London-born singer and songwriter Lila Drew is back with a captivating modern pop bop in the form of new single ‘2023’.
The song was born out of the “frustration that comes with feeling like you’ll never change – that the things that you hate that you do will continuously be repeated throughout your life, and that fear will always get in the way.”
Manchester-based singer-songwriter Tyrer returns with the sensational ‘Sirens’. This soul-drenched, romance-infused ballad is a beautifully finessed piece of music that was produced by Nicholas French and co-written by Tyrer and Cameron Bloomfield.
One of my favourite outfits to emerge from London this year, kid apollo are back with a gorgeously introspective and moving song.
‘lose yourself.’ is an absorbing slice of lo-fi R&B that provides a stark insight into life in the English capital as a teenager.
“I wrote ‘lose yourself.’ to get across how I really felt when being consumed by the city, in both good and bad ways. I talk about how I often found myself using things that London offered to distract me from people and situations that I’ve had to leave in the past – ‘Replace it, No drama’.” – Jimmy HM, kid apollo
Debut EP ‘all i think about’ is out on the 10th November 2021.
Starting the week off with Utrecht quartet Banji’s bouncy new release, ‘Chills’. Catchy, soulful and relatable, this is one track that is guaranteed to make a connection with a lot of listeners.
“’Chills’ is about being in a rut. That feeling of how everything around you goes too fast to keep up with. It’s something everybody struggles with now and then, looking for grip. But when you can’t find that, you tend to give up and it feels like you’re stuck. Sometimes I get really tied up with myself, and it feels like my brain can’t really process what I’m trying to deal with. Being okay with that, acknowledging it, and taking a step back has helped me a lot.” – Morris Brandt, Banji
Be sure to catch the guys on their European tour:
New York songstress ilham is back with a stunning slice of R&B. ‘gang signs’ is a song with a message, delivered in the most sleek and finessed way imaginable.
UK rap artist Jeshi returns with another phenomenal release in the form of new single ‘Hit By A Train’.
As with previous songs from this talent, the track contains vivid and captivating lyricism delivered over an impressively constructed production.
One of Sweden’s most interesting hyperpop talents of late, Namasenda releases a track with a very familiar sample that is sure to stick in your head all day.
In equal measures, ‘No Regrets’ is both fun and future-forward, further solidifying this artist as one of the most exciting to emerge from Scandinavia in quite some time.
Brooklyn-based starlet Chloe Lilac returns today with the beautifully raw ’19’. This pop-rock song is an acutely aware scrutiny of the alarming state of the world today.
“I wrote ’19’ about how scary everything’s gotten in the last two years. I really sat and thought about the state of the world and how weird and out of control everything’s become since the pandemic. I want to stress how grateful I am for my physical health and my family’s health, I’ve been very blessed throughout the pandemic thus far. There’s just so much loss that’s been happening and still happening. It’s really intense, especially being witness to all the tragedy at what seems like the beginning of my adult life.”
The track is the latest to be taken from Chloe’s upcoming mixtape, which is due out on 19th November 2021.
With over five million collective streams to date, it’s safe to say that The Landing has come to grow a vast and loyal fanbase over the years.
Today he returns with a cosmic slice of indie and funk in the form of new single ‘No Such Thing as Normal’. With it’s infectiously catchy melody, this track is sure to win The Landing a whole new legion of followers.
“I wrote this last Halloween season, at nearly the height of the pandemic, with the intention of turning fear into funk. Using hidden subliminal sounds from some of my favourite horror movies I attempted to brew pop sensibilities with discordant progressions and optimistic lyrics with gothic harmonies.”
Emerging starlet Falana releases her sophomore EP ‘Rising’ today, themed around women’s empowerment.
New single ‘Energy’ is taken from the record, and is a perfected fusion of soul and R&B that continues to cement this Canadian Nigerian singer, songwriter, and producer as one to watch.
“It’s funny how things fall together slowly and then all at once. I feel like I’ve really found my voice. And I think once an artist finds their voice, they become unstoppable. I am really excited about the artist I am becoming, and I never want to stop evolving.”
The Collection return today with a gorgeous blend of indie and alternative pop in the form of new single ‘Get Lost’. This is a song with deeply meaningful lyricism, emotive vocals and a beautifully constructed melody.
“I’ve learned the most about who I am in the times I’ve gotten ‘lost’ from my path and the expectations of others, and given attention and presence to whatever things come up. There have been many times in my life, whether around substance, getting divorced, or coming out, where folks have told me that I’ve, ‘lost my way’ ’and they hope that I will, ‘find my way back.’ So the song is really about that experience of those interactions – a kind of response for anyone who’s ever been scolded for discovering their own expression.” – David Wimbish, The Collection
I’ve lost count of the number of times that I have featured Devan at this point. This Canadian singer-songwriter is crafting some of the sweetest indie bops to emerge from the country, and new single ‘Orchid’ is no exception.
Taken from her ‘Liquid Sunshine’ EP, the song is all about feeling under-appreciated in a relationship. Orchids are naturally resilient flowers that are low maintenance; they die and grow back with little care. Devan ponders if that’s why a lot of people have them – they sit there and look pretty yet you don’t need to show them much love.
An immensely powerful blend of indie, pop and alternative rock from London outfit Arliston. This is experimental music at it’s finest; captivating listeners both mentally and emotionally through powerful lyrics and moving melodies.
“Before ‘Centre’ we’d never worked with another producer; having to explain ourselves had an unexpected effect on what came out. The identity of the ‘Centre’ is still very much ‘Arliston’ at its core, but the fresh approach and bold textures took the project to an entirely new place that we were surprised and delighted to arrive at. ‘Centre’ is a song about getting your priorities wrong and subsequently having to sacrifice something precious”.
Arliston have already gained support from the likes of Clash Magazine, Wonderland, The 405 and KaltBlut, as well as editorial Spotify support.
A sublimely dreamy and haunting fusion of alt-R&B and pop from Atlanta-based singer-songwriter TARYN.
New single ‘Edgehill’ continues to showcase this artist’s immense talent through it’s finessed production and captivating lyricism.
“‘Edgehill’ is the feeling that ensues when you realise lust is a more influential emotion than love.”
One of West London’s finest (and from the same neighbourhood as yours truly), Finn Foxell blends soulful dance music with his distinctive vocals in creating new single ‘Slow Kisses’. Produced by P-rallel, this song is impossible not to make some kind of connection with.
Taken from the upcoming EP ‘Alright Sunshine’ which drops on 20th October 2021.
New York City multimedia artist and songwriter Isa Reyes releases her exquisite new EP today, and with it comes intimate new single ‘Bels’. The song sees Isa attempting to make peace with her childhood through a beautiful blend of sultry alt-R&B and dream pop.
Speaking about the inspiration behind the EP (which is also called ‘BELS’), she says:
“Thematically, ‘BELS’ takes you on a journey of vulnerability, nostalgia, love, belonging, grief, depression, heritage, generational trauma, and coming to terms with the past. Each song is like a location and time in my life that I’m reflecting on or paying homage to. It is also an embodiment of processing for me. ‘BELS’ is the culmination of that journey, one that we are all on, one of the processes of self-growth and acceptance. For me, each track is a step into that process.”
Canadian talent Miko returns today with a superb fusion of indie and pop in the form of new single ‘In My Dreams’. The song sees the artist wrestle with the temptation of lust rather than true desire:
“This song’s about internet infatuation. It takes you with me on a date with someone I’ve never met. I wrote this one at the beginning of the pandemic and got to collaborate remotely with producer Julian Cruz and good friend of mine Yuki Dreams Again. It’s the first time I ever heard strings on one of my songs and I’m so happy with the result.”
Based on a real relationship, Argentinian-American vocal dynamo Just Stef reveals her fabulous new disco-infused pop single ‘Liar Liar’.
Initially teasing the track on TikTok over the summer, she set the platform ablaze with over 3 million views and 377k ‘likes’ to date.
Multi-platinum artist 24kGoldn has released new single ‘Prada’, which was produced by Cxdy, Humblebee, Ovrcz, & Taz Taylor, and features Lil Tecca.
A modern day superstar, 24kGoldn has already amassed over 3 billion catalogue streams. His hit ‘Mood’ attained certifications in 28 countries worldwide while also breaking the pop radio record for most spins in a 7-day period, and topping the Billboard Hot 100 at #1 for 8 weeks. The track also recently received a Titanium award for 1 billion spins at radio.
Arkansas duo joan return with their sixth(!) single of 2021. And true to form, ‘so done’ is another infectiously catchy pop bop that is sure to be played on loop for a good while.
“Growing up we always heard artists say things like ‘we wrote this song in 20 minutes’ and always thought it was a bit dramatic because it just doesn’t really happen like that. But listen, we basically wrote this song in 20 minutes. This song actually was the counterpart to ‘so good’, which became the two songs that jumpstarted the thought to create a double EP called ‘hi’ and ‘bye’ based around the start and ending of a relationship.”
‘hi’ and ‘bye’ are due for release this December via Photo Finish Records, while ‘hi’ lands a month earlier.
