Your Girl Pho is the vivacious on stage persona of Perth based vocalist/producer Phoebe Gunson. In a short time she racked up a slew of coveted support slots with the likes of Post Malone, The Avalanches, E^ST, Kllo, Alice Ivy & spots on acclaimed festivals Groovin’ The Moo, Falls Festival, Laneway, Listen Out, FOMO, Festival Vaiven (Mexico), Music Matters (Singapore), & in 2019 performed her first North American shows when she appeared on the prestigious Canadian Music Week lineup.
Pho is known for her big vocal range, high energy and live looping during shows. A dynamic young artist that bounces with ease across genres, ranging from somber, nostalgic R&B to bright, colourful electro-pop that will have you dancing in your seat. The power, sass and closeness of Pho’s voice is bigger than the limitations of genre, and in 2019 Acid Stag acknowledged her ability to experiment with her sound, referring to her single ‘Don’t Wanna’ as an “extremely impressive cross-genre offering that will leave you gobsmacked.” The crown jewel in her fizzing, elasticated blend of genres, Pho’s“soulful vocals” (NYLON) have enjoyed airplay with triple j, Beats 1, FBi Radio, RTRFM, 4ZZZ and more – via her own work as well as collaborations with electronic producers Palais, Tayrell and Ukiyo.
Often backed by her 4-piece band, consisting of drums & two saxophones, Pho’s warm, dynamic vocals and playful attitude certainly command the room. Acknowledgement of her enthralling live show was received in 2019 when she won the West Australian Music award for ‘Best Live Electronic Act’. Following on from a huge year in 2019 which included acclaimed releases ‘Five-Thirty PM’ and ‘Don’t Wanna’, which sat at #1 in the AMRAP metro download charts Nationally, it’s no surprise she was snapped up by Untitled Group’s tastemaker label Daily Nightly in June of 2020. The tail end of this year sees Pho pen new music & perform shows in her home state of Western Australia.
Rising trio JAS CRW have officially released their Greetings From EP, and be prepared to feel completely in awe of this bunch after the first listen of the EP. Greetings From includes a noteworthy team with producers Ketelby James (CH), Meek (DE), and Jamie Rodigan for single ‘Report’. Vocalists featured on the EP include Nigerian musician Dotman and award-winning Jamaican musician Cowan.
To date, JAS CRW have been featured on several radio stations BBC Radio 1’s Toddla, BBC 1Xtra’s David Rodigan, Reprezent Radio, Heart of Love Radio as well as Apple Music’s New Music Daily.
BSMNT Club comment on the EP, “JAS CRW provides a breezy fusion in their soundscape that captures the sounds of Africa, Jamaica, and the United Kingdom in this new offering.”
JAS CRW adds their thoughts on the new EP: “While working on Greetings From, we all went back to our roots and were inspired by each other’s backgrounds, which allowed us to find new sounds for JAS CRW and, even more importantly, our inner peace by representing our ancestors in a modern way.”
Greetings From EP Tracklist
1. Report (prod. by Jamie Rodigan)
2. Type of Way feat. Dotman (prod. by Ketelby James & Meek)
3. Like Whoa (prod. by Ketelby James)
4. Don Kno feat. RTKAL & MDR Tilla (prod. by Meek)
5. Honey feat. Naomi Cowan (prod. by Meek)
6. For The People We Love feat. Ivory (prod. by Ketelby James)
British singer and songwriter Maddox Jones has released his solo debut EP, Headspace, via Radikal/ Quattro Records.
The 5-track EP follow up on a string of singles, the recently released after party anthem My House and the kaleidoscopic Headspace– the EP’s title track and Maddox Jones’ first release as a solo artist which received praise from likes of American Songwriter, SPIN, Complete Music Update and ItsAll Indie, among others.
While fronting a band is never an easy task – and Jones had his fair share of experience playing and collaborating with other artists – standing alone and allowing his deepest emotions to flow through some of the most personal songs he has ever written allowed him to explore a variety of sounds and emotions. Free from any restrictions, this new creative process allowed the talented artist to develop a vulnerable body of work while exploring a more diverse sound palette. The result is a personal journey through hedonism, love, loss and the pain of growing up, all echoed by Maddox’s honest vocals.
With each self-penned song on Headspace Jones vocals, explore a full range of emotions; from the soft crooners opening to the addictive anthemic refrain of My House, via the funky-influences of Dancing Feels Good, to the powerfully haunting chorus of No More Ghosts, the talented songwriter takes the listener into his personal journey. It’s the story of a search for deep connection. Connection to others, to yourself and to a deeper meaning in life, explains Jones. It’s about authenticity and vulnerability, going after the things we truly want. Going all-in with everything to lose, saying goodbye to old habits and outdated versions of yourself along the way, but with faith and belief in everything there is to gain, he enthuses.
Written by Maddox Jones, recorded and produced in a single day with close friend and producer Dave Crawford, opener Headspace moves through an initial sparse production to a complex synth-washed pop number, before turning into a hands-in-the-air, eyes-closed soundscape, while Maddox builds his warm tenor to a propulsive chorus. The song says Jones is about meaningful connection and the deep, true, unconditional love we are all yearning for. Second track, My House – co-written with Dave Crawford and produced by former Daytona LightsLouis Souyave – is a complex anthemic-pop number, one that explores Jones personal journey through adulthood, encompassing different genres and styles and effectively representing the multifaceted sound of the upcoming EP.
Halfway through the EP, the Stranger Things inspired nostalgic synth-pop anthem More Than This, a track Maddox Jones wrote with longtime friend and future pop artist Adal, searches for reconnection with the forgotten dreams and endless possibilities of youth, explains Jones. Their first collaborative tracks Youth received Notion magazine seal of approval, while this latest effort wouldn’t sound out of place on the soundtrack of a Netflix teen rom-com.
Following track Dancing Feels Good, co-written and produced with Harry Tarlton who has also worked with artists including Tom Misch and Lianne La Havas explores an inner battle over that someone or something that you know is bad for you, but sometimes feels too good to resist, says Jones. Built around Tarlton’s infectious Nile Rodgers influenced funky guitars and bassline, it reveals Jones ability to encompass different genres and vocal styles.
Closing the EP, No More Ghosts is an ambitious ballad and in Jones own words, it’s a heartfelt and haunting goodbye, finally making peace and letting go of something or someone that has been a major part of your life. It was inspired by a scene in the Netflix series You where Joe Goldberg says, There are no more ghosts in this bed. It’s a good contender for one of the best breakup songs of the year and the perfect song to close the EP.
With Headspace Maddox Jones shows he is a bold artist, armed with vulnerable poeticism and equipped with a naturally impressive voiceprint.
Directed by Matthew Nelson, the video for MAR V is as surreal and chaotic as the world that we’re living in at the moment, reflecting the pulsating energy of the song itself – wall-to-wall with everything from flashes of a latex-clad gas-masked dancer to tour and lockdown antics.
Discussing the video, director Matthew Nelson explains: “The concept behind the video was a glorified tour vlog turned nightmare. I took influences from directors like Darren Aronofsky and the 90s dance track “Killer” by ADAMSKI.”
Some of the footage used in the video was from the last show that the band played just before lockdown, which was in front of a 1,000-strong crowd at MaNo-Musikfestival in Germany. Drummer, Sam Thorne says “I’d say that the video sort of represents our experience over the last 5 months. The craziness of MaNo and those amazing gigs, all the people and parties, and then a different kind of craziness once we crash landed into lockdown straight after.”
Lead singer and guitarist, Peter Marchant continues: “We had all this footage of us on tour, in the studio etc. which is all well and good, but we wanted to throw some kind of bizarre fly in the ointment. So Matthew suggested we film lots of extra footage in our flat, and use whatever bonkers ideas that came into our heads. We had a lot of hilarious moments shooting these ideas all night.”
Consisting of hypnotic synth lines, goosebump-inducing rhythm and a hint of dark and mysterious atmosphere, Phantom Isle’s latest release, ‘MAR V’ sees the band stray from their art-pop roots with great success; highlighting their effortless capability to blend genres and moods for maximum effect – think LCD Soundsystem/Hot Chip style indie-house.
Keyboard player, Joshua Pullen who took the lead with writing the music says: “The song started as a remix of our previous single ‘I Am Urs’ but became a very different beast when I was messing about with a new drum machine I bought. I was listening to a lot of Soulwax and Simian Mobile Disco at the time and loved how they would produce songs with a pounding single-note loop throughout.”
Despite its upbeat and energetic feel, there’s a dark side to ‘MAR V’. Lyricist and drummer, Sam Thorne explains: “The lyrics were actually written about feeling anxious and alone” comparing that feeling to an old friend that follows you through life, saying “you almost miss it when you leave it behind”. Singer and guitarist, Peter Marchant adds, “the song pretty much became the soundtrack of MaNo-Musikfestival in Marburg, Germany, where we headlined in March this year”. 2,000 fans jumped and danced frantically to MAR V’s hypnotic pulse at the festival’s closing show, seen in the single’s official video along with a montage of mischievous and surreal footage from the band’s journey so far. The band arrived in Marburg on March 5th (hence the romanised title, ‘MAR V’), they saw and conquered.
