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“The stars above”

"This is a song of gratitude and appreciation.

Appreciating what I’ve got in the moment saves me from constantly hoping into the future for something different." -Rich Jacques

Rich Jacques returns with a new EP, “Everything Must Change”

F R I D A Y . 0 8 J U L Y 2 0 2 2

And at the song’s heart is a feeling of life-affirming gratitude, a wave of sonic love and appreciation which pours out of the music and into the world. We all need music like this at the moment. The world is often a dark place, politics, environmental concerns and covid-related worries weigh on everyone’s minds but in songs such as “Montecito,” you find an oasis of calm, positivity and beauty.

Lead Single “Everything Must Change”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHSSSKAAcEY

// Interesting Factoid: The entire video for Single "Everything Must Change" was shot on an iPhone 11 Pro and edited on an iMovie application.

With the gorgeous and gentle tracks “Montecito,” “Can You See it,” and “New Design” already out in the world as a taste of what's to come, singer songwriter and Grammy winning producer Rich Jacques returns with a new collection of music in the form of a six-track EP called “Everything Must Change.”

This EP is ready to take the listener by the hand and walk them through his soothing sonic world. “Everything Must Change” is everything that you hope and expect it to be.

Six tracks of gentle majesty, six tracks of lyrical poignancy, six new soundscapes to explore, and one beautiful collection of music.

If “Montecito” sets the mood perfectly, the title track continues to underline the understatement and restraint from which he fashions his deft and delicate music. And so it goes...

“Can You See It” is intimate and heartfelt, “Burn Me Down” gently pulses, “New Design” grooves with a tribal beat and “The Stars Above” is hushed and hazy.

The message here is clear as you journey through the music. Change is the only constant. With time to reflect during the isolation and quiet of Lockdown, Rich Jacques began to question how he was living his life and realized that many of the fundamental choices he was making were based on old habits.

A health scare, a change of location and the chance to build his life up anew, be able to re-engage with the world, drop old habits, to explore new inspirations saw him emerge from this period of his life a changed man. And this EP is the musical document and diary of that time.

Track Listing

Montecito

Everything Must Change

Can You See It

Burn Me Down

New Design

The Stars Above

ABOUT RICH JACQUES

If, as the old adage says, that you can tell a person by the company they keep, then Rich Jacques’ CV speaks volumes about him. By adopting shifting roles, from producer to songwriter to guitarist to artist, Rich has built up an envious set of skills which in turn have led to work with a host of notable musicians and create music for all manner of media projects. He is also known for being a member of 80’s infused alt-pop band "Right The Stars" which has so far resulted in three critically and commercially well-received albums and can be found as one half of the songwriting/production team that is "Aalta." His 2021 collaboration with Germany based producer Tom Doolie, the lo-fi beats Single "Mavericks" has already garnered over 2 million streams on Spotify.

The road to this current place has been as intriguing as it was unexpected. After moving out to LA almost twenty years ago, dreams of becoming a session guitarist were soon dashed and the reality became selling guitars and giving lessons soon replaced it. But the latter soon became a full time job and from there he made the right contacts and soon found his own music being licensed to a wide-range of TV shows and films. From there he hasn’t looked back, doors opened, networks were built and he has worked with everyone from Lisa Loeb to Men at Work’s Colin Hay and has had his music feature in shows as iconic as Grey’s Anatomy, One Tree Hill and The Vampire Diaries.

His latest project is as a solo singer-songwriter and one driven from a very personal place. Unexpectedly, for someone who understands the art of big, instantaneous and infectious music, Jacques is the sound of an artist using only a few core components - guitar, voice and only a few additional musical details - to create wonderfully emotive, spacious and drifting music.That said it is nothing if not instantly accessible but feels more like an intimate conversation with an old friend than anything more but there is something wonderfully beguiling, warm and honest in its understated charm.

Whichever aspect of Rich Jacques work you are familiar with, this latest creation is like little you have heard him do before. If you are unaware of his long and varied career then this is the perfect place to start exploring his work.

https://www.richjacques.com/

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Isabel Dumaa is primed to make waves in your favorite pop playlists. At 18 years old, the LA resident is making music with bright melodies that are both empowering and sensitive. For her first live gig she opened for Small Pools to a sold out crowd at The Roxy. Having already amassed 27.3k Tik Tok Followers and nearly 1 Million Likes, Isabel is prepping her debut singles. The first is "Call My Bluff".

"Call My Bluff" is a catchy pop track that pulls you in with its sweet melody and syncopated beats and gets you immediately in your feelings. Isabel's voice is direct and conversational; you want to hear what she is going to sing next. Dealing with a sense of not being good enough is universal.

As Isabel details:

"I write in cursive 'cause it makes me feel smarter," came to me one day after leaving school. I had left my computer at home and had to hand-write part of an essay, and I did so in cursive. I asked myself why I chose to write in cursive and looking at the writing, I realized it gave me a sense of distinctiveness and individuality, regardless of the words I put down. Even though I didn't feel confident in the essay, the cursive made it feel better. That idea became the basis for this song. Later that year, I moved to LA and found myself experiencing feelings of inferiority and doubt. Yet, I found myself doing little things or putting up different facades that would make me feel better about myself, or at least appear so. I wanted to write a song that encapsulated that feeling of imposter syndrome and conquering it.

A San Francisco native, Isabel Dumaa has been writing songs since 11 years old. She was raised on the greats like Billie Holiday, James Taylor, Carole King and Patsy Cline. This led her to Taylor Swift and Isabel has been writing songs ever since. Even before she was writing her own music, she was telling people she was going to be a rock star. As soon as she graduated high school, she moved out to LA to pursue her dream.

Her voice her primary instrument, Isabel started singing the moment she could speak. Over the years she has not only worked with professional vocal coaches but industry producers and songwriters, as well. During her years of study she also learned guitar, piano, and of course, the ukulele! Having a library's worth of songwriting under her belt, Isabel is ready to bring her music to your headphones.

Her rich vocals and solid pop sensibilities makes her songs personal and relatable. There's an undeniable comforting, conversational tone to her vocals that draws you in and keeps you there. She draws inspiration from R&B, Bedroom Pop, and even Folk and Jazz. Her individual style is sure to turn heads and add to her ever-growing fan base. Her cover of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zero's "Home" 1.7 Million views. She also recorded three songs for PROTO, making her SXSW debut as a hologram with their technology that was featured this year in Austin.

The world is just getting to know Isabel Dumaa.

https://www.instagram.com/imisabeldumaa/

”Tonight” is the moment before you let yourself fall in love completely. It’s the fear of opening yourself up to heartbreak vs the fear of losing what could be. It’s the internal struggle of playing it safe or diving in head first.” - Alicia Toner ⁠

Written while in the midst of a divorce and at the same time falling in love, "Tonight" is one of the few songs on the project drawn from Alicia's feelings in the moment, as opposed to drawn from her past.

"Tonight" is a gripping Americana/Rock track that combines her Folk influences with a driving guitar beat and modern synth elements. A song about teetering on the edge of love before letting go, Alicia aims to have listeners recall their own similar experiences, citing the comfort and relatability the prolific singer-songwriter has found in some of the artists who inspire her most. For the first time on any of Alicia's songs, the track features a portion of computerized vocals, a musical component that at the time was brand new to the artist. Placing the driving guitar rhythm alongside Alicia's powerful yet tender vocals and Joey Landreth's soulful harmonies, "Tonight" showcases the endless and masterful creativity of one of the Atlantic Canada's most prolific artists.

https://www.instagram.com/aliciatonermusic

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Listen: Super Weirdo LP

https://open.spotify.com/album/7y4x6TD1jZPxStfYJE6wLS?si=C1rM24pxTnWwzySXhP9oGg&nd=1

Unprecedented times call for artists to bring a unique light to the world. LACES answered that call with her new album, Super Weirdo. It is a beacon, evidence that beauty can still be found after tragedy.

Super Weirdo dropped May 6th with an album release party at LA's The Hotel Cafe. The release was an extra special occasion because it was 14 years to the day that Vaughn released her first ever LP under the moniker Charlotte Sometimes, as detailed in a recent Tik Tok.

LACES is the solo project of industry mainstay, Jessica Vaughn, who helms Head Bitch Music, a multi-faceted, multi-service creative company. She has always been a little left of center, choosing the the hard-fought path over the easy win.

On Super Weirdo, the original recording of track, "Say" leads with layered atmospherics and simple percussion. On this new unplugged take, it rests on a foundation of piano. The addition of Ayer's vocals is visceral. The track takes you to dimly lit, smoky room; each break in their voices, each key pressed is front and center while never calling for attention.

"Say" was such a special song to write. I wanted to make sure there was a song on the LP that reflected my own shortcomings, struggles, and trauma I carry. Chris Ayer is one of my favorite people and one of the best songwriters I know; so this song is really a testament to how he created a safe environment for me to explore this personal topic.

Being able to share this new version with him, stripped of extra production makes the song even more intimate and confessional and I am overjoyed to share it with all my fellow sad beings!

"Vaughn has had a decorated career in the music industry, writing gems of truth for other artists as well as herself...[an] intelligent, moving super-creative." - LADYGUNN

"beautifully blends the lines between the personal and the universal" - Billboard

"a beacon of hope, allowing victims and survivors all around the world to confide in" - Flaunt

As LACES, Jessica Vaughn is starting a conversation. Originally signed at 18-years-old under the name Charlotte Sometimes, she learned first hand the traumas that come from being a young woman in the music industry. But through the support of her immediate community and personal tenacity, Vaughn has become a powerhouse artist who has taken back control.

"I feel like that’s your job as an artist: to say the uncomfortable thing that makes people think and helps them feel less alone.”

With LACES, Vaughn is creating subtly brilliant adult alt-pop. Simultaneously polished and raw––a testament both to her willingness to be vulnerable and the clarity of her vision––LACES’ new songs mine bleak spaces for hope, and never come up empty-handed. The performer is taking this second wind and running free with it.

Under her legal name, she pens and produces music for Hasbro cartoons such as Jem & the Holograms, Baby Alive, Littlest Pet Shop, Equestria Girls, and more. She has secured placements on series and specials on the CW, Netflix, ABC, and others. Vaughn also continues to write gems for other recording artists.

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