After great anticipation, “Lonely In Tokyo” is finally available to fans in Japan after a three year wait since its 2020 release. The new EP will include a Japanese version of the track and a new Phonk House Remix featuring BENXNI of STARKIDS, Tokyo’s hottest underground squad that’s famous for its cutting edge sound. “Lonely In Tokyo” spotlights the dark realities of the Japanese idol industry, with it luring innocent dreams and aspirations whilst creating lost, lonely souls. MIREI first began writing the songs in English 5 years ago, and recorded the tracks with friends in Brooklyn, NY as a way to explore more potentials for her voice and expand from her artist career.
After its release (excluding Japan), countless listeners resonated with her view and experience of loneliness and isolation, garnering her a strong, dedicated fanbase all over the world. “Since I released Lonely In Tokyo at the beginning of 2020, the world has changed so drastically,” MIREI explains, “The more we got cut off, the bigger the gaps between people and loneliness got. Money, body, fame, love… in every city, every generation, in every language, we’re all living, striving for our future and dreams alone. This is what I see in my city right now; it’s definitely “Lonely In Tokyo” at Tokyo,” describing the updated views in her new Japanese version. The track helps listeners of all ages feel more at comfort at their loneliness and struggle with human interaction by realizing they are not actually ‘alone’, as MIREI gives them inspiration and courage to face solitude and yourself.
Oslo-based American singer-songwriter Luke Elliot gets macabre on his new single ‘William Tell’, a dark and twisted murder ballad out now on all digital streaming platforms. Listen here.
‘William Tell’ is the 3rd single from Luke’s upcoming album Let Em All Talk, due to be released via Icons Creating Evil Art on May 19th. The track is based on William Burroughs shooting his 2nd wife, Joan Vollmer, in Mexico City in 1951.
“I was always fascinated with William Burroughs,” says Luke. “This song is about him killing his wife by placing a glass of whiskey on her head, trying to reenact the famous stunt. Burroughs was hiding out in Mexico, fleeing drug charges. After her death, he went back to the states and his career really began with Junky.”
Let Em All Talk follows the release of Luke’s evocative second LP The Big Wind (2020) – a boldly textured and instantly immersive album with a film noirish touch that is simultaneously sleek and modern at the eye of the storm. Rolling Stone France picked The Big Wind as its Album Of The Month upon release and referred to Luke as an “undeniable talent combined with a truly stunning voice.” MOJO Magazine in the UK called him “…a master of accessible, twisted, gothic Americana.”
Musically, an eclectic mix of influences pumps through Luke’s veins that range from John Coltrane, Duke Ellington and Dylan to The Cramps, Gun Club and Mink DeVille, to films such as Badlands, Pulp Fiction, Natural Born Killers. And his interest in film hasn’t stayed with music, it has also taken him to the big screen. It turns out the multi-talented artist has acting skills as well. He performed his song ‘All On Board’ in the Norwegian TV-series hit Exit, Norway’s most streamed series ever, and he played against Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix) in crime series Wisting.
Breakout artist Lola Brooke returns with the unveil of her new single “Just Relax” today via Arista Records/Team Eighty Productions. The preeminent new single from the Brooklyn-born rapper is a dynamic flip of one of Hip Hop’s most revered classic tracks, “The Choice Is Yours” by Black Sheep, and is met with an accompanying music video directed by Shanghaii, out now HERE.
With her latest “Just Relax,” 2023’s artist to watch, Lola Brooke delivers on her natural, undeniable ability to bridge generations jointly in song. With her distinct sound and razor-sharp cadence, Brooke brings a burst of dominance to today’s culture of Hip Hop. “Just Relax” magnifies this notion to a magnitude as she breathes an up-to-minute life into a culture-shifting Hip-Hop classic by Andres “Dres” Vargas Titus and William “Mista Lawnge” McLean, who make up the collective Black Sheep. Dres makes a memorable cameo in the video to “Just Relax,” which blesses the new track in all respects. Known also for her story-telling visuals, Lola leaves no stone unturned as she pays homage to the golden age of Hip Hop with styling contemplative of bamboo earrings remixed into a ready-to-wear piece made for the runway, a timeless denim-on-denim ensemble and classic tracksuit that shows the lasting impact of the culture of Hip Hop. As Hip Hop enters its 50th anniversary, “Just Relax” serves as the quintessential soundtrack for the now in celebration of the world phenomenon genre.
Oregon-based indie-Americana singer-songwriter Sharaya Summers shares fragile, poignant track “Forever You & Me” out everywhere now. The forthcoming album of the same name is due out later this year. The track is a gentle reminder of life’s fleeting nature and to hold loved ones close in the present moment.
“Forever You & Me,” out today, emerged after Summers returned from her grandmother’s funeral and watching her grandfather observe the slideshow of her life, left shattered in the church pew. This image, being left alone with a lifetime of memories, haunted her. Opening up about the personal meaning of the track, Summers shares, “As I prepare to release this track I face separation and possible divorce from my partner of 6 years. We have 2 beautiful babies, and have made some incredible memories.” Changes in her personal life have allowed the song to take new shape overtime as its meaning and life evolves. “The lyrics to this song have taken on new meaning for me.” She continues, “Whether love is lost in life or death, it is something we can never fully prepare for. All we have is the present, so make the moments count.” Though the subject matter can be dark, Summers is determined to conjure pieces of hope and light as she looks ahead to the future.
Sharaya Summers grew up in Portland, Oregon and spent her twenties honing her songwriting, bringing her to Nashville, Tennessee. She later spent eight years living in Los Angeles and toured alongside Houndmouth, Ella Vos, and Milo Greene, and her music has been featured in acclaimed TV shows like Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars. Throughout her career, Summers has garnered attention from several leading tastemakers. In 2018, she released her single “Light of the Moon” that Clash called, “Shimmering pop music that is rich in aural beauty…sonically beautiful, the songwriting cuts a little deeper.” The track went on to garner 6M+ streams across platforms and has been spun at radio stations nationwide including LA’s KCRW. In 2019, Variance Magazine wrote that the release of her single, “Tourist,” “Easily finds her in a lane similar to the likes of Phoebe Bridgers and Best Coast.”
GrimyGoods wrote her 2020 single “Agendas” carries, “Meditative lyrics that yearn for vulnerability and the need to feel heard.” and praised the Summers’ voice, adding, “Warm and nostalgic vocals powerfully compliment the track’s haunting melody.” The same year, Atwood Magazine called her single “This House,” “Yet another stunning piece of alt-folk bliss. An intimate and raw portrayal of real life and challenges, “This House” is as delicate as it is genuine: An ethereal, yet grounded song that sends us into our own introspective worlds.” They added that Summers, “Showcases life’s ups and downs in a song that is heartfelt, hypnotic, engaging, and real.”
Atlanta’s finest, Pap Chanel, is back with her latest music video release for “LEFT RIGHT” today via 4th & Broadway/1865/Def Jam Recordings. Watch HERE.
The music video, directed Yung Chang, vividly displays celebrations of H.B.C.U. culture with a backdrop of marching bands and majorettes as the most popular in class, Pap Chanel exudes confident verses & high-packed energy. Pap, in her latest visual, rallies in jubilation as she paves the road for her highly anticipated new project PAPTIVITIES, out May 12.
The call-to-action, the party-enticing track “LEFT RIGHT” is now met with a larger-than-life visual to match as Pap Chanel showcases her Pretty & Paid principles and effortless swagger. Given the natural, irresistible base-booming beat aided by a cheer-like chant, Pap brings the world to her school of thought in literal form. “LEFT RIGHT” was released earlier this year and received a heavy dose of praise. The track was coined one of the best Hip Hop releases via XXL as Billboard stated, “If you want to be pretty and paid, take a page out of Pap Chanel’s book. Luckily, the budding Atlanta rapper is handing out free game on her latest offering, “Left, Right.” The track carries a militant theme, as Pap Chanel lets it be known that she’s keeping everyone in line” via the publications R&B/Hip-Hop Fresh Picks column of the week.
After releasing a string of smash singles, her most recent project, Pretty & Paid 2.0 (2020), and today’s music video release of “LEFT RIGHT,” listeners will want to stay tuned for more news on #PAPTIVITIES!
wizz Beatz is Grammy-Award Winning music producer, entrepreneur and visionary, producing for some of the biggest musicians in the world including Jay-Z, Beyonce, and Kanye West (contributing to more than 350 million records sold). Over the years, Swizz has worked closely with various global brands from Bacardi, to Aston Martin and Reebok (to name a few) and most recently American Express.
Recent graduate of Harvard Business School’s OPM program, Swizz began collecting art in his twenties, and in 2014 launched The Dean Collection, which began as his personal art collection and has since grown into a global discovery zone for art enthusiasts. Swizz later launched No Commission – a live art and music festival where artists retain 100% of their sales. In 2019, Swizz and Timbaland launched the global digital series VERZUZ which has become a powerhouse in programming for artists and music catalogs. With millions of viewers each show, the brand continues to push boundaries and “give artists their flowers.
While highly accomplished, Swizz remains authentic, and humble. According to him, “The sky is not the limit; it’s just the view.” With a true passion for business, no matter the industry, Swizz hopes that his success will continue to inspire others.
I make electronic music and work with AI to make visual art. Gratitude mixes with nostalgia in my new track about chosen family. It’s dreamy, like a washed-out, half-remembered slow dance. Sometimes people become so interwoven into your life that it’s hard to picture it without them. This song celebrates the long-standing characters who have known many versions of me and keep choosing to make new memories.
In the artwork, two trees twist and grow together into a single shared canopy. In an otherwise barren place, the canopy shines with a spring green showing shared growth, and bits of the canopy seem to be blowing into the barren place, seeding it.
I like to grow plants in the summer and often, plants that have grown beside each other all season begin to grow together into an interwoven mess that would be hard to separate by late August. Similar to people, you can’t help but become alike over the years, entangled in one another’s situations and choices, weathering storms together and so on.
Thanks for your time,
Kodiak Arcade
CLAY (she/they) is a San Francisco born-and-bred artist crafting songs for the soul. She has the smooth, rich kind of voice that melts tensions away with a single note.
A perfect blend of R&B and pop, CLAY’s affinity for catchy melodies matched with her seductively smoky vocal tone make her a must listen. Keen to make music that moves people and makes waves, CLAY’s work is vividly relevant and overwhelmingly personal.
Born and raised in the flower-child city of San Francisco, as well as a proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community, her diverse and politically potent upbringing has guided her work as a multidisciplinary artist into powerful new realms. The historic social justice movements of the Bay Area laid the groundwork for the work she does today to create liberation through music. Unafraid to get political in songwriting, her past work has seen her take on Trump at the height of his crippling power (“Orange”), and more. CLAY cares deeply about advocacy, community, integrity, and unity and you can always hear that in her art.
From the very beginning, she knew that using her voice was her true calling in life. At seven years old, CLAY joined the San Francisco Girls Chorus. Long feeling like an outsider, it was the first place she made friends and finally fit in. She was in the touring ensemble of the chorus until age 16 – performing at former President Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration and winning three GRAMMYs along the way.
As a young adult, she cultivated her songwriting skills at a contemporary music school and began making music of her own. Calling herself a “neurodivergent pop star,” she approaches songwriting with deep reverence for storytelling and views it as a spiritual experience. She often isolates to pull from within, listening closely for the whispers of truth longing to escape her in the form of a song.
For some artists, the challenge of building yourself from the ground up whilst maintaining your authenticity and independence can be near impossible. CLAY is proving that she’s got what it takes to leave her mark on this sometimes-ugly world. Adamant to retain her sense of self and ability to appeal to the masses through her heartfelt lyrics and experimental style, there’s no doubt that more treats are in store for listeners, both new and old.
CLAY is coming off of the first installment of a 3-part EP series called Breathing into Bloom, which featured collaborators including the likes of Alessia Cara, Stint, and Yakob. She also has collaborated with the likes of mayé and Duckwrth. She hasamassed over 20m+ streams across platforms. Her second EP in the series, holy silence ‘fore the spring, is due to release in Spring of 2023, followed by her first headline tour in the states. While Breathing into Bloom was optimistic about accepting that healing is a process, holy silence ‘fore the spring delves deeper into more melancholy themes that came to her during reflection, when the air was brisk and the gray clouds sagged, heavy with rain.
This year, she was featured in a worldwide brand partnership campaign with Tinder that highlighted queer love. CLAY’s songs have also been featured in shows like The L Word and The Chi.
As a singer-songwriter, Michel combines the lyrical sensibilities of Leonard Cohen, the musical styling of Jason Isbell, and the vocal versatility of Billy Joel.
His songs are musical journeys that dig deep into the human experience, with ear worm worthy melodies and quirky, intelligent lyrics.
As a professional motivational speaker, Michel also peppers his live shows with stories and conversation that keep the audience engaged beyond the music.
Montreal singer-songwriter – ALEX NICOL – shares the spectral new single: “Been A Long Year”.
STREAM “BEEN A LONG YEAR” ON ALL SERVICES HERE || WATCH VIDEO HERE
The title-track of a five-song EP (arriving 30 June), this lead single includes the unmistakable guest vocals of Angel Deradoorian (Dirty Projectors / Decisive Pink).
Guided by Nicol’s haunting vocal pirouettes, “Been A Long Year” is an acoustic ballad which connects personal feelings of grief and sadness at the loss of many loved ones with a wider feeling of an emptiness that permeates through the modern world. Conjuring images of towns desolated by unemployment and families feeling the pressures of these rapidly changing and challenging times, evocative lyrics like “And all the shops are empty / And the diners too / The miller, baker, and seamstress / Gotta find something new to do / But it’s hard times when you add it up…” weigh a heavy lode and will cut deep.
Speaking about the track, Alex Nicol explains:
“In “Been A Long Year”, I wanted to express my frustration at running from my feelings for so long. It felt like the world was crumbling at the same time as I was pretending everything was fine, but I really wasn’t, and I finally expressed it. It feels like one long exhale for me.”
California rock band ALO announce an August extension to their highly successful Silver Saturdays tour beginning in California, stopping in Lake Tahoe, and then heading east to Woodstock, NY on August 15 with tickets on sale this Friday, May 5 at 10 AM EST here. The band has been busy touring along the West Coast as they celebrate 25 years together with their new spirited ninth studio album Silver Saturdays out everywhere now via Brushfire Records. Now, the four-piece is thrilled to bring it to a new coast. See a full list of dates below and get an exclusive look at the making of the new album as the band brings listeners behind the scenes here.
The recently completed, fully sold out West Coast leg received rave reviews from long-time tastemakers like JamBase, Glide Magazine, Santa Barbara Independent and many more. The only thing that got in the way of a flawless tour were several shows cancelled due to weather. The sold out Carmel show is back on the calendar on August 3rd. For those that couldn’t get into a sold out Fillmore, the band has added two shows at the beautiful Bruns Amphitheater in Orinda, CA on August 5 and August 6. For those who had their tickets cancelled (and refunded) at Crystal Bay, NV due to a blizzard/melt cycle, the band is pleased to announce they will be playing Brews, Jazz & Funk at Palisades Tahoe on August 12. Those that missed the shows or wish to relive them can now access the audio from all West Coast shows exclusively on nugs.net.
Of the band’s Santa Barbara, CA show in March, JamBase wrote, “ALO delivered a career-spanning performance in between cuts from Silver Saturdays in Santa Barbara.” Santa Barbara Independent added, “ALO can still deliver the fun, especially for a nostalgic crowd whose connections to the band are longstanding and deep-rooted…They hit SOhO with a vengeance.” The publication concluded, “The entire show was well worth staying up late for.”
Glide Magazine praised the March 25 show at the historic Fillmore in San Francisco, CA, stating, “ALO took the stage with their signature positivity and the first song of the set, ‘Make It Back Home’ from their new release ‘Silver Saturdays’ hit the spot just right. Everything was on point, tight, and practiced as ever.”
Released on Friday 28 April, the track emerges as an exhilarating initial entry point to a brand new album from the New York-based ‘Nuke Wave’ artist, entitled ‘A Fine Commitment’ (slated for 16 June 2023, via the PaperCup Music imprint).
Occupying the post-apocalyptic wastelands that lie between New York and Manchester, the radiostatic waves that separate New Order from Nine Inch Nails, “Hi Low” is an essential and ambitious new cut from the Brooklyn underdog.
One of his most lyrically visceral and personal outings to date, “Hi Low” reflects on the peaks and troughs that life can throw at you and how we come to deal with them mentally. Inspired by a period of Monograms’ life when mental health struggles would dominate his day-to-day, he remembers:
“I put on a pretty clean outer shell most of the time, cause of the way I’m wired but those that know me best know that it’s a roller coaster at times. I don’t think it’s uncommon for people during that creative process but for me there’s definitely another mental health and semi-destructive element at work. Years ago I used to fight this rocky feeling a bit more, so the story of the song really is built so that the verses are me trying to gain my footing, trying to find some answers to stop the storm waves from crashing, fighting it… and the chorus is just dumb blind acceptance. ‘This is me. This is probably a lot of people. Plus, up and down is probably better than not moving at all.”
Finding sage advice in the most unexpected of places, Monograms stumbled upon an exchange between Tony Wilson and a homeless person while watching the Madchester biopic ‘24 Hour Party People’. Spurring on a down-on-his-luck Wilson, the homeless person shouts: “The great wheel says Boethius” don’t rise up on my spokes if you like but don’t complain when you’re cast back down into the depths: “We get high, We go low.”” Opening his eyes to a universal truth, that what goes up must come down, it became an unlikely coping mechanism for Monograms at the time and would ultimately inform the moral of this song.
“It’s really not a mantra or anything, but it’s something that’s helped me not hit the low as hard. That scene from 24 Hour Party People really encapsulates it best.” says Monograms. “I’m proud of taking something so dark and difficult and trying to make a song that felt uplifting, hopeful, triumphant. That was my aim, I wanted that from this story too. It doesn’t have to be a drab topic, plus mental health is in all of us, especially over the insanity of the last few years on this planet, I think everyone has felt trapped, alone, uneasy. So it goes…”
Driving distinctive Mancunian overtones through his genre-melting “Nuke-Wave” sound, the low slung basslines, primordial chugging synthesisers, and stinging post-punk guitar riffs of “Hi Low” find Monograms taking on the archetypal Factory Records sound of its 1980s height and stamping his own mark on it.
Entirely written and recorded by Monograms in Brooklyn in just one day, the track was produced with the assistance of Ben Rice, who also produced the entire upcoming sophomore album: ‘A Fine Commitment’.
Making major moves and leaving a lasting impact on culture, multiplatinum R&B iconoclast, style icon, and entrepreneur Brent Faiyaz has initiated an unprecedented partnership with UnitedMasters. He signs a recording partnership with the company and starts a new creative agency as a hub and home for his independent endeavors. This turns the page on his next chapter and ignites a bold new era in the process.
About this alliance, UnitedMasters C.E.O. and Founder Steve Stoute commented, “Brent Faiyaz is one of the most prolific Independent artists today and we are extremely excited to embark on this new partnership with him. It’s been inspiring to watch his journey as an artist over the years and with this partnership we look to further amplify his creative vision and support his entrepreneurial ambitions.”
NYC-based violinist and composer Katherine Kyu Hyeon Lim is a curious mind in the experimental music scene. As co-founder of the improvisation-focused ensembles Muzosynth Orchestra and Impromptuo, the South Korean immigrant trained in European classical music before falling deeply in love with the art of improvisation. Lim’s debut album, Starling, channels some of her particular loves: predilection for geometric patterns, gravitation towards humorous satire, and enjoyment of sound itself (Lim holds a comprehensive musical taste in everything from soul, musical theater to ‘oldies’ and on). Through this trio format with Alfredo Colón (EWI/soprano saxophone) and Kalia Vandever (trombone/fx), the album also channels her deep trust in her friends and community.
Starling showcases an unusual combination of musicians. The trio of violin, trombone with effects, and EWI or soprano saxophone are treated as trifectas of melody-makers, switching between different acoustic and electronic mixtures with each track. Most of the album starts with set, improvised textures. These range from simple acoustic directives, such as playing long tones, to more abstract parameters, such as each artist having to “go against” each other. In addition, each artist performs one solo as interludes (tracks 4, 6, and 8), highlighting themselves as an individual before recombining into the fabric of the group. The trio leans into the compelling strength of its soaring sounds, which Colón described during recording as feeling “like a flock of starlings murmuring in the sky”.
Starling beckons with its sincerity and bold sentimentality that Lim embraces in all its unfettered glory. It is a statement that causes reflection upon the identity of artists like her, an Asian woman in a field controlled by white men, a field weighted by narrow viewpoints on who Asian women can be. On all levels, Starling demands the right to self-determine, to be the driver of one’s own story, and to say, without apology, who you are.
https://katherineviolin.bandcamp.com/track/as-it-all-goes-by
Theo Tams has reached the stature of a bona fide music veteran by now, but he’s also at the beginning of something new.
The Canadian singer, songwriter, and performer has been playing since his teens and releasing music for the past 15 years. He has three albums and three EPs to his credit, along with a formidable collection of singles and…oh yeah, that championship run on the sixth season of Canadian Idol in 2008. Tams has put together a body of work that’s substantial and diverse. It speaks of an artist whose mission is growth and adventure — building upon his proverbial laurels, rather than sitting on them.
With each step, Tams has made a stride forward, and sometimes even further. That’s certainly been true of the past few years, particularly with the series of three-song Trilogy EPs he’s embarked on, with the third just arriving and taking him into even more new sonic and lyrical terrain.
“I think I’ve just gotten a lot more unapologetic in the process,” Tams, who lives in Toronto with his partner and their 11-year-old daughter, explains. “The biggest thing I notice when I listen back to the music that I’ve released before is I had no clue who I was or what I stood for. I really was just trying to check the boxes of what I thought made an artist, realizing that by doing that I wasn’t checking any of them. I was living up to this veneer, this shiny, perfect kind of image I felt like I created, and I don’t think that’s life. Life is messy and it’s hard, no matter who you are or where you’re from or what your background is.
“That’s what my music needed to reflect for me to really feel like an artist. So my whole new approach in music has been an exercise of saying ‘yes’ and allowing myself to do whatever I think is right.”
Southampton rockers – REGENT – are making a riotous return with new single “Freight Train”.
The first bit of new music from the band since recent inspiriting EP ‘Believe’, “Freight Train” comes ahead of the band’s second album set for release later this year.
Fusing chugging punk-tinted rhythms with the riled-up indie-rock choruses they’ve become known for, the new track sees Regent chew through a heady blend of runaway electric guitars, steady drum smashes and booming, live-ready vocals.
Of the new track frontman Ben Rooke explains:
“The new single is about the struggles with mental health in today’s climate, the cost of living crisis, the crap government we have running a once great country and how family are the most important thing that keeps us going.”
Having forged a reputation as one of Southampton’s finest emerging acts, Regent have already notched a string of highly-charged releases under their belts including recent EP ‘Believe’ and 2022 debut LP ‘Just A Revolution’.
Pioneering their own insurgent brand of rock’n’roll that tackles political mistrust, economic struggles and personal hardships head-on, the banned have previously attracted praise from the likes of Louder Than War, Earmilk and Gigslutz and more.
Regent have also gained radio play from Radio X, Frank Skinner on Absolute Radio, Amazing Radio and BBC Introducing as well as RTE2 in Ireland and SiriusXM in the US, and the group’s merciless sound has also attracted attention across the world of TV and sport, with airplay on Soccer AM, Sky Sports Darts, the Premier League, BBC Six Nations Rugby, BT Sport and BBC One’s Match of the Day.
Heading into the Spring as riled-up and ready-to-go as ever, stay tuned for more news and new music from Regent soon. Catch them at these dates as follows:
REGENT – 2023 LIVE DATES
10th June – WORTHING Factory Live (w/ Reverend & The Makers)
7th July – READING The Purple Turtle
5th August – SOUTHAMPTON The Stage Door
18 November – SHIIINE On Weekender
Fast rising singer/songwriter Liza Lo delivers her highly anticipated, breath-taking EP Flourish including singles, “this ocean”, “hold me” and “cómo amar”.
An intimate and emotional body of work set across 5 tracks as well as an intro and interlude, Flourish comes from a place of reflection, Liza’s appreciation for the ones around her and self-love. With dainty and flawless instrumentation throughout, Liza’s impressive story-telling lyrics and notable vocal range take centre stage. Combining ambient sounds and dreamy pop Flourish is a poetic masterpiece.
Opening the EP is the raw and emotive “this ocean”, layered synths and indie guitars bed Liza’s honesty as she sings “What if I’m the only one to feel this” in a relatable and vulnerable love song. On latest single “hold me” delicate production laced with acoustic guitars and keys creates the perfect dreamy soundscape for Liza Lo’s luscious harmonies as she tells a new lover “It’s always you.” Building with the song Liza’s timeless vocals crescendo with emotion throughout, breathing life into the story of a new love in its early stages.
On lead track “cómo amar” Liza’s otherworldly vocals dance above keys and syncopated percussion as Liza is surrounded by nature as she tends to her plants and flowers in the simple yet powerful accompanying music video.
Explaining the message behind ‘cómo amar’ Liza Lo tells us: “After being hurt badly, it can be hard to love again. ‘cómo amar’ is a gentle question to my love, asking him to guide me into loving him truly and carefully. I wrote and produced this song in the mountains in Spain, whilst listening to Maro and Lizzy McAlpine on repeat. Tessa Rose Jackson assisted me with some beautiful final touches. We shot the music video for ‘cómo amar’ in the place where I wrote the song, my family home in Spain. The music video translates the key message of ‘flourish’: to invest time to care, grow and nurture, so you can bloom into the person you truly are.”
prolific dance trio Keys N Krates deliver their new single ‘Say You Love Me’ via deep-rooted Canadian label Last Gang Records/MNRK. One of North America’s most seasoned electronic outfits, Keys N Krates unveil a new direction in their sound that traces back to their earliest musical influences.
‘Say You Love Me’ is the Toronto-based outfit’s take on a pure house music record. The smoky, euphoric vocal and spellbinding groove calls upon a timeless sound and further demonstrates the ever-growing versatility of Keys N Krates’ production style. Their fresh take on the genre opens up a new realm of possibilities for their performances and forthcoming tour. ‘Say You Love Me’ follows their recent singles “Get Up” and “What Girls Do,” which both lend themselves to house as well.
“We all grew up on house music and have always dabbled in it on other projects, but this tune might be our “housey-est” endeavor yet,” said Keys N Krates about the track. “For us, ‘Say You Love Me’ embodies the soul and fun that drew our ears to house music in the first place”, they added. “Organic drum textures, a hypnotic and tribal groove, with a powerful vocal sample chopped up are ingredients that really speak to us. We want to be at the party where this is playing.”
Alongside the new music, Keys N Krates also unveil a new album coming this fall and a 12-stop tour across the United States, with many more dates still to come.
Email: neill@outloudculture.com
