Month: April 2021

On the heels of racking up his seventh consecutive No. 1 hit, multi-PLATINUM star BRETT YOUNG has announced his next chapter with WEEKENDS LOOK A LITTLE DIFFERENT THESE DAYS, available June 4. As Young’s red-hot career catapults to towering heights and as he simultaneously experiences the life-altering changes of early fatherhood and an expanding family, the singer/songwriter has funneled each milestone into a creative throttle. Coupling the professional and personal, he will deliver eight fresh tracks exploring love, family, loss and everything in between. The consistent chart-topper stretches into blazing new sonic territory with his most sonically versatile project to date. Young co-wrote the entire Dann Huff-produced collection, which features “Lady”, “You Got Away With It” and current single ‘Not Yet’.

“Not Yet” is a blend of crisp vocals and vivid scenes of fresh new romance and soaring guitar riffs, the song serves as an instant album highlight.

“It’s hard to describe just how ready I am to finally get to share this new project with everyone,” Young shared. “With so many special moments over the last year-and-a-half and creative jolts translating to writing so many different songs, it was important for me to pick the right ones to reflect where I am right now. I’m grateful and can’t wait to share everything we have planned!”

“the new face of hyperpop” ­- SPIN

Rising hyperpop star ElyOtto has released a remix of his viral hit ‘SugarCrash!’ featuring pop icon Kim Petras and fellow artist/producer Curtis Waters, after the original track has become a streaming juggernaut with 100M streams on Spotify to date and peaking at #1 on the Australian and US Spotify Viral 50 Chart.

Of the new version, ElyOtto says “I never thought my own song could sound this good. Kim and Curtis added so much energy to it, it gives me goosebumps every time I listen.”

Explaining how the remix came about, Kim Petras explains “When ElyOtto reached out I immediately said yes, wrote the verse, and sent it in. And ElyOtto loved it. I love ElyOtto as an artist and feel really proud to be a part of this.”

Elliott Platt, the 17-year-old transgender singer, songwriter and producer from Calgary, Canada known as ElyOtto, has taken the internet by storm with his insanely catchy earworm of a song “SugarCrash!” which has garnered over 8M creations.

Following the success of ‘Tennessee’ hitting number five on The Music Network’s Official Country Hot 50 Radio Chart, the Nashville-based Australian songstress Katrina Burgoyne has released the most vulnerable song she has ever written, ‘Songwriter’. A solid offering, ‘Songwriter’ is Katrina’s moving anthem for all of us who have struggled to carry on in tough times.

The Aussie singer-songwriter grew up on the stages of Tamworth’s Country Music Festival. A two-time Golden Guitar-nominated recording artist with several top 10 singles and an ARIA-charting album with ‘White Flag’ .

Even in her teens, Katrina was a prolific songwriter and dreamed of living and working in Nashville, Music City, USA. Sometimes you can be too comfortable in your one traffic light hometown so, in 2017, she took a massive leap of faith and flew to Nashville with just a suitcase, a guitar, and her little Aussie battler attitude.

Soon, Katrina began performing on Broadway and across Tennessee and Kentucky to support herself while chasing her dream of becoming a full-time songwriter. Katrina was working her voice hard, singing five to seven nights a week while struggling with the Tennessee pollen. However, 18 months of laryngitis took her voice, threatened her livelihood, and dream of making it in Nashville. She considered moving back to Australia for a much-needed sinus operation, but she hung on.

“I had such a deep calling to be in Nashville. Countless days spent inhaling eucalyptus and steam so I could head out again that night and make my living. It almost broke me,” Katrina said. “That was when ‘Songwriter’ came to me, in the middle of the night with a tear rolling down my cheek, I thought: ‘Maybe I should just give up, wrap it up and move on home. I didn’t want it to be the end of my Nashville story – I wanted this to be my fight song. After months in my songbook, I got the courage to take it to one of my most trusted co-writers, Jake Anderson, who told me he sometimes feels the same way.”

A live performance of ‘Songwriter’ has generated in excess of 100,000 views on Facebook, and Katrina has realised that this song isn’t just about the creative journey. Fans and supporters have related to this song and spoke of their hardships and doubts, sharing ‘Songwriter’ more than 750 times.

“This song is about getting back up and trying again. 2020 was such a tough year, I couldn’t think of a more perfect time to remind people we are not alone in our doubts and that we are stronger than we know,” said Katrina.

In a profoundly commanding team up, electronic pop icons Boo Seeka and Golding have combined forces to create Don’t Waste Your Love, an irresistible, powerful track that propels a dark human sadness and holds it up to the light, out today – April 21.

Don’t Waste Your Love is the culmination of all the best parts of these artists’ individual influences; Chet Faker meets RÜFÜS DU SOL, Frank Ocean meets Glass Animals, Cashmere Cat meets Poolside. It’s a seductive dancefloor moment, but it might be a bit of a sad-dance, as those devastating lyrics play out on top of that enticing bassline. This song will slip easily into your favourite playlists, and will sock you right in the feels the moment you hit play for the first time. Speaking on the inspiration behind the track, Golding reflects, “Don’t Waste Your Love came about when I was going through a tough time. I was experiencing this uncomfortable anxiety that made me feel detached from both my surroundings and my emotions. Not being able to feel the love of my family around me created a shocking, yet somehow empty feeling, to the point where it was almost a physical numbness.”

There’s a special vulnerability to this track that takes it somewhere more special than just a dancefloor banger – delicate and raw, the lyrics hit hard. Ben of Boo Seeka explains a moment of honesty between the artists, ” before we knew it, we were getting pretty deep and opening up about a lot of personal stuff that has happened in our separate lives over the

last year. I guess for both of us the best way to deal with that stuff is to write about it – so that’s exactly what we did. The whole song was written in 20 minutes.”

There are no official plans as yet for these artists to head out together on the road, but fans are sure to be keeping an eye out after this hint from Golding; “There could be a few appearances during some Boo Seeka sets…maybe.”

Don’t Waste Your Love is released, April 21.

Country star and reigning CMA Entertainer of The Year Eric Church has today released his latest album ‘Soul’.

Soul is the third part of a three-part project titled ‘Heart & Soul’. The first instalment ‘Heart’ was released last Friday (April 16) while the second part ‘&’ was release on Tuesday exclusive to members of the Church Choir, Church’s fan club.

Despite career milestones that include 10 chart-topping singles, five Platinum-selling albums, seven ACM Awards, four CMA trophies and 10 GRAMMY nominations, Church still came out of his last album cycle feeling the need to push himself further. Recognizing the level of comfort achieved by recording six highly successful projects with the same team and overall process, he craved the tension and vulnerability that inspires boundless creativity. In his typical fashion, the man Stereogum celebrates as “our greatest working rock star” and Esquire names “one of the most singular working artists in any genre” took that desire to the extreme.

Together with producer Jay Joyce, Church headed to the mountain town of Banner Elk, N.C., where they set up a makeshift recording studio in a restaurant that had closed its doors for the winter. They moved the tables out of the dining room. They turned the basement into a drum booth. They placed microphones around the premises to capture the unique acoustics of the restaurant’s barn wood interior. And then, as the weather outside turned frigid, they got to work, bringing rotating groups of songwriters and instrumentalists to the compound every few days.

“There was an interchangeable quality that felt so unique,” Church says of the recording process. “We were eating together, living together, and acting like a big family up there in the mountains. When we’d record, it didn’t matter if you were one of the writers or one of the players. It really came down to everyone wanting the song to be born – for the song to come alive – and it was just a matter of who could make it come alive. If you could do that, then you’d be in the studio making it happen. And I’ve never seen that happen before. I’ve never even heard of that happening.”

The final result of that inclusive process is a three-part, 24-song collection from the man Stereogum praises as “the most consistently interesting star in the Nashville ecosystem” which features an elite list of songwriters who joined the secluded marathon writing and recording sessions. Part of the recording process for the project anchored solely by Church, with no features, were his longtime producer Jay Joyce and backing vocalist Joanna Cotten, as well as his touring band.

“The freneticism of the rhythm makes me wanna take off and start running or……just break something,” says multi-platinum, five-time ARIA and Grammy award winning global superstar, Keith Urban of his song “Out The Cage,” which sees the debut of its music video today. ” ‘Out the Cage’ began with an idea I had to build upon a ’90s English house breakbeat rhythm; I’ve always loved Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, those kinds of rhythmic energies” explains Urban.

As with his current hit single “One Too Many,” Urban’s duet with P!nk, “Out The Cage” features an unlikely collaboration that includes legendary funk master Nile Rodgers and country-trap songwriter/producer and performer, Breland. “Out The Cage” was one of four tracks written during Covid lockdown in 2020 with the lyrical content exploring themes of freedom. “I really wanted this song to speak to liberation of all sorts, even if that’s somebody in a dead-end job, somebody that’s stuck in a relationship that’s going nowhere and they can’t get out, someone imprisoned in their own mind.” says Urban of the emotive single.

The video, which Urban and Breland shot in Sydney (following a two-week quarantine) is a frantically paced, quick cut stream of imagery which captures “Out The Cage’s” driving intensity, as well as the combustibility of the creative relationship between Breland and Urban. Add to the mix Nile Rodgers, who filmed his part in Connecticut and who also collaborated with Urban on “Sun Don’t Let Me Down” from his 2016 #1 album RIPCORD, the video for “Out The Cage” lives up to its name. Watch the video here:

Urban’s latest album, THE SPEED OF NOW Part 1, marks the fourth in an historic streak of simultaneous #1 album debuts in the United States, Canada and Australia. It features “One Too Many”, Urban’s hit duet with P!nk, which is certified double platinum and reached #1 on the Australian Artist ARIA singles chart and #6 on the ARIA singles chart. The album also produced the US Top 5 hit “God Whispered Your Name,” as well as a series of international hits including “Polaroid,” and “Superman”.

Urban yesterday announced celebrated Australian band, Birds of Tokyo as the special guest on his ‘THE SPEED OF NOW WORLD TOUR 2021,’ which opens on December 1st in Newcastle. These are Urban’s first shows in Australia in more than two years, his first in Perth since 2014 and the first stops of his ‘THE SPEED OF NOW WORLD TOUR’. It also includes shows in Sydney, Wollongong, Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

#1 Reggae – Spotify, #1 Tropical – Spotify, #1 Island Roots – Spotify, #4 PlayMPE – Downloads, #5 PlayMPE – Streams, #1 Chile – iTunes, #7 Best Of Pop 2020 – Spotify, #11 Kuwait – iTunes
Born and raised in Carson, California to Hawaiian parents, Bo Napoleon followed in his father’s footsteps as a singer songwriter. His success as a writer came when he wrote two hit singles for Common Kings, Wade In The Water, and, Alcoholic, which lead to a Grammy nomination for Reggae Album Of The Year. Subsequent to his success with Common Kings, Bo released his first single, Another Rainbow, which crossed over to Top 40 radio. Two more singles followed, Born and Raised, and, Rastaman. Napoleon’s biggest hit to date was, If That’s Okay, which was a commercial success and again crossed over to Top 40 radio. After sold out tours and with the onset of Covid-19, Bo released, Here Comes The Sun. When asked what his motivation was, he replied, “I’ve been missing my friends and family and wanted to make them something special, a fresh take on one of my favorites. It gives me a feeling of optimism and it’s a feeling I’d like to spread.”
Produced By Jonnie “Most” Davis (P!nk, Santigold, American Authors, Outkast)
Mixed by Tony Maserati (Jason Mraz, Shawn Mendez, Beyonce, Selena Gomez)

“Morning Light,” the newest single from Australia’s Hamish Anderson, is a first for the “Singer/Songwriter and Guitar Hero” (Billboard.com 2018) in many ways.

It was remotely produced while Hamish was in lockdown in Melbourne, Australia. His band, Lauren Stockner (Bass), Matt Musty (Drums, Grace Potter) along with soulful Backing Vocals by Jessica Childress, and producer David Davis were in Los Angeles, CA.

This single has a positive tone and really brings Hamish’s own feelings front and center. He wrote this going prior to 2020; but while the world was evolving, this song not only resonated with his audience, but also became an acoustic mantra during all his shows. He’s excited to have an electric version of it to share.

Lastly, “Morning Light” is a first time collaboration for Hamish in that it was co-produced by Hamish and David Davis (Miguel, The War on Drugs, Lauren Ruth Ward). As a result, it is dripping with 70s style rocknroll swagger, building from a driving guitar & drum beat to boldly distorted T Rex meets Rolling Stones tones.

With “Morning Light” Hamish Anderson comes into his own as not only a co-producer; but also tapping into the zeitgeist of the new framework for us all.

“‘Morning Light’ came to me when I was on my first European tour in 2018. I remember I was lying in the back of the van with the sun shining on me when the lyrics and melody just popped into my head. I had been thinking about all sorts of hard times that everyone has to endure — and how much of it actually turns out okay. I wanted to capture that feeling of hope that a new day can bring by reminding myself that things will get better – and that these everyday moments really do shine through, if you pay attention.” – Hamish Anderson

John Hiatt with The Jerry Douglas Band will release Leftover Feelings on May 21st via New West Records. The 11-song set was produced by Jerry Douglas and recorded at Historic RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tenn. A meeting of two American music giants in a legendary setting, Leftover Feelings is neither a bluegrass album nor a return to Hiatt’s 1980s days with slide guitar greats Ry Cooder and Sonny Landreth. There’s no drummer, yet these grooves are deep and true. And while the up-tempo songs are, as ever, filled with delightful internal rhyme and sly aggression, The Jerry Douglas Band’s empathetic musicianship nudges Hiatt to performances that are startlingly vulnerable.

The collaboration follows Hiatt’s 2018 studio album The Eclipse Sessions. Receiving widespread critical acclaim, The New York Times said “Hiatt still writes, as evidenced by his latest release, The Eclipse Sessions, a collection of timeless tunes that show his unassuming mastery,” while Guitar Player called him “…an artist on par with American greats such as Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Paul Simon, and Bruce Springsteen.” Jerry Douglas is a Dobro master who reinvented the instrument and is responsible for bringing it to popular presence in modern times. The Jerry Douglas Band’s 2017 studio album What If was nominated for a Grammy Award in the “Best Contemporary Instrumental Album” category with Rolling Stone saying, “Even after 14 Grammys, Jerry Douglas is still exploring unlikely musical pairings…”

Historic RCA Studio B was one of the cradles of the “Nashville Sound” in the 1950s and 60s. A sophisticated style characterized by background vocals and strings, the Nashville Sound and Studio B played major roles in establishing Nashville’s identity as an international recording center. Hitmakers in Studio B included Country Music Hall of Fame members Eddy Arnold, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Elvis Presley, and more. Songs recorded within its walls span decades, genres and emotions, with Presley’s forlorn “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” and Parton’s autobiographical “Coat of Many Colors” among them.

Built when Hiatt was five years old, Studio B was designed for music to be made in real time by musicians listening to each other and reacting in the emotional moment. That’s what happened here: Five players on the studio floor, making decisions on instinct rather than calculation. “I was immediately taken back to 1970, when I got to Nashville,” said Hiatt upon entering the studio. A half-century ago, Hiatt lived in a ratty, $15-a-week room on Nashville’s 16th Avenue, less than a mile away from RCA and Columbia studios that were the heartbeat of what had come to be known as “Music Row.” “You can’t not be aware of the records that were made there…Elvis, the Everly Brothers, Waylon Jennings doing ‘Only Daddy That’ll Walk the Line’ (which is referenced in the new song “The Music is Hot”). But that history wasn’t intimidating, because it’s such a comfortable place to make music.”

John Hiatt’s lyrics and melodies have graced more than 20 studio albums, have been recorded by Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, B.B. King & Eric Clapton, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, Iggy Pop, and scores of others, and have earned him a place in the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, A BMI Troubadour award, and a lifetime achievement in songwriting designation from the Americana Music Association. Jerry Douglas has performed on more than 1,500 albums by artists including Ray Charles, George Jones, Alison Krauss, Earl Scruggs, and James Taylor, and none of those works sound a bit like the new and masterful Leftover Feelings.

Country star and reigning CMA Entertainer Of The Year has today released his latest album ‘Heart’. Through April, Church will release all three volumes of a new project that he’s called ‘Heart & Soul’. ‘Heart’, the first album in the series, is out today with another album called ‘Soul’ arriving next week (April 23). Next Tuesday, Church will also release a six-song vinyl EP called ‘&’ that’ll only be available to members of the Church Choir, Church’s fan club.

“I’ve always been intrigued when a song is born in a writer room – there is a magic that happens there,” shares Church of the unique process that went into making this project. “I wanted to put that in the studio form. So, every day, we would write a song in the morning and we would record the song that night. Doing it that way allowed for the songwriters to get involved in the studio process and the musicians to be involved in the creative process. You felt a little bit like you were secretly doing something that was special, and you knew it… You started going, ‘hmm, wait ’til the world finds out about this.”

The final result of that inclusive process is a three-part, 24-song collection from the man Stereogum praises as “the most consistently interesting star in the Nashville ecosystem” which features an elite list of songwriters who joined the secluded marathon writing and recording sessions. Part of the recording process for the project anchored solely by Church, with no features, were his longtime producer Jay Joyce and backing vocalist Joanna Cotten, as well as his touring band.

“The interesting thing about this process is that Jay kept asking me the last three or four days, ‘Are we done?’ and at that time I didn’t know what the project was,” notes Church. “I kept saying ‘God, this is going to be really hard. There’s a lot here. Is this a double album? And if it’s a double album, how do we leave out these five or six songs?’ I am the hardest critic on making sure every song deserves to be on the record, and I beat this thing to death going ‘this can’t be that good.’ But, it was just a special, special time and a special, special project that I think will be among our best.”