The Buzz | Independent Music News • Events • Interviews • Resources
Content tagged with singer songwriter

Given Career Boosts By Legends Max Weinberg And John Oates, Singer/Songwriter Josh Taerk Brings His Passion To ‘Stages’ Throughout The U.S. and UK

Born and raised in Toronto, living, writing and recording in Nashville these past three years and complementing his U.S. tours with frequent performances in the UK, indie singer-songwriter Josh Taerk considers himself a musical citizen of the world.

Josh Taerk Indie Breaking through in 2017 on the Hot AC Commercial Radio charts with “Anywhere Love Took Us,” the first single from his latest EP Stages, Josh and his band have opened for famed blues guitarist Robin Trower, Kevin Costner & Modern West, John McLaughlin and Austin Jones while headlining their own shows throughout the Midwest, South and as far West as Midland TX, Salt Lake City and Denver.

His high energy performances led acclaimed music journalist Jason Richie to name him one of the “Top 5 Live Acts” of 2015, and in May of that year, the title track from his full-length album was playlisted on over 40 radio stations throughout the UK, where he toured in support of The Soldiers in 2012-2013 and headlined two UK university tours in 2013 and 2015. Josh was chosen to play Indie Week Canada’s 2014 Band Competition and made it to the semi-final round, Indie Week Europe 2015 where he and his band played 5 shows, and Canada’s Walk of Fame Festival at Nathan Phillips Square in 2011.

Jump to full post

Musical Scientist MELANIE EDWARDS releases her 10th album BETWEEN THE BINARY

Singer Songwriter Melanie EdwardsOn the foothills of releasing her award-winning single WHAT HAPPENED and seven years, to the day, after debuting her EP BETWEEN THE BINARY, musical scientist MELANIE EDWARDS releases her 10th album BETWEEN THE BINARY (COLLECTOR’S EDITION); a remastered version of her initial record with unreleased, never-before-heard demos, B-sides, live recordings and studio instrumentals. Channeling the shadow side, Edwards commands the attention of her listeners, captivating them with her haunting vocals, intricate compositions and songbird melodies. In person, spectators are glued to Edwards’s intriguing hands as they dance down the ivory keys. Edwards’s comedic interludes make every performance a theatrical experience for her audiences and not just another songstress playing the piano.

Classically trained in piano, violin and voice since the early age of nine, Edwards’s collection of songs showcases an authentic, dynamic musical concoction that reminds listeners what real talent sounds like. Edwards’s BETWEEN THE BINARY (COLLECTOR’S EDITION) is void of over-produced, “microwaved” compilations delivering a buzz-worthy revisit.

Jump to full post

Los Angeles Pop-R&B Singer-Songwriter, Malynda Hale, Announces Show at GiGhive’s 616 in Kenosha

 

Singer Songwriter Malynda HaleThis July 2nd, Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter, Malynda Hale, will be bringing her sweet soulful sound to the 616. She’ll be in Kenosha promoting her most recent album, Pieces of Me.

Earlier this year, Hale’s single Falling, written as a tribute to Leelah Acorn, landed her a top-10 finalist position in GRAMMY Amplifier—a competition sponsored by The Recording Academy and Hyundai, and curated by the likes of GRAMMY winners and nominees such as Big Sean, Lzzy Hale, and Sam Hunt.

The newest record, Pieces of Me, is Hale’s 4th studio album; produced by Kevin Porter of Flashgrove Music and Darren “BabyDeeBeats” Smith, it has been described in reviews as her most personal one yet. In a chat with Gighive, Hale opened up about what she’s learned on her musical journey so far, and dropped us a few hints on what to expect for her upcoming stop at the 616.

“When I made my first album, I had no knowledge of actual music business,” she told us. “I knew nothing about promotion and getting reviewed; instead, I simply wanted to put out music to start getting my name out there. With the first album I didn’t take time to really make it as good as it could’ve been. I was over eager.”

Jump to full post

Singer Songwriter Melanie Edwards Announces New Album, Lorelei, for 2016

It’s been two years since my last GiGhive Buzz chat with Melanie Edwards, who had then just finished recording her eighth album, ‘The Circle’, in Barcelona, Spain. A lot can happen in two years, and in Melanie’s case, a lot did. After a broken engagement ended her six-year relationship, Edwards used the experience to write her ninth album, which she named Lorelei after her engagement ring.

Melanie EdwardsIn Germanic mythology, Lorelei is a feminine water spirit who lures sailors with her singing. According to the folklore, Lorelei was betrayed by her love and accused of bewitching men. Narrowly escaping a death sentence, she was sent to the nunnery by the bishop. On her way there, she climbed a rock to get a last peak at the Rhine, and, believing she’d seen her love in the river, fell to her death. Legend has it that her spirit still sits on that rock, beckoning sailors with the sound of her voice, causing them to steer their ships into the cliffs.

No, Melanie Edwards didn’t throw herself into a river when her engagement ended, nor did she vow to spend her days perched on a rock, luring men to their doom; she did, however, write a record in 12 days, which in itself is no small feat in normal times, let alone after such an experience.
“My last eight records are extremely esoteric and lyrically vague, but not this one,” she says about Lorelei.
“I used the period following the end of my engagement to channel the hurt, rawness and confusion of that disconnect into sonic prose because I didn’t want to externalize the journey. Instead, I wanted to honor the experience.

“Six years of my life and a huge chapter just ended so I wanted to put it in an audible time capsule. I’ve had breakups before and went through my parents’ divorce, but nothing of this magnitude. The usual go-to for me was to throw myself into vice, distraction and anything but actually dealing with emotional pain. I knew as the healing process began that I wanted to utilize those primal feelings of loss, separation, solitude and chaos into song work because I knew I would write from a place of truth.”

Jump to full post

Getting Lost in Costa Rica with the Roses and the Waves – Melanie Edwards Returns with Her Sixth Studio Album

Nine months after the release of Back to Basics, NYC-based musical scientist Melanie Edwards returns with her sixth album, entitled Las Rosas. Recorded over February and March of this year in San Ramon, Costa Rica, Las Rosas uses ambient sounds of the Costa Rican jungle as a backdrop. Edwards has the habit of choosing new production locations with every album she makes (the previous one, Back to Basics, had her recording in the woods in Finland), but Las Rosas seems to take the immersion further—the animals, ocean waves, and thunder actually play on this record. Shortly after her return to New York City,  I spoke to Melanie about Costa Rica, her new album, and perfectionism in the studio.

Singer Songwriter Melanie Edwards

You recorded your newest album, Las Rosas, in Costa Rica and used a lot of nature’s ambient sounds. How did the location fit in with what you wanted to create and express here? How did the ambient sounds fit in?

Jump to full post

Melanie Edwards – Musical Scientist – Gets ‘Back to Basics’ on New Album

Having spent the summer writing and recording in Finland, NYC-based musician Melanie Edwards recently returned home with a brand new album in hand. Her third solo album, entitled “Back to Basics”, was released on October 2nd and offers a classically-inspired sound with an array of dynamic musical arrangement and a quaintly authentic tone. Edwards defines herself as a musical scientist, combining two different worlds to forge something that comes together as a whole. Personally, whenever I hear the words ‘music’ and ‘science’ together in the same sentence, I immediately think either paradox or contradiction; however, the two don’t necessarily have to live apart.

Melanie Edwards - the music scientist

These days, we often dissociate the soulful from the cerebral, but, as Edwards points out, it hasn’t always been this way. “Art relies on intuition and emotion,” she says. “Science toys with data and facts. But they are both inventive and curious. Look at Amelia Earhart: a writer and an aviator. Leonardo Da Vinci was a mathematician, scientist, painter and architect. As a musical scientist, I’m acting as a channel between the binary. I think art and science are best friends, but can get on each other’s nerves. We all wrestle with collective and individual duality, because paradox is a human condition, but there can be a beautiful balance, between the binary; it’s magic.”

Jump to full post

New Jersey Indie Pop Artist Sarah Miles’ Career on the Rise with Upcoming Full-Length Album

Sarah Miles Music

A common misconception some of us have when discovering so-called ‘new’ artists is assuming that they’ve suddenly appeared out of nowhere, like unseasoned rookies making their first attempt at musical. In general, this couldn’t be further from the truth. And when you think about, it’s somewhat condescending on our part to ignore all work an artist has done prior to the moment we first hear of them. About one month ago, Bon Iver won ‘Best New Artist’ at the Grammys. While many of us were very well aware of the music Justin Vernon was writing for several years now, he was however new to the Grammy world. By the same token, many artists live the independent grind daily, and when comes the first light of recognition; we callously define them as ‘new’. The fact that we’ve just discovered them doesn’t make them new.

Jump to full post

Coeur de Pirate The French-Canadian Singer Songwriter takes her newest album on the road

Coeur de Pirate to Play Four U.S. Shows

Béatrice Martin Coeur de Pirate Béatrice Martin will be bringing her Coeur de Pirate project to the Northeastern United States for four dates this January. Despite her performing in French, the award-winning French-Canadian singer’s fan base has been expanding internationally to English-speaking audiences thanks to her rich and highly expressive, yet accessible songwriting. On several occasions, Canada’s CBC ‘Bucky Awards’ have proclaimed Coeur de Pirate as the ‘Best Reason to Learn French’. She has been certified Platinum in Canada and Belgium, Triple Platinum in France, and Gold in Switzerland.

On her 2011 sophomore album entitled Blonde (referring not only to her hair color, but also to the French-Canadian slang term for girlfriend), Coeur de Pirate melancholic-ally evokes a sixties sound and style, and does so with impressive maturity given her twenty-two years of age.

Jump to full post