WIESINGER is thrilled to grab 2022 by the horns and show the world what it looks like to be a passionate dealer in hope through energetic collaborations, most recently teaming up with Indigenous pop artist Jessa Sky who believes music has the power to heal the world as it has healed hers.
Together, they spread kindness via the inspirational single, “Just Give Up,” which despite its title encourages listeners to keep going; to live with the hope that things can get better. Every setback is really simply a disguised setup for a future success or victory.
WIESINGER took up songwriting and taught himself acoustic guitar in 2012 to help medicate and deal with a long and painful season of mental illness, hospitalization, and the loss of a close cousin of his family. He recalls writing music and lyrics bringing him out of a very dark place and even saving his life in moments of despair.
ACER is a dream pop duo made up of multi-instrumentalist Kyle Gottschalk and vocalist/art director Connory Ballantyne. Borrowing from the brooding post-punk sound of their former band House Art, Ballantyne’s vocals lend a confident and lyrical vision to the dynamically maximalist instrumentals written out of Gottschalk’s love for bedroom pop and shoegaze.
Brooding new single “Vacant” offers catharsis. Ballantyne had started dating someone new after a truly crushing breakup, and so the experience of restarting sparked reflection on the perpetuity and strangeness of his feelings. “Keep me in your contacts, keep me the boy you’re dreaming of,” he sings.
ACER(July 8) is a youthful and hungry EP showcasing the musical diversity and raw energy of the two producers. Dreamy atmospheres abound (a nod to Beach House, Daniel Lanois, or Eno), the tracks sputter and glitch to life reminiscent of bedroom producers like JPEGMAFIA or the recent work of Toro Y Moi. Ballantyne’s vocals constantly flirt between the swaggering bravado of artists like Archie Marshal’s King Krule, the effect-laden Justin Vernon or Kanye, and the soft ambience of Slowdive.
Cat and The Queen a.k.a. CATQ is Cat Montgomery, Toronto-based musician and multidisciplinary artist. The keyboard – a.k.a. The Queen – is Cat’s first friend and has been her primary artistic outlet.
After some time away from the city, Cat returned to Toronto and was confronted with reality. Mentally, she got herself into a bad spot. In the throes of pretty severe alcohol abuse, she felt as if she couldn’t get it together. One afternoon when she was in her bathtub – soaking silently, overcome with the fantasy of ending it all – something sparked in her: an urgent calling to go to her piano. Still wet from the bath, sitting at the piano, she wrote the lyrics out with total flow.
“Leave Here Tonight” is a song that witnesses a journey from grief and darkness to release and freedom. It starts in a dark, dark spot: the desire to leave life. Throughout the track it breaks out of this paralysis and moves into a place of high energy prayer and life summoning. Cat wants this song to be an opportunity for listeners to get in touch with their grief – whether it be their own personal grief or a collective grief – and let it be a vehicle of some kind of emotional catharsis. It is also a gentle reminder that we need friendships and kindness in order to make sense and meaning in this insane world.
A soulful voice, lyrical depth, infectious music, everything you want in an artist Joanna Ramirez has. The Dallas native Austin-based neo-soul, jazz, and R&B artist has been making music for some time now. Starting in the 1990’s, Joanna launched her career with her funk/blues band called Soul Providers. When she moved to Austin in 1998, she joined the blues/R&B band Shake ‘Em On Down formed by guitarist J.P. Lilliston.
It was only inevitable that Joanna would go into a career in music seeing as it’s in her blood. Her grandfather was a singer and guitarist of traditional Mexican music and recorded for the Bluebird and Victor labels in the 1930s. Her father was an R&B guitarist and harmonica player, and, along with his two brothers, Charles and Chick, played in various combos during the 1960s.
“It is not easy to bare your soul through music, but I believe it is the only way to truly impact others and possibly inspire, comfort, heal, or just get people to dance,” she says. In her latest album, On My Way, she does just that, exposes her truest self. The album has 11 upbeat R&B, jazz, and neo-soul songs, each giving a glimpse into Joanna’s eyes and heart.
The title song, “On My Way” is a neo-soul song that chronicles her musical career, a narrative of overcoming and showing the world that she is not to be underestimated. “I think a lot of people can relate to the song’s narrative of wanting to give up on something, but knowing that they can’t ignore a voice inside telling them to keep going,” she says. “Happy” explores self love and a jazzy and bluesy sound lead by the keyboard. “This one was a bit scary to write, because I knew I had to get personal and tell my story through this song, starting with childhood, remembering the feeling of not measuring up to my parents expectations, the fearful environment of our home, then to my failed romantic relationships and now, still feeling that I’m not being fully myself as a musician and creator,” she says. “Seems it’s the universal experience of being human – always striving to just be happy.” “Whaddui” is a soul and R&B song with a hook and melody that truly makes you sing out loud. It’s an anthem-like song seemingly about the craziness that was 2020, with a global pandemic and the political drama that was unfolding. She sings “whaddui whaddui whaddui have to do to prove to you/that there’s no need for all your crying/oh I just want to help you/get through/this crazy dream.”
It can’t go without mentioning Joanna’s voice. There is no other singer out there who encompasses her strength, power, and self-confidence that Joanna does. You can hear every emotion and all her passion in her singing. It’s one of the most stunning things about her music, particularly On My Way.
Dance music legends Dimitri Vegas & David Guetta are teaming up with American singer & actress Nicole Scherzinger and DJ/Producer Azteck to release the addictive house single, “The Drop,” available today on all digital streaming platforms HERE. The new track is the second official solo single from Dimitri Vegas and is an addictive and uplifting song for the Summer which will take fans on a journey to chase “The Drop”. An animated music video will also be released soon, and show the four artists all transformed to an adventurous fantasy world, appearing as comic book superhero versions of themselves in a race to catch “The Drop.”
Collaborating for the first time all together, the artists also gave fans a surprise when they all recently appeared on stage together in Ibiza, at Ushuaïa outdoor club, to give a special live performance during David Guetta’s show. The artists performed “The Drop” live to a sold out crowd who danced excitedly to the new song on the moonlit sands of Spain. The artists all spent some time there together afterwards as well. Please see link to photos HERE of them all together in Ibiza.
Dimitri Vegas, David Guetta, Nicole Scherzinger, and Azteck have released hit songs in the past; however, it’s the first time all four are collaborating together to shake up the music industry. It mixes legendary dance music artists Dimitri Vegas and David Guetta with Pop superstar Nicole Scherzinger and new age DJ Azteck to make the ideal song to please their fans, both young and old. “The Drop,” starts with a solid electro drum beat and hits the soul with engaging lyrics by Scherzinger’s distinctly harmonious vocals as it draws listeners into a break that heads into the climax and high percussive beats. The addictive tune will keep fans fully immersed in its house music vibes as it ends, leaving fans wanting more.
“I’m very excited to release “The Drop,” a track we have worked on for quite a long time to try and bring the perfect balance between radio and club sounds. We really wanted the vocals to sound like an old skool 90s R&B sample, so we asked Nicole Scherzinger to record her amazing vocals on a much slower beat. We then reprocessed everything to a higher tempo and different key so we could create this pseudo-sampling feel. Very happy to collaborate on this with my good friends David Guetta and Azteck and can’t wait to share it with the world.” – Dimitri Vegas
Electronic music lovers and fans all over the world know Dimitri “Vegas” Thivaios as half of the monolithic brotherly duo Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike and as ambassador of the worldwide phenomenon, Tomorrowland. He has been voted #1 DJ in the world two times and has previous collaborations with global superstars Daddy Yankee, Natti Natasha, David Guetta, Sebastian Yatra, Armin van Buuren and many more. “The Drop” is Dimitri’s second official solo single, following “Pull Me Closer,” which was released in March of 2021.
French DJ and producer David Guetta has over 50 million record sales globally, with more than 14 billion streams, and he was voted as the number one DJ in the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs poll several times! David has been active for many years in the music industry, where he built himself a name and an image as a dance music pioneer and icon, but still continues to evolve his sound and work with the hottest artists of the moment. The most recent artists David has worked with include Becky Hill, Joel Corry, Robin Schulz, MORTEN, and more. Guetta has won two Grammy Awards, an American Music Award and a Billboard Music Award for his work.
Nicole Scherzinger is a multiple award-winning, multi-platinum selling performer, singer, actress, dancer and television personality, selling over 37 million singles worldwide and 16 million records as a solo artist. Formerly a member of one of the worlds best-selling music groups of all time, selling over 55 million record worldwide, she has graced the stages of London’s West End, performed at Madison Square Garden, voiced the character Sina in Disney’s animated blockbuster ‘Moana,’ starred in ABC’s remake of ‘Dirty Dancing,’ and most recently was the resident panelist on the runaway TV phenomenon, The Masked Singer on FOX. Producer/DJ Azteck has had a rapid ascent to success in a short space of time, having contributed writing and producer credits of hit songs with some of the biggest names in music. He closed 2020 with the bilingual anthem ‘Do It!’ alongside No 1 Dj’s Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike and Mexican singer and influencer Kimberly Loaiza, which received over 40 million views on TikTok in the first 24 hours of its release.
Today, singer-songwriter Taylor Grey releases the upbeat single “Ever Knew Me” via Kobalt. The pop song describes the story personal to the songstress having a paralyzing fear of saying goodbye to people. This is the first single launching her comeback to the music industry after a two year hiatus, with more singles set to launch in 2022.
Alongside a catchy rhythm, listeners will feel Grey’s words and the feelings of life’s blurry emotional ups and downs, as the lyrics of “Ever Knew Me”, hold a deeper, almost melancholy tone describing the reality of moving on. Vulnerability and authenticity exude from every note, especially with words and comparisons such as “Looking like a silhouette” convey a message that instead of saying goodbye head-on, there is an attempt to fade into the background. The lyrical storytelling exudes a strong imagery that fills every phrase of Grey’s new single, perfectly crafting a rich rhythmic and visual atmosphere for every listener.
“When a relationship comes to its natural end, I get scared that the person will hate me, so much so that I end up pulling away and being unable to say anything substantial at all,” says Grey. “The track references musical elements from the 70s and 80s, which create an energetic pop rock backdrop to this more nostalgic storyline in my life, and I am sure the lives of many others who experience social anxiety like myself.”
In 2017, she released her first studio album Space Case via her standing relationship with Kobalt Music Group and won two Independent Music Awards. The 12-track release featured a notable collaboration with The Vamps’ Brad Simpson. The same year Taylor revealed the Indie-Ballad single “Poison,” which further showcased the playful yet meaningful side of her writing and on-stage presence. A gifted songwriter and talented performer, she provides pristinely produced tracks with enrapturing vocals that surround each piece. Taylor’s 2018 project, her self-titled EP GREY, was produced by Oliver “Oligee” Goldstein (Foster the People, Ellie Goulding) with executive producer Josh Abraham (Thirty Seconds to Mars, Weezer, P!nk). The release was featured on Official Spotify playlists, and supported by Just Jared, iHeartRadio, among other high profile outlets.
Taylor has toured internationally with Why Don’t We in late 2019, and has shared the stage with Walk the Moon, Fall Out Boy, Sabrina Carpenter, The Vamps, Flo Rida, Jake Miller, and more. Driven by an intricate sound that is vibrant, seductive, classy, and distinctive, Taylor is quickly paving her way in the music industry. With several releases slated for the upcoming months, she’s going full-steam ahead in her musical endeavors with 2022 gearing up to be Taylor’s biggest year yet.
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