Tag Archives: DIIV

Weekly Gems 88

Surf Rock Is Dead – Our Time

Surf Rock is Dead by Jacqueline Harriet

Surf Rock is Dead by Jacqueline Harriet

Introducing Surf Rock Is Dead (SRiD for short) – aka Kevin Pariso and Joel Witenberg from Chicago and Melbourne.

Their new wave and billowy single, ‘Our Time’ captures the moment where you are forced to face fear head-on and look within.

Expect the band’s debut LP in the spring of 2020.

Sounds like: My Bloody Valentine, DIIV, Day Wave

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Lauren Sanderson – Upset

Lauren Sanderson

Fiery LGBTQ artist Lauren Sanderson has incredible drive. That’s clear from her music and attitude (not many people can say they’ve given a TED Talk at the age of 18).

Her new single ‘Upset’ flips the issues of the despondent Generation Z on it’s head.

Sounds like: Post Malone, Rihanna, Sizzy Rocket

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Phoebe Sinclair – OMG

Phoebe Sinclair

Australian pop artist Phoebe Sinclair is a self-confessed emotional wreck, and this makes for intoxicating music.

Her new single ‘OMG’ is Sinclair taking ownership of her mistakes whilst not letting them define her.

Backed by a four-piece all girl ensemble, oozing confidence and power, and armed with a massive pop vocal, Sinclair smashes out electro pop tunes with an inescapable energy.

Sounds like: La Roux, Robyn, Vera Blue

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Tallsaint – Model Effect

Tallsaint

British artist Tallsaint releases the highly chic and addictive ‘Model Effect’.

Taking inspiration from early 2000’s tracks as well as a more modern pop culture of now – born from a visual scene in Killing Eve where Villanelle sees Eve in the bathroom for the first time and makes a comment on her hair.

Sounds like: Bat For Lashes, Anna of the North, Stereo Honey, RALPH, St Vincent, Lykke Li

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Hank Compton – Judge Me

Hank Compton

Nashville native, Hank Compton, shares his head nod-inducing single, ‘Judge Me’.

Combining his love of classic rock and 80’s pop, Compton’s music and rich storytelling creates a modern sound with a nostalgic feel.

Sounds like: Sam Fender, Bruce Springsteem

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Beau Diako x Jordan Rakei – Flamingo

Beau Diako

Self-taught musician Beau Diako shares his new single called ‘Flamingo’, taken from his debut EP, ‘Flutter’.

Featuring neo-soul artist Jordan Rakei, the track is probably his most “pop” song from the EP, which is a glorious fusion of indie, jazz, folk, electronic and soul.

Sounds like: Tom Misch, Bombay Bicycle Club

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ANDRO – GYMH

ANDRO by Johnny Diaz Nicolaidis

ANDRO by Johnny Diaz Nicolaidis

ANDRO may have plenty of experience touring in Jungle‘s band, but now it’s his time to shine.

His debut single, ‘GYMH’ (Give You My Heart) kicks off a new collection of theatrical pop melodies that balance between the ethereal and emotional, perfectly encapsulated by the beautifully shot video below.

Sounds like: Kyri

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Mokita – Colorblind

Mokita

Also from Nashville is singer/songwriter/producer John Luke Carter, aka Mokita.

Known for his lyrical and buoyant electronic-based pop, Carter was classically trained in piano in his youth and first started performing in his church. Later, he taught himself to play guitar and eventually transitioned into electronic music production.

His new single ‘Colorbind’ is an attempt to try and describe depression to someone who has never experienced it.

Sounds like: EXES, Handsome Ghost, joan, FRND, Nick Anthony, Luna Pines

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Penniless Cove – Too Tight

Penniless Cove

Named after a harbour road that lead to the sea, unique Welsh songwriter based in London Penniless Cove, is a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist that writes raw, affecting music drawing from a number of different genres.

The music obsessive shares ‘Too Tight’ – a weird and wonderful array of jazz, blues and folk.

Sounds like: Regina Spektor, Björk, Ibeyi, Alev Lenz, Kate Nash

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Weekly Gems 73

Elina Eriksson – Discover Her

Elina Eriksson

Swedish LGBTQ songwriter/producer Elina Eriksson shares her debut single, ‘Discover Her’, after finding out that a girl she was living with during her time in London, was cheating on her.

Clean and simple in its cut, the nostalgic-pop song has a positive feel throughout, despite the song’s adverse lyrical content.

Sounds like: IDER, Kllo

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Arche – My Only

ARCHE

French indie pop quartet Arche shares the visuals for their first official release, ‘My Only’ – an atmospheric slice of weird, psychedlic dream-pop.

The video features the boys in mismatched outfits, amongst a vintage, nineties backdrop. Watch below.

Sounds like: Tame Impala, Tropic Harbour, Summer Heart, DIIV

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R.LUM.R – How This Feels

R.LUM.R

Introducing Nashville creative, R.LUM.R. His music is R&B, underscored by a hip-hop attitude, pop dalliances, and a progressive rock vision.

In ‘How This Feels’, R.LUM.R urges an honest interpretation of the song by its listener. It is taken from his forthcoming album, due this fall via Island Records.

Sounds like: The Weeknd, Blood Orange, LA Bouquet

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JVLY – me&her

JVLY

Australian artist JVLY shares his smooth’n’mellow tune, ‘me&her’, which features some co-production from Swiss producer DRKTMS.

In the song, JVLY channels some serious dream-pop vibes (think Men I Trust) with buzzy analogue synths, that he neatly stumbled upon whilst trying out his brand-new analogue synthesizer.

Sounds like: Men I Trust, Kllo

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Noah Kenton – Walk Feat. Jahn Rome

Noah Kenton

L.A.-based artist Noah Kenton continues his musical journey with the crossover alt-R&B bop ‘Walk’.

Cutting his teeth as an indie-pop singer-songwriter, he traversed to a colourful, crossover sound after his interest in production allowed him much more creative freedom.

The track also features Maryland lyricist Jahn Rome, who brings a welcome, rhythmic energy to the track.

Sounds like:

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Tim Rose – Left on Read

Tim Rose

DIY musician Tim Rose shares his video for ‘Left on Read’, the third release in a series of visuals culminating into a short film and showcases his obsession with smooth and soulful guitar licks.

The track considers dating through your smartphone and the pitfalls associated with getting to know someone through technology.

Sounds like: Parliament, Shawn Mendes

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Jordan Esker & The Hundred Percent

Jordan Esker & The Hundred Percent

Meet Florida fourpiece, Jordan Esker & The Hundred Percent.

They’ve just released their EP, ‘My Own Misreable’, which is gospel/synth-rock meets organ-led emo/soul and a kind of heartbreak only fans of The National will understand.

Sounds like: The National, Sea Girls

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Weekly Gems 64

Great Mountain Fire – Look UP

Great Mountain Fire

Belgium pop band Great Mountain Fire their shares new single ‘Look Up’.

Comprised of childhood friends, their music echoes of Daft Punk. Tinged with groovy beats, ‘Look Up’ is a fresh, sunny indie pop tune.

Sounds like: Breakbot, Goldroom, Daft Punk, Mirage Club

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0171 – SMTHN RL

0171

0171 is Hackney duo Joe Bedell-Brill and Georgie Hoare.

Creating a beautiful clash of raw and honest music, the nostaglic dark pop duo shares their sophomore single, ‘SMTHN RL’. It explores a yearning for real experiences and real intimacy in a world where you can often feel distant from each other, and from your own life.

Their debut EP is out on 17 May.

Sounds like: Kllo, Kudu Blue, The xx, Myo

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Tropic Harbour – Calm

Tropic Harbour

Canadian artist Tropic Harbour today releases his ‘Calm’ EP.

Not disimilar to his former releases, the lead single continues to serenade the listener, and gives further gravitas to the beat-maker’s own unique take on the chillwave sound.

Sounds like: Summer Heart, DIIV, Jessy Lanza

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Joey Landreth – Cryin’

Joey Landreth

Meet Juno award winning guitarist Joey Landreth.

Also one half of the esteemed roots band The Bros. Landreth, Joey takes a more emotional approach to his solo material, creating a bold and versatile sound that explodes with energy while also remaining captivating throughout.

Listen to ‘Cryin” below, with its James Bay vibes.

Sounds like: James Bay, Hozier

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ORIION – Siren Call

ORIION

If you’re a fan of anything pop, there’s something for everyone in ORIION‘s latest, ‘Siren Call’.

His self-described ‘nostalgia pop’, walks the line from the 80s up to the modern day, with a one-a-kind vocal delivery that really conveys the lovesick motivations.

Sounds like: Zayn

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Manatee Commune – Growing Pains

Manatee Commune by Allen Daniel

Manatee Commune by Allen Daniel

Manatee Commune is exploring music and life in his mid-20s.

His blissful new single ‘Growing Pains’ hits the crux of the issue. Immersed in a sober and earnest landscape, the song features Samuel Eisen-Meyers and is out now via Bastard Jazz.

Sounds like: John Mayer, Teen Daze, Goldroom, Tropic Harbour

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Bokito – Colleen Bawn

Bokito

If there is one thing to do this year, go see Bokito perform live.

Sitting in the gap between tropical indie pop and soulful funk, Bokito’s ‘Colleen Bawn’ is bursting with summery energy and fills you will and irrefutable urge to move. Frontman Moses Moorhouse’s vocal is the perfect compliment to the tasty groove set by the five-piece.

Sounds like: Two Door Cinema Club, Stereohoney, Shiners

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Tropic Harbour – Softness

Tropic Harbour

Amongst the noise, you can find the ‘Softness’.

Tropic Harbour is the dreamy pop project created by Canadian native, Mark Berg.

Using music as a crutch to recover from the daily grind and a reminder to practice self-love, the visuals for his down-tempo single, ‘Softness’, perfectly match this attitude in a bid to slow things down.

Expect the ‘Calm’ EP on 26 April.

Sounds like: Summer Heart, DIIV, Jessy Lanza

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Weekly Gems 31

Gundelach – Control

Gundelach by Fredrik Harper

Having just signed to Terrible Records (Blood Orange, Porches, Le1f), Norwegian producer and artist Gundelach shares the imaginative ‘Control’.

It is taken from the forth-coming ‘Baltus’ LP, and showcases Gundelach’s Nordic-noir sensibilities, using delicate synths, pulsating beats and his effortless falsetto voice to tell a story of deep personal depression.

Sound like: Ásgeir, Bon Iver, Honne, Boxed In, RY X, Vancouver Sleep Clinic, The Presets

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Great News – You’re Mine

Great News

Time for something to lighten the mood from our favourite band of 2018, Great News.

‘You’re Mine’ is a shoe-gazer fan’s dream, a super colourful sonic nod to the 80’s and 90’s, a theme that runs throughout their debut LP ‘Wonderfault’.

Sounds like: Ten Fé, Bruce Springsteen, Sea Girls, SWIMM, Lean, Tame Impala, DIIV

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Benjamin’s Brother – If I Could

Benjamin's Brother

We are excited about Benjamin’s Brother – an interesting indie-pop band from Tel Aviv.

Discussing topics such as violence, death, desire and love, and citing influences across several genres including Arabic, American folk and techno, it’s no surprise that their sound is expansive, yet tender.

Watch their video below, which was shot by Indy Hait, at the Tel Aviv Museum Of Art, on a 16mm film.

Sounds like: Tame Impala, SAMA, Mumford & Sons, Solomon Grey, Vancouver Sleep Clinic, Aquilo

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CUT_ – It’s On

CUT_

Dutch electronic duo CUT_ share ‘It’s On’, a song about the denial towards the demise of a relationship.

But they don’t just write about internal issues found in human nature, but also discuss topics on mass psychology and by analysing these aspects of our society, CUT_ attempts to find a way of coping with the messed up world we’re living in.

Sounds like: IYES, Massive Attack, Kllo

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JOHN.K – Best Of Me

JOHN.K

JOHN.K‘s electronic driven pop always catches our attention and ‘Best Of Me’ is no exception.

‘Best Of Me’ is JOHN.K’s fourth single and demonstrates another layer of maturity and artistry. Speaking of the track, he explains,

“‘Best of Me’ is about evolving through young love, admitting to past mistakes and committing to giving someone the best possible version of yourself.”

Sounds like: Sam Smith, Justin Bieber

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Lalibelle – Balance

Lalibelle

Stockholm-based producer trio Lalibelle share their breezy pop track ‘Balance’.

Breaking the silence on mental health, the song tells the story of the childhood experience of having a suicidal parent.

Sounds like: Paperwhite

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Timothy – Fly

Timothy

We don’t know a great deal about Swedish singer/songwriter Timothy, but have really enjoyed listening to his second single, ‘Fly’.

Timothy explains, “The song is a long battle with a ghost of his, he interpreters his own song with a self-written poem. Wanting the listener to create their own story, rather than giving it all away.”

Sounds like: Bon Iver, Alex Vargas, Ry X, The xx, Keaton Henson, Matt Corby

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Tradiio Exclusive: Interview with Tourists

Tourists

Tourists

We are loving this month’s Tradiio band, and we recon you will too.

Meet Tourists; a five-piece gem from Torquay, Devon, who effortlessly combine indie pop with elements of electronica and folk.

We had a chat with the band about Torquay, support from the BBC, and what new music they are listening to at the moment.

For those who don’t know you, tell us a bit more about Tourists and how you all got into music.

The writing process actually began a few years ago when Scott (drums) was actively seeking out people to start a new band with. He stumbled on Jamie’s (vocals / guitar) Myspace page and connected with his songs immediately. Then by chance, they met in a local club and got things started. Tom (synth), Matt (bass) and Lloyd (guitar) were in other bands at the time which since split – Tom a psych-rock band, and Matt and Lloyd post-punk revival outfits.

The amalgamation of our styles and influences since coming together as a five-piece last year has been fantastic. It feels like we are a new band, yet we have loads of material in the bag and our sound is now richer and more expansive than ever. It’s exciting.

Describe your sound in three words.

“Dreamy, melodic bliss”.

That’s what BBC Introducing said about us recently. We’ll take it.

Your new single Quiet Room follows the popular release of previous single Cut and Run and is released on 17th June – Tell us more about it.

I think Quiet Room is a sign of where we’re at currently, showing how we’ve developed as a band in the last year. With Cut and Run we wanted to put something out that was going to be an instant hit, something catchy and infectious to engage people and get their attention – It had been over 6 months since our last release. Quiet Room has more depth. It has this weird contrast where the verse – and also lyrically – it has this solemn, melancholy tone, yet at the same time has this big, anthemic, feel-good chorus which people just love when we play it live. We actually had one guy in London come up to Jamie singing the lyrics to him after a gig – There’s no way he could have known them. It really resonates with people.

What is the music scene like in Torquay?

I personally think Devon is thriving with exciting young artists and bands (see Skeleton Frames, Peacock Affect, Sam Piper, Pattern Pusher, Martyn Crocker…).

Torquay itself is struggling to be honest – As I think are a lot of small towns. Sometimes I blame the venues for being short-sighted and not paying bands enough. Young bands need money to develop, buy better equipment, improve their sound. Then they get better, attract bigger crowds, inspire others, and before you know it you’ve started a bit of a scene. But then the venues have to make the money too… And if people aren’t turning up, its not worth them putting the bands on. It’s a vicious circle. I’m not sure what the answer is.

Do you consider yourself Tourists in Torquay?

Haha.. Definitely not. We all grew up here and have been here most of our lives. It’s a beautiful place to be (when the sun is out).

We discovered you on Tradiio. Do you think Tradiio has contributed to the immense response to your music from radio and blog tastemakers, as well as fans?

We like Tradiio a lot. It’s changing the way people discover and appreciate unsigned artists, which is important. The response to our music on Tradiio has been overwhelming from day one. Most of our tracks have reached the top 10 in their global charts which is cool. We actually got our first ever BBC Radio 1 play because of someone hearing our track All We Do Is Pretend on Tradiio. A few weeks ago we launched our Tradiio Circle, which allows our fans to directly support us each month as we try to fund our debut album. For example, if you subscribe for $5/month, you get exclusive access to new unreleased tracks prior to their release, old demos and ideas, and behind-the- scenes photos and videos of what we’re doing, new song ideas, etc. It’s allowing us to be more interactive with our fans, which is a good thing for both of us.

You’ve been working with producer James Bragg. How’s that process been?

Yeah, James is the man. He is the ‘6th  Tourist’. Recording with him is always so exciting as he adds so much to the tracks. We go to him with ideas and he makes them happen x 100. He even cooks us bacon in the morning.

We had our biggest gig to date recently, playing a live showcase for BBC Radio 1’s The Academy. We were pretty nervous before, especially when we saw how many people were there but James turned up just before we played and was the calming presence we needed. He said he felt like a proud Dad after that show – Ironic considering he’s younger than a few of us.

Where do you cite your musical influences from?

We like to think we are influenced by everything we hear. I think it’s a mistake to get hooked on one or two bands too much as ultimately you’re going to end up sounding the same – And what’s the point in that.

Jamie loves a good 80’s pop song. That together with post punk and psych-pop/rock influences, it becomes quite an interesting mix.

We love new music at Indietronica. What new music are you listening to?

Jamie – Radiohead – A Moon Shaped Pool (“It’s a masterpiece”)
Scott – Ulrika Spacek (“I have a thing for a maze of dark sounding, chiming guitars.”)
Matt – Diiv – Is the Is Are (“Such simple riffs but total bliss”)
Lloyd – Deep Sea Diver (“I love the guitar work and the synth tones they use sound great. There’s a really good balance between the two”)
Tom – Lets Eat Grandma (“The depth and maturity of their songs for their age is mind-blowing. They have serious natural talent.”)

‘Quiet Room’ is out on 17th June.

We’ve invested in Tourists. Have you? Listen to more of their songs and support them at tradiio.com/tourists/circle.

Sounds like: Band of Horses, MOTHXR, Tuska, Honne, Tender, BLAJK, Youth Club, FAIRCHILD

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Youth Lagoon – Rotten Human

Youth Lagoon

Youth Lagoon

Idaho-based Youth Lagoon (aka Trevor Powers) releases the video for ‘Rotten Human’.

His sound can be described as destructive lo-fi, and is perfectly depicted by the track.

The beautiful video, directed by Patrick Blades and shot in Iceland, features the model, Daytona Williams.

Sounds like: Garden City Movement, Beach House, Kidepo, Brotherun, Wild Nothing, The Antlers, DIIV, Nordic Giants

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