Featured Artists, Songs and Posts
Feautures
Songs, Artists and Music News that has win Nagamag’s attention. Timeless sound harmony and unique pesonalities that are worthing extra attention! With no specific release date or music genre, fine music never expires.
KellyMarie – Timing Right (Spotify)
“"KellyMarie" is back and proves her talent once again. Her playful singing style is perfectly matched with melody and beat. Now is the right time to lay back and simply synchronize your ears with this sound. Don't miss it!”
-Nagamag.com
Indie-pop singer-songwriter KellyMarie delivers a captivating follow up to her 2018 debut EP, On A Whim, with her newest single, “Timing Right,” out February 4th. The artist is set to celebrate this release the following night with her first post-lockdown show opening for American band Mae at Dallas’ Granada Theater on Saturday, February 5th. KellyMarie shows listeners with this release just what she’s had in the works during her time away; her performance will feature more new songs from the upcoming album due for release in March 2022. This new project was a moment for the artist in which she dove head first into creating a body of work inspired by beloved house-hold television staple, The Office. “It’s often said - write about what you know and love,” says the seasoned songstress, “so during the lockdown, [she] did just this.” KellyMarie found herself writing the lead single for this album in the electric moment that inspiration hit. Beyond the angelic vocals and breezy melodies fans have already fallen in love with, listeners can expect to encounter a new side of KellyMarie’s artistry that offers a deeper look into the singer we met in 2018.
https://www.kellymariemusic.com/
Minorarc Interview on Nagamag
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Nagamag:
Which are the genres that describe your music style better?
Minorarc:
Minorarc is by no means strictly "Progressive Metal". The project had its origins (under a different name "Mystral Tide") as darkwave with strong classical piano influences. These orchestral and cinematic flavours co-exist with a mixture of Prog, Djent and experimental electronica.
Nagamag:
Few words about your musical background and career?
Minorarc:
Since the early 2000s I have been an active multi-instrumentalist and community-founder for underground and experimental music. A classically trained violinist, my modern musical journey began in Tokyo. The first project “Mystral Tide” performed at numerous industrial and darkwave events, including as a guest artist for Japan’s “Seij minus aC” at Leipzig’s Wave-Gotik-Treffen in 2002. Returning to Australia in 2003, I helped establish a decade-long series of concerts (Enzyme), including events for the Melbourne Fringe Festival, all to showcase and expose dozens of independent Australian experimental musicians.
Over two decades, I've periodically recorded and performed as “Minorarc”. The music shifted from synth-heavy dark electronica, into a new world of progressive metal and post-rock. An expression of despair and regret, crafted through piano-driven melodies, non-traditional song structures, and a wide variety of stringed instruments.
Now in 2022, Minorarc has released its second full-length album, “Untold”. A largely instrumental work summoning elements of modern metal and djent to portray emotive unease, offset through the reverberant and powerful effects of classical piano, the warmth of cinematic synth pads, and delicate touches of acoustic mandolin and guitar. “Untold” is accompanied by the release of “Blind Remixes”, featuring a variety of fellow Australian independent artists, and “Overburden”, a sonic side-dish and reflective continuation of “Untold’s” themes.
Nagamag:
Do you remember your first connection of love to music that was the right impact to be a music artist now?
Minorarc:
My first connection to a love of music came from my first purchases (and rentals) of music albums on CD and Cassette, in my early teens. There was a whole world of music to explore, and without preconceptions I was able to simply find albums that struck a chord with me personally. Artists that made my love of music grow, including Fields of the Nephilim, Pink Floyd, Ministry, Alice In Chains, Nocturnus, Solitude Aeternus, Bathory and more.
Nagamag:
What was the concept behind your release, "Untold"?
Minorarc:
Originally I'd wanted the album to be completely instrumental, and tell a story and convey emotions purely through the "feel" of the sounds. Along the way though, during the two years of recording that took place, a very limited selection of the tracks began to just sit better, with some vocals. "Victim of That Before" features vocals by a Melbourne artist and friend, Trayce of Neverembers. Her poetry sets the scene for the album, with a seaside vision and references to drowning and loss.
The album was designed to feel quite claustrophobic, yet also shed occasional moments of light and positivity. Ultimately though, my hope was to convey a story about an innocent soul's final moments, as they drown (either literally, or metaphorically), and suffer strange visions and recollections as the dark waters slowly close. Hope, in hopelessness.
Nagamag:
There is rumor of a companion release for "Untold", can you tell us more about that?
Minorarc:
During the months immediately after "Untold" was completed, we kept recording works in the same vein, and of a similar theme. They now form a release titled "Overburden" which will come out in March/April 2022. Stylistically, they have greater contrast between ambient sections and metal components. Heavier, yet also lighter. We like to think of it as a "side dish" to accompany "Untold".
Nagamag:
Many artists listen to genres that they are not producing music for. Which track is your favorite that is NOT similar to yours?
Minorarc:
Bliss "Quiet Letter"
Nagamag:
Of Course Nagamag would love to listen also which is the track from a similar artist you admire?
Minorarc:
Sithu Aye "A Future With No Colour"
veronicavon – Negging (Spotify)
“Its dreamy soundscape surrounds us with warm fuzziness. A downtempo dreampop track filled with gentleness. The guitar and harp tones bring it even closer to heaven ”
-Nagamag.com
Sexy, magnetic, and full of hazy hooks - ‘Negging’ is a late-night jewel of lo-fi dreampop.
https://www.instagram.com/vvsohot
Formed in the depths of 2020, veronicavon is the brainchild of songwriters Chris Hackman (Human Barbie) and Xuan Nguyen (Xuan), who joined forces with a secret plan to stay sane and explore new horizons in bedroom pop. Hackman & Nguyen’s other projects have been featured on KCRW, Brooklyn Vegan, Spotify Editorial, Compact Cassette, and more; veronicavon adds a bewitchingly dreamy flavor to their already-enticing repertoires.
Entirely self-produced, the duo’s latest single ‘Negging’ has a distinctly lo-fi aesthetic, but with all of the addictive melodic and lyrical power of a pop favorite. It’s the perfect soundtrack for midnight drives with your crush… So dim the lights, and surrender to a smoky scene of animal attraction gone terribly right.
HOAX – soju (Video)
“”Soju” is a heartwarming Indie Pop single, which underlines an important truth; we should absorb every single moment se spend with people we love, because life won’t last forever. Wise message, expressed in a very artistic way.”
-Nagamag.com
Indie pop / rock band HOAX released “soju”, the ninth and final single off the band’s narrative-driven debut concept album, b?, a 17-track project detailing the inner workings of being vs. doing.
https://hoax-band.com/
“soju”
On the surface, “soju” might be best described to have an upbeat pop-centric sound, but the song itself is about dealing with death and reflecting on the notion that life sometimes feels like random moments in time that are out of your control. For most people, they wouldn’t know that Mike Raj wrote “soju” from the perspective of his late grandfather and that 2021 was the year of loss for him.
The first verse and chorus of “soju” was written about the aftermath of loss and grief. We tend to feel completely helpless and achingly wish for one more moment with our loved ones, as we are overwhelmed by the struggle to go on through life feeling like the meaning is lost. Most of the lyrics in the first verse and chorus are reflections on how hopeless life feels when you lose someone, and how much the sky feels like it is falling in the wake of their death. Simply put, life becomes monochromatic.
The second half of the second verse is all about that idea to not lose love when you have lost a loved one, and rather to use the pain you experienced that has undoubtedly changed you – to love even deeper. Pain is more relatable to people than success; than happiness; than anything else we often experience. Our lives more often than not are our symbols of pain that we have synthesized through our coping methods into how we then choose to perceive the world. At its worst, we let it consume us and we create insecurities that eat us alive. At its best, our pain becomes lessons of growth and empathy that we can use to understand why it is so goddamn hard for all of us to be alive and human.
The takeaway message of the song? Make sure you find someone that you can give your all to, and then love them in your every waking moment – until their final breath. That’s what the bridge of “soju” is all about. How often can we regret the time we no longer have with someone who is gone? Savor every moment you get with someone who loves you, exist with them, and be with them. And though Mike hopes that none of you will ever have to go on living without someone you love, knowing you were truly with them – and they were with you – is enough.
Debut Album: b?
HOAX’s debut album, b?, is a concept album that follows the narratives of characters that are thrown together in the aftermath of tragedy. Each song is written from the point of view of a character who explores the abstract concepts of the essence of “BEING” – an evident obsession of both the characters in the story and the band members themselves. The dichotomy of BEING vs. DOING is highlighted through careful lyricism on the album. Visit hoax-band.com for HOAX’s supplementary album content for their debut album, b?
QUOTE
“2021 was one of the toughest years of my life. It’s probably just confirmation bias, but death came to me in threes. I lost my grandmother, my dog (Luna), and then my grandfather. I wanted to express the grief I felt, but through the lens of my grandfather and all the pain he endured before his time finally came. The instrumental for ‘soju’ was written back in 2019, but all the lyrics I would write for it held no weight. It was only now after this year of loss did the words come to finally give me peace with it.” -Michael Raj
https://www.instagram.com/hoax_band/
FR3SH TrX – In The Dark (Spotify)
“When night falls, most things happen "In the Dark" covered with mystery... Feel the adventure and the adrenaline running through your veins via this powerful Trance track. Craftfully mixed synth patterns, causing strong addiction and excitement too.”
-Nagamag.com
FR3SH TrX is back with his fourth solo single! After various successful and very catchy collabs and solo tracks, he proves courage to take corners and edges with the Progressive House track ‘In The Dark‘ and celebrates the ambivalence of feelings in the dark. This darkness offers us peace and protection, but is also the scene of our deepest fears and nightmares.
In terms of sound technology, FR3SH TrX uses multi-layered sound collages and ‘thunderstorms of sound‘. ‘In The Dark‘ is powerful and dynamic and creates a balance between excitement and peace. The track always has a hypnotic effect.
Streaming-Link: https://bfan.link/fr3shtrx-in-the-dark
Video-Link: https://youtu.be/zTfrQ9ZuHKw
https://www.instagram.com/fr3sh.trx/
Marcel van Houte – Can You Dance To My Beat (Spotify)
“It's time for some real music experience with this Techno dynamite. Shaking beat, bold percussion, dynamic progression and super effects are waiting for your selection. Very difficult to not put this on repeat too! Boom!”
-Nagamag.com
https://www.instagram.com/marcel_van_houte/