Tag: Indie folk

Ebb and Flow – Chris DuPont Surges through Personal Upheaval on ‘Floodplains’

Chris DuPont intricately weaves a series of reflective, tender vignettes into a cathartic, cohesive whole on his exploratory new album. Artwork – Emilee Petersmark

Chris DuPont doesn’t envision Floodplains as a stand-alone musical chapter.

The Ypsilanti indie folk singer-songwriter intricately weaves a series of reflective, tender vignettes into a cathartic, cohesive whole on his exploratory new album. Filled with ethereal soundscapes, hypnotic guitars and mesmerizing vocals, Floodplains surges through the vast peaks and valleys of the soul to unify past and present experiences into a hopeful future.

“As a project that’s loaded with very difficult emotional content, I just had to sit by myself and grind. It was a very frustrating, solitary experience, and I had to really develop my work ethic and show up. It’s really tough to show up literally in your bedroom when you have a whole list of things that you have to get knocked out,” DuPont said.

“I learned the value of solitude and just sitting with your feelings and allowing them to move through you without making a knee-jerk reaction about what they mean. That’s been a big growth point for me. Working on this record really forced me to sit with difficult feelings and hear them tossed back in my ears over and over again. But as valuable as solitude is, I also learned the importance of asking for help.”

For Floodplains, DuPont sought help from a talented team of collaborators, including Frances Luke Accord’s Nick Gunty (piano vocals), Billy Harrington (drums, orchestral percussion), Johannes Stauffer (piano), Luke Jackson (bass), Christina Furtado (cello), Lea Kirstein (violin, viola), Rin Tarsy (vocals) and Olivia Dear (vocals).

Together, they created and navigated the majestic Floodplains throughout apartments, houses and recording studios in Ypsilanti, Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids. The album slowly ebbed and flowed over two years alongside a period of personal upheaval and change for DuPont.

“Working with producer Nick Gunty was a fabulous experience. It was a big deal working with a producer, letting them in on your process and giving them creative push and pull as you’re letting go. That was a very important part of the process,” DuPont said.

“And toward the end wrapping it all up and getting the mastering done, I pulled in my dear friend Chris Norman, who’s an electronica producer out of Texas. I was running out of time and needed someone to master the record, and I knew he would love to do it.”

As an exquisite finished product, Floodplains rises and swells with intense emotion across 12 thoughtful, vivid tracks that steer listeners along a highly personal, poignant odyssey. It’s the ideal sonic outlet for releasing deeply buried troubles while seeking solace and starting anew in an uncertain world.

Continue reading “Ebb and Flow – Chris DuPont Surges through Personal Upheaval on ‘Floodplains’” →

Beyond the Horizon – Darity Shares Hopeful Message of Gratitude on ‘Everything’

Darity’s “Everything” serves as a hopeful anthem for 2021. Artwork – Olivia Sergi

For Darity, a new year faintly shines in the distance.

Specks of wintry sunlight peer through thick January clouds and serve as a hopeful reminder of better times ahead. Those far-flung rays symbolically represent the gratitude Darity expresses in her latest uplifting single, “Everything,” which dropped Tuesday via all streaming platforms.

“I wrote this song for myself initially. I just think it’s so easy to think about all the things we don’t have. This song started like a long journal entry. I went on a tour with a band pre-Bitterroot and had a lot of conversations of the leader of that band about the struggles of being an artist and a band leader. I noticed that a lot of it was centered around being on the edge of losing hope and feeling like we didn’t have what we needed to be an artist,” said Darity, aka Linsley Hartenstein.

Throughout “Everything,” Darity, a Cincinnati indie rock singer-songwriter, poignantly captures the fight for hope as twirling synths, pulsating bass, vivid electric guitar, delicate drums and soft cymbal taps slowly surround and envelope listeners. She calmly sings,” Run after it/Desire breathes by design/You’re my dream not a fault line/And disappointment’s bound to dig a cliff/But I will walk with you through all of it/You were made for this edge.”

“Recording vocals for this song was painful because this is such a hard truth to swallow. All of the things, all of the outside support that maybe we think we need, or that we do need, we are all put on this planet to do something specific. If that is your worldview, then you as a person have everything you need. That’s a power and a posture that’s so hard when the whole world is telling you that you lack something,” said Hartenstein, who initially wrote the track in 2017.

After laying the initial foundation for “Everything,” Darity teamed up with Coastal Club frontman and producer Alex Hirlinger and drummers Simon Alexander and Dan Crowe to record the track. Together, they infused the hopeful, whimsical sonic quality to evolve it.

“Alex is one of the best arrangers I’ve ever met, so he did all of the production around it. That’s the first time I’ve ever done that. I gave him what the band and I had been playing live, and he rewrote everything aside from the drums. He is responsible for the world around that song, and I’m really grateful,” she said.

Darity also dropped a stunning lyric video for “Everything,” which features her strolling along a deserted roadside near the Bitterroot Mountains in Montana. It simply captures the personal time Darity needed to process her feelings and develop a mindset filled with gratitude.

“Josh and I made this lyric video here in Montana. When the pandemic hit, I was on tour on the west coast, so I figured I’d put that Easter egg in there and make a little video,” said Hartenstein, who developed the video with her partner Josh Kemp of Au Gres. (Check out Au Gres’ dreamy, pro-soulmate single, “Nervous.”)

Continue reading “Beyond the Horizon – Darity Shares Hopeful Message of Gratitude on ‘Everything’” →

Gold Mine – The Soods Uncover Rich Collaborations, Treasured Tracks on ‘Ornaments of Affection’

The Soods’ latest album, “Ornaments of Affection,” features collaborations with Grand Rapids artists, songwriters and musicians. Album artwork – Dominic Ryan Photography

Jason Roy thoroughly mines for Michigan music gold.

The Soods frontman uncovers rich collaborations and treasured tracks with a growing collective of scintillating local artists, songwriters and musicians on his latest indie folk-psych rock musical gem, Ornaments of Affection.

“I pared it down from a list of 36 songs; those were the ones to get vocals on, and from there I followed through with 22 of those. Some of those are the newer singles that I’ve been putting out. It was a fun thing like, ‘Well, I haven’t put any music out in a while,’” said Roy, who released the album in October via GTG Records.

“For ‘Morning Harold!’ and ‘Nomadic Marine Biologist,’ I’ve had those two instrumentals for eight months. I just hadn’t gotten vocals on them yet, and then when it came time to make that list of 36, I was like, ‘Ooh, I like that title,’ and I remember liking this track. It was like, ‘Two check marks, you’re in,’ and then figuring out from there who fits best.”

Throughout Ornaments of Affection, Roy beautifully melds 13 priceless Soods folky, trippy tracks with a talented array of Grand Rapids collaborators, including Steven Meltzer, Matt Ten Clay, Shane Tripp, Patrick Wieland, Drinking Mercury’s Timmy Rodriguez and others.

“These guys have their own ways with words, and weirdly somehow it all does sound like a band if I keep the thematic elements constant. Like having Matt Ten Clay sing the backing vocals on a track strengthens the foundation of that illusion of like, ‘These guys got together in the studio for a week and pounded these songs out.’ If you only saw all our emails and Google drives, it’s very different,” said Roy with a laugh.

“It’s a great compliment when people are like, ‘Oh yeah, I like that band.’ That’s what I want; I don’t necessarily need it to be a Jason Roy brainchild thing. I enjoy collaborating with these guys.”

Continue reading “Gold Mine – The Soods Uncover Rich Collaborations, Treasured Tracks on ‘Ornaments of Affection’” →

Heart to Heart – Lily Milo Explores Uncharted Emotional Territories on ‘Stars Go Out’ EP

Lily Milo shares a personal journey of self-discovery on “Stars Go Out.” Photo – Jennifer Metsker

Lily Milo delicately reveals the hidden sides of her heart.

The Ann Arbor indie folk singer-songwriter shares an intimate, poetic journey of self-discovery while navigating between life’s light and dark emotions on Stars Go Out.

“This is the first thing that I’ve ever put out. I’ve wanted to work on music for a really long time. A couple of years ago, I just sat down and said, ‘All right, if you’re gonna do it, then you’re gonna make some music,’ and it’s been awesome,” said Milo, who released the project in September.

Throughout her raw, authentic debut EP, Milo beautifully explores uncharted territories of the soul across six poignant, reflective tracks that uncover internal strength and wisdom. Each Stars Go Out song provides an intense, heartfelt outpouring of emotion from past thoughts, experiences and relationships.

“Most of them are personal. ‘Sandcastles’ is about a friend who passed away. The other ones are feelings that I’ve had and worked through, and part of the reason why it seems like a strange moody mix from the heart is because it’s all very much from the heart,” Milo said.

Continue reading “Heart to Heart – Lily Milo Explores Uncharted Emotional Territories on ‘Stars Go Out’ EP” →

Higher Ground – Chris DuPont Finds Strong Sense of Renewal on ‘Retrieve’

Chris DuPont ascends to heavenly heights on his latest single, “Retrieve.” Artwork – Emilee Petersmark

For Chris DuPont, a fresh start begins with finding higher ground.

The Ypsilanti indie folk singer-songwriter ascends to heavenly heights on his latest hopeful, breathtaking single, “Retrieve,” now available on all streaming platforms.

“It’s a song about trying to make someone feel seen and believed when they’ve shared a really difficult story with you. It’s really meant to be sort of a power anthem, and on a personal level, I’m just so grateful that it’s as exciting to listeners as it is to me,” DuPont said.

“And on a professional level with this being an unprecedented time putting out an album in the middle of a pandemic with no real hope of touring on it, I decided this just needed to be the first thing people hear. Listeners who have been with me for a while will have heard it already, and I wanted this to be the first impression of anyone coming into my music cold.”

To the contrary, listeners will receive a warm welcome while absorbing the emotional authenticity flowing through “Retrieve,” which blends glistening, frenzied acoustic strums and spirited cello into a soaring symphony of sparkling piano, uplifting bass and cozy drums.

DuPont intimately reflects, “There’s a fullness beyond fatigue/No, nothing is clean if you choose to live/I didn’t anticipate the ways I’d be undone/But on the other side of a breakdown/Is a silver lining for you darlin’/When everything that died in you is fertile in your garden.”

“I can’t get away from the theme of death and rebirth and uprooting and re-rooting in my music, and I think one reason I wanted to go with a garden image is because life and recovery are really dirty and messy. And to be a thriving human being doesn’t mean to do everything cleanly, everything perfectly,” said DuPont, who’s included haunting single artwork by The Crane Wives’ Emilee Petersmark.

“This is a very hard concept for me as someone who grew up in a very black and white thinking religious paradigm where there’s this idea of striving to be pure or perfect. I wanted to embrace the dirt with this whole body of work and especially that song.”

Continue reading “Higher Ground – Chris DuPont Finds Strong Sense of Renewal on ‘Retrieve’” →

All Apologies – Brian Perrone Reveals Deep Regrets on Haunting New ‘Sorry’ Single

Brian Perrone quietly mourns lost time on his latest single, “Sorry.”

Brian Perrone truly understands the meaning of a heartfelt apology.

The Livonia indie folk singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist deeply regrets missed moments and milestones on his latest lovelorn single, “Sorry,” which dropped Aug. 28 via all streaming platforms.

“‘Sorry’ is rooted in that awakening; that time is a gift. I have a friend who has gotten sick, and it made me think about how a diagnosis can change your life as ‘regrets’ and ‘if onlys’ come into play. When we we’re young, it seems as though we’re invincible and will live forever. This sounds like a cliché, yet it’s so true,” said Perrone, whose latest track is featured on the August edition of The Stratton Playlist.

Perrone quietly mourns lost time as somber, sparkling piano, thumping drums, jazzy cymbals and melancholic bass open his emotional floodgates. He tearfully reveals, “All the life inside of me/Extinguished by reality/Shapeshifting into memory/Two plus two is on my mind/A simple place, a simple time/Everything I thought I knew/Was everything because of you.”

“I hope that a listener might take a moment to reflect and make a positive decision to take action on something they have been putting off. Maybe spend some time with someone who’s important to them. Life seems to have gotten too busy these days; heck, it is also a reminder for me,” he said.

Peppered with shadowy elements of Radiohead and The National, Perrone recorded his poignant vocals and sorrowful piano for “Sorry” in his metro Detroit living room at the start of the pandemic. He also programmed drums and added a wistful bassline from Ypsilanti guitarist Steve Somers to highlight the track’s dark emotional intensity.

“The song almost wrote itself. I sat down one Saturday night, and it just poured out. I could barely keep up writing the chords and lyrics as they came to me. I didn’t want to miss a thing because it felt important, almost urgent. No matter who you are, or where you are in life, I think in the end there is always so much more you want to do and maybe say,” he said.

“‘Sorry’ is a subtle introduction to a more experimental style. It blends a progressive jazz rhythm section and a haunting vocal narrative while being guided by some minor chords on the piano. It’s similar to the headlights you would watch from your windshield on a dark and winding road.”

Perrone visually depicts the dark, haunting moments of “Sorry” in an eloquent puppet-themed, stop-motion video directed by Shyam Talwar. Throughout the Tim Burton-esque video, the skeletal remains of two lovers lead separate lives and long for one another while working, cooking and cleaning. Foggy, barren rooms symbolize the growing emptiness and lingering isolation they face each day.

“As a fan of Brothers Quay, I decided to seek out someone who might work in a similar medium, yet different enough to be original. After searching high and low, I recruited Shyam Talwar, and I explained my basic framework and hopes for this video. The video took about a month to complete, and I was extremely pleased when I saw the final cut,” Perrone said.

Continue reading “All Apologies – Brian Perrone Reveals Deep Regrets on Haunting New ‘Sorry’ Single” →

Remote Start – Detroit Artists Release Quarantine-Inspired Rendition of ‘Chelsea Hotel No. 2’ via Old Main Records

Three Detroit artists beautifully preserve the romantic soul of a fallen New York love story.

Emma Guzman, Christian Ohly and Quasi-Bullfight’s Malcolm McNitt breathe new indie folk-pop life into Leonard Cohen’s 1974 one-that-got-away classic, “Chelsea Hotel No. 2,” as part of an Old Main Records-exclusive collaboration released via social media. It’s akin to Laura Marling collaborating with Pinegrove.

Together, the trio’s nostalgic, heartfelt and upbeat rendition features dreamy, swift acoustic strums, pulsating bass, effervescent handclaps, jingling tambourine, glistening horns and whistling theremin as Guzman soulfully sings, “I remember you well in the Chelsea Hotel/You were famous, your heart was a legend/You told me again you preferred handsome men/But for me you would make an exception.”

“Old Main Records grouped the three of us together, and we went through a list of songs until we agreed upon ‘Chelsea Hotel No. 2.’ I was the one to throw it out there, as I had recently started covering it, and it’s an amazing tune,” Guzman said.

“I’ve enjoyed Cohen’s music since I was younger, and his songwriting has such a rich, dark charm to it. His emotions reach below the surface, and that’s what inspires me most about his writing,” Guzman said.

Back in the spring, Guzman, Ohly and McNitt each responded to an Old Main Records call for a special quarantine-inspired artist collaboration. The plan included stimulating local artist creativity and partnership amid a new, unfamiliar socially distanced world absent of live music.

After the artists responded, Old Main Records, a Wayne State University student-run record label and organization, realized these three were a magical force. In a sense, it was a dream collaboration for a trio of emerging, complementary singer-songwriters.

“We felt we could do something to help artists meet and collaborate at the same time. We had recording engineers and graphic artists as well as our own platform to help promote these artists. We first gathered the artists to meet all together on Zoom,” said Chris Simpson, Old Main Records president and a Wayne State University student.

“Once the artists got to know each other and their music, they had to meet online to come up with a song to record. The artists picked the track based on their own recommendations of pitching each other ideas. It was a very organic process.”

Continue reading “Remote Start – Detroit Artists Release Quarantine-Inspired Rendition of ‘Chelsea Hotel No. 2’ via Old Main Records” →

Atomic Structure – Mason Summit Emits Positive Emotional Charge on New ‘Negative Space’ Album

Mason Summit’s “Negative Space” album brings listeners one step closer to better versions of themselves.

Mason Summit emits an positive electrifying charge on Negative Space.

The Los Angeles indie folk singer-songwriter quickly attracts the “nano” emotions buried deep within the atomic structure of our subconscious on his latest album.

Out Friday via all streaming platforms, Negative Space reveals a microcosm of inner thoughts and deep revelations about failed relationships, reluctant confidants, unspoken feelings, hidden anxieties, turbulent endings, personal resignations, unexpected transitions and closed chapters.

“The overarching themes include a lot of regret and a lot of trepidation until we get to ‘Round January.’ Some of the songs are more personal in that sense than others, and others were more conceptual like ‘Cause for Concern,’ which I had thought of as an album name initially. I thought, ‘People are going to hear these songs, and they’re going to be concerned about my well-being,’” Summit said.

Summit poignantly addresses that fractured sense of well-being throughout Negative Space’s raw, honest 10 tracks. Despite a barrage of dark emotions and difficult experiences, each track moves Summit and listeners one step closer to stronger, wiser and better versions of themselves. Fittingly, Negative Space is akin to chronicling years of internal growth and self-acceptance in a 30-minute span.

“Most of the songs were written in a songwriting class at USC. Some of those came from specific prompts like ‘Round January.’ I probably wouldn’t have written that song had it not been for the prompt,” said Summit, who studied songwriting and graduated from the University of Southern California (USC) in May.

“Obviously, you always want them to sound personal, like on ‘Doomed from the Start.’ For that song, I was thinking about my first serious relationship, which started in high school, and how it didn’t last because it was all about learning how to be in a relationship.”

Continue reading “Atomic Structure – Mason Summit Emits Positive Emotional Charge on New ‘Negative Space’ Album” →

Magic Moment – Chris DuPont Lives for the Present on New Heartfelt ‘Jawline/Visitor’ Singles

Chris DuPont has released two new singles, “Jawline” and “Visitor,” about living in the moment. Photo by Andrew Kanitz

Chris DuPont poignantly reminds us to live in the moment.

The Ypsilanti indie folk singer-songwriter magically captures that fleeting emotion through two new breathtaking singles, “Jawline” and “Visitor,” which dropped today via all streaming platforms.

“They’re about connecting with a human being in the moment and experiencing being apart from them and feeling like what Richard Rohr would call ‘that bright sadness of being apart.’ It kind of wrecks you, but there’s also joy in hoping for the return,” said DuPont, who’s also hosting a virtual release show tonight at 7 p.m.

“I loved the idea of taking the opportunity to put out that kind of work that isn’t actually talking about quarantine or isolation directly, but it talks about my experience of it and all the complicated things that come with it like isolation and desire. It just felt like my way of responding in a way that could be expressive instead of literal and head-on.”

“Jawline” and “Visitor” single artwork

DuPont directly tackles that emotional intensity on “Jawline,” a serene acoustic ballad about missing someone in the darkest of times. Sorrowful piano and weeping electric guitar simultaneously open the mind’s floodgates of loneliness while hope pumps freely through the heart and veins.

In response, DuPont tenderly sings, “There is a divot in my collarbone/From the cut of your jawline/There is this feeling of coming home/When you’re entwined.”

“I have a hard time being present right now. I’m always years into the future or obsessed with my past. My music tends to poke at that, like the fact that I’m really into memory and whatever isn’t right immediately now. ‘Jawline’ follows the trend that a lot of my writing is following now in that I’m really trying to be someone who’s actually present in my body,” said DuPont, who wrote the track last fall.

“A lot of the lyrics on Floodplains, too, are really a sort of reclaiming just being flesh and blood and being right here, right now, especially in myself, but also as it relates to another human being. ‘Jawline’ is a moment song about those visceral things like loving the way somebody’s bone is shaped and the way that it interacts with you when they come to embrace you.”

Continue reading “Magic Moment – Chris DuPont Lives for the Present on New Heartfelt ‘Jawline/Visitor’ Singles” →

Warm Embrace – Lilly MacPhee Releases Poignant New ‘Notes’ EP Today

Lilly MacPhee weaves beautiful indie folk throughout her latest EP, “Notes,” out today.

Lilly MacPhee gives the ultimate sonic embrace.

The Brighton indie folk singer-songwriter gently wraps her musical arms around listeners with her third poignant and poetic EP, “Notes,” which drops today.

“I really just wanted to write about all different themes, and that’s what I try to do with all of my EPs. I named the EP ‘Notes’ because sometimes a line or an idea happens in my head, and then I write it down and later craft it into a song,” MacPhee said.

MacPhee beautifully crafted her latest EP’s three introspective, comforting tracks as a follow-up to 2019’s striking “Heartstrings” EP. The breathtaking opener, “Where You Are,” features tender acoustic strums and mournful slide guitar that later erupts into an emotional epiphany filled with a Fleetwood Mac-inspired rhythm section.

She hauntingly sings, “I’ve been walking for miles now/And I’ve been searching up and down/And I’m trying, trying to find you/Chasing shadows everywhere, I hear your voice/I know you’re there, and I’m trying, trying to find you.”

“It’s a nice love song about missing someone, and I was actually experiencing writer’s block in 2019. Last summer, I went to Ireland, Scotland and London, and then as soon as I came back from that, I wrote ‘Where You Are,’” said MacPhee, who’s latest EP cover features a photo of her taken in Edinburgh.

“Notes” EP cover art

While MacPhee tries to locate a lost love in “Where You Are,” she reassures another to maintain a positive outlook in “I’ll Show You the Way.” This exquisite track weaves thoughtful acoustic strums and quickly melds them with delicate drums, light bass and calming slide guitar as MacPhee sings, “And we’re spinning, turning, and twirling around the idea/And together we say, it’s a brand new day.”

The EP’s gorgeous closing track, “Cold,” includes deep, sorrowful acoustic guitar throughout it as MacPhee sadly sings, “I took a step back and I looked around/And in all the noise I didn’t hear a sound/I wanted to scream, I wanted to shout when I heard those words leave your mouth.”

“So ‘Cold’ obviously had the darker theme out of the other two songs, but the inspiration behind ‘Cold’ was actually written after I watched the Nicholas Sparks film, ‘Safe Haven,’ and then I heard a song in the movie called ‘Say Anything’ by Tristan Prettyman. I would love to have my songs placed in TV and film someday, too,” MacPhee said.

MacPhee recorded “Notes” at Ann Arbor’s Big Sky Recording with Billy Harrington (drums, percussion), Michael Harrington (lead guitar), Timothy Monger (accordion, electric piano) and engineer Geoff Michael (lead guitar, bass). She also worked with Geoff Michael on last year’s “Heartstrings,” which features the two handling the entire EP’s instrumentation.

In fact, MacPhee has soared throughout metro Detroit as an emerging singer-songwriter since the release of her five-track debut EP, “From the Start,” in 2018. The beautiful opener, “Lullaby,” provides a relaxing escape from life’s everyday troubles with mesmerizing guitar, vibrant piano and delicate drum taps as MacPhee quietly sings, “Breathe deep, breathe slow/I am here, won’t let go/Alone you will never be, listen closely.”

“I wrote that song for my mom when she was going through a hard time. I think anybody can relate to it and know that they’re free no matter what they’re going through,” she said.

A year later, MacPhee released “Heartstrings,” which includes the stunning “Blink of an Eye” with bright acoustic guitar and somber vocals, “I wish I could rewind time/Cuz you were gone in the blink of an eye/Now it’s 3 a.m., and I’m still weak/Insomnia has the best of me.”

“I wrote the ‘Blink of an Eye’ song for one of my mom’s best friends when her mom passed away. That seems like one others can relate to a bit,” she said. “I also like the ‘Our Way Back Home’ song, it’s a nice, happy love song, and it kind of picks you up. It would be a tie between those two.”

MacPhee started carving a musical path for herself at age 11 while learning guitar, writing songs and listening to her mother’s Motown and folk albums. She also sought creative inspiration from the late Dolores O’Riordan of The Cranberries as well as Natalie Merchant.

Her musical path eventually led to a growing roster of live performances at the Michigan Theater, The Ark, 20 Front Street, Black Crystal Cafe and Arts, Beats & Eats. She’s also scheduled to perform March 7 at Dessert Oasis Coffee Roasters in Royal Oak, March 14 at Lu & Carl’s Bar & Grill in Brighton and March 19 at Hell Saloon in Pinckney.

“I’m just going to continue with songwriting and expanding my catalog of songs, and I’m just going to keep performing and hope that I can connect with the listeners,” said MacPhee, who also plans to release lyric and live videos soon.