Tag: New Video

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Berlin’s Bloke Shares Trippy and Incisive “Money Says”

With the self-release of their first three singles “Satellite” “Chewed Up,” and “Survivor,” the Berlin-based psych rock/krautrock outfit Bloke quickly amassed a profile across Europe for a unique fusion of krautrock rhythms and shoegazer guitar textures paired with garage punk energy that’s draws from frontman and founder Jakob Buraczewski’s five year stint in London, where the band was originally founded.

The Berlin-based outfit has shared stages with Helicon, Verstärker, Data Animal, Body Horror, The Shadracks have developed a reputation for a raw, intense and noisy live set.

Building upon growing buzz, Bloke’s highly-anticipated debut EP Living Without Expectations is slated for a February 14, 2025 release through Tonzonen Records. The band’s Jakob Buraczewski explains that the EP was “envisioned as the foundational collection of sounds, noise and concepts that would give life to the project Bloke in a musical scene. It was essential for me to ensure that each song resonates with the others, creating an interconnected and cohesive experience. The journey from capturing the essence of the songs in the intimate setting of a home studio to meticulously re-recording each instrument in the refined atmosphere of a professional studio can be quite an emotional rollercoaster. It’s a process filled with passion and dedication, where every note matters and every sound contributes to creating something truly special.”

The EP’s latest single “Money Says” sees the Berlin-based outfit pairing a forceful and thunderous motorik-groove, scuzzy, distortion-fueled power chords and swirling feedback with enormous hooks and choruses. While sonically recalling A Place to Bury Strangers, Hookworms, METZ and others, the song as the band explains is inspired by the childhood game Simon Says, “using it as a metaphor to explore capitalism’s impact on society and relationships. Just as in the game, where commands prefaced with ‘Simon says’ must be obeyed, we often silently comply with what ‘Money Says’ reflecting societal norms. This subtle agreement can feel like conditioning, offering a poignant commentary on our interactions. The melody features a persistent feedback tone and guitar strums that punctuate the social narrative.”

Fittingly, the trippy visual for “Money Says” features moments of commerce and business in super saturated colors.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstay MAGON Shares Dreamily Introspective “Circles”

Prolific, JOVM mainstay MAGON closes out 2024 with his third album of the year and 10th album overall, the recently released World Peace. And in the lead-up to the album’s release, I wrote about two, previously released singles:

  • The Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses-era Madchester scene-like “Stoned Seclusion Blues” a track that saw the JOVM mainstay revealing another shift in sonic direction.

  • “Falling In Love,” a dreamy psych folk ballad featuring strummed acoustic guitar, bursts of buzzing power chords and ethereal flutes paired with the JOVM’s mainstay’s introspective and thoughtful vocal turn.

The album’s latest single “Circles” is a dreamy, post punk-meets-Brothers In Arms-era Dire Straits like tune anchored around a gated-reverb beat, bluesy and shimmering arpeggios and a soulful horn solo. Thematically, the song sees the JOVM mainstay reflecting on the seemingly unending cycles and endless changes of life with a weary acceptance.

The accompanying video for “Circles” features animation sourced from John and Faith Hubley’s 1986 film The Cosmic Eye.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Yemen Blues Shares Swaggering, Genre-Defying “Miss Ballad”

Founded back in 2010, Yemen Blues are:

  • Yemeni-born founder and audio guru Ravid Kalahani (vocals, gimbri).

  • Israeli-Uruguayan Rony Irwyn (percussion), whose work is deeply inspired by salsa and his ability to find strength in fragility

  • New York-based Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz (bass, oud), who’s a mainstay in the local avant-garde scene. He has worked on over 150 albums that routinely see him bringing the twin poles of extreme noise and simple melody together

  • Dan Mayo (drums), the last member to finalize the band’s lineup. He brings a hip-hop inspired thump and a metronomic sense of groove to the band’s work

With each of the members of Yemen Blues being spread across the world, the band specializes in a polyglot mélange of Bedouin folk, funk, blues, Arabian classical, psych rock, jazz, avant-garde rock and more.

The global outfit released their fifth album, Only Love Remains earlier this year. While we’re in the midst of dangerous political, religious and cultural polarization rooted in xenophobia and ignorance, the album sees the band attempting to create a color-blind, all-embracing celebration of gyrating togetherness anchored by love.

Only Love Remains‘ latest single “Miss Ballad” is a swaggering and expansive track that’s one-part desert blues, one-part slow-burning psych blues 

anchored around a scorching, slithering guitar line, industrial meets-gnawa-like percussion featuring Kalahani’s expressive vocal singing lyrics about self-love and self-acceptance — often in the face of cruelty and racism.

As the band’s Kalahani explains, the song was written about his daughter Eli, who lives in Finland with her artist mother. “In a world where others don’t always accept people who look different, Finland can be confusing for a mixed-race girl,” says Kahalani. “This song is to remind Eli that she is magic – her curls, her skin, her blend of cultures…everything about her. The title came from Shanir (Blumenkranz, Yemen Blues bassist/producer), who called me one morning and said he had a dream about a big awards event where we were receiving an award for a song called ‘Miss Ballad’. So I wrote this story about Eli around the title ‘Miss Ballad.’” 

The surreal, fever dream-like visual for “Miss Ballad” was directed by the band’s Blumenkranz and shot by the band with an iPhone in a German Airbnb between shows of a European tour. All costumes and objects in the video were bought in a local Japanese dollar store.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Guillaume Michaud Teams Up with JOVM Mainstay Naomi on Sultry “Poison”

Guillaume Michaud is a Montréal-based choreographer, dancer, producer and DJ. After initially gained recognition as a dancer and choreographer in season 2 of TVA’s Révolution and starring as the lead character in Cirque du Soleil’s Andorra-based 2022 production of MÜV, Michaud’s DJ career gained recognition as he played sets at Piknic Electronik, Igloofest, PY1, Burning Sun, Frontrite and a list of others.

Deriving its name for the Irish Gaelic word for “my heartbeat,” Michaud’s recently released 5 song debut EP, Macushla draws from deep techno, minimal house, house music and the raw energy and drive of the afterhours/rave scene. Sonically, the material sees the Montréal-based artist pairing deep bass grooves, immersive melodies, carefully layered buoyant percussion and catchy vocal hooks. While specifically crafted to make people dance and connect with one another, the material was written with musicality of choreography in mind, informed by the mathematically precise understanding of rhythm he developed as a dancer and choreographer.

EP single “Poison” is a collaboration with rising Montréal-based JOVM mainstay Naomi. They have a professional and personal relationship that goes back to when the pair were both 13. As they both pursued their respective careers in dance, they remained connected and eventually co-founded Audiomatique, an independent collective that organized techno and dance music events. Audiomatique helped to kickstart Michaud’s DJ career and led to building connections with many future collaborators — including DJ’ing for the rising Montréal-based artist.

“Poison” is a seductive, hook-driven club banger, featuring reverb-soaked skittering clang and clatter, trap-like triplets, broodingly atmospheric synths serving as a lush bed for Naomi’s sultry delivery. It’s the perfect song for late-night, hazy, smoke-machine, neon and strobe-lit rooms with sweaty humans dancing the night away.

Directed by Élise Lussier, the accompanying video follows Michaud and Naomi as they head to a neon-lit warehouse with a collection of fierce as fuck dancers.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: AN_NA Shares Brooding “You Want Gold”

Formed over three decades ago, French-born, Montréal-based married couple and electronic music duo AN_NA have had a lengthy career in which they’ve used their experiences in electronic music, industrial and experimental music to create a unique sound of their own while playing with different styles and genres. They’ve found that their penchant for experimentation has given them the space to evolve as artists while keeping them open to new ideas and influences that could be incorporated into their own sound and approach. 

Now, if you’ve worked in the music industry long enough, you’d begin to recognize that surviving for longer than a few minutes in a cutthroat industry is extremely difficult. The members of AN_NA have managed their lengthy careers by being true to their art — and making music that they’re passionate about. 

After a busy year of live shows, the French-Canadian duo went into the studio to record new material, which includes their latest single “You Want Gold,” is a brooding yet dance floor friendly, industrial banger that sounds a bit like a synthesis of Kraftwerk, ADULT. and Snap!’s “Rhythm Is a Dancer” anchored around dense layers of glistening synth arpeggios, skittering industrial clang and clatter paired tweeter and woofer rattling thump and Annika-like vocals.

The accompanying visualizer should remind folks of when we had orange skies as a result of the Canadian wildfires — but imbued with a post apocalyptic air.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Terciopelo Shares Coquettish and Sultry “Hey Boy!”

Terciopelo is the solo recording project of a mysterious and emerging Costa Rican-born and-based electronic music producer and artist, who blends diverse instrumental elements, trap beats, jazz and soulful melodies into a unique and moody sound that has been described as thought provoking.

The mysterious Costa Rican-born and-based electronic music producer and artist’s forthcoming full-length debut, The Breakaways reportedly sees him collaborating with a talented and diverse group of female vocalists. Thematically, the album focuses on women and their journeys through life — with each vocalist singing lyrics that detail the trials, tribulations and joys of their life through their perspective. The album’s material delves into the depths of passion, love and all of the various aspects of human life. 

“This album represents a significant chapter in my musical journey,” the mysterious producer and artist says. The Breakaways is not just a music album, it’s a celebration of life, love and the magnetic power of music. We poured our hearts into every note, and we hope it resonates with our audience on a profound level.”

So far I’ve written about two of the album’s previously released singles:

  • “Your Love . . .,” a brooding and slickly produced synthesis of Portishead-like trip hop, trap beats and contemporary electro pop paired with yearning vocals and evocative lyrics. The song thematically is a deep dive into the lives of women trapped in abusive romantic relationships. The song’s narrator paints a poignant and haunting picture of the internal and external struggles that domestic abuse victims face with a seemingly lived-in specificity. 

  • “Nothing Can Stop Me,” a slickly produced track that pairs contemporary pop with trap beats, shimmering acoustic guitar, bursts of twinkling Rhodes with a soulful vocal, pop starlet delivery. Much like its predecessor, the song captures the interior world of its narrator with an uncanny attention to psychological detail.

The Breakaways‘ latest single “Hey Boy!” is a slick mix of strutting Brazilian and Latin jazz, complete with some fantastic solos paired with skittering trap beats and a coquettish and sultry vocal. The song — and in turn, the video — sees the woman taking charge, and getting what she desires.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Brooklyn’s TVOD Shares Punchy “Car Wreck”

Brooklyn-based post punks TVOD (Television Overdose) can trace their origins back to 2019 when its founder Tyler Wright recorded a high-energy cassette of punk songs on a Tascam 4-track tape recorder in the abasement of the DIY space he was living in at the time. Since then, the band went on to independently release two EPs, 2020’s Daisy and 2021’s Garden along with standalone singles “Alien,” “Mantis,” “Goldfish” and “Poppies,” and two limited run 45s.

Influenced by post-punk, krautrock and egg punk, the Brooklyn-based post punk outfit quickly established a sound and approach that sees them pairing emotional, sometimes juvenile lyrics with driving, hook-driven arrangements that get crowds moving and moshing. Thematically, the material draws from personal and external inspirations like the nightlife/music scene, heartache, World War II, the untimely death of a beloved pet fish and more while telling a gritty, often tongue-in-cheek picture of being a DIY artist grinding it out in New York, complete with tales about the degenerate lifestyle and all the good and bad that comes with it.

Wright then recruited a standout lineup of freaks from the Brooklyn scene that includes Mem Pahl (drums), Micki Piccirillo (bass), Jenna Mark (synths), Serge Zbritzher (guitar) and Denim Casimir (guitar), who now join I’m both live and in the studio. Now, as a sextet, the rising, Brooklyn-based sextet have quickly developed a reputation for raw, unpredictable and explosive live shows, which they’ve taken across the North American and global festival circuit, making stops at SXSW, Hopscotch, Sled Island, Concrete Jungle and FME among others. They’ve also shared stages with the likes of Warmduscher, Snõõper, Gustaf, Civic, Soul Glo, Balkans and Iguana Death Cult.

The rising Brooklyn outfit went up to Montréal-based Gamma Recording Studio with producers Félix Bélisle and Samuel Gemme to record their Mothland debut, “Car Wreck” features a krautrock-like baseline, a steady backbeat, fuzzy and squiggling guitar lines, woozy synth bursts and the band’s penchant for catchy, shout-along worthy hooks serving as a propulsive bed for Wright’s punchy delivery singing lyrics about being reckless and happily embracing it.

Based on an illustration by TVOD’s Tyler Wright, the animated visual by Scott Palazzo features a Batmobile-like car speeding through a New York street.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The background world Shares Anthemic “it goes like this”

Skövde, Sweden-based indie outfit The background world was founded by primary songwriters Martin Platan (lead guitar) and Hanna Leijon (vocals) back in 2018. The pair met at a local bar and shortly after meeting, decided to start collaborating on a musical project. As they began amassing a collection of songs, they started playing live shows together. But they quickly began to realize that the material they had written — and had been writing — needed to be further fleshed out to fulfill their vision. The duo first recruited two old friends, who the pair had worked with in different projects over the years, Oscar Hjerpe (guitar) and Mikel Åkerman (drums). The band’s first lineup was completed with the addition of high school friends Edwin Muratovic (bass) and Tove Håkansson (backing vocals).

The band went on to release their debut EP 2022’s, It’s about a band. Paradise takes, Live at NSL, which they followed up with a handful of standalone singles that included 2022’s “Gasoline”/”I love you,” and last year’s “Love ends,” along with a list of others. This early batch of material saw the band crafting songs that thematically touched upon addiction, mental health, the search for something better and just the simple things in everyday life.

Since then, the band has gone through a massive lineup change — with the band currently as a trio featuring founding members Platan (guitar, bass), Leijon (vocals, keys) and Marcus Helmner (keys). They’re currently working on their highly anticipated full-length debut, which will feature “Why” and “Love ends,” a lived-in anthem about the dissolution of a relationship that’s slowly petering out to its embittering and inevitable breakup. Sonically, the song brought Til Tuesday‘s “Voices Carry” and Vancouver-based JOVM mainstays FRANKIIE to mind.

The forthcoming album will also feature the Swedish outfit’s latest single “It goes like this,” features what may arguably be the most anthemic hooks and choruses of the band’s growing catalog paired with a earnest, plaintive vocal and a crafted, classic shoegaze-meets-dream pop-meets college radio arrangement. But underneath the shimmering guitars and rousing chorus is a proudly defiant song.

The accompanying video for “It goes like this” features a super saturated VHS-styled visual that follows a woman dressed in white in a forest named
“Paradise.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: FACS Shares Woozy and Claustrophobic “Desire Path”

Chicago-based post-punk outfit and JOVM mainstays FACS‘ sixth studio album Wish Defense is slated for a February 7, 2025 release on CD, cassette, black vinyl and a limited white vinyl variant while supplies last [pre-order] through Trouble In Mind Records. 

The album marks the return of original band member Jonathan Van Herik, who replaces longtime bassist Alianna Kalaba. Van Herik’s return to the band reportedly brings renewed vigor and a marked angularity from the Chicago-based outfit’s more recent output. While the songs still hit hard, the approach is sideways; in fact, the roles have changed since Van Herik’s original tenure and previous time with Case and Leger in Disappears. Now on bass, Van Herik was originally the band’s guitarist while Case, the band’s current guitarist, played bass. The role reversal between Case and Van Herik has reportedly helped the band’s dynamic, offering a different musical perspective than before, while revisiting the trio’s long-held collaboration with some distance and time. 

Tragically, Wish Defense is the last album engineered by Steve Albini. Two days of sessions were recorded at Electrical Audio in early May, before Albini’s untimely death. Renowned engineer and friend Sanford Parker stepped in to finish the session 24 hours later, tracking the last bits of vocals and overdubs. Longtime collaborator John Congleton mixed the album’s material as Albini would have, in Electrical Audio’s A Room, off the tape, using Albini’s notes about the session. 

Thematically, the album focuses on the centuries old subject of the duality of man. Who is your “true self” and what do they want? The album sees the band taking a good long look in the mirror to face themselves. As the band’s Brian Case explains, the album’s lyrical content revolves about doppelgängers or doubles, tackling the idea of facing yourself and observing your ideas and motivations. 

Last month, I wrote about Wish Defense‘s first single, album title track “Wish Defense.” Anchored around an angular and forceful bass line from Van Herik, forceful and off-kilter rhythmic patterns from Leger and Case’s squiggling and chiming guitar lines, “Wish Defense” features what arguably is one of Case’s more melodic vocal turns in some time and a slow-burning, noisy coda.

Fittingly, the song continues the JOVM mainstays’ long-held reputation for writing material that’s psychologically probing with Case laying out the entire album’s theme in one stanza, asking the listener — and in turn, himself: Are your actions and emotions your true self? Or are they a performative aspect of that “other” person you put forward into the world? Case says that ultimately, the sentiment is ” . . . don’t let the bastards get you down, there’s something beyond this moment, like hope — but not in the naive belief that ultimately people are good.”

Wish Defense‘s second and latest single “Desire Path” features woozily swirling guitar textures, squiggling bursts of guitar for the song’s punchily delivered, mantra-like lyrics paired with a forcefully percussive rhythm section. The song evokes a claustrophobic sense of unease; of walls both psychological and real closing in on you.

The official visualizer/video echoes the album’s cover art with checkerboard patterns and eyes looking back at the viewer.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstay MAGON Shares Dreamily Introspective “Falling In Love”

Earlier this year, the prolific JOVM mainstay MAGON released his ninth album, Wedding Song, which featured two tracks I managed to write about here:

Album track “The Wedding Song,” a 70s Laurel Canyon/AM rock-like number featuring shimmering guitars, a shuffling yet propulsive rhythm and a glistening and soulful guitar solo paired with MAGON’s unerring knack for crafting catchy hooks. But under the slick and seemingly effortless craftsmanship is a song that feels much like the contented sigh of someone who after much effort and struggle, has found the true, long-lasting love they’ve long hoped for. The song marks the one-year anniversary of MAGON’s wedding to his now-wife Alexa, and is dedicated to their love.

“Portobello’s On The Run,” a mediative and folksy bit of Nick Drake-like psych folk anchored around an ethereal and old-timey mellotron flute lines, strummed acoustic guitar and tight-drum pattern paired with the Israeli-born, Costa Rican-based artist’s plaintively singing whimsical yet introspective lyrics. 

Closing out 2024, the JOVM mainstay will be releasing his 10th — yeah, 10th overall and third this year y’all — album, World Peace. World Peace will feature the previously released “Stoned Seclusion Blues” reveals yet another shift in sound direction with the track seemingly drawing from the Madchester sound of The Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses.

World Peace’s second and latest single “Falling In Love” is a dreamy psych folk ballad featuring strummed acoustic guitar, bursts of buzzing power chords and ethereal flutes paired with the JOVM’s mainstay giving an introspective and thoughtful vocal turn.

Thematically, the song is a journey of love and self-discovery, honed by hard-earned wisdom, experience and understanding of how difficult and maddening love can be — especially in a desperate, stark world.

The accompanying video follows a young woman wandering through the damp Costa Rican countryside and is shot with a loving, dreamy quality.

singer/songwriters by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Sade Shares Cinematic Yet Intimate “Young Lion”

Sade Adu, the Queen of Quiet Storm and the frontperson of Sade — yes, the band is her name — recently released her first single in over six years, “Young Lion,” which appears on the Red Hot compilation TRAИƧA.

TRAИƧA may arguably be one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken by the activist and music production non-profit. The compilation is a concept album and spiritual journey across eight chapters and 46 tracks, spotlighting the remarkable talents of some of the most daring and imaginative trans and non-binary artists working today. Throughout the compilation’s runtime, the material softens the edges of the world we know and invokes the powerful dreams of the futures that might one day thunder from its tracks.

So back to “Young Lion,” right? Because presumably that’s what you’re here for. The legendary artist’s imitable vocal is paired with a meditative arrangement of twinkling piano, atmospheric bursts of synths and gently autotuned vocals at the song’s hook. It’s cinematic yet intimate.

Lovingly dedicated to her son Izaak, a trans man, the song seeks forgiveness for the things that its narrator couldn’t possibly see or understand back then but now sees with the uncanny precision of wizened retrospect. But it’s also a sweet reminder — and offering — of deeply unconditional love and support, as well as the desire to see one’s child be wholly themselves and fulfilled.

Directed by Sophie Mueller, the accompanying video features home movie footage of her son Izaak and her through the years. It’s a powerful document of one mother’s unquestioningly unconditional love of her child.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Mariaa Siga Performs “Boukanck” at Sensor Club

Over the past handful of years, I’ve spilled quite a bit of virtual ink covering Senegalese singer/songwriter, musician and JOVM mainstay Mariaa Siga. 

Siga continues an ongoing collaboration with ODDY on the slow-burning and heartfelt “Boukanack,” which pairs a shuffling and twinkling reggae riddims, bursts of soulful and meditative horn with the Senegalese JOVM mainstay’s gorgeous and expressive delivery. “Boukanack” continues a run of material that blurs and transcends cultural and international boundaries while celebrating diversity in all forms. With “Boukanack” in particular, the song is anchored in a much-needed message of peace and hope for all humanity. 

Recently, the Senegalese JOVM mainstay recorded a solo live session of “Boukanack,” that’s completely stripped down to Siga accompanying herself on guitar. The live version of ” Boukanack” gets down to the basics — songwriter, vocal and song — while reminding us that the star of the show is always her effortless and gorgeous vocal.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Janiq Shares Lush and Hook Driven “Dior”

Trinidadian-born, London-based artist Janiq has made a name for herself in the local scene for music that draws from her Trini roots and her experiences living in London and meshes elements of R&B, dancehall, soca, reggae, and Latin American music. Her work explores themes of love, self-discovery and female empowerment. She also has received attention across the British capital for a high-energy live show.

Her third and latest single “Dior” is a lush and slickly produced bop featuring glistening and blocky synth stabs, skittering beats, a supple and funky bass line. Bringing Estelle‘s “American Boy,” and The Weeknd‘s work to mind, “Dior” reveals and artist with an uncanny knack for catchy hooks, with the production being a lush bed for the Trinidadian-born, London-based artist’s coquettish delivery boldly telling the listener that you can’t afford her, so don’t bother.

The stylish and slick accompanying video plays on magazine photo shoots — and Instagram.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: A Place to Bury Strangers Share a Tense and Uneasy Tale of Conflicted Emotions

New York-based JOVM mainstays A Place to Bury Strangers — currently Oliver Ackermann (vocals, guitar), John Fedowitz (bass) and Sandra Fedowitz (drums) — released their seventh album Synthesizer last month through Dedstrange. 

While Synthesizer is the album’s title, it’s also a physical entity, a synthesizer specifically made for the album — and a synthesizer that you too, can own (in part), if you buy the record on vinyl. The album’s cover art doubles as a circuit board and functional synth for curious and enterprising fans. “It’s pretty messed up, chaotic. But it feels really human,” the band’s Oliver Ackermann says. 

In an era of making music where so little is DIY and so much is left up to AI, never setting foot in a practice room or a home studio, making something that feels deliberately chaotic, messy, and human, is entirely the point. The album celebrates sounds that are spontaneous and natural, the kind of music that can only come from collaboration and community. 

The writing sessions for Synthesizer started in the band’s Queens studio, shortly after the release of 2022’s See Through You. The new lineup which featured Ackermann and his friends John and Sandra Fedowitz was especially inspiring for Ackermann. “It felt like a fresh new thing,” he says. “I wanted to write songs everyone was excited about playing.” 

The album captures the band at a place of reinvention, where they take a carefully honed sound and approach and crack it wide open to gut its then reimagine it. And of course, to ever so slightly reinvent one’s sound, one must also built a new instrument — the synthesizer at the core of the album’s overall sound. 

Synthesizer is arguably one of the band’s most live-sounding albums to date, accurately capturing the rawness and explosiveness of the band in a live setting, which is a fitting for a band that is best in a live setting, where the material takes on a new energy in the presence of a crowd. “We’re artists,” Ackermann says, “Going to shows and bringing that imperfect and beautiful DIY ethos is important.” 

In the lead-up to the album’s release, I’ve written about three of the album’s previously released singles: 

  • “Disgust,” an eardrum shattering aural assault, anchored around explosive wailing feedback and distortion pedaled guitar lines paired with a relentles motorik groove featuring an arpeggiated bass line weaving in and out. But there’s subtle refinements, including some of the most rousingly anthemic, mosh pit friendly choruses and hooks I’ve heard from the band in some time. “‘Disgust’ is a song I wrote that was inspired by the way I used to perform ‘Got That Feeling,’ a song by my old band Skywave,” Ackermann explains. “There was a long riding open note on the bass that enabled me to play the whole part with my fist in the air.  I wrote this song just on open strings so it could be played with just one hand: dumb and fun.” 

  • “Bad Idea,” a track anchored around a simple yet hypnotically looping drum beat and woozily oscillating feedback-driven guitar lines. John Fedowitz’s plaintive yet punchy delivery weaves in and out of the stormy and soundscape, which helps to evoke the vacillating, almost nauseating unease of self-doubt. “Bad Idea” showcases the raw creativity of the band’s bassist John Fedowitz. “He came to the studio with a simple looping drum beat, thinking he didn’t have any good ideas — thus, this song was his ‘bad idea,’” the band’s frontman Oliver Ackermann says. “We each penned some lines on paper, and he sang the ones that resonated. After a few instrumental passes, the recording was complete. The result is an innovative track born from spontaneous collaboration and a touch of self-doubt, turned into something uniquely captivating.” 

  • “Fear Of Transformation,” a snarling and scuzzy New Wave/goth punk synth-driven ripper featuring layers of oscillating synths, a relentless motorik groove, explosive bursts of feedback paired with the band’s long-held penchant for rousingly anthemic, mosh pit friendly hooks and Ackermann’s punchy delivery. Thematically, the track focuses and delves into the struggle of overcoming internal barriers. As the band’s frontman Oliver Ackermann explains, “Sometimes fear builds up and pins you in a cage. A conversation occurs in my head where I have to convince myself to just fucking do something to break out of it.” The song embodies that internal dialogue, capturing the battle between the compulsion to avoid fear and the push to confront it. And as a result, the song is a raw, uneasy and intense conversation with the devil within.

Synthesizer’s fifth single “Don’t Be Sorry,” is a brooding and tense tale of complicated and conflicted emotions, the hate, longing, heartache, betrayal and frustration that frequently comes from your nearest and dearest, and from those you’re estranged from through the use of angular and woozy surf rock guitars, bursts of abrasive synth noise paired with a chugging, motorik groove.

“This song is about how nothing in life is black and white. You sometimes feel hurt and hatred from certain people and yet somehow still miss them,” APTBS’ Oliver Ackermann explains. “Also, as time goes on there are always connections lost with family and friends.  You really want them back in your life but can’t always make it work. Anxiety builds with regret.  You continually miss chances to reach out and see them and then there just isn’t any time left. 

“I feel guilt and worry, wondering what they must think;  if it’s just me who feels this lost connection or if the feeling is mutual. Whatever it is, I would like for these people to know that I miss them and would greet them with open arms if it’s ever possible to reconvene.

“The ‘Synthesizer’ was used to create the abrasive crash sounds that drive home the forcefulness of the chorus ‘Return Home, Don’t Be Sorry’, contrasting with the intimate and concerned vocal delivery.

Directed by Sweden’s Johannes Nyholm, director of the modern cult horror masterpiece Koko-di Koka-da, the horror-themed video depicts a love triangle and power struggle between life, death and art, that stars the Master, the Minion and the Wife that features a fix of animation and live action, shot in a gorgeous black and white.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Homer Teams Up with girl named GOLDEN on Woozy “Wishing Well”

Acclaimed New York-born and-based drummer, songwriter and producer Homer Steinweiss has a storied career that started in earnest when he was just a teenager. He has been instrumental in helping bring the raw-but-receptive soul sound back into the mainstream through his work with Amy Winehouse, Sharon Jones and Charles Bradley. Steinwess has also been behind the kit for nearly every contemporary soul outfit that has mattered. 

The New York-born and-based musician is now one of the most in demand drummers in the world, playing with the likes of Clairo, Solange, Adele, Silk Sonic and Bruno Mars, among a lengthy list of others. And much like his longtime bandmate Dave Guy, Steinweiss is stepping into the spotlight as a both a musician and producer with Ensatina, his first solo album released under the moniker Homer. 

Slated for a November 15, 2024 release through Big Crown Records, Ensatina is reflection of who Steinweiss is now and a testament of how struggle often brings about much-needed changes. He was dealing with considerable emotional turbulence; at the same time that his band Holy Hive broke up, a long-personal relationship fell apart, putting him in an uncertain place mentally. The fallout was significant enough for him to seek professional help. “I was going through these super manic highs and then very depressive lows,” Steinweiss explains. “And being in all that, it’s just so tough to imagine that the other side is there, that it’ll be ok.” But, with time, professional help, and support from friends and family, Homer made it through and has been forever changed. This album is a product of that period of his life.

For Steinweiss, creating the album was a refuge, and it put him back on track. Creatives across the world have an innate understanding of that. But the album is also a glimpse into the different energies that influences that make the man and the artist tick. And fittingly, the album is the beginning of a new, interesting chapter of Steinweiss’ life and career. 

So far I’ve written about three of Ensatina‘s singles:

  • “Deep Sea,” feat. Hether, a slow-burning and woozy love song set over a hypnotic back beat, a gorgeous, dreamy trumpet line and a strummed acoustic guitar line. The lush and meditative arrangement compliments Hether’s dreamily romantic delivery and lyrics, which includes a sweet nod to Steinwess now wife. The song seems to suggest that when we’re struggling in life’s deep sea, love — in all of its forms — can be the lifeline. 

  • “Rollin‘” a lush and swaggering Quiet Storm-like soundscape with skittering and plinking 808s, broodingly regal horns, bursts of strummed guitar and KIRBY’s ethereal delivery, which alternates between scatting and cooing lyrics over the lush production. 

  • “So Get Up!,” a strutting and swaggering bit of hook-driven genre-blurring funk anchored around dusty and skittering boom bap, twinkling synth oscillations and glistening and arpeggiated synth melodies serving as a lush and euphoric bed for MINOVA’s and Michael Rault‘s ethereal and expressive deliveries. Sonically resembling a slick synthesis of 80s synth funk, Rush Midnight and Tame Impala, “So Get Up!” reveals an artist with an adept production style. 

Ensatina‘s fourth and latest single “Wishing Well” featuring girl named GOLDEN is a brooding track anchored around a trippy yet soulful groove that’s influenced by late Miles Davis-like jazz, electronic music, soul and trip-hop paired with skittering and chugging drums and glistening synths serving as a woozily lush soundscape for girl named GOLDEN’s sultry cooing. Much like its immediate predecessor, “Wishing Well” reveals an artist with a unique, playfully genre agnostic sound.

The song is accompanied by a trippy video featuring the album’s namesake lizard Ensatina, done in 3D animation by Alex Cascone.