Fanatic is a music marketing company established by Josh Bloom in 1997 to build fan-to-fan connections between artists and the media. For nearly 30 years, Fanatic has continued to help launch careers through the strategic advocacy of creative talent.
See
the video for “As If” by Ivory Fields now at Glide Magazinehere
or at the links above.
Alex Pelly, the director of “As
If,” the new video by Los Angeles duo Ivory
Fields, incorporates multiple generations of video technology, both analog
and digital, into her work.
“The ‘As If’
video illuminates the band in flashes of warm and cold light generated through
audio reactive modular video synthesis, and filmed on an 80s security camera. I
was highly influenced by 80s industrial music videos,” she explains.
In its premiere coverage of the video, Glide Magazine comments, “A spooky beat
that sears you like a slice of dark New Wave... brimming with a melange of
enticing synth sounds... danceable and mysterious, with a touch of 80s
contrasting with its distinctly modern sound.”
“‘As If’ is
more of a goth-inspired track than others on the album,” says Alejandro Cohen of Ivory Fields about the single from the duo’s upcoming self-titled
debut (out Oct. 28). “There are hints of Alien
Sex Fiend and Love and Rockets
in there.”
Mahadev, the other half of Ivory Fields explains, “I was listening to a lot of Cleaners from Venus and Simple Minds while I was out on tour.
When I got home, I opened up some new ideas that Ale sent me and ‘As If’
was one of them.
“I set up a mic into a tape echo without any lyrics
and recorded the verse vocals in one take. The repeating vocals were probably
very inspired by Dome and goth
groups Ale has turned me onto.”
+++
Ivory Fields
S/T LP (Simballrec / Office of Analogue and Digital) Oct. 28, 2022
Track Listing: 01. Everything Is Okay 02. As If (STREAM | VIDEO) 03. Well Well Well 04. Land And Sea Boundaries (YOUTUBE |
SOUNDCLOUD) 05. Blasted 06. GV 07. Bells 08. Saint Colors 09. Following The Path 10. Notice All Of These Things +++ Ivory Fields | About
Ivory Fields (October 28,
2022, Simballrec / Office of Analogue
and Digital) is the self-titled ten-song debut album from the Los
Angeles-based duo of Mahadev (f/k/a Matt Gangi) (GANGI, Fake Estates) and
Alejandro Cohen (Pharaohs, Languis.) In their own words, Ivory Fields “combusts layers of synths, drum machines and guitar
over songs composed more around sonic imagery than chord progressions.” The description is as accurate as it is mysterious.
Indeed, the music here often feels like it is both floating just out of grasp,
and overwhelming and omnipresent at the same time. Even so, Mahadev
reminds that the record is grounded in a “flare for pop context in its songwriting
and production.” Cohen concurs, saying,
“Ivory Fields mixes a desire for pop
songs, dance production values, and experimental influences.” The album’s upcoming singles – the electro-goth
inspired “As If” and the danceable
glow of “Blasted” – contain these musical
multitudes. Catchy and eluding capture. In reality, this music was dormant for some time,
which belies how relevant and modern it sounds in its reverence for
contemporaries (Animal Collective, Geneva Jacuzzi) and classic artists of
the genre (Psychic TV, Wire.) Cohen elaborates on the latter, explaining that Ivory Fields actually began “as a loose
tribute to Dome –the experimental
side project by members of Wire.” Mahadev adds another touchstone, saying, “My friend, David ChaimCohen (who mastered this album) said he heard The Legendary Pink Dots in the record. That made me happy, since I
was actually listening to their album Brighter Now quite a bit at that
time.” “That time” was many years ago. “Ivory Fields
has been years in the making,” Mahadev
says. Many of the synths and vocals on the record were
tracked between 2010 and 2012 in what Mahadev
describes as “a slow-burning collaboration.” This scenario is similar to Mahadev’s other recent release as one-half of GANGI. That duo’s “As Fake
Estates” EP is also comprised of songs created many years prior to being
shown to the public. Somehow, in both cases, it feels right that these
compositions have had the time to silently evolve. “The album wasn’t completed sooner, not because of
lack of inspiration or too much time in the studio,” Mahadev explains. “We took our time to let it smolder, and either
because of what was brought to light through the burning of time, or because of
the process of completion we achieved by looking back into the fire, Ivory Fields is work we are very proud
of.” The self-titled debut album by Ivory Fields arrives on October
28, 2022 via Simballrec / Office of Analogue and Digital preceded
by the singles “As If” and “Blasted.” Contact Josh
Bloom at Fanatic for
more information. +++ Ivory
Fields | Links ASSETS : FACEBOOK : INSTAGRAM (ALE) : INSTAGRAM (MAHADEV) : TWITTER : YOUTUBE : BANDCAMP (SIMBALLREC) : BANDCAMP (OOAAD) +++ Josh Bloom at Fanatic
Promotion | Contact WEBSITE
: FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL
Based
around vocals, it is an eight-minute musical poem that nods to Parrott’s current
obsessions: Bernice Johnson Reagon, Grouper, and Björk. +++
Jenny
Parrott self-portrait
with baby Juno +++ PLAY, POST & SHARE
[YOUTUBE]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl0sP414jrk [SOUNDCLOUD]: https://soundcloud.com/fanaticpro/jenny-parrott-runnin-to-you +++ Austin-based artist, songwriter, and new parent, Jenny Parrott will release “Pregnancy Choir,” an eight-minute
musical poem presented over seven tracks on Nov. 4, 2022. Centered mainly around her layered vocals (recorded
while pregnant with baby Juno), Parrott says, “‘Pregnancy Choir’ explores what it’s like to be in a pregnant body
and to hear many voices: Ancestors, doctors, lovers, friends and relations all
talking to and at you. “Literally ‘Joe Everyone’ tries to give advice,” she
jokes. The voice we hear the most through Parrott on “Pregnancy Choir” is the one she describes last: “Your own brain’s ‘Lil
Greek Chorus.’” The piece is a surprising change from the twang of Parrott’s 2021 album The
Fire I Saw, but no less deeply felt. It’s her ability to effectively
channel emotion that has brought attention to Parrott’s work over the years, regardless of style. This time, “Pregnancy
Choir” piece came out of necessity. “I tried to record using my usual gear and
instruments,” Parrott remembers. “I
just gave up one night and was like, ‘Let’s see what I can do with just vocals.
No bending, no lifting! Also, I’ve been obsessed with Bernice Johnson Reagon, Grouper,
and Björk for a while.” While “Pregnancy
Choir” is deep in concept, it’s also a joy. The circumstances surrounding
its creation, and the cover art featuring the duo of Jenny and Juno, may
subtly remind of the Talking Heads
baby-based hit, “Stay Up Late.” Still, Parrott
reminds of the reality that sometimes the “Lil Greek Chorus” is “at odds with
itself, experiencing the thrill of life, fear of death, excitement, and
foreboding all at once. It rejects the ‘Earth Mama’ ‘Pinterest-y’ branding of
pregnancy in favor of an honest dive in the conscious, sub-conscious, and
general cacophony they create in a mind.” Parrott is also acutely aware of what experiencing pregnancy
and becoming a new parent means at this moment in our society. “Being able to create and sustain life is a magical
thing,” she confides, “But the magic is dimmed by living in a culture that
seeks to control bodies. It can feel like a pregnant person’s body is a public
commodity. Some of the dissonance in the album is meant to reflect that.” When it’s done, Parrott
hopes to leave a listener without “the barrage of opinions and messaging you
receive living in a pregnant body in Texas in 2022,” and more with the ability
of the “Lil Greek Chorus” to support, transform, and uplift. “Pregnancy
Choir” by Jenny Parrott is scheduled for release on Nov. 4, 2022 via Rachel
Rachel Records. +++ Jenny Parrott “Pregnancy Choir” (Rachel Rachel Records) Nov. 4, 2022
Track Listing: 01. Tree Funeral 02. In 6 Rows 03. Runnin’ To You (YOUTUBE | SOUNDCLOUD) 04. Origin 05. Rain 06. Sharp Sound 07. Make Me Love +++ Jenny Parrott | Live 09/23/2022: Austin, TX @ Hole In The Wall (Residency, RSVP) +++ Jenny
Parrott | In The Press “A soaring solo effort...” — KUTX, Austin (NPR) “There is nothing to not like about Jenny Parrott.” — Folk Radio UK “As if the singer-songwriter scribed the lyrics while
sitting on a cloud.” — Austin Chronicle “Potent songs with a smoldering drowsy flow.” — Americana Highways “A wonderfully rich amalgam of American roots music
styles.” — Rock N Reel (UK) +++ PLAY, POST & SHARE More by Jenny Parrott | “I Thought” | From 2021’s
The Fire I Saw
[VIDEO]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKqZPwOoCLk +++ “A soaring solo effort... Turns the heat way up with
intricate synth-work and some of her finest vocal performances to date,” says NPR member station KUTX, Austinin
its “Song of The Day” coverage of
the title track from Jenny Parrott’s The Fire I Saw, out today. Hear “The Fire I Saw (Is There Anyone To Meet
Me?)”here. “Queer artist Jenny
Parrott doesn’t need a seat at your table,” says
Adobe & Teardrops, a
publication committed to representing voices in the Americana world that are
too-often overlooked: Women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+individuals, in its “I Thought”video
premiere coverage and wide-ranging interview with Parrott. Check it out here. +++ The bathroom at the Hole In The Wall club in Austin, Texas is the setting for the
self-directed “I Thought”video by Jenny Parrott. “The bathroom there is like a character,” Parrott says. “A place where women,
femmes and non-binary people go to hang out, to fool around and party, and to
get away from men for a second.” Parrott
says that the video also shows “how violence and love can be all around, and
how it can be very hard for many of us to know where the safe spaces are, or
who is a safe loved one.” “I Thought” also stars dancer Terrance Carson of Ballet
Afrique, Ally Means on Viola,
and Carrie Jane Fink as Parrott’s partner in the clip. +++ Jenny
Parrott | Links ASSETS : WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : BANDCAMP : SPOTIFY : APPLE +++ Josh Bloom at Fanatic
Promotion | Contact WEBSITE
: FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL
According to The
New York Public Library, since 1982, libraries across the United States
have observed Banned Books Week, a
time to highlight titles that were targeted for removal from schools and
libraries. In 2022, there has been a particularly aggressive wave of bans and
challenges across America.
The American
Library Association, which pioneered Banned Books Week, has reported a
record amount of books banned in recent years—many of which center people of
color and LGBTQ+ voices.
Alex Lilly’s current single “Pure
Drivel,” taken from her upcoming album Repetition Is A Sin (Oct. 21, Release Me Records) addresses the subject in song, in which she
sings “I know you canceled all your plans, so come over, let’s read some books that got banned.”
The choreographed video for the tune, filmed in and
around a Berlin library, is streaming now. Lilly felt there was no better time
than during Banned Books Week to use
the song and its video to draw attention to banned books. Her full statement can
be read below.
+++
Alex Lilly | Banned Books
Week Statement
“There’s been an uptick in book banning lately.And yes, the usual suspects are at it again,
though there are some new players too.
“You’d think living in a time where hard-core
pornography exists at the click of a button, there’d be bigger fish to fry. But
it’s not the smut that really scares these book-banners— it’s indoctrination. And I think despite the reasons
given (reasons ranging from profanity to violence to sexual orientation), I
think at its core, it’s always been a fear of indoctrination. You’ll become a
communist if you read ‘Animal Farm,’
a junkie if you read ‘Naked Lunch’
and a slut if you read ‘Lady Chatterley’s
Lover.’
“But then it’s all too absurdly reasonable— many of the people at the center of this
book-banning business are people who themselves were indoctrinated by a book.
These good Christians know firsthand just how powerful stories can be. But
unlike their particular book, a regular old book doesn’t threaten or make
promises. There are no transactions here. A novel is a window onto another world,
which you’re free to interpret. And if you don’t like what you read, you can
close it at any time without fear of consequence.
“The current consternation in book-banning circles
hovers around a book’s presumed power to render people gay or transgender. We
see this with the pulling of ‘Gender Queer’ and other similar titles. And from
a different corner of society we see calls to ban ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’ due to racist characters
issuing forth racist slurs — the idea being that depictions of racism might
desensitize certain minds, making them more prone to racist ideologies and
behaviors.
“In the past, banning for this reason was even
extended to black authors (James Baldwin
and Toni Morrison included.) These
anti-lit crusaders certainly have an appreciation for irony! The common thread
among these disparate groups of book-banners, in my humble opinion, seems to be
a total underestimation of the human mind and spirit. If people are this
confused and impressionable, then books are the least and last of their
troubles.
“The book-banning bunch is right that books are
powerful. But they’re wrong about the nature of this power. Reading a book can
certainly transform your perspective but transformation is not dangerous.
They’ve made synonymous two words, transformation and indoctrination, when they
couldn’t be more different. Transformation is based on discovery. Indoctrination
is based on surrender. Here’s that irony again — those indoctrinated themselves
are paranoid about indoctrination. And they’re going after the most oppressive
and abusive systems of control on Earth — libraries!
“‘Free the
nipple’ was shouted around for a while. Can we bring back ‘Free the mind!?’
It’s not to say there aren’t some unwanted consequences to freedom. There’s no
perfect solution. But when you look through the annals of history, you see
violence and trouble mostly in pens, not open pastures. The darkest days of
history coincide always with intellectual freedoms being repressed. So a mind
allowed to wander, to discover, to wonder. Is that really the scariest thing?
Oh but wait, what about all those mobs of murderous philosophers!?” — Alex Lilly
+++
Alex Lilly | Live
Fri., Oct.
21, 2022: Los Angeles, CA @ Gold-Diggers
Repetition Is A Sin (Record Release Show) |On
Sale Now
w/ Special Guests: The Living Sisters
(feat. Inara
George, Eleni Mandell, Alex Lilly, and Becky Stark of Lavender
Diamond)
Repetition is a sin — is it a mantra? A judgment? A
fact? Repetition Is A Sin is the title of the upcoming second album by Alex Lilly. Repetition Is A Sin is also a cliffhanger! Will Lilly live up to the challenge she’s issued to herself following
the hearty praise for her 2019 debut 2% Milk? “Everything about this debut album by Alex Lilly is spellbinding,” said L.A. Weekly. “Pretty freaking awesome”
and “the genuine article” wrote The
FADER and FLOOD. NPR’s Los Angeles affiliate KCRW called 2% Milk “a pleasure” and Jon Pareles wrote in The New York Times that Lilly’s songs deliver “structural and
emotional complexity with deceptive nonchalance.” Lilly’s talents are on point for other artists, as well.
Her co-write of “I Like Girls” for
jazz vocalist Samantha Sidley (“Now
she’s gluing garden gnomes to geodesic domes, people call it junk, I call it
art”) spring boarded that record to a “Top
10 Album of The Year” nod from the Los
Angeles Times. Spoiler alert! Lilly’s latest fulfills the promises she made with her
first album and much more. First, Repetition Is A Sin is funny!
Conversational and free, it is the sound of self-actualization. Lilly’s thoughtful and intelligent
wordplay, unexpected and exhilarating production touches, and emotional
vulnerability are pure joy. Contrasting this with Lilly’s awesome sense of humor, it is also pure power! And so, with the album opener and first single “Pure Drivel,”Lilly issues an anthem and rebel yell for...librarians! Because, of course. “I know you canceled all your plans So come over let’s read some books that got banned
mama” “I wanted to write a
stay-in date night about reading — a nerdy booty call,” shesays. “I was in a book club over the
pandemic, which was interesting as we mostly just drank and smoked and never
finished a single book.” Lilly then
quickly adds, “I’m not proud of this!” Lilly spent part of her pre-solo career touring as part of Beck’s band and he attended Lilly’s book club to read the first
chapter of “Moby Dick.” “Because we never finished it, I can only confirm that
the first half of ‘Moby Dick’ is
great,” shejokes. What Lilly
can confirm absolutely is that Repetition Is A Sin “feels
emotionally brighter and more jewel-toned than 2% Milk.” The trifecta of tunes that open Repetition Is A Sin
include “Frank,” in which Lilly mentions her closest friends by
name while questioning if she will get to party with them in the afterlife. “I don’t wanna go to heaven Cuz none of my friends will be there No one will be Getting plastered with me In the air” “These are all real people mentioned in the song
except for Frank,” Lilly explains.
“I don’t know who he is. Maybe I will someday.” The many character-driven songs on the album were
partially inspired by the pandemic. “Being isolated from people for a bit spurred me on,” Lilly says. “I had a hobby for a while
where I was commissioned to write theme songs for humans, including this spectacularly talented and cute tap dancer
living in Los Angeles.” That project inspired the album’s “Melinda.” “Well if I ever turn gay, let’s go, If you ever stop
being straight, Well let me know,” Lilly
sings. “It was a lot of fun and I continued the idea of song
portraits for several other tracks on this record, almost like creating my own
company that includes friends (“Frank”),
movie stars (“Rosalind”), a cartoon
character’s alter ego (“Bugs Bunny”),
my grandma (“Spirit”), and Frank,
the made-up drunk.” The album’s most moving tune is next, a love song like
no other. It is an all or nothing moment for Lilly. “I’m Getting Better
At Falling In Love” is confessional, vulnerable, optimistic, and hopeful. And of course, hilarious: “I’m getting better at falling in love I’m getting so good, gotta mind to do it full-time Love muscles getting buff Now it’s all that I can do” “I’m Getting
Better at Falling in Love” is a happy
love song,” Lilly says. “It’s an
anomaly for me.” It’s a tune destined to become some couple’s “our
song.” So lovey-dovey, but the humor of it all is still just within arm’s
reach. Lilly invokes “Seinfeld”
character George Costanza to make a
point about where she’s coming from on this record, asking, “Do you know the
episode where George decides to do
the opposite of everything he usually does just to see what difference it makes
in his life? I could keep making mistakes, but they had to be new ones.
Musically and personally. Repetition is a sin.” On the musical tip, Lilly says, “My recording mindset was very different than it had
been in the past. This time, the sounds are dialed in so well, but the feeling
is loose.” To make this happen, on the recommendation of friend
and fellow musical risk-taker, John
Vanderslice, Lilly worked
extensively with engineer James Riotto
to create Repetition Is A Sin. “We went deep into harnessing the sounds of old
oscillators and drum machines, and then syncing them up using an interface.
This was the kind of wizardry I was after! “It sounded so good off the bat that it didn’t need to
be perfect, which is a pretty swift departure from my normal process.
Previously, I felt like I had been an actor in a movie, where I could rely more
on editing. Now, I was actor in a play, and had to commit to the emotional arc
of an entire take.” Lilly’s movie vs. play analogy is about the best
description of this record yet. Unlike a film that you’ve already seen, each
listen to Repetition Is A Sin contains the tension of a unique
performance. It’s a cliffhanger! Repetition Is A Sin, the second solo album by Alex Lilly, arrives October
21, 2022 via Release Me Records,
preceded by the single “Pure Drivel,” out now. Contact Josh Bloom
at Fanatic for more information. +++ Alex Lilly | Links ASSETS : WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : RELEASE ME RECORDS +++ Josh Bloom at Fanatic
Promotion | Contact WEBSITE
: FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL
