Browsing Tag

Avant Garde

Zach Hodges Bottled an Atomic Glitch in Jazz Fusion Form in ‘Nuclear Muskrat’

Posted on 26 April 2025

Zach Hodges let chaos reign in Nuclear Muskrat and conducted it with a conductor’s cultivated touch and a mad scientist’s curiosity. The 19-year-old Midlands-based musician, composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist may be early in his career, but through his LP, Baby Landmark, he’s already proven that genre loyalty is a concept best left in the past.

Hodges, known for his work as a theatre musical director for String Cheese Theatre, his position behind the kit in Midlands jazz trio Head to Head, and his international touring experience, funnelled every inch of his multidisciplinary pedigree into this 7-minute experimental tour de force. Nuclear Muskrat isn’t content to sit still—within its frenetic framework, it flexes polka funk motifs, indietronica laced with avant-garde effects, funked-up disco grooves, blues-drenched riffs, erratic polyphonic keys, and incendiary synth bursts.

While it could have been easy for this to feel like a pure act of self-indulgence, it’s easy to go along with the ride with Hodges as he demonstrates the malleability of sound in a way so seamless it is as though all of the textures, tones and tempos have always been complementary pairings. It’s as though the contemporary history of music has been condensed in the explorative mind-melter that continually pulls the rug and lays down a different one before the last footstep can land.

If you’re always on the hunt for music that challenges mediocrity, Nuclear Muskrat is the ultimate contender.

Nuclear Muskrat is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast.

PRI//’s Scrapbook of Shadows: An Interview with the Artist

Posted on 2 March 2025

PRI//’s latest album, Madonna’s Scrapbook, unpicks the illusions we construct from memories, photographs, and the carefully curated fragments of our past. Through dissonant beats, lo-fi textures, and a raw, unfiltered approach, the album doesn’t just explore nostalgia—it questions its reliability. In this interview, PRI// touches on the deceptive nature of images, the masks we wear to function, and the blurred lines between perception and reality. From the influence of Hubert Selby Jr. and Lou Reed to the uncomfortable truths buried within seemingly ordinary lives, PRI// dissects the beauty and horror of human nature with a brutal honesty that’s impossible to ignore.

Welcome to A&R Factory, PRI. Your album, Madonna’s Scrapbook sounds like an intense, fragmented exploration of perception and memory that hints at nostalgia and illusion. What drew you to that concept, and how does it connect to the album’s themes? 

I was doing lots of inner work when I was writing the songs. Lots of re-assessing my old memories and questioning my perspectives of them. I think we can hold on to a memory of something quite tightly and not want to let go of it, but maybe that isn’t even accurate.

You’ve spoken about the deceptive nature of old photographs and objects. Was there a specific moment or experience that made you fixate on that idea?

I was looking at old childhood photos and there is the image you see in the photo – a happy smiling child and then what was going on behind the scenes, off camera which could be quite different. I was also thinking about photo shoots where there is a controlling, maybe even abusive atmosphere on the set, but all the audience sees is the photograph without that context. The title itself is a reference to this. Madonna Scrapbook – filled with old pictures of her. What was going on on set? It’s also the idea that fans can create a narrative from old photos, one that maybe doesn’t exist in any other reality than their heads. I’ve definitely done that myself

The album explores figures who could be seen as tragic or ordinary, depending on the perspective. Do you see yourself in any of these characters, or are they more like distant projections?

 I hope the characters have a universal quality to the listener

Fake It and The Universal Frown pick apart the masks people wear to function in society. Do you think anyone ever truly drops the act, or are we all performing to some degree?

Ha ha! Well, I think that the more comfortable you are in your skin the less gap there is between the projected self and the real one I suppose? Or maybe the masks are more conscious for some people, maybe they don’t notice they’re doing it. It’s a weird one

There’s a cut-up, collage-like approach to the music itself. Was that a conscious effort to mirror the way memories distort over time?

Yes, I’m glad you got that. It’s like when you take a Polaroid; you have to wait until the photo reveals itself, and then later on, it fades away under natural light

Compared to See No Evil, which leaned into body horror, this album focuses on perception and distortion. Was this a natural evolution for you, or did something shift in your creative process?

 The title of the album Madonna Scrapbook is about a literal old book I had

Your sound is deeply DIY, with fragmented beats and lo-fi textures. What draws you to that raw, unpolished aesthetic?

First thought, best thought. I love the emotional authenticity of it. I am drawn to dissonance and the sound of things distorted, almost going wrong. The truth is those moments of nearly fucking up.

You reference writers like Hubert Selby Jr., Mary Gaitskill, and Lou Reed. How do their works filter into your songwriting?

I love how they speak about the darkness of the human soul. It’s so refreshing but also horrible. But there’s a truth in the darkness.

The idea of parasocial relationships—thinking we ‘know’ someone through an image—feels especially relevant now. Have you had moments where you’ve been on the receiving end of that projection?

I really like the idea of that – I think we all think we know someone based on how they look in a photo. We project our own perceptions and prejudices onto a photo, as much as we connect to it

With Madonna’s Scrapbook released, are you already thinking about what comes next, or do you need time to step back before getting stuck into another project?

Yes, I can’t wait to explore more of the sonic boundaries in Deadbeat Dad, we’re releasing a series of remixes of it soon. Stay tuned!

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Madonna Scrapbook is now available to stream on all major platforms via this link. The 28th of February will also see the launch of PRI//’s Deadbeat Dad Maxi single.

Interview by Amelia Vandergast

Chief Hyena Drags Listeners to the Brink of Madness in Lucky Too

Posted on 17 February 2025

Few artists dare to push sonic horror to its breaking point. Chief Hyena revels in it. Lucky Too is an unholy incantation set to sound, a nightmarish descent through dystopian shadows where reality warps under the weight of primal percussion and hypnotic synth loops. The haunted machinery whirs and wails, unsettling enough on its own, but the vocals sharpen the dread—serene yet laced with something far more sinister.

While I’m no stranger to dark, macabre, eerily Lynchian or dystopian tonal palettes, Chief Hyena still struck spectres of foreboding fear to the core as they reached the epitome of aural horror.

After the tribal percussion-driven intro, a haunting whirling dervish of synth lines entrances you, leaving you susceptible to the single as it unravels as a dark and twisted carnival. It’s clear that if Chief Hyena’s sound gets any darker, their discography will have to come with a trigger warning before long; if any artist is the first to summon evil from the pits of hell through music, it’s going to be them.

There’s no escape from the looming paranoia built into every atom of sound. Their dystopian mix of alternative influences twists itself into strange and unrelenting forms, warping beyond the constraints of genre; it is pure sonic possession—resistance is futile.

The single is now available to stream on all major platforms, including YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Contrasts Collide: The Eclectic World of ‘Abyssinian’ by The Soft Parts

Posted on 20 January 2025

With abyssinian, the standout single from their sophomore album, The Soft Parts unfurled a texturally intricate sonic tableau which refuses to settle into predictability.

Opening with cinematic neo-classical grandeur, abyssinian invites listeners to stroll through the golden age of film scores, before the chill of avant-garde influences begins to weave through the organic warmth of the basslines. Playful polyphonic keys soon take centre stage, creating a delicate tension as each instrumental element works in purposeful juxtaposition to the next. When the neo-classical keys return with greater tenacity, they anchor the composition, ensuring it never spirals into abstraction despite its eclecticism.

The Soft Parts, the project of a Houston-based composer and sound artist, brings together a unique palette of influences spanning classical music, art rock, cocktail jazz, and lounge music. These influences shaped abyssinian into what could best be described as funk-inflected art pop, dipped in the moody magnetism of New Tango and Arab musical textures.

abyssinian pulls listeners into its orbit, making them feel the landscape of its creation as it swaggers, scintillates, and soothes in equal measure. If you want to stray away from sonic monotony, hit play.

Abyssinian was officially released as part of The Soft Parts’ sophomore LP, innuendo, on January 3rd; stream the single on all major platforms, including Spotify, now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lena Lovelace – Nameless: an otherworldly lullaby of gothic grandeur

Posted on 11 January 2025

The hauntingly ethereal installation of Avant-Garde aural cinema, Nameless, from alternative artist Lena Lovelace resonates with a gothic baroque atmosphere that cradles her Soprano arcane harbingering vocals. As she paints a sci-fi vignette of an alien which appears to eight people in different guises, listeners are compelled to acknowledge how no one appears in the same form to two people; we’re all alien abstractions attempting to cultivate a sense of familiarity in each new connection. Against the unsettling backdrop, Lovelace remains a fearlessly unique artist whose messages challenge you to perceive reality from new angles.

The Cambridgeshire-hailing, Norwich-based artist has been writing and recording for over a decade. Her sound—shaped by an indie/alternative vibe reminiscent of Shakespeare’s Sister—often draws on the traits of fictional characters that stir her imagination. This latest track was inspired by a dream in which an alien landed on Earth and fell in love with eight people.

The result is an otherworldly lullaby of gothic grandeur that soars above ordinary parameters, offering a glimpse into Lovelace’s dedication to forging new aural paths and ensuring no listener leaves without a shift in perspective.

Nameless was officially released on November 2nd and is now available to stream on all major platforms, including SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Francesca Pichierri painted an Avant-Garde pop prism of the absurdity of reality in ‘Io Sto Bene’

Posted on 8 December 2024

After a beguiling fusion of style, soul and spirituality in her sophomore single, Francesca Pichierri has evolved into an alt-pop Avant-Gardist with her third single, Io Sto Bene. The infectiously obscure piano-driven earworm inches cabaret pop further into the mainstream with the playful panache in Pichierri’s vocals bringing equal amounts of energy as the upbeat staccato piano notes before the mid-way mark hits and sinks the listener into a kaleidoscope of baroque pop experimentalism.

Io Sto Bene pulls you into a rabbit hole of mental disquietness, efficaciously depicting how it feels to try and find stability while everything in your external and internal world feels off-kilter.  Like a rush of acceptance, the outro is a luminous visualisation of ephemeral transcendence away from the tumult of turmoil.

The independent singer-songwriter penned Io Sto Bene inspired by a bitter-sweet memory of her mother waking up from her first ovarian cancer treatment to reassure the family that ‘everything is fine’, and the epiphany of how paradoxical it is to be determined to appear fine in the midst of chaos. This is so much more than art imitating life; the single is a painful prism of the absurdity of reality.

Io Sto Bene was officially released on November 29th; stream the single on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Avant-Garde Alt-Pop Sensation Mitchell Zia Struck Again with His Jekyll and Hyde Hit, ‘accelerating’

Posted on 21 November 2024

With almost 80k monthly listeners behind him on Spotify and 157.4k followers on TikTok, the Avant-Garde Dark Electronic Pop sensation Mitchell Zia’s trajectory through the industry since his official debut in 2019 is the definition of a modern success story.

His standout single, accelerating, uses a baroque cabaret pop prelude as an opening salvo before introducing his vocals, which send tremors of deep, dark reverberations throughout the entire mix, easily overpowering the thrum of the basslines and the trappy beat. Weaving light back into the mix, the swanky piano keys ephemerally reintroduce themselves as Zia’s vocal lines chameleonically transform into an infectious pop timbre.

The way the single continues to switch in tone is enough to whip up a schizophrenic frenzy in the single which never allows you to feel complacent within the helter-skelter production. It’s enough to leave you with no room to wonder why Mitchell Zia is dominating the contemporary pop scene.

Accelerating is available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Broghan – The Calm Before the Storm: Southern Gothic Glaswegian Alt-Indie Folk

Posted on 4 November 2024

The Glaswegian alt-indie-folk singer-songwriter Broghan has come a long way from busking in Glasgow and Edinburgh at 14 years old. Her latest single, The Calm Before the Storm, which sees the haunting aesthetics of Southern Gothic Folk meet Scottish Art Folk, is set to push her to even greater heights. I wouldn’t be surprised if roles were reversed in the near future and Lewis Capaldi opens for her in front of a 12k cap capacity crowd!

The ethereally Avant-Garde score builds from a minimalistic instrumental piece into an arcane tour de force, with a series of filmically thematic transgressions pulling you through the shadowed corridors of the single which exhibits how Broghan has mastered the art of tonality and spatial effect.

The anticipation before the crescendo will leave your rhythmic pulses on the brink; the angular notes that haunt the soundscape following the first climatic build testify to how immersive this visceral ride through the singer-songwriter’s talent truly is. She’s a phenomenon in her own right, and it is only a matter of time before she’s showered with plaudits and songwriting awards.

The Calm Before the Storm reached the airwaves on November 1st; stream the single on all major platforms, including Spotify, now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Il Nemico Dentro by Francesca Pichierri – A Cinematic Soul Serenade That Burns Through Avant-Garde Flame

Posted on 25 October 2024

In her standout single, Il Nemico Dentro, the alchemist of soulfully avant-garde alt-pop Francesca Pichierri fused Mediterranean warmth with avant-garde pop inclinations, creating a tonally spiritual multi-sensory experience that is as cinematic as it is visceral.

Born under the sun of Apulia, the singer-songwriter has unflinchingly dedicated herself to honing her talents as a sonic vignette painter, culminating in the masterful strokes in Il Nemico Dentro. The quiescent reverberance emanating from the first notes is enough to serenade your senses to stand to attention; the hairs on the back of your neck will prick up in synergy with your ears as Francesca Pichierri seraphically commands complete emotional immersion, and the filmic undertones tug at your emotions in waves.

As the score unravels, you’re seduced by the provocative originality, derived from the fusion of indie, blues, and jazz. Just when you think you’ve found your rhythm with the release, avant-garde samples cut through, pulling you deeper into the evocative chaos.

The catharsis hits hard, only to give way to an electrifying crescendo that pulses with the raw emotionality Francesca is known for. The song blazes its own trail, driven by the weight of Francesca’s lived experiences and her poetic knack for transforming personal grief into universal art.

Francesca is so much more than alt-pop royalty – in her niche, she stands as a goddess, creating borderlands between celestiality and material reality.

Stream Il Nemico Dentro on all major platforms, including SoundCloud from October 25.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Harmonies of the Haunted: Michael Richard Beirne Shares His Artistic Revelation in an Exclusive A&R Factory Interview

Posted on 3 October 2024

This week, we sat down with Michael Richard Beirne to explore the depths of his unique approach to music showcased in his two-part LP, The Haunted.

Since 2020, Beirne has transitioned from crafting experimental soundscapes to composing structured, narrative-driven dark folk vignettes, influenced by Nick Cave and seminal albums such as Radiohead’s In Rainbows, which shape his distinct sonic identity. Beyond the melodies, Beirne intertwines his Catholic beliefs, addressing themes of redemption, the nature of evil, and divine love. As he shifts from darker, introspective themes to the exuberant and vibrant energies expected in future projects, Michael Richard Beirne is forging a powerful auditory narrative that resonates with deep personal and spiritual truths.

Michael Richard Beirne, thanks for taking the time to sit down with us and discuss your unique approach to lyricism and sonic expression exhibited through your two-part LP, The Haunted. How did you hone your clearly cultivated songwriting style? 

Thank you for the opportunity of this interview & for your complimentary words.

I’ve been writing songs since 2020 when my brother gave me a new laptop with music-making software, a synthesiser & a microphone. The ability to write shorter, structured, narrative songs arrived after an extensive initial 2.5-year period of pure research, sample-collection, & eclectic loop-shopping, during which I made bizarre, rambling, experimental non-songs to find a way with lyrics & various ways of deploying my voice. At the end of 2022, I had a few songs which suggested the shape of a pair of albums, one set in Ireland and one set in Malta.

 The Haunted is as sombre as it is strikingly Avant-Garde; the soundscapes give Nick Cave a run for his money. Who or what are your biggest influences and how do they fit into your distinct sonic identity? 

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds are undoubtedly the single most important influence. I find inspiration in the soundscapes of particular tracks; for example, the cavernous, epic feeling of Song of Joy from the album Murder Ballads, the enormous eeriness of Do You Love Me? Part 2 from Let Love In, as well as the narrative complexity & storytelling in Oh My Lord from No More Shall We Part. These songs suggest a scope and vast ambition to which I aspire.

Beyond that, I am really inspired by the idea of the album itself as a consummate artistic object and statement of belief. In this respect, I aspire to create something as integrated as In Rainbows by Radiohead, Merriweather Post Pavillion by Animal Collective, Skeleton Tree by the Bad Seeds, & Speakerboxxx/ Love-Below by Outkast. These albums are scorchingly eclectic, varied, and unpredictable, and yet achieve a holistic and coherent singular vision. They transcend individual songs & become a unified narrative, harnessing multiple modes of expression.

As a Catholic, how important is it for you to incorporate your religion into your music?

I am strongly committed to ensuring that my music both directly & indirectly describes God (in that my songs are condemnatory of evil) and Jesus Christ (in that they are expressive of a joyful, redeemed universe which is founded on forgiveness & love). To express this belief, I take cues from traditional Irish folk tunes, as well as from gospel music, & gospel-infused funk & hip-hop.

You’ve teased that there are more releases in the pipeline; what themes will be explored in your future projects?

Part 1 is very much a kind of story of emergence from depressive, anxious, psychotic & sinful patterns of thought into hope & forgiveness. Part 2 is more directly a celebration of joyful adventure in a happier, more redeemed state of mind in a futuristic world.

Part 3 is very much about the idea of the interaction between believers & non-believers, and communication. This Part 3 is therefore, in Christian terms, a kind of “Holy Spirit” album; the songs are designed to be more obviously catchier, groovier, and infectious, with strong rhythm sections & boom-bap.

How does your music usually come to fruition?

Songs are usually built from just a single chord progression or electric bass riff. I give that a title which suggests some sort of character & dramatic narrative. I then record improvised singing, rapping & general wailing over the top. I listen back to these improvised takes until I begin to hear in them the shape of the words. I type these up as I listen back to the improvisations. Then I repeat the process through many iterations, adding in sonic details. I listen to the song for weeks or even months to iron out all the lyrics.

When are you most creatively inspired? 

I’m most inspired by just a song’s title & the feeling that a loop or sample contains within it a hidden story & personality. It is as if the song already exists in a single note & the import of a single word.  

How do your debut LP and your forthcoming releases fit into your creative ambitions?

My ambition is simply to make albums that in some way try to measure up to my favourite records and be like the kind of records that my father introduced me to. He introduced me to Songs of Leonard Cohen, Nebraska by Springsteen, and the Pogues’ Rum, Sodomy & The Lash, as well as the Johnny Cash American records. All I hope is that my albums will form a small part of the history of music and that they can exist alongside those timeless albums on platforms such as Spotify & Apple. My other main purpose is to share my gratitude for my life and my belief in Jesus.

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Stream Part 1 and Part 2 of Michael Richard Beirne’s Haunted LP on Spotify. 

Connect with the artist on Instagram.

 

Interview by Amelia Vandergast