Photo by Merritt Johnson. Art by Christian Petersen and Nicholas Galanin
Sub Pop will release Indian Yard, the debut record from Sitka, Alaska projectYa Tseen. To celebrate the group’s impending release, they have shared an official video for “Synthetic Gods,” directed by Stephan Gray. Hinging on verses from Shabazz Palaces and Stas THEE Boss,“Synthetic Gods” is sonically seductive, a tense reflection on crisis, that summons the pressure needed to ensure Indigenous sovereignty and power to the people.
Galanin says of the video, “‘Synthetic Gods’ is a response to the violence of capitalism dependent on systemic racism and division; and a narration of the pressure that will be applied to destroy it.” You can watch the new video HERE.
The North American deluxe edition on clear vinyl is also available to purchase now. The deluxe packaging will include a 24-page hardcover LP-sized book with covers featuring a sci-fi landscape populated by a toddler-wearing artistMerritt Johnson’s sculpture Mindset, a VR headset woven from sweetgrass. The interior art was designed by Galanin. This deluxe edition will be available while supplies last.
Maria Kelly premiered the video for her current single, ‘Martha’, on her YouTube channel. Directed by Tim Shearwood, who has worked on projects with the likes of Le Boom, Ae Mak and HAVVK, the video sees Maria playful in an empty room – a visual take on the song’s theme. ‘Martha’ was released on Maria’s label, VETA Music, and heralds her long-awaited debut album later this year.
Since its release just under a fortnight ago, on the 7th of April, the Westport alt-folk singer’s new single has surpassed 30,000 streams on Spotify, been played on Irish radio over 60 times, has been named Track of the Week on 2fm, been added to the coveted RTÉ Radio 1 Recommends list and received high praise from music journalists across the country.
Of the video, Maria says: “‘Martha’ is all about feeling stuck in that part of your early twenties, where you’re not who you were and not quite who you’ll be yet. And it’s about dealing with all of the change, restlessness, and confusion that comes with that. There are so many difficult parts of that process, but I wanted this video to explore the fun that still exists in that period of time – feeling stuck and unsure, but finding ways to make yourself laugh anyway.”
Maria Kelly’s world of delicately woven alt-folk is laced with a sincerity that cuts to the bone. Finding comfort in the confessional styles of artists like Regina Spektor, Daughter, and Lucy Rose, she soon transferred her own introspections to music, developing a sound that is as delicate as it is disarmingly frank.
A number of critically acclaimed releases on Veta Records have been accompanied by shows across Europe supporting the likes of James Vincent McMorrow, KT Tunstall, and Paul Noonan (Bell X1). Maria quickly became known for her heart-wrenching live performances, unassuming humour, and a ‘pin-drop’ vocal that is impossible to ignore. Maria’s work has continued to gain momentum internationally, rallying support from Mahogany, Consequence of Sound, and The Line Of Best Fit along the way.
After laying a foundation in the Irish music scene, Maria relocated to Berlin in 2018, a life-changing move that inspired her four-track EP, ‘notes to self’. Her stint in Germany saw her join All The Luck In The World on a month-long European tour, followed by her debut TV appearance on Other Voices Ballina. Maria finished up the year with two sold-out shows supporting Villagers.
2019 saw the release of ‘i leave early’ – a captivating track that showcases Maria’s continued development as an artist and one which quickly garnered more than a million streams on Spotify.
With the world at a standstill, 2020 saw Maria retreating to a small cottage on the south coast of Ireland. During this quiet in-between, Maria has found space to write and record her eagerly anticipated debut album – a blank canvas and an open sea with which to take stock and reflect on her 20s so far.
Spider follows on last year’s lockdown single ‘No Flowers’ which marked Dallas Tamaira‘s return to his roots as a solo artist after Fat Freddy’s Drop, of which Dallas is the founder member and vocalist, had a two month UK/European tour ground to a halt during the first COVID lockdown in March 2020. The acclaimed Kiwi band was forced to cancel the 14 sold out arena shows and return home facing a largely uncertain future. Dallas turned the potentially negative experience of self-isolation into a positive and productive time.
The brand new single ‘Spider’represents the peaceful, slower pace of life Tamaira fell in love with during his confinement at home. Produced with friend, musician and producer Devin Abrams(Pacific Heights/Drax Project), the single late-night summer vibes, dark guitar and heavy bass contrasted with large sweeping layers of vocals are brought together with soulful piano flourishes. The result is smooth, lush, low-fi slow soul, delivered by arguably one of the world’s most gifted soul vocalists.
Talking about the track Dallas says; the underlying message in the lyrics is that life can be hard sometimes and that’s ok. For some people it’s more important to see the world for how it is rather than maintaining a constant positive outlook. We are all built differently and that’s a beautiful thing. Whether you choose to be present in the now or escape reality completely, do it on your own terms and don’t let anyone else tell you how to live your life.
Under the moniker of Joe DukieDallas rose to international acclaim as the velvet smooth vocalist for Fat Freddy’s Drop, a band considered one of the finest live draws worldwide. Dallas is of Ngati Tuwharetoa and Pakeha descent, born in Ōtautahi / Christchurch and raised in the small coastal town of Kaikoura. Music is in the blood, his Freddy’s stage name is inspired by his father singer-songwriter Joe and paternal grandfather, a musician nicknamed Dukie after Duke Ellington.
Dallas has fronted Fat Freddy’ s Drop powerhouse from the early underground days in Wellington to headlining sell out shows across Europe, UK, Australia and back home in Aotearoa New Zealand. In 2005 Dallas was awarded Best Vocalist at the bNet NZ Music Awards, and he also illustrated Freddy’s iconic cartoon characters forHOPE and B.O.A.T.S albums.
As a guest vocalist Dallas worked and recorded tracks for international acts such as The Nextmen, Gentlemen’s Dub Club, Eva Be, Recloose and Boozoo Bajou andNew Zealand artists including Pacific Heights, Tubbs and Shapeshifter.
Faroese folk electronica artist Eivør releases a music video and new live version of ‘Gulspunnin’, lifted from her latest album ‘Segl’, out now. Produced by Lana Del Rey collaborator Dan Heath, ‘Gulspunnin’ is Copenhagen-based Eivør’s love letter to her childhood home on the remote Faroe Islands. ‘Segl’ – featuring appearances from Ásgeir and Einar Selvik of Wardruna – is the follow-up to Eivør’s widely-praised 2017 UK commercial debut, ‘Slør’, which triggered her debut on Later….With Jools Holland. Eivør soundtracked the latest series of Netflix/BBC flagship The Last Kingdom, and her music has previously been synched on Homeland &Game Of Thrones.The new video for ‘Gulspunnin’ is now streaming fromhere, with a new live version of the track also included on DSPs here.
With a title that translates from Faroese as ‘cocooned in gold’, the lyrics for ‘Gulspunnin’ were created as a poem written by Faroese poet Marjun Syderbø Kjelnæs. Speaking about the track – which arrived alongside a music video directed by Icelandic visual artist Anna Maggy – Eivør says; The main inspiration behind ‘Gullspunnin’ came from a certain feeling I often get when I am back at home on the Faroe Islands. There is something intriguing about the light and foggy landscapes that creates some sort of nostalgic in between state of happiness and sadness – a longing for something intangible. I wanted to reflect this feeling and a certain timeless state of mind in this song. The poem written by Marjun tells a story about the soul, forever travelling alone but cocooned in shimmering gold. I have been fascinated by Anna Maggy for quite some time. In her work I could sense this same mood that I was in when I created the song. For me she really gave ‘Gullspunnin’ a visual home. It was a very deep and empowering experience to create this piece alongside these amazingly talented women.
Eivør is an artist perfectly attuned to the savage vicissitudes of nature. Born & raised in Syðrugøta, a tiny community of just over 400 people on one of the northerly Faroe Islands, Eivør grew up surrounded by the windswept landscape of the North Atlantic, a backdrop that has deeply influenced the elemental electronica she creates. ‘Segl’ –Eivør’s ninth album, since releasing her debut at just 17 – builds on these motifs, exploring the journeys we undertake, both metaphorically and physically. The title – meaning ‘sail’ in Faroese – alludes to our desire for growth and direction, and the role of fate.
Eivør immersed herself in music from 13, fronting a trip-hop band after discovering albums by Massive Attack and Portishead. Gigs soon followed, held afloat in rowing boats, in a huge cave on the island of Hestur. At 16 Eivør quit school, moving alone to Reykjavik to release her debut album and pursue classical singing training. She has since won the Icelandic Music Prize, twice – the first non-Icelandic artist to do so. Such itinerant tendencies have bled into her music, ‘Segl’ no exception. “My creative process can be very chaotic and abstract, so I need to find the space to dive deeper into it and sculpt it,” she says. “After sitting on songs for a year or more, I’d go in and edit the melody or the lyrics. Sometimes the production too. The whole album is very much about change, so it’s quite apt.” Working closely again with composer/producer Tróndur Bogason (also her husband), the extra space allowed Eivør to explore programming and production more thoroughly than ever before, focussed on a free flow of ideas, and enriching collaborations.
