musomusofm on the radar playlist #40 - Jon Sandman, XIXI, The Chris Ruben Band, Betty Reed, Emma Kelly, Bregn, The Fades and more....
So this is the 40th edition of the musomusofm on the radar playlist, that means that we have featured 360 acts since 4th December 2021.
This is a crazy amount of acts to have featured and I only hope that you, the lovely listener, appreciate the time and effort that goes into creating each and every playlist for you to enjoy!
On playlist #40, you can expect another 9 tracks from some amazingly talented unsigned acts from all four corners of the earth. If you like what you hear, why not check out the bios of our featured artists, click on their socials and show them some love, they’ll thank you for it!
See you on the other side.
Jon Sandman
Jon Sandman’ is a solo project. Primarily made up of guitar and piano parts, but also acoustic and electronic beats and orchestral sounds. The love of exploring the ‘half-way house’ between the organic and the electronic is something that Jon is keen to do.
Sufjan Stevens, Beirut, Eels, Grizzly Bear, Spoon, Beirut, Doves and Elbow are some of his more formative influences. More recently Big Black Delta, Joywave, Metronomy and Miami Horror inspire the electronic-side of his music.
As for his latest track, 'Dear Friends' is a sorry note.
Asked to explain in more detail, Jon added, “Like so many others in the wake of recent events, I became closed off from the outside world, and neglected some of the most important people in my life - my friends, my family, my partner.” “A global epidemic has forced some of us into our shells, and reaching out to those we love for help has been harder than ever before.”
Asked if the global pandemic was the reason the track was written, he replied, “This isn't the first time I've felt this way. I actually wrote 'Dear Friends' back in 2017, when I started to grow apart from some of my closest friends from university, as we all went our separate ways. It was very lonely.”
‘Dear Friends’ is the first single from his upcoming EP, ‘Spooky Action at a Distance’ (yet to be announced), and signals the start of the release of his complete back catalogue, which is coming in the form of several EPs and albums over the next couple of years.
Keep your eyes on his socials for more news as it breaks.
Socials
XIXI
XIXI released his debut, the 22 minute instrumental concept album ‘Boog’ on 2/22/22 on all streaming platforms.
It is a blend of his different musical influences and tells the story of an up-and-coming artist who lives the fast life and ultimately pays the price. The intention of the musicality and order of the songs is to take the listener on a tour of different sections of Prince George’s County, Maryland.
XIXI (pronounced “eleven eleven”), is an American music producer from Landover, Maryland. His music career began at age 8 playing drums with the go-go band ‘The Yunga Bucks’.
His work can be heard on the SHOWTIME Sports Documentary “Basketball County: In the Water,” and the award winning short film “Pizza People.”
Accompanying the EP is an exclusive NFT drop on OpenSea.io - The NFT drop includes an NFT for each of the 5 songs and a limited edition physical, playable cassette of the EP, signed by XIXI.
The album will be accompanied by a short film that will be released to youtube on 3/22/22.
On 4/22/22 XIXI will release the chopped and screwed version.
Keep your eyes on the socials for more news from this fascinating artist who is definitely on point!
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The Chris Ruben Band
The Chris Ruben Band released their debut album “Madness On Repeat” in April 2021; receiving many great praises from both national and international music journalists.
The band shows no signs of slowing down and recently released their EP “Take the Ride” on March 25th 2022.
The Chris Ruben Band has been performing together since early 2015. The group comes from Long Island, New York and has 6 members. They are known for their high energy live shows, songs we can all sing along to, and a whole lot more.
The Chris Ruben Band is tearing through the local music scene with a stark vengeance and aspirations for international stardom.
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Betty Reed
Betty Reed is a Nashville-based singer/songwriter (originally from Boston).
Many of her songs draw upon personal experiences of coping with depression—not so much the bleak side of it, but the ways in which she found a way out of the dark and into the light. Even though the subject matter of most of her songs is serious, she masks it with an upbeat vibe—it’s like this veneer of cheeriness that you feel you have to project in order to feel normal.
Betty released a six-song EP, "Mistakes Made, Lessons Learned (Acoustic Version)," on March 25, 2022.
Asked about how the acoustic version of the EP came about, Betty replied, “After releasing my debut EP ‘Mistakes Made, Lessons Learned’ (9/3/21), I wanted to create a stripped down version of these songs. By changing up the tempo and key, and using only an acoustic guitar and percussionist, the songs were re-architected and re-imagined to be more intimate and revealing.”
“The songs on "Mistakes Made, Lessons Learned (Acoustic Version)" address the overarching theme (to varying degrees) of learning from past mistakes (or at least coming to terms with them) and finding the strength and desire to move forward. ‘Misunderstood’ is about finding the strength to assert yourself and make clear that no means no. ‘Karma’ is about getting that good life you deserve after breaking free from a toxic relationship. The chorus of ‘Happy’ is the affirmation to myself that even on dark days, I know that there will be happier days ahead.”
Betty collaborated with Nashville producer, Evan Redwine, who brought on acoustic guitarist, Nate Dugger and percussionist, Josh Hunt, to give these stripped-down songs a multi-layered, rich sound.
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Emma Kelly
Emma Kelly makes bold powerful pop music that balances precariously on the verge of euphoria, sorrow and empowerment.
Back with her latest single and the second track on her forthcoming EP; brimming with anthem-worthy hooks this is sure to be a song that will stick in your head for weeks to come.
‘Under Pressure’ is that constant feeling people in their 20s experience when you’re battling with trying to work on everything possible but still feel like you’re not doing enough because society says so.
BBC Introducing Sussex and Surrey are firmly behind Emma’s music and if you’re in London on April 22nd, get your booty down to The Finsbury to see her perform live - Ticket Link
Socials
Bregn
Since the debut release from the Denmark-hailing indie-folk artist BREGN (Jonas Mikkelsen) in 2020, the singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist has garnered plenty of international attention around his lo-fi psych-heavy sound.
Jonas Mikkelsen has been writing and recording music since the age of 14. He formed BREGN in 2018 through a love for vintage sounds, layered vocals, tape saturation and analogue gear.
The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Velvet Underground, Elliott Smith and Nirvana all influenced the 100% DIY and independent artist’s music that is written, produced, recorded and mixed by Mikkelsen in his room.
The first official release came two years after BREGN formed when “Be Fine” was released onto the airwaves as a refreshing take on the folk genre. In 2021, BREGN released their catchy atmospheric sophomore single, RAW, and followed on from the success with the ethereal, almost phantasmic folky quiescence in his third single, WIND.
His latest soulfully rendered release, DREAMING, was released on March 25th, 2022, is the perfect introduction to his artfully hazy tones, cathartically mellifluous guitars and effortlessly elevated vocals. With hints of The Violent Femmes, The Beach Boys and the Beatles along with contemporary folk nuances, BREGN’s latest single, DREAMING, is as refreshing as it is nostalgically familiar. His songwriting avoids all of the usual tropes and shows a vulnerable fearlessness when it comes to painting a portrait of the darkest sides of our psyches.
Of the track Jonas said, “This song is partly about nightmares but with a focus on the allusive goal of dreaming instead of “nightmaring”.
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The Fades
"New year, new job"...
There's a lot of talk of people losing their jobs at the moment and the beginning of the year is traditionally a time when people start looking for new employment.
There's also a cost of living crisis and to be out of work right now is genuinely unnerving.
The Fades sing about the struggle with this predicament and the subsequent dilemmas it brings on new song 'Lost My Job', with lead singer Dave lamenting about all the gear he's had to sell on eBay to help ends meet.
All set to a post-punk rock groove that opens out into a monster chorus.
This new double A single is released with the track 'Time is Right' - a raucous in your face garage rock singalong chant that tries to smash away those January blues for the New Year.
The tracks are lifted from the Fades forthcoming new album set for release sometime in 2022, keep your eyes on their socials for more info as it lands….
Socials
SO there you have it folks, another 9 awesome tracks for you to get your ears around. If you liked any of them, please hit them up on the socials and tell them, mention that you heard them on the musomusofm on the radar playlist and they might even buy me a cookie if our paths ever cross!
Please take a moment to spread the word on social media, it’s on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, just head to musomusouk on either platform and give it a LIKE, SHARE, THUMBS UP or whatever you can!
Until next time…..