A Day in the Life of…
A Day in the Life of…Blood Lemon
If you somehow don’t know alt-rock Blood Lemon, here are some quick facts. They are singer/guitarist Lisa Simpson, singer/bassist Melanie Radford and percussionist Lindsey Lloyd. Boise, Idaho-based. Formed in 2018. 90s-Riot-Grrrl inspired. Not afraid of heavy riffs (or getting political). Their self-titled debut came out a few months ago, and it’s a powerhouse of an album. And, perhaps most importantly, if there’s a zombie apocalypse—find them. Once you hear their music, which is unapologetic hard rock ‘n roll, you’ll immediately assess that these three women have the ability to adapt, kick-ass, and endure under pretty much any given circumstance. (Plus, as you’ll see below, Lindsey keeps Swedish fish on hand…) Their single “One More Time” is about taking an inner look at the cycles that l...
A Day in the Life of… Chuck Emery of Brother
If your most absurdist, kaleidoscopic dreams had a soundtrack, there’s a good chance it was composed by Chuck Emery, Nathan Standage, Erika Goodwin, Scott Knutson and Elias Pratt, a.k.a. indie-alt band Brother. Their music is perfect for all the dreamy moments of waking life, too, adding a chilled-out, minimalistic vibe to any given day. By keeping it simple, Brother. have created a sound that’s addictively unique, with warm, lyrical harmonies that raise the cool factor the second you press play. “This song is an expression of how I felt during lockdown and I wrote in hopes that anyone else feeling stuck, sad, anxious or lost would learn to ease up and take it easy,” says Chuck Emery of their single “EZ.” “Sometimes sitting and doing nothing is the best something you can do.” Here’s a day ...
A Day in the Life of…Dennis Lloyd
After a two-year break, multi-platinum artist Dennis Lloyd is releasing his long-awaited, full-length album Some Days on July 2. The album reflects Lloyd’s wild ride through an even wilder industry, following his astronomical overnight success with his single “Nevermind”—inspired by a breakup, after the Tel Aviv native traveled to Thailand to hone his signature hybrid pop/hip-hop/reggae/rock sound. One billion streams, sudden fame and a whirlwind tour unearthed unexpected trappings; the journey of deep discovery and profound transition is poignantly documented in his new songs. Fans aren’t hesitant to show Lloyd a warm welcome back: Tel Aviv shows are already selling out, but check out his site for a rebroadcast on July 8. Lloyd’s first Some Days release, “The Way”, carries an ...
A Day in the Life of…Floatie
On their debut album Voyage Out, Floatie deliver something fresh and unexpected. If alt-dreamy was a thing, Floatie have already mastered it, with a seamless musicality and a lighthearted sound that’s gloriously tough to pin down. That’s not to say their songs are without substance. “Shiny is about finding the drive to make choices that will give you self-assurance and help you to feel worthy of others’ companionship,” says singer/guitarist Sam Bern. “It is about forcing your own luck by committing to your decisions. ‘Some luck, it’s happenstance, or consequence.’” The Chicago-based band consists of four dear friends—Sam Bern (vocals/guitar), Luc Schutz (drums), Joe Olson (vocals/bass), and Will Wisniewski (guitar/synth)—who came together to create Floatie in 2018. In their three years, th...
A Day in the Life of…Grace Weber
Four years after her Grammy win for penning Chance the Rapper’s “All We Got” (featuring Kanye West and the Chicago Children’s Choir), singer, songwriter and producer Grace Weber’s debut solo album A Beautiful Space (June 11) showcases a powerful independent artist with a sound so poignant it shatters the stratosphere. After parting ways with Capitol at the end of 2019, Grace found her voice. Even her album cover—inspired by The Wizard of Oz—projects an artist who’s at peace and strength, though unlike Dorothy, she’s not lazing amongst the poppies, she’s acknowledging it’s her moment to honor us with her brilliant and gifted light. “Making this album, I decided that I would let it take us on a journey, instead of trying to force anything,” she says. “I’d love for people to come away feeling...
A Day in the Life of…Tom Holkenborg
Dutch-born Tom Holkenborg (a.k.a. Junkie XL) is that rare artist who fills out the otherwise ridiculous and usually lazily applied “Renaissance Man” mantle. He’s a Grammy-nominated multi-platinum producer and classically-trained musician, who can play a number of instruments, and even makes his own, and perhaps most intriguingly and successfully, a composer who has scored some of the most commercial hit movies of the last several years, ranging from Mad Max: Fury Road, Deadpool, and Black Mass to 2021’s Justice League: The Snyder Cut, Godzilla vs. Kong, The Army of the Dead. Not a man to rest on his laurels, he also composed music for the upcoming The 355 and 3000 Years of Longing. And he’s taken his fans to school — literally. He created the SCORE Academy in Los Angeles, which is fre...
A Day in the Life of…Surf Mesa
There’s a good chance you’ve either sung or shared songwriter and producer Surf Mesa’s 2020 single “ily (i love you baby)” (featuring Emilee), which was recently RIAA certified Platinum after over 2.5 billion global streams and nearly 4 billion TikTok videos, reaching #1 on Billboard’s Dance/Electronic chart and #2 on Top 40 radio. By the end of 2020, “ily” landed on Spotify and Amazon’s top songs lists. And this year, VEVO named him one of their DSCVR “Artists to Watch”. Whether he’s making sunny, chill-out songs or sharing his remixing prowess— Marshmello and Halsey’s “Be Kind,” and Shawn Mendes’ “Wonder”—it seems, everything this 21-year-old touches turns to warm, glistening, buttery gold. Surf’s new single “Lose My Mind” (featuring Bipolar Sunshine) releases June 4 where he continues t...
A Day in the Life of…Penfriend
Bristol, UK-based producer and songwriter Laura Kidd—a.k.a. Penfriend—is either a shapeshifter or one of the most multitalented people we know. Or both. In her early years as a bassist and vocalist for hire, she appeared on Top of the Pops with such artists as Tricky, A-ha, and Viv Albertine of The Slits. She even sang with David Bowie on the Ricky Gervais series Extras. After her band She Makes War disbanded in 2019, she went to her home studio to write, record and produce her just-released album Exotic Monsters, an ambitious opus making waves even before its release. Her March 2021 single, “Black Car” came out almost exactly one year after the UK went into lockdown. It’s a beautiful, emotive reflection of isolation and loss. “That this single release marks the anniversary of ...
A Day in the Life of…David Gray
David Gray’s first album, White Ladder (1998), was recorded on a shoestring budget in a bedroom in Stoke, England, and though took a year to make it to the British charts, it eventually climbed to Number 1, spawning hit singles like “Babylon” and “Sail Away”, and revealing a hypnotic, heartfelt purity fans couldn’t get enough of. Now, 23 years, 12 studio albums—including a live album and three compilation albums—later, so many circumstances have changed, but, undeniably, David still brings that same very same bare-all, heartbreaking vulnerability that he did in those early years to every single track. His newest album, Skellig, was named for a rocky island in Ireland where, in 600 AD, a group of monks made a pilgrimage to be closer to God. “The more I contemplated the idea of a small...
A Day in the Life of… Tarek Jafar of the Blue Stones
Canadian alt-rock duo The Blue Stones—Tarek Jafar (vocals/guitar) and Justin Tessier (drums/vocals)—pursued a personal path for their sophomore album Hidden Gems, with songs composed of brutally honest lyrics about heartbreak and personal growth. Part blues, part R&B, part grunge—and part lightning rod—The Blue Stones are creating a new crop of rock anthems with a gigantic stadium-ready sound. “‘Spirit’ is about thinking one way, and acting in another,” Tarek explains. “It’s about being in the backseat while your instincts take the wheel. There were times in the last year where I felt that I was on autopilot. I wanted to write a song about that feeling, and filter it through a rock riff.” Here’s a day in the life of The Blue Stones’ Tarek Jafar. Date April 24, 2021 Time I woke up 9 a.m...
A Day in the Life of…Natalie Bergman
The first song Natalie Bergman wrote for her debut solo album Mercy, “Home At Last,” describes an interpretive spiritual, ethereal home, and was inspired by the 2019 car accident that took the lives of Natalie’s father and stepmother. In the song, she asks: “Answer my prayer, when a great man falls and the skies collapse, where’s the joy in this world, is he home at last?” One half of the successful duo Wild Belle (with brother Elliot), Natalie turned to her music and her faith in her quest for hope in the wake of tragedy. The 12-track Mercy, born from a silent retreat at a monastery in the Chama Valley in New Mexico, is a moving tour-de-force, a modern gospel journey infused with exquisite melodies, a touch of psychedelia, and a lot of soul. In her own words: “My faith and my music ...
A Day in the Life of…TEKE::TEKE
Seven-piece, Montreal-based Japanese psych-punk band TEKE::TEKE’s debut album is called Shirushi (out May 7th), named after the practice of kintsugi, the art of mending broken pottery by fusing the pieces back together with seams of precious metals. Of the album title, the group’s guitarist Serge Nakauchi-Pelletier says: “There’s always something hopeful that comes after destruction…. Next comes rebirth, and we get to learn again.” TEKE::TEKE’s sound is anything but precious. It’s a brilliant blend of classic Japanese balladry, surf rock and psychedelia, featuring traditional Japanese instruments, and flute and trombone. The result is a unique modern-meets-retro sound that can, if playing in the background, serve as the soundtrack to the coolest movie you’ve ever wanted to star in. Here’s ...
