If you’re a fan of Chromeo, Cannons or Tame Impala then you may well love ASHRR’s seductive and groove-driven approach to songwriting and producing.
On new single ‘Bad Reasons’, this LA-based trio showcase a perfected blend of mellow disco and psychedelica, of which they say:
“The song is about the questionable decisions that live in the grey area between right and wrong… when you know better.”
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Hailing from Austria is promising newcomer Yajin. Experimental new single ‘Sanity’ is the first to be taken from his upcoming album, which is inspired by themes of childhood.
The song also features singer and songwriter MINOVA from Dubai, who gives insight into her emotional struggles of feeling lost yet watched at the same time.
Emerging from LA is young artist Sweeney. With a considered and thoughtful approach to music-making that expertly blends elements of indie with electronica and hyperpop, this talent is creating sounds that are refreshingly unique in tone.
‘You’re Not In Love’ depicts the feeling of discovering that someone you have fallen in love with doesn’t feel the same towards you.
Sweeney copes throughout the song, as he struggles to let go of his love interest whilst also accepting the inevitable truth of the situation.
Rising Canadian R&B duo Flõstate construct a sound that feels almost ethereal in tone. Inspired by the likes of Beach House, Galimatias, Tame Impala, Jimi Hendrix, Lana Del Rey, Bon Iver, Enya, Jeff Buckley and Pink Floyd, this outfit craft songs that fuse elements of mellow electronica with dreamy R&B and psychedelic pop.
New single ‘One More Day In Love‘ is a synth-heavy, fluid and nostalgic piece centred on gaining clarity in solitude.
“Alone, with only your memories and regrets, vivid in the night. It can be painful when we finally gain clarity on something from within our memory. It’s so clear, the memory of the feeling, and now too, the understanding of what it meant. It lies plainly in front of us, what it could have meant for our present if we had known. It’s so visceral it opens a door flooding in with fantasies; regrets that paralyse you, eyes wide open in the dark.”
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Oh Bummer! is the musical project of Seattle-born and Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Tanner Houghton.
In collaboration with acclaimed producer The KickDrums (50 Cent, Kid Cudi, Freddie Gibbs), Oh Bummer! displays themes of vulnerability and humility in his music, as can be heard on the nostalgia-tinged soulful new single ‘Going Out of My Mind‘.
“Going Out of My Mind” is the closest thing I made to a ‘quarantine anthem’ during the first few months of the pandemic. The irony is that even before the stay-home mandate, crippling anxiety kept me home anyway. Here’s to everyone who felt stagnant, lonely, and like they were missing out the last couple of years. And here’s to making up for lost time! *clink* This is the second song my producer, The KickDrums, and I ever did together. The original beat I made for ‘Going Out of My Mind’ was acoustic guitar driven, so I was pleasantly surprised when The KickDrums sent back this beautiful sample-based beat.
Emerging from Tampa Bay are production & rap duo They Hate Change. With early support from the likes of Fader, Pigeons & Planes and Rolling Stone, this outfit are already picking up significant momentum thanks to their bold take on the rap genre.
‘Blatant Localism’ spotlights the pair’s verbal teamwork, as they trade lines taking aim at style-deficient hypebeast rappers over a pixelated beat, landing on something like turn-of-the-millennium IDM.
“As the cycle of rap cliches continues, we remain levelheaded. Rather than flexing rented cars and rented jewellery, we’re talking vintage cameras and how we came up selling tapes at DIY shows. Few minor flexes about designer dogs and staple name brand pieces, but it’s a break from the gimmicks and a PSA for those who continue to live a façade; we’re asking for everyone to show what’s really behind the curtain. Blatant Localism is our Skate Punk Jam.”
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UPCOMING SHAME SUPPORT DATES
Already garnering over 300k monthly listeners on Spotify alone, Philadelphia-based Kevin Walkman is an emerging queer, indie-pop & rock artist who’s approach to music includes refreshingly honest lyricism alongside energising and anthemic productions.
New single ‘Burnt Out!’ features dirty drums and passionately anxious vocals, as Walkman sings about the music industry, his love life, and how he finds that everything he’s juggling has him burnt out.
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London trio headboy are by far one of the most exciting indie-rock outfits that I have come across so far this year.
Rapidly garnering a reputation for their energetic shows across the city post-lockdown, this group deliver a sound that feels organic, raw and refreshingly individualistic.
New single ‘Alligator’ is an apathetic take on “regret and the frustration of not being able to hold onto a feeling beyond the moment you feel it in.” – Mars West, headboy
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It’s been a very (very!) long time since the UK unveiled a girl group as finessed as FLO.
Inspired by the likes of Mary J Blige, Aaliyah, Brandy, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey through to H.E.R, Frank Ocean and SZA, this London-based trio seamlessly blend the classic with modern, creating sounds are unique and refreshing yet relatable.
Featuring production from the iconic MNEK, debut single ‘Cardboard Box’ fuses early ’00s R&B with the pop sensibilities, creating a track that is impossible not to feel a connection with.
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Track of the week. Nigerian American, Los Angeles-based songstress Ogi has created one of the most stunning releases of the year with her new single ‘Envy’.
Punchy lyrics glide over a production that seamlessly blends elements of indie and alt-R&B, all-together making for a song that is nothing short of perfection.
“I think of ‘Envy’ to be like a personal love letter to haters in my life. I’m basically telling them that it’s not my fault that you want what I have, don’t be mad at me. I was channeling the same energy Nicki Minaj had when she said, ‘It’s me, I win, you lose!’ on ‘Itty Bitty Piggy.’ I can be a little petty at times and this song gives a little glimpse of that side of me.”
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UGH, THESE TEMPORARY HIGHS TOUR – SNOH AALEGRA W/ SPECIAL GUESTS AMA LOU & OGI
APRIL
MAY
If there’s one song this week that will make you pine for the dance floor, it will be ‘Brooklyn Ballers’ by emerging multi-instrumentalist, producer and vocalist Jitwam.
Expertly constructed, the song serves as an unorthodox compilation of alternative cuts that reverberate a space evocative of Detroit house and dance-influenced basslines.
Spending his time across the cities of New York, London and Sydney, Jitwam crafts music that flirts between an array of genres – from classic disco through to house, jazz and soul.
“’Brooklyn Ballers’ is a homage to the city in all its hustle and bustle. The magic in the air, that can make dreams come true and can turn your fears into your worst nightmares.”
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Upcoming Live Dates
Hailing from America’s West Coast is rising singer, songwriter and producer Ann Oso.
In her music you can find the dichotomy of heartbreak and healing, isolation and inner strength, and empowerment out of the darkness surrounding us.
These are songs that are not only sleek and melodic in tone, but heartfelt and refreshingly sincere.
With beats crafted by LA-based beatmaker Chris “Big Duke” Malloy, new single ‘LOYALTY (STAND BY YOU)‘ is a smooth and emotional track that showcases this talent’s incredibly unique vocals. Oso describes the song as:
“..essentially, an ode for the affirmation of faithfulness toward each other but also the implications of that dignity for the individual self.”
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With over half a million followers on TikTok alone, it seems inevitable that Sterling Hudson will hit the mainstream very soon.
And with good reason; this talent delivers a relatable pop sound that feels refreshingly authentic and immensely catchy.
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Vienna-based multi-instrumentalist & producer Joe Traxler teams up with the equally talented Lukas Oscar on new single ‘Braindead’.
Through an intelligent and thoughtful mix of modern production, live instruments and psychedelic vocal effects, the song details the internal struggles of existing in a society that’s rooted in productivity.
“I do music for the love of it and curiosity to delve deeper into all different aspects of it. I would like to use my privilege of doing music for a living to inspire people and to make them feel something. I personally feel most inspired by artists who don’t follow any recipes for commercial success but pursue their unique creative journey.” – Joe Traxler
Forthcoming debut LP ‘Lifelines’ is set to be released on the 13th of May 2022.
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I’m so excited to introduce to you today one of the most exciting new Irish finds that I have come across this year.
NEVE understands how to make high-calibre pop, crafting sounds that are polished and current while still maintaining a subtle essence of nostalgia. Meanwhile, thoughtful lyricism details life issues from a Gen Z perspective.
“This song was written after a number of conversations with my sisters, and friends where we fell into talking about trust issues etc, and how our trust issues in 2022 don’t even just come from past relationships, but from our friends, from stories on the internet, from how many options everyone has at their fingertips through social media and how many people we all connect with everyday. It’s a vulnerable, honest song that seems quite controversial I think but at the same time Is just quite raw, and brave to admit that actually sometimes we project insecurities from what we have seen others do on to people who haven’t done anything at all yet. The crazy thing about this song is that I wrote it with two men, who were all ears and very accepting of the concept when I came to the session with the chorus lyric haha.”
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Hailing from California, Jack Xander is a multi instrumentalist and seasoned songwriter.
Thanks to an ear for unpredictably catchy music and the fruits of a life of DIY recording, there’s something immediately welcoming about the energy that this talent creates.
Stylistically drawing influences from the likes of Adam Green, The Bee Gees and Kenny Mason, Xander’s new single ‘Doin Fine’ is a fresh take on disco-indie rock that was conceived at Nightbird Studios in Hollywood.
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Rising UK newcomer Stresshead constructs a style of pop that feels both complex and captivating. This artist creates refreshingly original sounds that toe the line between textural electronica, anxiety-infused indie and earworm pop.
‘I Need U’ is a shimmering slice of introspective electro-pop, and the first of several genre-defying pandemic demos taking a lens to the major conflict of the digital age – squaring the endless possibility of the social media landscape with the crushing loneliness of a life lived online.
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Hailing from Cheddar in the UK is aspiring singer-songwriter Jo Hill. If there’s one song to listen to today that has the potential to transport your mind to a totally different world, ‘HONEYMOON’ will be it.
The first thought that crosses your mind when you press play to the song is just how summery and hazy it feels. It’s mesmerising and dreamy in tone, with vocals that glide smoothly over a beautiful melody.
“The song is all about that period in a relationship where you’re doing all these lovely things together (breakfast in bed, buying flowers for one another, lie ins, shower sex) BUT you don’t want to put a label on it… This is what I like to call the ‘honeymoon’ phase. Just like spring, the ‘honeymoon’ phase doesn’t last long but is intensely hopeful, beautiful and a time which people look back on with great nostalgia.”
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Alex and The Alpacas is a 22-year-old Nicaraguan-Norwegian artist and producer, currently crafting some of the most charming blends of indie, rock and lo-fi pop to emerge from Norway.
Produced, written and performed solely by Alex himself, new single ‘Adorable’ is an understated slice of bliss that affirms this Oslo-based talent is one to watch.
“The lyrics of ‘Adorable’ are ironic, and the beat has a video-game-like characteristic. To me this gives the song a feeling of being on top of the world and a sense of carelessness, like on the day you finally get over someone.”
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Today marks the debut for Sydney-based pop-punk artist JSTNXMLLR, who unleashes his anthemic song ‘Fake Fcuk‘ to the world.
“’Fake Fcuk’ is about shadowing your problems from everyone like it’s all a big charade. You can run, but you’re still going to have to come home and face them one day.”
JSTNXMLLR is the new heterogenous project from Justin Miller. With years of experience as a songwriter and performer in ISOTOPES, Miller teamed up with long-time friend and collaborator Stevie Knight to explore a new candid side to his craft.
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