Stories

The charming songwriter returns with his sweetly slack new album 'Bottle It In' after last year's collaborative release 'Lotta Sea Lice' with Courtney Barnett. It turns out, he is not so slack after all, having recorded the new songs all across The United States in various sessions. The epic result is sonically charming with a smooth vibe and lo-fi appeal.

Emma and Mia Kemppainen took the long road to their new record, but in the end Sad Bangers dancing steps through burnout and bleakness makes it their most rewarding album yet. NBHAP editor Austin Maloney had a conversation with them about it.

Especially with her latest album 'Turn Out The Lights' Julien Baker won hearts all over the world, turning the 23 year old American into the darling of emotional indie songwriting. With her newly found supergroup Boygenius she just dropped another more than promising project. A talk to her reveals that she's got no agenda with all that, but to connect: The marginalized, the angry, the majority. All can relate to her disarming emotionality.

They say better late than never – so when summer calls its last afternoon sunshine to hide and lets autumn take over, we all know: from now on, it is time to hit the closed venues for concerts, parties and thrills. And while I enjoy the last rays of light on my body, a particular weekend in end of August still takes me back sometimes to when the base could be felt all night long – next to cranes and a beautiful lake. The WHOLE United Queer Festival is stuck in a part of my mind and the memories of the event are warm, yet puzzled. Mainly because it showed once more how stiff today’s society is.

Amidst the people, noise, hectic and omnipresent music that haul the streets of Hamburg during the Reeperbahn Festival, we sat down with this loveable Danish threesome to talk their roots as a band, how not to think too much about your career, diversity in music and stupid band names.

Love is not a fairytale. It is definitely not the sweet, dreamy and safe place we are so often made believe it is all the time. The true reflection of it reveals a whole lot of other ingredients that are less flattering. When it comes to love, the beautiful disguise always seems more tempting than the actual great amount of work it usually requires. The magic only kicks in if you acknowledge that everything love has to offer has as much to do with the person in front of you as with yourself. 

Putting a little more effort into your art might not be easy but it's ultimately rewarding. Canadian singer/songwriter Brian DellaValle and his alter ego did so and we heavily advice you to listen to this wonderful little folk music gem.

Living entirely analogue and isolated from our digital information structures can be a challenge these days. But if you decide to go for it the results can be ultimately rewarding. German pyschedelic outfit Sea Moya went on that adventure when they decided to record their new album in an old cabin in the Italian Alps. On NBHAP the band writes about that very special experience that turned out to be quite rewarding on multiple levels.

What's with all that jazz? Everybody seems to be talking about the genre's ongoing revival, But how to get started with it? We asked an expert in the form of GoGo Penguin's Nick Blacka to help a little out regarding that special genre.

The documentary 'Shut Up and Play the Piano' about Chilly Gonzales explores the struggles that made him become the musician he is today. NBHAP editor Nora Hiller spoke with director Philipp Jedicke.