Brooklyn based writer, producer and vocalist tara-bridget is back with new offering ‘She’s so cool’. Receiving praise from the likes of V Magazine, who referred to her as ‘indie’s next rising star’, Women That Rock Press, Quadio, and UK FM Radio, it’ll come at no surprise that tara-bridget is certainly turning heads within the industry. With just under 30,000 monthly listeners on Spotify alone and just under 1.5 million streams on the streaming platform, tara-bridget is known for her adventurous pop music.
Sharing her thoughts on the release, tara-bridget shares, “She's so cool was originally written for my best friend, who had a tough year. Over time, I think the song took on a broader narrative of working women I was raised around, and all around reconciling with growing into myself and finding my place as an artist, as a person.
I found the melody by accident, looking for something more upbeat at the time, but I felt the lead keys were self-discovering, and the lyrics had kind of just come to me. I was thinking about my best friend, and how I love her. A fun fact is that I kept the first lead vocal take I ever took. I just sat down, and it felt perfect. Those things are rare, and I prefer not to mess with them.”
Bewitched from the very first note, it’s tara-bridget’s distinctive vocals that steal the spotlight. Delicate but still coming across as fiercely powerful, the innovative songwriter’s voice could easily find her singing alongside the greats. Aiming to grow as an artist and truly cement her sound, ‘She’s so cool’ really details the importance of staying true to yourself and finding your ‘niche’. Starting her career back in 2017 by publishing her music on Soundcloud and recording with a USB mic, tara-bridget began writing lo-fi pop music. Gradually maturing with each release, tara-bridget is somewhere between indie-rock, alternative-pop and dream-pop. Accompanied with the voice of an angel and transcending songwriting, tara-bridget is destined for greatness.
Clive Nolan & Oliver Wakeman’s “Dark Fables” will be released on November 5, 2021. This standalone release was originally the third CD from Clive Nolan and Oliver Wakeman’s “Tales By Gaslight” box set released earlier this year.
“Dark Fables” contains over 30 minutes of music conceived for the abandoned “Frankenstein” album which would have joined the duo’s “Jabberwocky” and “Hound Of The Baskervilles” collaborations. As with the previous albums, “Dark Fables” features the duo’s virtuosic keyboard playing with sublime performances from Gordon Giltrap, Paul Manzi (The Sweet, Arena, Oliver Wakeman Band). Andy Sears (Twelfth Night), Karl Groom (Threshold), David Mark Pearce (Oliver Wakeman Band, Munroe's Thunder) and Charlotte Dickerson.
The set also includes unused pieces from their “The Hound Of The Baskervilles” album; “The Man Called Sherlock”, which was the original version of the “Overture”, and “221B”, inspired by Sherlock Holmes’ famous address in Baker Street. In addition, the release also features Rick Wakeman narrating the “Jabberwocky Poem” in full, a perfect way to round off the twists and turns of another Nolan/Wakeman project!
Clive Nolan (Pendragon, Arena) and Oliver Wakeman (YES, Strawbs) first combined their considerable keyboard and compositional talents to create the two aforementioned rock opera/concept albums in 1999 and 2002. Peter Pracownik was the creative behind the original “The Hound Of The Baskervilles” artwork 20 years ago and has employed his talents again for the sleeve of “Dark Fables”.
You can listen to the single release, “Why Do You Hate Me” on Oliver’s YouTube channel:
Track Listing:
1 The Overture 2 I’d Give You Anything 3 The Mirror 4 Elizabeth 5 Why Do You Hate Me? 6 The Wedding Approaches 7 Time Passe 8 A Descent Into Madness 9 221B 10 The Man Called Sherlock 11 The Baker Street Irregulars 12 The Jabberwocky
Claiming the role as a producer, singer, songwriter and music engineer all at the age of just 21 years old, Kate Brunotts really ticks all the right boxes. Receiving support from Lefuturewave, who stated that her music ‘creates new universes, she’s a surefire creative and artistic force’, as well multiple Spotify editorial playlists including ‘Fresh Finds’, Kate is certainly turning heads within the industry. Back with indie infused contender ‘GEMINI’, the track is a self-produced single all about the experience that comes from the duality of both a physical and digital self.
Talking about the sensational new single, Kate explains, “GEMINI is about the facade of ourselves that we portray online and how that reputation unfortunately precedes our one in the physical world. I produced this track after being inspired by the eerie soundscapes of FKA Twigs and feeling a distinct separation between who I am personally and digitally.
I thought it was important for the bed of the sound to be made up of my own distorted vocal samples, with my true vocal singing on top of it. I started with the vocal samples and built up the beat from there.”
The first single off of Kate’s self-produced EP ‘all caps’, slated for arrival later this year, GEMINIcomes across as euphoric and the suitable song for the perfect backdrop to your favourite TV show. Entirely self produced with further mixing done by Devin Spear, the hypnotic track features vocal staples, drum samples, choir samples and even a flute as well. Showcasing that versatility is important to this songwriter, Kate likes to create innovative music without boundaries.
Out on October 30th via Bandcamp, “Oblivion Bound”: the first full-length collaboration between Mark Murdock and Dmitry M. Epstein
The eve of Halloween 2021 sees the release of “Oblivion Bound”: a concept album, devised by Dmitry M. Epstein on Mark Murdock’s request, a record which tells a story of a rock star who dies and is given a second chance to live - provided he can change and get cleansed through his love, his only constant on this mortal coil - but what if he returns and no one remembers his name? It’s a story of Orpheus and Eurydice turned inside out and upside down, with a possible happy end – recounted over the background blending hard-rock vigor and prog sophistication and set to a string of highly memorable melodies.
The joint project of Japan-based American Murdock, famous for his part in Peter Banks’ Empire, and Canadian Epstein, a music journalist and a runner of the “Let It Rock” website (dmme.net), who followed the veteran’s career and reviewed albums he released with such ensembles as Cymbalic Encounters and Masheen Messiah, started in early 2021.
Perceived initially as a Murdock record, “The Game of the Name” – this is the opus’ original title – turned into a duo’s one once Mark asked Dmitry to come up with a concept which would run through all the songs they planned to write. The latter obliged, even though he had never penned a narrative-based lyrics, as opposed to image-driven words, and the former sketched out demos to be fleshed out by artists often present on his discs. Thus, The Id’s Tim Pepper became the voice of “Oblivion Bound” and NEKTAR’s Ron Howden shared drumming duties with Murdock, while Fernando Perdomo, his colleague in The New Empire, and his son Preston are but two of the guitarists featured on the album.
While the record was being prepared, Dmitry co-wrote two songs on Mark’s Atomic Rooster tribute, Nuclear Bird’s debut “Tyrannical Megalomaniac,” and Mark finished and has just released his new solo CD, “Visitors from Another Planet.”
Says Mark Murdock, “Based on the creative writing of Dmitry’s reviews, I felt he was the right person to approach about doing a concept project with. In this project the lyrics were written after the music, but perhaps as follow up we can reverse the process.”
Adds Dmitry M. Epstein, “It was a gripping experience directing Mark’s music as well as being directed by it. The result of our efforts is open to interpretation, but don’t hurry to jump to conclusions just because the end of this story might have to be written yet.”
The tracklist: 1. Coming To 2. Ain’t No Avalon 3. Echo of My Ego 4. A Way Out For the Weak 5. The Game of the Name 6. Voices in My Mind 7. Outside Whorl 8. Vanishing Point 9. Will You Take Me Back (to the Fold)?
All music composed by Mark Murdock, except Song 9 which was composed by Preston Murdock Lyrics by Dmitry M. Epstein
Mark Murdock - drums, percussion & keyboards Ron Howden (Nektar) - drums on song 8 Tim Pepper (The Id) - vocals Fernando Perdomo (The New Empire) - lead guitar on songs 1 & 2 Katsumi Yoneda (French TV) - guitar Dave Juteau (The Dave Juteau Band) - guitar on song 8 Preston Murdock (Cymbalic Encounters) - guitar on song 9 Jeff Curry (Izmatik) - bass Daniel Kubota (Cymbalic Encounters) - guitar on song 4
Produced, Mixed and Mastered by Mark Murdock Recorded at Off-Shore Studios, Tokyo and U.K. Artwork by TimPani Graphics Copyright 2021
Iceberg Black – also known as "Ice” – has carved out a lane of his own in the industry, using self-produced beats, a prolific work rate, and a distinctively gritty sound, accentuated by production consisting of sparse melodies and booming 808s. He's received praise from outlets across the web, as the music videohas earned more than 275,000 views on YouTube since its release on October 13th.
With the hopes of broadening his audience even more, Ice has now signed with Babygrande Records and makes his label debut with the captivating music video for “Spaceships & Hoodbitches”-- his sensational self-produced track that has climbed to 2.5 million streams on Spotify alone off word of mouth. Ice and Babygrande have also announced that his upcoming album, “The Mothership,” will be released on October 22.
Conceived by renowned director Shomi Patwary, the video takes viewers on a futuristic journey through Iceberg Black’s hometown, as he flexes in dapper attire and fancy cars. The video feels otherworldly and perfectly complements the track, which feels and sounds well ahead of its time. Patwary pairs a captivating storyline with VFX and quick cuts to engage viewers throughout the video. It’s a mesmerizing on-screen performance from Iceberg Black and sets a high bar for his visuals going forward.
