Tag Archives: Adele

Weekly Gems 123

Georgie – Chasing Kites

Georgie - Chasing Kites

UK-based Georgie shares the expressive ‘Chasing Kites’ taken from her album, out now. Georgie was the first signing to Soul Kitchen Recordings (the label set up by Jake Bugg’s management company: Soul Kitchen), and it’s the only song on the album that she didn’t write or produce during the lockdown. Listen below for that uplifting feel.

Sounds like: Sigrid, Adele, Emma McGrath

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Kasbo – Play Pretend Feat. Ourchives

Kasbo by Olof Grind

Kasbo by Olof Grind

Swedish artist and producer Kasbo shares his emotionally-charged new single ‘Play Pretend’. Featuring Ourchives’ soaring vocals, the track marks a new chapter ahead of his second studio album ‘The Making of a Paracosm’ will be out on 23 October via Foreign Family Collective / Counter Records, and features a passionate embrace amongst nature.

Sounds like: Frida Sundemo, Talos, Gryffin, Vanic, Shallou

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Jesse Hite – I’m Glad You Called Me

Jesse Hite

American-born French residing Jesse Hite combines music from the West Coast of the US with synth-laden electro inspired by his French antics. His new single ‘I’m Glad You Called Me’ combines poppy hooks with a generous nod to 80s disco.

Sounds like: Róisín Murphy, Shy Girls, Jungle, LCD Soundsystem, Ian Brown, Goldroom

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Dominic Fike – Double Negative (Skeleton Milkshake)

Dominic Fike by Daniel Prakopcyk

Dominic Fike by Daniel Prakopcyk

A new wave of rockstars are taking over, and with Billie Eilish‘s seal of approval, Dominic Fike is making huge waves with his modern take on emo-pop. The track ‘Double Negative (Skeleton Milkshake)’ is one of the more indietronica-friendly tracks taken from his genre-bending new album, ‘What Could Possibly Go Wrong’.

Sounds like: Glass Animals

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Glass Animals – It’s All So Incredibly Loud

Glass Animals by Ollie Trenchard

Glass Animals by Ollie Trenchard

Glass Animals shares the David Wilson (Tame Impala, Christine and the Queens) directed video for new single, ‘It’s All So Incredibly Loud’. Written about three seconds of life, in which during that short heartbreaking moment, devastation creates a deafening silence, followed by a point of no return.

Sounds like: alt-J, Tender, Pale Hands, Foreign Air, Everything Everything, Son Lux

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Celeste – I Can See The Change

Celeste by Sophie Jones

Celeste by Sophie Jones

Self-produced/directed DIY music videos are becoming almost a necessity given the current world climate, however, some are executed better than others, and this statement rings true with the mesmerising release from Celeste, out now on Polydor Records.

Beautifully simple and graceful, the video for ‘I Can See The Change’ doesn’t try too hard to be noticed, instead, the focus is put on supporting the track itself, and allowing the attention of the viewer to remain on Celeste’s arresting vocal tones.

The video features iconic and never more relevant footage from the March on Washington in 1963, at which Martin Luther King Jr delivered his historic “I Have a Dream” speech.

Produced by FINNEAS, this modern-day jazz ballad will move you to the core.

Sounds like: Adele, Arlo Parks

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KYVA – Dollar Sign

KYVA - Dollar Sign

KYVA is the dynamic new project from Australian-based Kyle Linahan.

Backing vocalist for artists including Adele, Ngaiire, Touch Sensitive, and Set Mo, KYVA’s solo project is freshly signed to seminal New York City indie label Frenchkiss Records.

Clear echoes of Prince and tinges of post-punk, his new single ‘Dollar Sign’ considers the complex relationship with money, specifically the temptations and pitfalls of living through late-stage capitalism.

The track – co-produced by The Jezabels’ Samuel Lockwood with Vlossum’s Alister Wright and mixed by Kllo’s Simon Lam – is a retro-futurist reverie in which distant synthetic melodies work their way through a neon-lit fog. Watch the visuals below.

Sounds like: Prince, Leo Stannard, Elliot Smith

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Tally Spear – City Girl

Tally Spear

Folk/pop singer Tally Spear shares her new single, ‘City Girl’.

You’d be forgiven for thinking Spear comes from further afield than London, with her fitting take on US-born country with a pop tinge.

Although Spear’s debut EP, ‘Fade To White’, received critical acclaim in the spring of 2018, she knew that something didn’t feel quite right to her. Despite having attracted nearly 200,000 streams for her single Days Like These, Spear decided to take time out.

During the 5 months she spent crafting her new material alongside acclaimed writer/producer Martin Hollis (Adele, Mark Ronson, Tom Walker, The Staves) at British Grove Studios.

Tally explains, “Something just happened with my taste. I just went through a change of what I was listening to when I was writing. It just became this new sound. I had a very clear vision of what I wanted to do in terms of production.”

The result is ‘City Girl’. Listen below.

Sounds like: Dolly Parton, Harry, Wolf Alice, KT Tunstall

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Weekly Gems 44

Harlee – Now I Know

Harlee by Andrew J Attah

We recently discovered rising pop-star, Harlee and we haven’t been able to get enough of her stunning debut four-track EP, ‘It’s Personal’.

The lead single from the EP, ‘Now I Know’, was written when Harlee was just 14 and explores the feelings that she experienced coming out of her first relationship and the first time she had ever felt pain.

Sounds like: Jess Glynne, Blonde, Dua Lipa

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WYVE – Sunset on the Bay

WYVE - Sunset On The Bay

Emphatic electro-pop band WYVE from France share their upbeat debut single, ‘Sunset on the Bay’.

Groovy by nature, WYVE effortlessly bounce between 80’s retro vibes and contemporary drumbeats and sugary synths. Having already made a start on their debut album, we are excited about what’s to come from the musical pioneers.

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Anna Pancaldi – Peace

Anna Pancaldi

Anna Pancaldi releases her guitar-driven song, ‘Peace’.

Since working with producer Matt Ingram (Florence & The Machine, Lianne La Havas, Laura Marling), Pancaldi has really got down to business honing her sound and adding more grit to her already heart-felt songwriting skills.

On ‘Peace’, Pancaldi states,

“A challenge at first but now an exhilarating awakening having discovered and then explored the electric guitar. ‘Peace’ is my first ‘foot stomper’ track which I think will surprise listeners who’ve been on the journey with me so far. It feels a bold evolution for me so here we go.”

Sounds like: London Grammar, Adele, Rhye, Birdy, Maiday, Courtney Barnett

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OSTON – bad

OSTON

We stumbled upon Chicago-based newbie OSTON on SoundCloud randomly this morning and just had to include her debut single ‘bad’ in our weekly gems.

The Chicago-based songstress embraces the misfit world, snuggling up nicely to acts such as Billie Eilish and RALPH, with her captivating take on pop.

Expect her ‘Sitting at the Kids Table,’ EP soon.

Sounds like: Billie Eilish, VÉRITÉ, RALPH

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Calper x Latir – Run To The Moon

Calper x Latir - Run To The Moon

Uk producer Calper and North London artist Latir have teamed up on new single ‘Run To The Moon’.

With it’s subtle of hints of dance sensibilities, the track never quite takes off in that direction, but it’s not big deal as we absolutely love the romantic escapism inspired in the track.

Sounds like: Craig David, Bipolar Sunshine, Ayelle

Calper
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Latir
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Tep No – Fighting

Tep No - Fighting

Canadian producer and remixer, Tep No, returns with new single ‘Fighting’.

Summer-ready production, floating vocals, and topics of melancholy make this the perfect way to see through the end of summer.

Speaking about his brand-new single ‘Fighting’, he says,

“‘Fighting’ is about the difficulty of breakups and moving past relationships, feeling like a part is taken away when it’s over, the loneliness, not knowin how to move on.”

Sounds like: Robin Schulz, Klingande, Goldroom, Vancouver Sleep Clinic, Bon Iver, Summer Heart, Washed Out, Day Wave

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Super Duper – Horizons

Super Duper

Experimenting with vocal chops and melodic riffs, ‘Horizons’ is upbeat and memorable.

Exciting Nashville producer and creator Super Duper has managed to do something unheard of – create a repetitive song that is quite simply addictive, and in no way annoying. Even Super Duper puts it on repeat, and you should too.

Sounds like: Kasbo, Petit Biscuit, Big Wild

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BAUM – This Body

BAUM

Our one to watch in 2018 is BAUM.

The Los Angeles-based pop angel takes control with her defiant anthem ‘This Body’. A song inspired by personal experiences with cat calling and a struggle with an eating disorder, it sends a hugely empowering message.

“One morning, while I was walking to the USC practice rooms on South Figueroa, I got aggressively cat called about my “fat ass.” I’m a fiery person. I talk back. I’m “sassy” and I’m not shy around strangers. I’m typically not someone who is great at “taking the higher road” or letting things go, but in that situation, I felt like a delicate flower. When a man confronts you without batting an eyelash, verbally scrutinizing your body, you feel like nothing. This man was asserting his dominance over me, letting me know that he was entitled to my body — looking, commenting, maybe even touching. So, I went inside the practice rooms with my face red and hot. I grew up in New York City. This was not the first time I had been cat called on a street corner, but for some reason it particularly bothered me that day. It was kind of a perfect storm because I felt like I wanted to yell or cry or something, and I had literally just stepped into a practice room with a piano. I started saying things that I wanted to hear — “I got my power,” “this body is my home” etc. Looking back on that experience, I guess writing the song was my way of getting my power back in the moment.

I recovered from an eating disorder in the summer of 2016, which is when I wrote this song. My whole life I grew up completely buying into the media’s definition of beauty. I thought that I needed to be rail thin (not my body type) and utterly despised any fat on my stomach. I started my first diet around the age of ten, and my battle with food, guilt, and self loathing continued on throughout the next ten+ years. For me, performing “This Body” is a reminder to myself that I’m sexy and I’m beautiful and I have all of my confidence. That’s why I start every show with it. It’s not just like I’m telling these lyrics to other people, but I’m sort of talking to myself as well.

My sophomore year of college, I was extremely lucky in that so many positive elements aligned themselves in my life. I had a boyfriend who loved my body and reassured me while I put on much needed weight and got increasingly healthier. I moved into an apartment with friends who were like family and were more supportive than I could have ever hoped for. That year, I also found the body positivity movement on social media. I read articles and watched videos of women talking about the stuff I had never been able to articulate and would never have felt comfortable articulating. All of these factors in my life came together and really allowed me to grow and to love myself. That kind of opened a door for me and inspired me to write about being a woman in very literal terms.

Honestly, my hope for this song is just that someone, somewhere can listen to it and feel what I feel hearing powerful women talk about loving themselves. When I see a quote that makes smile or a picture of someone owning their body, I feel companionship, knowing that we’re all in it together, and I feel empowered myself. If I can do that for someone else, then I will know I have accomplished something huge.”

Sounds like: Adele, Austra, YONAKA, MUNA, HAIM, Adele

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BAUM – Effortless

BAUM

Los Angeles native BAUM hits the right notes with her new single ‘Effortless’.

Taking inspiration in the romantic pitfalls of a close friend of the singer-songwriter, who was cheated on by an ex-beau, an “awful dude,” says BAUM, “I saw him do it and it broke my heart.”

BAUM immediately wrote the song after the event – originally a sad song, that soon turned into an angry one,

“I got to the chorus and just got so wildly angry and that tempo change and scream thing came out. I guess I turned the song into how I wanted her reaction to be: empowered, focused more on her anger than her sadness. I wanted her to realize her own strength and self-worth, so I wrote that into the song.”

Sounds like: Austra, YONAKA, MUNA, HAIM, Adele

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Nina June – If We Never Go

Nina June

Dutch artist, Nina June, has just released ‘If We Never Go’.

It’s the fifth track taken from her BON VOYAGE project, which greets a generation that is on a constant quest to overcome loneliness, despite being more interconnected than ever before.

Sounds like: Thomas Azier, Agnes Obel, Rhye, London Grammar, Adele

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Anna Pancaldi – Brother

Anna Pancaldi

Anna Pancaldi

It’s rare these days that music can hit you hard in your core, but Anna Pancaldi has managed to do that with her piano-led ‘Brother’.

As you would expect, ‘Brother’ covers a highly emotional subject, exploring the reality of loss.

Live Shows

March 3rd – House Concert, Glasgow
March 4th – Hemelvaart Bier Cafe, Ayton
March 7th – Whiskey Bar, Manchester
March 8th – Making Waves, Manchester
March 10th – The Steel Rooms, Brigg
March 17th – House Concert, Essex
March 16th – The Stables, Cricklade
March 18th – The Drawing Room, Chesham
March 19th – Apple Store, Regent Street
March 22nd – The Victoria, London
March 24th – Big Comfy Book Shop, Coventry
March 25th – St Peters on the Waterfront, Ipwich
March 27th -Bespoke Records, Brighton

Sounds like: London Grammar, Adele, Rhye, Birdy, Maiday

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POWERS – Sunshine

POWERS

POWERS

POWERS is a Los Angeles-based duo comprised of Mike Del Rio and Crista Ru.

Like many of their Californian musical counterparts, they create forward-thinking and invigorating pop.

The track is a really fun rollercoaster of indietronica sounds and melodies.

POWERS are crafting the new album alongside powerhouse producers such as Mark Rankin (Adele, Florence + the Machine, Queens of the Stone Age) and Rich Costey (Foster the People, Muse, Santigold).

Sounds like: X Ambassadors, The Knocks, LANY, Mainland

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