Blending blues and country with a pounding pop twist, Dylan Conrique releases visuals for her latest track featuring Swedish singer-songwriter Noak Hellsing.
Dylan Conrique | Noak Hellsing
Watch: Dylan Conrique – Bitter (feat. Noak Hellsing)
Category: Watch
Watch: Olivia Rodrigo – drivers license
“When I came up with ‘drivers license,’ I was going through a heartbreak that was so confusing to me, so multifaceted. Putting all those feelings into a song made everything seem so much simpler and clearer – and at the end of the day, I think that’s really the whole purpose of songwriting. There’s nothing like sitting at the piano in my bedroom and writing a really sad song. It’s truly my favourite thing in the world.”
Watch: Zara Larsson – Talk About Love (feat. Young Thug)
I make no secret of how awesome I think Zara Larsson is – she’s established herself as a Swedish pop powerhouse in an exceptionally short space of time. This release was produced by Mike Sabath and features a melodic verse from Young Thug.
The new album ‘POSTERGIRL‘ is released 5th March.
Watch: Kojaque – Coming Up
“‘Coming Up’ was written after I’d come home from a party like last year. This dude who used to bully me in school was there and I remember him being a dickhead at the party. I could never stand up to him when I was a kid but I stood up to him that night, I think it took him by surprise and I remember being so pissed off because I let it effect me, it felt like being 15 again. It’s the sort of feeling that makes you wanna give up, but I snapped out of it and thought, no fuck that, I won’t let it affect me, I’m not a kid anymore. And I wrote ‘Coming Up’ that night. I think the tune was an effort to shake that feeling, it was kind of a fuck you.”
Watch: Tom Grennan – Something Better
Originally written in the aftermath of heartbreak, Tom Grennan’s newest single takes on a different meaning as we all look ahead to 2021.
“’When I wrote Something Better’, it was a song about me smiling on the outside but dealing with a whirlwind of dark thoughts and distractions on the inside. Since Covid-19 and lockdown, the tables have turned! I’m smiling on the inside, and I’m constantly distracted with thoughts of the exciting, crazy and better future that is coming, and it’s just around the corner!”
Taken from the upcoming album ‘Evering Road’, due for release 5th March 2021 via Insanity Records.
Watch: Evie Irie – Misfit
A song for anyone who feels out of place, seventeen-year-old Sydney-born talent Evie Irie unveils visuals for her new release, ‘Misfit’.
Evie is also launching her very own ‘Official Misfit Scholarship’ in partnership with Bold.org to support misfit high school students with a passion for arts and music. She will be involved with the interview and selection process, so check out more here.
Taken from the new EP ‘The Pessimist’ which is out now.
Watch: SVEA – Pity Party
“‘Pity Party” is about a party getting way out of hands. When it’s 4 am, everyone’s wasted, and no one can nor want to stand for their actions anymore. People sleeping in your parents’ bed, someone is fighting in the kitchen, you puke but get up and drink more. Even though you kind of enjoy letting go of everything for a night you still feel very anxious about being the one responsible. Everything just starts to feel like a joke and at the end you start feeling sorry for yourself. The birthday party turned into a pity party!”
Taken from the outstanding new EP ‘Pity Party’ which is out now.
Watch: Petite Meller – Dying Out Of Love
In the years I have known of Petite Meller, I have come to learn that every release is so much more than just a song.
There really are very few creatives who execute their art as richly as Petite does; and with this video more so, featuring some of her fans creating performance art in public places.
“Our Love is art and art is just forever my love. This kind of love I wish for. A Forever, even after “till death do us apart”. I wished someone will sing this song to me. How we all wish to be loved.”
Watch: Billie Eilish – Therefore I Am
Watch: Takykardia – Ode To Angst
Watch: Easy Life – Daydreams
Three years and three mixtapes later, Easy Life are finally gearing up to release their debut album, and with it comes ‘Daydreams’.
“Like most of us, I’ve spent the whole year sat at home daydreaming about a possible alternate reality. Born out of boredom and idleness, ‘Daydreams’ is as much about getting drunk as it is about falling in and out of love.” – Murray Matravers, Easy Life
Watch: Pa Salieu – B***K
“The title being censored is to highlight how throughout history parts of society have portrayed black people and culture almost like a swear word.”
Watch: Emanuel – Black Woman
This song genuinely gave me shivers of emotion; it’s a stunning piece of music and I really hope you give it time to play in full, because it’s nothing short of stunning.
The visuals are just as gorgeous, where the inspiration for the song opens the video as we hear Nikki Giovanni’s striking words from her 1971 conversation with fellow author, poet and activist James Baldwin: “I get least of you. I get the very minimum. And I’m saying, you know, fake it with me. Is that too much for the Black Woman to ask of the Black Man?”
“‘Black Woman’ is about reconciliation and also celebration – celebrating how strong our women are and how they hold us up. People might think this song was written as a response to the moment right now but it’s saying the exact same thing it was saying when it was written a year ago – ‘I see you, I recognise you, I appreciate you and I love you’.”
Watch: Johnny Orlando – Adelaide
Taken from the sophomore EP ‘It’s Never Really Over’ which is out now via Island Records.
“I hope these songs can make you feel something and help you like they have helped me. These are the most genuine songs I’ve ever made… New era starts now.”
Watch: Hamond – HOTEL ZAZA
British readers will recognise that this release from American talent Hamond samples UK garage classic ‘Rewind’ by Artful Dodger.
Flawlessly done too, if I say so myself. This kid brings a refreshingly bold and original approach to RnB and pop, and I am living for it.
Taken from the new EP ‘Source Material’ which is out now.
Watch: Teezo Touchdown – Bad Enough (feat. Thomas Lopez)
There’s an indescribable sense of genius when I listen to Teezo Touchdown; you can’t associate any one particular genre with this talent, and yet somehow, his sounds all come together and make perfect sense.
Watch: JGrrey – Doubt Nothing
A positive song with matching visuals is just about the most needed thing in 2020.
“‘Doubt Nothing’ again just does what it says on the tin. I was really particular about what song I was going to release following on from ‘Ain’t So’ and my mood and my energy and everyone else’s energy right now just needs ‘Doubt Nothing’, I’d like to think it’s uplifting. It’s just me in a song really.”
Watch: Arlo Parks – Green Eyes
New visuals to celebrate the news that Arlo Parks’ debut album ‘Collapsed In Sunbeams‘ will *finally!* be out on 29th January 2021 via Transgressive Records.
“This is a song about self-discovery, self-acceptance and adolescence. It is supposed to uplift and comfort those going through hard times”.
Watch: Starley – One Of One
“With this video I wanted the feeling of absence to really be felt. We wanted to contrast that with bright colours because often when I feel down, outwardly it can seem the complete opposite. I cover up everything with a smile and numb myself with food comas and mindless activities.”
Taken from the debut album ‘One of One’ which is out now.
Watch: HONNE – no song without you (London session)
London duo HONNE (one of my all time favourite bands) have just released a new acoustic EP, ‘no song without you: dream edits’, which reimagines six tracks from their mixtape ‘no song without you’.
Perfect listening for lockdown, wherever you are in the world, and a reminder of just how happy their sound can make you feel.