Zayed Hassan is what you might call a world music artist, specializing often in entirely self-played instrumentals, based out of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Among all of our artists, Zayed surely has the largest following, which is a testament to his talent – he was been nominated for a Grammy, and won a contest sponsored by Linkin Park for original music creation, in honor of his track, “Leap Of Faith.”
Zachary Murdock: Musician, Poet, Web3 x IRL Creative Director, Host of The Pink Hearse Podcast, Founder of Channel the Sun.
Nose in a novel. Raising a child. Humming Sly and the Family Stone. Writing pre-dawn poetry. Cooking. Cleaning. Exercising. Rinse and repeat. My daily life is simple. And this routine allows me to be the farmer of an overflowing dream vineyard. Poetry into songs, songs into visions, visions into webs of community and collaboration. I live and breathe creativity in all forms and am grateful to be navigating reality on a trippy Quixote steed in the form of a pink hearse with hubcap mirrors.
A consummate musical shapeshifter, Zachary Murdock is a naturally gifted creative who embodies the definitive spirit of raw creativity. He creates supreme funk, futuristic soul music that inspires personal revelation through off-the-wall fantasy. His lyricism and poetic scripting paint on a universe-sized canvas, and his rhythm and groove reflect desires of the inner soul to dance and be free. In a day and age where unfiltered honesty is in high demand, Zachary Murdock does so with ease, channeling the sun to create something both contemporary and timeless.
DYING TO KNOW is the latest experimental project from this ever evolving artist. Truly a project that defies definition, DYING TO KNOW is a podcast season, musical album and short film all woven into one expression. Zachary Murdock, founder of The Channel the Sun Art Collective and host of The Pink Hearse Podcast, had the concept to interview legendary mythologist, storyteller, author and host of The Living Myth Podcast, Michael Meade, and then break the conversation into eight sections which spell a sentence in totality. Zachary then wrote eight songs to accompany the sections and fused the parts together to create an album that flows between music and Michael Meade speaking timeless wisdom. In an age of social media gurus and out of touch pop puppets, Zachary Murdock and Michael Meade deliver a striking creation that evokes the nuance and paradox of existence. “Letters To A Young Poet” meets “Lemonade” by Beyoncé, “Dying To Know,” transcends mediums and announces itself as something new and yet, intimately familiar. To complete the vision, Zachary collaborated with visionary director, Anthony Ryan Johnson to create a visual album / short film. Forever pushing the boundaries of what is, Zachary and Channel the Sun never cease inventing what could be.
This project was created by Channel the Sun, The Pink Hearse Podcast, Zachary Murdock, Michael Meade, Kevin Joseph, Red Buttonz, Girl Food, Anthony Ryan Johnson, Erick Madrid, Davi Escobar, Afro Spirit Art and Brad Doan. Enjoy the visual album in partnership released on Exquisite Noise Records.
Eugenio Incarnati (born in L’Aquila, Italy in 1966) is a professional Theater director with a great passion for music and song-writing.
A self- taught musician, he founded different bands back starting from the 90s; among those “The Riosave” and “Troppisoldi” gained some certain popularity up to years 2000.
As a songwriter, he had his first release in 1995 on the independent records company “Divinazione -Milano”; later he kept on regularly releasing various albums and singles, always on “indie” labels.
His main instrument is guitar but he loves bass too, and occasionally plays accordion and keyboards.
A lover of performing arts, he started his professional career in theater in 1992, as stage musician, composer and actor in different theater companies in Italy. A literature and poetry expert, he is a director and playright; music always has the gratest importance in his plays as much as in his life.
Who are Mystic Weirdos? Ah that is a question. The most basic answer is Jay Hamilton and Maurice Colasurdo. This duo plays a range of instruments in a range of styles and happily flounder around in this world of music. As of 2021 Darryl Estes has been adding to the chaos playing winds, mostly sax. They also like to tell folks, “we are a duo (trio?) of older guys who should know better.” Whatever you want to call this unique blend, we are happy to have finally discovered these new recruits (for us, that is) and add them to our roster.
In August of 2022, we released their excellent EP, The Best Seat in the House, which is but a sampler culled from their extensive back catalog. More recently, in February of 2023, we have been delighted to release their Alchemy project, an album featuring 23 of the best tracks, from the 50 they’ve recorded in the past year or so. Among the highlights is Secret Wishes, which features some great sax work, and the sensual, bluesy groove of Devil’s Highway. As always, though, all of the songs feature Hamilton’s smooth vocals and Colasurdo’s genre-blending guitar work, so fans of jazz, rock, blues, or any combination of the above in any form are sure to enjoy their work. To hear and discover more about these veteran artists, please visit their website Mystic Weirdos (mystic-weirdos.com).
Continua is a versatile quartet that borrows from the boundless idiom of alternative rock in order to sculpt an engrossing narrative by seamlessly combining the spirit and awe of glam rock, the grit of grunge, and the appeal of pop. Continua is the brainchild of Cincinnati based darkwave singer Bishop Battle, Day of Awakening’s Brian Buckalew, and guitarist/songwriter Jason Mulkey, who are joined by percussionist Alex Crockett. Continua’s sound includes the use of instrumental and vocal layering, minor tonality, and combining guitar and bass driven tracks with electronic synthesizers, as evidenced in the successful new track “The Darkest City” from their debut album “Daybreak,” which touts a dark and hook-y alt-rock charm in the soaring vocals and jagged guitars. Other notable tracks include the contemplative and theatrically dynamic “Echoes,” as well as the intricately brooding yet driving “Daybreak.” Continua’s unapologetic avant-garde sound and performances, which have impressed audiences through Daybreak’s musicality, top-notch performances, and songwriting, as well as their engaging stage presence, makes Continua one of the surprise top genre-bending breakout artists of the decade.
Bryanna Rain is a Richmond based recording artist pop vocalist, who set the charts ablaze with her debut single, Blaming Eternia. Since that time she has continued crafting compelling, innovate tracks, typically accompanied by a brilliant music video. Her latest release is the EP titled EPisodes, which captures all of her singles to date.
But don’t just take our word for it! Here’s a rave independent review:
Doc was born on the west coast of the United States, in the small coastal town of Bellingham, WA. His dad was, as Doc describes, “a bugle blowing crazed gunnery sergeant from the USMC,” while his mother was “a sweet, timid kind of woman.” However, of greater significance to Van Etten’s eventual music career, she also taught piano.
Doc attributes much of his love for music to his mother. After he contracted polio at a young age, she used her piano as hand therapy for him, teaching him chords to stretch his curled fingers open. These piano lessons piqued Doc’s interest in music, a passion that has never waned.
In 1967, Doc auditioned for a drumming job with a Seattle, WA band called Siddhartha’s Children. After the audition the band leader (David Jackson Gressel) immediately informed Doc that he had the job. Soon afterwards, Doc and Dave began working together, recording original songs. Meanwhile in 1970, the guitar player for Siddhartha’s Children, Charlie Kirk, was forced to make a difficult decision: go to Viet Nam or finish his last quarter at Texas Tech University. Van Etten had in fact just received his own “1-A” card in the mail. Knowing that a draft notice could be in the mail at any time, Doc said, “I would like to see Texas before I see Viet Nam.” So two of Siddhartha’s Children headed south to Texas in an old VW.
Doc Van Etten has performed and produced a lot of music in the past fifty some years. Playing flute and percussion in the Walrus Brothers, drums in the cowboy band Good Ole Boys, and keys as well as guitar in the Doc Roc Band are but a few of his highlights. Wherever his booking agent suggested he play, Doc went. In his own telling, “it was a rockin’ blues band screaming down the highway in an old bus. Many a year has passed us by. And in the blink of an eye, life had been lived.”
For Doc, that was the beginning of a very long road trip, one crammed with enough memories to fill a few books. And songs, which he does – Doc Van Etten is first and foremost a song writer.
In August of 2021, Doc released his debut album with Exquisite Noise Records, titled These Friends. It’s a brilliant, eclectic mix that almost defies categorization, though tremendously catchy throughout and displaying great instrumental dexterity. The uninitiated may wish to begin with Step Outta Line, a memorable upbeat rocker that is bound to get stuck in your head. Still other tracks find him collaborating with cronies such as Order of the Walrus, Barb Henry Kahawai, and fellow Exquisite Noise artist Bishop Robinson. He has also produced many efforts for the label, working with musicians ranging from Bobby Holland to R.T. Colasurdo and others. The results are consistently fresh, on stellar releases that keep the listener continually engaged, wondering what might come next.
Doc has also recently become a published author! His first two books, I-IV-V Technique For Guitar & Piano, parts 1 and 2, are now available on Kindle! These beginner’s guides will teach you the basics for some common chords on both instruments, along with some theory and even charts with proper fingering. Future installments in this series will soon follow. But to begin your musical journey, you can click these images to get started with the first two:
He has also recently published his first novel, in 2024. Titled Cascade Warriors, it’s what Doc describes as “a fictional tale of freedom lost,” and concerns a group of regular citizens turned freedom fighters. Click the image below if you would like to learn more, and order this fantastic tale from Amazon:
This Oklahoma outfit offers a modern take on country which manages to combine Americana, folk and blues as well in a sound that’s truly their own. Recently they contributed the track That Spark to our Fiction Avenue compilation (scoring leadoff track status, in fact), and in 2019, issued their first single with us, Bible Belt. We expect many more great things from John Fell, Kyle Brown, and the rest of this talented ensemble.
