100 Awesome Independent Album and EP Releases You Probably Missed in 2018

Posted on December 28, 2018 by adammarx13

Another December just about passed, and another 100 independent albums and EP’s you probably missed this year. In any artistic industry, so much of the exciting content flies quietly under the radar, except for when you know where to look for it. 🤘🎸

Since 2015, I’ve given you lists of 100 independent albums and EP’s you probably missed during the year. Here they are:

Now here comes 2018’s. I’m so stoked for the new crop of artists here, as well as for those returning again. A lot of the content on this year’s list comes from artists I’ve known for years, producing music for new projects they’ve put together recently. This is a different kind of excitement; I love seeing the evolution of these creatives.

As with all previous lists, these 100 albums and EP’s come from artists all over the world. This year’s list includes artists from: Canada, Greece, Germany, South Korea, Belarus, Austria, Singapore, France, South Africa, Sweden, Australia, Norway, Spain, Estonia, Ukraine, Italy, the U.K., Switzerland, Russia, and 22 different U.S. states. The independent world is massive.

It’s always interesting to see what each year brings in terms of style and genre, and 2018 seems to have been heavy on punk, pop-punk, alternative, instrumental, metal, and jazz-influenced material, both in terms of my personal taste and overall releases.

With all that said, here are 100 of the independent albums and EP’s that you probably missed in 2018. All were released during the 2018 calendar year. Music is multidimensional, and all these artists should be treated as such.

As always, albums are in no particular order.

Come expand your universe and live in my world for a little while. 😎👍

1. Satellites — Chelsea Shag — Atlanta, Georgia, USA

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2. Painting with Scissors — Andy Gruhin — Silver Spring, Maryland, USA

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3. Feels — Fair Panic — Wayne, New Jersey, USA

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4. Overseas — White Coven — Zaragoza, Spain

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5. Hannah Wicklund & The Steppin Stones — Hannah Wicklund & The Steppin Stones — Nashville, Tennessee, USA

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6. Dreamland — Just Like Honey — New York, New York, USA

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7. Personal Issues — Oh See Demons — Bergen, Norway

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8. My Only Hope — Adam Singer — San Francisco, California, USA

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9. Mind Tricks — Brownstone Inc. — Graz, Austria

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10. Thriving, Given The Consequences — Soviet Ohio — Syracuse, New York, USA

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11. In Moon We Trust — Hālley — Paris, France

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12. What The Wreck? — Stan Stewart — Ithaca, New York, USA

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13. Poor You, Part Two — Jinxbox — Middlebury, Vermont, USA

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14. Centipede – EP — Blooming Fire — Los Angeles, California, USA

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15. The Candleman and the Curtain — The Earth and I — Warwick, New York, USA

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16. Everyone I’ve Ever Loved — Valleyheart — Salem, Massachusetts, USA

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17. Kingdoms — Coopertheband — Nashville, Tennessee, USA

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18. Self Titled — Alias May — Melbourne, Australia

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19. Make My Millennium — Resident One — Atlanta, Georgia, USA

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20. FunnySexyCool — Hollywood Horses — Birmingham, Alabama, USA

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21. .ghostworld – EP — .ghostworld — Singapore, Singapore

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22. Heaven and Her Demons — BlackBeak — Johannesburg, South Africa

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23. Wherever That Is — Panhandler — Stockholm, Sweden

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24. White Roses EP — Dream Chambers — Nashville, Tennessee, USA

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25. Soul Transfer — Emphasis — Tallin, Estonia

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26. Westline Drive EP — Westline Drive — San Francisco, California, USA

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27. EP — Lampion — Montreal, Quebec, Canada

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28. Salvation — The Penske File — Burlington, Ontario, Canada

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29. Hypnotizing Euphoria — The Who Was Phone — Zurich, Switzerland

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30. Bridges – EP — For The Fire — Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

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31. Disposition — Young Animals — St. Louis, Missouri, USA

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32. Glow In The Dark — Rachel Rose Mitchell — Melbourne, Australia

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33. Dear Beer — The Bombpops — Los Angeles, California, USA

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34. Aftermind — HighView — Canberra, Australia

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35. It’s History, It’s Poetry — Detour North — Chicago, Illinois, USA

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36. Voices in My Head — Failing Up — Los Angeles, California, USA

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37. Omega — Shades of Dissonance — Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

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38. From the Wild Sky — Halie Loren — Eugene, Oregon, USA

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39. Up in Roses — Fever — Portland, Oregon, USA

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40. Passing Years — Looking For Alaska — Regensburg, Germany

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41. Desire Paths — Turnspit — Chicago, Illinois, USA

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42. Absolution EP — Keating — Columbus, Ohio, USA

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43. The Fallen King — Frozen Crown — Milan, Italy

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44. Heartwoken EP — The Revies — Los Angeles, California, USA

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45. Amnesiatic — ODD ROBOT — Fullerton, California, USA

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46. Everything Is Temporary — Between You & Me — Melbourne, Australia

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47. Duoyu — Duoyu — Athens, Greece

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48. Six People in a Dream — Baronaqua — Melbourne, Australia

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49. Hometown Static — Second Street — Kansas City, Missouri, USA

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50. Happy Thoughts — Midfield — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

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51. Becoming a Ghost — Becoming a Ghost — Troy, New York, USA

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52. Bedtime — Pawn Pawn — Toledo, Ohio, USA

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53. Alliance — We Call The Shots — Phoenix, Arizona, USA

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54. Mother’s Keeper — Mother’s Keeper — Birmingham, Alabama, USA

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55. Is an EP — THIS — Buffalo, New York, USA

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56. Distraction EP — Paper Citizen — Boston, Massachusetts, USA

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57. Nostalgia — deerfield. — Syracuse, New York, USA

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58. Street Talk — Big White — Sydney, Australia

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59. For Me This Time — Analog Heart — Boston, Massachusetts, USA

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60. While We Dream — Lights & Motion — Gothenburg, Sweden

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61. Raw Sugar — L’Absence — Zaragoza, Spain

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62. Tameless — Buffalo Rampage — Moscow, Russia

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63. Never Asked for It EP — Sorry, Scout — St. Louis, Missouri, USA

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64. Old Soul — Sharp Sleeves — Blacksburg, Virginia, USA

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65. Aspire — VENUES — Stuttgart, Germany

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66. From Blue to Bone — Mama Doom — Poughkeepsie, New York, USA

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67. Heart Whispers (EP) — Grace & the Midnight Angel — Clovis, California, USA

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68. Cirque Du Skank — Skunk Funk — American Canyon, California, USA

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69. Spring Silver EP — Spring Silver — Silver Spring, Maryland, USA

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70. The View From Here — Stealing Home — Concord, California, USA

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71. Weird’N’Confused — Appocaloosers — Madrid, Spain

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72. Inception — Wallbangers — Nantes, France

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73. Wanderlust EP — Growling Rabbit — Minsk, Belarus

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74. Paper Saints — Paper Saints — Dallas, Texas, USA

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75. Spinneret EP — JEM — Singapore, Singapore

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76. Cashmore Demos — Cashmore — Brisbane, Australia

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77. Dakota — Go Murphy — Fargo, North Dakota, USA

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78. Categories of Colour — Either/Or — Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

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79. Facade — Boxford — Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA

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80. Casual Corner — Blesst Chest — Portland, Oregon, USA

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81. Paper Hearts — The Brothers Union — Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA

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82. New Ruins — Candace — Portland, Oregon, USA

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83. Growing Pain — Envious View — Springfield, Missouri, USA

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84. Hangin’ On! — The Glycereens — Brisbane, Australia

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85. Digital EP — Anemoria — Fullerton, California, USA

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86. Agonize — Sever The Ear — Gwangju, South Korea

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87. Laugh It Off! — Domino & the Derelicts — San Jose, California, USA

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88. Glass Bones — WolvesMouth — Voorhees, New Jersey, USA

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89. Ashes — Led By Lanterns — Birmingham, England, UK

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90. A Quiet Riot Vol. 1 — We Are Riot — Bremen, Germany

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91. Membership Dues — Sad Girlz Club — San Francisco, California, USA

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92. Broken Codes — In Parallel — Nashville, Tennessee, USA

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93. The Deep Sleep — Unveil — Sherebrooke, Quebec, Canada

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94. The Nexstone — The Nexstone — Kramatorsk, Ukraine

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95. Comfort Zone — Superhaunted — Miami, Florida, USA

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96. Fault Lines EP — Aeve Ribbons — Manchester, England, UK

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97. Visions EP — Noise Maze — Udine, Italy

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98.The Outer Space (EP) — Fallcie — Saint Petersburg, Russia

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99. Jaren — Jenn’s Apartment — Lansing, Michigan, USA

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100. Nothing Left — My Favorite Fault — Moscow, Russia

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100 Awesome Independent Album and EP Releases You Probably Missed in 2017

Posted on December 15, 2017 by adammarx13

Here we are, back in December, and everyone knows what that means: more “Best of…” lists trumpeting the best new music on the scene. And as always, so much of the independent world flies completely under the radar.

For the last two years, I’ve drawn up lists of “100 independent albums and EP’s you probably missed” during the year. Here they are:

Now it’s time for list number three, and I am so excited partly because of how the map is expanding to include places which weren’t touched in the first two lists.

As with the first two lists, these 100 albums and EP’s come from artists all over the world. This year’s list includes artists from: Canada, the U.K. (England, Scotland, and Wales), Australia, Switzerland, France, Sweden, Russia, Finland, Belarus, Romania, Slovakia, Brazil, Japan, South Africa, Greece, Myanmar, Spain, Portugal, Chile, Serbia, Austria, Argentina, Ukraine, Indonesia, Poland, and 28 different U.S. states. The independent world is very, very big.

I’m also pleased to see an evolution of my own tastes and appreciation; this year’s list includes more pop, electronic, R&B, and jazz influences, obviously mixed in with a healthy helping of alternative, rock, and metal.

So here are 100 of the albums and EP’s that you probably missed in 2017. All were released during the 2017 calendar year; imagine if the mainstream paid attention to all the artists out there, and not only the handful we hear about.

As always, albums are in no particular order.

Go expand your universe. You’d be shocked at what you discover.

1. Why Am I Swimming Around Like This? — Fishtank — London, England, UK

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2. Tube One — Okto Vulgaris — Chur, Switzerland

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3. Space — The Head — Atlanta, Georgia, USA

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4. It’s Butter – EP — It’s Butter — Los Angeles, California, USA

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5. Grace Blue — Grace Blue — Los Angeles, California, USA

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6. Machine — Hello, Mountain — Denver, Colorado, USA

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7. The Hurricane EP — Morganway — Norwich, England, UK

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8. Tooth & Nail — Freya Wilcox & The Howl — Brooklyn, New York, USA

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9. Orphan Planet — Orphan Planet — Portland, Maine, USA

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10. The Truth & The Lie — Skies Collide — Brisbane, Australia

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11. Commitment Issues — Anyone’s Guess — Orlando, Florida USA

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12. Dark Matter EP — Auditory Armory — Altamonte Springs, Florida, USA

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13. Golden — The Talking Hours — Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

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14. Animals — Blue Eyed Sons — Helsinki, Finland

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15. Dark Swallows — Dark Swallows — Boise, Idaho, USA

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16. Everything You Ever Wanted — Street Pieces — Brisbane, Australia

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17. The Trouble With Teeth — Little Coyote — Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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18. A Flood — Twin Strike — Brooklyn, New York, USA

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19. Bad Habit — Beth Blade and The Beautiful Disasters — Cardiff, Wales, UK

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20. Skiddish — The Fallaways — Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

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21. Flux — Form Constant — Birmingham, Alabama, USA

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22. Background Noise — Treading Water — Boston, Massachusetts, USA

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23. Breaking the Line [EP] — The Strikes — Souchez, France

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24. Wide Open — Weaves — Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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25. Eclipse Of The Sun — Liquid Sunshine — Zurich, Switzerland

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26. Worn Out Heart — Hollow Sidewalks — Portland, Oregon, USA

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27. Start a Fire — The Burn Ins — Elkford, British Columbia, Canada

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28. Coyote Gunfight — Dynamite Thunderpunch — Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

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29. Monuments EP — Stereo Honey — London, England, UK

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30. The Gang — The Gang — Bratislava, Slovakia

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31. Drive — Sidewatcher — Detroit, Michigan, USA

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32. End Times — Brother Sister Hex — Denver, Colorado, USA

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33. Speak — Honey & the 45s — Chicago, Illinois, USA

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34. With – EP — Fencer — Los Angeles, California, USA

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35. Soul Sickness — The Versa Contrast — Revere, Massachusetts, USA

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36. A Sign of the Times — Cold California — Aberdeen, Scotland, UK

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37. Auto Racing EP 2 — Auto Racing — Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

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38. Note to Self – EP — Ready The Prince — Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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39. Decade — Fighting Jacks — San Jose, California, USA

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40. Gates Of Expression — Wildchild — Sibiu, Romania

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41. virus. — Novembervägen — Stockholm, Sweden

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42. Hypnotic Illusions EP — Living Still Life — Sydney, Australia

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43. A Show For No One — Just Noise — Des Plaines, Illinois, USA

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44. All Systems Go — CODED — Cape Town, South Africa

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45. Wasted EP — Kreepy Krush — Minsk, Belarus

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46. Better Days — The Clock Tower — Fukuoka, Japan

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47. Tales of Betrayal and Deceit — The McMiners — Belo Horizonte, Brazil

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48. Black and Blue EP — Little Raven — Nashville, Tennessee, USA

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49. Hydra Plane — Hydra Plane — Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

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50. Arcadia Feliz — Attikus Finch — Pamplona, Spain

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51. Sublimation — Gravelarks — Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

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52. The Words We’ll Never Say — In Good Nature — Boston, Massachusetts, USA

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53. Polaroids — A Fire With Friends — Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA

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54. Plan Of Action — The Kingpins — Montreal, Quebec, Canada

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55. No Time to Die — Daeodon — Louisville, Kentucky, USA

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56. Relics & Cycles — Before And After Science — Oporto, Portugal

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57. In Arcadia — Field Of Giants — Oxford, England, UK

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58. REM — SIAN — Tokyo, Japan

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59. Aura — Set Fire — Boston, Massachusetts, USA

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60. Karate Break EP — Karate Break — Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

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61. Starla — Starla — Tacoma, Washington, USA

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62. Fine Motor — Fine Motor — Reno, Nevada, USA

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63. Clones — Naked Shark — Ann Arbor, Michigan USA

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64. Salting — Keeper — Washington, D.C., USA

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65. Radio Silence — Paranoir — Thessaloniki, Greece

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66. Secret Demo — Shadow Party — Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

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67. Flying High — Laneslide — Petrovsk, Russia

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68. Weight — Old State — St. Louis, Missouri, USA

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69. Playground — Paranoid — Lille, France

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70. Crash The Gate — Cab Ride Home — Manassas, Virginia, USA

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71. Space and Grit — Domestic Blend — Omaha, Nebraska, USA

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72. Attic Salt — Attic Salt — Springfield, Illinois, USA

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73. Demo — Piines — Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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74. Heavy Dreaming — Painted Shut — Garden Grove, California, USA

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75. MUTT E.P. — Whorehound — Terre Haute, Indiana, USA

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76. Cinder Box — Cinder Box — London, England, UK

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77. Heavy High — Bruiser Queen — St. Louis, Missouri, USA

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78. The Endless and Unseen — Like The Ocean — San Francisco, California, USA

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79. In Plain Sight — Elastic Blur — Downingtown, Pennsylvania, USA

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80. As Far As The Stars — Nine Year Sister — Queensland, Australia

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81. Fever Dreamin’ — Billy King & The Bad Bad Bad — Austin, Texas, USA

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82. Sleep — Fawner — Cheltenham, England, UK

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83. The Forge Sessions — Hot Raisin — Norwich, England, UK

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84. Primeval — Iron Heade — Rancagua, Chile

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85. Escapade — Pandelic — Yangon, Myanmar

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86. Patterns — Longclaw — Portland, Oregon, USA

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87. Defector — HEAVYCRAFT — Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA

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88. Change — Traces — Tamworth, Australia

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89. Thomas — The Shaftons — Vienna, Austria

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90. Parasite — The Coathangers — Atlanta, Georgia, USA

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91. Widower — Widower — Sydney, Australia

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92. Rock for Life — Early Grey — Moscow, Russia

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93. First Attack EP — Snappy Strokes — Krakow, Poland

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94. The Story — Oceantides — Kiev, Ukraine

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95. Forgiver EP — Shoplifters — Novi Sad, Serbia

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96. Skoll — Astro Diver — Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

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97. Alter Ego — Replica — Buenos Aires, Argentina

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98. The Best Things — Beat Off! — Kediri, Indonesia

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99. Kings – EP — August Tides — Cleethorpes, England, UK

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100. Demos 2017 — Goodnight Cairo — Seattle, Washington, USA

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100 Awesome Independent Album and EP Releases You Probably Missed in 2016

Posted on December 14, 2016 by adammarx13

It’s that time of the year again — when all those “Best of…” lists come out telling us the supposed cream-of-the-crop releases in music. And as happens every year, they skate right over the slew of amazing independent releases that dropped into our lives.

Last year, I drew up a list of 100 independent albums you probably missed in 2015. Now it’s time to do the same for 2016.

In the interest of fairness, it’s important to note that most of these releases simply follow my personal taste in music genre-wise; they certainly don’t encompass all the amazing independent albums that came out this year in jazz, EDM, rap, classical, or other styles.

As with last year’s list, these 100 albums and EP’s come from artists all over the world. This year’s list has artists from: Canada, the U.K., France, Italy, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, China, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, Norway, Belarus, Germany, Israel, China, Mexico, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, and from 20 different U.S. states. That’s how big the independent universe is, regardless of genre.

So here are just 100 of the albums and EP’s that you probably missed in 2016. All were released during the 2016 calendar year, so this gives you an idea of just how small a window into the music world the mainstream actually cuts. As always, albums are in no particular order. Do yourself a favor and go expand your universe. You’d be shocked at what you discover.

Forget About It – It’s Butter – Los Angeles, California, USA
I Talk to Strangers – I Talk to Strangers – London, England, UK
The Centauri Conspiracies: Part 1 — The Awakening — Sunshine & Bullets — Tampa, Florida, USA
Colours — Chelsea Shag — Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Good Days — Skyline — Austin, Texas, USA
Muster Point — Jeeps — London, England, UK
Scars — Forever Still — Copenhagen, Denmark
Body Wars — June Divided — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Silent Elephant — Silent Elephant — Lille, France
The Parts We Save — Heel — London, England, UK
Breaking Free — A Truth Divides — Fall River, Massachusetts, USA
Emergence — Hour 24 — Temperance, Michigan, USA
Hardly Loaded EP — PhantomHead — Lynchburg, Virginia, USA
Tough Love — Bloody Diamonds — Toronto, Ontario, Canada
A Moment of Silence — The Funeral Portrait — Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Epicentre — Bouquet of Dead Crows — London, England, UK
She Speaks — She Speaks — Kildare, Ireland
Wanderer — Red Handed Denial — Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Dark Narrows — Lights That Change — Flintshire, Wales, UK
The ReIntroduction — Almost Kings — Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Black — Suan — Athy, Ireland
Mean Something — Kinder Than Wolves — Orlando, Florida, USA
For Your Obliteration — The Dead Deads — Nashville, Tennessee, USA
No Mirror / Baby Steps — Birdeatsbaby — Brighton, England, UK
Screech Bats — Screech Bats — London, England, UK
Five Kites — Five Kites — Uckfield, England, UK
Pow Wow — Red Apple — Madrid, Spain
Hoopdriver — Hoopdriver — London, England, UK
The Mud Lords EP — The Mud Lords — San Francisco, California, USA
Stones — Cherry Water — Wilmington, North Carolina, USA
Please Welcome Imperial Jade — Imperial Jade — Barcelona, Spain
From The Cave — From The Cave — London, England, UK
Imminent for Your Interests — People Like Us. — Los Angeles, California, USA
Otra Vez I — Sidewatcher — Detroit, Michigan, USA
Eraserhead — Eraserhead — Aurora, Illinois, USA
Alterhood — Alterhood — Tel-Aviv, Israel
Eugenia EP — Darla and the Blonde — London, England, UK
Cosmophonie EP — Cosmophone — Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada
Hit the Air — Basic Land — Monterrey, Mexico
Born to Dance — Pürple — Brighton, England, UK
Double A-Side — The Mis-Made — Sydney, Australia
Refuse to Shine EP — Mr.Mountain — Portsmouth, England, UK
Gaining Perspective — Glory Days — Brisbane, Australia
The Sky, the Lie, and Who We Are Before We Die — True North — Los Angeles, California, USA
Luxury EP — Patio — New York City, New York, USA
Phantasmagoria — White Claudia — Chicago, Illinois, USA
Cruise Deal — Mirror Travel — Austin, Texas, USA
Call Me by Name — Good Fiction — Albany, New York, USA
Bipolar — Kreepy Krush — Minsk, Belarus
Good Hangs — Lauren Patti — New Jersey, USA
Copper Crown — Copper Crown — Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Cuatro — Tranparentes — Alicante, Spain
It’s Too Bright Inside — Lush Vibes — Vallejo, California, USA
Ropes End — Ropes End — New York City, New York, USA
Only Roses — Carissa Johnson — Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Theories of the Universe — Haunted Ghost Town — Sunnyvale, California, USA
Soft Grudge — Mulligrub — Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Dirty Lyxx — Dirty Lyxx — Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Stages — Kopacetic — Shreveport, Louisiana, USA
Much Love — Microwave — Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Metadonna — Metadonna — Valencia, Spain
Break Down the Walls — Break Down the Walls — Hawthorne, New York, USA
Stuff EP — My Cruel Goro — Iceland
Shadowbox — Vivienne the Witch — Perugia, Italy
In the Arms of the Sun — Vox Vocis — Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Discourse — Sex With Strangers — Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Sleep Tight, When You Wake Up We’ll Be Gone — The Few. — St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Harmony and Disconnect — Rising Down — Tampa, Florida, USA
Vectors — Yeah Sure Whatever — Marin, California, USA
DEVILTRAIN — DEVILTRAIN — Bamberg, Germany
Buried in the Sound — Lost Frontiers — Pomona, California, USA
Nosebleed Weekend — The Coathangers — Atlanta, Georgia, USA
The Eternal Sea — The Eternal Sea — Tauranga, New Zealand
Traces EP — Traces — Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Elevation — We Are The Catalyst — Gothenburg, Sweden
MABON SONGS — Crypt Trip — San Marcos, Texas, USA
Angel — Heroes — Los Angeles, California, USA
Swan Valley Heights — Swan Valley Heights — Munich, Germany
Abandoned — Counter Theory — Valparaiso, Indiana, USA
Ants — Ants — Rivergaro, Italy
The Journey (EP) — Rusty Joe — Casais, Portugal
Spectra — Myrrias — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Dimensionauts EP — Robot Jurassic — Edgewater, Maryland, USA
Believer — Weird Neighbours — Sarnia, Ontario, Canada
Hell Is Not Other People, It’s You — The Republic of Trees — Scarborough, England, UK
The Lippies — The Lippies — Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
Far Away, As We Fade — AggronympH — Yichang, China
The Departed — Summer Drive Home — Weymouth, England, UK
Mix Tape — The Hang Lows — Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
SweetMeat — The BlackLava — Torino, Italy
Singularity — Fight Like Sin — Lafayette, Indiana, USA
Chasing a Phantom — Changing Scene — Bel Aton, Maryland, USA
Abandoned Homes — The Aesthetic — Seattle, Washington, USA
Connector — Fable Circuit — Shepherdstown, West Virginia, USA
Inburn — Inburn — Illigan City, Phillipines
The Lost Ones (EP) — LUNGS — Sacramento, California, USA
Ambulance — The Amazing — Stockholm, Sweden
Detox — Pyke — Arendal, Norway
Start Again — The Middle Ground — Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
Valley Queen EP — Valley Queen — Los Angeles, California, USA

If you enjoyed this please share, and feel free to Tweet me. Let’s talk music and tech!

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What Artists Can Learn from Startups, Part 2

Posted on September 7, 2016 by adammarx13

Who Do You Promote?

Recently, I wrote a post entitled, “What Artists Can Learn from Startups” in which I began looking at a number of strategies which startup companies (mainly tech) use to generate leads and interest in their products and services.

The more I think about it, the more certain strategies really stick out as things that artists should be considering and implementing. One in particular is something which holds my attention.

In tech (startups, at least), there isn’t the same reticence to publicize and promote someone else’s product or service as there seems to be in music. Among artists, there seems to be this gospel-like belief that if you promote an artist or song you don’t love with all your soul, then you’re somehow being disingenuous. In all forms of art, and music especially, the concept of reputation is taken extremely seriously. Sometimes to a fault.

Whereas I see founders from all over the startup world promoting one another, I see more resignation in the music community to follow suit, and truthfully for no good reason.

I have no qualms about promoting a product or service that I don’t use, or don’t use regularly. Before you come down on me for having a hidden agenda, though, take a moment to think about all the things you can promote someone for that have little to nothing to do with their service or product.

So often, I find myself tweeting and posting about the people behind the product, either because they’re so magnetic, so innovative in their thought process, or so willing to help others. It has so much more to do with their character than anything else. And this is something artists could so easily cash in on and make their own.

When someone helps you set up a show, helps promote your band or music online, or introduces you to someone new, tweeting out a “thank you” and promoting them isn’t being disingenuous at all. Quiet the opposite. It actually solidifies you as someone who returns favors and good karma, and thus builds your own reputation, even if it’s in the service of others (for the moment).

Positive service of others is service to ourselves, if only indirectly. Artists would do well to begin to reexamine their practices in how they promote others, from the decision process to the execution. Starting to have more fluid strategies here could greatly expand their networks in relatively short amounts of time.

More to come on this soon.

The Hit List: 20 Demos, Albums and EP’s You Need to Hear Right Now — May 29, 2016

Posted on May 29, 2016 by adammarx13

Hey from Israel everyone! So I’m not sure what my wifi situation will look like tomorrow, so I’ll just post this week’s Hit List tonight :D. A lot of great music spinning around again this week, so hit these people up and show them some love. Happy listening!

Break the Distance – The Alibi – 2014

2. Music to Forget the Future – Kick the Robot – 2015

3. Dark Narrows – Lights That Change – 2016

4. Pow Wow – Red Apple – 2016

5. Like We’re Wild – Single – Royal Street – 2015

6. Snakes and Spiders – Safe Secrets – 2016

7. Lion’s Mouth – Lion’s Mouth – 2014

8. Cruise Deal – Mirror Travel – 2016

9. No Mirror / Baby Steps – Birdeatsbaby – 2016

10. I Believe You, Ok – Post Pink – 2016

11. Slug Life EP – Atomic Walrus – 2014

12. I Don’t Mind – The Horse Traders – 2016

13. Ghosts – Fallen Edge – 2016

14. EP – Solar Tantrums – 2016

15. S L U R R S – Slurrs – 2016

16. Only Roses – Carissa Johnson – 2016

17. The Mud Lords EP – The Mud Lords – 2016

18. Errata Naturae – Phonocaptors – 2016

19. Riverlust – The High Divers – 2015

20. Believer – Weird Neighbours – 2016

The Hit List: 20 Demos, Albums and EP’s You Need to Hear Right Now — May 23, 2016

Posted on May 23, 2016 by adammarx13

Heading out of town today for a few weeks in Israel, but not before I give you all a new run-down of great music to check out. Creation never sleeps, and neither do I when there’s new material popping up, so give these people a spin. As always, albums are in no particular order. Happy Monday listening!

1. Black – Suan – 2016

2. Warpaint – Wicked Faith – 2015

3. Mean Something – Kinder Than Wolves – 2016

4. From The Cave – From The Cave – 2016

5. Snakes and Spiders – Safe Secrets – 2016

6. Only Roses – Carissa Johnson – 2016

7. Slug Life EP – Atomic Walrus – 2014

8. A Shot in the Dark – Kiss the Curse – 2015

9. Ghosts – Fallen Edge – 2016

10. Acoustics EP – Yvette Young – 2014

11. Lion’s Mouth – Lion’s Mouth – 2014

12. Demo – Great Woods – 2014

13. Cheerleading – The Sports – 2016

14. I Believe You, Ok – Post Pink – 2016

15. Cake Daze – Cannibal Kids – 2016

16. S L U R R S – Slurrs – 2016

17. I Don’t Mind – The Horse Traders – 2016

18. Evergreen / Kite Dodging – The Hazy Seas – 2016

19. EP – Solar Tantrums – 2016

20. The Beautiful Light EP – The Beautiful Light – 2016

The Hit List: 20 Demos, Albums and EP’s You Need to Hear Right Now — May 16, 2016

Posted on May 16, 2016 by adammarx13

A lot of this week’s list are artists who have rolled over from last week, which should just underscore how infectious their music really is. There are a ton of new artists too, though, and I’m overall super excited that a lot of the albums this time around aren’t from 2016. Sometimes in music, the best thing is to sniff out things that you might have missed before, and this week’s list with a ton of material from 2014 and 2015 certainly fits the bill. As always, albums are in no particular order, so hit them all for a listen and have a great Monday!

1. Of the Night – Bouquet of Dead Crows – 2015

2. Supermassive Automatic – Single – Kick the Robot – 2016

3. Like We’re Wild – Single – Royal Street – 2015

4. <selftitled> the unending thread </selftitled> – The Unending Thread – 2015

5. Break the Distance – The Alibi – 2014

6. Lessons In Moving On – The Cavalry Is Us – 2015

7. Depths – Fogscape – 2015

8. Bottoms Up (EP) – Old Pints – 2015

9. Perceptions – All Comes Down – 2015

10. Only Roses – Carissa Johnson – 2016

11. Glow – Single – New Americana – 2015

12. Idiot Soul – So Much Light – 2015

13. Lion’s Mouth – Lion’s Mouth – 2014

14. Acoustics EP – Yvette Young – 2014

15. Electric Symphony – Adam Singer – 2015

16. Secrets – The Acorn People – 2014

17. Bootlegger – Black Ally – 2015

18. Just – City Will Shake – 2015

19. Call Me by Name – Good Fiction – 2016

20. Let’s Get Dangerous – Backyard Superheroes – 2015

The Hit List: 20 Demos, Albums and EP’s You Need to Hear Right Now — May 9, 2016

Posted on May 9, 2016 by adammarx13

I’m super excited for this weeks list. I had the good fortune of hearing Kick the Robot’s new single live last week, and it sounds amazing live. The rest of the lists is a mix of new Hit List artists and veterans, and every one of these albums or EP’s is incredible. Today’s goal is simple: listen to all these people, they’re making amazing music you need to hear right now!

1. Supermassive Automatic – Single – Kick the Robot – 2016

2. Wanderer – Red Handed Denial – 2016

3. Colours – Chelsea Shag – 2016

4. Sore and Sick – Single – Far From Fiction – 2015

5. The Flood (EP) – The Great Lucian – 2016

6. Like We’re Wild – Single – Royal Street – 2015

7. From The Cave – From The Cave – 2016

8. Lessons In Moving On – The Cavalry Is Us – 2015

9. Break The Distance – The Alibi – 2014

10. Cruise Deal – Mirror Travel – 2016

11. A Shot in the Dark – Kiss the Curse – 2015

12. Reflections – The New Varsity – 2015

13. Snakes and Spiders – Safe Secrets – 2016

14. Hoopdriver – Hoopdriver – 2016

15. The Mud Lords EP – The Mud Lords – 2016

16. Stones – Cherry Water – 2016

17. It’s Too Bright Inside – Lush Vibes – 2016

18. The Animal Inside EP – Fear and Wonder – 2014

19. Surface Tensions – Hidden Hospitals – 2015

20. Vulcan – Titans In Time – 2015

The Hit List: 20 Demos, Albums and EP’s You Need to Hear Right Now — May 2, 2016

Posted on May 2, 2016 by adammarx13

So many new entries on the Hit List this week. The best part about the warm months is everyone releases stuff at the same time, so tons of new material to feature! Keep particular watch out for the influx of debut albums and EP’s; it looks like it’s gonna be a busy summer. 😎 If you enjoy these people, give them some love for sure. As always, albums are in no particular order.

If you love independent music, check out what we’re doing at Glipple, and you can follow us on Facebook and Twitter! Or just follow me on Twitter for lots of music posts, plugs, and all kinds of other fun stuff. \m/ \m/

1. Colours – Chelsea Shag – 2016

2. Sexsmith – Sexsmith – 2015

3. Music to Fight the Future – Kick the Robot – 2015

4. Black – Suan – 2016

5. Nosebleed Weekend – The Coathangers – 2016

6. Warpaint – Wicked Faith – 2015

7. No Mirror / Baby Steps – Birdeatsbaby – 2016

8. Phantasmagoria – White Claudia – 2016

9. Medicine EP – Lucille’s Voodoo – 2015

10. Open Door – Single – We Are The Catalyst – 2016

11. Bring the A Game – Beneath the Reef – 2015

12. Riverlust – The High Divers – 2015

13. From The Cave – From The Cave – 2016

14. Cruise Deal – Mirror Travel – 2016

15. Believer – Weird Neighbours – 2016

16. The Mud Lords EP – The Mud Lords – 2016

17. So Long Suburbia EP – So Long Suburbia – 2016

18. Mix Tape – The Hang Lows – 2016

19. CS – RKDA – 2016

20. LORE – New Found Land – 2016

Playlists Will Not Save Your Music Business

Posted on April 26, 2016 by adammarx13

My media business will not be saved by video, bots, newsletters, or Slack integration. That’s what Joshua Topolsky told me yesterday. And he’s right.

A still from High Fidelity (2000); Captures the sentiments pretty will I think

A still from High Fidelity (2000); Captures the sentiments pretty well I think

The New Thing that so often arrives just in time as the savior of the whole machine is many times bullshit. It’s a desired escape from an already challenging (dire?) situation that is causing headaches upon ulcers upon headaches. That’s why it seems so magical in the first place; it seems to appear out of nowhere like some miracle from a higher power. You prayed to the media gods for deliverance, and so they delivered unto you newsletters, bots, and Slack.

But Topolsky is right about the misleading nature of these new things: they have the potential to help, but none has the power to deliver us, to part the seas of stubbornness and ego.

While it appears to me that he sought to write about media in general, Topolsky could easily have been talking about any of the media industries in particular. Music, for example, fits right into his sardonic diatribe in a way that must chafe for the megalithic powers who used to control the industry. In music, it goes: yay for playlists, analytics, offline access, curation, and exclusives—build those in, and then we’ll be saved. No, these won’t save your (music) media business. And that’s painful for a lot of people.

More and more, the posts on changing media dynamics which garner shit-tons of feedback are the ones that are the truest. They are radically brilliant—radically poetic in a way—because of their sheer shunning of “conventional wisdom.” Such is more or less an oxymoron nowadays anyway.

I saw an earlier example of this back in November with Chris Dixon’s post on independent gaming, and was similarly moved to write my response on independent music, something he was also referring to (knowingly or not). Now with Topolsky doubling down on a similar idea, it’s becoming an even starker point.

“Because that [former media] system was built on the concept of scarcity and locality—the limits of what was physically possible—it was very easy to keep the gates and fill the coffers.”

And here we come to the prickly point that so many music businesses have trouble with now: scarcity is obsolete; democratization wins. I underscored this in my Dixon-response piece, but now it seems all the more palpable. What used to serve as a power play by music companies—the scarcity squeeze by the major label—has lost most of its bite, if not its bark as well. Maybe it’ll work if we call it “windowing” and stagger the release on multiple services! Nope, we all know that you simply changed the name of what you were doing instead of trying to actually change the action. And it’ll end up free somewhere anyway. Live with reality.

Wait, I’ve got it! We’ll tell people that we have the best playlist-making feature around! Great, so does everyone else. And, by the way, the people who really matter for your music business don’t care. The general consumer/listener might care (and I stress might), but the artists who actually produce the content you rely on for your lifeblood won’t give a shit. Why? Because it ultimately does little for them.

Ah, then we will give them the deepest, best set of analytics they can have! Awesome, so will everyone else. You can join the swaths of sites telling them they have a couple thousand streams, have made essentially no money, and then tell them they owe you $4.99/month for that wonderful data. The reality that you don’t want to hear is that the vastly growing demographic of artists—independents—are smart enough to know this already, and all you’re really doing is giving them numbers with no context. You’re giving them the numbers, the locations, the graphs— but with no real way to actually affect change in those numbers.

Offline access and exclusives then! Right! Except not, because exclusivity doesn’t help these artists long-term, it only helps you in the short term. It’s why artists immediately understand the opportunities before them now while other people struggle to see the big picture. Because they have long-term vision, and patience. Because exclusives are not where the long-term strategy is, either for the artists, or the music business.

It’s in the community cultivation and the relationship bridging. Social and messaging then! No, stop, that won’t be an easy save either. The reality that so few people want to hear is that community cultivation is a long-term process. It’s about knowing things about your content producers—in this case the artists you work with—that your competition doesn’t bother taking time to find out. Don’t ask me how many registered users I had yesterday. Ask me how many conversations I had yesterday with ten artists in seven different countries with fanbases numbering in the tens of thousands. Ask me what comes out of that. And then remember that was only ten artists.

Over the last few years, we were asked who we thought would win the streaming wars, because streaming is obviously the future of music. Except that’s too simple a magic potion because it’s going to take a lot more than that to reach the new horizon. It’s not about fixing the faulty component in the engine. They’re all faulty, and have been for near 40 years.

You have to rebuild the engine completely. Bottom up. You need to construct a music company that does everything that will change the reality for a new artist; after all, there are so many more of them than anything else. And they never stop creating and producing. You need to take your time to do all the sexy things—the playlist functionality, the radio, the streaming, downloading, profiles, social, live—and all the un-sexy things you never thought about—the legal stuff, the business stuff (more than just analytics!), the financial, and the marketing. Fixing the broken paradigm is a losing proposition; building a whole new one is (ironically) cheaper, better, and much, much more powerful long-term. That’s the strategy I’m committed to.

Topolsky was dead-on:

We’ll have to learn a thousand hard lessons, most of them centered around the idea that if you want to make something really great, you can’t think about making is great for everyone. You have to make it great for someone. A lot of people, but not every person.

And that’s what’s missing from the music-business discussion right now. The “everyone” that most streaming services are targeting is already saturated with competition, high prices, and a lot of bad press (from artists and artist agencies like ASCAP and BMI). The “someone” that Topolsky refers to, though, is the independent demographic, clear as day. They’re underserved, undervalued, dismissed, marginalized, pissed off, and not tied to any major label contracts—just right to woo and capture with something as easy as a conversation and explanation of a better future.

I’m as shamelessly self-promotional as Topolsky admits he is because these are the people I love. I know they see what I see, and they’ll wait around as long as it takes to make it work. Because they’re not jaded or angry—they’re just waiting.

Waiting for something better to come along for them.

***

Find me on Twitter @adammarx13 and let’s talk music, tech, and business!

Adam Marx's Mind

Playground for Creativity

Tag Archives: Artists