Category Archives: Uncategorized

06.29.20
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JonoJosh Unveils Inspirational Single “Half”

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JonoJosh, also known as JJ Gerber, is all about making a dent in the ever-changing world.  For years, JJ performed as a dancer/choreographer along with industry powerhouses including Marianas Trench, PSY, Carly Rae Jepson, Janelle Parish, Kreesha Turner, and Kirk Franklin – but his heart was always set on writing music.  


His new single, “Half,” is all about being mixed race in a world that doesn’t always understand what that means.
2019 brought a new sound from JonoJosh with the release of “Better.” It made waves by advancing in CBC’s Searchlight competition. His other 2019 releases “Gold” and “Restart” both found love on Spotify garnering over 50,000 listens, and “Half,” shows no sign of JonoJosh slowing down.

 

06.26.20
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Video Voyager: 3 Q’s with Roxana Labatt

Roxana Labatt
Former Wall Street Lawyer now musician, Roxana Labatt, has just released her debut single “The Way” on June 19. To add to this song that already hits you in your feelings, is the DIY, nostalgia-heavy music video that has been released just one week later. Read on to learn more about Roxana’s intention and vision for this creation.
Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically in this way? 
The inspiration for this song is my belief that people get to define their own identity, including the place they identify as “being from”–even if that place is not where they were born/grew up.  I describe the song as my love song to New York City, because New York City is and always will be the place I identify as home.  Some people believe you’re never allowed to change the answer to the question “where are you from” (my family used to roll their eyes at me when we traveled together and I answered New York while they answered Texas).  But even though I grew up in San Antonio, Texas, I never felt like I belonged there.  The first time I visited New York City in high school, I immediately felt that it was the place I was supposed to be.  I went to college in New Jersey, interning in New York City during summers and moving to New York City after graduation to attend law school and eventually work at a Wall Street law firm.  The bridge of “The Way” addresses the visceral feelings I get when I’m on the plane either about to take off from or just having landed in New York City that I know as the feelings of either leaving from or returning to “home.”
What was the inspiration behind this video (visuals, storyline, etc.)? 
I chose to visualize the song as I did in the video in order to highlight the contrast between the place I grew up and New York City.  The scenes from San Antonio/childhood places appear during the verses (lyrics and music have a sad/lost quality related to being in a place you don’t belong) and scenes from New York City appear starting at the beginning of each chorus (lyrics and music have a more hopeful/triumphant quality related to searching for and eventually finding the way to the place you do belong).  For the opening of the video I chose scenes I thought were pretty strongly associated with San Antonio so they might be recognized as such even by someone who isn’t very familiar with the city–i.e. the Riverwalk and one of the Missions. Similarly, I closed each chorus with an image SUCH AS of One World Trade Center as I thought most people would readily identify those images with New York City.
What was the process of making this video? 
Once I conceived the vision for the video, the process of making the video essentially consisted of looking back over years of photos and videos and putting them together in a way that I thought effectively conveyed the message behind the song.  I actually wanted to use footage of myself on the flying trapeze in NYC for the bridge portion of the song, but the video quality was too low, so I instead used the horseback riding footage because I love it and because it reflected a similar moment of doing something really terrifying, but ultimately extremely freeing (which I think is a good metaphor for the themes expressed by the song).
06.25.20
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Gold Star Gold Star Channel Their Inner Twee Pop

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Gold Star Gold Star is the home-recording project of duo Adam Miller and Adam Obermeier. Born out of a mutual partnership aimed to explore writing within traditional pop song structures of AM dial radio, Gold Star Gold Star found Miller and Obermeier expanding beyond their self-imposed prompt. Their forthcoming debut album, Introducing… Gold Star Gold Star, has twelve original songs recorded in mono.

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“If You Only Knew,” the first single the duo are sharing off of the forthcoming LP, sways and swoons in a sepia breeze, every signifier of love hanging in the balance; the plinking glockenspiel and falsetto vocal falls balance against rubbery bass and waves of guitar. Reminiscent of work Elephant 6 was cooking up in the 90s.

06.25.20
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Sam the Astronaut Takes Flight with New Single

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Sam the Astronaut is like a giant alien synthesizer entering Earth’s atmosphere preparing to beam you up with its lush soundwaves. Its purpose; to take you to a place where the dull realities of everyday life are washed away and, even just for a moment, replaced with an irresistible urge to dance. And trust, they will be there right beside you the entire time.

“Midnight Carlight” is the lead single and title-track off of the duo’s forthcoming independently-released sophomore album (set for release on August 28th, 2020). With  production so thick you can always find a new layer to swim in, “Midnight Carlight” is a cathartic ode to the feeling of being trapped in a relationship.

 

All Sam the Astronaut wants to do is move you. Whether that be by way of their infectious beats and melodies sparking a blaze throughout your body that turns into a dance, or emotionally through those same elements weaving around powerful lyricism. The combination of Garrison’s distinct rich vocals and TJ’s dynamic production offers up anthemic West Coast alt-pop that feels both contemporary and reminiscent of the classic hits across your favourite party playlist. Coming down from the nova, and near the curvy moon, Sam the Astronaut emits a sound that fills the shadows of everyday life. A soundtrack laced in silver that’s yours to keep.

06.22.20
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Sydney Lauren Entice with “25 Days”

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In the state of the current world, Sydney Lauren is a breath of fresh air. Her intricate-crafted song “25 Days,” is a brilliant and uplifting song for the masses.  Telling stories within every song she writes. Sydney grew up in the outskirts of New York City, a place she now calls home. Honing her craft and skills in venues such as The Delancey and the Bitter end, Sydney found her voice and vibe. “25 Days is a little bit Pop, with elements of a little bit Folk, and it hits the spot just right. Sydney’s training in piano, guitar and songwriting are clearly reflected in her songs, which take inspiration from some of her favorite artists including Carole King, Sarah Bareilles, Ingrid Andress, and more, but brings her own flavor to the table.
Sharing recently of the single:
“Long distance relationships can be hard and when you think about the actual physical time you’ve spent with the person, it always sounds a lot less significant than how it felt. The least he could do was stick around long enough to give me more to write about!  In all seriousness, this song is about the things you never got to do before your relationship ended, the places you wanted to take them, the people you wanted to introduce them to. The connection you have with someone can mean a lot more than how long you actually were together for.”
As our ears and hearts head further into 2020, Sydney Lauren is a voice that we want to hear more of. Let “25 Days” take you away!

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06.18.20
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Video Voyager: 3 Q’s with Mauricio of Purple Tone Flower

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Mauricio Flores Sánchez, also known as Purple Tone Flower, is back again with his latest release “We Will Fight For Us” and has an exquisite lyric video to accompany this hit-focused track. Read on to find out more about his process of creating this masterpiece!
Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically in this way?
‘We will fight for us’ is a song about a collapsing system. The song is an invitation to another place, to start again from scratch, to break the walls of your fears and to be free, to cross the lines of our systems and our mental structures. The song is about many people that think in the same way, people who want to change the world, to create a new fair world, and invites you to cross the line to make it. It’s an invitation to escape from your old system of beliefs to create a new reality.

I wrote this song at the end of 2018, before at the social explosion in my country and before the pandemic. However, in our current conditions, either because of the pandemic and the cultural and social changes around the world, the song has more sense to me today and it opens for more interpretations too. I believe it’s the moment for us to question what kind of world we want to build for us because it seems that the one we have built has not worked well…

Though a lyric video wasn’t my first choice of visual representation, with the quarantine in my country it was the only possibility right now. Ultimately I am excited that it’s an opportunity to enhance the communication of the song’s message and is a great way to introduce a song in a different way.

What was the inspiration behind this video (visuals, storyline, etc.)?

I worked with a great designer through Fiverr. I wanted a vintage style with modern flavors, I wanted a lot of dynamics in the images and I wanted to use the color palette and fonts of the cover art. This point was very important to me because I’m an emergent artist and I think being coherent with your image strengthens your brand, so the main images of the video are based on the cover art of the single. The storyline is the lyric of the song and the image of the guitar in the solo is another element to add visual diversity.

What was the process of making this video?

I can’t tell you about the technical part. All the magic was made by Saad (saaddennis on Fiverr). The process was very simple to me because I told all my ideas to Saad and he did a really great job. I’m very happy with the result of the video. We had very few corrections to make and the process was very fast. Saad is a great designer and he got all my ideas very quickly.