Playlist: HITS magazine

To celebrate the release of our first print issues, here's a playlist featuring all artists involved.

HITS x Berlin

We hosted our very first live gig in Berlin - and this is what it looked like.

Cover The HITS

Our latest video series - covers performed by our favourite acts, exclusively for us.

Video Interview: Scenic Route To Alaska

Melting away in front of Stuttgart's castle, we had a chat about touring, band names, Toy Story and a lot more.

Find us on YouTube!

Visit us on the 'tubes for interviews, exclusive performances and outtakes.

Video Interview: Dan Dietrich

image: Dominik Gruszczyk

Hey guys!

It's always amazing to get your feedback because it really helps producing the blog content. A lot of you enjoy the video interviews, so I always try to get something cool done for you.
Interviewing the fantastic Dan Dietrich seemed like a great option.

Dan Dietrich is a singer/songwriter from Darmstadt, Germany.  His own material could be classified as acoustic/folk-rock and is inspired by artists such as Bob Dylan, Melanie Safka and Tracy Chapman.
So far Dan released a six track EP, played a countless amount of gigs on his own and with bands, he supported Canada's Morgan Finlay and Scotland's Martin and James and built a loyal fan base over the years.

His beautiful balcony was the perfect place to sit down and talk about the EP recordings, new projects, embarrassing moments, guilty pleasure songs and a lot more.

Hope you enjoy!





Dan Dietrich online: Facebook | Soundcloud


Thank you for reading!




Credits // Text & Video: Vanessa Jertschewske | Photography: Dominik Gruszczyk
 

EP Review: 'Truth' by Visitors



Band: Visitors
Title: Truth
Genre: Alternative Rock
Label: independent
Release: 4th July 2014
hits rating: 7.5/10

Hey guys!

We should all go on a trip to Liverpool.
Like a school class would.
 To hear some great bands play live.
Deal?

Our first stop could be at a Visitors gig.
The Liverpoolian three piece is influenced by bands like Artic Monkeys, Nirvana and Queens Of The Stone Age.

People say their alternative, grunge, garage rock style sounds even better live.

Visitors are:
Callum Mian (lead vocals, lead guitar)
Mateo Carney (bass, backing vocals)
Jake Jones (drums, backing vocals)


Tracklist:
1) Truth
2) Stay Away
3) Radioactive

Opener and title track 'Truth' wins you over with a brilliant mix of smooth backing vocals and strong lead vocals. The up beat track still gives you some moments to catch your breath before it then marches on and throws a catchy guitar riff your way.

'Stay Away' gets heavier, even more energetic and more grungy. The atmospheric instrumentals drive the song, the vocals control it. This track is spot on; all elements work together. The rhythm section collides together and supports the guitar perfectly. Vocals and guitar riffs duet and sing along.

Garage rock anthem 'Radioactive' sounds a lot darker and more mysterious than the previous tracks.

To sum it up: Visitors brought back the heavy garage rock with spot on melodies and clever arrangements. We definitely need more bands like this one. Thanks dudes, keep it up!

You should listen to these tracks: Truth, Stay Away




Visitors online: Twitter | Facebook | Soundcloud


Thank you for reading!






Credits // Text: Vanessa Jertschewske | Image: Visitors

Gig Impressions: Dan & Julian



Hey guys!

I don't know about you but open air gigs are a must in Summer for me. The atmosphere is just different from indoor gigs, the people are more laid back and even the music sounds different.

Last Saturday I visited my good friend Dan Dietrich to interview him and film a session. As fate would have it he was set to play an open air gig later that day, so of course I was really happy about that.

Before I show you a few photographs from the gig, let me tell you a bit more about Dan.
Dan Dietrich is a singer/songwriter from Darmstadt, Germany. At the age of 15 he started writing his own songs, a year later he started gigging.
He's still carrying on with his music and is also part of the three piece band Dan meets Portland. The folk rock band consists of Dan, Julian Staehle on the drums and bassist Carlos Pereira.

Together with drummer Julian he performed at an intimate open air in Darmstadt.





As you can probably tell it wasn't a totally normal location. The gig was at a beautiful farm with sheep, horses and cows (the best backing vocalists ever by the way!). 
The whole set up was absolutely gorgeous as it really fitted the theme; lights everywhere, beautiful lamps, flowers, blankets - oh it was perfect.






And even though it was ridiculously cold for an evening in August, Dan and Julian did a brilliant job. The spot on performance, consisting of originals as well as cover songs, was a real joy to watch.










Thanks to everyone who made this freezing evening such a lovely event. It was a pleasure to be there.

I really hope you enjoyed the photographs. Make sure to check out Dan and his band.

Dan Dietrich online: Facebook | Soundcloud
Dan meets Portland online: Website | Facebook


Thank you for reading! :)




Credits // Text & Photography: Vanessa Jertschewske

Video Premiere: 'The Girl' by Mark Mathews





Hey guys!

Today is a premiere of a premiere.
Alright, before I'll completely confuse you, let me explain; today house in the sand is going to premiere a music video. And since we've never done that before it's a premiere of a premiere.

(Yeah, I have definitely written better intros before... Sorry, I'm just excited!)

As you probably already know after reading the title the music video we're premiering is 'The Girl' by Mark Mathews.

The singer/songwriter from the Queens own garden - Kent, UK is no new face to house in the sand.
His music could be described as indie-pop with a folk twist to it and even some light sprinkles of folk-rock if you ask me.
Inspired by bands such as The Beatles, The Kinks and Oasis he likes to write about "love, going out, getting out of the town or a situation you're in and your mates", so the singer himself.

Mark has been really busy recently shooting videos, writing new tunes and gigging his way through London's streets and bar's.

The videography for 'The Girl' is inspired by The Beatles video for 'A Hard Days Night'.
Some of the scenes were shot on VHS (yes, it still does exist!) to represent Mark's memories and feelings about the girl.

Now I could go on and write what I think about the video in details but I'll keep it short - I bloody love it.

Watch it yourself and feel special because you are the first people to watch it!




Mark Mathews online: Website | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Soundcloud


Thank you for reading!



Credits // Text: Vanessa Jertschewske | Image & Video: Mark Mathews and crew

Song Review: 'Shake It Off' by Taylor Swift




Hey guys!

Yesterday Miss Taylor Swift held a livestream where she released her newest video for her single 'Shake It Off' off of her upcoming album '1989'.
I don't know if that many of you know it but I used to really like her music three years ago.
My taste in music has changed a lot but I still like checking back on what the artists I used to listen to are doing at the moment.

So when the web got a bit crazy about Taylor's newest single I decided to give it a try.

'Shake It Off' is a full on pop song, no hints of anything else. Funny enough, I have never really thought of her as a Country artists, even though some say she used to be. In my opinion the pop elements usually always overweight her tracks.

Swift's new song is about how she deals with haters, she shakes it all off. It's a super catchy summer tune with a clear message.
People always talk about you but you shouldn't really care because you know they are just taking crap.
If think especially the girls and boys in the teen age could really take the song as an example to feel stronger and more confident.
If Taylor can handle it (and let's face it - she has to deal with a lot!), you can shake it all off just like she does.

The video definitely entertains you; Taylor plays the main part by showing off her dance moves varying from hip hop break dance, to twerking and back.
I think you cleary understand how she ditches all stupid comments by just having a great time.


To be honest; I'm not the biggest fan of 'mainstream pop stuff' but I think the fun Taylor has and the confidence she has in the track really shines through and takes it to another level.
It's a catchy tun, it's fun, it's Summer. So why not?  

What do you think about the track?

Watch the video here!




Thank you for reading!





Credits // Text: Vanessa Jertschewske | Image: Taylor Swift Official Facebook

Project 365 Photos: Update 2


 

Hey guys!

It's been a while since I last give you an update on my version of the Project 365 Photos.

For those of you who don't know about the project, it's really simple: you take one photograph a day throughout the entire year to document your life.

Now for the first 6 months I tried to only photograph the positive things of the day. For the second half of the year I decided to also document things that maybe didn't make me happy or didn't go well.
Life doesn't always treat us well but exactly that is life. In my opinion 'bad' things, just like the good things, define the person you are.
So it's ok to let them happen and also document them somehow.

Ok I'm drifting away, sorry.

Without any more rambling, here are some of my pictures.

May 25th, Berlin times. My favourite Liverpoolians The Arkanes played their first headliner in Germany. Good, crazy and chaotic times!


June 11th, got the kitten a new bed. Sat in there for about 5 minutes, then left. So glad I got a picture of her actually using it.

 
June 20th, I know all words to this song! It took a while to learn them though...
 

 
July 13th, found a balloon with a message on it. SO CUTE. Risked my life to catch it though, haha.


July 17th, Berlin, again. Had the best time ever and also caught these two guys in concert. Happy days.


July 27th, clouds clouds clouds.


July 28th, the clouds sent some rain. Melody loves her bed by the window.


July 30th, so proud of house in the sand. And so thankful for the wonderful friends I have. So I took an old school screen shot.


 
July 31st, the wild cat appears again.
 

August 5th, little 'press-photo-photo-shooting'.


 
August 7th, I love flowers.


August 10th, super moon and super cloudy skies. Meh.


Well, I think this should be enough.
I'm actually really surprised I could keep up with the project. It's definitely a wonderful way to remember the little things and the lovely memories.
Really excited to see what the next (and final) four months of this project will bring. 

I hope you enjoyed this little update. :)


Thank you for reading!





 
Credits // Text & Photography: Vanessa Jertschewske
 

Giveaway Winners: Faded Paper Figures CD


 

 Hey guys!

This is just a really short post to announce the winners from our Faded Paper Figures CD giveaway.

So without further ramblings;

THE WINNERS ARE:

TWITTER: @ifsoeverblog

FACEBOOK: Niels Bruwier

BLOG COMMENTS: Aaron Page


To all winners: please contact houseinthesand@web.de and tell me your postal address so I can send the CD your way.


To everyone who didn't win; there are going to be more giveaways soon, so don't worry! :)


To Bangup Bullet: thank you for providing this giveaway!




Congratulations!


Cheers!



 
Credits // Text: Vanessa Jertschewske | image: Faded Paper Figures + additional writing from: Vanessa Jertschewske

7 tunes you need to hear | episode 2



Hey guys!

7 tunes you need to hear premiered a while ago and you enjoyed the concept. Since the amount of music submissions I've been receiving has increased even more, I decided it would be cool to get a few out there for your listening pleasure.

Today Canada seems to be taking over. Rock, folk, pop, singer/songwriter - we have it all.


Enjoy!


'It's A Feeling' by Mother Leads
I'm typing these words within the first few minutes of work time. Means I woke up not too long ago. Starting the morning with a rock song really helps.
Mother Leads are three piece from Ontario,Canada.
They play hard rock music and consist of: Neil Culbert (vocals, guitar), Ray Cara (drums) and Jordan Quinn (bass, keys). Formed in 2008 the band has released multiple EPs and is now about to release their debut album.

'It's A Feeling' is one song of it. It's a really energetic, forward marching track. Driven, burning riffs, strong and expressive vocals paired with harmonizing backing vocals in the chorus and a brilliant rhythm section. Massive!

Mother Leads online: Twitter | Facebook | Soundcloud



image: Kornelia Kulbacki

'Lancaster' by Alea Rae
Indie-folk is, in my opinion, one of the most interesting genres at the moment. There is something about it that fascinates me.
Alea Rae, a three piece from Vancouver, Canada play exactly said genre. The project started out by just Alea Rae Clark (vocals, guitar, bass, synths) playing as a solo artists but when she met Jeremiah Ackermann (percussion, vocals) and Patrick Farrugia (guitar, vocals, bass) and they started working on her material, they soon became a band.

'Lancaster' is an atmospheric, enchanting track. Alea's vocals easily catch your attention; warm, at times deep, at times light vocals set a beautiful scene. The base of the song; the instrumetals absolutely work. Slightly mysterious riffs, folky percussions and dreamy backings create a track you definitely want to hear.

Alea Rae online: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Bandcamp

HITS and Bandcamp are no friends, please CLICK HERE to listen to the song.


image: Kenneth James

'GoldMine' by Rosco & The Dirty Plains
Seeing familiar faces also being part of new band projects is fantastic. Masterminds working together and producing cool music, what else would you want?
Rosco McCabe is no new face to house in the sand, we reviewed his brilliant EP and he sang a song for our second birthday.
Now he's joined by The Dirty Plains who are Andrew Glassford, Alex Cardwell and Jamie Brannan.

'GoldMine' once again is a track where Rosco convinces with his vocals; he starts of soft and endearing and within seconds belts out the raspiest and strongest vocals you could expect. Fantastic instrumental parts give the song so much grip, control the atmosphere and show what great musicians found together.

Rosco & The Dirty Plains online: Twitter | Facebook | Soundcloud



'I've Had Friends' by Elam McKnight
Who says you can only play one genre? Sorry for the expression, but only idiots say that.
Elam McKnight forntunately did not listen to these idiots and just wrote what he wanted to write. Originally he's been making music as a root blues artist but nowadays he varies genres.
The musician from West Tennessee has a new record out now.

'I've Had Friends' starts of quite calm but gets an interesting twist; the e-guitar that was being strummed so charmingly suddenly starts howling and gives the song more grip, more intensity.
An honest song with relatable lyrics and a lot of passion.

Elam McKnight online: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Soundcloud



 'Ecstasy' by The Island Club
Brand new band allert! The band from Brighton, UK basically just started out and already has a brilliant single for us. Michael Askew, Julien Forsythe-Lewis, Dan Ely and Sam Cantlon formed the band last month the indie-psychpop four piece does not sound like a new band at all as the whole sound just works.

'Ecstasy' is an ecstatic tune. (Hah, see what I did there?!) The indie/psychedelic pop sound invites you to dance and move. Lead and backing vocals harmonize, the instrumetals are fresh and bouncy yet still brilliantly arranged. It seems like the song just flows out of the band. Wow. More, please!

The Island Club online: Twitter | Facebook | Soundcloud




 'Venture' by City And The Sea
 Alternative rock! Yes! I think rock will always be the genre I'm most into. (That's why a lot of rock music is featured, I'm sorry. But it's my blog. Haha)
City And The Sea (short CATS, I'd like to point that out!) are a rock band from Hamilton, Canada. They formed in 2010 but the four piece consisting of Nick Cino, Jon Daly, Dave Marini and Joe Piccolo has known each other for quite a while.

Their newest single 'Venture' is an infectious rock anthem. Lead vocals and rhythm section seem to control the track but still the rare guitar riffs absolutely convince. In fact, the riffs are so catchy, I've had them stuck in my head all day already. That's a good sign though.

City And The Sea online: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Bandcamp

Still no friendship between HITS and Bandcamp - please CLICK HERE for the song.


'Hypothetical' by Grace
 Something slower to calm down after this rock marathon? Ok. Here we go.
Grace is a singer/songwriter from Washington, USA. She's been writing her own material and is just 17 years old. Volunteering for a DC program for disadvantaged children she also teached the kids more about music and helped them to put on a production of Alladin.

'Hypothetical' is a beautiful piano based ballad. Her rather souly voice absolutely controls you and and your attention. You just have to listen to her incredible vocal range. The track is emotional and I'm sure a lot of us can relate to the honesty Grace pours into it.

Grace online: Bandcamp

Maybe one day HITS and Bandcamp will get along. Until then CLICK HERE to hear the song.


And that's it! Seven tunes you need to hear! I hope you enjoyed them!


Thank you for reading!




Credits // Text & Header Photography: Vanessa Jertschewske | all bands images belong to the bands and their photographers