Watch: Little Simz – Woman (feat. Cleo Sol)

Truly, Little Simz has blown me away more than I ever thought possible this year. Hot on the heels the from the release of sensational Introvertcomes another outstanding piece of music.

Sonically and visually ‘Woman’ is just supreme; and with Cleo Sol as a feature, how can this record be anything less than perfection?

Taken from the upcoming album ‘Sometimes I Might Be Introvert’ which is out on the 3rd September 2021.

Little Simz | Cleo Sol

MNDR – Hell To Be You Baby

Co-produced by the legendary Mark Ronson, MNDR releases the fantastically danceable ‘Hell To Be You Baby’ in anticipation of her upcoming album (with the same name).

The Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and producer’s new album marks her long-awaited return (after almost a decade!) with a grandiose take on the obsession with click-bait culture.

MNDR

Ashe – Me Without You

“’Me Without You’ is my follow up to ‘Moral Of The Story.’ It’s saying you thought that I needed you to be who I am. There is my past relationship… I had multiple people… You know, assumed that I needed them in my life to feel confident or to be me and ‘Me Without You’ is just this record that’s like, ‘Ooh, I am so good on my own.’”

Taken from the forthcoming debut album ‘Ashlyn’ which is out on 7th May 2021 out on Mom + Pop Music.

Ashe

19&YOU – ADRENALINE

One of the most exciting pop outfits of late, 19&YOU return with fantastic new single ‘ADRENALINE’. The group have already garnered support from industry heavyweights including Zane Lowe at Beats 1, MTV, CLASH, AltPress, Ones to Watch, Lyrical Lemonade and The Line of Best Fit.

Taken from their self-titled debut EP, which is out now.

19&YOU

New Music: Grace McKagan

LA-based singer and songwriter Grace McKagan debuts fantastically confident new single ‘SO HYPER’ today.

This is a refreshingly original take on garage rock that carries a 60’s inspired twist, and speaks to the crush stage of meeting someone and getting ‘So Hyper’ about them.

“‘SO HYPER’ is a really fun song about the excitement of wanting to be with somebody and knowing they wanna be with you too. The video was filmed where we write all of our music and shows our process with writing.” 

Grace McKagan

Watch: Fickle Friends – Won’t Hurt Myself

If memory serves me right, I think I first featured Fickle Friends back in 2014. And yet they still continue to surprise me seven years on.

The forward-thinking electro and indie-pop quartet have just released new EP ‘Weird Years: Season 2’ (out now), and to mark the occasion they’ve also unveiled some fabulous visuals for ‘Won’t Hurt Myself’.

“‘Won’t Hurt Myself’ reflects on when relationships end and you can’t help but criticise every decision you made. Did I jump in too fast? Why did I let myself get hurt for so long? Your heart aches so much you can’t feel anything else. You are numb.” – Natti, Fickle Friends

Fickle Friends

New Music: Nahoa Life

Press play and guess how old American talent Nahoa Life is… Did you guess 12-years? I bet not, but that’s the age of this outstanding kid, who speaks beyond his years about the delicate dance of staying true to one’s self while chasing your dreams on ‘Just Truth’.

Nahoa Life

Yoke Lore – Seeds

One of the most moving songs of the week comes from the hugely talented Brooklyn-based artist Yoke Lore. ‘Seeds’ will be heard on the critically acclaimed film ‘Pink Skies Ahead’ (premiering 8th May 2021 via MTV at 9pm ET).

‘Pink Skies Ahead’ sheds a light on the challenges of living with anxiety, and so this song evokes an exploratory voyage inward; reflecting the themes presented throughout the film.

“It’s about the struggle of trying to be there for someone who can’t be there for themselves and how that makes love complicated.”

Yoke Lore

Dylan Dunlap – Serotonin

LA-based singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Dylan Dunlap is back today with the beautiful ‘Serotonin’.

This is talent who I have featured in the past and still never tire of. Dunlap bravely wears his heart on his sleeve to create lyricism that is refreshingly honest, making his songs relatable and a source of comfort to absolutely everyone.

“‘Serotonin’ is a conversation about the realities of living with depression. It feels like a turning point for me as a writer because I’ve finally found the words to express it with confidence. The worst thing you can tell somebody is ‘you’re fine’. This song is a reminder to listen more to those in our life that could be hurting and hiding it. It’s liberating to talk this openly about learning to love my brain despite the insecurities.

Dylan Dunlap

Watch: EMM – ACT II: VICE

LA-based pop artist EMM releases the second instalment of a 3-part musical and visual experience today.

This video picks up from the character EMERALD (EMM) evolving into RUBY after slaying her first demon to take back her power. Talking about the video, EMM says:

“I’m not sure what people will have to say about it, but I can guarantee you won’t ever see another music video like this. Make sure you watch the whole thing; it only gets crazier as you go.”

Check out the precursor video ‘ACT 1: ADDERALL’ here.

EMM

Rightfield – Birthday Party

Rightfield describe their songs as ‘intimate bangers’, and I for one think that’s a perfect definition of what you can expect to hear from this Arkansas pop-rock duo.

These two friends create a style music that is born from a wide range of tastes. Reed (Hoelscher) is a fan of late 80’s hair metal bands like Poison and Whitesnake, while Jack (Blocker) names The Avett Brothers and Mumford & Sons as his first loves, with Earl Sweatshirt, Frank Ocean, and Tyler the Creator not far behind.

“The idea for the song took shape after sitting in my living room messing around with an ENGL e765 retro tube, and recording my old, beat up Seagull acoustic through my iPhone. The two paired really well together to give this familiar, clean vintage sound, with a modern retro touch. The track is insanely cool and I’m really proud of how it turned out. It was definitely outside my comfort zone in the best way.” Reed Hoelscher, Rightfield

Taken from ‘Rightfield, One (Deluxe)’ which is out now.

Rightfield

New Music: Izabel

Izabel is a tremendously exciting new Montreal-based singer and songwriter. Having already amassed over a million streams on Spotify alone so far with her releases, this 19-year old talent crafts an alternative style of indie-pop that feels dark and vulnerable yet deeply captivating and engaging.

“’19’ is about ageing another year and reflecting on all that’s happened.”

Izabel

Jake Simon – Lay Low

Hailing from New Haven (Connecticut) comes Jake Simon, an artist and producer who seamlessly blends elements of alt-RnB with bedroom pop to create a sound that is refreshingly original and future-forward, all the while still feeling warm and familiar.

Watch out for the upcoming EP which comes out on 11th June 2021.

Jake Simon

CHEL – View From Down There

CHEL, the powerhouse vocalist and body positivity model returns today with new single ‘View From Down There’. This artist has had a truly meteoric rise to fame, garnering over a million followers on Facebook and a tribe of over 100,000 on Instagram to date.

Initially dismissed and told she didn’t have the looks or the body type to succeed in music, CHEL never gave up. Fast forward to 2021 and the results speak for themselves; her music videos alone have amassed around 30 million views. So watch out for this kid – she’s set on global world domination!

“This song is about someone who has fought really hard to achieve their goals and has now achieved a lot of them. Through this process, they had support from close family and friends, but not from everyone. Fast forward to now, when this person is doing well, all the people who neglected to support them in the past, are now trying to be a part of the momentum.”

CHEL

RoseeLu – F*** With My Feelings

There’s no doubt that Danish talent RoseeLu is shaping up to become one of the biggest pop exports to emerge from the Scandinavian nation. Previous release ‘Playing Alone’ ended up getting featured on more than 20 big tastemaker sites worldwide, including Billboard themselves.

Now she’s back with an equally fantastic follow-up, showcasing a style of music that blends alt-pop with hip hop, while adding a little 90’s nostalgia in there too for some extra goodness.

“‘F*** with my Feelings’ is about the insane state of mind you are in when you are in love – but also the addiction which I know way too well from past relationships

RoseeLu

Chrissie Huntley – Supposed to Be

From her first live show in 2018, through to headlining the O2 Academy in her hometown of Bristol and being handpicked by Michael Eavis to play Glastonbury Festival, Chrissie Huntley has been making significant impact in a very quick space of time.

Even during lockdown, she transformed her closet into a home studio and began collaborating with musicians from across the globe. The result is a new collection of songs, one of which is the sensational ‘Supposed to Be’.

“‘Supposed to Be’ is one of the first songs I ever wrote when I was a teenager and I just got dumped by the guy who I thought was supposed to be ‘the one’. I think we’ve all been in that position where you know that it’s over, but you just want to hold on and pretend just a little while longer…”

Chrissie Huntley

New Music: Harrison Walker

Describing his own style as ‘melodic trap’, London-based musician Harrison Walker crafts a sound that feels effortlessly sleek yet emotive and moving. It’s a refreshing approach to music-making that leaves me to believe this talent is one to watch out for.

“‘Commitments’ is in the essence about love and the development of a relationship between two people authentically growing to love each other.”

Harrison Walker