All the Latest Music News on Nagamag

Rising UK Singer Ashleigh Bankx Unveils Debut Single “Angel”

LISTEN HERE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4t0RMWfExg&feature=youtu.be

London-based artist Ashleigh Bankx is the latest singer to emerge from the UK’s resurgent soul/R&B scene, and she’s making a huge statement at the top of the year with the release of “Angel”. The independent artist’s first official release, “Angel” is an impassioned love song that arrives with accompanying Lutch Media-directed visuals to set the mood. Inspired by the likes of Lauryn Hill, Amy Winehouse, Nina Simone and Rihanna, as well as music from her Zimbabwean roots, Ashleigh brings a much-revered throwback neo-soul sound of yesteryear, with a unique, modern twist.

“Angel” begins with an empowering voiceover sample from Nina Simone that leads perfectly into the rest of the song. Ashleigh says: “‘Angel’ is about self-liberation, understanding and valuing yourself through past experiences with relationships and society. The song is about black love and centres around the concept of self-love, self-confidence, self-pride and the unity of and journey between two lovers. I want the listener to determine what mood and emotion they feel when they listen to the song.”

“Angel” shines a light firmly on Ashleigh’s impressive lyricism and her emotive, soul-drenched voice, which provides the perfect vessel for her music’s exploration of the love and pain we as people experience in our everyday lives and relationships. With her first release of the year now uncovered and an EP series also in the works, Ashleigh Bankx is set to make a big impact and will surely be one to watch out for in 2021.

“Angel” is available to buy/stream now on all platforms: https://afrisounds.lnk.to/AshleighBankxAngel

Keep up to date with the latest from Ashleigh Bankx:

https://www.instagram.com/ashleighbankx/
https://twitter.com/_ashleighbankx
https://soundcloud.com/ashleighbankx

https://camarillarecords.bandcamp.com/

Artist shared few thoughts behind the concept of this track with us:
"...Main idea was to create an oldschool 'baking pancakes in mama's kitchen' vibe..since I bake a lot of pancakes these housebound days..." Flo Fi

https://www.instagram.com/real_flo_fi/

“SYMMETRY”​ is the 10th single of​ Berlin​-based ​electronic​ duo “​VERBOTEN BERLIN​“ (“forbidden berlin”), they​ combine​ analogue instruments, classic songwriting and “​Neo-KRAUT”​ with ​Berlin club music culture ​and already had ​live bookings​ in ​Italy, Poland and Germany.

As individual musicians they have already remixed/produced artists such as: ​Lana Del Rey, Wankelmut, Metronomy, The DO, Booka Shade, Robot Koch, 2Raumwohnung​ etc... and have released on club labels such as Get Physical Music & DIYnamic Music.

Through their innovative music​ jam sessions​ and short ​videos​ on ​INSTAGRAM​ they have amassed over ​26k followers organically​ and have an ​international ​loyal ​following​, which is highly engaged. (over​ 3k comments​ alone on their key posts)

Verboten Berlin also has ​over 6M views​ of their v​ ideos on IG​ and especially the song “SYMMETRY”​ with almost ​1M ​views on ​IG​ is an absolute ​fan-favorite​ and shows all positive signs of a​ “key song”​ for the duo.
For the ​main single version​ they collaborated with ​super-producer Jochen Naaf​, who currently enjoys ​international success​ with the band ​GIANT ROOKS​ and also produced hits for acts such as: ​Bosse, Hundreds, Polarkreis 18​ etc..
Quote​ of Jochen Naaf: “I’ve known Alex (singer of Verboten Berlin) since years and have always been a ​fan of his soulful voice​. When they showed me the song, I immediately had a ​vision​ to do my own version. ​“Symmetry”​ has these ​magic moments​ and already feels like an​ “instant classic”. ​I loved playing around and ​combining​ the ​electronic elements​ with the more ​organic sounds​ of this masterpiece! “

In addition, Verboten Berlin has already ​worked with ​with many ​heavyweights​ of the ​electronic scene​ and their songs have been ​remixed​ by artists such as: ​Booka Shade, Rodriguez Jr., Tube & Berger, Monkey Safari, Aparde, Fejka (of Christian Löfflers KI Records) ​ and also received playlist support by ​Spotify​ in key ​editorial playlists s​uch as: ​New Music Friday, Electronic Rising, Low Key Tech, Afterhours...

Verboten Berlin currently has about ​100k Monthly Listeners​ on Spotify and their music was played on international key ​radio stations​ such as: ​EINS live, Sputnik, Triple J Australia, Sirius FM USA​... and one of their songs was also used in a big ​Hollywood movie​ - ​The King Of Staten Island​ - directed by Judd Apatow and starring ​Pete Davidson.
The song also has an​ official music video​, created in collaboration with the​ legendary design & visual agency PFADFINDEREI​ who has been at the forefront of electronic music and video art for the likes of ​MODERAT​ etc... watch the video here:

https://youtu.be/yy-3klqfnLk

The Verboten guys decided to also release their ​own special club version​ of ​SYMMETRY​,
which they also ​perform live​ and has a different unique approach​:

Musically​ the ​Club Remix​ starts with a ​electronic bell​ and some ​deep drums​, it then slowly builds the atmospheric vibe by adding​ synth brass and arpeggiated Prophet sounds ​that interact with some light vocal chops.
After the ​vocals​ fade in for the​ breakdown​, the tension keeps rising with the main vocal and some percussion and ramps before the ​full massive beat​ drops back in, right on point with the high chorus chants.
At this peak moment a ​syncopated synth line​ enters the picture and keeps pushing the remix forward with ​reverb​s and ​detuned FX​ sounds before the song fades into the deep...

Lyrically​ the song examines the ​concept of “Symmetry”​, how symmetry can ​transform​ things intobeauty​,howtolookforthe​subtledetails:​ ​“Whatyoulookatisnotwhatitseems....”

More info about Verboten Berlin:
https://www.instagram.com/verbotenberlin/
https://linktr.ee/verbotenberlin

Gustav Hoyer, a Colorado-based classical composer, has interest in both classical music and technology. This combination has created a lifelong journey for both Gustav and his listeners. Founder of the Los Angeles-based Orchestra Unleashed, Hoyer has built a growing discography available for any person aiming to be transcended into an almost-cinematic universe.

His latest release, “Innocence” is the follow up to his glorious track “Adventure at Sea,” which made waves.

His abundance of strings in the song allows for the listener to be immediately captured by the story of the piece. The piece goes on to be a dynamic story, with beautiful themes and powerful horns. This piece immediately reminds me of Alexandre Desplat or Alan Silvestri, two composers known for creating an entire universe within their works.

His recorded music has been heard in film, on radio and in performances worldwide. He founded and directed the Los Angeles-based Orchestra Unleashed, dazzling audiences with a series of multimedia orchestral performances that reimagined the typical classical concert. Concurrently, Hoyer produced the original soundtrack for critically acclaimed stage epic “Acts, the Three Man Show.” His most recent album, “The Gilded Age,” included The Steampunk Serenade for a 40-piece string orchestra. Gustav Hoyer’s journey to become a classical music composer was certainly not scripted.

A new band, founded in the eye if the pandemic storm, brings you soul and disco.

Feel Like Home is like a great Roberta Flack soul-number, with a gospel-choir, a beautiful flugelhorn, and some jazzy vibes, telling the story about finding that person that makes you feel at home.

Founded in the pandemic year of 2020, by songwriter and composer J.O. Nilsson, Band of Pockets will take you on a journey through soul, nu jazz, R&B, disco and funk. “Trust This Feeling” is their first release: an EP with 4 songs, created in situation where people can’t meet physically in a room, but instead share their talent and musicianship through the digital domain. Sending love, and files, via satellites into the magic heart of multitrack creativity. Thanks to this, Band of Pockets consists of members from all over the world; Sweden, USA, Brazil, Spain… They’ve come together, and they’ve nailed the vibe and the groove just like if they were playing together in a room. Who they are?

Rachel Marie Moore, also known as Yona Marie, born and raised in Maryland and parts of Washington DC, is a singer most known for releasing 'The Luv Exposure', featuring artists, producers, and singers from around the US. The lead single was featured on a Majormix release which included Chris Brown, Ace Hood and Tyga.

Jason Meekins is a drummer from Austin, Texas, and has worked with famous smooth jazz artists, and plays funk, soul and gospel in the Texas area.

Tomas Olsson, the Swedish keyboard wizard, who has been around the Swedish funk, fusion and pop-scene for decades.

Last but not least the famous bassist, “SV”, who, due to legal technicalities, is a well-kept secret. But the groove and the genius basslines might give him away.

All supervised by guitarist and songwriter J.O. Nilsson, composer of over 100 songs on Spotify. When asked what’s the point of putting a band together these days – a band that hasn’t even met for real – J.O. Nilsson answers: “We HAVE met. We have met in music. If you listen, you can hear it. And these are great times to engulf in creating new music.”

This is the foundation for Band of Pockets, then they blend with guests from all over the world, depending on the song, the arrangement and the feel. In that sense, Band of Pockets has a solid core, but a floating, curious and inviting soul. Welcome.

Stayhomie presents a music video for his single “I Can Do It For You”. Its footage was shot by photographer Luis Quintero at the mass of a religious community in Panama. These visually powerful video clips inspired Max Kubbe (a.k.a. Stayhomie) to put them together to make one whole story with a stunning climax.

Single “I Can Do It For You” is taken from the debut album “Random Heartbreaking Memories vol. 1”. Album features several vocalists from different parts of the world: Grisly Faye, Bark Bark Disco, Snezhik, Neon Lights, Bew Nalance.

Stayhomie: “There are two selves inside of me. One of them looks toward melancholic experimental sound, the other one infinitely loves aesthetics of the 90’s, ultramelodism and sentimental pop-phrasing. You can find both of them on this album”.

https://www.instagram.com/stayhomie/

Stayhomie is an electronic producer from Saint-Petersburg, Russia. Ultramelodism, patchwork of voice samples, vintage synthesizers and Roland 808.

https://ezhevika.bandcamp.com/album/year-of-no-answers

Stream “burnout” by Gillian Heidi
https://ffm.to/d9mwxxb

Rising Boston-based Pop singer/songwriter Gillian returns with her first single of 2021 via “burnout”. After releasing a slew of well received music last year, she’s starting off the new year strong and is gearing up to release a ton more music throughout the year.

Gillian treats her music as a conduit for truth. Whether behind the piano or with a guitar in hand, the Boston-based artist chronicles life’s ups and downs, ebbs and flows, and trials and tribulations with thoughtful clarity, poetic eloquence, and a stirring soulful voice. Documenting the dissolution of a relationship, confronting the pains of addiction, or facing loneliness, she confidently conveys unbridled emotion with wisdom that belies her 16 years of age.

Gillian made her introduction in 2019 with the independent release of her debut EP, Unfiltered. The lead single, “What It Felt Like,” impressively tallied 200K Spotify streams — no small feat for an unsigned act. 2020 is set to be another banner year for Gillian as she heads towards the release of her album, 3AM, due for release this Summer.

https://www.instagram.com/gillianheidi/
https://www.facebook.com/gillianheidimusic/

Trombonist Chris Abelen doesn’t think (or talk) like other composer bandleaders—the kind who work to further their careers. He lives just outside Amsterdam, and is plugged into the scene there, but he isn’t one for hanging in the Bimhuis café till all hours, or mounting bands to play international summer festivals. He has a disarming habit of describing his process as chaotic, or plain nuts: When I put this bassist and drummer together, each wrongly assumed the other would keep time. Or he’d tell you how uncomfortable someone was playing in his band. When he put out the archival live recording Proost, he was careful to mention how little the original audience had cared for it. For example.

https://www.chrisabelen.com/

And yet the music always comes out right. That musician who felt uncomfortable sounded great in his band, and Proost is one of the overlooked modern Dutch gems. Proost for tentet, Dance of the Penguins and What a romance! for his headbutting quintet, Space for quintet, strings and Ab Baars—there isn’t a dud in Abelen’s discography. But he can also keep you waiting far too long for his next project, such as this one, a radical departure from those loosey-goosey recordings.

As Chris Abelen tells it, it’s the usual cockup. This instrumental music began as a vocal project with an almost entirely different band. “My friend Bastiaan Geleijnse and I—he’s one of the writers of the political cartoon Fokke & Sukke—had been talking for years about writing an opera, but decided to start with something more manageable.” So Bastiaan came up with a story about office work in an age of efficiency experts. “A day at the office was first intended as an album with both sung and instrumental tracks, but I wrote too many pieces and we finished only two songs. Since we needed more time to work on those, I decided to make this instrumental-overture album to a program which might never be realized. I don’t know whether to treat this album as a stand-alone production or not, but we are working on that vocal album, with lyrics in English.

“I started the project with a different line-up, using good friends of mine from the Amsterdam community. The first rehearsal wasn’t bad at all, but it sounded like ‘more of the same.’ So I fired my friends, except for Tini Thomsen and Yonga Sun—we are still friends—and I decided to go in a different direction, more pop or funk or whatever. The result is an album with quite simple tunes—still more of the same?—but with a different feel and assigned solo slots—not more of the same.”

The first band included his peers; the new one is mostly Dutch and German players a generation or so younger than the leader. In his old quintet (with Tobias Delius, Corrie van Binsbergen, Wilbert de Joode and Charles Huffstadt), the foundation could be fluid; the forms had room to stretch and snap back. To change up, Abelen makes this septet all about a certain kind of precision: the music is tight and superbly balanced. Abelen suggests one point of reference with the title “Remembering Willem B,” where Chris plays a valedictory solo for his old friend. As a fledgling in the ’80s, Chris had played trombone in the Breuker Kollektief, and later worked as Willem’s digital copyist, readying parts for that more-or-less 10-piece band, which had its own on-the-grid precision, and musicians who kept busy in foreground or background roles.

“Willem and I we got along very well, and we were an unbeatable duo when it came to complaining about the world, and music in particular. And I agree, there are some similarities with his music, in terms of being tight and on the grid. On the other hand, Willem didn’t like to write ‘song’-like compositions at all. As influences go, I always liked the Zeeland Suite of Leo Cuypers—‘hey, it’s allowed to write a singable melody!’—and the music of Paul Termos and Guus Janssen more than Willem’s music.” Plus, Breuker had a compulsion to fill all the space on the sheet music, so no player was ever idle. Chris Abelen lets the music (and musicians) breathe more than that.

Abelen does have a gift for melody—hear that soprano saxophone line on “It’s Time,” say, or even its bassline. Or the slightly arch and beboppy melody “GDP.” Or “Back to Work” with its echolalic call-and-response. (That one has the kind of sturdy architecture one associates with Breuker.) Or the lovely horn chorales that break out all over. “Not Love” starts out like Abelen’s Big Ballad—his James Bond theme—until bass clarinet sends it somewhere else, and then the original theme comes back in different guise, Abelen showing that thrifty Dutch composer’s way of parceling out materials. The whole program bristles with bustle: every office should work so smoothly.

In that pop vein, tunes are short and tightly constructed, but plentiful improvised solos are part of the job’s benefit package. The band’s best known player and relative elder, trumpeter Angelo Verploegen, like Abelen came up in the ’80s and made his name in the ’90s, as member of the hardbopping Houdini’s. Verploegen gets a few fine solos but his unofficial concerto is “The hall,” which shows off his virtues: chops, lyricism, beautiful tone, the way he leaves space in a line, and the bluesy inflection you don’t hear coming. Angelo and Chris had played together once years ago, at a festival in Morocco. The other players came to the leader a little closer to home.

“I had heard Tini play with the New Rotterdam Jazz Orchestra. The nice thing about her soloing is, she really uses the low regions on both bass clarinet and baritone, and with a lot of power.” (She has a band called MaxSax.) Thomsen played alongside alto and soprano saxist Floris van der Vlugt in the band Windkracht 7, and they blend very well. His soprano solo on “It’s Time” demonstrates his clear tone and elegant improvising—he doesn’t go straight for the pinched upper register. Drummer Yonga Sun (of the quartet Talking Cows, among other bands) recommended Munich-born bassist Ulrich Wentzlaff-Eggebert—drummers know who they can get along with, sometimes after playing four bars together. Chris rehearsed with them both and liked the chemistry. The bassist and drummer link up beautifully; they can dance lightly or get heavy—as on the rocky second section of “A day at the office.”

The youngest player here is head-turning rock guitarist Thijs Huibens. “I knew him as a friend of my son Willem, who plays saxophones,” Abelen says. “They met in high school and play in some little bands, workshopping standards or playing heavy rock. I liked the way he played mostly by ear, and not via extensive studies of the Holy Chord Changes. Guitarists who only play notes or get a standard jazz-guitar sound bore me—they won’t explore tone the way a singer or horn player will. At first Thijs had some problems with all these notated parts, but he put in a lot of work, figuring out all this music in sometimes really unfriendly guitar keys.” “Delay” is his mini-concerto, an essay in mutable guitar timbres. I love those strummed mid-bar accents on “More circus” too.

There is some tight interactive playing here for sure—the improvised counterpoint on “More circus,” notably. With everyone attentive to good intonation, that penchant for precision really pays off, as in the rising, falling and converging lines on “Huub.” (Some good low bass clarinet on that one, too.) As mentioned, this project began with office workers, and any Dutch-scene insider might correctly guess the tune’s named for the Bimhuis’s tireless director Huub van Riel, who can navigate through myriad distractions much the way the trombone melody does.

The last thing to mention about A day at the office is how it was put together, more like a pop than a jazz record, in layers. Chris Abelen recorded it mostly at his home studio, one instrument at a time. That decision was partly quixotic (it allows for “music minus one” play-along versions), partly economic (“If I had to pay for the time spent mixing and editing this album I could have bought a small car”), and partly practicality, convenience, and psychology. “In a studio there is always a kind of pressure to play a solo in one or two takes—and to tell everyone you only needed one. Needing more is regarded as amateuristic. But if we had to record more takes to get a satisfying solo, no problem.” Everyone can relax and focus, and be ready for their moment.

The proof’s in the final report. The players don’t sound like they’re watching the clock, waiting for work to be over. They sound psyched, rested and ready. Putting this music together, Chris Abelen struck a blow for worker comfort, efficiency, and effective time management.

–Kevin Whitehead (july 2016)