HEADLINES

The Musicians from Europe, North America, Australia and more continents make appearances on Intercontinen7al's project

The release of 2020's Intercontinen7al put the name on the map but subsequent efforts, including collaborative project have put everyone on notice.  There are few artists in International music that are as distinguished and revered as Intercontinen7al. The Intercontinen7al has been responsible for the biggest collaboration of the past year with different continental musicians from Africa to Asia and Europe, Australia, South America and so many more artists. Intercontinen7al has an incredible work ethic, even after being from various territories of world. On Intercontinen7al album, you'll find looks from Joshua Pearlson, Aymar de Lichtervelde, Stijn Thoolen, Nerse, Tnbt, Robert James Shoveller, Jeff Hobbs, Marcin Nawrocki, Rieneke van Laarhoven, Emily Betz, Alex Burke, Roy Colquitt, Dirty D, Becca Drayer, Ben Gaither, Hope Gray, Devin Heritage, Jamie Miller, David Lee Rendon, and  Matt Smith. 22 musicians from every corner of the world coming together virtually to create 12 original songs. The lockdowns pushed creators and musicians around the world to explore uncharted territory. From virtual songwriting sessions to musical festivals, the music world went online, whether to create or to perform. By taking the advantage of online era they created the fabulous project of bilingual tracks.

The project collaborator Matt Smith is guitar player in a band called Toast (with Jamie Miller, Ben Gaither, Emily Betz and guest Becca Drayer) that has been performing locally in Columbia, Maryland USA over the past few years. Since March 2020, as they all know, all live music has been basically sidelined, and the collective group hasn’t really been getting together much outside of outdoor jam sessions. In an effort to continue collaborating and playing together, they began researching software applications that would allow for sharing recordings. After testing out a couple of programs, it became clear that BandLab was the perfect fit – with just a quick free download, everyone is able to instantly share song ideas, apply effects to their tracks, etc. and the quality was phenomenal. Starting in April 2020, they were recording drum tracks, guitar riffs, and other ideas using BandLab and collaborating just internally with their main group and local friends who also live in Maryland. For the remaining musicians on the INTERCONTINEN7AL project, they took a hybrid approach: they reached out to friends and family who were fellow musicians or folks they have played with previously. 

The name INTERCONTINEN7AL was born, with the “7” in the name inspired by the band Tool’s song “7empest”. The end goal of this effort was to prove that music can still be created and enjoyed, even virtually, during the pandemic, and also to use talents to generate any fundraising efforts that they could. The songs generally started out from a guitar chord progression, a drum beat, a vocal melody – basically anything that could be built on.

Tracklist

Albatross Flight

(Europe/North America)

Music Written by: Matt Smith/Marcin Nawrocki

Matt Smith: guitars

Marcin Nawrocki: guitars, bass, drums

Jamie Miller: djembe


Astray

(Asia/North America) 

Lyrics: Matt Smith

Music Written by: Matt Smith/Tnbt/Devin Heritage/Alex Burke

Emily Betz: vocals

Matt Smith: guitars

Devin Heritage: bass

Alex Burke: piano

Tnbt: drums


Bad Education

(Europe/North America)  

Lyrics: David Lee Rendon/Matt Smith

Music Written By: Matt Smith/David Lee Rendon/Alex Burke/Jeff Hobbs/Dirty D

Matt Smith: guitars, piano

David Lee Rendon: vocals

Alex Burke: bass

Jeff Hobbs: piano

Dirty D: Saxophone


Big Shot (Beautiful)

(Asia/Europe/North America)  

Lyrics: Matt Smith

Music Written by: Matt Smith/Alex Burke/Nerse/Jeff Hobbs

Matt Smith: vocals, guitars

Becca Drayer: vocals

Alex Burke: bass

Nerse: flute, violin, slide

Jeff Hobbs: 12 string guitar


Every Reason

(Asia/Europe/North America)  

Lyrics: Emily Betz

Music Written by: Ben Gaither/Emily Betz/Matt Smith/Jamie Miller/Nerse/Marcin Nawrocki

Matt Smith: Guitars

Jamie Miller: Cajon

Nerse: violin

Emily Betz: vocals

Becca Drayer: backing vocals

Marcin Nawrocki: bass


Fire

(Asia/Europe/North America)  

Lyrics: Emily Betz

Music Written by: Matt Smith/Emily Betz/Jamie Miller/Marcin Nawrocki/Nerse

Matt Smith: guitars

Jamie Miller: drums

Emily Betz: vocals

Nerse: violin

Marcin Nawrocki: bass


Hysteria

(Asia/North America)  

Lyrics: Matt Smith

Music Written by: Matt Smith/Nerse/Roy Colquitt/Jamie Miller

Matt Smith: guitars, piano

Becca Drayer: vocals

Nerse: violin

Roy Colquitt: bass

Jamie Miller: cajon


Manor Hill

(Africa/Antarctica/Asia/Australia/Europe/North America/South America)  

Lyrics: Matt Smith

Music Written by: Matt Smith/Aymar de Lichtervelde/Ben Gaither/Emily Betz/Jamie Miller/Tnbt/Robert James Shoveller/Joshua Pearlson/Marcin Nawrocki/Nerse/Alex Burke

Matt Smith: guitars

Aymar de Lichtervelde: classical guitar intro 

Emily Betz: vocals

Nereo: backing vocals, bass

Becca Drayer: backing vocals

Alex Burke: piano

Tnbt: drums

Jamie Miller: drums/djembe

Robert James Shoveller: lead guitar

Joshua Pearlson: lead guitar

Marcin Nawrocki: bass, mellotron, synth choir

Nerse: violin

Stijn Thoolen: percussion


No Somos De Este Lugar

(North America/South America)  

Lyrics: Gustavo Prida

Music Written By: Matt Smith/Gustavo Prida/Hope Gray/Alex Burke

Matt Smith: guitars, drum programming

Alex Burke: Bass

Hope Gray: backing vocals

Gustavo Prida: lead vocals


So You're Different

(Europe/North America)  

Lyrics: Rieneke

Music Written By: Matt Smith/Rieneke/Devin Heritage

Matt Smith: guitars, drum programming, staccato strings programming, grand piano

Devin Heritage: bass

Rieneke: vocals


Surrational Images

(Africa/Europe/North America/South America)  

Lyrics: Matt Smith

Music Written By: Matt Smith/Marcin Nawrocki/Joshua Pearlson/Nereo

Nereo: vocals

Matt Smith: backing vocals, guitars

Jamie Miller: drums

Marcin Nawrocki: bass

Joshua Pearlson: lead guitar


When I'm Gone

(Australia/North America)  

Lyrics: David Lee Rendon

Music Written By: Matt Smith/Jamie Miller/David Lee Rendon/Robert James Shoveller/Alex Burke

Matt Smith: guitars

Robert James Shoveller: lead guitar

Alex Burke: bass

Jamie Miller: drums

David Lee Rendon: vocals


OTHER CREDITS

Artwork Photography by:  Eduardo Sanchez, Hu Chen, Benjamin Punzalan, Tianshu Liu, Jay Ruzesky, Aaron Burden, UK Freestocks

Mixing and Production by: Matt Smith/Jamie Miller/Devin Heritage

Mixing and Production Consulting: Foxview Recording

Video Production: Jamie Miller

"The Story" photo is the property of ESA/IPEV/PNRA - S. Thoolen 

Check out Intercontinen7al's project below and sound off in the comments with your favorite track. 

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