These difficult times call for more and more great new music from DIY/indie musicians and bands that you’ve probably never heard of before in this indie songs playlist.
In This Installment:
Joneser – Kiev, Ukraine
Delyn Grey – Toronto, Ontario
Andrew Thoreen – Saint Paul, Minnesota
Alex Izenberg – Los Angeles, California
Falling Into Red – Pittsburg, Pennsylvania
Joneser – “Miraline”
The Kyiv-based trio Joneser is the musical project of vocalist and songwriter Stas Verechuk. Joneser’s terrific new track, “Miraline” is something to behold and fitting for the times: dark but optimistic and hopeful.
The mix of indie electro-pop and R&B is done well; not a sound we often hear out of the Ukraine. The ringing of the calypso sound effect followed by warm synths and soothing choruses makes “Miraline” a standout track of the week.
“I wrote the song Miraline 3 years ago when there were terrible trials in my life,” says Verechuk.”At that time, after some very tragic events in my life and I started to have panic attacks and stopped sleeping. Waves of anxiety rolled one after another and I could not do my business.”
“I woke up at 5 in the morning, trembling under the covers and did not understand how I could survive this day,” he adds.
He realized that the only thing he could do is what he liked to do the most. “I paused the work for half a year, bought a motorcycle, installed Cubase 9.0 on my laptop and began to study it online eating tons of cherries.”
Verechuk produced a demo recording of the song, playing the guitar and singing all the vocals. In the ensuing three weeks, he wrote an album of 12 songs. “I was a lawyer from Kyiv (Ukraine) and I was 38.”
When he started the project in 2017, there was a “new wave of Ukrainian music based on indie and electronic sounds, heavy vocal lines and dreamy melodies. The trio also features Andrey Bogdanov (drums) and Alexey Yuriev (guitar).
https://www.facebook.com/stanislav.verechuk
Delyn Grey – “Battle”
The bold new single “Battle” the title track of Toronto singer/songwriter and musician Delyn Grey.
While strong and fearless, Grey’s music itself thinly veils an underlying darkness and vulnerability. Her sorrowful lyrics speak to the ‘battle’ of fighting things like depression.
Vibey alt-rock Grey’s distinct marriage of influences ranging from garage rock to R&B music makes for a revolutionary, angst-riddled, and compelling performance in-studio and on stage.
“I want to make music that’s fearless. I don’t want people to hear it and think I play it safe. I want people to listen to it and go, ‘That was heavy. Didn’t think it would hit me like that’ The cool thing is that I’ve had 12-year-old Disney-crazed kids and 55-year-old classic rock fans tell me they love it.
Her influences include mainly Nirvana, PJ Harvey, and Jeff Buckley. The other band members include guitarist Justin Abedin; pianist and keyboardist Joel Visentin; electric/synth bassist Kyle Tiexerira and drummer Chad Davis.
“When I turned 17 I fell into the heaviest depression, ever. I chose to take advantage of it, and what was trying to break me. ‘Battle’ is the product of my resistance, acceptance, and fight during that time. Vocalizing my frustration, fear, and anger is what eventually got me through it. My hope is that this song will find people that need it, just like it found me.”
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Andrew Thoreen – “Sum is On My Brain”
The moody track, “Sum is On My Brain” from the diverse and skilled Minnesota musician Andrew Thoreen is off of his E.P. Songs of Isolation for Rock Quartet.
“This song was written during a period of isolation,” Thoreen says. “It’s about the grief and anxiety that we all face in our number-driven world. Even though the sum of our progress and identity is important and gives us insight in many ways, ultimately the substance of the things we create is what gives us meaning.”
He says that he wrote the acoustic ballad-style number as a “reminder of the importance our culture seems to place on social media and ‘numbers’ – or ‘reach’ – that does not give us a meaningful identity or purpose. That has to come from somewhere else.”
Appropriate for these strange times, Songs of Isolation for Rock Quartet is a recommended listen for folks in isolation – a worldwide phenomenon affecting every country in the world; literally, billions of people share a common fear and change in behaviors because of Covid-19. We all know that the life we knew before February 2020 will never be again. This changes everything. T
Thoreen is a multi-talented musician and also an avant-garde traditionalist with outsider art sensibilities. He is involved in a number of other musical projects from the art-pop duo, Har-di-Har, to collaborations with J.E. Sunde, Eric Mayson, and John Mark Nelson, and his chamber-pop recording project, Andandending.
His music walks the line between experimental and pop, jazz and classical. Thoreen’s writing and arrangements in this group belie the depth and artistic temperament that isn’t often found in pop music — especially so early in a musician’s career.
Since 2015, he’s done session work and recorded for Eric Mayson, John Mark Nelson, J.E. Sunde, Kristin Andreassen, Sister Species, Adam Zahller, Waldemar, YYY, Caley Conway, Batteryboy, Eustace the Dragon, This is Daybreak, Dana T, and Brian Just.
Alex Izenbeg – “Disraeli Woman”
California indie singer/songwriter Alex Izenberg has dropped his first new song in years titled “Disraeli Woman.”
It’s the first release for the chamber pop/indie rock musician since his 2016 debut album Harlequin, and also features a B-side, “I Don’t Want You To Hurt Anymore”.
The Los Angeles-based musician said he “became emotionally unstable, beset by a failed relationship and inevitable post-debut questions about what came next” after his initial indie-level rise.
Izenberg went through a whirlwind of emotional difficulties during this time he says. He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2012 and says music became his “lifeline.”
Regarding the accompanying video for the song, Giraffe Studios summed it up like this: “Our shoot was a joyride in a ’76 Cadillac gliding across Los Angeles with a Super8mm camera hanging out the back.”
“We started on a dewy morning in Chatsworth, Alex’s hometown, and ended 36 hours later with old friends under the pink glow of a magic Malibu sunset… We hope that this video serves as a peephole into the brilliant, spontaneous, and beautiful world of Alex Izenberg.”
Falling Into Red – “Reckoning”
Pennsylvania band Falling Into Red‘s blazing new single “Reckoning” is a dark, roaring rocker with cinematic arrays and blazing guitars that in some ways is fitting for the times.
The single is from the Pittsburg duo’s debut self-titled album.
“Don’t let the doubts creep in when your world is closing in,” says vocalist Amy Gainar. “The song combines the futuristic electronic sounds of the cosmos clashing along with more traditional hard rock instrumentation.
“These hard rock elements with supporting cinematic undertones are the core of Falling into Red’s sound,” she adds.
With a background in music theory and composition, vocalist and producer Scott Gainar worked diligently at recording, production, and mastering, while his wife Amy’s gifts include creative writing and lyrical abilities, in addition to her fine vocal work.
The duo’s influences include Breaking Benjamin, Alter Bridge, Starset, as well as various cinematic composers, including James Horner and Hans Zimmer.
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Falling into Red’s tour plans are currently on hold and they are continually working on new music.