When last we heard from Julian Velard, one of the best and most underrated singer-songwriters in the pop game, he’d dashed off a quick but captivating EP, Person of Interest, last fall. Since then, he’s kept a low profile, popping up as musical entertainment on a few NPR shows here and there and performing with fellow singer-songwriter Ari Hest as part of the soft-rock cover act The Jewbadours.
The silence finally ends this month, with a forthcoming album out this year and a tour across the country this summer. While his last full-length, 2011’s Mr. Saturday Night, was a cheeky set of smartly-crafted, piano-driven pop songs, the new set is, by Velard’s own admission, more conceptual – a set of songs devoted to his native New York City. (One of his best songs of late has sweetly dealt with the unending onslaught that is the five boroughs.)
Like so many other indie artists, Velard is taking to crowd-funding for the recording of this disc, setting up a PledgeMusic page for fans to donate. The incentives are pretty neat for fans old and new, from bonus demos and B-sides to house concerts – and a portion of the proceeds goes to Musicians on Call, an organization that brings music to hospital patients.
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In the meantime, Julian unveiled a new, irresistible one-off single, “Tiny Aeroplane.” Building off the experimental, looped-beats sound of Person of Interest, “Tiny Aeroplane” features crackling keyboards and an insistent, rhythmic guitar that builds to a maniacally satisfying chorus. (Credit is due to the song’s equally talented, ’80s-Euro-pop-bred co-writers: Gary Clark of Danny Wilson, and Martin Brammer of Kane Gang.)
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Julian will bring the music of the Big Apple on the road this summer, with shows in New York and California in the next month. Click below for information on each show!
June 18: Rockwood Music Hall, New York, NY
June 29: Hotel Cafe, Los Angeles, CA
July 6: Martuni’s, San Francisco, CA