Tag: Arlene Zelina

Categories
Artists Worth Checking Out Monday Mashup Women in Entertainment

Monday mashup 2018: vol. 47

Merry Christmas.  Welcome to our special Christmas Eve edition of Monday Mashup.  We hope you have accomplished all of your Christmas shopping and are preparing to spend tomorrow with family and friends.  Don’t forget to vote for your Fan Favorite, with voting to close this Friday.  Currently, YYNOT remains in first place with 146 votes, but Jordan Siwek is coming on strong and currently has 102 votes, followed by Mindi Abair and Reloaded Norway, both with 43 votes.  Winners will be announced on January 4.  In the meantime, here’s some new music to get you in the mood.  We’ll be back on Wednesday with Get it or Forget it.

INDIE MUSICIANS CELEBRATE THE SEASON

There have been a lot of ingenious indie artists sharing the holidays with their friends, and we salute them for their efforts.  This year’s award for best campaign goes to Jennifer Vazquez for her “12 Days ‘Til Christmas.”  She created a group for her fans, and serenaded them every day with a different a capella Christmas song.  Way to raise your awareness, Jen!

NEW SINGLES

Our first single this week comes from the sweet pop sound of mobil avenue.  We really like their song, and look forward to seeing what they come up with as they anticipate releasing a lot of singles in 2019.  Here’s “Hearts.”

Next up is a cover of the classic song “Christmastime is Here” which we have all heard over and over again in the classic Christmas show A Charlie Brown Christmas.  Hats off to Grayshot for a splendid job.

Our third single is another holiday classic.  This time around, Matt LeGrand brings us his pop version of “White Christmas.”  Enjoy.

Next up is the latest from LA’s own Standing Before Kings.  Check out this historically accurate song, “St. Helena” and let it rock your holidays.

For our final single this week, we bring you YouTube sensation Arlene Zelina.  We shared her beautiful Christmas song two weeks ago, and now bring you her new single, “Dream of Me.”  We can’t get enough of her voice and hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

NEW MUSIC VIDEOS

Our first music video this week encourages everyone “Don’t be Lonely This Christmas” with the sweet Americana sound of The Herron Brothers.  We think that’s great advice.

Next is the latest from Family Jools.  We love the feel of “Don’t Know.”  Please let us know what you think.

Last week we had the privilege of reviewing the latest album from SoutherlandAyers.  Today we are proud to share the music video for their first single, “Great Flight Home.”  We think this one is perfect for this season.

Our fourth music video comes from electro-rock artist MORRISON.  Here is her song “Heart on Fire,” which we think is smoking hot.  This girl can siiiiiing!

We close out the week with the latest one-man “boy band” in the person of Dylan Dunlap.  Fresh off his opening slot for OneRepublic, check out his video for “LiarLover.”  We think this one will get your week off to a great start.

 

Categories
Artists Worth Checking Out Monday Mashup Women in Entertainment

Monday mashup 2018: vol. 45

OMG – did you see the end of the Miami-New England game?  That amazing 69-yard pass/lateral that resulted in a Miami touchdown and a win over our arch-rival the Patriots?  That was one of the best games we have seen in many years, and so happy we were able to pull it off.  We are also happy for all the nominees of the LA Music Critic Awards for the second half of 2018.  Remember, fans can ONLY vote for the Fan Favorite award, so leave your vote as a comment on the announcement article by saving “I vote for (name of artist or band) for Fan Favorite.”

Now that the nominations are out of the way, we have a wonderful Monday Mashup for you today, with five new singles and videos including some holiday tunes.  We hope you enjoy them.

NEW SINGLES

Our first single this week is from LA alt-rock band Swerve.  It is a hard rocking tune called “She Cut Her Hand,” and we like it a lot.  Swerve originally began as a moniker for music created by Los Angeles native Greg Mahdesian. But what initially began as a solo project eventually became a full-fledged band. Greg solely composed all of the songs on Swerve’s self-titled debut EP and hired producer Brandon Duncan to record them. So, when it came time to recruit musicians in order to perform live, Greg naturally asked Brandon to join on bass, his old college friend, Ryan Berti, on guitar, and Mark Gardner on drums.

Next up is a holiday cover from Israeli rock goddess Ninet.  We love the simple stylings of “Sweet Chariot” and hope it puts you in the proper mood for the holidays.

For our third single, we head up to Sweden for the beautiful voice and similarly simple arrangement of Marlene Oak on her latest song, “In the Evening.”  Enjoy this masterful and soaring song.

Next is a pop gem from Dollshot called “Paradise Flat.”  This one is not your ordinary pop tune, and we relish its uniqueness, with sparkling jazz stylings. Please let us know what you think.

Our final single is another amazing holiday song, this time featuring the incredible voices of Mallory Trunnel and Lauren Harding, otherwise known as Crimson Calamity.  This may well become our favorite new holiday song.

https://soundcloud.com/crimson-calamity/first-snow/

NEW MUSIC VIDEOS

We tried to share this one a couple of weeks ago, but it was not released until December 7.  The video was shot in Portland and we think it is very well done.  Check out the amazing Hayley Lynn, who shot this video in one take, and her incredible pipes amid the beautiful backdrop on her song, “Valentine, Too Soon.”

From the beautiful to the different, we bring you the latest from Luna Neptune, who are sharing the “Next Automated Wave.”  They are another European band, and we hope they come play the States in the not too distant future.

Our third video features the truly hip sounds of Saving Forever.  We think you’ll love it, so let’s make some “Memories.”

Our fourth video is a lo-tech lyric video from Alex Bloom.  We love the simpleness of the shoot but the intensity of the lyrics on his song, “Elevator.”  What do you think?

We close out this week with a cover of one of our all-time favorite holiday songs, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”  This time around it is covered by the lovely and extremely talented Arlene Zelina, and we think it provides the perfect sentiment for the season.  See you again soon.

Categories
Artists Worth Checking Out Ten Great Singles Women in Entertainment

Ten great singles released in November 2018

Well, it’s been a busy week preparing the list of nominations for the second half of 2018 for the LA Music Critic Awards, which will be announced tomorrow morning at 9 a.m.  While you wait, here are ten great singles that were not chosen for Monday Mashup features, but which we thought deserved recognition.

First up is the second single from Noctorum, featuring Marty Wilson-Piper, the former lead singer of The Church.  The single is a soft rocker that is the perfect sound for your early morning music fix and is called “Piccadilly Circus in the Rain.”  Let us know what you think.

Next up is “Infinite Swim,” which has a decidedly 80’s retro sound, with big beats and cool vocals, and comes to us courtesy of the Irish band All Tvvins.  We can’t wait to hear and review the rest of the album when it is released next year.

For our next single, we travel to Amsterdam for the latest from the Moon Tapes.  If there was an award for the strangest song title, they would win it hands down.  Check out the noir-pop sound of “Tonight I’ll Write the Saddest Lines.”

From noir-pop we return to rock-n-roll, with the latest offering from Jon Tessier, “Freak I Need.”  This one will put some 70’s rock flavor into your day.

At single number five is K-Pop phenom Monsta X, who has released their first all-English song, “Shoot Out.”  We reviewed their album last week, and were impressed by the multiple genres these lads have mastered, and look forward to what comes next.  Get down to this one.

We kick off the second five singles with this refreshing country song from form The Voice contestant, Lauren Duski.  This one is a future hit, and it definitely makes our “Heart Hurt Good.”

Single number seven is from an iconic reggae singer who has returned with a fun, upbeat tune that will get you ready for summer in the middle of winter.  Check out “Use Me” from Shaggy.

For our next single, we go from reggae to the R&B/Pop sound of Australian YouTube sensation Arlene Zelina.  We love the smooth sound of “Dream of Me” and think you will too.

Single number nine features another amazing female voice with the sultry sound of Ariel Gold.  This one has the perfect driving drum beat, truly amazing vocals and an upbeat song the belies its title, “Blue.”  Let us know what you think.

https://soundcloud.com/bigmanagement/ariel-gold-blue/s-CTDv7

We close out this edition of Ten Great Singles with a beautiful collaborative effort, courtesy of our friends at the Durango Songwriters Expo.  The song was written by Scott Krippayne and Jeff Peabody for the late Neal E. Boyd, winner of America’s Got Talent in 2008.  The orchestration was recorded and the song was mixed and mastered by Brandon K. Guttenfelder.  We think it is the perfect holiday song.  Enjoy “Not so Silent Night.”