Korean-American R&B singer-songwriter, Justin Park has released a brand new single. After the successful release of “Adore You, Dior You” featuring Ted Park which has been viewed over 280K on YouTube, and the most recently, “You Don’t Know”, he is finally ready to announce the new track. Recently, Justin’s music was recognized by Jungkook of BTS, which lead to his track, “On the Low” to trend on Melon ( South Korea’s Largest Streaming App ). Justin hopes that the release of “Mi Vida” will live up to the praise and attention he has recently received.
Racking up over 1 billion streams to date, gold-certified alternative pop phenomenon COIN release their brand-new single “Cutie” alongside the official music video, directed by Louis Browne [Olivia Rodrigo, J Balvin, Billie Eilish] and COIN’s very own Chase Lawrence.
Listen to “Cutie” HERE, watch the video HERE.
Speaking on the track, the band says, “Three versions of us exist at all times – the actual, superficial, & digital. These identities are always changing, each one informing the other. How can we know which is even ‘real’? How can I expect to limit someone to the context of my own self-awareness? ‘Cutie’ zooms in on control, change, and confusion. On a lighter note, the song is about AI tasting a tangerine for the first time. Throw the ingredients in the musical blender.”
The incomparable rising UK R&B star Charli Taft returns from a defining 2021 with “Wish I Could” – the latest offering from her debut album DLUXLIFE due out on April 8th. With whistling, airy harmonies layered on top of a hip-hop flavoured beat, the track instantly oozes with golden-era early 2000’s R&B nostalgia. “Wish I Could” is immediately recognisable as a classic break-up anthem, with Taft’s soulful authenticity at its heart. Inspired by the icons she grew up listening to like Brandy, Faith Evans & Mariah Carey, Charli’s authenticity as a songwriter and creator makes
her one of the most interesting, talented and promising new voices in R&B today – which is further realized via “Wish I Could”. Created whilst jamming to melodies on her phone and writing lyrics in bed, Taft initially wrote the track in lockdown before finishing it with her partner in crime, the
acclaimed GRAMMY winning producer Daniel “Obi” Klein (Method Man, Fat Joe), and Johannes ‘Josh’ Joergensen. Sharing her thoughts on “Wish I Could”, Taft describes: “‘Wish I Could’ is a special record to me as it really evokes the magic of R&B hits I used to listen to on the radio
growing up. It’s just soaked in that classic, timeless feel. I really wanted my album to capture sounds from my favourite era of music and make them my own. “Wish I Could” is a song that definitely makes me proud of where I am on my journey. The song is about the bittersweetness of a past love and missing ‘the one that got away’. It describes the feeling of being emotionally conflicted, wishing you could turn back the clock to be with an ex, even though you know it’s ultimately futile! The lyrics are melancholic and raw and yet the track is powerful and uplifting, so it has this interesting, magnetic quality to it. I hope when people hear it, it gives them all the nostalgia and all the feels! To me, it’s a new type of heartbreak song – a ‘feel-good heartbreak anthem’ – and I’m sure so many people will be able to relate when they hear it.”
After a steady stream of teaser singles towards the end of 2021, Leicestershire duo Vona Vella (Izzy Davis and Dan Cunningham) unveil their hotly anticipated debut EP Go Outside Forever, along with the official video for the title track – out via Peter Doherty’s label Strap Originals.
A sensation of six indie gems, Go Outside Forever encapsulates Vona Vella’s stunning artistry for sunny soundscapes with poetic lyricism. With a versatile expertise for DIY musicianship, all of the tracks were co-written by the duo: Dan playing the guitar and piano with Izzy on guitar and flute and also joined by Mark Neary on bass (Noel Gallagher/U2/Adele/UNKLE) and Jay Bone on drums (Carl Barat & The Jackals/Trampolene).
A soft-jazz offering to the record, focus track ‘Go Outside Forever’ explores the toxicities of modern ‘hustle culture’ – “It speaks about how not everyone needs to be out their comfort zone to be content. Many people are happy to stay comfortable, and not be constantly working to perfection, and that’s okay.” Accompanied by an artistic visual, we see Izzy and Dan’s emotive performance overlaid by mesmeric scenes of nature.
The record is introduced with the bright and dreamy ‘Driving to LA’ – accompanied with a stylish ‘60s-themed visual directed by the iconic Roger Sargent (Oasis, Kings of Leon, U2). In contrast, ‘Threading Needles’ brings a softer sound to the record – with
a simple guitar-led melody that allows Izzy’s heavenly vocal performance to front the track. An emotive ballad, ‘Threading Needles’ explores the “feeling as if you’re treading on egg shells around someone who is going through a hard time. Tending to their unpredictable behaviour, trying to tip toe around a sensitive conversation that needs to happen.”
The Auxiliary is the musical alias of American songwriter and musician Russell Howard. As the only child of two accomplished classical musicians, Russell spent countless hours bearing witness to the symphonic and operatic cannons before he uttered his first words. It was this abundant yet compulsory musical environment that both delayed and ensured Russell’s eventual embrace of popular music. After originally debuting as a solo acoustic artist, the songwriter began to feel the boundaries of the genre and the format limiting the direction of the music. Time alone on the road interacting only with promoters and fans for weeks at a time gave further motivation for Russell to make a change. Thus was born The Auxiliary. Shedding the dogmas of the acoustic songwriter, the new palette is a diverse and colorful one.
The music of The Auxiliary is grounded in personal experience, but remains vague enough to apply to any number of situations. For instance, while drawn from a specific moment in the songwriter’s life, The Auxiliary’s debut single “Overture” more broadly probes the dual nature of prescience. Russell shares, “When you are overcome with the feeling that you just know how things are going to work out – when you can see it and touch it – that insight can bring both excitement and calm, but also a rather sinister sense of inevitably.”
Sonically, “Overture” is centered around muted, echoing vocals which ride atop the minimalist backdrop of reverberated synths that ripple in the distance. Reminiscent of BJ Burton’s work with Bon Iver and the Japanese House with a Frank Ocean inspired vocal treatment, Russell and producer Lawson White create a mesmerizing, haunting atmosphere that pulls listeners into the unique world of The Auxiliary. The musician explains, “of the music, Overture is perhaps the most purely electronic and by releasing it first, we touch a far wall of the space I’m creating with The Auxiliary. The next one is a profanity laced ukulele protest song, so take it as you will.”
Russell approaches music as an emotional backup, to help you feel your feelings more fully and to navigate out of bad places. “Overture” succeeds in delivering the perfect soundtrack for each of those moments. He explains, “It’s one of the reasons I chose the name The Auxiliary. Reserve forces in the military sense.” Russell has performed on the road supporting a diverse array of artists including The Lumineers, Howie Day, Teddy Geiger, and 90’s rockers Sister Hazel. “Overture” is the first new music from The Auxiliary and launches a torrent of singles and EPs to be released in 2022.
The Moving Stills announce their first full length album, ‘Sunshine Corner’. A blissful alt-pop rock album that dives into a pool of nostalgic surf flavours and synth swirls that ripples through the air. The album includes previously released singles, ‘Gene’, ‘Downlow’ and ‘Waste My Time’. Perfecting their feel-good Australian summer vibe and continuing to push their genre boundaries, with more heartfelt songs like ‘Throw Me A Line’, ‘Perfect’ and ‘Last Friday’
Their debut album has been two years in the making and explores the growth of the band members during that time. Since their breakout single ‘Nineteen’ was released in 2018, The Moving Stills have continued to establish themselves in the Australian music market. Performing at staple Australian festivals including, The Big Pineapple, A Day On The Hill, Sounds of The Suburbs, Neck of the Woods, Woodford Folk Festival and BIGSOUND. Having also toured with renowned Aussie bands like Ocean Alley, Spacey Jane, The Delta Riggs, Lime Cordiale, Pacific Avenue, Holy Holy and DZ Deathrays, they’ve proven that they’ll be sticking around. The Moving Stills’ previous singles have also had the support of Australia’s National Youth Broadcaster triple j and triple j Unearthed, with rotation of their past singles on both platforms.
The Moving Stills showcase their matured songwriting and production finesse whilst building on their signature sound. The band says the album will “show a cross section of different flavours we’ve been playing with.” Taking influence from guitar based rock as well as electronic and groove based artists.
“This album has been a gradual process of refining and working on songs both old and new over the last two years. The songs that have had a place in our live set for years, and others that haven’t yet been heard. Writing, recording and working on this album felt really nice. It’s an opportunity to give listeners a snapshot of where we are as a band and how we’ve been feeling.
The longer album format allows more insight into our experiences over the last few years. We’ve always written songs based on our experiences and stories we know. It’s definitely honest and heartfelt. In a way, ‘Sunshine Corner’ is a coming of age album filled with stories of emotional struggles, self-realisations and reflections, heartbreak and the lessons learnt along the way. Hopefully some of our experiences connect with the people listening to it.”
‘Sunshine Corner’ available now through Sureshaker.
Making a mighty start to 2022, Indonesian superstar rapper RAMENGVRL
drops the dynamic new single “WHO DIS?”.
As the flagship artist for Asiatic Records – the new hip-hop label launched by Warner
Music – RAMENGVRL’s unapologetic attitude on “WHO DIS?” is no exception to the
confidence that overflows from her musical catalogue. The Forbes 30 Under 30 artist has
no time for haters on “WHO DIS?”, speaking of how her meteoric rise has taken her on an
unprecedented journey across continents. Over a bass-heavy beat, she vocalizes how the
fame she has gained along the way has seen fake attention-seeking individuals resurface
from her past. Seeing right through their act, RAMENGVRL unashamedly declares how
she keeps her mindset focused on herself and her rising success – paying no care to the
people looking to exploit her.
Accompanying the single is the high-energy music video for “WHO DIS?”, directed by
drea.irl. Matching the track’s quirky humor with fast-paced editing, the video jumps
between Y2K aesthetics and Internet culture visuals, showing off the playful and creative
style RAMENGVRL has built her name with.
“WHO DIS?” succeeds a string of well-received singles released via Asiatic; self-love
anthem “I’m Ugly”, the gritty “Ain’t No MF” featuring South Korean rap star pH-1 and low-
key “Fake Friends”, which RAMENGVRL discussed in a December profile feature for
PAPER Magazine, signaling her ever-growing global popularity.
On her way to becoming a heavyweight in the rap game with 250K+ monthly listeners and
multiple features on Spotify’s biggest rap playlists, RAMENGVRL’s ‘no filter’ ethos
encouraging audiences to be themselves and never act on the opinions of others has
gained widespread support across the globe from NME, DAZED, CLASH, THE FACE,
THE LINE OF BEST FIT and 1883, who have all praised the way she is bursting open new
doors for the Indonesian music scene and new artists who dare to follow her bold
example.
D Power Diesle continues to build up momentum, after the success of the first volume, the London based MC is ready to drop the highly anticipated follow up project ‘Graphene Volume 2’.STREAM/DOWNLOAD: D POWER DIESLE – GRAPHENE VOLUME 2Diesle’s recent form has seen him release an avalanche of bangers, displaying the quality of the new material he is creating. ‘Graphene Volume 2’ is a 10-track project which is filled to the brim with impressive features from D Double E, Frisco, Big Narstie, Footsie, Shorty, Jammer, Manga St Hilare, Jammz, President T, Deadly, Lil Narst, and Jookie Mundo, not to mention a spine-tingling production.The intro track ‘Minerals’ instantly sets the tone for the project; a hard-hitting backing track is coupled with ingenious wordplay and dynamic flows. As the only solo record on ‘Graphene Volume 2’, Diesle uses this as an opportunity to flex his lyrical ability. Swiftly moving into ‘De Ja Vu’, produced by the world-renowned producer Silencer who delivers that classic grime energy; with Roll Deep veteran Manga St Hilare providing the hook, both MCs use this track to let everyone know they’re back in full effect. ‘Real OGS’ featuring the grime godfather D Double E, is a laid-back hit, you’ll definitely hear this track blasting out of car speakers. Layered with signature adlibs from both MCs, they manage to effortlessly glide over the instrumental while keeping the up-tempo dynamic they are renowned for. Moving over to the pre-released track named, ‘The March’, produced by Heavy Trackerz, this joint starts off with a sinister, vibrant instrumental that is complete with a bouncing percussion and intricate production work. Diesle effortlessly attacks the beat with an intense yet inciteful delivery. This momentum is carried on throughout the track by featuring Boy Better Know artists Frisco, Shorty, and Lay-Z. Displaying his versatility, ‘Alone’ is a more calm and reflective approach than the previous tracks, detailing the journey he has taken to get to the position he is in now. Teaming up with TV sensation and grime pioneer Big Narstie, the pair compliment each other seamlessly as they reminisce and explore their progression. ‘Spitters’ has a beat selection that is nostalgic of the early days of grime and the delivery perfectly matches this sentiment. Diesle displays his technical abilities and punchy wordplay as he comfortably glides over the instrumental, this energy is mirrored by the capable featuring artists.
Bakar announces details of his highly anticipated debut album. The north London artist – who over the last few years has become one of the freshest and most vital new voices in UK music – will release Nobody’s Home on February 25, 2022. Produced by long-time collaborator Zach Nahome alongside contributions from SebastiAn and Matthew Tavares, the fourteen track album also features guest appearances from Celeste (on “Gotham”) and Maverick Sabre (on “Reclaim!”).
Though Bakar started to work on the album in 2019, it was mainly recorded during an “intense but magical” ten day stint in London’s Metropolis Studios. Having previously made the majority of his music in a small production room with only Nahome on hand (including Bakar’s huge crossover anthem “Hell N Back” which has been streamed over 200 million times and certified gold in the US), the pandemic pushed the pair to work in a big studio for the first time. Due to restrictions it was a particularly insular process and although various peers would be present via FaceTime, and Little Simz and WizKid were in the building working on their own masterpieces, the majority of sessions were limited to just Bakar, Zach and engineer Liam Nolan, pushing him to look more internally than ever.
“So much magic is happening at one moment it can be overwhelming,” recalls Bakar. “In those moments I feel invincible. Like I can get off anything, I can make anything and I’m gonna get off my ideas. It’s a really enjoyable place to be. Once you get into that zone.”
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