Young folks focuses on the best, fresh folk, acoustic, singer-songwriter indie folk & alt-country jams. Turn it up Folks!
***qhicħâ hɣcſcâ=15 (Muisca numerical system)***
Alec James Payton
‘Blood-Soaked Country’
[folk/acoustic]
Press Notes:
Alec James Payton is a folk musician and songwriter with a sentimental style that digs into traditional American roots. Since independently releasing his first collection of original songs in late 2016, he has been playing venues throughout the United States and has been featured on live radio as far away as Australia. He plays guitar, harmonica, and sings his lyrical original songs as well as traditional American folk songs.
Sean Christopher
‘Oheja’
[folk/singer-songwriter]
Press Notes:
Sean Christopher has been immersed in music all his life. As a child growing up in the Netherlands he would listen to his father play Flamenco guitar for hours and hours every day, while his mother’s extensive vinyl collection introduced him to legendary musicians like The Beatles, Leonard Cohen, and David Bowie.
In his teens Sean attended the Royal Conservatory in The Hague as a drummer, but wanting to broaden his education, he moved to Rotterdam and began a new course in music production at Codarts, immersing himself into the world of recording and producing. Throughout his studies, Sean continued to learn and master new instruments.
Shortly after graduating Sean began creating music for films and commercials, delivering for a diverse range of projects. In 2014 his song ‘Everything’, composed and produced for an international car commercial, began to get him noticed, reaching a million streams on Spotify. He then also released the beautiful track ‘ Wasteland ‘ ( click to listen ).
Back in The Hague, Sean built himself a basement studio and decided to record his first full-length album. Hidden away, accompanied only by his ever-growing collection of instruments and his dog Ollie, he began to work. In the end, it was his father’s old Flamenco guitar that took centre stage and drove the recording of what was to become ‘Yonder’.
Thanks Light…
‘Bones & Ash’
[alt-folk]
Press Notes:
Psychedelic folk and rock : : Grown under a Moontower : : Deep in the heart of Austin, Texas.
backinhumanform
‘half-light’
[folk/acoustic]
Press Notes:
backinhumanform is Joe Clarke from Ireland, currently living in London. Listeners have heard shades of John Grant, Midlake and Beck in my songs. Mazzy Star’s production values and guitar style are an influence, but I do not sound like singer Hope Sandoval, alas. Other favourite bands include James, John Cale, Cocteau Twins, and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.
SGL
‘Mountains Small’
[indie folk/country]
Press Notes:
St. Louis-based singer/songwriter hawking country and punk-inspired acoustic ballads about life, consciousness, and the worlds we inhabit.
The People Versus
‘Ground Opening’
[indie folk/chamber pop]
Press Notes:
The People Versus are a Fresh Indie-Folk /Chamber Pop assemblage, fronted by core members of London Troubadours Five Fathoms Deep. Their Music is a powerhouse of harmonies with stories of love, loss and sea monsters.
the high ceilings
‘On The Line’
[alt-americana]
Press Notes:
The High Ceilings are a rock band from Sydney who released their debut single Poppy Won in 2018 which was described as a “wonderful blend of the slacker delivery of Dylan, the weary, ragged strum and melancholic vibe of Neil Young and a streak of indie guitar rock in the spirit of Pavement”. Their second single “On the Line” follows in this tradition but with more of a country rock feel with the introduction of the harmonica. The song is as stated by singer Ben Horder “born out of feelings of frustration and helplessness” and is delivered in an upbeat musical fashion with the rhythm section of Ben Prest (bass) and Tim Bruniges (drums) bouncing it along. The band are planning to release their debut album Murrah Hall in early 2020. The track was recorded and produced by Nick Franklin from a live session at Linear Studios in Leichhardt and with some overdubs at Rolodex Studios and mastering by Tim Bruniges at 43’33” Mastering.
Eric Lindquist
‘Franklin Street’
[folk/singer-songwriter]
Press Notes:
Eric Lindquist has released a solo album based on his experiences growing up in a small town in Western NY. “A Place Called Home” was recorded in Southern California and produced by Andrew Goldring. The album contains eleven songs based on memories of people and places in Eric’s formative years growing up. It is sort of a musical memoir inspired by real life experiences. The album tells a classic American story, taking you on an emotional journey through the eyes of young person growing up in a small town.
The music is heavily influenced by 70’s artists such as Tom Petty, Neil Young, Fleetwood Mac and the Eagles. The lyrics are basically stories that are honest and emotive. Eric notes, “I was concerned at first that the songs were too specific to my experience to be relatable beyond my sphere of family of friends. However, I have come to realize that many of the themes are universal and can relate to almost anyone. People who have listened to the record resonate with the songs by making connections with their own life.
Stories about specific people and memories fill this record. The record is inspired by the people and places that impacted Eric as a young person. They give the album a unique perspective filled with emotional honesty and vivid memories. Eric adds, “I grew up with a dream of making a good record. It just took me a little longer than expected.” Releasing your first album in your 50’s is unusual but is part of the unique charm of the album.
Lucas Laufen
‘Dublin’
[indie folk]
Press Notes:
In 2016, the Australian troubadour – a classically influenced singer and folk guitarist left everything behind in his coastal town Port Lincoln for a dream life on the European road. A competent pianist at the age of 8, a trumpet player at 10, in his teens Laufen discovered the acoustic guitar and began writing own songs. After school, he began studying and working, however exhausting 60-hour weeks kept him from his goals, and the desire for self-realisation grew.
Finding his feet in the German capital of Berlin, Lucas put down roots and used the city as a base to release his debut EP “Goodbye”. The EP was toured through 11 different countries, performed in clubs, living rooms and concert halls.
After two years of writing while on the road, Lucas travelled to Christchurch New Zealand to wrap his experience into an album.
“I Know Where Silence Lives” was produced by Ben Edwards (Marlon Williams, Aldous Harding, Julia Jacklin) at “The Sitting Room”, overlooking the ocean and recorded next to nature. The album is 9 songs of personal journey, touching on themes of loss, searching and the beauty in between. The writing ties ocean to city and forest to the concrete streets of Berlin. Delivered intimately and arranged emotionally, the album is wrapped up in melancholy, but embellished with hope.
Recorded without the help of software instruments, Lucas features his trumpet throughout the album as well as a wide selection of brass, woodwind, strings and percussion. Poetic lyrics and emotional arrangements complete “I Know Where Silence Lives” as a sincere musical representation of the up and coming musician’s past two years in the world.
The Dustbowl Daddies
‘Please Please Please’
[bluegrass]
Press Notes:
With steel string jangle, swinging trumpet, and plenty of stomp and twang, the Dustbowl Daddies’ high energy folk-pop songs combine lush harmonies, lyrical intensity, and an infectious, melody-infused, driving beat to get the dance floor hopping. The Dustbowl Daddies’ new album, Boom and Bust Economies of Love, will be launched in the coming year.
The band donates most of the proceeds from its live shows and has raised more than $5000 for some of the amazing charities working in Ottawa (including the Ottawa Rape Crisis Centre, Ottawa Inner City Health, Families of Sisters of Sprit).
While the band is based in Ottawa, members Paul Saurette, Paul Tyler, Rob Sparling, Mat Paterson, Kevin Grignon, Lee Jacobs and Chris Leite hail from across the country and beyond, and remain deeply connected to places as varied as Vancouver Island, Winnipeg, Toronto, North Bay and northern England.
Between them, band members have published almost a dozen books on topics as varied as climate change, humiliation, poetry, corruption, populism, car culture, political rhetoric/communications, philosophy, international relations and beyond – and can also often be found commenting on current affairs in the media.
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Compiled by: Christos Doukakis