After returning from hiatus late last year with “Burn Everything,” Jersey’s Voli continues to tease The Wall with the project’s latest offering, “The Wander Years.” Check it out below and pre-order the LP on iTunes before it’s February 24th release. LISTEN HERE…
The 13 solo effort from Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Jesse Harris entitled No Wrong No Right is charted for a February 10 release on Dangerbird Records. Enter the obligatory Norah Jones reference that earned him said Grammy, but Jesse Harris is chock full of sad songs and jazzy folk-pop bravado, enough to have collaborated with some of the world’s most talented artists. He’s written genre-scaling songs that highlight the performances of artists like Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Bright Eyes, and Cat Power.
This latest effort is mature and playful, a relaxed journey through the inner workings of Harris’ prolific, custom style of song crafting. Flanked by the dynamic drums and guitar duo of experimental rockers Star Rover, Harris’ creative vehicle was treated to parameters unknown. The duo are a sure fit for Harris’ trademark instrumental musical journeys, this time graced with heavenly horns and arrangements by Paul Simon and Bon Iver compatriot CJ Camerieri – a fitting touch to the crafty, catchy record as a whole.
Harris pulled from the well of Neil Young for inspiration on No Wrong No Right. Inspired by the blueprint of Young’s After the Gold Rush, Harris states, “Some of that record was done with Crazy Horse, and it’s a rock record, but then you also have these hushed acoustic folk songs, and it keeps shifting back and forth between the two distinct moods. I always loved the way that worked, so I started there.” The triple-threat of Harris’ instrumentals, three piece rock band (with Star Rover backing him up), and the acoustic anchored duets with guitar god Julian Lage prove that the number three is a charm on Harris’s lucky record number 13.
The album opens with the first of the instrumental gems, “Pandora’s Box,” then quickly bursts into the romantic Latin folk-jazz of “Nothing’s Gone But the Night.” It’s an entrancing, harmonious journey with luscious, barely present female backing vocals and xylophones for days.
We’re pleased and honored to premiere the third song from the new record, “It Would Have Been So Easy.” This is a prime example of the catchy pop-loaded songs that seem to effortlessly flow from the mind of Jesse Harris and cohorts. No Wrong No Right is a tremendously fine album from start to finish, never a dull moment or a copied sound, a true-to-form artful blueprint, a carousel ride of poetic songwriting. READ MORE…
It’s been a long time since Voli has appeared on our radar. Last time we heard from the talented emcee he was tearing apart the instrumental for Drake’s “5 AM In Toronto.” Finally emerging from his cocoon a year and a half later though, it’s obvious that the Jersey native has evolved into something much more.
After getting a chance to listen through his upcoming album The Wall, it’s safe to say Voli can no longer be simply referred to as a rapper. That’s not a knock on his skills behind the mic, rather it’s an allusion to the fact that his musical aspirations align with being something transcendent. Nowhere is this more apparent than with his brand new single, “The Wander Years.” Our best descriptor for the powerfully uplifting piece would be electro-reggae-pop-rock, but there’s really no true way to define it. One thing that is abundantly clear is that Voli spent his months away honing a sound that’s distinctly unique, allowing him to craft meaningful music that draws influence from a variety of different genres and is able to connect with a broad audience.
“The Wander Years” is the type of record that inspires you to abandon conventions and rebel to stand up for what is yours. Though, if you have a little trouble figuring out what exactly that entails, the gifted musician may be able to help,
“Being a rebel is as simple as doing what you honestly want to do. As an artist you’re constantly putting yourself out there for major criticism. Me, personally—I’m stubborn. The second someone tells me I can’t do something or that I’m not good at something, I’m going to prove them wrong. That’s where the rebellion comes in. I don’t think it has to be tied to anger—for me, it’s not. I’m just gonna do what I’m gonna do. People are always gonna try to fit you into their little box, but you can’t let that happen. You can’t let anyone else determine what kind of artist you should be.”
Listen to the track above, and make sure to check out Voli’s upcoming album, The Wall, which you can pre-order on iTunes before it drops on February 24th. LISTEN HERE…
Veteran singer, songwriter and musician Jesse Harris has just announced the release of new album No Wrong No Right, out Feb. 10 on Dangerbird Records. We are happy today to show you the new video for the track, “Miyazaki,” directed by Luis Ortega. Juxtapoz got both Harris and Ortega to talk about the video, and as you can see, the director gets right to the point.
I wrote “Miyazaki” while sick at home with a terrible flu last April. In a delirious state, I started playing the main riff, over and over, for about an hour. Later, I wrote the B section and decided the tune worked best as an instrumental. Each night I would watch a different Miyazaki film, so I decided to dedicate the song to the Japanese anime director. The album was recorded just a couple of weeks later; we put down the basic track of this song live and then percussionist Mauro Refosco overdubbed the marimba and electronics.
Luis: Who the hell knows where they come from. The images. I know they’re good when I can’t track them down. When there’s dynamite on the bridge, and they don’t represent anything but music. WATCH HERE…
There’s a wistful, unpretentious elegance to Book Club’s sound. At once urbane and downhome, this is modern pastoral pop music that—in sound and spirit—can trace a straight line back to the simple, unaffected roots of American storysong. On Book Club’s new LP, One-Way Moon (out Feb. 3 via Cottage Recording Co./Bear Kids Recordings), frontman/songwriter Robbie Horlick practices introspection without navel-gazing, his wounded warble trickling like creekwater past the strum of the nylon six-string and the pluck of the banjo, cascading over daydreamy piano and the breathy moan of bow on strings. Further downstream, his vocal melodies empty into a crystal pool where they swirl gently, endlessly, around the wholesome, charmingly demure voice of harmony singer Rachel Buckley. The whole affair is a dazzling exercise in restraint—a stripped-bare, acoustic album where what you don’t hear is just as important as what you do.
Glide Magazine is premiering “Most Lonely” from One-Way Moon, a track that affirms Book Club as devoted practitioners of experimental sounds and orchestration.
“”Mostly Lonely” is one of my favorite songs on the record, says Horlick.”The music and lyrics came to me very quickly and naturally, as if I were just channeling them, and the song was arranged and recorded in the studio much the same way. I tend to trust songs that develop in this way more than songs I labor over.”
Horlick goes on to explain, “To me, it’s one of a certain category of songs that sneak up on you. It’s melodic, driving and upbeat, but it hides a darker theme: one of those “happy” songs that, after a few listens, you realize is actually kind of sad. Not that the narrator’s point of view is a secret—the premise is the title—but I think the tune’s melody and arrangement allow the listener to kind of float over it, letting the point marinate (“when the sun is bright, it’s hard to see just how dark it might actually be”) and then surface if and when the listener’s subconscious wants.”
“Whoever the narrator is speaking to—whether himself or someone else—the point is clear, and the question is direct (“Is it that hard to see?”). But what we do with that perspective is the point. We can treat it as an observation, a truth, a distortion or a call to action. It can be a sad song; it can be a happy song. It can be a sad song that makes people happy, or a happy song that makes people sad. Or some other combination. But no matter what, it’s a slice of honest and direct emotion. That was the aim, at least.” LISTEN HERE…
The broad range of the instrumental composition of “Stop Me,” the newest track from New Jersey-born rapper Voli, is evidenced within the first thumping second. Opening with a Bollywood-esque electric guitar solo, the track, which we’re pleased to premiere here as our Track of the Week, slowly progresses to sample pop and rock rhythms with an air of ease and style. Witty and poignant lyrical flow (“Jersey in the house / don’t fist pump for me though …/ I dare you to hate me”) doubles over a clap-worthy chorus and easily danceable beats.
“It’s an unyielding, unapologetic testament to forging your own path at your own speed. It’s an anthemic middle finger to anyone’s preconceived notions of who you are or who you should be,” the visual artist, producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter says of the song. “I’m no longer living a predetermined lifestyle. Now, music is my life.”
While a journey from the East Coast to L.A. served as the main inspiration for “Stop Me,” the track’s robust samplings also stem from Voli’s varied influences. “One moment that inspiration might take the form of an Eagles song, and the next day it’s pulled from a Quentin Tarantino film. One day it could be an Ennio Morricone score, and the following week an intense conversation with a friend about the state of America,” he explains.
The former J. Cole and Young Guru collaborator refuses to abide by genre stipulations, blending elements of classic- and prog-rock, rap, and R&B, and on February 24, he will release his latest solo album The Wall. LISTEN HERE…