DISCOVERING WITH OFF THE HOOK MUSIC
Featured Artist: Muskrats
Where are you based?
I’m proud to call Bristol my home, I’ve just bought a house in North Bristol where I’ll soon be building a small studio!
Why do you love music?
Music has always been a part of my life, my dad was a real eclectic music lover so I grew up listening to everything from David Bowie to Yes to Shostakovich. I’ll never forget the first time he played me Space Oddity and being moved to tears by feelings I didn’t yet understand. I guess that’s what I love about music, the power to reach people on such a deep emotional level, whether it’s joy or sadness or anger, or just having a real good mosh
Tell us about your music and the meanings of your tracks
Muskrats began as a three piece back in 2014 but after an EP and a few years gigging life just got in the way and we unofficially called it quits. I shifted my focus to music production, but kept writing on the side and in 2017 I decided I’d revive Muskrats as a solo studio project, as a way to release those tracks. I’ve never been much good at writing about other people, so my music is always very personal, based on my own experiences and opinions, though I like to keep it abstract enough that people can form their own meanings too.
Tell us about your latest release
Stones At Strangers is a snapshot of my headspace from the few years prior to starting counselling for depression and anxiety in January 2020. It was originally written with the band back in 2016 (there’s a live session video floating around online) but the lyrics always felt lacking, like I hadn’t found their meaning yet. Then on a night-time walk a few months ago the song popped into my head full of newfound meaning and I rewrote the lyrics in the 20 minutes it took for me to walk home! Sometimes you just can’t see the wood for the trees y’know?
What inspired you to become a band?
I don’t know if I was inspired to start a band, it just always felt inevitable. I started finding my own music tastes and wanted to play along with my favourite bands so I picked up guitar when I was 13, then drums a couple of years later. Drummers are like gold dust so I found a band pretty quickly and started helping out with writing tracks. Then it just grew from there
Where can our readers find out more about you?
Follow me on facebook.com/ukmuskrats or @ukmuskrats on Instagram and while you’re there you can check out my music production page @unluckyxviiaudio.
DISCOVERING WITH OFF THE HOOK MUSIC
Featured Artist: Eat Your Own Head
Where are you based:
We're based in Norwich, UK
Why do you love music:
Music affects me emotionally in many different ways, and that's the beauty of it. One minute you could be bawling your eyes out to Nils Frahm, next you've got a nosebleed in the pit and you wouldn't want it any other way.
Tell us about your music and the means of your tracks:
We love heavy, technical riffs and belting out vocals. There are a lot of math rock, alternative rock and grunge elements to our sound. Lyrically, it's generally inner turmoil.
Tell us about your latest new releases:
We recently released a compilation EP of tracks from when we were known as HANK. We then released Poltergeist on Halloween just past to properly launch our new band: Eat Your Own Head.
We were originally meant to be recording our debut album in November 2020 but because of the pandemic this was then moved to February 2021. We're now sadly in the process of moving it once again. It's been really frustrating that we haven't been able to do it yet, hopefully the album will be in sight for end of 2021. We're hugely excited about it.
What inspired you to become a band:
I used to play and write for a sort of a dub/rock band. Progressively, I found myself writing heavy riffs more and more. I was pretty sick of what I was doing so it felt like a good time to do something new!
Where can our readers find out more about you:
You can find us on all the normal things these days. Just type our band name into Google and I'm sure you will find us.
DISCOVERING WITH OFF THE HOOK MUSIC
Featured Artist: Peyton Stilling
Where are you based:
I'm based in Dallas, TX.
Why do you love music:
It allows me to have a voice (no pun intended). I find writing very therapeutic. It is like my diary.
When I was about 14, I remember sitting down with my parents and watching American Idol. I was so enamoured with everything, I loved all the stage lighting, I loved the costumes, I loved the songs, and I couldn’t believe that some people did it as a job. It was then that I knew what I wanted to do. I asked my mom to sign me up for guitar lessons (which she was very surprised at, because when I was younger, I had done piano lessons but hated them.) After that, I started trying to write lyrics and come up with melodies etc.
Tell us about your music and the means of your tracks:
I would say my music is singer/songwriter with pop elements. I'm not bubble gum pop but I'm not sit around a campfire music.
Tell us about your latest new releases:
The song all came together during quarantine. I've recently broken up with my boyfriend and had also just moved back in with my parents (double whammy). I was writing a lot of music, and Healing was born.
What inspired you to become a musician:
Growing up, I listened to a lot of Norah Jones, my dad was forever playing her music at home, then a lot of Amy Winehouse. Recently I've been listening to H.E.R and Audrey Mika. They've all influenced me in different ways.
I love the raw emotion in all of their music though, I try and be as open as possible when writing and really try to convey what I am thinking/going through at that moment.
Where can our readers find out more about you:
By listening to my music, but also following me on Instagram. That is where I am most active. Send me a message - say hi!
DISCOVERING WITH OFF THE HOOK MUSIC
Featured Artist: This Will Destroy Your Ears
Where are you based:
We live in the south of France. In an area ironically called ‘Landifornia' (on the Atlantic French coast) because of the mild weather, the surfers and the abundance of yoga centers. Our headquarters is pARPAINg, a recording studio / DIY building space which is part of a multi-artistic community called CONTAINER.
Why do you love music:
Because it’s an ideal platform for freedom! You just have to find friends and something to hit, scratch or stroke to do the job … that’s perfect! And perhaps it’s still the most archaic way to stay human!
Tell us about your music and the meaning of your tracks:
What a question … We make a sort of noisy post-punk indie music. Some friends of ours say we are a ‘Ghost-punk’ band … Certainly because of our ’serious' lyrics and the love we have for bands like the Cure or Killing Joke. That’s funny because we always think « Yes, this one is very happy » when a new song appears. And after few rehearsals things change! We really like complex textures of sound and strange, sometimes unclear lyrics ...
Tell us about your newest material:
The initial release of our debut album CLEAR was on the French label Cowboy À La Mode in October 2019.We really appreciated the British energy we met during our last tour in UK, that when Brutalist Records proposed to re-release a Deluxe Edition of the album for UK, we were especially delighted! But more than this, the project was super exciting : adding some artist pieces such as a Loïc Doussin patch of the band logo and a handmade screen printed insert created by incredible artists 'Les Ateliers Winschatten'.
What inspired you to become musicians:
Other musicians! Especially those who are inventing something new. Something you never heard before. And no need to be a technically brilliant musician either! We love arriving in a pub and you listen to a band for the first time who offer something you had not thought of before, and you think « F…ck yes, that’s it! And it so simple!!! ». No need to be perfect when you have ideas ...
Where can our readers find out more about you: (Social media links)
On Facebook —> https://www.facebook.com/thiswilldestroyyourears/On Instagram —> https://www.instagram.com/thiswilldestroyyourears/On Bandcamp —> https://thiswilldestroyyourears.bandcamp.com/Or on our youtube channel —> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzHT2xtQX29K_2RYXxv7HwQ
DISCOVERING WITH OFF THE HOOK MUSIC
Featured Artist: Imogen Mahdavi
Statement from Imogen Mahdavi about why she loves music:
I love how you can put a feeling you can't quite spell out, into sounds. Music touches a part of our self expression that I rarely find in other art.
Where are you based:
East Landaaannn
What type of genre music are we to expect from Imogen Mahdavi :
Who knows anymore labels are being thrown away, I feel proud if listeners are reminded of dreamy pop chorus's and a unique vocal.
Must listen to tracks from Imogen Mahdavi :
Of my own, Some Things Are Best Over Said! I also put out a track called Crowd Of Thoughts that I'm really proud of. Of other artists, I'm really into Laurel at the moment she's lovely.
Tell us about your latest single:
It's inspired by 60s country pop, and Glastonbury. It feels like a kind thing to share with the world at the moment. I hope you can have a good sway or dance to it with someone you care about.
Where can we find you (socials):
I share everything on Instagram but am present on all major social media platforms (Spotify etc)
https://www.instagram.com/imogen_mahdavi/?hl=en
DISCOVERING WITH OFF THE HOOK MUSIC
Featured Artist: Valencia James
Statement from Valencia James about why she loves music:
I grew up singing whenever I could. Whenever I was finished with my homework and sports, I would sing for hours and it helped me get through some tough years as a teenager. I never underestimate the healing power that music carries.
Where are you based:
I grew up in New York, but I am now based in Sydney, Australia
Genre of Music you can expect from Valencia James: Dark Pop
Tell us about your latest single :
“All The Waves” was written from a very difficult season that I can still relate to now and it’s a song that I’m very emotionally connected to. It explains that although life can be difficult and seem like everything is crashing down around you, there are always so much more greater things ahead for us.
Where can we find you: Instagram and more :
https://instagram.com/valenciajamesofficialhttps://facebook.com/valenciajamesofficialhttps://twitter.com/valenciajamesTW
https://fanlink.to/allthewaves
DISCOVERING WITH OFF THE HOOK MUSIC
Featured Artist: Jen Moon
Where are you based: Toronto, Canada
Why do you love music:
For some reason it’s kind of hard to answer this question haha. I just love that it exists, I love how it can come in so many different forms and how it can express absolutely anything and everything. I love how it can make me dance but also make me cry. The power it holds is amazing.
Tell us about your music and the means of your tracks:
My music is something that hopefully people can connect with even though not everyone’s situations are the same as mine. My songs are mostly about my view on certain things and situations, and it's also about how I understand and try to make sense of stuff that happens in my life. To write these songs I had to let myself be really vulnerable and I’m grateful that I was able to that.
Tell us about your latest new releases:
Just before the fall, I released by debut album MOONOLOGY which took about a year to complete, fully produced and co-written by Andrew Lee. I also released a collaboration single called "Room For Two" with my friends hello and xiv which was a lot of fun!
What inspired you to become a musician:
Music was always a big part of my life growing up, my family is really musical, and I was exposed to a lot of it growing up in Church. I loved writings songs since I was young, it was like writing little stories about my life. It wasn’t until high school when I started to take it a little more seriously, and I was inspired a lot by the RnB artists I was heavily listening to at the time (still do); H.E.R, Alicia Keys, Daniel Caesar, Summer Walker, etc.
Where can our readers find out more about you:
Instagram: @jen.moon
Facebook: @jenmoonofficial
Twitter: @itsjenmoon
Discovering with Off the Hook Music
Featured Artist: Charlie Smith
Statement from Charlie Smith why he love music: I love music because over time it has become me. When ever I'm feeling low its there, when I'm board it's there.
Where are you based: Hampshire, UK
Genre of Music you can expect from Charlie Smith: D. I.Y PUNK Basically, nothing less, nothing more
Must listen to tracks from Charlie Smith: Comfort is a Drug
Tell us about your latest EP: My new indie EP was basically written in a sort time scale. I'm not sure everyone will like all of it. It can be harsh. Comfort is a Drug is a tune most people will enjoy I feel. That's more indie punk and kind of pop in away.
Where can we find you:
My website is : charlie-smith.bandcamp.com
My facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Charlie-Smith-109247667509278/
Spotify :https://open.spotify.com/artist/50abKbBejLKyBTQ3OLkT26?si=biLAwICyTYGRzIDzzdiHpg
DISCOVERING WITH OFF THE HOOK MUSIC
Featured Artist: Colours
Statement from Colours why they love music: Music is the ideal communicator, it can evoke a deep reaction with people, whether they're playing or listening. Personally it makes us feel good to play and write music. Plus, it's even better when others like what we've created!
Where are you based: We're based in Leeds, West Yorkshire!
Genre of Music you can expect from Colours: We're still developing our sound and knowing us we might not fit into one genre, but it will be Pop with influences of Electronic, Country and Indie.
Tell us about your debut single: "Healing" is about one person's journey of recovery from a negative relationship. It was initially written at our home studio and then professionally tracked at the amazing Greenmount Studios in Leeds. We were super chuffed with the outcome and have a load more music in the pipeline that was also recorded there. Our plan was to tour the single but unfortunately lockdown hit and we've had to take everything online as with most other band/artists. So you can expect some virtual performances to coincide with the release.
Where can we find you: Website - www.colourstheband.com
Facebook - www.facebook.com/colourssounds
INSTAGRAM - COLOURSTHEBAND
DISCOVERING WITH OFF THE HOOK MUSIC
Featured Artist: Marcelo Deiss
Where are you based: I usually divide my time between Sao Paulo and London. Right now I'm based in Sao Paulo due to the quarantine. I've been doing a lot of live sessions and recording stuff at the studio for my upcoming E.P. Hopefully I'll be able to return to London soon!
Why do you love music: The beauty of music is that it's ever changing. It evokes emotion, it can start conversations, it can bring people together. It's a great form of therapy that can really help an individual connect to their true self.
Tell us about your music and the means of your tracks: I've been writing songs about people and system that we live in. Mainly its based on social alienation and what the system does to us. Currently we are seeing a lot of movements that are questioning this system. It's very inspiring and the time for change is now. As a musician I believe it's my duty to keep this conversation going.
What inspired you to become a musician: I guess it started when I took up guitar lessons at the age of 13/14. My teacher was very into blues and rock n roll from the 60' and 70's. That opened up a whole new world for me.
Where can our readers find out more about you:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5r1iL...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marcelodeis...
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Marcelo-Deis...
Twitter: https://twitter.com/marcelodeiss
DISCOVERING WITH OFF THE HOOK MUSIC
Featured Artist: Black Bra
A paragraph of why music is so special to Black Bra:
Names and what each band member plays in terms of their instruments:
Where the band is based and a bit of history of the band:Based in Nashville, TN. Beth Cameron got her start in music after forming Forget Cassettes in 2002 and releasing three albums (Instruments of Action, Salt and O Cursa) under that moniker over the course of a decade.
During a hiatus, Cameron longed for a clean slate from Forget Cassettes and to prove that women in their thirties and beyond still hold creative value. Cameron began writing, brought other musicians into the mix, and thus came Black Bra in 2017. The group played their first live show in 2018.
After creating demos at home with Price, the album was recorded in just a few days at Battle Tapes Studio by Grammy award-winning producer Jeremy Ferguson (Cage the Elephant, Lambchop), mixed by Roger Moutenot (Yo La Tengo, Sleater-Kinney) and mastered by John Baldwin (Emmylou Harris, Public Image Ltd.).
It was born out of years of intensive therapy and explores themes of hypocrisy, death, loss, inheritance and the feeling of irrelevance in the context of the world today. Opening track “When I Was a Young Girl,” which details childhood trauma and release of the mental hold it can take on a person, served as the catalyst for the entire body of work.
The record's soundscape is rooted in Cameron’s earlier punk work but delves into art rock and grunge territory, feeling most expansive in its quieter moments that seem to hold up the weight of the themes it explores. It's reminiscent of PJ Harvey and Amnesiac-era Radiohead. Texturally rich and delightfully complex, Black Bra weaves personal and political strife into a cohesive narrative that shines a light on the private process of embracing the past to reach a place of being more empathetic to oneself.
Genre of music they would like to be identified as : Rock / Psych Rock / Riot Grrl
A description of the new album: Black Bra is an experimental goth rock outfit based in Nashville, Tennessee, fronted by Beth Cameron and backed by band members Miles Price on bass, Tyler Coppage on drums and Jesse Case on synthesizer. Their self-titled LP, out July 17, 2020, via YK Records, is a striking debut that confronts darkness and grief in its most liminal phases.
Where can we find them on social media: https://twitter.com/blackbramusic
https://instagram.com/blackbramusic
Link to purchase the album:
DISCOVERING WITH OFF THE HOOK MUSIC
Featured Artist: Digital Resistance
Statement from Digital Resistance why they love music: Music is a universal language, it can communicate emotions and tell stories even without words, it can cross cultures and it ignores
geography in its persistent ability to get messages across. I can think of no more powerful platform in communicating political messages of social justice. Our writing process is perhaps a bit unusual in that we write the music first, and then an anarchist rebellious poem to go with the music that is eventually turned into lyrics.
Music as a platform to rebellion is not new to this decade or even this century, slaves in America used it as a means to communicate directions to the Underground Railroad, as a call to other slaves to rebellion, and as a means to survive their brutal conditions. It is perhaps odd that it
somehow became more of an entertainment mechanism in modern society. Music, art and protest have always been intertwined and always will, that's the power of music, and that's why I fell in love with it, not to be entertained but to question systems of oppression, to question the status-quo.
Where are you based: Cardiff, U.K.
Your message through your music is very important. Tell us about the themes you've written about in your music?
Each song Digital Resistance releases is about a well-researched topic.
We are actually academics and we take the critical thinking skills from
research and into our music, and no topic is ever given a shallow
glance. I can break down our 2020 releases into general themes, but
there's some hidden meaning in some verses of the songs that I won't go
into as it's more fun for the listener to figure it out and interpret
these themselves.
Oligarchical Collectivism: that's an easy one, it was written in
Newspeak chants (George Orwell's 1984 seemed relevant to the times we
find ourselves in!). The music and lyrics really marry quite well in
this song, and the chant and riffs were designed to give a slightly
uneasy feeling, with a really trippy guitar solo and simple repetitive
drumbeat.
Pale Blue Dot: This is a view of fascism on Earth throughout history,the
narrator starts quite "far away" and gets closer to the unfolding story,
the song gets angry about half-way through (2:17) when it shifts from
past to present. And again the music and lyrics go tightly together.
Economic Conscription: This compares varying war efforts and how the
elite escapes and enriches itself at the cost of the lives of the poor,
the main focus is a comparison of lies fed to the public during the
Vietnam War the Iraq War. It also deals with some racism faced by the
forces returning from Vietnam and the unrest going on back in that
decade.
Pillars of Oppression: This was particularly painful to write, each
verse tells a real life story of a life lost at the hands of political
and police brutality in a different part of the world.
Where can we find you:
Facebook: Digital Resistance
DISCOVERING WITH OFF THE HOOK MUSIC
Featured Artist: Katie Wood
Statement from Katie Woods why she love music: Music is one of the most universally shared experiences that has the ability to evoke emotion, heal, and take you to another place. I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of magic and other realms, so music has been a way for me to connect with that inherent need to feel something more than being human. I think it’s the only thing that ever gives me an indescribable sense of fulfilment, that I will be forever grateful for.
Where are you based: London, UK
Genre of Music you can expect from Katie Wood: Singer/songwriter with muted tones, with a raspy vocal ability reminiscent of Haim meets Kate Bush.
Must listen to tracks from Katie Wood: Steve and Uh Huh Yeah
Tell us about your latest single Uh Huh Yeah: “Uh huh Yeah” depicts everything that comes with agoraphobia - the frustration, anger and resentment, but also hope and self-acceptance. Detailing the journey of finding light at the end of the tunnel, Wood has crafted a poignant song of sincerity and self-discovery.
Where can we find you: Instagram :
https://www.facebook.com/katiewouldnt/
DISCOVERING WITH OFF THE HOOK MUSIC
Featured Artist: Renaissance Grrl
Statement from Renaissance Grrl why she love music: Music is important to me because it allows me to have a voice and share my feelings with the world. It's always been a friend when I’m down or going through troubled times. I feel music gives me a shoulder to lean on. I don’t know where I would be without it. It’s also massively important to me as my Dad, who I'm close with, used to play. He passed his musical talents down to me and it runs through my family.
Genre of Music you can expect from Renaissance Grrl: Alternative Rock/Garage
You will find a home in your playlist for Renaissance Grrl if your a fans of :The Vines, PJ Harvey, Hole, Dilly Dally, Cherry Glazerr.
What's next for this artist: My new single Happy when I'm sad has just been released on the 5th of June.
Where can we find you:
Spotify: Renaissance Grrl
Instagram : @renaissance_grrl
Facebook: Renaissance Grrl
DISCOVERING with Off the Hook Music
Featured Artist: Kate Wood
Statement from The Birthday Letters why they love music: My love of music is inseparable from my love of songs - and I’m not always sure where the dividing line lies. I really believe the most powerful music is the closest we humans have to real alchemy, and for me, the lyrics come first. So when a song marries the two; an emotionally affecting melody and a sincerely communicated idea through the words, something quite mysterious and magical takes place. For me, all the best things in music say something powerful about ideas outside of the medium. Painters don’t tend to paint about painting. Music is no different. Ironically I think instrumental Jazz pianist Keith Jarrett said something along the lines of music should be written about life and not music. I’m really on board with this idea. In my own haphazard way, it’s at least what I tend to aim for.
Where The Birthday Letters are based: London, UK
Genre of Music you can expect from The Birthday Letters: Folk with an Alternative twist
Off the Hooks Music TOP 3 Tracks from The Birthday Letters:
1) Dirty Crusty Latest Single a must listen
2) Lesser Evil
3) Orphan Child
What's next for this artist: Glad we asked as The Birthday Letters release single called Epoch (for H.J.D) today 19th May 2020
Where can we find you: Instagram : @thebdaylettersmusic
