Maggie Rogers: On+Off + Dog Years + Alaska

2017 is looking like a banner year for Maggie Rogers with the release of her stellar five-track debut major label EP 'Now That the Light Is Fading' February 17 and a busy tour schedule kicking off tonight in Brussels.

It's been quite a crazy time for the singer-songwriter from rural Maryland since her participation in Pharrell Williams' master class at NYU last March went viral in early summer, but she has handled her overnight fame with grace, not to mention a maturity beyond her almost 23 years. Having written tunes since the age of thirteen and dropping three EPs plus one single between 2012 and 2014 on Bandcamp very likely helped prepare her for the life of a music industry pro.

Tour: Most of the UK/continental Europe and North America February/March/April dates have already sold out, but tickets are still available for her summer festival gigs in the U.S, continental Europe, the UK and Japan.

Something about Roger's personality, music and videos reminds me of Feist, another exceptional artist. The playful clips accompanying the outstanding songs "Alaska", "Dog Years" and "Off + On" were all directed by American film maker Zia Anger.



https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/now-that-the-light-is-fading-ep/id1204637977

https://www.facebook.com/MaggieRogers/app/123966167614127/?ref=page_internal

https://maggierogers.bandcamp.com/music

http://www.ziaanger.com/

Little Dragon: High

Frederik, Yukimi, Erik, Håkan

The many fans of Little Dragon were finally able to satisfy their mad hunger for new music this week when the Swedish quartet dropped the impossibly delicious single "High". The band's first release since 2014 is accompanied by a very trippy, colorful and dreamlike video directed by fellow Gothenburg creative Ossian Melin.

No official word yet on whether a new studio album is in the works, but here's hoping.

Little Dragon will be touring the U.S. in April and will be playing in Toronto May 4. Coachella (April 14 + 21) and Red Rocks (July 26) are among the scheduled festival gigs.

NOTE: My 2009 interview with Yukimi Nagano continues to be one of the most popular entries here on The Nightfly blog. If you missed it, go to:
http://latenightdj.blogspot.dk/2009/11/q-with-yukimi-nagano-of-little-dragon.html



https://www.facebook.com/littledragonpage/app/123966167614127/?ref=page_internal

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/high-single/id1203485982?app=itunes

http://ossianmelin.se/

Elbow: Gentle Storm

Drummer Richard Jupp departed UK band Elbow early last year, long before the seventh full-length 'Little Fictions' was completed. Released February 3, the album thankfully proves that Guy Garvey, Pete Turner, Mark Potter and Craig Potter are doing just fine post-Jupp.

The third single "Gentle Storm" is a master class in the less-is-more approach; spare yet hypnotic percussion plus Garvey's golden voice were the only ingredients needed to create this superb song.

The accompanying black/white video uses the post-production process of cross-fading: the male and female faces seamlessly blend into one another, creating a haunting and eerie effect that perfectly matches the music. The clip features the four band members as well as actor Benedict Cumberbatch (among others) and was directed by Kevin Godley who used the same film technique for Godley & Creme's 1985 "Cry" video.

Elbow has a string of shows scheduled this winter in Ireland (late February) and the UK (March); most are already sold out. In June they'll be part of the sixteenth Forest Live gigs which will include a performance in the Sherwood Forest Sunday June 25 (here's hoping Robin Hood and his merry men turn up.) In July and August the quartet are playing summer festivals in continental Europe and in the UK.



https://elbow.lnk.to/LittleFictionsWE

http://elbow.co.uk/  (scroll down for tour schedule)

http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/INFD-6Z4F47

https://www.facebook.com/Elbow

http://www.kevin-godley.com/

Lyves: Darkest Hour + No Love + The Weather + Free

London-based Italian-Australian artist Francesca Bergami aka Lyves spent five months writing and recording her just-released flawless four-track debut EP 'Like Water' in an attic in the picturesque town of Ostra in Italy where her father and grandmother live. Her haunting vocals combined with the gorgeous, intricately layered production make for a soundscape that invites the listener into a world of pitch darkness and blinding light...plus the many lovely nuances in between.

It's a mood that is reflected in the videos that accompany "Darkest Hour" and "No Love". The first clip presents beautiful portraits of extraordinary-ordinary women and was directed by Nathanael T. Williams; the second visual features Lyves herself as she moves around the city by night.

The two remaining EP tracks, the superb "The Weather" and the outstanding "Free" are equally deserving of videos. In fact, the music of Lyves seems made for film.

No wonder then that London editing collective Homespun last year invited film makers to create a short inspired by "Darkest Hour". Thomas Ralph was one of four whose project was funded; his powerful winning entry as well as the other three stellar clips are well worth watching. (see link # 6 below)

The singer-songwriter-producer has two shows scheduled for this month: Sunday February 5 she is one of several performers on the bill at Studio Cherie in Berlin; Monday February 20 she has a show at Servant Jazz Quarters in London.



http://www.songkick.com/artists/7930038-lyves

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/darkest-hour/id1187267105?i=1187267358

https://soundcloud.com/lyves

https://www.facebook.com/lyvesmusic

https://www.nathanaeltwilliams.com/

https://lbbonline.com/news/mind-blown-4-amazing-new-talents-from-homespun-yarns/