Seven Fresh Songs #41
Valetta — Irregular Low
At home in Manchester, Valetta just released the bold, beautiful and superbly original “Irregular Low”. The magnificent track simmers and swirls, and intensifies, before it dances into a grandiose finale. This is not the work of a newcomer band but clearly the creative output of very skilled musicians, who know their instruments and honed their songwriting and composition skills overtime.
Valetta were founded by songwriter and vocalist Alex Orosa and his younger brother Nic on guitar, and later rounded out with bassist Chris Buratta and drummer Oli Cox. We asked Valetta for a little insight and this is what Alex told us:
“Irregular Low was a watershed moment for the band creatively, as we moved towards a more ambitious soundscape and incorporated electronic elements into our music for the first time. We all got a collective buzz from this track and it quickly became a cornerstone for our sound.”
Alex says further:
“Lyrically, the song expresses a cynical view of romantic relationships, and the compromises people make to be with one another. It also explores the good parts of bad relationships and the bad parts of good relationships.”
Listen to “Irregular Low”, our Song Pick of the Day:
Connect with Valetta on Facebook and Instagram.
Todavía — Euclid
Todovía is the project of singer, composer and producer Rhyan Riesgo from Los Angeles. They just released a new album “Orange Feint of Sky” (Apple Music | Spotify) with 11 dreamy, cinematic synth pop songs. “Our intention is to break your heart,” Todovîa states and they may well succeed when you give in and let yourself sink into those sweeping soundscapes.
Listen to latest single “Euclid,” our Song Pick of the Day:
Connect with Todovía on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
CAAMP — Officer of Love
Following the release of the glorious “Fall, Fall, Fall”, a song about change and all that must change, especially racial and environmental injustices, CAAMP come out with “Officer of Love”. This time, the Ohio-based trio goes for a romantic and a catchy, feel-good vibe. The groovy track is now out via Mom + Pop together with a lovely animated video.
CAAMP was founded by childhood friends Taylor Meier (lead vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, drums) and Evan Westfall (harmony vocals, banjo, electric guitar, drums, percussion) and bassist Matt Vinson (harmony vocals, accoustic guitar) joined them later.
The band says about “Officer of Love”:
“We recorded this song on the road in the summer of 2019. It’s a tune that’s close to our hearts and one of our favorites to play live. We hope it brings a little joy to your life. Let’s all choose love.”
The feeling of love and the actions of love are something wonderful to spread. Yes, let’s choose love! Listen to “Officer of Love”, our Song Pick of the Day and watch the sweet video too:
Connect with CAAMP on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Skyler Cocco — The Drive
“The Drive” is about the healing effects of a long drive (or walk for that matter), when the world passes by and one has the time and space to reflect and make important decision. In this case the story went apparently well for Skyler Cocco as she maintains an upbeat, bright vibe throughout the song. The New York-based singer/songwriter creates all music herself and that certainly helps to get the elegant production just right without trendy bells and whistles.
Skyler tells us about the song:
I wrote ‘The Drive’ to reflect on a time where I’ve said things I didn’t mean to my partner or lashed out in a way that made them feel insecure in the relationship. It’s the cooldown period after a fight, where you take some space to really let your own words resonate and see where you were wrong in a situation, and realize what you’re putting at stake by not changing those behaviors. I really wanted to write a love song that felt vulnerable and showed my true intentions, that I can hold myself accountable and change for someone who I wouldn’t want to live without.
Listen to our Song Pick of the Day “The Drive” on all streaming services or below on SoundCloud:
Connect with Skyler Cocco on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
Jack Conman — Come Back In The Room
“Come Back In The Room” is a wistful song about the heartbreak that ensues when a relationship ends and exquisitely captures the powerlessness of not being able to change the person’s mind who is walking out the door. It is the latest single by Manchester-based singer/songwriter Jack Conman, who gave it a visual treatment, that is as simple as it is splendid, which he filmed and directed himself. We are excited to premiere the marvelous music-video today and asked the creative artist to provide us with some insight.
About the process, Conman says:
“I made the video with a £0 budget in my front room at home, the only thing that I paid for was the veggies. I spend quite a lot of my time cooking and whipping up salads so I wanted to show off my culinary skills and make something that juxtaposed the seriousness of the song. It’s a dramatic song and I was thinking about making a serious, dramatic video to go with it. But that just felt a little bit out of character for me, to represent that visually, so I made this instead.”
This juxtaposition works so well because it illustrates the strong and plentiful feelings that go with heartbreak. At times these feelings can be so overwhelming that the situation seems comical even, as shown throughout the video. For example the pierced eggplant should not go uncooked into a salad or eaten raw, but let’s put any food safety concerns aside.
When we watched “Come Back In The Room” for the first time, a famous quote came to mind: I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food, which indeed comes rather close as Conman acknowledges:
“Making the video was quite easy, I set up a static camera and started chopping and drinking wine, I actually got quite drunk which I think helped add to the chaos.”
Memories that once were meaningful and brought joy now offer nothing but pain. Conman reveals further:
“The song is about not being taken seriously by someone and being almost shunned and suppressed for having certain feelings and opinions. I wanted to play off the functionalist ideas of cooking homemade meals for your patronising, oppressive husband as he arrives home from work, only to be met by a completely clueless, drunk bloke with a load of veg.”
Maybe we can get a peek behind the music video, learn more about The Making Of? Turns out, the fun of being creative with food comes with a price, as Conman explains:
“The biggest issue I faced with making this video is cleaning up the mountains of veg that I’d dropped on the floor from over enthusiastic chopping. I keep finding mouldy bits of mushroom and peppers in my living room that have flown behind furniture. I woke up with a slight hangover the next day to edit it together on my PC. There was a lot of footage but I’m very pleased with how it turned out.”
Absolutely! Reason to be more than just “pleased” because with its unpretentious idea and stellar execution “Come Back In The Room” is not yet another one-person pandemic video born out of necessity but something to truly enjoy. We hope that Jack Conman can fix a salad for a significant other again soon and are looking forward to his upcoming self-produced debut album “Seventh Sense Libido” out later this year.
Watch the lush video “Come Back In The Room,” which we are excited to premiere:
Connect with Jack Conman on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram>.
Ella Grace — Pieces
“Pieces” is one of those songs that put you instantly into a relaxed mood and you wish that London-based singer/songwriter Ella Grace would go on forever with her gentle reflections about a relationship she cannot let go. While inspired by a breakup, neither the song nor the beautiful visuals focus on the hardship, but rather explore the resulting feelings with curiosity. “When I wrote Pieces,” explains Ella. “I was in the midst of the breakdown of a very intense love affair with the first woman I’d ever been with. I was experiencing this constant kind of primal yearning for this woman that was just spilling out of me.”
Watch our Song Pick of the Day “Pieces,” directed by Martina Trepczyk here:
Connect with Ella Grace on Facebook or Instagram.
Amelie Patterson — Let Your Trouble Go
“Let Your Trouble Go” is the new single by Canadian singer/songwriter Amelie Patterson and it is a sweet, mellow track with sparkling sprinkles of hope. While the verse is kept pensive and dulcet, the chorus goes all-in with a beautiful catchiness that makes us want to chime in and feel all troubles melting away.
Amelie Patterson has some clear intentions with her new song. She says:
“If only I could take the pressures and self-doubt for someone, giving them the chance to let their trouble go and free up space in their mind; to go willingly into the creative, imaginative, and surreal corners of their brain.”
She explains further:
“The way we remember people is the way they lived. Knowing grief myself, I have wished I could hold the grief of loved ones, or carry their burden for them, so they could take the afternoon off; to access their memories without fear of being overrun by the sometimes scary and out of control expressions of grief.”
What a beautiful idea and sentiment! While a gorgeous song like “Let Your Trouble Go” might not make for an entire afternoon off, it will lift our spirits for three minutes and 18 seconds, and more if put on repeat.
Listen to “Let Your Trouble Go”, our Song Pick of the Day:
Connect with Amelie Patterson on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
