2010 news

Indie-Music Top 25 Finalist Nominee

November 2010

It is official….Esthema has been nominated for the Top 25 Award at Indie-Music.com in the Instrumental Category. “Indie-Music.com's prestigious Top 25 Awards are presented each year in January to honor excellence and achievement in independent music” and we are in the Top 25 Finalist Nominees.

A little about the nomination..."The very best song entries receive Top 25 Nominations during 3 rounds of competition throughout the year, with Finalist Nominations officially announced in November. Top 25 winners are chosen the old school way - industry professionals on our staff and beyond carefully listen to each song with an ear towards great songwriting and performance. Winners receive premium front page exposure on Indie-Music.com and a complete media campaign promoting the award, plus for 2011 we are working to add major new prizes, cash, and opportunities."

Visit Indie-Music.com for a complete list of all finalists.

Eastern Dance Hits #4 on Indie-Music.com's Instrumental Charts

September 2010

Hope you all had a fantastic summer and everyone is settling into what seems to be a beautiful fall!

We wanted to share with you some super exciting news.

We recently found out that Esthema’s Eastern Dance from the Hereness and Nowness of Things is currently at #4 (out of 156) on the Indie-Music.com's Instrumental Charts.

Congratulations to us and thank you to you :)

And then if that wasn't news enough the other day we get this email regarding the International Association of Independent Recording Artists or better known as the IAIRA.

Who is IAIRA?

IAIRA “recognizes and honors artistic achievement, technical proficiency, and overall excellence in sound recording by monitoring chart activity as published in various reporting charts from around the world.”

They tell us that Esthema is “eligible for Certification as an International Top 10.”

What does this all mean for Esthema…first of all, it means people are choosing to listen to Esthema. Secondly it means that people are starting to take notice.

Every month we get notified that…

….people are listening to our music on Rhapsody, Last.fm, and Napster,
….people are downloading our mp3s on iTunes and Amazon here in the States, South America, Europe, and Turkey,
…people are purchasing our CDs and mp3s from CDBaby

It is a slow building process, but one that is building a solid foundation. Thanks to everyone for all your continued support and love.

So many thing...where to begin?

Summer 2010

Hope summer 2010 is going great for everyone and you are all well.

Esthema has had some real cool things going on since we last touched base with everyone. Due to travel and non-Esthema performance schedules, we have kept our performance calendar light, but we did get an opportunity for a photo shoot with local photographer extraordinaire Steve Wollkind Many of the photos from the shoot at our June 30 Ryles show have already been posted on Facebook and we are in the process of updating our site, so make sure to come back often.

Then on July 17 two super exciting things were going on. First, Esthema had the opportunity to be a part of the 30th Annual East Providence Heritage Festival. This was a great opportunity for us and loved every minute of it. Videos from the show are available on YouTube. In the meantime, check out some pictures right here.

After the show on the 17th, we all took off from East Providence and headed down to downtown Providence for Waterfire Providence. For those that don’t know what Waterfire is, check it out here. Along with music from greats like Arvo Part, Handel, Puccini, Gypsy Kings, and soooo many other, Esthema’s composition Distance was heard at 10:47PM as part of the soundtrack. We really can’t express the feeling of hearing a composition that you had written and performed being heard over a loud speaker throughout a downtown area along a river with cauldrons of fire burning and thousands upon thousands of people listening contently (while enjoying a Watermelon slushy with friends and family). Hard work, dedication, and love really do pay off :)

Some eight months after the release of the Hereness and Nowness of Things, people are still reviewing. In July, Prog Naut, a site dedicated to reviewing progressive music, published the latest amazing review in a long line of critical accolades. Comparing Esthema to greats like Yo Yo Ma, Gypsy Kings, and California Guitar Trio, they call the recording “romantic, beautifully rich and melodic.” Read the full review here.

If you have read this far, thank you! Thank you for sticking with us. All of the above successes and so many others have been thanks to you and we are psyched that we can share them with everyone.

Hope you are having a great summer and are well, both in spirit and in health.

Esthema VIDEO

May 2010

Check it out...an Esthema documentary/short film...Produced by Anita Diamantopoulou and co-produced by Brittany C. Herth...listen to some live footage as well as talk about the songs, music, relationship, and more...visit our video page or watch it right here...

A sincere thank you to Ken Golden for introducing Esthema to Anita, to Anita for thinking that Esthema was interesting enough to work with, and to Brittany for her direction, Lara Smith & Matt Hashiguchi on camera, and Wen-tzu Hsu on Audio for all their work.

Hope you all enjoy!

Esthema Features

April 2010

April had some pretty huge milestones for Esthema. We had our first feature in a US magazine, Skope Magazine. You can check it out right here : “Listening to their work is like hearing and feeling the heartbeat of the planet” writes Janie Franz. In addition to the interview/feature, Ms. Franz reviewed the Hereness and Nowness of Things. Check it out when you can at the above link or on our REVIEWS page!


Then on April 23, Esthema was featured on WICN 90.5FM (Worcester/Boston). The program is Jazz Rocks with co-hosts Dana and Walter and it is on every Friday night starting at 11pm. You can listen to the interview on our Facebook and MySpace pages for a limited time. You can also listen to it right HERE.

In April we were also added to our first West Coast Radio Program. On Monday and Tuesday nights starting at 11PM, New Dreamers radio program hosted by Chris Owen is on KLCC 89.7FM in Eugene Oregon and is spinning Esthema.

Finally, Esthema has been rockin’ it real hard lately, so over the next few weeks, we are going UNPLUGGED (kinda like storytellers without the story). Make sure to check out our shows page for the latest and greatest about some very cool acoustic events!

Esthema Around The Globe

March 2010 part 2

First, an enormous thanks to everyone for their support this month at our Ryles show. We had a great time and thanks to all of you, we will be back there again in the near future (more on that in a bit).

Two very important things happened in March. First, we were contacted by the largest Slovenian music webzine, RockLine! requesting a copy of the Hereness and Nownoess of Things. The amazing thing is that word of Esthema has gotten out all the way to Slovenia. For all you that can read Slovenian, the review is available HERE. For all others, I am waiting for the translation. Once available, it will be posted on our REVIEWS page.

The second super exciting bit of news is that you can now listen to Esthema (along with many other great artists) on WorldStreams Radio. WorldStreams Radio is “an international multi-media resource offering diverse programs on music, the arts, culture, world politics and social issues around the world through discourse with both well known people and ordinary individuals with extraordinary stories.” This type of exposure is huge for us as we work towards getting the attention of people all over the globe. And to be affiliated with such a world conscious entity is an absolute honor, pleasure, and privilege. Listen to WorldStreams HERE.

Esthema Reviewed in Guitar Player Magazine

March 2010 Part 1

Want to start by thanking everyone for coming out to our standing room only show on February 26 at the Cantab. We had a great time and hope you did also. Check out a couple of pictures below…visit us at www.facebook.com/esthema for all the pictures taken by friends/fans (and while you're there make sure to become a fan):

Hey Onur, no taking breaks during a set :) Where's Tery?

There he is...

In other news, if you didn’t already know, Esthema is in the April 2010 (on newsstands now) issue of GUITAR PLAYER MAGAZINE. Yes, that’s right, GUITAR PLAYER. Here is just a tidbit…

“the group plays at a truly world-class level, with authenticity, aplomb, and exuberance.”

Check out the entire review (and all others) on our reviews page.

Top 25 Award Nomination

February 2010

Esthema has been nominated for the Indie-Music.com Top 25 Award.

This means, Esthema is in the Indie-Music.com current top songs and are being promoted on the front page and the music page, featured on the "New & Notable" Radio Station. And to top it off, we are automatically entered for the annual "Top 25" Awards, presented in early January of each year!

Things To Come

January 2010

Hope you are well. We wanted to post a quick message with some future dates/events and happenings.

Tuesday, January 26: For all of you Boston/Cambridge residents, listen to Esthema between 2-4pm on WMBR 88.1FM. The program is called The New Edge hosted by Ken Field and it features "creative and innovative instrumental music." And if you can’t listen while on the air, past shows are available (at least for a couple of weeks) at wmbr.org.

Friday, February 26: Esthema will be performing live at The Cantab Lounge/Club Bohemia located at 738 Mass Ave (Central Square), Cambridge, MA. The evening begins at 9pm. $8.00 cover. More details to come right HERE.

Tuesday, March 9: Esthema will be performing live, starting at 10pm on WBRS 100.1FM. The program is called The Joint. You can join us live at Brandeis University, Shapiro Campus Center, 415 South Street, Waltham, MA 02453-2728 or just tune in at WBRS 100.1FM (Boston/Waltham). More details to come right HERE.

Saturday, March 20: Esthema will be performing live at Ryles Jazz Club located at 212 Hampshire Street (Inman Square), Cambridge, MA. Join us for a Saturday night out with great food, drinks, and music. The evening begins at 9pm. $10.00 cover. More details to come HERE.

Available now at www.progressionmagazine.com, the latest issue of Progression Magazine (Issue 58). Read the latest review for the Hereness and Nowness of Things as well as an in-depth cover story on phenomenal American indie band Syzygy. This issue also features artices on: IQ, Ian Anderson, Gentle Giant spin-off Three Friends, Keith Emerson & Erik Norlander live, Aeon Zen, Vital Might, Jolly, Wunderbugg, Aurora Project, Chris G, the Progressive Ears web forum, NEARFest ‘09, and Three Rivers ProgFest ‘09. Plus commentary, and more than 150 reviews! This is a great magazine that covers everything in the World of Progressive Music!!!

And hitting the newsstands at the end of March, Guitar Player Magazine will be reviewing the Hereness and Nowness of Things.

That is it for now…mark your calendars!!! We’ll make sure to keep you updated on the latest as things come up but for now, take care of each other and remember, it is, what you make it!

Happy New Year!!! (and some more Radio News)

January 2010

Let us start by saying Happy New Year! Since this is the first news entry of 2010, all the members of Esthema would like to wish you and yours the best for this year.

As we mentioned in December, we have been getting quite a bit of radio attention as of late. Since the release of the Hereness and Nowness of Things we have been reaching out to all types of radio stations, everywhere trying to get the CD on the air. It is starting to work. Since the release, we have been picked up by a number of radio stations all over the world. Check out our links page for the complete list.

As a result, we have a couple of very exciting goings on going on. The week starting on Monday, January 11 on MOJARadio.com (Modern Jazz Radio) based in New York we are going to be one of the featured artists on the All New Music Review that will air Thursday and Sunday at 10AM Eastern/7AM Pacific and 10PM Eastern/7PM Pacific each day. Just go to www.mojaradio.com to subscribe.

And for all our Cambridge/Boston (MA USA) residents, starting Tuesday, January 19 between 2-4pm, check put WMBR 88.1FM. The program is The New Edge and it features "creative and innovative instrumental music."

We are constantly updating our links page, which lists all the radio stations and radio programs you can hear Esthema on. And keep this mind; these stations & programs are playing some great independent as well as established artists. So if you get a chance check them out, not just for Esthema but also for all the great World/Fusion/Jazz/Progressive music that exists out there ;)

All the best in 2010!!!