Posts Tagged ‘chicago’

ON SOME SERIOUS SWERP: Chicago’s Swerp Records Announces Launch Lineup, Record Releases May 22nd

Friday, May 4th, 2012

Swerp Records announced today their official launch lineup and collective release date of May 22nd, in an advance video at www.SwerpRecords.com. Much like a indie-rock Odd Future, the artists of Swerp Records share members, musical virtuosity, collaborative shows, and a warped sense of humor. The label, featuring a collection of seven of Chicago’s finest underground artists, represents the first formal releases from any of these groups.

“I had never heard of any of these bands before but after listening to their soundcloud sampler reel I knew there was something special going on here. There is an unusually high percentage of awesomeness, and I found that the ambition and energy apparent [...] extended to these other bands.” said Farsheed Hamidi-Toosi of Soapbox Music (http://soapboxchicago.com/). “What really grabbed me was the raw energy and musical exploration I was hearing.”

Swerp Records comes from the little-known Chicago south suburban musical community, a lost branch of the city’s musical family tree. For the last six years, the bands of the south suburban scene built a rich history of exceptional musicianship and infamous shows, yet functioned entirely without promotion or representation. Loosely guided by multi-instrumentalist Nnamdi Ogbonnaya (The Para-Medics, Water House, Nervous Passenger, Sooper Secret Side Project) and drummer Brendan Smyth (Water House, Freudian Slip, Nervous Passenger), Swerp’s launch includes three all-new albums, two remastered albums, and new forthcoming releases.

Swerp’s launch releases consist of:

- THE PARA-MEDICS - PATSY CLINE GUN SQUID (new) - dizzying instrumental math-prog trio - (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAfKeHjkYSU - over 30,000 views)
- WATER HOUSE - ROSIE GUADALUPE WILMA MARY ANN (new) - self-described “miasma rock”, with jazz, rock, metal, and folk influences
- FREUDIAN SLIP - (TWO)BE TIED (new) - intense four-piece Midwest-style math rock
- RATBOYS - RATBOY (remastered) - clever, female-fronted experimental-folk duet

- NERVOUS PASSENGER - NERVOUS PASSENGER EP (remastered) - balls-to-the-wall suburban punk (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hohHtZTwN2k)
- JT ROYSTER - HANGIN’ BY THE SOUNDS (forthcoming) - warm, rural, Michigan-influenced folk
- NNAMDI’S SOOPER DOOPER SECRET SIDE PROJECT - BOOTY SLICES // ROTISSABOOTY - incredibly catchy, impossibly warped hip-hop, featuring contributions from every Swerp artist and beyond (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkINOyS3uhU)

The three new albums were recorded in Chicago’s historic Pieholden Suite Sound, a studio founded in part by the late Jay Bennett of Wilco. The albums were engineered by Che Arthur (Atombompocketknife, Che Arthur Trio, Past/Future Records) and produced by Jonathan Mondragon (The Island of Misfit Toys). Swerp also launches with the back catalogues of seven additional classic South Suburban bands for streaming and download.

Swerp Records is hosting a public listening party May 6th via turntable.fm, with launch shows to follow shortly after the May 22nd release though SwerpRecords.com.

For any inquiries, please contact J Matthew Nix at JMNix@SwerpRecords.com, or by phone at 219.616.6973

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Swerp Records is a Chicago-based record label, devoted to badass music for awesome people. With a history going back to 2006, the artists on Swerp Records all have roots in the rich history of our Chicago South Suburban music scene - featuring The Para-Medics, Water House, Freudian Slip, Ratboys, Nervous Passenger, jt royster, Nnamdi’s Sooper-Dooper Secret Side Project, and more! For more info, visit us online at www.SwerpRecords.com

www.facebook.com/SwerpRecords
www.vimeo.com/SwerpRecords

Email: jmnix@swerprecords.com

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Da-Movement Brings The Chicago Sound & Soul Back To Hip Hop With “All I Need Is You”

Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012

Pompey Hicks (aka Pay) of Da-Movement Records announced the release of the debut single “All I Need Is You” by Chicago based hip hop talent “Da-Movement.” The track features the multi-platinum recording group Do Or Die’s Johnny P., vocalist Marc Alonzo, and the highly esteemed rapper Qraft. “All I Need Is You” is the first release from Da-Movement’s album “Da-Movement Muzic Vol. 1, which is slated to drop this summer on Da-Movement Records.

Da-Movement is not the average hip hop group, as Hicks explained, “We’re trying to bring music and soul back into hip hop. The lyrics in a lot of songs today aren’t really saying anything, so people have just started listening to the beats. We give you the beats, but we also give you some soul, and lyrics that are really saying something. We mixed an R&B base with hip hop because we want listeners to hear what we’re saying. Our music is more than just choruses and hooks.” Qraft agreed, stating, “We take pride in what we do in the studio. And we’re not trying to take anything from other artists, but our style and sound is unique when compared with anyone else out there. We’re distinctive and that’s how it will remain as long as we’re making music.”

“All I Need Is You” has quickly received accolades from critics, with the e-zine MusicDish stating,” Da-Movement is talented and smooth as silk. The track is both full and strong, but at the same time it’s cool and mellow. Musically and lyrically compelling, the vocal performances, hooks, and choruses are solid. This is the kind of song that you want to play when it’s time to be alone with your lady after you leave the club. Or you can vibe with her right there in the club. It’s smooth with a flawless delivery, telling a story about how women need a good man (boss) and vice versa. There are enough songs out there degrading women and this one is at the opposite end of the spectrum with a Chicago west side sound giving it plenty of flavor. Qraft and Pay’s styles are so different that when you put them together, you get both sides of the coin. It’s explosive and it works.”

Never More, a member of the legendary Chicago group Crucial Conflict which also has several projects due out this year and who is featured on other tracks of the album had this to say: “You can hear the passion in their music. They have a love for hip hop and a love for crafting music and you can tell that they put a lot into it the moment you hear it.”

“All I Need Is You” can be purchased at the following major online retailers:
iTunes:
Amazon.com
rdio

Social Zune

LINKS:
ReverbNation
Facebook

CONTACT:
Pompey Hicks
Da-Movement Records
Email Da-Movement Records

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Anna Fermin Releases New EP “Someday Afternoon”

Thursday, March 29th, 2012

Chicago songstress Anna Fermin has released her new EP SOMEDAY AFTERNOON. The digital release is available today on iTunes, Amazon, and her website. The CD can be purchased from CD Baby and www.annafermin.com. Her first solo album, THE CONTENDER, has been digitally re-released and is also available today.

Driven by the title track, “Someday Afternoon” delivers a sunny set of roots pop. From her trademark alto husk to her honey-soaked highs, Anna’s inspired vocals and emotionally charged lyrics make this five-song collection the perfect listen for any summer someday-afternoon of the week.

With the beautiful production of Doug McBride (Veruca Salt, Rachel Yamagata) and songs co-penned by Aaron Barber, the EP also includes the tracks “What It Could Be” and “Love Blooms”; simple, sweet love songs filled with ache and anticipation of rediscovered and unlikely love. “Everyday Heroes” and “Everything Changes” center on themes of turning life’s inevitable changes into something wonderful.

Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune has called Anna “One of Chicago’s most treasured voices,” and Peter Margasak of the Chicago Reader says she delivers “…a perfect balance of grace and gusto.”

An award-winning singer/songwriter, Anna is well known as the front woman for the Chicago alt-country band Trigger Gospel. The band has released five albums, including the Jay Bennett produced “Oh, the Stories We Hold.” Her first solo album “The Contender” was originally released in 2009 and includes the notable songs “Dragging On” and “Lovely.”

Spring and summer tour dates include Chicago area shows on 3/29 at Evanston SPACE, 4/6 at Fitzgerald’s, and 6/9 at Old Town School of Folk Music, with more summer dates to be announced.

“Someday Afternoon” track listing:
1. What It Could Be
2. Love Blooms
3. Everyday Heroes
4. Someday Afternoon
5. Everything Changes

Album Credits:
All songs by Anna Fermin and Aaron Barber,
Monkey Bread Music p & © 2012 ascap
Produced & engineered by Doug McBride, Gravity Studios
Mixed by Sean O’Keefe
Mastered by Dominick Maita, Airshow Mastering
Dave Suycot, drums
Chris Moser, keys
Dave Holloway, keys
Doug McBride, bass, guitars, beats

PR contact: Andrea DeLesDernier
adelesdernier(at)nwe.com

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Hip-Hop Artist/Producer TrakBoss Says “Act Like You Want It” With New Digital Release

Tuesday, March 20th, 2012

When you come from a city with a musical legacy as vast as Chicago’s ( think Common, think Kanye, think Kelly, hell - think Buddy Guy even - ok! ) - you got to bring it! You got to act like you want it!

Enter TrakBoss - the smoldering Windy City talent who is primed for the challenge. The sexy, young heartbreaker knows actions speak louder than words - but that the right words make way for the action. With his new digital release, “Act Like You Want It” TrakBoss makes it clear; not only does he want it, he has claimed it as his!

“Act Like You Want It” rocks with bold bravado, rolls with smooth defiance and rhymes with audacious declaration. An artist and producer, TrakBoss is not only riding the Chicago hip hop legacy, but also taking it to new heights. “One of the better producers you’ve never heard of” is how ReviewYou.com tagged him - that is - until now!

Raised on the South East side of Chicago, Trakboss has been ’schooled’ by the best. Under the tutelage of his uncle, platinum-selling artist/producer Marcus Darc, who formed his first group R-Kelly & MGM as a teenager; and Tyrone “Hurt ‘M Badd” Wrice, the producer of some of Tupac’s greatest hits, including “Hail Mary” and “Me and My Girlfriend,” TrakBoss is perfectly poised to aim and release fire!

Music has always run through his veins. He was just 14 when he entered and won his high school’s annual talent show. That’s when he knew he was born to perform. Now at 24, he is ready for the world. Self-described as the “coolest nerd you’ve ever met,” TrakBoss delivers with a fervor and intensity that reflects his dedication and passion to his craft. “Act Like You Want It” is not just a club banger but also an acknowledgement of the cool agility that sizzles right below his surface.

No newcomer to the game, TrakBoss dropped his debut mixed tape, “Whether You Like It Or Not,” in 2010 with the sophomoric follow up “Call It What You Want To” in June of last year. His tracks have received radio play on several popular urban internet radio stations including the SEA Award winning Dirty South Radio Online, Swurv Radio, Coast 2 Coast Radio and WBMZ Chicago.

Act like you want it and check out boss man TrakBoss at www.TrakBoss.com . Follow him on Twitter and on Facebook

jazzmynepr@gmail.com

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Mario Fernando Martinez

Wednesday, February 8th, 2012

Mario Fernando Martinez, Electronica/Pop/Hip-House Music Artist, (born November 14, 1989), is known artistically as “MFM”. Mario Fernando Martinez was born in Chicago, Illinois.

He is a new up-and-coming, 22 years of age Electronica/Pop/Hip-House Music Artist, who first began his music career signed with “Alicia Grimes Entertainment/Mgmt”. MFM started in 2010 as a Illinois underground youth phenomenon. And he definitely has his eyes set on bringing a new and original style to the music industry.

As a youth, Mario Fernando Martinez has dreamed of this happening one day, soon becoming a rising music star on a national level. Very soon to be released by Alicia Grimes Entertainment, Mario Fernando Martinez’s music will soon be appearing in all major online music stores such as, itunes, Amazon mp3, Rhapsody, Myspace Music, EMusic, Napster, and many more. Mario Fernando Martinez got over 300,000+ impressions, with over 25,000+ total views on youtube so far..

Mario Fernando Martinez music is in stores now online. Make sure that you buy his music at: Amazon mp3, Emusic, iTunes, CDbaby.com, and Spotify, Myspace Music.

Alicia Grimes Entertainment
Record Manager: Alicia Grimes
P.O. Box - 225, Melvin, Il. 60952
Email: aliciagrimesent@aol.com
mlvnlisa@aol.com
Bus.# 815-644-1609

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