Press Releases For June: Here Are The Artists
Charlotte Adigéry and Bolis Pupul, Kid Francescoli, Broke Royals, Son Tung M-TP, Pine Barons, A.M. Boys, and Calypso Rose are among these press releases for June.
Charlotte Adigéry and Bolis Pupul – “Ceci N’est Pas Un Cliche”: A playful electro-pop dancefloor with finger claps, infectious bass lines, and Charlotte Adigéry’s strong vocals, for a track almost reminiscent of Grace Jones’s work. This is a song from “Topical Dancer,” the debut album by Belgian-Caribbean provocateur Charlotte Adigéry and her long-term musical partner, Bolis Pupul. The album, out via DEEWEE, is a 13-track whirlwind through their two innately creative minds. Cultural appropriation and racism. Social media vanity. Post-colonialism and political correctness. These are not talking points that you’d ordinarily hear on the dancefloor but Charlotte and Bolis have ripped up the rulebook with their debut record. The Ghent-based duo, who broke out with their 2019 “Zandoli” EP, are rare storytellers in electronic music: they take the temperature of the time and funnel them into their playful synth concoctions – never didactic and always with a knowing wink. After a few dates in May, they are returning to the stage this fall including a Los Angeles Show with Grace Jones at the iconic Hollywood Bowl.
Kid Francescoli – “Moon”: a buzzing organ growing into a larger sound, a vast electronic floating space inhabited by intriguing keys and strange vocals, slowly becoming a throbbing dancescape. Kid Francescoli is the electro-pop project of French musician Mathieu Hocine. He is currently on a World Tour, including a leg of North American dates beginning this month. The tour supports the project’s last record, “Lovers,” released in 2020. The single, featuring Julia Minkin, has reached TikTok virality and is currently nearing 600K shares on the app and was released alongside an accompanying animated music video. This is a track from the album “Play Me Again,” but his current tour supports this last record, “Lovers” released in 2020 via Yotanka Records. “Lovers” owes a lot to the city where it was conceived, where a love story spurred a creative spark that was magnified by all of Mathieu’s journeys on tour. Because when he returns to Marseilles after these long trips, Mathieu feels both feet firmly on the ground —he is more confident in his choices. While an American mood had inspired him before, it’s this special Latin color that makes Lovers glow. This is the radiant album of a fulfilled man. Well, almost —he would truly be fulfilled if his favorite football club (which inspired his artistic namesake), Olympique de Marseille, recovered its past glory. But with such a beautiful soundtrack, anything is possible.
Broke Royals – “Revivalism”: A dynamic and punchy song with rocking guitar riffs, an engaging tempo, and catchy pop hooks. This is a new track from “Local Support,” Broke Royals’ upcoming album that will be released on July 15 via Byrdland Records. “Local Support” is an album about being brutally honest, savoring small moments, and finding the strength to start over. Despite being the band’s third full-length album, in many ways it feels like their debut. For years, the band was putting one foot in front of the other with gigs and writing, it was a grind, albeit a familiar one. After the world came to a screeching halt in 2020 and the dust began to settle, it appeared that not everything should go back to the way it was. Even relationships within Broke Royals were strained, leaving the future of the band feeling uncertain. Instead of giving in, Broke Royals reworked their system top-to-bottom. They started writing more collaboratively and investing time to check in with one another. Without gigs on the calendar, the band could take time to reconnect and grow musically. With producer Bartees Strange as their guide, they made their most self-assured album in the most uncertain time. On “Local Support,” Broke Royals made the album they wanted to hear, without the world in mind, so anything that happens next is just icing on the cake. “How do you start again once the momentum has died? Like many bands, we were stopped dead in our tracks with Covid as touring and even practicing was totally out of the question. Interestingly, this had happened to us years before when we had former members quit to go back to school so the feeling felt familiar. Like the phrase ‘history doesn’t repeat itself but it does rhyme.’ We had worked so hard to build momentum and suddenly it felt like none of that mattered at all. On the flip side, when we did get back in the studio we wanted to make music that sounded fun. People forget that, especially in its earliest inception, rock music is dance music. Rock music is party music. In October 2020, right as we first started working on the song, Eddie Van Halen died. It was a gut punch for all of us but extra inspiration to stay true to the mission: make a fun rock song about bringing the party back to life.”
Son Tung M-TP- “There’s No One At All”: A hip-hop-inspired song and the first track in English written and produced entirely by the Vietnamese superstar. With nearly 10 million YouTube subscribers, the 27-year-old star has received multi-awards, including the highly coveted MTV Europe Music Award for Best Southeast Asian Act, and he is often referred to as the “prince of V-pop.” He is also the first Vietnamese artist to have a tour documentary on Netflix, Sky Tour: The Movie, as well as the first to appear on the Billboard Global Excl. Chart for his song “Muộn Rồi Mà Sao Còn.” In 2019, Son Tung released a collaboration with Snoop Dogg, “HÃY TRAO CHO ANH,” the video featuring Snoop Dogg himself as well as Madison Beer—the video trended at #9 on YouTube in the U.S. Of his latest single, Son Tung describes, “Every one of us, even the strongest ones, can sometimes feel lost and trapped in loneliness… I really want to encourage every young soul out there to dare and chase their dreams. Because nobody knows what lies behind that thick fog, and if we don’t take a step forward, then we will never know what truly lies ahead.”
Pine Barons – “ナイトクルージング (Night Cruising)”: A hazy trippy tone, a meditative late-night ride, slowly building up with psychedelic pulses and dreamy vocals. This is actually a cover of Fishmans, known for their unique psychedelic sound with rocksteady basslines and the distinctive vocals of the late lead singer Shinji Sato. Pine Barons’ Fishmans cover album, “I LOVE FISH,” will be out on July 8 via Grind Select. Lead vocalist Keith Abrams says it was one of the first songs that came together for this record early on in the process and was one of the easier songs to translate into English. It was a popular song for Fishmans when it first came out, and I wanted to stay true to its dreaminess and to have it build upon itself and crescendo into a blissful end.” “For this video, we tried to embody the brightness and liveliness that was our discovery of Fishmans. Looking back on their music has truly helped us look forward. It sparked a flame and revitalized a forgotten feeling we’ve all had in ourselves – a yearning curiosity and genuine awe. It rekindled our love and appreciation for music, creatively and objectively,” says Alex Beebe, keyboardist, and director of the music video. “I LOVE FISH” is a tribute album in the truest sense.
A.M. Boys – “Give Me Time”: A synth track with driving percussion and echoing vocals building an intriguing atmospheric soundscape while adding new glittery layers. This is the third single off A.M. Boys’ (duo John Blonde and Chris Moore) forthcoming debut album, “Distance Decay,” and it comes alongside an accompanying lyric video. “‘Give Me Time’ started as a live improv during an after-party at our recording studio, Glowmatic Sound. Chris’ beat got everyone moving. I had lyrics in a journal and they fit well into the groove right away,” said Blonde. “I think it’s a song about resilience and patience. When we recorded the album version, I added the final lyrics. I had recently read a short story by Truman Capote that inspired a line in the second verse. Specifically to A.M. Boys, as long as we stay curious we have everything.” Moore continued, “Like many of the songs on Distance Decay, ‘Give Me Time’ started life as a 20-minute-plus jam. A few weeks later, we went back into the studio and recorded a new version that expanded on the best parts of the original jam.” “Distance Decay,” the shimmering debut album from this American electronic duo, focuses on an intimate and minimal approach to instrumentation. The album’s ten original songs juxtapose rippling rhythms with melodic synth lines and ethereal vocals. The album was written during darkly lit late-night jam sessions with analog synthesizers, drum machines, space echo, and voice. These sessions were influenced by post-punk and cold wave, along with the duo’s revered trinity of Kraftwerk, Aphex Twin, and Prince. (Sub one of these for Throbbing Gristle on a rainy night.) “Distance decay” is a term describing the pattern of criminals committing less crime the further they travel from their homes. The duo can personally attest that this pattern exists.
Calypso Rose – “Watina”: A festive song that exults all the sunshine of the Caribbean, featuring Belize’s The Garifuna Collective along with stellar riffs from none other than guitar legend Carlos Santana who has previously noted, “Calypso Rose is a goddess of música del Caribe: a person who offers her heart & changes people’s lives & destiny.” Calypso Rose’s zest for life is as infectious as ever, and 2022 will mark the return of the icon to center stage. The 82-year-old Trinidad and Tobago-raised musician has announced her latest album, “FOREVER,” due August 26 via Because Music. Throughout the new album, Rose presents original material with a distinctly modern approach, and revisits some of her greatest classics, giving us an album that speaks to everyone and transcends all ages. On “FOREVER,” the Queen of Calypso is joined by old friends and new artists throughout the fourteen tracks including world music legend Manu Chao, soca king Machel Montano, Jamaican dancehall icon Mr. Vegas, Toulouse-based rapper Oli, and electro duo Synapson. While the name Calypso Rose will be forever associated with her country Trinidad and Tobago, the love story that has bound her to Belize for almost forty years is part of her music, her career and her life. With “Watina,” she pays homage to the Garifuna, a Caribbean people scarred by slavery, excluded from memory, and part of whose population now lives not only in the United States, but also on the coasts of four Central American countries: Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and thus Belize. “Watina” is a song full of devastating history, and contrasted with cheerfulness and celebration. Ivan Duran, Rose’s Belize-born longtime producer was also the “sound architect” for the late Andy Palacio, who co-founded and led the Belize-based band The Garifuna Collective until his untimely death in 2008. “Watina” was originally a local hit for The Garifuna Collective and, according to Duran, Calypso Rose was the only person who could recapture the frenzy and the impact of this song while respecting Palacio’s legacy. By recording and reimagining the song with the same musicians, she reaffirms her Belizean ties and once again exploits the contrast between the festive spirit and the social dimension of the music. Watch the gorgeous Belize-filmed video for “Watina.”
