New Music: haer

What could be described as ‘Suburban Pop’, Brooklyn-based artist haer spent her childhood penning songs at home in the outskirts of Georgia before moving to New York.

Her approach to music making fuses indie and pop in a subtle and understated way, while the lyricism is vivid and captivating.

“I wrote this song after someone I was supposed to meet with cancelled on me for the second time. It felt like one of the many frustrations we sometimes experience with close friends and partners. After continuous misunderstandings and inconsistent behaviour, you wonder if it’s time to write this relationship off and move on. This song is a letter to them.”

haer

Julia Gartha x Beane x Ariza – Lost In The Sound

Created in quarantine from across the North American continent, ‘Lost In The Sound’ was was produced by Ariza and co-written by Julia Gartha and Beane; who is a current contestant on American Idol.

This is an effortlessly cool and sleek interpretation of alternative RnB that feels finessed and dreamy, lifted even further more by the stunning vocal arrangements.

Julia Gartha | Beane | Ariza

Watch: Eric Saade – Every Minute

I’ve often featured talent from Sweden’s most-watched television event, Melodifestivalen. You’ll be hard pressed to find a famous pop artist from the Nordic nation not to have been involved with the competition at some point in their career. It runs for six weeks and acts as a process to select country’s Eurovision entry.

This year saw the return of the hugely popular Eric Saade – one of the biggest names in Swedish pop from the last decade. And while he was declared as the runner-up eventually, he delivered one of the most experimental and avant-garde performances ever to be seen on the show’s 62-year old history.

New Music: Shelter Boy

One of Germany’s most exciting indie-pop exports, Shelter Boy brings a taste of the UK Northern music scene and blends it into his own unique style, to create sound that feels both refreshingly new and nostalgic at the same time.

“It’s about interaction, honesty and perceiving and analysing one’s own feelings. No platitudes, no embellishments; the sweaty truth as it stands in the front row and goes off like there’s no tomorrow”.

Shelter Boy

New Music: Haiku

Sometimes a song comes along, and the lyrics summarise life in a way that reassures you and gives you hope. Brooklyn-based artist Haiku’s song ‘Peace of Mind’ is just that.

It’s a track that looks at the struggles we all experience; of feeling overwhelmed and caught up in life, and the constant battles we can face.

A beautifully honest and introspective blend of RnB and soul, Haiku’s influences of SZA, Mariah Carey and HER come through majestically on this release.

“Life can weigh heavy on your shoulders, pushing you down, but there’s a dawn to every night. ‘Peace of Mind’ recognises the hardship and loneliness of struggle, while also reminding you to keep one foot in front of the other. Peace of mind calms the heart, and reassures the soul.”

Taken from the upcoming EP ‘Pilot’ which is out soon.

Haiku

New Music: Georg’ Estelle

Soul seems to be that one genre that resonates with anyone at any stage in their life. It has the ability to comfort you on a sad day, and join you on the happy days as well.

The pandemic has seen a lot of bad days come to light, but during lockdown there have been some artists like Anglo-Italian singer, songwriter and dancer Georg’ Estelle, who have thankfully spent their time creating some refreshing soul to cheer us all up.

“This song was written at the peak of the pandemic, during a difficult time of my life, where my motivation as an upcoming artist was hardly there, being at home isolated from everyone. But I still had hope, and I still wanted people to believe there was more to life and that we were going to get through this. The song is centered around a new love and the sentiment that comes with it, of feeling indestructible and excited. That’s how I want people to feel about life again and to listen to the track and feel uplifted, hopeful and ready to live fully. This is why ‘Taste of You’ holds such a special meaning to me, and hopefully it inspires others too.”

Georg’ Estelle

New Music: Bank Fenn

It’s near impossible getting any information about this talent, so you’ll have to make your own interpretations as to what this sound is about, and how it makes you feel.

What I do know though, is that this is US artist Bank Fenn’s second release, and was written about a woman named Lacy who left society to live on an island alone.

I personally found the song brought a new approach to indie folk, while also fusing elements of dark-pop and electronica to form a melancholy yet intriguing sound which is hauntingly beautiful.

Bank Fenn

Wild Youth – Can’t Say No

Irish pop perfectionists Wild Youth continue their invasion for global dominance with the release of hugely infectious banger ‘Can’t Say No’.

This is a bold and punchy track that feels powerful and euphoric, whilst still encapsulating the band’s down-to-earth nature and lyrical vulnerability.

Taken from the forthcoming EP ‘Forever Girl’ which is out on 26th March 2021.

Wild Youth

New Music: Tim Chadwick

Track of the week. I think this may very well be the most beautiful piece of pop that I have heard so far in 2021. ‘In Another Life‘ is just a phenomenally moving song; there’s no amount of words I could say that would do it justice. Just press play and experience four minutes’ of musical perfection.

Taken from the new EP ‘Timothy’ which is out now.

Tim Chadwick

New Music: Ned

Rising UK talent Ned blends alt-pop, RnB and hip hop to create a sound that feels refreshingly original. Today marks his third release, ‘indecisive’, which looks at the issues surrounding mental health.

The track was fully self produced, mixed and mastered by Ned himself, and features a sampled Boris Johnson speech that echoes the motif of ‘I’m just so indecisive, always in a constant crisis.’

Ned

june – Something To Lose

One of Denmark’s biggest and most exciting exports of late, june are back with another show-stopping slice of pop perfection with new single ‘Something To Lose’.

Starting slow, the track evolves into an almighty banger in a matter of seconds and keeps you hooked up until the end, by which point there’s a very likely chance you’ll keep it on loop for the rest of the day… Scandinavian pop at it’s best!

“It’s an explosive sound with a heartfelt message. But even though it is so violent, it is actually still very sparse and minimalist in the sound, which is a recurring thing in our songs.”

june

Leyla Blue – Gasoline

Consistently delivering some of the most charming and eccentric pop, Leyla Blue is truly becoming somewhat of a musical obsession for me. Self-penned ‘Gasoline’ details a date that never happened due to the interest flaking out.

Taken from the upcoming EP ‘THE BLUE,’ which is out soon via Island Records.

Leyla Blue

Sycco – My Ways

Infectiously catchy and shimmery pop from Australian artist Sycco. Now garnering close to 500k monthly listeners on Spotify, this is one of the most promising talents to emerge from the continent so far this year.

Sycco

New Music: emlyn

No stranger to the music industry, emlyn is already an established songwriter who has co-written hits with likes of Kiiara, Stela Cole and Greyson Chance.

So it comes as no surprise that this talent is capable of producing some of the most impactful pop-rock you could ever hope for. Her new single ‘a thousand parties’ is a pounding anthem that was inspired by tales of love, like that of ‘The Great Gatsby’.

“When I wrote ‘a thousand parties’ I wanted to tell one of these stunning, picturesque romances from the beginning, in the perspective of my close guy friend meeting the love of his life. A Gatsby-like tale, ‘a thousand parties’ is someone else’s love story, but I hope it looks like mine someday too.”

emlyn

USERx – My Body Left My Soul (feat. Pusha T)

USERx (a collaboration between RIAA Gold-Certified singer/ songwriter Matt Maeson and producer/ designer Rozwell) team up with Pusha T on the sensational ‘My Body Left My Soul’.

The project’s unique approach to alternative RnB and hip hop feels groundbreaking and new, yet somehow also engaging and familiar.

“There’s a lot of kids out there who need a home in a cultural sense – the kids who aren’t necessarily accepted by the rap world or the alternative world, and feel out of place everywhere they go. We want to create some kind of tribe for all the people who check that box that says ‘other.’” – Rozwell, USERx

Taken from the self-titled album ‘USERx’ which is out now.

USERx | Pusha T

Boy Destroy – Beautiful Crimes

One of the most exciting exports to emerge from Sweden recently, Boy Destroy returns with a vibrant, emotive and nostalgic fusion of emo and alternative RnB.

“Everybody longs for connection. Togetherness. A need that can be fulfilled with flesh or love or peace or whatever. I used to be in a twisted relationship with a person that I didn’t really love. I wasn’t a very good person to her but I made it look like I was. I felt like the devil, but then and there it felt like it was exactly how it should be. She hates me now, and I deserve it. You can fix yourself if you’re lucky.”

Boy Destroy