Young folks focuses on the best, fresh folk, acoustic, singer-songwriter indie folk & alt-country jams. Turn it up Folks!
***guêatas aſaqɣ hubchìhicâ shûʒhâ=38 (Muisca numerical system)***
The Ghosts of Liberty
‘Roanoke River’
[americana/roots rock]
Press Notes:
The Americana roots duo that would evolve to become “The Ghosts of Liberty” got its start long before Emma and Tyler Millard knew they would be eventually be married.
When Tyler was 21 sitting in a doctor’s office after having noticed that his peripheral vision had been giving him some trouble during a college game of ultimate frisbee, he received some bad news from his doctor who said, “You’re slowly going blind. You have RP. There’s no known cure.”
Tyler did not let his diagnosis slow him down. He picked up a guitar for the first time and began playing obsessively. His career in teaching was ended with his blindness. He put together a local blues-rock band in his small North Carolina town, and began playing full-time. Over the next several years, his musical chops got sharper as his vision slowly but surely continued to betray him. Tyler exclaimed, “It felt like a race against time!”
Emma taught herself how to wail and belt just like all the country greats as a little girl growing up in the heart of Texas. As life went on, from church choir to classical opera, musicals, and fronting an alternative pop-rock band, she saw a lot of different audiences for a lot of different reasons, but one thing remained the same, which is how much she loved singing for every one of them. Emma reflected on one of her deepest challenges, “Throughout my lifelong struggle with depression, and for all of life’s celebrations, music is my source of purpose.”
Fast forward to 2014, Emma met Tyler for the first time at a “jam session”, and they immediately hit it off as friends. She began opening up for his band at local gigs. Meanwhile, she spent hours offstage with him writing and bonding over late night milkshakes at rural dive bar booths. Over time this bonding led to the realization that they make the other better in both life and music. Tyler’s steady, funny, and loving personality gave Emma the confidence to believe in herself and to continue chasing her passion. Emma’s spontaneous and sentimental nature provided Tyler with a ceaseless supply of inspiration and motivation. In 2018, under a giant oak tree, they made their union official in a beautiful late summer ceremony.
In January of 2020, six years after they met and hundreds of live shows later, “The Ghosts of Liberty,” their first child, is officially born. The duo worked with a three time Grammy nominated composer/producer to create a series of singles, one of which is “Daddy’s Daughter.” You will find the song on all streaming platforms.
Jordan Paul
‘Archetype X’
[indie folk]
Press Notes:
Paul’s premiere single, ‘Archetype X,’ debuted in the Top 100 Alternative charts on iTunes, received widespread international online and college radio play, and earned Songstudio’s ‘Most Pitch-able Song’ and the SHINE Music Award.
In early 2017, Paul was a featured songwriter by the Songwriters Association of Canada, and chosen to represent Canada at the Texas Songwriters Symposium in Austin, TX. He performed alongside The Strumbellas, The Sheepdogs, Ron Sexsmith, Andy Kim, and others at Andy Kim’s Christmas Concert, selling out the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.
As a songwriter, he has worked with the 18 GRAMMY Award-winning producer James Sanger (U2, Dido, Phil Collins), Darryl James of The Strumbellas (Double Platinum in Canada; Gold in USA and Australia), Matt Lipscombe (Lily Frost, Bran Van 3000), Amanda Mabro (Ron Sexsmith), Martin Kerr (#1 in Canada), Khalid Yassein (Wild Rivers), Chris Cargnello, and more. His music has received notable sync placements with The CW’s ‘The Secret Circle,’ Shaw TV’s ‘When Paintings Come Alive,’ MTV’s ‘Real World,’ and LaJoie De Vie’s short-film ‘Best Budz.’
Juni Habel
‘Demons’
[folk/singer-songwriter]
Press Notes:
Once in a while, artists equipped solely with an acoustic guitar and their own voice, can catch you completely by surprise. You might be familiar with the tools, but despite that, the sound coming out of the speakers can be something singular.
Juni’s folk tunes takes inspiration from other artists who have great success creating less-is-more art, like Joni Mitchell, Jessica Pratt and Joanna Newsom. The warm, somber vocals weave well together with the atmospheric, spellbinding guitar play.
His His
‘Matador’
[folk]
Press Notes:
His His is the project of Toronto-based artist Aidan Belo. Combining delicate guitar lines with simple yet thoughtful vocals, Belo created this project as an outlet after relocating to his family’s hobby farm outside of the city, in an attempt to evoke something rural and honest. Most easily defined by the Portuguese word “saudade”, a feeling of longing and melancholy, His His’s debut single titled “Matador” was released on October 27.
Irene Skylakaki
‘Sutherland Avenue’
[folk/singer-songwriter]
Press Notes:
Irene Skylakaki is an Athens-based singer/songwriter, who started her career in London, UK.
Her lyrics, autobiographical and oftentimes disarmingly personal, combine with catchy folk-rock melodies, forming songs that allow her to connect with her audience and give back some of the joy and healing that music has brought into her life over the years.
To date, Irene has released three studio albums: Wrong Direction (2012), Before Dawn (2014) and Matterless (2018), which was produced by Danton Supple (Coldplay, U2, Morrissey, Patti Smith, Ed Harcourt) and features musicians such as Richard Jupp (Elbow).
Irene’s debut single In the Light reached the top of the Greek iTunes charts and her songs have been featured in TV commercials, as well as film soundtracks. She has performed as a supporting act for artists such as Macy Gray, Jessie Ware, Beirut, Daughter, Cass McCombs, Toploader and Archive. Previous festival performances include the Rockwave, En Lefko Festival, Swanbourne and Release Festival, and in 2012 she was one of the youngest artists ever to perform at the Athens Concert Hall Garden.
The Woodlands
‘I Need To Love You’
[folk]
Press Notes:
Over a decade ago, two quiet souls first crossed paths, married, traipsed around the U.S., Europe, and Central America, moved to Oregon, made three albums, and finally settled in the tiny town of McCall, Idaho (pop. 3,470).
The whole story plays out with the euphoria of a daydream-come-true—much like the music of The Woodlands does. After hundreds of syncs, acclaim from the likes of Paste, Spin and KCRW, and over 40 million total streams, the singer-songwriter duo slips deeper into aural bliss as they prepare for the release of their new album in 2021.
Våke
‘Farer’
[folk/nordic]
Press Notes:
Våke is a Norwegian folk band, based in Oslo, that consists of Rannveig (vocals), Andreas (guitar) and Vårin (vocals and violin). They aspire to make unassuming, honest songs about things that matter. Their style is influenced by 70s folk and country, but they like to play around with different expressions.
Jonathan Rhodes
‘Seven’
[country/americana]
Press Notes:
Jonathan Rhodes (NL) writes and performs songs with little pretence. Drawn from Dutch clay, he’s a city boy with a secret dream of a simpler life. Pulling inspiration from the rich American music tradition, his sound leans on roots and blues with a hint of gospel.
Rhodes is a storyteller exploring the dissonance between momentary fads and lasting value, not afraid to question the ways of the world. Or his own, for that matter. This results in songs and stories with rough edges that are honest and deeply personal.
Think Paul Simon, Sean Rowe and Jason Isbell.
Shortly after his debut, he won the Friesland Pop Songwriter Contest and was awarded the Grote Prijs van Nederland public award. ”His songwriting ability is excellent; a very well deserved finalist.”
After releasing his first EP, he played support shows for Maria Mena, Otis Gibbs and Tangarine. After a season of writing new songs and stories, Jonathan resurfaced with new songs and stories.
Simon Lewis
‘Good Enough’
[indie folk/pop]
Press Notes:
With his debut single “All I Am” the Viennese singer-songwriter and former street musician Simon Lewis first seemed to come out of nowhere. True to his motto, that we can only achieve happiness when we drop our masks and stand by ourselves, Lewis gave everything. He opened his soul. In “All I Am” Simon Lewis speaks of dreams, wishes, love and regrets. “All I Am” quickly achieved airplay at public radio stations and made it into the Top 40 airplay charts in Austria. Inspired by the tremendous response, Simon Lewis started to work on his debut album.
To write from his heart, he moved to the house where his grandmother has lived, to the mountains, to Kufstein. For several months he stayed in Kufstein, surrounded by fresh air from the mountains and returned focused like a pilot – a pilot with widespread wings and wide eyes. In Karmarama Lewis found a label that welcomed the man with the husky voice with opened arms.
Mumbling Thom
‘October’
[folk rock/acoustic]
Press Notes:
Mumbling Thom is a Swiss singer and song-writer of Italian roots who plays a number of different instruments.
His music distils a pop-folk imbued with energy, mainly inspired by the culture and rythms of Native Americans – but where other influences come up too: Afro, blues, psychedelic, even heavy-metal notes.
“Love”, his latest opus, is strikingly powerful, solar as well as intimate and signals a new step towards the musician’s maturity.
His albums are produced by Serge Morattel, known for his work with the French group Lofofora.
Photo Credits: Eileen Brymer
Compiled by: Christos Doukakis