Having recently supported Brit artist Maisie Peters on her tour, Jonah Kagen finally releases his highly-anticipated debut EP 'georgia got colder'.
The 22-year-old grew up in Georgia USA, where he started his songwriting journey. Finding inspiration in the music of guitarist Andy McKee, whose definite guitar fingerpicking soundscape transported Jonah into his own haven . “He opened my eyes to what an acoustic guitar could be,” he recalls, as he dove deeper into creating music on his own. “If you can bring somebody something with your music that they can’t get anywhere else, there’s nothing better than that.”
The EP holds 7 tracks which includes past releases like 'barcelona,' 'hill that I’ll die on' and 'graveyard shift,' as well as his hit debut single, 'broken,' which has amassed over 42 million streams to date. Nailing down to Jonah's authentic acoustic style on this EP, we get to hear three brand new tracks, all of which finish off the story of Jonah's musical art.
“Each song on this EP has a unique story from a different period of my life,” says Jonah. “I’ve experienced so many distinct emotions over the last couple years—missing someone, being missed, being there for someone, needing someone to be there for me. I think they’re all equally valuable, and I wanted them to live together in a space that can hopefully bring some sort of comfort to anyone listening that might hear even just one line that resonates.”
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December 2022
Having just played her sold-out headline Omeara show in London, played at Glastonbury, been BBC Radio 1's ‘Track of the Week’ and featured on FIFA's 2023 official soundtrack, SOFY has already captured the likeness of several quick-wit fans. The fun part is, this is JUST the beginning. Appearing to the music scene in 2021, SOFY racked up listeners with much loved singles 'Strawberry Milkshake', 'Big Talk' and many more. But last week we got to hear a more vulnerable and sentimental side to her in her latest single 'btw'.
Stripping it back to just SOFY and a delicate guitar with a topping of soprano piano keys, SOFY sings about letting a relationship go.
In her own words, SOFY says; “’btw’ is going to surprise a few people I think, it’s completely different to the rest of the project. It’s a stripped back, raw song about saying goodbye when a relationship ends but it’s nobody’s fault. It’s kind of the antithesis to Egomaniac in a way, when you still have a lot of love for that person but it’s just not the same anymore and it sucks. It’s probably the first song that I’ve written where I’ve fully worn my heart on my sleeve and It’s the only song I’m actually kind of scared to release because it’s SO vulnerable (and the guy it’s about doesn’t know it exists).”
An additional opportunity to see SOFY live next year has been announced with her next headline show at Layfette, March 2023 (Tickets HERE).
December 2022
Dylan Flynn & The Dead Poets are a five-piece indie band hailing from Limerick Ireland. Already gaining acknowledgement from over half a million people on TikTok with one track 'Running Away', Dylan Flynn & The Dead Poets are definitely ones to watch.
With their new single 'Life' out last week, we took a moment to chat to Dylan on the bands music and what the next step is for 2023.
Hi! Welcome to the blog! Could you introduce yourself and where you are from?
Hi! I’m Dylan from Dylan Flynn and The Dead Poets and we are a 5-piece Indie Rock band from Limerick City, Ireland.
What was the creative process like behind making your latest single ‘Life’? Did it start with an influence?
Recently I’ve been listening to a lot more Alt-Country/Americana music and I ended up writing the riff that I play throughout the song. When you listen to it by itself, it sounds like a country riff, but with the combination of all the other instruments, it takes on a new life.
Your music is the perfect fusion of alternative rock mixed with vulnerable lyricism, when writing music do you focus on the rhythm first or the narrative of the song?
I don’t think I have one way of writing to be honest. Both those options are valid for me, but I think a lot of time lyrics come into my head an inspire me. I do sit down with an instrument, or more often, my laptop from time to time and start building a song, but that happens less I feel.
2022 has been a good year for you with live shows and your own headline tour. How was this experience and can we expect any more shows soon?
It’s been great! We really got thrown in at the deep end when gigs came back, and we are extremely grateful for that. Getting to support NewDad and Milk. was amazing and on top of that we played our first Irish your which was better than we ever could have imagined. We have a big announcement in relation to shows coming in January, so keep your eyes peeled.
Being a musician is one of the hardest jobs creatively - how do you stay creative and how do you know when to take a break.
I don’t think I’m ever not creative, and I think the same goes for the rest of the band. Everyone has their own personal project too, so if we aren't working on the band stuff, we are working on something else. I think just showing up and doing the work is the only way of staying creative. If you wait for inspiration or creativity to come to you, you’ll be waiting awhile. If you try and do something creative every day, even if it’s awful, you’ll eventually stumble upon something good. That said, you have to know when to take a step back. Time after time I don’t allow myself a break and end up burning out. But as time has gone on, I’ve learned to spot the signs earlier and I think I’ve gotten to point now where I can sense the need to walk away and come back tomorrow.
If people took one thing from your music, what do you wish it would be?
I just hope that people connect with our tunes, the same way we do. I write for myself, but I hope the stories and lessons told in our music can lend a hand to others.
November 2022
