Track of the week. While this is the first time that we’ve featured Californian outfit Asiatica, this four-piece have been crafting sounds in different shapes and forms since 2017.
”Oh Darlin” is lifted from the group’s new ‘When We Were’ EP (listen here), and is simply sublime to experience.
With elements of mellow soul, pop and indie, the track feels smooth and timeless, while still maintaining a sense of charm and relatability.
It’s been a big week for Sudanese-American artist Dua Saleh. Not only are they back on our screens as part of Netflix series Sex Education, but they have also just released a stunning new single called ‘daylight falls’.
As we’ve come to expect from this future-forward talent, the song pushes sonic boundaries in unexpected ways, and showcases a new edge to the singer-songwriter’s style sound.
“I was thinking about a point when I was at my lowest, and being a friend for kids who might be feeling the same, at the brink of it, especially with all that’s going on with trans and abortion legislation. Everyone’s going through it.”
Saleh’s work has been praised by iconic outlets like The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Complex, Nylon, Billboard and PAPER magazine. Impressively, the artist’s work has amassed more than 81 million streams to date.
Kenyan newcomer IkeN is one of the reasons why we enjoy new-music discovery so much.
At only 19-years of age, this talented musician is already crafting some of the most captivating R&B sounds to come out of Africa in quite some time.
New single ‘Miss Me’ treats listeners to a sublime production that is dreamy, mellow and utterly mesmerising to experience.
“‘Miss Me’ is a soul-stirring ballad exploring the intricacies of a two-sided love that ultimately fades away.”
The song is lifted from the artist’s upcoming ‘Galatea’ album, which is out soon. In the meantime, you can check out more of IkeN’s music here.
🎵 Discover more new music on the Ones To Watch Playlist
Canadian singer, songwriter and artist Becca Tg has teamed up with acclaimed producer Lowgo on her new single, ‘Just My Type’.
From the moment you press play, you’ll experience a blissful fusion of dance, pop and R&B. This is a song that uplifting and joyful in tone, and serves as the perfect anthem for the weekend ahead.
“Prepare to embark on a musical journey that celebrates love, rhythm, and the art of dance.”
Hailing from Montreal, Becca Tg is an emerging artist who is already building solid traction across the globe, and frequently garners more than 40k streams per release on Spotify alone. One to watch!
Her friends might call her the ‘queen of the sad song’, but emerging Nashville starlet Eliza Harrison Smith has just unveiled one of the sweetest songs that we’ve come across all week.
‘Back Of My Mind’ was produced by fellow Nashville musician Tyler Skye, and treats listeners to a shimmering mix of indie, pop and soft rock.
“It’s a nostalgic, breezy, upbeat indie-pop song, perfect for the end of the summer.”
Impressively, Eliza’s songs have so far amassed more than 200k cumulative streams – with momentum continuing to rise for this hugely promising artist upon each release.
One of the catchiest songs released today comes courtesy of synth-rock outfit Death Valley Dreams, and their new Brandon Yeagley collaboration, ‘Leave Me Alone’.
Aside from its refreshingly bold and energising style of production, this song’s anthemic melody is certain to stick in your minds all day. Explaining the track’s creation, vocalist Nick Coyle says:
“Originally we had a certain a singer with a higher voice of a well know band from the UK in mind for this song. When that ended up falling through, I thought who do I know whose voice would fit what we were hearing? Instantly I thought of my old friend Brandon Yeagley of Crobot. I called him up and he came down to my home studio and absolutely killed it.”
Having already found its way onto editorial Apple Music playlists, it seems likely that this will be one of the most prominent rock releases of the weekend – and we’re not surprised!
Scottish outfit Cloud House are back with an emotional new single called ‘Don’t Wanna Talk’.
The song contrasts a rousing production and anthemic melody with vulnerable and honest lyrics, resulting a track that is not only bold and energising, but also moving and sincere.
“This song is inspired by a journey I used to take as a young boy. My mum was ill throughout my childhood and I cared for her since I was old enough to remember. I always felt like I had the weight of the world on my shoulders as it was just Mum and I on our own. I used to put on a brave face for her but deep down it was a struggle for me. I wanted to be a kid. I wanted her to get better. I used to get the bus home and go past my stop as I didn’t want to go home quite just yet. I would go through phases of being okay and just getting on with it.” Conor McCarry – Lead Vocals, Guitar
Cloud House will embark on a short tour from the 29th September, and release their next EP, ‘Still Here’, on the 1st November. To date, the group have accumulated more than 100k Spotify streams, and received support from outlets as iconic as Clash Magazine.
Tour Dates 2023:
Hailing from Seattle is I Wish I Was A Punk Band (aka Phil Hamilton), who has just unveiled a refreshingly unique new single called ‘Ash’.
By blending elements of dreamy indie with alternative pop, the track showcases a style of sound that is distinctly original in character. Elaborating on the song’s intriguing title, Hamilton says:
“In the height of the pandemic, summer of 2020, Seattle was hit with it’s worst wildfire smoke of my adult life. For 4 days, the air quality was so bad that I wasn’t able to spend time outside for any extended periods, and the sense of the world getting smaller and more isolated kept growing. All while feeling cabin fever, social media was full of people posting pictures of beautiful sunsets caused by these wildfires. This song is a tongue-in-cheek retort to those posts.”
If this this your first taste of I Wish I Was A Punk Band, then you’ll be pleased to know that Hamilton already released an album back in 2020 called Takeda Bleach – listen here. A new EP is out soon.
🎵 Discover more new music on the Ones To Watch Playlist
Track of the week. Acclaimed Swedish singer-songwriter, producer and artist Dajana has just released one of the most breathtaking singles of the year, and we can’t wait to share it with you.
Written as an ode to life, ‘I Say Yes’ presents listeners with a spellbinding fusion of gospel, soul and hip hop.
The sound is bold, joyful and cinematic, and reminds us of the transformative powers that music possesses. If you have time to play only one song today, make it this one.
‘I Say Yes’ is lifted from Dajana’s inspiring new EP of the same name, which is out now.
We’ve got the perfect song for you to play on this mellow Sunday.
Chinese-American singer and songwriter Emei’s ‘Don’t Know About The World’ is a beautifully dreamy slice of alternative pop that is not only melodically memorable, but also lyrically moving.
“A song about feeling safe and finding solace in that one person (or space or thing). I don’t often write about love, so finding a way to create a sappy authentic love song that still could live on this project was more difficult than you’d think. I wanted this single to be a bit of a left turn from my previous singles. I wanted the song to be a window into my emotional world.”
If you can’t get enough of Emei’s music then you’ll be pleased to know that she’s planning to release two more singles and an EP later this year.
Exciting times for a hugely talented musician who has already amassed more than 50 million career streams to date.
This isn’t the first time we’ve featured US-based artist benten – he was our Track of the Week earlier in the summer.
The emerging musician is back with another impressive new single, called ‘wasting time’. As we’ve come to expect from benten, the track treats us with to effortlessly smooth sound that blends indie with pop in the most charming way imaginable.
With placements on prominent indie playlists like indie dream club and Spotify’s Fresh Finds, it’s so nice to see this promising talent beginning to gain the traction he deserves!
If you’re in the mood for some punchy punk-pop then we’ve got the perfect song for you.
Canadian rockers NOBRO have just unveiled an anthemic new single called ‘Where My Girls At’, and it’s our favourite release from the Montreal-based band so far.
“‘Where My Girls At’ is an upbeat anthem where heartbreak takes a back seat to girl power and rock’n’roll. Instead of wallowing in love’s disappointment you can pick up a guitar and call on your girls. This celebration of sisterhood and female empowerment is a reminder that with friends by our side, anything is possible – even starting a band on a whim.”
As one of Canada’s most prominent rock outfits, NOBRO have played shows with the likes of Blink-182 , PUP, Fidlar and The OBGMs.
The group has also amassed millions of catalogue streams to date, and currently command more than 54k monthly listeners on Spotify alone.
Upcoming LP ‘Set Your Pussy Free’ is out on the 27th October 2023.
Man Alive is the musical project of Irish musician Mark Prendergast. If you know your indie bands then you’ll recognise Mark as a member of acclaimed supergroup Kodaline, who have amassed more than a billion streams to date.
‘What Are The Chances’ is the singer-songwriter and guitarist’s latest release, and serves as a taster to his debut ‘Colours’ EP (out now).
“I’ve always written songs and demoed them for myself, but I’ve never released them because I wasn’t the singer in the band. Then, and I hate to bring it up, but it was a f**king lockdown thing – I broke up with a girl I was dating for a couple of years and then went into lockdown, and ended up writing a tonne of songs that were just so personal. “I never had aspirations to be a singer, ever, but the songs were just too personal to hand over to someone else to sing.”
The track itself treats listeners to a beautifully melodic blend of indie and pop, and marks Prendergast as one of the most gifted indie songwriters to come out of Ireland in quite some time.
Swedish artist Sarah von Reis is no stranger to these pages, so we’re happy to announce see that she’s back today with a stunning new single that deserves your attention.
‘Phenomenon’ is an intimate and seductive piece of music that fuses lo-fi jazz and pop with strings and horns, resulting in a sound that is sultry and entrancing. Elaborating on the song’s lyrics, von Reis says:
“The song is a lesbian declaration of love and the sexiest thing I’ve written so far. I chose to use a bass clarinet because it is the hottest instrument out there. I expect a lot of people – both queers and straights – will make out to it.”
To date, Sarah’s music has garnered support from the likes of respected Swedish broadcaster Fredrik Strage, and has also landed placements across several flagship playlists including Spotify’s New Music Friday.
🎵 Follow the Scandinavia Sound Playlist
Otto Aday is a London-based singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer who has been gaining steady momentum across the UK this year.
New single ‘Hearts’ was co-written by the legendary Dave Stewart, and presents listeners with a timelessly classic piece of cinematic pop-rock that is immediately captivating from the moment you press play.
“If you hold onto your dreams, they won’t break your heart. If you live inside of those dreams, you don’t hurt yourself. You can nurture your dreams and follow them wholeheartedly—whether it be in a relationship or a career. If you fall out of love with the chase and the journey, you’ll break your own heart.”
The track is lifted from artist’s forthcoming ‘Persona’ LP, which is out on 6th October 2023 (pre-save here). In the meantime, you can experience Aday’s previous singles on Spotify here.
French producer and director Draumr (aka Gabriel Cheurfa) is back today with a dreamy slice of synth-pop, called ‘Slowly Burning Feelings’.
Nostalgic yet future-forward in character, the song transports listeners to a sonic universe that is mesmerising yet intriguing to experience. Lyrically, the track addresses the artist’s thoughts on ‘attachment, vulnerability, and the search for connection’.
Draumr is currently enjoying one of his biggest years yet. His last single, ‘In A Daze’ (listen here) managed to accumulate more than 140k cumulative streams across Spotify and YouTube, consequently propelling his work to a whole new audience. Exciting times lie ahead!
🎵 Discover more new music on the Ones To Watch Playlist
We’ve all experienced those unfortunate moments in life when we realise that a relationship is heading to its end. It’s a situation that is often out of our hands, causing us to sometimes feel sad and helpless.
Alexander Wesley’s new single, ‘I KEPT YOUR CLOTHES’ portrays that very situation in a beautifully tender way. For anyone currently nursing a broken heart – this song’s for you.
“It’s a tough spot to be in – to know you’re most likely on the last week of your relationship. Every detail and moment is ever so heightened. It then paved the way for the story of the song.”
Despite only releasing a handful of singles to date, Wesley’s music has already amassed more than 50k cumulative streams on Spotify. The artist’s debut EP is (finally!) out later in the autumn.
Australian indie rockers Highline first appeared on our radars last year, and we’ve been following their journey ever since.
New single ‘Exit A’ is one of our favourite releases from this Sydney-based four-piece, and treats listeners to an emotionally-charged piece of music that is beautifully melancholic and sincere in tone. It really is a spectacular song that deserves to be heard from beginning to end.
The track is lifted from Highline’s forthcoming debut album, which is scheduled for release next year. In the meantime, you can experience more of this hugely promising band’s music on their Spotify right here.
New York-based singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist A Beacon School (aka Patrick J. Smith) unveils a beautifully melodic new single today, called ‘Alone’.
The song presents listeners with a dreamy and mesmerising fusion of shoegaze, pop and alternative rock, and is lyrically inspired by the moments when we feel hopeful and optimistic about life… regardless of the situations that we find ourselves in.
“‘Alone’ is about the moment when you feel like your luck is finally turning. Even though nothing’s been working out, you get the faintest glimmer of hope and grab on to it as tight as you can.”
‘Alone’ was mixed by acclaimed engineer Sonny DiPerri, who is also known for his work with outfits as noted as Trent Reznor, My Bloody Valentine and M83.
Smith’s music currently commands more than 295k monthly listeners on Spotify alone, while his catalogue of releases has so far amassed more than 18 million streams. An upcoming LP, titled ‘yoyo’ it out soon.
One of the most impressive releases of the week comes courtesy of Canadian artist Skye Wallace, whose new single ‘Tough Kid’ is a masterclass in alternative music.
Despite the track’s dark (and almost sinister) style of production, its lyrics encourage us to let go of our fears and inhibitions – so that we can truly feel empowered.
“Before this song came to its full fruition and was still a pile of words and ideas, I had an image of this kid in my head that I was pumping up. That kid represented anyone who needed to hear it, any kid who has been told they aren’t allowed to be who they truly are, that they aren’t good enough – I wanted this song to be a reminder to them that they’ve got a power in them that they might not believe in yet. It was only when we were designing the single artwork, which involved using an old photo of me at ten years old, that I realised I had also been talking to my weird kid self. There’s a power in looking back with pride and care for the kid you were.”
‘Tough Kid’ is Wallace’s first foray into producing, and was co-created alongside collaborator Hawksley Workman.
Having already garnered support from outlets like CBC, Sad Mag and Globe & Mail, we anticipate that Wallace’s ascent to global stardom will be imminent!
