The Lagoons are the independent musical project of Los Angeles-raised multi-instrumentalist brothers Ryan and Joey Selan. The songwriting duo produced and recorded their new sophomore albumDaybreak (Jan 7) out of their home studio following the 2020 release of debut album, Midnight Afternoon, which notched millions of streams alongside praise from fans and tastemakers alike. Influenced by the state of the world over the last couple of years, the main themes of Daybreak are love, resolution, hope, and desire on a hero’s journey to look forward rather than be stuck in the past.
The lyrics of transcendent single “Long Road To Nowhere” reflect an emotional build-up resolving itself with a more cheerful message as the song goes on. Best summed up in the positive line “heartbeats come alive, as the darkness turns to light, I’m finally on a long road to somewhere,” instilling hope that through hard times, there’s light at the end of the tunnel.
Toronto-based singer-songwriter, Mia Baron, is a 14-year-old emerging artist ready to make waves in the music industry.
Her fifth original single, “Miss Emotionless,” sends the message to stay true to who you are. You don’t have to act the way others expect if it’s something that is unnatural to you. It’s okay to be different – just accept it and be yourself.
Kodiak Arcade is a passion project where lifelong television composer, Graeme Cornies, is reversing the usual process. Instead of writing music for pictures, he is creating visual art posted to Instagram, Twitter and YouTube depicting the feelings and mental states of his music.
His latest single “Why Pretend” is about the moment we acknowledge when a relationship is coming to a conclusion instead of pretending everything is fine, so that both people can begin a new chapter on separate paths. Graeme adds, “Sometimes we grow in different directions. Sometimes we get caught in a loop of wondering “if I had just… would they have… could it have all turned out differently?” and other unanswerable questions.”
Visually, this project is a means of exploring the forefront of AI / human collaboration with generative art. Musically, he engages new musical palette ideas and expands on orchestration ideas, often with his network of talented instrumental collaborators.
Chamber pop trio, Gentle Party, have been described as “lush and somewhat mischievous, yet shimmering with melancholy” (Dave O Rama, BC Musician Magazine). The group has a new single to share with the world, entitled “God Complex,” which meditates on the question, ‘Can you separate the art from the artist?’
Written on a tiny Reface CS synthesizer at the LEÑA artist residency on British Columbia’s Galiano Island, “God Complex” is an inquisitive and melodic embodiment of a misogynistic individual who is celebrated in Gentle Party’s artistic community.
“Please forgive me for my god complex, please forgive me while you pray at my feet.” The band explains that “so many times people’s ‘apologies’ for their bad behavior are simply spineless virtue signaling, without integrity, values, or behavior change to back it up.”
Tapping into the rich timeless history of romance and poetics, Eric Terino’s musical landscape paints a portrait of an American artist with a sweeping perspective on what it means to be human. The deeply personal becomes universal and heartbreak can be transformed to healing. Similar in fashion to Kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold, his tales of suffering mend with beauty. Gilding the places we have been hurt as a means of moving forward. This potential for alchemy exists everywhere, and Terino’s serenaded solitude reminds us of the infinite beauty in it all.
Eric shares of the single:“‘Body Gets Stoned’ is sort of my take on a ‘Que Sera Sera’ (Doris Day’s 1956 hit from Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘The Man Who Knew Too Much’). Basically, it’s a Buddhist kind of mentality that all is as it is and will be as it will be. So there’s no point in fighting upstream. Ultimately the solution to any struggle is in letting the river take us where we need to go, which in my opinion… is home.” The upcoming Innovations of Grave Perversity is Eric Terino’s third long player, and by any measure is his most expansive and layered work. Taking charge from where his sophomore record left off, the album is a parallel journey through the passage of seasons (winter into spring) and the transition from despondency to the birth of new hope and healing. It is a record about attempting to find light in the wake of trauma and working to reframe one’s life in a way that allows for the possibility of joy. “Body Gets Stoned” was written by Terino nearly 15 years ago and features stirring violin and vocals from Jolie Holland, whose contribution allowed for the track to finally feel complete and ready to be properly documented.
Innovations of Grave Perversity is out March 11 on Perpetual Doom.
Emerra launches into 2022 with full force as they release their new single and video for “Disintegrate.” The track is a modern metal barrage without compromise. Emerra is an Alt-Prog-Metal band that is currently based in the Rheinland area of Germany. “Disintegrate,” opens a whole new realm for the band, as they further their success from the prior EP Monochrome, and the acclaimed single “Pirouette,” which landed on Spotify’s Discover Weekly.
“‘Disintegrate’ deals with both society and private lives during the COVID crisis, putting a spotlight on the fragility of everyday structures. The song reflects how a pandemic is capable of weakening and disrupting both strong relationships and safe communities.”- Emerra
For fans of Karnivool, Tesseract, and Northlane, Emerra is your next hard rock obsession as they bring a bold and hard-hitting sound to the table. Emerra consists of Stefan Paar (Bass), Fabian Horn (Vocals, Guitar), and Maximilian Lumer (Drums).
After multiple successful projects, live shows, tours and studio productions Paar, Lumer and Horn decided to join forces and form Emerra – a band that brings the heaviness of hardcore and metal music without ticking all the scene stereotypes. They‘ve collected years worth of musical growth and experience and learned to embrace all their influences so they can now create complex music with dynamic song structures. Offering a variety of emotional calmness and heavy loudness, Emerra manages to create a wideness and depths that knows no limits.
Emerra’s “Disintegrate” is out January 29, 2022, and is only the beginning of the band’s musical journey this year.
About Emerra:
Emerra is an alternative prog/metal band composed of former and current members of established local bands from the Rheinland area in Germany. After multiple successful projects, live shows, tours and studio productions bassist Stefan Paar, drummer Max Lumer and singer/guitarist Fabian Horn decided to join forces and form Emerra – a band that brings the heaviness of hardcore and metal music without ticking all the scene stereotypes. They‘ve collected years worth of musical growth and experience and learned to embrace all their influences so they can now create complex music with dynamic song structures. Offering a variety of emotional calmness and heavy loudness, Emerra manages to create a wideness and depths that knows no limits. After releasing the debut EP, “Monochrome” including the Discover Weekly featured single “Pirouette”, Emerra will now be back in 2022 with new material unleashing all momentum that has built up in the global pandemic.
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