Los Angeles, CA. – Shadow & The Thrill, the modern blues-infused, groove-laden, hook-filled, melodic Rock band from the streets of Los Angeles and New Orleans, bring you songs of salvation to soothe the soul! Their incredible new rendition of Gnarls Barkley’s, “Crazy” off of their debut album, Sugarbowl, is no exception.
Shadow & The Thrill is Tony Cardenas-Montana from Great White, who is also a Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum, Billboard-charting writer and musician along with Brentt Acrement, a much sought-after touring and session drummer and producer. Together they have created a musical experience that rivals their iconic rock and pop influences.
Cardenas-Montana says, “I love this song and wanted to cover it from the first time I heard it. Gnarls Barkely’s vocals mesmerized me. My impression of the song was that it was about depression. I related to it in that way, having dealt with that illness myself since I was a teenager. I let the re-arrangement and treatment ideas gestate for years. Finally, this blues groove and feeling took hold and it just kind of flowed out. Recording this was an emotional experience for me as a vocalist and guitarist.”
“Crazy” was mixed by Sylvia Massy (Tool, System Of A Down, Johnny Cash, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tom Petty, The Black Crowes).
Rising Ivory Coast musician and well-versed musician snny has just released his new single ‘Postmodern Black’ via Radio Silence. The single will form part of his long-anticipated debut album release later this year. To date, the musician currently sits over a whopping 12 million streams across major music streaming platforms. His previous release, EP Otito features an impressive production team with Alex Mendoza (producer of song ‘Trampoline’ by SHAED), Scott Hoffman (Scissor Sisters), and Starchild & The New Romantic (Toro y Moi, Solange and Blood Orange).
We find out what makes snny tick in this exclusive with him.
What are some of your earliest memories of music?
My mother playing records around the house and especially lots of church music. I specifically remember the first time I watched the music video for ‘Thriller’ and I was blown away. I probably fell in love with music videos first before actually realizing I was into music.
Take us through your songwriting process. Are there any particular steps you take when putting music together?
A lot of ideas happen in the shower. There’s something about water that just brings the best out. I usually form a story or use some keywords to then paint with before bringing any instruments into play. The lyrics and melody come together simultaneously upon conception.
You have previously shared,“‘Postmodern Black’ is, to me, a sonic manifestation of my own self-reliance.” Can you elaborate on this?
I see it more like a score to a moment in a film where the underdog realizes his potential & throws all self-doubt out the window.
Studio work and music creation or performing and interacting with a live audience, which do you prefer?
I don’t think you can compare both really. I feel like they are both intimate in their own way. I thoroughly enjoy doing both, at the end of the day I want to create something in the studio that I myself would want to hear and perform at a live performance.
What is the most memorable response you have had to your music?
Getting Bob Dylan’s okay to approval to reimagine his classic ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’
If you could put together a radio show, what kind of music would you play?
It would be a pretty eclectic space, everything from traditional Ivorian music to Brazilian rap, french disco, to everything in between.
Name five artists and their albums who would appear on your radio show
my late great uncle “Ernesto DjeDje” his album Le Roi Ziglibithien, MC Binladen & self-titled album, Paul Desmond – Glad to be Unhappy, Toro y Moi – Outer Peace, Crack Cloud – Pain Olympics.
What would you like to achieve with your music? What does success look like to you?
Spreading positivity and influencing change. Ushering in the new while remembering the old.
What emotions were you trying to evoke in yourself with this single?
I wanted the single to represent strength, conviction and self-confidence, which are all extremely important especially as a black creative.
Australian singer-songwriter Harrison Storm shares the acoustic version of his recent single ’Breathe Again’ out via Nettwerk Records.
Talking about the new version Harrison says; “I recorded the acoustic version of ‘Breathe Again’ with my housemate and longtime collaborator Hayden Calnin in our home studio during lockdown in May. That was after a month or so of being stuck inside so getting into the studio and being able to create felt incredibly freeing. I think that energy really came out in the recording. A sort of desperation in the vocals tied in with the beauty of the instrumentation. A lot of pent up energy was released those few days and to have Ella Crotty’s beautiful cello playing on this track was the icing on the cake”.
Over the past few years, Harrison Storm has crafted a singular style, merging classically inspired fingerpicking and sophisticated lyrics with a rich and soulful vocal delivery that is both intimate and explosive. A born troubadour, Harrison traded college for busking in Melbourne.
The fruits of his impromptu performances financed the 2015 debut EP, Sense of Home. The latter yielded a worldwide hit as Sense of Home generated upwards of 65 million Spotify streams and counting. Signed to Nettwerk, he unveiled the Change It All EP two years later and notched another hit in the form of the title track, which racked up over 35 million Spotify streams.
Along the way, he occupied real estate on coveted playlists such as Your Favorite Coffeehouse, Relax & Unwind’, The Stress Buster, and more as the total stream tally exceeded 150 million and counting.
Storm has performed to packed crowds across Australia, UK, EU, US and Canada, developing a powerful presence on stage alongside the likes of Snow Patrol, Tash Sultana, Gregory Alan Isakov, Michael Franti, Husky, The Cat Empire, The Paper Kites, The Head and the Heart, and more.
Simultaneously, he impacted the influential Triple J, received airtime on BBC Radio 2, US tastemaker station KCRW and was featured in Nashville music songwriting bible American Songwriter magazine.
Originally the face of BBC Pitch Battle in 2017, songstress Becky Bowe has officially released her new EP Cosmic Heart via Two Bridge Recording. The EP was produced by the impressive Aidan Thompson who forms part of Max Restaino’s, and has played as support for world-renowned musicians Rebecca Ferguson, UB40 and Tears for Fears.
Previously featured in an interview on RCRD LBL, Bowe mentioned this about her music, “ I would love my music to just be enjoyed and loved as much as possible. Success to me is people listening to my music to escape or feel better…just to be able for them to feel any sort of emotion. Music is a gift and to be able to write and sing my own music, and put it out in the world is leaps and bounds better than I ever thought I would have been able to do. Either way, I feel I’ve achieved what I want in my music, I just hope people listen to it and love it! Read the full interview here.
Bowe comments on the EP: ‘This EP is all about growth. Each song helps show the journey I’ve made as an artist and as a woman. Some songs were written a few years back but just didn’t have the sound I wanted until I revisited them again. These songs represent so much of my music taste, style and my personal life. It’s so nice to hear back to certain points in my life I’ve written about and I hope it relates to each listener.’
Featuring graceful soundscapes that flow with Bowe’s tender and sincere tone as she sings, the Cosmic Heart EP is truly filled with a lot of heart and passion, as the songstress reflects on her life-changing moments.
