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Los Angeles Life and Style

Super Synth Duo PIERA Opening for Super Dance Band Oingo Boingo on OCTOBER 8, 2021 7PM at The Canyon Santa Clarita.

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Music Notes

Hollywood, Calif. – Super Synth Duo will be opening for the 80’s dance sensation band Oingo Boingo at The Canyon in Santa Clarita, CA. PIERA.  L.A.’s rising super synth pop duo, following a string of exhilarating post pandemic shows, the modern-mystical, Super Synth Duo, PIERA, will be bringing an audiophile’s feast for the senses with their signature beat-driven cosmic synth-soundscapes combined with Piera Klein’s powerful, entrancing vocal styling’s and alluring stage presence.

PIERA just came off from 4 stellar shows, opening for 80s iconic synth group, Berlin, on August 7th in Montclair, and The Untouchables and Bow Wow Wow on September 3rd in Santa Clarita (both at The Canyon nightclubs in SoCal), and on September 10th headlining at The Silverlake Lounge, and was just part at the iconic Punk Museum founder, Tequila Mockingbird’s “Sunday Club”, at the Oracle Tavern in Downtown Los Angeles on September 26 as part of her annual Dada Bauhaus Masquerade Ball.

  • Super Synth Duo PIERA Opening for Super Dance Band Oingo Boingo on OCTOBER 8, 2021 7PM at The Canyon Santa Clarita.

Almost instantaneously, PIERA has carved their own niche and established themself as one of LA’s most promising pioneering new acts to watch. They are cultivating a new sound blending psychedelic, indie-synthpop, krautrock, Avant Garde, and industrial pop. With a seemingly miraculous trajectory, the overwhelmingly positive press response to release of their new their new music video “Unraveling” filmed in quarantine, and with only a few shows under their belts,

PIERA is captivating new audiences in the post-pandemic era. Within a few short months PIERA has been featured in numerous press outlets including the award-winning California Rockerand favorably compared to singer Terri Nunn, as well as seen on the cover of Arts & Entertainment section of DTLA News, in addition to many articles and blogs such as Strutter’Zine, Future Producers, Sonic Scoop, Music-News, Music Connection Magazine, and many more. Coming soon PIERA will have a special feature in Music Connection Magazine and on the Artistic Voice podcast. PIERA has already been picked up by the airwaves broadcasting nationally on more than 50 college radio stations in recent months, in addition to building a global streaming audience reaching into Europe, South America and the UK. PIERA will be doing some incredible shows for the rest of this year, The Motels at The Oxnard Performing Arts Center on October 30th, and A Flock of Seagulls at The Canyon in Agoura on December 10th. It’s apparent that PIERA is on some sort of meteoric rise.

Now is the time for PIERA, come be part of this phenomenon.

(About The Video – In 2018 PIERA went to Puerto Rico to film their video for Cosmic Reaction, some was also filmed in Joshua Tree, and some in and around the Los Angeles area. The entire PIERA album is very cosmic and mystical and sparked a desire in Klein to showcase her character/avatar waking up in different worlds – each environment in high contrast to the next, from the Puerto Rican Jungle of El Yunque to the high California desert, and back home to the rolling hills of Echo Park. The experimental psychedelic art collage was a true collaboration between friends, Piera, her best friend Adrian Arredondo, and Micah Plissner.)

Los Angeles Life and Style

Isla Shares “12 Bars” From ‘The Mediterranean Gardener’ Out August 27, 2021.

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LA Life and Style Music Notes

The Mediterranean Gardener Out August 27 on Yep Roc Records

Listen + Share: “12 Bars” | YouTube streamer

Los Angeles, Calif. – Isla has unveiled “12 Bars,” the fourth single from the forthcoming debut album, The Mediterranean Gardener, out August 27 on Yep Roc Records; listen here.

Released first as a Bandcamp exclusive, the digital-only The Mediterranean Gardener is acclaimed singer/songwriter Josh Rouse’s new solo project. With gorgeous chilled-out electronica, the nine-track album provides a refreshing musical tonic for these stressful times

Of “12 Bars” Rouse says, “It’s the only song I co-wrote on this record. Daniel Tashian is a friend and collaborator. He had been on a bar crawl the night before and he got something like nine in. We laughed at not being able to roll like we used to and came up with the concept of 12 bar blues referring to the actual nightclubs, not bars of music.”

Recorded mainly at his small studio near his Valencia, Spain home, Rouse created the instrumentally oriented set during the confines of 2020 relying on keyboards and Roland Cloud samples. It’s “a stress-free atmosphere with breezy, improvised electronica,” says Rouse. “I was really just looking for vibes that were soothing. I didn’t want anything that was aggressive.”

From the eerie Eno-like ambient opener of “Buenas Noches Baby” to the Brazilian chords and melodies of the  Jobim-esque “Color De Vida,” the album is an alluring mix of lyric and instrumental tunes that meld together so smoothly that they feel more like a whole piece of music rather than a collection of songs. Realizing the music was far from the guitar-based, storytelling style for which he’s known, Rouse felt it needed its own name and Isla was born.

Rouse was joined on the recording by Tashian, who plays keyboards and Linn drums on “12 Bars”. The album was mixed by longtime producer Brad Jones and mastered by Mike Westbrook. The distinctive album cover was designed by Rouse’s wife, artist/singer Paz Suay, who also provided backing vocals on “12 Bars” and “It’s Not Too Far.”

The Mediterranean Gardener Tracklisting:

1. Buenas Noches Baby

2. It’s Not That Far

3. Color De Vida

4. 12 Bars

5. A Sunny Day

6. For The Love of a Girl

7. Night Moves

8. Until the Sun Comes Out

9. Attention

Pre-order the album here.

Los Angeles Life and Style

Isla Shares Second Single “It’s Not That Far” ; ‘The Mediterranean Gardener’ Out August 27, 2021.

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The Mediterranean Gardener Out August 27Listen + Share: “It’s Not That Far” / YouTube streamer

Los Angeles, Calif. – Today, Isla shares the second single, “It’s Not That Far,” from The Mediterranean Gardener out August 27 on Yep Roc Records; listen here.   

  • Isla Shares Second Single “It’s Not That Far” ; ‘The Mediterranean Gardener’ Out August 27, 2021.
    The Mediterranean Gardener Out August 27Listen + Share: “It’s Not That Far” / YouTube streamer

First released as a Bandcamp exclusive, the digital-only album is acclaimed singer/songwriter Josh Rouse’s new solo project. With gorgeous chilled-out electronica, the nine-track album provides a refreshing musical tonic for these stressful times. Of “It’s Not That Far,” Rouse offers, “Originally it sounded more like David Bowie’s “Rebel, Rebel,” but when moved to the synth world, it’s melody and chords simplified and became more intimate.

Now it’s very soft and fuzzy.” Rouse’s wife, singer/artist Paz Suay, provides backing vocals on the track. Recorded mainly at his small studio near his Valencia, Spain home, Rouse created the instrumentally oriented set during the confines of 2020 relying on keyboards and Roland Cloud samples. It’s “a stress-free atmosphere with breezy, improvised electronica,” says Rouse. “I was really just looking for vibes that were soothing. I didn’t want anything that was aggressive.” 

From the eerie Eno-like ambient opener of “Buenas Noches Baby” to the Brazilian chords and melodies of the Jobim-esque “Color De Vida,” the album is an alluring mix of lyric and instrumental tunes that meld together so smoothly that they feel more like a whole piece of music rather than a collection of songs. Realizing the music was far from the guitar-based, storytelling style for which he’s known, Rouse felt it needed its own name and Isla was born. 

Rouse was joined on the recording by frequent collaborator Daniel Tashian, who plays keyboards and Linn drums on “12 Bars,” which he co-wrote. The album was mixed by longtime producer Brad Jones and mastered by Mike Westbrook. The distinctive album cover was designed by Rouse’s wife, artist/singer Paz Suay, who also provided backing vocals on “12 Bars” and “It’s Not Too Far.” 

The Mediterranean Gardener Tracklisting:1. Buenas Noches Baby2. It’s Not That Far3. Color De Vida4. 12 Bars5. A Sunny Day6. For The Love of a Girl7. Night Moves8. Until the Sun Comes Out9.

Attention Pre-order the album here.

Music Notes – LA Life and Style

Los Angeles Life and Style

Isla’s ‘The Mediterranean Gardener’ Gets Wide Release; Digital-Only Debut Album Out August 27, 2021.

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Music Notes – LA Life and Style

Listen + Share: “Until the Sun Comes Out”

Los Angeles, Calif. – First released as a Bandcamp exclusive, Isla’s digital-only debut album, The Mediterranean Gardener, will see a wide release on August 27. The first single from the album, “Until the Sun Comes Out,” is available today; listen here. Musically reminiscent of Echo and the Bunnymen and The Cure, “the song just wrote itself,” says acclaimed singer/songwriter Josh Rouse of the first single from his new solo project, Isla. The Mediterranean Gardener is a nine-track album of gorgeous chilled-out electronica that provides a refreshing musical tonic for these stressful times.  

From the eerie Eno-like ambient opener of “Buenas Noches Baby” to the laid-back grooves of “It’s Not That Far” to the Brazilian chords and melodies of the Jobim-esque “Color De Vida,” the album is an alluring mix of lyric and instrumental tunes that meld together so smoothly that they feel more like a whole piece of music rather than a collection of songs. Realizing the music was far from the guitar-based, storytelling style for which he’s known, Rouse felt it needed its own name and Isla was born. 

Recorded mainly at his small studio near his Valencia, Spain home, Rouse created the primarily instrumental album during the confines of 2020. It’s “a stress-free atmosphere with breezy, improvised electronica,” says Rouse. “I was really just looking for vibes that were soothing. I didn’t want anything that was aggressive.” Rouse was joined on the recording by frequent collaborator Daniel Tashian, who plays keyboards and Linn drums on “12 Bars,” which he co-wrote.

The album was mixed by longtime producer Brad Jones and mastered by Mike Westbrook. The distinctive album cover was designed by Rouse’s wife, artist/singer Paz Suay, who also provided backing vocals on “12 Bars” and “It’s Not Too Far.” The Mediterranean Gardener Tracklisting:1. Buenas Noches Baby2. It’s Not That Far3. Color De Vida4. 12 Bars5. A Sunny Day6. For The Love of a Girl7. Night Moves8. Until the Sun Comes Out9. Attention Pre-order the album here.

Los Angeles Life and Style

Atif Afzal (aka A-Zal) talks about his upcoming pop music album.

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Music Notes

Los Angeles, Calif. – New York based singer-songwriter Atif Afzal (aka A-Zal) is focusing on a solo pop album, called 17 & 11 Nights, slated to be released later this year.

  • Atif Afzal (aka A-Zal) talks about his upcoming pop music album. The pop album would be A-Zal’s second album after his solo world music album Celebration! – released by BMG Production Music. A-Zal’s singing tracks have been featured on NCIS: Los Angeles and two tracks for The Twilight Zone.

The album is believed to have eight to ten tracks based on all emotions and varied genres. A-Zal is currently in talks with some of the best record labels in the US. He is working with major- league music producers and world-class musicians to put his best foot forward in his debut album. A team of Grammy-nominated sound engineers and music producers are putting in efforts to make his dream come true.

A-Zal built a team that has worked with the best of artists like Justin Bieber, Prince, Jason Derulo, David Guetta and Pitbull. “I would not talk much about this album but yes, I am really excited about it. The tracks are taking real good shape as the team with me is truly talented which steps up my game,” says A-Zal.

Originally from India, A-Zal moved to the US in 2018, studied music at the New York University and composed music for one of the University’s thesis film, The Alternative. Within just 2 years in the US, he has also wrapped up composing and singing soundtracks for two popular American television series. “Lending my voice for an American television series was quite big for me. It was broadcasted on the country’s leading network CBS and it is special for any artist to be heard by millions of people.

“I have sung one track for NCIS: Los Angeles and two tracks for The Twilight Zone, and both the times, it was truly an enchanting experience,” he explains. To say that A-Zal has worked his magic in the East and the West would be an understatement.

  • A-Zal built a team that has worked with the best of artists like Justin Bieber, Prince, Jason Derulo, David Guetta and Pitbull. “I would not talk much about this album but yes, I am really excited about it. The tracks are taking real good shape as the team with me is truly talented which steps up my game,” says A-Zal.

Using his versatility and immense knowledge of music styles, he has bowled over, both, veteran and independent filmmakers in Los Angeles, New York, London, Berlin and Australia. His soundtracks for Cannes-nominated film Monsoon Shootout and That Sunday, has been critically acclaimed by global filmmakers.

The pop album would be A-Zal’s second album after his solo world music album Celebration! released by BMG Production Music, one of the popular labels around the world, in March 2020. A-Zal has also worked with Universal Music among other record labels.

  • New York based singer-songwriter Atif Afzal (aka A-Zal) is focusing on a solo pop album, called 17 & 11 Nights, slated to be released later this year.

We would all be waiting with bated breath for A-Zal’s pop album release as this promising, multifaceted singer-songwriter has bountiful talent up his sleeve.

Press release