Brett Castro – BLUE

One of Brooklyn’s finest pop singer-songwriters returns today with the release of his charmingly nostalgic and melancholic new single, ‘BLUE’.

On the track, Brett Castro presents bedroom-pop guitar sounds with elements of synth, alongside crisp vocals that tell of what Castro describes as “those pandemic days when you felt like an Anvil in bed, all burnt out, and paralysed by anxiety.”

“This song is my response to all the sadness and darkness in the world these past couple years. I wanted to stay honest in my lyrics but have the sounds to be sparkly and fun. I hope this song offers people some grace when they’re feeling like I did. I know we all could use it.”

Castro’s previous releases have landed on Spotify’s Viral 50 chart and New Music Friday, as well as featured in Billboard, HillyDilly, and Lyrical Lemonade.

Brett Castro

New Music: Flowerless

Emerging from Toronto is experimental artist Flowerless. Through his sleek blend of alternative pop, electronica and indie, this talent crafts sounds that are not only individualistic in character, but lyrically engrossing.

“LAB’ is a deeply emotive piece of music that carries with it an interesting story. Two years ago, Flowerless was in a relationship that wasn’t committed and about to express deeper feelings to the woman he was with, when she slept with her ex:

“Even though she said it was trash and she didn’t want to go back to him, the damage had been done and I wasn’t able to get past it to really continue things.”

Flowerless

🎵 Discover more new music on the Ones To Watch Playlist

PsychoYP – Midlife Crisis / WYDTM

Photo / Chris Ogunsola

Fast-rising Nigerian rap artist PsychoYP is back with a double A-side single release by way of ‘MIDLIFE CRISIS’ and ‘WYDTM’. Both equally stellar in quality, the songs were produced by long-time collaborator and producer Dylan Scott aka SCXTT.

Recently crowned the best rapper in Africa by The NATIVE and hailed as one of the ten Nigerian artists to watch by Complex, PsychoYP already boasts one of the best rap discographies on the continent. His fourth studio album, ‘Euphoria’ debuted at #1 on the Apple Music Top Albums chart for Hip-Hop/Rap in Nigeria, and has garnered over three million plays to date online.

Midlife Crisis

“The song comes from a special place because I’m used to showing my strengths and hardcore side. This time, I really wanted to tell people the kind of relationships we face right now. They are filled with broken people finding something special in each other. ‘Midlife Crisis’ tells the story of a young boy in love with an older woman. Their bond is formed from the need to escape and craving for intimacy”.

WYDTM

“I spent a lot of time studying UK music and the various styles in the black music scene. This song is pure vibes inspired by the Craig David era that I grew up listening to with my older siblings when I was much younger and we lived in the UK with my mum. It’s an upbeat dance track about turning to material things to deal with heartbreak, and I just had to tap Apex Village prodigy Azanti for the garage-themed tune”.

PsychoYP

Mayuko – Gravity

Photo / Anna Ziegler

Acclaimed German Art pop trio Mayuko return today with another refreshingly original release, in the form of new single ‘Gravity’.

Atmospheric and cinematic in tone, the song is about an immersive journey, an overwhelming trip through picturesque, yet swirling landscape.

A journey accompanied by a comforting friend, that leads you to a destination of ecstasy surrounded by dizzying air and pleasure.

‘Gravity’ is taken from the debut EP ‘Oil And Water’. Mayuko’s sophomore EP will be released later this year.

Mayuko

New Music: The HP’s

A refreshingly bold, raw and totally gripping fusion of soul and indie-funk. Reminiscent of the likes of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, this is a sound that hits you immediately the moment you press play.

Based in Hamilton, The HP’s are a funk & soul collective that were created drummer/bandleader ‘Parkside’ Mike Renaud, the founder and owner of noted music company Hidden Pony Records & Management – widely recognised as one of Canada’s premiere talent-development labels and artist management companies.

 Taken from the upcoming debut album ‘Gritty City Soul, Vol. 1.’

The HP’s

dani mack – Someday

dani mack (Baylee Barrett) grew up in the small town of Lubbock in Texas before moving to LA at the age of eighteen to pursue her dream of becoming a musician.

Today sees her return after two year hiatus, releasing new single ‘Someday’ as a fully autonomous artist. Self-produced alongside bandmate Chris Reagan, the song borrows its name from the first song she ever wrote:

“I wrote this new single, ‘Someday (2.0)’ while my first real relationship was falling apart. It was very toxic, but despite all the signs, my naivety gave me hope that things would turn around. If I’m being completely honest, this song was a last-ditch effort to save this relationship… It didn’t work out.”

dani mack

Watch: Sitting On Stacy – Ellen

Photo / Ellen Ward

Currently on a co-headline tour with The Aquadolls, Southern California rock outfit Sitting On Stacy release their infectiously feel-good single and music video ‘Ellen’, which was shot, directed and edited by the band themselves.

“‘Ellen’ is a love song mixed with distorted guitars blaring over fun and upbeat drums with catchy melodies and harmonies. We wanted to make this song fast with rock elements that will leave your head banging. We wrote it to be like the music we loved growing up.

For this music video, we wanted to capture the crazy spontaneity of our house shows. We filmed everything in our garage to highlight the mixture of punk rock and fun vibes the song gives. We added the most random objects we could find in our house and ended up breaking everything in eyesight cause WHY NOT!”

Sitting On Stacy

Ruth Koleva – Kiss My Attitude

Ruth Koleva’s consistent willingness to push boundaries and challenge societal norms has made her an emerging icon in the current pop scene.

New single ‘Kiss My Attitude’ sees the massively gifted Bulgarian singer songwriter challenge her home country’s long history of homophobia, while offering a beacon of light to outsiders everywhere.

Ruth Koleva

French Alps Tiger – Lost Boys

Welsh rockers French Alps Tiger return today with another energising slice of raw, anthemic indie that is sure to win the promising outfit a whole new legion of fans.

“‘Lost Boys’ is a razor sharp, white knuckle, dirty bomb, from the east side of The Costa Del Swan. Skate-Punk for the Blind Drunk. You didn’t have to think of the last thing you thought of. So why try, Eh? Instead, enjoy this Ode to all those consciously pissing into the wind, just because they’re used to the taste, and feel uncomfortable not being drenched in a mess of their own making.” – Russ, French Alps Tiger

French Alps Tiger

New Music: BLAKSWAN

Emerging American artist BLAKSWAN constructs a kind of sound that is really quite engrossing to experience.

Dark, intense and cinematic in tone, these are songs that not only push the boundaries of alternative music, but also carry compelling and thought-provoking lyricism.

‘COLTRANE’ is the story of a man not only fighting for his life – but his identity. A true expression of the moments when you are fighting for life; for breath for survival. 

BLAKSWAN

New Music: Lo

@thisislomusic

Emerging from Australia is Perth’s very own sadgirl songstress, Lo. Praised by the likes of triple j and Phoebe Bridgers, this talent applies mature and complex lyricism over hazy, lo-fi pop sounds that are beautifully poignant and captivating. On new single ‘Giver, Lover, Pet’ she says:

“Lyrically, it’s a relatable situation where you find yourself stuck in an unhealthy relationship but can’t get out because you adore them so much.”

Lo

New Music: youproblem

Photo / Maybelle

youproblem is a brand new and hugely exciting alt-pop collaboration between Sydney producer/ drummer Alistair Hayes and singer/ songwriter Alana Patmore.

Today sees the release of their impressive self-produced debut, ‘Wasting Time’. Written about the pull of codependency, infatuation, and neglecting your responsibilities for someone else, the song was mixed by Joel Quartermain and presents conversational pop melodies over bright and gritty sounds.

“’Wasting Time’ is an ode to all the time and sacrifices you make when you’re young, dumb, and in love. It’s about that obsession with someone that makes everything else seem like it doesn’t matter. The beginning of codependency in a naive love situation. It’s basically me dating in uni.” – Alana

“This song came together so easily when Alana told me what she wanted to write about. It was obvious we wanted to go almost sarcastically bubbly and boppy over the more personal and kinda depressing lyrics.” – Alistair

youproblem

Joyeur – Window Shopping

Los Angeles-based vocalist & songwriter Joyeur returns today with a charmingly playful, whimsical and dreamy slice of pop perfection.

‘Window Shopping’ was born out of feeling tired of the artist hustle waiting for life to begin – something that was only exacerbated by the world-halting pandemic.

“The song is all about the predicament of the dreamer in a world where successes are flaunted as tantalising vistas. You’re so tired of the hustle, but seeing the possibility of the dream become a reality, keeps you going. As a small artist, there’s a feeling of waiting for life to begin, something that was only exacerbated by this world-halting pandemic. Life was put on pause and I started window shopping for a new one, elaborately and optimistically imagining what my life could be like. It was the jolt of escapism I needed for a somewhat bleak-feeling reality – sitting in my bedroom fantasising about flying to St. Tropez with Lil Nas!”

Debut album ‘How to Love Yourself and Not Destroy Everything’ is due soon.

Joyeur

Fatherson – Love For Air

Photo / Stewart Bryden

One of the most impressive alt-pop outfits to emerge from Glasgow in recent years, Fatherson are back with their anthemic new single ‘Love For Air’.

The song captures the rush of falling in love, and features a choir-backed chorus, sinuous melodies and euphoric synth lines.

“‘Love For Air’ is about falling in love. How you would replace that love for the air you’re breathing. I’d say it’s the biggest chorus I’ve ever written a combination of screaming melody, voices and lyrics that encapsulated that period of time in my life. I think anyone that’s fallen in love can relate to that overwhelming feeling of joy and I think we captured that perfectly in this song.” – Leighton, Fatherson

Taken from the upcoming album ‘Normal Fears’, which is out on 1st April 2022 via Easy Life Records.

Fatherson

Mahalia – Whatever Simon Says

The last two years have marked many achievements for Leicester-born starlet Mahalia.

Few R&B talents have been able to craft supreme songs as consistently as this artist, and with recognition from industry benchmarks like the Brits, GRAMMY’s and MOBO’s, it’s clear that her work is rightfully appreciated.

Her new single ‘Whatever Simon Says’ is a poignant song that discusses the ever-oppressive and unrealistic beauty standards that society places on women.

“Everybody who knows me knows that I definitely don’t follow social norms and shitty beauty standards. I’ve always been someone who has never let people try to change me – especially my romantic partners. This song is about wanting it to work with someone but knowing it ultimately can’t because their expectation of what type of woman I should be is just far too high. I feel like “whatever Simon says” is every girls ‘f*ck you’ to the system that has always been set up through a male gaze. It’s us saying that we are going to be  everything we want to be because we want it. And not because a man tells us to.”

Mahalia

Motel 7 – Headphones

Photo / Paris Brosnan

Now commanding 200k listeners per month on Spotify alone, it’s safe to say that Motel 7 are well on their way to hitting the global mainstream.

Consisting of Anton Khabbaz and Dylan Jagger Lee, this LA-based duo have been on my radar for some time, and the release of their new EP ‘Headphones’ only confirms my thoughts on just how talented these chaps are.

“Our EP ‘Headphones’ is a listening experience. Not a single second thought on any lyric or production choice – everything was first instinct. We literally wrote whatever we felt and what to get off our chests at that exact moment the song was made.  We wrote every song in a different emotional state… and state of mind. I (Anton) feel like we didn’t limit ourselves to a specific ‘sound’ for this EP.

A lot of these songs were written in the thick of the pandemic. They were written ‘virtually.’ Dylan and I would bounce ideas back and forth via text to get these songs to the finish line. It was a challenging yet eye opening experience to write music like that.

We called this EP ‘Headphones’ because we want the music to take you away from the world a little. When you wear headphones you almost want to close your eyes.. But sometimes you also want to dance.. And sometimes you even want to go to the beach for a run… We wanted the music to take you wherever you want it to. Whenever you have headphones on, it’s just you and the music.. Nothing else…there’s something so beautiful about that concept.”

New EP ‘Headphones’ is out now.

Motel 7

Lionel Boy – SHADOWBOXING

Photo / Casey Liu

Hawaiian-born, Long Beach-based songwriter Lionel Boy announces his return with the upcoming release of not one but two new EP’s this year.

Along with the news comes the release of dreamy new single ‘SHADOWBOXING’, of which he says:

“I’ve been trying to write a song like ‘SHADOWBOXING’ for a long time. Something that would feel both nostalgic to me and new at the same time. When I first started playing music it was always the guitar riffs that grabbed my attention and I think the same happened with SHADOWBOXING. Growing up in Hawaii, you automatically take things slower. No rush, no worries… until you piss someone off, then they’ll go 0 to 100. We’re both quick to relax and quick to rush in. This song isn’t about one thing in particular, but some observations I’ve made in myself and in those back home. I know a lot of us are just dealing with our own things, fighting our own demons… shadowboxing.”

‘Up at 4’ is out April 29th and ‘Down at 8’ is out June 17th 2022.

Lionel Boy

Xadi – Evidence

Undeniably one of the most exciting rap artists to emerge from the UK of late, Xadi returns with the sensational ‘Evidence’.

The track showcases a flawless and emotive production that compliments Xadi’s honest and bold lyricism – further solidifying this talent as one to watch.

Xadi