Fresh n’ Green, -July 31st-

Nine “fresh n’ Green”, ultra tasty tunes to feed your music appetite. We are pretty confident, you don’t wanna miss those ones right?

Gage Tielr – ‘Kunai’

About Gage Tielr

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Vanessa Van Ness – ‘The Muscle (Song for Kate)’

About Vanessa Van Ness

Vanessa Van Ness is a Brooklyn-based guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer from Venice Beach, Los Angeles. Before pursuing music she worked in film & television, and would often volunteer as a disaster responder between film shoots. This led her on various disaster relief projects in Ecuador, Nepal, and the American Midwest.

“The work days were typically 12 hours and involved a lot of physical labor,” said Van Ness. “Playing music and writing songs was a form of decompression.”

Van Ness’ debut single, True True Shot, released September 20, 2019, reached #12 on the Hype Machine popular charts, and was written while she was living in Nepal as a disaster responder after the 2015 Nepal Earthquake.

“I didn’t have anything to play on in Nepal, so I ended up buying an electric guitar from a teenage boy off of the Nepali equivalent of Craigslist,” she told Australia’s 4ZZZ. “It was called a Givson GS 1000. When I took it back to the village, some of the local guys who played music laughed at me. I later learned it was considered the worst electric guitar in Nepal and India.”

Beginning as a bedroom guitarist inspired by 1950s guitar heroes Bo Diddley, Link Wray, and Howlin Wolf, Van Ness began writing songs at an early age. She was encouraged to sing and release music by friends Ry X and Phil Danyew (Elephant Castle, Foster the People), and began adding vocal elements to her songs while learning audio production on a budget DAW.

Despite having a voice called ‘inimitable’ by Tonspion, Van Ness says she never considered herself a vocalist until recently. “I was always scared to sing, because I’m not a trained singer. A lot of musicians can sing and hit all the right notes, so the best chance I have is to be myself. I try to focus mostly on my delivery and intention. If I can sing a word in a more interesting or emotive way, then I do it.”

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Matt Welch – ‘Showdown’

About Matt Welch

Matt is a Melbourne based songwriter/musician and prolific songwriter. He fronts the band, The Good Minus and he writes and performs both as a soloist and in other projects including Fly South and The Good Minus. His solo album, Sepia Moon will be released July 31st 2020 through AWAL.

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Monmoi – ‘whipps cross’

About Monmoi

lo-fi pop with hints of chillwave and synthwave. a project born out of extra time in lockdown, early morning recording sessions and previously unfulfilled potential. Recorded predominantly in his kitchen from 5.30am-9am, some might say this bedroom pop is more kitchen pop… who’s to say?!

monmoi is a solo project from London-based George David, who previously released indie folk music under the moniker, Lauder.

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Elephant Castle – ‘My Muse’

About Elephant Castle

Elephant Castle​ – the retro-inspired indie rock project from Los Angeles-based singer and multi-instrumentalist ​Phil Danyew​, formed in late 2019. The first single, “Cool To Be Unhappy,” was released on March 27, 2020 with warm welcome. A fresh take on the break-up ballad, Rolling Stone called the track a “roll-around-in-your-underwear-while-the-sun-seeps-through-the-window song.

Elephant Castle released its second single, “​I’m A Loser​,” on May 8, 2020. Infusing warm distorted guitar sounds reminiscent of 60’s/70’s rock with soaring vocal harmonies and sarcastic lyrics, “I’m A Loser” is a tongue-in-cheek anthem for the underdog.

Raised in Oceanside, CA, Danyew has been writing and recording music since age 12 after stealing his father’s tape recorder. Growing up listening to 50s and 60s oldies, Elephant Castle is a response to these early influences combined with a love for vintage synths, layered vocals, the dreamy sounds of tape saturation and analog gear.

For the last six years, Danyew was a touring member of the band Foster the People. He recently left to pursue his own music.

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Khamari – ‘The Heat’

About Khamari

Khamari’s debut single, Jealous, released in June 2020, racking up editorial love and playlisting across the board – Spotify’s New Music Friday and Fresh Finds, Apple Music’s FEELS, the cover artist for Tidal’s Pop Rising, Amazon Music’s Introducing R&B, and more.

A multifaceted independent artist, songwriter, and producer, Khamari grew up in Dorchester, MA, just outside Boston. His first project wraps his powerfully earnest songwriting around contemporary sonics, with stellar production from Trackside throughout. Skilled as a vocalist, pianist, and guitarist, Khamari’s music is distilled from influences ranging as wide as The Beatles and Stevie Wonder to Frank Ocean and Kid Cudi.

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Strange Weather – ‘Never Better’

About Strange Weather

Strange Weather is the experimental-pop project of singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Sean Brennan. In their bones, the songs are timeless classics, embodied as romantic psychedelia – cinematic daydreams with echoes of Talking Heads, Pink Floyd, and Esquivel.

Born outside Baltimore, Brennan began composing for chamber ensembles in his teens. After studying poetry at college, he began working at a studio in his hometown, producing music for television, radio, and theatre. In 2011, he relocated to Brooklyn where he currently lives with his wife. Brennan has been diagnosed with a rare genetic eye disease called Choroideremia, and he is gradually going blind.

After a few years of accelerated vision loss, in summer 2014 Brennan moved to the beach near Assateague Island, Maryland, where he built a studio and began work on a full length album, Suspending Disbelief. The first single, “Coaccidents”, was released in May 2019, and won First Prize in the Great American Songwriting Contest.

In 2017, “Little Bit of Light” was used by GEICO in their Motorcycle campaign. Strange Weather has expanded into a rotating cast of characters that includes Callie Brennan, Davis Rowan, Paul Peglar, Sarah Mount, Matt Tobin, Slark Moan, Dan Drohan, Meia Noite, Yula Beeri, and Avram Fefer.

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darkDARK – ‘Save It’

About darkDARK

Genevieve (darkDARK’s co-songwriter, co-producer, and main vocalist) is a classically trained composer/producer and former music supervisor who has scored films (The Broken Heart Gallery, Moving Art, Now Is The Time) and written orchestral concert music. Meanwhile, Chris (co-songwriter, co-producer, and additional vocalist) is a go-to composer, mixer, and sound designer who’s worked on spots for the Nike, VICE, Google, Levi’s, Coca-Cola, NBA, Uber, Subaru, American Express, Audi and more. With the duo’s debut EP Heathered, outlets like NOISEY and NPR’s All Songs Considered were quick to compliment, with the latter praising the duo for crafting “infectious” tracks that “leave listeners wishing for more,” and Consequence Of Sound summing it up with “darkDARK have managed to harken all sorts of phases in electronic music’s history in a way that feels wholly original and forward-thinking.” Since then, darkDARK’s music has made its way onto Empire, Power, and The Hate U Give. The secret to their synchronicity lies in their work practice too; with Genevieve in Los Angeles and Chris in Austin, they pass it back and forth sometimes more than a dozen times, adding and subtracting elements until it hits an aural sweet spot.

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REST ACRES – ‘On My Mind’

About REST ACRES

REST ACRES is the solo musical project of Toronto-based drummer/producer/songwriter Joel Cassady. Joel is best known for his work as a member of Canadian Pop/Alternative mainstay Walk Off the Earth, a group that he’s been a part of for nearly 10 years. Drawing inspiration from modern electronic luminaries like Flume, ODESZA, Louis the Child, Big Wild and Jai Wolf, REST ACRES will see Cassady working with a host of guest vocalists and pulling from the diverse array of musical influences that have helped shape his journey as an artist. This is earthy, eclectic electronic music that will engage your mind, body and soul.

Christos Doukakis