Category: New Music

New Music: ESSIRAY

Irish music has really excelled over the last two years, and today’s introduction of ESSIRAY continues to showcase the amazing talent that is still emerging from this small but hugely creative nation.

ESSIRAY is an up-and-coming indie-pop artist who is not only a singer, but also a songwriter and producer. Initially debuting back in April last year, this starlet has gone on to release a handful of well-received singles, with ‘Mr Perfect’ being her latest.

The song was inspired by ESSIRAY’s own experiences and feelings while trying to navigate a world that is still male-dominated.

“‘Mr Perfect’ isn’t about one person or one situation, for me it’s about a combination of emotions I’ve felt though out my early 20s navigating my love life. As a young women in this male dominated society it can often feel that we’re being told how to act and how to present ourselves, trying to live up to this societal standard created by men.”

“This track also has a lighthearted undertone of coming out of a relationship and those rose tinted glasses have come off and you’re just feeling happy in yourself.”

With praise from prominent Irish outlets like Nialler9, Golden Plec and HotPress, ESSIRAY is one talent to watch for this year.

ESSIRAY

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New Music: Lip Filler

Photo / Holly Whitaker

Hailing from Shepherd’s Bush is 5-piece indie outfit Lip Filler, who have just unveiled their new single, ‘Haircut’.

The track serves as the group’s first release with prominent label Chess Club Records (home to Alfie Templeman and Phoebe Green), and treats listeners to an energising mix of indie, rock and alternative pop.

“‘Haircut’ is about adapting to a metropolitan lifestyle and constantly being over-stimulated and confronted by technology. We all moved to London at a weird and unwelcoming time, so we feel these lyrics resemble the headspace we approached after moving to the city.” 

Accompanying the song is a music video (co-directed by the band themselves), which features scenes from their original hometown of Frome, as well as their new life in London.

“The ‘Haircut’ video was a frantic project that we managed to nail down in pretty much five consecutive days. The concept of the video was one that we’d had brewing for a little while and (being the case with most of our ideas) it took a while to refine and logically plan out. For our first video – we wanted to ensure we captured who we all are as people and more importantly as a band. We did this by splitting the video so that some of the scenes were shot in our hometown and the rest were shot in our kitchen. It was great fun. The two separate locations correlate to the themes of the song about moving from the country and adjusting to the city lifestyle.”

Lip Filler

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New Music: David Saint Val

As far as emerging R&B talent goes, you won’t find many new artists that are showcasing a level of skill as finessed as David Saint Val.

Lyrically raw and candid, ‘I’m Not That Guy’ delivers to listeners a beautifully dreamy piece of music that feels timeless and elegant in its sound.

With more than 90k monthly Spotify listeners and over a million catalogue streams, it’s safe to say that Saint Val is one name to watch for in 2023.

David Saint Val

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New Music: brookelen

Newcomer brookelen might just be our favourite bedroom-pop discovery of the week.

Hailing from Los Angeles, this enormously promising talent creates a beautifully delicate sound that fuses acoustic pop with dreamy indie, resulting in a sound that feels sincere and emotive in tone.

‘Seeker’ is brookelen’s first ever release, and is taken from her upcoming ‘Time to Go’ EP. Elaborating further on the song’s meaning, brookelen remarks:

“Writing ‘Seeker’ was a form of healing from heart-ache, loneliness, and loss. The song translates into a soothing yet desperate plea for self-growth and inspires listeners to lean into the beauty of solitude while confronting introspection.“

brookelen will perform in LA as part of MakeOutMusic on the 11th February – tickets can be found here.

brookelen

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New Music: ggwendolyn

Track of the week. The occasions when you press play on a song and get hooked within seconds are few and far between, but fortunately ggwendolyn has come up with a gem that has had us addicted all weekend.

While the lyrics touch on the emotional and mental struggles that we suffer internally, the production presents listeners with an eccentric indie-pop sound which results in a perfect sonic juxtaposition.

“I hope you love this chaotic mess of a song. I hold it very near and dear to my heart. Depression is an incredibly heavy weight to carry and sometimes getting out of bed is the biggest thing to accomplish. Here’s to climbing the mountain in your room or asking for help if you can’t see the top quite yet.”

If you’ve fallen in love with this artist as much as we have, then be sure to give her equally impressive debut single ‘orion’ a spin here.

ggwendolyn

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New Music: good and you

If you’re looking to start your Sunday with some deluxe electronic sounds then we’ve got the perfect track for you.

‘give my all to you’ comes from brand new Australian duo good and you (aka Jordan Collyer and Matthew Price), and treats listeners to a refined and beautifully melodic style of electronica that is both finessed and sleek in character.

With such an impressive debut, we can’t wait to hear what this promising duo will release next.

good and you

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New Music: Yaro Mila

Hailing from Amsterdam is avant-garde musician Yaro Mila, who creates a uniquely distinct style of pop that has to be heard!

To us, ‘cry baby’ seems to incorporate elements of 90’s-inspired R&B with electronica, punk and hyperpop, resulting in a sound that feels conceptual and bold, but still maintains mainstream appeal.

While still a newcomer, we definitely see a lot of potential for this Dutch newcomer. Keep an eye on this kid!

On a side note, if you love ‘cry baby’ then you’ll most likely also enjoy the ‘sped up’ version, which can be found here.

Yaro Mila

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New Music: Darcy Fox

We are launching into the weekend with a beautiful new song from emerging Melbourne artist Darcy Fox.

An anthem for the broken-hearted, ‘Your Best’ perfectly balances hints of indie, rock and pop with folk.

On the track, listeners can experience Fox’s heartfelt vocals presenting raw and sincere lyrics over a production that feels fragile and emotive in tone.

“This folk-pop break up track about bittersweet acceptance is universally relatable.”

Inspired by the likes of Taylor Swift, Maggie Rogers and Phoebe Bridgers, Fox has been performing and building a loyal legion of followers since the age of 15. An upcoming album (which was crowdfunded by Fox’s fans) is scheduled for release this year.

Darcy Fox

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New Music: Faith Angeles

An exciting talent to emerge from the States this week has been Faith Angeles, who has just released a new collaborative single with Californian artist BEST DAD.

Refreshingly authentic and gritty in tone, ‘AS IF’ presents listeners with an anthemic fusion of alternative rock and fuzzy indie-pop. Elaborating further on the creation of the song, Faith Angeles explains:

“It’s amazing what two different artists can pull out of each other. Together we created something that neither of us would have made on our own. That’s the power of collaboration.”

While this is still only Faith Angeles’s third release to date, the track showcases a young artist with tremendous prospects. Keep an eye on this one!

Faith Angeles | BEST DAD

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New Music: Charli Lucas

Hailing from Sydney is singer and songwriter Charli Lucas. Inspired by her own real-life events and experiences, Lucas creates lyrically relatable songs that carry with them impressive alt-pop productions.

New single ‘MARZ’ reflects upon the inquisitive urges that drive us to explore the new and unknown.

“The track is about wanting to leave the place you’re in both physically and mentally to explore a new world.”

With support from the likes of triple j, Dummy Mag and Kings of A&R already under belt, Lucas might well be one of Australia’s most exciting newcomers – and is most certainly a name to keep on your radars.

Charli Lucas

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New Music: Kid Culture

Within the music industry, Kid Culture is already known as a GRAMMY-nominated producer and songwriter who has worked alongside the likes of Justin Bieber and Eminem.

‘KEEP IT’ serves as a taster to Kid Culture’s standalone work, and is a sublime piece of nostalgia-tinged soul, synth, alternative R&B and rap.

This is a sound that feels timelessly classic yet future-forward and experimental at the same time, and showcases a musician who will most certainly hit the global music mainstream very soon.

Kid Culture

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New Music: Tomas

You can thank Spotify’s algorithm for this one… Tomas is a new artist that we’ve just come across that has really picked up our interest.

There’s not much yet known about this talent, so we don’t have a lot to say about who he actually is, but ‘bossanova’ is just too good not to share with you.

While still in his teens, Tomas creates a charming blend of indie and pop that feels both playful and melancholic in equal measures.

With only a handful of releases to date, this kid has already managed to pick up more than 50k streams. Keep an eye out on this one!

Tomas

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New Music: Cole LC

Photo / Camera Papi

Showcasing some of the finest in emerging British Gen-Z talent is Leeds artist Cole LC, who has just released a new single called ‘(Most) Humans Are *icks’.

By blending elements of pop with R&B, UK garage and rap, Cole LC creates sounds that feel both fresh and nostalgic in equal measures.

Produced by frequent collaborator Motion, ‘(Most) Humans Are *icks’ marks an important milestone for this rising talent, who has been busking and sharing his work on social media from an early age.

“It’s a reminder to stop trying to please everyone because not everyone is going to like you and your not going to like them but at the end of the day your stuck with yourself so do right by you, you’re the most important.”

To date, Cole LC has performed at prominent UK festivals like Reading, Leeds and Parklife, while also receiving support from the likes of BBC Radio 1 and 1 Xtra, GRM Daily and SBTV.

Cole LC

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New Music: beamco

Hailing from Canada is genre-bending newcomer beamco, who has already become one of our favourite discoveries this week.

Through a unique style of music-making, beamco constructs atmospheric sounds that fuse elements of emo with alternative R&B and rap.

Lifted from his freshly-released EP ‘its just a scratch’ (out now), new single ‘whatever you got’ feels sonically sparse and stripped-back, yet still maintains a deeply emotive essence.

“This song (and album) is about the period of time after returning to everyday life after I had a bout with cancer in 2021. I had come to a lot of life changing epiphanies in the hospital but found them all fading away fast when I returned to life. I realised I still had all the same demons I had struggled with in the past. This realisation ignited the writing of this project and this song. Collaborating with my brother in Ontario we created this track and I’m really proud of it!”

beamco

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New Music: Viddy

We’re only one month into 2023 and it’s already shaping up to be a spectacular year for new music talent.

Today’s introduction of UK artist Viddy will be yet another name to watch for. This Bedfordshire-based starlet is currently creating some of the most dazzling blends of dreamy indie and alternative pop, resulting in sounds that feel finessed and almost timeless in style.

Melodic new single ‘Weekend Girlfriend’ serves as ‘chapter 3’ from forthcoming EP ‘girlfriend experience’ (out soon). Alongside the release of the song, Viddy has also just unveiled a music video, of which she says:

“As well as having a bit more fun, we thought we’d glamorise the things I did when waiting around for a guy to text me back (obviously we don’t let men have this power over us anymore). But for me that would include, playing with my band, hanging out with dogs, crying puddles of water in my room and dressing up nice in hope I encourage him to throw his emotional dice.”

To date, Viddy has picked up support from outlets as noted as BBC Introducing and Amazing Radio, while also landing a placement on Spotify’s flagship New Music Friday playlist.

Viddy

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Upcoming UK shows

  • 2nd February – Black Prince, Northampton
  • 10th February – Colours, London
  • 10th March – Roadtrip & Workshop, EP Launch Party and debut headline London show

New Music: Antony Szmierek

Track of the week. As a genre, spoken word has struggled to maintain interest within the commerical music world. Maybe that is, until now…

Antony Szmierek is a hotly-tipped rising newcomer who seamlessly fuses thoughtful, observant and poetic lyricism with dance, hip hop and pop sounds. On new single ‘Rock and a Calm Place’, Szmierek simply states:

“I hope this goes some way to curing those January blues.”

Hailed by outlets as prominent as BBC Radio 1 and 6 Music, The Line of Best Fit and Notion Magazine, Szmierek is a name to watch for in 2023.

Antony Szmierek

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New Music: Chipped Nail Polish

Portland-based artist Chipped Nail Polish (aka Jill Sullivan) might just be one of Oregon’s most interesting musicians to emerge in recent times.

By fusing a multitude of sounds (varying from the humble ukulele right through to surf punk, pop and indie-rock), Chipped Nail Polish creates songs that are refreshingly unpredictable while still being easy to form connections with.

Relatable new single ‘Shakin’ in Yer Boots’ is lifted from their freshly-released ‘Bottom Feeder’ EP (out now), and is lyrically inspired by the fact that none of us really know where life will take us.

“Ukulele doo-wop meets punk rock in this song that is about having no idea what I’m doing with my life.”

Chipped Nail Polish

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New Music: ryn

Emerging from Los Angeles is exciting indie-pop talent ryn, who has just unveiled a fantastically bold new single.

Written as an anthem for self-empowerment, ‘ur feelings’ inspires listeners to accept themselves for who they are, no matter what people say or think.

“I wrote this song about how it feels when people tell you to change, to be quiet, less bossy, etc. As I share in this alt indie pop anthem, I was always the ‘loud kid’ so I was regularly told to be something I wasn’t. For a while I tried to change and adapt to who they wanted me to be. The modulated vocal double we hear prominently in the pre-chorus represents the dark voice in my head telling me I can never be what they want. Now, I’ve learned to love the loud, bossy side of me.”

As an artist on the rise, ryn currently commands an ever-growing army of loyal fans all across social media, while their catalogue of releases has so far amassed well over 100k streams to date.

ryn

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New Music: Paddy Keyes

Showcasing Ireland’s next generation of pop talent is Sligo-based artist Paddy Keyes, who has just released a brand new single entitled ‘Best Friend’.

Written from the viewpoint of someone who begins to fall in love with their best friend, the song’s clever lyricism and polished production makes this one of the strongest pop releases of the weekend.

“The song tells a story of accidentally falling in love with your best friend. This person is stuck inside your head, just like the hook to this song, from the memorable melodies to the exciting guitar playing, and everything in between.”

To date, Keyes has released only two other singles on Spotify – each amassing more than 100k streams. As a talent on the rise, Keyes currently commands close to 50k monthly listeners on the platform, while his music has been featured on prominent playlists like New Music Friday UK and New Pop UK.

Paddy Keyes

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New Music: Retrograde88

Before pressing play on Retrograde88, the band suggest (as do we) that you plug in some headphones so you can enjoy the dreamy bliss that is ‘Falling’ in its full glory.

A truly luxurious audible experience, the song presents listeners with an atmospheric soundscape that incorporates psychedelic indie-pop with airy vocals, resulting in a piece of music that really is out of this world.

“This song, ‘Falling’ explores the emotion/ experience being scared of falling in love. We give this experience to the listener by creating an atmospheric environment with heavy emphasis on the vocal harmonies, synth presence, and heavy groove from bass/ drums. This is the first song we wrote and recorded together, but definitely not the last!”

Created as a collaborative project between a group of talented musicians, each member of Boston-based Retrograde88 took part in the writing and arranging process for ‘Falling’.

Retrograde88

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