New York-based singer-songwriter Anna Shoemaker presents her new single/video, “Mariah,” from her much anticipated debut album, Everything is Fine (I’m Only on Fire), out March 4th on +1 Records. Following the title track (“Everything is Fine”) and singles like “Change My Mind,” “Sick!” and “It’s Depression (ft. Middle Part),” “Mariah” is a cathartic release of anger, packaged into an infectious pop tune. The “Mariah” video, which was filmed in one take, sees Anna Shoemaker once again collaborating with visual artist Josefine Cardoni. “It was terrifying because at the end I literally throw a guitar into the fire, so it was an incredibly high stakes situation,” Anna quips about the shoot.About the new single, Anna writes: “’Mariah’ is very self-explanatory and maybe that’s why it feels so difficult to put out. I think my favorite thing about writing is being able to sort of create characters to get out my emotions and shitty feelings and keep them far away from me. ‘Mariah’ is all the things I wish I said in a really toxic situation. Also, I always thought Mariah Carey putting out ‘Obsessed’ in response to Eminem saying they were together was the coolest move. I think in a lot of ways, as an artist, you can use music to protect yourself. You can put everything into a song and sort of let it float away.”
Matilda Cole has been making a name for herself over the last year with a string of additive indie-pop singles. The latest installment, ‘Again’ comes as a stellar first move for 2022, boasting dreamy, sultry vocals and reflective, relatable songwriting.
Born out of a turbulent relationship Cole depicts her story with perfect poise. Sharing more she explained: “I wrote again about that all too familiar cycle of wanting someone so much that you let them hurt you again and again. I thought the idea of not being loved at all was worse than being loved in the wrong way, so I tolerated behaviour that I really shouldn’t have.”
Matilda Cole is a Brighton based singer-songwriter. Over the last year she has firmly secured herself as an artist to watch. With support from a wealth of tastemakers including The Line of Best Fit, Early Rising, Pop Justice, Clash, Wonderland, tmrw mag, BBC Introducing and her debut EP sitting at over 2 million streams, this indie-pop riser is already making her mark.
Debut EP Milk Teeth came as a gorgeous coming of age moment, effortlessly pure vocals and catchy melodies made for a shimmering first chapter. Now firmly cemented in her next stage, Again looks to be her biggest moment.
21 year-old London rising singer/songwriter sensation Nat Slater releases her first offering of 2022 with the sleek “Been A Minute”.
Nat Slater started off her music career at just 15 playing open mic nights across the city, her ability with piano and guitar seeing her work closely from the jump with heavyweight producers Monro (Jhene Aiko) and Oscar Schellar (Pink Pantheress, Ashnikko). With “Been A Minute” already making waves across national radio, the young star feels set to continue the attention already coming from the music and fashion tastemakers.
Growing up on Stevie Wonder and 90s soul music, “Been A Minute” emerges as a masterful example of bringing classic influences into the here and now – the pop-edged R&B gem lets Nat’s smooth, airy vocals shine over an icy, bouncy instrumental, breaking into innovative production that embeds Nat’s position as an unorthodox, compelling new name in the landscape.
The track reflects on Nat’s journey of coming back from being “down in her feelings” and getting lost in a haze, to finding stability in the things she loves and feeling herself – “took it back to the basics, damn I feel so amazing, made it out of the maze alive”. This universal struggle of maintaining self-identity in a hectic life will be one many relate to.
A bonafide natural talent, Nat Slater is being hailed an artist to watch closely across the spectrum of the internet from GRM DAILY to CLASH and WONDERLAND. Her ability to transcend traditional boundaries and a sizzling eye for style places Nat on an extremely exciting trajectory as “Been A Minute” sets the tone for a slew of new music across 2022
Chris Farren believes in chasing his ridiculous ideas until the end. Whether it’s creating a series of paintings depicting the funerals of famous cartoon characters or releasing a Christmas album of completely original holiday songs, he will commit to a project once he’s got it in his head. A little after 4 AM one night in April, he was lying in bed when he had an idea so wild that it fully woke him up.
“I’d been listening to this album called Trouble Man, this movie soundtrack by Marvin Gaye,” Farren says. “I thought: Man, I can’t wait for the time in my career when I’m able to do something like that. But then I thought: Well, I could just do it, and not wait, because it seems like a fun creative thing to do, to make music for movies. Maybe I won’t wait. Maybe I’ll make a soundtrack to a movie that doesn’t even exist.” Before he knew it, he was sitting up, jotting down ideas and potential song titles for a film soundtrack—“Attacked by Dogs,” “Red Wire Blue Wire,” “Car Chase!”—and then a title for this imaginary movie struck him: Death Don’t Wait.
Farren started studying action movies and their scores for inspiration, specifically thrillers from French, Italian, and American cinema of the 60s and 70s , and of course, a healthy dose of James Bond flicks. “I thought about what every action movie has,” he says. “There’s usually at least two car chases, maybe a boat chase, hand-to-hand combat, a heist scene. So I just chose 15 different types of scenes, and I’d watch those types of scenes in different movies. I watched a lot of bank heist scenes and scenes of people diffusing bombs, and tried to pay attention to what the music was doing, and thought about how I could do that in my own way.”
Granny Smith is Jason Bhattacharya. All tracks are produced, arranged, composed and performed on a Yamaha AW4416 recording console. “I think of this project as an ode to the history I was never a part of but cherish so deeply. Initially, my music was mostly pastiche based on styles that initially inspired me but in recent years it’s become a place to document my progress as a writer, performer and recording artist in my own right. The goal is to capture a single performance (typically on piano, acoustic guitar or drums) and overdub the rest of the instruments. This is a practice that had already been put in place by some of my idols such as Stevie Wonder, Prince, Shuggie Otis, and Paul McCartney…writing the music, performing all the instruments heard and recording it as well. I studied classical piano lessons till Level 9 Royal Conservatory. The rest of my musical backing came from playing along with records and playing with my family who also play a variety of instruments. I landed on the name Granny Smith for a few reasons. I was always very into artists from decades past; my musical choices always seemed to reference artists of a different era, hence ‘Granny.’ I loved the imagery of the Granny Smith apple…The Beatles used it for Apple Records which for me is a beacon of rampant imagination. Steve Jobs took the Granny Smith apple and repurposed it for his brand which allowed people to create playlists and hear all of their favourite songs from different artists and genres in a line, allowing the listener to build a soundtrack to their lives.”
rising indie-pop artist Cade Hoppe is unveiling the video for his new single, “Hurts.”Underscored by swirling dream-pop production and a pulsating backbeat, Cade’s baritone vocals deliver heart-wrenching confessions about love and loss on “Hurts.” The song is written from the POV of someone who has recently broken up with their significant other, but the accompanying music video adds more context to the situation. Using a camcorder to invoke nostalgia, the “Hurts” video shows the relationship from the POV of the other party. “I wanted show the relationship through the other person’s eyes before it all fell apart,” says Cade. “It helps give a little context to the pain I’m singing about because the most painful part of any breakup, I think, is remembering those good moments that made you fall in love with each other in the first place.”
Texas-born R&B/Soul songstress Kayla Brianna is back with the release of her alluring new music video to her sultry single “Too Long.” Directed by Neex, the dazzling release finds the blooming artist embracing her vulnerability as she double downs on love.“I wanted to provide visuals that felt ethereal, romantic and dreamy. The song “Too Long” was created from being in quarantine which literally felt *too long* at times. It’s about missing who you love and longing for more” Kayla Brianna shares.
Fast rising newcomer Sophia Alexa continues to build the rising momentum around her name with Hit and Run, the follow up to well received debut single, House Of Cards. Having gained acclaim from areas such as Wonderland and Fashionably Early, Alexa beguiles again with her dreamy brand of indie -pop. Speaking on the release, she states:
I wrote ‘Hit and Run’ after I noticed myself feeling the need to escape every time I got too close to someone. I was afraid of feeling trapped or attached even if the relationship was positive. The escape felt like a defence mechanism and writing this song was a way to summarise that feeling. In the process of writing it I wasn’t sure if the title was too dark so contrasting it with more uptempo drums was a great way to hide the reality of the lyrics.
Photo by Anna Azarov
L.A.-based pop/folk/Americana outfit Single Girl, Married Girl writes simultaneously beautiful and devastating songs with poetic, perceptive lyrics that astutely capture what it means to be human. Steeped in a folk songwriting tradition that harkens back to Pete Seeger and Joan Baez mixed with modern songwriting elements in the style of Jenny Lewis and Brandi Carlile, the band fearlessly tackles issues ranging from loss and drug addiction to insecurity and depression. Since its release in November 2021, the album, Three Generations of Leaving, which chronicles the trials and traumas of three generations of women from the same family, has been praised by fans and critics alike, including No Depression, American Songwriter, The Bluegrass Situation, and more.
Jon Pareles of The New York Times highlighted “Scared To Move,” which features harpist Mary Lattimore, in The Playlist, stating, “With patient arpeggios and soothing bass notes, [Lattimore] builds a grandly meditative edifice behind Chelsey Coy, the songwriter and singer at the core of Single Girl, Married Girl… Coy’s multitracked harmonies promise, ‘In a strange new half-light, I will be your guide’ as Lattimore’s harp patterns construct a glimmering path forward.”
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