NYC Scene Report – Phil and the Osophers, 18th & Addison, & more

This week’s NYC Scene Report features Phil and the Osophers going into space, 18th & Addison getting rid of some “Leeches,” Shura finding her way to “the Stage,” and Sav Killz teaming up with Creature, and Frank Knight, for a “Wild” time.

* Brooklyn-based indie pop act Phil and the Osophers recently launched their latest single, “Endeavour” – and I do mean launched, as the video for the song was inspired by space travel.

The band’s frontman, Phil Radiotes, says of the clip, “The space shuttles were iconic emblems of the ‘80s and ‘90s, and to me they represented a freshness of technology, and hopeful presence to explore beyond. The shuttles seemed like science fiction toys in real life, and made outer space feel achievable to all of us. There is a simple how-to video within the ‘Endeavour’ video on how to make a paper mache plane. I felt it was an apt medium to create an Endeavour replica, since the song is about constellations that predate history. The whole thing began to turn into something like a science project. It may look simple enough, but I’d never done anything like that before.”

As for the song, he says, “It’s my attempt to write in Greek mythological terms. The central character is a banished mythological figure who still sees his love up in the sky in constellation form, as he once was. Like in a Greek tragedy, he is hopeless, without chance to ascend back to what he sees as his rightful place in the sky. He can only watch as Orion moves into his place ,and opine about how he has fallen from the gods’ favor.”

“Endeavour” is off Phil and the Osophers upcoming album, From The Rise Of Fall, which is due out this fall, and you can check out the space travel inspired video for the song right here.


* If you need a little pop-rock/pop-punk in your life look no further than New Jersey-based duo 18th & Addison, who recently released a video for their latest single, “Leeches,” which is off their Wiretap Records debut, due out this fall.

18th & Addison’s Tom Kunzman explained the song in a statement, saying, “‘Leeches’ is a song about growth and progression towards a better future, a better sense of self no matter the cost. Out with the old and in with the new.”

Kait DiBenedetto, who is the other half of 18th & Addison, adds that when it comes to the video, “We really wanted to do something different than we usually do with our videos. We usually take a much more comedic approach, but with this one we wanted to make it a bit more serious, and tell a little bit of a darker story to drive home the vibe of the song.”

Catch the vibe of 18th & Addison by clicking play on “Leeches.”


* Brooklyn’s super soulful songstress Shura (say THAT five times fast!) would like to bring you closer to “the stage.” “the stage” being her latest single.

Shura explains the inspiration for the song came from her first date with her current girlfriend. “I had travelled to NYC to go on it, so I was a little bit nervous as this was definitely THE most high stakes date I'd ever been on. I DMed my friends MUNA who were playing a show the night that I arrived, and asked them if they could get us both in, and they loved the concept of a first date at a MUNA gig. I wasn't sure how the date was going until she took my hand whilst trying to lead me to a spot where I could see them play – i.e. basically nowhere in the venue as I'm too short! Then I knew it was all going to be OK.”

“the stage” is off Shura’s upcoming album, forevher, which is due out this Friday via Secretly Canadian, and you can check out the single right here.


* For the better part of the past 15 years I’ve been telling people that Sav Killz and Creature are two of the hardest working artists in NYC’s indie hip-hop scene, so it only makes sense they teamed up for a song, “Brooklyn WildLife.”

“Brooklyn WildLife,” which also features Frank Knight, is from Sav Killz’ Still Determined EP, and it’s three and a half minutes of pure energy. Seriously, this is a Red Bull in song form. Click play, and get hyped!


For more of the best of NYC’s indie music scene, come back next Wednesday, and check out the archives for previous columns.