
He's incomparable and unique:neither you are going to forget his name. The backgroud music gives the stage to his physical growth and,thanks to his crazy neurons that float inside of his skull vault, it turns to a selftherapy. Born in 1988, he has been playing records in clubs for several years: he started in Ragusa where he got the chance to get to know deejays and music producers, then his name echos to the rest of Eastern Sicily. He started with a friend, a decibel and electrical schizoprenia fellow. Having fun he mixes different sounds to create minimal and techno music which ends up to the Twout project. He started to dedicate to producing. After being damned by his mother, even though  by this time her eardrums are uncounsciouly used to exaggerated decibel vibrations, during his live sets he opts out to a deep that he adapts to his listeners who are in the grip of rash articular movements. Shake before use.

Pushing Buttons Films & University of Westminster in association with Orange Rock Films and Film Academy presents: Tim Porter's Juggling: A new short film coming July 2012 to film festivals and VOD Services.

Andrew Watson, a 23 year old businessman is carrying an overbearing guilt that is eating away at his very existence. Leading two different lives, he is failing to get a grip on either. At the root of his problem is finding himself torn between two women; one being his disabled mother who is solely dependent on her son, the other, Jill (a fellow co-worker), who provides Andrew with an opportunity of a possible future of independence. Andrew is conflicted psychologically. Trying to balance both these lives seemingly puts grave strain on both relationships and his working life. His mother, when left unattended, is accident-prone leading Andrew to be consumed with fear of separation from his mother. This leads him to symptomatically return to the role of a child. Andrew sinks more into depression from everyday life before Jill takes matters into her own hands, bringing Andrew's two separate lives together harmoniously. Releasing the psychological trauma and gaining acceptance from his mother, things are on the up for Andrew... or are they?

<center><blink> a z A p - a-q-rat sounds AZitiZ poetry

When it comes to cool names, there’s no doubt that AZitiZ (AS IT IS) a native of New Orleans, is a master. Derived from the subtitle of the ancient Sanskrit classic, Bhagavad Gita As It Is. The phrase, AZitiZ means the unadulterated truth.

Growing up, AZitiZ went to school in Florida to an all girl's spiritual boarding school where the girls learned yoga, meditation & practiced strict vegetarianism. With the school, she traveled the world, including India , doing theatrical performances and music. Over the years, her music excellence became apparent as she mastered different styles of drumming. AZitiZ has always been attracted to percussion and drums, so after school she went to study at Ali Akbar College of Music in San Rafael, California and also lived in India for eight months, to further her study of percussion.

When she returned to the states, AZitiZ heard hip hop, fell in love with it and was inspired by Queen Latifa, Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu & Missy Elliot. From here, her music took a totally different direction. Compelled by the flowy, rhythmic rhymes of hip hop, she found her niche. Now, she’s ready to explode on the scene with a fresh new sound.

AZitiZ isn't content to leave the music world as it is. This is an artist ready to leave a crater – that is, she's gonna make an impact. Her evocative blend of hip-hop and soul elements ride an electric line along the cutting edge of urban music creativity. At the same time, she keeps a grip on the staple elements in which the genres are rooted. Catchy doesn't even begin to describe the hook-heavy infectiousness that pull the listener into a world of vital words and potent grooves.


An Honest Connection


AZitiZ doesn't insult listeners. She doesn't hypnotize the uninspired with heard-it-before complacency. Her artistry is grounded in originality and truth-speaking. Musically, AZitiZ crafts songs that come alive with the fervent spirit of creativity in which they are formed. Lyrically, AZitiZ speaks what she knows, never faking and never, ever hiding from reality. Music, for her, is about joy, freedom, honesty and forming a connection with others. At the core is getting in touch with others through music. To make that connection, the music has to have something real to offer the listener, which is where keeping it real and refusing to water down the message – for anyone or any reason – come into play. The spirit of joy and the exuberance of freedom come from that synergy, possible only through talent and truth.


True Expression


There's a reason for the strict standards behind the music of AZitiZ. Love doesn't lie. Pure human artistic communication occurs only through the honesty exercised in one's craft. “True expression is love,” says AZitiZ. Therefore, to truly express one's self, it must be from love, the truest form of which requires emotional, artistic and intellectual honesty in songwriting. Which means nothing is taboo. The good of life, and the bad, are all sources of influence for AZitiZ and her music. A fascination with the wonder of existence is also necessary for that special spark that's found in good music. “Life inspires me, the ups, the downs, smiles and frowns. Mother Earth inspires me; the stars and the unknown intrigue me. I am influenced by people who follow the heart and, especially, the soul.”

“AZitiZ is a forthright performer, one of strength and integrity, and – most importantly – understanding.” – A&R Select

<big><blink>a-q-rat

 I am the composer and producer the sounddesigner in this collaboration based at the Baltic Sea in Germany.

In the mid 90’s I started DJing. Primarily Rap and Hip Hop of the 80s and 90s was my thing. However this all changed when I moved to Berlin in 1998 when I started Combining Nu-Jazz with Hip Hop, but with a turntablelist style. Adding scratches, dropping beats and generally juggling with two records. As this combination developed, I started producing Bootleg remixes from classics Hip Hop artist like the Beastie Boys, KRS ONE, Eric B. & Rakim.

However, after a while, my attraction to Hip Hop lyrics was no more, and I found myself becoming more and more interested in the beats and Instrumentals. Thus moving more into the Trip Hop and Dub spectrum. After time and bit by bit, my turntables became dusty, as I was busy composing my own tunes.

In 2007 I was pulled towards the Baltic Sea in Schleswig Holstein. Where my life changed... (Don’t ask why?)

So…… Here I am today. Its 2010, I’m still making Hip Hop and Trip Hop tracks.

I’m Backed by BPR Berlin and I love what I do.

My name is Astrid Young. As a singer, I’ve shared stages and studios with a mind-blowing roster of musical legends. I wrote a bestselling book, made a short film, and played or sang on a ton of records. I also became a wine professional (sommelier) along the way, but that’s another story. I grew up in Toronto with a writer for a father, and a mother who endeavoured to educate me musically as early as possible. I could read music probably before I could read words, so it stands to reason this would be my direction in life.
 
Orchestras dominated my early years, but rock and roll took over around about my senior year in high school. I put down the oboe and bought my first electric guitar: a 1966 Gibson SG Special. It was a game changer for sure. Next came Los Angeles, which was my home for the next twenty some years. I was in a hair band in the 1980’s called Sacred Child. We charted in ten countries, and made it to number sixteen on the ‘Hard Report’ (an east coast radio tipsheet of the time) in 1987. The years that followed took me many places, both literally and figuratively. I played all over the world, sang or played on some gold and platinum selling albums, and accomplished a lot of songwriting, recording, and even got into writing screenplays for feature films. One of my proudest rock and roll moments came when I found out that a record that I had sang on (Neil Young’s Harvest Moon) had been ‘officially’ taken into space and listened to on the space shuttle, and had been to the international space station! What a rare and unique honor! 

I am so grateful for the career that I have had. But I am always of the mind that the best is yet to come.

Fast forward to now. I’m about to release my fourth solo record. It’s called ‘One Night at Giant Rock’. I’ve been working on this record since 2005, and I have not released an album since my acoustic record ‘Matinee’ in 2003. There were many roadblocks getting there, beginning with a devastating personal loss, and the arduous process of dealing with that, but my biggest obstacle in bringing ‘One Night’ to fruition was that my hearing is so damaged from all the years of loud guitars that I can no longer hear subtle differences in the studio. Some notes were even non existent – a very scary place to be for any musician. So I took it slowly. Song by song. What emerged were stories from the soul. Songs about searching, remembering, forgetting, bloodletting … it appears that my lifelong musical quest has been to discover the karmic meaning in all my relationships. Not just love relationships – because every connection you make, they are all part of the bigger picture, each of them individually a plot twist unto themselves. ‘One Night at Giant Rock’ is all about that journey. 

In keeping with that philosophy, providence and the fates stepped in, in the form of one Victor DeLorenzo – you may know him from his group the Violent Femmes (I am a super-fan!). We decided we ought to do some work together, and to make a long story short, the result was truly magic. You see, Victor took over the role of producer, and for the first time in my life I was able to completely let go the ‘death grip’ I had on my own music and let somebody else be my ears. Victor, together with the rest of the amazing people who contributed to ‘One Night’ took my songs, my vision, and drove it into the sun. The experience was transcendental. When alchemy actually works, it’s impossible to deny.

I play acoustic guitar, bass, and I sing. Sometimes I play piano or keyboards, and the occasional flute. On drums is my musical collaborator and producer Victor DeLorenzo:; on guitar we have Joe Gore and Eric McFadden, both of whom played extensively on the record. Depending on where we are in the world, during our tour we may have appearances from one or the other of them., or maybe both! Many of our live shows will also feature Ray Farrugia (of Lee Harvey Osmond/Junkhouse) on drums as well as Victor. Two drummers? Sure why not!

I have always thought of this record as my magnum opus, the sum total of all my musical experiences, my masterpiece. So when you listen to ‘One Night,’ take the journey with me. Take that journey from start to finish and ride that winding sand road through the desert, out near Joshua Tree, which is the landscape of my muse. The giant rock itself is the nexus of it all. Each song is a mini-vacation in itself, and you may or may not recognize some of my main influences: Black Sabbath, early David Bowie, Pink Floyd and Kate Bush ... and maybe just a little Judas Priest, AC/DC (Bon Scott era) and Deep Purple (Ian Gillan era). 

Keep an eye on www.astridyoung.net. As one of my friends so aptly said, there's a musical surprise around every corner.

Bree-arne Manley singer, songwriter, wife and mother

Growing up in the little seaside town of Clifton Springs, Bree-arne Manley was introduced at a young age to music by her parent’s love of singing and teaching as well as playing piano and guitar.
 On the weekends Bree’s dad would put on his vinyl records of Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Roy Orbison & Travelling Wilburys. These influential artists sparked a curiosity for the music scene. From the age of 3 she discovered that she had the ability to play a song she could hear. ￼
Bree would watch her mother play the piano and discovered that she had the ability to mimic the position of her hands.
 Over the years Bree was able to learn to play a song just by listening. As she got older and matured more with her music Bree discovered a natural talent for composing and writing songs.  Picking up the guitar at 12 opened up new doors for writing and composing in different styles. 
 Eventually Bree’s skills became highly accomplished. After 20 years of composing and writing she has branched out into collaborating with other musicians and songwriters around the world  which has led  to an interest in singing in different languages.
In 2005 at the age of 19 Bree-arne was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis,  an autoimmune disease which makes it difficult for the brain to communicate with the rest of the body. As she was exhibiting  minimal symptoms Bree  took the risk of leaving her permanent position at a hardware store to pursue a career in music while she was still able. Bree began the hard task of earning a living by being a full time busker in Geelong and along the coast; gaining a reputation as far as N.S.W. After barely a year Bree lost the ability to walk, drive and carry her equipment due to her illness.
 Since then Bree's level of commitment and determination to continue with her music have only been enhanced. At an open mic night she was introduced to a man who later became her husband and  they started a ‘Reggae’ band. This encouraged Bree to further learn how to blend with other musicians.
Taking every new challenge in her stride, the limitations of Bree’s body has forced her to be to be more creative in the areas of playing and performing. Some of the accomplishments that Bree has achieved include performing at Victorias best known music festivals such as Queenscliff, Port Fairy, Apollo Bay, The Grampians and Myrtleford. She has released 2 EPs and the full double-disc album ‘Release Me’ which has also been printed on vinyl. 
Bree has also appeared in a multitude of media articles and television programs and regularly donates her music and time to various health and environmental charity groups.
As well as meeting the challenges of her illness Bree balances family life with a husband, 2 young boys,  a multitude of hobbies, exercise and her music. Bree’s mission is now not only to pursue her music but to encourage others to see the potential in people who suffer from an illness.
After several years of hiatus Bree has recovered enough to continue with her music and looking forward to new directions and opportunities.

Seth Tehan is a Singer/Songwriter from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 
At an early age Seth was influenced by his mother who sang in the church choir and played classical piano. He soon followed in her footsteps. Growing up Seth mostly listened to R&B, Pop, and Rap. His life took a sharp turn, however, when he first inserted Pearl Jam’s “Ten” and Aerosmith’s “Get a Grip” into his Walkman (remember those). His father used to sing him to sleep every night he was a child. He was serenaded to sleep to the tunes of The Beatles “Yesterday” and “Hey Jude,” as well as, The Doors “Riders on the Storm.”

Seth taught himself to play guitar at the age 15. Sometimes he would lock his bedroom door and play from the time he got off school until the time he went to bed some ten hours later. It relaxed him and was an outlet to take him away from the everyday stress of being a teenager.

Though Seth was in a few bands in high school (mostly garage jam sessions) he found a passion for playing live music. He and a few bands started Jerry Town. They mostly jammed to Pink Floyd Covers and got high.

In 2001 a mutual friend introduced Seth to Bill Kepler, VP of Parallax Records located in Dallas, Texas. Seth became the Oklahoma representative of Parrallax Records. He spent the better part of the next few years promoting shows, pitching bands to radio, meeting with venue and record store owners, overseeing artist’s shows, and managing the Oklahoma street team.

In the spring of 2002 Seth began attending Music Business and Production classes at Rose State College and was taught by Jedi Master, Craig White. Seth learned valuable life lessons from Craig, such as, “Mac is better than PC”, “If you make a mistake make a weird look towards the bass player”, and “don’t run out of notes” i.e. Jimmy Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, and Shannon Hoon (no they didn’t overdose, they ran out of notes).

Seth began a band named Cold December with future Farewell Down drummer Travis Pander. Cold December mostly played house parties and open mic nights. Farewell Down began in Late 2002 where Seth was the Lead Guitarist and Songwriter. He and vocalist Dustin Drew started the band followed by drummer Travis Pander and Shaun Angley. Seth was also was responsible for Management and Booking. Farewell Down stimulated regional success due to regular radio play and extensive touring.

In 2004 Seth attended the SXSW conference in Austin, Texas where he learned the in’s and out’s of the Music Industry. During the conference Seth met Matt Pinfield of MTV’s “120 minutes” and was invited to a Sony hotel party. He was shortly kicked out for showing up with seventy five copies of Farewell Downs latest EP.

Later in 2004 Farewell Down broke up as did Seth and his girlfriend of two years and both his grandfathers passed away. So he did what any broken hearted young man with big dreams would do. Move to L. A. Except he didn’t make it to L. A. He made it to Huntington Beach, Orange County. He found that Falling in love with the surf and punk rock culture came very easy to him.

Shortly after moving to HB, Seth began an internship at Fearless Records. Seth worked with such bands as The Plain White Tee’s, and Gatsby’s American Dream. He was also responsible for coordinating with nationwide street team members, merchandise, and The Vans Warped Tour.

California brought a whole new outlook on music to Seth. His roommate Chris Scarfe, formerly a pro surfer for Billabong, introduced Seth to music he never had the chance to get into. Chris would light up his Nag Champa incense and listen to John Frusciante’s solo projects and David Bowie. The owner of the house he was renting, Jeff Loftis played in a local punk band named the County Stars. Seth guitar teched for them for a few shows but was drawn to their rockabilly punk that would echo the punk venues of Orange County. Seth had mostly been into hard rock and metal but the punk and singer songwriter genre’s followed him home.

Seth moved back to Oklahoma in 2007 with a new outlook on music and a new voice and genre for his songwriting. The next year Seth graduated from Rose State College with a degree in Liberal Arts-Recording (finally).



“He is humble…he is grateful…he is talented…and he has a story all his own. These are qualities that allow for great things to occur.”  -Justin Peters, President, ABET International Music Group/Songs For The Planet

“Joshua Morningstar is a young man with astonishing musical talent and a personal story thats downright inspirational. A self proclaimed ‘hoodbilly’, this singer/songwriter has earned the right to sing his songs that reflect true and often sad stories…yes, its hard to be objective about a guy like Joshua Morningstar-but its easy to admire his music and celebrate his journey.”-Elizabeth Rowland, Associated Press

   Struggle. Pain. Sorrow. Addiction. Heartache. Death. Each one of the words above are emotions/situations all too familiar to Joshua Morningstar. Raised in the small town of Hagerstown, MD (pop. 24,000), Joshua discovered his love for music at an early age. Like so many before him, he grew up in the church choir, singing the hymns taught to him by his mother and great grandmother. At the tender age of 9, he received a guitar as a Christmas present, thus sending him forth on the journey that would consume the rest of his life. He learned the standards: “Your Cheating Heart,” “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” and many others, as well as more contemporary songs by artists such as Nirvana, Alice In Chains, Stone Temple Pilots. He’d spend countless hours locked in his bedroom: his creativity his refuge, the guitar his best friend; blending all of his influences while writing his first songs.
   At the same time Morningstar was maturing, so was hip hop. The nursery-rhyme rap of the 80′s was now giving way to lyricists who explored turns-of-phrase and “flow”; gone were the simple rhymes of rappers like MC Shan and Sugar Hill Gang; in their place stood artists like Nas, Biggie Smalls, and Tupac Shakur, modern day poets who put their poetry to music. Joshua engulfed himself in the hip hop culture, going as far as starting a rap group with his best friend Bobby called IL Duce (pronounced ill-doo-chay; some of Morningstars hip hop music can still be found on the internet today if you look hard enough). However, no matter how far into hip hop he got, Joshua always came back to the stuff he grew up on, the old country music and southern rock of days past. THAT is where his heart truly lay.
   Mixing all of his influences together like one big bowl of gumbo, Morningstar began recording his own albums and touring the east coast. His first album, the appropriately titled Contradiction, showed off both sides of his musical spectrum: half the album was radio-ready hip hop, the other half tear-in-your-beer honky tonk. Contradiction spawned the moderate hit “Home”, which was put into regular rotation on several stations in the Mid Atlantic region, including legendary rock station DC101. During this time, Morningstar continued to tour the east coast, both as a headliner and as an opener for national acts like The Kelly Bell Band, Rehab, Better Than Ezra, and Craig Morgan. Morningstar has also shared the stage with Bret Michaels, “Little” Jimmy Dickens, David Allan Coe, and Marty Stuart. In August 2013, it was announced that Joshua would be doing shows with acclaimed songwriter Billy Don Burns.
   Shortly after the release of Contradiction, Morningstar began having seizures. To help with the pain he felt when coming out of the seizures, the doctors prescribed him the narcotic pain killer Vicodin. This would send Morningstar off on a three year battle with opiate addiction, culminating in heroin use and an overdose in a Baltimore gas station bathroom. “It was horrible,” Joshua said. “I wasnt myself. I lied, I stole, I did anything I could to get the next shot. I broke the heart of everyone I love. It cost me friends, relationships, and it almost cost me my life. I was very sick for a very long time. It got to a point where it was either get clean or die. So, on October 18, 2011, I got clean, and I havent touched an opiate since. If theres one thing I want people, especially someone currently fighting that devil, to take away from my music, its a sense of hope. Yes, alot of the songs are sad. Some, like “The Grip Of The Devil”, are very graphic in their description. But, look for the message inside the message. And I pray the message you find is one of hope. If I can beat it, so can you. Take it a day at a time. But you gotta want it. You have to do it for yourself. You cant get clean for anyone but you. And I hope you do.”
   Since getting clean, life has been a whirlwind for Joshua Morningstar. He’s continued touring, and is currently in the process of writing and recording the followup to 2012′s critically acclaimed “Hymns For Heartache.” This time around, his instrumentation is a little different. “Have you ever heard the Neil Young song ‘The Needle And The Damage Done’?” Morningstar asks. “Theres a line in that song, ‘I hit the city and I lost my band;’ the singer lost his band bc of his struggle with the needle. Well brother, that line hits home. I lost my band bc of my addiction. So I had to figure something else to do. Thats when I started doing the one man band thing. If there was one good thing that came out of my struggle, it was that.” The “one man band thing” of which he refers to is a set up a little different than most people are used to seeing. Joshua sits on a kick drum, playing that with his right foot, while also playing a tambourine with his left, allowing him to keep a drum beat going while playing the guitar and singing. “Its cool, its different,” said Morningstar. “When I start my show, people are drawn into it bc most havent seen anything like it before. So their curiosity sucks them in. After that, hopefully the musics good enough to get them to stick around.”
   In May of 2013, Joshua was approached by Justin Peters, President of Nashville-based music publisher Songs For The Planet. That same month, Joshua signed on as a songwriter with ABET International Music Group/Songs For The Planet. So far, the pairing has worked well for both parties. “Justin has helped me sharpen my writing, sorta ‘trimming the fat’ so-to-speak. I’ve learned alot from him in a short time, and hopefully the learning doesnt stop,” Joshua said. He also is an avid supporter of Sheree Spoltore’s Global Songwriters Connection, a songwriters assistance group. “Sheree is an amazing lady, and shes helped me out so much, not just as a writer but as a friend. If youre a songwriter and you wanna go to the ‘next level’, I highly recommend GSC. Tell her I sent ya.”
   Struggle. Pain. Sorrow. Addiction. Heartache. Death. Joshua Morningstar has been there, and his music reflects his journey. Luckily, he’s on a different path now, and the road ahead looks wide open. “I’m just happy to still be here. I could’ve died several times, but for some reason, I didnt. I guess someone up theres looking out for me. I’m glad they are. Its changed my outlook on life. My music is my life, but its not my reason for living. That would be my kids and my wife. Ive got an amazing family. So, anything that happens career-wise is just icing on the cake. If I never have that ‘big hit’, thats ok. I’m still gonna wake up every day with a smile on my face, next to a beautiful woman that loves me. I’m still gonna walk downstairs every morning and see the most beautiful smiles in the world on my kids faces. And thats whats important.”
Indeed.



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