Originally from the tropical seaside town of Townsville, Australia, London-based singer/songwriter Ebony Buckle spoke to Occhi Magazine during the COVID-19 lockdown. Her single “Ghost” reflects the heart-wrenching experience both she and husband Nick Burns endured during their fight to renew her visa after their marriage. Despite her specific experience, Ghost is a universal song of love, loss, commitment, and pain of feeling utterly helpless. “Ghost” was written by Ebony and Nick via Skype, as they were kept apart for nearly two years. Ghost- Written by Ebony Buckle and Nick Burns Produced and mastered by Nick Burns. https://www.instagram.com/mrnickburns/ The music video was made by Finn Buckle https://www.finnbuckle.com.au/ For further information on Ebony, please visit http://www.ebonybuckle.com

LA based Musician Julian Shah Tayler talks to Occhi Magazine on the release of his new track 'Secret'. The video was released this week (July 17) For further information please visit http://www.julianshahtaylor.com

Dion Tucker is one of the premiere trombonists on the jazz scene today having played with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, the Harry Connick Jr. Big Band, Steve Turre, he’s been on Broadway and much more. Occhi Magazine recently interviewed the trombonist where he discusses his career and experience of embouchure dystonia. The interview was recorded remotely during the COVID lockdown. Embouchure dystonia is a term used to describe a type of dystonia that affects brass and woodwind players. The term embouchure refers to the adjustment of the mouth to fit the mouthpiece of a wind instrument. The anatomy of this form of dystonia includes muscles of the mouth, face, jaw, and tongue. Photographer: Mikisha Morris-Tucker Social Media http://DionTucker.com/ Website http://www.TheChops-Shop.com

On the release of his latest CD 'Still I Rise', Occhi Magazine caught up with Derrick Gardner to discuss the project. The interview with Darryl Yokley was recorded remotely during the COVID lockdown. The seven-track masterpiece (ten on the digital copy) is a combination of Derrick’s small group, The Jazz Prophets, with current and former students/colleagues from the U.S. and Canada coming together to form an 18 piece big band. Striving to set a new standard in the Winnipeg area, where Derrick teaches, the band has workshopped the music in the spirit of the Mingus big band perfecting it into the well-oiled machine that we hear on this recording. For further information please visit: http://www.derrickgardnermusic.com/​​​​​​​ https://twitter.com/dgardnr https://www.instagram.com/dgzphotoop/ Photography by Joe Oczerklewicz

Born and raised in North West London, Fae Simon is a soulful jazz singer, a gifted song-writer and a vocal performance instructor with over 20 years of on-stage experience. Formally trained in Opera and Jazz, Fae’s performance style fuses these traditional genres with Hip-hop, Rare Groove, Soul and Dub – a unique sound that electrifies audiences when she performs with her live band. Occhi Magazine had great pleasure in catching up with her. TITLE TRACK 'THE ALCHEMIST' FEATURES ON THE ALBUM FIRMAMENTUM BY GAWD STATUS Main photo by Duane Pearson. Social media links: https://www.occhiartsentertainment.com/faesimon Twitter: https://twitter.com/afrofaerie?lang=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fae-Simon-179779986151/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuYwETMwioH-TYuMR6yX--g BBE Music: https://www.bbemusic.com/artist/fae-simon/

Rhode Island-bred singer/songwriter and cover artist Lainey Dionne is a millennial musician who writes “the sort of music that immediately makes you forget that you left a burning oven on, or should be doing something productive.'' Breaking out in cities on the east coast, she has won many awards for her quirky lyrics and upbeat sound. In 2020, Lainey was a two time 2nd Place Overall Grand Prize winner in the New England Songwriting Competition following her 2019 win when she was also a placing finalist in Rhode Island’s Summer's End Race to the Stage Competition. In 2018, Lainey was nominated for Best Solo/Acoustic Act, Best Americana Act, and Best College Act at the Worcester Music Awards, along with Best Breakthrough Act at Rhode Island's famed Motif Music Awards. Occhi Magazine had the pleasure to catch up with her to discuss her track 'Hey London' during the COVID-19 lockdown. Lainey's music is available on iTunes, Spotify, and other streaming services. https://www.laineydionne.com/ Photo credit: Daniel E

'Home Quarantined' takes you through the entire journey of  Shraddha Rane's personal COVID-19 experience. It's a no-filter, honest account of how she faced her family's plight with grit, determination, faith, and hope. Occhi Magazine had the pleasure of interviewing her remotely during the COVID-19 lockdown. For further information please visit http://www.shraddharane.com

Rob Ayling is an award-winning freelance filmmaker. With a background in Art and Film Philosophy, Rob graduated with a BA Hons from UWE Bristol during which time he started the first film based radio show for Hub Radio. This led to him being commissioned to write film reviews and articles for Intuition Magazine. In 2014, he graduated from the Met Film School with a Masters in Film Directing. Rob has worked on television, corporate videos and feature film productions in different roles – camera operating; sound recording; editing; and storyboarding. He has directed short films (live action/animation) some of which have won awards and been selected at prestigious film festivals such as the BAFTA Recognised London Short Film Festival, Aesthetica Short Film Festival, Bath Film Festival and the East End Film Festival. Rob's favourite and influential filmmakers are Christopher Nolan, Billy Wilder, Stanley Kubrick and Alfred Hitchcock. On a personal note, Rob is a former Starbucks Barista champion. Follow Rob on Twitter: @RobAylingFilm