Positioned for a major breakthrough, rising Philadelphia phenomenon Poundside Pop presents a brand-new project entitled, WOCK AND ROLL (PURPLE EDITION), today via Epic Records.
Get WOCK AND ROLL (Purple Edition)—HERE.
He preceded the ten-track collection with the single “Money & Power. The song illuminates the punchy power of his revved-up and raw delivery as he amplifies his slick signature style. The project begins with the intoxicating “Whole Lotta Purple,” them dips into “Killer’s Lullaby,” flexes deft dynamics on “Karate Class” and climaxes with an affirmation on the fiery finale “Keep Going Hard.”
Bringing a grown and swanky feel back into the new year, London’s championed rapper Fekky has called on the prince of hooks AKA Haile for the release of his latest rap cruiser, ‘Heavy Heavy’. STREAM/DOWNLOAD: FEKKY FT HAILE – HEAVY HEAVYEncapsulating a nostalgic and luxurious feel from the offset, we are welcomed with Haile’s (WSTRN) signature silky tone and bouncing melodies as he lays down a feel-good hook, “Wake up, chase the bag that’s the regime / Heard we getting money now they all on me / I’m like, I might floss some ice on my baked beans / I smell them haters all they do is talk on me”. Setting the tone for what’s yet to come, Fekky swiftly cuts through with his piercing tone and punching flow for a gritty verse. Harnessed with a bass-heavy and head-bopping production, Fekky explores his journey thus far before later showcasing his achievements from the past few years, “I come from bruddas tryna burst me / To giving out turkeys / We was outside lurking / Now I’m moving with a purpose / Might rock jordans or shoes on a church ting / On the right side of 30”, he raps.
LANDON LLOYD MILLER is back with the breezy, upbeat new single: “Feel It Again”.
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A letter of hope to Landon’s dear friend, endearingly known as “Toups” (or even sometimes as “Tipsy Topsy Turvy Toupsy Poopsy” as Landon humorously introduces us in sing-song here), “Feel It Again” is a track all about camaraderie, good-times gone and dreams of those times yet to be.
With an acoustic strum that sets the pace at a giddying gallop, “Feel It Again” is adorned with spirited fiddles, sweet mandolins and lackadaisical slide breaks; all of which add up to soundtrack as hewn with optimism as its lyrical counterparts. Landon even makes a surprise appearance on drums too.
The new single swiftly follows recent tracks “Bluebonnet” and “Light Is Growing”, all of which will feature on his upcoming debut solo album: ‘Light Is Growing’ – out 4 March 2022.
British pop duo push baby is back with “What Ya Gonna Do?” – a divine slice of retro-
infused ‘00s pop, released via AWAL+. “What Ya Gonna Do?” is a millennial’s throwback pop dream with its nostalgic boy-band aesthetics. Unashamedly diving into the exaggerated pop tropes of the early 2000’s, the track pays homage to the stylings of Max Martin but isn’t scared to revitalize classic pop cliches in a fresh way. Instantly recognizable to anyone from the MTV age, while still
feeling accessible to a younger Gen-Z audience, “What Ya Gonna Do?” is packed full of retro pop samples that will take you back to those hits from the days when your favorite boybands ruled the charts.
Speaking about the track, push baby explains: “'What Ya Gonna Do?’ came from wanting
to capture that pristine late ‘90s / early 00’s Max Martin POP! That sound is pretty much the backbone of the whole record. Our instinct kind of always goes to that very radio friendly, punchy pop anyway, but we’d shy away from it because we were scared of ’not being cool’. However, we’ve just leaned into it now, to the point where our noses are touching the ground. If we’re going to do it then we’re going to DO IT – it’s a pastiche. From the artwork, to visuals, to what we wear, push baby wanted to deliver the perfect pop record. I think it works because it’s two idiots in their mum’s garage making it.”
Letting their creativity run wild in lockdown, push baby (comprised of Jake Roche and Charley Bagnall) dove into the studio to churn out bop after bop, while exploring imaginative, experimental new ways to perform – including a livestream show from Coleen Nolan’s garage, aptly called ‘LIVE FROM MY MUMS DAMP GARAGE’ (Coleen is Jake’s mother).
Rising Canadian pop powerhouse Xana unveils another explosive and unapologetic anthem with her new single ‘My Therapist Told Me’.
With an addictive 00’s pop-punk nostalgia, ‘My Therapist Told Me’ blazes with electric guitars and punching drums, putting Xana’s powerful, rock-edged vocals front and centre. A fierce anthem of frustration, the track explores letting go of a toxic infatuation and being brought back to reality by those around you.
Speaking on the track, Xana explained “I was head over heels for this girl who would constantly flirt with me and then out of nowhere she’d say we were “just friends” and apologised if I “got the wrong impression”. I refused to write another sad song about it and instead channelled all my confusion and frustration into this angsty, early 2000’s vibe, pop-rock song. Writing “My Therapist Told Me” was therapy in itself and it pushed me down the path of healing.”
WAX ON WATER
“YOU KNOW WHEN YOU KNOW”
11TH FEBRUARY 2022
ALBUM “THE DRIP” COMING MAY 2022
VIA HOWLING TEMPEST / THE ORCHARD
“Camden’s Wax on Water continue to blaze a trail and buck the trend… the lively Londoners look and sound every bit like the next big thing.” – RUSH ON ROCK
Camden, London UK: the very ‘home’ of cool music; a place globally famous for cool renowned artists. It also ‘alchemically’ inspires new music that you simply can’t imagine coming from anywhere else. So it is with Alternative Rock band Wax on Water, fronted by charismatic lead singer, songwriter and producer Maya Damaris, recently joined by newcomer Steven Blessing on guitar. The band expertly fuse together grunge, electronica, and industrial sounds with layers of strings, piano and intense guitars to produce a sound that is unquestionably their own. The band release their latest single just in time for Valentine’s Day: a reflective homage to the power of love, relationships and humanity – “You Know When You Know” – 11th February 2022. Full album “The Drip” lands in May 2022.
The first incarnation of Wax on Water featured the classically trained Damaris embarking on an ambitious quest to meld together all the wonderfully diverse music influences that inspired her growing up, including: Led Zeppelin, Bowie, Iggy Pop, Kate Bush, NIN, QOTSA, as well as Dinah Washington, all the Motown greats and many more besides. The outcome was the impressive 2018 debut album “Procession” released by the band’s own record label Howling Tempest. This release created quite a stir in the music world and led to the band, and their label, being signed to a lucrative distribution deal with The Orchard/Sony. The addition of experienced guitarist Steven Blessing in 2019 further marked the band’s evolution and elevation into the alternative musical tour de force it is today.
Forthcoming EP “The Drip – Part 2”, to be released 25th March, is a pre cursor to full album of the same name and follows the previous EP “The Drip – Part 1”. All tracks demonstrate the wonderfully eclectic range of influences cleverly brought to life by Damaris and Blessing, and who playfully tease our appetite for the long-awaited full album of the same name “The Drip”, due in May 2022. The album will be a collection of sixteen songs that builds wholeheartedly upon the visceral raw energy of the first album and, with Blessing on board, lifts their sounds to a magnificent and exciting new level. The production of the album was an international affair: Drums for the album were played by LA drummer, Garren Orr (YolkLore, Tennis System) and the record was mixed at MooseCat Studios, LA and mastered by Will Borza at the Grammy Award Winning Howie Weinberg Mastering Studios, LA.
Latest single “You Know When You Know” on the face of it feels very apt given its release date is around Valentine’s Day. However, no overworn romantic cliches are required here: the song is as much about self-love as it is about romantic love and is more of a tribute to its core meaning to humanity. Wax on Water expertly tap into the true essence of love’s higher power and as a universal force. As Damaris says: “When you come out the other side of a love relationship and find some strength again, you start to re-centre yourself and that’s the place that I wrote this song from. I do believe in love as a higher power; I think there are important love connections that we have while we’re on this planet and that’s one of the main reasons we are here – and this song is a manifestation of that.”
Edith is a Romanian born, London based pop artist, whose music fuses infectious, dance worthy melodies with emotional, honest lyrics. Edith started writing songs and playing guitar at the young age of 10, when her family moved to England. Finding inspiration in her surroundings, she soaked up the music of The Beatles and Eric Clapton, mesmerised by their songwriting techniques and ability to allow listeners to feel the narrative of the song through their sounds. Combined with the synth pop sensibilities of Lauv and LANY, as well as the storytelling lyricism of Taylor Swift, Edith has concocted a sound which will remedy all of life’s hurdles.
Writing songs has always been her way of coping with whatever is going on in her life and dealing with her emotions. The songwriter shares, “I hope that my music is the kind people relate to. I hope it makes people feel like home. For me, that is the most important thing I look for in music. The story it captures. The thought that my music could help them go through a hard time, that’s what music is about, the connection between the people listening and the artist, because at the end of the day we all go through very different experiences but we all feel the same way.”
Her latest single “The Day We Met” is about wishing you could relive a certain moment. Edith confides, “I sat alone and replayed it over and over in my head and really wished I would have said how I really felt in that moment. It is really a sad song which I wanted people to dance to.”
With a steady, move-inducing beat and twinkling synths, the track is coated in a glossy, fluorescent soundscape, as she longingly sings, “Take me by the hand, to the bar where we first met, that look is so addictive”. Despite it’s feel-good sound, the raw and passionate lyrics tug on your heartstrings, allowing you to witness the deep yearning for a past memory.
Edith has played countless shows around London’s most popular grassroot venues such as The Notting Hill Arts Club, The Fiddlers Elbow and Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes, as well as having garnered acclaim from notable press outlets. “The Day We Met” is off of the upcoming 13-track album, In This House We Celebrate Heartbreak, which is set for release later this year.
Credit: Radu Aldea
Marking their 10th Anniversary in 2022 – TEMPLE INVISIBLE – return with brand new music to share. Releasing the gripping “Hold” today (11 Feb), it arrives as a first glimpse of the ‘Chiasm’ EP, which will be the band’s first extended release for over 5 years when it arrives on 29 April 2022. LISTEN TO “HOLD” HERE
Fusing slinking trip-hop grooves to a track of their trademark industrial intensity, the duo of Irina Bucescu and Costas Ivanov prove they’ve lost none of their bite on their beguiling latest proposition.
A track about the inherent inquisitiveness of childhood and the powerful, expressive energy of human instinct, Irina explains:
““Hold” is about transforming our unconscious fascination for the past into the full force of the present moment. It is about the enthrallment that the small child has for his parents, about our perception of the feminine and masculine energies, the essential duality of our psyche, about bringing awareness to our unconscious attachment to our past and the unconscious burden of trying to recreate it. That “force” is our authenticity, which needs to be free from irrational and limiting constraints from our past, in order to bloom. The elation we’re talking about means that we don’t want to be a “walking life situation”, but a living, breathing being. It’s no small feat – finding balance. And in that process of deconstruction there is a mixture of first becoming aware of and then releasing aggressiveness, the need to control everything and, eventually, the feeling of loss. This initial “loss” transforms into finding that inner intersection, the chiasm of our true, authentic power and the actions that align with it.”
Nick Hampson, the musician and acclaimed film director behind East London artist Now Ex, presents a completely new sound in pop music with his acoustic version of powerful debut EP Sad Kids In America title track.
Coming from a classically trained background, notably as a soloist in the Royal Opera as a teenager, Nick’s voice is rich with a soulful musicality and intense vulnerability. Defined by his unique, almost operatic, vocal style, and backed by an innate ability to tell relatable stories that helped earn his latest feature documentary “In The Cold Dark Night” a 2021 Emmy® award nomination, the title track is a timely and highly necessary anthem for the disillusioned youth of contemporary America.
Set to feature on his forthcoming debut album, ‘Worry <’ (‘worry less’) dropping in March, Nigeria’s multi-talented artist Tim Lyre explores Greek mythology in his latest single, ‘Hubris’, with assistance from North London’s rapper Lex Amor.STREAM/DOWNLOAD: TIM LYRE FT LEX AMOR – HUBRISFollowing the release of his latest hotly-tipped release named, ‘Highlife’ alongside Prettyboy DO and Lady Donli, Tim Lyre has returned with a thought-provoking release ahead of his debut album. Nodding to Greek mythology, ‘Hubris’ is a track that aims to encourage confidence on its listeners; paired with a symbolic artwork of Icarus whose wings burned off from flying too close to the sun, Lyre plays on title’s theme of excessive pride and arrogance. Built over a laid-back and atmospheric production courtesy of Tim Lyre himself, he sets the tone with his nonchalant flow and slick pen game before later being joined alongside London’s prodigy Lex Amor. Weaving her airy and effortless flow throughout the percussive beat, the pair compliment each other seamlessly on this hazy number. Speaking on the single he commented, “Hubris is one of my personal favourites. It’s a song to inspire confidence. I had been going through a period of self-doubt. This song kind of reminded me I was on the right path. Also, couldn’t have asked for a better feature than Lex Amor, she was floating on the track.”
Growing up in London surrounded by music – her uncle was David Ruffin of The Temptations, and her grandfather was famed American soul singer Jimmy Ruffin – Aiyana and her mother moved to Los Angeles when she was only fifteen in a bid to pursue Aiyana’s dreams; they struggled financially to make ends meet as the two poured everything into her career.
Now twenty-one and after being discovered by legendary music executive L.A. Reid (Mariah Carey, Toni Braxton, TLC), Aiyana-Lee has honed her skills and sound to create her debut album Wednesday’s Child with the likes of GRAMMY Award-Winning producer Neff-U (Michael Jackson, Doja Cat), Sebastian Kole (Alicia Keys, Alessia Cara) and Nathalia Marshall (Kiana Lede, Bebe Rexha).
Aiyana-Lee continues to gain international heat and anticipation for her album, with global co-signs already coming in from the likes of VIBE, Wonderland, Rolling Stone India, Entertainment Tonight, Billboard Italia, The Sun and Zane Lowe, alongside growing radio and DSP playlist support in the UK, Australia, Canada, Japan, China, Portugal and Turkey.
Returning with their first new music for 2 years – HEAVY SALAD – are back with the new single: “Psilocyberman”.
A joyous cut of sci-fi gilded silliness, the track was produced and mixed by the legendary Stephen Street (The Smiths / Blur) and arrives as the band prepare to make an impact in Austin Texas as one of the official showcasing artists at SXSW 2022. SOUNDCLOUD || SPOTIFY || APPLE MUSIC || WATCH VIDEO
Like an asteroid of repurposed space-junk oddities hurtling towards Earth with a haywire trajectory, “Psilocyberman” crashlands through your speakers in a radiantly psychedelic, new-wave pop blast.
Scattering a melange of bouncing robotic beats, raygun guitar splatters, and alien doo-wop choruses in its technicolour vapour trail, “Psilocyberman” leads a sonic invasion of the seriously addictive kind. Coupled with a jubilantly malfunctioning break-down, listen out for a cameo from South London music scene legend Patrick Lyons too.
“Working with Stephen Street was a dream come true for Heavy Salad, he instantly recognised the band’s knack for a killer hook and a guitar player who does things differently! Having worked with some of the most distinctive guitarists in British rock, Stephen can now add Rob Glennie to his illustrious list of collaborators. Stephen is well known for delivering experimental guitar pop and “Psilocyberman” is no exception.”
SWN is an undeniable talent and a name that is quickly rising through the world of UK rap. The producer, songwriter and artist has earned his stripes with work alongside Unknown T, Loski, Krept and Konan as well as leading the charge on a string of his own releases over the last year. Teaming up with fellow Camden sensation and chart topper Dappy for his new single ‘Fame’, SWN brings things to a whole new level for 2022 as he affirms his status as the ‘next to blow’. STREAM/DOWNLOAD: SWN FT DAPPY- FAMELeaning on the melodic and harmonious rap flair that is shared in differing ways by SWN and Dappy, ‘Fame’, produced by Goon Cartel and SWN, begins with an infectious melody that is quickly backed up with banging 808s and vibrant percussion. Lyrically exploring the struggles they face during the ‘come up’ and the changes in how people treat them, SWN and Dappy go back to back on the verses with witty wordplay, adding an array of adlibs to create a flawless blend for the single.
rising star Dylan releases her exceptional new single “No Romeo” along with its official video. The song is a rally call against wasting any more time on those that don’t deserve it. The single, along with many others, can be heard live this month at her sold-out, energetic headline shows starting in Manchester (20th) and ending in Bristol (23rd), with a London show in between at The Garage (22nd).
Watch “No Romeo” now via Youtube; HERE
Those wishing to playlist can do so here; HERE
It’s an empowering song, like all of Dylan’s growing discography. It doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to its honest, meaningful lyrics and addictive melodies. Speaking about the song, Dylan explained “I wrote no Romeo with my best friends in mind. I was tired of them going back to their questionable exes and letting themselves be treated like crap (although I think I needed the song as much as they did!) and wanted, as always, to write something empowering. The aim was to write an anthem for the late-night drives with the windows down, the shouting at the sea because LIFE, and the screaming crying throwing up heartbreak moments.”
2021 was a great year for London-based, Suffolk-born singer-songwriter Dylan who won over an army of supporters, through the release of her three outstanding singles “Nineteen”, “Someone Else” and “You’re Not Harry Styles.” Her ability to pen a top song earned her spots on the road with Yungblud, Griff & Thomas Headon in the UK, whilst headlining her own sold-out show at the Camden Assembly. Media tastemakers have stepped forward in support including The Line of Best Fit who proclaimed her a “pop prodigy,” Clash Magazine described her as “trailblazing” and BBC Radio 1 DJ Jack Saunders confirmed she is “a really big popstar in the making.”
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Photo Credit: Frederick Goff
rising artist and producer Matt Taylor shared his new single ‘Godspeed’.
Born from navigating the confronting moment of falling in love, Godspeed is a weightless, intoxicating and endlessly playable slice of genre-bending electro-pop.
Reflective, and self-aware, Godspeed is a showcase of Matt Taylor’s impeccable songwriting.
Sharing a little more, Matt explained
”Godspeed was a big step forward for me with my production. I use songwriting to try and understand a situation that I’m finding it hard to wrap my head around. I wanted to try and capture that feeling I get just before I allow myself to fall for someone, cos you kind of just have to roll with it without knowing whether it’s even gonna work.
A lot of Godspeed was written in late July & early August. I think it was just after clubs & social gathering had just started to open up and I know I was feeling very overwhelmed. In the weeks leading up to it I felt very distanced & pushed away from a friend I caught feelings for, but I also felt a disconnect from myself. Realising this link is what prompted me to write Godspeed.
I didn’t want anything serious with anyone, but that conflicted massively with how I felt about him. What I learned from this whole situation is that you can’t truly let someone in until you know yourself what you are & what you want, and in that time neither of us knew”
Photo Credit: Sara Kuefler
Many musicians have increased their creative output during the pandemic, but Calgary indie rock group Emblematics are taking it to a whole other level. The group released their Wavelength EP in late 2020 and now they’re getting ready to launch their 2nd pandemic EP Navigation on April 22nd. The first single from the EP, ‘Festival Door’, is a haunting shoegazey track that leans heavily into the band’s British Rock influences while serving up a swirling synth-driven blend of post-rock chamber pop.“‘Festival Door’ is a slightly weird dream pop dance track,” says vocalist/guitarist Michael Yun. “The song is built around a straight ahead rock beat and funk bass line, but is also accentuated by several synth parts and vocal harmonies. The majority of the lyrics discuss dealing with a daily, pointless pursuit which contrasts somewhat with the upbeat tempo of the song.” Formed during their university days, Emblematics began as an educational distraction that eventually evolved into a full-blown musical experiment—a deep foray into swooning art rock. Emblematics’ music has been described as “British influenced, post-rock chamber pop,” dominated by atmospheric synths, crashing piano chords and jangly Telecaster riffs. The band’s songs reflect a unique blend of their influences, artists such as Radiohead, Blur, Grizzly Bear, and Joy Division. During the past decade, Emblematics have created a lengthy body of work; every new recording building and expanding on the sonic foundation of the previous one.
Having earned critical applause for her melancholy indie-folk, Amy Jay makes a remarkable leap forward with her moving and kinetic debut album, Awake Sleeper, out now. LISTEN HERE.
The Florida-born, NYC-based singer-songwriter surveys profound emotional terrain, juggling fragments of memory and embedding her observations within a paradoxically lush sonic approach. Exploring the boundaries between acoustic and synthetic, minimalist and ornate, Awake Sleeper echoes a breathtaking cross-pollination of introspective songcraft, surprising textures, and hypnotic soundscapes.
Recorded at Brooklyn’s Mason Jar Music with producer Jonathan Seale (Feist, Fleet Foxes, Aoife O’Donovan), Awake Sleeper marks Jay’s third official project and first full-length release following a pair of well-received EPs – 2016’s Supposed to Be and 2018’s So It Is – that earned her national acclaim and nearly 1M worldwide streams. Seale enlisted a top tier line-up of NYC session players to fill the sonic spaces in Jay’s often sparse songs, including Mike Robinson (Railroad Earth, The Jeff Austin Band) on guitar and pedal steel, drummer Jordan Rose (Cory Wong, Theo Katzman), guitarist Chris Parker, bassist Jeremy McDonald (Kevin Garrett), Andrew Freedman (Henry Jamison) on piano and synths, and award-winning bowed-string instrumentalist Duncan Wickel (Molly Tuttle, Rising Appalachia) on violin and cello.
Awake Sleeper was profoundly inspired by Jay’s day-to-day life in New York City, conjuring its incessant energy, its ambient noise, and constant motion, occasionally quiet but ceaseless in its flow. Jay gave life to her songs with an idiosyncratic sound equally informed by experimental electronica, classical music, and post-rock as it is by traditional acoustic folk songcraft. “It was a conscious choice that the recording elements reflect the lyrical themes, like for example, when we doubled the vocals to mimic emotional duality, or repetitive instrumentation to evoke anxiety or stuckness,” Jay says. “The direction of the music was very much decided by how best to portray these themes sonically.”
Intro to Music Theory is the project of musicians, DJs, and producers Matt Waters and Matthew Busch. The Southern-California born and Hainan-based duo have racked up a plethora of experience in a multitude of genres- first in the classical, jazz and freelance world in the United States, and later as electronic artists and producers in China. They first performed together in Pacific Crest Drum and Bugle Corps as teenagers. The two reunited almost a decade later in 2017, when they simultaneously moved to Hainan, China to teach university-level music.
In 2020, they released their debut EP, Toot the Bad Horn, an eclectic mix of house and instrumental-fusion. These tracks are what propelled them into the NFT and Crypto space with incredible success, partnering with Charged Particles and NFTYthings to sell the 15th most expensive t-shirt of all time. This involvement urged them to form their own distribution company, Unchained Music, recognizing the potential for musicians to have control over their own work, find a new path towards monetization, and start pushing back against an industry that hasn’t been putting artists first. Unchained Music is a 100% free music distribution platform powered by DeFi and NFTs. No subscription fees. No cut of royalties. Unchained Music’s distribution platform is indistinguishable from any other music distribution platform, requiring zero knowledge of Web3, NFTs, or blockchain. The platform will create a more transparent, trustless system for the music industry. Intro to Music Theory’s new single “It’s An Attitude” will be the first track distributed through the platform.
“It’s An Attitude” is the result of a lot of experimentation and study. Busch shares, “The music is inspired by our favorite moments spinning tunes and blowing our horns to dancing crowds, in our quest to add a new experience to our favorite tracks.” Fusing together Deep, Organic, Old School and Nu-disco House, all with an undercurrent of Funk and classic Disco, the duo dig up old sonic memories from their audience and build it into a new one. With the goal to combine the acoustic and electronic realms, bringing a fresh look and sound to the trumpet and trombone sphere with a groovy, funky thread throughout all their releases, Intro to Music Theory have created a sound uniquely their own.
With tours in China, New Zealand, Thailand, and the United States under their belt, Intro to Music Theory is set for an exciting 2022!
neillfrazer@hotmail.com
