Tag: Video premiere

WATCH: Cordovas, “Fallen Angels of Rock ‘n’ Roll”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Cordovas
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Fallen Angels of Rock ‘n’ Roll”
Album: The Rose Of Aces
Release Date: June 14, 2023 (song); August 11, 2023 (album)
Label: ATO Records

In Their Words: “This is a song about the friends back in the day who didn’t make it. The important part is don’t forget what music does for you. It can make you sad, it can make you happy, it can remind you of a better time. With The Rose Of Aces, we started to catch a flow. We set the songs to the wind. And slowly the figure emerged from the block of clay.” – Joe Firstman

Photo Courtesy of ATO Records

WATCH: David James Allen, “Holly” (Live Performance)

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: David James Allen
Hometown: Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada
Song: “Holly”
Album: By The Summertime
Release Date: June 9, 2023
Label: Littleknown Records

In Their Words: “‘Holly’ is a song of drugs, dingey bars, old relationships, and backward priorities. Ultimately, it’s a song about losing an important part of your life to backward priorities, self-destruction, or naiveté, and growing up and confronting yourself in the passage of time. It’s about coming to terms with yourself and what it is you’ve lost, and reflecting on it with regret, sorrow, some nostalgia about it, but also having insight and maturity — a ‘grown-ass-ness’ of realizing things are better off now then they were then.

“In this song, the character is a songwriter who constantly prioritized every relationship they’ve been in after they hit a little success, but it sooner or later backfires. I wanted to write a song about tackling work/life balance and social-party/life balance, and in this case, it’s about a songwriter, because that’s something I know well. I feel like so many different people prioritize and occupy their minds with their work or social lives over personal relationships or family, a decision that may not always be intentional. But it does have a big impact on the ones who are left in the wake of that decision. I’m pretty self-aware of this type of work mindset because I can be a bit of a workaholic with my songwriting and creative work. I get obsessed easily — especially when I’m in the flow. I wear a lot of work hats and now being a new father and family man, I find myself regularly seeking ways to encourage a healthier balance. The social nightlife isn’t as much of a concern to me these days, I tend to enjoy being a bit of a homebody.” – David James Allen

Photo Credit: Dawson Bunnett

WATCH: Cup O’Joe, “Weathered & Worn”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Cup O’Joe
Hometown: County Armagh, Northern Ireland
Song: “Weathered & Worn”
Album: Why Live Without
Release Date: June 16, 2023

In Their Words: “All of us in the band take much inspiration from the areas we have grown up in, especially us three siblings who had spent most of our life in County Armagh, which is labelled the Orchard County of Ireland. So, there really had to be a song on this new album featuring our awe and love of trees.

“This song was written from the viewpoint of someone who is asking how this huge tree outside his window continues to stand firm and grow strong amidst the storms and the many years it has seen come and go. They are glad that its branches have sheltered their grandkids, and likely their great grandkids, but there is still a restlessness, an uneasiness, that someday, they, and it will stand no more. ‘But when I’m gone, we’ll still cry out together shouting, just waiting for the day of truth.’ The quietness and questions go hand in hand, to point us to the greater picture — that we can live in the hope that all things will be made new.” – Tabitha Benedict

Photo Credit: Katie Loughrin Photography 

WATCH: Joh Chase, “Another Lover”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Joh Chase
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Song: “Another Lover”
Release Date: June 12, 2023
Label: Kill Rock Stars

In Their Words: “This song began in a writing retreat in Washington State back in 2017 and has had many iterations. This version is the ‘acoustic version’ I recorded and mixed at home in the corner of my living room during insomniatic COVID lock-down nights; [it] speaks of the visceral remorse we feel after nurturing and then losing relationships and just wanting to take it all back.” – Joh Chase

Photo Credit: Lexi Bonin

WATCH: Sarah Morris, “Ruthless”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Sarah Morris
Hometown: Shoreview, Minnesota
Song: “Ruthless”
Album: Here’s To You
Release Date: May 5, 2023

In Their Words: “‘Ruthless’ was a writing prompt in the summer of 2019. My initial response was the opening line, ‘Your calloused fingers, my calloused heart, I bet you earned your lack of feeling by working hard …’ My husband has calloused hands from building a cabin for our family, I have earned my own calloused fingers from guitar strings over the years – it was an easy image to grab on to. So often my songwriting takes me to deeply domestic moments and this song felt removed from that in a way that was so fun to write (and now to sing). I’ve written many songs about kindness; offering one another healing, a soft place to fall – it was fun to explore the other nooks and crannies of human emotion and character.

“On a late winter run I was listening to the masters of the album and when ‘Ruthless’ came on, I saw all these images – the two people, the sink, the dark background, a sense of kaleidoscope. As soon as I landed back at home, I emailed the amazing team of Sarah and Erik Elstan to ask if they were up to collaborating on a video again. On a blustery April day, we hid in a Minneapolis studio with Michael Gay, some great vintage pieces courtesy of Seven Suns Vintage out of Eau Claire, and shot the video. What a gift to find people who you can share a tangle of run-induced ideas with, and then they create something so fantastic!” – Sarah Morris

Photo Credit: Emily Isakson

WATCH: Jacob Sharp, “Other Side”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Jacob Sharp
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Song: “Other Side” (feat. Aoife O’Donovan)
Release Date: May 26, 2023

In Their Words: “I wrote this song in early 2020 when I was finally still enough to wrap my head around some of my emotions buried deepest. This one’s about a friend losing a battle with addiction, what I wish I had said more, and what I’ve been trying to say to all my people since. For me, music is for making and sharing with people. It’s why I love bands and being in Mipso. I talked myself out of releasing my own music so many times over the past few years, but when I realized it made for a good opportunity to collaborate with dear friends for the first time, it started to feel alright. I got the band of my dreams together and we recorded this one, mostly in separate locations in 2021.

“There is an amazing winemaker, Jude Zasadski, who is my neighbor in Mt. Washington – it’s a little oasis in the heart of Los Angeles – and he is someone who constantly inspires me. I love that dude so much. When I got the final mix for this tune, he was one of the first people I shared it with and he had an immediate vision for how we could show some of the fuzzier sides of memory whilst memorializing the preciousness of time and those moments when you feel your feelings again. We strolled around the neighborhood, got burgers and milkshakes, and then set up a projector in our friend’s garage. And one of my favorite filmmakers, Brady Lawrence, has been a friend for over a decade. His art always gets to emotional depth quickly and he was the perfect person to edit this video.” – Jacob Sharp

Photo Credit: Cate Parker
Video Credit: Jude Zasadski (director and videographer) and Brady Lawrence (editor)

WATCH: Selwyn Birchwood, “Exorcist”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Selwyn Birchwood
Hometown: Orlando, Florida
Song: “Exorcist”
Album: Exorcist
Release Date: June 9, 2023
Label: Alligator Records

In Their Words:  “‘Exorcist’ is the most vivid song on this album. It is meant to evoke and stir your emotions as you listen. The music video allowed me to paint the rest of the song’s story and picture visually. I have spent the last four weeks working on and editing this video to create an immersive cinematic experience and I couldn’t be happier with the final product. This is my masterpiece!” – Selwyn Birchwood

Photo Credit: Marilyn Stringer

WATCH: Elias Alexander & Maura Shawn Scanlin, “Wildflower”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Elias Alexander, Maura Shawn Scanlin, Ramblxr
Hometown: Portland, OR
Song: “Wildflower”
Album: Wildflower (single)
Release Date: June 1, 2023 (single); June 7, 2023 (video)

In Their Words: “‘Wildflower’ combines a fiddle tune with a lo-fi disco groove to take the listener on a journey through a field of wildflowers to a sunset dance party with friends. I’ve always loved the presence and emotionality that Maura brings to her fiddle playing. When she sent me this newly composed reel that she had written within the bagpipe scale, I took a lot of time to listen to the tune and tease out the corners of the melody. Like many tunes in the bagpipe scale, the tonality could be interpreted a number of different ways, but as I played around with it, I found this sort-of disco counter melody emerging.

“During the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 I became obsessed with music production, in the way that term is used in pop and hip-hop (i.e. beatmaking), and I’ve been most drawn to the kind of lo-fi groovy bedroom pop sounds of artists like Clairo or Dominic Fike.

“Electronic drum beats, synths, and other pop production techniques are often eschewed in folk and traditional music, but I think it’s time we re-evaluate that. These tools are technology, in the same way that the violin is technology, and they all serve as tools for expression of the human spirit. I started my project ‘Ramblxr’ as a way to bridge the two worlds of acoustic traditional music and electronics, with the goal of staying true to my musical roots, taste, and evolving sensibilities.

“Maura laid down some beautiful strings, and we both hummed the countermelody to bring the track to a climax that feels like a sunset dance party with friends in a field of wildflowers in early June. I hope you enjoy the ride!” – Elias Alexander

Photo Credit: Elias Alexander by Anna Colliton; Maura Shawn Scanlin by Louise Bichan.

WATCH: Joseph Terrell, “Tallest House of Cards” (feat. Charly Lowry)

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Joseph Terrell
Hometown: Durham, NC
Song: “Tallest House of Cards” (featuring Charly Lowry)
Album: Good For Nothing Howl
Release Date: May 5, 2023
Label: Sleepy Cat Records

In Their Words: “Charly Lowry is one of my favorite singers in North Carolina. I love her voice and her presence and I really admire how rooted she is in her community in Eastern North Carolina (AKA “down east” AKA the most interesting part of the state with the most swamps and collard greens per capita). We met up in Pembroke, NC at Charly’s bar, Credentials Social Club, and she helped me record a beautiful version of this song from my album … thanks to Charly for bringing it to life. Directed by my great buddies Sandra Davidson and Cameron Laws, we made a day trip out of it, got Mexican at Charly’s favorite spot beforehand, and then Cook Out milkshakes afterward (banana pudding). It was a pleasure all around.

“‘Tallest House of Cards’ is about some great duos who burned hot and bright for a little while. You know Bonnie & Clyde, Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers. Y’all maybe don’t know the story of Charles Mason & Jeremiah Dixon, the surveyors who drew the famous line, but they were a wild pairing, too. I’ve got some other verses (Bert & Ernie, Siegfried & Roy) that I might bust out live.” – Joseph Terrell

Video directed by Sandra Katharine Davidson and Cameron Elizabeth Laws

Photo Credit: Joseph Blankinship

WATCH: Sean Trischka, “Why You Been Gone So Long” (feat. Jacob Jolliff)

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Sean Trischka
Hometown: Fair Lawn, New Jersey
Song: “Why You Been Gone So Long” (feat. Jacob Jolliff)
Release Date: May 19, 2023 (single); June 2, 2023 (video)

In Their Words: “50 years ago, almost to the day, Clarence White melted faces and stole hearts when he sang ‘Why You Been Gone So Long’ at a show in a small room in Stockholm, Sweden. The recording of this essentially punk-rock performance can be found on The New Kentucky Colonel’s Live in Sweden record, which has been living rent-free in my head from the moment I heard it.

“The ruggedness of Clarence’s voice paired with the comfortable looseness of the band reminded me why I love bluegrass, but also why I love rock music. I wanted to do something that would pay tribute to both the song and the energy of that version.

“I played all the instruments on the basic track and, during recording, left a space for a guitar solo that I assumed I’d clumsily crank out myself at a later date. But as dumb luck would have it, I had lunch with Jacob Jolliff shortly after recording and immediately thought his unabashed, incredible, stream-of-consciousness playing style would be perfect for the track. We recorded his performance at my apartment in New York City – and he melted my face and stole my heart.

“As for the video, it’s my chaotic visual rendering of a bluegrass/rock mind-meld. I hope you enjoy. <3” – Sean Trischka

Photo Credit: Sam Kassirer