Final Round of Artists for Treefort 2019

2 YEARS AGO

VEIL OF MAYA ( chicago, illinois )

Underneath a maelstrom of polyrhythmic guitars, sweeping vocals, and shuddering beats, Veil of Maya encode a ponderous narrative at the core of their sixth full-length album, False Idol. This time around, a captivating concept drives the quartet—Marc Okubo, Sam Applebaum, Danny Hauser, and Lukas Magyar. Every element is amplified: it’s heavier, it’s more hypnotic, and it hits even harder. “The overall vibe is darker and heavier,” reveals Lukas. “with the story, the demeanor got pretty sinister. That’s an element that I don’t think anybody was expecting.” The first single “Overthrow” revs up from a crushing tidal wave of riffing into a soaring and striking clean refrain. It taps into the expansive energy of signature fan favorites, while elevating the group to a new level. “It’s got some of that ‘Mikasa’ spirit,” smiles Marc. “We thought that couldn’t hurt!”



NIGHT BEATS ( seattle, washington )

Myth Of A Man is a reckoning, a shoot-out at dawn, the ear-splitting peel-out that leaves nothing but a cloud of red dust in its wake. It marks a new era for Night Beats and its frontman, Danny Lee Blackwell — an era marked by independence, expansion, and undiscovered facets of an undeniable talent. While Blackwell has always fed off the musical legacy of his Texas root — Roky Erickson and the 13th Floor Elevators, The Red Krayola, The Black Angels and more paving the way for the napalm-coated psych-rock headtrip of past albums — Myth Of A Man has him pulling from the surrogate wellspring of Nashville, Tennessee. It was there that he worked with the eminent Dan Auerbach, and a murderer’s row of battle-worn session musicians—the combined weight of experience that comes from working with every legend from Aretha Franklin to Elvis not lost on Blackwell.

YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN ( toronto, canada )

There’s a whole world contained within Yamantaka // Sonic Titan. They’re a Noh-wave prog collective, a black-and-white (and sometimes red) theatre company, an operatic psych cult, and the speculative prophets of humanity’s impending doom. Above it all, though, they’re a thunderous rock band, and on their third album, DIRT, they’re the heaviest they’ve ever been. Though they’ve been an amorphous beast since they formed in 2010, DIRT follows the group’s most significant evolution in years. Now totally Toronto-based, they’ve added new singer Joanna Delos Reyes, guitarist Hiroki Tanaka and bassist Brandon Lim, who, along with the towering drums of leader/artist Alaska B, singer/theatre artist Ange Loft and keyboardist Brendan Swanson, turn the group into a driving engine of sound. Live, the band can be sprawling and theatrical or concise and visceral, filling the stage with noise, melody and cacophony.

SERA CAHOONE ( seattle, washington )

The world of American roots music is no stranger to Seattle songwriter Sera Cahoone. Even though her last three albums were on Sub Pop Records and she spent years at the top of the indie charts, she’s always had a streak of Americana that ran through her music, a love of the humble folk song that bolstered her art. She’s returning now to these earliest influences with her new album, From Where I Started (released March 24, 2017). Growing up, Cahoone first found her voice in Colorado dive bars, backing up old blues musicians at age 12 on the drums. Her father, a Rocky Mountain dynamite salesman, took the family along to mining conferences and old honky-tonks in the state. The sounds she heard there—the twang of country crooners, cowboy boots on peanut shells—have stayed with her all the way to Seattle, where she lives now, and the seminal indie rock bands she’s been a part of in the city (Carissa’s Weird, Band of Horses).















KASTLE ( los angeles, california )

Originally part of a small crop of American artists inspired by dubstep, garage, grime, jungle and other ‘nuum sounds, Kastle has transitioned through multiple aesthetic iterations since he burst into the popular consciousness 6+ years ago, fostering a thriving touring career, releasing a critically and commercially successful debut album, and heading up his own wildly successful label. Across several releases on his own Symbols label, the Los Angeles-resident has filtered hip hop and R&B through the aforementioned UK sounds, developing a sound rife with pop consciousness and a keen sense of melody, all while retaining a strong devotion to under-the-radar sounds.

SÁVILA ( portland, oregon )

Sávila is a medicinal plant that grows wild in tropical climates all over the world, as well as the name of cumbia/latin/world/r&b inspired music and visual art project by guitarist Fabiola Reyna, vocalist/artist Brisa Gonzalez and percussionist extraordinaire Papi Fimbres. Since 2012, Brisa and Fabi have been exploring culture, activism, and the multi-faceted experience of being Mexican-American womxn and artists in the United States. Joined by Papi Fimbres in 2016, Sávila solidified their percussive sound and in 2018 were named best new band by some of Portland’s most acclaimed musicians. They’ve since supported Shannon and the Clams and La Luz on multiple tours, supported Bomba Estereo, Mdou Moctar, and Explode Into Colors, and are currently on a consecutive streak of 10 SOLD OUT shows throughout the west coast. “Sávila is a band that can’t be neatly packaged into a brand or traced to a curated set of influences. But rather than feeling like some inaccessible, abstract mass, their music feels like a warm embrace—the communal equivalent of self-care.” – Shannon Gormley, Willamette Week Best of 2018





CARTER CRUISE ( los angeles, california )

“Having successfully made herself a name as a DJ, opening for artists such as RL Grime, Bauerr, and Ookay, as well as making a name for herself as a producer by remixing songs for the likes of Krewela, MOONz, and Ghastly. Carter Cruise is now showing her strength as a singer/songwriter through her project that she has been working on behind the scenes the whole time. Following her first single “Diggin’ U” off of her forthcoming Send Moods EP, Carter is back with her second single “Sippin’ On Danger” that truly displays her versatility as an artist and a producer, melding acoustic guitar riffs with expertly layered vocals and a catchy bass line that’s bound to get anyone listening to the track to sing along.” -Avi Gavin, The DJ List

ONHELL ( los angeles, california )

“ONHELL” is a phonetic respelling of the Spanish pronunciation of angel and the first name of Los Angeles based composer, producer and DJ, Angel Rubio-Hale. The Remixtape Vol II will be ONHELL’s first release of 2019 followed with a vinyl release set to drop in March on Youngsta’s Sentry Records and a forthcoming EP for Plastician’s Terrorhythm Recordings. From late March – May ONHELL will be touring the United States with Thelem on their Parallels Tour. He’s released on Plastician’s Terrorhythm Recordings, Truth’s Deep, Dark & Dangerous, and Fracture’s Astrophonica exhibit his range within the experimental bass music sphere.

TERROR PIGEON ( nashville, tennessee )

Terror Pigeon is the world’s sweatiest band, lead by Neil Fridd. “No other band does ecstatic sadness like Terror Pigeon.” – James Rettig, Stereogum









THE PUSCIE JONES REVUE ( los angeles, california )

The Puscie Jones Revue is a power funk/soul collective fronted by the massive ball of funk energy that is Puscie Jones himself: P.U.S C.I.E. : Pursuit of the Uninhibited and Stimulated Core Inside Everyone. The message of PJR is to be your true self and have the best time in life regardless of what society or anyone thinks. Like a child does. All through the power of music and soul, PJR has quickly become one of the most popular bands in L.A, known for their message, musicianship and SoCals craziest dance parties. Regularly selling out Los Angeles venues with their music and movement, bringing that soulful, sexual, hard hitting powerful funk to the people with tons of catchy originals, some pumped up covers and of course plenty of top-notch jamming. Puscie Jones himself takes full command of any stage for a true entertainment experience complete with costume changes, crowd participation, and with on the fly antics, you never know what’s in store! Currently gigging hard, booking tours and spreading the funk!

ESMÉ PATTERSON ( denver, colorado )

Sometimes you have to turn off your brain and let your body sing. That’s what Esmé Patterson did on her third full-length, We Were Wild, which was released on Grand Jury Music on June 10th, 2016. “At its core, rock ‘n’ roll is where madness and order collide. Where our sexual, raw, animal nature meets our heart and mind. On this album I explored deeper, more far out sonic spaces. I hunted the vibe through vast wilderness,” says the Denver-based songwriter. Her decadal musical career sprang from Colorado’s mountains when she co-founded Denver’s beloved indie-folk ensemble Paper Bird. After four acclaimed albums and perpetual touring, Patterson set a new course. In 2012, she wove local talents, including Nathaniel Rateliff, into her first powerful, ethereal solo release All Princes, I. Her 2014 release, Woman to Woman, rounded out previously one-dimensional females from popular songs to the praise of The New York Times, The Guardian and others. “Dearly Departed”, her hit collaboration with Shakey Graves, led to millions of streams, sold out shows nationwide, as well as performances on Conan and The Late Show With David Letterman.

HER’S ( liverpool, england )

Her’s are Stephen Fitzpatrick and Audun Laading. Liverpool’s premier crank-pop duo have birthed a catalogue of tunes causing an epidemic case of the jives. Echoing the gauzy slacker sound of Mac DeMarco with guitars that chime like The Smiths, they channel the surreal and the sublime through a twist of technicolour tropicalia. A wistful tenderness inhabits the architecture of their perfect oddball pop, winning them fans at BBC Radio 1, 6 Music, DIY, The Guardian, Stereogum and Hype Machine. In 12 months, the band have been making audiences hips shake, from Green Man to The Great Escape, Benicassim to SXSW.

THE UNDERCOVER DREAM LOVERS ( los angeles, california )

The Undercover Dream Lovers is the American indie psychedelic dream-pop project by songwriter and producer Matt Koenig. Koenig debuted the first Dream Lovers EP, While It’s In Style, in early April 2016 at Brooklyn’s Baby’s All Right and he hasn’t stopped since. Koenig wrote and produced all the songs for the Dream Lovers in his Brooklyn, NY bedroom before moving to Los Angeles, where he now has a home studio. Periodically, he enlists the help of friends for a drum part or mixing advice/collaboration but hopes to eventually work with a consistent band. Being a part of a band has always been Koenig’s inspiration for music, however he has found it more practical and efficient to create the songs himself.







HAVIAH MIGHTY ( toronto, canada )

“This girl BEASTS on the track!” captions the TeamBackPack video that launched Haviah Mighty to two million Facebook views in 2016. The Toronto-born, Brampton-raised artist began her artistic journey in 2009, and from there, her flow has evolved into her signature confident, in-your-face rapping style. With new school production and a forceful and focused delivery, this multidisciplinary talent is a rapper, singer, producer and DJ, all mushed into a 5’1” ball of fury. Gifted with a name that carries a touch of destiny (yes, that really is her name), Haviah Mighty has captured the imagination of vast audiences through her powerful live performances and is rapidly becoming one of the most thought-provoking, viscerally entertaining and magnetic rap artists in Canada. Her most recent EP, Flower City, which spent 8 weeks in the top 3 on the CMJ Hip-Hop charts and was named one of Complex’s Favourite Canadian Releases of 2017, is a watershed moment in her blossoming career, and is a work of linguistic elegance, rhythmic ferocity and soulful sincerity that is overflowing with an insistent energy. Now, Haviah is working on a new album, executively produced by 2OOLMAN (from A Tribe Called Red), featuring Sean Leon, Clairmont The Second, OBUXUM and more. The album will be released in early 2019.

LENNY KISER ( san francisco, california )

Lenny Kiser is a house producer and DJ known for his signature sound: a winning combination of crisp 808 beats, sub-shaking basslines, and tongue-in-cheek vocals that show the playful side of a genre that often takes itself overly seriously. Over the past few years, he’s churned out banger after banger, and his tracks have been played by some of the biggest names in the music scene, such as Christian Martin, Justin Martin, Diplo, Malaa, Tchami, Kyle Watson, Will Clarke, Ardalan, and Riva Starr. Lenny’s rise as an artist began with his debut track “Dial Up,” which put him on the map in 2016 and garnered over 120,000 plays on SoundCloud. That caught the attention of Christian Martin, who immediately signed three EPs to his label Trippy Ass Technologies. Lenny’s first release on that imprint was “Where’s the Bassline.” It charted on Beatport and was listed by Mixmag as their #1 breaks release. Soon afterward, he was asked by Justin Martin to remix his track “Rabbit Hole,” which was released on Dirtybird in 2017. Other main stage DJs started to take notice of Lenny’s unique sound, and later in 2017 he remixed the track “Bylina” by Malaa, which came out on Confession. Lenny has also released tracks on Perfect Driver, Laser Native, and Country Club Disco. Part of Lenny’s success as a producer stems from his background as a professional audio engineer and certified Ableton trainer. He is widely recognized by fellow producers for his intricate sound design techniques and Jedi-level mixing and mastering skills. Lenny’s passion for sharing his expertise with the music community led him to found a music production school in San Francisco, where he teaches the next generation of aspiring producers. Lenny is regularly on the road playing at clubs and festivals, where he never fails to melt faces and move crowds. His live DJ sets are exciting and constantly evolving, and he packs them full of his unreleased music, edits, and reworks.

ZEE WILL ( fresno, california )

Influenced by the lyrics of Nas and 2Pac while also an admirer of Mase and his swagger, West Coast rapper Zee Will combined all these elements, added an indie spin, and then came up with a unique, vibrant sound. Born in Fresno but raised mostly in San Jose, he launched his career in 2011 in Fresno’s Love City Movement, later known as simply Love City. He went solo in 2014 with the single “Destiny” produced by ZenZan, along with the album Ill Child, then a second album, StrategyGuide, arrived by the end of the year. In 2015 he released a self-titled album along with the single “Arcade.” In 2017 he released “Project Pilot” with his brother Kam Cooks and in 2018 he released “ill Mantra” produced by Jukebawks.









BLACK BELT EAGLE SCOUT ( portland, oregon )

Black Belt Eagle Scout is Portland-based Katherine Paul, an indigenous queer musician whose debut album, Mother of My Children, is about “grief and love for people, but also about being a native person in what is the United States today.” Paul grew up in a small Indian reservation, the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, surrounded by family focused on native drumming, singing, and arts. From an early age, Paul was singing and dancing at powwows with one of her strongest memories at her family’s own powwow, called the All My Relations Powwow. Paul reminisces, “When I was younger, my only form of music was through the songs my ancestors taught the generations of my family. Singing in our language is a spiritual process and it carries on through me in how I create music today.” With the support of her family and a handful of bootleg Hole and Nirvana VHS tapes, Paul taught herself how to play guitar and drums as a teenager. In 2007, she moved to Portland, Oregon to attend college and get involved with the Rock’n’Roll Camp for Girls eventually diving deep into the city’s music scene playing guitar and drums in bands while evolving her artistry into what would later become Black Belt Eagle Scout.

TK & THE HOLY KNOW-NOTHINGS ( portland, oregon )

TK & The Holy Know-Nothings is a psychedelic doom boogie band from Portland, OR. Their debut album will be out this spring.











BE FOREST ( pesaro, italy )

Be Forest is a shoegaze trio from Pesaro, Italy. Nicola Lampredi (guitar), Costanza Delle Rose (vocals and bass), and Erica Terenzi (drums and electronics) started the band in 2010, and in September of the same year they released a self/titled digital EP. Be Forest’s first EP was recorded at Waves Studio (Pesaro, Italy) by Paolo Rossi and contained only two tracks, but it received great reviews and made the band known in Italy. The record label WWNBB signed the band at the end of 2010. In March 2011 Be Forest’s first full length, “Cold”, was released internationally by WWNBB and distributed in Japan by the record label Coco Heart. The nine tracks received international attention and brought the band to play more than fifty shows and embark on two European tours by the end of that year, selling out the first pressing of the CD (repressed multiple times since) and bringing the record label “Blood Rock Record” to press a 12” vinyl release of “Cold” in 2 limited editions, green and black, both sold out in days.

MADGE ( los angeles, california )

Madge is Cat Leavy, a one-woman DIY-pop project currently based in LA. Delving into Celtic mythology, the legacy of her Mormon upbringing in Utah, dark spirituality and a contemporary take on pop sounds, Madge is the power-punching, self-produced artist banishing the music industry’s bros and blood suckers. Her tracks show a pop vision that is singular, audacious and incontrovertibly her own. Springing from her foundational work with synthpop duo New Shack, Madge debuted earlier this year with left-of-center beats and gory vocals. Pigeons and Planes described the project as “one of the most interesting debuts of 2018” and the first single “Fight or Flight Club” received industry nods from the likes of Pitchfork and Noisey. Leavy produces, mixes, and masters most of her own material making her a unicorn (albeit a bloody one) among current pop acts. And while born in a studio, the project’s live show is an extension of this out-of-the-box creativity featuring costumes, fake blood, and dancing.

Have a listening party with our playlists on Spotify, SoundCloud and Apple Music.

For a full list of artists announced, check out our lineup page.

This is the third and final artist announcement so now you definitely need to snag a Treefort Pass!