Taken from ‘THE ANGEL YOU DON’T KNOW’ which is out now.
New Music: L E X
Understated pop that feels stripped-back and minimal, yet filled with a raw, dark energy that is really quite captivating.
New Music: Manta
Some exciting talent emerging from Manchester here. Manta is a singer-songwriter who’s eclectic style blends elements of bedroom-pop with indie and hip-hop.
With influences ranging from Kenny Beats, Dominic Fike to Easy Life, Manta is a shaping up to be a name well worth watching out for in the coming year.
“I wrote ‘Dream World’ to show how stuck I felt when studying architecture; I had bigger dreams and aspirations than to be stuck in an office all day. I wanted to produce, play shows, and start releasing music, but I felt confined to a life I was not passionate about. My music is a big cooking pot full of everything I am into.”
Surf Mesa – Carried Away (with Madison Beer)
It’s like suddenly all that’s important is in front of me
Already know what we’re gonna be
You look so good in this light
New Music: Emily McNally
Brooklyn based folk-pop singer and songwriter Emily McNally creates a dark, dreamy and almost surreal sound which intrigues and captivates you in equal measure.
Fun fact: the track was recorded, mixed, and mastered entirely on her iPhone.
New Music: Liza
Canadian talent Liza brings us a finessed fusion of smooth soul, RnB and pop. It’s just blissfully sublime in every way you could imagine.
New Music: Kyte Yard
Luxuriously textured blends of RnB and downtempo-pop, laid over an emotive melody. This track also features Charlie Oriain.
Watch: Fousheé – single af
This is some of the most outstanding soul you’ll listen to all week. Watch as Fousheé displays the empowering meaning behind being ‘single af’ in style with friends.
Look out for the end of the video; there’s a short skit where a suitor is attempting to get Fousheé’s attention, played by phenomenally talented Teezo Touchdown.
Ninajirachi & Kota Banks – Secretive!
Sydney based songwriting-producing-performing powerhouses Ninajirachi and Kota Banks were responsible for one of 2020’s most heralded dance-pop EP’s, ‘True North.
Not content with stopping there, they’ve just released another excellent almighty track that keeps the collaboration alive. And trust me when I warn you; it’ll stay in your brain for many hours to come.
“‘Secretive!’ is a song that we wrote at the very start of our collaborative journey! We both adored it immediately, but given it’s vibrance and more dance-focused edge we didn’t feel that it shared the same DNA as the other songs on the True North project: it was more like their outrageous second cousin… and we knew so definitively that we wanted to release it that it actually inspired the whole ‘deluxe’ idea! It really evolves our ever-growing world, True North, perfectly, and it’s so fantastically fun to play live.”
Taken from ‘True North Deluxe’, a new 10-track set due early April.
Rochelle Jordan – All Along
This really is Rochelle Jordan’s year! After the massive banger of a track ‘Got Em‘ came out a few weeks ago, she’s now back with another huge release that blends RnB with a distinctive 90’s-inspired new jack swing sound.
“As the song started to close in, I began to get this overwhelming feeling that I was actually speaking to myself. This song felt better to me once I started hearing it as the importance of recognising your own self as your greatest lover. It’s so easy for us to get caught up searching for someone else to fill our voids, instead of working on us in order to make ourselves whole.”
New Music: Phoenix Laoutaris
Track of the week. Undeniably, this is one of the most exciting names to emerge from the UK so far this year. Blending a finessed RnB sound with hints of neo-soul and drill, Phoenix Laoutaris is a name to watch out for.
Inspired by the likes of Lauryn Hill, Amy Winehouse, Stevie Wonder, Donnie Hathaway and D’Angelo, this talent is not afraid explore the deeper side of love and translates it into the most stunning musical way you could imagine.
“The song pinpoints a moment and time in my life when I was coming to terms with the reality of relationships. That you can’t always trust what feels real. I’ve always been independent but I learnt to never put your independence onto another soul”.
Hauskey – Go Wrong
In my view, Hauskey is responsible for creating some of the finest bedroom-pop out of Australia right now.
He’s back with a follow-up to last year’s debut EP ‘Slow’, and it’s a delicious slice of laissez-faire, sunshine-toasted slacker pop.
“If you’ve heard my music, you’ve probably picked up an air of pessimism in my writing. Lately, some exciting stuff has been happening, but my natural tendency to expect the worst is holding me back from enjoying it. And so, we have ‘Go Wrong;’ me and my brain being unable to celebrate a win, however small, because it’s so quickly on the lookout for the next stumbling block.”
Watch: Fernweher – Armor
Italian singer-songwriter and visual artist Fernweher fuses elements of electronica, dream-pop and downtempo with RnB to create a sound that feels ethereal, intense, and hauntingly emotive.
“Sometimes you try to get to know people that will never reveal themselves completely or will hide their fragility under some uncommon reactions. When you go through a tormented breakup and face your demons, you end up being stronger. It’s as if every disappointment over time builds an Armor around you.”
Taken from the debut album “Everything Is Purple” which will be released later this year via the Berlin based label SPRINGSTOFF.
New Music: Mike Liegel
What better way to draw a close to the weekend than to share with you some premium power-pop from New Jersey talent Mike Liegel. The sound feels fun, nostalgic and full of character.
The song’s lyrics serve as a reminder that not everyone has a good heart or good intentions in relationships.
Zachary Knowles – johnny and june
Now with more than 30,000,000 combined streams globally, it’s only a matter of time before Zachary Knowles becomes a household name.
And there’s good reason for it too… this talent is consistently delivering a style of pop that is so charming and easy to connect with, that it’s impossible not to be won over by.
“When I wrote ‘johnny & june’, I was in the midst of a lot of changes in my life. I think because I had so much going on at the time and because there were so many changes, it made me want to write about something steady, that being love. I wanted to make something that just felt good; something that felt real and authentic and honestly just happy. This song is a total love story, and it helped bring me peace during a time of uncertainty in my life. I can’t wait to share it with everyone, and I hope it can do the same for people that it’s done for me.”
Marie Noreger – Bullsh*t In Disguise
“The inspiration behind the track is more or less about a free-minded person living in a square narrow-minded society, having trouble facing false values and time, etc.”
Taken from the debut EP which is out on 26th March.
Syd – Missing Out
Singer, songwriter, producer, and engineer Syd is back with her first solo release since 2017’s critically acclaimed debut ‘Fin‘.
‘Missing Out’ is a stunning track that also happens to be an anti-Valentine’s Day ode, and all I can say is it was well worth the wait.
New Music: Jake Hays
What could only be described as a ‘creative jack-of-all-trades’, the multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, actor and producer known as Jake Hays has a distinctively unique pop style that feels refreshingly playful yet charming and bursting with character.
“‘OVERCOMPLICATED’ is a song about the aftermath of a bad first date, where one person is trying to put up clear boundaries and the other person refuses to take the hint.”
New Music: Chelsea Thompson
Sometimes, just listening to the voice tells you a story in itself. And in all honesty, I can’t remember the last time I was moved so much by a vocal as I have with Chelsea Thompson.
This is a bold, powerful, deeply emotive and enveloping sound that grows in intensity the longer you listen.
Thompson’s new EP ‘Good Mourning‘ was written while grieving the loss of both her parents and the suicide of a fiancé, all within 3 years. It’s those hardships that ultimately make someone stronger, and the pure, raw power of that voice says it all.
The ‘Good Mourning’ EP is released on 5th March.
New Music: NOT THE MAIN CHARACTERS
This trio of seemingly innocent friends have created one of the catchiest pop songs that I’ve heard all week in a deliciously sinister and twisted type of way.
NOT THE MAIN CHARACTERS bring about a refreshing and satirical approach to pop, capturing the absurdity of the age of the internet.