Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Beat.
"Selfless Encouragement"
I remember when the pandemic began, March 13th, 2020. Now me, as a teacher, teaching 9th grade English, I assumed things would work themselves out for my students. We were being instructed to create and progress towards virtual classrooms ,which was an easy transition. However, My artistic side, my vocal performance side, craved to help ease the pain of my friends lists on Social Media. So I created “#LockDown Freestyles”, an extension of my #VocalDiaryEntries series I’ve done on social media. Basically, every other Tuesday, Thursday night of the pandemic I would do virtual concerts involving myself, a bluetooth speaker & friend’s list. Each request that was given by my followers, I sang! This led to nights of connection, testimonials and rapport being built with friends from around the globe, experiencing the pandemic but also by providing musical selections as an aid to soothe and entertain quarantined families. I remember wanting to do it free the first weeks and as the pandemic continued, people would encourage me to include my payment information so that viewers could support financially through the pandemic. There was one night I started at 8p.m and we didn’t end until midnight. People were connected, entertained and tuned into the selfless act of me just singing songs in an effort to just appease the masses and it provided so much of a comfort to everyone who was apart. I remember having a friend who passed during the pandemic and doing one night totally free of charge just to commemorate her memory.
Gully G. QuePublished 3 years ago in BeatPlaylist of my Life, 2021 Edition
5 songs. I'm one of those girls that's all about new music and hearing what's been put out to analyze immediately, however if you made choose 5 songs to listen to, I could manage to pick a few that put a smile on my face. Buckle up, keep your Apple Music or Spotify app opened, and fingers ready to add some new music.
Asphyx - Necroceros
Hurtling through the vast cosmic wastelands surrounding our miniscule insignificance is a tyrant of unimaginable power, hellbent on the annihilation of existence. Purging its way through galaxies and star systems its horror knows no bounds, leaving not a shred of what once was in its wake; nothingness - beyond nothingness - lies in ruin, its untimely death forgotten in the blink of an eye. In actuality. what appears to be a brief extermination on the outside, this is a demise unending: a state of continuous hell, of agonising death and torturous rebirth - a cycle of gut-wrenching pain as the fabric of matter is digested on a glacial scale. Necroceros is its name and Earth is its next destination. No amount of preparation, of survivalist training, of dollars spent, can protect you from the excruciating end of days we are to be subjected too - Asphyx, gleefully, would not have this any other way!
JC Cansdale-CookPublished 3 years ago in BeatSonic Flower - Sonic Flower + Rides Again
It's a psychedelic boogie showtime! Shaking down in the vaults for nigh on 16 years would test the mettle of even the hardiest of tunes, for being bereft of sunlight and outside company does peculiar things to wildly free minds. But with just one listen to the jams kicking down these solid doors it is clear they've been the soundtrack to their own eclectic shindig as carefree and as out of their minds as before those same doors were bolted shut. Who the hell knows just what kind of kaleidoscopic and epileptic light shows jived to the crazed, tripped-out ideas birthed from Tatsu Mikami's warped brain, waiting to ensnare any passers-by in their mind-bending exhibition! Now that these tunes have finally been let loose unto an unsuspecting public, they are free to join their brethren in Sonic Flower and morphing the humdrum of any night into one scorching psych-fuelled freak-out as they Ride Again! Sonic Flower are back baby!
JC Cansdale-CookPublished 3 years ago in BeatTribulation - When The Gloom Becomes Sound
From the very instant that harrowing death knell begins to drone, it dawns on you: a sudden, morose realisation something lurks in the shadows, stalking, creeping, always there. For how long it has lingered in the twilight abyss you cannot be sure, but cloaked by the dimness of candlelight its gains you notice more and more, the whisper on the nape of your neck now a chill crawling down your spine like jagged, bony fingers. Stopping dead in your tracks, recalibrating and reorientating to no avail, 'tis not the panic setting in tripling your heart rate - 'tis the beckoning quiet, the breath of time standing still, as piercing yellow eyes stare into the back of your skull. This is When The Gloom Becomes Sound, retreating into the eternal dark with a snarl, dread all-encompassing, the deafening echo of blood pulsing forcing you to turn your head. Nothing there but the pitch-black swallowing you whole. You are now at Tribulation's mercy.
JC Cansdale-CookPublished 3 years ago in BeatEvery musician could do with a linktree
The basics Linktree is something that more and more people are finding out about and using. Ever-increasing in popularity, not just with musicians but with bloggers, artists and content creators. Linktree effectively allows you to add together a bunch of different links into one handy URL. Want to add your YouTube? No problem. Want to add your Twitter? No problem. Having one link for all your links is extremely helpful. Not to mention that the URL is customizable as well. Which again is pretty useful.
Charlie SmithPublished 3 years ago in BeatMiss Lava - Doom Machine
Primordial once were the forces commandeering this planetary body, a chaotic governance of fire, of magma, of thunder and of lightning. A swirling ball of turbulence and darkness for aeons, it would take millenia for a recognizable if not continually changing view to form where we now call home. Much like our rampant geological history, Miss Lava's sprawling journey to the present has been an explosive one, filled with a fervent, raucous energy much akin to the genre godfathers, dominated by a driven electricity surging from their fingertips deep into our auditory canals; theirs has been a sound ejected from stacks to keep the huddled masses in an endless dance, firing grooves out of all cylinders with bombastic force. But ever since 2016's Sonic Debris the Portuguese powerhouse have pursued bigger and bolder visions, channeling a gaseous resonance pulsing from the depths waiting for just one spark near the surface. As a result, what you hear on Doom Machine is not simply just more voluminous or expansive: these are tones so dense and fluid they flood the senses, dragging you down towards a world of everlasting love by the feet.
JC Cansdale-CookPublished 3 years ago in BeatThe Healing Force Of My Life
If there is one unassailable presence in my life, one thing that remains constant there when everything else seems to change, it is music.
David PerlmutterPublished 3 years ago in BeatMeet R&B Artist Keturah Cummings & Her Soulful Music
I discovered Keturah on the new social media app called Clubhouse. The room we were in had a host of Independent Artists showcasing their music to everyone in the room. It was Keturah's turn to play her song, and I was instantly blown away by her vocal ability. Keturah voice can be compared to Grammy Award Winning Artists such as Aaliyah, Alicia Keys, and HER. After hearing her music I immediately followed her on Instagram, and started listening to her other songs available on Apple Music and Spotify.
Veronica Charnell MediaPublished 3 years ago in BeatAdina Howard Digs Megan Thee Stallion & SZA's "Freaky Girls"
The words from this interview were an excerpt from "Making Adina Howard 20 The Podcast Series." You can hear the entire episode by clicking the following link:
Winners OnlyPublished 3 years ago in BeatGoals and Resolutions - Being a Better Violinist
As long as I can remember I play the violin. I am not a professional, but I can say that I play very well as an amateur. Once in my life I did audition for a conservatory. I wanted to be a professional violinist. Not an orchestra player, but a soloist, standing in front of an orchestra. Playing the greatest works written for violin and orchestra.
Agnes LaurensPublished 3 years ago in Beat7 Best Lost Bands From The 90s
The 1990's were a golden age for alternative rock and grunge as well as what some critics might call popular punk. Today I'm going to take you on a stroll down memory lane to revisit seven of the best lesser known bands of that bygone era. I do anticipate catching a bit of flack due to my loose criteria for the 'lost' label. So just to be clear, when I say lost I generally mean bands that aren't around making music anymore or that you're not going to hear nowadays on most mainstream channels / radio stations. I also don't mean one hit wonder groups, although there may be a few of them in here. Alright? Let's begin (in alphabetical order)...
Obsidian EaglePublished 3 years ago in Beat