Dear Midnight is the San Francisco-based electronic music duo, who formed in 2020. The frontwoman, Jessa Callen, is a conservatory trained songwriter and harpist and has worked on productions such as Mozart in the Jungle, Bel Canto, and Confessions of a Shopaholic as well as a Cordless Recordings (Warner) artist with her group The Callen Sisters.
Dear Midnight blends wordsmithing with jazz harmony and electronic grooves to create songs that speak to the heart and soul of issues like the un-reality of social media, temptation, opioid addiction, and unconditional love. Both versatile multi-instrumentalists, they wrote and recorded their debut EP, Siren Song, in their home studio, combining 90’s trip-hop with electro-pop sensibilities, filtered through the lens of a singer-songwriter.
Their newest song from Siren Song was just released, entitled “Fool’s Gold.” This electronic pop and downtempo song has the sense and stylings of a singer/songwriter in the way it’s structured and performed. “Fool’s Gold” has a strong Tori Amos vibe throughout with a Goldfrapp or Massive Attack influence on the overall electronic sound. Jessa’s vocals are entrancing and the beat and melody makes you want to sway your body.
“Fool’s Gold explores the trope ‘all that glitters is not gold,’ concluding that things are not always as they seem and that beneath a glamorous façade there could be something else entirely,” shares Jessa. It’s a deep reminder that being so trusting can get you in trouble or cause pain.
Listen here:
Fool’s Gold is the band’s debut single from their upcoming EP, Siren Song, set for release on May 20th, 2022.
The new single “Midnight Love” by DJ Eliza May is entrancing and leaves you wanting more.
“I produced ‘Midnight Love’ in the beginning of the pandemic. I felt sad, lost and lonely, nothing felt right including my love life. Sometimes I felt numb both physically and mentally. All I really wanted was to feel loved but at that time I didn’t realize that love comes from within. Don’t ask for love – love yourself first and give love. You’ll see how everything changes. It took me 2 years to learn that and 2 years to release this song. I hope I was able to keep the emotions alive and make the track relatable.”
Eliza May is a DJ and producer based in Los Angeles. Her sets are an explosive mix of R&B, Hip-Hop, EDM, and Pop music with elements of turntablism and scratching. She has managed to gain an international audience, playing shows all across the globe, from LA to NYC, and France to Russia – her homeland. Eliza’s incredible DJing and production skills can be credited to her musical background as a classically trained pianist, as well as her mentors DJ Qbert and DJ I-Dee.
Eliza has released several original tracks including “Up In The Club” on UFO Recordz (#8 on Beatport’s Trap/Future Bass Top 100) and “BadMan” on Epidemic House Music, as well as some remixes, including J-Kwon “Tipsy”, Liam Payne ft Quavo “Strip That Down”, and Drake “God’s Plan”.
You can catch Eliza spinning regularly in the Los Angeles area, or in a number of cities across the country, including New York, San Francisco, Chicago, St Louis, D.C., and more.
“I was one of the youngest students in music school and my parents chose piano as my main instrument. I was at music school for eight years and although I finished it with merit, I never really enjoyed it. It required a lot of work, practice and missing out on fun times with friends (not that I had many of them, but still). Everything I did as a kid I tried to excel at (a true perfectionist). I was one of the best at my school (finished it with a gold medal), one of the best at my aikido group (received my blue belt very quickly) and I got a scholarship for university in Tyumen (about 15hrs drive from my hometown), so I moved there. By then I had stopped doing music for four years, but at university I was invited to work at a radio station. I was just turning songs on and off and talking during breaks. One day while scrolling vkontakte(Russian version of FB), I saw an advertisement for DJ courses. They offered a 1st lesson for free, I thought it was about radio DJing and decided to check it out. It was about club DJing. At that time, I knew nothing about it, couldn’t even tell the difference between trance and techno lol, but I had some free time, so I decided to stay and learn. I have always had the desire to learn new things and I liked it.”
You will be sure to dance in your bedroom to this latest single, “Joon”, by Eva SIta. This pop, r&b, latin fusion hit is sure to be on repeat. WIth influences such as Alicia Keys, Erykah Badu, Beyonce, and Amy Winehouse, Sita takes influence from some of the greatest female pop vocalists of the past few decades. She has also been compared to fusion pop artists such as Dua Lipa.
Born in West Africa from an Ivorian mother and a French father. Eva Sita became a war refugee while moving to Paris at only 10 years old. A few years later, against all odds, she became the first Ivorian woman in history to graduate from Berklee College of Music.
The singer-songwriter & beat-maker pays tribute to her roots through catchy pop music.The musician speaks and sings in three languages and accompanies herself on just as many instruments, one including the Kora, a traditional African string instrument.
When creating “Joon” Eva states, “I first started with chords, I chose some ‘spicy’ triad chords and decided to play them with a Latin rhythmic piano comping. I then sang some melodies borrowing from the harmonic minor scale ( often used in middle eastern music ) as I really wanted to give off the ‘vibe’ of the Persian guy I was writing this song for. It was a funny experience to write such a nice and honest breakup song.”
Listen here:
“Joon” is out now on all streaming platforms, and her grooving beats and powerhouse vocals are not ones to miss! She can be reached anywhere below:
Hailing from Chico, California, Brittany and the Blisstones are a duo who specialize in elegantly adorned, heart-crafted songs. Brittany Bliss and Reid Givens make up the twosome, and their journey is a touching story of reinvention, reclamation, and second chances on love. In addition to warming hearts, the couple are opening minds to female artists and helping shift the narrative of women in creative fields through support and exposure.
Their new single, ”Mermaid” is a song about reconnecting with nature, but it also seems to be about reconnecting with Brittany’s own human nature. The lyrics brim with breathtaking imagery and awe-inspiring reflective moments. She sings: By the sea/A mermaid rewrote the pages of all my dreams, so I found fear and faith in the waves. The music is as majestic as its impressionistic lyrical passages. The song lilts on a vaguely Jamaican pulse and brims with jeweled trumpet melodies, vocals that are sultry and sensitive, lush layers of harmony vocals, and moody chord changes that have a sweet sadness.
The band says, “Our music is silly and playful. We don’t take ourselves too seriously but we have a strong personal growth focus.” They create a unique sound that is echoed
“With Brittany’s ear for melody and Reid’s focus on rhythm, we have been coming up with parts for songs from the very start of our relationship. Song concepts were plentiful as well because a big part of our relationship is sharing ideas and growth, which we often come at from different perspectives.”
Brittany and Reid write songs that sweetly seduce you into mindfulness. The mellow tones of their distinct island-pop draw from an expansive artistic palette of pop, orchestral, rock, jazz, reggae, ska, Latin, new wave, and beyond. Brittany contributes sultry vocals, jaunty ukulele playing, and co-writes the songs alongside her partner Reid, an accomplished drummer and percussionist with an expansive command of rhythms and a keen sense for the healing power of good grooves.
Since forming in 2018, Brittany and The Blisstones have managed to earn an engaged fanbase through organic online exposure and their warmly intimate live shows. The duo has performed in various musical settings around the local Chico area and beyond, including playing venues in Berkeley and Oakland.
Newly divorced and making baby steps to reinvent their lives, Brittany and Reid first met at an open mic in Chico, CA in 2017. The fateful moment Brittany met Reid he was a fixture at the open mic, and Brittany was braving making her solo artist debut. Her performance that night captivated Reid. “You could tell she was very nervous,” he recalls. “But when she started to play, it was like she was channeling something that just hits you in a very vulnerable place.” The two spoke briefly that night, but felt an instant connection. Two weeks later, they saw each other again but this time they talked for longer, and the couple have been inseparable ever since.
“I think we both lost ourselves in our previous marriages, and rediscovering music was a way for both of us to heal and move past the pain,” Brittany shares. “When I dropped my youngest son off at college, I vowed to make music a priority again,” Reid says.
Despite being flushed with love and the joy of rediscovering music, Brittany and Reid found they had trouble turning their seedling ideas into songs. Wisely, they enrolled in a few online classes—including classes hosted by Ryan Tedder and Alicia Keys—and through diligence, and their innate talents were able to break down writer’s block and bask in the open floodgates of creativity.
“Mermaid” is the first song Brittany ever wrote. It is a song about reconnecting with nature, but it also seems to be about reconnecting with Brittany’s own human nature. The lyrics brim with breathtaking imagery and awe-inspiring reflective moments. She sings: By the sea/A mermaid rewrote the pages of all my dreams, so I found fear and faith in the waves. The music is as majestic as its impressionistic lyrical passages. The song lilts on a vaguely Jamaican pulse and brims with jeweled trumpet melodies, vocals that are sultry and sensitive, lush layers of harmony vocals, and moody chord changes that have a sweet sadness.
Listen to “Mermaid” here:
One of the biggest lessons of Brittany and The Blisstones is it’s never too late. It’s never too late to pick up an instrument. “Brittany just had her first piano recital since the second grade,” Reid marvels. And it’s never too late for love. Brittany says: “We got another chance at love, and rediscovering who we really are as people. It’s been such a beautiful restart.”
Emily Merrell’s lush pop is based in her deep love and passion for music, where she has found solace and safety due to her tumultuous childhood. Her music is dreamy and ethereal, creating a light feeling in her listeners by way of her angelic sounds. She’s been working on her third studio album, The Hallowed Wide, a 12 song album of songs about human connection and the messiness that comes with it. She will release a new song a month until the release of the album later this year. She’s already released 2.
Her third release, “Quicksand,” which as a style and sound of if Madonna were to sing a song for The Little Mermaid, is the final piece of the “descent” into The Hallowed Wide, the name she gave the space between our current selves and the versions of ourselves we’re trying to grow into. The piano sounds of angelic bubbles and give a feeling of flight, while the lyrics speak on the mystery of a new connection. It speaks to harness up our fear with an equal measure of exhilaration and now-or-never-ness and fly blind into brand new terrain.
“I love the way Joni Mitchell captures this feeling in her incredible song ‘I Don’t Know Where I Stand,’ says Emily. “The uneasiness is palpable. I imagine ‘Quicksand’ as a less measured iteration of this feeling. Will you emerge as the protagonist of this story? Or will you discover yourself merely a minor plot-propeller for the hero? You don’t know, and you don’t care. The intrigue is worth everything. You’ll eagerly assume the risk for the exquisite tension of this single moment. There’s hardly a more alluring feeling in the entirety of the human experience.”
Listen to “Quicksand”
Emily shares this on her upcoming album: “This project offers a heightened plane on which to explore the unknowable spaces between ourselves and others. Together, we examine sources of disconnect, and commit to braving these weighty expanses. We tease out the expectations, judgements, and selfishness that prevent us from connecting wholly. We learn to see beauty and magic in our fellow beings. And finally, we summon the courage to stretch our hands and hearts across the divide in trust.”
Tara Novak, the classically trained violinist and composer turned pop artist, just released her new pop epic single, “A Place Called Purpose.” The song is a narrative like those of old Irish tales, Beowulf, or Hrolf Kraki, using music and lyrics in tandem to paint a picture of a tale about a brave female captain of a ship, with only her knowledge, intuition, and courage to guide her on the open seas as she races against time to her destination. She faces outward storms and inner doubts and ultimately comes out renewed in her belief herself. She is a true heroine, like all of us who face the many battles in life.
Musically speaking, she uses minor chords in the verses to symbolize the dramatic elements of the story, of the heroine facing challenges on her journey. The only major chords we hear are in the chorus, symbolizing the underlying message of hope, bravery, and courage. The use of the soft violin and ambient sounds in the beginning of the song gives a ghost-like feeling to the story, setting the scene and a melodic atmosphere.
Her classical training influenced the music for “A Place Called Purpose,” giving a unique touch to the pop genre that you won’t hear anywhere else. But she was also inspired by time. “Tick, tick, tick… the sound of a clock on the wall, always counting, always moving forward,” says Tara, talking about how clocks inspired the story. “But clocks used to measure more than just the passing of time: ancient mariners used a combination of a clock and the stars to calculate their position on the ocean. This song is an epic story of a girl alone with her ship, racing against time to find ‘A Place Called Purpose’ before the sun rises and once again hides the stars. Clocks tick and the orchestra sweeps the listener on their own journey, a perfect reflective soundtrack for the start of a new year.”
Listen here:
When you get a chance, listen to “A Place Called Purpose.” It’s a strong song with a powerful message of a heroine finding her own bravery and courage within herself.
Modern Mystery 
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