Rising star Emanuel shares the powerful new visuals for his latest single, ‘Black Woman’, out now on Universal Music Canada.
Shining a light on Black women, the Jamar Harding-directed video in Los Angeles features women of various ages, shades and lifestyles, as the resilience, beauty and uniqueness of the Black woman’s spirit is portrayed.
Emanuel explains,
“‘Black Woman’ is about reconciliation and also celebration – celebrating how strong our women are and how they hold us up,” says Emanuel. “People might think this song was written as a response to the moment right now but it’s saying the exact same thing it was saying when it was written a year ago – ‘I see you, I recognize you, I appreciate you and I love you’.”
It forms part of Emanuel’s “I AM BLACK WOMXN” portrait series, creatively directed by Ashley McKenzie-Barnes, that puts five influential Black women from Toronto’s artistic and advocacy communities in the spotlight. View the portrait series and vignettes HERE.
Sounds like: John Legend, Dylan Sinclair, Son Little, Michael Kiwanuka
Very much a leftfield psychedelic visual and auditorial journey, former Jamie T guitarist Attawalpa shares the timeless hand-painted visuals for ‘Done Hanging On’, by modern visionaries Alex Gamsu Jenkins and Joe Taylor.
Sounds like: Jude Shuma, Alfie Templeman, Muck Spreader, Leonard Cohen
Strongly influenced by 90’s French touch and techno, two French characters from Annecy, namely Low Bird (vocals) and Jimmy Q (guitars, synthesizers, production) – aka Caspian Pool, blast their contagious electronic cold wave in ‘Special Way Reloaded’.
Sounds like: FFO: Nimmo, The Chemical Brothers, Hercules & Love Affair, Goldfrapp, Joe Goddard, Chvrches, Digitalism, Holy Ghost!, Boys Noize, Little Dragon, Cut Copy, Icona Pop
The dreamy ‘Forever Forget’ is taken from Lucia & The Best Boys‘ new EP, ‘The State of Things’, and is a generous nod to the 80’s queens, Pat Benatar and Stevie Nicks.
Toronto R&B artist and songwriter Emanuel shares his new single ‘Black Woman’. Written a year ago, the message hasn’t changed – it’s a healing, celebratory ode to the resilience of Black women.
Sounds like: John Legend, Dylan Sinclair, Son Little, Michael Kiwanuka
Swiss sibling collective Sirens of Lesbos gear up to release their album, with the release of new single, ‘Pala’. It’s turned-on pop for a new psychedelic age.
South-African songwriter-producer Julia Church shares catchy pop gem ‘Don’t Really Care What We Call It’, a song about navigating those awkward feelings in a new relationship.
British singer-songwriter Lissy Taylor shares her alluring single, ‘High’. Echoes of Lana Del Rey ooze from untamed Lissy, amongst the soft guitar riffs, driving rock percussions, and jangling tambourine.
German multi-instrumentalist turned producer, Felix Räuber‘s bold new video aims to turn the preconceptions surrounding autism on its head, as it tells the story of an autistic character, deemed to be an outsider.
Sounds like: Aquilo, Solomon Grey, Son Lux, Nils Frahm, Ulrich Schnauss
We just can’t get TheColorGrey‘s new song, ‘Nothing At All’ out of our heads. It’s purely addictive urban pop, and therefore makes our Ones to Watch for 2019.
The single marks a distinct change in direction for the Belgian-based multi-talented singer, songwriter and producer. For the first time, he has recorded with a full live band, pushing his modern take on R&B and soul up a notch or two.
Indie pop quartet OKKAH share their new single called ‘Body of a Swan’.
Elegant and melodic in nature, and much like the animal itself, ‘Body of a Swan’ takes you on a dream-like journey full of delicate vocals and gentle keys.
It’s the lead track from the EP of the same title.
Let’s take things nice and slow with Steven Bamidele‘s ever-optimistic new single, ‘Things Could Be Better’.
It’s a stripped-back production with well-timed jazz percussion and emotive, soulful vocals, courtesy of the 23 year old London-based songwriter and producer.
Kasbo is an exciting Swedish producer whose music fits nicely alongside the likes of ODESZA and Aquilo.
His current release ‘Aldrig Mer’ (translating to ‘No More’ in English) combines organic elements including real instrument recordings and electronic synths, as well as the boundless vocals of rising UK duo TENDER.
Expect Kasbo’s debut album to come out on Foreign Family Collective/Counter Records on 23 March.
Cub Sport‘s new single ‘Good Guys Go’, questions just that – unreciprocated love, unfortunately a common theme in a lot of relationships.
The neon video, directed by Joe Agius is shot in real time with one roaming camera, and tries to capture an intense feeling of loss, inspired by images from fashion magazines and music videos by Michael Jackson, TLC, and Perfume Genius.
Our hearts go out to those in Mexico at the moment. This one is for them.
‘Mexico’ is a debut song by Seattle-born Rae Isla, who has a family interest in South America. It features guitarist Lito de la Isla and was produced by Gianluca Buccellati (Tei Shi, Yellerkin).
Rae is donating all of her profits from the sale of the song to Cruz Roja Mexicana (Mexican Red Cross).
Denver duo, Motion Trap (aka Kyle Williams and Nathan Rogers) release spirited new single, ‘The Movement’, and the synth-rock-pop number does just that. Make you move.
Expect their sophomore album ‘Heavenly Bodies’ out soon.
Sounds like: Depeche Mode, OMD, Future Islands, Roosevelt, Cut Copy
Wow, Nocturnal Tapes have arrived and aren’t we happy they have!
Their new single ‘All I Need’ takes you on a spacial journey of floaty dreamscapes and psychedelia attitudes. It is about that moment when you realise you have everything you need and suddenly the pressure you’ve been putting on yourself can lift.
Sounds like: Kasabian, Tame Impala, Du Tonc, Cut Copy
If Lorde decided to dabble in hip hop, this might be the result – ‘Undertow’ by Kendall Morgan.
Kendall grew up in Nashville, and started writing songs as early as she can remember. Her experience in songwriting has led her to working on tracks with Kendrick Lamar and Yo Gotti.
Rising Canadian R&B artist Ruben Young shares the ever so smooth ‘Bad Habits’.
Speaking of the single, Ruben says,
“I wrote it in the fall of 2015, following my “relapse” for a girl I’d been chasing since I was 16 years old. She’s never been good for me, and I’ve known it all along. We kept our ‘relationship’ a secret, and it became more of an affair. She was my forbidden secret – my bad habit. 7 years later, it all came crashing down. I think everyone’s guilty of falling for someone who they couldn’t get over; even though they knew they needed to. For me, she was dangerous, and I loved that about her.”
DIY band Sub-Radio create uplifting music with a raw edge.
‘Was It Good For You’ creates a feeling of disorder as soon as you listen to it, but this isn’t a bad thing when the falsetto vocals are as good as this!
Introducing JOHN.k, an Orlando-based singer-songwriter who effortless perspires soul.
He has teamed up with Mad Decent-signed and Grammy Award winning producer Ricky Remedy for a new collaborative single, ‘Gold’, in which Ricky brings some serious, crisp production skills to the table.
Another self-produced track, Oli explains “Lily is a slightly complicated way of explaining a period of time where you’re really struggling. I was recently reading about a fish that swims around looking for lily pads to jump on because it breathes air (as well as water? No clue), and there are references to that search for the lily pad throughout. It’s also a bit about taking the struggle and turning it into a positive thing, broadening your mind set a little, but always giving yourself just enough breathing space.”
Sounds like: Boxed In, Tracy Chapman, Rationale, Rudimental, Alex Clare, James Blake, John Legend, Will Heard, The Levity
Stunning debut track, ‘Free Things’, is released by creative newcomer Oli Hannaford.
Vocal, lyrical and melodic comparisons have been made to the likes of Will Heard and Sam Smith, but we think Oli stands as his own contender for musical acclaim.
With over 20 songs to choose from, Oli has been writing for years and has no plans of stopping anytime soon with intentions of creating big electronic live shows to enhance the depth of his already impactful sound.
‘Free Things’ is out via Downtown Artists and available for purchase on iTunes.
Sounds like: Boxed In, Tracy Chapman, Rationale, Rudimental, Alex Clare, James Blake, John Legend, Will Heard, The Levity
Brooklyn-based synth-pop duo, Late Nite Cable, have just released their new single, ‘All Nite Girl’.
It’s a melodic track about meeting someone during a night out that you end up having a real connection with, but knowing that you’ll probably never see them again.
The song comes from the band’s upcoming debut EP, which has been co-produced by Anthony Gallo (Yeasayer, John Legend, Cat Power) and is due out next month.
Sounds like: Yeasayer, St. Lucia, Rose Quartz, Cosby
