Sage Ray – She’s Worth It

Sage Ray’s follow up to December’s ‘Goodbye Stage‘ is exactly as beautiful and melodic as I’d hoped. Minimal yet intense; deeply emotive yet relatable.

“While she was healing from her past, I was giving my guts loving her the best I knew how. Our dynamic caused lots of disconnect and bad communication and I think most people would’ve given up. In fact, lots of people told me I should. But I learned that real love is laying my life down for others. Loving even harder when things get tough. Committing and persisting through something many in my world said was hopeless was one of the most beautiful, vulnerable experiences I ever had, and I’d never trade it.”

Sage Ray

New Music: Almost Barely

Fantastic Californian indie-pop from a talent who only discovered music-making during quarantine, with no prior experience.

That said, Almost Barely’s debut is brimming with charm and character, and carries an emotive undertone that pines for the days before we all went into lockdown.

“This is a song I made after reminiscing on a night pre-covid out on the town with my girl. We spent the night bar hopping in San Francisco and went to a concert at our favourite venue and I just really miss that. This song is about that night and to the many nights like that in the future when we can out again! “

Almost Barely

New Music: LHEO

Brace yourselves for the unexpected with this track. A uniquely individualistic approach to lo-fi pop from this Bristol talent, who’s unafraid of merging genres like hip hop and soft rock together to create a sound that is refreshingly authentic.

“I’ve always had a very addictive personality, and music is the first thing that has satisfied this craving in a positive and productive way.”

LHEO

New Music: SZNS

LA-based quartet SZNS are probably my favourite emerging girl group at the moment. Their sound is unapologetically bold; this is punchy 90’s throwback-inspired pop, fused with hints of EDM, RnB, and latin.

“‘Behave’ is for every girl who’s been told to act like a lady: to sit up straight, be polite, to let the grown ups talk. Our entire lives we’ve been told that we’re ‘doing too much’ or acting ‘too intense’ – Behave is about being unapologetic, and taking up the space you deserve, despite what anyone else might say. If being demure and soft-spoken is good behaviour, then I guess we never learned how to behave”.

SZNS

New Music: Cherry Lena

Hailing from Montreal comes this fresh new RnB-pop talent with one mighty distinctive vocal. You will fall in love with this sound as soon as you press play. You’ve been warned!

“‘Mellow Happy’ is a serene state of mind. It’s the feeling that despite not knowing what the future holds, you will flourish into exactly what you were meant to be. It’s accepting that time is running, and that everything will fade one day. This feeling of peace comes with the illusion that the world is yours, freeing you from your usual fears and worries. If only you could stay this calm forever. But of course you won’t. And somehow, Right now, that’s okay with you.”

Cherry Lena

Layla Kardan – Loyalty

The ultra-gifted music artist, activist and fashion muse that is Layla Kardan is back today with another sultry and intensely captivating slice of dark pop.

“The song is about taking a stance before entering a new relationship by laying your cards out instead of re-enacting the same toxic patterns, because Loyalty doesn’t come easy.”

Taken from the upcoming EP ‘Abscission’, set for release on 26th February 2021.

Layla Kardan

New Music: Andreww

After a stint in the fashion industry walking and working for the likes of Louis Vuitton, Dior, Versace and Valentino, British talent Andreww took his love for music in a more serious direction, releasing his debut single ‘Talking To Myself‘ late last year.

Today he returns with ‘Medusa‘, another showstopper of an anthem that immediately commands your attention. His style of music-making bravely blends the boundaries of several genres together to form a sound that is truly quite unique, and an experience of it’s own. Andreww could be one of the most exciting talents to emerge from the UK this year.

“As much as people didn’t want to look at Medusa they still did. It’s the same with toxic relationships. No matter how bad they are for you, you can’t help but stay in them. ‘Medusa’ is about these toxic relationships and all the two-faced feelings that come with them. The inner conflict also reflects in the music; clashing trap, grunge and pop against each other kind of shows that things that sometimes aren’t meant to together, still end up staying together.”

Andreww

Amalie Bryde – Lay Down

Continuing the exceptionally high standard of neo-soul and jazz from London-based Danish-born singer-songwriter Amalie Bryde comes the release of her next single, ‘Lay Down’.

At first the song feels mellow and stripped-back, but listen carefully to the lyrics; they’re refreshingly loaded and stand for more than you think…

“In ‘Lay Down’ I sing about a man only wanting to have sex with me, but it’s so much more than that. ‘Lay Down’ is a commentary on gender inequality and what it means to be a woman in the 21st century; religiously, politically, professionally etc.”

Amalie Bryde

Leebo Freeman – Technicolour Chandelier

An experimental approach to pop that fuses elements of synth and psychedelica together with retro inspirations from the 70’s and 80’s. The result is a sound that feels bold and new, yet retains a certain soulful warmth.

The song was written after Freeman felt stuck in a toxic relationship, wanting to find a way out of the dark state it put his mind in.

“The song was me speaking to myself about finding the courage to lift myself out and to start anew, finding light and solace in anything I could (like music and my imagination). The ‘Technicolour Chandelier’ being my metaphoric ‘High Hide away haven’ or prospective new possibility of life.”

Leebo Freeman

LOVA – Dance For The Hell Of It

I lost count of how many times I’ve featured Swedish talent LOVA on Alfitude, which is a testament to how much I love this kid’s raw and honest approach to pop making.

Today marks the release of her debut album ‘Grown-ish‘, and with it this single to whet your appetite. On the album, LOVA says:

“For the first time, I wrote for myself. I asked myself, ‘What are people going through?’ I wanted it to be very much like a diary and very personal. It was therapeutic for me, and the title resonated with where I am in my life. It’s a way to show every side of me. All of the songs are creating the story, but the album is also what made the songs. I’m excited to be able to go back to it in ten years and reminisce how I felt during this time.”

LOVA

New Music: Valley Sixteen

An bold take on indie-pop from 20-year old South African talent Valley Sixteen. After relocating to Germany, ‘Sad Eyes’ came to life on the floor of her best friend’s apartment in Munich.

This track is an exemplary example of melancholy pop music, and confirms Valley Sixteen as one to watch.

“Moving myself away from some extremely toxic situations, I learnt that even though they still stung, I didn’t have to feel so negative about them anymore. ‘Sad Eyes’ is sad, yes, but for me, it’s my ‘reclaim that independence’ song that I needed when I went through my breakup.”

Valley Sixteen

New Music: Alexander Grandjean

A stunning blend of alternative pop, fused with indie RnB that feels deeply emotive and timeless.

Danish talent Grandjean is no stranger to music; he’s been writing and producing hits for the likes of European heavyweights such as Nneka, Freja Kirk, Sivas and Yes-R.

‘Weeps‘ is taken from the upcoming debut-album ‘Via Motion‘, which will be accompanied by a 40-minute film, as every song will have its own music video.

Alexander Grandjean | ALEA

Interview: Quickfire with Ofenbach

With over a billion streams and hundreds of millions of views on YouTube, Parisian duo Ofenbach have heralded the return of French dance music to the top spots across European charts.

It’s fair to say that few have achieved so much in such a short space of time. With the release of their latest single ‘Wasted Love‘, Alfitude has been lucky enough to get some time with the pair for a Quickfire interview.

Looking back to the start, can you tell us a little bit about you both and how you got formed?

We have known each other since we were little kids. So Ofenbach is a friendship project before everything. We always wanted to create, to have artistic projects together. So Ofenbach is the result of this! 

What is your process when you create music?

We usually start with a melodic base, chords and vocal line. It’s the songwriting part. And we then move to the production side of things where we add up all the dance music touch and arrangements.

To date, three of your previous singles have all achieved platinum or diamond status. Do you feel a pressure when you release new music?

Of course there’s always pressure! We always want to do better, and we spend so much time and energy creation music, that the pressure is always around the corner. But it’s a positive one. Also – since we passed the post-first single issue, we have the feeling that we’re here for the long run.

Who inspires you musically?

We’re listening to pop, rock alongside dance music. Supertramp is our go-to band. What inspires us really is melodies in general.

Your new single ‘Wasted Love’ shows a melancholier side to your music, can you tell us a little more about what the song is about?

The song is about love and how to save it from going down. There’s this double use of the meaning of ‘Wasted’ that creates this kind of interesting twist on the chorus. We connected with this deeper and melancholier side of the record quite quickly when we started working on it. Funny thing is that we worked on it during summer time when the sun was shinning and everything was great and bright.

Who would your dream collaboration be with?

We would love to collaborate with Calvin Harris on the dance part. And Coldplay for the pop one.

What are you most looking forward to when we finally finish with COVID?

Touring, touring, touring and seeing fans. 

And speaking of the future, what can people expect from Ofenbach next?

More songs and most certainly an album within the next year!

Ofenbach on Instagram

Images Credit: Alexy Montuelle