Zaia continues to surprise with these bold releases. This time we’ve got a blend of hip hop and synth to obsess over.
Zaia – INNERSTATE
Category: Listen
Lola Young – Renaissance (EP)
“Renaissance is about rebirth, and so is this EP. It’s about learning through love and experience. Renaissance looks at my relationships, and the ideas of lust, love, loss and growth.”
Rayowa – The Only Night
‘The Only Night’ is about not wanting to work a 9-5 and so escaping that through having a mad night out. It’s about that feeling you get when you’re at the peak of the night and you never want it to end.”
noelle – Shades of Blue
SKAAR – Quiet
New Music: Efraim Leo
Polished beats, infectious hooks and a crystal-smooth vocal… Another week, another stellar Swedish talent emerges!
Taken from the forthcoming EP ‘Timing’.
Thundercat – I Love Louis Cole
Moyka – Spaces
SG Lewis – Chemicals
“It’s about feeling helpless knowing the control that person has over you, but knowing that deep down you love that fact.”
Axel Boman – Eyes Of My Mind
ELIO – Body Language
One of the nicer surprises to come out of 2020 has been ELIO and her irreverent take on modern life. This track is all about long distance relationships and the struggles in communicating through calls and texts.
“There’ll be times where one of us makes a joke that’ll land in person but because we can’t see the emotion that’s behind it, it gets misinterpreted to be something it’s not over text. That, along with just generally being separated by time and space, I think, can be a massive strain on a relationship and it takes a lot of energy and emotion to figure out. ‘Body Language’ is me assessing that and trying to understand it….over a four to the floor dance track.”
AMWIN – Where Do Lonely Feelings Go?
“Where do feelings go when they don’t belong? When they’re not invited or when they are left out? When you push them away? I guess I’m still looking for the answer, but I don’t think you get rid of emotions just by trying not to feel them and I hope I haven’t ever made my feelings feel lonely by not recognising them. I guess this is a song to all the feelings that ever felt left out and made us feel left without within. Where do lonely feelings go?”
Martin Kohlstedt + ÄTNA – KSYCHA
An intense yet minimal blend of instrumental electro pop and synth is created from the combination of ÄTNA’s eclectic style and the experimental flair of pianist Martin Kohlstedt.
Michael Rice – Think Of Me
A powerful electro pop release from Michael Rice, inspired by the passing away of his father a year ago. It shows a fine balance between heartfelt lyrics and a big beat.
Pastel – Daylight (feat. Ben Kessler)
An infectious fusion of soft disco and neo-soul… So perfect for a chilled sunny afternoon.
“Ben was studying in London and we got in touch through a mutual friend in Camden, from Nashville. It started more like a jam at the beginning – I was playing a few chords, Ben came up with the solos behind and then I found the guitar lead. We actually sang the song that day and finished the instrumental later in the week by adding some more layers and some choir vocals to lift the harmonies. It really was a case of spontaneity fuelling creativity!”
Aron Blom – Water
Coming from the same incredible Swedish label behind Molly Hammar and Frida Sundemo, songwriter Aron Blom returns today with his third solo release, ‘Water’.
It’s a song with a theme common to most of us, being that awkward time in a relationship when two people start to realise each other’s flaws. Delivered with a subtle sense of intensity and anxiety, this is Swedish power-pop at it’s finest.
“I’ve heard that there’s a second wind to every relationship, about a year and a half into it, when the infatuation settles and we start to see each other in all our flaws and imperfections. It’s about assessing the situation and, by doing that, then understanding that we’ve truly and madly fallen for the other person. Most of us did just fine before that other person ambled into our lives. But still somehow every atom in our body suddenly craves that other person to the point of it becoming an absolute necessity. To the point of it becoming water.”
joan – love me better
This is just pure joy… Bubblegum vibes with 80’s, 90’s and 00’s styles all blended in to make up a very good pop track.
Tomine Harket – About You
Azekel – Crescent Moons
“A very visceral track, we just pressed record and however I was feeling, we kept.”
Taken from the upcoming EP, ‘Azekel Unreleased’ which is released 7th May via Thunderlightning Records.
Eades – Same Guy
Another handsome release from Eades, encapsulating a sound that casually flirts with 90’s indie pop.
“Its essentially a coming of age tune about realising eventually we’re all going to grow old, becoming either our parents or the oldies we might think are ‘uncool’ growing up and accepting we are all just part of the cycle.”