Gig Photos: Hippo Campus at Rams Head Live, Baltimore (May 2019)

Hey everyone!

We are extremely lucky to have a team of talented and passionate creators - it's so empowering that we all get to create content showcasing music we love and then get to share it with open-minded readers who give new music a chance.

Being able to do this alongside like-minded writers and photographers never fails to make me feel like the luckiest person, and I just felt like telling you. So please excuse the cheesy words.
(But let's be real, you weren't really expecting anything else, now were you?)

Earlier this month our DC based photo lady Gabby went to see Hippo Campus and brought us a bunch of photo impressions back.

As always, make sure to support Gabby by following her on social media:

website | instagram

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Date: 7th May 2019
Venue: Rams Head Live, Baltimore (US)

Support Act: Samia

Samia online: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube | Instagram

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Headliner: Hippo Campus


Hippo Campus are an indie-rock, alternative band from St. Paul, Minnesota (US).

Founding members Jake Luppen (vocals, guitar), Nathan Stocker (guitar, vocals), Zach Sutton (bass, keyboard) and Whistler Allen (drums, vocals) started out in 2013 and started playing with DeCarlo Jackson on trumpet in 2017.

The collective has performed has performed at iconic festivals such as SXSW, Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, Summerfest & Reading and Leeds and have performed on Conan.

Their releases not only got them praise from NPR Music who named them as one of their favourite artists of 2017, but have also built a loyal fan base which just keeps on growing.


Hippo Campus brought their atmospheric tracks to Rams Head Live in Baltimore,
we have the photos for you below.


Check out "Bambi" right here:




Hippo Campus online: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube | Instagram

























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What's your favourite Hippo Campus track?
We'd love to know!




Thank you for your visit!









&

Credits // Words: Vanessa Jetwash | Photography: Gabby Ames | **a ticket and photo pass have kindly been provided**

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Video Interview: Dean Lewis

Hey everyone!

Dean Lewis' music is everywhere - whether that's on the radio or on the hundreds of playlists all across Spotify & co.
And his vivid and relatable tracks have earned every single spin & spot.

With honest lyrics and beautiful compositions, it's really no surprise that music fans all over the world turn to Dean's music for understanding and comfort.

The singer/songwriter from Sydney, Australia had his first success with his debut single, "Waves", a stunning yet heartbreaking track, released in 2016.
Since then Dean has been writing and recording, honing his craft and finding out who he is as an artist.

He returned with "Be Alright" and took over the world by storm, paving the way for his debut album, "A Place We Knew", which was released in March of 2019.

Now on his lenghty tour which is going to lead right into festival season, Dean gets to share his music journey with all those who support him.

It is, without a doubt, a big and busy time for him and we're so thrilled to see what's next.

HITS host Vanessa got to chat with Dean about journaling, movie soundtracks, what his 5 year-old self would tell him and a lot more.


Watch our conversation with Dean right here:




Massive thank you to Dean for this super lovely chat, it was a blast!
And thank you to Universal Music Germany for setting this up for us.



Watch the music video for Dean's new single, "7 Minutes", right here:




Dean Lewis online: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube | Instagram






Thank you for your visit!

Credits // Words & Video: Vanessa Jetwash | Image: Universal Music

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Behind The Song: "Theft" by Flourishless

Hey everyone!

We miss blogging so much, that we just had to break our hiatus for a moment to come back and share some music to you.
While we're working day and night to create the best magazine for you,
the blog had to quiet down a bit.

We are so thankful for your interest in the mag and would like you to know that your pre-orders mean so much and make this entire process so much easier.

Alright, we have to go back to creating - we hope you enjoy the music!


- Behind The Song -
"Theft" by Flourishless


Flourishless is the singer/songwriter duo consisting of Paul Gerlinger and Phillip Valentin from Mannheim, Germany.
Their sound is a broad as their interests are; while Paul loves focusing on words and rhyming, Phillip is the one constantly working on melodies. Their voices combine with such ease and create a force that can present just about any topic to you.

Flourishless won first place in the German songwriting contest, "SONGS", were a part of a coaching programme for chosen local bands.
In 2018 they released their debut EP, "Looking At The Walls" and have been gearing up to gig all around the country.

For us, the duo took some time to chat about their latest single, "Theft", and shared all some insights with us.


Here's what Flourishless told us about the track:

"The background:
Time flies while we meet new people, it just passes without something special happening.
Every now and then though we find somebody we come to think we can't live without.
Sometimes it turns out well and these feelings and thoughts may be mutual, but sometimes what started in a beautiful way can turn into a devstating experience. In the case of "Theft" I captured my inner conflict while being in a relationship with someone who took my heart by storm, but was never able to return the same. It's the fight between the thoughts of giving everything for nothing, for the sake of loving someone and the fear of diving deeper into despair.
When everything seems hopeless, you got to stop caring for the safety of your heart and soul. This journey from being in love, to having doubts, to just stopping to care, is the lyrical theme of the song.

The writing process:
Writing "Theft" I felt the urge to do something a little different to what I did before.
Regarding the guitar it was the first time I actively tried to write a fingerstyle part with a little melody lying in-betweenthe chords and their changes. It was quite fun to figure something out that used the melodic elements of the chord changes to create an independent melody using the picking pattern. Other than that, it was more of a lyrical approach to express my thoughts like most of the songs I write.
Most of the time I see myself more as a poet of the spoken word with a guitar than a full-blood musician.

Recording it:
When we recorded "Theft" in the RAMA Studios in Mannheim, it was the third song we approached. It was our first EP and we did not really have any concept on how to record the music we wrote, which microphones to use or even what instrument to start with. It was a great experience to figure all that out in the studio. Our beloved engineer put around eight different microphones around my guitar and me and we spent quite some time figuring out the right choice of placement and gear.
The same thing went on when we recorded the vocals - here we finally decided to use a really old microphone from the 50s or so to record our voices, which turned out to be a pretty good choice.

After the EP was already out, we started collaborating with some more musicians and decided to add some strings to the recording, which was an idea I actually had for a long time but couldn't realize due to a lack of instrumentalists in my surrounding. We did that and the result was quite great, so we decided to shoot a little video for this song."


Watch the video for "Theft" right here:

Flourishless online: Website | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube | Instagram





Thank you for your visit!

Credits // Words (intro): Vanessa Jetwash | Image & Words (about song): Flourishless

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Playlist: ultimate girl gang

Hey everyone!

Happy International Women's Day!

While having a day dedicated to us, doesn't really change much -
it's a good way to remember that there is a lot of work yet to be done.

We think that if you are here reading house in the sand,
you already know that we haven't reached equality yet & we also think that you know what to do to make this world a better place for women.

We want to use this day to shine the spotlight on some of our favourite ladies,
so we made you a playlist featuring some badass music making women.

You'll find the list below,
but we actually made you two more lists - one including some of our favourite bloggers and one including some of our favourite photographers.


ultimate blogger gang:
Dale at Peanut Mixtape
Savannah at The Music Mermaid
 Abby at Indientry
 Nessi at carpe carmina
Katrin at In Bed With 


ultimate photo gang:
 Saar de Graaf
Melissa Rodriguez
 Sam Lichtenstein
Gabby Ames
Carolyn Lederach
Janet Eckles
The Photo Ladies


Here's our ultimate girl gang playlist:




What do you think of our playlist?


Which badass ladies do we still need to add?
Go tell us about them!









Thank you for your visit

Credits // Text: Vanessa Jetwash | Graphic: Chris Stringer ft. Vanessa Jetwash

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Gig Photos: The Paper Kites at Paradiso Noord, Amsterdam (February 2019)

Hey everyone!

Well, how's it going?
The year is officially three months old and while that super wild, it all still feels new and exciting,
doesn't it?

Have you been to any gigs yet?
If so, please chat to us- we love getting gig inspiration from you.

Last month our Amsterdam based photographer Saar got to see The Paper Kites live and got the photos and details for us.


Make sure to check out Saar's socials and support her with a follow and like:
Website | Facebook | Instagram

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Date: 14th February 2019
Venue: Paradiso Noord, Amsterdam (NL)

Support: Tim Dawn


So I had the pleasure to attend The Paper Kites' gig in Amsterdam.
As the crowd slowly walked in, I noticed that the atmosphere was very relaxed and calm, which I did expect from a band like The Paper Kites.
The show was sold out and to my surprise there were a lot of non-Dutch folks attending.

The opening act was the lovely Tim Dawn, who is a Dutch musician that got more recognition from his single "Walking On The Wire". I didn't know who he was when I heard his name, but as soon as he started playing that song, I knew exactly who he was.
A lovely lad with quite a bit of humour and a relaxed vibe all around on stage. Hope to hear more from him soon!





Tim Dawn online: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube | Instagram







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Headliner: The Paper Kites


The first time I listened to The Paper Kites was when they released their album "twelvefour", as the song "Electric Indigo" really got me interested and that's why I wanted to check them out.

At around 9pm the band walked on stage and started playing "Red Light".
Like most of their songs, "Red Light" is a very dreamy, ethereal and harmonious song.

I was quite surprised by how relaxed the audience was with letting me move around in between songs to take photographs.
A band or artist always projects to what the audience is going to be like, so obviously this crowd was easy going and just in for a relaxed evening, dreaming away while listening to songs like "Revelator Eyes", "Too Late", "Woodland" and the well known "Bloom".

On 2nd December 2019, The Paper Kites will play the main room at Paradiso, which I'm most definitely going to attend, because they deserve all the recogntion and bigger venues to play at.





The Paper Kites online: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube | Instagram

































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Have you seen The Paper Kites live yet?
If so, let us know - we'd love to hear about your experience!







Thank you for your visit!









&

Credits // Words & Photography: Saar de Graaf | ** ticket & photo pass have kindly been provided **

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Release Of The Day: "Sucker" by Jonas Brothers

Hey everyone!

Well, how does one start this kind of post?
We're not entirely sure - but we're just going to dive right in.

In case you missed it - the Jonas Brothers are back.

Now, depending on your age, you might've been a part of the Jonas Brothers fandom multiple years ago.

Personally, I have been a fan since my early teens, so to feature the reunion track on HITS today feels very surreal and exciting.


And now the trio of brothers have reunited after six years.


We don't often copy press releases, but in this case, we want to make sure you get to hear the story from the band themself:

"The road to new music for the Jonas Brothers began a little more than a year ago, with discussions about what form a reunion might take.
But before those discussions could get too far, some healing was necessary.
The trio announced a split in 2013, after four studio albums, two Disney TV movies, two seasons of a TV series, and non-stop touring had made them into a phenomenon that more often than not drowned out the music itself.

But though all three agree good things have come from the split, there were still a lot of feelings to work through.
"We were having conversations we'd never really had," says Joe. Adds Nick, "We did a lot of healing as a family. Healing that was long overdue."

All three brothers are quick to say that from the moment they picked up some acoustic guitars and sang together again, a feeling they'd missed for far too long instantly returned.
"That's when everything became clear to us: how we were going to write songs, and what they were going to be about," says Kevin."


Curious what the reunion sounds like?
Buckle up and join the party! 

- Release Of The Day -
"Sucker" by Jonas Brothers


"Sucker", in very few words is, groovy, catchy and on-repeat-material.

In more words - it's a comeback that has gone very right.
Each indivual has grown immensely and has brought something to the new, modern sound.

With Nick & Joe continuing their musical careers even after the band ended their path in 2013, fans have been able to follow their individual journeys throughout the years.
"Sucker" combines the soulful  R'n'B vibes Nick has gone for with his solo music, with the funky alt-pop we got to hear from Joe's band DNCE.

The soulful and smooth vocals from both lead singers, Nick and Joe, compliment each other just as well as they compliment the contrast you hear in the instrumental.
With both vocalists switching between solo parts and harmonies, you get to hear the different dynamics unfold as you travel through the track.

The overall vibe of the track is rather minimalistic;
the track is very riff-driven and combines traditional guitars, bass and drums with modern synth and percussion elements.
"Sucker" gives a nod to the current pop music world, while still maintaining a very traditional band sound.

"When I'm next to my brothers again, even just in a living room playing old songs, I can't express the happiness it brings me.", says Joe - and we are sure fans both old and new can very quickly pick up on that happiness.

"Sucker" is proof that Nick, Joe & Kevin have gone with the times and were able to make this modern sound their own.


Watch the video for "Sucker" right here:




- buy and/or stream "Sucker" -



Jonas Brothers online: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube | Instagram





Thank you for your visit!

Credits // Words (except quotes): Vanessa Jetwash | Image & Quotes: Jonas Brothers via Universal Music

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