African superstar singer and songwriter TYLA unveils a brand-new music video for her latest single “Overdue” [feat. DJ Lag & Kooldrink] today.
Get it HERE via Epic Records. Watch the music video HERE.
Fusing house bounce, electronic energy, and pop expanse, the track gallops forward on a propulsive beat as TYLA’s voice stretches from moments of subdued intimacy into an ecstatic and entrancing refrain, showcasing her impressive range. Adding another dimension, South Africa’s DJ Lag spikes the song with dancefloor-ready spirit, while frequent collaborator Kooldrink continues his hot streak of bangers with Tyla on this collaboration. The music video seamlessly brings “Overdue” to life in cinematic fashion.
“Overdue” notably soundtracks the Season 2 trailer for NETFLIX’s Blood and Water now streaming on NETFLIX.
Most importantly, it paves the way for much more to come from TYLA!
Her debut single “Getting Late” [feat. Kooldrink] has exploded as a viral phenomenon. The music video has amassed 4.5 million YouTube views, while the song eclipsed 4 million streams. It has also claimed coveted real estate on playlists such as African Heat [733K followers], Amapiano Grooves [97K followers], Hot Hits South Africa [51K followers], and more. Not to mention, the track debuted on Spotify’s Top 50 chart in South Africa, reaching #27, a powerful feat for an artist’s first release. Powered by an Amapiano beat, her voice glides over this distinct international bounce towards a boundary-breaking hook that’s instantly chantable. Making an impact, PAPER featured the song, while i-D described it as “her impossibly catchy breakout single.” Not to mention, the BBC 1Xtra playlist just added her, speaking to her global impact.
Surf’s up! CAPTAIN RICO AND THE GHOST BAND release the retro/rock thrills of “Mexican Road Trip”, taken from their new album: ‘THE FORGOTTEN MEMORY OF THE BEACHES’ – out now.
In celebration of the new record, the French surf rock trio are pleased to present a radical new video for one of its most exhilarating highlights: “Mexican Road Trip”.
“What inspired the music for this song? The country of course! But also the desire for long journeys, improvised meetings and all the adventures that this can entail. Personally, I love Mexico and hope to go there one day. For the video we wanted to represent what could be a stopover somewhere in Mexico.”
“Mexican Road Trip” is just one of 12 rollicking, vintage rock’n’roll nuggets to discover on their new album: ‘THE FORGOTTEN MEMORY OF THE BEACHES’. It’s a nonstop surf-rock album that sees the band take the sounds of 1960s Southern California and give them a rejuvenating new purpose from their base in the South of France.
After kickstarting an immersive journey through her ethereal dreamscape with “Enter REM,” multi-faceted producer OBLVYN returned to Monstercat today with her new drum and bass single, “Planet Eternium.” Arriving as the second taste off her forthcoming EP, ‘Dream Theory’, the crisp percussion, pulsating bassline, and processed vocal chops blend perfectly together, forming a celestial melody. Adding her signature future-bass flare, the vibrant synth lead fully showcases OBLVYN’s fusion of her classical training with modern stylings.
OBLVYN shares, “Of all the songs on the EP, “Planet Eternium” had the least difficult writing process and was the most fun. Some tracks took months, while this one was only three days. Which is kind of odd because although I love drum and bass, I find it to be a deceptively difficult style and having attempted but never finished a DnB track before, this was my first one. This one really had me tapped into a flow state.”
OBLVYN’s electric mainstage performance at Compound drew a crowd of thousands to see her debut her new singles off the EP. With two stunning releases under her belt, OBLVYN is poised for a massive year and is an artist to have on your radar.
The story of Rancid Eddie’s formation is as gritty as it is pure – amidst a pile of crushed up beer cans and cigarette ashes, a band of five friends from Melbourne, Australia was born. Composed of Jessy Kelly and Matt Sturrock on lead vocals/guitar, Ash Ravlic on bass, Andy Sturrock on drums, and namesake Eddie O’Brien on keys, the group started as their high school lives ended, feeling that music was “the only thing” that’d keep them together.
Once Covid hit and playing live shows was no longer a possibility, like countless others, the band decided to get on TikTok. There’s something inherently incongruent about supposedly contrarian rock ‘n’ roll bands playing in the influencer’s sandbox, but somehow Rancid Eddie figured it out and developed a rabid following. They showed themselves in their natural habitat – on a couch on the lawn of their shared home, drinking beers at 10am and doing singalongs. Their videos started to amass millions of views – with people taking the live audio and creating tens of thousands of user generated content.
TAG Music label founder Gabe Saporta discovered the band halfway across the world, while asking Siri to find a different song by a different artist. Much to Saporta’s surprise, Siri blessed him with Rancid Eddie’s one-and-only released track at the time – “Here We Go Again” instantly recognizing his need to reach out and connect with the band.
Their latest single “Dry” is a sing-a-long-in-the-pub type of tune with cheekily blunt lyrics about a relationship losing its spark. With a rock sound that’s reminiscent of both Aussie rock acts like Sticky Fingers and American bands such as the Strokes, their psychedelic sound radiates a youthful dew of hope and angst. A paradise of hazy guitar chords pop under a gritty beat and woozy restrained vocals that drip in a relaxed aura mixed with a contrasted rowdy feel. “Dry” is the ultimate explosion of piano stabs, huge, tight drums and loops of cheerful guitar vibrations with contours of boozy carefree vibes. Inspired by their “abysmal love lives”, the boys kicked back and grabbed their beers after a two-day bender, and “Dry” was created. The track nods to the world of relationships particularly the occurrence of one ending internally as you lose feelings. They share the track arose with, “A couple guitars and 5 blokes kickin’ back around a table of empty stubbies, and the good old no sleep demons. The song is about realising a relationship is over before it is, and the pains of falling out of love with someone.” The band share, “We love Dry cause we’ve all been there before, and it feels so good to belt out at the top your lungs with the thought of you giving your ex the finger.”
An acoustic version of “Dry” on their YouTube has over one million views, while one of their TikToks of it has garnered 2.6 million. “The response from so many people across the world and all sorts of walks of life has been bloody phenomenal! It’s absolutely mind-blowing and heartwarming to think that us blokes can pull a tune out of a backyard, after a couple of beers, to then resonate with the rest of the world.” The band posted a TikTok Teaser of the new single which hit 4M+ views.
Earlier this year the band officially signed to Gabe and his label TAG, who have been helping Rancid Eddie get ready to release their most viral live track, “Dry.” “Dry” is the follow-up to their previous single “Champagne”, which premiered on Triple J.
After collaborating with numerous artists, including co-writing songs for Chris Brown’s Indigo album “You Like That”, “Part of the Plan” and “Cheetah,” Jordn is gearing up to release his EP High Hopes. The first single from the EP, “Blessed,” immediately sets the tone for his upcoming project .“Blessed” drips with deep emotions and biting verses intertwined with smooth melodic runs, entrancing vocals, and powerfully dark downtempo hip-hop production by producer Nico. The track screams perseverance and self-mastery through heavy beats that ignite the soul. “23,” a standalone single but a pivotal part of Jordn’s journey, is a song of strength, courage and power over a smooth flow, hypnotic beat and fiery hip-hop production by producer Cai. Inspired after watching Michael Jordan’s The Last Dance docuseries for the fifth time, it’s a track that showcases the artist’s self-awareness and determination, which outpours into impactful words, messaging, and masterful delivery.
Jordn’s upcoming release, “Come Down”, is an emotive track that narrates Jordn’s struggle as he perseveres to make his dreams come true. Jordn confides,” ‘Come Down’ comes from a place where I felt I was way too deep in to give up. I was in a very conflicted space, moving to L.A. and feeling like I don’t belong, but also feeling like this is where I need to be to make things happen. I’m sure a lot of people who move here to chase their dream felt like that at some point, and I still don’t really know if I’ve completely gotten over that feeling.” Featuring introspective lyrics and a melodic beat intertwined with R&B infused soundscapes, the track and video delves into the depths of Jordn’s mind as he picks himself up and remembers why he started in the first place.
A unique talent with a visceral worldview, Jordn is the pop conscious of the millennial. Welcome to the future.
“Australian group PLANET aren’t short of ambition. The group have an innate urge to communication, something that leads them to build songs that are capable of filling arenas.”
CLASH
“Soaring indie rock from a band that knows how to write.”
TRIPLE J
Aussie indie-rock quartet PLANET unveil another guitar driven delight with new single and visual ‘Ship Won’t Change’.
Laced with shimmering acoustic strums, buzzing lead lines and a swinging beat – all tied together by Matty Took’s inimitable voice – ‘Ship Won’t Change’ sets out as summer indie rock ballad, eventually building to a euphoric, orchestral crescendo. Produced and mixed by the band and Adrian Bushby (Muse, Foo Fighters), ‘Ship Won’t Change’ is written as a letter to a relationship that deep down feels doomed, it’s a shining example of the band’s signature alt-pop sound, while also striving to be something much larger than the sum of its parts.
Filmed in Sydney’s Inner Western suburbs, a former working class and industrial area, now home to some of the country’s most exciting artists, the accompanying video suits
it brilliantly. Dappled in golden hour sunlight and summer evening hues, the clip acts as a simple yet effective mirror to the vibrant feel of the song and the band’s ability to craft effortlessly gazey, dream-pop anthems.
Lead vocalist and frontman Matty Took explains “‘Ship Won’t Change’ was a latecomer to the mix (of album songs) – the song itself came together pretty easily as it’s a classic folk tune at heart. I sent the demo over to Tommy and he came back straight away with that vibey guitar that comes in the second verse. He added some cool synth and string sounds which were eventually tracked for real by Pete Whitfield in Manchester. During the mixing process, we wanted to add in harmonies – Lily & Grace from CLEWS came to mind straight away. They came round and nailed the whole song in like 30 mins… such great musicians. The lyrics are about being in a relationship but always feeling like it could fuck up at any time, so much that it makes you feel whack. The ‘ship’, being the relationship and trying to keep it from changing.”
Guitarist Tommy Peppitt adds “We’re all missing playing live – this video was a no-frills approach of getting us all together in a room and capturing the song in its most raw form.”
PARADISE RISING, 88rising’s sister label that launched in July of 2020 and dedicates itself to empowering, promoting and establishing Filipino artists, is announcing the release of semilucent 2 via PARADISE RISING/88rising Records.The new release, out today, October 4, 2021, arrives unmistakably during Filipino American History Month, which is a celebration for all Filipinos — not just Filipino Americans. The new EP is the second installment to semilucent — a compilation album that came out July 31, 2020 that has since garnered over 10 million streams, 2 million YouTube views and well over 50 playlist additions. Not only did the album transcend genres, but it also showcased an impressive array of emerging Philippine artists. Now, PARADISE RISING returns with a new ensemble of artists on its new EP and second installment to its annual compilation album. The latest compilation, semilucent 2, features fresh, new artists both homegrown and diasporic.
The freshly released, semilucent 2, is a 5-track EP that provides genre-blending acoustics, memorable melodies and high-energy 808s, drawing inspiration from the darker mood that comes with the ending of summer and a longing for memories past. Highlights include exciting new recordings by the Vancouver Canada-based duo MANILA GREY; Philippine-native singer and instrumentalist Steven Peregrina; up-and-coming female R&B artist daze based out of Amsterdam; hip-hop powerhouse from New York CA Christian Alexander; seasoned rapper and songwriter Curtismith; and Filipino-American electronic producer standout Manila Killa with multi-talented global vocal artist Yuna from Malaysia. Each track from semilucent will have their their very own music video released on 88rising’s YouTube channel.
Filipino-American producer Manila Killa serves up new track “Reminisce (feat. Yuna)” and shows the eclectic nature of not only the EP as a whole, but within the song itself. On the track, he says “I started the instrumental track “Reminisce” during quarantine when I felt no pressure to create a specific type of music. It was during a time where I felt artistically free – there were no shows coming up and everything was at a stand still so I took the opportunity to try some things out I haven’t before. When I found out Yuna was interested in the track I was so so excited to work with her as I’ve been a long time fan. She totally understood the mood I was going for with the track and turned it from this fun disco demo into something raw, emotional, and reminiscent of better times.”
Albanian born XHOANA X takes her dark, Eastern European heritage very seriously. From an upbringing of one of the most tolerant spiritual cultures in the world, comes a unique style of art, with a mixture of freedom, rebellion and heroism.
The relaxed form of culture from Albania is the driving force here. You are in the darkest little corner of your room. And yet, this is where you find that you are most comfortable. Although perhaps you also find yourself a bit surprised at the ease in which you exist here.
The unexpected seems natural.
The rich enthralling darkness is the vibe.
Following in the footsteps of early musical influences the likes of Massive Attack and Portishead, XHOANA’s music takes us on a spellbinding journey, as if we are preparing for a series of pagan rituals based on mystical beliefs.
Make no question here, she is the high priestess, and in full control of the ritual. The journey is a web in which we are caught, but you’ll find it hard to turn your ears away. You are trapped in a web of intrigue and sensuality while a neo noir movie plays in your head.
Her look and fashion is no less captivating, additionally filled with occasional David Lynch-esque twists and turns. Although her main ambition has always been on developing her musical recording career, XHOANA has also worked both as an actress, influencer, and model.
neillfrazer@hotmail.com
