GRAMMY-nominated dance music icon Audien, popularly known for songs like the Billboard Top 40 hit “Something Better” with Lady Antebellum and his GRAMMY-nominated remix of Bastille’s “Pompeii,” has announced that he will be bringing his ‘Progressive House Never Died’ concert experience to the Big Apple! The show will be held at Brooklyn’s Avant Gardner on Friday, April 21 and will feature support performances from his talented friends and collaborators Frank Walker, Hook N Sling, Mike Williams, Codeko, and Danny Quest. Pre-sale went live March 9th and sold over 500 tickets in the first 30 seconds. Tickets will officially be on sale Friday, March 10 at 1:00 PM EST!
Last year, Audien brought the ‘Progressive House Never Died’ tour across North America and sold out every show in all major cities, but one city was missing and his East Coast fans took notice. Responding to fans requests, he’s decided to bring the show to New York City for “one of the biggest shows I’ve ever played, and definitely my biggest show in the city;” with plans to bring along some of his friends.
The announcement comes on the heels of his first song release of 2023, the uplifting progressive house anthem “Antidote” featuring Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter-producer JT Roach. The positive grooves of this progressive house record “speaks of being a source of peace in a world of chaos and toxicity” according to JT Roach. The collaboration between Audien, Codeko and JT Roach brings encouraging lyrics and an uplifting beat that is sure to lift listeners spirits and deter any negative energy. JT Roach’s unique voice fills the room with joy and thirst for life as he swings on the captivated melody.
Known for his production prowess and uplifting melodies, Grammy-nominated producer and songwriter Audien has established himself as an icon in the dance community. A staple in the progressive house genre, he garnered the support of industry veterans such as Tiësto, Above &Beyond and Armin van Buuren through an extensive discography that includes collaborations with the likes of ARTY, MAX and Echosmith, and official remixes of songs by Coldplay, Halsey, Nile Rodgers, Jess Glynne and Calvin Harris.
Following three releases in 2022 as part of his Progressive House Never Died movement, concertgoers can look forward to seeing him perform this year at Beyond Wonderland, Miami Music Week, Sunset Music Festival, and more. In addition to music festivals, you can catch him at his residency at Resorts World Las Vegas
The American-Asian DJ Elephanteand electro pop singer HALIENEblend their ever-evolving sonic styles in their new single“Hollow,” available now on all streaming platforms. Elephante’s mystical melody wraps around the angelic voice that HALIENE expresses from the hollows of her heart, delivering a vulnerable yet healing track for those broken hearts who still hold a lust for love.
Listen in here:
The new single “Hollow”depicts the emotions of being so close to someone but never being in the same place. It’s where EDM meets a heavenly vocal and evocative melody meets vulnerable lyrics. Any level of divergence between Elephante and HALIENE themselves embraces the contrasts in love and creates a unique creative synergy.
Quote from Elephante: Hollow is such a haunting and poignant song – the first time I heard the demo I got chills and was immediately inspired to dive in. I knew I wanted to make a big melodic bass thing, but with my guitar and a lot of organic sounds to fit around HALIENE’s incredible voice and performance. It threads that needle for me where I can imagine going nuts to it at a festival, but also crying – the perfect balance.
Quote from HALIENE: I wrote Hollow about the process of allowing yourself to be vulnerable with another person. In this often terrifying process, we question if it’s truly safe to allow someone in so deeply…. Fighting the fear that maybe it’s better to remain as a facade of stone, never revealing a single crack beneath. The funny thing is, you can’t keep up the masquerade any longer, so the crumbling is inevitable, and yet incredibly beautiful. The chorus begs the questions, “if I show you all my flaws and vulnerabilities, would you find them beautiful? Would your own weaknesses fill in the cracks? Would you accept me as I am?” Working with Tim (Elephante) on this one was a dream come true and such an honor. His first instinct on the track was really unique and special, and musically brought the lyrics to life instantly. Every time we passed the project back and forth, I found new things I loved in his production! I’m so excited to put Hollow out into the world together.
Coming off the heels of his 88risingdebut [NIKI, Rich Brian, Joji] with his hotly-anticipated sophomore album, Heavy Glow, Elephante is continuing his personal, sonic, and performance evolution into 2023. The producer ventured on a 20-market ‘Heavy Glow Tour’ last year, which showcased his guitar skills with stunning, dynamic visuals and effects. The trend-setting, multifaceted talent is set to rock the country’s biggest cities with his new music and jaw dropping performances, including some of the most popular electronic music festivals in North America; with Beyond Wonderland coming at the end of March. The Grand Boston in Boston, Heatwave in Chicago, Escapade in Ottawa, and the iconic Moonrise Festival in Baltimore are also on his calendar in the coming months, and with his innovative beats and unmatched energy, Elephante is expected to deliver electrifying sets that will leave fans mesmerized.
CHIC CHOC’s “Freedom” is a pulsating techno and dance single reminiscent of Massive Attack and Calvin Harris with a hint of softer pop elements similar to Dua Lipa.
The song is about women’s rights around the world, which also brings attention to the recent Iran protests that have sparked in the aftermath of the killing-in-custody of the 22 year old Mahsa Amini. “This event sparked one of the largest women lead movements in history and our song is in support of this,” shares the trio. “We believe that even if one woman does not have freedom, our freedom is incomplete. We hope to be able to inspire social change using our music as a medium.”
“Freedom“ is an anthem for bringing on change, written with the intention to bring light to the constant battle for women’s rights. Each of the cities they sing about have particular instances associated with them where women were treated unjustly.
CHIC CHOC is an electronic music collaboration between long time music veterans Connie Yin, Neda Zahraie, and Christina Crossin, actualized in 2019. The trio composes using drum machines, synthesizers, guitars, voice and a variety of sound filters and pedals. Listeners should expect a danceable groove, informed lyrics and an unexpected yet supremely elegant shift in feel and attitude from song to song.
Kristen Rae Bowden’s work is a penchant for clever metaphorical turns of phrases, raw emotionality, and imaginative musical arrangements. Her musicality stretches through adventurous journeys with a dramatic flair, melding classic rock and prog-rock melodies to highly personal emotional explorations. She counts as inspiration such diverse artists as Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, Primus, Radiohead, Joni Mitchell, John Prine, and legendary musical theater composer Stephen Sondheim.
Her new single “Hard to Love” was actually written with an unanswered question in mind: Can you restart a heart? Kristen didn’t have the answer at the time of writing this which is why the song never answers the question definitively.
The video visually pulses alongside the music. When the chorus arrives, there’s a depiction a woman forming in the lines of the beating heart. She breaks out, shattering the heart and finds freedom. Set in a magenta hue, Kristen is seen singing the verses, almost like she trying to find the answer to her question.
We spoke with Kristen about her video, what it means, and how she came up with the idea of the video:
Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically in this way?
When I wrote “Hard to Love” I was grappling with what you might call “post-broken-heart syndrome”. Just like a physical wound scars over with harder, less flexible skin, I felt my broken heart had healed in many ways, but I felt numb, hardened, and incapable of intimacy. I thought, is this my new normal? Feeling so much less alive than I used to? And I realized I was hiding, dimming my light on purpose, so I couldn’t get hurt again.
The story of “Hard to Love” is all about that feeling: hardening your heart after a breakup like it’s a fortress, not letting anyone all the way in. And at the same time missing how it felt when your heart was open and you were vulnerable, but free. You can’t have both. You can’t shore up your defenses so you don’t get hurt and live life to it’s fullest simultaneously.
The song is centered around a metaphorical question: “Can you restart a heart?” Given its inspiration, when I wrote the song I knew I wanted it to be centered sonically around a heartbeat. And then when it came to the video, I was excited to get to see that heart beating. So I knew I wanted animation to be the vehicle.
I also wanted the world of the video to be different from the real world, to express how alien, fake, and two dimensional the world can feel when you’re anxious and hiding yourself.
What was the inspiration behind this video (visuals, storyline, etc.)?
I wanted to metaphorically express the way “post-broken-heart syndrome” feels, and I knew the heart would be the central image. So I came up with the idea of a girl hiding inside of her heart, which she’s turned into a fortress of protection. No one is allowed in, but no one is allowed out either, so she has essentially imprisoned herself for her own safety. Veins turn to vines and wrap around her wrists and ankles like shackles.
She grows weary of her self-imposed cage and breaks the heart in order to be free, but even then she finds herself on a cliff, alone. All of this imagery, to me, really works to express the feelings of a fear of intimacy.
I also thought the video should have a human aspect. I’m there singing the song in this pink x-ray landscape where a human is out of place and shouldn’t really exist. That’s how I felt when I wrote the song, lost in uncharted territory.
The storyline shifts in the bridge of the song, and I love that you can see my human frustration in that “I can’t go on this way” moment.
The lyrics of the song never offer any hope or assurance that yes, you can “restart a heart”, but the musical section after the bridge has the feeling of hope and triumph. I wanted the video imagery to push that feeling into a certainty. So I went with the idea of growth and blooming to represent that hope, and I love watching the glowing heart grow into a garden.
What was the process of making this video?
I had been playing with the FlipaClip app (flip-book style animation) while dreaming up the conceptual images for this video, so I learned a little bit about how time consuming animation can be and what an awesome skill it is. I knew I wanted the finished video to look more artistically advanced than anything I was going to be able to do.
Through a mutual friend I was very lucky to find Pat Bradley, award-winning animator and illustrator at Spring Shoe Animation. I was thrilled when he signed on for the animated portions, and to edit the video into the imaginary pink x-ray world. I sent him the storyboard I’d made with pieces of amateur animation and drawings of the girl in the heart, and we set up the video shoot together through more mutual friends, Sanjay Suchak and Stephen Thomas.
The video shoot itself was a lot of fun. I sang along with the song in front of a green screen, and though it took me a couple hours to loosen up, eventually I was able to let go of my inhibitions and really express some of that frustration and movement you see in the final product.
Pat did an incredible job taking my crudely drawn ideas and putting them into cohesive, flowing lines that tell the story of the song. He also integrated me into the animated world in a way that I hadn’t imagined.
Singer, songwriter and musician KALEN leapt headfirst into early aughts Brooklyn – a vibrant music scene blooming in derelict DIY venues and undisclosed loft parties off the L train. With her ‘feet on the ground and her head in the sky,’ this New England native hauled her keyboard and amp up and down Bedford Ave, forging a sound rooted in soul, funk and electronic music. During residencies at Alligator Lounge and Spike Hill, Kalen became a neighborhood mainstay, performing high-kicks and jumping off amps in kinetic kinship with the audience.
More recently she’s exploring electronic music through the sinewy beats of her ‘Death By Piano’ (Hi-4-Head Records) project and performing with ambient rock band Late Sea, all while continuing her solo project KALEN.
Regardless of musical genre, KALEN grabs your collar and pulls you into a compassionate embrace — her voice at once playful and penetrating, jazzy and soulful. Her confessional lyrics, heralded by American Songwriter, reveal the joys and heartbreaks of artisthood in the midst of Brooklyn’s culture-shifting drumfire.
She’s performed at Brooklyn Bowl, Rough Trade, & Joe’s Pub, DC9 (Washington D.C.) and Hotel Café & The Mint (LA). During the pandemic, KALEN brought us into her world streaming her moody tunes in late night solo sessions. Performing live again KALEN tailors each performance (and the accompanying visuals) to the specific site and space, from analog slide projectors coupled with poetry and acoustic bands in Brownstoner salons to projection mapping and thumping tracks with a full electric band on stages around NYC.
Low Tide Levee is the newly emerging band of seasoned musicians featuring singer/songwriter, composer, drummer, pianist, and former marine biologist Amy Brookes as the primary creative force. She writes the songs, sings lead vocals and harmonies, and plays drums, percussion, and keyboard. Her husband, Sasha Ames, is the band’s bassist and, sometimes, studio guitarist, and the trio is rounded out by a guitarist.
The band just released their new single “Dang Diggy” and it’s accompanying video. The 60’s pop and progressive rock song was written during one of Amy’s jaunts to a local tea shop she used to frequent to get the creative juices flowing. She came up with this tune, not really expecting much from it, but it ended up being a band favorite.
The fun Claymation video depicts the character of Dang Diggy as an almost divine entity, throwing pies down onto the man below. This man is in a boat with nowhere to run from the pies, his only options are to jump out and swim or sit and take it. It’s a clear depiction of life through whatever it has down on you, good and bad.
We spoke to Amy about the video and what her ideas were:
Tell us the story of this song. Why did you choose to visualize this song specifically in this way?
Dang Diggy came to me during one of my jaunts to my local tea shop that I used to frequent, a unique kind of place to gather and chat with random strangers, while enjoying the subtleties and meditation of gongfu tea ceremony. I often used my walks there and my time sipping tea to invite in the creative process, and many a gem came and was captured with my voice memo or note app on my phone.
The words just came into my head, and I thought it was a fun, silly, trippy song that could be a camp song. Little did I know that my band would love it and we would turn it into a rock anthem. Each pie is a ridiculous stoner dream of an over- the-top kind of dessert that exceeds all reason and just sounds like heaven, even if it would in reality be too much. Eventually, I realized that this incredible mask we found for our music studio (aka the “Funk Palace”) *was* Dang Diggy, and that Dang Diggy was absolutely this non-gendered deity that hung about in the sky throwing down pies to whomever might be fortunate enough to receive them.
What was the inspiration behind this video (visuals, storyline, etc.)?
It was my dream to have a Claymation video showing the story of this character Dang Diggy, a deity-like being who hangs about in the sky throwing down all the different pies. I found someone on Fiverr (Aleksej Pezzi) who did really cool Claymation music videos, and we worked together on filling out the rest of the story and visuals. He proposed a number of different characters for the little creature receiving the pies, and I fell in love with one of them that was sort of Gumby-like with this big heart on its chest. I liked the idea of the creature being in a boat since our band is very inspired by the ocean.
What was the process of making this video?
I wrote to Aleksej about the Dang Diggy mask (and sent photos) and the idea of a Claymation version of it throwing down pies, and we went through a process of sketches and proposals for each character’s look – starting with a sketch and progressing to a clay version. He sent me a mock-up for each scene and we ironed out the details. I wasn’t exactly keen on having Dang Diggy’s pie come out of its nose bathed in snot in one verse, but he kept it in and I just went with it (lol!!). In the end, I wound up loving the whole little movie, it was beyond the sum of its parts and I was so delighted with the expression Aleksej created in each character as the story progresses. No matter how many times I’ve viewed it now, it still cracks me up!
Modern Mystery 
You must be logged in to post a comment.