Tag: jonathan bree

About Last Night: Levitation Night One (10.26)

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I left my day job early to go get in on the action at Levitation 2023, heading out to the Far Out Lounge to catch a handful of great guitar acts from the 90s take the stage; it was there where I was greeted with a reminder of what a nightmare festival pricing can be. Let’s be real, a $13 Miller Lite draft? $20 parking when there are no other options in proximity? I mean, I get overhead, and a convenience fee, but for real, fuck that. Shitty decision making out there, and kind of soured me in the setting. Don’t even get me started on one food option, and it being outside the venue.

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Last Week’s Jams (3.6 – 3.10)

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We covered tons of territory last week, particularly as we ran tons of little interviews in our Meet the SXSW Band features; it’s also the Spring season, so that means there are tons of announcements about new records and such. I was stoked to hear new stuff from Constant Follower and Mary Onettes, plus we premiered new tune from The National Honor Society and Hot Coppers. And, seeing as its SXSW, we got interviews back from Daiistar, Taleen Kali, Hamish Hawk and a ton more, all with little introductions plus their music. Or, you can listen to the jams below and see if they’re playing near you, wherever you find yourself!

Jonathan Bree Shares New Single ft. Princess Chelsea

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If you needed the perfect pairing for your music listening, then I beg you to dive right into this new track from Jonathan Bree, featuring fellow New Zealander (and former bandmate) Princess Chelsea; the vocals of the two serve as the perfect foil for one another. Musically, just imagine a world where Daft Punk decided to turn their electro disco vibes into a live band; it doesn’t help that a certain Niles Rodgers helped on the latest from Jonathan, adding just a bit of classic funk flare to the tune. It’s a pop style without peers, if you’re asking me, so keep an eye out for Pre-Code Hollywood, dropping on April 14th via Lil Chief Records.

Jonathan Bree Announces Pre-Code Hollywood

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I feel like I’ve been riding solo on the Jonathan Bree train for a long while now, but maybe now that the New Zealand artist has caught the ear of Nile Rodgers (who plays and produces on this track!), maybe the rest of the States will get in on the vibe. News came our way yesterday that there’s a new full-length coming our way, and the title track accompanied said announcement. Bree’s voice still comes off like the coolest crooner you ever did see, but there’s a nice bit of sheen to the song this go round. It feels as if this has gone full on into a sort of disco-club, albeit run though the orchestral divination of Jonathan and his work. I just can’t get enough, so I’m stoked to hear the whole of Pre-Code Hollywood, out in April via Lil Chief Records.

New Jonathan Bree Video

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Jonathan Bree has been on my radar for several years at this point, but I feel like he’s finally starting to get a name going for himself over here in the States. He was top of my list of last year’s SXSW performances, for both sound and the spectacle of the performance itself. This video offers a precise glimpse at what listeners will get when they catch Jonathan on his first official North American tour; it’s an orchestral pop song performed by a band without a face (the band has no face), which certainly grabs your attention in the live setting. He’ll be in Austin for Levitation, but will spend much of October and November throughout the continent, so if he comes near you, I assure you that won’t want to miss this.

SXSW Artists Jonathan Bree Shares New Video

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Last year Jonathan Bree gave us the brilliant Sleepwalking, but many in the States have never had a chance to see these tunes in the live setting. For me, Bree is at the top of my list of must-see acts during this week’s SXSW festival…and now we have a new video to reinforce that belief. This is one of the shorter tunes on the album, but it’s one that reminds me of the careful craftsmanship of Air, while looking upon the nostalgic history of lounge singers. He’ll be in Austin from the 13-17th, with shows every day…but if you’re not here, go grab Sleepwalking form Lil Chief Records.

Jonathan Bree Gets You Ready for Valentine

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Not in the mood for Valentine’s Day? Fair enough, and artist Jonathan Bree seems to be in the same boat with his new video for “Valentine.” The lyrics favor getting to know someone over trite things associated with valentines candy hearts. Seems an important message, but more to the point, I continue to marvel at Bree’s musical accomplishments. The production on this track is pretty minimal, with simple percussion, and short little guitar to fill in the space behind Bree’s voice. Of course, there’s a nice chorale group backing him up as well, which provides a nice juxtaposition to Jonathan’s natural bass vocal tones. Lyrically, musically and visually, Jonathan Bree is ever-charming; his new album Sleepwalking will be out on May 4th via Lil Chief Records.

Jonathan Bree Releases New Jam

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Ever since I heard the single “Weird Hardcore” I’ve been a fairly devoted Jonathan Bree fan. He’s constructing these minimal pop pieces, usually with an artistic bent that comes out via various videos. On this new single, he’s joined by Clara Vinals on vocals, who offers a soft juxtaposition to Bree’s deepened tones. The rest of the tune is a subtle it of rolling pop; imagine “Young Folks” stripped down to the bones to ride out the natural groove. Look for this track to appear on Sleepwalking, which will be released on March 2nd.

Did You Hear This Jonathan Bree Tune?

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breeI’ve been looking all day for something totally weird and out there, and of course, it’s easy to settle with the likes of Jonathan Bree. He’s got this incredibly operatic voice, living in the world somewhere between Majical Cloudz and Magnetic Fields. The musical accompaniment is fairly simple, just carefully playing on some of Bree’s classical influences such as Tchaikovsky. If you ask me, the entirety of his new record, A Little Night Music, is pretty genius stuff, so you’ll want to catch onto it before he’s a household name for everyone. Enjoy the track below. 

New Old Jonathan Bree Tune

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jonathanI feel like I’ve given a lot of coverage to the jangling guitar types in the Oceanic area, so why not turn our attention to this beautiful piece of pop music from Auckland’s Jonathan Bree. Jonathan’s been working on this album for a bit, and it’s said to have a lot of classical influences from the likes of Tchaikovsky. Still, the construction and Bree’s vocal tones make him sound a little bit more like Jarvis Cocker, in my mind at least. He’ll be releasing A Little Night Music on October 23rd via Lil Chief Records. You can also view a great video for the song HERE.