Browsing Tag

Stevie Wonder

Interview: David Deutsch shows us where the shine through the light on Prism

With loads of experience that can’t ever be bought, David Deutsch opens up the door and shows us deep emotions through his eyes. Packed with quality stories and information to ponder over a cuppa tea, this is authenticity at its best from a 90’s soul who appreciates so many genres of music.

Hello there David. Thanks so much for your time. How have you been and please tell us about how your music career started?

David Deutsch: Hi! Thanks so much for having me, I appreciate it. I’m doing really, really well! I feel like my music career started all the way back when I was really young, like 3 or 4, when I was begging my parents for a piano. I immediately started lessons, and writing, and then from there started playing in bands when I was 12, playing weekly gigs at clubs, bars, festivals, and venues since I was 14, and then going to school, touring the world, eventually moving all around and landing in Los Angeles.

Please tell us more about your new release and the process?

David Deutsch: Prism, is an album I feel like I’ve been writing my entire life. I’ve been trying to live through all of these experiences, moments, memories, and relationships just to be able to write this music. Each track on the album is an incredibly deep and emotional interpretation of life.

Free Shavocado is more or less a deep dive introspection on what it means to experience happiness and joy.

As The Wind Blows is a song that represents standing and being still in a time when it feels like the whole world around you is constantly moving at an incredible pace.

Iceland represents the thoughts, feelings, emotions, and tremendous amount of personal growth and realization that occurred while on my solo travels there.

Alone is a window into my own interpretation of what it feels like to be alone, but not lonely all the time. It also is a reflection on our time spent indoors during Covid, where at the end of the track there is a huge crescendo to a jarring climax, that represents just simply wanting to scream because I felt so isolated and helpless during quarantine.

I Knew You is a track meant to be a reflection on knowing who you were in the past, to now knowing who you are in the present. It signifies all of the growth and effort it takes to better yourself, while also remaining true to who you have known yourself to always be.

If a new musician came up to you and asked for some advice on how to navigate these choppy waters, what would you say?

David Deutsch: Quite simply, be as authentic as you possibly can. There will always be someone better at music than you, but no one will ever be better at being you, than you. So be the best version, and most authentic You, you can be.

How would you describe your music style?

David Deutsch: Hmm this is a very tough one. I’ve been fortunate enough to be influenced by such a wide variety of genres and musicians. I’d say my sound is an emotional rollercoaster with hints of live instruments blended with lots and lots of synths and sound-designed elements. My music leans more on the cinematic, storytelling aspect because I believe that every song needs to move you, and needs to impact you emotionally. It’s be like if Jacob Collier, Pat Metheny, Tennyson, and Skrillex all had one baby.

If animals could play music, who would be better at playing guitar, cats or dogs?

David Deutsch: Hmmm. I think dogs would be your go to guitar playing friend at parties. Someone who knows songs, can jam, is fun to hang around with, but not necessarily the greatest artist or musician. And I think cats would be more niched, specialized, and unique creative individualists on the guitar.

What kind of music did you grow up with?

David Deutsch: Ooof, such a loaded question. Literally everything. I was playing and listening to classical music since 3, studied jazz in high school and college, film music, 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s music. I grew up in the 90s, so all punk post-pop sounds, tons of folk from my parents, lots of Stevie Wonder, EWF, Fleetwood Mac, honestly the list is endless.

Last, what are your goals for the rest of the year?

David Deutsch: This year I am focused on releasing more emotionally driven music. I have a couple more albums ready to release. I’m working with a couple artists, producing lots of music, and still scoring films. Looking forward to a very creative, collaborative, and energetically positive 2023.

Listen up on Spotify. See more vibes on IG.

Interview by Llewelyn Screen

Sir Jeremy Green – on a deep, soulful Motown ‘Cruise’

If Marvin Gaye hadn’t fatally intervened in his parents’ argument in 1984 and had, instead, continued making music, it might have sounded very much like Sir Jeremy Green on new single ‘Cruise’, a deep, classy nu-soul cut that simply oozes with class.

Mixing up a little of the retro, sexual, sensual ‘70’s Motown vibe with a modern take and a little bit of 90’s Brand New Heavies, a little jazzy funk, and just enough old-skool hip hop beat to add some groove, ‘Cruise’ is an absolute dope stunner of a track, Green’s rich, smooth vocal perfect over the top of a full-on retro track, all movie-soundtrack (like the accompanying official video), Rodgers-style funk off-beat guitar and Rhodes-style electric piano stabs. And then there’s that bassline, before the track resolves to drop into grooving-yet-chilled middle eight and breakdown.

‘Cruise’ is the first single from Green’s new EP; if the rest is as good as this, 2021 is going to be a VERY good year for Sir Jeremy Green.

See the awesome video for ‘Cruise’ on YouTube. Follow Sir Jeremy Green on Facebook.

Review by Alex Holmes

 

Makayi has dropped Diamond in the Rough

Artist Makayi has dropped his latest single ‘Diamond in the Rough’ mixing a variety of different sounds together to achieve this Hip-Hop yet RnB/Soul piece.

It’s always a lot more intriguing when diverse sounds combine together and create a piece of music, in this one the start is laid back, swaying more to the slow-pace melody that flows in and out of the vocals, adding in that high energy beat that pulses through, giving it it’s Hip-Hop style.

But then switching back to that more calming and smooth sound, especially with the vocal tone, it has this soft texture and tends to be more on the flat side until stretching out to hit the high notes.

The beat flows in and out of the vocals, whilst the melody stays more on that super upbeat style the lyrics take the volume down a notch, it’s a great way of combining to different paces rather than just sticking with the same one and it still creates an interesting track.

Check out Makayi Diamond in the Rough by heading over here now.

Review by Karley Myall

Dozenz – The Truth: 80’s Pop Hype with A Little Extra Bite

Dozenz is the latest solo project from British singer song writer and producer, that brings the essence of essential 80’s pop to life. His latest track The Truth borders on the classic sound with a contemporary hype. Fans of the genre are in for a treat. His latest track which is now available for download has quickly gained notoriety amongst fans with his unique approach to his music. Inspired by Britpop artists such as Frankie Goes to Hollywood for their playful approach to rhythmic energy and lyrics. Dozenz has created a sound that will almost surely end up just as notorious. He creates an infectiously atmospheric sound, that’s a rich synthesised cacophony as he mixes his unique brand of Hip Hop into the mix

The talent that lies behind Dozens is Saleh Hamed and his passion for mixing trailblazing anthems that are piqued with the essence of diversity. He creates music out of his passion for unity, and uses his platform to spread messages of positivity that can resonate within everyone. With such a charming reproach to music production, it’s hard not to love Dozens.

So, check out the official music video to The Truth on the Youtube link below!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xEgjz8l8_w

Dream-Rap? Is That Even A Thing?

Even with the amount of new music being made every day, with sheer weight of collective imaginations, the genre splicing experiments, the fusing and fusion of styles Garrison Carver seems to be on to something new here. Yes, there is a trippy trap beat, a cool R&B vibe and a rap delivery but that is then cocooned in something totally unexpected. Around these more expected elements he wraps a dream-pop haze, chilled psychedelia and electronic washes.

It’s confusing, but experience tells us that is a good thing, expectations are made to be subverted, rules are made to be broken and new musical horizons are their to be explored and DD does all of those things and more. Blissed out hip-hop? Ethereal R&B? Dream-rap? Are those even a thing? The fact that you have to invent whole new genres to put the music in is an indication of just how original this music is and how singular and lateral Garrison Carver’s thinking is.



HOURIGAN – Love In The Middle – A Direct Rap Sound With A Chill R&B / Neo-Soul Vibe

HOURIGAN is a versatile musician whose work stands out for its inner variety, as well as for the performer’s sheer talent and attitude. His recent studio release is a brand new single titled “Love In The Middle”. The track is a tasteful blend of R&B, soul and rap. The song truly manages to maintain a wide emotional spectrum and keep the audience’s engagement high at all times, conquering their attention with appealing hooks a la Pharrell and with many outstanding lyrical hooks that are really reminiscent of artists such as The Weeknd or Frank Ocean, just to mention but a few.

Hourigan is all about showcasing his great vocal range and mad rapping skills. With “Love In The Middle”, HOURIGAN truly set out to build a very detailed track with lots of great atmospheres. The song feels energetic, yet even and smooth, with a nice chilled out vibe to counteract the energy of these performances. The production of the song is very interesting, because it is not just about upfront beats: HOURIGAN carefully managed to provide an amazing melodic backbone, which really adds something special to the track.

Danelle’s “Broken” Is A Risky Production, But The Payoff Is Worth It

Have you ever found it odd that so many songs about feeling damaged or distraught are put together in a way that seems to convey the opposite. Major keys and crystal-clear production doesn’t exactly scream trouble. Artists, particularly singers, tend to find juxtaposing contrasting emotions to be a way of creating something unique, but when a singer has a tone in mind and can also find the perfect backdrop to amplify that feeling, we get something more powerful. Broken by Danelle is a song that builds incredibly well using slightly off-kilter elements to its advantage.

From the opening, the slightly transduced vocals have a quality about them that’s hard to pin down. They seem somewhat lo-fi in how they’re recorded, but they’re much more ambitious in their performance than what a lo-fi artist would be comfortable with. Between humanly off-beat claps and progressively more layered vocals, we get to enjoy a frightening and dynamic mix that evolves over time into something much grander than the original parts led on. In this way, the key to the song is sticking to the theme without sacrificing quality. Broken is a risky production altogether, but the payoff is well worth it.

-Paul Weyer