A refined and sleek approach to RnB from a talent who creates music as a process for healing.
“I want to bring a storytelling spiritual approach to my projects and ensure the young generation are riding on a right frequency.”
New Music: Cocoelusive
New Music: The Ella Sisters
A Norwegian outfit consisting of twins Maren and Charlotte, who are currently creating some of the sharpest pop to emerge from the nation.
The duo’s songs are inspired by being young and questioning the world we live in, delving into topics of identity, mental health, being underestimated and finding confidence in yourself. On ‘Neon Lights’ they say:
“It does not show much mercy, and has a raw feeling of anger and realisation to it. The song expresses disappointment of someone not being who they seemed to be.”
Taken from the forthcoming EP ‘Sugarcoat’ which is due later this year.
James Smith – My Oh My
The rise of James Smith has been nothing short of phenomenal. To date, he has amassed over 200 million streams from the release of just two EP’s.
Now he’s back with a stunning release that further cements his position as one of the UK’s most promising new talents.
“‘My Oh My’ is a song about loss, of any type really. I wanted to write something that wasn’t too specific to my situation and felt simple but powerful; something that could stand as the voice of a lot of people. At its most basic form, it is a break-up song, the most pertinent lyric for me being ‘you’re on my mind, but you’re out my arms’ – the feeling of someone still being present but not in the physical sense. Sometimes break-ups can feel like this, like a death, a mourning. This song explores that side of a break-up, that feeling of loss.”
Taken from the upcoming EP ‘District Line’ which is out this Spring.
Verzache – All I Need
With over 300 million worldwide streams to date, 23-year-old Toronto native Verzache has firmly established himself as one of Canada’s biggest pop exports in recent years. And with bops like ‘All I Need’, you can understand why this kid’s sound is so loveable.
“When I wrote ‘All I Need’, at the time I was definitely in the feels and the title is a pretty big giveaway, but I was just recording how I felt. Looking at the song now, I see it as an example of some good ole young love/ infatuation. You can take what you want from the song! But the fact you can be so obsessed with someone that it feels like everything else is nowhere near as important, is crazy/ cute/ terrifying/ awesome/ comforting.”
Taken from the debut album ‘My Head Is A Moshpit’ which is out soon.
New Music: ilselena
Track of the week. Beautifully stripped and understated melodic pop from a London-based talent who is not only making strides as a musician, but also as a model who’s worked for the likes of Dazed and Burberry.
New Music: Mike Back
Already a noted YouTuber and influencer in his native Finland, Mike Back has now released his first single.
It’s a subtle blend of acoustic indie and pop, delivered with a beautifully distinctive vocal.
“‘Bad On Purpose’ is a raw and honest RnB-pop song about knowing who you could and should be in a relationship, but wondering why you keep falling short of that goal.”
Grace Gaustad – Out Of Time
“Even though I’m young, I feel like I’ve wasted so much time on stupid things. The world’s in a crazy spot right now. We don’t know what the future will be. In your teens, you only care about very superficial things like your friends, parties, girlfriends, boyfriends, how you look, and your parents. But, what about the real shit going on? It’s about the fear we’ve spent too long worrying about the wrong things.”
ABSOLUTE. – Piano Theory
Lockdown or not, I’m thankful that we have talents like London’s own ABSOLUTE. keeping the party going (albeit in our homes for the time being).
“When working on ‘Piano Theory’, I was dreaming of being at huge outdoor raves, loved up, sweaty, with all my favourite people in the world, without any of life’s worries, a moment of pure euphoria and freedom. It became therapy, granting some escape to a tough time for all of us.”
Taken from the debut mixtape ‘Wonderland’ which is due for release in April via Skint Records/ BMG.
Benny Sings – Nobody’s Fault (feat. Tom Misch)
Hey, I understand
It’s not the end
This life’s not what you wanted
And we all got to grow
Hey, it’s nobody’s fault
We’re getting old
And time keeps pushing on
To the end of the road (my darling)
Dopha – Forget Your Name
Shane Garcia – Corner Store Runs
Shane Garcia returns with a track that blends beats with vintage rock and soul vibes to create a sound that exudes in character.
BRIDGE – Make Me Miss You
As far as RnB goes, BRIDGE is one of those rare talents who is consistently unafraid to be bold and experimental with his work.
Press play on ‘Make Me Miss You’ and the beat will immediately catch your heart and mind, leaving you completely hooked to every second of this song.
“I wanted to deliver on a vibe that to me felt like a perfect summary of everything I put out recently. Something that felt true to me both lyrically and sonically.”
Watch out for multiple EP projects from Bridge this year.
Jon Lucy – PUTP (feat. fina)
On the surface, this release from LA-based talent Jon Lucy comes across as a playful take on electronic pop; but listen to the words carefully and you’ll begin to realise that there’s a deeper message that gives the song a whole new perspective.
“This song is about communicating with the dead – specifically how foolish and silly that can feel while simultaneously feeling like the most profound experience. It’s a fragmented representation of something I felt every time I drove past the place in Vermont where my partner passed away – a lot of confusion and attempts at acceptance tied together by a manic energy that keeps pushing forward for self preservation.”
New Music: Dear Sara
I first featured Swedish talent Dear Sara last year, when she collaborated with JIM OUMA and Alicaì Harley on the single ‘Kids’.
I could hear something special in her voice back then, and now with the launch of new single ‘Something You Should Know’, I can confirm that this lady could very possibly be one of Scandinavia’s biggest pop exports in the future.
A delicate yet distinctive vocal presents itself within a song that contrasts between being haunting and rousing at the same time.
“I could not stop thinking about that strange song I wrote together with Elias [Näslin, co-writer] – a melancholic, complicated declaration of love for my hometown. A tribute to the culture I grew up with. To say that it also counts. We count. We exist. At the same time, I want to tell you about the alienation. About being different in the tiny community. About a constant search for more and a desire to fit in somewhere. It was time for me to own my story.”
Marie Naffah – Wasteland
London-based singer-songwriter Marie Naffah was creating traction right from the start; she was named MTV’s Unsigned Artist of the Year before even releasing her first song.
Now five singles in, this impressive talent has already delivered a TED Talk, scored a movie for the BFI Female Film Festival, and toured the US and UK (to sell-out venues like Omeara and the Camden Assembly).
The music itself fuses soul and inide-pop together to create a sound that is bold and confident – these songs make a statement and aren’t easily forgotten.
“I wanted the song to move in and out of two lands – The Wasteland and Wonderland. Wasteland – the home of self-doubt, apathy and vulnerability is articulated through the verses whilst Wonderland is a space of confidence, power and energy that pulsates through the chorus. After the year we’ve all had, I feel it is a song for people who seek to find their own version of Wonderland in 2021.”
Taken from her forthcoming EP, which is out later this year.
Nina June – Rainbow Ashes
It blows my mind how deeply emotive this single from Amsterdam-based singer and songwriter Nina June is. The first time I heard this song I was truly left speechless.
On the track, Nina’s solo vocal gives way to a production animated by the choir of a real heartbeat, a rain machine, and a swell of string that were arranged by celebrated composer, Sally Herbert.
It’s no surprise that previous releases have garnered Nina over 20 million streams worldwide.
New Music: Tommy Brown
In one word, you could describe British rapper Tommy Brown’s sound as ‘Epic’. There’s no holding back with this talent’s music; it’s raw, intense, deep, introspective and totally captivating.
Blending elements of jazz, soul and rock with hip-hop, Tommy Brown shows himself to be someone who is unafraid to break away from the traditional moulds of hip hop in the quest to tell his stories.
“This song is very personal to me as it represents a part of my life I poured a lot of my energy into. Me and an ex would talk about a future together and then one day that all came tumbling down when she moved away and found a new man. The track recounts my experience of this. We were lucky enough to have Izzy bless the track with powerful, soulful vocals – this gives the song an added layer of conversation within it between the verses and the choruses.”
Taken from the new album ‘Carousouls’ which is out now.
New Music: Jonah Zed
Hailing from Toronto, Jonah Zed creates a stunning blend of dreamy RnB and pop.
The resulting sound is true audible experience that feels finessed and understated, yet deeply emotive.
New Music: Carston
I am so pleased to be sharing with you this debut release from singer-songwriter Carston.
Hailing from the Netherlands, this promising talent has crafted a song that starts in a humble and understated way, and goes on to reward you more the longer you listen. You’ll find it near impossible not to fall in love with the beauty in it’s simplicity.
“Last summer I wrote and recorded the song ‘Take My Crown’ together with my producer and co-writer Stijn Kessens (who also happens to be my former history teacher). The first thing we recorded was the guitar riff, a few hours later we had recorded the basic framework of the song. A demo was created and from here on we strived to get the song to the highest production level.”
New Music: MoonBee
Every so often you stumble across a talent who is so uniquely true to their creative selves that the music totally blows you away after just a few seconds of play.
This is the case with Danish outfit MoonBee, who creates a sound that could only be described as cosmic dream pop; a fusion of playful 60s beats, rocking 70s bass, atmospheric 80s synth and omnichord, energetic 90s guitar riffs.
It’s music that takes you to several galaxies far away, and an escapist’s idea of bliss.
“MoonBee creates music that takes you to a distant, sparkling galaxy. A tale of searching for a greater meaning within the magical infinite Universe as a kind of backlash to all that’s sense imprinted in society. A book of remembrance of being a tiny little creature against the infinity of the Universe.”
Taken from the double-debut EP ‘Come Move In Another Dimension – Part I & II’ which is out now.