Category: Music
New Music: valentina cy
Punchy pop with hints of blues and soul, wrapped up with distinctively powerful vocals.
Disco Shrine – xoxo
The self-confessed starlet known as ‘Persian Barbie’ returns today, and she’s serving us a huge slice of premium electro-pop with a ton of boss-girl attitude that doesn’t give a f**k about what anyone has to say.
“All the different forms of love, vulnerabilities, and strengths that we experience are what make us who we are. It’s okay that I caught feelings for the bad guy, felt heartbreak, and experienced loneliness, because I also had moments where I grew stronger, was living my best single life, and felt on top of the world without relying on anybody but myself.”
Taken from the new EP ‘xoxo, disco’ which is out now.
New Music: Popcoin
Talk about impressive… This project was only created at the end of 2020, after weeks of online collaboration between friends Aaron Black in Philadelphia and Des Martin in Chicago.
The pair had originally planned to meet in the studio just before Covid came and put a halt on all our lives. Nonetheless, they continued to work together through the web and we are now starting to enjoy some of those results.
It’s hard to summarise the sound they craft, but taking a look through their influences gives you an idea of what to expect. You can find hints of indie pop, UK bass, dreamy neo-soul, hip hop, and punk-rock amongst other things on debut release ‘Talk’.
New Music: Barii
New Music: Denise Chaila
A Zambian-Irish multi-disciplinarian talent who is not only a grime & hip hop singer but also a rapper and poet. It all makes for a tremendously exciting talent, crafting a sound that is refreshingly unique.
New Music: Drew Jodi
A beautifully constructed piece of percussive, downtempo art-pop from a London talent who is already a noted songwriter and producer, as well as engineer who’s s clients have included Stormzy, Little Simz and Lianne La Havas.
“On a day I’d found myself mentally struggling, I lingered on a SourSync [producer] beat on Instagram. It perfectly scored the moment I was having and within an hour I had written the lyrics. There’s a real sense of catharsis when a track comes together that quickly and naturally, and you lay yourself bare without pausing for thought.”.
New Music: LUNAKAI
You may not have heard of London multidisciplinary artist LUNAKAI before, but this talent has already worked with the likes of FKA Twigs, Yussef Dayes and Ashnikko to name a few, and produced records for Diplo and Robyn collaborator, Maluca.
“When I was making this it all came together in about 30 minutes; the verse melody and the vocal hook. I was thinking I’d give it to someone else to re-sing but I freestyled these lyrics without writing them down and in the end the vocal had such a vibe I ended up using that first scratch vocal take.”
The debut EP is slated for release on 26th February.
New Music: Cocoelusive
A refined and sleek approach to RnB from a talent who creates music as a process for healing.
“I want to bring a storytelling spiritual approach to my projects and ensure the young generation are riding on a right frequency.”
New Music: The Ella Sisters
A Norwegian outfit consisting of twins Maren and Charlotte, who are currently creating some of the sharpest pop to emerge from the nation.
The duo’s songs are inspired by being young and questioning the world we live in, delving into topics of identity, mental health, being underestimated and finding confidence in yourself. On ‘Neon Lights’ they say:
“It does not show much mercy, and has a raw feeling of anger and realisation to it. The song expresses disappointment of someone not being who they seemed to be.”
Taken from the forthcoming EP ‘Sugarcoat’ which is due later this year.
James Smith – My Oh My
The rise of James Smith has been nothing short of phenomenal. To date, he has amassed over 200 million streams from the release of just two EP’s.
Now he’s back with a stunning release that further cements his position as one of the UK’s most promising new talents.
“‘My Oh My’ is a song about loss, of any type really. I wanted to write something that wasn’t too specific to my situation and felt simple but powerful; something that could stand as the voice of a lot of people. At its most basic form, it is a break-up song, the most pertinent lyric for me being ‘you’re on my mind, but you’re out my arms’ – the feeling of someone still being present but not in the physical sense. Sometimes break-ups can feel like this, like a death, a mourning. This song explores that side of a break-up, that feeling of loss.”
Taken from the upcoming EP ‘District Line’ which is out this Spring.
Verzache – All I Need
With over 300 million worldwide streams to date, 23-year-old Toronto native Verzache has firmly established himself as one of Canada’s biggest pop exports in recent years. And with bops like ‘All I Need’, you can understand why this kid’s sound is so loveable.
“When I wrote ‘All I Need’, at the time I was definitely in the feels and the title is a pretty big giveaway, but I was just recording how I felt. Looking at the song now, I see it as an example of some good ole young love/ infatuation. You can take what you want from the song! But the fact you can be so obsessed with someone that it feels like everything else is nowhere near as important, is crazy/ cute/ terrifying/ awesome/ comforting.”
Taken from the debut album ‘My Head Is A Moshpit’ which is out soon.
New Music: ilselena
Track of the week. Beautifully stripped and understated melodic pop from a London-based talent who is not only making strides as a musician, but also as a model who’s worked for the likes of Dazed and Burberry.
New Music: Mike Back
Already a noted YouTuber and influencer in his native Finland, Mike Back has now released his first single.
It’s a subtle blend of acoustic indie and pop, delivered with a beautifully distinctive vocal.
“‘Bad On Purpose’ is a raw and honest RnB-pop song about knowing who you could and should be in a relationship, but wondering why you keep falling short of that goal.”
Grace Gaustad – Out Of Time
“Even though I’m young, I feel like I’ve wasted so much time on stupid things. The world’s in a crazy spot right now. We don’t know what the future will be. In your teens, you only care about very superficial things like your friends, parties, girlfriends, boyfriends, how you look, and your parents. But, what about the real shit going on? It’s about the fear we’ve spent too long worrying about the wrong things.”
ABSOLUTE. – Piano Theory
Lockdown or not, I’m thankful that we have talents like London’s own ABSOLUTE. keeping the party going (albeit in our homes for the time being).
“When working on ‘Piano Theory’, I was dreaming of being at huge outdoor raves, loved up, sweaty, with all my favourite people in the world, without any of life’s worries, a moment of pure euphoria and freedom. It became therapy, granting some escape to a tough time for all of us.”
Taken from the debut mixtape ‘Wonderland’ which is due for release in April via Skint Records/ BMG.
Benny Sings – Nobody’s Fault (feat. Tom Misch)
Hey, I understand
It’s not the end
This life’s not what you wanted
And we all got to grow
Hey, it’s nobody’s fault
We’re getting old
And time keeps pushing on
To the end of the road (my darling)
Dopha – Forget Your Name
Shane Garcia – Corner Store Runs
Shane Garcia returns with a track that blends beats with vintage rock and soul vibes to create a sound that exudes in character.
BRIDGE – Make Me Miss You
As far as RnB goes, BRIDGE is one of those rare talents who is consistently unafraid to be bold and experimental with his work.
Press play on ‘Make Me Miss You’ and the beat will immediately catch your heart and mind, leaving you completely hooked to every second of this song.
“I wanted to deliver on a vibe that to me felt like a perfect summary of everything I put out recently. Something that felt true to me both lyrically and sonically.”
Watch out for multiple EP projects from Bridge this year.