‘Instagratification’ is from Andy Griffin’s album ‘Unsocial Media’.

Andy is a singer/songwriter based in Thaxted, Essex, creating contemporary indie rock/pop songs. Commenting on the world around us, his latest album, ‘Unsocial Media’ focuses on the dark side of social media. In particular, it highlights its effect on our teenagers and young adults. Andy wrote the title track after reading the tragic story of a teenage girl who took her own life as a direct result of social media.

This is Andy’s third album, having self-released two albums in the early 2000’s: ‘A Whisper & a Croak’ and ‘Classified’. After a hiatus from music of around eight years, Andy began writing and recording again in 2014. This enabled the development and progression towards his sound today.

Andy has a web site, at andygriffinmusic.com. You can follow him on YouTube, Facebook and Insta. ‘Unsocial Media’ is available on Spotify.

When not creating music Andy photographs portraits, events and weddings or filming videos for other bands and corporate clients. For more information check andygriffin.co.uk or andygriffinphotography.com.

 

Fil Campbell and Tom McFarland released their new album ‘Shoreline’ in April.

Originally from Belleek in Co. Fermanagh, singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Fil Campbell has been a performing musician and singer since she was a teenager. The folk songs and music that was popular around the localities and townlands of Fermanagh and Donegal influenced Fil.

Since the 90’s Fil and her husband Tom McFarland who hails from Belfast have been singing and playing as a musical duo. Their unique combination of blending vocals, guitar, and percussion plus the ability to mix their original compositions with traditional and contemporary songs — punctuated by the Irish gift of chat and craic — has won the hearts and minds of audiences around the world.

The album is a collection of 10 folk songs. Some sung by Fil, some featuring Tom and a couple of duets. It can be purchased from their website, at filandtom.com

 

King Bee and The Stingers have released ‘Don’t Move So Fast’.

Blues band King Bee & The Stingers is from Indiana, USA, and we’ve heard their track ‘Contrary to the Word’ a couple of weeks ago (Week 92).

Founded by Mark Menefee who was lead vocalist for 13 years before becoming their manager and handing over the vocals to his daughter, Sarah, King Bee & The Stingers have been creating quite a name for themselves on the Blues music scene in the US.

Having performed at the nostalgic Browns County Playhouse in Nashville as well as the 2023 IBC’s Challenge King Bee & The Stingers now release their new single ‘Don’t Move So Fast’.

Details on this along with further information on King Bee & The Stingers can be found on their website kingbeestingers.com or you can follow them on Facebook and Insta.

 

Yvngerror has released ‘Fire’.

Alternative Indie artist Yvngerror is based in Middlesex, England.

Exploring the real essence of British culture and Brit Pop vibes, Yvngerror’s career only started recently but has already resulted in his first release being featured on various radio shows and play-lists. Now his new single, ‘Fire’, is available.

‘Fire’ is taken from his forthcoming début album, ‘Definitely Tea’, which will be released later in the year. The song touches upon the idea of staying out too late in London and getting yourself lost and distracted from the more important things in life.

You can find more information on Yvngerror by following him on Facebook.

 

‘Can’t Afford Me a Home’ is by local artist Stephen Foster-Pilkington.

As the title suggests it reflects on the dire state of the UK’s housing crisis. The track will also form part of a fourteen track album called ‘Who Could Live in a House Like This’, which is due for release in early May.

Stephen is a singer/songwriter who lives in Brightlingsea. He goes out gigging solo with his guitar, loop pedal and violin. In his spare time he enjoys listening to indie music and also exploring less well known composers of the nineteenth century.

You can follow Stephen on Soundcloud, Facebook and Bandcamp.

 

Fuat Tuaç has recently released ‘Stay’.

Fuat Tuaç began his jazz journey singing in his hometown of Istanbul, Turkey. In 2011, he moved to Montréal to study jazz at Concordia University, and quickly wound up with residencies at local bars and clubs, as well as performing and organizing jam sessions with other musicians. In 2017, he released his first critically acclaimed album, ‘Late Bloomer.’

Immigration is a hot-button issue, and not the only relatable topic that acclaimed singer and composer Fuat Tuaç presents on his aptly named sophomore album ‘The Immigrant’, which is due for release on 26th May. Here, Fuat shares a collection of stories and experiences about life in Canada as a 30-something foreigner.

Fuat explains “I wanted to talk about my journey. I wanted to talk about the people I’ve met along the way; my experience inside and outside the jazz world; how people see me and how I see them. I wanted to talk about all of this, and inspire people.”

‘Stay’ is the first single from the album, ‘Immigrant’. It’s a naive love song about facing social pressures when declaring your love for a loved one. The video shows lovely shots from Istanbul.

Fuat has a website, at fuattuac.com.

 

On 4th April, Anyone’s Ghost released ‘The Secret History’.

Following on from the release of their début EP, ‘A Good Winter In June’, back in June 2021, Anyone’s Ghost has returned with the release of the new single ‘The Secret History’.

This track is features on the upcoming début album, which will be released this year. ‘The Secret History’ is a perfect encapsulation of the intensity and dynamic of Anyone’s Ghost’ sound; delicate and intrinsic lyricism backed by a ferocious, intense soundscape that formulates a truly unique style. Donna Tartt’s book of the same name inspired the track. It is an inverted murder mystery story, truly apt for the styling of Wanda’s song writing.

The release of the EP back in 2021 exceeded expectations for their début release. It gained over 20,000 streams on Spotify, and was covered in magazines, attained best of 2021 lists, and created a real connection with fans around the world. This has set up a real path for Wanda’s music and established the label Bread Records as one to watch for an exciting and unique roster of artists.

Anyone’s Ghost are on AppleMusic, Bandcamp, Facebook, Insta and Spotify.

 

Blondshell debuted her new song, ‘Salad’ on 5^th April.

Blondshell (aka Sabrina Teitelbaum) made her late night TV début on April 5th. She premièred her new single ‘Salad’ on ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’. It is a highlight off her self-titled début album, which dropped on Friday, 7th April.

“Look what you did, you’ll make a killer of a Jewish girl” sings Blondshell at the top of ‘Salad’, a lyric so searing it almost burns through the speakers. Not only does ‘Salad’ nod to Blondshell’s Judaism in its first 20-seconds, but it proceeds to rip through four more minutes of storytelling. It is both angry and empowered, a revenge fantasy of sorts narrating an imagined vigilante justice after a friend’s abuser gets absolved of his crime.

The song’s lyrics may be jet-black, but as is often the case with Blondshell’s music, they are juxtaposed against a technicolour of infectious melodies, shredded shoegaze guitars, and even a tinkling piano solo

On the release of her début album, Blondshell says, “It’s hard to summarize what this album means to me. I was able to work through so much by writing and singing these songs. In a way I was also able to find my voice by finally saying these things out loud. I wasn’t intending to write an album as much as I was just trying to get relief from an intense and difficult time in my life. My biggest hope is that people can see the album for what it is: there’s no happy ending or ‘message’, it’s just a window into what it’s like when you’re trying to figure out who you are and what you want.”

Blondshell will also be embarking on her first headline tour of North America this summer. All the dates and venues are on her website, which is at blondshellmusic.com. She also has a linktr.ee page with links to all her social media.

 

On 21^st April Randy Stephens released ‘Driving with the Birds’.

Randy Stephens is a multi-genre music artist out of Florida. Florida drivers were the inspiration for this song. He was on the Florida highways traveling to shows and while sitting in traffic thought, “What a great song.”

Randy performs over 200 plus shows per year, large and small crowds. He has a website, at randystephens.net, and is on Facebook, YouTube and Spotify.

 

Ian Roland has released ‘The Wood Wide Web’ and ‘Not Alone’ is the first track.

Ian is a singer-songwriter who writes original Roots music, full of heart-strung orchestration and up-close, life-drenched lyrics. He’s based near Brighton and plays live as a solo act and also as a duo, with violinist Simon Yapp.

‘The Wood Wide Web’ is a new album of eleven songs Ian has written during the last two and a bit years. The songs arrangement and production was by Ian and Simon. This album project started in Spring 2020, following the release of the album, ‘Double Rainbow’.

The album has experienced various waves of the COVID pandemic and rollout of vaccines; three UK Conservative Prime Ministers; an ongoing cost-of-living crisis; a War in Europe and the climate crisis deepening. Conceived and developed against this backdrop, the album highlights the power of Nature to rejuvenate, sustain and enrich all life, including our own, if only we gave it the chance to do so.

For more information, check out Ian’s website at ianroland.com.

 

 

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