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A New RF Wave is brewing
Vrassan post punk band Addishjah drops "Cocaine" on ARC
Sulari, Duchy of Suldanor
December 15, 5678


Addisjah's debut "Cocaine" combines RF, disco and Rock in hybrid melange

The band Addisjah, based in Port Swede, has dropped their debut titled Cocaine on ARC. This record isn't necessarily derivative of music released earlier this year (speaking primarily of Carly Kaye's KMI release In Dreams) because the two bands are contemporaries and were in the studio at roughly the same time. What is more interesting, in the way that two points make a line, the new release on ARC heralds in a new wave of electronic based music that draws heavily from older forms like disco, funk and RF, while also incorporating the more current Kaliburg Art rock aesthetics and lush production of that scene. This new wave of RF could possibly be described as a fourth wave, but it may be too early yet to call it that.

The six piece band, hailing from Port Swede, has evolved from their more underground punk rock roots. Bassist and founding member of Addisjah Carl Stuart said "Well, to be completely honest, our roots are in punk rock. At the beginning it was me, and Diana (Randal, the Lead Singer) and Brad (Mitchell, who plays rhythm guitar) we were just teenagers then. We didn't even have a drummer, and I played percussion on the bass to kind of fill in. We used to play clubs, we weren't making any money and so we decided that if we were really going to try to make money from music, we had better get a proper band. So we added my brother Frank, who plays lead, and Xeno, who is an awesome drummer. Brad still plays with us live, but he's more of a session dude now: He wanted to go to college, so on the record, Frank also plays rhythm now. Xeno brought in Gene Hammar, who plays keyboards, and that kind of moved us from the gritty street punks who were strung out on heroin half the time into a more club and dance oriented sound. Gene also introduced us to his friend Cocaine, which, obviously, inspired us quite a bit. It's easier to play fast when you aren't laying around the house all day."

Over the next couple years, Addisjah played clubs in Vrassa and Odufaray, and started building a following, and started writing punk influenced dance songs. They met Carly Kaye late in 5677 during a split show in Kaliburg, and were impressed with her talent. "Oh well, yeah, Carly Kaye definitely opened a door for us," said lead singer Diana Randal, of Port Swedes. "We totally know her. We split a bill with her in Kaliburg last year, when we opened for her at this one club. We got along alright, considering our different backgrounds. For instance, she doesn't use drugs, and well, we all do. But I would definitely say that her success earlier this year kind of tuned people into the club music we were also doing. It's quite similar, really high tempo, bass and rhythm driven music that is meant to get people moving on the dance floor. it's not rock, because its way more danceable, but it isn't really pop and b either. It's its own thing. It more influenced by RF and punk than R&B."

Fans also seem to absolutely love it. The lead single, "Tonight" is both in the same kind of RF synth vein as "Love" by Carly Kaye, and it instantly shot to the top of the Singles Chart, duplicating the feat accomplished earlier this year by their Kaliburg contemporary. "There definitely seems to be a new sound that is the zeitgeist right now," said album critic Michelle Mickleson, of Kalistani Rawk Monthly.

"Addisjah's album is appropriately named Cocaine: It seems that a lot of this new wave of RF is definitely being driven by that highpowered stimulant," explained Mickleson. "Its pretty hedonistic, and that is reflected in the types of drugs you are seeing being used more at RF clubs, as well as the lyrics which focus on very sensual things, very tactile. This music, if you dance to it, will make you sweat, like you just got done doing a lot of cocaine. Your heart races, your senses are heightened, you feel great in the moment, and then when you wake up the next morning, you feel like sh-t. Addisjah has captured that feeling precisely with this album, and I think we're gonna hear a lot more synth driven high tempo dance music like this for a while."

For Addisjah's part, they were both surprised and not surprised by their success. "I mean: we spend our time in clubs, either we are doing shows or we are dancing" said Randal. "We know what gets people moving: I was in a club in Swedeport and I saw how the Dancefloor just got packed when the DJ put Carly's 'Love' on. From that first fade in, the floor was packed. We were doing that kind of music too, and when she blew up, ARC picked us up immediately. Our record took 3 months to make from start to finish: We came in and they were like 'You have too much guitar here, we need to boost this bassline. Trust us this will sell,' so we listened to our producer, (ARC's Dante Smith) and yeah, now we're famous..."

When asked if any cocaine was consumed in the making of this record she laughed, and said "No. We did this entire record stone sober. What do you think?" She then added, "All of it. We used all the cocaine. That was about a tenth of the record's budget."

The album, which is full of very danceable, very high tempo, nearly all synth driven RF and disco song, hit Number 5 in its debut Week, and looks to continue climbing into the new year. Meanwhile, labels are now starting to scour the clubs for bands that are switching to this new sound in the wake of Kaye's success earlier this year. Meanwhile, the first single from Cocaine debuted at Number 1 on the Radio 1 singles Chart, and at least two more singles are planned for January. You can check out both the official video for the Single "Tonight" and also the extended mix which was released on streaming services to promote the song to Clubs right here.

[Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_WLw_0DFQQ]
Addisjah's "Tonight" from their Debut Album Cocaine on ARC

[Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ8w1Sj8rLM]
The extended mix of Addisjah's "Tonight"

@KalistaniRawkMonthly