Press Releases For March, Here Are The Artists
The Clamor, Zoon, Daydream Review, Setting Sun, Sir Chloe, JAIN, and Channel Tres are the artists among these press releases for March.
The Clamor – “Nerve and Vein”: An upbeat and buoyant track with a ska tempo delivered with plenty of determination and some Joe Strummer’s accents. On March 17, punk project The Clamor are releasing their self-titled debut LP produced by Omer Leibovitz (MoMA), Jeff Burner (Studio G), and Grammy Award Winning engineer Alan Douches. “I have spent so many years working in other mediums, film, theater, fiction, and working in the art world, that I wanted to return to my roots, where I feel most at home being creative,” Aaron Louis (on vocals, guitar, synths) declared. “That’s music. Like a lot of people, I had a pretty wrecked childhood and the only thing that kept me sane was being a part of the insane punk rock community around me, and listening to and making music and I miss it more and more as I get older. The album is not me trying to recreate that atmosphere but a place to begin where I left off. Even if that just means having fun – like not being too precious, finding ways to be vulnerable, and embracing the collision of styles, all of which I hope you feel in this album. I like this moment in my life and feel like this album was a way to create a sort of sonic snapshot of what I’ve been thinking about and what’s important to me. And thinking of how fast it goes. Like in Cardiac Soundtrack – I wondered what it was that the great Joe Strummer might have been listening to when he had his heart attack. “U-Roy? The Jay Tees?” What will I go out listening to? And what music can I leave behind? I wrote all the music and brought the song demos to the producer, Omer Leibovitz, and he assembled a group of killer Brooklyn musicians (himself included), to get the full band sound that I wanted. And then he brought along the excellent engineer at Studio G, Jeff Berner, and with Alan Douches mastering I felt I couldn’t be in better hands. The album artwork was done by one of my favorite illustrators, Roxanna Bikadoroff. I first discovered her artwork on the cover of my favorite Flannery O’Connor books and I actually cold-called her and coaxed her out of “applied art” retirement with punk rock.”
Zoon – “Manitou”: Sweeping soundscape of waves of strings populated with dreamy hazy vocals for a vibrant and cinematic pop song. Zoon (Zoongide’ewin), the musical project fronted by songwriter Daniel Monkman, recently announced their triumphant return with a forthcoming sophomore LP entitled “Bekka Ma’iingan,” due April 28 via Paper Bag Records. As seen with this upcoming record, Zoon’s evolution continues to gather momentum since the release of their universally acclaimed 2020 debut “Bleached Wavves.” “Bekka Ma’iingan” is an astonishing sonic landscape that will surprise and transport listeners. To create the full-length album, Monkman sought Polaris Music Prize inaugural winner Owen Pallett to compose sweeping string arrangements, then performed by the FAMES Orchestra. Grammy-nominated Michael Peter Olsen, who is a regular in Zoon’s live band, played on the new record as did Zoon’s drummer Andrew McLeod (Sunnsetter). Grammy Award-winning Mark Lawson mixed the album, and in a burst of creative collaboration, after meeting in Montreal, Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo played on the album track “Niizh Manidoowig (2 Spirit).” “Manitou,” the new single of the record is released alongside an accompanying video. “‘Manitou’ is about the group of friends I had growing up in Selkirk Manitoba,” wrote Monkman. “We’d run across the red bridge and have fires and drink. Our little piece of heaven, until some cops would come and ruin our fun. Running from them was fun though. It was some of the best times of my life. I did notice a very sad element to the whole thing afterward. Everything was just so normal at the time, I didn’t have anything to really base it on, but I know now a lot of us were struggling with mental health issues and not properly taken care of, but we took care of each other and some of us got lost along the way, some passed on, I will always remember. ‘Manitou’ is that feeling I get when I reflect back to those times. I wanted to write music for a film that would never be made.”
Daydream Review – “No Eternity”: Vibrating synth for a colorful, kaleidoscopic, psychedelic sound, dreamy textures, and ethereal vocals. Chicago-based psych-pop multi-instrumentalist Elijah Montez, the frontman and sole songwriter of Daydream Review has shared this new single ahead of his debut LP “Leisure,” due out April 7 via Side Hustle Records. The latest release from Daydream Review, “No Eternity” recalls the turmoil of 2020 from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to the momentous Black Lives Matter protests that flooded the streets. The track aims to imagine what the future might look like if the past and present have felt so harrowing. Sonically, the track came together long before the lyrics did, and its dreamy, lush atmosphere compelled Daydream Review to follow it through and finish it. “Lyrically, it may be the closest to a song specifically about COVID–not the pandemic itself, but between the BLM protests in Summer of 2020 and this change a lot of people have had to the nature of work, I had a hard time thinking of how things would look on the other side of it, and trying to make sense of the future when the only context you have is the past.”“Leisure,” out this spring, is Daydream Review’s debut full-length studio album featuring his most realized work to date. Over thirteen chromatic, experimental tracks, the artist’s airy production and thoughtful, existential lyricism transports listeners to a fresh sonic universe that pushes the boundaries of modern psychedelic pop. Diving deeper into the album’s meaning, Daydream Review explains, “‘Leisure’ is about the ever-present tension between the desire for free time, for personal enjoyment and leisure, and the demands that capitalistic society places on those desires, and how it restricts the ability to enjoy that free time. Your job and work, to me, seem to be consistent specters that haunt your ability to enjoy your free time, knowing that those demands are always awaiting you when your free time comes to an end.” It is this balancing act that informed much of the album creation and its themes. The artist continues, “Leisure, as a concept, became something almost otherworldly and that much more desirable, something you dream about when you have so much time funneled into work, and the repetitive act of balancing those two ends up being something almost hypnotic, and I tried to channel all of that into the sonic qualities of the album.”
Setting Sun – “Feelings Cure”: A dynamic fast-tempo pop song with rocking guitars and a driving rhythm. Hudson Valley, NY-based indie rock-folk band Setting Sun have announced their self-produced sixth full-length studio album and first in ten years, “The Feelings Cure” due out May 19 via Young Love Records. The brand new single “Feelings Cure” was released along with an accompanying lyric video. The forthcoming sixth studio album by Setting Sun, “The Feelings Cure,” was recorded like no other Setting Sun record––diligently. Explaining the creative process and creating the album while now being a father, frontman and primary songwriter Gary Levitt says, “I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to get in the creative zone with set times of having to turn creativity on and off like a switch. I used to write and record in creative blasts when I felt it come on like a wave or virus. Having kids forced me to write, record, and mix in the gaps of being a father and the maturity shows on this record.” “I produced this record myself in my studio and enlisted friends to lay down some tracks like drums, harmonies, violins, etc. One trick I learned is to be aware of my mood. If I wasn’t feeling a creative wave, I’d then do some mixing. If I was in the creative zone, I’d sit and write and record a part to one of the songs.” The creative process became casual, free-flowing, and unforced. Levitt says, “Most of the sounds you hear on this record were written and recorded simultaneously, so you’re getting the raw thing, not a reenactment of the moment it was written, this is the moment.” “Feelings Cure” aims to resist feelings of pain and sadness through music. Levitt says the track is about “denial and playing music and finding a cure for sadness or pain.” Written three months into the start of the pandemic, Levitt was forced to confront the reality of diving back into music, only this time, in quarantine with his wife and toddler which presented brand new challenges. Levitt adds, “It took a while to be able to turn on the creativity at will according to the clock, but I found it was actually possible. The limitations made me more productive. This song was one of the first I recorded for the new record and maybe it helped get out some of that frustration from being forced into a new life and future not made by my choice.”
Sir Chloe – “Hooves”: An explosive track unleashing chaotic and high-volume energy and delivered with vocals going from morose to aggressive. This is the new single off “I Am The Dog,” the debut album from Sir Chloe, the project of vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist Dana Foote and slated for release on May 19 via Atlantic Records. Made with Grammy-winning producer John Congleton (Lana Del Rey, St. Vincent, Angel Olsen) with songwriting contributions from Teddy Geiger (Caroline Polachek, Sylvan Esso, Lizzo) and Sarah Tudzin (Weyes Blood, Amen Dunes, Slowdive), “I Am The Dog “encapsulates the thrilling paradoxical nature of Sir Chloe. Thematically, the album grapples with finding control in the innate chaos of life, highlighting and interrogating this tension, only to destabilize it and opt for chaos once again. Anchored by Foote’s emotional and dynamic voice, the album toes the line between expression and concealment, making a fetish of the unsaid with lyrics that are simultaneously frank and ambiguous. With this constant push and pull propelling the album forward, Foote’s aim isn’t to be at rest but rather to ask why she cannot be. Foote put Sir Chloe together in college to serve as her senior thesis, going on to write the band’s first major hits “Michelle”—which has accumulated more than 180 million streams on Spotify—and “Animal” on the floor of her dorm room. The rest of the songs on Sir Chloe’s 2020 EP Party Favors were recorded in a warehouse that the band transformed into a recording space with just $100 and sheer will. Following the success of the EP and two additional singles in 2022, the band—which consists of Foote, Emma Welch, Teddy O’Mara, Palmer Foote, and Austin Holmes—toured arenas with Portugal. The Man and alt-J, opened for the Pixies and headlined two tours of their own in the United States and Europe, with sold-out stops in New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Amsterdam, and more. Sir Chloe will support a co-headline tour with Phoenix and Beck alongside Japanese Breakfast, Weyes Blood, and Jenny Lewis
JAIN – “The Fool”: Delicate and airy guitars, warm and rich vocals for a dream pop song with dance beats, and a big Beach-House hook. This is the first song off Grammy-nominated French artist JAIN’s much-anticipated new album coming this spring on Columbia/Sony Music France. She has also unveiled the accompanying video for “The Fool”. This marks the first taste of new music following her #1 in France sophomore album “Souldier “and her debut album “Zanaka” which sold over 1 million copies worldwide. A new chapter for the multi-cultural popstar both personally and artistically, this poetic body of work is inspired by self-empowerment, new chances and beginnings, and the need to overcome one’s fears. Although entirely composed by JAIN and produced by her long-time collaborator Maxim Nucci/Yodelice, she teamed up with some new creatives to elevate her work to a new era. This international pop and folk album chronicles all the stages one goes through when making a fresh start: fear, excitement, innocence, doubts, letting go, and epiphany. While the new album draws on artistic influences such as Kate Bush and Stevie Nicks, much of JAIN’s music originally blended a myriad of genres such as Arabic percussion, African rhythms, electro, reggae, soul, and hip hop. She relies heavily on Tarot de Marseilles, an art her mother passed on to her which gives her the strength to jump into the unknown through an instinctive perception of the world’s dangers and possibilities. The Fool is the holiest card in the deck. You can’t go on any kind of journey unless you’re willing to be foolish. Taking your first step, driving a car, falling in love. There’s always a risk you’ll lose your balance. At any moment. But in the end, the fool’s journey is the only journey. Born in France and raised primarily in the United Arab Emirates and Congo, Jain released her debut album Zanaka in 2015. The album sold over 1 million copies worldwide and the singles “Come” and “Makeba” from the LP quickly climbed the charts, the latter of which earned JAIN her first Grammy nomination for “Best Music Video” in 2018.
Channel Tres – “6 am”: Infectious beats and smooth delivery for a bouncy dance floor. Multi-hyphenate producer and singer Channel Tres has released his “Real Cultural Sh*t” EP on GODMODE/RCA Records. The 5-track body of work debuts three brand new tracks and presents some of Channel’s most authentic work yet while serving as a proper introduction to what he dubs as “Compton house.” Channel Tres reflects – “This EP is about me reminiscing on different relationships I had with my friends back in the day. Being a grown-up now, some of those relationships I don’t get to have as closely as I want anymore. If I ever ran into any of those friends or called them on the phone we have words and slang that we use that only we know. I call that type of stuff ‘real cultural shit.’ It’s a statement about how I don’t have to please anybody, all I have to do is be myself, and everything will work out. As an artist, the things that make me unique are things that I was either insecure about or ashamed of, but those are the things that also shaped me into the person I am. It’s about loving yourself and that’s real cultural shit.” Coming off the heels of a nearly sold-out run of US tour dates – his debut headline shows stateside – Channel will embark on a series of Europe and UK headline shows. They will kick off in Stockholm, Sweden at Slaktkyrkan on March 10.
