coming soon ;)
It's a new day, and we've got a new song called "We Rise From Fire."
It's out today on Spotify, Apple Music, and other streaming services.
Excited to announce we’ve got lots of new music coming this fall. First new single is called “Real Love” and it’s out on Spotify 9/25. You can pre-save here.
This year was hard. Had stuff to work through. There were hard lessons I had to learn. Still working and still learning. I'm grateful for the really amazing support around me. Sky's the limit for 2020. Hope you guys feel that too. Keep going ❤⚡❤ https://www.instagram.com/p/B6vstJPFwZi/?igshid=1b9jnj02o5wr4
Haven't played for a bit, really looking forward to this show Friday night at @swingtheteapot in Floral Park. Also featuring my friend, the incredibly talented songwriter and poet @alansemerdjian. Hope to see you ✌ https://www.instagram.com/p/B2frthml8lX/?igshid=1f5dxzc1x2bx5
Ever since I was a 15 and got a Tascam 424 for Christmas I've been obsessed and mystified by the process of recording music. After spending a lifetime working on my own songs, I've had the opportunity in the last couple years to produce for other musicians, and it's been incredibly rewarding and fun. My buds in @mountsharp have a new song out today from the forthcoming LP we've been working on, and it feels like an instant classic to me. It's one of my favorite things I've had the chance to work on🤘🤘❤ Listen here: https://open.spotify.com/track/3NyxCswidGODA89Q47DDwS?si=tNUIbT7JRI24QTBWTTjkcQ https://mountsharp.bandcamp.com/track/apostate https://www.instagram.com/p/B0GRb3iF191/?igshid=18m362c1h6f1t
Happy release day to @briankishsloungepants! So excited that this album exists, and that I was able to be a part of Brian's process of creating it. Each week we'd head down to the basement, seemingly he'd start from scratch and piece together something amazing. I love these songs, I think you guys will too. Stream on spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/53aThrxazZpyUg5AQnr3SD?si=bUnjZPF_TYyDRbCo5Mpf-A 🤟 (at Miracle Flag) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bwej4yMFc-Q/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=awsgbx620nhm
“Fair play to those who dare to dream and don't give up.” - Markéta Irglová
It’s always been by goal to spread the word about my songs as far and wide as possible. This year I’ve been working on getting more clear with my music goals and dreams. For me the song has always been the most important thing. One of my goals for 2019 is finding a music publishing deal. I noticed that Spotify’s editorial team had not yet gotten around to making a “This is: Beat Radio” playlist. That seemed unfortunate, so I put together a playlist of our essential tracks. You can listen here.
If you can follow along, I’d be super grateful. If you can share with a friend, even better.
Really excited and grateful for everyone’s support of the new EP so far. I’m doing a track by track run down over at beatradio.org. You can find a post about “Alchemy”, about the grail quest of writing the perfect pop song, and about relying on your creative process to combat depression and anxiety here.
Thank you for listening!
Alchemy
Hey guys, doing a track by track rundown of each of the songs on the new EP. Really grateful for everyone’s support so far!
Track one is called “Alchemy.” I sort of half-joked when I first shared this song that I always swing for the fences when it comes to writing songs. Ambition is a weird thing to talk about. I still daydream about writing that one perfect, simple song that connects with people on a large scale. A song that breaks through. The white whale. I have ideas about how this kind of song should feel. The lyrics should be direct and straightforward - universal. The chords should be simple. The chorus should be uplifting, the melodies should stick in your head.
There are a handful of songs I think about in these terms. “Falling Slowly” by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová is one that I think about often. Probably because I had followed Glen’s work for a while before it was written, and he sort of writes the same brand of songs that I try to write. There are others, though - “Masterpiece” by Big Thief, or “The Story” by Brandi Carlile. Even going all the way back to when I was starting out performing, hearing a song like “Babylon” by David Gray. I’ve been fascinated by all of these songs, I’ve studied them to try to figure out what makes them work. One observation I’ve made is that they are usually a sort of perfect distillation of what the artist does well. Not necessarily their best or most interesting song, but the most direct and undeniable.
Anyway, I’ve been trying to write that sort of song for a couple decades. I’ve never been successful at it, but I take solace in the notion that reaching for the goal generally brings some sort of worthwhile result. I’ve got lots of glorious, joyful failures. As I was writing “Alchemy”, I felt like it had the potential to be this kind of world changing, break through song. I mean, I was probably wrong. I usually am. I’m guessing I’d know by now if I’d hit it just right. The universe would have given me some sort of indication. But then again, you never know, maybe it just needs the right context? I’ve thought about that a lot also. Like, would “Falling Slowly” have captured the world’s imagination without the context of the film Once?
I’m not so naive as to pretend that there isn’t a lot more that goes into it. The truth is I’m not all in like the artists I mentioned were. I’ve never really been committed enough to the career part of music, if I’m really honest. I didn’t want to sacrifice things that those artists did. I stayed home, had a family. So, there’s that. There’s the work. There’s also a bit of luck, and serendipity. Most people will tell you that. I think there’s also spiritual work you have to do. You have to be ready for the universe to move with you. You’ve got to be ready. I think there’s a fearlessness that you need. Whether or not I was ever meant for any of that, I still feel compelled to make songs. So, I keep the dream alive, and it gives me a sense of purpose.
“Alchemy” came out of a hard time I was going through. I write songs for lots of different reasons. Most often I’m trying to fight off a lingering sadness, a kind of low-grade depression. This song came out of an especially low period where I had sort of collapsed into myself. I wasn’t there for my wife Liz. I was there physically, but emotionally I was gone, and she was left to deal with some intense real life shit all alone. Songs don’t make these sort of things better. Therapy works. Leaning into vulnerability and taking inventory. Honest and open communication is hard work that you’ve got to do every day. I’m 41 years old, I feel like a beginner all the time. But I’m all in with Liz. When you’ve got a partner like her, you give it all you’ve got.
But, I also wrote the song. Maybe it was just something I had to do for myself. I obsessed over the lyrics and arrangement for a year. I recorded 5 or 6 different versions of it. The white whale. That holy grail. I wanted the song to be my salvation. I remember writing down the line “I know I haven’t been here, and its been a hard year, but I’ve got faith in the future.” I wanted to sing it so I could believe it, and make it real. I wanted to transcend the space between us.
I believe in what the song says, that love will save you. That two people can come together and it can be magic. It can transcend the darkness. So now that the song is done I hope it captures the world’s imagination. But if it doesn’t that cool too. I’ll always have it, to sing and play. I’ll hold it close, a sort of talisman of a hard time that we survived, and came out stronger.
XO,
B
Really happy to share a new collection of songs with you called Everyone I Know, Just Holding On.
You can support the music via bandcamp: https://beatradio.bandcamp.com/album/everyone-i-know-just-holding-on
It’s also streaming on spotify and apple music, and pretty much wherever else you listen to music.
My friend John wrote these amazing liner notes:
The stakes feel so high these days. Time seems to be running out. Brian and I text all of the time and the recurring thread is it’s now or never to actualize all of our ambitions. Still so much distance left to run. The photo on the cover is from January 2018 on the beach in Montauk. It’s us with our close circle of friends. It had been forever since we were all together. We were there to celebrate Brian’s 40th birthday. 40 is a benchmark, an over / under. A wrecking ball had recently touched down. That time in Montauk felt like a crossroads. A beach town in winter. Brian and I made a tacit pact—our lives were decidedly still in front of us. Radio daydreams never end.
-John P. Darcy Los Angeles, February 2019
Thank you so much for listening. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what an incredible privilege it is to be able to make music and share it. Please know that I don’t take it for granted. I put a lot of myself into these songs, I hope they find their way into your hearts and minds. I hope they’re useful.
New EP Friday! Here's a version of "There's a Darkness" from living room ✌
The new EP comes out in a couple weeks. Honored to share these liner notes from my friend @johnpdarcy. John perfectly captures the spirit of the songs, and the place from which they were created. You can listen to the first track "Alchemy" now via bandcamp or spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/2SI2WX0sUX0Xo3eC1tXRGH?si=0Jo_SUpmSfCXHjOrfptjlA (at Montauk, New York) https://www.instagram.com/p/BtqrgDllQcF/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=7ui4uzftd9z6
I'm working on getting clear on my goals in 2019. Here are a few things I've been putting into practice since the year began:
•Working on music every day. Making things and being creative is the best way I know to stay inspired and happy in life. Also these jams aren't going to write themselves.
•Excercising every day. Sometimes running, mostly @yogaglo, mostly with @elenabrower, who is amazing.
•Not drinking alcohol. Off-brand I know, sorry! I'll make the occasional exception to this one, but in my day to day I'm trying to stay focused, for now✌
•Using @doterra essential oils and taking the lifelong vitality pack. There is a reason @wholemama is passionately building a business with dōTERRA. This shit works.
•Still drinking coffee like a maniac. Duh. XO, B
Really excited to announce that I'm putting out a new Beat Radio EP on 2/22 called Everyone I Know, Just Holding On. It's a collection of songs that documents a difficult time. As always, the process of making music has lifted me up and helped carry me through. I'm thrilled to have the chance to share these recordings with you.
The first track "Alchemy" is streaming on bandcamp now, you can stream/download and pre-order the EP here: http://beatradio.bandcamp.com/album/everyone-i-know-just-holding-on
Hope you enjoy the new track!
Really excited to have the chance to share some new music that I got to work on with Tim Lannen. I’ve found that forming bonds with kindred spirits is a key component of a thriving creative life. You’ve got to find fellow seekers and hold them near. A relationship with someone who sees you, someone who understands and cares about your work is a powerful thing. When you find your crew, support each other, be generous, and listen. I met Tim Lannen at an open mic in Huntington, NY. I think it was 1998, so at this point we’ve been friends for half of our lives. We’ve been collaborating on things together almost as long. His songs are signposts for me. They resonate with me deeply - cutting through everything else and becoming part of my internal world. We started working on recording his new EP around this time last year. We had been through a heavy time together, after a close friend of ours had passed away suddenly. It had shaken my faith in the universe. Tim has described this collection as a “meditation on loss and nostalgia and finding yourself again.” The songs carry all of that for me - the sadness, but also the will to honor the loss, and the responsibility to make all our days count, with humility. The process of making these recording was galvanizing. You can pre-order Tim Lannen’s EP “Heaven O’Clock, Part 2” on @bandcamp, and get the incredible song “Black Hammer” now: http://timlannensongs.bandcamp.com/album/heaven-oclock-pt-2