Newscast
Jackson, Mississippi, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2019 | SELF | AFM
Music
Press
The debut track Blur by Newscast is a modern indie pop track filtered through retro delicious 80's synth tones. The sense of pop nostalgia is purposeful. Hayden Boyd and Salar Almakky from Jackson, MS take inspiration from bands like The Human League and Yazoo and doing it so well that this track could be in John Hughes' classic Pretty In Pink and feel right at home. Blur is, in the end, a glitter ball of 80's bliss. - American Pancake
Synthpop is making its return in a very big way and Newscast is leading the charge. The newest single from Newscast, titled “Undercover,” absolutely shimmers from front-to-back through every inch of the three-and-a-half minute song.
“Undercover” is the third single and follows the prior-released “Blur” and “Dancing Queen,” which are equally exciting since they both lead to the release of 5, the forthcoming EP from the synth-fueled sugarcoated-pop superstars.
Regarding the track, Hayden Boyd explains, “Undercover is about getting back together with someone and keeping it secret but reaching a point where you want to be open about it.” - Substream Magazine
Synth-fueled duo from Jackson, MS, Newscast, have just dropped a new track called “Alive.” the smooth new tune is sure to get you grooving with its 80’s synthpop instrumental lines and catchy, pulsing beat.
“‘Alive’ is about dealing with the undesired conclusion of a relationship,” band member Sal Almakky explains to Indie88. “It is an attempt to understand and respect the feelings of someone you cherished after they hurt you, while still feeling completely immersed in them. At the end of the day, it is tasking to love someone when you are unable to love yourself fully.” - Indie88
A musica conta-nos como é difícil amarmos alguém quando não gostamos de nós o suficiente. Isto tudo, claro, envolvido em beats magníficos que trazem uma batida synthpop irrepreensível e muito bem pensada, sintetizadores que aparecem aqui as vezes disfarçados de piano e vozes um tanto distorcidas que dão a profundidade necessária a musica, que nos deixa sempre no limbo entre a melancolia do tema e a vontade de dançar.
Bom para quem gosta(va) dos Cut Copy ou dos Bright Light, Bright Light, por exemplo. - Phonograph Me (Portugal)
Shared Video - Pretty In Noise (Denmark)
Shared Video - Left Blank Magazine
Shared Video - Birp.FM
Shared Video - Born Music Online
Added to Soundcloud Playlist - InSpot Music
Sounds like ‘Undercover’ is what makes us feel like we should be on that romantic cruise in that 70’s TV drama spectacular. The easy, breezy aspect of this single is indicative of the talents afforded by the duo in NEWSCAST. And the project is the work of Jackson, MS natives Hayden Boyd and Salar Almakky. The two have been making compelling music for nearly a decade. And as they do, in ‘Undercover’ they combine synth and pop to produce a smashingly delightful synchronicity that is a mixture of The Beach Boys with that synth, they could have loved in a different lifetime. Their 2019 EP ‘5’, is their way of celebrating in hindsight, of the first 5 songs they made under their NEWSCAST moniker. - Comeherefloyd
“Blur” is the first track from Newscast, a musical duo out of Jackson, MS. By taking a traditional 80’s pop sound and enhancing it with the lush layering associated with contemporary chillwave artists like Toro y Moi and Washed Out, they create a fresh new aesthetic that makes for a fun listen. Warning: this will definitely get stuck in your head. - Frontrunner Magazine
Mississippi-based duo Newscast brings the magic of 80s beach pop in a modern breezy fashion in new single “Winona, Come On.” It’s a wistful, dreamy piece built on twinkling riffs that take you on a drive to the starry-eyed highway. It’s a track made of dreams, idealizations, and romanizations:
Comprised of Sal Almakky (vocals, keyboard) and Hayden Boyd (vocals, guitar), Newscast formed in Jackson, MS where they’ve been spreading “synth-fueled, sugarcoated pop.” The duo will be playing across Tennessee in the upcoming days, so go see them: - Aupium
Discography
Winona, Come On - 2019 - Single
5 - 2019 - EP
- Late Night Queen
- Blur
- Banana Smoothie
- Alive
- Alive (Continued)
- Undercover
Photos
Bio
Equipped with a synth-fueled, sugarcoated pop sound that harkens back and looks forward at once, Newscast is in the business of validating novelty. A dance floor answer to the grind house of routine and industry, Newscast is music that repeats the right way. Newscast is the creative child of Jackson, MS natives Hayden Boyd and Salar Almakky, who have been honing their synthonic chemistry for nearly a decade. Hayden prints shirts and Sal slings espresso to feed the proverbial beast and stay in the studio, in the van, and on the stereo. The shimmering keyboards of the Paisley Underground, the pulsing freedom of 80s radio, and the futuro dreamscapes of the 21st century all pass freely through Newscast’s music, finding a comfortable intersection in these songs that work as a counterforce to the seriousness of things. In the face of the modern world’s glinting teeth, Newscast has chosen to arm themselves in the melodic simplicities of pop music, with swords that dance and shields that sing.
The 2019 EP, 5, is a collection of the duo’s first five songs that they’ve made together under the Newscast name. Recorded between the months of April and December of 2018, these tracks served essentially as a diary for Almakky and Boyd; the lyrics are representative of their life events during this stretch of time. Upon completion of these songs from their bedrooms, they sent these demos off to sound engineer Misha Hercules (Wavves, The Weeks), who put the finishing touches on 5. Mixing pop sensibility and bouncing beats, the tracks range from dance floor ready banger “Late Night Queen” to the simmering synth disco pop of “Alive.”
The band’s first foray into the musical world, 5 is a collection of tracks that leave you ready for to head out for a night on the town or make your living room into a dance floor.
Band Members
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