Tag Archives: Nordic Giants

Weekly Gems 114

Mathew V – Don’t Let Me Go

Mathew V

Canadian born popstar Mathew V releases his enigmatic single ‘Don’t Let Me Go’.

A bold, unabashed pop track, Mathew V is using his strong roots within the LGBTQ+ community to express himself and let the music do the talking. Listen below.

Sounds like: Shawn Mendes, Dagny

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MΛD FVN – Skeletons

MΛD FVN

Debut act MΛD FVN has a lot to say, about a lot of things, including the light hearted topic of life, which she so nearly lost in two separate accidents.

A call to arms, this is emotional, raw and powerful.

Sounds like: Gia Woods, Broods

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kauf – Am I Crazy Feat. Overjoy (Kauf Rework)

Rising Los Angeles vocalist kauf is offering a rework of his first original track featuring another vocalist Overjoy – one of three artists on his burgeoning label ONE / HALF.

Taking a more “pop” approach to his music, he has added a UK garage style beat and some looped vocal samples, giving it more energy and bringing it into the dance world.

Sounds like: Kllo, James Blake, Nordic Giants, Bicep, Jon Hopkins, Caribou, Talos, Bonobo

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Francis On My Mind – Never Be The Same

Francis On My Mind - Never Be The Same

Only on her second release, 16 year old Romanian electro-pop act Francis On My Mind is proving that “Euro pop” is very much a thing of the past.

Sparing synth, melodic drums and fragile but still powerful vocals, this new song comes as a breath of fresh air in a saturated industry of overproduced singles.

Sounds like: Niki & The Dove, Jessie Ware, Monogem, Goldroom, Melis

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ELBA – 700 Angels

ELBA - 700 Angels

Danish pop newcomer ELBA is 25-year-old singer and songwriter Ellen Bathum. She tells stories about the loss of control and the many nuances of love.

Her new single ‘700 Angels’ has a catchy pop hook, but it almost feels like it splits in two directions – experimental electronic music and indie that ultimately culminates into a fiery explosion.

Sounds like: Lady Gaga, Blondage, Jinka

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Cloudy June – Psycho

Cloudy June

Former death metal singer, Cloudy June, takes a proud new step into the world of pop.

Expect her new ‘Psycho’ to be an exhilarating ride of rock and pop. It proves once again how young self-made independent talent can make a real impact.

Sounds like: Ava Max, Halsey, Girl Wilde

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Lex Low – Feel More

Lex Low

London-based Lex Low shares new single ‘Feel More. Ultimately questioning moments in his early life, should he be feeling less or more?

After seeking therapy this year, Lex has used this as a catalyst to tap into emotions from the past and create music. Listen below.

Sounds like: Easy Life, The Night Café

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Mokita – Over You

Mokita

Mokita shares the stripped back ‘Over You’.

With a modern twist on an emo/pop-punk ballad, the song was initially written in the format of a love letter to an ex, and shows a more sentimental perspective to Mokita’s music.

Sounds like: EXES, Handsome Ghost, joan, FRND

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Creature Comfort – Arcade Fire

Creature Comfort

Nashville bootgaze/indie-rock outfit Creature Comfort share the fuzzy ‘Arcade Fire’.

Not to be confused with the track ‘Creature’ Comfort’ by the band Arcade Fire (a cheeky nod to Arcade Fire unexpectedly releasing ‘Creature Comfort on the same day Clark and his bandmates performed at Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in 2017), this is a psychedelic explosion with wavy electric guitar and unrelenting percussion.

Sounds like: Jagwar Ma, Pond, Liily, Future Thieves, The Weeks, Kurt Vile, Fleet Foxes

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Kauf – Limestone

Kauf

It is incredible how some musicians create music that can be so introvert and emotive, yet at the same time be sonic and mind altering.

Kauf is one of those artists. The Los Angeles-based electronic producer makes dance music that is also song led and lyrically deep.

His new single ‘Limestone’ hits you on a deeper level. Kauf says,

“The chorus comes from something my boyfriend and I have proudly said to other people – that ‘we never fight,’ which is true, we don’t yell or get into big heated arguments, but that’s definitely not the only sign of problems in a relationship. In this case it was a lack of communication about things under the surface that slowly built up over a long period of time. And the song is about that claustrophobic feeling when you’re in the same space with someone physically but don’t feel you can really connect, whether it’s caused by events that happened within the relationship or other things in your history.”

Kauf’s album ‘Regrowth’ is out on 13 October.

Sounds like: James Blake, Nordic Giants, Bicep, Jon Hopkins, Caribou, Talos, Bonobo

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MISSIO – Twisted

MISSIO

MISSIO

Meet MISSIO.

Formed by Matthew Brue & David Butler, the duo are feeling a little ‘Twisted’ today, as they release their next single.

Operatic vocals, with dark electronic undertones, Brue from MISSIO opens up to us about the truth behind the track;

“The song is a precursor to the story of my life involving addiction to drugs and alcohol. ‘Twisted’ represents the personal realization that I view myself differently than the rest of the world views me. It describes the unintentional and intentional comments my family made growing up about the type of person they thought I should be. This ultimately leads to the pre-chorus where I confront these comments with the truth of my own reality. I’m uncontrollable, emotional, chaotically proportional, I’m visceral, reloadable, I’m crazy.”

Co-produced with Dwight A. Baker, ‘Twisted’ is out tomorrow via Taste And Tone, a really cool label who release one new track a month.

Sounds like: Aquilo, Jack Garratt, Thom Yorke, Boxed In, Nordic Giants

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SYML – Where’s My Love

SYML

SYML

Spine tingling stuff now from SYML, the project of Seattle native Brian Fennell (also a founding member of Barcelona).

SYML means ‘simple’ in Welsh, but ‘Where’s My Love’ is anything but.

Written with cinematic use in mind, SYML likes to weave together bare piano, minimalist synth, string-scapes and soaring vocal melodies into a textured, emotive soundtrack, evoking movement and visual imagery with sound.

SYML’s new EP ‘Hurt For Me’ is out on 9 September.

Sounds like: Phoria, Radiohead, Nordic Giants

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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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BROADHURST – Little Lover

BROADHURST

BROADHURST

A beautiful new piece of music from Australian artist, BROADHURST (aka Nick Broadhurst).

Keeping his music stunning, yet simple, with falsetto vocals and gentle piano, the video (which has been directed by James Chappell) is equally as captivating.

Sounds like: The Kite String Tangle, active Child, Cloud Boat, Nordic Giants, 1987, The Album Leaf, Phoria, Boxed In, Oli Hannaford, Rhye

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WDL – Stardust ft. Elliphant

WDL

WDL

Sweden is on our radar, yet again. This time it is a new electronic project called WDL by Johan Wedel.

Having already done remixes for the likes of and Tove Lo, ‘Stardust’ is his new single. A trip-hop, jazz-funk-infused cut that uses strings, lazy piano and shuffling percussion to exquisite effect, the track is beautifully elevated by WDL’s collaboration with Swedish vocalist, lyricist and songwriter Elliphant.

Watch the atmospheric video below:

‘Stardust’ is out now on iTunes through TEN/Sony Music.

Sounds like: Little Dragon, Nordic Giants, DJ Yoda, The Avalanches, Dragonette, FOXTROTT, MØ

WDL
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Elliphant
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The Album Leaf – New Soul

The Album Leaf

The Album Leaf

The Album Leaf returns with ambient electronic track ‘New Soul’, which was out on 9 November.

“I wanted to experiment with my vocals,” Jimmy LaVelle says about the song. “I’ve never been fully comfortable with the inconsistencies of my voice. I’m not a singer, I just choose to sing sometimes. I wanted to keep the honesty and not think about it too much. Lyrically, the song is about moving forward, getting out of your comfort zone.”

The video was directed by Michael Raines, who has previously worked with the band on the 2014 tour documentary ‘Beyond There’, and the award winning cinematographer is Mike Simpson (Alt-J, Lil’ Wayne, SolangeDavid Byrne).

“We had little resources,” LaValle explains, “So we spent a weekend in Joshua Tree desert with friends and family contributing to the making of this video and I’m amazed with the result.”

Raines elaborates: “We never had a conversation about the song’s meaning or intentions, and Jimmy gave me a great deal of freedom when it came to creating the concept. Listening to “New Soul”, I looked to the films of Larisa Sheptiko, American Westerns, and more specifically, a scene from Béla Tarr’s Satantango (which I blatantly ripped off). My hope was to make something that alluded to a larger narrative, as if the video was a slice of a feature film. I wanted to make something that felt expansive, like the song itself, but ultimately let the viewer decide who this women was and whether it was a story about death, rebirth, or both.”

Sounds like: Mew, Nordic Giants, Sigur Rós, Saxon Shore, Explosions in the Sky, Alt-J

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The Black Ryder – Seventh Moon

The Black Ryder

The Black Ryder

The Black Ryder is an Australian duo, Aimee Nash and Scott Von Ryper. Now based in Los Angeles, they return with new track ‘Seventh Moon’, which is taken from their forthcoming album ‘The Door Behind the Door’ (out on 24 February 2015).

Nash offers up soft whispering vocals alongside the Ryder’s trademark ethereal beats. The track is cinematic, big and atmospheric; just how we like it.

Sounds like: M83, Sigur Rós, The Naked & Famous, Ballet School, HAERTS, I BREAK HORSES, Nordic Giants

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Until The Ribbon Breaks – Goldfish

Until The Ribbon Breaks

Until The Ribbon Breaks

Until The Ribbon Breaks is Cardiff born and bred, Pete Lawrie Winfield.

‘Goldfish’ is a track that starts off optimistic with a rocky edge until the lugubriousness kicks in, reminiscent of Massive Attack’s ‘Unfinished Sympathy’. But ‘Goldfish’ suddenly twists and turns again into another direction. It is really hard to nail the direction of this track down, and that is a pretty special talent to have in itself these days. As UTRB puts it, we just can’t connect the sound.

UTRB is a student of film. Combining his desire of film with his deeply emotional beats, we can only imagine how atmospheric his shows are if this video is anything to go by.

His debut EP ‘The Other Ones’ is out now via Casablanca Music.

Sounds like: James Blake, Ben Khan, Sam Smith, Lorde, Le Youth, Massive Attack, Nordic Giants, Harts, Alex Clare, Clean Bandit

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