This week, R&B singer/songwriter Paloma Ford made her official return with the unveil of her sultry new music video “Bentley Truck.” Written and co-directed by herself and 36 Neex, the music video acts as the first release from the R&B sensation since the release of her acclaimed EP X Tapes (2020).
“Bentley Truck” finds Paloma Ford turning a new page from the mindset of heartbreak and loss—themes she eloquently displayed on X Tapes. Paloma sets the stage for an intoxicating new era that speaks from the perspective of a woman finding her voice and confidence after facing loss of any sort.
Artist, Kristy Chmura, announces the upcoming release of her new EP, Where The Light Gets In, is set to release on September 2nd, 2022. Where The Light Gets In includes five distinctive tracks all written by Chmura. Chmura collaborated with artist Jimmy Gnecco of the band OURS, and long-time creative partner and guitarist, Damien Musto as her producers and engineers for this EP. Chmura, Gnecco, and Musto, along with other world class musicians, all perform on the EP sonically creating a unique vibe that pulls you in on an emotional level.
Chmura’s first single, “Leigh,” from Where The Light Gets In will drop on July 8th, 2022 on all digital platforms. “Leigh” portrays Chmura’s own internal struggles with depression, but ultimately realizing you have to look deep within to heal your pain.
Rising singer/songwriter Amberay lays bare her inner most thoughts and feelings on the delicately intimate album Silence – featuring the stunning new single “Where Did You Go Boy”.
A dreamy collection of warm pop, rock and acoustics, the gentle soundscapes of Silence melt together in Amberay’s signature style, maintaining heart-wrenchingly honest songwriting at its core. Ensuring personal detail remains at the forefront of her music, her poetic lyricism artfully deconstructs the complexities of love, peace of mind, sensuality and courage.
Inspired by the rush of falling in and out of love, lead single “Where Did You Go Boy” is a masterclass in heart-breaking piano pop, perfectly blending soothing melodies with tender song writing. Tackling a distinctly universal experience in an equally stylistic and sincere way, Amberay’s talent to capture intense feelings so beautifully, enchants.
Enhancing the release with cinematic new visuals, her captivating performance alongside Wolfblood’s Jack Anderson, digs deep into the heart of the single. In this poignant and moving film, we watch loving vignettes of a couple disappear as Amberay wanders around the crumbling relationship. A delicate portrayal of the all-consuming intensity of romance and its subsequent break-down, the wistfully seductive visuals reflect the creative artistry of Amberay’s work.
A deeply personal collection of songs, Silence intersects multiple musical styles, with the boldly vulnerable “Those Eyes Of Yours” providing a deeper texture, adding screeching riffs that overlay puncturing drums in a moment of seductive glam rock. In contrast, titular single “Silence” gives a nod to dance music, utilising the genre’s deep bass to add a fateful undertone to the track’s narrative journey of peaceful self-discovery.
Explaining that “the album is called Silence because so many things are said in Silence, sometimes more than when words are spoken”, Amberay’s concluding track “Please Don’t Say A Thing” beautifully encompasses this theme with her tale of unwanted goodbyes wrapping up the confident project.
July 6th, American singer-songwriter and actress Alison Sudol unveils the hypnotic visuals for her recently released single ‘Meteor Shower’ and shares the details of her upcoming new album, ‘Still Come The Night’, due for release on September 30th via Kartel Music Group. Watch ‘Meteor Shower’ Video Here. Pre-Order ‘Still Come The Night’ Here.
The video is an invitation to witness and partake in a series of self-imposed actions and rituals. Alison presents herself to the camera in her truest form; raw, vulnerable, enduring, powerful, while using a variety of visual approaches – from irregular depth of field, video feedback loops, erratic zooms to affected speeds – the director transports the viewer beyond this dimension, intimately navigating levels of Alison’s subconscious.
Directed by Alison’s close collaborator and Creative Director Federico Nessi, also responsible for the upcoming album’s art direction, the video concept, Nessi explains “stemmed from the song’s hypnotically repetitive beat and Alison’s stoic tone – a mystical force seducing the listener to join in on a meditative journey of self-exploration.”
Talking about the visuals, Alison adds; “Federico’s vision for ‘Meteor Shower’ matched the heartbeat of the song and leaned into it. Sitting with grief – whether noticed or not – kinetic ritual. I had never seen tapping before Fede introduced it to me but I have done it naturally at different points in my life. Energy and emotion can get trapped and settle in parts of the body. There’s a tremendous amount of power in movement and healing in touch”.
‘Meteor Shower’ serves as the upcoming album’s poetic finale, book ending the equally hypnotic opener, ‘Bone Tired’. “It’s the moment of space between one chapter ending and a new one beginning – a moment of uncertainty, the unknown… of possibility. The record begins with exhaustion and ends the same way, but with light pouring in.”
Earthquake Lights are a five-piece rock outfit from NYC. Their first EP, Bangups and Hangups, earned the band placements in a national NBA/Tissot ad campaign and an Alex Gibney documentary.
Following the paramount success of their debut LP, Distress Signals, an orchestral rock odyssey featuring broadway jazz players on brass, and strings from Abbey Road studios in London, the band received positive reviews from the likes of 405, Atwood Magazine, Under the Radar Magazine (among many others), as well as a spot on Spotify’s Fresh Finds. Having released five new singles in consecutive years, three of which were in the top 40 iTunes Rock charts, fan favourite “Desert Bloom” finished at number 33 in good company with artists and bands like John Mayer and The Killers. Through mentions and coverage in virally known publications like Flaunt Magazine and Haute Living, Earthquake Lights were described as “A Music Lovers Best Hope.”
Now, Earthquake Lights are back with their latest single “Another Star”. Inspired by the spacecraft Voyager, their latest hit explores the concept of it being shot into space, only to someday be forgotten. They explain, “It’s something that was once so relevant but has become dated and now exists far removed from anything that truly cared about it.” Combining lyrical bliss with improvised drum grooves, impressive piano progression and melodic rhythm, Earthquake Lights are well underway to release yet another astronomical alt-rock tune.
Blessing listeners with euphoric instrumentalisation and echoing vocal energy, they’re onto something big. Garnering 9 million streams across digital platforms and over 300,000 monthly listeners on Spotify alone, they have charted several singles on the iTunes Rock charts. Needless to say, their fresh perspectives and unique approaches are sure to see them sky rocket in success.
Clocking in right under the two-minute mark, morgen’s new single “Mom Jeans” is straight to the point fun. As a first taste of her upcoming second EP, “Mom Jeans” arrives today alongside an official video that feels like a page ripped from a Lisa Frank coloring book. A lighthearted jab at anyone who has ever told her how to dress, morgen unleashes all the creativity that has been bubbling up in her as she, like many others, had to watch her adolescence speed by while trapped at home. Today’s single premiered on Triple J’s First Play. morgen’s second EP is slated to arrive this Fall via Avoca Drive and Sony Music Australia.
Palmaria are an Alt-Pop duo from a small town in Italy, currently residing in London. Members Giulia and Francesco transport listeners on a journey of dreamy landscapes and uplifting experiences. Think The xx meet Sylvan Esso meet Little Dragon on a field trip to the Italian coast.
Self-produced in their dreamy home studio, the duo’s latest single “Sunflower” was inspired by the beauty of our very own planet. The duo’s lyrical bliss flows between the mix of their two main languages, offering a metaphorical interpretation of their lives between countries.
They explain, “We’re always inspired by natural elements, in this case specifically we focused on the sun and the sunflower. We connect to natural elements and how they move and evolve with our experience. ‘Sunflower’ is about always looking for the positive side of things and following the sun as a source of energy.” Echoing vocal energy mixed effortlessly with contemporary beats and dreamy backings make for melodious alt-pop perfection. Their natural narratives continue to evolve seamlessly throughout the track. Palmaria continued by explaining, “As it was right after one of the lockdowns, we’ve been watching lots of movies and series but also some amazing documentaries about nature and our planet. We also listened to so many amazing albums, and we’re really thankful to all the artists who kept making such great music during such difficult times.”
Adding to their catalogue of epic anthemic tunes, this latest track is an explosive guitar-pop banger exploring the frustration built from a toxic love. Since first giving fans a taster of the single over on TikTok, the much demanded release of “H8 Me 2” has run up 11M+ views from teaser videos. Fresh, creative and uniquely talented, this powerhouse group continue to build their reputation as the ultimate pop band, matching stunning vocals with undeniably catchy tunes.
Going from strength to strength within the last year via a handful of polished pop bangers like “Cool” and “Want You”, MIYA MIYA have racked up an incredible 100M+ streams for their releases, features and co-writes. With things amping up on the live scene through recent spots on Gemma Bradley’s Whiplash series and Norwich’s Neck of the Woods, as well as acclaim coming in hot from the likes of Clash, Rolling Stone, Wonderland and The Independent – “H8 Me 2” feels like another definitive moment for one of the most exciting names rising in UK pop
New York City-based indie-pop singer-songwriter, Aubrey Haddard shares an electrifying fourth single, “Future Boxes,” along with its stunning black-and-white, Jean Cocteau-inspired video, here. Haddard’s second full-length album, Awake And Talking, will be out August 19, 2022 and is available for pre-order now, via Beverly Martel Records. In addition to new music, Aubrey Haddard announces an official summer tour across New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and more with support from Ciarra Fragale, Wilby and Couch Prints on select dates. Find tickets on sale now here.
On dense, electric “Future Boxes,” Aubrey Haddard peers into her future, attempting to imagine what lies ahead. She ponders the idea of going through life the way others expect one to, and aims to avoid making life all about checking boxes rather than living in the present. Haddard sings, “Future boxes
Make you feel good / Doing things everyone says you should / My four sides are more like suggestions / Maybe I’ve got too many questions.” The track begs the question, though it feels good to do things in a conventional way, might there be more fulfilling alternative paths?
“We all have, at some point, an idea of what our lives could look like. We take the steps we can to get there, checking some boxes, with or without that bigger picture in mind,” says Haddard about “Future Boxes.” “At the end of the day, none of us are uniquely ambitious but some will find more fulfillment in carving out their own paths.”
At just 15 years-old Ella Tiritiello put herself firmly on the map, with her standout debut offering ‘Say Something back in May’. Since then she has performed at the prestigious ‘Brilliant Minds’ event in Sweden which is known for showcasing the most exceptional and unique talents. Today she’s back to impress further with a gorgeous stripped back video.
Born in Kristianstad, a small town in the south of Sweden, Ella Tiritiello was raised by music lovers on a potent diet of powerhouses including the likes of Diana Ross, Adele and Sia “I loved to sing their songs in my room, but I never wanted anyone to hear, mostly because of my stage fright. I couldn’t see myself stand in front of people and sing.”
Today Ella stands as a young artist who’s already overcome her biggest fear.
After being selected by the Tim Bergling Foundation (Avicii’s father) to sing, perform and release Avicii’s ‘For A Better Day’ alongside the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, she rose to the challenge and performed to 16,000 people. A huge undertaking for any artist, let alone a 14 year old with stage fright.
Her effortless vocal talents and authentic stage presence instantly won over the crowd as her confidence blossomed before their eyes. The moving cover went on to accumulate millions of streams.
‘Say Something’ marks the introduction to Ella Tiritiello as the special artist she is today.
Releasing via Platoon and with backing from the legendary Nile Rogers, this fledgling artist could not be in safer hands.
Keep all eyes on Ella Tritiello
Cherry Lena is an alternative Pop R&B singer-songwriter from Montreal, Canada. Having first captured the attention of audiences with her performances on The Voice Quebec in 2018, she has since been making a name for her stunning combination of warm R&B tones and subtle 1950’s jazz vocals. Her music is rich and timeless, resulting in a sound which effortlessly displays the musician’s undeniable talent and passionate delivery.
Her latest single “Sad Boy” narrates being purely infatuated with a certain person, but eventually realising that you probably spent too much time fantasizing about them, rather than getting to know them in the real world. Lena confides, “It’s about a Sad boy I met last fall. He fascinated me. I think in great part because I simply didn’t understand him. At the time, I didn’t realize how greatly I had romanticized the idea of him. I still remember the times when we would text each other for hours like highschool kids and how it made me feel. Although, nothing about the idea I created of him in my head ended up being as great as who he was in reality. I often find things to be better in my imagination.”
Untameable Essex punks – PET NEEDS – make a swift return as they announce their second studio album: ‘Primetime Entertainment’, for this year.
LISTEN HERE || WATCH THE VIDEO HERE
Confirmed for release on 9 September 2022 (via Xtra Mile Recordings), the record promises to be everything it says on the tin and arrives as the rapid follow-up record to last year’s acclaimed debut effort ‘Fractured Party Music’.
‘Primetime Entertainment’ is preceded by its first official single, out now, “Get On The Roof”, is a dazzling, multi-faceted weapon of a track that unfolds its complexity of features like a punk-rock swiss-army knife. Corkscrewing through a barrage of pumped-up power-chords, sidewinding solos, and blitzkrieg key-changes, Johnny Marriott leads the charge in a track packed with uproarious vocal chants guaranteed to raise any roof.
“Let’s get on the roof and listen to something cinematic, let’s ignore the truth like none of this is problematic!” goads Johnny, tongue firmly in cheek.
Echoing the band’s DIY ethos and ardent sense of humour, the new tune also arrives with an official video which offers a unique spin on that old adage that ‘if you build it, they will come’…
SOMBRA is “music to turn the lights off to”.
But, for music created in the shadows, Matthew Cataldo, the Montreal-based producer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist behind SOMBRA has found a signature sound with a surprisingly colourful and celestial quality.
In what can only be described as chameleonic, SOMBRA’s sound borders the lines of alternative, synth-wave, industrial-pop, indie-rock, and yet at the same time is completely indefinable. Glistening synth sounds meet distorted vocal licks and massive bass grooves whilst hypnotic drum beats blend seamlessly with Metal-infused riffs, creating haunting, yet familiar soundscapes.
Although SOMBRA’s music is generally written alone in a dark room, the lyrics are very much reflective of the waking world. As Cataldo puts it himself, “I feel comfort in dark spaces because I don’t see my shadow. When I see my shadow I notice my duality, the two versions of myself, and the parts of myself I am unhappy with.” The strife of battling two different minds is channeled beautifully into SOMBRA’s sound, creeping up as a recurring theme both lyrically and sonically.
After launching with the genre-blurring “Two Seater” in 2021, Bristol born, London based vocalist and visual artist Willow Kayne has enjoyed a prodigious ascent to the pinnacle of pop music’s more daring corners; taking inspiration from the bass-tinged sonics of her hometown while writing some of the genre’s most memorable hooks of recent years. Her postmodern approach to songwriting was rewarded in 2021 with Willow receiving the Ivor Novello Rising Star award, setting her on a path to achieve greatness from the outset of her career. Her riotously received debut EP Playground Antics was the catalyst for an explosion of rave reviews across the board, while with live shows and online previews, she has shared a glimpse of the soundtrack to her ever-expanding sonic world. The first taste of this was the explosive jungle-pop of last May’s ”Final Notice, ” followed by the audio surrealism of “White City.” Today, Willow expands on that cartoonish vision even more with the latter’s dystopian visuals.
Conceptualized by Willow and co-directed by Tommy Davis and herself, the visual follows a younger version of Willow coming to terms with her surroundings, enjoying life with her head in the clouds. As she experiences more of the city she inhabits, it becomes apparent that all is not as it seems. Featuring incredible VFX by visual artist Hati, the city slowly transforms into its own monstrous beast with the landscape revealing grotesque features and prying eyes, all watching young Willow. Featuring Willow herself in several cameo roles, guiding her younger self along her apocalyptic journey.
Opening to crashing trip-hop infused drums, the track is welcomed by an eerie choir that sets the scene for the darker side of “White City” before Willow’s heavily treated vocal guides the listener through the area’s dull underbelly. By far Willow’s most sonically adventurous track to date, it’s also one of her most melodic; integrating her postmodern pop touch to juxtapose a brightness underneath the track’s pervading anxiety and introspection. Taking a closer look at the intricacies of the place she initially called home when she relocated to London, Willow muses at the different perspectives of its inhabitants; where unfathomable wealth is grouped with those desperately trying to scrape by, and where different situations mean different priorities for everyone. It’s also the place where she feels most anonymous, her own luxury which has allowed her to observe as a true outsider.
On the video, Willow says:
“Since moving to London, a lot of my music revolves around this idea of my inner child’s perspective. Finally I got to bring this idea to the table for White City, bringing out the mini Willow.
The video is taking the lyrics in another direction, creating a surreal version of London. We covered the city in weird monsters and gave the buildings eyes in the process. I found Hati (@hatti.hatti.mas) on tiktok a while ago and just knew he was the perfect guy to bring that to life for us.
I love nothing more than juxtaposition so that’s exactly what we went for with this video; a child’s perspective on a scary scary world.
Like my other videos, we always crank up the saturation to add to the child’s perspective. When I was a kid, the world was a lot more colourful… I still chase that in a way. I love working on videos with my friends and Tommy Davis is one of my favourite people to do that with!!”
Brian Walton is a Julliard-trained, award-winning recording artist, composer, and performer with over 450 cataloged compositions (courtesy: ASCAP), Five Billboard Top-200 hits and has appeared on 11 internationally acclaimed albums.
Over his career, Brian has collaborated and/or performed with such legends as Buck Owens, The Bellamy Brothers, Dwight Yoakum, Willie Nelson, Joe Diffie, and Johnny Paycheck.
Brian has worked as a staff writer for Capitol Records since 1983 and has written the music for over 35 highly successful Ad campaigns including Maybelline’s I’m at my best (1984) and Pan Am Airlines You Can’t Beat The Experience (1982)
BONES is here with his new album AmericanSweetheart – out now via TeamSESH. If his 20+ previous albums haven’t shown you this yet, AmericanSweetheart proves BONES’ chameleonic nature.He pulls inspiration from the likes of Memphis trap (“Juno“), East Coast boom bap (“PanicButton“), The Neptunes (“CoolHandLuke“) and 00s emo (“CuldesacSounds“), but pulls it all under his ominous, TeamSESH umbrella. BONES is also the master of a good movie reference. Throughout the album, BONES pens rhymes about everything from Pee Wee’s Big Adventure to Planes, Trains & Automobiles, but, I’d like to direct your attention to my favorite reference – “IfHeDies,HeDies.” Named after the iconic Rocky IV quote, BONES is at his most vicious, spitting warning shots to those around him over a fuzzy synth beat – “One night with BONES, that’s what death feels like.”
the acclaimed German nu-disco producer Satin Jackets has released “Different Directions”, featuring the vocals of Belgian singer Ivy Falls. This new single will appear on the forthcoming Satin Jackets double LP Reunion, which will be released in full on August 26th, 2022 via Eskimo Recordings and is available for preorder now. “Different Directions” is a smooth bit of chilled-out, loungey nu-disco pop in the style of groups modern Poolside & Jungle – a perfect soundtrack for cruising out into the rest of your summer.
Glass Animals take fans behind the scenes of the official music video for their 3x RIAA platinum-certified, worldwide #1 smash hit single, “Heat Waves,” in the latest installment of Vevo Footnotes, premiering today.
WATCH “THE MAKING OF ‘HEAT WAVES’ | VEVO FOOTNOTES”
Today’s new episode sees the GRAMMY® Award-nominated British indie rock band’s singer, songwriter, and producer Dave Bayley and director Colin Read (Radiohead, Weezer, Danny Brown Ft. Run The Jewels) discussing their inventive approach towards the making of “Heat Waves” during lockdown, collaborating with Bayley’s East London neighbors, and more.
Originally found on Glass Animals’ 2020 third studio album, Dreamland, “Heat Waves” proved a planetary milestone for the band, ascending to #1 in a range of countries including the United States, where it reached the top of Billboard’s “Hot 100” in March 2022 after a record-breaking 59 weeks on the chart.
A complete outline of the Vevo Footnotes episode is listed below:
0:17 “I wanted the song to sound warm and intimate. The synths, bass, and guitars are meant to be like a big warm hug of sound. But there a sort of an epiphany happening in the lyrics, so I also wanted it to have a bit of a bounce, a euphoric vibe.” – Dave Bayley
0:46 “The song is about missing someone, and we realized we could reinterpret the lyric to be about togetherness and community during the lockdown. So the video is basically a love letter to live music and the culture surrounding it.” – Dave Bayley
1:17 “One reference was the Beastie Boys film, ‘Awesome; I Fuckin’ Shot That!’ Past that, it was actually some movies about the end of the world (ha!), like ‘28 Days Later,’ with the character alone in the empty streets of London.” – Colin Read, Director
1:40 “We had put little slips of paper in all of my neighbors’ mailboxes asking them to film me walking down the street at 7pm on Wednesday and then upload the video to our dropbox. We had no idea if it was actually going to work!” – Dave Bayley
2:06 “I had to walk down the street a couple of times because my glasses exploded and one of my lenses kept falling out. One of the neighbors had to throw me a cable tie to hold them together…If you look closely, you can just about see it.” – Dave Bayley
2:31 “We knew we had to end up somewhere, for Dave to bring his bandmates ‘alive’ and play with them since they couldn’t be together in person. It was Dave’s idea to bring it to a live venue — the nearby EartH theater — where they would be having a live show, if not for lockdowns.” – Colin Read, Director
2:54 “Actually, the hardest part was that…I wasn’t actually there! I was in America, directing remotely from my own lockdown! There was a lot of big logistical and creative problem solving, and the team got it figured out brilliantly.” – Colin Read, Director
3:22 “This was one of the few good things that came out of that era: that circumstances forced me, and artists everywhere, to think outside my previous ideas of what a video could or should be, and to adapt to this new world. I never would have thought of that video concept before 2020.” – Colin Read, Director
FALSE HEADS return with another cut of their patently agitated punk-tinged rock on latest single: “Thick Skin”.
STREAM ON ALL SERVICES HERE
Produced by Frank Turner and taken from the trio’s long-awaited new album ‘Sick Moon’ — due 30 September 2022 via Scruff of the Neck Records — the snarling slice of garage-grunge takes aim at the current political climate and the incessant hopelessness and rage that bubbles over on social media.
With biting electric guitar lines, a final fractured drum breakdown and a gritty, yet relentlessly catchy chorus, “Thick Skin” swings from agitated to infectious in a beat.
Speaking of the new track frontman Luke Griffiths explains:
“”Thick Skin” is about how much I f****** hate the current political discourse. To me, politics seems to be completely and utterly middle-class from left to right — class has been seemingly removed from a lot of left-wing politics.
It’s also about social media politics. That kind of rage and vitriol is some form of lashing out for mental health problems and it’s like a form of addictive behaviour. I understand this, dealing with depression and having a history of drug abuse, and I understand how difficult it is to not let that rage inside you come out in vicious ways. But I just feel like social media has allowed a million different forms of religion, nationalism and tribalism to be completely normalised. Our brains are rotting and there is no hope, and every time I feel like there is I’m stung again.”
South London is home to a multiplex of talented artists, both past and present. Rising out of the coal-coloured concrete jungle we know as Lewisham — AV Allure might not be a name you’re too familiar with just yet. Fear not, you’re witnessing a superstar in the making.
Today, the rising R&B phenomenon has shared the visuals for his latest single, ‘Save Your Love’, as well as his highly-anticipated debut EP ‘King Of Hearts’. Tapping British-Nigerian vocalist Moelogo for the single, the pair conjure up a travelled whirlwind of R&B perfection.
STREAM/DOWNLOAD: AV ALLURE – KING OF HEARTS
The track also comes equipped with some cinematic visuals, courtesy of Jay Parpworth. For the shadowy, crimson-lit video, we catch AV traipse back and forth in blacked-out shades and colour-morphing suits. Musically, the track features a strong Afrobeat undercurrent, counterbalanced by a timeless ‘90s R&B template. With one future hit in the bank, ‘Save Your Love’ is a great introduction to the ‘King Of Hearts’ EP.
Another highlight on the tracklist is the OSH-assisted banger ‘Talk To Me’. Interpolating the Jodeci classic ‘Come & Talk To Me’, the R&B slow jam is currently bubbling just under ¼ of million streams on Spotify alone and has become a fan favourite.
Speaking on ‘King Of Hearts’, the South London native said: “’King Of Hearts’ is the story of good and bad love. Its R&B entrance sets the tone of pain whilst the swings bring in a more confident sexy vibe showing growth. The project closes with a sweet hybrid sound of summer and winter textures as Afro meets Bashment and R&B. The project represents moving forward and becoming a greater version of yourself.”
Email: neill@outloudculture.com
