LISTEN: BISHI – ‘Don’t Shoot The Messenger’

A sweeping, distinctive soundscape that explores creative rebirth, multi-talented artist BISHI has shared her latest single ‘Don’t Shoot The Messenger’. Produced at Visconti Studio by Tony Visconti (David Bowie, Marc Bolan, Sparks), the London-based songwriter blends classical instrumentation with contemporary musical elements to form a wonderfully avant-garde, electro-acoustic new tune.

As the founder of WITCiH, a creative hub for women interested in new technologies, it’s no surprise that BISHI has used a revolutionary technology on this latest offering. She used the technique of midi-mapping her Sitar to Ableton Push, helping to keep the divine twang of the instrument at the heart of the single. Her soaring vocals drift beautifully alongside the plucked strings, as she sings of new beginnings and departing old creative worlds.

Alongside the single, BISHI has shared remixes of the track from Hinako Omori (Ed O’Brien, Kae Tempest, Georgia), Richard Norris (The Grid, Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve) and Ben Corrigan (William Basinski, Jonsi & Alex, Robert Ames, Excuse the Mess). They reflect BISHI’s love and long-standing relationship with LGBTQ club spaces, from her early teens when she was adopted by Leigh Bowery’s band, Minty, and started DJing at clubs like Kashpoint and The Siren Suite.

BISHI will also be hosting a 7-part online experience to celebrate the single, including an intimate conversation tonight (16th October) with Tony Visconti via livestream. She will conduct a series of Instagram Live interviews with each of the remixers and other artists included on the release, so make sure you’re following BISHI on Instagram for more updates.

We’ll also be chatting to BISHI about her new single on our Hoxton Radio show next week, so make sure you tune in on Thursday 22nd October at 7pm!

Listen to ‘Don’t Shoot The Messenger’ below.

Follow BISHI on Spotify, Facebook & bandcamp for more updates.

Photo Credit: Frederic Aranda

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Track Of The Day: ARXX – ‘Call Me Crazy’

Following the release of last year’s EP Wrong Girl Honey, and 2018’s debut Daughters Of Daughters, total faves ARXX are back with a poignant new offering. 

Whilst ‘Call Me Crazy’ may be a bit of a change in tone for the Brighton duo, it loses none of the emotion-strewn power we’ve come to know and love. Showcasing Hanni and Clara’s more reflective side, it offers a heartfelt offering reflecting on mental health struggles, at a time when this topic is more resonant than ever before. 

Whilst dealing with an affecting subject, however, ARXX manage to create a truly uplifting and instantly catchy empowering anthem. Propelled by the gritty, soulful drive of Hanni’s vocals, sweeping, twinkling hooks shine through, as it builds in emotive splendour to an epic, pop-strewn ballad. Of the track, Hanni explains:

“It’s a happy pop song about the trials and tribulations of living with depression. The chorus is an internal dialogue about getting stuck in your head and forgetting to enjoy life. It’s a very personal insight into my experiences with mental health.”

Showcasing their refusal to be pigeon-holed into one genre, here ARXX prove that they’re just as skilled at creating exquisite, heart-string-tugging alt-pop as they are ferocious grunge-fuelled bangers. ‘Call Me Crazy’ is testament to a band forever evolving, honing their craft to develop a rich and eclectic back-catalogue; continuously refining their sound and, in the process, consistently continuing to win my heart, retaining their position as the most impressive power duo around.

 

‘Call Me Crazy’ is out now.

Mari Lane
@marimindles

Photo Credit: Kaleido Shoots

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LISTEN: Reptaliens – ‘Taking’

A hazy, electro-pop tune about the duality of action and perspective, Portland duo Reptaliens have shared their latest single ‘Taking’. Lifted from the band’s upcoming EP Wrestling, which is set for release on 6th November via Captured Tracks, the track is accompanied by a lyric video that shows the unsettling deep red colour of Oregon’s skyline, caused by wildfires earlier this year.

‘Taking’ marks a turning point in Reptaliens’ sound. The duo, formed of Bambi and Cole Browning, have taken on full production, mixing, and engineering duties for this track and their new EP, which allowed them the time and space to explore the more tentative, minimal side of their song writing.

“Taking” is about perception and existence,” the pair explain. “It’s a song that carries the listener through the balance between action and perspective inherent throughout the human experience. Deviating from our traditional ‘reptaliens sound’ we chose to create a collection of darker songs with which to play on this reoccurring theme. The video was shot while crossing the California/Oregon border a month ahead of the single release. The chaos that wildfires have brought to the west coast seemed to encompass the visual juxtaposition between the darkness and light that nature brings.”

Listen to ‘Taking’ below and follow Reptaliens on bandcamp, Spotify & Facebook for more updates.

Photo Credit: Dan Hanson

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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LISTEN: Magick Mountain – ‘Cherokee’

A fuzzy, psych-tinged cacophony of buzzing basslines and rumbling guitar riffs, Leeds-based trio Magick Mountain have shared their latest single ‘Cherokee’. Taken from their debut album Weird Feelings, which is set for release on 23rd October, the track is a riotous reference to the wisdom of indigenous belief systems.

“We wrote ‘Cherokee’ when there was a Strawberry Moon high in the sky,” the band explain. “Inspired by ancient rituals, we read into the Native American Cherokee tribe and their deep connection to nature, lunar cycles and crop growing. In the West, there is a tendency to believe that ‘we know best’, colonising and destroying people and their traditions in awful ways. We desperately need to respect native traditions and beliefs, so with this song we hint at learning and letting go. The Strawberry Moon signifies cycles starting over, which is also a metaphor for our own learnings as human beings.”

Formed of Lins Wilson (Grammatics & Mother Vulpine), Tom Hudson (Pulled Apart By Horses) and Nestor Matthews (Sky Larkin, Menace Beach), Magick Mountain craft energetic, psych-infused, frantic guitar tunes that explore everything from fantastical worlds to ancient mythology and mystical metaphors. ‘Cherokee’ is another crash course into their cosmic, distorted sound, informed by the past but with a futuristic edge.

Listen to ‘Cherokee’ below and follow Magick Mountain on bandcamp, Facebook and Spotify for more updates.

Photo Credit: Kirsty Garland

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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