JEEN has entered the 2020s with boots firmly planted in the current musical landscape. JEEN (2020), Dog Bite (2021) and Tracer (Oct 21, 2022) could be a trilogy of sorts. A strong reflective collection and a call on song to navigate these last couple of years.
Robin Hatch plays the lead synths on “Mountain,” the second single from Tracer. Its hazy shoegaze evokes a summer nighttime drive on the open road with your best mates, where the song envelopes the entire moment.
On Tracer, there is a more vulnerable and fragile quality to JEEN’s vocals. Both warmer and less angular. Perhaps affected by past experience, perhaps intentional. Whichever way, one can’t argue how intimate a space she creates on this record, vocally and sonically.
If bands like Foo Fighters, Weezer, and Pearl Jam are considered the last generation of guitar-based rock, then Noiseheads are the next generation’s exception. The trio has built a devoted and passionate underground following among fans of old-school garage rock. In the process, they attracted a lot of attention from many prominent figures in the music industry, sharing line-ups with the likes of Collective Soul, Fuel, K.Flay and The Psychedelic Furs.
The new single, “Sorry,” is the first tune that the band tracked with Lincoln Parish (ex-Cage the Elephant) and his assistant engineer Jordan Logue. It was the easiest song to record because of how simple and punchy it is. In terms of songwriting, this track set the tune for the rest of the material that Noiseheads have recorded over the past couple of years. The song comes from their upcoming EP, which will be released on July 29th
This song is about how on the surface, an apology can sound genuine, but within the context of the song, you walk away understanding that this person who’s the subject is a narcissistic piece of sh*t that’s framing the situation in their mind in a way to feel better about themselves.
After almost four years since debuting with Sad & Easy, songmaker Colyn Cameron is readying his new album Freehand for release this August 5th. While living in Vancouver, British Columbia, the new material emerged within the paradoxical spaces of experimenting with dispersed and concentrated rhythms. Colyn used the material to explore themes of technology, adventure, self-worth & love with mild nods to worldly trepidation.
His latest single, “Deepfakes,” is about this form of AI technology but also tackles the veil of capitalism that we already exist under and how this particular corner of the near future relates to the mega-marathon of consumption and distorted nature of our current priorities.
Melancholic, dreamy, enigmatic and hauntingly beautiful, Montreal’s APACALDA (also known as Cassandra Angheluta) is creating her own immersive world with a refreshed approach to indie, electronic pop which meets dream wave sounds.
Her new single, “SSR,” is a nostalgic and acoustic inflected pop song which uses playfulness to communicate a sadness at its core. Cassandra wrote this song due to finding herself in an intimate relationship devoid of any profundity, which she was misled into.
Its lyrics reflect on the choice to embrace ignorance over the glaringly loud truth in front of us, when one is in too deep and cannot fathom cutting one’s losses.
The song’s music video portrays contrasts of emotion through the playfulness of the bright coloured field versus the spiraling darkness of the dungeon-like space. These images serve to depict the back and forth of wanting to believe something is what it is not, choosing to ignore the reality to hold on to an idea that is better suited to our desires.
APACALDA, meaning “warm water” in her mother tongue, Romanian, is a reflection of Cassandra’s means of movement through her art and life. A reminder to reconnect to the warm water that can calm and ground you, despite the chaos and unpredictability of outside circumstances.
Creating music has been a means of alchemising her residual emotional traumas from past and present experiences through the one medium that brings any resolve within her. She showcases a unique complexity between the realms of feeling and sound.
In a collaborative triumph, multi-platinum artists Afrojack and R3HAB – two of the Netherlands’ foremost electronic music giants – have joined forces for their ultimate super-collab ‘Worlds On Fire’, released through Tomorrowland Music today! Their co-produced mainstage-tailored production ‘Worlds On Fire’ comes in the shape of an uplifting festival anthem, exuding energy and passion with an ecstatic drop and vocals by singer/songwriter Au/Ra. ‘Worlds On Fire’ is Afrojack’s and R3HAB’s first new official record together in over a decade.
With over hundreds of millions of plays between the two of them, the Dutch duo and two of the genre’s biggest hitmakers have created yet another dance anthem, designed to ignite crowds around the world. ‘Worlds On Fire’ is part of a collection of exclusive festival releases by Tomorrowland Music under this year’s festival theme ‘The Reflection of Love’, celebrating the return of Tomorrowland after three years by gathering some of the biggest artists in electronic music on Tomorrowland’s record imprint.
Afrojack: “I’m very happy to release this exclusive festival release for Tomorrowland, celebrating the festival’s return after three years! It’s great to be working with R3HAB again, after starting together at WALL, playing many shows together, and now with an exclusive B2B performance at the iconic Mainstage of Tomorrowland. I’m excited to release the first collab in more than 10 years between R3HAB and myself!
R3HAB: “Afrojack and I have been working together since he invited me into his label over a decade ago when we released ‘Prutataaa’. We’ve released a string of remixes for each other later but haven’t created a record together since 2011. That changes today. Afrojack is massively talented, and I’m grateful for his guidance and friendship, from our early days in his first studio to the beautiful stages we’ve shared around the world today. It’s also been a pleasure working with Au/Ra and her incredible voice, we’re glad to have her on with us.”
Au/Ra: “I wrote this song at a time when so many destructive things were happening in our world, it was overwhelming. But I had this deep sense that no matter what, there are people I love who make this crazy place better. I’ll always be there for them, and they’ll always be there for me, no matter how insane things get.”
World-renowned multi-platinum DJs & producers Afrojack and R3HAB have been trailblazing their way through dance music for the past 15 years and will now play an exclusive B2B set at Tomorrowland’s iconic Mainstage during the first festival weekend on Friday July 15.
If you haven’t already watched Brittaney Delsarte Chatman’s video for her latest R&B single, “Talk to Me,” your not only missing out on stunning visual storytelling, but also the production quality. Brittaney’s video was released in March 2022 and even when she hit an obstacle, she didn’t let that get her down. “On March 4, 2022, I was a victim of a cyber security attack,” she shares. “The hack compromised my marketable IG content for my music and my brand with deleted followers, highlights, and posts. This put my video campaign to a full halt. You know what they say chile- New levels, New Devils.”
She continues: “But, as I always say- any setback is just a setup for a comeback! I built my platform from the ground up and I can get it back to where it was and perhaps surpass where I was. If you knew about the hack and you continue to support me by viewing & sharing my new music ‘Talk to Me’ on your platforms, I want to thank you from the bottom of my lower intestines lol. Your support kept me strong for these past two months but now I’m back with the jump off!”
Brittaney had the help of an amazing team to get the video looking as great as it does, like the Producer and Cinematographer Nick Libraro, Assistant Director and Producer Mia Francois, and Director Rye Caraway. We got to speak with Nick on the production of this video in this edition of Video Voyager.
Let’s dive in:
Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically in this way?
As producer and cinematographer for this project, I was truly able to tell the story that Brittaney portrayed in her song ‘Talk to Me’. As a creator, the story of this song can be seen from a quick glance- A strong woman wants love, and will make her stand in doing so. By taking a deeper look, you can see that Brittaney is pouring her soul into the overall story via lyrics. She is showing her listeners that she’s not only smart, strong, and capable of being on her own, but she’s opening a door into her mind and heart; vulnerability is the word we used throughout this process. We chose to stick with this word and visualize Brittaney being vulnerable on camera because it not only shows the world who she is, but it breaks the visual media stereotype that Black women always need to be strong. Brittaney allows the listeners to hear a side of her that not many people have gotten to experience beforehand – so utilizing this vulnerability in a cinematic and creative way was the best way to tell the story of ’Talk to Me’.
What was the inspiration behind this video?
The main inspiration behind the video itself of course is the lyrics, but mainly it was Brittaney. As the one who handled bringing the story to life via writing/ storyboards, I found myself listening to the song on repeat constantly, focusing in on lyrics and moods. However, in doing so, we originally lost a nuance that needed to be told – Brittaney’s story, not just any story. From the writing room to constructive zoom meetings with the main team of producers and directors, we were able to merge the stories and bring it to life – adding dance numbers/ choreography, bringing Brittaney’s Blossom energy to it. I think personally that’s what the inspiration is; she’s an incredible soul and by telling this story, I believe people will finally understand who Brittaney truly is.
What was the process of making this video?
The process of making this video was quite extensive as we wanted to truly do our best not only in telling the story, but ensuring the visuals were perfect. We had a full 3 process breakdown with pre-production, production, and post. For about 3 months before shooting, Brittaney and myself met via zoom with director, Rye Caraway, and other producers to discuss plans, budgets, props, locations, camera gear, equipment, extras, and much more. Assistant Director Mia Francois, an accomplished producer herself, was kind enough to send over an amazing excel checklist that helped me and the internal SnaggleTooth team really iron out any kinks or issues we may have had. During this process, we were traveling the coast of NY to find locations (restaurants, coffee shops) – and unfortunately at the last minute, even with all of this planning, we had a minor issue with locations. Luckily it was resolved quickly with the amazing NY restaurant The Renaissance, in Harlem, allowing us to rent out their back room. We also rented a gorgeous brownstone that was beautifully furnished that we turned into Brittaney’s apartment. Our production process was incredibly smooth and I thank the team we had as well as the extensive pre production process we had in play. Not only did we know lighting setups, angles, and exact locations for each scene; but Brittaney and guest artist L’Marco worked closely with choreographer Tiffani Jones to perfect their dance routine. After our two production days as well as a pick-up day to capture some extra emotional scenes that truly rounded out the video shoot, Brittaney and I went into the editing room via zoom. We sat together for an entire evening going through scene by scene, fixing colors, adjusting clips, and really making ‘Talk to Me’ the work of art it is. It wouldn’t trade the process we utilized and truly, I have adopted this process now for SnaggleTooth Productions more high-end videos and budgets. Stay tuned for more amazing music from Brittaney and some more visuals coming soon!
Modern Mystery 
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