The wonderful Dagny drops the video for ‘Somebody’ – possibly the ultimate love song to exist.
Strong words…but that’s how much we love her.
It’s a dance-floor-ready rhythm with bubbling synths open up around Dagny’s magisterial pop vocal. A song written with a goal of conveying the ultimate “in-love” experience, Dagny explains,
“It’s the all-consuming and exciting feeling when everything is still new. I’ve been lucky to experience it. I find that when I’m in love I feel everything ten times more than usual. With ‘Somebody’ for me it’s not just the lyrics but the whole vibe of the song that represents that: when I listen to it I get a lot of positive energy and I just wanna throw myself into something new and exciting.”
Dagny will release her long-awaited debut album this September.
Matt Couchois of atmospheric indie-pop project, fakelife, releases invigorating new single, ‘Drugs All Night’.
You can almost sense the energetic tension as Matt sings about a tumultuously toxic romantic relationship – what more could you want from a nightclub pop anthem?
Sounds like: The Knocks, Great Good Fine Ok, RAC, La Poré
Born from a simple plan – make music friends in a flatshare in former East Berlin, BLOODHYPE is a Berlin-based, independent gang of four that demand to be noticed.
Masterminded by frontman Weyland and UK producer John “P Nut” Harrison (AmyWinehouse, AliceMerton), their new single ‘Violent Heart’ caught us from the get-go. It’s an addictive slice of modern indie pop full of 80’s inspired self-pity.
Churchgoer-turned-open mic singer Tina Boonstra has shared her interesting new track, ‘Out of my depth’.
With a sharp emotional intensity, you can feel the angst bubbling underneath as the track progresses into a crushingly honest rage against the universe, God and insomnia.
German-born, Los Angeles-based indie artist NoMBe shares ‘HEELS’, a catchy AF funk-laden jam.
Oozing sass upon sass, it’s taken from his upcoming concept album, ‘CHROMATOPIA’ which is built upon the spectrum of colour and the spectrum of sexuality.
Foreign Fields is US-based Eric Hillman and Brian Holl, who create a bewitching melting pot of acoustic sounds.
As with all promising folk contenders, the duo wrote and recorded their upcoming album, ‘The Beauty of Survival’ in the winter in a back-to-basics cabin with no heating built by a two-man father-and-son team in Western Wisconsin.
Bronze Whale like to walk a lot. During this time, they talk about things they want to accomplish, music stuff and dinner.
This where the lyrical inspiration came for ‘Let’s Go Walk’, a resonating and atmospheric electronic piece about love, loss and learning. It’s out now on their own label, MagicMagic.
Sounds like: Glass Animals, Alt-j, OTR, CLN, Golden Vessel, Autograf
Multi-instrumentalist Zoë Phillips combines country with beautiful folktronica. Think DollyParton meets BombayBicycleClub.
Set for the same level of fandom, Phillips has already seen plenty of support from the BBC, and her new single ‘Love Is Gone’ is going to propel her closer.
Looking like they are having the best time, the video footage was taken from many of their past videos plus some extra shots from 2010 to 2019.
HUMANS is a Canadian indie-electronic duo made up of musicians Robbie Slade and Peter Ricq. Focusing on performance and production styles of both the past and present, HUMANS have consistently impressed upon audiophiles with their technical and compositional skills.
Introducing Zach DeGaetano and Bridget Boltz – aka Mannequin Online.
Pushing sonic and ideational barriers with gritty, yet refreshing off-kilter pop, may their sound forever remain bright, gritty, and unapologetic. Listen to ‘I Do’ and check out the glorious Gorgeous guitar solo.
Sounds like: Goldroom, Poolside, VHS Collection, The Knocks, Miami Horror
‘Soy Lo Que Soy’ is the type of song that gets stuck in your head from the first listen. The intro is significantly long, but MONOGEM‘s progression makes it worth the while as you’ll be met with a real Spanish melodic feel with heart touching vocals.
The song shows that the Los Angeles based artist isn’t afraid of speaking out of her heart through music and you’ll definitely feel that through her catchy rythme. “Soy Lo Que Soy”, meaning “I am what I am” gives that Jazz / Soul feel mixed with modern electronic music elements, flavored with Jen Hirsh’s own Guadalajaran heritage.
This is a personal and career milestone for Hirsh—it marks the first time she was courageous enough to incorporate her Guadalajaran heritage in her music, all to follow through on a promise she made with her abuela never to lose it.
Soy Lo Que Soy is part of a forthcoming EP called ‘So Many Ways’.
Sounds like: Goldroom, Silk Cinema, ASTR, July Child, Lights, Evvy, Micky Blue
Austin-native Kae Astra shares her effervescent alt-pop debut, ‘Dreams’.
One would be forgiven to thinking this is an ode to Kate Bush and Grimes, with it’s wonderfully expressive and falsetto vocals and painstaking melodies crowned in a lush dream pop soundscape.
Sounds like: CILVR, Kate Bush, Grimes, Beach House
Jinka is carving the way for female-led electronic pop from Germany.
Her new single, ‘Bare to the Bone’ features fellow Berlin-based artist, BLVTH and perfectly blends BLVTH’s grungy future bass and Jinka’s happy trip pop.
The singlewill be featured on Jinka’s debut EP ‘Dr. Ara’, which will be released on 8 March.
Sounds like: Kate Boy, I BREAK HORSES, Billie Eilish
We all know many people head to Los Angeles and only a handful make it to stardom, but it doesn’t prevent the never-ending quest by actors, artists and musicians alike.
Chelsea Effect – the music/art/fashion project of Canadian born Emerald Isabella – discusses this such topic in her new single ‘Tinseltown’.
It’s a reflective message about trying to make it in L.A, “the land of almost stars.” It’s out now.
Dan Crossley is calling out an ex-lover in his new single ‘Mind Games’.
It’s a R&B pop anthem from the artist who has a knack of writing honest music written from personal experiences, which has rightfully landed him the BBC Introducing’s One To Watch for 2018.
Listen below.
Sounds like: Charley Stride, Cat Burns, Years & Years
Swedish artist Fred Daniels shares the gorgeously addictive pop number, ‘Wetlands’ – “an anthem for oral sex”!
After learning to play drums at nine and writing his first song at 11, it’s clear a successful career in music has always been in Fred’s destiny, which has included being a member of Södra Station with Shy Martin and collaborations with Andrew Taggart from The Chainsmokers.
Sounds like: SKOTT, The Weeknd, Years & Years, Lane 8, La Bouquet
It’s been a heavy week for us so time to breathe slow and get some bright emotion back in our lives ahead of the weekend.
Broken Back is a singer, songwriter, producer, and creator…as well as of course an advocate of tropical and uplifting sounds. His new single ‘Breathe Slow’ is “a liberating invitation to focus on the glass half full rather than on the half empty one” and is out now via Ultra Records.
Rising pop artist Malory shares the beautiful ‘Blue Umbrella’, which we have had on repeat all week.
Seeking inspiration from life actions, ‘Blue Umbrella’’ started life on a tube journey after Malory had observed a family and noticed the father had a sadness in his eyes and seemed strangely discontented.
The Londoner was later in the studio making an experimental instrumental with producer Danny George when they noticed there was a blue umbrella left in the studio, which Malory found represented the image of an unhappy corporate figure in the rain on his way home from work.
Expect her debut album ‘Cornucopia’ out on 1 March.
Raised between Hong Kong and Aix en Provence in France, Paris-born singer/songwriter Noé doesn’t want to fit inside a musical box any longer.
Not quite defining her sound, her low-tempo music gathers inspiration from a blend of Pop, R&B and alt-indie sounds, tied together through painfully honest lyrics.
Her new single, ‘Pity Party’ highlights Noé’s tendencies to overthink and sometimes feel sorry for herself.
Exciting new Argentinian/American artist Crow shares the sultry single ‘Go’.
The song channels the idea of courage – following brutality at the hands of bullies during Crow’s school years – with hypnotic and melodic soundscapes and introspective reflection.
Forming in London, Gold Spectacles is the collaborative output of two British songwriter/producers who create “baroque-pop”.
Their new single ‘Courtside’ focuses on dependence in a long distance relationship, and uses flute, spanish guitar with analog synths to create a post-modern landscape.
Sounds like: Lykke Li, Bombay Bicycle Club, San Fermin, Fyfe, Astronauts, Carousel, Dan Croll, Nick Leng, Bibio, ROSTAM
Brooklyn-based duo Drinker shares ‘Something I Want’ – a track slightly darker than your average musical tipple.
Inspired by a mututal love of James Blake, songwriter Aaron Mendelsohn and producer Ariel Loh “wanted to create a visually diverse and bold message with the video for “Something I Want” and enlisted the help of NY based LGBTQ focused film maker Tyler Byrnes. With the implementation of stop motion animation and found footage, we aimed for a stark and surreal aesthetic to paint America’s multi-generational story of consumerism.“
Sounds like: Thom Yorke, James Blake, Trentemoller, The Acid, Fever Ray, Sevdaliza, Tame Impala
Dutch DJ/producer duo 2CRE8 has today released their debut single ‘Naughty Boy’.
Having spent their time growing up together at high school, it was until a gig in December 2014 that everything fell into place and they decided to form a duo.
Check out ‘Naughty Boy’ with its bold dance-led lyrics and a catchy flute drop, which definitely hints at their playful side.
Sounds like: Harlee, Just Kiddin, Blonde, The Magician, Calvin Harris, Rihanna
Externalising her thoughts, Ariela Jacobs considers the concept of missing her old self in new song ‘Missing You’.
New York born and Melbourne bred, indie-pop singer-songwriter Ariela Jacobs was raised on a diet of literature and art. Her songwriting sends the listener on a journey both intimate and other-worldly; with melodies with clear folk-based lines, underscored by lush chords and pulsing rhythms.
MONOGEM (aka Jen Hirsh) is back after a brief hiatus with ‘Shade’, an explorative song about standing up and speaking your truths, no matter what shades they may be.
Lead by dramatic pizzicato plucks, and written with pop songwriter and producer Bleu of Coach & Ref, MONOGEM explains of ‘Shade’,
“I wrote “Shade” on a day when I felt particularly bleak and dreary. Dark thoughts ran through my head about anything and everything: my artistry, my life, my body, my family, I was having one of those moments where nothing was right. As an artist, those days are more frequent than I’d like to admit. As a woman, I’ve felt pressure to cover up this little dark corner, put my face on and show up for the party. “Shade” is a personal anthem that reminds me to stop hiding my truths, even if they aren’t pretty.”
Sounds like: Goldroom, Silk Cinema, ASTR, July Child, Lights, Evvy, Micky Blue
Comprised of Robin French (Cuckoo) and Antonia Thomas (Misfits, Lovesick), these two creatives write seductive bossa nova music paired with calypso pop sensibilities that would fit well on the soundtrack of ‘The End of the F***ing World’.
On the motivation behind Bethnal Green Blues, Robin states,
“Sometimes you write a sad song from a happy moment. This came to me while I was flying to South America to see a girl I’d fallen for. It’s about the emotional ice age after a romance fails, but it was written as that ice melted under the Argentine sun..”
We love an indie anthem, so thank you to five-piece pop-rock, Dancing On Tables.
The band, school friends from school in Dunfermline, a small town just outside Edinburgh, have released ‘Colour Me Good’ – a groove-laced, vintage indie-pop track that encapsulates sun-drenched, dance-able songwriting with a distinct Scottish charm.
Sounds like: Sea Girls, Biffy Clyro, Circa Waves, The 1975
Slenderbodies is a California-bred duo who write forward-thinking, dreamy synth-pop.
Their new single ‘The One’ is intricately subtle musical medication, shared in preparation of their upcoming EP, ‘SORAYA’, to be released through Los Angeles indie label Avant Garden, which is also home to Emotional Oranges.
From summer season to ‘Sad Season’ with former professional cyclist Gavin Haley‘s latest single.
While competing with the national cycling team, Haley suffered an injury that resulted in a collapsed lung, setting back his travel by several months. During his recovery, he explored and found inspiration in Europe’s underground music scene, becoming enamored with energetic live performances filled with a grit and energy.
Starting with a simple West Coast-inspired guitar riff, ‘Sad Season’ soon picks up and exposes determined pop and R&B.
Canadian songstress ROYAL debuts with ‘Vessel’, the first of six new tracks that appear on her upcoming album, ‘Heart of Shadows’.
Covering the topic of heartbreak, loss of identity and raw self-reflection, this is electro-pop at its finest in 2018.
Speaking about ‘Vessel,’ ROYAL says,
“This song is about heartbreak – having to let go of someone you love, and then realizing the emptiness and loss of identity that ensues. I wrote this song it while trying to find myself after getting lost within a relationship for many years and then feeling shattered by the loss of a love I thought would last a lifetime.”
Sounds like: VÉRITÉ, Lana Del Rey, Evvy, Noosa, Dominique, The xx
Last but not least, our favourite breakthrough act – self-taught producer, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Von Sell.
After a bout of vocal pain and subsequent treatment, we are pleased to say that Von Sell is on the mend and returning to our stereos with ‘Scene OF A Crime’.
Taken from his forthcoming sophomore EP, ‘Digital Sleep’, the song reflects on unrequited love, but, due to its uptempo nature, it will ultimately leave a taste of confusion in your mouth because you can’t help but dance despite the disconcerting subject matter.
Sounds like: Summer Heart, Hazel English, Teen Daze, Peter Gabriel, Alt-J, Thomas Azier
Toronto-based singer-songwriter, Candice Sand shares the perfect pop song, called ‘Just So You Know’.
Candice has worked with Sony ATV producer Rob Wells (ArianaGrande, SelenaGomez, JustinBieber, KeshiaChante, NellyFurtado) to share a confession of saying the words ‘I love you’ while not knowing if the person you are with is ready to receive that love.
