AV is an alternative rock group from New York City formed in 2012.

The quartet features music scene heavyweights from the Lower East Side. Singer Alfonso Velez, guitarist John Kengla, drummer Jamie Alegre, and bassist Matt Basile, have been charging through shows at venues like Mercury Lounge, Joe’s Pub, Rockwood Music Hall’s Stage 2 and an ongoing Tuesday night residency at the Williamsburg favorite, Spike Hill.

They've just been invited to record a debut full-length after demoing four songs live with producer/engineer Daniel Schlett (Friends, Oberhofer, Here We Go Magic) at Strange Weather Studios in Brooklyn.

AV creates howling Manchester melodies, powered by Black Keys back beats and Portishead imagery.
This quartet is a serious contender for the future of New York City rock, a band audiences are making noise for; a lot of noise.

"Completely stellar!" -The NY Onion A.V. Club

"World-class and scary good." -Fernando Otero, Grammy Winner, Nonesuch Records

"Timeless! The gift of poetry is clearly evident." -Relix Magazine

"This is the real deal...majestically crescendoing Rock" -New York Music Daily

Dawns is the new self-titled debut EP from the Montana USA based artist, scheduled for release June 20th, 2012, the summer solstice.

Over the course of a nine-day period, Montana songwriter David Boone penned a group of twelve songs and then began arranging the material, digitally, alongside a collaborative of longtime friends and fellow musicians spread throughout the Northwest. Just months later, the group rendezvoused at a remote studio retreat in western Montana and began recording the new project.

At the encouragement of Boone's wife, the batch of demos was sent out and caught the attention of acclaimed UK producer, Danton Supple (Coldplay, Starsailor, Morrissey).

Boone, along with his wife and two month old son, traveled to London in the fall of 2011 to work with Supple, accompanied by string-arranger, Audrey Riley (The Smiths, The Cure, Smashing Pumpkins). The dynamic collaboration brought to full realization the artist's original vision, and D A W N S was born.

Car On The Moon was formed around a lullaby and a backbeat. With rhythm in the forefront, Elias Orling approaches songwriting with the minimalist approach of a bassist, allowing the lyrics and melody to dance together seamlessly. Drummer, Danny Festa grounds the songs in traditional blues and rock n' roll rhythms while creating space that pushes the songs along. With music about love, death, hunger and hope, water, sex, cars and trust, Car On The Moon sounds like the things you hold most dear.

THE MUSIC SLUT

"With a sound that brings to mind Bon Iver, early Whiskeytown and even (at times) B.B. King, Car On Moon won me over with their brief yet engaging set. While Car On The Moon’s original music was surely intriguing, it was the duo’s cover of Buddy Holly’s ‘Not Fade Away’ which clearly garnered the loudest cheers of the evening."

JEZEBEL MUSIC

If you followed 2008’s Williamsburg Live Songwriter Competition, you probably remember the song “Sea of Indians,” which granted one songster passage to the Semi-Finals. But considering that songs are not in the habit of writing or performing themselves, we know that the responsible party isn’t so much “Sea of Indians” itself as its author, Elias Orling. At the WLSC2008, Elias performed with an oversized ukulele (a “buke” perhaps?), but not in the style most frequently associated with the instrument. Minimally plucked/strummed, the uke was a simple background for Elias’s unadorned, provocative voice to sing a repeating melody over lyrics seemingly searching for a better understanding of his past, including memorable lines such as, “Who were my great grandparents? / Did they walk a thousand miles?” .. ....

Wishes and Thieves is a New York based Alternative-Pop group that came together in the fall of 2010. Starting as the project of long-time friends Joe Higgins (bass) and Mike MacAllister (guitar), they sought to create music featuring modern electronic sounds without succumbing to the use of prerecorded backing tracks that are so ubiquitous these days. Completing the band was drummer Will Clark and vocalist Jolanda Porter. Their bass-heavy, female vocal driven sound has drawn comparisons to the likes of Portishead, Bjork, and Little Dragon. The group began writing and recording the music for "Lighthouse EP" throughout the winter of 2010/11. Following mastering by Jo LaPorta at the Lodge, the album was released in the spring as the group's debut record. The single and music video for "Forest Fire," the title track off their upcoming EP was released on November 1st. They continue to write, and record in their studio located in NYC's flatiron district.

In late 2009, Maia and Joanna bonded over whiskey and salt bagels.

The pair began emailing each other song ideas and soon began writing music together as Mitten. Written entirely over email, the duo completed a shimmering collection of songs, writing lyrics on buses and at rest stops between Brooklyn and Boston. See You Bye was produced, recorded, and mixed in Katcher’s Manhattan office, rising to #24 on Hype Machine’s “Most Popular” list.

Mitten has performed their energetic live set with DEVO, Psychedelic Furs, Tom Tom Club, MEN, Sick of Sarah and The Shondes and plays to packed venues all over the east coast. Mitten has been featured on MTV and Out Magazine and their music is currently playing in stores including GAP, Forever 21, Victoria’s Secret, Pinkberry, Vans and Puma and has been placed in various commercials and films.

Mitten was honored to be included in NPR’s guide to CMJ this year and toured the southeast in January 2012 with Allison Weiss. Maia & Joanna regularly produce video blogs for homoground.com and are currently in the studio completing their debut full length album.

MY MIDNIGHT HEART is a sonic exploration of constantly shifting landscapes. The music of Puerto Rican/American singer and songwriter Angélica Allen describes her dreams and nightmares with haunting realism. Through intensely vivid lyrics, lush arrangements, and the ever-changing lilt of her voice, Angélica weaves tales of wandering hearts, and whispered secrets. Though her dreamscapes have drawn comparisons with Kate Bush, Radiohead, Bat For Lashes, and Bjork; My Midnight Heart stands a world apart.

"There was never a 'beginning' for My Midnight Heart", Angélica says, "I had been gigging and writing songs as long as I can remember, but eventually I noticed them shifting and taking a more defined shape--so I decided to let go of the acoustic singer/songwriter thing and start a band." Following the direction of her music, the group--then a trio , began playing under Angélica's first name at NYC's rock bars in 2010 with a massive Noise Pop sound. However, the project came to a halt, when Angélica began touring with the Trans Siberian Orchestra in 2011. "Singing with TSO was difficult honestly", she says, "It was such an intense schedule that I really had to put my music completely aside; let it die for a while."

Although the band started performing again after she returned to New York months later, the project didn't fully resurrect until almost a year after a period of concentrated song writing and experimentation. Previously heavily guitar based and strongly influenced by PJ Harvey's "Rid of Me" and The Kills' "No Wow"; Angélica now turned to echoing pianos, dreamy synths, and parred down, washy vocals. "I began to realize that the songs and the sound weren't really about 'me' anymore." Angélica comments, "They had taken the shape of something darker inside me. I knew couldn't call the band 'Angélica' anymore."

My Midnight Heart takes it's name from the first single "Midnight Heart". "It was the first thing I thought of when someone asked me what I was calling the project--and probably just because it's in the first line of the lyrics." Angélica says, "But now it seems perfect to me." My Midnight Heart is about the dreams and fears hidden deep inside us. Things we hide even from ourselves. "And when you say "My Midnight Heart", it becomes 'yours'. The name forces you to identify with the music. That's what it's all about", Angélica adds, "Empathy."

The first official release from My Midnight Heart, the 4-track EP entitled "Chest of Hearts" is due out November 2012.