The monthly appointment with The Revolution, the series organized by National Sawdust and featuring emerging local talent, is back this coming Saturday (February 23) with Volume #36. 

Three artists coming from varied musical backgrounds will grace the venue’s stage: Pale Ramon is a brand new duo featuring Emanuel Ayvas of Emanuel and the Fear and Kevin Plessner of Oceanographer / Monuments, artists we covered extensively in this very blog. Their music walks the line between the intense songwriting of Jeff Buckley and the edgy arrangements of post-rock luminaires Tortoise.

Blending Hip Hop with melodic elements, a variety vocal samples and even jazzy bass lines, the latest single by rapper Phase One (entitled Citii Boy) shows a musician interested in taking the genre in new places, with results that sounds effortless and well produced. 

Yuli might only have one track available online (Her, streaming below), but it’s a song that may cast a spell on you. Soulful and experimental, this single strikes a perfect balance between intensity, melody and sonic exploration, taking us back to the day trip-hop ruled the world.

Listen to these three artists in the files streaming (the YouTube video has two tracks) and don’t miss their live performance at Revolution #36 – tickets are here.

One wouldn’t expect the front man of self-defined "panic rock" band Flagland (a punky trio whose latest record was released in 2017) to drop a mostly instrumental record that’s as delicate and well orchestrated as Dan Francia’s Come Back to Life (streaming below). Released by Explolding in Sound early in 2019, the album blends an overall understated vibe with a playful, collaborative approach, consisting in several guest appearences by noteworthy local artists like The Feelies, Speedy Ortiz, Sharkmuffin, Ovlov, Field Mouse, gobbinjr and Titus Andronicus – all accurately reported in the album’s Bandcamp page. Each track sounds like a humble experiment in sound exploration not necessarily aiming at forging a unified style, but succeeding at it nonetheless, creating a sound in part reminiscent of a less sample-heavy Beta Band. Those rare times when Dan’s voice comes into the picture ("Come Back to Life," "No Matter What"), his gentle bedroom melodies add an extra relatable element to the record, and in the titletrack‘s chorus ("Come back to life, you can do anything") seem to offer the clue through which this record should be interpreted: a statement of the freedom granted by life.

NYC synth music makers (and huge lovers of anything synth) Holy Ghost! just announced the upcoming release of their first album since 2013 "Dynamics." Preview single "Epton On Broadway (Part I & Part II)" keeps faith to the uplifting, ’80s influenced synth-soulpop sound of previous releases. The album represents the culmination of a transactional period, and preview single "Epton on Broadway" underlines this, as explained by frontman Alex Frankel: “Lyrically, ‘Epton On Broadway’ is a bit of a choose your own adventure. But to me: The verses are lamenting the end of a really fun era: “All my favorite places closed” – “nostalgia for the laughs and the afterglow.” 

Hola, peoples into emerging music!

The winter issue of The Deli NYC (our 56th!) is now up on the cloud (HERE), featuring glitch-soul luminaries altopalo on its cover!

The issue also tackles the current shift of everything cool from Brooklyn to Queens, and – as usual – highlights many local bands we dig (and their favorite gear).

There’s also a special about the NAMM show, which we will participate in with our own Stompbox Booth featuring tons of emerging pedal manufacturers!

Fresh Buzz and NYC Records of the Month sections are never skipped!

Look out for the print version, out at the end of the month.

The Folks at The Deli

“Both music and movies tell stories and when they come together to tell the same one, something magical happens” says All These Small Moments writer/director Melissa Miller Costanzo. “I used to love running out to buy the soundtrack to my favorite movies so I could relive the film over and over.  I could imagine the images that danced across the screen while a certain song was playing.  I hope the songs we’ve chosen here, along with the songs we’ve written, and the score we’ve created will take the viewer back again and again to a place where they felt something real”.

When embarking on the soundtrack for her debut film, Melissa plucked NYC composer Dan Lipton from the theater world (conductor of The Band’s Visit and The Last Ship by Sting on Broadway) to write an original score that would breathe additional life into the characters. Shortly thereafter, she recruited music producer Charles Newman (The Magnetic Fields, The Bones of J.R Jones) to handle the music supervision and help find the perfect source music to not only compliment the story but to help shape it.  What ensued was a partnership between Miller and Newman taking them on a collaborative journey of the senses. The result was an indie pop rock retro-americana mashup, with a dash of 80’s and shoegaze thrown in for good measure. 

From the downbeat of the opening song “My Love Will Bring You Back” by Slow Runner (feat. Michael Flynn) the ear candy begins. Other featured tracks include Vermont troubadour Kris’s Gruen’s “Coming Down Around Me” which was co-penned by Miller- Costanzo for the film, Los Angeles’s Aloud contributes their 60’s inspired Beatlesque duet “Jeanne, It’s Just a Ride!” and NYC’s Tom Shaner contributes “Joe’s Airfield”. Other moments in the film are underscored by the Americana tones of Jaymay and Canadian darlings Birds of Bellwoods, while North Carolina’s Echo Courts and Jean-Luc add a healthy dose of garage rock and lounge vibes alongside New York City’s retro J-Pop group Gaijin à Go-Go. Lastly, David Sisko’s remix of the Cold Blood Club’s 2012 song “Down”, and Brooklyn’s Desert Stars add a modern sheen of 80’s electronica and lush shoegazey moments.

Dan Lipton’s indie folk score which is represented by 12 tracks on the album, was recorded live at Brooklyn’s Strange Weather studios with Lipton on piano, wurlitzer, mellotron, and an array of kalimbas and other accoutrements. The score features NYC musicians Mason Ingram (Cyndi Lauper, Bibi Bourelly) on drums and percussion, Logan Coale (Natalie Merchant, The National) on upright bass and Erik Della Penna (Joan Baez, Kill Henry Sugar) on guitars and mandolins.

The soundtrack album is being released on January 18th, the same day the film becomes available on demand.

Toronto based alt rock outfit Birds of Bellwoods have wasted little time making an indelible mark on Canada’s musical landscape, having amassed an impressive pile of achievements and accolades in a few short years on the back of their boisterous blend of anthemic alternative, folk, and pop music.  After getting their 2015 EP “The Fifth” into the hands of All These Small Moments producer Lauren Avinoam, it’s title track made it’s way to the ears of director Melissa Miller-Costanzo who found it’s fervent energy a perfect fit for her film.  

The soundtrack album is being released on Brooklyn’s Mother West label on January 18th, the same day the film becomes available on demand.

Known for their songwriting and vocal prowess, Boston founded Aloud made the move to LA in 2017 where they’ve been carving their name into the local scene. Led by vocalists/guitarists Jen de la Osa and Henry Beguiristain, the group is rounded out by bassist Charles Murphy and drummer Chris Jago. According to the director Melissa-Miller Costanzo, Aloud’s song was one of her early picks for the film and with help of music supervisor Charles Newman, it was cut in across a few scenes to create the perfect fit.. The soundtrack album is being released on Brooklyn’s Mother West label on January 18th, the same day the film becomes available on demand.

A New York City native who’s put down roots in Vermont over two decades ago, Kris effortlessly blends sagacious wit and emotional depth in his songwriting. “Coming Down Around Me’ off his 2018 album Coast & Refuge was co-written with director Melissa Miller-Costanzo who also directed the music video for the song which will be released later this month. Melissa says of the song “It perfectly envelopes the characters in a swath of poetry and a twang of seduction." The soundtrack album is being released on Brooklyn’s Mother West label on January 18th, the same day the film becomes available on demand.

We’ve never been jazz fans – we are indie kids here at The Deli NYC, although we can certainly appreciate other genres – but admittedly, after 20+ years spent listening to similar variations of major and minor chords (with maybe a seventh thrown in for good measure every now and then), it feels incredibly refreshing to hear chord progressions that challenge our ear. NYC quintet Earthquake Lights just unveiled the video for their single Moonlight, a song based on a succession of chords that may sound slightly dissonant at first but that resolves beautifully in a subtle series of tension and release moments. The track’s songwriting and delivery betray an experienced and skilled group of musicians with jazz leanings, and as a matter of fact lead singer/keyboardist Myles Rodenhouse and company are veterans of the NYC scene and have been involved in all sorts of musical projects, including a jazz orchestra. The took the opportunity of the video premiere to announce the upcoming release of their debut LP Distress Signals, the follow up to their 2012 debut EP Bangups & Hangups.

Operating in the intersection between New Wave, EDM, and soul music, Brooklyn via Washington DC Foreign Air have forged a recognizable and original style, while releasing a series of incredibly catchy songs. First single Free Animal put them on the right path, but the solid 2016 EP For the Light already included another noteworthy track (In the Shadows), which climbed the digital charts and helped keep the name "hot." After that initial burst, the band has managed to keep their fans’ attention alive through the constant release of several other quality singles. Their latest, entitled "Used to You" (streaming below), is a glo-fi mid-tempo that flirts with trip hop and Moby’s looped soul samples. The duo just announced a month-long North American tour that will take them to Austin during SXSW and back to Baby’s All Right on April 9th. 

In the four years since their brooding and aptly titled debut Post-Everything, the members of the no-wave inspired outfit Weeknight have had time to consider where to take their music next. Last month the band released the first video from their upcoming album Dead Beat Creep, titled "Outside the Pale", proving that the last few years were well worth the wait. The track is just as darkly beautiful as their previous work, but with a more refined pop sensibility – here they manage to achieve an austere atmosphere with enveloping synths, reverberating guitar and a cathartic chorus. Weeknight’s sophomore work is due February 1st, and the band will be bringing their new tunes to an upcoming Brooklyn show at Alphaville on February 20th, after a three week US tour. In the meantime, check out the video below, and play it on the train while pretending you’re in your own movie. – Sunny Betz

Whether you’re getting ahead on Valentine’s Day plans or dreading its approach, it’ll be well worth it for you to make it down to Elsewhere the night of the 14th to check out Starchild & The New Romantic. Drawing on the grooves of artists like Prince and Outkast, Starchild (otherwise known as Bryndon Cook) gracefully balances vibrant earnestness and downright addictive electro funk, making even heartbreak sound fun. Cook established himself touring with Solange and working with Blood Orange, but with last year’s debut album Language, it’s clear that Starchild deserves a stage of his own. Check out Language on Starchild & The New Romantic’s Bandcamp, and don’t miss the upcoming Brooklyn show, date or no date. – Sunny Betz