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Fixed fate Drives With a Clear Passion on Their Latest Enjoyable Rock Album “Icarus”

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Following the release of their brand new album “Icarus”, our team had the opportunity to share a short conversation with the band to find out more about their journey music. Here are a few excerpts from the interview:

We are happy to have you today. Tell us about your 2021 so far! What have you guys been up to?

Back playing live shows promoting the release of our latest album Icarus as of right now. Things have been good, the crowds are getting bigger and the songs are doing well. I’ve also been doing a lot of writing in preparation for a third and forth album along with a piano EP I’ve been wanting to put out for a couple years now. I’m always writing, so there’s a good chance if you ask me what’s next for the band I’ll be plugging some form of new music. A lot of the shows I play end up being testing grounds for new songs being written so you never really know what you’re going to get with a Fixed fate setlist.

Can you share more with our readers about your latest release “Icarus”?  What inspired the album?

The theme of the record follows the Greek tragedy of the flight of Icarus. The lyrics on the record sing mostly about conflict in twos. So while the opening songs on the record follow conflict amongst two adversaries, the middle part speaks to conflict in love and then the closing songs cover conflict within oneself. The energy of the tracks also follows a flight pattern similar to the story so the album opens heavy to represent the beginning of the flight and continuously gets softer as Icarus swoops downwards towards the water. The album ends by progressively getting heavier again as Icarus flies up in a panic towards the sun until ultimately ending with the chaos of Pennies, the closing track. Most of my songs in some form are me singing about experiences I’ve been through so it was fun to use my personal style of writing and fuse it with a little bit of metaphor to something familiar in the culture. There’s a lot of that in the lyrics, going back and rereading them that’s one of the things I’m very proud of with these songs; the lyrics are deeply personal with a lot of little easter eggs in the words that point toward the aforementioned theme.

Fixed fate Drives With a Clear Passion on Their Latest Enjoyable Rock Album "Icarus”

How did the band first get started?

When I started calling what I do a band. I’m half kidding. I am the primary creative force in the band as well as the primary instrumentalist so the music really is just an extension of me. Back in high school I had a drummer and rhythm guitarist in the band, but once we graduated we went separate ways as they didn’t want to be in the group anymore. Outside of having a rhythm section the band today is essentially the same as it was when we started and just goes wherever I bring my guitar and voice.

How did you all decide on the band name Fixed fate?

Well, it all started one day when I had an epiphany in the desert. I walked for three days in the Sahara with no food or water until I came upon an oasis. I was thrilled, saved even. I ran to the water to quench my insatiable thirst, but just as I leaned down, a coconut fell on my head and nearly killed me. Another three days passed before I awoke. When I finally came to, a camel named Chrysanthemum was licking my forehead and speaking in tongues. At first I was afraid, but something deep within me reassured me Chrysanthemum would do me no harm. The strangest part was I could understand everything she was saying. After a heated debate about the merits of 1 vs 2 hump camels finally subsided, she gave me directions back into town as well as supplied me with three bags of beef jerky and a concubine to escort me there. Wow. I thought. Fixed fate would be a great name for a band. And the rest is history.

How would you describe your sound to someone who just listened to your music for the first time?

Wide ranging. I usually just call it “Rock” for the fact that it’s all just guitar driven music. Sometimes that can be chords on an acoustic guitar with a soft melody over the top and other times it might be something fast and heavy on an electric guitar with a more aggressive approach to the vocals layered on. I just try to write stuff I like and that typically sounds like classic rock with a darker edge. There’s definitely an experimental side to our sound too. If you listen closely to the songs on Icarus you’ll find that there’s a ton of layered guitars and vocal harmonies across the music and in the background, I often included noises and sounds that I felt fit the music. The intro to The Tar Pit alone has a beer can opening, a plane flying over the studio, ankles cracking, a Theremin making demonic sounds…there’s just a lot going on in these songs, but every sound on this new record was intentional.

Fixed fate Drives With a Clear Passion on Their Latest Enjoyable Rock Album "Icarus”

How has these past few months of quarantine affected you all creatively?

I’m always writing. The world around me doesn’t change that.

What advice do you have for anyone interested in starting their own band?

Be careful how you define success. If you don’t think about what goals you want to accomplish in your career you’ll spend your whole life chasing an invisible end without finding satisfaction in the progress you make along the way. Also, write for yourself. Don’t put a song out there you don’t like just because you think it might be a hit. Times change, taste fades and all that remains is good music.

Biggest lesson learned in your career so far?

Practice. Just because you’re good doesn’t mean you can just be on cruise control with the talent you’re trying to promote. Work at it everyday and be better than everyone else at it because that’s the reason people are coming to see you. They want to hear songs that were uniquely crafted and instrumentals that are played tight and well.

How do you get pumped up before a big event?

I usually try to steal at least one guys girlfriend right before the show starts to make sure there’s sufficient drama and adrenaline around getting up in front of the crowd and yelling into a microphone about broken hearts. Besides that it’s the usual party backstage; a nice reading circle and a spirited discussion on the merits of capitalism typically gives me just enough pep to go out there and deliver the goods.

Thank you for speaking with us! For our final question, is there anything else you would like to add?

Hi Mom! I guess I’d say you can find us on all major streaming platforms and keep an eye out for new music, it’s always in the works! Thanks for bringing me on I love talking about myself and acting like I have answers to things.

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Fixed fate Drives With a Clear Passion on Their Latest Enjoyable Rock Album "Icarus” Fixed fateFixed fate

MUSIC

Gospel Artist Harmoni Allen Confronts Mental Health Stigma With Vulnerability Faith and Soul on Her Powerful Single “Schitzo”

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Gospel Artist Harmoni Allen Confronts Mental Health Stigma With Vulnerability Faith and Soul on Her Powerful Single “Schitzo”

Right now, gospel artist Harmoni Allen’s work reflects the transformative power of faith, with vulnerability, triumph, encouragement, and Christ-centered hope running through her music. Her warm vocals, expressive delivery, and deeply personal storytelling give that message a human center. Drawing from lived experience and testimony, she turns questions of faith, healing, freedom, resilience, and hope into songs that feel intimate without losing their uplifting spirit.

Harmoni Allen’s “Schitzo” is a sincere, soul-stirring track built around a deeply personal subject. Short for schizophrenia, the song opens an intimate conversation about mental well-being, judgment, fear, vulnerability, and the struggle to feel free in a world that can be quick to define people from the outside. Harmoni does not keep the subject at a safe distance. She brings the listener directly into the experience, shaping the song as a confession that feels immediate and exposed.

The accompanying music video establishes that vulnerability from its opening moments. Harmoni sits alone on her front porch, drinking water, visibly troubled and seemingly asking herself whether she is truly okay. Nearby, two women watch her from a distance. Their expressions communicate the judgment and assumptions that sit at the center of the song. Without speaking, they capture a painful reality: people can decide who someone is before taking the time to understand what that person may be going through.

Looking for answers, Harmoni calls a friend and heads to a hospital. The song then unfolds inside a psychiatrist’s office, where she is asked, “So, Miss Allen, what brings you to my office today?” Her answer becomes the emotional core of “Schitzo.” The music takes over, developing into a slow-burning, soulfully rich R&B confession carried by Harmoni’s heavenly, deeply vulnerable vocals.

Verse by verse, Harmoni reveals the strain of living under the gaze of people who may fear, misunderstand, or judge what they cannot see. She sings about people being scared of her, watching from afar, the medicines she takes, and the exhausting burden of being viewed through a label instead of recognized as a human being. Inside that pressure, however, comes a moment of release. She looks into the mirror, sits on the bed, takes a breath, and arrives at the realization that she is free.

That realization does not magically change the world around her. People still look at her the same way. Their assumptions remain. This is where “Schitzo” broadens into something many listeners can recognize, the understanding that other people’s perceptions do not get to define your identity, your worth, or your destiny.

Harmoni’s faith gives that idea its foundation. Beneath the emotional turbulence is a steady conviction that God has the last say. People may judge from afar, attach labels, and make assumptions based on appearance, yet those opinions do not determine the course of someone’s life. For Harmoni, faith creates a space where judgment begins to lose its hold and freedom becomes possible.

Musically, “Schitzo” carries the same emotional weight as its subject. The production settles into a slow-burning R&B groove that gives Harmoni’s voice room to breathe, ache, and communicate. Her soulful delivery has a nostalgic warmth, while smooth layers of vocal harmony wrap around the lead with an almost heavenly glow. The arrangement remains restrained, keeping the storytelling in clear focus instead of crowding it with unnecessary drama. Harmoni shifts naturally between fragility and quiet strength, making the performance feel close enough to resemble a private conversation across the room.

“Schitzo” ultimately centers on being seen, being misunderstood, finding your breath again, and recognizing that freedom can survive other people’s judgment.

When the final note fades, Harmoni Allen leaves behind the message that has guided the song from the beginning: people may have their opinions, but God has the final say!

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Serag Baddar Revisits a Teenage Guitar Idea With Intimacy and Patience on the Atmospheric Post Rock Track “Limerence”

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Serag Baddar Revisits a Teenage Guitar Idea With Intimacy and Patience on the Atmospheric Post Rock Track “Limerence”

Based in Malta, composer Serag Baddar turns a long-held guitar idea into something intimate and absorbing on “Limerence.” The post-rock track grew from a riff he wrote 15 years ago, with one section carrying a subtle nod to Buckethead’s “Padmasana,” whose rhythm guitar left a clear impression on Baddar.

Crisp, mellow, and atmospheric, “Limerence” moves through clean guitar layers and an ethereal sense of space. Silken vocals shimmer underneath, adding a restrained melancholy that suggests heartbreak without overwhelming the arrangement.

Baddar’s background in heavy metal remains important to the song, even as he strips away high-gain distortion and conventional vocal delivery. In their place, structure and melody do most of the emotional work. At the center is a clean, melodic guitar riff designed to flow ergonomically across the fretboard, giving the performance a natural physical ease.

The quieter acoustic and clean passages of progressive metal are an obvious reference point. Opeth and Tool, two bands that have shaped Baddar’s style, can be heard in the track’s sense of structure and restraint. Its spacious ambient textures also draw from the accessible melodic soundscapes associated with instrumental artists such as Buckethead. “Padmasana” is especially relevant, with its rhythm guitar inspiring a small section of “Limerence.”

The pacing is deliberate and unhurried, in keeping with post-rock’s slow-burn character. Its rhythmic framework stays steady, patient, and evocative, giving the central guitar melody room to breathe. Notes are allowed to ring out and decay naturally rather than being crowded by unnecessary movement.

Much of the song’s appeal comes from that simplicity. The arrangement avoids excessive time-signature gymnastics and settles into a smooth, approachable cadence that strengthens its hypnotic quality. That choice suits the meaning behind “Limerence,” the intense and involuntary psychological state of romantic obsession and infatuation that Baddar seeks to capture emotionally.

Because the released track is a “demo” mix, it retains a raw, unpolished authenticity. That texture fits Baddar’s philosophy of “writing for dopamine,” prioritizing emotional resonance and the organic “magic” of a creative spark over pristine, heavily compressed commercial engineering.

The result is intimate and thoughtful. It feels reflective and deeply personal, like a bedroom guitarist finally translating a 15-year-old teenage memory into a cohesive, immersive piece of music. The closing stretch brings the song’s crisp, clean, haunting guitar riff into sharper focus, giving the track a fitting climax and reminding us how much of its emotional weight rests on that original idea.

Baddar waited until he felt his technical ability and musical vision had matured enough to do the riff justice before recording and releasing it. He approaches music as a philosophical hobby, creating for the pleasure of the craft rather than under commercial pressure.

Taken as a whole, “Limerence” is an accomplished, carefully felt performance worth spending time with. It is streaming now.

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Omer B Channels Groove, Speed, and Collaborative Fire on the Exhilarating Funk Rock Instrumental “Bending Time”

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Omer B Channels Groove, Speed, and Collaborative Fire on the Exhilarating Funk Rock Instrumental “Bending Time”

Omer B has built a significant part of his artistic identity around collaboration, working with musicians from across the world. On “Bending Time,” he leans fully into that instinct. The track brings together guitar virtuoso Oz Noy, drummer Oded Kafri, bassist Andy Warner, and Abramo Riti on Hammond organ, giving Omer B a formidable cast for what he does best: composing exceptionally good music.

“Bending Time” is a high energy, five minute instrumental funk rock piece that establishes its character almost immediately. Omer B’s guitar locks in with Kafri’s forceful drumming from the opening stretch, creating an intro that feels urgent, muscular, and inviting. Once the Hammond and bass enter the picture, the arrangement opens up into something richer and more expansive.

That introduction builds tension quickly while setting a steady sense of anticipation. You can hear the rhythm gathering momentum as the groove takes hold. At its core is a relentless, head bobbing funk rock backbeat. The pace is fast, yet the players remain firmly in the pocket, giving the song a driving foundation that keeps it moving at full speed without sacrificing its groove.

As composer, Omer B acts as the track’s anchor. He resists overcrowding the arrangement with constant shredding, choosing instead to work through sharp, syncopated rhythm chops and clearly defined melodic motifs. His guitar helps shape the song’s architecture, from its central themes to the heavy, overdriven chord progressions that guide each transition.

Oz Noy’s entrance raises the temperature. He slips naturally into the established groove, echoing the track’s hauntingly familiar melodic cadence while bringing in a streak of “twisted blues” character. His solos are explosive without feeling detached from the arrangement, and they push the song into a higher gear.

The interplay becomes especially satisfying when Noy’s lead lines careen over Omer B’s heavy rock foundation. Kafri’s airtight drumming, Warner’s bass, and Riti’s Hammond keep the music grounded while the guitars add a fiery improvisational edge. That tension gives “Bending Time” a sense of motion that suits its title.

Unpredictable, futuristic, and haunting, “Bending Time” plays like an exhilarating experiment that draws strong performances from everyone involved. Omer B’s experience as an amateur race driver also seems to surface in the track’s polished, high octane momentum. There is a clear feeling of speed, control, and mechanical precision running through the performance.

By the end, the vintage rock swagger and modern fusion sophistication feel naturally connected. In my professional opinion, they should “frame the arrangement!”

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