backdrop. A...
Jodi Arlyn is a New York City-based singer/songwriter who believes in the power of a pop song. Her debut album, Stars up on the Ceiling, is a collection of adult-contemporary pop tunes whose elegant simplicity is sure to resonate with listeners who appreciate clever melodies and memorable lyrical hooks. The 8-song album was produced by singer/songwriter Adrian Harpham, and features musicians John Deley (Dido, The Weepies) on keys, Robin Macatangay (Morley, Kelli Sae, Holly Palmer) on guitar...
Cory Brown is a California-grown Singer/Songwriter with a distinct gift for crafting songs that draw fans from a variety of ages and backgrounds. Born into a musical family just north of Hollywood, Cory began playing guitar and singing at a young age. Aided by his father Barry (songwriter and lead singer for the early seventies band Morning, who shared stages with such artists as Jimi Hendrix and Chicago), Cory developed his natural talent for melodic songwriting and moving musical performance. The latest result is Cory's self-produced debut debut solo album, Days In A Life, available September 18th 2012....
Frank Ocean is an American singer-songwriter and occasional rapper from New Orleans, Louisiana. Ocean made an early career as a ghost-writer for artists such as Bridget Kelly and John Legend. In mid 2010 he became a member of OFWGKTA premiering on Domo Genesis’ track, “SteamRoller.” In February 2011, he released his debut mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra to critical acclaim. He released two singles; “Novacane” and “Swim Good.” Both singles achieved chart success. Ocean went on a 7 show tour through North America and Europe promoting the mixtape.The mixtape caught the interest of recording artists such as Kanye West, Beyoncé Knowles and Jay-Z, and he appeared on Watch ...
Evolving from Peter Silberman's bedroom recordings to a fully realized band, for Brooklyn-based the Antlers, what started out as a solo lo-fi folk project progressed quickly into a colossal-sounding chamber pop group. After self-recording a handful of albums in a kamikaze fashion -- Uprooted (recorded just before and after moving in 2007), The February Tape (recorded in a bathtub in an hour), In the Attic of the Universe (a single ambient song stretched into an album), and Cold War (an album with only acoustic guitar and vocals, recorded in a week) -- Silberman set forth to record his opus, Hospice, in July of 2007. Recorded over the course of almost two years, Hospice started out as another solo project before Silberman started incorp...
While most rock bands are all too focused on the riff, the Sheepdogs remember the importance of those other elements that make for great rock music: melody, harmony and groove. To see them live is pure rock and roll jubilation, to revel in the splendor created by 3 part vocal harmonies and heavy hitting dual guitar leads. Their latest album, Learn & Burn, is a beautiful blend of power and imagination, ranging from ferocious rockers to southern boogie and grooving psychedelia. Big guitars, stacked harmonies, vintage organ and pian...
Brooklyn based Liturgy is Hunter Hunt Hendrix and Bernard Gann. Aesthethica, their second album and third release, shows the band exploring, in greater depth, themes initially touched on by their critically acclaimed debut album, Renihilation. The band used every instrument, literal or figurative, to produce meaning and intensity, disregarding the genre boundaries of black metal, hardcore and experimental music. On Renihilation, Liturgy made use of simple song structures, and concentrated on sustaining a blindingly high intensity level from start to finish. Aesthethica, a more controlled and polyvalent effort, finds the band operating at multiple levels and using more varied forms. The music is both elaborately crafted...
Major Lazer was the digital reggae/dancehall project of Diplo (Philadelphia's Wes Pentz) and Switch (London's Dave Taylor), two globetrotting, tastemaking DJ/producers whose previous collaborations notably included production work for M.I.A. and Santigold. Recorded at Jamaica's Tuff Gong studios, the debut album Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do featured vocal contributions from noted dancehall stars including Vybz Cartel, Busy Signal, Mr. Vegas, and Turbulence as well as Santigold, Nina Sky, and rapper Amanda Blank. Much anticipation and online chatter were fueled in part by the novelty video/song "Zumbi," featuring the comedian Andy Milonakis, the frenetic, legitimate lead single "Hold the Line," and a goofy, in...
Swirling noise Brooklynites, Vivian Girls have confirmed the release of their sophomore album via the ever wonderful In The Red label on September 14th 2009.Released almost exactly a year after In The Red’s reissue of their self titled debut, the new album, ‘Everything Goes Wrong’ promises to be slightly longer than the 22 mins their debut clocked up with the band having taken their time and recorded it in six days - rather than the three their debut took though many of the songs were still recorded in single takes.Whilst the band have again captured their raw, fun edge – as tthe influence of ‘60s girl bands, The Ramones as well as surf and indie pop,...
Memphis-based punk rock juggernaut Jay Reatard has adopted a fistful of musical approaches since he first began recording in his bedroom, writing and recording frantic punk, synth punk, power pop and straightforward rock & roll tunes at a frantic pace since releasing his debut EP in 1998. Reatard was born Jay Lindsey and dropped out of school when he was 15, owing to boredom with conventional education and a problematic home life. Lindsey became interested in rock & roll when he heard Nirvana via MTV, and in his mid-teens he began writing songs. After seeing Memphis punk blues legends the Oblivians open for Rocket from the Crypt, Lindsey was inspired to try something similar and created the Reatards, which initially was just Li...
Describing themselves as like "Menudo on drugs," San Juan, Puerto Rico's Davila 666 combine Stooges-like garage rock fire with the occasional sugary pop melody. The seven -- not six, surprisingly -- Davilas include singer/tambourine player Sir Charles, multi-instrumentalist AJ, guitarists/vocalists Miss Davila and Johnny Otis, drummer/guitarist/vocalist San Pablo, percussionist/vocalist Panda, and guitarist/drummer/vocalist Gigi. Their theatrical live show -- which includes themes, props, costumes, and dancers -- won them fans in the States when they toured with the Black Lips and the King Khan & BBQ Show. Davila 666's self-titled U.S. debut was released in summer 2008 via In the Red Records. ...
This outfit, 2:54, is a pair of British blood sisters with shoegazer and eyeliner smeared all over their music and a terrific EP to their family name. (Thurlow, for the record.) Think about the sonic signifiers of Lush and PJ Harvey bottled inside a band that named itself after a specific moment in a Melvins song (“A History Of Bad Men”) that’s tight with the xx and Warpaint and you’ve rendered a fairly accurate composite sketch. Their EP is called Scarlet, it courses with the pained hormonal lust and vocals of the vaguely post-adolescent kind and savvy fuzz guitars that feel learned from ’90s alt-rock Guitar World tablature (or like they were produced by Alan Moulder, which they were). Get familiar with the vi...
Started playing back in 1988 when guitar playing was king. Loved all the "Shred" players of that era, my Dad introduced me to the "Blues" and I gained a appreciation for the greats of that genre too. I have many influences and they have all shaped me as a player. love recording and studio work and creating my original music. Feb. 29th 2012 Sumthinfierce records and I released my debut cd and the response has been great! I am a Fuchs audio technolog...
Lust & Violence is a heavy alternative rock act from the United States. The raw and intense style of Lust & Violence has set them apart from the typical "everything sounds the same" bands that tend to be common in the rock scene. With a high-powered and interactive live show, Lust & Violence gained popularity at an immense rate and within their first year of being active they had already performed with many well respected acts such as Sebastian Bach, Trapt, Saving Abel, Smile Empty Soul, and more. Lust & Violence released their debut EP "Reflections" in August 2012....
Flyleaf bleed, grow, love and live on MEMENTO MORI. A focused fire burns bright at the heart of Flyleaf's second full-length album. The platinum-selling Texas quintet's latest offering is a collection of poignant, passionate and pensive hard rock songs. From the kinetic first single, "Again," to the touching album closer, "Arise," guitarists Sameer Bhattacharya and Jared Hartman trade orchestral riffs that seesaw from soaring to searing. Drummer James Culpepper smoothly propels every groove forward, while Pat Seals' bass anchors unforgettable hooks. Gliding across this majestic melodic backdrop, Lacey’s vocals build into beauty from pain. Her voice reaches trans...
Hailing from Shreveport, Louisiana, EDM duo Art Majours started playing rock electronica in a band at ages 13 and 14. Their indie/electro/techno sound led them to awards for Best Duo and Best Original Track at the Ark-La-Tex 2012 DJ award show for "Bags Of What?", out now on Super Mart Produce, the imprint of fellow Louisiana producer Quickie Mart.Their ZZT remix was played live on the BBC Radio 1 show My Name Is Tiga. Super Mart Produce's last release was Quickie Mart's Space Monkey Radio EP, a collection of official remixes of songs by Freddie Gibbs, Slightly Stoopid, Shyvonne, Justina and more.They have remixed bands such as Grimes and Passion Pit. Art Majours have played with renown artists such as:...
Melding many musical styles, Devil’s Backbone draws upon influences worldwide. Each member of the band comes from a very different musical background, allowing the music to be diverse. From song to song the members of Devil's Backbone will trade instruments to gain greater variety in the music through varied interpretations....
Main Attrakionz is a “cloud rap” duo from Oakland, California consisting of rapper/producer Squadda Bambino and rapper Mondre Man.A relentless stream of solo and collaborative releases in 2011, including I Smoke Because I Don’t Care About Death, The Shady Bambino Project, Dope Since ’91, and their most definitive statement to-date, 808s and Dark Grapes II, have turned heads not only among those with an Internet connection and an interest in rap music, but have landed them acclaim from publications such as Pitchfork, The New York Times, Complex Magazine, The Fader, SPIN, and Fact Magazine.Main Attrakionz are prepared to announce Bossalinis & Fooliyones, their debut studio LP, due October 23...
In the depths of southern Ontario, nestled between Canada’s most dangerous super-highway and the banks of the laconic, ironically-named Speed River, there is a mid-size town called Guelph, also known as The Royal City. More recently, because few people can recall the historic reasons for that Victorian-era subtitle, and because it is more appropriately musical than royal in the twenty-first century anyway, Guelph was rechristened as “The City of Music.” And it is, in fact, a community that takes its music to heart, having sent forward any number of its native sons and daughters in indie band formation. It is also the base of the Hillside Festival, another local effort with internati...
Subrosa Union has been together for 10 years, tracking an extensive tour log all around the world. After launching their first album "Looking Forward" in 2007, Subrosa Union has been winning over audiences with their high energy and unforgettable stage presence. Songs are catchy and addictive. Marty Robbins could have never known that when he sung the song bout being “Out in the West Texas Town of El Paso” not only did he sing bout t...
Every so often a new artist comes along with a sound so innovative, they are able to help reshape the barriers that confine mainstream music. Meet Outasight, the Yonkers, New York bred musician who brilliantly weaves together the cadenced sounds of popular hip-hop and indie rock with the poignant sensibility of classic pop and soul music to create a fresh, new sound that is all his own. “People are conditioned to see certain images for different genres of music,” says the 27 year-old songwriter. &l...
