Tag Archives: dream-pop

Novanta – Magic Youth

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novanta magic youth

Novanta are a Milan-based outfit who play nostalgic yet refreshing shoegaze.

Their brand-new LP “Punk For Introverts” will be released later this year.

“Magic Youth”, the second single off of it, is a nostalgic, bittersweet gem written together with one of the guests of the LP: The Sensitive Club.

Speaking about it, Manfredi Lamartina said: “In our songs the emotional component tends to align itself with the magic of adolescence, that period of life in which one runs fast and urgently towards the future, letting the present envelop and submerg those who have to deal with consequences of reality. The text written by The Sensitive Club, special guest of the song, speaks of mysteries and wonder, of doubts and revelations, and the music is shoegaze that turns into indie rock, or vice versa. Magic youth is a chance meeting, breathless and fearless, with the same shining eyes, with the same dreams of a lifetime ago, with the same heartbeat of the good old days.”

Listen also to their previous single “Forever” here below:

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Ålesund – Never Enough

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Ålesund is an alt pop band hailing from Bristol, fronted by the ethereal vocals of British-Norwegian singer-songwriter Alba Torriset. Drawing inspiration from a diverse range of musical genres and artists, Ålesund’s sound is a fusion of dreamy pop hooks, atmospheric soundscapes, and alternative rock riffs, which have drawn comparisons to the likes of Kate Bush, Florence and the Machine and London Grammar.

The first single to come from Ålesund’s up and coming EP is titled ‘Never Enough‘, and it’s a weighty, brooding and thundering entry back into the music scene. Breaking away from their usual ethereal sonic sphere, front woman and writer Alba Torriset was keen to explore a heavier and grungy side to the music. Her love of driving drum beats and experimenting and layering vocal melodies carved the path for Never Enough into existence. Keen to keep the sound more raw and rough round the edges for this next batch of songs, Alba used the energy she felt from performing live on stage and put it back into the recorded music. Lyrically the song reflects on hedonism and the fine line between pleasure and pain, exploring the point at which the search for happiness turns dark.

Check it out!

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Kuni – Sleep Baby

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kuni 'Sleep Baby'

Kuni is the project of Eleonora Danese, a singer/songwriter hailing from Rome.

The story behind her moniker is really interesting. Kuni, in fact, is short for Kunimitsu, one of the main characters of the super famous videogame Tekken. Since she was a child, Eleonora was obsessed with Japanese culture, so much in fact that she later obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Eastern Asia Languages and Cultures, specializing in Korean and Japanese.

Her debut single ‘Sleep Baby‘ is a nostalgic, dreamy indie-pop lullaby full of pristine vocals and elegant, timeless melodies.

Speaking about the song, she explains: “All of my songs were born out of a few or many tries at the piano. I sit, I play for a while looking for the chords that sound the best for me, and then I improvise some lyrics that sooner or later becomes the one that stays. The same happened with “Sleep Baby”. I was playing and started to hum around with the word “baby”. I found the main melody and first verses and once I saw that they worked on the chords, I went out on the balcony and sent a voice memo to Pietro on WhatsApp singing them. He gave me the thumbs up so I went back inside and finished it.

She adds: ““Sleep Baby” is my way to say to the other person “There is so much more I could say to you to make you understand me better but I won’t because that would hurt way too much”. It is my way to show how protective I am of their feelings. I love to share stories and things about my past, because I feel very attached to the past itself, but I know I can’t always say everything. Oversharing is kind of a problem for me and trying to control it shows just how much I care about who I am sharing with, since stories about us are also about others and often generate unexpected feelings and reactions that aren’t always good for the ones who are listening.”

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Calper & Ollie Hussey – For A While

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calper & ollie hussey - for a while

London-based producer/songwriter Calper has teamed with up and coming singer/songwriter Ollie Hussey for a collaborative single titled ‘For A While‘.

It’s a dreamy, indie-tinged ballad, full of ethereal textures and enriched by Ollie’s incredible voice.

Calper is the artist project of London based songwriter & producer, Jamie Harper, whose songwriting credits include the likes of Camelphat, Paul Woolford, Blinkie and Karen Harding.

Ollie Hussey hails from Lancashire in the UK and now lives in Cardiff where he studies music at university. He debuted last year with ‘Credence‘ and ‘May I Use‘ which were listed on Spotify’s Fresh Finds, hitting also #1 on Hype Machine.

Sounds like: Lewis Capaldi

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HÅN – projections on a human screen LP

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HÅN projections on a human screen

Italian singer/songwriter HÅN has finally released her highly anticipated debut LP.

Titled “projections on a human screen“, the album is a collection of Z-gen, modern alt-pop gems filtered through HÅN’s signature dreamy aesthetic. Sing-along tunes make the pair with more intimate, experimental moments resulting in a mature body of work you shouldn’t miss.

Describing lead single “Chiro“, HÅN details: “‘Chiro’ is a song I wrote when I was living in London. at the time I was in a long distance relationship, and the only time I was able to see my partner was of course through a screen. when you stay for a long period without seeing someone in person, it’s very easy to replace their real persona with the one that you can perceive through the few exchanges that you have. So that you replace the person with “the idea of the person”. The song is also talking about the fear to let someone in, as I sometimes feel I’m not capable to really take care of someone in the way I would like to.”

About the LP, she also added: “‘projections on a human screen’ is my personal diary, written between London and Milan during the last year. I felt the need to document a series of personal experiences and represent them through music & visuals. each song has its own life and imagery, its colours and sounds. and together they form their own world, which is a representation of mine. It takes form from my bedroom (where I write most of my music) and then enters the real world. the effects of the real world are metaphorically projected on a human screen (me), generating all these thoughts and, therefore, this album.”

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Lila Drew – Crystal Ball

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After having amassed +40M streams with his modern-pop bangers, LA via London singer/songwriter Lila Drew is taking a new direction with her impeccable brand-new single Crystal Ball.

Built upon a multi-layered organic production, Crystal Ball shows a completely renewed Lila. Fragile yet powerful, this is a contemporary-folk gem you shouldn’t miss.

Speaking about it, Lila says: “There’s a lot of frustration in it – I remember going to the studio with Jordan Reyes, who produced this song, and wanting to yell into the mic. That was something I’d never done before. All of the vocals I’d ever recorded had been so soft, for the sake of hiding my own fears underneath reverb and delay… The background vocals in Crystal Ball are all first takes of me just screaming the song from across the room, the mic picking up only the loudest frequencies. It’s maybe as sincere as I get. It’s a special sort of feeling.”

Sounds like: Bon-Iver, Phoebe Bridgers, Gracie Abrams

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Twin Toes – Lost In Playlists

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Twin Toes is the project of Brussels songwriters Antoine Geluck and Nicolas Mouquet. The story behind their moniker is quiet funny: it all started on a Monday morning, when Antoine invited Nicolas to his home studio in Brussels. By pure coincidence, forty-eight hours earlier and 120 kilometers apart, they had both broken the same index toe on their respective left foot.

Their debut single ‘Lost In Playlists‘ is a playful, alternative jam, made of dreamy textures and eccentric indie-pop moments with a unique songwriting approach: lyrics are, in fact, a puzzle of streaming playlist titles.

Speaking about it, they explain: “Every band wants their songs to be in all the playlists. We did the opposite. We put all the playlists inside our song. We realized that if we put several names of playlists one after the other, we could build sentences and tell a story. It was a hell of a puzzle, but we think we have managed to write a poetic song from something that it is not necessarily at first. “Lost in Playlists” talks about a heartbreak that we would try to forget through music, by getting lost into all those playlists. Going from one emotion to another, from one mood to another … “.

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Forester – She Said

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Forester, the rising LA-duo signed to Kygo’s Palm Tree Records, have just returned with a new single titled ‘She Said‘.

It’s the perfect song for the summer. A dream-pop tinged gem, full of sun kissed textures and waterfalls of jangly guitars.

Speaking about it, they said: “‘She Said’ is a completely new sonic direction for us. It was originally written for a documentary about a surf trip Xander took to the Pacific Northwest. When the documentary fell through, we listened back to the demo and decided to finish it together as a Forester track. It’s a song about living in the spur of the moment and enjoying the simple pleasures the world has to offer.”

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Ollie Hussey – May I Use

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ollie hussey may i use

Cardiff-based newcomer Ollie Hussey is back with a new single titled ‘May I Use‘.

The singer/songwriter stumbled across our radar last month with the dreamy ‘Credence‘ and is now returning with a slow-burning gem. ‘May I Use‘ is another impressive example of Hussey’s ability to make music using just a guitar, an old iPhone and an incredible voice on top of that.

Speaking about the song, he said: “It all started with the main piano hook that runs pretty much all the way through, then it all came together after that. I’ll be honest, it’s not really about anything specific! The way I write a lot of the time is I get most of the instrumental done and then I make random noises into my phone until words start forming. They don’t have to mean anything, if they sound good and they rhyme then I’ll put them in! What happens then is that I can then listen back to it and it’s like I’m hearing it for the first time and I can interpret the lyrics however I want. To me, I imagine it being about somebody who wants to be somebody else; they literally want to assume their identity. I think they’ve taken their admiration for them too far and it’s become obsessive. There’s a line in it that says: May I rule over you? so there’s definitely a creepy aspect to it.”

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Ollie Hussey – Credence

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ollie hussey credence

Cardiff-based singer/songwriter Ollie Hussey is impressing us with his brand-new single ‘Credence‘.

A touching, minimal, classy dream-pop gem with a touch of folk and enriched by a stellar vocal.

Written in two stages, before and after the first national lockdown in the UK, on ‘Credence‘ Hussey details how his depression affected his relationship with his girlfriend. It’s a love song at heart, but one in which he admits he isn’t in a healthy state of mind.

Keep you eyes open on him !

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