We Speak Music
Michele Ducci releases intimate new single ‘River’
Michele Ducci was the ‘M’ in the electro-pop duo ‘M+A’, who released two albums on Monotreme Records, the second of which, ‘These Days’, earned the band a place in The Guardian’s ‘best new bands of 2014’ list and saw them perform live on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury and at the Venice Biennale.
The duo then formed a new project, Santii, which involved several Hip Hop artists including Rejjie Snow, Mick Jenkins and Music Producer Supah Mario (Drake, Young Thug), releasing two EPs on Italian label Sugar Records before going their separate ways due to artistic differences.
A short stint in another band led Michele to realize that he wanted to make music on his own, away from external commercial or career pressures. Says Michele, “I went back to the house where I was born and where I first started playing. After the pandemic I had practically no instruments anymore except a guitar with three strings and a pianola. I needed to make a record that I had never been able to make and that I had always dreamed of making. Something very essential: with the piano and the voice.”
‘SIVE’ encompasses a range of styles, from the dreamy singer/songwriter tones of ‘Feelings’, ‘Here You Are’, and ‘Nonesome’to the uptempo pop of ‘You Lay the Path’, RnB-infused ‘Just Because’ and percussive Beat poetry of ‘Hic’. Album opener and first single, ’River’, is a poignant ballad that winds along like its title, opening with the quiet intimacy of hushed vocals and piano and detailing the time he desired to leave the music world behind: “They call my name but I’m a river”.
About ‘River’, Michele says: “I was in New York for musical reasons in a situation of psychic and metropolitan traffic, in which every mention of my name in relation to the artistic career and the pressures of that world had nothing to do with music, I was so saturated that I could feel myself only in the moving waves of the Hudson River. “You and I”, I said to myself, ” are from the same origin”.
The album will be released on CD in a colour printed card wallet as well as digitally. Pre-order CD here:
https://monotremerecords.limitedrun.com/products/758779
Aaron makes music about meaningful topics that rocks and grooves – and sometimes it even skanks on a rock steady beat!
His new song ‘Geeks’ has been released on all major music platforms on November 15th. It is an anthem for the heroes of the digital age: computer nerds, also known as geeks. It is driven by an off-beat ska guitar, a sticky bass line and a groovy brass section. The icing on the cake is a jazzy saxophone solo.
“I have always loved Ska, I even saw the Specials, the Selecter and Madness live in their heydays”, says Aaron. “I chose the topic although I am not a geek myself, but I have a lot of sympathy for them. Geeks are often frowned upon because they can be socially awkward, but they are the ones who are building a better world. So I think they deserve an anthem.”
The music video is mostly made up of typography, minimalistic ASCII graphics and heavily pixelated images – it surely looks geeky! Watch it here:
Aaron writes catchy songs that are made for people who like meaningful, uplifting topics and guitar-driven, hand-made sounds. His musical journey started young but it wasn’t until he discovered Bitcoin and became so invested in it that he used music to express his new found joy.
“It’s mostly rock music, with excursions into funk, soul and other styles I grew up with. In general, it’s guitar-driven and hand-made, often with a punkish energy and beatlesque harmonies. What all my songs have in common are meaningful lyrics about being in the here and now, about transforming disturbing emotions into wisdom, about being in the flow, things like that.” says Aaron in an interview.
“I have always been making music and writing songs, starting with a punk rock band when I was 15. However, I never saw it as a career. I played in several bands in my teenage years and my early twenties, but after my media studies in Berlin and Rio de Janeiro I focused on other things. I first worked in TV production and then founded one of the first Internet agencies in Germany. I discovered Bitcoin in 2011 and became fascinated by it. I wrote five books about it, made lots of promotional videos and educational series for Bitcoin and blockchain companies, and organised events. I even wrote some songs about Bitcoin, which became quite popular in the community, like my Reggaeton about the Bitcoin Beach in El Salvador. People always liked that my songs are catchy and provocative. It was by the end of 2023 that I decided to go full in on music. It’s what I enjoy the most, so now I want to fully follow my passion.”
Since May 2024, his songs have been streamed more than 250,000 times on Spotify and his music videos have been viewed more than 350,000 times on YouTube.
Read more about Aaron King: http://aaron-koenig.net/press/
-
We Speak Entertainment1 week ago$um1: The Enigmatic Artist Redefining Music
-
We Speak Music1 week agoCopper Lungs explores bold new sounds with their latest track Pieces of Me
-
We Speak Music4 days agoTony DeYoung: Defying Doubt, Redefining Success
-
We Speak Entertainment3 days agoCONAN O’BRIEN TO HOST 97TH OSCARS®