Tag: Baltimore MD

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Joey Alexander Tackles a Beloved Jazz Standard

22 year-old, Balinese-born, Grammy Award-nominated composer and pianist Joey Alexander has spent more than a decade establishing himself as one of jazz’s most celebrated young artists, with his career starting in earnest back in 2013 when Wynton Marsalis invited him to play at Jazz at Lincoln Center Gala. Since then, Alexander has played with Wayne Shorter and Esperanza Spalding at the Obama White House, and he has been the subject of profiles on 60 Minutes, The New York Times, and a list of others.

Alexander’s third album, the Jason Olaine-produced Celestial Keeper is slated for a July 17, 2026 through Mack Avenue Records. Celestial Keeper sees the rising, young composer and pianist reflecting on creativity, faith, gratitude and personal transformation. Inspired by what Alexander describes as his “celestial keeper” — a spiritual force akin to a muse or guardian angel — the album explores the challenge of overcoming doubt and artist’s block. “There’s a spiritual force that reminds me of the gift of music that God has bestowed upon me,” Alexander explains. “That voice prompts me to keep the lamp burning or the music playing.”

The album comes during a pivotal chapter in the rising young artist’s life, following his family’s recent move back to his native Bali after spending years in New York and Baltimore. Immersing himself in Indonesia’s nature and rhythms — again — deeply shaped the album’s aura of beauty and wonder, “I live by the mountains, which are a constant reminder of the beauty of nature and the gift of life,” he says.

Celestial Keeper also sees the debut of Alexander’s latest trio: Kris Funn (bass) returns from 2023’s applauded Continuance and Jonathan Barber (drums), recording with the Balinese-born composer and pianist for the first time, after two years of touring. The trio is joined by Philadelphia-born Jaleel Shaw (saxophone) for three tracks. Alexander added vocals to the nix for the first time on the album, collaborating with with rising singer/songwriter Alita Moses on a new original “Whispers of Love” and Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Lisa Fischer on a rendition of the beloved standard “My Funny Valentine.” And in a full circle moment, the album was produced by Jason Olaine, who produced Alexander’s 2015 debut, My Favorite Things.

Celestial Keeper’s first single, sees the Grammy Award-nominated composer and pianist, tackling the beloved standard, “Stella By Starlight.” Channeling Alexander’s lifelong love of Miles Davis and Bill Evans, the young Balinese delivers a vibrant and soulful take that showcases his ability to breathe new, youthful life into an oft-covered standard.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Baltimore’s Devin Nash Shares Swaggering and Strutting “Sounds Like Pain”

Devin Nash is a Baltimore-born and-based singer/songwriter and musician, who quickly established a sound that blends contemporary R&B and 80s synth pop with the release of his full-length debut, 2016’s Her. 

Her achieved commercial success with the album’s songs appearing on VH1’s Black Ink Crew Chicago and MTV’s Teen Mom — and he performed at the BET Awards. 

The Charm City-based artist released his latest EP Sounds Like Pain last month. “It is a soundtrack centered around love, relationships and heartbreak,” Nash explains.

EP single, title track and opening track “Sounds Like Pain” is a slickly produced, strutting bop anchored around a sinuous bass line, skittering cowbell-driven beats, atmospheric synths that serve as a lush bed for Nash’s yearning delivery singing lyrics about a love interest, who quickly proves to be cold-hearted and cruel — for no particular reason. But underneath the heartache are moments of self-reflection and pride, in which the song’s narrator realizes “Wait, what the fuck am I doing?”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Baltimore’s Devin Nash Shares a Sultry Club Banger

Devin Nash is a Baltimore-born and-based singer/songwriter and musician, who quickly established a sound that blends contemporary R&B and 80s synth pop with the release of his full-length debut, 2016’s Her.

Her achieved commercial success with the album’s songs appearing on VH1’s Black Ink Crew Chicago and MTV’s Teen Mom — and he performed at the BET Awards.

Nash’s forthcoming EP Pretty.Sexy.Love reportedly features material that channels Frank Ocean, Miguel and others, while giving listeners “a genuine outside-the-box soul transformation” — with a soulful sophistication. The EP’s latest single “Swayze” is a sleek, club friendly banger featuring glistening synth arpeggios, skittering beats paired with the Charm City-based artist’s soulful delivery and uncanny knack for a catchy hook. While seemingly channeling Usher, Miguel, Frank Ocean and Steven A. Clark‘s Fornication Under Consent of the King, “Swayze,” tells a story about a guy who fell for the wrong girl and having a difficult time moving past it — to the point that he’s obsessed with both the girl and the heartbreak as a result. Lyrically, the song seems rooted in the specificity of lived-in experience.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Restlessly prolific Norwegian instrumental tropical funk/pop outfit and JOVM mainstays Orions Belte —Øyind Blomstrøm (guitar), Chris Holm (bass) and Kim Åge Furuhaug (drums) — will be releasing their third full-length album Women on October 6, 2023 through their longtime label home Jansen Records.

Much like their previously released work, all the songwriting and production is done by the band members themselves, but with Women they’ve consciously put a lot of effort into making everything bigger and more powerful than before. String arrangements flow easily throughout the album’s material and is meant to describe a sensation that they describe as feeling “like releasing a million balloons at once while lying looking at the night sky, and dreaming of road trips on bumpy country roads through the Amazon in Brazil.” 

Women will feature:

  • “Silhouettes,” a track rooted in the trio’s penchant for trippy and irresistibly funky grooves, but while also arguably being the darkest song of their growing catalog. The song bounces back and forth between ethereal verses and crunchy, earthy guitar riffage paired with soaring hooks, a supple bass line and a cacophonous string arrangement by Norwegian violinist and composer Ola Kvernberg. “Silhouettes” reveals a mischievous and adventurous group of musicians boldly pushing their sound and approach in new directions while still being rooted in their penchant for trippy grooves.
  • “Jai Alai,” a track built around a percussive and driving drum pattern, glistening and twinkling 80s-like synths, a Steely Dan-like guitar solo paired with a dreamy Tropicalia-like coda with acoustic guitar sand shimmering mandolin paired with a bemusedly delivered lyric, “Jai Alai” is mischievously anachronistic song that sounds as though it could have been released in 1974 or maybe 1984 but while dripping in self-deprecating irony. “‘Spent some time alone with you, a friend of mine told me to’ – everybody has gotten bad advice like this at some point,” the members of the Norwegian JOVM mainstay outfit say of the new single. “And sometimes things can go a lot faster than you thought, like Jai Alai – the world’s fastest sport. This track has a summery feel to it, percussive patterns, an in-your-face guitar solo and a dreamy ending with acoustic guitars and mandolins.”

Women‘s latest single “When You’re Gone, I’ll Be Gone” is a slow-burning, Quiet Storm-like jam built around a two step-inducing groove and shimmering guitar serving as a silky bed for Live Miranda Solberg, a.k.a. Louien’s delicate delivery. The song is a bittersweet, nostalgia-inducing song that’s part lament over the breakup of a relationship and part begrudging acceptance.

Solberg is a rising star in the Norwegian indie/folk scene, who received Norwegian Grammy nod last year, and is a current member of Silver Lining.

The band will be embarking on another Stateside tour this fall that includes an October 16, 2023 stop at Baltimore’s Metro Gallery and an October 17, 2023 stop at Johnny Brenda‘s in Philly. Sadly, there isn’t a NYC date, but Johnny Brenda’s is one of my favorite venues in Philly. And you can load up on cheesesteaks while you’re there! Check out the rest of the tour dates below.

Orions Belte Tour Dates:
10/4 – Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst*
10/5 – San Luis Obispo, CA @ Fremont Theatre*
10/6 – Ventura, CA @ Ventura Music Hall*
10/7 – Pomona, CA @ Glasshouse*
10/8 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom*
10/11 – Los Angeles, CA @ Vencie West
10/12 – Berkeley, CA @ Cornerstone
10/13 – Portland, OR @ Jack London Revue
10/14 – Bellingham, WA @ The Shakedown (Bellingham Exit)
10/15 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
10/16 – Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery
10/17 – Philadelphia, PA @ Jonny Brenda’s
10/18 – Boston, MA @ Deep Cuts
* w/ Psychedelic Porn Crumpets
 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Lauren Lakis Shares Yearning “Take My Hand”

Lauren Lakis is a Baltimore-born, Austin-based singer/songwriter and musician, who specializes in a brooding and churning take on shoegaze centered around authentic, honest lyricism. Lakis and her backing band have extensively toured across the West Coast, sharing bills with Ringo Award-nominated rocker Tracy Bonham. She has also played in front of sold-out crowds at Doug Fir Lounge and at Santa Cruz’s The Catalyst.

During the pandemic, Lakis performed several live-streamed shows, partnering with Bandsintown, Jam in the Van, B-Side TV, Rock to End Rape Culture, KXLU, ACLU and JuJu Live.

Recorded at Seahorse Sound, the Baltimore-born, Austin-based artist’s Billy Burke-produced Daughter Language was released by Green Witch Recordings in 2021 to critical acclaim from Flaunt, Wonderland, Earmilk, Ladygunn, Buzzbands LA, Grimy Goods, Atwood Magazine and more.

Daughter Language‘s highly-anticipated follow-up, the Carey McGraw-produced A Fiesta and a Hell was recorded in Austin and is slated for a Fall release through Green Witch Recordings. The album’s first single “Take My Hand” is a brooding and stormy bit of shoegaze built around an alternating quiet and loud sections featuring glistening guitar textures for the verses and swirling, stormy power chord-driven choruses paired with Lakis’ achingly yearning vocal. The single, as Lakis explains is about “forgetting what you thought you knew, letting go, bravely opening your mind to something radically different. She adds “What if you were wrong? Are you able to admit it? Can you shift with the ever-changing landscape of reality, or are you stuck in your ways? I found myself stepping into the unknown in many ways the past few years, forced to entertain the notion that maybe I didn’t know everything, and in that I found freedom.” 

Shot in Rapid City, South Dakota and Badlands National Park, the accompanying video follows the rising singer/songwriter hanging out with a large tortoise, going through a dinosaur park, dancing on a dinosaur statue and more. It’s a surreal yet highly symbolic romp through the wilderness — both natural and constructed.

Lakis will be playing at next week’s The New Colossus Festival. I’lm looking forward to catching her.