In recent years Downtown Kayoto has proven himself to be one of the UK’s most promising alternative artists.
Released via London label Other Projects (home to NiNE8 and KhakiKid), new single ‘Run from you’ continues to build momentum for this remarkable talent, and showcases a raw sound that fuses indie-rock with essences of hip hop.
“‘Run from you’ is a song about how I would run away from my problems, I’m pretty sure that everyone goes through a similar thing. Specifically this was about a relationship that I really valued at the time, and when I look back at how I dealt with the end of the relationship I noticed that my behaviour was definitely avoidant. I get really prideful at points so sometimes I’ll just run so that I don’t need to deal with the situation at hand; run with no particular destination in mind, I just run and I when I look back I run fast… This is one thing I really wanna stop doing (lol). It’s not really healthy but without it I guess I wouldn’t have made this song.”
To date, Downtown Kayoto has recieved praise from industry heavyweights as noted as Zane Lowe, Pharrell Williams and Jack Saunders, while also touring alongside the likes of Tkay Maidza and Finn Askew.
Rising American talent Timothy Edward Carpenter unveils a captivating new single today, entitled ‘panic attack in a michael’s’.
Through its impressive fusion of indie, pop and rock. the song looks at the topic of mental health in a beautifully raw and honest way. Elaborating on the song’s lyrics, Timothy explains:
“While recently walking through a Michael’s Art Store here in Nashville I came across the ‘frame aisle’ and the first thought that came to mind was how my therapist was advocating that I ‘reframe my perspective.’ Honestly, I started laughing aloud in the aisle followed by a much needed cry. When I arrived back at my apartment, I sat down and wrote what feels like a page from my diary, “panic attack in a michael’s.”
Timothy has just begun his ‘Small Spaces’ tour, and will visit several cities across the US throughout February – dates and tickets can be found here.
One of the most exciting discoveries of the week has been LA-based producer and singer ✦kenji✦.
New single ‘VIOLET !’ is proof that a song can be future-forward and experimental without losing its sense of sincerity and emotion.
Through its considered fusion of hyperpop and indie, the track serves as a modern love song that presents thoughtful lyricism over a well-constructed melody.
“He tells a heart-wrenching story of young love, falling for a girl with violet lipstick. These feelings were new and unfamiliar to him at the time, so he blamed them on his partner, repeating the line “Maybe it’s your fault”.’
With such a refreshing approach to music-making, ✦kenji✦ is rapidly marking his name as one of the most promising talents to emerge from the West Coast.
LA-based singer and songwriter ellie d. is back today with a refreshingly energising new single.
‘Real Thing’ is a beautifully constructed piece of electro-pop that looks at our need for connection. This is a sound that feels dreamy and reflective, yet still maintains an uplifting sense of joy.
“Both a very vulnerable and unapologetic declaration of wanting connection, romance, all the butteries… A song about putting yourself out there.The sense of there’s a lot of ways to be strong, and the most popular way people think of is being independent and doing everything by yourself but it’s just as meaningful and it shows strength to say that you really want someone in your life and who will love and support you the way you want to be loved.”
As a starlet on the rise, ellie d. begins her year commanding more than 45k monthly Spotify listeners. Meanwhile, her catalogue of songs continue to grow in popularity, with more than 2.5 million cumulative streams to date.
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.
Rising independent musician Mysie is back with an empowering new single… and one which looks set to become her biggest release yet.
Lifted from the artist’s upcoming mixtape, the track gathers its inspiration from a situation when Mysie was ignored by a lover, and serves to remind us of our own self worth.
“‘CTRL’ is about receiving a phone call from an unfaithful ex who aired me for six months after saying BRB. It’s an empowering song letting him know: I won’t be fooled by his attempt to reel me back in.”
Mysie’s list of accomplishments is already impressive, with the UK-based talent picking up a prestigious Ivor Novello Award and being included on BBC Radio 1’s Ones To Watch 2023.
Ever-evolving artist Raven Artson returns with yet another sonic delight in the form of his new single, ‘Rash Of Independence’.
Inspired by the iconic sounds of Corona, Timbaland, Madonna and Sugababes, this nostalgia-tinged song treats listeners to an eccentric yet charming production, while the lyrics tell of Artson’s appreciation for independence and love.
Indeed, it’s the desire for independence that keeps Artson’s work so refreshingly experimental, as he explains:
“Whatever swings my way, I take it on fully. I let down my guard to experience more than I can foresee and embrace the unexpected in my creative process. That’s where the playfulness comes in.”
Artson supports Coco & Clair Clair on their European tour this month – dates and tickets can be found here. Headline shows are coming up later in the spring.
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.”
Kami Kehoe is back with yet another impressive new single to further solidify her name as one the America’s most promising newcomers.
Punchy and bold in tone, ‘loaded gun’ showcases a kind of pop that delivers a ton of character without having to go overboard on the production.
“My motto is ‘kure the world’ because I know one day I will have a positive impact on a generation of people. If I am able to change one person’s life through my songs or through the words I say, then I’ve reached my goal.”
Working with much respected Grass Fed Music (home to the likes of Sabrina Claudio and Etham), it seems only a short matter of time before Kehoe will hit the mainstream.
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.
Dylan Conrique’s rise to stardom has been meteoric, to say the least. Since making her music debut in 2020, this multi-talented artist has not only won over millions of fans all across social media, but also found her music streamed more than 210 million times to date.
It’s an impressive feat for the US-based entertainer, singer-songwriter, actress and dancer – who is still in her teen years.
To celebrate the release of nostalgic new single ‘Gatekeeper’, we asked Conrique a few quickfire questions to get an insight into the mind of this hugely popular new starlet.
Could you tell us a little more about the message behind your new single, ‘Gatekeeper’?
The day that I wrote this song I had a big argument with my mom over me wanting to move out. I just wanted to learn how to be on my own but my mom took it personally. When I went into the session I wanted to write a song for my parents to remind them that I’d always be their little girl, no matter what, and that sometimes I have to learn my own lessons.
What inspired you to become a musician?
Sports were never my specialty growing up, not at all haha. But I was always singing, even when I barely knew real English, I was just always singing and putting on shows for my family with my older brother. As I got older, I asked my mom if I could take lessons and I immediately fell in love with it. I was also really interested in acting, and I knew LA was the place to pursue both, so my family eventually made the move so I could give it a shot.
You’re still only 18 years old but you’ve already accomplished so much… What would you say has been your musical career highlight so far?
That’s a hard one! If I had to pick one I would say when I got to headline my own small tour last summer going from Los Angeles all the way to London! I’d always wanted to leave the country and visit London and it was such an amazing experience, the fans I met there were awesome.
Who would your dream collaboration be with, and why?
My dream collaboration would definitely be Gary LeVox from Rascal Flatts! I’ve always wanted to write with him, or even just meet him, since I was a little girl. My dad always played country radio when I was growing up and I remember hearing him and knowing all the words to their songs by heart.
What does 2023 hold in store for you?
I’m going on tour! I can’t wait to be on the road again and sing with the crowds. I also have a lot of new music coming this year that I’m really excited to release. And hopefully I get to visit a lot of new cities on another headline tour later this year!
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.
For those who are not familiar with Harry Was Here, this promising talent is an artist, producer, singer and songwriterbased in LA.
Through a style of work that is refreshingly unique character, Harry Was Here creates songs that balance a current sound with hints of nostalgia.
‘Pet Giraffe’ presents listeners with a beautifully melancholic mix of alt-pop, indie and rock. Elaborating on the meaning behind the song, Harry Was Here explains:
“‘Pet Giraffe’ was written on a day that I was feeling really down for no reason. Lyrically inspired by Bob Dylan, the cryptic messaging comes from a deep place of sadness that always seems to be lurking. It’s that feeling that you are the weight bringing down the people around you. The pet giraffe symbolises an imaginary friend that wants to raise me up to see more clearly.”
If you’re unfamiliar with GLU then you may recognise this artist as Michael Shuman of Queens of the Stone Age and Mini Mansions fame.
Through its playful production, ‘MY DEMONS’ features raw and honest lyricism that is inspired by the long-term effects of childhood trauma.
“A lot of this is me speaking as an adult now, but it’s talking about me as a child. I’m at an age where I don’t care as much about masking things, lyrically.”
The track is lifted from GLU’s upcoming debut EP, which is scheduled for release later this month.
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.
As a much-loved darling within TikTok’s expansive (and at times, very odd) music universe, Spilly Cave has stood out as one of the platform’s most promising musicians over the last year.
Taken from the Harrisburg-based artist’s self-titled album (out now), ‘minutia’ is a subdued and melancholic (but somehow also quite charming) indie sound that has racked up more than 800k streams on Spotify alone.
Spilly Cave currently commands a loyal fanbase all across social media, while also garnering praise from tastemakers and prominent outlets like Pitchfrork, Mashable and more.
Rising LA-based starlet Courtney Paige Nelson returns with an anthemic new single entitled ‘1-800-broke-my-heart’.
Courtney wrote the song as a way to process the trauma that she had endured during a messy breakup. Lyrically raw and relatable, the track’s aim is to empower the broken-hearted, and remind them that better days lie ahead.
“After a terrible breakup which resulted in me finding out my ex was cheating on me with his coworker, I got extremely depressed and wrote this song telling my side of the story since I never got a chance to speak my piece. There wasn’t any closure for me so it was priority to write something that would help decompress the giant knot in my chest. I wanted to be as vulnerable as possible when writing this song, so when it’s released I felt like I was relieved instead of feeling like I should’ve been more open. There was a lot of this story that I think many can relate to as a breakup/ situationship anthem. I say anthem because I want it to empower people, not make them dwell on negative emotions with whatever they are going through. There’s so many sad songs in the world, and I love me a good sad song. But this time I needed something to yell driving down the freeway with my middle finger in the air.”
Born and raised in San Francisco, Courtney Paige Nelson is forging a name for herself as one of American pop’s most promising independent talents.
With millions of streams already under belt, and acclaim from the likes of FLAUNT, The Line of Best Fit, METAL and Entertainment Weekly, this is one artist to watch in 2023.
One of Germany’s most successful new musical exports has been Mar Malade.
A collaboration between friends Alexander Hauer and Michèl M. Almeida, this outfit are winning fans all across the world thanks to their tastefully playful style of indie-pop, amassing nearly twenty million catalogue streams along the way.
‘Moonman’ continues to showcase the duo’s talent, with its bittersweet yet utterly charming story of a lonely astronaut floating in space.
The song is taken from their forthcoming sophomore ‘Balloon’ album, which is scheduled for release this April. Until then, fans can enjoy their debut ‘MAR Malade’here.
Alt-pop star Emei is back with yet another showstopper release.
On the surface, ‘Scatterbrain’ comes across as any other pop song that you’d expect… up until that chorus hits and takes you by surprise.
This is a song that delights and intrigues you to the point where you’ll have it on loop for the rest of the day. And it’s probably the reason why the track has already gone viral, surpassing more than three million views on social media.
Both lyrically and sonically, the ‘Scatterbrain’ was created as a way to reflect the mind of someone with ADHD, and incorporates Emei’s quintessential ‘brain-tingle’ moment.
“So proud of this one it sounds exactly like my brain it’s everything I can’t even express how excited I am.”
