Spotlight on Emerging Indie Artists

I would like to introduce a new feature for Blue Muse Views and Reviews Blog and Blue Muse Independent Voice Podcast called Spotlight on Emerging Indie Artists. There will be a regular half hour podcast feature with a compilation of brief reviews for 3 new indie artists. However, Volume 1 will be an extended one hour version of the podcast recognizing 6 new indie artists. While these artists are members of BlueMusePublishing.com, they are not signed with Blue Muse Publishing, Inc. and are under no obligation whatsoever. Also, I am not paid for my reviews or endorsements.

As indicated, each written feature will be accompanied by an associated podcast by the same title on Blue Muse
Independent Voice. Each podcast will include the comments from the written review plus it will feature the actual songs referenced.

Although this initial feature covers six groups that caught my attention, there were many more who could have been easily included if I were not constrained by time and space. Hopefully, I will be able to keep up with the very nice talent at BlueMusePublishing.com.

First of all, Jason Davis is very solidly in the Americana genre with a variety of very well written songs. The production quality on his recordings is excellent. I especially like the songs Wonderin and When We Were Happy.

Wonderin is very original, yet I get a Counting
Crows, Van Morrison and Jackson Browne vibe from the song. The structure and lyrics, as well as Jason's voice, are all great.

When We Were Happy is a slower tempo song that is again very original, but if Wilco had Leon Russell for a lead singer, this would be the perfect song for them. I hope you will listen to Jason's
other songs entitled Nashville, CA and Skeleton Key.

The next artist is a band called Victory Gin. These guys are from New Jersey, but you would never guess it to hear their music. The are also very much in the Americana genre with Dobro and banjo featured on many of their songs. While they have a lot of original songs, I especially like the songs
Home and Milk.

The song Home has a fantastic chorus that had me singing...."One day you'll be my corn fritter, long highway home". This song features nice guitar fills in the style of Duane Allman with a great bass break and then banjo fills at the end. This song is definitely an original and deserves airplay.

Milk is another original song that is very reminiscient of Wilco with a little more twang. I hope you will check out their other songs at Blue Muse.

The next group, Dixie Tradition, is very much today's country. These twin brothers have music in their DNA. I really like the songs Hold My Beer and Hardcore.

Hold My Beer is a great drinking song that seems to be based on a popular joke down South regarding a redneck's last words...."hold my beer, watch this". These guys are from Shreveport, Louisiana so you have to wonder where they get their inspiration since there isn't a redneck within several hundred miles of Shreveport. This music is very well written and performed.

Hardcore is another funny song that has great instruments, vocals, and rhythm with a great chorus. Please check out Dixie Tradition and please make sure you check out the excellent harmonies on National Anthem.

The next band, Reid, is very much in the hard rock genre. I am particularly impressed with the songs The Way It Should Be and John Lennon's Ghost.

The Way It Should Be is very reminiscient of Led Zeppelin style as well as the sound of the Robert Plant's voice. I am a great fan of Led Zeppelin, so this is a good thing in my book. This song features very nice guitar and violin as well as a nice bridge.

John Lennon's Ghost is a nice tribute to one of the greatest songwriters of all times. This song weaves a few of Lennon's classics into the lyrics and music. While some may scoff at this form of tribute song, I find it refreshing when an artist is willing to acknowledge an influence and pay open tribute with a
song.

Lachi is a singer-songwriter who plays piano. To me, her songs have the traditional elements that make a good song a great song, but there is also an originality in her style of music, lyrics, and the sound of her voice that makes her very interesting. I especially like the
songs These Words and Ugly Beautiful.

These Words moves quickly into a great shuffle rhythm with Lachi's very distinctive voice creating something between Rickie Lee Jones, Dolores O'Riordan, and Chrissy Hind. Ugly Beautiful seems introspective and bittersweet to me. The melody is lovely and I really like the rhythm of the song. The lyrics remind me of a Janis Ian song a little, but it is very unique and relevant.

Kotadama consists of two brothers from New South Wales, Australia. They have a very interesting sound that I can only describe as "new age outback". Stated differently, their sound is very original. My favorite songs are Calm Before the Storm and See You
Tonight.

Calm Before the Storm has a nice melody and beat. Not only is the style relevant in today's market, but I think the vocals will be very appealing. while you can hear the U2 influence, it remains distinctive and original.

See You Tonight is a nice change of tempo and style. Again, I believe this music coupled with their youth and Australian accents will appeal to teenage girls around the world.

Finally, I would like to thank Dano for the very nice interview with JD Wood in his ezine this past week.

All the best,

Del