Whilst it sounds so futuristic, our main goal for this year remains the same:
We just want to bring great music closer to you.
And we're not wasting any time, which is why we're already presenting another "Behind The Song" feature today.
You can expect a lot more of these this year, as they've become a big favourite of everyone involved in the process of setting up features.
So, ladies and gentlemen, let's do this!
Let's discover all the music the year has to offer!
- Behind The Song - "The Other Side Of Waiting" by Jake Fields
Jake Fields is a singer/songwriter and guitarist based in Los Angeles & Nashville (US).
His talent for experimenting with sounds and his love for pop rock, blues & folk has crafted his very own sound, which we invite you to fall in love with today.
It only took $70 spent at a thrift store to start Jake's journey into music.
After buying a guitar and an amplifier, Jake dropped his professional baseball aspirations and started to dedicate his time and passion to music.
Jake has teamed up with Jim McGorman (Avril Lavigne, Marc Broussard) to record his debut EP, "Someday You'll Be Mine", which will be out early this year.
His previous single "Memories Of 45's" has reached more than 100,000 streams on Spotify and is often described as a mix of John Mayer and Phil Collins.
So far Jake has played a bunch of shows and supported Kate Voegele at The Troubadour in Hollywood.
Today Jake is here to chat us through the creative process of his latest single, "The Other Side Of Waiting":
"It was one of the songs that comes out in a subsconscious way.
We were playing the "groove" of the chorus section of the song, and I started singing whatever came to mind, and the song basically flowed from there.
I do remember initially singing out "the other side is waiting", and (my co-writer/producer) Jim McGorman came up with "the other side of waiting", which was far more interesting, and we of course kept it.
The way the outro of the song is sung is how we originally sang it in the midst of writing the song, which is in a recording that I remember going back to and wanting to keep that because it was completely in the moment and felt perfect.
The song was written and recorded at Jim's studio in the San Fernando Valley, full of amazing gear and guitars (which I cannot play, being left handed and all).
I think we recorded the vocals through an SM57 mic and it was recorded by the masterful Jim McGorman, who I wrote the song with and have learned endless things about music from.
He has produced some amazing musicians, and best of all, I've seen how being a great person and professional has benefited his own career through the year.
I have a soft spot for a song he wrote with Kate Voegele called "Leave Me Hollywood", which I think deserves more attention.
As far as comparing the song to earlier material, there was only my first single, which was "Memories Of 45's". This song is coming from a much different place rhythmically and lyrically, and both the introspective and abstract lyric writing interests me."
It's one of these days where I'd just like to mention how nice it is to write for an audience like you guys, I just really appreciate to know there are so many music lovers reading.
house in the sand just really became a home for music lovers and a place for music to be supported.
Another exciting thing is how the variety of interviews is expanding so quickly. After chatting with Brooke Fraser from New Zealand, I just recently spoke to Taymir from the Netherlands.
Taymir are a four piece band from Den Haag, Netherlands.
Their current album "Phosphene" is genrefied as sixties inspired pop/rock mixed with their very own style.
Their live shows are known for energetic rock elements.
The four lads have taken over the United States by storm and are now on their mission to win over Europe. All of these adventures are captures in 60 seconds, but you'll find out more about that in the interview.
Taymir are: Bas Prins (vocals) Quinten Meiresonne (bass, backing vocals) Mikkie B Wessels (guitar, backing vocals) Isai Reiziger (drums)
Find out what guitarist Mikkie told me about being in front of the camera, being on tour, The Strokes and a lot more.
Mikkey of Taymir: Hello, this is Mikkie.
house in the sand: Hi, it's Vanessa from house in the sand. Are you ready to do a little interview?
Mikkie: If I'm ready to do an interview? I'm always ready to do an interview.
HITS: That's perfect, so am I!
Mikkie: Okay, nice. (laughs)
HITS: So you're currently touring with The Arkells, how's touring life treating you so far?
Mikkie: Well, yesterday we had our last gig with The Arkells. We've probably done ten with them, I don't even know the exact number. Touring life, it is a lot of fun but it is also heavy and difficult at time of course. But yeah, it's just playing, showing people what you've got, changing lives. It's fun, but hard as well.
HITS: I see. Fans can follow your adventures by watching your "60 seconds videos" online. Do you sometimes struggle to sum up your days in just sixty seconds?
Mikkie: I'm sorry, what do mean exactly?
HITS: I imagine that sometimes there's so much going on in one day that it might be difficult to put all of it into one short video. Does that happen to you?
Mikkie: Ah, yeah. Very much! I mean, we don't edit the sixty seconds, we only star in them, but yeah, there are days where a lot of things happen.
But let me tell you this; the hardest thing about the 60 seconds is that you've got this where you are really tired and are not really interested in the camera, you know. But still you have to seem fun and happy of course. While you're actually struggling with the gig itself, you also have to make an interesting 60 seconds video.
And then the camera man who films it all, he also edits it and he sometimes has a hard time editing as well. Because sometimes, like you say, a lot of things happen in a day. And also sometimes a gig is really really really cool, like one of the gigs with The Arkells was the best one we've ever played and it's really hard to capture that on film, the whole vibe, the atmosphere and what was going on, if you know what I mean.
HITS: Yeah, I totally get it. But you're doing a great job, so it's fine.
Mikkie: Thank you so much!
HITS: But imagine those little videos could turn into a film. Who would you like to write the soundtrack for it?
Mikkie: That's really easy! That would be Kevin Parker. We really respect him a lot.
HITS: Really cool! I've toured with a band earlier this year and during those long journeys in the van, I just feel like you need to blast some music. So what is playing in the Taymir tour vehicle?
Mikkie: Well, to be honest, we're playing a lot of The Strokes. Every day we listen to The Strokes, especially the second album. So yeah, The Strokes mainly.
And the new songs of Tame Impala. I think those two are the only things we've been listening to these last three weeks. Just The Strokes and the new songs of Tame Impala. Oh and a little bit of The Hives and Queens of the Stone Age. But mainly The Strokes and Tame Impala.
HITS: If it works for you, that's cool.
Mikkie: Haha, yeah! (laughs)
HITS: But let's speak a bit about your band. Can you tell us how you got into music and became a band?
Mikkie: Uhm... well, let me think, that was a long time ago.
I think everyone individually has got a different story of how they got into music. But how we got together and started writing the music is nice. Me and the singer have known each other all our lives. And the singer and the bass player have been best friends before they came into the band and we met the drummer at school. And eventually we were Taymir and made music because we liked the same ideas about music. Like on the current album that's out now, "Phosphene", you can hear a lot of sixties influences which we were all really interested in. Like, how do you write a good song? A good melody, good chords, just everything.
And the stuff that we now like to write is more raw stuff, and it's really nice to see how we're developing together, if you know what I mean.
HITS: Yeah, it makes sense. I think touring together changes the attitude of the band, you get to know each other on another level on the road.
Mikkie: Yeah, yeah and that's also the thing. A lot of people when they listen to the album, they think "ah nice, it's a nice, sweet sixties band" and when they see us live, it's a totally different experience. It's a lot more rock, it's large. And that's what we like the most, the live shows, the mentality, the rock'n'roll, the rawness.
HITS: You also play a big variety of gigs, don't you? You go from playing intimate club shows to playing massive festivals. Which of them do you prefer? Do you prefer being on stage in front of thousands of people or do you prefer smaller, more intimate shows where it's just you and a few people?
Mikkie: To be honest, we just like to play for as many people as possible. We want to hear people scream, we want to have a big party, see people jump around, going crazy. We just like to blow a lot of people away.
And we want to change some lives.
HITS: So, which song is your favourite one to play live?
Mikkie: On the current album probably "What Would You Say". It's one of the songs where we go crazy, it's the song which we can relate to the most from the album.
HITS: Pretty cool! And after tour is finished, what are the plans for when you're back home and all the craziness of tour is over?
Mikkie: The plans are actually quite clear. We're going to record the songs for the new album, write more songs for the new album. I just like the idea of releasing an album a year.
And now that we've released our first album in Germany, I hope we can keep up the good work.
So we're busy with that and then we're coming back to Germany to play some stuff. I don't know the concrete dates yet but I do know that we're coming back to Germany a few times this year to show people what we've got.
And next year, we're planning on taking over the world. Yeah, that's the plan, to take over the world.
HITS: Busy times ahead! I think that's a nice way to wrap things up, thank you so much and I hope you enjoyed this little chat.
Mikkie: Thank you, that was really nice.
HITS: Have a nice day, cheers!
Mikkie: You too, bye bye.
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Thank you for Mikkie for the lovely chat!
And many thanks to the absolutely wonderful Sony Music Germany staff for organising the interview.
I apologise if you've read all reviews I wrote this year.
In pretty much all of them I told you how excited I am about all the releases I've heard in 2015.
And well, today is not going to be any different - I'm still blown away by the amount of fantastic releases 2015 has brought up so far and it's only May.
Today I'd like to share my opinions on a rather popular album with you, "Chaos And The Calm" by James Bay.
Artist: James Bay Title: Chaos And The Calm Genre: Folk, Pop-Rock Label: Republic Records // Universal Music Release: 23rd March 2015 HITS rating: 9/10
James Bay is a singer/songwriter from Hitchin, UK.
The young musician has managed to get himself a name by playing in bands and on his own for many years.
As the support act for Tom Odell, Kodaline and John Newman, James managed to catch the attention of label Republic Records which signed him in 2012.
Things then started to blow up and James soon found himself playing at Glastonbury, supporting Taylor Swift and The Rolling Stones and he also won Critics' Choice at the BRIT Awards.
So far James Bay released three EPs:
Dark Of The Morning (2013)
Let It Go (2014)
Hold Back The River (2014)
And just last month we finally got to hear his debut album "Chaos And The Calm", now let's talk about it.
Tracklist:
1) Craving
2) Hold Back The River
3) Let It Go
4) If You Ever Want To Be In Love
5) Best Fake Smile
6) When We Were On Fire
7) Move Together
8) Scars
9) Collide
10) Get Out While You Can
11) Need The Sun To Break
12) Incomplete
Opener "Craving" ties in the main genre elements James Bay represents; folk mixed with bits of pop and rock.
As well as the genres, it also gives you an idea of the James Bay signature sound - clever lead guitar riffs, subtle basslines and a colourful percussion section.
The first single of the record, "Hold Back The River" is also James' most popular song.
It starts off as a calm acoustic track with soft finger-picked guitar work and vulnerable vocals. The song builds up in intensity during each of the choruses and finishes off with a grand finale of strong and expressive vocals, supportive backing vocals, a vivid rhymth section and Bay's fantastic guitar playing.
Who knew the singer/songwriter would also mix some souly elements into his sound?
On "If You Ever Want To Be In Love" Bay showcases his impressive vocal range, from soft and calm to higher notes to slightly raspy timbres. His songs tell stories of love and heartbreak yet he manages to wrap the thoughtful, emotional lyrics in a blanket of ingenious musical arragements.
The calm and slow songs may outnumber the upbeat tracks but that doesn't mean the upbeat ones disappoint. "Best Fake Smile" and "Collide" show that Mr Bay has more to offer than the average singer/songwriter.
To sum it up: We've got a genius here, people. You might not realise it after your first run through the album, but the closer you listen, the more you'll come to realise what clever songwriter James Bay is. You should listen to these tracks: If You Ever Want To Be In Love, Best Fake Smile, Scars
A lot of you have noticed how videography is becoming a bigger part of house in the sand. I'm getting more and more into video making and just the whole concept of visualizing certain emotions and moments by capturing things the right way is absolutely fascinating to me.
And that's why I've decided to publish more "Video Of The Day" features.
The video that's in the spotlight is the music video for 'Say No' by Casino Circus.
Label: independent Release: 25th May 2014 hits rating: 8,5/10
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Hey guys,
Threre's so much good music on this planet and I fear I won't be able to introduce every talented band but at least I can share some of them with you.
Moonlands for example.
Moonlands are a four piece outfit from Brighton, England consisting of Lucy Elliot (vocals, guitar) Joel Frosh (guitar) Josh Fry (bass, backing vocals) Joel Brooks (drums)
They play atmospheric pop blended with different elements.
Just last month they released their debut EP 'Paradise Blue' which was recorded at JBJ Recording Studios.
Working with absolutely talented people is what I do basically every day.
It sometimes takes a while and I really have to take some time to go through their music and listen to what those musicians do, but then I just realize what absolute blessing this job is.
Quinn Archer is no exception when it comes to incredibly talented people.
She had me from the first note I heard her sing and well, now here's our interview.
Quinn Archer is a British born singer/songwriter who now resides in Los Angeles, US.
Her sound blends all kinds of genres together; the slightly gothic touch is complimented by her strong, souly and dark voice. Pop and rock elements give a lot of grip to the songs and let them sound more lively.
In the interview Quinn talks about getting into music, living in Los Angeles, performing on the same line up along with Bon Jovi and Taylor Swift and a lot more. Enjoy!
a little while ago the pop/rock band The 1957 Tail-Fin Fiasco from Essex, England contacted me and asked if I could feature them. After really short listen I was already conviced and began getting into their tunes. Today is the day I review it for you.
