Category Archives: Features

Features, Music

Interview: Towne Talks New EP, Relationships and more! 

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Meet the duo Towne. One of them is a music theater lover from Pennsylvania and the other is a former punk rocker from Kentucky. While Steevie  Steeves and Jon  Decious come from two very different backgrounds, they fit together perfectly as country duo Towne. The duo recently released their EP Games We Play as well as a music video for their song “The One I Love.” We had the chance to talk with Towne and ask them some questions about their EP as well as their Journey this far and their plans for CMA Fest! Check out their music video and our interview below!

WATCH THE MUSIC VIDEO FOR “THE ONE I LOVE”

INTERVIEW WITH TOWNE

Variety Beat: You recently released a video for the song you wrote: “The One I Love.” It’s a pretty emotional and powerful song, can you talk about the inspiration behind it?

Towne: The inspiration behind “The One I Love” came from a poem on a napkin that Steevie had kept in her wallet for years that an ex boyfriend of her’s had written. She had brought it up in a casual conversation but we thought it was a pretty unique idea, so we started putting chords to it and it just sort of fell out of the sky.

Variety Beat: You released your EP Games We Play last year, are any of those songs inspired by each other and is ever difficult to be completely honest when it comes to writing songs?

Towne: Absolutely! Being each other’s exes makes our past a pretty obvious subject matter. At times things might be tough to bring up at first, but we’re also best friends so it all eventually comes out. Sometimes we get lucky and it makes for good songs!

Variety Beat: What is your favorite part about writing music?

Towne: We love it all. From the start of the process when you’re just kicking around ideas, to putting chords to a melody, to that untouchable feeling we get when we finish a song we LOVE! There’s never a dull moment.

Variety Beat: Favorite things to do in your free time?

Towne:We’re really into running/taking hikes, reading new books (let us know if you can recommend any- we’re always looking for new ones), and just chilling out and taking a deep breath.

 

Variety Beat: What’s on your bucket list that isn’t music related?

Towne:
Jon: I’d like to write a book…but the book would probably be music-related.
Steevie: I want to travel to Thailand and explore…and, i dunno, maybe ride an elephant 🙂

Variety Beat: Will we be seeing you at CMA Fest?

Towne: We’re hoping so! Nothing scheduled at the moment but we’ve got our fingers crossed that that changes.

Towne’s EP Games We Play can be bought on all major digital retailers and the music video for “The One I Love” can be found on here. More Information can be found at their website.

Features, Music

Nikki Y’s EP ‘Solid Gold’ Will Make You Fall in Love With Jazz All Over Again.

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Jazz music is a genre that doesn’t get as much attention as it should. The music is more than just words or a sound, it’s the definition of soul. It’s music that makes you feel and creeps deep inside you, without you even knowing it. Some of the most powerful artists and musicians come from Jazz, Frank Sinatra, Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong and even Amy Winehouse.

Jazz artists, have something to say and know a lot about what they are saying. They somehow instill history and wisdom into a rhythm that has the listener swaying and dancing to the music. Nikki Y is a Canadian Jazz-Pop singer/songwriter who has a voice so powerful, seasoned and calming for a young 23-year-old. She has worked with Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock and Stevie Wonder.

It’s no suprise that her voice has given her extraodinary opportunities like singing at a Jazz Festival at just 12 years old!

 

Since then, Nikki Y (née Yanofsky) has released two studio albums, 2014’s Little Secret (executive-produced by Quincy Jones) and four years earlier, her self-titled album (produced by the legendary Phil Ramone) which went platinum in Canada. But with her newest release, the Solid Gold EP, Nikki is finally getting personal. The album chronicles Nikki’s relationship with her longtime boyfriend, broaching the topic of love through a spectrum of themes and sounds, her emotions as in-the-moment as possible. “My goal was to have no goal,” she says. “Last record, I wanted to bridge pop and jazz. This time, I wanted to get introspective—however that came out. It’s more about voice and not about a genre.”

 

One of Solid Gold EP’s greatest achievements is its lightning-in-a-bottle ability to, at once, capture her technical prowess and vocal soulfulness. Much of that is a credit to her collaborator Wyclef Jean, who co-produced the album alongside Nikki. “The first time I worked with him, I was 13,” she says of Wyclef, whom she met at a charity event. (Nikki, who’s raised more than $10 million for charities, continues to devote herself to causes such as The Children’s Wish Foundation, The Montreal Children’s Hospital, and MusiCounts.) “He got me, not just my voice. After I worked on ‘Me, Myself, and I’ with him, I knew I had to do the whole album with him.”

“I’ll never forget the first song I ever wrote,” Nikki says. She was just seven years old. “I asked my parents, ‘What did The Beatles write about?’ They said, ‘They wrote about what they feel and what they see.’” So she wrote a song about the fairies on her purple pajamas. “I always felt different when I was young. Kids my age were hanging out together. But I would listen to music in the kitchen and teach myself songs. I was connecting to these songs.” Throughout her career, Nikki has endeavored to create music that would have the same impact on others. “I always had a really old soul,” she says. “And now, I feel like I’m growing into it.”

 

Here’s a song called “Miss You When I’m Drunk” that Nikki tells Variety Beat she wrote in the shower!

I wrote this song about an experience I had… but what’s hilarious is that I wrote it in the shower! If you were to hear the original voice memo of it, you’d hear the water running in the background. I find it super playful and fun, maybe that’s because those are the types of songs I sing when I’m shampooing my hair, haha!

LISTEN TO NIKKI Y’s “MISS YOU WHEN I’M DRUNK”

 

Get the Solid Gold EP everywhere digital music is sold!

Features, Music, Pop

Canadian Pop Artist, Nancy Love Releases “Your Body” Music Video – Watch!

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Canadian Pop Artist, Nancy Love has just released the “Your Body” music video in time for the new year! Love has appeared on CBC’s hit show Dragon’s Den, is a Spokeswoman for the Cancer Recovery Foundation of Canada; a Spokeswoman for the Norristown Project- a community development goodwill program in Philadelphia; and won a contest to travel from Canada to Portugal to sing at the FIFA Euro Cup 2012!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BOtYzV3DwTz/?taken-by=nancylovemusic

 

Speaking to Variety Beat about “Your Body,” Love said:

“Your Body” is a high energy song that everyone will instantly want to dance to and feel good about. It’s about having fun, dancing the night away and feeling super energized! I feel there should be more songs out there that give you that fun and exciting feeling inside and that was my purpose with this song. I want people to really jam and dance around with this song, I just love the idea of knowing that one of my songs got you up on your feet and dancing all over the place. It brings positive and happy vibes and just knowing that it got someone to dance and feel good about it makes me happy!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BO3g5mvh1I0/?taken-by=nancylovemusic

 

WATCH THE “YOUR BODY” MUSIC VIDEO

 

Buy “Your Body” on iTunes 

Features, Music, Pop

Upcoming Pop Artist Isabella Releases Debut Single “Olé” – Watch!

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Upcoming pop artist Isabella has just recently released her debut single, “Olé,” along with the music video. Born as Kelly Isabelle Chiappini, Isabella is a Puerto Rican/French singer and songwriter, who currently resides in Los Angeles, California. Isabella’s style is an international sound, combining pop music with a Caribbean Latin flair, with lyrics in English, Spanish and French. In 2016, Isabella collaborated with Capital Records‘ artist, BJ The Chicago Kid, on the single “Love Inside” on his debut album. Isabella’s musical influences includes artists such as La Lupe, Mariah Carey, Ricky Martin, and Juan Luis Guerra. Isabella is a graduate of the Lycée International and has also attended the Musician’s Institute in Hollywood, American Academy of Dramatic Arts and the Colburn School of Performing Arts. This has led Isabella to realize that music is her passion and lead to the release of her debut song, “Olé.”

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“Olé,” is the lead single from Isabella’s upcoming untitled EP that is slated to be released in 2017. The song tells the story of a king who is willing to sacrifice everything for the love of the world. It is influenced by gypsy culture and flamenco in southern Spain. The percussion reflects the sounds of Puerto Rico, the diversity of the culture and Isabella’s musical influences. Isabella told Variety Beat:

“Olé is very personal to me as it is about true and everlasting love. It symbolizes a love story between a king and a young woman. It also means more to me than a relationship between two people who deeply love one another; it is a reflection of the past and what will happen in the future because of this love.”

Along with the single, Isabella has released a music video to compliment the song. Isabella talks about the inspiration for the music video:

“Flamenco culture was the main inspiration for the video. I intended to use visuals that would reflect a modern, pop artist version of international Andalusian flamenco. The director and I worked together to have dynamic and colorful visuals that represented both the song’s storyline and myself as an artist.”

“Olé” will also be included on Isabella’s upcoming EP that will feature songs written from a place of passion, and is introspective of what it means to love. The central theme of the EP is everlasting love, with all the songs featuring reoccurring characters and anecdotes from Isabella’s personal life. Be sure to keep an eye out next year for the full EP!

Watch the Music Video Below!

Purchase the Song Below!

Olé – Single ISABELLA

Features, Interviews

Victoria Lane Talks About Her New Single ‘Lights Off’ – Listen

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Victoria Lane burst onto the music scene a few months ago with her first single “Don’t Regret It.” Now she’s back with her newest single “Lights Off.” The story is one that’s all too familiar, ‘He’s Just Not That Into You.’

It’s a tale that most girls can relate to, finding a guy that you think is perfect and realizing he’s not.

Listen to “Lights Off” by Victoria Lane


We had the pleasure of talking with Lane earlier this month about her new single and her journey thus far!

Variety Beat: You released a single last month called “Don’t Regret It.” Can you tell us the inspiration for the song?

Victoria Lane: It’s upbeat, sad, hopeful, and sassy all at once! At the time that I wrote it, I was traveling back and forth between my hometown of Miami and my dream hometown of Los Angeles every couple of weeks. I found myself leaving Miami behind in exchange for some time in L.A., where a lot of my good friends live and where I felt there was more opportunity for me. I decided to take that feeling of being in the push and pull of a relationship — in this case, my relationship with Miami — and make it sound like a traditional breakup song. (By the way, there was ultimately a happy ending: I made a clean break with Miami and now live in L.A. — and I don’t regret it!)

VB: And you’re gearing up to release another single later this month “Lights Off.” What do you hope fans take away from it? What’s the meaning behind the song?

VL: I wrote “Lights Off” as I was getting dressed to go out the night after a guy — one who had fooled me into thinking he wasn’t the bad guy I thought he was — told me I was pretty in a pitch black room. Total jerk move, right? I want fans to feel the need to sing along to “Lights Off” at the top of their lungs every time they hear it because they’ve been through a similar situation. It’s fun and angry, and I think it’s relatable because there’s quite a bit of vulnerability woven into it as well.

VB: How has being raised somewhere like Miami influenced your sound/you as an artist?

VL: Miami had an influence not as much on my sound as much as on my development as an independent artist. My high school had an incredible chorus that I was a part of — and became president of my senior year — that helped me fall in love with singing! But I really began to pursue this dream while I was living in Miami thanks to encouragement from my friend Cody who I drove up to visit in Orlando one weekend. And the amazing team at Afflux Studios, who were just up the street in Wellington, produced both the cover videos that introduced me as an artist and the music video for “Don’t Regret It.”

VB: You graduated college and worked in the corporate world for a while, what made you realize music was what you wanted to do?

VL: I went to watch some friends play a show in Downtown Orlando one weekend. I remember standing in the crowd, watching my friends have an absolute blast and realizing that I was missing out on the fun and passion that came with being an artist. I already was in love with music, and I figured that fear was the only thing holding me back! And so, here we are!

VB: Who are some of the biggest music influences to you?
VL: Hayley Williams, hands down. She is flawless. I’ve also found myself listening to Katy Perry, Tove Lo, and Tory Lanez a lot. And the seasoned songwriters I write with have had the greatest influence on me — on not only my sound but also my confidence.

“Lights Off” can be found at all major digital retailers including iTunes. More information can be found www.iamvictorialane.com