Put On Your Little Headphones Here Today

Tanner Boyle’s second single, “Headphones,” was released today–

Tanner Boyle recording vocals for “Headphones” with Ybor City Records® at Bronx Recording Studios in the Historic Kenwood neighborhood Saint Petersburg, FL.

—A second step toward his upcoming album and audible evidence that the warm reception of his debut single, “What You Missed” (May 2023), was not a case of beginner’s luck, but the beginning of a journey for a songwriter with a lot more up his sleeve.

While he is a relative new-comer to listeners and DSPs, Tanner Boyle feels familiar and welcome with his relatable lyrical content and stand-out vocal talent, leaving listeners a bit frustrated that his pair of singles are the only material currently available for consumption. Luckily, these tunes live comfortably on playlists with artists like James Morrison, Allen Stone, and early Amos Lee, to hold you over while Boyle puts in the hours on a debut record worthy of these first two offerings. 

Tanner Boyle came to singing and songwriting over time, which is surprising, because his vocal chops and delivery hint at a life-long and well-studied vocal pursuit. That’s not to say that Boyle hasn’t put in the work or gotten help over the years. Boyle is a self professed acolyte of Ryan Montbleau, being inspired by some early performances of his, and attending Montbleau’s songwriting retreat in the years since. Are you wondering what takes place at a songwriting retreat, and if Boyle came away with anything productive? Hear for yourself in the opening seconds of the track, where an actual phone recording of Montbleau and Boyle work-shopping a few lines of “Headphones” is woven into the intro, almost like a tiny preface to a novel.

Like Montbleau, Boyle is a writer with natural pop sensibility and the preference to deliver those pop leanings through a mix of Americana, R&B, and Soul tool kits, and as with his first release, he sought out the Ybor City Records (YCR) team to help put those tools to use on “Headphones” in the studio. As with most Ybor City Records releases, other artists from the label make up the studio band for this track. In addition to engineering by YCR’s Andrew Boullianne, the incomparable Liam Bauman joined Mercy McCoy’s Stefan Scheuermann to bring the track to life with Boyle, helping to realize his ideas through the prism of their signature tastes and approaches.

Headphones is a nostalgic soulful rock tune, sparked from a childhood memory as Boyle watched a friend's Dad plug his headphones into a giant receiver and zone out. Written in 2022 and recorded in 2023, Tanner spent the last 6 months putting in the work to make the track a reality. The result is a pop-anchored genre blend with elements that remind us of Maroon 5’s “Songs About Jane '' and proceeds to evolve into a Leon-Bridges-style groove-rich outro. As with Boyle’s first single, his voice is the star of the show, which, considering the musicians supporting him on the release, is a tall and well deserved compliment. Released on Ybor City Records®, “Headphones” was recorded in Saint Petersburg, FL and distributed through our official partner, Symphonic Distribution.

Headphones, Released February 9, 2023

Written by Tanner Boyle

Produced by Andrew Boullianne

GREG BAUMAN HAS ARRIVED WITH "TRY TO GO BACK"

IT’S NO SECRET WE’RE LOOKING FORWARD TO HIS UPCOMING RECORD–

Buddy warmth. From Left: Taylor Raynor, Leon Majcen, Liam Bauman, Andrew Boullianne, and Greg Bauman., near the Vermont studio where the record was recorded.

–THE GLOBAL RELEASE OF HIS DEBUT SINGLE SHOWCASES EVERY REASON WHY.

“Try To Go Back,” the debut single by Greg Bauman, is an achievement in all aspects. The lyrics engage and move you without trying to impress you, the musicianship is top notch, and the production has all the hallmarks of modern recording technology but adorned with a broken-in quality that makes the track feel both new and old at the same time. That sound is the culmination of many factors, not the least of which is the beautifully grizzled, but gentle, vocal of Bauman, who sounds so mesmerizingly earnest in this first every studio release. The choices made in the arrangement, including piping in the nighttime sounds from the Vermont wilderness outside the studio where the entire record was recorded, pull you in, painting a calming but ominious back drop for this Springtseen meets War On Drugs hit.

“Try To Go Back” has a haunting intro that contemplates the realities of time passing, and the lack of remedy available for invisible wounds, “The train is coming. I can hear it hum. Baby, don’t run.”

Greg reminds us of the other reality; We can move forward. We have to.

“THE TRAIN IS COMING. I CAN HEAR IT HUM. BABY, DON’T RUN.”

By the time we’ve hit the chorus, the band is fully in and it’s a meaty payout for the listener. Resplendent with shimmering guitar, rich, woody drums, and the melodic wink of a xylophone layered in, the song is a pensive rocker. It’s no wonder Bauman chose this to lead off the album release schedule.

The song, like the rest of his upcoming record, was engineered by Andrew Boullianne, who co-produced the record with Liam Bauman. Bauman also provided the instrumentation and harmonies on for the record, along with Taylor Raynor and Leon Majcen rounding out the session players on some of the other up coming tracks.

The story of their recording process up in Montpellier is the stuff of songwriter fantasies.

Knowing this is slated for later in the LP track sequence, it can only mean the rest of this record is bound to be as great as this first, and triumphant, first song. While we wait for the next single and forthcoming album, please allow us to officially welcome Greg Bauman to the game. We’re so glad he’s finally arrived.

And, holy smokes; What an entrance.

“Try To Go Back” by Greg Bauman is available everywhere you get your music. ///

“Try To Go Back,” June 9, 2023

Written by Greg Bauman

Produced by Liam Bauman | Engineered and Co-Produced by Andrew Boullianne

Released by Ybor City Records

Things Come Together on "Separate Ways"

With a summer tour already underway and a fresh batch of songs rolling out this year, Leon Majcen’s latest single is a sign—

Leon Majcen in session with producer Andrew Boullianne. Photo by Rachel Weber.

—we A have lot to look forward to.

It’s been almost two years since Leon Majcen’s last release, 2021’s single “World Gone By,” a well crafted low-fi folk arrangement that continued the momentum of his 2020 LP. That song is so good, and the recording has so much life to it, that it might surprise fans new to Majcen that he hasn’t followed it up until this year. For Majcen fans, we know better.

Part of what makes Majcen so special is that he’s not one of those songwriters who is just writing to release music. Despite the light-hearted feel of this latest single, Majcen is a deeply thoughtful writer, only producing material when there’s real inspiration, real emotion, and something he needs to say.

In an upcoming interview with Song Divers podcast Majcen reflects on much of what he’s felt and reflected on over the past few years. He’s still an objectively young artist, but he’s not the same bright-eyed and bushy tailed kid, twanging beyond his years anymore. He still has that mischievous twinkle in his eyes, but his aura has started to take on more character and charm. He’s put in a lot more miles since we last heard from him, and he’s all the better for it.

Those miles include relocating to Nashville, which makes a lot of sense when you hear his latest release, “Separate Ways,” the first of a welcome flood of upcoming new music that Majcen has been methodically working at over the past 18 months. While his home base has migrated north, his writing roots have retained their southern stylings, even leaning a bit southwest.

“Separate Ways” feels big but not heavy. There’s a big-sky and wide-open quality to it. Despite lyrical content that plays like an internal dialogue, reflecting and arguing about conflicting wants and desires, the writer sounds resolute, decidedly committed to the call of the road, and maybe even rejuvenated by it. He hints at fighting down feelings of guilt while seemingly reassuring his inner circle that he’s not leaving them for good.

While Majcen has long been a proud acolyte of many great country and folk songwriters like Townes Van Zandt, this latest single feels like both a shift and an evolution in his stylings. The track calls to mind more modern artists like Lord Huron, Jamestown Revival, the Cactus Blossoms, and Sturgil Simpson. You can hear the Nashville influence woven in throughout the track, a pedal steel adding a lot to the sonic pallet. It colors the track like an aurora in the vast sky Majcen has painted for us with this arrangement. The flagrantly country-music tool doesn’t feel like a trope for a single second; It’s superb. Hats off to Pat Lyons, who made the time to join this track in between touring with Colter Wall.

Some familiar collaborators are back, including engineer Andrew Boullianne bringing Majcen’s songs to life in the way we’ve come to love and expect from his earlier work. Boullianne continues to be increasingly in-demand, and it’s a testament to the quality of Majcen’s song craft that Boullianne is still so dedicated to his material.

Leon Majcen at Blackbird Recording Studios, Nashville, TN.

Another familiar sound and face for Majcen fans is artist/producer Liam Bauman, playing guitar on the tune. This publication has covered his work before, and are thrilled anytime he contributes to a project. Bauman co-produced the song with Boullianne, yet another sign of the reputation Majcen’s building for himself in the industry.

Kenny Costa is a newer entrant to the Majcen-verse, but a very welcome one. Leon and Kenny met while attending Sad Songs Summer Camp, hosted by The Milk Carton Kids up in Big Indian, NY. Costa is a unique and gifted musician, contributing bass here and on several other upcoming tracks to be released this year. He was part of a session we covered for another artist and watching him work was pure surprise and delight.

“Separate Ways” is the perfect single to begin the journey Majcen has ahead of him on this next batch of material and touring. It’s fresh, fun, comforting, and never campy. We fell in love with the song when we saw him perform it during the Folk Rock Revival Summer concert series in May, with Mercy McCoy as his backing band, and we’ve been anticipating its arrival over the airwaves ever since.

We’re really enjoying the new song, and are that much more excited to know there’s more Leon Majcen coming soon.

After 2 years of waiting for your new material, I think fans will agree: Leon, “You know that [we] can’t live without you, babe.”

///

Separate Ways, June 2, 2023

Written by Leon Macjen

Produced by Andrew Boullianne, Liam Bauman

Premiere: Liam Bauman - Anyways (Official Video)

official MUSIC video for “Anyways” premierES December 9, 2022 at 9am EST

Liam Bauman is encoring his December release OF “Anyways/I’ve Been Hiding” WITH the official video for “Anyways,” premiering Friday, December 9, 2022 at 9am EST on the Ybor City Records YouTube channel.

Premiere Link: https://youtu.be/FZF3dWBXG54

A STANDALONE WORK OF ART.

Bauman and team worked with film maker Felipe Bergson on a really fun and quirky music video for “Anyways,” that is itself a standalone work of art. The video encapsulates the authentically counter-culture inclinations of this songwriter, with a take on the story that doesn’t let us get too lost in the melancholy of the lyrics, and captivates us with a beautifully shot and colored visual. The first video will follow the EP

Artist: Liam Bauman

Song: Anyways

Concept / Directed by: Felipe Bergson

Shot by: Jonathan Garcia

Gaffer: Obed Sain

Cast: Liam Bauman as himself and Morph Suit 1, Taylor Raynor as Bird Head and Violin Player, Stefan Scheuermann as Drummer and Morph Suit 2, Andrew Boullianne as Bass Player and Morph Suit 3.

Filming Locations: Tampa, Florida | St. Petersburg’s Historic Kenwood district | Roundhouse Creative

release in November (2022).