For the past two weeks my Indie Music Spotlight has featured musicians I met in Bob Baker’s Creative Cash Flow Challenge. Check those playlist out here and here.
I found some free time today so I wanted to get back to all the great submissions sitting in my inbox. Rock on and enjoy the weekend!
MERESHA – My Love Has Come
At the age of 12, Meresha recorded her song “Fool Don’t Be” in a CD booth at a mall. Fun, refreshing, and totally independent, the song revealed exciting potential. By the time she was 15, the singer and multi-instrumentalist uprooted her family from Warsaw, Poland, and headed for South Florida. In late 2013, she launched a successful Kickstarter campaign that helped her release her first EP, Lunatic, on which she wrote, sang, produced, and played all the instruments. Her intense focus and D.I.Y. attitude garnered interest with young fans and supporters of independent music alike. While her deep, soulful voice recalled a young Annie Lennox, Anastacia, and Katy Perry, her quirky sonic vision drew comparisons to a young Björk or Lorde.
By the following year, she’d gained a modest following on social media and radio airplay for her song “New Revolution,” all before the age of 18. In 2015, she released the EP New Revolution, which included the title track and a trio of other songs that ranged in similarity from the Eurythmics to FKA Twigs. Her sometimes frenetic eclecticism and eccentric beats created a fresh sound that brought old styles into contemporary production. That same forward-thinking pop vibe carried into 2016 when she released the single “My Love Has Come,” which shifted focus from her innovative production to her vocal strength.
Darkbird – I Remember Feeling My Fingers Slip
DARKBIRD are an indie rock band based out of Austin, Texas. Having stemmed from different corners of the country, it was only a matter of time before these five talented musicians would find each other in the live music capital they now call home.
Since the band’s formation, DARKBIRD have played at some of the city’s most renowned venues and have quickly earned a popular reputation amongst the music scene, as they have been asked to return to every venue they’ve played.
The five-piece bring a heartbreakingly powerful on stage presence with guitar, melody and lyrically driven arrangements that make way for an indie rock sound that can feel both heavy yet pretty and even sweet.
Having been held up in the studio, the band have finally unleashed their debut and much-anticipated EP – “I remember feeling my fingers slip” produced by Austin’s one and only Erik Wofford (The Black Angels, White Denim, Explosions in the Sky). The EP’s first single, “Poison Arrows” has that hook that draws you in from its first quiet moment, holds you captive, then forces you to move your body until its dynamic and almost evil, cathartic end.
Kaylee Keller – Diamond
Singer, songwriter, and actor Kaylee Keller doesn’t have to reach far into her bag of tricks to impress and delight her audience. With a keen sense of what moves the heart and inspires all ages, Kaylee easily fits into her developing career as a top recording artist.
In a current culture of image shaming, Kaylee shines a beautiful light through the window of self confidence and self love, a message desperately needed by a growing generation. Her bright, punchy soprano voice fluidly moves through several genres including pop, christian and country.
First Year On Earth
Having been held up in the studio for the early part of 2016, First Year On Earth have reemerged with their sophomore record which is set to be released later this year. The band has been tirelessly working on the final touches of the album with the first single “Worn Road” to be debuted on May 13th.
The 4-piece from Austin Texas, defines elements of indie folk to rock Americana and have formed a reputation for their eclectic live shows. Since their formation more than 2 years ago, First Year On Earth have started to find their groove in the live music capital.
Damien Horne – Barbarians
Damien Horne is a triple.. double threat. Period. He Dances; He writes; He sings; He plays instruments; He acts; He serves. With a diversely decorated background, Damien lives his life making art and helping people. As a member of Nashville’s infamous Muzik Mafia as well as the chart topping country trio The Farm, Damien has worked with many, many artists over the years. If you’re not hearing about him and his music from country superstars Big & Rich, then you’re seeing him or hearing about him from music legend John Legend. If not there, you might catch him on stage with Faith Hill, Three Doors Down or Dierks Bentley; Haven’t seen him there? You can see him on CMT or at the Grand Ole Opry from time to time with his chart topping country trio “The Farm”; Maybe even catch him on Sirius XM The Highway; or if you’re an American soldier, you may even see him wherever you’re stationed. HE DOES IT ALL; and yet still, amid this packed full schedule, you can find this sensational, inspiring soul serving children and people in need across the globe with unending amounts of love and support through organizations like the Salvation Army among many others.
The Maytags – Marry Ya
The Maytags are a seven piece retro-soul outfit from Des Moines, IA that deliver romantic, throwback soul music twisted with gruff, blues rock vocals and guitar lines. Definitely for fans of Mayer Hawthorne, Ray LaMontagne, or Leon Bridges.
Love Lines smolders with the intensity of a relationship ending, lyrically exploring both the good and the bad. Musically, it’s easy to hear the influences of Charles Bradley and Al Green with The Maytags’ lush horns section and groovy, funk melodies. The entire album was recorded in Nashville with Andrija Tokic (Alabama Shakes, Benjamin Booker) to 2inch tape in less than 30 hours!
Dani Cichon – Letter in the Sea
Raised on choir tunes and ’80s synth pop in a family of eight singers, Dani Cichon spent her childhood years in Colorado Springs, CO taking violin, piano, and voice lessons. In the fall of 2014, Dani moved to Nashville, TN to pursue music while finishing her bachelor’s in nursing at Belmont University. At Belmont, Cichon honed her songwriting skills through elective songwriting classes, cowriting, and collaborating with other musicians, while also learning to play the ukulele, acoustic, and electric guitar. Her influences include power female songwriters like Regina Spektor, Ingrid Michaelson, and Norah Jones. This is evident in Dani’s distinctive lyrical and melody-based pop. Of her latest project, Cichon says “I wanted to create something that was upbeat and put the people around me in a good mood.”
Asylums – Necessary Appliances
Picked by Annie Mac as one of her #newnames for April 2016 on BBC Radio 1 (with the band having previously been Zane Lowe’s last ever #FutureRadio1 track), the Southend-On-Sea 4 piece will most likely be playing a stage near you this summer (Live At Leeds Festival, Alternative Great Escape, Camden Rocks, Village Green Festival, Brownstock, Tramlines Festival & Bestival).
Their debut album ‘Killer Brain Waves’ will be released on July 29th via their own Cool Thing Records.
DSmith – Stories Never Told
Chicagoland artist DSmith. “XIII: Stories Never Told” is an 11 track mixtape of all original material. After 2 1/2 years of composing the mixtape finally dropped on April 7, 2016. “XIII: Stories Never Told” is something completely different from what is coming out of the Chicagoland area. DSmith tells his stories with great lyrical content as well as making catchy singles and delivering powerful messages wrapped up in project that carries you from intro to outro effortlessly. The project features production from; KOUNTDOWN, Chris Mecca, STA Beats, ProdbyHeartbeatz, VybeBeats, Omito, B. Scott & EOGANIS. With features from; Gentry, Simon Phoenix & Karmen Witha K.
D WEBB – Soar
Peoria, IL hip-hop recording artist D WEBB debuts the music video for “Soar” dedicated to his half-brother Ryan, whom he’s never met, that passed away from an overdose in ’99. The third release from his upcoming mixtape ‘Fuel For The Soul’.
Sounds Like An Infection
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzP-rttMdMs
Sounds Like an Infection is a psychedelic rock/metal band based in Pakistan. They have recently released their self-titled debut album and it can be described as a very diverse and experimental record.
Leah – Danger Doll
Leah, a vintage songstress hailing from South Carolina, is deeply influenced by her southern roots and the desire to carry the traditional Country and Rockabilly sound into the furture.
Her deep love for country music from the 1950s and 1960s came from when her Aunt Joanne sang fascinating “death” ballads to her when she was a child. “The Knoxville Girl” and “El Paso” replaced traditional lullabies.
Since then the sultry voiced singer, who holds down rhythm with her acoustic guitar, has mesmerized audiences up and down the east coast. Her obsession with authentic 1950s style and her undying enthusiasm for peroxide blend with her down home roots style of music to create the strange hybrid of Hillbilly Chanteuse, her trademark stage persona.
Spiffy – Maxed Out
Julius Wellington (born Julius Elijah Wellington, October 5, 1989), better known by his stage name Spiffy is a recording R&B/Hip Hop artist from Oakland, California. Joining a local band at a young age with childhood friend, Mazlow, Spiffy learned how to rap, sing and produce music. Spiffy coined a unique style of music which he calls “rhythm & bounce”. Spiffy co-founded Headphone Music Group in 2014 and continues to pursue his dream as a performing artist and songwriter.
Jesse Ruben – This Is Why I Need You
anton vezuv – Lay Low Butterfly
Anton Vezuv is an alternative rock band from Budapest, Hungary founded in 2010. The last 5 years have been spent honing their custom ‘power melancolia’ as a full band. Originally written on guitar and piano, alone in a sequestered cellar by the lead singer Istvan Gyulai, it was a blissful occasion to meet the other members and form a full size group to build the power on – the melancholy came naturally. Anton Vezuv, cohesive unit, kept the intimate sensation of the acoustic pieces as they gently and astutely placed them among the amplifiers.
