Rachel Platten + Madi Diaz June 10, 2012

Beautiful, but not brazen. Passionate, but never preachy. Populist, but definitely not prosaic. New York City singer-songwriter, pianist and beatboxer Rachel Platten is by no means your average headliner-in-the-making. Her Rock Ridge Music debut, Be Here, is a bewitching collection of 10 wise-beyond-their-years piano-driven pop songs that echo elements of Alanis Morissette, Carole King, Tori Amos and Regina Spektor, while retaining a singular sense of self that is rarely found in such a young performer. Be Here was born over the course of an epic trans-Atlantic journey that took the singer-songwriter from London to Los Angeles, on to Stockholm and then back home to New York City. At each stop, she collaborated with top-tier production teams, including Fredrik Thomander (Nsync, Lady Gaga), Jerry Abbott and Grant Black (Robbie Williams, Craig David) and the Wizardz of Oz (Britney Spears, Avril Lavigne). The results are immediately appealing, spirit lifting, heartwarming and mind opening no matter where in the world you are.

Platten's uplifting, instantly catchy anthems celebrate the love and light in the world with a passionate intensity that has been missing on the radio dial for far too long. Platten enrolled in a songwriting course at the Berklee College of Music before heading to New York City in the fall of 2006. Over the next four years, she wrote the songs that make up Be Here, put together a band and toured at every opportunity, scoring opening slots for The Strokes, Ziggy Marley, Regina Spektor, Tracy Bonham and Rusted Root. Her dynamic live shows earned raves from the Boston Globe, who called her "breathtaking and brilliant," and the New York Post, who declared that she " blend[ed] sweet delicateness with pluck."

This praise is just the beginning for this vibrant singer-songwriter. Be Here is an ecstatic confirmation that pop music can have heart, soul, depth and gravity, while still inspiring you sing along at the top of your lungs. It's time to listen up and Be Here now.
http://www.rachelplatten.com/

Madi Diaz's EP, Far From Things That We Know, previews songs from her full-length Plastic Moon. Songs like the focus track "Let's Go" reflect Madi's lifelong attraction to song craft as well a deep-rooted affinity for contrasting types of music. One part pop music and one part organic Americana, the album is a hooky, confident collection of songs that is as heartbreaking in places as it is catchy in others, sometimes within the span of a single song. The Nashville-based musician is herself a bit of a contrast, growing up in Lancaster, PA, surrounded by Amish farms. In her early teens, she landed at the School of Rock in Philadelphia, where she was a standout student and focal point of director Don Argott's 2005 documentary. Shortly thereafter, she attended Berklee College of Music where she met long time writing collaborator Kyle Ryan. The pair moved to Nashville and quickly catapulted into the center of the city's nascent indie-pop scene, with Madi's songs gaining major exposure through television placements, such as on ABC Family's "Pretty Little Liars" and Lifetime's "Drop Dead Diva" and "Army Wives" and garnering press with major outlets like RollingStone.com, Teen Vogue, Marie Claire, and Nylon.
http://www.madidiaz.com/

Official Website: http://www.jamminjava.com/