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Featured Artist of the Day: MayQueen

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MayQueen/Photo courtesy of MayQueen

 

Indie Music Women’s Featured Artist of the Day is…

MayQueen (@mayqueentheband)

MayQueen is a brand new all-female indie rock trio based in New York City made up of an EMT, a neuroscience researcher, and a visual artist. Natasha Recoder, the founder, began writing music on her guitar virtually with friends during the lockdown of 2020. During this time she taught herself how to compose and record music. Marjolyn Megaloudis wrote the first draft of the lyrics to their first single “Worst Nightmare”. Natasha drew inspiration from them for the instrumentation, adding her own touch to the lyrics as well.

Although the original group went their separate ways, Natasha kept making music, jamming with longtime friend Lucy Horgan. Ari Bowe and Lucy first started making music together when they met at Vassar College. The first practice with all three of them in January 2021 was instant chemistry. The trio manages to practice and compose together safely multiple times a week, despite current Covid constraints. Natasha’s apartment is their unofficial practice space, much to the chagrin of her neighbors.

The MayQueen sound is breathless indie rock with influences from the ‘70s and ‘80s, taking inspiration from Blondie, David Bowie, and The Velvet Underground. Their debut single “Worst Nightmare” dropped on February 26th with an EP soon to come.

MayQueen shared what it means to them personally to be indie music women artists:

“We are all passionate about being indie women in music because it provides a creative outlet that contrasts with our jobs as a visual artist, neuroscience researcher, and EMT, respectively.”

Featured Artist of the Day: Katye Kellye

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Katye Kellye / Photo courtesy of Katye

 

Indie Music Women’s Featured Artist of the Day is…

Katye Kellye (@katyekellyeandtheinterruption)

Katye Kellye (Kat-cha Kel-lee) is very, very tired of Autocorrect trying to change her name. Her band, The Interruption, is was until recently composed of amazing studio professionals who have worked with bands you’ve actually heard of. Ms. Kellye has assembled a band with musicians who need to be heard from – including Richard Stern on guitar and harmonica, and Paul Friend on Guitar.

She has been a singer and songwriter for a relatively short time (in geologic terms) or a very large number of dog years. Ms. Kellye writes incisive, pointed, bad-assed songs of experience that are probably not about you. (Although if you think they are, maybe you need to think about why that might be.) Katye was the lead singer of Toxic Shox, her first offering in about 35 years was the 2019 EP, Vanity Project. Her sound blends her downtown punk roots with hints of classic arena rock, “Wall of Sound” girl groups, and opera.

Even though 2020’s challenges prevented them from touring in support of their first album (Late Bloomer), the album debut garnered several award nominations including the Josie Music Awards (finalist) , The ISSA Awards (finalist) and several World Music Awards (finalist). The time during lockdown was well-spent. KK&I completed their second album, “Sophomore Slump”, released 26 February 2021.   (Bio courtesy of Katye)

Katye shared what it means to her personally to be an indie music woman artist:

“It’s a double-edged sword. On the one hand, we are free of any artistic constraints that will be placed on us buy a label trying to get us to sound more “commercial”. On the other hand, there is no safety net, so all of the risks are my own, and no one can really teach you how to do this whole thing smoothly. I may go down with the ship, but at least it’s my ship to go down with.”

Featured Artist of the Day: Bridget Rian

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Bridget Rian

Indie Music Women’s Featured Artist of the Day is…

Bridget Rian (@bridget_rian)

The debut EP from Bridget Rian, Talking to Ghosts, is a delicate, dark, and intricate collection of stories rooted in the bittersweet honesty about the fragile human condition. Exploring themes of mortality, loss, and nostalgia, the New York-raised singer-songwriter brings profound comfort to the listener with her ethereal vocals and contemplative storytelling.

​“I wanted to name the EP Talking to Ghosts because in every song I am either talking to someone who has died, my past self, or talking about ghosts,” says Rian. “There are also some old, interesting family stories about me as a baby talking to ghosts… so it’s a topic close to my heart.”

​Produced by Paul Moak (Caitlyn Smith, Carolina Story, Liz Longley) and recorded at The Smoakstack in Nashville, TN, Talking to Ghosts perfectly captures Rian’s painfully pure timbre, while the lush sounds of lap steel and acoustic guitars intensely wash over each track and immerse you deep into the heart of every story. “Paul is just the best,” says Rian. “Immediately he was like an old friend I knew forever. At times I felt like he could really see me as a person even when I couldn’t see something in myself. We like the same music and he really understood my influences for this collection of songs. He put together the best possible band, all of whom were incredibly supportive, kind and obviously cared about the music. He treated my music like it matters and that means everything to me.”

​The first single from the EP, Type of Girl, released on February 26, 2021, is a true testament to Rian’s unique sound, which embodies elements of indie rock, alternative pop, and classic Americana instrumentation. Fans of artists like Ingrid Andress, Phoebe Bridgers, and Kacey Musgraves will surely be quick to connect with the songs and Rian as an artist. 

​“A commentary on societal gender expectations, Type Of Girl is my grasp on self-understanding and forgiveness through the experience of negative relationships,” says Rian. “Several times in my life I have found myself in a relationship with a man who didn’t respect or understand me. I would tell myself that I’m not the ‘type of girl’ to get played by a guy. I’m not the ‘type of girl’ who ends up in an unhealthy situation. Society tells us those ‘types of girls’ are weak. Well, guess what? There is no type of girl. Every person is that type of girl. This is my way of processing that anyone can find themselves in a shitty relationship or bad situation. That it’s not my fault. This is my way to self-acceptance and self-forgiveness.” 

Follow @bridget_rian on Instagram and visit www.bridgetrian.com for all of the latest news, press, and info on livestream shows. 

(Bio courtesy of Lady Savage MGMT & PR)

Bridget shares what it means to her personally to be an indie music woman artist:

“It means supporting other indie women artists and being true to myself and my art!”

Featured Artist of the Day: Niamhy Mac

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Niamhy Mac

 

Indie Music Women’s Featured Artist of the Day is…

Niamhy Mac (@niamhymacmusic)

Niamhy Mac is an eighteen-year-old singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist (guitar, cello, bass guitar, and keyboard), and producer from a remote village in the Highlands, Scotland. For a composition project in high school, she recorded her first song, the alternative rock inspired ‘Drifter’ at the age of fourteen, and performed every instrument herself.  Since discovering a passion for performing and recording, she has been writing songs frequently, while continuing to write songs herself and act as the entire band. She is open-minded and experimental when it comes to music and she is constantly trying new things, with her music incorporating elements of rock, folk, and punk. She has a unique, smokey sounding voice and writes thoughtful, meaningful lyrics.   (Bio courtesy of Niamhy)

Niamhy shared with me what it means to her personally to be an indie music woman artist:

“Songwriting is and always has been very therapeutic to me. I am independent and it has always been very important to me to make sure my ideas are exactly as I want them. Being an unsigned artist who makes music produced by my dad and performs the instruments entirely alone- it gives me full control. It really satisfies me to know that I did it all myself, especially when rock musicians are expected to be male.”

Featured Artist of the Day: JazzRock

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JazzRock / photo courtesy of JazzRock

JazzRock (@jazzrock.singer)

JazzRock, an active member of Women in Music and leader of Warrior Women in Entertainment, writes lyrics in a fashion where she has been compared to great poetic artists like Jim Morrison and Portishead, her vocal tone has been expressed as punk-rock and stylistic as Courtney Love to Patti Smith. She is on the music scene with a mission to deliver powerful messages that create real change on global issues such as Domestic Violence, Economic Inequalities, and Transhumanism.

Her first fully released single, “Calling 911”, is an anthem against Domestic Violence on women and children. The song was produced and mastered at The Cutting Room in NYC In 2019 the song was used by The NYC Mayor’s Office to end Domestic & Gender-Based Violence as part of an awareness and silent auction event, in partnership with Warrior Women in Business.

JazzRock’s second rock song, “Takashi Anthem” was written for the new graphic novel by comic book illustrator, Victor Rojas, “Takashi the Wanderer”, a story of a lawless futuristic NYC where one hero, Takashi brings the art of boxing to a barren, wasted land where Warriors control, rape, and pillage. The song is gaining serious popularity in 2020. It was recently a top-selling game at Fan Powered Music in the FPM Surf arcade game community.

JazzRock and her band’s (Silent Fury Band, which she created and manages) most recent release (October 2020) “Violence Against Violence” is a hard-hitting account and rock song that shares the ongoing saga of the crumbling of structure and systems, an explosion of lawlessness, police defunding and the aftermaths of a 2020 world gone awry.

With JazzRock as the lead, the band Silent Fury is a progressive-punk/hard-rock/funk 5 piece band that performs live all over New York City. JazzRock writes all song lyrics and is the lead vocalist for the band. JazzRock and Silent Fury have 30+ original songs and are currently producing an EP to be released in 2020. They are also then producing an entire Rock Opera for the Takashi Comic Book with 6 additional songs to be performed in 2021 in NYC.

The story of JazzRock is not your standard artist bio, JazzRock aka Jasmine Sandler, nicknamed Jazz, has been a prolific writer and speaker her entire life, In her early years she was continually moved up in English writing classes and at the age of 11 published her first full book of poetry. She studied English as a major and went on to teach college writing while only a Freshman in College. By her senior year, she delivered a 100-page thesis on the Art and Life of Poet – William Blake. She went on to publish other poems and win multiple poetry awards globally.

JazzRock always had a drive and passion for communication, engagement, and branding. She was giving speeches and directing creative shoots from her early years at Young and Rubicam on Madison Avenue. She went on to run her own ad agency and end up leading talks for audiences worldwide. To date, Jazz has given over 500 speeches to audience sizes up to 2,000 attendees. She is no stranger to the stage. In this, she is passionate about supporting fellow musicians as a Keynote Speaker at music industry events and as the lead of The Warrior Women Entertainment Collective which she produces as an event series for women in business in NYC.

So when she finally made the decision to make her true love and passion, music her career, she moved ahead with the same drive she has put into making her career as a Speaker. In only the last 6 years, she went from singing in local cover bands to being the go-to lyricist for SIlent Fury and other NYC band projects. Now she is determined to do it on her own as JazzRock.

– Bio courtesy of JazzRock

JazzRock shared with me what it means to her to be an indie music woman artist:

“That I have the opportunity to use my warrior women and songwriting powers to make a positive difference in the world. Seriously! There has never been a better time to be a woman in music and my life goal is to use my music to leave something great for generations.”

You can hear JazzRock and Silent Fury’s single, Violence on Violence on the IMW Spotify playlist.

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