Isn’t there something beautiful about finding a great song born from a collaboration between two bands that, together, don’t even reach the 500 Facebook likes thereshold? Ok, ok, FB likes mean nothing, but still… Check out this minimalistic gem entitled "Locomote" (first track streaming) by atmospheric pop trio Kid in the Attic (pictured) and solo electro tinkerer Genghis Hans, both based in Brooklyn, and let’s call it our new little secret. The track is from 2013, but the two groups kept active since then, and they seem to have a busy live schedule. Kid in the Attic, who released a couple of covers in 2014 (of Bjork and Will Stratton songs) will be playing Trans Pecos on February 17, while Genghis Hans, whose latest, 2013 EP ‘Reptilian Regions‘ is a lush example of imaginative electro-pop, will be performing at Rought Trade on 2.13 with American Royalty and Syd Arthu. Check out the title track single below.
Our Year End Poll for Emerging Toronto Artists was – as usual – a painstaking (and rather complicated) process, but we pulled it off with remarkable flair!
Congrats to loud rock duo Teenage Kicks (pictured and streaming below) for winning the aggregate chart (see below) and therefore becoming The Deli Toronto’s first Emerging Artist of the Year! Because of this they’ll be featured in our SXSW print issue (10k copies of it will be distributed in Austin during Music Week – read last year’s edition here).
Thumbs up to retro-pop starlet Laura Cole and Lou Reed-esque quintet Sun K, also winners of our Readers and Fans Poll, who placed respectively second and third.
In case you are wondering how our poll works, here’s a quick explanation:
1. First, we let the local bands submit their music (for free), and got our Deli editors to pick the nominees.
2. Then we polled a list of 20+ Toronto scene expert (our jury) and asked them to nominate 3 more bands of their choice each.
3. Then we polled our writers, then we polled our readers and writers.
We tried to keep things open for each single genre, from Indie Rock to Roots Music to Hip Hop.
If you are a geek interested in all the subtleties related to how this poll works, you can read its rules here (happy reading!). But if all you care about is the awesome new music Toronto produced in the year 2013, this list is all you need. Enjoy!
BEST OF 2013 POLL FOR EMERGING Toronto ARTISTS
****** FINAL RESULTS ******
As creation stories go, Jared Samuel – chief songsmith of NYC band Invisible Familiars – has one, just like the rest of us. It begins in suburban New York State, and crystallizes in Brooklyn, where he doubles these days as both session-man and bandleader. He’s played and toured with acts like Superhuman Happiness, Cibo Matto, and, more recently, Sean Lennon’s GOASTT. The band’s debut album, "Disturbing Wildlife" soars gracefully through the pop and psychedelic strata, where rich harmonies and an array of exotic instrumentation never overwhelm Samuel’s lyrical expressionism. Don’t miss their CD release party at Baby’s All Right on January 30 – there’s a rumor that his friend Sean Lennon will make an appearence.
With a mission to “create fresh, inventive art with musical sounds” and “promote skillful musicians and songwriters whose goal is to compose from mind, body, and soul,”The Nation of Love is an independent record label that connects passionate music makers with devout music lovers.
In 2009, songwriter/drummer/producer Phylshawn Johnson founded the label out of a desire to create and promote albums. “Inspired by Motown Records having musicians and artists that searched for a new sound and had a professional way about them,” Johnson remarks, “the mission was to find artists to compose in a unique way but also connect with the listener.”
Mr. History was the first band whose album was released under The Nation of Love’s purview, and the label has since added fellow KC band The Future Kings and Columbia artists Violet & the Undercurrents, Ruth Acuff, Zorya, Violet Vonder Haar, and Phylshawn. “I wasn’t looking for the most popular musicians,” says Johnson, “but those who would always make music because it’s their calling and love.” As a result, the label’s artist roster is an interconnected and collaborative collective of musicians that has released more than 15 albums altogether since its inception.
Johnson runs The Nation of Love from Columbia, where the music/arts scene has gained tremendous support and traction in recent years. Most of the label’s Columbia artists have been building their fan base in various projects for over 10 years, helping establish the city’s musical identity. “I believe that every artist/band should have their town or city behind them, and bands should represent their town or city. To me, artists express the world around them and the world that influences them.”
The Nation of Love continues to expand its reach by embarking on its first tour in March with Ruth Acuff, Violet & the Undercurrents, and Future Kings. They’ve also launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for travel and showcase expenses. The Golden Hour Tour, from March 14-21, will cover venues in Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, and Louisiana, with several unofficial showcases at the big music fest in Austin (including a day party at MidCoast Takeover on March 19).
As the label grows, Johnson hopes to connect with more artists, venues, and fans. For now, The Nation of Love relies on a solid foundation of artists savvy in the music business. “Each NOL artist is special and unique in a sonic way,” Johnson says. “Also, they are more than artists; they are my friends and family. We are all connected in some way.”
—Michelle Bacon
Michelle is editor of The Deli KC and plays in bands.
This Saturday, January, 31, The Nation of Love will be showcasing four of its artists (Ruth Acuff, Zorya, Violet & the Undercurrents, and The Future Kings) at Coda. Doors at 8 pm. Facebook event page.
You can also visit this page to help The Nation of Love reach its goal for The Golden Hour Tour; the campaign ends February 6. Listen to tunes from each of the artists at this link.
Thanks to all the artists who submitted their music to be considered for The Deli’s Best of Los Angeles Year End Poll for Emerging Artists. We had a record number of submissions from Los Angeles this year – 72! – thanks so much for the overwhelming response!
After tallying our editors’ ratings for the Open Submissions stage, it’s time to release the results. Please note that to avoid conflicts no local editor was allowed to vote for bands in his/her own scene.
Total submissions from Los Angeles: 72
Jurors: Travis Leipzig (The Deli Portland), Roxy Morrison (The Deli Toronto), Paolo De Gregorio (The Deli NYC).
WHAT’S NEXT: These results end the first phase of the poll. We have already unveiled full list of nominees that also includes the artists nominated by our local jurors (see left column here). It’s now time for our readers to influence this Year End Poll for Emerging Los Angeles Artists with their vote – look out for th readers’ poll on the right column of this same page!
The Deli New England’s Best of 2014 Readers and Fans’ Poll for local emerging artists is over, thanks to all those who cast their vote in support of the emerging local bands and artists in our list of nominees.
Here is the top ten, and streaming track of the top three bands – which we congratulate!
1. Grundlefunk
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2.Suitcase Junket
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3. Mixx Geo
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Here’s this poll’s top 10 chart, full results can be found here.
BEST OF NEW ENGLAND 2014 – READERS’ POLL RESULTS
Artists
Votes
1
Grundlefunk
366
2
Suitcase Junket
261
3
Miss Geo
231
4
Smooth Antics
193
5
Derive
96
6
Pat and the Hats
91
7
Clara Berry
85
8
And the Kids
65
9
BLKBX
61
10
Jet Black Sunrise
53
Stay tuned for the composite chart, to be released soon, which will include details about the point nominees accumulated from the jurors and Deli writers’ votes, and will crown The Deli’s Best EmergingNew England Artist of 2014.
It’s "indie" time, folks! Here’s the list of artists who qualified to the last phase of our Best of NYC Year End Poll for Emerging Artists through the Open Submissions in the Indie Rock category – congrats to all fo them!
Total submissions in this category: 23
Jurors: Natan Leipzig (The Deli Portland), Maylis Personnaz (Deli Writer), Paolo De Gregorio (The Deli NYC).
Artists qualified to the next stage (i.e. the Readers’ Poll, starting later this week):
We’ve been fans of Jane Herships’ Spider for quite some time, although after four years of silence we thought the project had come to an end. We were therefore pleasently surprised to see that Spider is performing at Pianos on January 28. And we were even more surprised by the sound of the new single, that abandons the clean instrumentations of her early records for a more edgy and noisy sound bordering on industrial music, without losing the project’s signature intimacy. A male figure appears on the single’s bandcamp cover – which seems to imply a collaboration with a programmer. Jane informed us that the single is part of a new project called Teachers or Police, and that an EP is about to be released.
We are not sure how old the guys in Brooklyn’s roots quintet Wilder Maker are, but they seem to write and perform with maturity beyond their years. The mellow alt folk you’ll find in their latest EP "Everyday Crimes Against Objects of Desire, Vol I" is beautifully textured and radiating some kind of wisdom, conveyed by the alternating male and female vocals, which are full of tamed melancholy and emotion. Check out single Zion below and see them at Baby’s All Right on January 31.
One of the newest projects in KC music is Redder Moon, our Artist on Trial today. The band, essentially a dual collaboration between Jeremiah James Gonzales and Matthew Naquin (they also recently added Jon VanSickle as a live drummer), blurs the lines of electronic, avant garde, and psychedelic shoegaze sounds. We talked with Gonzales a bit about Redder Moon and what they have planned for 2015.
The Deli: Down and dirty: one sentence to describe your music.
Gonzales: Sounds like the soundtrack to a post apocalyptic film that has not yet been made.
The Deli: Who writes the music?
Gonzales: I come up with the big picture of the songs for the most part, and then Matt helps translate the idea into digital ear candy. At times, he adds some of the most essential elements that cap off the big picture and make it better.
The Deli: What inspires your songwriting?
Gonzales: I am mostly inspired by movie soundtracks and the feeling I get when I’m in engulfed in a great film, alongside being influenced by the need to express ourselves, as are most creative people. I also cite pizza (the food) as an influence.
The Deli: What have been your greatest accomplishments as a band?
Gonzales: The day we finished production of the first record, a small EDM outfit from Canada called Upstairs Recordings wanted to put out or EP digitally, so that was pretty cool. Also, Matt Hill of UMBERTO has made a few remixes of some songs and as a result, a pretty cool label Not Not Fun Records (LA) will possibly be putting something out for us sometime in 2015.
The Deli:Do you have any plans to record a new album anytime soon?
Gonzales: I’m currently compiling/accumulating songs for the possible NNF release. However, we are always open to releasing digital tracks/albums intermittently and physically with the right pairing of record label.
The Deli: You’ve been making music in Kansas City for a long time. What’s your goal with Redder Moon compared with bands you’ve been with in the past?
Gonzales: Over the years I’ve had the pleasure and experience to be in some very great bands with some very talented people. I would say that I’m very lucky to have been able to be a part of the music scene over the years. But with playing in traditional bands comes all the traditional woes and throes of juggling multiple schedules/tastes/personalities. I never really set out to do anything specific with Redder Moon. In fact, I was somewhat satisfied with a musical hibernation, so to speak, when Matt convinced my return from slumber. We have also found that playing in a duo breeds less stress on the overall quality of our creative lives.
The Deli: What does supporting local music mean to you?
Gonzales: I try my best to support local music in as much of a non-biased opinion as possibly allowed. Meaning, I can ALWAYS appreciate the guts that it takes to put original music out into the world, be it live or on a recording. I am constantly battling with myself on whether I think our stuff is good enough to put in front of people or if I will only scar the listeners’ ears forever. That said, I know exactly what it means to put together a band/project and the vulnerability one must go through to do it. So I do my best to find the good in everyone’s unique take on their art and have learned to grow from constructive criticism toward my own.
The Deli: Who are your favorite local musicians right now?
Gonzales: I have also been in somewhat of a slumber in the local music scene that I’ve been reawakened to as of late, so I have yet to experience some of the newer acts emerging in the KC scene. Some of the few I have kept up with are Organized Crimes, Scammers, ISAM, Expo 70, Mat Shoare Band, and C.S. Luxem. I know there are plenty of local bands that I have yet to hear or older bands that have released new material and I can only look forward to experiencing the sounds to find out for myself.
The Deli: Who are your favorite non-local musicians right now?
The Deli Toronto's Best of 2014 Readers and Fans' Poll for local emerging artists is over, thanks to all those who cast their vote in support of the emerging local bands and artists in our list of nominees.
We happily announce our top three local emerging artists Sun K, Laura Cole and The Pick Brothers Band! Whoo-Hoo!! This was an incredible experience! We thank you for all your Deli support!
Here's this poll's top 10 chart, full results can be found here.
BEST OF TORONTO 2014 - READERS' POLL RESULTS
Artists
Votes
1
Sun K
470
2
Laura Cole
393
3
The Pick Brothers Band
344
4
South of Bloor
188
5
Mumbai Standstill
135
6
Brother of North
126
7
The Tiger Box
72
8
Harlan Pepper
71
9
Streetlight Social
65
10
Ferraro
52
Stay tuned for the composite chart, to be released soon, which will include details about the point nominees accumulated from the jurors and Deli writers' votes, and will crown The Deli's Best Emerging TorontoArtist of 2014.
Richmond is exploding with news of The Trillions impending launch of their new album Superposition. Tracks have been popping up all week on various websites and blogs from Richmond to DC. The Trillions released their debut in 2011 to tons of acclaim and the certainty of critics and fans alike that this would be the next big thing from Richmond. The Trillions could be said to have laid the bedrock for the tons of Richmond garage/psyche/guitar-pop bands that continue to emerge and provides such incredible depth to the scene. Indeed, in the years between releases, members of The Trillions have been directly contributing to other fantastic bands. Not to be outdone by other bands (or even themselves in other bands), The Trillions are finally releasing this new album.
In case you had any doubts, it’s fantastic. Balls-to-the-wall fuzz and psychadelia with intricate guitar-work and a relentless energy combining into blissful power-pop. Check out the track "1984" below, and click on the links to other local blogs and ‘zines above. To hear the entire album as soon as you can, head out to Strange Matter, in Richmond, on January 31st for the record release show. The Trillions will be joined by new-wavey psych-rockers White Laces and mathy indie-rockers Manatree. All for only $5! –Natan Press
