Catch The Buzz - July 2008
Welcome to “Catch the Buzz“, your spot for new music. Here you will be able to read about up and coming artists and listen to their music.
This month we profile The Flobots, Metro Station, Priscilla Ahn and Molly Venter.
Universal Republic newcomers Flobots are a rip-roaring 6-member musical fighting force from Denver, CO, who – thanks to their uncompromising debut album Fight With Tools - emerge as the most compelling hip hop collaborative to sign with a major label in 2008. The insightful group blends social justice with a playful disdain for anything status quo…and oh yeah….they’re packing a viola.
Check out an exclusive track from Flobots here.
Metro Station’s rush to stardom happened the new-fashioned way: MySpace. The band truly is a product of their technological generation, right down to their former mall jobs (they would’ve been dishwashers in the old days). Teenaged founders Trace Cyrus and Mason Musso met on a “rock n’ roll blind date” via their mothers. The first single, “Forever Seventeen”, climbed the MySpace unsigned charts, revealing a dedicated fanbase. A major label deal followed, as did a self-titled album with some cuts produced by Motion City Soundtrack. Metro Station will tour with Good Charlotte and Boys Like Girls this summer.
Check out an exclusive track from Metro Station here.
Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Priscilla Ahn’s Blue Note Records debut A Good Day is a collection of 11 gorgeous folk-pop songs, all but two of which are self-penned originals. Produced by Joey Waronker, who has performed with Beck, R.E.M. and the bird and the bee, the record contains nuances that reward with each listen. Yet ultimately, the sound revolves around Ahn’s hushed but confident vocal delivery, giving the record the mature touch of a fully formed artist.
After moving from Pennsylvania to Los Angeles, Ahn began to establish herself as one of the leading new artists on the LA music scene. That she found steady gigs, a supportive circle of fellow artists and a record deal in a relatively short period of time will come as no surprise after a single listen to “Dream,” the lilting opening track of A Good Day. She started playing regular shows at the Hotel Café, a venue known for breaking new artists. There she formed relationships with other songwriters such as Joshua Radin and Jesse Harris, and soon began backing Radin on tour. Honing her writing in this setting and working with such similarly talented artists has not only provided her with the songs for this strikingly strong debut record, but has also contributed to her captivating stage presence.
Check out more about Priscilla Ahn’s here.
Molly Venter is a young singer/songwriter whose stunning voice and powerful lyrics are at once boldly unique and warmly familiar. While paying homage to folk pioneers like Joni Mitchell, Molly’s music strikes a chord with fans of artists as diverse as Shawn Colvin and Feist, Indigo Girls and Nora Jones, Tracy Chapman and Regina Spektor.
On her debut national release, Love Me Like You Mean It, the Austin resident establishes her place with the other new female voices on the scene, from Colbie Caillat to Ingrid Michaelson.
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