By The Reach Provo Editorial Staff
Junior Mathematics
Pop/Chill-Rap group Junior Mathematics released their debut EP, Reform, earlier this month. The band has performed at The Garage’s weekly free shows and also played an outdoor show at Liberty Square Apartment Complex alongside Motion Coaster two weeks ago. Junior Mathematics is made up of Taylor Christensen, Mitchell Henderson, Trevor Zibetti, Mckay Watson, and Isaac Payne. Their music combines soulful vocals with laid back grooves and goofy, LFO-esque raps. Reform is available on iTunes and Spotify. Their song, “Summer Romance,” comes Reach Provo recommended. Nothing quite encapsulates Provo college culture like, “I like it when your two-piece connects // Modest the hottest. No skin? Respect.”
Mimi Knowles
After a performance with Nico & Vinz at Splash Fest 2016 last Saturday, Mimi Knowles has released the official music video for his original song, “Cloud.” The song is from his latest release, Something New For A Change (read our review here). The song was recorded by Norbert Bueno at The Key, and the video was shot by Cole Reasch, AKA C_Piddy. Highly entertaining, the video chronicles Mimi’s emoji and Snapchat-animation laden journey to Provo Bakery to pick up some delicious custom donuts. If it sounds crazy, that’s because it is. It’s one of the most enjoyable music videos to come out of the Provo music scene in a while. It’s something you’ve gotta see for yourself. You can watch the video on YouTube here.
Na-G
Provo Hip-Hop artist Na-G announced via social media that he’ll be releasing a brand new single this Friday. The announcement was accompanied by original artwork by Victor Unga. “Tearing It Up” features the soulful vocals of Yahosh Bonner and is the first single from Na-G’s upcoming EP, Golden Hour. The EP is taking Na-G’s sound in a much more organic, soul-oriented direction. You can expect to hear organ, live drums, thumping bass guitar lines, vocal runs, and gospel harmonies. From the songs we’ve heard already, it’s going to be leagues above his first EP, Hey Na-G. You can read what we thought of that here.
Stephanie Mabey
The hype is building for Stephanie Mabey’s upcoming release, I Still Taste Fire. The EP is due out August 26th and features the lead single “Heart-Shaped Hologram.” Mabey released a live performance of the song last Friday. Live sound and video were both handled by producer Russ Dixon. Dixon is best known for his band, Colors, and his work compiling, recording, and producing songs for Especially For Youth Soundtracks. The video is simple, but beautiful. One camera angle, one take, Mabey sits in a room performing a stripped down version of “Heart-Shaped Hologram” on her Omnichord. You can watch the video on YouTube here. You can hear the song with full instrumentation here.
Imagine Dragons
Last week, Provo alums Imagine Dragons joined twenty øne piløts as the second group to release an original single for the upcoming anti-hero film Suicide Squad. “Sucker For Pain” is a massive collaboration between Imagine Dragons, X-Ambassadors, Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa, Logic, and Ty Dolla $ign. Its music video is high-budget undertaking, replicating set pieces from the motion picture and turning each of the performers into a dark, super-powered villain. The single was released through Atlantic Records. The film is set for an August 5th, 2016 release date. The soundtrack to the motion picture is being made slowly available on Spotify track-by-track until the movie hits theaters.
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