Rising Swedish pop act shy martin has today revealed the brand-new animated video for her new single “late night thoughts.” The video was created as a collaboration between shy, her brother Hampus Hjellstrom and Italian animator Pietro (@supreme4stupid) – Watch.
Speaking about the making of the new video, shy says, “Me and my brother Hampus created the initial idea for the video over a phone call in April last year while I was in LA working. After I got home, we bought an iPad, learned Procreate and spent a few days drawing the whole storyboard. It took months finding the right person to make it come to life but I’m so happy we kept looking to finally stumble across Pietro, a young animator from Italy. It’s been such an amazing time creating this one together! The video is weaving together the upcoming album ‘late night thoughts’ – connecting previous releases and teasing what’s to come.”
“late night thoughts” has seen a great initial reaction from press with Clash calling the track “exceptionally exciting” and Beats Per Minute saying shy “has all the ingredients needed to be an international mega-star”, at radio with consistent support from BBC Radio 1 and with editorial playlists on Spotify, including Fresh & Chill and Indie Pop.
shy’s debut album late night thoughts is her boldest, most openly emotional, brave and beautiful work to date. An album dealing with topics including mental health, recovery, and the search for happiness, late night thoughts presents shy as she’s always wanted to be heard.
shy has an esteemed career as a songwriter, having previously written tracks for the likes of The Chainsmokers, Ellie Goulding, Jess Glyne and Astrid S that have seen her amass more than 3 billion streams on Spotify alone. shy is a participating member in Max Martin’s ‘Equalizer Project’ which seeks to further promote and celebrate women in the music industry, while she has also been part of Bebe Rexha’s ‘Women In Harmony’ events.
shy martin’s new single “late night thoughts” is out now and the album of the same name will be released on May 19.
Cape Town, South Africa-based drummer Asher Gamedze explores relationships of time between music and history on his new album Turbulence and Pulse, out May 5th 2023.
Gamedze’s critically-acclaimed debut album Dialectic Soul was released at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in July 2020. Around the release of that record, with friend and writer Teju Adeleye he organized and participated in a joint online discussion “Poesis,” with historian Robin D.G. Kelley and others. One of the notable comments made in this session was by the poet and scholar Fred Moten, who described Gamedze’s drumming as an “amazing interplay between turbulence and pulse. Pulse is supposed to regulate and also be regular, but the turbulence underneath it and on top of it, it’s just extraordinary.” Moten added that this concept is a fundamental element of the percussive approach in Black music more broadly.
Turbulence and Pulse takes its title from this moment of synchronicities. Inspired by this description, Gamedze developed the metaphor further, expanding the concept of turbulence and pulse through the lens of history. “Time in music is a metaphor for thinking about time in history and how time moves,” he says. “The way we’re taught history is generally in a way that robs people of agency in imagining themselves as part of history and how it unfolds. It is something that happens to us. I think there’s a productive metaphor in that because the sense of time in music is created by musicians playing together. If we can use that to think about history and time in history, you can see that, actually, history is created by people in a whole range of ways. At the heart of it, historical motion is created by people organized and acting together, whether for progressive or reactionary ends.”
For Gamedze, the underlying message of Turbulence and Pulse is “to claim a form of historical agency and realize that the future is not a foregone conclusion. As people we can organize, to transform our world in small and big ways.” This concept comes out of Gamedze’s involvement in radical cultural work and political organizing. He adds: “One of the ideas that I’ve had for a long time is to unsettle the way that people think about culture as something static or as something fixed. There’s this tension in Africa, because of the way that the colonists have constructed visions of African culture, where people speak about this need to conserve culture and document it. I think that’s important, but you also have to understand that these things are moving. And we are the people who have to participate in that movement.”
Capo Corleone is an international recording artist & music executive based out of Los Angeles, CA. He is the CEO of C2 Management and the founder and former CEO of Tree4ort Records. His music has graced many stages and television screens throughout his tours in Europe and the United States, earning the alternative Hip-Hop artist the global success he has received today.
His latest project is a collaboration with notable Polish jazz musician and global producer Kuba Więcek. Their 2022 singles “Fly”, “Brakes” and “Thank Myself” were released with international acclaim as “Corleone continues to shape the sound of the future” [Earmilk, 2022]. All three singles charted several times in the United States, Poland, and globally.
Now, they are unveiling their anticipated EP, Thank Myself, a combination of tracks that touch on everything that makes us human. From the difficulties, the pain, the rejection, the travel, the good feelings, and lastly and most importantly, the gratitude we all eventually face. This EP forces listeners to reflect on themselves, with Corleone opening up about his own, personal experiences.
The seven-track release is based on a new sound that’s authentic and original to both Corleone and Więcek’s influences in Hip-Hop and Jazz. This hybrid of genres is natural for a duo that is one part Sax one part Emcee. A sound that’s different from their peers.
Title-track “Thank Myself”, as well as the overall theme of the EP focuses on a central topic of self-gratitude for one’s own accomplishments, self-will, determination, and love for oneself. “I want to encourage people to thank themselves for their scars and to thank themselves for remaining strong despite the obstacles and naysayers. These are the things that make us the powerful human beings we are all capable of becoming” says Corleone.
Sky-rocketing to a charted position in the Apple iTunes Hip Hop Charts ahead of artists like Drake, Kanye and Eminem, Capo Corleone continues to garner huge success. He also wrote the walk-out song for World boxing champion Nina Meinke. He is frequently a guest on TMZ and was previously a radio host of The Fixxx on Dash Radio. Alongside Więcek, whose collaborations have seen huge success with Warner Music Poland, and most recently, the title of winner of the Fryderyk Awards – New Face of Fonography for Jazz, they collaborate with Zalia’s unparalleled pop successes to shape the sound of the future.
Ontario, Canada – Bearings have released new single ‘Scenery’ which is out now via Pure Noise Records.
Speaking on the new single Dougie Cousins said “We just wanted to have fun with this one, I think we all enjoy being on the west coast. We did the whole record in the air bnb and it was just one of those things where we wanted to have a good time with it. We’ve written our sad songs and even on this record there’s some of those but we also wanted to write stuff that feels good. I think in this case it was just one of those things where we wanted to feel excited, wanted to jump around, and wanted to have a good time. That’s “Scenery” for us.”
Ryan Wayne is a Canadian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He first came to recognition as a founding member and songwriter in the critically acclaimed, award winning band, The Warped 45s (Pheromone Recordings).
In early 2022, after several years away from touring and recording, Ryan suffered two strokes. As part of the healing process, Ryan was drawn back to the music world and began the final production and mixing on a series of self-produced songs with Grammy Award-winning producer and mixing engineer, Malcolm Burn (Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Patti Smith, Daniel Lanois), that will comprise the record, Crow Amongst the Sparrows, to be released in 2023.
Apollonio’s EP, Time In Between (February 27, 2023), drops as the electro pop artist emerges from a mental-health struggle: much of his last decade was swallowed by obsessive-compulsive disorder.
But things are looking up.
During the pandemic, Apollonio — his mind regained, the worst of the OCD behind him — wrote the songs of Time In Between… reflections of what he went through and what he sees, looking forward.
Mark Andrade (Paradise Animals, Green Go, Tio) produced the collection. It was recorded in the depths of winter, 2022, in a cabin north of Toronto, with musicians Gary Pereira and Stephen O’Brien.
“We were packed in this small space, heated by a wood stove, full of all this amazing sound … it was pretty psychedelic and delirious. Whenever you felt cagey, you could go out onto the frozen lake with snowshoes and walk around in the silence and sunshine,” says Apollonio.
Already an influential figure in his hometown scene, rising Texas-born rapper Saxkboy KD steps into his spotlight as he lays the foundation for this takeover in 2023—stacking each win brick by brick. Today, the newly announced Cash Money Records signee releases his new single “Just Talking” alongside his fellow Texas comrade That Mexican OT. Get it HERE via Cash Money Records today. Watch the official music video HERE. Today’s release sets the stage for the release of their joint EP The Show Must Go On, out March 3.
Over a pounding baseline trap beat, Saxkboy KD perfects a delivery made to feel his budding dominance on the Rap scene. That Mexican OT adds a hard-hitting flare as the two rising rappers play off one another with effortless ease. With a project coming out next week, Saxkboy KD plans to reach another level. Keep an eye on the Texas trailer-blazer as he continues to rise.
Emerging from the depths of London, Prince of Falls is a 25-year-old Nigerian-born, Greenwich-raised artist whose mystical melodies range somewhere on the spectrum of dark R&B and intimate rap. The hypnotic beats take listeners into a more private corner of the human experience. Forever chilled yet pulsating with purpose, it is in this way that Prince of Falls is determined to continue to connect with people all across the globe. The resulting sound is incredibly unique and has achieved over 40 million streams across all DSP’s.
To understand his vision, it’s important to look back on his upbringing and the journey that has shaped his multidimensional creative mindset. Having grown up in Nigeria, Prince of Falls’ musical ear was shaped by his mother’s love of gospel music and hearing his dad play hits from Nigerian artists such as P-Square and Styl-Plus. Over time, the young artist was slowly introduced to pop tunes coming out of the US. Reminiscing on the freeway he’d joyfully dance along to music by artists like Rihanna. “I remember dancing to “Pon de Replay” at home and my aunty saying how I obviously liked expressing myself with and through music. It was true and, looking back, I guess I took that on board.”
Prince of Falls soon moved into learning about music production while studying media, TV and film. Driven to make dark, transient tracks, he started building beats and coyly singing in front of friends until one day, he felt confident enough to share his musical creations. Dedicated to strengthening his vocals, and developing his signature style, he devoted himself to music production. “I was so tired of hearing music that just talked about cars, girls and money. I knew that I wanted to say something different.” This became the start of Prince of Falls’ commitment to move beyond the expectations of masculinity and instead, present his vulnerabilities through sound.
To date, he has released two projects. Till We Feel Something dropped 2019; an 8 track album featuring his most popular song, “Marlboro” which has received 15 million Spotify streams alone following its release. He then followed up with 2021 release, “Diary Of A Lonely Night” which was a documentation of Prince of Falls’ growing confidence as he slowly peeled back the layers to share a brighter, lighter side of his emotions.
Reaching fans across the globe, it’s telling how much engagement comes from non-English-speaking and English-speaking people. This reflects the emotional response Prince of Falls is able to fuel through his sound. With his new EP due in 2023 off the back of his first live show in London in December, 2023 promises to be a big year for Prince Of Falls.
In time for Women’s History Month, award-winning singer-songwriter Rebecca Folsom has released her new single, “Brilliantly Boldly Alive,” as an anthem to inspire women to transcend old limitations and become positive forces for change in the world. The single is the third release from Folsom’s 13th studio album, Sanctuary, which was released earlier this month.
Folsom enlisted an all-women team of musicians, singers, producers, and engineers to create the song, which was recorded at 4th Street Studios in Los Angeles, the first and only woman-owned studio in LA for many years. Grammy nominee Andrea Roberts produced and engineered the song, with assistance from Jasmine Mills. Musicians Ainjel Emme on bass and vocals, Elizabeth Goodfellow on drums and vocals, Andrea Roberts on piano, B3 organ and vocals, Lily Lyons on violin and Leann Roberts on vocals were brought in by Folsom to record the song.
The “Brilliantly Boldly Alive” video features behind-the-scenes footage of Folsom and her band recording the song, along with tributes to women who have broken through barriers, achieved greatness, or fought for women’s rights. Tennis legend Billie Jean King, education activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, and the record-breaking American aviator Amelia Earhart are among the women featured in the video.
Not many artists begin their career with ‘Deathbed Confessions’, but then HANNAH ROSE PLATT isn’t your typical artist…
Readying a record guaranteed to give you goosebumps, Xtra Mile Recordings are thrilled to present the label debut from their latest signing. A singer-songwriter with a penchant for the peculiar and a multi-instrumentalist who relishes a murder-ballad, Hannah Rose Platt will release her upcoming album ‘Deathbed Confessions’ on 19th May 2023.
Offering a first peek into this collection of curiosities, Platt is delighted to unveil: “Dead Man On The G Train”, from the record – out now.
STREAM “DEAD MAN ON THE G TRAIN” ON ALL SERVICES HERE || WATCH VIDEO HERE
Loaded with the kind of cordite cool that PJ Harvey or Nadine Shah carry at their most gothic and gripping, the breathless first single from Hannah Rose Platt will send shivers down your spine and back up again. Produced by Ed Harcourt, “Dead Man On The G Train” arrives like an Agatha Christie chiller served with an alternative/rock chaser, and aptly sets expectations for the concept album she’s planning this Spring. As Hannah explains:
“Dead Man on the G Train’ was the first song I wrote for the record and the opening title. I wanted to write a little four-minute ‘pulp noir’ mystery thriller, which sets the tone for the rest of the record. Ed and I had so much fun recording this track, expect to hear bombastic drums and beastly guitar train sounds. We hope to transport you to 1930s New York, someone’s boarding the G train to Brooklyn and they won’t be getting off… (listen out for the twist!)”
25 WEEKS ON THE EUROPEAN BESTSELLER LIST
“This is a novel so caustic it should be printed with hydrochloric acid. Berg, a Swiss writer and social activist, sprays her fury across the whole landscape of technological and economic manias that are rendering the 21st century intolerable. And Tim Mohr has done a remarkable job of translating Berg’s hilarious, hectoring, hyperbolic prose, which isn’t so much propulsive as relentless….No other book has so thoroughly rattled me about where we’re headed.” — Ron Charles, The Washington Post
Published for the first time in English, Swiss-German author Sibylle Berg’s Swiss Book Prize-winning novel, GRIME (St. Martin’s Press; on sale December 27th, 2022), is poised to introduce them to an entirely new audience this winter. Spending 25 weeks on European bestseller lists, Berg’s dystopian satire is ruthless indictment of contemporary society and manifesto of rebellion.
Hand in hand with the release, Berg also embarked on a sold-out live tour in front of thousands of spectators, critics, media and journalists in major European cities throughout 2019. Delivering a breath-taking introduction to GRIME across Vienna, Berlin, Hamburg and Munich, Berg delved deep into the tone of the novel, embracing its themes and the arts within it. Submerging herself in parts of British culture, and including many of the inspirations that were the catalyst to this latest piece of work, the novel took to the stage and included spoken word extracts of GRIME, whilst music also played a starring role. Celebrated UK grime collective Ruff Sqwad joined Berg on stage as they delivered an exclusive emcee set in an energetic and powerful performance, they were also joined by upcoming rapper T.Roadz. Following the novel’s translation into English, Berg now embarks on the UK leg of her live tour with an all-star cast of talent. The tour will begin in London on 7th February 2023 and feature Ruff Sqwad, Tofi The Poet, T.Roadz and an exclusive performance from grime royalty Devlin. The second leg of the UK tour will move to the north of the country, as local talent from Salford and Manchester come together to celebrate and deliver an intimate launch from the very setting of the novel itself.
Set in Rochdale, the post-industrial town, mirrors the aura of many towns across Britain where poverty, violence, and squalor are the consequences of decisions being made at this very moment. Berg wrote the novel 4 years ago, and most of the merciless surveillance technologies, the ever more brutal poverty, a virus and the decay of infrastructures have unfortunately become reality. GRIME is a multi-voice story of four teenagers haphazardly brought together by individual tragedy and a collective love of grime, the music genre that replaced punk as the sound of the angry and the dispossessed. Despite the increasingly sophisticated workings of an authoritarian surveillance state, the four set out to exact revenge on the people they hold responsible for their misery. But what starts out as a teen hit squad evolves into a makeshift family as the four kids attempt to create a home on the fringes–both physically and mentally–of society.
In this stylistically innovative epic, Berg explores where current hot-button issues–like climate change, artificial intelligence, the rise of right-wing populism, and the inexorable expansion of surveillance–will lead our world. This dystopian satire is a merciless and surgically precise evisceration of neoliberalism, and beneath its rage and brutality beats a deeply human heart.
Quote from Sibylle Berg, “GRIME – my first novel in English. It’s about anger, poverty, injustice, surveillance, stop and search. It’s for England’s forgotten youth and about their music and it belongs right here! To England. Now. Thank you to everyone who premiered with me!”
You can purchase the book in the UK from Amazon and Macmillan.
I was just getting out of a relationship and feeling incredibly vulnerable and sad, blaming myself for the outcome. I kept replaying a specific conversation I had with my ex in my head and told my co-writer and producer, Kayla Diamond, about it. We pulled lyrics straight from the conversation.
I became much healthier by finally focusing on myself. I noticed I started looking better; not in a vain way, but I was brighter and happier. I like to refer to it as the break-up glow-up. “Love Me Better”taught me that you truly do not need anybody to validate your self-worth. Love yourself enough first to understand what you deserve, and never allow anyone to make you feel less than. Take care of you first.
I hope this becomes a source of strength for you too. Scream at the top of your lungs as you dance along.
The fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban on August 15, 2021, continues to resonate and claim new victims. At the end of 2022, the group banned women from working in local and foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs). No one can say how much worse the oppression against women and girls in the country will get, but it doesn’t look good.
For members of THE MIRACULOUS LOVE KIDS — a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization that served as Afghanistan’s only school of music for war-torn, poverty-stricken girls and young women until August 15, 2021 — the arrival of the Taliban changed everything. The guitar lessons, the recordings, the videos, and the hope for a better life — all gone in a flash. Their instruments destroyed, their dreams shattered, these post-9/11 children had never experienced the harsh rule of the Taliban in their lifetime. It was a disruption like no other.
LANNY CORDOLA, the group’s American founder and director, managed to catch the last commercial flight out of Kabul not knowing what was in store as he had already booked the fare to Pakistan to renew his visa before the Taliban moved in. He immediately went right to work, relentlessly chasing every possibility he could to get his students and their families out of Afghanistan.
After nine months of dealing with rescue agencies, special operation teams, self-styled mercenaries, layers of bureaucracy and tons of red tape, Cordola was able to provide safe passage for his girls and their families out of Afghanistan and into Pakistan. It was a perilous journey from Kabul to Islamabad.
Like its neighbor, Pakistan is in the grips of social unrest, political upheaval, and economic instability. There’s also widespread discrimination against Afghan refugees, who are routinely harassed and made to feel unwelcome. While they’ve been able to resume their musical endeavors to a certain extent and avoid the rule of the Taliban, THE MIRACULOUS LOVE KIDS are still refugees who need a place to settle down and call home. In their quest for freedom, prosperity, and happiness, they won’t back down. And neither will Cordola and the group’s numerous supporters.
California rock band ALO share their highly anticipated, spirited ninth studio album Silver Saturdays out everywhere now, including a limited run of clear 180g vinyl, via Brushfire Records. Get an exclusive look at the making of the forthcoming album as the band brings listeners behind the scenes here.
Alongside the full project, the band shares the latest single and video, “Growing Your Hands Back” out everywhere now. Next week, ALO will hit the road on the Tour d’Amour XVI around the Western U.S. with support from Rainbow Girls on several dates, and other dates featuring Hot Buttered Rum, ORGŌNE, Ron Artis II and The Moore Brothers. Tickets are on sale now.
Silver Saturdays, the band’s bright ninth full-length album out now, celebrates an ongoing journey that began in Saratoga, California in the late eighties when Dan “Lebo” Lebowitz (guitar/vocals), Zach Gill (keyboards/vocals) and Steve Adams (bass/vocals) met in grade school. It stands out as the first full-length studio release featuring drummer/vocalist Ezra Lipp—a fixture in the Northern California creative scene where he cut his teeth with the likes of Phil Lesh, Sean Hayes and countless others. Meanwhile, the title nods to the band’s recent penchant for silver attire at their Saturday shows, which became a costume theme amongst their fan base and an acknowledgment of their silver “25th” anniversary.
Today, the band shares “Growing Your Hands Back” is a unifying moment and captures the warm feeling of seeing old friends again after a long time apart. Gill explains, “’Growing Your Hands Back’” is about losing your wherewithal and through a process of revelation and self-discovery, growing it back. The lyrics were partially inspired by an old folktale called The Handless Maiden.” Gill continues, “For me, the “hands” in this song are being used for clapping and playing musical instruments, for sharing drinks and giving hugs and high-fives to old friends, after a long time apart. It’s a song of finding your way back to the primordial campfire of joy and group revelry, after a long, hard time away.”
The Story So Far and Elder Brother’s Kevin Geyer solo side project Same Side have released new song Now. The single is out now via Pure Noise Records and is the first new music since EP In Place which came out late 2021.
Speaking about the new song Kevin said “Now is a song about a hypothetical wedding that, in an attempt to calm your nerves, you ended up getting way too drunk before the festivities began. Despite embarrassing yourself and probably others, you can’t help but feel relieved by the fact that you no longer have to act so normal because you finally feel accepted and appreciated for exactly who you are. For better or worse.”
Same Side released its self-titled debut EP in 2019, a collection of songs recorded four years before it came out, that record established Geyer as a songwriter capable of beautiful, carefully considered introspection.
Same Side will support Future Teens on their upcoming tour which starts next month in the US.
You can see them at the following dates:
3rd March – Valley Bar, Phoenix, AZ
4th March – Chain Reaction, Anaheim, CA
5th March -The Roxy Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
7th March – Bottom Of the Hill, San Francisco, CA
8th March – Goldfield Trading Post, Sacramento, CA
10th March – Mano Oculta, Portland, OR
11th March – The Vera Project, Seattle, WA
Originally released by Wheatus in the year 2000, the euphoric track is a much loved timeless tune. Reinventing it with their signature weightless production and dreamy synths Tiiva has added an intoxicating new dynamic that oozes queer liberation.
Sharing more, Tiiva explained:
I wanted to cover something that I could sing about and be like, yeah that’s me, that’s how I feel. The lyrics feel hyper real, my first crush on a girl, feeling invisible in my queerness and wanting to be accepted, to be cool.
I feel like this song is such an anthem but also so fun, celebrating how to just be yourself and enjoy it, that’s what the song means to me, and I wanted to share that. I wanted to turn this into hyper pop, kind of emotional but also mellow,
I went full on with the processing and playful with the synths, used a ton of indulgent samples and choppy Vox. I love those kinda tinny phasey drums at the start of the original version and went with it, loads of electronic samples but also put some real drums samples from a grunge Artist I worked with, felt kind of good to honour that in there, even though its hidden. This song celebrates something so fun and identifying it feels cathartic to cover it, and I hope it makes you slay.
Since their launch, artist and producer Tiiva has made a name for themself with their recipe of reflective lyricism, pop euphoria and weightless production. Writing songs with humbling transparency, Tiiva’s fearless approach to music has resonated with many, already scooping support from the likes of Clash, DIVA, Them., The Line of Best Fit, Wonderland and many more.
A singer/songwriter based in Nashville, Theresa Gorella writes music that is a reflection of her own experiences, and sings with rawness and honesty that is both relatable and powerful. Growing up on a raisin farm in Fowler, California, Gorella was surrounded by the sounds of country music from a young age.
After attending Long Island University-Brooklyn, she moved to Nashville to pursue country music. She got a job waiting tables at the legendary 3rd & Lindsley and was exposed to different types of music five nights a week. While refilling waters and wiping ketchup off her shirt she saw performances by Vince Gill, Dawn Sears, Beth Hart, Jonell Mosser, Chris Stapleton and Andra Day amongst many other music legends. Seeing these artists changed the way she thought about music and inspired her to form an indie rock/funk band called Poster Child with collaborator Andrew Royal.
With Poster Child, she quickly made a name for herself in the Nashville Funk scene, but felt a pull to get back in touch with her country roots. Her solo project is her way of doing just that, with a sound that blends traditional Country with elements of Soul and Americana, that she describes as “accidentally country.”
“House of Broken Mirrors,” the lead single off of her solo project is a must-listen for anyone who appreciates authentic and heartfelt music.
Merging a high tech aesthetic with an evocative, left field approach to sound design, Zack Hersh is an exciting innovator emerging in the electronic scene today.
Since 2015, the Producer/DJ has risen up to provide a unique, mind-bending take on experimental production. His music evokes electricity whether it’s in headphones or a loudspeaker, drawing inspiration from avant garde creators like G Jones, Amon Tobin, and Aphex Twin. Hersh has released on Saturate (Malware EP) and MorFlo (Arcadia EP), and offers an exciting new name in the bass community.
London-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist – CLIFTON 2.5 – has unveiled a radiant new single “Under Attack”.
The track is taken from what will be her debut EP release, ‘Outskirts of Nowhere’, due 14 April via Leafy Outlook.
LISTEN TO “UNDER ATTACK” ON ALL SERVICES HERE
A glistening alt-pop track that blends tender vocal harmonies with lush electronic textures, “Under Attack” arrives as Clifton 2.5’s debut original single, following the release of reworked covers of Bombay Bicycle Club’s “Always Like This” and Go West’s “King of Wishful Thinking” earlier this year.
Stemming from a memory Clifton 2.5 had of being at school and experiencing relationships for the first time, the artist explains:
“This song is about the idea of preserving part of yourself in a relationship, not letting everything go at once but keeping your mind separate from the demands of a relationship until you find someone who you can really trust.”
“Under Attack” also arrives alongside the announcement of Clifton 2.5’s debut EP ‘Outskirts of Nowhere’. Set to land on 14 April via Leafy Outlook, the four-track release was produced by Ross Dorkin (Beatenberg) and features three previously unheard tracks.
Spanning a wide range of both genre and influence, the EP includes “Crossed Lines”, a song about “how it feels to let love go” that was recorded using a half-broken electric organ found in the studio; “Are you singing to me?”, a retro-tinted cut about “standing in the audience watching someone sing and believ[ing] that their message is meant for you alone”; and the EP’s assured title-track “Outskirts of Nowhere”, a piece inspired by the acclaimed novel ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ and the first song Clifton 2.5 ever recorded.
J. Cole and his Dreamville team are proud to announce the full music lineup for this year’s Dreamville Festival which is set to return to Dorothea Dix Park in Raleigh, North Carolina on April 1-2. GA, GA+ and VIP two-day passes are on sale now at www.DreamvilleFest.com.
As in years past, J. Cole has once again invited some of his favorite artists and collaborators to join him in his home state of North Carolina for one of the most anticipated music events of the year. Day 1 on Saturday will be headlined by multi-platinum-selling R&B global superstar USHER, with additional performances from Lil Durk, Ari Lennox, City Girls, Sean Paul, EARTHGANG, Jessie Reyez, and Key Glock, among others; while Sunday features one of the world’s biggest international superstars Burna Boy, as well as a curated selection of artists like Summer Walker, J.I.D, GloRilla, Bas, Waka Flaka Flame, Mario, and many more.
Saturday, April 1:
● USHER
● Lil Durk
● Ari Lennox
● City Girls
● Sean Paul
● EARTHGANG
● Jessie Reyez
● Key Glock
● SiR
● Lute
● Omen
● Marqus Clae
● Victony
Sunday, April 2:
● J. Cole + Drake
● Burna Boy
● Summer Walker
● J.I.D
● GloRilla
● Bas
● Waka Flaka Flame
● Mario
● Ayra Starr
● Baby Tate
● Cozz
● Jordan Ward
● Reuben Vincent
Tel Aviv based artist Danny Kuttner shares her new single ‘Limelight’ via Kartel Music Group. This single release follows her debut EP announcement for ‘Purple’, which will be released on March 31st. Stream ‘Limelight’ here. Pre-Order ‘Purple’ Here
Born in Amsterdam and raised in Israel, Danny steps into the ‘Limelight’ with a smooth and soulful track influenced by ECM’s contemporary jazz and 90s neo-soul, all whilst blending laid-back organic tones with left-field electronic production. Written with friend and drummer Roy Reemy, Danny intended to create this track from scratch. Drinking tea and discussing life with Roy, the pair then turned this casual encounter into arguably the strongest track on the EP. Discussing ‘Limelight’ she explains “it has a chill yet groovy feel -It’s that kind of song that would lift your mood, on a sunny day. The lyrics talk about finding my place, self – growing and searching my internal home.”
After writing 26 number-one R&B singles and winning 12 Grammy awards, Babyface was ranked number 20 on NME’s 50 of The Greatest Producers Ever list. He has also written and produced songs for Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Madonna, Ariana Grande, and more. In this all-new episode, listeners get the inside scoop on what life is like as an A-list producer! “Rap Radar” is a podcast from Interval Presents, which taps into Warner Music Group’s expansive music catalogue and talent roster to produce multi-format, culture-driven audio content at the intersection of music, pop culture, and social impact.
Catch the episode when it drops HERE
Logan Richard is a multi-talented musician based in Prince Edward Island. His exceptional skills as a guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter are on full display in his long-time band, and are showcased in his recently released live album. However, it is his soul-shaking records and singles in the pop and R&B genres that have truly caught the attention of listeners and industry professionals, resulting in over 1 million streams — and counting.
“Playing guitar is a big part of what I do,” Logan explains. “It’s an integral part of the live show, and fans do expect some blues guitar worked into my songs, but it’s not blues. It’s contemporary pop.”
Intergalactic Pop Supergroup, SG5, release their fiery new single “Firetruck,” today. Produced by BloodPop [Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Madonna] and Hudson Mohawke [Drake, Pusha T], “Firetruck” marks the groups first release sinceRolling Stone announced their U.S. debut in June of 2022.
A song all about the individual flame that burns inside all of us, and a love so pure that it shines brighter than hate or bad vibes; “Firetruck” is an introduction into the SG5 universe. By embracing the power within ourselves and hyping up our girls along the way, we become the hottest versions of ourselves. So hot in fact, that the forces of evil might be terrified and immediately need to call a firetruck to cool down the fire. The members elaborate; “Our debut in the U.S. almost still feels like a dream, but we would like to do our best to make SG5 known to people from all over the world. I hope that everyone can feel the girl power and energy that radiates from this song and video, and get excited with us!”
Scott Wade is a producer and writer, based in Tokyo, whose most recent work combines music with short films. Through which, Wade incorporates various methods of manipulating time into his writing, where each song has a preordained structure based on its accompanying story. Structure plays a big part within Wade’s writing, shifting the mood and tone across tracks, which is integral to his unique progressive electronic sound.
His latest work began as a pitch to a fashion brand in Tokyo. Along with videographer Matthew Sperzel, they built an idea about a narrator in a dark room reading very brief stories. Wade and Sperzel went ahead and shot the videos themselves and thus the latest project was born. The result formed largely over the course of 2022. With the desire to be driven by his own ideas, Wade relied solely on his own gauge as a means of understanding direction and completion of tracks. He confides, “Each day I would sit down and listen to it with fresh ears on a comfortable listening setup. Then I would listen out for the things that didn’t fit in that gauge and go back to work on them until they were right.”
“My Sting Machines”, accompanied by the short film Lots If Love, are the first to be released from his new project, following his 2022 debut album, Sew. “My Sting Machines” grew out of a singular cyclical piano line that the artist was particularly enticed by. The instrumental features layered textures, experimental melodies and a rich palette of sounds and tones, creating something that captures the feeling of displacement. Wade explains, “As with the short story, I was thinking about fighting with something natural and inevitable.”
Lots If Love was shot at a forgotten-about phone box, plonked on a patch of grass and surrounded by a pretty lush greenery. Wade shares, “We wanted to shoot there, the location says a lot. It’s a really beautiful place, sort of like you want to get lost in there for a moment.” The short film narrates the story of a worn and salaried man seeking out the counsel of his memory. Set between the worlds of an isolated phone booth in a sea of overrun green, and a nondescript blue, humming room. Arthur Barlow plays Teddy, defeated and slouching into the phone line. Teddy cannot define what he feels beyond their physical symptoms, a “pain on the front part of your head”. While Memory, played by Ora Margolis, comes slightly baffled by his call but seeks to reveal to Teddy the objects of his ab-feelings.
Wade continues, “The film was a pretty pure experience and it came about very naturally. Most certainly, the crux of the video began with the phone booth location. That was the catalyst of the rest of the ideas.”
The image and aesthetic of this project fully divert attention away from a central ‘figurehead’ or ‘celebrity’ to focus fully on music, culture, and the live environment, while honoring the “holy grails” of dubstep, which is where the artist’s name was derived.
GRAIL SOUNDS provides the scene with a true and unapologetically UK artist to help push sound system culture in the States, drawing and merging influences and sounds of deep dub, reggae, grime, and drill, to create an experience built both by and for the underground.
MadameNoire.com, a digital content property owned by iONE Digital, has launched Season 3 of LISTEN TO BLACK WOMEN (LTBW). LISTEN TO BLACK WOMEN is an iOne Digital series providing a safe space for Black women to discuss powerful and pertinent issues impacting Black women across the globe. From small business ownership and dating to beauty regiments, body positivity and out-of-the-box bedroom behavior, no topic is too taboo for this table. This season will be hosted by four phenomenal women: Viral content creator and actress, Jessie Woo, artist Tiffany Nicole Ervin, journalist Taryn Finley, and entrepreneur Chris Miss.
“I don’t care who you are to me. If you disturb my peace, you have to go,” said Woo in Episode 1 of this season titled Big Zen Energy. “I’m very good at just cutting that off, no explanation needed. No explanation needed because again, I gotta preserve myself. I gotta preserve my sanity. I gotta preserve my happiness. I gotta preserve my peace, and if I feel like you disturb that in any way, then I have to let you go. I have to love you at a distance.”
Alexis de la Rocha is a first-generation Latine artist, singer, songwriter, producer, and synth goddess born and based in Los Angeles. She has performed and creating music her whole life, from her early beginnings as a dancer at age three and first piano lessons at age seven, to performing in recitals, talent shows, and theatrical productions throughout high school and college. As a film school student at UCLA, de la Rocha honed her artistic skills in production, directing, and acting–skills that would lead her to high-profile gigs as music festival director for LALIFF, Amazon, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Los Angeles Clippers, and many more. But it was after college, while holding a job at the now-defunct Los Angeles radio station Indie 103.1, when she realized she wanted to pursue music.
De la Rocha is perhaps best known as the electrifying front woman of the Los Angeles experimental band, BEATMO, which she co-founded in 2006. Beatmo’s hits, including “Unheard March,” “From the Water,” and “Orale” showcase de la Rocha’s powerful performance persona and eclectic musical influences, from her early childhood influences of Madonna, the 1984 film The Neverending Story, and David Bowie’s stylized synth soundtrack to 1986 film Labyrinth to the dance, alternative, and R&B music of her teen and college years. “I grew up in the eighties and nineties, and those delicious sounds of freestyle, house, trip-hop, electronic, grunge, hip-hop, R&B, and so much more live in my mind,” she elaborates. “I remember reenacting Dave Gahan in “Enjoy the Silence” and wanting so badly to be Björk.”
A few years into her involvement with Beatmo, de la Rocha began writing solo music in GarageBand with her Roland Juno-6. She eventually taught herself Ableton. This writing helped her hone in her synth dream pop style, pulling inspiration from Bowie and the soundtrack to the classic 1982 dystopian film about Los Angeles, Blade Runner. De la Rocha formed her second band, LJ Laboratory (formerly LEX), which featured collaborations with Daft Punk’s team for shows at SXSW, W Hotels, and a sold-out event at the Los Angeles Theater Company.
As a vocalist, musician, and artist, de la Rocha’s transformative onstage presence leaves fans yearning for more, and her dynamic musical displays at Snow Globe Music Festival, Pride (Los Angeles, San Diego), KABOO, Treefort, and other festivals have endeared her to new audiences. Her commanding performances and musical artistry have earned acclaim from the Los Angeles TIMES, LA Weekly, Buzz Bands LA, Rolling Stone, The Bay Bridged, Consequence, and other publications.
With their disbandment, de la Rocha heard the calling of motherhood and had her baby girl. She admits the transition to full-time motherhood was not easy, and she had a tough time adjusting to her new life. “I was missing my music life,” said de la Rocha. So she wrote, and wrote, and ventured on her musical journey to find herself in this new life chapter. One result was her 2021 single, “Chill,” written with longtime collaborator and homie VFRESH. De la Rocha is revving up to release even more music this year and perform once again. Her latest song, “Haze,” holds her inner reflections, visions, and intimate thoughts.
“My music is my soundtrack and interwebbings of my influences of 1980s synthesizers, fantasy, fashion, goth, and dream pop. ‘Haze’ is where I let my childhood play with sounds inspired by David Lynch’s Twin Peaks theme by Angelo Daniel Badalamenti and where synths pay tribute to David Bowie’s instrumentation in the Labyrinth.”
emerging Bristol/Sydney based indie pop-rock band – DANDE AND THE LION – release the official video for their new single “Children of the Hour”.
WATCH THE OFFICIAL VIDEO HERE
A song all about being playful in the moment and following the feeling, the band’s vibrant new single is accompanied by an official video directed by Kathy Luu.
Filmed in Chippendale, Sydney, the visuals offer an electrifying accompaniment that depict the highs and lows of an unpredictable relationship, alongside a darker subplot. As Luu explains:
“I wanted to capture the essence, movements and feelings of love and the passion of being alive — of being children of the hour. We are all main characters in our life movie: wading in so much magic, it sometimes takes loss or time passing for us to realise the beauty and joy we were living. All we can do is be brave, do our best and try and have as much fun as possible while we still can — who knows how and when this movie will end!”
Hot on the heels of announcing their forthcoming fifth studio album Jesus At The Gay Bar, Australia’s Cub Sport share glistening new offering “Songs About It”.
For their entire career, Cub Sport have been searching for some kind of absolution. To listen to the Brisbane band’s music is to see a process of unburdening and unlearning in slow motion: their four albums to date plot a progression away from shame and towards joy, celebration and pure euphoria.
“Songs About It”, the irrepressible new single from Cub Sport’s forthcoming fifth album Jesus At The Gay Bar out Good Friday, April 7th, cuts to the heart of the latest incarnation of the beloved Brisbane four-piece. A piece of euphoric, starry-eyed piano house, “Songs About It” is about getting stuck in a moment of hedonistic, split-second joy and memorialising it in the form of pure pop.
In a sense, it speaks to the sparkling highs of the Cub Sport catalogue, which has always sought to capture love and beauty in song form. Few Cub Sport songs, though, have manifested like this: with a winking, 90s-referencing piano riff and
roiling, infectious sub-bass, “Songs About It” charts new territory for the band, the track’s classic-sounding rhythm managing to say just as much as its lyrics. The single follows on from previous release “Keep Me Safe” which saw recent spot plays on BBC Radio 1’s Future Artists with Jack Saunders.
On their resplendent, upcoming fifth album Jesus At The Gay Bar – the title of which was inspired by writer Jay Hulme’s poem of the same name – Cub Sport finally reach that point of ecstatic lightness, or at least somewhere close to it. Using the language of bright, crystalline dance music – with nods to house, 2-step and UK garage, while retaining the lush fragility of Cub Sport music past – as shorthand for a kind of hard-won spiritual freedom, Jesus At The Gay Bar finds Tim Nelson, Sam Netterfield, Zoe Davis and Dan Puusaari largely shedding hang-ups and celebrating love and life in all its manifestations.
Where Cub Sport’s 2020 album Like Nirvana was a bloodletting of sorts – dealing with the long, complex legacy that religious trauma can leave on a life – Jesus At The Gay Bar is about moving forward unencumbered. It’s an ode to celebrating one’s past, not just outrunning it, and looking boldly into the future, without the fear of past demons resurfacing. “There’s a lot from my life before I came out that has always been shrouded in shame, fear and secrecy. But it doesn’t have to be a secret anymore, and I feel like I can really shine a light on the magic of it and recognise and celebrate it for what it was and is,” says Nelson. “A lot of this album is validating my younger self – like if I could have heard some of these songs back then, I might have found some peace within myself sooner, maybe even celebration.”
Juno Award-winning producer HNTR, who was the first to receive the Canadian award in the new category ‘Best Underground Dance Single’, is back with his new track “IN2” featuring Tribe Alexander (out March 2nd). Dark and brooding, this techno number with features HNTR’s flowy synths and is ideal for late nights in a dark club.
Canadian techno producer making waves in the Canadian music scene, from owning his own record label No Neon to throwing label-curated events across the nation.
Toronto’s HNTR recently performed on select dates of Deadmau5’s North American tour. He also played the 8th anniversary of his No Neon event at Coda Nightclub in Toronto, where he played an open-to-close 6+ hour set.
NME and Bose are thrilled to announce the full tracklist of the forthcoming C23 mixtape, leading with an exclusive King Princess single and the lineup for their C23 Live showcase at South by Southwest® (SXSW®). Set to be released on March 15 on digital and cassette, C23 is inspired by the influential C86 compilation that launched the careers of many era-defining artists, and will serve as a who’s who of today’s most exciting new talent across multiple genres. Following the album release, the C23 Live showcase at SXSW on March 16 will be an iconic musical moment in 2023, and the ultimate way to experience select artists from the C23 mixtape.
The mixtape features exclusive, previously unreleased tracks from King Princess, 070 Shake, US top-10 hitmaker JVKE, critically acclaimed Jockstrap, Genesis Owusu, US rapper Flo Milli and London Grammar’s Dot Major, debuting his solo electronic material. The 15 artists that make up the release have been curated by Bose and NME to represent a vital snapshot of new and cutting-edge sounds in 2023. King Princess’ hypnotising new C23 track, “The Bend”, is out now and truly exemplifies the boldness of the mixtape.
Thomas Smith, Commissioning Editor (Music), says: “The hunt for new music has kept NME and its readers busy for the past 70 years, and that feeling of discovering an emerging artist still defining their story never gets old. The return of the C-Series is a fantastic opportunity for Bose and NME to showcase rising names from across the globe, each of which are refining their craft and keeping music exciting.
I’m thrilled to be kicking off the C23 release with King Princess’ entry ‘The Bend’. She’s an artist that remains on the rise, one that’s already made a noticeable mark in her scene and beyond, and is no doubt eager to continue pushing her name and sound forward. This is the first of many great tracks from the mixtape we’re buzzing to share with the engaged, open-minded listeners that make up NME’s readership.”
Email: neill@outloudculture.com
