Tara Novak is a trained classical violinist turned alternative pop artist who dropped out of music school to explore who she was without the violin. She spent the next two years bartending and discovered yoga, music festivals, and fine dining. She read many books – from beat poets to business manuals and opened the floodgates to the rock, pop, folk, and dance music she had deliberately shut out in the past.
Tara’s music is deliberate and specifically crafted to create empathy. She uses music as a healing tool for herself and listeners. “I write songs because it allows me to process the world I observe,” shares Tara. “Music opens our hearts and minds.”
She just released her new album Layers of Identity. The 10 song alternative and orchestral pop album bleeds of human nature, who we are as individuals and as a society, and encapsulates the blended way we see the world. Her style is ballad-like with each song giving off a “Candle in the Wind” vibe. She is backed by violins, the piano, and an electronic beat found in contemporary pop songs.
Every song brings their own story to the table. “Just Me & You” was inspired by a homeless girl she saw begging for change and she thought “what determines our paths in life?” It’s a reminder that we are not all that different. “My Heart Was Jumping” is a playful song that blends the sounds of Eastern and Western styles of music. This is what emerges when a long-time touring violinist pens a song about the ups and downs of a relationship. In “A Place Called Purpose,” the most orchestral song on the album, is actually an epic written by Tara about a young girl’s attempt at finding a place called purpose.
Singer/songwriter Ariel Arbisser’s music and performances make her audiences feel seen, heard, and offers a unique glimpse into how she experiences the highs and lows of the world. Her music is raw and passionate, a brand of pop that you won’t find in other artists.
She just released her new electro-pop single, with a hint of funk, “Rabbit Hole,” the follow up single to her last release “Bloodshed.” “The core of this song came to me last year and it’s had a chokehold on me since,” shares Ariel. “Thematically there’s some crossover, but ‘Rabbit Hole’ comes down from the rage-filled fever pitch of ‘Bloodshed’ to this which is a more restrained, sexy, slow-burn. Things haven’t settled yet. The ‘dark side’ is still enticing, maybe even more comfortable than it was before. The full song sonically is true, addictive journey downward.”
“Rabbit Hole” has a contemporary meets retro electro-pop sound, almost like a Sara Bareilles meets Harry Styles. Her voice carries such strength, similar to an Alice Russell or Brandi Carlile, or even an Adele.
Through her lens as a white, Jewish, queer woman, she is transparent when learning out loud and participates in ongoing conversations about mental health, body neutrality, sex positivity, social and racial justice, LGBTQ rights, and more. In a world that’s dangerous for far too many and uncomfortable for almost everyone, she creates a touchstone by creating art, appreciating simple pleasures, and taking dedicated and intentional risks for love.
“With love comes inevitable pain– miscommunication, betrayal, heartache, loss… Allowing yourself to be vulnerable enough to experience love, however briefly, is brave. And it’s worth it in the end.”
The Portland, OR-based band, Happy For No Reason, celebrate every single one of life’s precious moments as two of their members are literally happy to be alive. Comprising of Jo Alexis on vocals and percussion, Neil Goldstein on guitar, and Mark Pritchard on flute, the founding members of Happy For No Reason navigate the rich waters of jazzy folk with a pinch of rock, a dash of soul, and even a touch of Bossa Nova.
They just released their album, Take It Higher, a collection of 12 songs that ooze love and life. Each song makes you smile, gets you dancing with the beat, and swaying with their infectious melodies.
Their song “Hummingbird Heartbeat” was actually written by Jo Alexis about a major accident she had. While her vocals soar in every song, something about the delicacy and strength in her voice for “Hummingbird Heartbeat” puts the song on a higher plain. It’s about forced changed and the ability to adapt to the obstacles of life.
With a variety of inspirations that include Hubert Laws, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Ian Andersen, Eva Cassidy, Esperanza Spalding, Camille, Joe Strummer, Bonnie Raitt, Nancy King, Kurt Elling, Milton Nascimento, The Band, Pentangle and Neil’s aforementioned love of 60’s Brit pop and West Coast bands, Happy For No Reason are the very definition of cool intelligent music that fulfils dreams. Embrace their happiness and let them Take It Higher.
Star Goes Nova is the talented new face in the world of Electro Pop, Synth, and EDM. Showcasing a brilliant journey through a sonic starship, the artist spins moving epic stories with instrumental masterpieces. A trailblazer in the genre, Star Goes Nova dispenses cinematic masterpieces, creatively composed for the next generation of musical icons. With electrifying sounds, memorable beats, and pulsating bass lines, her music is reminiscent of Pink Floyd, Swedish House Mafia, and The Glitch Mob.
She just released “Moonlight Beat with Sonic Butterfly,” a cinematic and fantasy synth and EDM single. Sonic Butterfly is a 26 string acoustic, chromatic, long-string harp designed and played by Andrea Brook. The strings are at minimum 60ft long and often strung over 200 feet long, and span out over the audience, transforming indoor and outdoor theaters, buildings, and natural environments into a stunning immersive musical instrument.
The technical incorporation of the unique giant harp into Star Goes Nova’s “Moonlight Beat” was an epic feat in itself with Grammy winning producer John Baffa tracking 16 microphones, mathematically distanced to achieve authentic echo/delay reverberations down the length of 60 foot harp strings. Star Goes Nova expertly wove in gorgeous piano, electronica and powerful growling dubstep beats. The effect is an epic tale of an astronaut discovering an ancient castle on a distant moon.
Celia Berk is an award-winning vocalist whose recordings have attracted listeners around the world. She has made memorable appearances at Carnegie Hall, Jazz At Lincoln Center, Birdland Theater, The Town Hall and the National Arts Club. Celia has been praised by some of the most prominent champions of The Great American Songbook.
She just released of her widely anticipated third album, Now That I Have Everything. Arranger/pianist Tedd Firth brings a Nat King Cole Trio feel to the recording, which explores the ways we try – successfully and unsuccessfully – to connect our heart to someone else’s. Co-Produced by Tony and Grammy Award-winning sound designer Scott Lehrer, it features the kinds of hidden gems by great songwriters that are Celia’s trademark. Many of those songs were featured in COMES LOVE, a 2019 show Celia created with pianist Sean Gough.
In his Liner Notes, author and journalist Will Friedwald writes, “Celia Berk makes us realize, in a way few singers can, that love is, in fact, never ever the same.”
When asked about the album, Celia says, “The story of this album really begins and ends with my friend Debbi Bush Whiting, daughter of Margaret Whiting and granddaughter of Richard Whiting. She had given me recordings of her mother’s appearances on a radio show, including Irving Berlin’s NOW IT CAN BE TOLD. The premise of that song is that the real story of a great romance has yet to be written. As I listened, I asked myself, ‘So what exactly can now be told?’ And then I thought, ‘Oh, I’m going to do an album about love!’ So I set out to find songs about the ways we try – successfully and unsuccessfully – to connect our heart to someone else’s.”
The songs cascade from a jazz silhouette of toe tapping to rain on a rooftop. This album is like sipping a nice cup of tea on a lazy Sunday afternoon. It encompasses the Broadway jazz element all the way down to songs reminiscent of Moon River. “Boum!” Is a fun loving dance number that incorporates feelings from your head to your heart and personifies the emotions. “Right as the Rain” brings a melancholy and somber feeling that captivates the whole body. The title track “Now That I Have Everything” dances on the piano keys and takes the center stage of the whole album in this show stopping number.
Listen here:
Celia debuted her new cabaret show, ON MY WAY TO YOU: Improbable Stories That Inspired An Unlikely Path, directed by Mark Nadler with music direction by Tedd Firth. Marilyn Lester of Theater Pizzazz called it “An enchanting show, executed with abundant smarts, humor and grace, and terrific choices of music known and unknown.”
Celia’s accolades include the album MANHATTAN SERENADE in which she received the 2017 LaMott Friedman Award. It was arranged and conducted by Alex Rybeck and co-produced by Scott Lehrer, the team behind her debut album YOU CAN’T RUSH SPRING. Lyricist David Zippel (whose “The Broadway Song” written with Cy Coleman received its first commercial recording) wrote in the album notes, “A tribute to her hometown, this collection is anything but renditions of the obvious New York songs. MANHATTAN SERENADE is curated: a connoisseur’s compilation of one exquisite, undiscovered musical gem after another.” YOU CAN’T RUSH SPRING and Celia’s solo cabaret debut, directed by Jeff Harnar, earned Celia a 2015 Bistro Award: Vocalist; 2015 MAC Award: New York Debut – Female; 2015 BroadwayWorld Award for Best New York Cabaret Debut; and The 2015 Margaret Whiting Award.
We have no doubt that “Now That I Have Everything” will follow suit brining about awards and notoriety to the ever so talented soul that is Celia Berk.
AP Tobler has released their new single “Claustrophobia” and it’s accompanying video, an alt rock grunge song reminiscent of Green Day meets Weezer.
The song is about how uncomfortable they are in their own skin and is translated into their video. The whole thing is quick frames of a variety of different shots, consisting of AP in several different positions and outfits, the empty coach, and the empty coach with just their guitar. The many different ways they orient themselves is a perfect representation of trying to find comfort with yourself.
We spoke with AP about their video. Check out what they had to share about the “Claustrophobia” music video:
Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically in this way?
Claustrophobia is about feeling trapped and uncomfortable in your body. I wrote this song at a point of severe discomfort with myself. I was also just getting out of a spell of writer’s block and it took me quite a while to bring the song to completion. In the video, I wear all sorts of different clothes. The line, “You can’t become a new person every day,” inspired these outfit changes that show my futile attempts to renew myself.
What was the inspiration behind this video?
The video features myself singing the song while sitting on a desolate sofa. My outfit and position changes often in the video. These outfit changes represent that no matter what external things I change, I am still the same at the core, even if I don’t want to be.
What was the process of making this video?
The process of making the video was super easy and quick. The shoot consisted of myself singing along to the track in varying outfits and positions. The video was different from my others as we used a single camera angle for all the shots. We shot in my house which helped us prepare test shots and make sure we would get what we wanted. I did multiple sing throughs in each outfit and my dad did the editing. The tv frame and glitches represent changing the channel on an old television. While the concept is simple it is one of my favorites.
Modern Mystery 
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