Obed Padilla – RODEO CLOWN

California-based Chicano singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Obed Padilla has released a new taster called ‘RODEO CLOWN’ in the run up to his forthcoming EP of the same name.

Despite its shimmering, upbeat indie-pop sound, the song is actually one of Padilla’s most personal and speaks of the internal conflicting emotions we go through during a breakup.

“I dealt with a lot of grief the last couple years and to my surprise, healing wasn’t linear. I believe there are 6 stages and the 6th stage is feeling like the rodeo clown for being the last one at the party still dealing with things everyone already moved on from. The star of the show and the butt of the joke.”

The EP itself is a concept project of sorts, and aims to go through all the emotional changes that we find ourselves in when a partnership falls apart. The record is out on the 22nd May, and you can pre-save it here.

Obed Padilla | Ones To Watch Playlist

NESYA – PUT THE FRIES IN THE BAG.

This weekend’s banger is by American artist NESYA, who has graced us with a punchy new single intriguingly called ‘PUT THE FRIES IN THE BAG’.

Produced by the acclaimed Kill Dave, the song bounces between electronica, darkwave, trap and pop. The track should have sounded like a chaotic mess, but instead it’s pure brilliance. Despite its inspiration from trauma, the song serves as a reminder that good times can return.

“I wrote it in the middle of a messy divorce and betrayal. The song turned that chaos into something fun. It’s proof that the ‘dumbest’ idea can be the thing that makes you want to dance again – or just eat some fries.”

NESYA has amassed more than 45 million career streams to date and is the flagship artist at the newly formed label Double Down.

NESYA | Ones To Watch Playlist

New Music: shortstraw.

shortstraw. is a rising rapper, songwriter and artist hailing from Coventry in England. This talent is rapidly gaining momentum not only in the UK but also globally, already picking up praise from outlets as noted as Kaltblut and Spindle magazines, among others.

New single ‘pattern up’ is lifted from the upcoming mixtape ‘coinstar’ (out 22nd May) and presents listeners with a bold, intense, and immediately arresting fusion of punk, rap, and jungle. Elaborating on the lyrics, shortstraw. says:

“The repetitive ‘get gone , get up , get about now’ that runs throughout this track is saying ‘get fucked up and go crazy to this song, use it as your release before u go home back to normal life and face whatever’s going on.'”

shortstraw. will headline a show at The Social in London on 2nd June. Grab a ticket here.

shortstraw. | Ones To Watch Playlist

Offica – Life I Chose

TRACK OF THE WEEK

Offica is undeniably one of Ireland’s most prominent and gifted musical artists to have emerged from the Emerald Isle, currently attracting more than 250k monthly listeners on Spotify alone.

He returns with our favourite single of the week, ‘Life I Chose’. This is a finessed and finely constructed track that weaves a tonne of emotion into an Afro-House style of production. The result is a song that delivers sincerity and soulfulness in a thoughtful and expressive way.

Production comes courtesy of acclaimed producer New Machine, who has also worked with the likes of Aitch, Jorja Smith, and Plan B.

Offica | Ones To Watch Playlist

Taylor Williams – For The First Time (Mac DeMarco Cover)

Photo / Jo Anna Edmison

We really can’t express how much we’re in love with American soul artist Taylor Williams. So, naturally, we’re very happy to see that he’s back this week with another sublime new release which we’ve had on rotation all day.

‘For The First Time’ is Taylor’s take on the Mac DeMarco classic and turns a lo-fi indie gem into a mesmerising, shimmering soul number. This isn’t an easy task, but Williams manages it with flair and finesse.

Praise for the artist has been steady since last year, garnering support from notable tastemaker outlets like Earmilk and Unrecorded.

Taylor Williams | Ones To Watch Playlist

New Music: LED

Fancy some fresh new indie-punk to shake your midweek blues away? Then we’ve got the perfect song to introduce you to, courtesy of rising teen outfit LED.

This LA-based trio, consisting of bandmates Edie Yvonne, Layne Olivia, and Lockett Pentz, craft a brilliant sound that epitomises the trials and tribulations of being young and surviving in this world.

New single ‘She’s Your Perfect’ speaks of ‘feeling like you are never enough’. Production-wise, the track treats listeners to an energising yet melancholic sound that blends elements of punk and rock with indie and pop.

Despite being so young, these chaps are showing so much potential. A debut EP is on the way… Ones to watch!

LED | Ones To Watch Playlist

Return to Dust – Hey Ya! (Outkast Cover)

“Our love for the ’90s and ’00s music goes further than just rock music, so we made our own heavy version of ‘Hey Ya!’ by OutKast.”

Return to Dust | Ones To Watch Playlist

Return to Dust Europe Tour 2026

  • 6/2 —Gdansk, Poland — Mystic Festival*
  • 6/6 — Nuremberg, DE — Rock im Park Festival*
  • 6/7 — Nürburg, DE — Rock am Ring Festival*
  • 6/9 — Leipzig, DE — Felsenkeller
  • 6/11 — Nickelsdorf, AT — Nova Rock Festival*
  • 6/13 — Leicestershire, UK — Download Festival*
  • 6/15 — Hamburg, DE — Grosse Freiheit 36
  • 6/16 — Cologne, DE — Live Music Hall
  • 6/17 — Lucerne, CH — Sedel
  • 7/19 — Clisson, FR — Hellfest*
  • 6/21 — Dessel, BE — Graspop Festival*
  • 6/22 — Berlin, DE — Huxleys Neue Welt
  • 6/23 — Warsaw, PL — Letnia Scena Progresji
  • 6/25 — Budapest, HU — Barba Negra Red Stage
  • 6/28 — Helsinki, FI — Tuska Festival*
  • 7/3 — Galicia, ES — Resurrection Festival*
  • 7/6 — Paris, France — Pan Piper
  • 7/7 — Paris, FR — Bataclan
  • 7/8 — Amsterdam, NL — AFAS Live
  • 7/10 — Birmingham, UK — O2 Institute
  • 7/11 — Glasgow, UK — O2 Academy
  • 7/13 — Belfast, IE — Telegraph Building
  • 7/14 — Dublin, IE — National Stadium
  • 7/16 — Manchester, UK — O2 Victoria Warehouse VENUE UPGRADE
  • 7/17 — London, UK — O2 Academy Brixton VENUE UPGRADE
  • 7/18 — London, UK — Camden Assembly^

* Festival Date | ^ Exclusive headline show

shinyhunt – city of no one

Photo / Jonas Villadsen

TRACK OF THE WEEK

Why the rest of the world hasn’t yet woken up to Danish outfit shinyhunt is really beyond us. This emerging Copenhagen-based band has been building steady momentum in Scandinavia with their captivating blend of shoegaze and 80s/90s-inspired grunge rock.

Songs like ‘city of no one’ are sonically textured in so many interesting ways that every time we play it, we discover something new. Lifted from their acclaimed – and frankly brilliant – 2024 album ‘sea-salt ice cream’ (listen here), the track really stands out live, which is why we’ve chosen to show their performance from SPOT Festival on this feature.

If you’re lucky enough to be in Copenhagen on the 2nd of October, then you can catch the band performing at VEGA’s Ideal Bar – grab a ticket here.

shinyhunt | Ones To Watch Playlist | Nordic Sound Playlist

New Music: Poppy Freeley

Poppy Freeley is one of our favourite newcomers this month. Hailing from West Yorkshire in England, this pop artist crafts a style of sound that is distinctively original and authentic in character.

‘Holiday Blues’ is the debut single from Freeley and treats listeners to a heady blend of dreamy pop and indie rock. The soundscape is stripped-back, smoky and raw, contrasting with Poppy’s mesmerising and ethereal vocals.

“‘Holiday Blues’ captures the fleeting intensity of a holiday romance already destined to end, holding onto something while knowing it’s already slipping away.”

Alongside her solo work, Poppy has also competed in local music festivals and performed in musical theatre productions.

Poppy Freeley | Ones To Watch Playlist

MAMI UMAMI – belly dancer



Malmö outfit MAMI UMAMI, fronted by artists Jaquelin El Amiri (Miss Mami) and Leonard Furby, create a kind of sound that is chaotic, unpredictable… and absolutely thrilling.

Emerging from Sweden’s underground scene, this creative collective has been gaining steady momentum since the release of their singles, ‘Piraja’ and ‘Paper’, last year. Now they’re back with another big release, ‘belly dancer’.

The track’s personality mirrors the energy and creativity that comes with MAMI UMAMI’s live performances. Lyrically, the song tackles themes of capitalism and the yearning to rebel against society’s expectations of success.

”F*** you and everything you stand for.” – MAMI UMAMI

MAMI UMAMI play Gothenburg’s Pustervik on the 1 May (tickets), and Debaser Nova in Stockholm on the 9 May (tickets). A new EP titled ‘AFTERWORK’ is scheduled for release soon via Big Wednesday.

MAMI UMAMI | Ones To Watch Playlist | Nordic Sound Playlist

mickey jas – Save Our Skins

One of our favourite US-based independent artists, mickey jas, is back today with a charming new single to get us into the weekend mood.

‘Save Our Skins’ showcases an upbeat style of indie-pop that is cheery and playful, contrasting with lyrics that speak of anxiety. The words highlight the humbling and very human sensation of feeling both sad and happy at the same time.

“This contradicting clash of emotions is meant to remind us that at the end of the day we all end up in the same place so we might as well make the most of what is in front of us. 

mickey jas has a very unique way of telling stories in his music, sharing personal struggles through lyrics that feel authentic and relatable. There’s no doubt that this is one of Baltimore’s most interesting and promising musical prospects.

mickey jas | Ones To Watch Playlist

New Music: The Grapes

We don’t often get the chance to feature music from South Korea, so we’re really excited to be sharing with you a rising brother duo from Seoul, going by the name The Grapes.

If you enjoy dreamy 80s-tinged synthpop, then you’ll love their new single, ‘Wish You The Best’. The song is nostalgic but also feels current, distinctive, and fresh.

“Self-written, self-produced, and home-recorded, it captures the raw and unfiltered energy that defines us.”

The track serves as a taster to the band’s forthcoming debut ‘trivial’ EP, which is out soon. In the short time that The Grapes have been releasing music (their first single, ‘Summertime‘, was released only a month ago), they’ve gone on to amass thousands of streams and build a global fanbase across social media.

The Grapes | Ones To Watch Playlist

New Music: Luke Armstrong

Photo / Zachary Gray

This week’s indie-pop gem comes courtesy of rising LA-based newcomer Luke Armstrong.

Luke was born to American parents and raised in Beirut before moving to California to play college basketball. He’s bilingual in English and Arabic and has used music as a channel for expressing his identity from as early as his childhood.

“I was an intense child. Music has always helped me process that intensity.”

“There’s an opportunity to face fear with art, to surrender to what scares you, process it, and come through.”

‘2000’ was recorded with acclaimed producer Daniel James, who has also worked with the likes of Hayley Williams, David Byrne, and Efterklang. The track rewinds listeners back to the millennium and sees that era from a fictional perspective created by Armstrong, and looks at the chaotic ways of the world.

“I want to be honest about human suffering, and to make a statement about what a better world can look like.”

Luke Armstrong | Ones To Watch Playlist

muuk – into you

Photo / Antonia Steiner

muuk, the musical moniker of artist Ines Roervig Lewkovitch, first came across our radars earlier this year with her sensational debut ‘i’m no soldier’.

The hugely talented Danish starlet returns today with a powerful single called ‘into you’. This introspective and emotionally charged song was inspired by the artist’s difficult childhood, transporting listeners to her bedroom in her father’s apartment.

“I’m really not good at writing songs where I point fingers at others, but for so many years I’ve wanted to hug my younger self and tell her that it is not her fault what happened back then. This song is justice for her.”

“I don’t think my father ever experienced real love… so how could he possibly pass it on to me? Either way, it was really hard for me growing up, never knowing what unconditional love felt like. I always felt like I had to fight for my parents’ acceptance.”

The track was created alongside fellow songwriter Victor Stokholm and producer Morten Bergholt, and was completed in only four hours. It’s rare to come across a musician who is bold and brave enough to expose their innermost thoughts and vulnerabilities in the same way that muuk has, and that’s something incredibly special.

muuk | Ones To Watch Playlist | Nordic Sound Playlist

New Music: Lonnie Gunn

Photo / Nicole Ngai

“’Good Girls Go to Heaven’ reflects the eerie, painful realities of forcing yourself to be a stranger to someone you once knew intimately and being unable to let go. The song swallows all that frustration, yearning, and emotional repression and vomits it back out into a white-hot fuzz. The title itself is sort of an ironic remark about behaving in accordance with the ‘social guidelines’ instead of addressing the elephant in the room: the fact that this other person and I were once in love and can never unknow that feeling. Good Girls is a reveal of the subtext in the strained small talk and resisted eye contact. The final verses of the song act as a reluctant goodbye to the part of ourselves we once had with each other, or before each other, and will never have again.”

Lonnie Gunn | Ones To Watch Playlist

JJerome87 – Track and Field

JJerome87 is the solo project of alt-J frontman and songwriter Joe Newman. As part of the band, Newman managed to help create one of the UK’s most influential indie outfits from the past decade.

‘Track and Field’ is Newman’s latest single and showcases a summery pop sound that features hints of indie, Americana and gospel. The song is warm and nostalgic in tone, and further affirms Newman’s status as a top-tier songwriter.

A debut album titled ‘The Canyon’ is scheduled for release on the 26th of June.

JJerome87 | Ones To Watch Playlist

Subterranean Street Society – Kindness

Photo / Edward Freije

Subterranean Street Society is a Dutch-Danish trio currently based in Amsterdam who craft a style of folk-grunge that really is quite something spectacular to experience.

Vocalist and guitarist Louis Puggaard-Müller wrote the band’s latest offering, ‘Kindness’, during a trip through Malin Head in Ireland with a friend.

“I originally wrote it as a traditional folk song, pretty much campfire style. But when I brought it to the band, we turned it into something bigger: an alternative folk grunge track that keeps the emotional core intact while giving it weight and movement. To me, it feels like the ultimate road trip song. Raw and cinematic. The kind you will blast while driving through wild, beautiful scenery, preferably Irish, but any view will do.”

The song’s lyrics were inspired by that journey, encompassing the landscapes, the talks with strangers along the way, and the clarity that sometimes comes from embracing the unknown.

“The title ‘Kindness’ comes from the fact that we were completely dependent on strangers. Every mile we travelled was given to us. It made the world feel fragile but generous at the same time.”

Alongside Louis, Subterranean Street Society also includes Ivo Johan Schot on bass and choir and Joost Koevoets on drums, percussion, and vocals.

The band recently supported Laura Cox on tour and have a full year ahead with new releases for their fans to enjoy. In the meantime, you can explore more of their music on Spotify, where they currently attract more than 13k monthly listeners.

Subterranean Street Society | Ones To Watch Playlist