by Kotaro Sumiya (Japanese Summer Orange)
As everyone knows, musicians often write songs for someone’s death. Before I became a musician, I was disgusted with this trend. Do they have to sing someone’s death on purpose? I was thinking like that.
Recently I have found myself playing a new role – that of the Messenger Raven. In this case, I witness murders and sing about them with my band “The Raven’s Tale” and report on them as The Journalist in a theatre production of Ivy Alvarez’ book “Disturbance.” It is a job not for the faint of heart! In this article, I will tell you about this new exciting role in my creative career.
Now you’ve mastered that cover song it’s time to take it to the stage! Ever wanted to take a chance on an open mic and see what it feels like to play with some amplification? Hearing yourself sing on a mic and hear your instrument played through an amp or bigass speakers? The stage can be a hella scary place and having jitters is completely natural. So let’s digest those butterflies and get under that spotlight!
by Sid Ready
I started my music journey at fourteen in mid-2014 playing small coffee venues with my ukulele and guitar. In early 2017, I began to grow tired of my acoustic guitar and ukulele. I then moved on, and I started writing “I Can Actually Speak.” The album portrays a lot of things bunched into one that happened between mid-2016 and up until the end of 2017. I endured failed relationships and projects, moving out really young, and realizing how awful human beings can be. This is where the harsh beginning of “I Can Actually Speak” starts.
by _DramaDolls
DramaDolls live/exist in Adelaide a small remote city where the best and worst elements exist for creating genuinely original music.
The photo above is me outside the Koninklijk Theatre where Tori Amos played Amsterdam in September 2017. I was lucky enough to get last minute tickets the very day before I was scheduled to fly home after my European tour. Needless to say, it was all very auspicious and I recently started to think about how many songs I can play of hers, and how by playing them they’ve become a part of me. She also has a special approach to doing covers. I have also interpreted many songs by other artists in the meantime and I’m also keen to try my hand at a few that intimidate me! Here is some background and a few tips for nailing that cover song.
With the passing of legendary soul singer Aretha Franklin and the 60th birthday of Madonna occurring within days of each other this week I started to think about the enduring legacy of certain women in the music biz and how they got to where they are today. I also started to think about the mentors that have helped me on my journey. Here are seven female performers who have influenced my work and the stage of life I was in when they found me and first sang their song to me.
If you’re an artist like me you probably struggle with feelings of doubt, irrelevance and despair on a regular basis. I often go through spells of “what am I doing?”, “why haven’t I made it yet?” to: “I’m not good enough,” “no one cares about what I’m making so why bother?” etc etc. The voices of doom are assholes and I’m gradually learning how to deal with them and not let them sabotage the good thing I’ve got going. In fact I’ve come up with a few tips as to how to stay cool when these voices start their onslaught.
On February 20, London’s resident So Kobayashi released the EP With You on RF, with two new tracks and two remixes. All songs both invite you to dance and dream. Start into the weekend with this chillout soundtrack!