Keeka The Brave – The Messenger

Artist: Keeka The Brave

Song: The Messenger

Genres: #postrock #instrumental

Influences: Tycho, Lymbyc Systym, Boards of Canada

Location: Florida, United States

Release date: February, 2022

Comment: Having received classical training in percussion and after years performing as a drummer in live gigs or as a DJ/electronic music artist, it makes absolute sense that the work of Keeka The Brave –the musical project of American musician, producer, and songwriter: Elon Hiers–, sounds so cool and fresh. The Messenger, for instance, blends post-rock guitar lines with ambient synths and sophisticated beats. Inspired by the beaches near Jacksonville, this mesmerizing track will be part of Keeka The Brave‘s debut EP. Check it out!

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GHST MDRN – Sleepwalking Through Fire

Artist: GHST MDRN

Song: Sleepwalking Through Fire

Genres: #postrock #cinematicrock

Location: Vancouver, Canada

Release date: October, 2021

CommentJordan Irwin, aka GHST MDRN, is a talented multi-instrumentalist from Vancouver and one of the nicest guys on Twitter. He draws inspiration from movies and his tracks are always interesting and compelling. That being said, Sleepwalking Through Fire is the one that most closely resembles an instrumental alternative rock song which is why I instantly loved it from the moment I first listened to a demo version about a year ago. Circumstances delayed the release of this song all this long, but the important thing is that it is finally out there as part of GHST MDRN’s new album: Always Darkest Before The Dawn. Give it a listen and enjoy!

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Away From The Earth – The Secret is To Begin

As it happened to many others, Kyle Wright lost his job in the middle of the pandemic. After graduating college, he had to work as an Uber driver to make ends meet. However, he never stopped dreaming about a better future. Just one year earlier, he had started a solo musical project called Away From The Earth, inspired by his time as a guitar player during worship events and on local bands around Memphis. The events during 2020 motivated him to compose and self-record an EP he named Paint With Grey, See In Color that reflected what he was feeling at the time. Kyle defines AFTE’s music style as “somewhere between post-rock energy and ambient vibes”. I couldn’t agree more with him.

The EP is really good but I fell in love with its first track: The Secret Is To Begin, which is simply mesmerizing. Kyle says that it was based on the sound made by “taping bubble wrap to a fan and laying it over the strings of an electric guitar”, which I would never have guessed on my own given such a beautiful piece of #postrock music. The bottom line is that it is a spellbinding song that you will want to inject into your veins. Listen to it at your own peril.

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Astralign – The First Time I Saw You

Astralign

Astralign is an ambient/cinematic/downtempo project based in Australia, created by Gavin Foo, a passionate sound designer with a love for music. “Fragments” marks Astralign’s debut EP, initially released independently and now available on Spotify.

“The First Time I Saw You” is the most downtempo track in Fragments, making it a perfect fit for the Chill-Out Mixtape. This soothing composition beautifully captures the emotions experienced when encountering someone special for the first time. Enjoy the track below and consider supporting/following the artists through the provided hyperlinks.

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Darkfield – A New Beginning

Darkfield

I’m always amazed by the number of talented musicians out there waiting for an opportunity to be heard. Joey Westerlund, a multi-instrumentalist from Portland, Oregon, is the creative force behind Darkfield. The music he creates as Darkfield ranges from heavy to mellow post-rock, with A New Beginning from their second EP, Carry Us Away, falling on the latter side. All of Joey’s tracks, however, can definitely be considered cinematic.

In fact, this beautiful track feels like the score to an epic space travel movie, making it a perfect companion for a Sunday afternoon. Enjoy it here!

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Angels & Airwaves – All That’s Left Is Love

Angels & Airwaves - All That's Left Is Love

I think Tom DeLonge is the type of person who gets easily bored by routine and repetition. One of the reasons he got into arguments with Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker, was that he wanted to experiment with a more “atmospheric” sound while his friends wanted to keep doing what had been successful for them so far. The bad news is that this is what eventually caused him to leave Blink-182, but –luckily for us– that is also what prompted him to form Angels & Airwaves (stylized AVA). The group is basically a cinematic rock band with a punk-rock flavour, and there is nothing wrong with that.

AVA had been relatively quiet since 2017, partly because DeLonge had been busy looking for UFOs (for real, he co-founded this company), but they are now back on track to drop a new album soon, having released three new singles already since December. All That’s Left is Love is the latest one of them and is also the one that resembles the most the band’s previous work (this is not a complaint, I liked the other two singles as well, especially Rebel Girl). All the proceeds the band makes from this single will be donated to the charity Feeding America to help with the economic impact of COVID-19.

All in all, it is a great song from one of the most curious minds in the music business today.

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Lights & Motion – I See You

Lights & Motion - I See You

In yesterday’s entry, I mentioned why I liked cinematic (post-rock) music. Well, I probably have to thank Lights & Motion for that. Reanimation, the debut album of this Swedish one-man band, founded in 2012 by the talented Christoffer Franzén, hooked me in. The “band” is one of the main references in the genre and its songs have been featured in multiple tv commercials, tv shows and movies. Funnily enough, the song I’m recommending here today, from the Lights & Motion‘s latest album: The Great Wide Open, is perhaps the band’s less cinematic songs.

It’s not that I See You lacks Lights & Motion‘s trademark atmospheric vibes and amazing soundscapes –it doesn’t–, but I think it has more elements of indie rock, especially with the hauntingly beautiful vocals of Swedish singer Frida Sundemo. I particularly love the guitars that start playing at 1:42. All in all, it is a mesmerizing track that closes perfectly another great album by Lights & Motion and Deep Elm Records.

Isn’t I See You an instant musical crush?

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