music – Dazzle ☆ Яebel

Finally, a Spotify Playlist for Rock’n’Roll Rebels

Fri, 12 Aug, 2022 Dazzle RebelLeave a comment

It’s Friday. It’s the weekend! It’s time for some brand new music!

The trouble with many playlists on Spotify, including most of Spotify’s own playlists, is there’s never any passion in curating them. That comes across in the final playlist. Sure, Spotify will argue that you’re supposed to listen to them on ‘shuffle’ mode but that’s just laziness. Any decent playlist should be curated in a way that the music flows without anything poking out like a pussy spot on the end of your nose.

It’s really off-putting when you’re listening to a playlist and it’s grooving. You’re enjoying the vibe when suddenly a track pops in there that throws off the groove. It’s jarring and it’s fucking annoying. At least it is for me. That’s why I tend to prefer listening to playlists from people who take what order they place the tracks. Quite often, actually, most of the time that’s from smaller playlisters.

I like to think that when I curate a playlist I do it with the same care and attention. I like my playlists to flow with a certain vibe, whatever grooves with the track that came before. I’ve been that way ever since I was creating my own mixtapes with my Panasonic boom box (yes, I am that old).

And so to the main feature of today’s post. I have curated a brand new playlist that has a pretty rebellious vibe to it. It’s music that sticks it to the mainstream. Music for people like me and if you’re still reading this, music for people like you too.

So, it is my pleasure and privilege to introduce to you my latest Spotify playlist Rebel Rock Rebels! (Yeah ok, the name is rather tongue-in-cheek but you won’t forget it easily). As you’ll see (and hear), I like to sprinkle most of my playlists with a mix of new and established artists because I like to think that it helps to give more context. Have a listen, give it a save, give it a download and then follow all of the artists that you haven’t heard of before. If there’s someone else you think will like this playlist, send them the link. The gift of music is always one of my favourite gifts to receive.

Let me know how this playlist made you feel. Comments are open below but if you’d rather find me on social media here’s where you can find me:

Have an awesome weekend and rock-eth the fuck-eth out-eth!

Dazzle Rebel

It’s Fringe Rock and I Like It

Fri, 22 Jul, 2022 Dazzle RebelLeave a comment

To celebrate the official release of my new single ‘Let Me In’ I have updated my Fringe Rock playlist with some awesome tracks from Confyde, Billy Nomates, DEADLETTER, The Rebel Yell$, You Want Fox, Kelsey Cork and the Swigs, Pricey (ex The Chats), Amyl and the Sniffers, Surfbort, Hoon, The City Kids, The Wristslitters, Mortimer Nyx, Verity White, Inward Strange, Maggie Foley, deep tan and loads more!

So, if you fancy a change from the generic rock music you’ll hear on the radio this afternoon, stick on Spotify and download this playlist.

Cookin’ in the Sun

Sat, 14 May, 2022Thu, 12 May, 2022 Dazzle RebelLeave a comment

The Fringe Rock song of the summer!

This song is one of those that just wrote itself. I wrote it one evening in January 2022, in between working on tracks for my first full-on debut album. It was cold and dark and I was daydreaming about the summer to come.

I was remembering my wedding and honeymoon in Las Vegas and how I’d ended up with a swollen face because I’d spent too long sunbathing around the pool at the Mandalay Bay Hotel. This was two days before my wedding but that’s a story for another time! It was ferociously hot and I felt my skin literally cooking in the sun.

I started writing the lyrics taking in cues from this memory and merging them with a satirical poke at the favourite pastime of us Brits to complain about the weather, no matter what the weather is doing. We’re never satisfied, it’s either too cold, too wet or in this case, too hot!

The music is written around the bass line. Something that I have decided I should do a lot more of as I am predominantly a bass guitarist!

The drums are a simple program that I put together using BDF2 (I’m recording on a PC from 2008 running Cubase 4 Essential remember). I remember trying to be a bit too flash and ‘realistic’ sounding when I was recording Condor Leader and I was never really satisfied with the results. I decided that if it wasn’t to be real drums then I shouldn’t try to hide the fact that this is a drum program, created by me, a non-drummer.

I recorded the track in between working on other music during January 2022, putting the final touches on it in February 2022. It’s my first attempt at producing, mixing and mastering a finished song entirely myself (that wasn’t intended as a demo).

Available on:

*I’m not a fan of ReverbNation and I rarely update it with new music as I don’t believe it represents value for money (not least you can’t upload anything larger than 8mb without a pro account). If enough people actively engage with me on that platform I might reconsider my stance on the platform.

Man Up! – New Music Friday

Fri, 6 May, 2022Fri, 6 May, 2022 Dazzle RebelLeave a comment

About a month ago I was involved in an interesting music project that targets toxic masculinity. Although the part I played was very small, the message is an important one.

At the beginning of April, I took my first trip to a proper music studio in over a decade. I was already a little nervous and thinking back to how long it had been since I was in a pro studio didn’t make my anxiety any easier.

Luckily the project was for Confyde, the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter Martin Jackson, who just happens to be a really nice guy. Labyrinth studios, where the session was being held is run by a couple of really nice guys too, so my nerves were quickly eased.

My task for the day was to sing with a group of other guys who had been recruited for the same goal; to create an epic vocal crescendo for the end of Confyde’s new single “Man Down”. It’s been a long time since I’ve had to sing in a group like that. In fact, even though I’ve sung in professional studios before, I’d not sung in a group like that since I was at school back in the 90s!

I won’t go into the process any further, that would be for Martin to divulge if he’s so inclined. What I will do is introduce to you my New Music Friday pick of the week, which (drum roll please) is of course Man Down by Confyde.

Wow, what an epic track! I am so pleased to have been part of it, even if it was a very small part indeed. The song is out today (May 6th) on all major platforms but I’d head over to Confyde’s Bandcamp page and buy the digital download first.

My second track featured this week is this raucous number from The City Kids, It Should Have Been You. The music video can be found below but it won’t be available on Spotify until 13th May.

The track is from their upcoming album “Filth” and shows that their songwriting confidence is growing. Frontman JJ is also growing in confidence as a singer and it really shows on this track. It must also be mentioned that, as a bass player myself, I fully endorse Berty’s crunchy outro riff.

Finally, the wonderful Aussie group The Chats dropped this glorious 2-minute Pub-Punk ode to a classic muscle car. I love this band’s enthusiasm and spirit. They’ve got no fucks to give and there’s a lot to be said for that kind of attitude.

The tracks featured have been added to my Fringe Rock playlist (below). Why not give it a listen (save and share if you enjoy it) and then add these tracks to one of your own playlists? Every such action goes towards these artists being picked up by the Spotify algorithm so they reach more people.

That’s all for New Music Friday this week. Next week, well next week I’ll be banging my own drum as I bring you my new single “Cookin’ in the Sun” – (Which you can pre-save here)!

Please have an awesome weekend!

Dazzle Rebel

This Is How I Focus My Creativity

Mon, 2 May, 2022Fri, 29 Apr, 2022 Dazzle RebelLeave a comment

Creating Your Own DIY Music Video

This week I have put music creation on hold to concentrate on getting the music video for my new single “Cookin’ in the Sun” edited and ready to launch on 13th May.

I don’t know about you but I find that when creativity hits, it hits big. A flood of ideas wash over you all at once and it’s your job to sort the flotsam and jetsam. You’ve got to try to prioritise, to save the living, breathing creatures with a future and discard the driftwood. For a life-long procrastinator, it’s not easy!

It’s particularly difficult when such waves of inspiration crash over you whilst you’re slap-bang in the middle of another project. A project that requires your immediate attention, because you’ve got a self-imposed deadline to hit. So, what do I do to satisfy my creative mind while maintaining focus on the task at hand (editing the music video)? Well, I simply record the very rough and usually basically hummed idea into the voice recorder on my phone. Once there, it’s like throwing the mess from your bedroom floor into a cupboard to sort later. Your immediate vicinity is now in order but you know that you’ll have to go back and sort out your cupboard later.

Until I found this technique, I found it incredibly difficult to focus. Especially during those days and weeks when the universe was pumping out its sweet creative juices directly into my brain. I would highly recommend any creative struggling with an overflow of ideas to give it a go. Find a way to note down the basic concept that’s found its way to you and you’ll find it’s easier to move on and focus your energy on the most pressing project.

And so to the project I’m talking about. The music video for my new single. If you’re part of my Facebook group then you’ll have seen a sneaky preview of what I’ve been working on. I’m going for a retro, highly colour, high contrast look. Something that pops with colour but also looks old and faded, just like some late 70s/early 80s ice pop commercial!

Anyway, here’s what I’ve got so far:

Dazzle Rebel – Cookin’ in the Sun (Official Music Video), preview from Facebook

The final pieces of the puzzle will be put together this week and it’ll be ready to launch when the single drops on 13th May.

If you wanna talk about anything, anything at all, I’d love to hear from you. You can drop me a comment here or find me on once of my social channels:

That’s all for today, have a fantastic week!

Dazzle Rebel

Condor Dealer

Sat, 26 Mar, 2022Tue, 8 Mar, 2022 Dazzle Rebel

Overview:

Condor Dealer is a stripped-back, acoustic version of Dazzle Rebel’s sophomore collection, Condor Leader. It was recorded one track per day in his home studio and is a raw and honest recording.

Track Listing:

Whisky Man (Acoustic Version)
Stop the Silence (Acoustic Version)
Blood Red Valentine (Acoustic Version)
Swan Song (Acoustic Version)
Back Home and Sober (Acoustic Version)
Condor (Acoustic Version)

Credits: All songs written, produced, mixed and mastered by Darren John Loczy. Recorded in his home attic studio (a 15-year-old computer running Cubase 4 LE from 2008)!

Get Condor Dealer

Condor Dealer – Behind the Music

Want to know the story of Condor Dealer? Here’s a little more about the concept of the mini-album in the words of Dazzle Rebel himself.

“On New Year’s Eve, I decided not to go out and party. It got to around 7pm and I was bored with the TV, so I decided to set myself a task. Could I record an entire track in one evening, my last recording of 2021?

A stripped-back, acoustic version of ‘Condor’, the title track from my 2021 mini-album Condor Leader, was the result. Well, that got me wondering if I could continue the one song per-day challenge and cover every song on the album? So, I went ahead and tried, Condor Dealer is the result!”

I Recorded One Song Per Day, Here’s The Result

Fri, 25 Mar, 2022Tue, 8 Mar, 2022 Dazzle Rebel

On New Year’s Eve, I decided not to go out and party. It got to around 7pm and I was bored with the TV, so I decided to set myself a task. Could I record an entire track in one evening, my last recording of 2021?

If you’ve followed me for a while, then you’ll know that I managed to crack that task and a stripped-back, acoustic version of ‘Condor’, the title track from my 2021 mini-album Condor Leader, was the result.

Well, that got me wondering if I could continue the one song per-day challenge and cover every song on the album? So, I went ahead and tried and Condor Dealer is the result!

Condor Dealer is out today and available for FREE download through Bandcamp, including bonus digital content.

If streaming is more your thing, you can head over to https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/dazzlerebel/condor-dealer and choose the service of your choice.

I’m really looking forward to seeing what you think of this release. It’s a bit of an experiment, really. Is it possible to put out something pretty raw, that people actually want to listen to? Only you can be the judge of that! I’d love to hear from you with your feedback. Drop me a line in the comments or find me on social media:

Have a fantastic weekend!

Condor Dealer – Out Now!

Fri, 25 Mar, 2022Tue, 8 Mar, 2022 Dazzle Rebel

5-Star Rated Mini-Album, Condor Leader returns with stripped-back acoustic versions and a new title, Condor Dealer!

You may have already heard that Dazzle Rebel spent his New Year’s Eve recording an acoustic version of Condor Leader title track, Condor? He managed to accomplish it in one night and in less than 5 hours. Well, he found the exercise so liberating that he decided to carry on and record the rest of Condor Leader, one song per day.

The result is this raw, honest and stripped-back version of his sophomore collection of songs. Condor Dealer is out now and available for FREE download through Bandcamp, including bonus digital content. If streaming is more your thing then it’s also available through all major streaming services.

To find it through your streaming service of choice, go ahead and visit https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/dazzlerebel/condor-dealer and add the music automatically to your collection.

Condor Dealer releases one week today!

Fri, 18 Mar, 2022Tue, 8 Mar, 2022 Dazzle Rebel

5-Star Rated Mini-Album, Condor Leader returns with stripped-back acoustic versions and a new title, Condor Dealer!

You may remember last week’s press release announcing Condor Dealer, a stripped-back acoustic version of Condor Leader? Well, I just thought that as today is New Music Friday, I’d stop by and personally thank everyone who has already pre-saved the release on Spotify and Apple Music.

It is also worth mentioning that Condor Dealer will be available for FREE download through Bandcamp, including bonus digital content at midnight on 25th March 2022. If you’re not already following me on Bandcamp you can head over there and do that now, or you can click below to subscribe to my latest posts, as I’ll be posting the behind the scenes story when Condor Dealer drops on 25th March.

To pre-save the release on your streaming service of choice, go ahead and visit https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/dazzlerebel/condor-dealer and let the music automatically be added to your collection.

Until next week, have a fantastic week!