Author: Kat Nip Carver

Paul McCartney, Putin and The Beatles

Posted on by Kat Nip Carver

Almost two decades before achieving worldwide status as ‘the new Hitler’ with the slaughter of civilians in neighboring Ukraine, Vladamir Putin had an interesting meeting with Paul McCartney.

The world-famous musician was invited by Putin back in 2003 to perform in Moscow’s Red Square on May 24th; an invitation McCartney accepted.

According to the BBC’s reporting of that day, “McCartney and his wife Heather took tea in the Kremlin with President Putin.”

Russian musician Sasha Lipnitsky said that The Beatles were the ‘first hole in the iron curtain.’

Putin, who was a KGB agent in east Berlin when The Beatles were top of the charts around the world, told McCartney that The Beatles had been ‘a breath of fresh air’ during Soviet times even though it was officially ‘considered propaganda of an alien ideology.’

While The Beatles’ music was not banned by the Communist regime, Putin revealed, he did comment to McCartney: “the fact that you were not allowed to play in Red Square in the 1980s says a lot.”

Afterwards, McCartney said he gave a private performance of The Beatles’ song “Let It Be” for Putin. (He probably wouldn’t do that today even though Putin should just ‘let it be’)

In the former Soviet Union, when Western music was banned and music, in general, was heavily regulated, Russians would go to extreme lengths to get their hands on records that were cleverly copied onto x-ray films.

In 2013, McCartney openly appealed to Putin to release six Brits who were imprisoned in Russia for taking part in a Greenpeace demonstration. Watch that report on YouTube.

Black History Month – Celebration of Love Playlist (50-pack)

Posted on by Kat Nip Carver

One of the many ways to celebrate Black History Month during this time of the month is through music.

This playlist was enjoyable and challenging to curate because we wanted to pull together a diverse set of love songs from an array of talented black artists – both familiar to most people, and those who are less widely-known but nonetheless belong in the pool of black artists representing worldwide.

It’s impossible to create such a playlist that is a full, comprehensive (in the truest sense) collection of great love songs from black artists. So we put together as representative a collection as we could with a limit of 50 songs.

One of the factors we wanted to address with this playlist was to collect amazing love songs from as many genres as possible and that include all of the decades of recorded music going back to the 1950s.

The playlist covers a wide selection of high-caliber love songs from genres like hip-hop, rap, soul, R&B, jazz, rock, and Motown.

Artists range from Tupac, Marvin Gaye, Lauryn Hill, Bob Marley, Black Eyed Peas, Stevie Wonder, India-Arie, The Supremes, Whitney Houston, Fugees, Mos Def, John Legend, Chance The Rapper, Jay-Z and more.

Not to be forgotten of course are all of the tens of thousands of black producers, composers, songwriters, and musicians behind-the-scenes of so many of the greatest love songs ever made – regardless of who sang them, made them famous or is remembered for.

Artist Spotlight: Americana Musician Charlie Marks

Posted on by Kat Nip Carver

Nevada is not usually known as a place where Americana/folk music thrives.

But Reno-based musician Charlie Marks is setting out to change that. The DIY acoustic multi-instrumentalist and songwriter is hardly the Avett Brothers or Mumford & Sons.

On his latest album, Unbecoming, Marks utilizes mostly guitar and harmonica, drawing mostly from idols such as Bob Dylan among others.

The overall music production is a bit loose and imperfect, but that’s part of the beauty of his material.

A supporter of Marks’, simply known as John K, wrote: “[Marks’ music] feels like a distinctly Americana-inflected take on indie folk in the vein of genre stalwarts like The Tallest Man on Earth or Fionn Regan. A little rougher around the edges than those examples, but in a way that lends it additional authenticity rather than detracting from the experience

The recently-prolific artist has released two full LPs in 2021 – possibly another in the works?

Late last year, Marks dropped the terrific 14-track album, Honey Baby. On this recording, Marks ditches the guitar and harmonica and focuses solely on the banjo and vocals. Honey Baby, Marks crafts good ‘ole folk music heavily influenced by legends like Woody Guthrie and sounding a lot like the celebrated indie troubador The Tallest Man on Earth.

Honey Baby, is a welcomed arrival at a chaotic, even depressing, time. It has an ambiance about it that is much needed. We’ve listened to this album a few times now, and will again. It’s a reminder of the greatness of truly American music (which originally traces back to Scottish/Irish music) is an ode to, and a celebration of, down-home, roots-revival-loving Americana music.

The important distinction here is his mix of influences and traditions that are uniquely Americana – incorporating musical, stylistic and lyrical aspects of blues, folk, country, and gospel.

On track after track, Marks crafts terrific solo tracks, most notably with banjo and voice as the primary instruments – another common practice of roots-revival musicians. Right out of the gate, he leaves no doubt what river his boat will take you down.

The opening track, “Going Down That Road Feeling Bad,” is exactly what you’d expect from an Americana number – a little intro to the album.

After a few terrific tracks, like “Spike Driver Blues” and “Please See That My Grave is Kept Clean” and “He Was A Friend of Mine,” it becomes evident that Marks commands a trademark sound all of his own with impressive banjo-picking and his acceptably nasally vocals.

That’s a welcome, and pleasing, change of pace from all of the computerized/digitized and special effects music that tends to clog up the airways. We need artists like Marks to keep us grounded and to show musicians that sometimes all that you need is one, maybe two, string instruments, a unique voice, and a handful of well-written, original songs to make a mark.

There’s no shortage of fine, down-home Americana-driven tracks among the total of 14 songs. Others include, in the heart of the album, ”

Marks is also talented in the cover songs department. He delivers a haunting, banjo-picking version of “In The Pines,” easily one of the best creepy blues songs ever written (even though it is not exactly known who authored the song some 150 years ago). A cover of the traditional “Cumberland Gap” is also not run-of-the-mill.

It is comforting that Marks has the confidence in his art not to be afraid to be himself. For example, on the track, “Hills of Mexico,” Marks’ vocals strain a little too high in notes, and yet it doesn’t matter because it’s authentic and heartfelt. In fact, as we said, it’s comforting.

Marks was assisted in recording, and especially mixing and mastering, by producer Ryan Finch at Studio West in San Diego.

Therefore, it’s difficult to compare Marks’ music with bands like, say, The Avett Brothers or Mumford & Sons. That’s good though.

We have to say, that at least in our world, Charlie Marks has earned a spot among the ranks of artists like The Tallest Man on Earth, Justin Townes Earl (RIP), and others for this album release.

Marks belongs to a sub-genre of the Americana indie artist: stripped-down acoustic Americana performances with Marks’ nasally, imperfect, and yet perfectly-suited, vocals. None of his songs feature percussion or bass or even guitar anywhere on this entire album. It worked out nicely. So much so that we await his next release.

After listening to both of these albums, the comparison with The Tallest Man on Earth is so appropriate to describe Marks’ music to those who haven’t heard it yet. At the same time, it’s unfair because Marks is not copying anyone. He’s too talented and doing his own thing for that.

Clairo’s new single/video ‘Amoeba’

Posted on by Kat Nip Carver

clairo2

If you follow music closely in the past few years, then you have heard a track or two from upstate New York recording artist Clairo.

Her new single, “Amoeba,” is already making the rounds across the webs and socials. The song is plated with soft, fragile vocals, boosted by reverb and other effects, and a fun, funky groove. The key here is the vocal work, which strays a bit from her previous singles because her voice is more dense and melancholic.

The New York Times wrote: ““Amoeba,” a highlight anchored by funky, insistent keyboards and a steady beat — a song that manages to brood and saunter at the same time. ”

Clairo, or Claire Elizabeth Cottrill, rose to indie stardom back in 2017 with her viral DIY YouTube music video for her lo-fi single “Pretty Girl”. Cottrill is one of many artists in the past two decades who started out in a bedroom and propelled to fame without a label, producer, agent or band.

It is a thrill every time a talented young person in somewhere USA, or anywhere in the world, writes, records and distributes a terrific original song that catches on/takes off in the right places and goes viral, establishing that artist almost instantly.

Cottrill signed with Fader quickly, and dropped her debut EP, Diary 001, in 2018, followed by the widely-acclaimed debut album, Immunity, in 2019. That album contained the hit songs, “Bags” and “Sofia”, the latter of which is her first single to hit the Billboard Hot 100.

Artist Spotlight: Gwenifer Raymond and finger-picking good ‘clawhammer’

Posted on by Kat Nip Carver

by Kitty Empire

Islington Assembly Hall, London

The Welsh guitarist’s awe-inspiring technique and intense musicality made a transporting first gig back for our critic

Barefoot, wearing all black, a solitary guitarist sits on the stage, her face shrouded by a curtain of long hair, her hands a blur of motion. The sound she makes is so cavernous, evocative, and frenetic it sounds as though at least two more guitarists are hiding somewhere in the wings of this atmospheric art deco theatre.

They aren’t: Gwenifer Raymond – in her spare time a games designer, astrophysics PhD and punk drummer – attacks her songs with a technique called clawhammer. Transposed from the banjo, it uses the right hand – thumb and fingers curled in like a claw – to provide a rhythmic counterpoint to the singing work of the left, and its own subtle melodic storytelling as well.

She is legion. This Welsh musician plays really loud and really fast too, like a vengeful bluegrass musician conjuring up roiling fury, then dropping into languorous eddies, switching between paces with pin-sharp precision. Guitar playing should never be mere gymnastics – “shredding” for shredding’s sake – but Raymond combines awe-inducing technique with grace, depth and emotion.

“Hell for Certain,” a track from her 2020 album Strange Lights Over Garth Mountain – played in its entirety tonight – sounds even faster and more muscular than its recorded version. (In the video, shot by her mother, Raymond looks wryly uncomfortable in a lace dress, creepy Victoriana and taxidermy arrayed around her.) If anyone made bloody, dramatic Welsh westerns, her instrumentals would be the natural soundtrack. Another 2020 track, Gwaed am Gwaed, translates as “blood for blood”.

The venue’s usual capacity is nearly 900; social distancing has reduced it to 150 tonight. Those of us in the stalls are siloed into pods of two seats with a little table for drinks. But even with smaller numbers, the combination of space and enthusiastic warm bodies means that Raymond’s playing echoes around the space like a living thing, more three-dimensional and organic than its recorded version. Ah, gigs: this is my first one since March 2020.

The folk roots of Raymond’s music lie in faraway Appalachia; the acoustic blues of the American south are well represented too. Her specific field of solo guitar is known as “American primitive” – almost everyone involved now agrees that is a highly problematic name, because it both appropriates and patronises the work of its black inspirations, but a new one hasn’t been minted yet. John Fahey (1939–2001), the father of the genre, coined it, and a steady trickle of acolytes have since taken up this mesmeric, meditative form that, with its open tunings and air of mystery, has as much in common with Indian ragas and drone-based music as it does Anglo-US fingerpicking.

American primitive long remained the preserve of white guys. Great as many of them have been (the late Jack Rose in particular), that is now changing. A recent New York Times article profiled a series of non-white, non-male and non-binary solo guitar players breaking the mould; Raymond is one of the rising talents quoted. “The music can only get more interesting,” she says.

It does. Although audibly harking back to Fahey, Raymond is Welsh and based in Brighton (tonight’s support act, the excellent Nick Jonah Davis, is another American primitive-inclined Briton). Both have taken this twanging, rolling, heady form and given it an Old Country twist – in Raymond’s case, the haunt of vintage gothic horror films and the mists rising off the ancient Welsh landscape, where the veil between the worlds is, they say, a little thinner. Garth Mountain is where Raymond grew up, not far from Cardiff but very much its own place. The landscape provides links of another sort too. The working title for Hell for Certain was Coal Train Song, for the thundering locomotives that passed near her childhood home; you can hear their power and a sense of inevitable destination as you do in old Americana.

Continue reading via the UK Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/music/rss

Album Review: TONG anatomize the patriarchy on ‘MAN’

Posted on by Kat Nip Carver
 

by Ben Einstein   The Greek word apocalypse typically conjures up thoughts of a violent destruction or a catastrophic end. Yet, the word itself translates literally to an uncovering, a reveal, a parting of the veil. It is in this context that San Francisco three-piece band TONG ponder the apocalypse on their new album MAN, out now.
MAN is a particularly heavy song cycle by most standards. It sounds at home among the likes of King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard and Ty Segall‘s discography. Corporeal imagery is sung in unison with heavy riffs; Parker Simon’s gnarled basslines are paired with Alex Dang-Lozano’s distorted drums. Tom Relling’s slide guitar offers a surprising texture — melodies shift from ethereal textures to Sabbath-inspired fuzz at the drop of a hat. The musicianship is superb and the band is tight, no doubt about it.
Tong album art, a curious and corporeal shape.

Tong album art by Gabriel Nikias

The question “What makes a man?” became album’s north star. In one sense, the question is literal — LUNG, EYE, MIND — each song title is named after a different part of the body. But as you could imagine, that question is really rooted in metaphor. “TONG set out to artistically explore this concept within the context of a dying American patriarchy, drawing influence from disturbing scenes of toxic hyper-masculinity, white supremacy, police violence, a Trump presidency, and an array of other shocking events that defined 2020,” says Relling. Looking back, it’s easy to use our working definition of the word apocalypse as an analogy for the last sixteen months. The Bay Area music scene, as a representative sample, paints a disheartening picture. In that time, we lost several of our favorite venues — Slim’s, The Uptown, and Revolution Cafe to name just a few. TONG’s last pre-pandemic performance was also the final show at Amnesia, the beloved Valencia Street venue that shuttered at the end of February 2020 — just before COVID-19 sent the nation into quarantine. And yet, even surrounded by the evaporation of these cherished musical spaces — if we imagine the apocalypse not as the destruction of the world itself but as an uncovering of systematic problems, what can we do about it? How can we change it for the better? As we see our world beginning to reopen, we are faced with the task of making our world a better and more inclusive place for others. It is easy to idealize the former status quo, to try and pick up exactly where we left off and aim to maintain its same trajectory. But it is much more important to acknowledge that our world was (and still is), in so many ways, broken. Broken by patriarchy, racism, white supremacy, homophobia, ableism, sexism, and transphobia. Broken by inflexible economics — unreasonable and eternally rising rent prices, which had already squeezed the Bay Area’s residents and business owners too tightly. The first step to correcting course, according to TONG, has roots in another greek word: catharsis. Relling describes MAN as “a sonic patricide to atone for the past, clearing the way for a new way of thinking.” In context, these anatomical song titles take on a new meaning; piece by piece MAN is quite literally a construction that is meant to be incinerated, a burnt offering. Out with the old, in with the new. MAN is available now on Bandcamp and everywhere else you listen to music. The post TONG anatomize the patriarchy on ‘MAN’ appeared first on The Bay Bridged – San Francisco Bay Area Indie Music.
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Top 10 Indie Songs Playlist, March 2021

Posted on by Kat Nip Carver

nationoflanguage

This indie top 10 songs playlist for March 2021 is not to be missed. The top 10 songs include tracks from new, DIY, and relatively unknown artists and bands to others who are pretty much established and well known within the indie rock orbits.

Right off the bat, we just had to make Brooklyn-based indie-pop band Nation of Language‘s new single, “Deliver Me From Wondering Why,” the No. 1 track for March. How amazing is this track!?

NOL’s single has a luring, bold retro techno-beat, space-age sound effects, and impressive minimalistic keyboard work. “Deliver Me From Wondering Why,” is expansive, fun, and weird. Think Brian Eno mixed with The Talking Heads and Devo.

The musical composition and production are spectacular. This track will last into the summer. (we also have a feed here.)

Next, Montreal indie rock band ISLANDS recently dropped the exhilarating and transfixing new single, “My Brother.” The soaring, atmospheric guitars, heartfelt vocals, and captivating melodies make the song another resounding release for the band. No surprise – ISLANDS has a solid track record (that’s interesting: ‘track’ and ‘record’. Huh.) of releases and remains one of our favorite Canadian bands.

Next, The U.K. indie rock band Thrillhouse is making inroads to the U.S. music space with a number of single drops this year gaining attention, including the No. 3 track below.

The single, “Just At The Right Time,” encompasses everything indie rock folks have come to expect from the young band. This nostalgic song gem flows with the emotive, infectious, and masterfully crafted sound we have come to love from the U.K. rockers.

The chugging energy and epic melodies make the song not only unforgettable but worthy of wider recognition. “Just At The Right Time” bubbles up from softer, observant moments to racing, kinetic rhythms and joyous instrumental blowouts layered with chorus-fueled vocals. It’s thrilling and also reminiscent of Arcade Fire.


Checking in at No. 4 is the latest from U.K. indie rock band The Hunna. The band switches things up on the wonderous, heartfelt love song (and it has a twist), “Bad Place.”

Los Angeles indie pop/alt. rock trio Limon Limon get the foot-tapping and air drums going on his new love song, “Attention” (No.5)

The relatively new indie rock band Eades – out of Leeds (England) – made a big impact on the team with the fresh single, “Coltrane,” (No.6) – a tribute of sorts to the master jazz musician John Coltrane.

The song flows with a hybrid stitch of genres, sounds, and voices hinting at influences (similar to Thrillhouse above) such as The Talking Heads, Brian Eno, and perhaps unintentionally, Big Star (you know, the largely-forgotten, but legendary, 70s band that made a big impact on pop/rock and the indie movement that was soon to follow).

Genre-wise, Eades weaves new wave, post-punk and garage rock along with their “unique lo-fi recording style” to produce songs like “Coltrane.”

Eades take influence from new wave, post-punk and garage rock along with their “unique lo-fi recording style.”

Checking in at No. 7 is the latest from DIY artist Sir Sly. The Orange County California recording artist keeps the party thumping and bumping going with the electrifying dance-pop track, “Welcomes The Pressure.” Those some fab waves.

Yet another U.K. indie rock band in this top 10, London’s Simple Fiction, tugs hard on the heartstrings with the flowering, powerful song, “The Weekends” (No. 8).

It may be no surprise that English glam rockers Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard dropped a kick-ass fresh rock single, “New Age Millennial Magic”, that landed in our Top 10. The track sports a terrific 70’s ELO vibe. The Cardiff band has a special touch that has made them fairly popular.

And to close out the Top 10 is L.A. duo World’s First Cinema enthralling pop/rock track, “The Woods”. The contrast of the two parts of this song gives it a theatrical edge from start to finish.

We appreciate the art of genre-mixing: it’s essentially what indie rock is in our opinion – the freedom to write, sing, compose, produce whatever an artist or band wishes to. No doubt that includes mixing genres. That artform – which arguably has been around for a long time – has, since the birth of the ‘indie rock revival,’ produced so many sensational albums, songs, artists, and bands. And they keep coming!

So far, 2021 is shaping up to be a fantastic year for indie and alt. rock, including among DIY artists and bands.

Don’t forget to listen to the other Top 10 playlists on our site, via Soundcloud, YouTube and now Spotify.

Eyem-ma-doll.

Redray Frazier Grinds Out Sweet Soulful Love on “If You Let Me”

Posted on by Kat Nip Carver

redrayfrazier The musical city of Portland, Oregon has long been home to the talented, genre-fusing artist Redray Frazier where he is respected in the region’s musical community.

Frazier hits it just right on his new single; a track that is a 2021 favorite among our team.

On “If You Let Me,” Frazier lays down sweet, passionate vocals of saucy smart lyrics backed by perfect imagined DJ cuts and a 70’s-influenced groove that goes deep, pulls you in and makes you feel like the world is alright for a few minutes. Oh yeah…

Our team members can not stop playing this track. It just makes you feel oh so good.

It’s no wonder that Frazier is a veteran musician, songwriter, DJ, and vocalist because it’s all clearly on display within just a few minutes for anyone who hasn’t yet been introduced to Frazier’s music.

“If You Let Me” is from the new album, Blood In The Water, which you can stream on Bandcamp. The album is worth your time and money especially if you dig artists who fuse styles as Frazier does – from soul to rock to R&B.

“The artistic process can be a difficult struggle, Frazier tells us over the thick slow-boil, but the results are worth the battle.”

This track will make you feel mmm mmm good baby.

Redray Frazier on Facebook

Support independent musicians and bands

Please support your local independent/DIY musicians! Don’t let corporates take it all!
It’s critical folks, especially during the covid, and post-covid, era to support the DIY artists and bands who add something good to our lives.

Multi-Cultural Indie Band Anesthetic Youth’s “Fortune and Fame”

Posted on by Kat Nip Carver

Anesthetic Youth is a four-piece alternative indie rock band based in Ho Chi Min City (formerly Saigon), Vietnam, of all places. The band caught our attention with the 2020 single and video, “Fortune and Fame.”

The song is a blend of emotional lyrics and experimental alt-rock jamming, powered by muscular guitar riffs, precise and driving rhythms, and a fiery front-woman leading the way.

Formed in 2017, the band is a multi-cultural unit: vocalist Giand Kieu is Vietnamese; bassist Jesus Carrillo is Peruvian; drummer Luis Zapiola is American and guitarist Angelo Silva is Portuguese.

“Giand and I worked on it on a very cheap acoustic guitar which I still use to write our songs since they always sound a lot better on the electric guitar, and by the time we jammed the song with the rest of the band, the lyrics and the guitar parts were finished.”

Anesthetic Youth formed in 2017 as a metal/hardcore band. After several line-up changes, however, they evolved into more of an experimental rock band. Two years ago they received high praise for their debut single, “Self Portrait” which was followed by the band’s debut EP, Dystopia, in February 2019.

facebook.com/anestheticyouth

LuRose’s Beautifully-Lush R&B Acoustic Pop Debut “Sweet”

Posted on by Kat Nip Carver

The wonderfully mellow R&B acoustic-pop debut song from LuRose is a perfect antidote for the coronavirus isolation blues and these troubled times.

Backed by a warm and captivating instrumental mix, LuRose’s sassy, yet blunt, vocals are perfectly original and authentic. Her voice soars above the warm tropical acoustic guitar notes, booming bass, hard-hitting beats, and saccharine synths.

While we all may not be able to get too close at the moment, this song is nicely-suited for a late-night romantic dance.

luroseThe 28-year-old musician was born and raised in Pittsburgh where her Sicilian-American family had a family-treasured passion for music.

From the time she was a child, LuRose’s parents encouraged her to pursue music. When she was only seven years old, her father bought her a guitar and enrolled her in every local musical opportunity and lesson he could find.

For years, LuRose patiently perfected her unique talent behind-the-scenes – writing, composing, and producing. “Growing up in a city with the least amount of sunlight year-round,” she writes, “the single emphasizes the nostalgia and excitement of brighter days while paralleling the excitement of the start of a brighter season with that of a new season of love.”

Video Share: Ontario Female Rock Trio Whatzername’s “Vulture”

Posted on by Kat Nip Carver



With fuzzy lo-fi, alt. rock guitars, a bumping percussion, and a punk-rock attitude, the new track, “Vulture,” from Canadian band Whatzername.

The video is set in a retro-themed house with the band members playing in artistically-decorated rooms. Standish narrates the track while the other two ladies jam out in a bedroom.

Vocalist/guitarist Ashlee Standish, vocalist/bassist Clairisa Rose and drummer Jess Gold made a splash last year after dropping the debut single, “Something” in May of 2019. The song also includes Niagara rock sensation Serena Pryne (The Mandevilles) on backing vocals.

The video also features Danno O’Shea (My Son The Hurricane) who performed lead guitar on the track. The video was filmed by Smoothie Stufio (Bryce Smith) and Jeremy Sobocan who brought their creative vision to the feeling the band hoped to convey.

The song is about “the ongoing battle of giving too much of oneself to others that take advantage, and the idea that we all have someone on our side looking out for us; perhaps someone who is jaded and has seen it all, like a vulture,” says Standish.

Blogs and fans in Canada and the U.S. are drawn to the band’s hard-edged rock sound with influences of lo-fi indie, grunge, and punk.

Whatzername is based out of Niagara, Ontario and has also performed at music festivals like In the Soil, Big on Bloor Street Fest and Tapsfest.

http://www.facebook.com/whatzername

Artist Spotlight – Flicker Vertigo

Posted on by Kat Nip Carver

flicker-vertigo

The music of Melbourne artist Nathan Nicholson, (not the Boxer Rebellion vocalist), aka Flicker Vertigo, teems with swirling and overlapping psychedelic and shoegaze textures and sounds on his fourth album, Ephiphany.

The album is brimming with blissful melodies, intricate rhythms, and sweeping grooves all coming together in multiple complex and rich tapestries, such as on songs like “Blissful Existence.”

The track’s busy, fuzzy and bumbling bass lines are shrouded by heavy layers of experimental psych-rock comprising complex guitar and percussion parts – it sounds like all of the instruments and vocals are swirling around inside a tornado.

As Nicholson explains it, his musical cornucopia includes “subliminal nods to Afrobeat, krautrock and jazz bubbling upon the horizon and melting into the kaleidoscopic haze form this swirling, vertigo-inducing mixture that takes inspiration from the past and transmits it skyward.”

On the second feature track from the album, the complex, “Life in Bloom,” Nicholson confirms influences like Tame Impala and My Bloody Valentine. That’s not hard to agree with as the track rifles away on a long psych-rock jam that goes on for at least four minutes, yet never loses its fire.

This is Nicholson’s first album with vocals. He describes his album as: “Bursting with crunchy psychedelic textures, blissed-out melodies fluttering overhead, explosive rhythms and intricate grooves whizzing by…and melting into the kaleidoscopic haze, Epiphany represents a total expansion of the sonic palette

Nicholson armed himself with a “plethora of effects pedals and an obsessive desire to push the sonic boundaries and expand the comfort zone.”

The album was written and recorded during a period of profound self-discovery and growth for Nicholson. He was also inspired by re-occurring dreams and a string of epiphanies experienced in nature.

Note: Flicker Vertigo is a condition that occurs due to exposure to flickering lights.