Albums - Hart Media

Marti Pellow

Spruce, vibrant, cheerful and heartily healthy ‘like a butcher’s dog’, Marti Pellow certainly isn’t going to be glib enough to say he had a good 2020. But, musically, he did. And then some.

So in case anyone might’ve thought Pellow had had a bit of time on his hands, they’d be wrong. Because as well as his hugely successful ‘Lockdown Sessions’ – filmed in his home studio throughout the first lockdown as a way to keep in touch with his fans, and enjoyed by over 12 million of them – 2020 saw the musician push on to finish songs for Stargazer, his new album out on March 26^th on BMG. It’s the latest instalment in a remarkable solo career that’s seen him embark on a new project pretty much every other year since he left multi-platinum selling pop sensations Wet Wet Wet in 1999.

Or, to put it another way: Pellow has done more as a solo artist, for longer, than he did as frontman with the totemic pop band who dominated the British charts for large swathes of the Eighties and Nineties. And that includes a 15-week run at #1 on the UK singles chart in 1994 with their cover of Love Is All Around, famously taken from the soundtrack to Four Weddings and a Funeral.

KOATES

A world of through-the-night online writing sessions spurred on by insomnia-driven spurts of creativity has brought us the new artist KOATES from South London.

With a soundscape that he describes as a dizzying fusion of R&B, Pop and electro-pop, this artist who wears his heart on his sleeve in his staggeringly personal music, delivers debut single ‘Somebody New,’in collaboration with Edd Holloway (Lewis Capaldi, Dean Lewis).

Introspective, nostalgic in tone and an exercise in hindsight, the track is one born from the frustration of letting someone who was once important to you go.

An honest offering that speaks of this rising star’s artistic evolution which has seen him become unafraid with his lyricism and thus more authentic in his sound, the track is a turning point in a path towards musicality that will keep growing and changing until it becomes in his words, “microphone to skin,” a musical

representation of the person that is KOATES.
Talking about his creative process for the track, he says:

“I am a naturally nocturnal artist and for whatever reason I never question it, my best hours of creative song writing come through the night and very often in my dreams. ‘Somebody New’ was no exception. I recorded my vocals in my room at 4am. I am a nightmare to live with. I wrote ‘Somebody New’ at a time when I found myself desperate to return to an ex-lover. I noticed that I was looking for her traits in everyone new that I met and the lyric ‘now I feel like all I do is try to find you in somebody new’ is for her. In fact it’s for all of us that we recognise that we may have made a big mistake”.

In the last few months building to this release, KOATES has been working with Gary Go (Harry Styles, Rihanna) and is now in studio sessions with Grammy Award winning Jimmy Hogarth (James Bay, Dermot Kennedy). He was taken under the wing of Sarah Stennett (First Access) as a writer-artist, sleeping on floor during the day in a Tottenham rehearsal room and working through the night producing much of the new KOATES project to come. Playing the Glastonbury PRS stage opened the door to KOATES being funded by PRS. Promoted by ‘Kilimanjaro’, you can also see KOATES perform at his upcoming shows at The Waiting Room and Omeara, to be announced soon.

With music that is as introspective as it is relatable, it’s only a matter of time before this singer breaks through in a big way.

South East London born and bred. He’d often find himself on top of flight cases being wheeled around the world watching his Dad, who performed in the band The Hollies, from a very young age. From the excitement KOATES witnessed, he started writing music and playing in bands. In sheer frustration from too many brains trying to make one decision, we are birthed with the solo project KOATES.

Slowhand & Van

Under the name ‘Slowhand and Van’, musicians Eric Clapton and Van Morrison have released a new single entitled “The Rebels” from Bushbranch/Surfdog Records. The song was written by Van Morrison and this version is performed by Eric Clapton and Van Morrison, and produced by Simon Climie. The cover art was sketched by Eric’s daughter Julie Clapton and will also be available as a limited run of fine art Giclée archival prints signed by Julie. Profits from both the single and the limited edition artwork will go to the Van Morrison Rhythm & Blues Foundation assisting musicians encountering financial hardship.

Joy Denalane

Joy Denalane is a Berlin-born soul artist who has received wide acclaim worldwide, and has even performed a COLORS show.

Her latest single ‘The Show’ is about that moment when kids realize: After all, my parents are just as questionable and flawed as I am”’ says Joy. “When children become teenagers, their parents’ hero status is quite rightly questioned. I tell my children: Please forgive me, that I too am only a part of the show, a part of the system – and as such fallible. The song aims to soften the shock of that realization for the kids and help navigate them through the complexities of life.”

‘The Show’ is the first new track from the upcoming Deluxe Album Version ”Let Yourself be loved”

Ingrid Michaelson

Ingrid Michaelson Bio:

Born in New York City and raised by her mother, a sculptor, and her father, a classical composer, Ingrid Michaelson has artistry in her DNA. At four she began taking piano lessons, but it wasn’t until after she graduated college with a degree in musical theatre and was touring the country in a theater troupe that she began to write her own songs, which would connect with millions.

Her music taps into universal themes like self-doubt, betrayal, and of course love. Ingrid’s music is released on the label she founded, Cabin 24 Records, which has released her gold and platinum hits including “The Way I Am,” “Girls Chase Boys,” and “You and I.”

While Michaelson has established herself as an artistic force over the course of eight full-length albums, she’s also experienced enviable success writing for other artists and for stage and screen. Last year, she received her first Emmy Award nomination for her original song “Build It Up,” written for the hit series, Little Fires Everywhere. A lifelong Broadway fan, Michaelson made her stage debut in 2017, starring in Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 and will soon make her creative debut, writing the music and lyrics for the musical adaptation of the best-selling novel, The Notebook.

Her brilliant latest track ‘To Begin Again’ features ZAYN.

Peter Serrado

To describe Peter Serrado to any music fan in its simplest terms would be to say that he is a fresh and soulful acoustic pop sound that’s been waiting to happen. With a unique voice that is drenched in a sweet raspy tone, from a subtle whisper to a scream, Peter’s expression is powerful yet intimate, wise yet playful, and evokes the scope of artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Jack Savoretti or James Morrison. As a writer, he captures the essence of a sage-like soul, pinning reflective imagery with poignant lyrics against heart-felt emotions that grow out of melodies strewn across genres both past and present.

Born in Toronto, Canada, Peter gravitated to music and an early age, discovering a deep love of retro soul and funk, European crooners, Americana roots and R&B. With time, his passion grew and put him on a path to express his own musical interpretation of what he felt inside.

In February of 2018, Peter became the first “unknown” artist/composer to ever compete in Portugal’s Eurovision qualification division, and the public showed their support by voting him #2 in fan voting, putting him through to the finals where he once again got the opportunity to bring his song “Sunset & A City” to everyone on national televisions around the world.

As his artistry has evolved, so has Peter. Now, embracing the many styles of music that came before him, Peter distills genres, reckoning what has led him here, with a sense of what is yet to be. Live performances have grounded him, affording opportunities to connect on a more intimate level with ever growing crowds that gravitate to his music, style, and of course, his look, which is a factor not lost on those who have seen him perform. Local festivals have come calling and now, with the release of his self-titled debut album, and after winning “Best New Artist” at the International Portuguese Music Awards in Boston in May of 2019, Peter is poised to bring his authentic and soulful message to a wider audience with a determination to prove the waiting is over, his time is now.

Eagle Eye Cherry

“The lyrics decided early on what the song would be like”. This is what Eagle-Eye Cherry says about the first single of his 6th studio-album that will drop early next year. ”I Like I”, the name of the single, is in many aspects a hard-hitting reflection on how things once were – and how they can be again.
Eagle-Eye was drastically paused in early 2020 working on the follow up to the 2018 album “The Streets Of You”, an album that was Grammy-nominated and delivered a Top 10 radio-hit.
He had finally obtained an available session time in the iconic Stockholm Atlantis studio and had just started recording after finalizing a Brazil tour. Just then the pandemic struck.

For the time being he had to shelf seven recorded songs – “of which 4-5 were awesome”, he sums up – and go to a life clearly different from the years that has followed the successful 1997 breakthrough with “Save Tonight”.
-I have never been this long in Sweden in a row. The only thing I have done externally is a web participation in a festival in Brazil. I finally climbed the walls and moaned: “Oh, man”, he says with both humor and the utmost seriousness when he now finally begins to sense an opportunity to return to the stage.
The start will be in May with “I Like It”. A song that, like much else on the upcoming album – slated for early 2022 – partly looks in mirrors that reflect his adolescence.

The song has obvious nods to teen-hood faves like The Cars, The Clash, Ramones, Talking Heads and Blondie with the occasional reference to Fleetwood Mac. He muses about the lyrics:
– You wake up battered and bruised from the night before, you brush yourself off and get back out there. There are no consequences. I’ve written songs about the consequences but this is not one of them. The first line in the lyric “I woke up on the floor and I don’t want to know how I got here. I try to find my phone it feels like I need to be somewhere” pretty much says it all.
The song is a work by Eagle-Eye together with Anders Pettersson and David Lindgren Zacharias – with production by Peter Kvint and mix by James Krausse in Los Angeles.

It is a first injection in a process that will once again make Eagle-Eye Cherry one of Sweden’s most global music poets. Something that should happen as soon as ever possible – if he gets to decide for himself.

Dianña

Dianña (pronounced Dee-on-ya) has pioneered the the new musical genre of Latin

Country by connecting her Latin and Puerto Rican heritage with a long-held love for

country music. Her vocals are sprinkled with Spanish verbiage, and her melodies include

Spanish guitar seamlessly integrated with traditional country elements to create a Latin

and Country fusion that is true Latin Country.

Dianña’s debut Latin Country single “Andale Yeehaw” was released in late 2018

with both English and Spanish versions. She followed that with two more original

singles “Rubberneck” and “You Got Some Nerve” in 2019.

In 2020 she released “Calm Down Karen”, which has been played over 50 million

times on TikTok. “Calm Down Karen” is currently playing on dozens of radio

stations across the country. She also released “Rubberneck Cumbia”, which is a

Cumbia style adaptation of her song “Rubberneck”, along with a fun BTS video.

Dianña has written, recorded and performed with many well-known R&B, rap,

rock, pop, gospel, alternative, and country artists from Snoop Dogg to Amy Grant.

Dianña’s musical passions also extend to philanthropic efforts. In support of Breast

Cancer Awareness, she wrote and performed her original songs “Stand Up & Live

Strong” and “I Know I’m Beautiful” at several Susan G. Koman Race for the Cures and

Breast Cancer Award Ceremonies.

VALERAS

A string of critically acclaimed early singles has already seen VALERAS rack up millions of streams as well as earning plaudits across a vast array of publications and early radio support from the likes of Jack Saunders, and this Reading based indie-rock duo are now gearing up to release their much-anticipated new EP which will be released late summer 2021.

Cementing their sound whilst out on the road with the likes of Yonaka, Drenge, King Nun and the Wombats and playing festivals across the world including Sziget (Hungary) and Mad Cool (Madrid) has led VALERAS to put forward their most ambitious and personal work to date. Vocalist and songwriter Rose Yagmur knows only too well the anxiety and stress on her audience to fit the norm and is a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community. Her lyrics reflect her feelings of loneliness, abandonment, and consequently her desire to empower the downtrodden. These are drawn from her families struggle to become accepted in a new country after fleeing her home in Venezuela to settle in the UK when she was aged 10 years old.

With this candid new direction comes an expansion of the duo’s dynamics, which represents another musical leap forward for the band, adding new textures and further honing a sound that has been theirs since their inception. In the process of embracing this evolution, the band enlisted the help of award-winning songwriter and producer, Tarek Musa (of Spring King) as well as bringing in Claudius Mittendorf (Weezer, Parquet Courts, LIFE) for mixing duties.

Ellise

After kickstarting 2021 by cementing herself as a definite one to watch, rising star Ellise unveils her incredible and eclectic debut album ‘Chaotic’, which is available to buy & stream globally today via Hell Bent Heaven / EMPIRE [May 14^th, 2021].

Written almost entirely by Ellise herself, the record reflects her upbringing listening to her father’s classic rock and Iranian mother’s traditional Arabic music, combined with her own pop sensibility influenced by the sights and sounds of the Y2K era.

From the instant buzz of album opener ‘Fatal Flaw’, to the playful, infectious chorus of ‘Zipperlips!’, the body of work is a beguiling collection of personal stories laced across a pop landscape. ‘Chaotic’ is a standalone piece of art that conveys everything Ellise has experienced in a turbulent year as well as toxic behaviours that have been motifs throughout her life. Avant-garde pop music has a new savour in the formidable Ellise.

“I never want to be the good guy all the time. I think it’s okay to say that and let people know who you are,” says Ellise about Chaotic and the album’s ruminations on love, loss and what it’s like to feel flawed in a world that often demands perfection. “For now, I want to just keep making music that feels like me, that I feel like is special and that I feel like people will enjoy. This Ellise universe that I’m building out is just getting started.”

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