TSM Artist #HotList: September 5th, 2020

Welcome to TSM Artist #HotList Episode 11, with your host Alexia Johnson! Below are songs featured in this installment.

Black Creek Reign (ROCK) — “Now I’m Free”

Black Creek Reign is an indie reggae rock group from Toronto, Canada. The song we are featuring is titled “Now I’m Free” and, as you can imagine, it is about becoming free after feeling trapped in one way or another, as well as the feelings that come along with that new found freedom. According to the band, “Now I’m Free” is about breaking away from the confines of a broken relationship — whether friendship, romantic or somewhere in between. Specifically, it is about moving forward from a toxic relationship within the band and immersing in a new beginning by taking the music in a different direction. Black Creek Reign comments, “We felt we had a new identity once we left the shackles of the past behind and we hope we’ve captured that moment in this song.”

Link: Facebook

John Kelly (AMERICANA/ROCK/SOUL) — “Freedom Song”

John Kelly is a singer songwriter from Charlottesville, North Carolina. His music is influenced by the Americana, country, rock and soul sounds of the South. His new EP, In Between, launched this past June and features, in his own words, “10 songs that explore love, hate and the hope that lies between.” John Kelly’s music touches on the many feelings we are all experiencing in this time of rapid change and “Freedom Song” is no less poignant. John continues, “’Freedom’s Song’ is about the response to [the quarantine] and the challenges and opportunities it has presented, not only for the people in Charlottesville, but across the country. It took me a while to figure out how to respond to all of it as an artist, but, when I did, I found myself wanting to share the idea that what happened here happened to all of us and that we have a chance to be a part of what our next chapter looks like.”

Link: Facebook

DREAMEATER (MELODIC PROG METAL) — “In Death”

DREAMEATER is a progressive metal band recently signed to Famined Records. Their debut on the label happens to coincide with the song we are featuring today. “In Death” is the first track to be released off of their new album, Bleed. According to the band, “In Death” is “very much about feeling like you don’t exist and wanting something just to make you feel the way you did before again — when everything you know and remember is gone, in the past. It’s about how, at times, it can feel like there is no escape from the reality you are experiencing; how truly numb and empty you can feel, and how sometimes, all you want is to feel something other than emptiness.”

Link: Facebook

Fred Locks & Sabolious (REGGAE/DUB) — “No To Racism”

“No To Racism” is the title track off of Fred Locks and Sabolious’ new album. Fred Locks is world-renowned roots reggae artist from Jamaica, whereas Sabolious is a producer and saxophonist from Austria. The two paired up with the hopes of setting a tone of unity: considering the world’s current state of affairs and seemingly greater incidents of racism, who couldn’t use more unity? The full EP is due to be released this September and is heavily influenced by the step dub style.

Link: Facebook

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*ALL BANDS HAVE GIVEN RELEASE FOR THEIR MUSIC TO BE FEATURED IN OUR MUSIC DISCOVERY SERIES*

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