All the Latest Music News on Nagamag

Bo Bay Lanmen, which means “lend a hand,” and its accompanying music video, was made in collaboration with GEG/MusjoMusicRecords and produced by Guadeloupe’s Akadanfilm company, revealing the fruitful and authentic creative process experienced through Gwo Ka traditions and culture. This exceptional artistic alliance between Guadeloupean Creole and canadians musicians led to the creation of the new and exciting rhythms of Electro-Ka.

Topium emerged in 2016, from the meeting between multi-instrumentalist, Jérôme Dupuis-Cloutier, and drummer-programmer, Jonathan Gagné. Together the duo explores and blends house with various elements of jazz. Since its inception, the group has had several releases that include music videos. Their music has found captive audiences in many festivals worldwide, including on the island of Réunion, in Cape Verde, Mexico, and Tokyo.

https://www.instagram.com/topiumtopium/

Jacques-Marie Basses (aka Djenmbi) is an accomplished and innovative singer-songwriter and keyboardist. He has earned the title of “Gwo Ka Keyboard Master”. Klod Kiavué is a well-known Gwo Ka percussionist who has performed all over the world, most notably with the American saxophonist and jazzman, David Murray. Basses and Kiavué are among Guadeloupe’s finest in the Gwo Ka music scene.

https://www.facebook.com/Topium1

Sophie Hutchings is an Australian composer who thrives in the outdoors, amidst the calm and sometimes chaotic nature of the ocean. Her new single, Not Alone, is her first release of 2021 and the principal segment from her upcoming Love & Keep EP. Not Alone is a soft inward reflection, a beautifully comforting effort that looks at the longevity and significance of friendships in times of uncertainty and struggle.

Instead of leaning towards the (arguably) traditional outlets of a teenager, Sophie grew up organically drawing on the mindful, meditative benefits of the ocean. It then came naturally to Sophie to weave elements of this medicinal effect through her work. When she wasn’t riding the waves, or absorbing the changing scenes of the horizon, Sophie was thrown into her Father’s vast jazz collection or her older brothers’ and their love of heavy indie rock unless he found her own, unique, soundscape.

Although creating, crafting and tweaking her music comes naturally, Sophie prefers to work internally, immersing herself in sound, rather than launching herself into the world of the stage. Her piano-led music has been described by The Guardian as holding “an intimate contemplative quality; sometimes melancholic, often with an exhilarating beauty.” Having amassed over 80 million streams on Spotify alone, Sophie has crafted her trademark sound and has collected accolades that include a nomination for …., a play on Jorja Smith’s most recent Tearjerker podcast as well as heavy support from 6 Music in the UK and ABC in her home country, Australia.

Love & Keep is a body of work that exposes a journey of connection, embracing the unpredictable, sometimes volatile, nature of the world, and how sleep is fundamentally intertwined in everything we do. Recorded in the dead of night, this six-track EP looks at the sometimes expanse of sleep as a quiet, reflective beauty, through the unique lens of the insomniac, Sophie. Not Alone specifically is a single that calls to the bigger picture. It’s a confession that even as an introvert, in times of enforced isolation, one recognises a need for those around you. Sophie’s creation holds a reminiscent feeling, a longing for the support of your loved ones, rather than another soulless, endless, scroll through the social universe.

Shinobi is an organic electronic track divided in two main parts. The first one is dark and enigmatic, led by a deep pad and sharp glitchy drums. All the suspense developped in the first part is resolved when the track opens itself in the second part, wich reveals a dreamy downtempo track !

Misaïdu

A fraternal duo created by Thomas and Nicolas Beau, Misaidu stands out with its hybrid music. Through "Tiger Lily" and "How To Change", featured on U.BABA Vol.1, and a single titled "Half Light", we discover a generous and powerful sound, with multiple influences, sonorities and textures. This is no accident.

On the influences side of things, both brothers have bathed into the CDs, cassettes or vinyls of their parents. Quickly, they became independent music lovers and soaked up many genres ranging from hip hop to metal, from house to jazz and IDM.

The variety of processes sculpts the landscape of Misaidu’s music. The duo mixes sampling, analog and digital synthesis, drum machines and acoustic instruments such as bass or piano. The result is a colorful and bewitching electronic music and the duo wishes first and foremost to share their emotions and love for electronic music.

The Portland husband/wife duo of Mint Julep have been experimenting with dream pop for over a decade now, but their recent output has taken an even more introspective turn toward the intimate vein of bedroom recordings established by projects like Foxes in Fiction and their Orchid Tapes peers.

The latest single “A Rising Sun" from Hollie and Keith Kenniff’s newest record, In a Deep and Dreamless Sleep out March 19th on Western Vinyl, constructs this dreamy atmosphere with softly plucked acoustic guitar and a basic beat before smearing more layers of instrumentation over the course of the track. After Hollie’s voice comes in, tapping snare, dreamy guitar, and ambient synth flourishes take the song to a dreamy finish.

https://www.unseen-music.com/

https://www.facebook.com/mintjulepmusic/

https://www.instagram.com/kenniffs/

https://twitter.com/_Helios

Titled after a town in North Dakota, the song is an inward reflection on first loves, first pursuits of dreams, and finding one’s own bravery. At the heart of the song is the idea that even if a person fails at first, they have now become someone who made that voyage, and so may make more of them.

Gregg Garvey is a singer and songwriter from Minnesota. Influenced by visionary artists such as Gene Clark, David Sylvian and ‘60s-era Scott Walker, Gregg’s music is a mix of dreamy Baroque pop and vintage rock soul.

Judas and the Black Messiah produced by Legendary Boston producer Chris Theodat was inspired by the work of Jesus Christ and His Disciples, along with having a respect for Fred Hampton and the Black Panthers. Then came the birth of this song, which plays off both entities and the one and only Messiah.

https://www.instagram.com/thedomingoguyton/

Domingo Guyton was born and raised in Boston, MA where he developed a profound understanding of urban culture from his every day encounters. The early years of his life are documented in two books: Teens With The Courage To Give (featured on the Oprah Show in 2000) by Jackie Waldman and Passionaries by Barbara Metzler. Domingo’s ability to translate his life lessons are documented in the following ways:

• Music placements on national TV shows and films, including CBS Televisions’ – 90210, MTV and Paramount Pictures’ - Spring Break Lawyer, NBC’s - Just Deal and ABC’s – Lincoln Heights.

• Drummer for 6 years for Grammy Award winners Tavares.

• Producer, Director, Writer, YTF- 5 Awards in US Film Festivals.

• Co-Producer, Lest We Forget: The Black Holocaust, Best Documentary, HBO films- 2007 Martha Vineyard African American Film Festival.

• Co-Producer, My Slave Sister Myself- Best Documentary, 2011 NYC’s Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival and Best Documentary, 2009 Toronto’s Female Eye Film Festival.

• Producer, Director, Writer, Footprints in the Concrete, Nominated- Best Documentary at the 2016 Bronzelens Film Festival of Atlanta. • Song Producer- over 100% songs, 26 music videos and 12 CD’s.

• Music Producer- over 100% songs and over 30 music videos

https://domingoguyton.com/

Heart-wrenching and immersive, Sam Newton's new single 'Ground Me' paints a soundscape of longing. The track builds upon a foundation of acoustic guitar, elepian electric keyboard, pedal steel and theremin to support a lyrical yearning for normality and satisfaction.

The song represents a new creative freedom for Newton, as he continues to experiment with unique instrumentation, production and arrangement in his newly completed home studio.

https://www.instagram.com/samnewtonmusic/

Sydney country-folk songwriter Sam Newton is an artist who has clearly studied the greats, listening to and learning the meticulous craft of combining words and melody, mood and emotion, with raw and poetic honesty.

Newton is now three albums (Set in Stone, Violet Road, Stare Into The Dark) deep into his career and since the release of his first EP nearly a decade ago, he’s played a plethora of shows through NSW, QLD and VIC – in bars, pubs and on festival stages (Dashville Skyline, Tamworth Country Music Festival, Bendigo Blues and Roots Festival, Newtown Festival, Cully Fest) and been featured in Rhythms magazine (Nov/Dec 2016), Australia’s leading roots music print publication.

Whether solo or with his band, it’s the songs that take centre-stage, delivered with that high and lonesome voice that can equally convey fractured emotions and assured resilience as he sings about subjects such as infatuation, mental health and relationships – both damaged and on the ascent.

Fans of artists such as Townes Van Zandt, Wilco, Willie Nelson and Paul Simon will find much to admire in the music of Sam Newton. From recording albums to playing shows, filming videos and streaming live songs, he’s the epitome of the modern troubadour.

http://samnewtonmusic.com/

Artist shared about this song:

” This is a true story about a pivotal moment in my life. When I was 4 years old, my Dad and I build a rocket from old cardboard boxes and tape. I sat in it cross-legged on the floor and put on my Dad’s huge headphones. He dropped the vinyl of the “2001: A Space Odyssey” soundtrack – this was the first time I’d heard music on headphones – amazing…it blew me away!! I shut my eyes and was transported to another world! I believe that was the moment I decided I wanted to be a composer…that feeling of wonder and passion has never left me. “

Winter (Dancing Into Sleep) is the third movement from Wye Valley Seasons, an exciting new pastural Jazz symphony. This piece was Inspired by the changing seasons of the Wye Valley which has been the composers home for the past 18 years. This 40 minute epic takes us on a breathtaking, kaleidoscopic journey into nature. As emotive as it is colourful, this high energy piece packs a punch live on stage and will unify audiences of all ages and musical tastes. Its aim is to reconnect us to nature through rhythm, melody and harmony. It received a rapturous response at its debut performance in August 2019 at the Pygmy Pinetum summer concert in Gloucestershire.

Justin says: This is my four seasons. Pulsing rhythms, rich saxophones & woodwinds, grooving bass, guitar & piano and lush tribal voices. This is my musical interpretation of the Wye Valley’s ever-changing light, colour and energy throughout the year. Living here has been a constant source of inspiration and renewal for me. This music is dedicated to Terry & Beryl Ellis - dear friends much missed and true natives of this magical river valley.