At the beginning of the summer, the editors of UTG held a digital meeting to discuss our plans for the future. At the very top of the list was increasing our focus on in-depth content, and following not far behind was a universal desire to expose more up-and-coming artists to our readers. We like to think we have done a good job of exposing great alt-rock and pop punk bands in recent years, but our coverage extends beyond those areas and so should our new music spotlight.

With all that in mind, I’d like to introduce you to Ayler Young. Hailing from New York City with a fresh take on funk that is heavily influenced by pop music, Ayler has crafted a unique sound entirely his own in a time where it seems everyone trying to ‘make it’ believes it’s okay to borrow from those currently making a living in entertainment. His latest single, “You Can’t Buy Love,” has served as the soundtrack to our entire afternoon, and unless something truly incredibly arrives in our inbox this evening it will probably be played a hundred more times before the weekend arrives. You can stream the single below:

“You Can Buy Love” is the lead single of Ayler Young’s upcoming album, Portal, which was created at the Mission Sound Studio in Brooklyn with the support of Grammy Award-winning guitarist Simon Katz (Jamiroquai, Gorillaz), pianist Erik Deutsch (Citizen Cope, Rosanne Cash), horn/flute player Jay Rodriguez (Prince, Miles Davis), Chris the Berge (Groove Collective), and drummer Tony Mason (Norah Jones) along with backup singer Bridget Barkan (Scissor Sisters). The album is set for release in early September, so expect additional songs to surface in the coming weeks.

Young will be playing shows the first three Fridays of August (11, 18 and 25) at 7PM at New York’s The Bowery Electric. For more details, click here.

What do you think of Ayler’s sound? Comment below and let us know your thoughts!

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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