premiere: this rock-n-soul stunner’s music has a life of its own in the irresistible “wondering wanderer”
Olivier St. Louis is a D.C.-born, U.K.-bred Rock-n—Soul stunner that caught the ear of AFROPUNK veteran Laura Mvula, who he just got off tour with. Aptly named after his upcoming debut LP ‘Wondering Wanderer’, the album’s lead single is a blissfully self-assured rhythm and blues track with an inner life-force of its own. Deliberate, confident, soulful, and wonderfully understated, St. Louis takes listeners on a flight we’re all-too-willing to let him play pilot.
“In a world buzzing with the ever increasing noise of the web; silence to find “self” is becoming a space of imagination,” Olivier St. Louis tells AFROPUNK. “With fear of failure and the lie of instant success, individuality is more dependent on subscription rather than the sum of one’s influences. Now realizing the “authentic you” is less “whom am I?” and more “who am I like? “. The vale of virtuality thickens. Stepping out on a REAL limb is now just “too risky”. Within this binary Babel exists the ‘few’. Those with a sense of purpose, who despite imminent pitfalls, are willing to wander the desolation of the unknown in search of real meaning.”
Photo by Sven Marquardt
get the power to face the everyday bullsh*t with pop punk diva g matthews’ ‘superhero’
The superheroes on G Matthews’ new album might not spawn billion dollar franchises (or leave billions of dollars in damage in their heroic wake), but that doesn’t make them any less epic. Superhero is a celebration of the ordinary people who face all the bullshit the world has to throw at them and live to fight another day.
With massive anthems like “Keep On Going,” “Leap Of Faith,” and “Not Tonight,” it’s an album that flips the script of alt rock into messages of empowerment without losing an ounce of power. The best songs on the record tend to be the ones that look the darkness straight in the face without blinking. From the dissonant hardcore guitars of “Leap of Faith” to the miles deep groove of “Things You’ll Never Know,” there are nods to classic post-hardcore and emo buried beneath G Matthews’ massive pop melodies. The album’s highlight though is “Choices,” which adds some 8-bit flourishes to a propulsive punk rock song about overcoming anxiety, and I’m just very much here for it.
The Dark Knight memorably called Batman the hero Gotham deserves, not the one it needs. G Matthews’ Superhero is both. We all need some anthems to remind us that the daily fight is worth fighting, and we all sure as hell deserve it.
alt rock legend claude coleman jr of ween makes inspired noise on amandla’s latest ‘laughing hearts’
Though he’s more known as the drummer for alt rock mainstays Ween, it’s a damn shame Claude Coleman Jr’s solo project amandla doesn’t get the same attention. With bits of soul, post-punk, indie rock, and folk, Coleman’s work with amandla is inspired. The multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter turns in his most emotional set yet with the dynamic Laughing Hearts.
Kicking off with a blues riff that quickly morphs into an alt-psych jam, “Follow What Brings You” boasts the kind of haunting-but-driving melody that makes amandla something move. It’s no surprise that the record’s best moments tend to be when Coleman strikes a balance between his glacial melodies and bubbling rhythms. “Stay Awake” follows a distorted bass riff that would make Lou Barlow cry before turning into an angular jam. While “In A Lovesong” shades in a post-punk anthem with synth squiggles and a vibraphone.
The album closes with the heads-and-tails pair of “Forever For Always” and “I Get Around.” The former is a lush elegy that never builds but constantly deepens. The latter is a stripped down retro rocker that both undercuts and underscores the seriousness of “Forever For Always” with Coleman’s trademark leftfield humor. “Don’t fuck with my rock and roll.”
Check amandla out on tour this summer with Angelo Moore & The Brand New Step. Dates and cities will be announced soon. Check http://amandlanet.net/tourdates/ for more info.
celebrate the black roots & redemptive power of rock with alt rebels harville’s new track
“No T-Bone Walker
There would be no Beatles tunes”
Brooklyn’s Harville is one of the most exciting bands to come up in the past year. Their fiery blend of alt rock, soul, and hip-hop gives them a unique sound in a scene often obsessed with conforming to what’s in. Harville’s latest single “Spill” is a tribute to the power of rock to transform the world. Singer Jonathan Singletary enumerates the black roots of rock, citing a youth spent studying Howling Wolf and Muddy Waters, before getting down to the anthemic closing line: “we won’t survive these divided states.” Lots of rock bands have songs about the redemptive power of rock, but few have the sincerity or power of Harville.
premiere: alt. rocker trevor james’ “maxine” is a bright ray of light
Next, we’d like to introduce you guys to alternative rocker Trevor James and his spirited new single, “Maxine”. A tightly produced single that opens with an instantaneously transfixing melody of drum and bass that flourishes into a loved-up soul groove about one special lady and her relentless shenanigans. “My vision for this song is something that can be relatable to the everyday listener, situations that might have happened to them or might know someone that it has happened to,” James tells AFROPUNK. “This song actually came about after a couple of beers with some friends talking about crazy relationships and my friend had mentioned a girl that threw his stuff out and was extremely crazy so I ask “What was her name” and he said “Maxine”. I said to myself “wow that would be a cool song.”
“Maxine” is the first single from Trevor James’ forthcoming album of the same title.
no f*cks given! the new afropunk mixtape is all attitude, no apathy
For some people “not giving a fuck” is about attitude, and for some it’s about apathy. Like Janelle Monáe and Zoë Kravitz’s sexual liberation at the end of the world anthem “Screwed,” it’s a phrase with a lot of simultaneous and contradicting meanings. On our latest mixtape, we celebrate the artists who don’t give a fuck but don’t have time for apathy. From the Nova Twins to Latasha, Tyler Cole to Jean Grae, this month is about the artists who see what’s going on in the world and are too busy speaking truth to power to worry about what anyone thinks of them. Here’s to the artists with no fucks to give.
01. Tyler Cole – The Government Song
02. Interlude: FreeQuency “Masculinity So Fragile”
03. Nova Twins – Hit Girl
04. Latasha – Sumpn
05. PEDRO – Na Quebrada (ft. Rincon Sapiência)
06. Ghost & The City – Please Forgive My Heart
07. No Kind of Rider – Dark Ice
08. Jean Grae and Quelle Chris – Zero
09. Black Pantera – Alvo Na mira
10. Interlude: Jasmine Mans “Footnotes for Kanye”
11. Crashing Hotels – Never More
12. Bakar – Million Miles
13. Interlude: Janelle Monáe (April 2018)
14. Akua Naru – Made It
15. Blac Rabbit – All Good
16. Janelle Monáe – Screwed (ft. Zoë Kravitz)
Photo by Matheus Leite
premiere: rocker pete wilde is the real deal in the high-flying “lucy”
Closing out another week of dope premieres is rocker Pete Wilde’s “Lucy”. A true rock-n-roller, Pete Wilde’s latest is pure rhythm and blues paired with high flying electric guitar and soaring melody. Based in L.A. but from Oakland, Pete’s defiant sound might be partially attributed to the historic black roots and the movements spawned in his hometown. Flamboyant and seemingly unlimited in energy, Wilde not only looks like a throwback to the days of Hendrix, his music exudes the rich legacy of black rock music that should be experienced and well as heard.
“I think a lot of people have forgotten the history and roots of rock ’n’ roll, and now the genre has become murky and blurred.” Pete tells AFROPUNK. “I am making rock music with groove and a ‘black’ sound that isn’t just funk or pop, but real, original rock ’n’ roll.”
Stream the official live performance video for “Lucy” and stream the track through Spotify, below.
Photo by @JoelBear
premiere: alt rock trailblazer michael jablonka’s “flump” is a sugary rush
Like candy it takes its name from, London rocker Michael Jablonka’s latest single “Flump” is sugary and chewy, twisting and vibrant. “For some reason the riff reminded me of the marshmallow sweet,” Jablonka tells AFROPUNK on the stripped down dirty riff that anchors the song. It’s alt rock at its most essential, layered with a confectionery hook and a driving beat. The song is at once sludgy and sweet, and like any good candy leaves you wanting more.
Catch Michael Jablonka May 19th at the Great Escape Festival at the Queen’s Hotel in Brighton.
Photo by Latoyah Gill
premiere: rock duo nova twins are girl power on steroids in their latest banger
“YOUNG GIRLS! You can ROCK too!”
AFROPUNK Brooklyn performers NOVA TWINS are back with another new one ahead of their set this summer. This time with “Hit Girl: a slow creeper that starts off like dripping molasses before bursting into a high-energy, high octane in-your-face pro-chick anthem about empowerment and not backing down. Think girls can’t rock as hard as boys? Think again. Fusing strong lyricism with even strong roots in rock-n-roll, NOVA TWINS’ “Hit Girl” is a reminder to everyone: girls rock hard and yo better watch your ass if you get in our way.
“‘HIT GIRL’ is like going into a daydream and suddenly you’re some superhuman character, taking out all the villains in your life,” NOVA TWINS tell AFROPUNK. “For us, we wanted to kill people’s perception of what a rock act – and women in music – should look like/sound like! Women of colour still get pigeoned holed into genre specifics, like R&B or Hip Hop and although we are amazing at performing these genres, we also pioneered a lot of other things too.”
And inspire you do! Now, go ‘head and get your life and check out “Hit Girl”.
“Sister Rosetta Tharpe was kicking it out in the 30’s, she was the true queen of rock’n’roll – what happened to all the women representing that genre?! They get overlooked! We really wanted to break the mold and get our message across and maybe the next generation will be free to do as they please! We’re here to inspire tomorrow warriors!”
Photo by Sanaa Abstrakt
alt rock trio royal sun brings a fresh sound to the atlanta scene
Right now Atlanta’s got one of the hottest music scenes in the country. Between Sagas, The Txlips Band, Samurai Shotgun, Bitter, and now Royal Sun, the city is overflowing with artists pushing the boundaries of alt rock. With only a handful of tracks to their names, Royal Sun is still fresh to the scene, but already they’re making an impact. Led by the standout “Ignite,” the band mixes traces of alt metal and even a little throwback R&B into their alternative stew for some rad tunes. Check them out below on Soundcloud and on Instagram @iam_royalsun
Image via Instagram @iam_royalsun / @she_got_steez