Phantoms release “Only You” featuring beloved, long-time collaborator JemCooke, which marks the final single before release of their sophomore album ‘This Can’t Be Everything’ on 12th August on ForeignFamilyCollective.
Speaking on their collaboration, Phantoms say, “Only You” was written on a trip to London where we got to work with the amazing Jem Cooke. This was the first song we ever wrote together, It’s about feeling safe with someone amongst chaos and uncertainty.”
JemCooke adds, “This song was written [about] wanting to fling your arms around the person you love the most. It was about expressing being with that one person who can make you feel amazing and keep you safe inside the chaos when it’s all raging around you.”
Phantoms have come into their own and taken a new approach to their music following monumental personal and professional life changes and through those experiences have created some of their most dynamic and transcendent music to date. The two were officially signed to Foreign Family Collective earlier this year, (founded by electronic giant ODESZA in 2015) and since have had the freedom to explore new and exciting creative avenues with their music.
With previous support from NPR, Billboard, Stereogum, BBCRadio 1, Kiss FM + more and over 125 million streams across platforms, the duo has solidified themselves as one of the most promising acts entering 2022, with lots more on the horizon.
Encapsulating a fairytale in a single song, singer Sofia Evangelina has shared her new record ‘Get Outta My Head’, out via Tsarina Records. Her vocal prowess is the first thing listeners will notice. Her powerful voice takes center stage, filling the room with presence. Unstoppable, she refuses to yield, and her light shines through.
The title perfectly describes the message behind the single: ‘Get Outta My Head’ is a song that describes how easily lovers can become hooked on each other. After all, love is a drug, and Sofia understands this truth, sharing her perspective on what this experience — of always having someone on your mind — is like.
Although the song explores the insatiable yearning people feel in relationships, there is a strong streak of independence here. Perhaps it’s the boldness of her voice or the sureness with which she reaches those impossibly high notes, either way, she delivers Get Outta My Head’ with skill and force.
ODESZA’s forthcoming album‘The Last Goodbye’ will be outon the July 22nd (on Foreign Family Collective/Ninja Tune), and as the GRAMMY-nominated duo of HarrisonMills and ClaytonKnight inch towards its much-anticipated, full unveiling, they have released the latest track“Light Of Day (feat. Ólafur Arnalds)”, giving fans one final taste of what’s to come before the LP finally drops.
The track is a cinematic escape that transforms from a futuristic piano-driven ballad into a complex electronic reveal with an enchanting vocal refrain courtesy of Stephen Ambrose. The song is a collaboration with longtime friend and Icelandic instrumentalist, Ólafur Arnalds – building the orchestral foundation together that gives this song this dichotomy of fragility and resilience, throughout. The vocal pulls from a folk song Ambrose released in 1972 titled ‘Mary’. Ambrose, too, is a pioneer in the audio world, responsible for paving the way for touring musicians in his invention and development of the first wireless in-ear monitors, which are now found on stage around the world.
On the collaboration, ODESZA notes:
“Light of Day was one of the first songs off the record we finished. It served as a bookend for the record – and really, a guiding light for the project as a whole. This song started with Ólafur, an incredible artist and longtime friend, sending an initial idea our way. The vocal sample is from a 1970s folk song titled “Mary” that we discovered digging through old records – featuring Stephen Ambrose. We see that vocal as a slow building mantra of sorts, something we that hoped would evoke this feeling of being at peace.”
Last week, ODESZA further teased the upcoming LP by debuting the first phase of “The Maze”, an interactive & strategic web game which explores the themes of the album via “quests” assigned to each track. Very much like a virtual scavenger hunt, “The Maze” requires fans to scour ODESZA’s web and social channels in addition to real life activations and communal teamwork to uncover clues and unlock rewards and prizes. A nod to the bond they’ve forged with their fanbase, the maze has sparked a collective frenzy that’s engaged them in full force, as they work together to solve the puzzle.
A true testament to the connection they’ve developed with their community, ODESZA sold over 350k tickets during the initial 48-hour ticket on-sale period of their upcoming “The Last Goodbye Tour”, reaffirming the Seattle duo as one of modern music live performance juggernauts. Three nights at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena, two nights at LA’s The Forum, and two nights at New York’s Forest Hills Stadium are just a few of the notable and massive sell-out shows. In a recent cover feature, in reference to the tour, Pollstar plainly stated “ODESZA makes history”. Full dates HERE.
Additionally, ODESZA is partnering with environmental nonprofit and music industry veterans REVERB to make their tour more environmentally sustainable and to engage fans to take action for people and the planet. Not only will the tour be carbon negative, eliminating substantially more greenhouse gas pollution than the tour creates, there will also be engagements at each show to encourage fans to get involved to take action against climate change.
With over 5 billion total streams, ODESZA have masterfully reemerged to remind the world what has made the duo of HarrisonMills and ClaytonKnight cornerstones of the modern electronic landscape. Their last album ‘A Moment Apart’ was not only a commercial success (going gold and debuting at no. 3 on the Billboard 200), but it also earned critical acclaim including two GRAMMY nominations and praise from the likes of NPR, RollingStone, Billboard, Complex, Consequence and more.
The duo has cultivated a diehard fan base of massive proportions: known for their groundbreaking, awe-inspiring and immersive live performance, which reached 2.85m+ fans over the course of their ‘A Moment Apart’ tour. They also have had headline performances at the likes of Coachella, Lollapalooza & more, as well as performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Conan, and launched their own music festival SUNDARA in Riviera Maya, Mexico in 2019.
Secret Souls founder eevee has produced an introspective single with the help of New York local, cliffe. The song is a warm blanket of melodious melancholy, contrasting with their previously released track ‘so easy’. While both tracks deal with what it means to love, ‘villain’ adopts a different approach, addressing its vices rather than its virtues.
The song is minimal, but not sparse. Each sound is handpicked and essential, conveying powerful emotions. One such sound is the slightly detuned guitar that strums beneath a vintage filter. Gliding from chord to chord, eevee chose to keep the sound of fingers in motion; a choice that serves to bring intimacy to the record, bolstering its confessional tone.
It’s not often we are made privy to such vulnerability. eevee and cliffe have let us into their world, and that is a privilege. We appreciate their poetry and poise, a combination that makes for long-lasting art. ‘villain’ is simply outstanding.
