"We are a bit secretive because we want our art to be our identity. If you really want to know us you can always come to one of our gigs."
Mystery band Easy Wanderlings was founded in March 2015 and are based in India. The line up seems to change from one performance to the other.
This fall they performed in Bombay/Mumbai and in Bangalore/Bengaluru as part of the ongoing concert series SoFar [Songs From a Room.] The live performances of the stellar songs "Enjoy It While You Can" and "Faces" are both wonderful; make sure however to also listen to the studio versions on SoundCloud.
Drummer and co-founder James Parishleft London band Wild Palms not long after they finished their eagerly awaited second full-length 'Live Together, Eat Each Other' which dropped in May. No word on whether the title reflects the challenges of the members recording together for five years.
Danny Bacon has now replaced Parish and will join singer Lou Hill, bassist Gareth Jones and guitarist Darrel Hawkins for a show on home turf at The Waiting Room this Friday night November 25.
Brighton film maker/animator Jeb Hardwick directed three excellent and very different videos to go with the utterly stunning album tracks"A Is for Apple", "Temper Gold" and "100 Cymbals" (the latter is a 360 degree clip: use the arrows in the top left corner to get the full effect.)
London band Palace have been touring continental Europe this month and have six UK shows scheduled for the next two weeks.
They released the EP 'Lost in the Night' in 2014, followed up with the EP 'Chase the Light' in 2015 and dropped their eleven-track debut full-length 'So Long Forever' November 4.
A video was published already in late September to accompany the gorgeous track "Holy Smoke" off the new album.
Another giant has fallen. Canadian poet and singer Leonard Cohen, one of the finest songwriters of our time, passed away peacefully Monday November 7 in his home in Hancock Park in Los Angeles at the age of 82. His acclaimed fourteenth studio album 'You Want It Darker' was released October 21. Recorded mostly at home, it was produced by his son Adam Cohen.
His songs have been covered by many, among the very best and most famous versions are "Suzanne" by Judy Collins and "Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley.
But today I wanted to hear the man himself and chose the haunting live performance of "A Thousand Kisses Deep" from his 2012-2013 world tour.
Leonard Cohen, September 21, 1934 - November 7, 2016. R.I.P.
Brooklyn trio Glass Gang attracted attention with their mixtape in 2014, but it is the outstanding five-track debut EP '1 For None' released last week that ought to propel them towards the same level of rabid adoration enjoyed by the giants they cite as inspirations, chiefly The Cure, Bauhaus, and Sisters of Mercy. (I would add genius melody makers Depeche Mode to that list of influences.) Like Depeche Mode and The Cure in particular, Glass Gang have wisely realized that "catchy chorus" and "catchy tune" are not dirty words and that music which is most frequently termed dark and gothic can sound as sunny as the brightest pop gem.
A gorgeous, semi-creepy black/white video was made to accompany the superb single "Outside Your Love" and published in June. The clip was directed by filmmaker and photographer Taylor Antisdel.
The three members of Glass Gang (who have so far declined to give their names to the press) will perform three debut UK shows: Leeds on November 6, London November 8, Brighton November 9.
NOTE: Make sure to listen to all five EP tracks on Soundcloud - there's not a bad apple in the bunch.
Last week virtually unknown Copenhagen trio Off Bloom performed their superb song "Love to Hate It" at the annual prestigious P3 Guld award bash and pretty much stole the show which was an otherwise oddly lackluster affair despite the impressive bill of nominated artists and bands, including Alex Vargas and Phlake (there was also a guest performance by MØ.)
Things finally heated up on stage when wonderfully confident powerhouse singer Mette Mortensen along with sound wizards Alexander Flockhart+ Mads Christian Damgaard began their national Danish television debut by having half a dozen introductory sentences projected onto a screen, ending with "We've been working on our music for three years straight without releasing anything. We're ready now." And as the live video proves, indeed they were.
The five-track EP "Love to Hate It" was released October 21. The accompanying official video was published the day before; it was shot by Danish director Nadia Marquard Otzen who works in both Copenhagen and London.
21-year-old Portuguese-Swedish singer-songwriter Fanny de Aguiar hails from Gothenburg, but relocated to Stockholm after coming fifth in Idol in 2014 and getting signed to Space Station 12, a new record label founded by Per Gessle of Roxette fame. (The label announced a partnership with BMG Scandinavia earlier this year.) Her debut single "Sinking Deep" dropped October 7 and the accompanying b/w video was published this week.
Openly gay and a proud feminist with a distinct fashion style plus killer cheekbones, the artist has 42.9k followers on Instagram. What's important in a musical context however is that she has a stunning voice which is showcased to full effect on "Sinking Deep", a truly gorgeous spine chiller of a song that proves that Roxette - and ABBA - have not lived in vain. (I love the slight Swedish accent when she sings the words "gone" and "more" - very Agnetha/Frida.)
2017 could well turn out to be a banner year for de Aguiar who turns 22 on January 13, but it's going to take a handful of great songs and excellent videos, not to mention extensive touring. Let's hope she, Space Station 12 and BMG are up to the task.
Published since 2008, The Nightfly is a non-profit one-woman operation based out of Long Beach/Los Angeles, California. An eclectic virtual music magazine with readers in more than 100 countries, it features videos along with interviews, reviews, news and points of views.
