Daisy Grenade are a rising bubblegrunge outfit from Brooklyn, helmed by bandmates (and musical theatre artists) Dani Nigro and Keaton Whittaker.
Through a funny series of paths crossing and a fateful production of American Idiot that was shut down because of Covid, Dani met Keaton and they started writing together because, “wouldn’t it be funny if we just started writing pop-punk music?”
That sound turned out to be pretty spectacular – so much so that the duo can call on Pete Wentz as a mentor.
Hailing from Toronto, Amanda Frances is a post-pop artist, songwriter, and videographer – as well as the COO of Sadboy Records, one of Canada’s fastest growing indie labels.
Empowering new single ‘making out with vampires’ came to light after Frances learned what love should, and shouldn’t be – and how to protect her own energy.
As a musical innovator, Frances recently dropped her genesis NFT project with decent.xyz for the upcoming debut EP, entitled ‘attachment theory’.
The Web2/Web3 artist will be dropping a single as well as a mini film music video NFT each month leading up to the release of the EP, which was produced by Juno-nominated producer, Father Bobby Townsend.
Emerging from Philadelphia, multi-disciplinarian James the Seventh is a self-taught musician, singer, songwriter and producer.
With a dark and atmospheric take on alternative pop, this talent crafts songs that showcase refreshingly raw lyrics over emotive melodies.
New single ‘Future Memories’ looks at the artist’s struggles with an eating disorder as a full time ballet dancer in her past – and how these struggles have made her stronger to be optimistic for a brighter future.
Hailing from Toronto are emerging outfit GENTLE. New single ‘Softcore’ is a gorgeously atmospheric and arresting release that showcases this band’s perfected blend of dream-pop and shoegaze.
With the opening line “Called you, I had a panic attack”, the song expands into an explosive arrangement of massive drums and effects-laden guitars.
“’Softcore’ recounts toxic relationships in our lives. The first verse recounts the time I called my girlfriend (at the time) for comfort while having a major panic attack to which her reply was “I’m at a party and need to go”. The song exposes our frustrations with absent partners but when we stay with them and give them more chances, it’s our fault as much as theirs.” – Oliver O’Brien, GENTLE
GENTLE are slated to release a full EP in the coming months, and will go on tour in April and May 2022 – playing shows in Quebec City, Montreal, Guelph, Toronto and Hamilton.
One of the most exciting outfits to emerge from the UK of late, North-East based Gen Z trio The Tyne have a sound that is immediately likeable to most.
Now 17, the band formed at 14 over a love of classic pop-punk and indie. Having inadvertently built a following of over 400k followers on Tik Tok via performances in their parent’s back gardens, they will soon unveil their debut EP to the world.
Produced by Gethin Pearson (Kennyhoopla/ Charli XCX), their energising new single ‘MOVE 2 LA’ is an effortless blend of emo escapism and contemporary pop-punk.
“‘MOVE 2 LA’ was the first song we wrote that we felt represented us as a band so it’ll always be a special one to us. We wrote it in October 2020 and had the verse and pre floating about for ages and we didn’t know what to do with it without a chorus. We were at the edge of giving up on the song until we finally came up with the chorus we have now. The song is about escaping your problems by any means necessary, even if that means leaving home and ending up in another country!”
Taken from the upcoming EP ‘Born On The Internet’, released through Slam Dunk Records on 13th July 2022.
Today marks the debut for NYC-based singer, songwriter and multimedia artist sticktype.
Raised between Potomac and Shanghai, this talent discovered his attraction to music after picking up his sister’s guitar in senior year, and singing covers as an emotional output.
Serving as his first single, ‘HAND ME DOWN’ is a song about a moment in time for a young man’s long and awkward search for self through affairs of the heart.
Emerging from San Diego is promising new talent superflirt. Self described as ‘makin’ music for the indie kids stuck in the 80s’, this artist crafts a sound that is instantly relatable and hugely charming.
“‘Sober’ is an anthem for that sober friend at a party. When I wrote this I was so over people acting like I owed them an explanation for why I didn’t want to drink. There was a long time that I felt isolated because of this and I wanted to explore that feeling.”
Quickly emerging as an international phenomenon, South African singer and songwriter Lloyiso first picked up attention last year, when his debut single ‘Seasons’ tallied over 16 million streams and picked up a ton of buzz along the way.
Emotive new single ‘Speak’ has already gathered hundreds of thousands of streams worldwide in a short number of days, further affirming this talent as a global artist to watch.
Ahead of the summer comes the release of independent pop-R&B artist FIOR’s ‘YOYO’.
This highly infectious track showcases a sleek fusion of disco and pop, and was produced by the legendary Scott Storch.
“These last two years have been so crazy but I feel like summer is now officially back and I’m going to make this one a year to remember! Anyone that’s not coming with good vibes, you’re on your own! #YOYO”
One of the most impressive indie releases of the month comes from emerging Norwegian artist Hannah Storm.
Once that first chorus kicks in on her powerful new single ‘House of Cards’, you’ll find it hard to not have this song on repeat all day. This fusion of indie and pop-rock is some of the finest you’ll experience from Scandinavia right now.
“As long as I can keep making lots of music and live the life I am living now, it will be the best I could have imagined.”
Mads Koch is already an established artist and songwriter within the Danish music scene, having worked with the likes of Mø, Jada and Goss.
While noted for his collaborations with international pop artists, new single ‘The Lake’ sees Koch in a more intimate, almost ethereal setting. Served in an indie-folk style of sound, the track serves as a thought-provoking observation on life and death.
“I think a lot of us can gain a richer and more beautiful existence by practicing an openhearted approach to the transience of life. Not that we necessarily need to dwell on anxious contemplations about death but in away where we can get through this fear by surrendering to it. This is why ‘The Lake’ is a declaration of love to the little, quiet and seemingly uneventful situations, that our days and lives actually is made of.”
The song is released alongside Koch’s debut album ‘Fingers’, of which he says:
“‘Fingers’ is a declaration of love to the acoustic and clean sounds of instruments in an orchestral setting.The songs find themselves in a field between hope, calm and gloominess, while the lyrics reflects the thoughts that takes up a lot of space inside me.”
One of Germany’s most exciting electro-pop artists to emerge of late, Piper 57 returns today with another captivatingly dark release through her new single ‘Bullies For Breakfast’.
The track sees Piper 57 facing the ghosts of her past, while also confronting the role of the victim by becoming the perpetrator. Piper’s striking style shows how trauma turns into violence.
“Every experience on the outside goes along with something internal. And I share these experiences with my fans.”
Rising talent Hanwell is a UK-based singer, songwriter and producer who crafts indie sounds directly out of his own bedroom.
“I Won’t Let You Down” is a chaotic and upbeat take on indie rock, infusing crunchy rock with energetic hip hop drum machines. The initial sample sounds like the voices in your head overthinking all your decisions; and this perfectly sets up the chaos that pervades throughout the song:
“Right now loads of my mates are going through it and just sinking under all the pressure in their lives and this song is really just to say to them, and anyone else who hears it, that it’s going to be alright in the end. I think people need to know that there’s someone there who’s like ‘I know how you feel, man.’ But know that it won’t last forever.”
A gorgeously melodic fusion of soul and R&B from emerging Nashville-based singer-songwriter Taylor Dukes.
New single ‘The Ocean and You’ sees Dukes using her smooth and emotive vocals to present pensive and emotive lyrics, as the song flows with an essence of melancholy.
“This song is about loss – and comparing that to the ebb and flow of the ocean.”
Hailing from New York is multi-talented artist Rainlights, who impressively is not only a singer & songwriter but also producer and engineer.
Her stunning debut single ‘When My Phone Dies’ was self-written, produced and mixed. The dreamy track fuses elements of pop and folk, and is all about the feeling of being alone with no access to distractions.
“My favourite songs are the kind that take you away for a moment, wherever you are. That’s the kind of feeling I try to capture with my own work – when your chest is warm and your soul exhales. Whenever I am unsure of where I belong, sound is my solace, and I would like to share that.”
Already picking up support from the likes of BBC Introducing and Fashionably Early, emerging artist katie phelan could well be one of Ireland’s newest indie-pop faces to look out for.
With its warm acoustic guitar tones and charming lo-fi samples, new single ‘Duvet Day’ is brimming with cosy soundscapes and beautifully delicate vocals.
Joshua Idehen constructs a style of music that perfectly blends elements of jazz, indie and electronica into a sound that is both captivating and invigorating to experience.
With an infectious beat and captivating lyricism, debut single ‘Don’t You Give Up On Me’ is both energising and moving in equal measures.
London-based, jazz-soul artist Judi Jackson’s work can only be defined by one word – sublime. This is a sound that is finessed, timeless, and frankly outstanding.
Songs like ‘River’ showcase beautifully constructed melodies that set the scene for Jackson’s almighty vocals to transport you to a whole other world, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for this emerging starlet.
I’m so excited to be welcoming this hugely promising new talent to the Alfitude pages. Natasha Hunt Lee is a rapidly rising Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter, who is currently crafting some of the finest, rawest and most captivating pieces of pop you could imagine.
Latest single “New Things” was co-produced by platinum certified artist Jeremy Zucker and artist-producer Max Hershenow (MS MR, Ryn Weaver, Claud).
“‘New Things’ is about the way somebody can embed themselves into your life so much so that a physical ending doesn’t really affect their existence within it. I think a lot of people recognise the suffocating nature of constantly being reminded of someone, remembering them through all the things that you shared. And the more important someone is to you, the more of those things you have to either avoid, redefine, or accept. Does that make sense? Maybe that’s overthinking it. Ok so, ‘New Things’ is about getting your heart broken and how f*king shitty it feels.”
“We really wanted to emulate the spectrum of emotion within all of that. The sadness, defeat, hope here and there, and also a sense of overwhelming anger.”
