William Fitzsimmons

William Fitzsimmons is a talented gentleman who blends folk and electronic music in a way that no other artist can match. His melodies are sweetly charming, beautifully emotive, and in his lyrics lie true brilliance of his craft. Perhaps it's his background as a therapist and mental health worker, or maybe it's because he writes directly from the viscera of his experiences, but it is undeniable that William Fitzsimmons is an artist who reaches people.  Where Goodnight and The Sparrow And The Crow were essentially about divorce (his parents' and his own, respectively), his latest endeavor, Gold In The Shadow, is an exploration of mental illness and healing; as Fitzsimmons puts it, "it's about sickness and it's about wellness". Recorded in an old, worn-down house in Charleston, South Carolina, the record is a rebirth of sorts, a collection of stories born as Fitzsimmons began to shed the darkness of the past several years.

Grouplove

GROUPLOVE is the new indie rock band that you want to know. You have seen them creeping up the charts on hypem.com. You have perused the pictures on their MySpace page, and may have felt a hint of jealousy at the ever-so-apparent camaraderie of the five-piece crew. The heart-touching story of their first encounters (legitimately, group love at first sight, on the beautiful island of Crete no less) brings an ever so genuine tear to your eye. What’s more? Their first single “Colours” has weaved itself in and out of your recent playlists, and damn are you hooked. GROUPLOVE, the collaborative effort of Hannah Hopper and Christian Zucconi, the resident New Yorkers, Andrew Wessen and Ryan Rabin from LA, and Sean Gadd from London, have recently set up camp in LA to work on their music. Their first EP comes out today. Keep an eye and an ear out for live performances scheduled for this summer in LA.