Singer-songwriter Elizaveta's Hero EP Out Today

Elegant and innovative, singer-songwriter Elizaveta released her new EP, Hero, today via iTunes. Her best work to date, the five song EP features the title track, a remix of which was the soundtrack to the 12 million-viewed video “Superman with a GoPro,” “Red Balloon,” “Spaceman,” “God Only Knows” and the EPs second single “Sorry.” Concurrent to the EP’s iTunes onsale, Elizaveta released a stirring new video for “Sorry.” The beautiful clip features Malece Miller and Nico Greetham of So You Think You Can Dance (2013) fame. Visit the A.V. Club here to view the video for “Sorry."

Complex and multi-layered, the five song Hero EP takes listeners on an intricate musical journey with a unique blend of pop melody, piano hooks, electronic soundscapes and dreamy vocals. The first single, “Hero” was written, produced, and arranged by Elizaveta and the EP is her first completely independent production effort overall. In its first week of release, the extraordinary debut track “Hero” sold an impressive 9,000 copies.

The video for her new single, “Sorry” was choreographed by celebrity choreographer and trainer Ryan Heffington (Muse, The Gossip, Ke$ha, Shiny Toy Guns, Nikka Costa, etc.) and directed by Nicolas Randall (Roberto Cavalli, Daft Punk, MTV, etc.). The collaboration of talent creates a cinematic journey that views more like a film than a music video, and captures the song’s deep emotional theme while complimenting Elizaveta’s powerful voice and talent.

Elizaveta says, “The Hero EP is a natural evolution of my debut album, Beatrix Runs. It is genre-bending, and maybe even a bit more adventurous.  My first single “Hero" is definitely on the epic side. I call it my 'Game of Thrones' song and it features a crowd sourced choir at the end of the song. "Spaceman" and "Red Balloon" are more electro-oriented, while "Sorry" is definitely retro, with an old French movie-meets-classic R&B vibe. "God Only Knows” is an intimate tune that builds from just piano to an orchestral pay-off in the end. Finally, I couldn't have done this without the skills of the mixer Robert Chiarelli and Bob Ludwig, who was the mastering engineer for the EP.”

Born in New York, raised in Moscow, Russia, and now residing in Venice, CA, Elizaveta is a classically trained opera singer, self-described as a “musical alchemist.” Enriched with cultural undertones from her diverse background, and combined with her incredible talents as a pianist and songwriter, Elizaveta’s unique sound is an amalgamation of musical styles including, classical, pop, opera, electronic music, rock and more. She is lauded as "a brilliant musical innovator who can honestly claim to be doing new things in music that no one else is” (CBS).  With Hero, Elizaveta created an exquisite EP that contains five songs of musical mastery that has the ability to touch fans from a multitude of genres. Over the years her music has been featured in films and TV shows, such as Pretty Little Liars, So You Think You Can Dance and Scandal, among others. She has toured widely both in Europe and the United States, including a recent tour across Russia with ultra-popular Russian stars B-2 and a symphony orchestra and has plans to tour following the release of her EP.

For more information, visit www.elizaveta.com.

Skillet Announce UK release for New Album Rise and UK tour dates

Two-time Grammy nominated rock band SKILLET announce a Nov 25th UK release for their highly anticipated new album Rise (Atlantic/Word). Rise, features the single ‘Sick Of It’ and coincides with the band being special guests on Nickelback’s Arena tour.

Rise features the single ‘Sick Of It” which is to be released the week before,  to coincide with the UK dates,  on Nov 18th

Rise follows the band's 2009 blockbuster, Awake, which was certified platinum for sales in excess of one million copies in the U.S. It’s worth noting that Skillet was the only active rock band to achieve platinum certification in 2012, and one of only three rock bands (the other two being Mumford and Sons and the Black Keys) to strike platinum in 2012. 

The band maintains momentum with Rise, a gripping coming-of-age narrative that stands as their first concept album—though lead singer/bassist John Cooper says it wasn’t premeditated. The album tells the story of a typical American teen coming into adulthood and trying to figure out who he is in a world riddled with problems both within and outside his control.
“The narrative idea happened after we had 10 or 11 of the songs chosen,” he says. “As we recorded them, we started to realize that there was something going on—that the album was really telling a story. Realizing that, I knew we needed to make it as powerful as we could.”

The result is a wildly ambitious work as heady as it is visceral. Sonically, the disc sees the band expanding their musical palette, integrating natural, acoustic instruments like accordion, mandolin, dulcimer, harp, tympani and bells to their trademark slashing electric guitars, strings, churning synths and pummeling drums.

Skillet (Cooper, guitarist/keyboardist Korey Cooper, drummer/vocalist Jen Ledger and guitarist Seth Morrison) recorded the album in Los Angeles, where they re-teamed with producer Howard Benson (My Chemical Romance, All American Rejects), who helmed Awake.

Awake debuted at No. 2 on Billboard's Top 200 Album Chart and No. 1 on the magazine's Top Modern Rock/Alternative Albums Chart. In addition, the record hit No. 1 on iTunes' Top Album Chart, garnered 3 Billboard Music Awards and spawned four hit singles including the No. 1 Active Rock smash and gold-certified “Awake and Alive,” the gold-certified "Hero," "It's Not Me It's You" and the platinum-certified "Monster." "Monster" lived up to its name, selling more than a million copies and hitting Top 5 at Active Rock radio (the first in a string of multiple Top 5 active rock hits), while its companion video has generated over 47 million YouTube views. Skillet over the course of the past few years have sold more than two million units in the U.S. alone, racked up more than 150 million YouTube views and amassed a diehard following (dubbed Panheads) whose members number in the millions. Skillet are now set to conquer the UK.

The November UK tour dates  with Nickelback are
Sat        23rd         Liverpool Echo Arena.
Sun        24th         London Wembley Arena.
Tues    26th        Glasgow The Hydro.
Wed    27th         Leeds Arena.


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