Steve Balsamo shares stunning Christmas ballad, ‘Snow Angels’.

STEVE BALSAMO needs no introduction to those who love great voices in the music world! Steve has toured the world, performed with and written for household names and was initially known for his superb rendition of Jesus in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’.

His new single, ‘Snow Angels’ is a lush, heartfelt Christmas Pop ballad, co-written with fellow Welshman, multi-award winning singer/songwriter Darren Parry and the young, English talent of singer/songwriter Josh Gleaves.

Steve says of his latest ballad, “Darren, Josh and I actually wrote the song on Zoom about 2 yrs ago, during the lockdown periods. I initially had the song title and a bit of a melody and we worked on the song over about 2 or 3 sessions online. The song was written pretty quick”. Steve adds… “Darren and I did a rough guitar version recorded into our phones at first, before Josh did an acoustic version in the studio in London a little while later.”

Steve continues… “It was only very recently that we had the very talented Andrew Griffiths (AGM Productions) produce this new studio version with a gorgeous, lush, orchestral type arrangement. I put down the lead vocal at Andrew’s studio (in the Swansea Valley) and Darren, Andrew and I did all the backing vocals/harmonies you hear, including the ‘choir’!”.

The title takes the imagery of ‘snow angels’ (the shape that people can make in the snow when they lie down) and uses it as a metaphor to tell the story of a relationship between two people at Christmas time.

Steve has written past songs for Slash, Meatloaf, Cliff Richard, toured with Jon Lord (of Deep Purple fame), formed the band The Story’s (who toured with Celine Dion and Elton John), was part of Balsamo/Deighton (an Americana duo with Rosalie Deighton) and more recently part of Balsamo/Collins/Riley with Andy Collins and Pete Riley.

Darren’s achievements include… 2004 UK Songwriting Champion (beating 6000 entries from around the globe), 2014/2016 USA Song Of The Year contest runner up (judges included Gwen Stefani, Don Henley and Phil Collins), 2019 ISSA Awards International Male Vocalist Of The Year, 2021 ISSA Awards International Male Songwriter Of The Year Silver Crystal Award winner and multiple other awards from Billboard and Unisong, to name but a few! Darren has co-written songs with hit songwriters like James Warren (The Korgis, “Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime”), Dazzle Music (Charlotte Church) and many others.

Young Josh is a 21 yr old award winning singer/songwriter from London, nicknamed ‘The Heartbreak Kid’! He lives and breathes his passion for music and started writing and performing from just 10 years old. Despite still only being 21, the sound of his guitar alongside his raw and ethereal vocals have filled venues all over the U.K. for over 8 years. During that time, Josh has established his own unique Country/Americana style and sound, guaranteed to draw a crowd wherever he plays!

This collaboration between three great singer/songwriters and the production talents of Andrew Griffiths has them manifest an earworm, contemporary, Christmas Pop ballad that also manages to hark back/take inspiration from the classic Christmas songs of old, such as ‘A Winter’s Tale’ by David Essex. The song beautifully shows off the softer side of Steve’s world class, 4 octave vocal range and deserves to become a new Christmas classic for our modern times!

‘Snow Angels’ was released on last Tuesday, 28th November…why not get into the festive spirit and have a listen below…

OUT TODAY: Darren Parry is no longer ‘Outside Looking In’ with new single

Hot on the heels of his last single, ‘Unconditional’, multi-award winning Welsh, singer/songwriter DARREN PARRY has a brand new single waiting to be heartedly embraced by the listeners again entitled ‘Outside Looking In’, out now across various music platforms.

This contemporary piece of earworm Pop was co-written with Rachel Walker Mason. Rachel Walker Mason is a multi-award winning musician, currently writing songs with Grammy Nominees, Billboard Hot 100 Artists, Alumni from The Voice UK and American Idol, Emmy Winners and Independent Country Music Association Award Winners. A highly regarded songwriting and vocal judge, Rachel was a judge for NTA nominated Sing: Ultimate A Cappella on Sky One and is a judge for the UK Songwriting Contest, Strive and the Intercontinental Music Awards.

‘Outside Looking In’ was written via Zoom in 2022 as Rachel had heard some of Darren’s songs and got in touch to write. Darren says.“It was great that I was on Rachel’s radar, we had a lot of fun writing this and wrote 90% of it in about a 2 hr Zoom call. I think we had a second short Zoom call to tidy up some loose ends and voila… it was done! I had the chorus idea going around my head for over a year or so before so I played it for Rachel and it struck a chord with her, so that’s the idea we ran with”

Darren recorded and produced the track with young, hip, Swansea producer Dai Griffiths (Dai Griff Productions). Dai has had a lot of success recently with various artists such as BBC Radio Wales Welsh playlist ‘A listers’ Ify Iwobi, Luna Lot and Mal Pope.

Darren’s achievements in music include… 2004 ‘UK Songwriting Champion’ (beating 6000 entries from around the globe), 2014 and 2016 USA ‘Song Of The Year’ contest runner up (judges included Gwen Stefani, Don Henley and Phil Collins), 2019 ISSA Awards ‘International Male Vocalist Of The Year’ Silver Crystal Award winner and multiple other awards from Billboard and Unisong, to name but a few! Darren has co-written songs with hit songwriters like James Warren (The Korgis, “Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime”), Dazzle Music (Charlotte Church), Steve Balsamo (Cliff Richard, Slash, Meatloaf) and many others.

Darren has had a busy year or two with winning the 2021 ISSA (International Singer Songwriters Association) ‘Int. Male Songwriter Of The Year’ Silver Crystal Award in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, writing a song for the new The Korgis album (‘Broken’), having four new songs on Lee Gilbert’s brand new album (‘Take Me As I Am’), including the title track, releasing his own singles, writing for other artists as well as various film and media projects.

‘Outside Looking In’ is a great collaboration between two noteworthy songwriters who manifest a positive, upbeat, slick, contemporary Pop track that sees Darren really showcase his three and a half octave vocal range!

Darren says of his latest offering…”I wanted this song to have a universal message. The song is for anyone and everyone who feels they have ever been ‘outside looking in’, i.e. feeling that the world has brought them down, that the challenges of life are difficult to overcome. There is a scene in the film ‘Trading Places’ (I love that film) where Dan Aykroyd, looking cold, hungry and wet is in the rain, looking through a restaurant window at those inside laughing and enjoying themselves. It’s a real metaphor for what many of us have experienced, that of feeling not part of something, not achieving your true potential. It’s a song about realising that you always had wings (even though you didn’t know it) and now it’s time to open them and fly! Now is the time to have that confidence… it’s your time to shine!”

‘Outside Looking In’ is out on various music platforms from Friday 29th September and forms part of his forthcoming new EP, ‘Learning The Hard Way.’

Connect with Darren Parry via:
FB: https://www.facebook.com/darrenparrymusic
T: https://twitter.com/darrenparry
IG: https://www.instagram.com/darrenparryphotos/

Mirari Drops Track, ‘Class of Deja’

MIRARI is an exciting force in hip-hop, based in Cardiff, Wales. Recent performances include New Skool Rules 2023 in Rotterdam, Focus Wales 2023 in Wrexham and is set to perform at Tiny Rebel Fest 2023 at the end of June. Mirari has garnered the support of tastemakers like Kaptin Barrett, BBC Wales & Youth Music and is primed to emerge as an artist to watch through 2023.

He continues to carry artistic innovation on his shoulders, seeking to revitalise familiar genres by blending styles. ‘Class of Deja’, his latest single, brings the listener into the electrifying world of grime, where raw energy and unapologetic lyricism collide to create a musical force like no other. Check out this bad boy banger below…

Welsh alt-pop artist Mali Haf releases new single ‘Shwsh!’

MALI HAF takes a new direction with her brand of alternative pop through new single ‘SHWSH!’ which bursts of empowering pop that urges its listeners to be themselves in the worlds of Reality TV and social media. There is empathy for how we have to navigate the bombardment of media advice, designed to create dissatisfactions. The last verse wishes that we could be free to allow love into our lives.

The other clear message in the lyrics is that your gender identity is personal to you, no-one should dictate how you should express it. The single will be accompanied by a video which depicts Mali being auditioned for the part of playing a “woman”.

‘SHWSH!’ is the first single leading towards an EP in the Autumn. This new material is a collaboration with the South Wales based producer Minas. Have a listen below…

Holy Coves Release Brand New Video For Single ‘Grey’.

Welsh Alternative Psych Rock band HOLY COVES have released their brand new music video for single ‘Grey’ via their ever growing new YouTube channel. ‘Grey’ is the third in a series of five music videos created by award winning Ukrainian Filmmaker ‘Taras Merenkov’. Merenkov’s hazy cinematic style of direction really emphasises the music and makes a formidable visual. ‘Grey’ is taken from the band’s acclaimed new album ‘Druids and Bards’ which is out now via Welsh label Yr Wyddfa Records.

2022 has been quite a year for Holy Coves. The quartet were championed by Gary Crowley on BBC Radio London, Steve Lamacq on BBC 6 Music, with BBC Radio Wales support from Huw Stephens and Adam Walton.

Check out the video for ‘Grey’ below…