HAVET by Leonie Spiess
Introducing HAVET – German-Swedish Sisters Mimi (18) and Josy (16) who have been brought up by multi-instrumentalist parents.
Their new single ‘Child’ draws upon influences in pop, R&B, folk, and indie styles. Speaking about today’s release, the duo say, “Child is an ode to your heritage. It’s about being proud of your past and your roots and trusting the future because of it.”
Watch the video below.
Sounds like: Billie Eilish, Billie Marten
Milky Chance – Synchronize
Milky Chance by Anthony Molina
Returning from their sold-out US & Canadian tour, German duo Milky Chance share their brand new single ‘Synchronize’.
The nostalgic indie-dance number takes us back to better times and the video exudes joy, to match. It’s out now through their independent label Muggelig Records.
Sounds like: Will Heard, KYKO, Paul Simon, Jagwar Ma
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36Birds – BOY
36Birds
Queer artist 36Birds wants us to fall in love with rave again, and his new single ‘BOY’ does just that.
Interpolating Underworld’s iconic ‘Born Slippy’ and underscoring it with a tough kickdrum while also referencing Bronski Beat’s ‘Hit That Perfect Beat’, his vocals, seduced in autotune, fuse heart-on-sleeve R&B with rave. In a bid to give something back, 36birds wanted his fans to receive it as a free download, which you can get below.
Sounds like: LSDXOXO, serpentwithfeet, Frank Ocean, The Weeknd, Britney Spears
Phoebe Green – Make It Easy
Phoebe Green
24 year-old Manchester rock chic Phoebe Green releases ‘Make It Easy’ on Chess Club Records. Bang on trend, Green is establishing herself as one of the UK’s leading contemporary lyricists.
The video, directed by Lillie Eiger, showcases the lighthearted theme behind the song, and lends more towards darker electronic pop than previous guitar heavy endeavours from Green.
Sounds like: Billie Eilish, Self Esteem, Baby Queen
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The Ology’s – IJWICHTY (I Just Wish I Could Have Told You)
The Ology’s
Introducing The Ology’s, a five-piece indie pop/rock band from the UK.
Echoes of 60’s sentiments, their hazy new single ‘IJWICHTY (I Just Wish I Could Have Told You)’ is a psychedelic journey to a slow-rock, retro world.
Sounds like: Fleetwood Mac, Kings of Leon, The Libertines
Mogli by Giulia Delay
German-based singer-songwriter and all around creative Mogli has just released the 5th episode of her 10 part-film, taken from her forthcoming cinematic album ‘RAVAGE’.
Called ‘Aftermath,’ the new episode begins with Mogli and her male counterpart forced to hard manual labour after being captured by a local gang of people. The episode details how Mogli finds the inner strength to escape from the gang, a metaphor for her breaking out of her toxic relationship.
It’s a theme that runs throughout her forthcoming cinematic album ‘RAVAGE’, and to celebrate we’ve asked her to put together a playlist to celebrate its release.
You can listen to the playlist below:
Emilie Nicholas – Wild one
I love how Emilie is super blunt with her lyrics in this song, very inspiring that she says what she thinks
Ex:Re – Where The Time Went
I remember listening to this song on repeat while suffering from depression. Sad songs make me happy, that’s something you can hear in my album RAVAGE.
Billie Eilish – when the party’s over
The vocal production and singing are so very nuanced and on point here… when I recorded my album I wanted every little note to be purposeful so I love this.
Sylvan Esso – Uncatena
Sylvan Esso opened up a whole new genre for me merging pop and electronic music in a really cool way
Phoebe Bridgers – You Missed My Heart
Who can transform sadness into songs better than phoebe bridgers? Love love love the vibe of this song
Florence + The Machine – Sky Full Of Song
In this song the singing matches the lyrics so well! Florence is singing at the top of her lungs as if she was screaming, very cool.
ÄTNA – Bond
I adore german band Ätna for their complex yet catchy music
Missincat & Robot Koch – Made of Stone
This is such a beautiful fusion of organic and digital sounds it feels grounded yet ethereal
Bon Iver – Blindsided
Old but gold this song is in a way so small but the drum gives it drive, I love this combination
Ásgeir – Að Grafa Sig í Fönn
first song that moves me so deeply even though I understand the words. I strive for melodies that have intention so this was a beautiful experience for me.
Watch the ‘Aftermath’ video below:
Sounds like: Phoebe Bridgers, Ex:Re, IDER, Daughter, Birdy, RHYE
Slouch Online – This Is All Just Part of the Show
Slouch Online makes delectable R&B/hip-hop sounds from Los Angeles. Playing with new sounds, Slouch Online was inspired by new samples and the drive to make an upbeat song. He even says that during the songwriting process, “sometimes I don’t even remember how it all came together”.
Sounds like: Kid Cudi
Shaefri – Joanne
This song is a direct response to Shaefri seeing Leanard Cohen live. Speaking of the experience, Shaefri says, “The way he portrays Suzanne as a torturous siren inspired me to want to almost write a “little sister” for her, ‘Joanne’, and take the character further, displaying her as a gritty, tough woman in unimaginable circumstances, and explore how she has to walk a line between siren and self-preservation. I wanted to paint a more realistic picture of how certain actions and consent can be misinterpreted or ignored and how abuse can so easily take place, especially in sex work.’
Sounds like: Sasa Zola
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VÉRITÉ – Teenage Dream
VÉRITÉ looks back at her adolescent years with rose-tinted glasses in her whimsical cover of the Katy Perry classic. She wanted to reframe the song with her fresh, youthful perspective and altered lyrical content, “Put your hands on me in my skintight jeans, be your teenage dream tonight”.
Sounds like: Birdy
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UNDREAM – Monster (ft. IOVA)
UNDREAM is a talented Swedish producer with a dark, ambient soundscape. The ‘Monster’ single is intentionally uncomfortable and eery. Based on the silent horrors of lying in bed awake and alone, there’s a childlike feeling of being chased within the music.
Sounds like: Billie Eilish
Desmond Myers – Shadows
Desmond Myers describes new single, ‘Playing With Fire’, as an epic voyage of self-discovery. He started writing the track in a time of uncertainty and new parenthood, interspersed with ideas and realisations around like in the music industry.
Sounds like: Victor Solf
Jonah Kagen – Catching A Dream
Single artwork for JP Saxe, “If The World Was Ending (Other Remix)”
Jonah Kagen has released pop-infused single, ‘Catching A Dream’. Of the single, he says,“Catching A Dream” is about the place you go to in your mind when you just want to escape your reality. I really wanted to try to bring out that feeling of escapism and paint a picture of this magical place where nothing weighing you down in the real world could ever follow you. I hope you all love it and that it allows you to escape for a minute.”
Sounds like: Bastille
Kat Frankie – Shiny Things
Kat Frankie by Elina Kechicheva
Sydney-born multi-instrumentalist Kat Frankie shares the folktronica-esq single ‘Shiny Things’. Filmed with romanticism and grandeur in mind, the story tells of the inextricable relationship between beauty and decay.
Sounds like: First Aid Kit, HAIM, Feist, Fiona Apple
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milk. – I Hate the Way You’re Looking at Me (Lately)
Hot on the heels of The 1975 is Dublin-born alt-pop quartet, milk.. Their bright new offering, ‘I Hate the Way You’re Looking at Me (Lately)’ is full of looping synths, catchy riffs and lulling vocals that immediately lure you in for more.
Sounds like: The 1975, The Japanese House, No Rome
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Benji Lewis – Stay Around
Benji Lewis has been busy songwriting during 2020. Written with his new friend Tom Eggert and bonding over their love of home-made smoothies, ‘Stay Around’ is about the progression of love in every subsequent relationship.
Sounds like: The 1975, The Kite String Tangle, Antony Hegarty, Active Child, Gallant, Sam Smith, Solomon Grey, James Blake, Yazz, Jack Garratt, Disclosure, Lauv, Boy In Space, Zachary Knowles
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Asha Gold – Oscar
UK R&B artist Asha Gold shares new single ‘Oscar’. It’s written about award-winning liars and cheats who deserve to be called out for their deception and good-for-nothing behaviour.
Sounds like: Nakala, Frank Ocean, Rosalia
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Solå – B Mine
Norwegian songwriter Solå strongly encourages us to value ourselves in new single ‘B Mine’. It’s a hazy piece of electro-pop that perfectly showcases her talent as both a intricate songwriter and performer.
Sounds like: Shura, Dagny, Chvrches, Empress Of, MUNA
whatshisface – Magic Disaster
Intriguing newcomer whatshisface is on the precipice of jumping into our hearts. His new single ‘Magic Disaster’ is a gloriously melancholic invitation, brimming with dense and warming aesthetics, creating an altogether sweeping atmosphere.
Sounds like: James Blake, George Gretton, Billie Eilish
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Mungbean – Slow Motion
Introducing eclectic Ohio-based outfit Mungbean. Performed as only seasoned performers would, new single ‘Slow Motion’ has layered and heavy synths to accelerate the track’s dreamy and kaleidoscopic intention.
Sounds like: Snarls, The Naked And Famous
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Swedish artist STORME has a unique talent for making luminous electronic pop songs about nature. She spent much of her childhood exploring local woodland – a paradise of pine trees and untouched wilderness, punctuated by lakes that shimmer in sunlight in daytime, then lap quietly beneath sprawling stars at night.
The result of this is pretty evident on her new single ‘Kite‘, a sun-drenched paean to the mindfulness of relaxing made unique by her signature, angelic voice.
Speaking about the song, she explains: ““Kite is the first real Summer song I’ve written – it’s about an inner journey. There was a day in early June when I was walking in the woods. I felt my body relax, and I could really breathe again, for the first time in a long time. I almost felt like a bird chasing the sun.”
Sounds like: Billie Eilish, AURORA.
Sody x Cavetown by Blackksocks
It’s hard these days to find singers who sing in their natural accents, so imagine our surprise and delight within seconds of tuning into ‘is your bedroom ceiling bored?’.
Sody’s stunning vocals greet us and lock in the attention of the listener with her unmistakable tone and talent. The track is not a completely fresh song however, the song previously released as a solo track called ‘Bedroom Ceiling’ earlier in 2020, before the more production heavy rendition featuring Cavetown, accompanied by a brand new music video.
Not only is it an absolute joy to see these two linking up and creating such a marvellous track, but this is the first proper music video that we have seen since the beginning of lockdown. Not only is this song moving to the core, ‘is your bedroom ceiling bored?’ is a visual reminder that we may soon be returning to normal.
““Is Your Bedroom Ceiling Bored?” is for my fellow overthinkers,” Sody explains. “It’s when you’re staring at your ceiling at 4am looking for answers and wondering what someone is thinking. It’s when you write paragraphs to someone over text but then delete it and respond ‘I’m okay’. I imagine so many of us are experiencing this in isolation which unites us all!”
Sounds like: Billie Eilish, Halsey, Emily Burns, SHY Martin, dodie, Conan Gray
Sody
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Cavetown
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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
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
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
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 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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Imagine a world in which Billie Eilish had a lovechild with Corrine Bailey Rae, seriously how would that sound? How awesome – the fusion of modern production pop elements, soft vocal tones and jazzy guitars. Well, the wait to find out is over as debut artist Florence Arman arrives with her single, ‘Naked’.
Taken from her forthcoming seven-track EP, ‘Naked’ is the perfect introduction to Florence, meeting her at her most personal, discussing the painful consequences of letting someone into her life at an intimate level. It’s a song about vulnerability, about being hurt, but refusing to let those experiences define you.
Her Billie Eilish-esq, breathy vocal delivery is enchanting, to say the least. Florence Arman has arrived with a sound that can only be described with the use of her name, and this is how the greats are birthed, keep an eye on this one.
Sounds like: Billie Eilish, Corrine Bailey Rae
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Gillian – Static
Boston-based pop singer/songwriter Gillian covers the highs and lows of life, with a guitar in hand or behind a piano.
Her new single ‘Static’ is a melancholic reflection about suffering FOMO.
Sounds like:
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Grant Knoche – AS IT SHOULD
17-year-old Grant Knoche shares another knockout pop single.
It’s everything we expect from a vexed teenager – controlled angst displayed in delicate melodies with beautiful keys and vocal harmonies – about a love that has got away.
Sounds Like: FINNEAS, Billie Eilish, Troye Sivan, Noll, Nikless, Kenzie, In Real Life, XXXTentacion
Omar Addis – Easy
Cardiff-based Omar Addis shares his breezy self-produced song, ‘Easy’.
Written from a reflective point of view, it looks back at the people who are no longer in your life, and how things could have gone differently.
Sounds like: Roosevelt, Washed Out
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Amelia Dare – Wrong About Me
On her sophomore single, South-East London based talent Amelia Dare channels themes of empowerment on the summery and addictive, ‘Wrong About Me’.
Maintaining the same organic sound established on her debut, ‘Teaser,’ Amelia is fast becoming a resounding new voice in the alternative R&B space.
Sounds like: ELIZA, Caswell, Cleo Sol, Snoh Alegra
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Tentendo – Thoughts Feat. Vetta Borne
Hotly tipped Melbourne-based bassist and producer, Tentendo returns with fellow Australian singer-songwriter Vetta Borne on brand new single, ‘Thoughts’.
Taking heavy inspiration from KAYTRANADA, he effortlessly fuses elements of hip-hop, disco and pop in an irresistible three-minute slice of down-tempo future funk.
Sounds like: Kaytranada, Pomo, AlunaGeorge
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The Dryas – Make You Mine
Brighton-based trio The Dryas share their ambitious debut release, ‘Make You Mine’.
Comprised of Hudd Hunter-Smith, Luke Cowie & Connor Tagg, the song conveys heartfelt and raw emotion, privy to fellow boybands, LANY and The 1975.
Sounds like: LANY, The 1975
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