Category: New Video

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Rising French Canadian Artist Lou-Adriane Cassidy Releases a Coquettish Visual for “J’espère encore que quelque part l’attente s’arrête”

With the 2017 release of her debut single “Ça va ç va,” the young, French Canadian singer/songwriter Lou-Adriane Cassidy exploded into Quebec’s scene — and the Francophone music world. Cassidy’s full-length debut, 2019’s C’est la fin du monde à tous les jours was a critical and commercial success, earning a Lucien for Pop Album of the Year at that year’s Alternative Independent Music Gala of Quebec (GAMIQ) and nomination at that year’s Québec Association for the Recording, Concert and Video Industries (ADISQ) for a Contemporary Adult Award and Revelation of the Year.

Last year, C’est la fin du monde à tous les jours also earned the prestigious Coup de cœur Award from the Charles-Cros Academy. Building upon a growing profile, Cassidy’s highly-anticipated sophomore album is slated for a Fall 2021 release. The album’s first single, the Alexandre Martel co-written “J’espère encore que quelque part l’attente s’arrête” reveals a marked change in sonic direction for the rising French Canadian artist: whereas her previously released material was more along the lines of chanson, “J’espère encore que quelque part l’attente s’arrête” is a 90s grunge pop-inspired song centered around buzzing power chords, twinkling keys, a rousingly anthemic hook and Cassidy’s expressive, pop star belter-like vocals. Reportedly inspired by the likes of Mitski, the new single finds Cassidy at her most earnest and uninhibited.

Directed by Gabriel Lapointe, the recently released video for “J’espère encore que quelque part l’attente s’arrête” follows Cassidy as she struts, dances, claps and sings along to her song during a nocturnal walk through her hometown. The video manages to capture the rising artist’s coquettishness and youthful insouciance in a fashion that’s frankly irresistible.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstay Evidence Teams Up with Boldy James on a Brooding and Contemplative Single — and Visual

s Angeles-based emcee and producer Evidence — born Micheal Taylor Perretta — has established himself as one of hip-hop’s most accomplished emcees and producers: as a solo artist and as a producer, Perretta has worked with Beastie Boys, Linkin Park, Defari, Planet Asia, DJ Premier, WestsideGunn, Prodigy, Rapsody, Aloe Blacc, Action Bronson, Atmosphere’s Slug, Cypress Hill and a lengthy list of others. He won a Grammy for his co-production on Kanye West’s critically applauded, breakthrough debut album The College Dropout. He also has won two Juno Awards for his production work for Canadian hip-hop act Swollen Members. But he’s arguably best known for being a member of beloved hip-hop act Dilated Peoples with Rakaa Iriscience and DJ Babu. 

Evidence has recorded and released five albums with his Dilated Peoples bandmates. And as a solo artist, the Los Angeles-based emcee and producer has released three full-length albums, including 2018’s critically and commercially successful effort Weather Or Not and an EP. He has also released an album with The Alchemist as Step Brothers. Managing to remain extraordinarily busy, Evidence will be releasing his fourth full-length solo album Unlearning Vol. 1 through Rhymesayers on June 25, 2021. 

Reportedly, the 14 track album pairs Evidence’s own production work with the likes of The Alchemist, Nottz, Sebb Bash, Animoss, Mr. Green, V Don, Daringer, Khrysis, and QThree [EARDRUM] showcasing the Los Angeles-based JOVM mainstay’s ability to collaborate with a wide and eclectic array of producers while still crafting a cohesive album. Additionally, the album features a small cast of guests that includes Boldy James, Conway The Machine, Fly Anakin, Navy Blue, and Murkage Dave. Recently Evidence offered insight into the transition from Weather Or Not into the writing and recording of the material that would become Unlearning Vol 1: “I don’t feel like I’m Evidence, the character. I feel like I’m me,” he told DJ Booth, adding “I don’t mind evolving publicly.” 

month, I wrote about Unlearning Vol 1’s second single “Pardon Me.” Clocking in at a little over three minutes, “Pardon Me” is yet another example of grown shit hip-hop, centered around a shimmering, 70s soul jazz production reminiscent of Pete Rock serving as a warm and comfortable bed for the JOVM mainstays contemplative verses reflecting on mortality, hard won lessons, adulthood and being a parent and artist – and how those roles can be contradictory and difficult to mange. And throughout Evidence peppers references to other emcees, including a reference to Kool G. Rap‘s “Ill Street Blues.” 

t single “All Of That Said” finds the Los Angeles-based JOVM mainstay collaborating with Boldy James. Prominently featuring a soulful and cinematic sample featuring soaring strings, buzzing guitars and chopped up vocals, the song sees the JOVM mainstay and Boldy James reminiscing on the long and hard journey to achieve what they’ve achieved both personally and professionally. And while seemingly a bit world-weary, there’s a profound wisdom within both emcees bars — the wisdom that comes from struggle, set backs and victories small and large. Like I said before, this is adult shit coming from adult places.

The recently released video for “All That Said” continues the JOVM mainstay’s ongoing collaboration with Stephen Vanasco: The video features the two emcees near LAX during golden hour as planes take off just above them. And much like its predecessor, the video captures the song’s contemplative and brooding air.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Join Holy Ghost!’s Alex Frankel on a Euphoric Dance Party

New York-based duo Holy Ghost! — Alex Frankel and Nick Millhiser — developed a sound that meshes synth pop, disco and a range of electronic music genres and sub-genres that made them an international dance floor and festival staple. Along with their own original material, which they released through DFA and West End, the duo have been in-demand remixers, remixing the work of acts like LCD Soundsystem, Phoenix and Cut Copy. Interestingly, Holy Ghost!’s Frankel has also done remixes for the likes of U.S. Girls, Naeem, Neon Indian and Moby.

Frankel steps out into the limelight as a solo artist again with his latest single “Still Got It” which was released through CASUAL, a new label founded by Jen Pearce, CEO of music licensing and consulting company Low Profile and Justin Spindler, CEO of Out of Office Management. (Ed Banger also is distributing the track.)As for the single, “Still Got It” is a euphoric, 80s-inspired banger centered around shimmering synth arpeggios, handclaps, soulful backing vocals from the New York-based gospel group East Coast Inspirational Singers paired with Frankel’s plaintive vocals. Interestingly, the song finds Frankel and company finding joy in resilience, celebrating that personal spark each of us has that fortifies a sense of optimism even in hardship — all while suggesting that the listener should enjoy this moment because nothing else is guaranteed. And soon we’ll be able to dance to this banger — in a club with other adults.

“I played the demo for Thibaut( Breakbot) one night at Bernie’s Restaurant while we were outside on a smoke break  (back when, you know… people still ate dinner out) and on the spot he demanded we go try it on the audience at his gig that night,” Frankel says of the song’s origins. “The response was great and after that, I knew I had to finish it. I called the East Coast Inspirational Singers, my favorite gospel group in NYC and they came by to help me get it there.”

Directed by Pierre Dixsaut and François Prost, the recently released visual for “Still Got It” is centered around stop motion animation of Frankel dancing in front of photos of French club exteriors from Prost’s book After Party, making the video a virtual dance party on the streets.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Rising Brooklyn-based DJ and Producer Fiveboi Teams up with Sola on a Shimmering Meditation on Loss

Opening for the likes of Madison McFerrin, KeiyaA and Shabazz Palaces, the rising nonbinary, Brooklyn-based DJ and producer Fiveboi has steadily established am atmospheric and melancholic dance sound that moves listeners to dance while completing existential matters of the heart. Following the release of their attention-grabbing debut single “Out of My Head,” the rising Brooklyn-based DJ and producer started working on their latest single “Fall Apart,” at In Session, a virtual, one-week summer camp that they co-founded and organized for women, nonbinary and trans producers of color, “as a way to center joy and creativity after enduring many months of pandemic isolation and racial injustice on a global scale.”

After posting the original instrumental track on Discord, London-based “warped-soul” artist Sola reached out to Fiveboi to collaborate. “That was the very first track I ever produced where I worked with a vocalist and was a huge moment for me,” they explain, “tapping into the power that can come from putting my music out into the world and collaborating with others and recognizing that my collaborators can be anywhere— IRL, on the internet and even countries apart.” The end result is a song that’s dreamily introspective and full of loss, centered around atmospheric and wobbling synths, skittering beats and Sola’s achingly soulful vocals.
“It’s funny,” Fiveboi continues, “at the time I was still processing a breakup I had gone through at the beginning of lockdown and the lyrics were a perfect reflection of how I was feeling.”

Directed by Hasan Khalid and shot by Imani Nikyah, the recently released and incredibly cinematic video for “Fall Apart” was shot in Arizona and features a couple dancing together as the sun sets — but throughout there are reunions and departures. And according to the rising Brooklyn-based artist the video shoot helped the song take on a different meaning: “I was actually going through another breakup, this time with a best friend. That time around, the lyrics took on an entirely new meaning for me, and being able to act out and translate the pain and sadness I was going through when filming the video.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Acclaimed Ghanian-Aussie Artist Genesis Owusu Releases a Psychedelic and Claustrophobic VIsual for “Same Thing”

So an extreme rarity around here: I screwed up the original post so badly that I needed to re-post it. So apologies to the artists and the publicity team involved in this. My bad y’all. But back to the business at hand . . .

2017’s debut EP Cardrive found Ghanian-born, Canberra, Australia-based, 20-something artist Genesis Owusu — born Kofi Owusu-Anash — quickly establishing himself as a perpetually restless genre-blurring chameleon with a difficult to pigeonhole sound and approach paired with an ability to conjure powerful and deeply personal storytelling in diverse forms. Cardive EP eventually garnered an ARIA Award nomination for Best R&B/Soul Release and praise from Sir Elton John (!), NME, i-D, mixmag and others. Adding to a growing profile across Australia, Owusu has opened for Dead Prez, Col3trane, Sampa The Great, Cosmo’s Midnight, Noname, Animé, Ruel and others. 

Last year, the rising Ghanian-born, Aussie-based artist released a handful of highly-celebrated singles including the fiery mosh-pit friendly banger “Whip Cracker” and the ARIA Award-nominated smash hit “Don’t Need You,” which quickly became the #1 most played song on triple J radio — and since then has received airplay in the UK on both BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 6 and here in the States on KCRW, KUTX, The Current and Alt98. 

“Smiling With No Teeth is performing what the world wants to see, even if you don’t have the capacity to do so honestly,” Owusu explains in press notes. “Slathering honey on your demons to make them palatable to people who only want to know if you’re okay, if the answer is yes. That’s the idea, turned into beautiful, youthful, ugly, timeless and strange music.” Each of the album’s 15 tracks can trace their origins back to studio jam sessions with a backing band that features Kirin J. Callinan, Touch Sensitive’s Michael DiFrancesco, World Champion‘s Julian Sudek and the album’s producer Andrew Klippel. 

In the build up to the album’s release back in March, I’ve managed to write about two of Smiling With No Teeth’s singles:

“The Other Black Dog,” a mind-bending production that meshed alternative hip-hop, industrial clang, clatter, rattle and stomp, off-kilter stuttering beats and wobbling synth arpeggios that was roomy enough for Owusu-Anash’s breathless, rapid-fire and dense flow. Managing to balance club friendliness with sweaty, mosh pit energy, the song is a full-throttled nosedive into madness that reminds me of the drug and booze fueled chaos of ODB, and the menace of DMX.
“Gold Chains,” a brooding yet seamless synthesis of old school soul, G Funk and Massive Attack-like trip hop centered around shimmering and atmospheric synths, stuttering boom bap beats, squiggling blasts of guitar and the rising Ghanian-born, Canberra-based artist’s Mos Def/Yasiin Bey-like delivery, alternating between spitting dense and dexterous bars and crooning with an achingly tender falsetto. “‘Gold Chains’ got me thinking about the flaws of being in a profession where, more and more, you have to be the product, rather than just the provider of the product, and public misconceptions about how luxurious that is,” Owusu-Anash explains in press notes. “Lyrically, it set the tone for the rest of the album.” 

Smiling With No Teeth’s fifth and latest single “Same Thing” sees the rapidly rising Aussie artist and his collaborators crafting a jolting and uneasy future funk banger centered around shimmering synth arpeggios, skittering beats, blasts of Nile Rodgers-like guitar, a sinuous bass line and an infectious hook paired with Owusu alternating between dexterously spitting densely worded bars and soulful crooning. And while bearing a resemblance to JOVM mainstay Thundercat, the song much like its predecessors thematically tackles mental health struggles.

“When the band and I were creating Smiling With No Teeth, we essentially made 60 hours of music for the album in 6 days,” Owusu recalls in press notes. ““‘Same Thing’ was one of the tracks born from the seemingly limitless SWNT sessions. The track is still in the realm of the album’s themes of mental health (more specifically, the crazy shit the mind makes up), so the video follows suit with a psychedelic barrage of both colourful and claustrophobic imagery.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Murlocs Release a Surreal Visual for Melancholy “Bittersweet Demons”

With the release of their first four albums, The Murlocs  — King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard’s Ambrose Kenny-Smith and Cook Craig with Cal Shortal, Matt Mlach and Tim Karmouche — have released four albums of fuzzy and distorted psychedelic blues. which they’ve supported as an opener for the likes of Gary Clark, Jr., Mac DeMarco, Ty Segall, Thee Oh Sees, Pixies, Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks, Wavves and of course, Kenny-Smith’s and Craig’s primary gig, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard — and as a headlining act, as well.

The Aussie psych blues outfit’s fifth album. the Tim Dunn-produced Bittersweet Demons is slated for a June 25, 2021 release through their longtime label home ATO Records. Recorded at Button Pushers Studio, the 11-song album finds the band lovingly reflecting on the people, who have left a profound imprint on their lives, the saviors, the hell raisers and other assorted mystifying and complex characters. Arguably, the most personal and complex batch of material they’ve written to date, the album reportedly finds the band bouncing around and between sunny pop, blues punk and wide-eyed psychedelia informed by John Lennon‘s Plastic Ono Band and Harry Nilsson‘s Lennon-produced Pussy Cats. 

In the buildup to the album’s release, I’ve managed to write about two of Bittersweet Demons’ singles:

The Tim Karmouche penned “Francesca,” a rousingly upbeat, hook-driven ripper with a subtle New Wave polish written for Kenny-Smith’s mother, who found a new lease on life through newfound love. 
“Eating At You,” a slow-burning and melancholic sing-a-long that subtly recalls “I Got Friends in Low Places,” with the song being an ode to those deeply troubled friends and erstwhile n’er-do-wells of life that you can’t help but love.

Bittersweet Demons’ third and latest single is the mid-tempo, piano-driven, jangling blues and album title track “Bittersweet Demons.” And unlike its immediate predecessor, the song is one of those melancholy, pour some of your booze out for the dead homies jam that becomes sadly all too common when you get older.

“I was messing around with the tune on the piano for a while but never knew where to take it lyrically,” The Murlocs’ Kenny-Smith recalls in press notes. “Over time the bones of the song sat away in the back of my mind waiting for the right time to come back out and be pieced together properly. Whilst we were on tour in America in 2019 one of my sweetest and dearest friends Keegan Walker passed away. His presence was unlike any other I have ever experienced. That kind of person that’s forever filling you up with joyous excitement. Someone that always took the time and effort to be in your life and support you through the thick and thin no matter what. Every time I came home from tour he was always the first to contact me and come by with some croissants and a handful of lavender that he’d pick from my front garden. Keegan was always there for his friends. A few days after the funeral I sat back down to play at the piano and the words started to come out and feel right. I reckon Keegan would’ve loved this song, he loved this kind of soppy stuff cause he’s a softie just like me.”

Directed and edited by Guy Tyzack, the recently released video for “Bittersweet Demons” was shot on grainy Super 8 Film and follows the adventures and memories of a lonely house that misses his human friends — and at one point is looking for a human to inhabit it.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Meggie Lennon Releases a Feverish Visual for Shimmering “Night Shift”

Meggie Lennon is a Montreal-based singer/songwriter, who started her career as the frontperson of acclaimed indie pop/indie rock outfit Abrdeen, an act that received an  Alternative Independent Music Gala of Quebec (GAMIQ) nomination for 2017’s Endless Dreams and Dreamlike Mornings EP.

Abrdeen supported their material touring with a number of indie acts including Good Morning, JOVM mainstays Elephant Stone, The Dears, Julie Doiron, Sugar Candy Mountain and Laura Sauvage. And the band made the rounds of the provincial festival circuit with stops at POP Montreal, M for Montreal and FME. Additionally, Lennon developed a reputation as a go-to collaborator, lending her vocals to material by Debbie Tebbs, Lucill and Super Plage.

Lennon fully steps out into the spotlight as a solo artist with the July 9, 2021 release of her Samuel Gemme-produced full-length debut Sounds From Your Lips through Mothland. Featuring guest sports from Elephant Stone’s Gabriel Lambert and her longtime friend and collaborator, Super Plage’s Jules Henry, the album finds Lennon and her collaborators crafting a sound that meshes late 60s and early 70s psych, The Byrds, T.Rex, Melody’s Echo Chamber, MGMT, and Beach House into something that Lennon describes as “make-out dream-pop” with a glowing and infectious sense of optimism.

Sounds From Your Lips’ first single, album opening track “Night Shift” is heavily indebted to Scott Walker psych pop as the track features a gorgeous arrangement of soaring strings, twinkling Wurlitzer and a sultry yet propulsive groove paired with Lennon’s breathy vocals and fuzzy guitars within an alternating quiet, loud, quiet song structure, a trippy break. And as a result, the song manages to capture the intimate thoughts of late night trips home — but with a cinematic grandeur.

“The first part of the song came to me while cycling home back from L’Esco after a wild night. I was on a Box and the streets were completely empty,” Lennon explains. “I was riding fast through the night and it felt both meditative and exhilarating – this feeling is reflected in the dreamy verses and then heavier guitar crescendo at the end. When we got in the studio, I laid the lead track on the Wurli and it all came naturally. The second part, ‘take a glimpse outside,’ came while doodling on the synth. We were in the studio without windows but we both went outside and the sun blinded us, the lyrics were inspired by this.”

Directed by Marielle Normandin Pageau, the recently released visual for “Night Shift” is a gorgeous visual featuring sequences shot during golden hour, with others shot through dreamy filters to evoke the a feverish and hallucinogenic vibe.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Lyric Video: Peter Peter Releases an Introspective and Dreamy Meditation on Fading Love

Peter Roy — best known as Peter Peter — is a French Canadian singer/songwriter and guitarist, who started his music career as a member of metal/alt rock act Post Scriptum, a band in which he played guitar and occasionally sang English lyrics. After leaving the band, he relocated to Montreal’s Hochelaga-Maisonneuve neighborhood, where he began a solo career in which he wrote and sang exclusively in French.

In 2008, Roy competed in the annual Montreal-based Ma Premiére Place des Arts contest and won. The French Canadian artist caught the attention of Audiogram Records, who signed him and released his Howard Bilerman-produced eponymous debut in 2011. Adding to a growing profile Roy played in that year’s Les FrancoFoiles de Montreal, a festival in Downtown Montreal featuring Francophone artists from all over the world.

Roy’s Peter Peter sophomore album 2012’s Une verson améliorée de la tristesse was long listed for 2013’s Polaris Music Prize. And since then, Roy has released two more albums: 2017’s Noir Éden and last year’s Super Comédie to critical acclaim across the Francophone world. Roy is currently in the studio working on new material — but in the meantime, Super Comédie’s latest single “Les mariés ont disparu” is a brooding and introspective song featuring shimmering guitars, atmospheric synths and Roy’s breathy and achingly tender vocals. But at its core, the song is centered around an age old tale of fading love and love lost told through the lens of a dreamy nostalgia.

The recently released lyric video was shot on grainy VHS video and fittingly set in an old cemetery that a curious cat wanders around. Some of the gravestones are dedicated to lost loved ones while others seem to have been worn down by time and weather — to the point that the deceased has been erased by time.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: French Duo MD ONE Releases a Moving VIsual for Rousingly Anthemic “Espérance”

MD ONE — Marc Vindret (multi-instrumentalist, production) and David Bernard (lyrics, vocalist) — is a French indie electro pop/electro rock duo, who derive their name from the names of the project’s individual members — M for Marc Vindret, D for David Bernard and ONE for the unity between the duo. The duo’s full-length debut Twelve Stars is slated for a June 11, 2021 — and the album finds them quickly establishing their sound and songwriting approach Vindret aims for simplicity and strength through chord changes while Bernard’s lyrics thematically find him reflecting on his personal quest for serenity and spirituality while reflecting on his past and present emotions, his relationship to life and love.

Twelve Stars’ three previously released singles have amassed over 800,000 views on YouTube and continuing upon that momentum, MD ONE recently released the album’s fourth and latest single, the arena rock-like anthem “Espérance.” Deriving its title from the name of an Australian fishing port named Espérance,” the song is centered around rousingly anthemic hooks, buzzing power chords, twinkling keys and four-on-the-floor, Vindret’s plaintive vocals and a relentless motorik groove that makes the song sound — to my ears, at least — like a slick synthesis of early New Order and Violator-era Depeche Mode. But thematically, the song is ardent and politically charged in a way that may remind some of early U2 — with the song’s narrator delivering a call of arms to the listener to fight inequality and unfairness — and to make the world a better place.

The recently released Kevin Adler-directed video for “Espérance” can trace its origins to MD ONEs Bernard being moved by a news report on Miracles Foundation and their mission to reunite houseless Americans with their often long-lost families and friends. At its core, the video aims to remind the viewer of the dignity of all people — and that there’s hope even in the most desperate of times.