by Jane Lambert

Video Voyager: Yutao’s Lofi Single “Sensation”

Yutao is the indie bedroom pop artist based in Los Angeles. His songs are emotive but elusive, with lyrics that explore frustration, lost love, identity, wanting to belong, and music that is delicately dense with lush ambience and airy melodies. His aesthetic evokes alternative electro-pop artist keishi, and the vibrant scene of young Asian musicians around the 88rising record label.

His video for his latest single “Sensation,” is a hypnotic counterpart to the song. It’s somehow both still and ever-moving. He captures a sense of passion and whirling emotions, the sensations of a new relationship, but also shares the fast-paced nature of it. The camera never stops moving, almost like a visual time limit. Nothing lasts forever.

We spoke with Yutao about the music video for “Sensation”:

Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically in this way?

The story of this song is about capturing the sensation of those “fireworks” like emotion & relationship. As if two people know nothing will last, the moment is too beautiful to pass.

What was the inspiration behind this video?

The inspiration summarizes my past relationship experience; just when you were still in the moment of the “firework,” the show ended without you even realizing it.

What was the process of making this video?

We found a location in LA where the owner renovated the whole house into a trippy greenhouse. After discussing the direction, we decided to take the approach to a more dreamy and psychedelic type of experience to recreate the short-lasting sensation.

Watch here:

Connect with Yutao via:

Website / Instagram / Twitter / Facebook / TikTok / YouTube / Spotify

09.08.22

by Jane Lambert

Lauren Waller Shares Her Catchy Synthpop Single “Lift You Up”

Lauren Waller is the young pop talent based in Los Angeles. Her musical style bridges that of modern day electronic pop and 80’s dark wave synthpop while her aesthetic encompasses the confessional and poetic intimacy of the singer-songwriter idiom.

She just released her latest single “Lift You Up.” It’s an 80’s inspired synthpop song with an infectious hook and captivating melody. It’s reminiscent of Taylor Swift’s 1989 album, specifically “Welcome To New York” meets “Out of the Woods” and her voice takes on a Taylor Swift meets Ingrid Michaelson quality.

“This song is the ultimate ‘feel good pop’ song,” shares Lauren. “It’s about love that is fun, happy, and lighthearted. I hope that Lift You Up sparks a familiar feeling in listeners, whether that be nostalgia for the past or the joy of a current love.”

Listen here:

To date, Lauren has released two EPs and performed on RTE, Ireland’s National Television, at the International Rose of Tralee Festival, and appearances at the Viper Room and the Hotel Café. Waller has opened for many iconic bands such as Wilson Philips, Anna Nalick, A Flock of Seagulls, and most recently: Tower of Power.

On Tuesday, August 30th, Lauren sat down with BBC’s Linda McDermott on The Linda McDermott Show, and talked about Lauren’s song “Wonderful Life” and “Lift You Up” (skip ahead to 11 minutes for the interview).

You can find Lauren Waller via:
Website // Instagram // Facebook // Twitter // YouTube // TikTok // Spotify // Soundcloud

09.01.22

by Jane Lambert

Ann Gray Shares Her Acoustic Pop Song “Grace”

Ann Gray is the talented young star who’s growing brighter by the day. She just released her latest acoustic pop single “Grace,” inspired by a previous song “Ophelia,” from her side project with her cousin called Times New Roman. “with her cousin called. “Ophelia” is about two friends leaving each other for college and “Grace” is written in Ophelia’s perspective toward her friend Grace.

“Although I myself have only just started looking at colleges and thinking about that daunting phase in my life, I had also just been directly introduced to that peculiar, bittersweet feeling as I had recently become the only kid in the house after my last sister left for college,” shares Ann Gray. “Ultimately, the line ‘growing up happens when you least expect it to’ sort of began to steer the concept of the piece. I was inspired to write it after my older sister, whom I often fought with and despised for the first couple years of my life, said that she loved me with red, crying eyes as she left. And of course, almost as if I was just realizing the truth of these words at that very moment, I said it back.”

“Grace” embraces new beginnings and reminisces about growing up. It’s sweet, beautiful, and delicate. Her voice is strong and packs a punch, something you would never expect from someone so young. She carries an Olivia Rodrigo meets Ingrid Michaelson in her voice with a Taylor Swift style in her songwriting.

Listen here:

Connect with Ann Gray via:
Website I Instagram I Spotify

08.29.22

by Jane Lambert

Kris “Halo” Pierce Shares his Chill and Downtempo Single “AndOr”

Based in New York, Kris “Halo” Pierce is a multi-award winning artist, also music producer, who has had his music played at MTV, Viacom Media Networks, Sony Creative and VH1, among other channels.

“AndOr” is a super laid back and chilled electro track, with synths and distant other-worldly beats:

“This track is pretty much about Cognitive Dissonance. It´s a laid back beat with the familiar electric piano stabs and synco-bass from the Chill Out pages.”

With influences like Massive Attack, his music truly stands out not only in the electronic genre, but also wider afield with trip hop, EDM and funk. It´s a pretty cool track that is both moody as well as soulful and danceable, and draws from ambient, goth and industrial music genres too.

Listen here:

Today, Kris “Halo” Pierce has announced his second solo album release called Artificial Breed, a darker and more eclectic collection of tracks that features remixes by Craig Joseph Huxtable, Seven Factor and more. The album´s lead single called “Midnight Dive” has been played more than 2 million times, including throughout major retail stores in the United States.

Kris´s musical aesthetics explore dreams, abstract other worlds and non linear lyrics:

“A lot of the times, if it sounds like it is a love song, it´s probably actually about music itself. I don´t like to write about people or situations I feel negative about.”

Kris is not only an acclaimed music artist, but also a sound engineer, audio technician for off-Broadway shows, as well as a studio whizz as he runs his own production company Halo Askew Entertainment.

Stream Kris “Halo” Pierce music on YouTube, Spotify and Soundcloud.

08.29.22

by Jane Lambert

Video Voyager: The Speaker Wars “It Ain’t Easy”

Hall of Fame drummer Stan Lynch and singer-songwriter Jon Christopher Davis have come together to create the music they want on their own terms; they are The Speaker Wars. Their music has a vintage classic rock vibe with a contemporary spin. Their video for their latest single “It Ain’t Easy” is simple yet effective. It’s all in black and white and depicts the band playing in the studio. The song itself if about aging in any industry, but specifically the music industry for Stan and Jon. Getting older doesn’t have to be a negative thing and this video shows their grace and acceptance of it. Just them playing music is all they need to share this message.

We spoke with Jon Christopher Davis about the video. Let’s dive in:

Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically in this way?

“It Ain’t Easy”‘ is about finding a renewed sense of purpose while learning how to age gracefully. I think it speaks to the confrontation of aging in any industry.

What was the inspiration behind this video?

To simply show that mojo doesn’t have an expiration date unless you let it. Getting older and wiser is cool. It’s a privilege and it’s liberating. Life gets mighty precious when there’s less of it to waste.

What was the process of making this video?

We shot our scenes separately during the middle of the pandemic. Stan was in Florida, and I was in Texas. It’s always a challenge whenever you can’t be in the same room, but it turned out great thanks to our director, Brad Osborne. It’s simple and soulful, and that’s what The Speaker Wars are all about.

Watch here:

Connect with The Speaker Wars via:
Website // Instagram // Facebook // YouTube // Spotify // Soundcloud

08.24.22

by Jane Lambert

Lenni Revel’s Intricate New Single “Annabelle” Shares a Meaningful Message

Lenni Revel lived what felt to her like a pop star fantasy; 5 Grammy submissions, her image on billboards in Times Square, A&R agents courting her. But she traded it all in to kick her prescription Adderall addiction cold turkey in a shed outside of her parent’s house. Lenni was trying to sober up from the drugs and hype of the life she was living, a life she admits she had created. The momentum of years of the lifestyle did not just change with her mind overnight. When she might have been wiser to ease herself off of drugs she chose to go at sobriety the way she’d gone after everything else—all in or nothing. The ambition for overnight clarity and sobriety backfired and she was eventually admitted to a psych ward and put on a mandatory suicide watch. Once out of the facility, she set upon continuing her path to a more genuine life. A week after her 25th birthday she thought she would slowly re-enter the world taking a day gig job by responding to a Craigslist ad to help someone pack up their garage in preparation to move. That someone was Robert Revel. He would become her husband and the musical muse to get her back into the music business with a clear soul and an indefatigable passion.

“I wish I could tell you that upon seeing Robert for the first time, the heavens opened, and our romantic story began right away. It just didn’t happen like that. I remember feeling strangely at ease on first impression with him,” Lenni says. “He effortlessly saw into who I was as a person. There may not have been the cliché ‘sparks’ between us but there was a deeper fire at the core that initially I think we both sensed. I knew I was going to marry him.”

Lenni’s new single “Annabelle” was written by Robert when he was single and dating. He shared with Lenni that he remembered sensing that the women he was seeing weren’t experiencing a certain quality of freedom that allowed them to really shine, that many were either acting out social norms, or engaged heavily in reacting against them. Robert wrote “Annabelle” about those male-imposed values pushing women to stay in a woman’s “place” and made them high-value targets with Lenni’s powerful vocals breaking the glass ceiling of every outdated feminine archetype. Lenni’s voice provides a moving and powerful sense of taking back your power and sense of self. The song’s crescendo ends in a guttural gasp from Lenni, catching her breath from underneath what feels like a millennia of suppression.

And Lenni’s voice is unique. There is such an emotional depth and sincerity, that it is almost peerless. She sings with both purpose and passion. Comparisons to Fiona Apple, Stevie Nicks or Miley Cyrus only fall short of actually hearing the raw and velvety smooth sounds in her vocal arsenal. Musically speaking, “Annabelle” has an outlaw Americana/Alt Rock sound with Joni Mitchell storytelling—a real breath of fresh air.

“When I started singing ‘Annabelle,’ I felt the themes of the song in my own life, of course,” shares Lenni. “In the final rise of the song, the roles that have been assigned to women for millennia are called out by name and by the end my voice bleeds into this guttural scream. When performing it, I feel an ancestry of pain.”

We couldn’t be more excited to have this incredible artist’s voice and message breaking on the horizon, and can’t wait for more to come.

Listen here: