DISCOVERING WITH OFF THE HOOK MUSIC
Featured Artist: Aibai
Where are you based?
I currently am based in Phoenix, AZ, but I started producing music in Minneapolis.
Why do you love music?
I love the way music can make people feel, and how songs can bring back old feelings and memories that you forgot even existed.
Tell us about your latest release?
I just released my 2nd EP Disconnected. The ep has a dreamy upbeat ambient electronic feel to it. I made the entire record in my room. I was feeling by quite disconnected from the world, reality, my friends and myself during that time. That is why I named the EP Disconnected. But also because I want people to be able to disconnect from reality for a bit while listening to the music and to just enjoy it and be present in the moment!
We really have fallen in love with the song, What inspired you to develop that sound?
I love to listen to all sorts of music ranging from indie pop to folk music to electronic music. I think the style of my music is definitely influenced by all of the music I listen to. There are electronic elements in a lot of the songs, with sad lyrics and a more indie sounding vocal. I like to combine indie and electronic music together to make more emotional electronic songs!
Where can our readers find out more about you?
You can follow my instagram at aibaitarrant for updates on new music and shows!
DISCOVERING WITH OFF THE HOOK MUSIC
Featured Artist: Low Island Refugees
Where are you based?
The band is based in the north of Tenerife. It´s called „isla baja“. The musicians are from Tenerife, Brazil and Barcelona. That´s also the story behind the name. „Refugees“ also stands for shelter, and that´s what some of theme were looking for, when they moved to Tenerife. It´s also a kind of a cultural shelter. In the band and also in the north of the island.
Why do you love music?
We love music because is a beautiful part of the human creation, a vehicle who transmits energy and message and is the universal language to communicate with all the cultures.
Tell us about your latest release?
The song offers a classic reggae feeling with a dash of dancehall, while the lyrics by Erese Hernández deal with everyday topics. However, they also take a critical look at the shady sides, away from the sunsets of the archipelago. It’s social criticism with a sense for poetry. The record that is going to be released in summer / autumn this year also plays with a lot of other music-styles like funk, hip hop, samba. Very exciting thing to bring all under our hat.
We really have fallen in love with the song, What inspired you to develop that sound?
Oh yes, especially in the studio, when you get more relaxed and with new ears for the song into the production, but we still want to keep sounding it as natural as possible. We are a real band, no overproduction.
Where can our readers find out more about you?
We are on the net / Facebook. New website is coming soon. At the moment you´ll find us under www.lowislandrefugees.com and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz6TvpsonmX/
DISCOVERING WITH OFF THE HOOK MUSIC
Featured Artist: The New America
Where are you based?
We're based in Bristol, site of the famous 1956 gorilla heist.
Why do you love music?
Guitar is the only hobby where I can talk about 1950s vacuum tubes without people thinking I'm building a bomb.
Tell us about your latest release?
Kuru tells the story of our singer, Cam's, struggles coming to terms with his sexuality. In the best of times, it's a winding road. For a spell, he'd fallen head over heels for a straight friend of his. The song is mostly about the power of getting that into the open and having some catharsis after keeping it quiet for so long.
We're really happy with how the song came out. We tried pretty hard to capture that sense of emotional whirlwinds and rising tides with the instrumental, while still writing something boog-worthy. Also very lucky to have benefited from George Thornton, who plays in Bristol band Dwell, on production. He took a more organic approach in the studio to what we've used before, which made the whole process super intuitive and focused, which suited the song really well.
What can we expect from the new collection of songs you're looking to release?
We are ready to spring a run of singles on you, however. Since the start of the pandemic we've written a lot of new music, most of which is not all that similar to the tracks we'd already had released (I Love Where I Live, Going to the Races (Dressed Like a Racist), Papillon, and Hong Kong Free Press). We really want to do a whole refresh of what people expect from us, so we have a string of new tracks to put out into the summer. Because of that our next single will be a two hour electro-swing odyssey based on the life of Clement Attlee.
Tell us the journey as a band you've been on to get to the point?
It's been a great ride so far. We formed in late 2018, played some terrible Idles and Stooges covers, had some lineup changes, spilled some milk. Not too long before the pandemic hit, we were starting to cut our teeth with the current lineup. We were still more style than substance, but we played in time and nobody died on us. Bringing Tom into the band on bass also added some funk in our trunk. Overall things were going a bit better. A lot of that is down to help we received from MAS Records, the Arts Council artist development program, and Factory Studios.
For all the horrible shit that made up the pandemic (it's not over!), it was quite good for us as a band. We managed to put out a couple singles that we'd previously recorded and wrote almost a whole set of new material. Our guitarist, Zac, was holed up in Switzerland for eight months and took up yodelling. Before the Walmart Kid came around, we thought combining yodelling and noise rock could be our ticket out of this town and to the big city. Kiddo got there first, so we're trying to make an honest living out of this instead.
What inspired you to become a band?
Once again, it's hard to overstate Clement Attlee's influence on the band. I remember being a kid and watching him play the Dick van Dyke Show. There was just this raw magnetism in the way he shook his hips on "Heartbreak Hotel". There was fire inside him and you really felt it, not just in his sequin jacket and the way he stared down the camera but also in the way he was walked. Say what you will about his policies, Clem had legs.
Where can our readers find out more about you?
We're most active on Instagram (@newamericaband) and Facebook.
DISCOVERING WITH OFF THE HOOK MUSIC
Featured Artist: BERRIES
Where are you based?
We are based in London :)
Why do you love music?
Very big question. And no matter how I word it I can't seem to make it sound less cheesy. I think the great thing about music is it is with you for your whole life. Listening to music can make me even more nostalgic than looking at photos, it has the ability to transport you back to a time and place and I love that about music.
Tell us about your latest release?
Wall of Noise is off of our debut album. I wrote the bare bones of it in the first Lockdown, so all of the anxiety and uncertainty of the time poured into it. Obviously at the time of writing I had no idea when I was even going to see the band again properly, let alone be able to play the track live with them and so it's quite special to play it with the band and see how people react to it.
You also have a debut album later in the year, what can we expect from the collection of songs?
The album is very much about us and our experiences. We touch on mental health, sexism but then also growth and strength so a bit of a mixture. We wanted to really try and push ourselves on the album and create something we are really proud of and something that people who have been listening to us from the beginning can get excited about, and hopefully we have done it.
Tell us the journey as a band you've been on to get to the point of releasing a debut album?
We played the London circuit for a while, finding our feet. We played as much as we could to try and work out where we wanted to take the style of the band and decide what we wanted to do and then we branched out to other cities. We released a couple of EP's (one of them through Rose Coloured Records) and we got some nice attention from them, national radio and blogs and we started landing slightly bigger support slots and headlining our own shows with the encouragement from DHP. We got our manager Lubos Mozis on board who is really brilliant to work with and then we signed to Xtra Mile Recordings who are absolutely amazing to work with and signed us for an album!
What inspired you to become a band?
We have all always played in lots of different bands and I did a solo project for a while but I was really missing being in a band and having that bond and excitement when you bounce off of each other. I love playing and writing with other musicians and so I really felt like that was missing and just generally working towards something with other people. I moved to London and I knew I wanted to get something together and met Lucie through a mutual friend and we had a jam and we got on great and loved the other's style of playing. Lauren then moved from Norfolk to London (we had known each other for years) and I asked if she wanted to meet up and play some stuff with us and she was really up for it. I really love that we still have the same level of excitement and love for it as the first ever rehearsal we did as a band, if not more so and that is definitely what drives us.
Where can our readers find out more about you?
Facebook.com/Berriesband
Instagram.com/Berriesband
Twitter.com/Berriesbanduk
Or just come to a show and have a chat!
DISCOVERING WITH OFF THE HOOK MUSIC
Featured Artist: Lucky Iris
Where are you based?
Leeds
Why do you love music?
Music is our way of communicating how we feel. It’s a way for us to channel our feelings. It's not that we need music to feel something, but music allows us to feel even more. And a song you connect with has a way of making you feel so understood, it’s something very special.
Tell us about your latest release?
Our next release is out on Valentines Day and we’re incredibly excited about it because it’s the first track that Jasper has produced alone!! But don’t worry it isn’t a song for couples, no, this one goes out to all the lonely hearts. It’s a song about being too much, and not enough all at the same time.
We really have fallen in love with the song and we hope you do to! What inspired you to become a band?
We've both had a keen interest in music for as long as we can remember. But we’re also both lucky in that writing music has also came pretty naturally to. And we just seem to fill in each others gaps in regards to our strengths and weaknesses in songwriting... and we love performing together, we’ve done so since we met at school, so everything fell into place pretty seamlessly!
Where can our readers find out more about you?
The best way to find out more about us is to either follow us on our socials which is @luckyirisband across the board… or come see us at one of our gigs - we play our debut headline show Thursday 10th February at Royal Park Cellars in Leeds. We’re always so happy to talk to new people after we’ve performed, so why not come along and say hi :)
DISCOVERING WITH OFF THE HOOK MUSIC
Featured Artist: Altameda
Where are you based?
Toronto, Canada.
Why do you love music?
I find music to be the most accurate way to express the human experience. Whether it be specific, or vague, plainspoken, or expansive, it’s all in there.
Tell us about your latest release?
Our upcoming record is called Born Losers. It feels like a snapshot of some very formative years in my life, and in the life of this project. I think it’s the first time I have felt truly proud of a musical offering. And we are very excited for people to hear it.
What is the lyric you're most proud of writing?
It’s difficult for me to pick one definitive lyric that I’m most proud of. I’m proud of a lot of the lyrics on this record, and I feel like I really took my time in finessing them to make sure I wouldn’t regret anything on there. But I feel like the opening line of the first track, 'Dead Mans Suit' sets the emotional tone for the record. “I bought a dead mans suit in Denver, and I wore it on the stage. It got me thinking about impermanence, how everything dies with age."
What inspired you to be a musician?
I have always had an unavoidable drive to express myself through art. When I was a kid, I didn’t speak much, and would draw all day. Once I got in to playing guitar and writing songs, I became obsessed and it is really all I’ve pursued in my life since then.
Where can our readers find out more about you?
All of the usual social media outlets/streaming platforms. Or on our website: Altameda.net.
DISCOVERING WITH OFF THE HOOK MUSIC
Featured Artist: THE ALL CANADIAN SOUNDCLASH
Where are you based? The All Canadian Soundclash is a musical recording project from singer and songwriter Andrew Michelin of Ottawa, Ontario Canada which spotlights the best in original indie folk and alternative rock n’ roll
Why do you love music? Music has the power to transport us to another time and place. The All Canadian Soundclash loves to harness that power with a broad audience of fellow music lovers and passionate musicians alike. Ever since a young age, Andrew Michelin has found great joy and satisfaction by being involved in the creative music process.
Tell us about your latest release? The long-awaited debut album by the All Canadian Soundclash, Better Late Than Never, was meticulously composed alongside award-winning producer and musician Dale Murray (Anne’s nephew), who has played with acts like Buck 65, Joel Plaskett and Matt Mays. Rounding out the band is Jordi Comstock, who keeps the band in time with his thunderous drumming. The first single from the debut album is “She won’t play your game”, the song is an up tempo number teeming with electricity that surges start to finish; the relentless energy of “She Won’t Play Your Game” is seamlessly intertwined with the positivity in the message. A story of soulmates and the commitment that is shared between them takes centre stage in this supercharged love song; “She Won’t Play Your Game” is also a clear message that fate isn’t kind to those who take their partners for granted.
What inspired you to write and create music? In the early 90’s while still in high school, Andrew was the lead singer of the alternative band Bufflehead which were very involved in the Ottawa music scene and subsequently throughout Ontario and beyond. Bufflehead and other local bands began organizing their own shows and booking bands to play on the bill with them. They organized shows with bands such as The Gandharva’s, Furnaceface, The Doughboys, Illegal Jazz Poets and Black Triangle just to name a few. Song writing runs deep in Michelin’s family. His grandfather Stewart also wrote songs, but not for any notoriety or career path. It was for fun. It was a game. It was competition. Andrew Michelin’s grandfather was one of the last generations of Indigenous trappers in northern Canada that still worked and traded with the Hudson’s Bay Company. While out in the wilderness for weeks at a time in isolation each trapper would write a song and when they all came home they would show off their songs to one another to see who wrote the best one. Andrew’s grandfather did write one of the best songs on one of his trips and that song “The Grand River Song” has been recorded and performed by numerous musicians to this day in Canada.
Where can our readers find out more about you? Apple Music Spotify Website Twitter Instagram
DISCOVERING WITH OFF THE HOOK MUSIC
Featured Artist: LOUIS AND THE SHAKES
Where are you based?
We are based in London, but we all come from different areas of the UK. I’m (Louis) from Watford, Jamie (guitarist) is Essex, Manny (drummer) Brighton and Will (Bassist) Oxford.
Why do you love music?
Music is a release, it's an expression, it's therapeutic on so many levels. It can help you understand and process things, it can make you feel love, it can empower you and drive you. For me and most of us out there, it's embedded in you from an early age and sticks to you like glue because you associate music with family & friends. Some of my best memories with my mates are centred around music, whether that’s singing our hearts out in a muddy field, smoking a joint in a park growing up, going to gigs in London.
Tell us about your latest release?
Our music is unapologetically high octane, fuzzy and steeped in British wit. The album plays out the story of a lone rider voyaging into a new western/Americana world. He meets the girl and experiences the highs and low of love & life.
What inspired you to become an band?
I was performing solo at the time, jumping from venue to venue in London when I came across Will. Him and his mate approached me and said, 'you're awesome but you need a band,' and I explained that I was looking to start up a band. Will managed to get Manny & Jamie on board and at first it was still a Louis Antoniou project, but it started to develop into something much more. Friendships were made and the music began to grow and after playing On Blackheath Festival in 2018, we decided to reinvent ourselves. From there, I started channelling more band orientated music and produced this new wave of sound that slapped everyone in the face. I wrote 3 songs 'Snake Hips' 'Shoot To Kill' and 'On One' and the guys and I knew that this was the foundations for our next adventure.
Where can our readers find out more about you?
Head to our website and follow us on Spotify & all socials.
https://www.louisandtheshakes.com/
https://www.instagram.com/louisandtheshakes/
DISCOVERING WITH OFF THE HOOK MUSIC
Featured Artist: Chris Beer
Where are you based?
I am based in Vienna, Austria.
Why do you love music?
Because it can take you to where you need to go at the particular moment. Sometimes you need to listen to a reflective, melancholic song to feel at ease, sometimes you just wanna dance and sometimes you wanna turn up the system while you are driving in the car or travelling by train.
tell us about your music and the meaning of your tracks?
My songs are about stories, emotions, hopes and fears we all experience. They focus on what we have in common more than on what divides us.
Tell us about your latest release?
"Who we are" is about the choices we make in life. The priorities we choose to live by. The people we spend the most time with. The hobbies we devote our time to. Time is the most valuable source we have, as our time is limited. The decisions we make shape us and -with time-become 'who we are'.
What inspired you to become an artist?
I have always been fascinated by music. It has always been with me. Through a song, it is possible to get to know and understand the personality, the emotions or the story of a person who you might never get to meet. (e.g as they lived in a different contra or at a different time) That is pretty magical to me, as I feel like I learned a lot about life from the music I listened to a lot.
Where can our readers find out more about you?
I am easy to get in touch with.
My homepage: www,chrisbeemrusic or my socials....
https://www.facebook.com/chrisbeermusic
https://www.instagram.com/chrisbeermusic
DISCOVERING WITH OFF THE HOOK MUSIC
Featured Artist: The Robe
Where are you based?
Nashville, TN
Tell us about your latest release?
Jason and I started writing and recording about six years ago. The Jason EP was first group of songs we finished in 2015. The goal was to record a full album but we got busy with other things and spent the next six years talking about it.
About two months ago between me listening to Jason talk about inane details of baseball statistics and Topps baseball card variants and Jason listening to me talk about important things we decided to release a series of EPs.
What inspired you to become an artist?
Some combination of Duran Duran, SNES RPGs(Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, etc.), professional wrestling, Star Trek, the New Order “Perfect Kiss” video, and ego.
Where can our readers find out more about you?
Go to the YK Records page and buy the records. The Instagram page is only updated if there’s a live show or a release so there are eight posts to look through.
DISCOVERING WITH OFF THE HOOK MUSIC
Featured Artist: Michelle Ward
Where are you based?
I'm based in Essex, just outside London. I've lived here most of my life but did spend some years living in Dublin, Ireland.
Why do you love music?
I've always loved music, growing up our home always had music playing and we also had a piano. No one was a great player but it was in the house, my Dad was always singing along to music of the day.
Tell us about your music and the meaning of your tracks?
My latest release is my debut release, DOLLY DAYDREAMING. The track is about a friend’s affair, the lies they tell each other and to their partners.
“Nothing kills romance like a touch of reality”. When an affair starts, “it’s all romantic, feels fantastic”.
The lyric “that girl is so taken” has two meanings, she is taken because she is married to someone else, and she is taken with the excitement of a new lover. Looking from the outside in, it’s a disaster waiting to unfold as most affairs normally are.
What inspired you to become Musician?
I have always loved music and I have always sung from being a child. I think singing was in my blood. We always had music in the house as a child and my Dad, back in his heyday, use to sing. He had a fantastic voice.
Where can our readers find out more about you?
Best place to find out more about me is on my socials FB, Instagram, Twitter and the main link to all is here https://linktr.ee/michellewardmusic
DISCOVERING WITH OFF THE HOOK MUSIC
Featured Artist: Blue Violet
Where are you currently based?
We spend our time between London and Scotland...Sarah is half Scottish.
Why do you love music?
Music is an escape from day to day life, it can make you feel so many different things. Creating it helps you connect with lots of different people from places all over the world.
Tell us about your latest release “White Beaches”?
White Beaches is a kind of call to action. We wanted to draw attention to our relationship with nature and talk about what we can do to preserve it. We used stats from ocean conservation charity Surfers Against Sewage in our music video and the video itself was very low budget to try and steer away from unnecessary waste which sometimes is an issue in photo and video shoots.
What inspired you to become an artist?
Sarah used to love listening to her Dads compilation tapes when driving around the country lanes in Scotland which sparked a love of singing from an early age. Watching big bands doing their thing is very inspiring and we grew up in the 90s at the height of Brit Pop so music was everywhere back then and so exciting!
Where can our readers find out more about you?
Links to all our socials etc can be found at www.blueviolet.uk
DISCOVERING WITH OFF THE HOOK MUSIC
Featured Artist: Boy! Racer
Where are you based?
I’m based in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, where I was born and raised.
Why do you love music?
I love music because of my Dad. When I was younger he used to show me all sorts of stuff he was into - from The Clash to Orange Juice to Prefab Sprout - and something about all of it just resonated with me, like a switch had been flipped. I was obsessed.
Then when I was in my early teens I asked for my first guitar and taught myself to play. After a few years I started playing in bands and writing songs, and realised that I could make music too - anyone can! That was really special and I’ve been hooked since.
Tell us about your music and the meaning of your tracks?
Boy! Racer is my first solo project. After years of playing in bands, I started this last year with the sole intention of writing music I love. There were no preconceptions - I just wanted to make something that I could enjoy as though I wasn’t the writer!
In terms of sound, I’d say it’s Boy! Racer is a collage of lots of different influences I love - bits of Porches, Blood Orange, New Order, and so forth. Tight guitars, synth lines and drum machines. Lyrically, some of its anecdotal and some of it is totally imagined. My hope is that there’s at least something in there that can resonate with anyone.
Tell us about your latest release?
‘People Walk In Circles’ is my debut single. I think it could easily be perceived to be a song about lockdown, as I wrote it in the first UK lockdown - but it’s actually about breaking out of the monotony of the pre-pandemic 9 to 5. It’s about craving change, and realising that ultimately only you yourself can instigate that change.
What inspired you to become a band?
I think this goes back to wanting to make music I love. Sometimes it’s tempting, having released a bit of music in the past, to second guess what your ‘listeners’ might want to hear. It’s easily done but I think this is quite unnatural, creatively. I wanted to take a back to basics approach and just throw ideas out there that I think sound and feel good. With a bit of luck, others will agree!
Where can our readers find out more about you?
On all socials:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iamboyracerTwitter: https://www.twitter.com/boyracer_Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/b.oyracer
DISCOVERING WITH OFF THE HOOK MUSIC
Featured Artist: RONX
Where are you based?
We’re based in the Bronx, NY !
Why do you love music?
Music helps us cope with feelings whenever we feel down and out. It’s a symbol of hope for people who only see fire all around them. We love that we can save a life with a single piece of art like other artists saved our lives.
Tell us about your music and the meaning behind your tracks?
Ronx are lovers of early 90s and 2000s punk rock//pop punk and are big on emo songs too. We like to call ourselves sad boys as a joke but it became somewhat iconic because we make sad music but still deliver that energy and lyrical melodies that pumps your sadness away. We’ve opened our catalogue up and are experimenting on the pop and trap elements because our love for music is universal, we jam to punk to jazz to pop stars to R'N'B and all around.
Tell us about your latest release?
Drug In Me started as a rough demo in our home studio inspired by the whole Mgk infectious pop punk pandemic. We wanted to make the perfect pop but punk song but couldn’t quite bring the song up to part.
Josh noticed Jaden Seeley of With Con posting his home studio all quarantine and wanted to take a shot at reaching out to him for a studio session.
Josh - I literally tweeted Jayden after buying tickets to LA with the band and was like “Hey man! We’re going to be in LA soon, let’s make some music together!”
Jayden surprisingly tweeted Josh back saying he’ll DM his management to us and he did just that. After a few emails we set up a date and decided drug in me would be the song that Jayden could help flip into a absolute banger and he did!
What inspired you to become a band?
Miguel and Josh started writing music together in back in sophomore year of high school. After performing their first original song together in a after school open mic the boys decided they wanted to chase the dream all the way and established themselves as 2 in the Afternoon until the rebrand name change to Ronx in 2017. Alexy (lead guitarist) joined the band in the summer of 2020, we also went to the same high school before he left to Florida and came back after graduation.
DISCOVERING WITH OFF THE HOOK MUSIC
Featured Artist: Sofia Gillani
Where are you based?
I am based in Hazelmere, Surrey.
Why do you love music?
I've always loved music because it gives me an opportunity to express myself. Music is in our everyday lives, so the fact that I get to make music is such a pleasure.
Tell us about your latest release?
My most recent single 'Other Side' was released recently. It's about being powerless in the moment, but rising to the challenge no matter what circumstances you face. A powerful song for powerless times. In essence, it's about being fearless, and when I wrote it, I wanted it to be an expressive and bold song. Go check it out!
What Inspired you to become a singer?
I have always wanted to be a singer, and spread joy to others by creating music. I just loved the concept of writing and creating my message through song. My main influences are Sia, Adele, and Ariana Grande, very soul and experimental pop styles.
Where can our readers find out more about you (social media)?
On Instagram, at sofia.aneesa.gillani, the same user as my Tiktok additionally. You can find me on Facebook as Sofia Gillani, and on Youtube with the same user. Go subscribe!
DISCOVERING WITH OFF THE HOOK MUSIC
Featured Artist: Regent
Where are you based?
Southampton.
Why do you love music?
I grew up listening to my dad's vinyl's of The Beatles 'Red Album' , Jackie Wilson and Elvis, it's always gave me an escape from the stresses in life and helps forget about any worries.
Tell us about your music and the meanings of your tracks?
Our music is very real, and most of our songs are about love, pain, happiness and sadness. it's got every emotion mixed all into one, People are saying we have a whirlwind type guitar sound.
Tell us about your latest release?
Our latest release is an in your face type rock n roll love song written about my fiancé Dipanju.
What inspired you to become an artist?
Just listening to lots of The Beatles and Rolling Stones, and writing lots of poetry, it all just came together.
Where can our readers find out more about you?
Check out our official website where there's links to follow us across all our social media outlets...
DISCOVERING WITH OFF THE HOOK MUSIC
Feature Artist:
Where are you based?
London, U.K.
Why do you love music?
Wow. That’s deep. The way it makes me feel, I guess. The connectivity. The immediacy. The tangible intangibility of it all. When it hits just right it’s magic.
Tell us about your music and the meaning of your tracks?
I called the album Funeral Pop because it’s upbeat and catchy, but it’s sinister and moody as well. Sad songs have always hit harder. I wrote the album during lockdown, so there’s a lot of tension, anxiety and uncertainty. But there’s a lot of anger and resolve as well.
Tell us about your latest release?
At the moment it's my cover of Bush's '90s hit "Glycerine." The first single from the album. I always wanted to cover the song in bands but no one else thought it was a good idea. I'm not sure why it means so much to me. Nostalgic, I suppose.
What inspired you to become a band?
I was just tired of playing in other people's bands. I've had these song ideas in my head for years. And lockdown gave me the time and space I needed to try and create something new.
Where can our readers find out more about you?
https://vampireslumberparty.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/vampireslumberparty_london/
DISCOVERING WITH OFF THE HOOK MUSIC
Featured artist: Humm Bugg
Where are you based?
I live in Penryn, Cornwall.
Why do you love music?
I love everything about music; the way it can change or enhance how your feeling; the worlds it transport you to; the experimental, almost alchemical nature of it; the stories it can tell; the empathy and emotions you can share with a musician; its ability to bring people together; how it transcends the everyday; dancing; individuality; everything.
Tell us about the music and the meanings of your tracks?
All my music is instrumental with the occasional short vocal sample and I enjoy making music you can dance to as well as music that could be a soundtrack to some unknown b-movie or computer game. It's quite whimsical and I try to make my tunes as catchy as possible.
Tell us about your latest release?
The new Humm Bugg album is called Green Lightning. It's the second electronic album I've made and it's pretty hard to pigeon hole it into any one genre. It has elements of chiptune, synthwave, DnB, electro pop, dark synth, psychedelia, shoegaze and more. Almost all the tracks are influenced by horror, sci fi or fantasy in some way but there are also a couple of more personal tracks about my first cat and even a song featuring my niece telling the story of a bird she invented named Maggie.
What inspired you to become an artist?
I have made music for years on guitar and other more traditional instruments but began working electronically at the start of the first lockdown last year. I've always loved movie scores with an electronic element, computer games soundtracks and grew up enjoying a great range of music. It was when friend and artist Elkingtit encouraged me to make something for a charity album that I really got into it and since then I've been listening to and creating beats, bleeps and buzzes voraciously.
Where can our readers find out more about you?
You can check out the new album on bandcamp ( https://hummbugg.bandcamp.com/ ) and very soon on spotify and other streaming platforms too. You can also keep up to date with all the latest on Facebook ( https://www.facebook.com/hummbuggmusic/ ) and on Instagram ( @hummbuggmusic ). There is also a cool album launch video on the HUmm Bugg YouTube channel with insights into the album, animations, music videos and more ( https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqvTCvxr9EniBr0XjysOl-w/videos )
DISCOVERING WITH OFF THE HOOK MUSIC
Featured Artist: Seaside Witch Coven
Where are you based?
"We all met in Cardiff but are now split between Cardiff, London and Southampton"
Why do you love music?
"Liam: I grew up playing music constantly, and have played in bands for over 10 years. I listened to punk and metal music from an early age, it was the kind of music I always wanted to play"
Tell us about your music and the meaning of your tracks.
"Our sound Is sort of psyche punk. Loud, rhythmic with classic rock tinges. We're all influenced by a lot of different stuff and I think that just feeds into the music.
Our new track AEO is basically about aliens. There's probably some clever hidden meaning but no one will have time to work it out, and aliens are cool.
Tell us about your latest release?
"AEO was recorded at one louder studios in Newport and Mixed by Alex McConnachie of Twin Stranger. It's a pondering post punk track driven by persistent drums and bass. We're looking to release it later this month."
What Inspired you to become a band?
"we've all played in bands before and been hanging out for years. Seaside Witch Coven was started as a way of experimenting with new sounds. Were inspired by lots of different genres and want our music to be an outlet of that. Sometimes for the better "
Where can our readers find out more about you? "With an ear to the tracks you can hear a train from miles away"
https://instagram.com/seasidewitchcoven?utm_medium=copy_link
Facebook - @ihateswc
Spotify -
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3r6wHPIKMXb02DkNnym5hM?si=gqX5KnvYQxu50SZ9bHLk4w&utm_source=copy-link
DISCOVERING WITH OFF THE HOOK MUSIC
Featured Artist: Oceans on mars
Where are you based?
We are all based in or around Manchester.
Where are you based?
Growing up with music really helps you fall in love with it. And this has definitely been for us. I think when you’re surrounded by such a variety of genres: alternative rock, grunge, funk, pop, metal, hip-hop and so on, it really makes you realise how important it is.
Tell us about your music and the meaning behind your tracks?
Our music is directed to mental health, your feelings and the anxiety that ticks away. But it’s not always dark, we aim to show that there’s not always a low point, and you can overcome the struggles.
Tell us about your latest release?
Our latest release Mousetrap is heavily inspired by 90s grunge (Nirvana, Pearl Jam, SoundGarden). The song is about trapping yourself and always knocking you back. It’s never a physical obstacle that stops you, but it’s always your head, and your anxiety that puts the pressure on.
What inspired you to become an artist?
I think we all came together at an early age to just perform covers, but realised quickly that playing live is what we want to do. All of our inspirations are musicians, and it’s always been a dream to be in a band.
Where can our readers find out more about you?
You can find out more on our social platforms for Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Tiktok and even our website. @theoceansonmars
Our Spotify is also called Oceans on Mars, tune in to see our catalogue of songs!
