Press Releases From October: Here Are The Artists

King Princess & Emi Wes among the press releases from October (photo credit: TORSO & Naomi Akvama)

King Princess, rising Danish artist Emi Wes among these press releases from October

Emanuel – ‘Black Woman’: An intimate and moving tune sung with emotional and soulful vocals over simple notes and vibrant strings. This beautiful and pure track comes from rising Toronto R&B artist Emanuel and was recorded a year ago while he was working on his debut album in the Cayman Islands. The song is dedicated to the resilience, empowerment, and beauty of Black women, and its message resonates with the ongoing movement for Black lives around the world. It was inspired in part by a 1971 conversation between James Brown and Nikki Giovanni discussing the liberation of Black people from racism and persecution and touching on the relationships between Black men and Black women in relation to liberation. ‘’Black Woman’ is about reconciliation and also celebration – celebrating how strong our women are and how they hold us up,’ says Emanuel. ‘People might think this song was written as a response to the moment right now but it’s saying the exact same thing it was saying when it was written a year ago – ‘I see you, I recognize you, I appreciate you and I love you.’’

Brooks Hudgins – ‘Gas Station Viagra’: Released with another track called ‘Only Fans,’ this is storytelling for an emotional track mixing electronics, road trip guitars, ambient noises, and even movie-like dialogues. There is certainly something cinematic about these songs that Hudgins describes as ‘fictionalized to an extent, but blooming out of a kind of sad truth and sonder.’ If ‘Only Fans’ is ‘a fleeting tragicomedy on the cam girl hustle,’ ‘Gas Station Viagra’ is a ‘bittersweet tale of desperation seasoned with electronic components and acoustic guitars — a song with urgency and humor that belies the dark reality it chronicles.’ Early 2020, Hudgins has teamed up with classically trained violinist turned record producer Grant Gardner at Corner Store Studios in Ridgewood, and his debut full-length album, ‘Drive-Thru Communion’ is anticipated in early December.  We are told to expect an alt-country album with flashes of brilliance and maimed by a lot of head-scratching inconsistencies.

Psychedelic Porn Crumpets – ‘Tally-Ho‘: An energetic psychedelic rocking track delivered with plenty of urgency and ‘70s touches. It’s fuzzy, noisy, and punchy and this is the new song from Perth’s prominent experimental quintet, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets. This new one was written to engage the senses and make your ears tingle with excitement. ‘I wanted something that could encapsulate loads of fun and sound a bit strange,’ explains founding singer/guitar Jack McEwan, who was awarded first place in Music Radar’s top ten list of the best new guitar players in the world right now. ‘Like painting a colorful image of this distant world.’ Their new album ‘SHYGA! The Sunlight Mound’ is set for release on February 5, 2021.

King Princess  – ‘Only Time Makes It Human’: A sensual dance-pop song for a hot summer night with a la-la-la-la hook… it certainly helps that King Princess is performing in underwear, in a Quinn-Wilson-directed video, alongside her avatar created by 3D artist Pastelae. The track, produced by herself and Mike Malchicoff and co-produced by Mark Ronson, follows her 2019 debut album, ‘Cheap Queen,’ released via Mark Ronson’s Zelig Records/Columbia Records to widespread critical acclaim. And since King Princess is an entire package, new merch is available on her official site today, as fans will be able to get the iconic panties and tank she is wearing in the video, as well as several other new items featuring the single artwork. Check everything here.

DaniLeigh – ‘Monique’: An ambient modern hip hop track with wrapped-with-reverb fierce vocals delivered with swagger over laid-back beats. This is the last single by Danileigh, off her upcoming album ‘Movie’ released via Def Jam Recordings. The 25-year old artist rose to prominence at age 18, when she was chosen by her mentor Prince to direct the video for ‘Breakfast Can Wait.’ She has already amassed 3 million Instagram followers and over 1 million YouTube subscribers, and this new song confirms she is a new musical force to be reckoned with.

Elle Belle – ‘Everyone Knows (But They Won’t Tell You)’: An anxious melodic rock track with a booming chorus, working as an homage to the ‘90s records and offering a fresh take on the nation’s social climate. ‘Everyone Knows…’ was written about the impossible feat of trying to be everything to everyone and not excelling at any of it. ‘I’m too strange to follow, But not desperate enough to fold I’m too scared to let go, But so miserable in control….and Everyone Knows but they won’t tell you,’ sings Christopher Pappas (AKA Elle Belle). This is the second single from Elle Belle’s third full-length album ‘Post Everything’ due out on November 13th via Little Record Company. The album promises to be a journey through a nihilistic wasteland, but if we dig deep enough, we can still find droplets of hope.

Emi Wes – ‘All Grown Up’: A youthful and big voice with a sweet, almost doo-wop melodic theme, a saccharine song with a sexy take by rising Danish artist Emi Wes. It was produced by four-time-Grammy-nominated producer and writer, Robin Hannibal, who is best known for his work with Rhye, Quadron, Little Dragon, and Kendrick Lamar. ‘I hope just a few people can relate one way or the other to this song,’ Wes says. ‘I write songs about stuff that I can’t really get past personally, and then I write a song about it and I feel better.’ The song was called ‘MEGA-BOP and delivers a palatable retro wave.

Beam – ‘Psycho’: A horror-oriented hip hop track filled with metallic beats and reverbed-distorted vocals written for the soundtrack of the horror movie ‘Crimson.’ According to the trailer that you can watch here, the DIY look of the clown-themed horror film (it was directed by Gregory Plotkin, who also did ‘Paranormal Activity’),  is the work of Faze Clan, a new entertainment company, part esports organization, part influencer supergroup, and part merchandise brand. It counts some of the biggest YouTube and Twitch stars in the world among its members, including Faze Rug, who is starring in the movie. The trailer also reveals a limited-edition collaboration with Beats by Dr. Dre (Beats), and BEAM will release a new album that serves as the soundtrack for the movie, distributed by Epic Records.

Animalweapon – ‘Summer’s Over’: An ethereal and glitchy piano-driven song filled with Patrick Cortes’ intimate melancholic whisper. This is the new single from Raleigh-based electronic artist Animalweapon. Since the song expresses Cortes’ personal feelings about a sick friend, summer’s end, and mourning the terrible losses in the horrible messed-up year that is 2020, it’s certainly not something to cheer you up. But aren’t we all feeling the same right now? ‘I was visiting a close friend in Texas a year ago who was undergoing chemo for breast cancer and I was sitting outside late at night after everyone had gone to bed,’ recalls Cortes. ‘There were a lot of interesting sounds going on – cicadas and clicky little bugs that almost felt percussive in a way.  I recorded a bunch of nighttime ambiance with a handheld stereo Zoom recorder, sometimes shorter, more intentional clips, and then at one point I just kind of let it run to capture the atmosphere. I always travel with my MacBook and a small MIDI keyboard so I was able to go inside and start working on a piano melody right away to put alongside it.’ The song is also the first single off of Animalweapon’s upcoming EP that will be released Spring 2021 on Polychromatic Records, a label that focuses on synthpop, shoegaze, synthwave, indie, and avant-garde.

Fear No Empire – ‘Super Spreader’: A furious punk track screaming our collective anger facing anti-maskers and ignorance of the masses in the middle of this deadly pandemic. ‘Super Spreader condemns the selfish actions and twisted rationale used by some people who politicize wearing masks during a global pandemic rather than follow clear scientific evidence and common sense to protect not only their lives but the lives of everyone they come into contact with as well,’ explains frontman Tabatabaee. Fear No Empire wanted to deliver a powerful message with an accompanying video featuring real-life footage with an array of anti-maskers, Karens, and poignant imagery, but, shortly after the video went live, youtube removed it. ‘To our surprise and great disappointment, youtube has taken it upon themselves to censor our video for ‘Super Spreader.’ Clearly, they don’t want our message to be seen, but they can’t stop it from being heard’ explains Fear No Empire. You can still support them, as this song will be featured on their self-titled EP, out on October 28, and a portion of the proceeds from EP sales will be donated to the ACLU.