New Gods: Skipping Stone (Oblivion) + Razorblades + Klipse + On Your Side

Melbourne band Little Red split up for good last year, but its five members have all gone on to form new bands. Two of them, vocalist Dominic Byrne and guitarist Adrian Beltrame teamed up to found New Gods which includes bass player Richard Bradbeer of Eagle and The Worm, keyboard player Dale Packard of Ground Components, as well as drummer Sam Raines. An excellent self-titled five-song debut EP was released on November 30; a debut full-length album is in the works.

www.facebook.com/newgodsmusic


So far, four videos have been published to accompany the EP tracks:

"Stepping Stone (Oblivion)", filmed by Dale Packard before, during, after a cyclone in Queensland.
"Razorblades" and "Klipse", produced by Twelfth House Films. http://vimeo.com/twelfthhousefilms
"On Your Side", produced by Tooth & Claw. http://vimeo.com/toothandclaw

The Holidays: Voices Drifting

Sydney band The Holidays released three EPs between 2008 and 2010; this was also the year their debut full-length album 'Post Paradise' came out.  A second album will drop in early 2014.

A hypnotic video for the stellar teaser single 'Voices Drifting' was published this month. The clip was directed by multi media artist William Mansfield.

Formerly a quartet, the trio has a few shows coming up in Australia in September and October:


https://www.facebook.com/theholidaysband/events

http://vimeo.com/wmansfield  (director)

Ester Rada: Could It Be + Life Happens

28-year-old Ethiopian-Israeli singer-songwriter Ester Rada is gaining legions of new fans by the minute; performances this year at SXSW and Glastonbury no doubt helped get the word out.

Produced and arranged by SaBBo & Kuti

, her outstanding four-track EP 'Life Happens' was released on November 1 of last year; a full-length debut album is in the works.

http://esterrada.bandcamp.com/album/life-happens-ep#


For those of you in Israel: Rada has three shows this month, August 23, 24, and 30.

https://www.facebook.com/esterradaofficial/events



Videos:
"Life Happens" directed by Gal Muggia
http://galmuggia.com/

"Could It Be" directed by Alon Segal
http://alonsegal.com/


NOTE:
Be sure to check out the stellar reggae track "Better Days" from aforementioned Israeli producer team SaBBo & Kuti's 2011 album of the same name.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89H3_-5dZ8Q

Melissa Laveaux: Postman + Pretty Girls

28-year-old Haitian-Canadian singer-songwriter-guitarist Melissa Laveaux dropped her second full-length album 'Dying Is A Wild Night' earlier this year and will be touring Europe throughout the fall.


https://www.facebook.com/melissalaveauxoff/app_308540029359



'Pretty Girls' was directed by Vittorio Bettini:

http://vimeo.com/user1659625

'Postman' was directed by Terence Nance:

http://vimeo.com/terencenance

Mazzy Star: California

L.A. band Mazzy Star will release their fourth studio album 'Seasons of Your Day' on September 24; it's their first one since 1996. Co-written/co-produced by Hope Sandoval and David Roback, the tracks were recorded in California and Norway.  The new ten-track album will be comprised of new material, including the teaser single "California", as well as the 2011 single "Common Burn"/"Lay Myself Down". 

Sandoval's unmistakable voice sounds as beautiful as ever on "California'.  A video premieres next month and a fall tour is also in the works; dates will be announced any day now.


UPDATE:
The promised video was published September 21. Tour dates in the U.S. and Canada were announced September 9.


http://www.crowdsurge.com/MazzyStar/

www.facebook.com/MazzyStarOfficial

Hymns From Nineveh: A Kid On The Beach + The Streets Of Pyongyang

Danish singer-songwriter Jonas H. Petersen founded the project Hymns From Nineveh in 2007.  A five-track EP entitled 'Uncomplicated Christmassongs' was released in 2009; a full-length Christmas album followed in 2011.  His self-titled debut album was also released in 2011; a second studio album 'Visions' drops September 19.

When playing live Petersen aka Hymnboy is joined by a five-member band; however, occasionally he performs solo, as seen in the second clip, recorded by Danish televison station DR2; the gorgeous song "The Streets of Pyongyang" begins at 00:35.  The first video was shot by Mikkel Aabenhuus.

Hymnboy and his merry men have nine shows scheduled between September 27 and November 3, all of them in Denmark; hopefully the six of them will also be playing gigs outside Denmark in the near future.


http://www.hymns.dk/concerts/

www.facebook.com/HymnsFromNineveh

http://vimeo.com/user3526898  (director Mikkel Aabenhuus)

Moby: A Case For Shame + The Lonely Night

After ten albums and much touring, Moby relocated from longtime base NYC to Los Angeles where he spent 18 months recording his eleventh studio album 'Innocents' which drops in late September and will feature several collaborations, including two tracks with guest vocalists Cold Speck on "A Case for Shame" and Mark Lanegan on "The Lonely Night".

Instead of a full tour, he has opted to do a total of three 3-hour shows (9 pm-midnight) October 2-4 at The Fonda Theatre in Hollywood. All dates will feature special guests and will include old as well as new Moby material. Tickets go on sale tomorrow, Thursday August 8.


http://www.moby.com/live

www.facebook.com/mobymusic

http://www.coldspecks.com/live/

http://marklanegan.com/



NOTES on videos:
"A Case for Shame" is the first clip ever directed by Moby himself. (he also did the art for the new album.)
"The Lonely Night" was directed by Colin Rich who specializes in remarkable time-lapse videos.

 http://vimeo.com/deerdog  +  http://deer-dog.com/videos/  (director Colin Rich)

The Weeknd: Love In The Sky + Belong To The World

With three 2011 mixtapes and the 2012 compilation album 'Trilogy' behind him, 23-year-old Ethiopian-Canadian singer-songwriter-producer Abel Tesfaye aka The Weeknd is ready to release his debut studio album 'Kiss Land' on September 10.  

His 'The Fall' tour kicks off September 6 in Vancouver and wraps up in London November 26.  Two consecutive concert dates are scheduled for each of the following cities: Vancouver, L.A., NYC, Boston, Chicago, Manchester, UK, and there will be a total of three shows in Toronto October 17, 19, 20.


NOTE on audio track: 
I'm posting the version of the single "Love in the Sky" that was uploaded to SoundCloud yesterday since I find it superior to the video version; it is also several minutes longer.

NOTE on video:
The stunning clip for "Belong to the World" was shot in Tokyo by renowned American director Anthony Mandler.  


http://www.theweeknd.com/tour/

www.facebook.com/theweeknd

http://blackhandcinema.com/   (director Anthony Mandler)