Tag Archives: LAB Records

kwassa – sucker

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kwassa

Following a short-lived hiatus, soulful pop act kwassa makes his long-awaited entrance into 2020 with new single, ‘sucker’, released on LAB Records.

The multi-talented individual not only surpassed over 25 million Spotify streams on his previous release but also co-runs his own fashion brand, Hundred Club, as well as writing and producing for fellow artists, which includes releases from Greyson Chance and Charlotte Clarke.

‘sucker’ hits with a more lo-fi feel than we are used to from kwassa, this is however purposeful. The track – aided by its raw fashion – feels like it comes straight from the heart. With plenty more releases to come in the remainder of 2020, kwassa is looking to hit the ground running and return with a bang.

On the track, kwassa says;

“I was in the middle of one of those crappy weeks where things kept going wrong (my car was broken into and then my bike was stolen) when I made ‘sucker’. Writing it down in a totally non-figurative way and putting it into a song was the perfect way to joke it off and use it as fuel to make something cool. Everyone is a sucker for something or someone, and this is just a tongue in cheek take on the relationship between my life and my music.”

Sounds like: The 1975, Patternist, joan, Fickle Friends

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Weekly Gems 30

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High Hazels – Days Of No One

High Hazels

BBC 6 favourite, breezy indie band High Hazels share their new single ‘Days Of No One’.

Fighting an ever-losing battle of love and being lonely, lead singer James admits that despite the conflicting themes in their music, he is a fan of people; “Weirdly that’s why I think loneliness pops up in our music quite a lot, I suppose it’s more the fear of it.”

Sounds like: The Last Shadow Puppets, Miles Kane, Arctic Monkeys, Babyshambles, Richard Hawley, The Coral, Beach House, Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine

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Cape Cub – Come Around

Cape Cub

Creating honest, real and emotive music is Cape Cub‘s forte. It seems to be in his blood.

His new single – out today on LAB Records – is called ‘Come Around’ and is a highly thought-provoking song about losing a loved one.

Sounds like: Foals, Passenger, Vancouver Sleep Clinic, Tep No, Brandon Flowers, Death Cab for Cutie, Temper Trap,

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Captain Kidd – Bleed

Captain Kidd

There is a bit of a Drake vibe going on in Captain Kidd‘s new single ‘Bleed’ and we are digging it.

A perfect blend of blissed-out, nostalgic indie with modern pop. Listen below.

Sounds like: RÜFÜS, SAMA

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Bishat – Unholy Romance

Bishat - Unholy Romance

Swedish alt-pop artist Bishat shares the intriguing ‘Unholy Romance’.

It has an intense and destructive undertone and was written in collaboration with producer Damian Ardestani (aka XOV) on a freezing day just outside of Stockholm.

Sounds like: The Weeknd, Robyn, LKA, Dua Lipa, Lady Gaga, July Child, Nao, Lorde

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LMBO – Fake It

LMBO

Classically trained multi-instrumentalist school friends and singer LMBO releases debut single ‘Fake It’.

Music to match a soundtrack, the melodies effortlessly tip toe between the light and dark.

Sounds like: Hellogoodbye, Owl City, Hotel Garuda

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Weekly SubmitHub Features 10

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JOHN.K – OT

John.K - OT

We all have to do it. Work overtime. But what if it wasn’t a bummer, but something you wanted to do?

JOHN.K takes a different approach. ‘OT’ is an Autumnal track that is about spending that one extra day with your far away friend.

Sounds like: Sam Smith, Justin Bieber

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REGN – WATR

REGN - WATR

Who is REGN? We’re glad you ask.

REGN (pronounced Reagan) is a Los Angeles-based songstress who has just dropped her latest single, ‘WATR’.

Co-written with Robokid, the song has delicate Nordic-inspired vocals chopped into a romantic format.

It’s out now via Moving Castle.

Sounds like: Dagny, Sigrid

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Martin Luke Brown – Opalite

Martin Luke Brown by Bjorn Franklin

Londoner Martin Luke Brown has seemingly come out of nowhere with a banger of a indie pop track called ‘Opalite’ and he means business!

Speaking of the song, MLB says,

“Opalite as a song began with this hypnotic little drum loop and the words just came out. I write placeholder lyrics all the time and then chip away at them until they’re complete but I pretty much stuck with what rolled on Opalite. It just felt right. It’s about finding hope in something and not wanting to let itgo. Whether you find that hope in superstition or religion or love. Whatever really.”

MLB plays London’s Servant Jazz Quarters tonight and ‘Opalite’ is out now via LAB Records.

Sounds like: Bon Iver, Will Joseph Cook, Dua Lipa, Kyko, Sody, Dan Croll

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courtship. – Tell Me Tell Me

courtship. - Tell Me Tell Me

Well, it’s very sad that summer is over for us here in the UK, but keeping the feeling very much alive is electro pop duo courtship..

They’ve just released their new single, ‘Tell Me Tell Me’, a declaration to not hold emotions back, especially when it comes to those love feelings!

Sounds like: Cut Copy, Van She, Summer Heart, Jagwar Ma, Two Door Cinema Club, MGMT, Passion Pit

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Donkeyboy – Kaleidoscope

Donkeyboy

Goosebumps galore with the new track by Norwegian trio, Donkeyboy.

Driving analogue synths predominate the song, followed by sky-high vocals and a massive chorus. Listen below.

Sounds like: Pnau, Mew, LANY, The 1975

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Sasha – Skin Deep

Sasha

London-based Sasha shares ‘Skin Deep’.

Equally as soft on the electronic side of things as the beautiful ‘Picking Flowers‘, ‘Skin Deep’ is a contemplative track about ways to get over a lover through emotionless actions.

‘Skin Deep’ is out now via Lemon Zen Records.

Sounds like: Lucy Rose, Daughter, Maggie Rogers, The Japanese House, Bon Iver, Fenne Lily

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Loud Forest – Wake Up
Loud Forest - Wake Up

California couple Loud Forest are a force to be reckoned with.

Their new single ‘Wake Up’ is about loving an independent person, who is always slightly out of reach, making it all seem like a dream.

Sounds like: Arcade Fire

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Tailor – Blame

Tailor - Blame

Birmingham-born singer/songwriter Tailor has already written for the likes of MØ, TĀLĀ, Huntar, FTSE and Peking Duk, and his own solo material is pretty decent too.

Bordering on alt-pop and electronic music, Tailor has a knack of discussing both sides of the story. His most recent release is a double-A side single called ‘Disillusion / Blame’.

Whilst ‘Disillusion’ is more upbeat in production, ‘Blame’ is about taking the hit in a relationship to benefit the unit as a whole.

Sounds like: Chet Faker, Francis and The Lights, Toro Y Moi, Lauv, Huntar, Sam Smith

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Martin Luke Brown – Into Yellow

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Martin Luke Brown

London based Martin Luke Brown shares his first release on LAB Records.

It’s slightly more restrained than his previous single, ’65 Roses’, but this approach keeps emotional tension throughout the track, whilst Martin Luke Brown continues to showcase his expansive vocal range with the accompaniment of an organ and the rumbling of bass lines.

Sounds like: Will Joseph Cook, KYKO, Sody, Dan Croll, Amaroun, Frank Ocean, DAUNT, Bon Iver, Rationale

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KYKO – Nature

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KYKO

KYKO

You can instantly tell that Paul Simon has heavily influenced the music of UK-based produer, KYKO (aka Scott Verrill).

Combining catchy electronic music (money?) with inspirational South African beats (nature?), KYKO dares to make a different kind of music in this overly saturated pop market.

Listen to ‘Nature’ below.

Out tomorrow via LAB Records, ‘Nature’ is taken from KYKO’s forthcoming ‘Wildlife’ EP, due for release early 2017.

KYKO will also be supporting Eliza and the Bear on their forthcoming UK tour in Nov/Dec (tickets).

Sounds like: Paul Simon, BOA, The New Coast, Draper, The Levity

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The New Coast – Lost In Your Love

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The New Coast

The New Coast

The New Coast are a new East London duo comprising of Nick Blyth and Chris Cheater, who cite substantial influences from American cinema and pop culture.

‘Lost In Your Love’ is the infectious debut offering from The New Coast, and as the same suggests, you will soon be lost in the euphoric sounds of their music.

The track has been co-produced by Scott Verrill (KYKO) and is out now via LAB Records. Purchase on iTunes.

Sounds like: Bastille, To Kill A King, Imagine Dragons, Kodaline

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Interview: April Towers

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April Towers

April Towers

Following the huge success of ‘Modern Psyche’, Nottingham duo, April Towers, are back with their ‘Silent Fever’ EP, having worked with award winning producer, Catherine Marks (Wolf Alice, Foals).

We caught up with the boys.

April Towers only formed a couple of years a go. Tell us more about how April Towers came about.

We met at school when we were about 15/16 years old. Arctic Monkeys had just exploded and it seemed like everyone was picking up a guitar, We were paired together in a school biology project but just spent most the time writing songs before forming an indie band, Frontiers, of which we were members for about 5 years before our tastes became more electronic and we formed April Towers!

Describe your sound in three words.

Fun, Dance. Pop.

‘Modern Psych’ received a great response from blogs and fans. Have you set the bar too high for yourselves?!

Haha, I think the bar is set by others rather than ourselves. We just write what we feel are the best songs we can and it’s up to you guys to decide how high that bar is!!

Your EP, ‘Silent Fever’ is out in April on Lab Records. Tell us more about it.

Silent Fever is our first EP – it features five tracks (featuring previous singles A Little Bit Of Fear and Modern Psyche) as well as two remixes. We are really proud of it and feels it really represents us well as a band. We are also very honoured that LAB records are putting this EP out – Mark and the team have shown great faith in us and we really are grateful for that.

Where do you cite your musical influences from?

It’s a broad range of influences to be honest – from the golden era of the 80s with bands like New Order and Depeche Mode, to modern cutting edge electronic pop like LCD Soundsystem and Hot Chip, with a bit of Cut Copy thrown in there!

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

We are really into the new Steve Mason record at the moment – it’s so intelligently put together. Also really loving Theo Kottis, a Scottish producer who is making real waves in the dance scene right now!

If you fancy seeing April Towers perform, check out the dates below.

Tour Dates

18th March// Kasbah, Coventry
24th March//Picture House, Sheffield
26th March//Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham
5th April//Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh
6th April//King Tuts, Glasgow
9th April// 2Q Festival, Derby
14th April//Moles, Bath

Sounds like: New Order, Depeche Mode, Cut Copy, Hot Chip

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SKIES – Drone

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SKIES

SKIES

Another cracking track from the Kent duo, SKIES.

The track is called ‘Drone’ and is once again delivers on all fronts; huge choruses, honest lyrics and atmospheric synths.

SKIES released ‘Drone’ via LAB Records on 29 January

Sounds like: High Tyde, Coasts, Polarheart, Coheed & Cambria, Two Door Cinema Club, Paramore, Chvrches, The 1975, Biffy Clyro, Something Corporate, The Dunwells

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Youth Club – DTLA

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Youth Club

Youth Club

We’ve been supporting Youth Club on our monthly playlists for a while now, but it’s about time for a post.

The Southend-on-Sea lads return with ‘DTLA’ (aka ‘Downtown LA’), which has been released as an AA-side with ‘Pressure’ via Lab Records.

Keeping the sun shining, their music mixes guitar licks, electronic keys and R’n’B vocals to create crisp, dance orientated pop.

Sounds like: MOTHXR, VYNCE, X&Y

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