New Music Releases: From Sunkis and Eric Hilton to Winona Oak and Mae Estes
New Music Releases is a column that keeps abreast of all the news from the music industry that often flies under the radar. Keep up-to-date with the underground and independent scene and find your next favorite band or singer-songwriter right here.
Sunkis releases new single 'All For You'
Chinese-American recording artist Sunkis has released a new single 'All For You' available to stream now on all digital platforms via 11 Music Group/The Orchard. Co-produced by Cambo (Doja Cat) and JT Roach (OneRepublic, Jessie Reyez, Jonas Blue), the track fuses pop and R&B.
Delving into the inspiration behind his latest single, Sunkis says, “'All For You' is about someone stuck in a relationship where they’re taken for granted, and wanting to give them all of what they actually need, even if you can’t provide the same material things”
Following a sensational entry to the Asian music scene with single 'Trust Me' amassing 500+ million streams across Asian DSPs, Sunkis landed prime billings on marquee Chinese festival stages SoulPop and Sunrise. Eager to capitalize on this momentum, he hit the ground running this year with a remix of J Tajor’s viral track 'Like I Do' and numerous college shows across the US/Canada.
Candian band The Corps release new single and new lineup
Canadian skatepunk outfit The Corps (Thousand Islands Records) have unveiled the new LP 'Fractured Protocol'. The release marks the first new music since the addition of new members, Vancouver punk rock veterans Morgan Farrell (ATD, Blacked Out, Bishops Green) on guitar, and Dave Derksen (ATD, Little Fix, Whiskey River Gun Club) on bass.
The band says, "The general theme surrounding ‘Fractured Protocol’ is the paralyzing frustration we all face when we've done everything correctly, adamantly working towards our goals and dreams, just to have life step in and say 'No'. How we deal with that differs vastly and I don't believe there's a right or wrong way. The desperation of trying to hold on could be the most distinctive human trait, this is the feeling we are trying to relay."
Catch The Corps on the road in May with Darko and in June with Authority Zero.
Metal band Brotality drops single 'It Feeds' and announce summer tour
New York metal band Brotality have released their newest single 'It Feeds'. Alongside the new single, Brotality have also announced their summer headlining tour. The tour kicks off on July 9 in Youngstown, OH, and will make stops in cities such as Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Grand Rapids, Fort Wayne, Columbus, and more before wrapping up in Oneonta, NY, on August 4.
The drop follows the recent release of 'Black Abandon', a track that places listeners into a nightmare of the underground: an elusive beast dwells beneath the floors, stalking its prey in the shadows. It’s this terrifying unknown that the song feeds on, gnawing on the ears of the listener until the very ending, when the song’s passions crescendo into a fist of methodical ferocity.
Duke of Downtempo Eric Hilton drops heartwrenching new single 'The Eternal Thrill'
On June 28, 2024, Eric Hilton – co-founder of the downtempo group Thievery Corporation – will release his first ever full-length album of ambient music, 'Out Of The Blur' (Montserrat House/emeraldwave by Green Hill). The album, which was inspired by the tragic passing of Hilton’s close creative associate from an overdose, is being announced at the start of Mental Health Awareness Month to send a message of hope and healing. He has also released the album’s first single, the warmly enveloping 'The Eternal Thrill'.
“When my good friend and engineer passed away, I was devastated and at the time, ambient music was the only music I could work on. It was therapeutic for me,” Hilton said. “I truly believe in the healing power of music. If people use this record as a sonic medication, I think it will help them feel more centered."
Out Of The Blur’s creation was a redemptive experience for Hilton as he made sense of his own struggles and ultimately embraced full sobriety.
Oakland-based FREQz announces new album and drops lead single 'All Of The Days'
FREQz (pronounced like 'frequencies'), the indie rock band hailing from Oakland, California, has announced their debut album, 'Grizzly Peak', which will be released on vinyl and digitally on June 7. Ahead of the album's release, the band also dropped their lead single, 'All Of The Days', available today on all major digital platforms. Accompanying the single is a music video shot at Oakland's iconic venue, Eli’s Mile High Club, directed and edited by Asali Echols and produced by Danny Echevarria, and JaMile Jackson.
The band's Nelda Kerr shared insights into the inspiration behind 'All Of The Days', stating, "The song is about wandering aimlessly, yearning to connect with someone who shares the same journey. It explores the idea that what we seek may already be within reach, waiting to be discovered."
Winona Oak drops new single 'Who Would I Be' off upcoming EP
Swedish singer-songwriter Winona Oak has shared her new EP 'Void' alongside focus track 'Who Would I Be'. The six-track EP also includes previously released singles 'With Or Without You', 'Fire Escapes', 'Fragile Thing', 'If I Were To Die', and 'Inside Out'.
A heartfelt and poignant journal of the last year of her life after losing her mother to cancer, 'Void' sees Winona at her most vulnerable and open. The focus track, 'Who Would I Be', is an epic ballad that builds to a powerful chorus and lyrically portrays anxiety and what life might be like as a different person.
Discussing the EP, Winona says: "Last year was by far the worst year of my life. When my mom passed away, I lost a part of myself that I will never get back. I've never felt so empty, so far from the person that I used to be. Living with grief is like learning how to live with half a heart. Everything is a constant reminder of what could have been. This EP was created in the middle of the chaos, with a void inside my chest. All the lyrics are raw and unfiltered, there's parts of me in these songs that will tell you more about me than I could ever explain."
New York rockers Be Well drop singles 'A Tap I Can’t Turn Off' and 'Without A Compass'
Independent New York-based rock label Equal Vision Records and Be Well have announced the release of 'A Tap I Can’t Turn Off' and 'Without A Compass', two brand new offerings from the acclaimed Baltimore melodic hardcore quintet.
“‘A Tap I Can’t Turn Off’ is about the fear of disappointing the people in my life who have unconditionally loved and believed in me,” frontman Brian McTernan says. “It’s about feeling unworthy and ending up hurting the people I care about the most.”
Of 'Without A Compass', he states: “I have spent huge parts of my life feeling broken without any sense of how to start putting things back together. ‘Without A Compass’ is an acknowledgment of how hard that’s been, and my hope that I will figure things out at some point.”
Additionally, Be Well will be making appearances across the US and Germany during May and June, performing headline shows and supporting punk vets Hot Water Music and New York’s I Am The Avalanche on select dates.
Mae Estes is back with a bang, drops new single 'What I Shoulda Done'
Singer/songwriter Mae Estes has released her first new music in two years. 'What I Shoulda Done' is a fast-paced, trouble-making barnburner that finds the Hope, AR native ignoring her better judgement with reckless abandon to make for a wild night out. Available now digitally (via Big Machine Records) 'What I Shoulda Done' is full of fiddle, steel guitar and fun storytelling that brings listeners along for the ride, reminiscent of 1990s Country tunes like 'Ain’t Going Down (‘til the Sun Comes Up)', or 'T-R-O-U-B-L-E'.
Discussing the track written by Estes, Paul Sikes (producer) and Autumn McEntire, the singer says, “We pulled a lot from my first four years in Nashville when writing this song. I moved here from a sleepy small town in southwest Arkansas that’s still a dry county. I couldn’t believe the endless amount of honky tonks and opportunities to party when I got here—and I dove right on in. If there was a good time to be had, I was going to find it.”
She adds: “It’s one of my favorites to perform live too—it’s got that 80s and 90s Country vibe and bringing in Joe Spivey to play fiddle on it makes my heart so happy. He played on so many of my heroes’ records like ‘Seminole Wind’ and some of Shania Twain’s early stuff. That electric guitar solo is also probably my favorite solo I’ve got to record so far, James Mitchell absolutely killed it.”
16 years in the making Ruth Theodore makes triumphant return with 'I Am I Am'
Ruth Theodore has released 'I Am I Am', a record 16 years in the making. Since her 2008 debut, Theodore has created genre-expanding alt-folk that explores the interplay between beauty and chaos. These works encompass the self-described “beautifully twisted political and personal mayhem” of 'Worm Food' to the anxious search for mental wellbeing that ran through 'White Holes Of Mole Hills', through the agony and ecstasy of love lost in 'Dear Lamp Love Moth', to the bold new sounds that were born out of collaboration with co-producer Todd Sickafoose on 'Cactacus'.
'I Am I Am' represents what Theodore refers to as “a full landing”. A return to a new beginning where the lessons and questions from her last four albums are reformed by a fresh perspective. On returning from a European tour in 2019 Theodore was diagnosed with breast cancer and soon underwent successful chemotherapy treatment that spanned the worst of the pandemic. In her hands, this time of upheaval served as an opportunity to channel energy into what she loves, creating music every day, and the result is a trove of insightful new material.
Two recurring themes that run through 'I Am I Am' are the unity of matter, and the breaking down of barriers. The fragments of matter that appear in each song -- be they people, birds, glass, or the sounds themselves -- are in states of constant change. Says Theodore, “I believe this is true for everything. We are so sold on the idea that we are individuals that we forget we are also one whole thing.”