By Billboard

Lucy Dacus is a singer and songwriter who emerged from the thriving indie rock scene of Richmond, Virginia in the mid-2010s. She sports a buttery voice that commands both her thoughtful rock tunes and more intimate confessionals. Born and raised in Mechanicsville just outside of Richmond, her mother was a music teacher, and Dacus grew up singing. She began writing regularly via journaling in the sixth grade, and attended concerts, connecting with the Richmond music scene throughout high school. After graduating, she tried studying film at Virginia Commonwealth University with a plan to make music on the side, but soon dropped out and concentrated on writing songs. Her debut was put together relatively last-minute when a friend who worked at Starstruck Studio in Nashville let her know they had an open day. She had assembled a band from area musicians in guitarist Jacob Blizard, bass player Christine Moad, and drummer Hayden Cotcher, and the songs, which had been written solo, were arranged for the quartet in the week leading up to a ten-hour recording session. The friend at the studio, Collin Pastore, engineered and mixed the album, which was co-produced by Dacus, Pastore, and Blizard. Richmond label Egghunt Records took interest in the results and released No Burden in early 2016. The album quickly received buzz in the indie music press, and the band did an Audiotree Live session in March that was released as a digital EP. That June, 21-year-old Dacus announced she had signed with Matador Records, which reissued No Burden in September 2016. ~ Marcy Donelson, Rovi

This biography originally appeared on Billboard.

Source: http://www.billboard.com/artist/7325524/lucy-dacus/biography

Photo: http://matablog.matadorrecords.com/2016/09/09/lucy-dacus-no-burden-lp-reissue-available-today/

Video: www.youtube.com

By Kristin Corpuz, Billboard

Up-and-coming R&B singer Stanaj has just delivered a knockout follow-up to his EP From a Distance with his new single, “The Way I Love Her,” released Friday (June 30). Coming off a U.S. tour with fellow vocal powerhouse JoJo, Stanaj brings his sultry riffs and smooth tone to the catchy beat, produced and co-written by Simon Wilcox and RedOne.

“Collaborating with RedOne was such a refreshing feeling,” says Stanaj of the venture. “The chemistry came so quickly and naturally; we haven’t stopped working for two months now.”

The Republic Records singer has been publicly endorsed by musical superstars — including Justin Timberlake, Drake, and Chris Brown — as well as NBA athlete Brandon Jennings and social media mogul Kim Kardashian West. Check out the new song below.

This article originally appeared on Billboard.

Source: http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/7850108/stanaj-new-song-the-way-i-love-her

Photo: http://headlineplanet.com/home/2016/10/26/1st-look-stanaj-performs-wednesdays-tonight-show-starring-jimmy-fallon/

Video: www.youtube.com

By Billboard

You may know them best for producing Chance the Rapper’s smash “No Problem,” but this New York duo also boasts production credits for the likes of Anderson .Paak (“Am I Wrong?”), plus co-signs from GRiZ and Lido. Expect Ivan Jackson (trumpet, production) and Conor Rayne (drums) to make some more funk-infused noise in 2017. – Matt Medved​

This article originally appeared on Billboard.

Source: http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/dance/7647002/artists-to-watch-dance-electronic-edm-2017

Photo: https://www.allthingsgomusic.com/photos-jack-garratt-930-club/

http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/dance/7460955/brasstracks-get-your-way-roses-gabor

Video: www.youtube.com

By Rich Wilson, AllMusic

Born and raised in East Atlanta, J.I.D — a name adopted and adapted from what his grandmother called him as a jittery child — first appeared on the Atlanta hip-hop scene with his debut EP, Dicaprio, in 2015. Growing up, J.I.D’s first connection with music was through his parents’ collection of classic funk and soul LPs. After a stint at Hampton University playing football, J.I.D also hooked up with fellow MCs as part of the Spillage Village collective. By 2012, he had dropped out of college to focus on music, and in 2014 he headed out on what would be a productive tour with EarthGang, Bas, and Ab-Soul. Touring allowed J.I.D to craft his skills, and a year later he recorded and dropped the Dicaprio EP, which saw him team up with a host of producers, as well as EarthGang. While keen to distance himself from the generic abrasive trap sound that had dominated the Atlanta scene, J.I.D wanted to deliver something that was more than just about a beat, and instead focused his time and effort on lyrics as well. In 2016, J.I.D, alongside the rest of the Spillage Village crew, released the album Bears Like This Too Much, which saw the rapper honing his unique delivery and inspired lyrics. In 2017, he announced that he had signed to J. Cole’s Dreamville label (a connection made with the rapper via J.I.D’s part in the 2014 tour with Bas and Cole’s friend and producer Cedric Brown), which released the single Never and full-length The Never Story at the beginning of the year.

This biography originally appeared on AllMusic.

Source: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/jid-mn0003368290/biography

Photo: http://pigeonsandplanes.com/in-depth/2017/03/jid-interview-dreamville

Video: www.youtube.com JIDVEVO

By Jenna Romaine, Billboard

“Eighties pop-rock on acid” is how A Will Away have described themselves and — with a slew of memorable riffs, conceptual videos, and relatable lyrics that range from the everyday to transcendental — the band is living up to that.

Hailing from Connecticut, A Will Away’s first full-length album Here Again — released Mar. 3 via Triple Crown Records — in many ways acts as a continuation of their debut EP Bliss.

From the mundane (hating one’s job on the downtrodden “Pay Raise”) to the complex (navigating relationships in our current society), the alternative foursome have recreated their world through music. They often begin writing their parts separately, later coming together, only adding to their narrative of making sense from the sometimes disjointed and nonsensical.

“We just sort of noticed as we put Here Again together that it was just naturally attached to Bliss because we hadn’t detached thematically; we hadn’t detached to those feelings in our own lives,” explains Carlson.

A Will Away play a hands on role in the process of conceptualizing their music videos, like for their latest video for “Gravity.”

“When talking to him [director Eric Teti], I said something to the effect of, ‘I don’t really know what I want this to be: slow motion, black-and-white, and I want every indication that we’re in a floating void with abstract representing to force of gravity,’” Carlson tells Billboard.

Talk about a simple request; yet, somehow that’s exactly what came together. As the quartet perform, intangible concepts like time — and gravity itself — materialize in the form of flashes of clocks and the black vacuity that acts as the backdrop.

The visualization acts as a mirror to its lyrical counterparts, such as, “Gravity does what gravity wants/Pulling us back from the losing front/Seeing myself in a sliding door/Sweet cyanide and apple core,” speaking of arduous contemplation.

“The major takeaway [from our music] is you can sort of go as deep as you want,” says Carlson. “If you want to embrace this sort of ridiculous headspace that we’ve concocted as an experience then go for it; if you want to jam out to a song as a fun, poppy rock single, that’s fine too!”

Watch A Will Away’s new music video for “Gravity” premiering below.

This article originally appeared on Billboard.

Source: http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/7841907/a-will-away-gravity-video-premiere

Photo: http://localwolves.com/stories/on-the-loop-a-will-away/

Video: www.youtube.com