Stray Fossa, an Indie rock band from Charlottesville, US, has released their latest song For What Was –– just yesterday. In their latest single, For What Was, the band explore a different mood, much more energetic and bouncy compared to their dreamy-like sound that we’ve heard in their songs such as These Days, Are You Gonna Be Okay, and It’s Nothing. The single marks their second release this year, first being Are You Gonna Be Okay.
Talking about the song and how the creativity for it appeared about in one go, the band said “Normally, we wouldn’t hold onto scratch lyrics, but it’s hard to shy away from rare moments like that when it all kind of comes together at once.
In conjunction with the track, the band has stated they plan to present an animated/live-action lyric video.
The Rolling Stones have shared a previously unreleased track called ‘Criss Cross’ as part of the newly announced upcoming reissue of their 1973 album Goats Head Soup. The song comes with an accompanying video directed by Diana Kunst. Check it out below.
The Goats Head Soup reissue will feature a new stereo mix of the original album, while the 4xLP box set edition will also include rarities and alternative mixes, as well as a live album called The Brussels Affair. In addition to ‘Criss Cross’, the reissue will also include two more unreleased tracks: ‘Scarlet’ and ‘All the Rage’. The 4CD boxset will also come with a 120 page book of rare photos & essays, plus four re-produced 1973 tour posters. You can read more about the new reissue, which comes out on September 4 via Polydor/Interscope/UMe, on the band’s website.
This is the first new material from the Rolling Stones since they shared, ‘Living In a Ghost Town’, their first new song since 2016, back in April. The group was ready to head out on a North American tour this spring and summer, which was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tame Impala have shared a new live acoustic version of ‘On Track’, taken from their most recent album The Slow Rush. Check out the video for the track below, which features frontman Kevin Parker playing the song alone in a chair in a small studio.
Parker originally performed a solo acoustic rendition of ‘On Track’ as part of the Music From the Homefront benefit livestream concert, in which artists from Australia and New Zealand came together to raise funds for coronavirus relief. Back in May, the psych-rock outfit shared an 18-minute ‘balearic house’ remix of ‘One More Year’. The Slow Rush was released in February of this year.
Kesha and L.A. singer-songwriter Wrabel have shared a new song called ‘since i was young’. Listen to it below.
‘since i was young’ is the latest collaboration between the two artists, who previously worked together on many of the songs from Kesha’s 2017 album Rainbow and its 2020 follow-up High Road. Kesha sings backing vocals on the track, a nostalgic tune that sees Wrabel telling the story of growing up as “the weird one” and how it turned him into the person he is today.
Earlier this year, Kesha shared a song with Big Freedia called ‘Chasing Rainbows’ and contributed a cover of T. Rex’s ‘Children of the Revolution’ for a new Hal Willner–produced compilation called Angelheaded Hipster. Kesha was planning to go on tour in support of High Road this year, which has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “I truly can’t wait to get back on the road again and play songs from High Road for you,” the singer wrote in the announcement. “Thank you for being here, and for your understanding.”
My Chemical Romance’s Gerard Way has released a new song called ‘Here Comes the End’, alongside the the trailer for the second season of his Netflix series The Umbrella Academy. The track features vocals from Judith Hill, who previously worked with Prince, Michael Jackson and Josh Groban. Check it out below.
“I was originally inspired to write this track when series one of The Umbrella Academy was being shot; by the time I finished it 2020 was in full swing, the world had taken a profound turn and the song was finished in a surreal new reality,” the My Chemical Romance frontman explained in a statement accompanying the release.
Way had dropped a number of previously-unreleased solo demos this year, but ‘Here Comes the End’ marks his first official solo release of 2020. My Chemical Romance, who reformed late last year following a long hiatus, had booked an extensive worldwide tour for 2020, which was postponed due COVID-19.
Phoebe Bridgers will appear on the first episode of Zack Fox’s new livestream series, RELEASED!, which is set to premiere this Sunday, July 12, at 7 p.m EST (Monday July 13 at midnight BST) on Twitch. Presented by IHEARTCOMIX and Beats By Dr. Dre, the new variety show will be hosted by Fox and creative directed by Kitao Sakurai, who’s known for previously working on The Eric Andre Show and Bad Trip. Check out the promo for the debut episode below.
According to the video’s description, the show will be “based around a situational narrative and a headline music artist” and will include “DJ sets, performances, special guests, 3D intergalactic worlds, live animated characters and an absurd premise”. In addition to performing songs from her latest album, Punisher, the episode will also feature Bridgers and Fox “travelling through space as they try to make their way to the cyber goth prom”, according to an Instagram post.
After teasing new music earlier this week, James Blake has shared a new song called ‘Are You Even Real?’. The track was produced by Blake and co-written with Starrah (whose songwriting credits include Camila Cabello’s ‘Havana’ and Maroon 5’s ‘Girls Like You’) and Ali Tamposi (Beyoncé, Camila Cabello, Kelly Clarkson). Listen to it below.
“All I can do is trust in her/ Late nights I can see the lust in her,” Blake sings tenderly amidst sublime keys, lush violin (played by Peter Lee Johnson), and a warm beat. “Acid rain is a first for her/ Skies open up, share a cup with her.”
The track was recorded at various locations, including Pulse Studios in Burbank, California and Electric Lady in New York. It also features additional production from Josh Stadlen and arrangements by Kushi and Dominic Maker. Check out the full list of credits below.
The singer-songwriter also shared behind the scenes footage of the making of the track in collaboration with Apple’s Behind the Mac series on social media. “A window into the solo part of the process making ‘Are You Even Real?’,” he wrote.
“It’s experimental for me to make Pop,” he also joked.
Sankar Sridhar is an award-winning photographer whose works have been published in numerous publications including CNN International, Royal Geographical Society’s Geographical, and Action Asia — to name a few. Sridhar has released various series over the years, many of which explore different cultures around the world.
Sridhar joined us for an interview to talk about how he got into photography, his influences, and his advice for new photographers.
So, how did you get into photography, how did your journey start?
That would be in 1996 (though I didn’t know it then), when I borrowed a Hotshot camera from my elder brother and went on a 15-day trek into the Himalayas. The images by themselves were not outstanding, but the experience got me hooked to long solo travels and the process of photography. My love for the mountains led me to complete mountaineering courses and during a climbing expedition in 1999, I crossed paths with nomads. Despite pursuing mountaineering, I couldn’t forget the hardscrabble lives, the lives these nomads lived, while also understanding how quickly change was overtaking them. That’s where I found direction in photography, beginning with documenting the lives and lifestyles of nomadic communities within the environment.
How would you describe your style of photography and what makes it unique to you?
I’m a slow photographer, because I spent more than a decade shooting transparencies. Just as important, I was taught early on to not just understand but worship light, and respect the people that I shot. I can’t really judge the uniqueness of my images, but I have been told my images are evocative and insightful. That is largely because I spend days or even weeks with those I shoot, and shoot people and communities I want to learn more about.
The Lives of Others by Sankar Sridhar
Are there any influences that relate closely to your photography?
The works and the approach to photographs by the likes of doyens such as Raghubir Singh, Sebastiao Salgado and David Alan Harvey I have remained smitten with for a long time now. I also spend hours looking at paintings by masters like J.M.W Turner and John Constantine.
Whether these influences seep into my shooting I can’t say for sure, but I’d be happy if they did!
If you could give advice to new photographers, what would it be?
At a time when we are overwhelmed by images on social media, it’s important not to follow “trends” and lose sight of developing a style of your own. Do your best to ensure your camera spends more time on your shoulder than in your bag, and spend time looking at the works of photographers and artists you admire. That goes a long way in helping you understand what elements – expression, setting, light, subject – makes the images so appealing. And last, know your camera well. There’s a lot that goes on in the head when it comes to shooting, and all that matters much more than just pointing and shooting.
Finally, what are you working on at the moment?
I’m currently working on coming to terms with being stuck at home – 100 days and counting. Once things come back to normal, I’ll be plan on continuing and hopefully wrapping up my personal projects on documenting the Aahir community in Gujarat and then heading to West Bengal, where I was born and raised to begin a project on the man-elephant conflict in the region.
Find superb work by Sankar Sridhar on his website.
Pink Flamingo Rhythm Revue is a solo project from Eric “Doc” Mendelsohn. With a funky sound and a comical-like vibe, he has made quite the appearance in the scene having collaborated with names such as Jean Tonique and Babert.
Just yesterday, the exciting Pink Flamingo Rhythm Revue released his single Diamond Man, a refreshing track for the current times. With this song, Pink Flamingo Rhythm Revue brings out exquisite energy that will have you dancing within seconds.
Nana Adjoa, an Amsterdam-born singer-songwriter, has today released her latest ear-pleasing single No Room. The song comes after the release of her mellifluous song Throw Stones.
Adjoa became more prominently known after the releases of her song No Sleep and Honestly, which both took off in 2018 as part of her Down At The Root, part one and part two releases. No Sleep and Honestly, collectively have reached over three million streams via Spotify alone.
Talking about No Room Adjoa said: “I wrote No Room about the feeling of having a conversation with someone which gets stuck in habitual small talk. Trying to control the moment, but leaving no room to discover the moment, each other or something new and unexpected.”
