Meet dynamic Donna Lugassy, the featured vocalist who has just released her solo single, ‘Moonrise’. The song is aimed to share the introductory phase of a relationship, the smooth romantic vocals providing the perfect soundtrack to any listener who may be sitting beside their lover with a glass of wine.
The singer-songwriter was picked up for an interview earlier this week by Exit Through The Sound. In it, she reveals her own favourite aspects about the “getting to know you phase”
“Butterflies can be motivation to wake up in the morning, learning more about someone you’re interested in and spending time together can be such bliss. I have never had a relationship that lasted longer than 9 months so I have never even gone into the ‘relax’ state of a relationship. Therefore when I meet someone, I enjoy the moments we have fun together and try not to expect anything else but that moment and the joy I feel in just being together. I don’t take anything for granted and enjoy all little pieces and moments of love I receive and get to give.”
However, ‘Moonrise’ is just the start of the releasing coming from Donna Lugassy. On the 13th of March, the full Love and Breakups EP will be made available to the public. In it will be tracks like “Nobody (loves like I do)” and “I Wish”, which will cover their own respective portions of Lugassy’s love life pattern.
Dutch singer Bobbi toured the world as a member of the band Zazi. Together with Zazi, Bobbi performed shows all across the globe: the American Westcoast, Canada, Cape Town, Saint Petersburg and South Korea.
The Song ‘L’Homme de Fer’ is an ode to Bobbi’s ex-boyfriend. In this song, she describes his character full of fire and is kindly mocking and teasing him. Even though he seems tough Bobbi knows, he actually has a big heart.
See our exclusive interview with the singer below
What are some of your earliest memories of music?
Feeling extremely and emotionally touched by hearing the music of Swanlake so that I remember crying out of happiness and intense sadness about the story. Also ‘The Sound of Music’ made a huge impact on me as a young girl. My father taking me to one of his concerts, and being in front of this huge stage, the experience of being amazed and touched by the music and desire to be performing and becoming a musician like my father. To be able to touch through music… So I started to play the cello and sing!
Take us through your songwriting process. Are there any particular steps you take when putting music together?
I need to tell my story, in French it felt most sensual, and it had the perfect sound for ‘An Ode to ‘L’Amour’. I knew I wanted to write with Gerry Arling, so I co-wrote my album “Un Jour” (releasing May 8th 2020) with him. Finding subjects to write about went very natural, every song became a new chapter, and had its own specific mood and sound. Together with my French coach Cristal G., We worked and the songs and she created the lyrics based on my stories for the album. An album about love, lust and desire, all kept in one day “Un Jour”.
Studio work and music creation or performing and interacting with a live audience, which do you prefer?
It was a very long and intense project, now that I am looking back, I am already working 3 years on this album and the release will finally be this year! As much as I loved the studio work and creating the album, recording live and working with amazing musicians (Denis Benarrosh on Drums, Nicolas Fishman on Bass, all keys and authentic instruments from the ’60s and 70’s played by Reyn Ouwehand (The Producer) a string quartet (Quinetique String Quartet) and French Horn (Romain Bly). Above I love the interaction between my music and the audience when it all comes to live.
What is the most memorable response you have had to your music?
Just feeling goosebumps, shivers and tears of joy all at the same time! Only music can do this to human beings, it connects our brain to our heart, our soul, and our deepest feelings.
If you could put together a radio show, what kind of music would you play?
I would play a sequence that reflects life, from being born, and death, and everything the universe beholds in between, to finally being reborn again. All told through music.
Name five artists and their albums who would appear on your radio show
Kate Bush ~ ‘Never Forever’
Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg~ ‘Melody Nelson’
Beatles ~ ‘White Album’
Yma Sumac ~’Mambo’
DangerMouse & Daniele Luppi ~ ‘Rome’
What would you like to achieve with your music? What does success look like to you?
To take you with me in my dream, my own Bobbi universe. About how to be true to my most desired feelings, to be loved, sexually free from any fear, to be able to bring my music through performances all over the world, To be my own Muse, and finally to become immortal through my music.
One last thought to leave your fans with?
Go find your inner desire and follow your dreams. Never be afraid of your own strength, and don’t try to be like ‘someone else’. You are unique!
Sydney act Winston Surfshirt unveil the striking new music video for ‘Show Love’ – taken from the sophomore album “Apple Crumble”, released with critical acclaim late last year on Sweat It Out. An album stand-out, and a favourite amongst critics, ‘Show Love’ embraces the wonderfully smooth, and sensitive charm of Winston Surfshirt, paired with understated keys and cool brass tones.
Winston unveils the hypnotic visual accompaniment to the charismatic single, directed by Jordan Kirk. Delving into the artistic approach for the video, Jordan explains “When I was first approached to submit a treatment for a music video for Winston Surfshirt’s ‘Show Love’ – I knew that I had to work with an old Uni classmate of mine, Genevieve Kaiser. I had been admiring some of the trippy animated visuals she had been putting out over the years and thought that she had the right eye to come on board and help with the animated elements that I envisioned for this clip. The treatment was largely a performance piece, that was then to be transformed via the application of repetitive effects to create a hypnotic visual. Having not worked much with green screen or heavy post-production effects previously, I knew that my idea was going to be challenging to pull off. Luckily, I managed to assemble a very talented team at short notice, and together we were able to bring the idea to life.”
Winston Surfshirt has developed a devout following since debuting with their near double platinum single ‘Be About You’ off their extraordinary album “Sponge Cake”, with the love and fandom only surpassed with the sophomore release “Apple Crumble”. Originally hailing from the Northern Beaches of Sydney, Winston has continued to deliver his own unique genre-blending styles, with moments of funk, soul, RnB and hip-hop. The refined blend earning him two triple j feature albums, and a nod of approval from Zane Lowe, Sir Elton John, Jason Bentley (KCRW), Huw Stephens, Phil Taggart (BBC Radio 1), Lauren Laverne (BBC Radio 6), to name but a few.
With some big announcements due in the coming weeks, be sure to keep an eye on Winston’s socials for the next taste of “Apple Crumble”.
New York-based Soul Gem has released his latest single, ‘Miles Away’ in collaboration with Norweigan duo Kasket Club. ‘Miles Away’ was released with a B-side, ‘Self Control’ via Uppwind Records on 24 January. While ‘Miles Away’ has already received significant recognition with its upbeat and modern take on indie disco meets French house, it was ‘Self Control’ that stood out for us, with its soothing and organic sounds.
Working as part of a collaboration is something that Soul Gem has great experience with, having paired up with Norwegian rapper and producer Pasha. The two toured the world together, collecting millions of plays and exploring their own musical horizons. Pasha and Kasket Club fall into vastly different genres, the one embracing hip hop and the other chillwave.
Naturally, we were keen to discover more about Soul Gem and his ability to produce catchy songs in so many genres.
What are some of your earliest memories of music?
Playing the drums to troopers by Iron Maiden
Take us through your songwriting process. Are there any particular steps you take when putting music together?
I usually start with playing piano/synth and try to come up with a cool chord progression. After that, I normally go straight to the microphone and jam out different vocal ideas. From there, I just keep building the track with more sounds.
‘Self Control’ reveals a more organic sound than ‘Miles Away’ with its electronic embellishments. Which direction would you personally like to move towards, as a producer?
I think ‘Miles Away’ is a more interesting path, most of the time. The type of energy that ‘Self Control’ represents is something that doesn’t happen that often when creating in the studio. I have to feel a certain way, and normally I prefer more positive tones 🙂
Studio work and music creation or performing and interacting with a live audience, which do you prefer?
Creating music.
What is the most memorable response you have had to your music?
I can’t remember a specific response, but in general that I made someone’s day 🙂
If you could put together a radio show, what kind of music would you play?
House, Indie, funk
Name five artists and their albums who would appear on your radio show
Earth, Wind and Fire
Washed Out
Toro Y Moi
Parcels
Jungle
You previously worked alongside Norweigan rapper Pasha before collaborating with Kasket Club on ‘Miles Away’ and ‘Self Control’. What are some of the most striking differences when working with these musicians?
Just the different energy they bring to the room. Also, with Kasket Club it’s more about producing and creating the whole song, while with Pasha it’s usually more about the vocals and getting ideas around that.
What would you like to achieve with your music? What does success look like to you?
Success to me is just having fun with it. My long term goal is to create more music for commercials/movies. Would also love to collaborate with different artists from around the world.
