Release Info/credits
Songwriter ~ Kristal Skies
Production- Erick O.C
Instruméntales- Osiel Anicama
Song/album purchase link
https://open.spotify.com/track/1zTlgr5jIi4GnzAZEZj2nW?si=G-4dA4LNSjOT701ukK0xVw
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The post Kristal Skies – Navitrap first appeared on Indie Music Spot.
If you’re overthinking, send a text.
Juniper the Band is breaking into the indie music scene, and they’re a must listen.
Following the June release of their debut album Distance Keeps Me Distant, Boston-based independent band, Juniper— composed of Scott Johnson, Ahren Shreeve, and Alejandro Marin—, had their first Manhattan live show at the Berlin Underground theatre this past Wednesday, October 13th. Lead vocalist Scott Johnson described the experience as “something you dream of.” Not only was it a packed crowd for a Wednesday evening, Johnson mentioned his awe at how interactive the show was: “It blew me away, not only as validation for what we’re doing, but as in, people are showing up and wanting to be a part of it.” The set consisted of the band’s new tracks, mixed with a few covers.
We make what we feel in that moment.
Throughout Juniper’s five years of existence, releasing an album was always the long-term goal. Touching on themes of distance, love, and anxiety, Johnson describes this album as one based on relationships. Stemming from the idea that “the most authentic thing I can relate to that other people can share, is relationships, whether that be with a significant other, or with friends and family, with the world around you, or with yourself, and how that changes as you continue to live, especially during the pandemic.” Johnson continued to discuss how being forced into isolation changed his outlook on relationships and the everyday decisions he would make. It’s from this notion that Juniper developed the title and central theme for their album (and the title track): “Distance Keeps Me Distant.”
When speaking on the album’s recording process, Johnson explained how the making of the album was not linear, but rather eclectic: “it’s a process of reacting and listening at the same time, and that kind of drives the creative process.” Some of the recording was done in Maine, at drummer Alejandro Marin’s family home, and some was done in Johnson’s bedroom closet. The different locations and recording process is what gives the album such a variety of sounds and, ultimately, enables it to feel more their own. Johnson explains, “We make what we feel in that moment.”
Songs like “Angelina” and “More Than I Can Handle” have an indie-pop tone, while “Puzzle Pieces” and “Overthinking” lean more in the indie-folk direction, “Out of Nowhere” and “Fighting Wars From Every Direction” have an alternative rock vibe, and songs like “Daydream” and “Driving” maintain more of a soul and R&B sound. This wide variety of genres and influences throughout the album make the listening process fresh and avoids it from feeling oversaturated for both the band and the listener.
…your mind is like a racing highway, and each thought is like a car driving by.”
Juniper’s lead vocalist, Scott Johnson, speaks on the detriments of constant rumination.
Johnson discussed the writing and recording of the ninth song of the album, “Overthinking,” which was written during the height of the pandemic within a time-span of about 45 minutes. Describing it as a “more introspective song, that is vulnerable…I try to lead with vulnerability with my writing, and after I came up with the first progression on the guitar it felt like such an emotion.” The tone and the energy of the chords was the driving force in how the band came to the idea of overthinking: “your mind is racing like a highway, and each thought is like a car driving by.” This resonates with the band’s TikTok bio which reads: “if you’re overthinking, send a text.” Johnson felt that being really specific with the writing of feelings and emotions is what enables the listener to relate more closely to the song. So for the closing verse of the song, “we wanted it to feel like this big cataclysmic moment of realization and energy.” It’s rare to find artists that can convey raw emotion through both their lyrics and music, but this is exactly what Juniper does by being vulnerable in “Overthinking.”
New music and more shows are in Juniper’s future, as they’ll be playing another live show in Manhattan at the Bowery Electric on November 12th, and at Pearl Street Warehouse in D.C on November 19th. Ultimately, Juniper wants “to maintain this mentality and identity of feeling and sounding like a band, but with modern production.” They want to be that next big band, and with what they’ve been able to accomplish thus far as independent artists, their goals may not be so far out of reach.
The post Boston-Based Indie Pop Band, Juniper Performs Post Album Release appeared first on The Greater Good.
Once it became clear that we were going to have to hibernate for awhile, we quickly decided that we wanted to keep the band afloat and stay in each others’ day-to-day lives by just writing more new music.
Joe Champion, Uh Oh frontman
The unfolding of unfortunate events in the previous year or so created a rare vortex in which many were allotted some of life’s most precious currency: the time to create. Nebraska-based DIY band, Uh Oh made good use of their time apart and away from the stage by writing, recording and mixing their upcoming album, Good Morning. “When the world went into hibernation mode,” says the band’s frontman, Joe Champion, “we poured our hearts into writing this album remotely via demos and video chats while missing each other like crazy.”
The anticipation of an in-person meeting of the minds carried the band through their remote collaboration for months– until, post-vaccination, the four were finally able to reunite. Champion describes the homecoming as a giddy experience: “We all piled ourselves and our equipment into our bassist Erik’s house, set up the living room as our home base, gave each other a huge group hug, and then played music and goofed around and watched Space Jam and danced and sang and laughed for like 4 days.”
“There was a bunch of hard work happening too,” Champion continued, “nailing down our parts and experimenting with a bunch of new ideas and recording day and night, but it just felt so good being back together in person that every second was fun.”
There is absolutely nothing more fun and gratifying than playing music together, it’s always been therapeutic for us and we can’t wait to get back out there with these new songs in tow.
The band was created as the brainchild of frontman Joe Champion and bassist Erik Trent six years previous. Once drummer Jay Jacobson and frequent collaborator and co-songwriter Mari Crisler joined the group, “everything clicked into place,” says Champion. An example of the group’s effortless cohesion is “Still Life,” the first single from Good Morning, which was released last week.
Uh Oh gained local recognition by performing any and everywhere in the area, from house shows to festivals. Although the band thrives while performing, Uh Oh hasn’t seen a stage since February 2020. With plans to return to live music later this year, Champion says, “There is absolutely nothing more fun and gratifying than playing music together, it’s always been therapeutic for us and we can’t wait to get back out there with these new songs in tow.” The group will be performing at The Sydney in Omaha on December 10th to promote the release of Good Morning, due to drop December 3rd.
The post DIY Band Uh Oh Releases New Single From Upcoming Album appeared first on The Greater Good.
In his upcoming EP titled The Party the singer, songwriter, and producer takes us through a real scenario he experienced over the course of just two nights. “I ran into an ex-girlfriend at a party, and I was thrown off by the fact that I was experiencing so many emotions seeing her, but I was in public.” It’s the idea of needing to show that you’re doing well, that you’re good and happy and positive, when you really need closure from that past experience. It was a challenging experience for Alé, managing “the emotional dynamic of trying to put on a brave face in the group of people you want to impress, while running into someone who you used to know. The hardest thing to do is fake the feeling.” It’s a blur of two moments in someone’s life. “It’s not like a party, it’s the party.”
In speaking to Alé about this experience, he summarizes by stating “overall, it’s just about being a kid in the city and taking influences from its madness. The cultural speed of the city makes it so I’m highly stimulated all the time.” Traditionally known as a phenomenal guitar player, Alé chose to base the majority of the EP on synthesis song design, with only one track based on guitar. He sees this as his own “act of rebellion” in his musical journey, fully producing and mixing each track.
“I’m in a scene of people who are messing with the rules of sound within music. It’s a wave we’re all riding.”
For Alé, he wouldn’t want to put music out any other way. Knowing that he gets to choose every song and moment related to the song makes him feel that the tracks mirror himself artistically. He says, “a lot of the lyrical content is straight out of the actual story, so it’s about me getting closure for myself. This EP is a tale of being a teenager in love in a city where everything is so mad.”
The theme of “The Party” matches perfectly with Alé’s sound. In establishing this, “it always comes back to playing blues guitar.” He adds components of rock and roll, r&b, and soul that stuck with him throughout his experiences at the Conservatory and Little Kids Rock program, mixed with the aesthetic influence of hyperpop. Combining the classic pop 2000s song with his musical background and sprinkling in the sound design of hyperpop has led to his unique sound in “The Party.” Ultimately, Alé has resonated with the idea of pushing the boundaries of music sonically: “I really dig that on a scene level. I’m in a scene of people who are messing with the rules of sound within music. It’s a wave we’re all riding.”
To promote his first EP release on November 12th, Alé performed at the Elsewhere space in New York City the day prior. Though far from his first performance, he notes that this show is special for several reasons. Alé says, “I’ve always gatekeeped my music, but this week I celebrate it.”
Alé’s background has not only influenced his music but the way he performs live as well. As a kid, he began playing guitar at age 7. Throughout his adolescence, Alé continued to perfect his craft at the Little Kids Rock program, where he was introduced to jazz guitar. At 15, he had the opportunity to share the stage with enigmatic artists such as Green Day, Joan Jett, Alice Cooper, and Paul Shaffer. As a student at the Conservatory, “I always felt a bit nervous to share my singing and songwriting, because I’d always been the just the guitar player,” It wasn’t until he was accepted into the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at NYU Tisch program, where he’s met artists who understand his musical persona, did he begin to feel comfortable enough to release and share his true sound. Ultimately, “this Thursday performance is special because I celebrate the transition from being a musician for other people to an artist for myself.”
For any artist, the goal is to keep writing new, influential music. For Alé, his goal is to write music and lyrics that wake people up to their feelings. By writing lyrics that are directed to you, the listener, he’s excited to think about where the future of his sound lies, and how he can develop a stronger sense of relatability. Alé said to me: “when you listen to music that you love, you feel like you can conquer the world.” It’s this mindset that makes me so sure of his future and so thrilled to listen to what’s to come.
The post New York-based, Independent Artist Alé Debuts “The Party” appeared first on The Greater Good.
Picture: families cozied up in warm houses, with bellies full and throats sore from a healthy balance of laughter and bickering as you carry on with your solitary stroll. Canadian folk singer-songwriter, Cassidy Waring‘s Lonesome Reunion is comparable to holding a snow globe. As an omnipotent outsider, you peer into a world so perfect, it’s almost fictitious. Knowing that life imitates art somehow makes beholding this tiny treasure more isolating, to know there are little towns with little houses and little families as happy as the replica you hold in your hands and yet, still so far removed from you.
Everything you lose, needs to lose you.
Waring, “Everything You Lose”
A poignant, personal display of loss of innocence, Lonesome Reunion is somewhat of a study on the complexities of family and grief. Recorded and mastered by producer Jonathon Anderson, Lonesome Reunion features deep, folk-rooted instrumentals and sweeping, catchy melodies. Waring’s debut came to fruition after she sat for hours on end watching old VHS tapes of her family. The album’s intro, “Everybody’s Good,” features audio from one of these tapes. In the intro, we hear intimate, playful banter between Waring’s grandfather– to whom she affectionately refers as “Grandug”– and then-3-year-old Waring. “The tapes have become fascinating to watch because they are such a contrast to my painful memories as a teenager,” Waring stated in an email to The Greater Good.
The tapes, to Waring, are an ode to the glory of innocence and blissful ignorance only possessed in early childhood. “Part of me is comforted by them, they have served as proof that I have never been wrong about the amount of love and warmth that surrounded me as a kid and that we really were as happy and healthy as everyone remembers. It’s also confusing and devastating to watch these videos knowing what will happen for us in the future,” Waring stated. “When I was seventeen my mom died from her addiction and the toxic environment she was in,” the artist shared with me. “She and I were still very close when she passed. The main statement from anyone in and around my family is usually ‘But they were so happy, what happened?’”
On the outside, Waring’s family could have lived in that aforementioned snow globe: “We were one of those families that went on bike rides together every week and talked about our feelings at the dinner table. It’s something I am still trying to understand, what pulled both my parents into addiction when I was about twelve. Very quickly, our house became a dangerous place to be, physically and mentally. I’ve just been trying to understand both of my parents and their relationship in a deeper way, after the fact.”
Waring released a music video for the fourth track on the album in September. In it, we see the songwriter through several days of sitting in front of an old CRT TV, captivated by family pictures in motion. “Leaving” is a wistful track about managing grief, with guitars sounding similar to what you may find yourself doing after listening this song (crying). I’d wager it nearly impossible not to feel a catch in your throat as Waring sings, “If I believed in ghosts, would you haunt me just to talk?”
Led by melancholy piano keys, “Everything You Lose” is another painfully intimate look into the stages of grief. The song was written after Waring experienced a series of losses including the ending of a romantic relationship and the break-up of her last band, all while still grappling with the loss of family years later. “I lost the sympathy cards from my mother’s funeral,” Waring sings.
When asked about this line, Waring said she was with her boyfriend at the time when she lost them: “Someone broke into his car in the mall parking lot and stole everything, including my big stack of unopened sympathy cards everyone gave me– I wasn’t ready to open them yet. What are the chances! After that verse poured out, so did the rest of the song.” Waring sings, “Everything you lose, needs to lose you.” Perhaps that sentiment works in reverse and everything that finds you, needs to find you.
The post Can You Always Go Home? Canadian Folk Singer-Songwriter Cassidy Ware Debuts Lonesome Reunion appeared first on The Greater Good.
