When it comes to making smart adult contemporary ballads, it would be an understatement to say that the genre has been lacking a hero for quite some time now. In Dan Ashley, a relative newcomer to the music world (but a well-traveled man just the...
A stone cold beat. The rustling of a lightly overdriven riff. The studded groove of a sensuous bassline. This is “Give It Up,” the new single and music video from Bencoolen, and it’s been making waves in the American underground this month on the strength...
Long before Stokoff ever starts to sing in his trademark Spanish vocal in the new single “Embrujo,” he’s letting his audience know exactly what’s on his mind through the colorfully brooding string work that opens the track’s nearly four minutes of play with a bang....
Cassandra’s “I Love Christmas” single is out, and you don’t want to miss this amazing song because it restores faith in all that’s lost about music and the holiday’s charms. The Ontario artist falls somewhere between country and jazz when it comes to her voice...
While they’re rollicking in “While Endless Ages Roll” and “A Memory of You,” the string harmonies that comprise the lush backdrop for the vocals of Jeff Parker, Colin Ray and Richey Wasson in Jeff Parker & Company’s Time Has Made a Change are just as powerful an...
I am old enough to remember when Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young’s “Ohio” played as a FM radio staple thanks in no small part to Neil Young’s iconic guitar riff opening the track. Young composed the song in the immediate aftermath of the Kent State...
Argentinian filmmaker Gaspar Noé premiered his latest work ‘Lux Æterna’ at Cannes Film Festival. The event happened this week as a part of the midnight session project. The 51-minute long film centers upon "the actor's craft" and "the art of filmmaking". Noé's work has previously...
by John McCall Having heard great things about The Merrymaker’s Orchestrina’s previous release Act 3, I expected great things from their newest collection Little King and the Salamander. I am not disappointed. The potential for disappointment is real – Little King and the Salamander isn’t a natural follow-up, in the sense it highlights...
By Olivia McAuley The conception of TED Talks dates back to 1984, and while it was originally a technology, entertainment, and design conference, the organization has sustained their relevance by keeping their finger on the pulse of innovation. From expanding their ‘topics covered’ to science, business, and...
Text by: Olivia McAuley The world of music says goodbye, and a little prayer, to a great today with the loss of legendary singer Aretha Franklin. The multi Grammy award winning musician and 2005 recipient of the presidential medal of freedom, leaves behind a profound legacy...