Rising Atlanta-based, rapper, Pap Chanel has released her long-awaited EP PAPTIVITIES via 4th & Broadway/1865/Def Jam Recordings. Listen to PAPTIVITIES — HERE featuring Fredo Bang and Trina.
To accompany the EP release, Pap has also unveiled the official music video of her budding song-of-the-summer track “Summertime” with Fredo Bang – watch HERE. The intoxicating chemistry between Fredo and Pap gives a reminiscent energy of the golden age of music video releases with a tropical feel-great vibe to match the prowess of the “PAPTIVITIES”. The soundtrack for the Pretty & Paid and Pimpin’ & Playa is here.
Flowing with electrifying anthems created to resonate with one and all, PAPTIVITIES, as a body of work, topples as a pinnacle project of self-expression, self-reflection, self-care and self-confidence for everyone who connects with the movement. Packed with six songs blanketed in sonic daringness from the wide-ranged artist, Pap brings to life six of her rap stylistic identities she’s deemed as Papanalities— “Papiana,” the cocky side; “Paprika,” the spicy side; “Papatoullie,” the scientist; “Papi,” the OG; “Papillion,” the butterfly; and “TuPap,” the storyteller. Each song exhibits each of the six styles fans have grown to love over the years and exemplifies Pap’s multi-dimensionality in complete form.
Family is what ties The Pairs together. With soaring harmonies, they share stories of life’s hope, hilarity, and hardship. An honest, quirky stage presence and their unbottled chemistry, quickly connects them with their audience. The line between the stage and the crowd becomes blurred as if we’ve all pulled up a seat around their family’s lively kitchen table. Powered by three classically trained vocalists and a former punk rock drummer, The Pairs offer a unique blend of music that will hug your eardrums and inspire you to dance.
Following their inception in 2016, The Pairs were warmly welcomed by their home community in London, ON. They quickly gained popularity within their local arts scene. As they toured around Southern Ontario they grew their audience and their sound, finding their voices and honing in on their unique style of harmony and rhythm.
With the release of their album, Noise (2019), The Pairs saw increased support from both national and international radio, and have music streaming in over 75 countries around the world. The group was named Folk Music Ontario’s Songwriter of the Year in 2020 and in 2021, took home the Forest City London Music Award in the Folk/Roots category.
So, who the fuck is Sam Casey?
It doesn’t take long to figure that out. This Toronto–based songstress wears her authenticity like your favourite pair of well–worn jeans. Exhausted by people trying to tell her who she is, Casey’s response was her new EP, More Songs About Weed And Toxic Relationships.
The EP is inspired by the past two years of her life: all the breakups, the makeups, the drugs, the dancing, the crying, the anxiety and the
love. ALL OF IT. She is unfiltered, unapologetic. Her honesty is as risky as her music. “There are no secret messages on the EP, no hidden meaning. It says what it means and it means what it says. And so do I.”
Performing the songs from More Songs About Weed And Toxic Relationships has taught her so much about what being an artist really means and the impact you can have on people. The songs give her the opportunity to create an experience for the audience that they can relate to and that stays with them long after the show is over. “One of my biggest strengths is my affinity for everything real,” Casey says. “I look mad when I’m mad, I look pretty when I feel pretty, I look ugly when I feel ugly.”
acclaimed Portuguese producer HOLLY releases single ‘EUPHORYA’, and announces the June 2 release of his seven-track Sadness EP, the second chapter of the Minha Vida trilogy, via his own iLex label. Alongside singles ‘Swear I Been Ready’ and ‘Cuento De Vida’ ‘Euphorya’ offers a glimpse of what’s to come from the rest of the EP, with HOLLY’s captivating emotional expression.
‘Euphorya’ is an emotionally charged track, which covers a range from plaintiveness to calming ecstasy. The track features rich and melodic vocal chops paired with trance inducing synth leads. Spacey percussive breakdowns are perfectly contrasted with a wet kick and broken beat snare. As if he’s exploring untold thoughts, HOLLY maneuvers the listener through lush melodic landscapes juxtaposed by rhythmic drops. A clear contrast from the track’s previous chaos, the outro is contained and beautiful, as if HOLLY is finally able to clear his head. The track is a perfect example of HOLLY’s uncanny ability to communicate raw human emotion through his music.
HOLLY’s artistic versatility and ability to experiment with different styles and genres is on full display throughout the Sadness EP. The EP is an honest reflection of HOLLY’s experiences and emotions, showcasing his ability to weave a cohesive emotional thread throughout a sonically diverse body of work. With his signature blend of electronic beats and hip hop influences, HOLLY creates a vivid and immersive sonic world that is both personal and relatable.
Grammy-nominated Nigerian dance-pop vocalist Kah-Lo releases her new single ‘fund$’ on Epic Records.
Spinning a tale of greed and glory, Kah-Lo’s latest single sees her fierce vocals cut with a darker edge. A powerful anthem that flaunts Kah-Lo’s intrinsic ability to seamlessly blend genres at her will, ‘fund$’ commands attention with its shiny synth stabs, punchy basslines, and rhythmic percussion. Kah-Lo’s playfully audacious lyrics add a feminist flare to the track as she sings, “Girls just wanna have funds, can’t have fun if you don’t have funds”. As with all of Kah-Lo’s originals, her vibrant persona shines through on ‘fund$’ as she teases her more rebellious side.
‘fund$’ arrives with an official music video that sees Kah-Lo take a murderous turn to enact revenge on those who have done her wrong. Portraying a femme fatale in this Kill Bill-esque music video, ‘fund$’ is an enticing introduction into Kah-Lo’s villain era.
Kah-Lo first emerged on the scene in 2016 appearing on Riton’s ‘Rinse & Repeat’, which earned them a Grammy nomination for ‘Best Dance Recording’. In 2017, Kah-Lo dropped her debut solo single ‘Fasta’, following up with ‘Fake I.D.’ in 2018, which became the lead song for the U.S. arrival of TikTok. Her fierce persona as a solo artist continued to shine through with her debut The Arrival EP, which saw its lead single ‘Commandments’ included on the FIFA 2022 Soundtrack. In 2022, Kah-Lo released her hit single ‘Drag Me Out’, which was featured in Oscar de la Renta’s Spring 2022 campaign and has amassed more than 6 million streams on Spotify alone.
girlfriends (Travis Mills & Nick Gross) are thrilled to release their Over My Dead Body EP, out now via Big Noise. Produced by Andrew Goldstein (Machine Gun Kelly, Papa Roach, blackbear), the EP is a collection of tracks that encompass a passion for life, paired with their signature pop punk charm.
Listen to Over My Dead Body EP now HERE.
Speaking on the release of the EP, Travis shares, “The EP is filled with post-breakup anthems injected with attitude and angst that anyone who’s experienced heartbreak can relate to. If revenge was a power chord, this is what it’d sound like.”
Over My Dead Body EP features the previously released tracks, “Life’s A Brittany” and “Over My Dead Body.” The catchy tracks have garnered attention from the likes of idobi Radio, Loudwire, The Noise, Hot Topic, The Honey Pop and more.
girlfriends recently wrapped a SOLD OUT European tour, supporting Avril Lavigne. Now the duo is back in the US for a short East Coast run of headlining dates which will kick off this coming Monday, May 15th in Chicago at Cobra Lounge. They will visit Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. before wrapping on May 21st in Brooklyn at Baby’s All Right. The Brooklyn date is being promoted by the Spotify team as part of their hot new “Spotify Stages Presents” concert series.
Contemporary Americana artist Dusky Waters today returns with the new single “Southeasterly Wind”. The track delivers a fantastical forewarning of what may befall the powerful for their underhanded machinations and arrives backed by the signature trad jazz horn tones of Waters’ adopted home base of New Orleans, Louisiana. The track is accompanied by a gothic noir-soaked visual that brings the song’s message to life.
boundary-pushing, LA multimedia band Groupthink shares “Dressed For A Funeral” featuring Sunday Scaries. Get it HERE via 10K Projects.
Ahead of their upcoming EP, before the afters, Groupthink is dropping a dynamic single, “Dressed For A Funeral” featuring a brand new song inspired by the legendary movie Project X, Groupthink knows how to throw a party and “Dressed For a Funeral” is a testament to it. Earlier this year, Groupthink and Sunday Scaries hosted a massive 1,000+ guest party in Los Angeles with cameos from Brent Faiyaz, Matt Ox, Deto Black, Dosha Deng, and more. Taking notes from the indie-dance and French electro pop movements of the early 2010s, the track is certified for an unforgettable night.
Groupthink has had a busy 2023 so far, hosting an L.A. rave with The Hellp, opening on tour for their collaborator KennyHoopla, and being featured in Pigeons and Planes’ February list of “Best New Artists.” Not to mention throwing a massive house party in LA with over 1000+ people that shut down a whole block. The electrifying new track is part of the upcoming EP before the afters which features their latest singles, “Miss Carolina” with Carlie Hanson and “Dancing On My Grave” featuring KennyHoopla.
The first thing you’ll think when you hear Natisa’s voice is how easy she makes it all sound. Effortlessly beguiling, and as delicately nuanced as one would expect from an artist who sounds like a modern-day Barbra Streisand, she’s also one of those artists who seem to treat their voices as instruments in themselves.
Born in 1988, in the city of Dnipro in Ukraine, Natisa had such a nurturing relationship with her mother and father, that a move from child prodigy to fully- formed singer-songwriter was executed with the ease of an acrobat. Indeed, her parents encouraged Natisa’s musical activities to such an extent that, from birth, they saw a singer in her. Correspondingly, at the age of five, she stood on a chair and gave singing recitals to all her relatives. Less than a year after that, she was sent to music school for piano lessons. Naturally, by the time she turned sixteen, Natisa found herself enrolled 500km up the road, at the Kyiv Municipal Academy of Performing and Circus Arts – highlights of the program include singing and dancing, as well as pantomime, illusion and manipulation! – and just four years later, in 2008, Natisa became a soloist for the state academic orchestra, an institution that saw her collaborate with DJ Shiller, as well as 1970s disco/funk vocal supergroup, Boney M. For the record, you should be aware that, soon after their success in the West in the 1970s, Boney M became something of a musical phenomenon in Eastern Europe, and the Afro-German-Caribbean outfit have remained something of a musical phenomenon in Ukraine ever since. And, at this point in proceedings, it’s perhaps also pertinent to point out that in March this year, Boney M released a pro -Ukraine version of Rasputin – and, herein, lies the crux of our tale.
At 4.45 am on February 24th, 2022, Natisa woke up to the sound of rockets and explosions. Her first thought was that she couldn’t believe that the war had begun. Then she thought of her son, Platon, aged seven, who was always at her side, and she knew they had to flee. Later that day, her friend called her, and they made a plan: Natisa and Platon would collect the barest of essentials, and escape to the border. But most of the roads around Kyiv had already collapsed, and those that were still functional were impossibly rammed with traffic, a thronging horde of panicking people.
They decided to wait one more day and night. “I don’t know how we survived that night,” says Natisa now. “In the morning, my friend came to pick us up, but, as we drove away from Antonov Airport, we heard shots and explosions.” By now, their plan had been formulated: Natisa’s friend had a brother who lived in the Czech Republic, and they would head for the Polish border, and then on to Prague. Except they were not out of the woods yet.
“When we arrived at the exit to the Zhytomyr highway, which leads towards the Polish border, two cars were already waiting for us,” says Natisa. “There were four women and four children ready to leave in these two cars but the shots became louder and closer, so we had to change our route. We followed our friend’s car through the traffic for 20km before he had to go back to Kyiv to help defend the city. As we watched him drive away, we could see Ukrainian tanks and soldiers arriving. We drove – and lived in – that car for five days until we felt safe.”
Forced to flee her native home, her friends, and the home-grown music career that had been the defining force in her life since childhood, Natisa realised that she would have to strike back. Teaming up with US-born, Prague-based songwriter, musician and producer, Gregory Darling – Darling’s piano-pop solo output has been compared to Elton John, Joe Jackson and Elvis Costello by the Sunday Times, and, ‘Lucky’, his latest co-write with Julian Lennon and Gregg Alexander (New Radicals) has been a Top 40 mainstay on Billboard Triple A for the last two months.
Turkish-Italian multi-instrumentalist and rising music icon Carlita joins forces with German DJ and production duo Andhim to release their debut collaborative two track EP ‘Life,’ via DJ Tennis’s Life And Death imprint.
A skillfully crafted emotive soundscape, ‘Life’ blends Carlita’s eclectic versatility and kaleidoscopic sonic vision together with Andhim’s signature ‘super house’ sound. Pairing driving percussion with atmospheric melodies, listeners are taken on an uplifting sonic journey. As Carlita describes, ‘Life’ has an “ethereal vibe to it for those early morning sunrise moments.”
Evoking an uplifting and joyous ambiance, the second track ‘Nation’ pulsates with club energy, building through winding synths and a bouncing baseline. Nation is, in the words of Andhim, “a club orientated banger with a soulful and subtle core.”
In Carlita’s own words on the project, “I’ve always been a huge fan of Andhim ever since I started getting into electronic music when I was much younger. They’ve always inspired me and I have always admired the music that they produce. When I started djing i always played their music in my sets and always wanted to work with them one day. When we decided to finally get in the studio together it was so natural and we really fed off each other’s vibe and managed to create these 2 amazing tracks which I am so happy with. Each of us has our parts which we have weaved into these tracks and I feel they are really unique and I can’t wait for the release.”
Andhim added, “Carlita has been always supporting us and our music and after we got to know each other we decided to make some magic together. We love that her taste in music is so diverse and she is open for any direction. That’s also our approach when it comes to creating and playing music. For us there has never been any boundaries in expressing ourselves. With this EP we tried to capture this diversity and put two different moods and energies onto one record.”
Larkin Poe – the GRAMMY® Award-nominated duo of Georgia-bred, Nashville-based multi-instrumentalist sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell tapped electronic music superstar Borgore to give their song “Southern Comfort” a remix.
“Southern Comfort” comes from Larkin Poe’s latest album Blood Harmony, which released via their own Tricki-Woo Records in November, 2022. “Growing up in Tennessee and Georgia shaped my sister and myself in so many beautiful ways,” says Rebecca Lovell. “Now, as an adult, I feel grateful to reflect on that childhood and to call Nashville home. I loved writing this song, and getting to share southern hospitality, southern comfort, with all the sweet souls we encounter on our travels around the world, feels empowering.”
With the new remix, Borgore brings wobbly and glitched out sound heavy in bass while simultaneously keeping the southern rock aesthetic and iconic guitar from the original recording intact.
Toronto musician Sandra Bouza shares her new single and video ‘The City’ out now on all digital streaming platforms. Listen here.
The first single from Sandra’s new album A Sound In The Dark (out in September), ‘The City’ shows us a nostalgic look at youthful ignorance.
“This is a song about the naïve exuberance of youth,” says Sandra. “Trying to bypass your innocence because you think you’ve got it all figured out. I really felt a connection to Neil Young’s ‘Birds’ when I wrote this song.”
Known as musical shapeshifter, playing R&B, Soul, Rock, and everything in between, Sandra has a lot to offer through her music and life experience. Having spent a large part of her life in Spain, as well as travelling to far corners of the world, Sandra’s worldly vision is evident in her songwriting. Sandra lets her stories breathe in songs that are deeply personal.
From prison to pandemic, Dale and the ZDubs are back in full force. Inspired by Dale’s 2017 to 2020 incarceration for a non-violent drug crime, DZD’s recent releases combine a distinct reggae influence intertwined with a hard-hitting rock style to tell raw, ridiculous, and vulnerable stories.
After the 3 year hiatus, Dale, Miles, Johan, Pat, and Julian went to work during quarantine to put instrumentation and melody behind the lyrics Dale wrote on the inside. Dale also hit up some old friends to be part of the comeback. The result is the current stream of saucy singles including “This Time” feat. The Elovaters, “Pathological” feat. Bumpin Uglies, and of course, “Her Melody” feat. HIRIE.
DZD’s absolute obsession with performing live is the catalyst of their continuously heavy tour schedule (if Dale isn’t in prison and/or the world isn’t ending). DZD has recently shared the stage with the likes of BALLHYOO!, Badfish – a tribute to Sublime, Little Stranger, Kash’d Out, Joe Samba, and Artikal Sound System. High-energy live shows feature multi-part vocal harmonies, along with thick guitar driven melodies. And sometimes Dale gets pretty close to naked.
Queer|Art, NYC’s hub for connecting and empowering generations of LGBTQ+ artists, is pleased to announce the 2023 edition of Queer|Art|Pride—the 7th annual summer festival celebrating work by the organization’s vibrant community of more than 200 LGBTQ+ artists. This year, the organization partners with Body Hack, a collectively run party and mutual aid project that serves both as a community space and decentralized fundraising platform for trans and nonbinary BIPOC groups.
Kicking off New York City’s Pride weekend from 3–11 PM on Friday, June 23rd, Queer|Art and Body Hack will transform Nowadays’ 16,000-square-foot space located in Ridgewood along the Brooklyn/Queens border into an extravaganza of both indoor/outdoor festivities. This two-part public event will feature a daytime queer vendor fair (3-8PM) and an evening happy hour and dance party (8PM-6AM). The event will fundraise for three BIPOC trans-led organizations fighting to protect trans people in the states most impacted by anti-trans violence and new legislation: InTRANSitive (Little Rock, AK), The McKenzie Project (Miami, FL) and TKO Society (Selma, AL).
In the afternoon, the sprawling backyard will feature a queer vendor fair featuring work by local artisans and small queer and trans owned brands, where guests can browse clothing, zines, original artworks, on-site tattoo services, jewelry, tarot/astrology readings, and more from 3-8 PM. Indoor programming will include queer speed dating, where participants rotate through three minute dates and find some special matches! Black queer feminist scholar Alexis De Veaux will launch her new book, JesusDevil: The Parables, an anti-fiction work forthcoming within adrienne maree brown’s Emergent Strategy Series this summer. The book launch will entail a live reading, a short discussion, and a special book signing.
Queer|Art also spotlights a collaboration with Clit Club—the queer nightclub and performance venue founded in 1990 and Julie Tolentino and Jaguar Mary that for twelve years championed sex-positivity and lesbian, gay, and trans belonging, blending nightlife with sex, art, and activism in a manner far ahead of its time. In addition, inaugural Illuminations Grant Winner Keioui Keijaun Thomas will deliver a live performance, and sensational DJ sets will be led by Critical Hit, Battyjack, Zolita, and more.
To close out the night, the event will transition into Body Hack’s hallmark happy hour and a late night party guaranteed to burn until daybreak. Organized through a mindset of abundance over scarcity, Body Hack seeks to model a world where trans communities can thrive interdependently. Hosted monthly at Nowadays, Body Hack creates dedicated spaces for trans people to gather, celebrate, and support one another. Each party doubles as a fundraiser for a trans-related initiative, raising over $300k since its formation in 2018.
Save the date here.
Donate to support our beneficiaries across the South here.
More event details, performers, and DJs to be announced soon at queer-art.org/pride.
NOT A TOY REVEAL ANTICIPATED NEW SINGLE ‘ NERVOUS’// WATCH HERE
OUT TODAY VIA FEARLESS RECORDS
DEBUT ALBUM COMING SOON
With teasers of the single going viral on Tiktok, Denver based genre-bending group NOT A TOY today reveal their anticipated single, “Nervous”. Taken from upcoming debut album “PRBLMS”, The track showcases the imaginative beats and layered vocals that have seen the group pick up a grass roots following. A genre-fluid cut touching on indie, rock, hip-hop and R&B, “Nervous” cements NOT A TOY as an act to watch this year. Speaking on the track, the band state:
We always knew Nervous was a special one for us so we experimented with a ton of alternative versions for months, even trying out versions while on tour last year, until we finally worked it into what it is now. We actually had planned on releasing it later this summer after a few singles beforehand, but after teasing the song online the response to the song was insane so we knew we had to drop this one next! This one is going to be the single that kicks off the next era of NOT A TOY and we couldn’t be more excited about it. Our debut album is finally done and we can’t wait for you guys to hear it!
Verra Cruz form the British alt-rock infused musical project of trio Marc James (guitar/lap steel/vocals), Henry Cross (bass) & Jimmy Cooke (drums). Known for their hard-hitting anthems and signature lap steel guitar, of which they stumbled upon in a small boutique guitar shop in Memphis, TN, the three-piece band have been creating mighty, raucous tracks, laced with spiritual and personal themes.
Their latest single “King” is about the peaks and troughs we face in our lives. Written 12 years ago when singer Marc James was working building stages for festivals and events, he would dream about one day being the person to perform on them. He confides, “It was grueling work and we were barely making it, sliding into debt. It felt like my dreams were slipping away. Things were tough for me and my family and I wanted to write a song that lifted me up above the circumstances.”
The rowdy, energetic track bursts with crashing percussion, grungy guitars and fiery vocals. Emitting an overall feel-good and empowering atmosphere, “King” is an antidote to the constant barrage of “you are not enough,” that we are slammed with every day. Encouraging listeners to remember their worth, the band shares, “It’s easy to forget that our value isn’t in what we have achieved or what we have materially but we are of value no matter our circumstances. We can walk the royal way, hold our heads high. Put others first and pursue the way of love.. That’s how we win. That’s how we are kings.”
Taking influence from rock and roll greats such as Jimi Hendrix, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Rage Against The Machine, their dark chord voicing and anthemic energy come to life in a way that provokes emotion, energy and purely authentic melancholy. The band shares, “We’re not afraid to sing out about injustice in the world. Our quest for love, beauty and music has always been a way of making sense of the world. A redemptive force that brings beauty from the ashes of pain, redemption to the suffering of life.”
Verra Cruz continues to storm into the scene, surpassing sonic expectations with their flair and purely inspirational fables. With stand-out support highlights with the likes of Biffy Clyro, X is Loaded, and Switchfoot across the world stage, they’ve played at renowned venues such as the Shepherds Bush Empire, and a whole host of European festivals since the 90’s, including Download Festival! Featuring in Kerrang! as an ‘Incoming Band’ in 2008, their first first single “Soul Collides” was spun on BBC Radio 1 and KROQ’s Jed The Fish also featured the single as his catch of the day. Needless to say, their explosive career continues to take off.
French multi talented artist and Odyzey Music label head CloZee announces her upcoming headline Microworlds Tour. Kicking off on September 28th, the Microworlds Tour will see CloZee journey across North America hitting more than 30 different cities over 45 dates, and marking the biggest headline tour of her career.
This fall, CloZee will take her forthcoming third album on the road, bringing Microworlds to renowned venues like Los Angeles’ The Shrine, New York’s Brooklyn Steel, a multi-night stop at San Francisco’s The Midway, along with stops at art-focused spaces like Las Vegas’ AREA15 and Phoenix’s Walter Where?House. Offering fans a new live experience, the Microworlds Tour is a brand new audio-visual odyssey that sees Microworlds come to life.
Regarding the tour, CloZee said, “One of my favorite parts of writing a new album is to tour with it and present the journey to an audience. When I play the songs live, new dimensions, new memories and experiences are created, for the listeners and for myself. I can’t wait to connect with the fans through this new audio-visual adventure.”
This is a song about being sick and tired of the endless machine that is TikTok and social media platforms. It comes off as judgmental because it is.
TikTok promotes a culture of one hit wonders, and while I support the artists on TikTok, it is a tool that really chews us artists up and spits us right out after we’ve had our moment of viral fame.
Listen to “7 Second Superstar” on streaming platforms everywhere now.
Watch the official music video on YouTube.
I wrote this song with the help of my fellow songwriters, Juliana Eye and Chloe Kay, who were both feeling exhausted by the expectations of performing on social media. We had a long conversation about how things were different in the ‘90s and ‘00s before social media existed, channeled our best blink-182 vibe, and two hours later we had this song!
“20 million streams leads to nothing
just enough to buy yourself a big mac”
Despite being worn out by all of these expectations that come with being a modern artist, I would still pick this career path every time. I’m just working to become more than a “7 Second Superstar” that’s worth hearing.
Thank you for slowing down with me,
Sam Casey
Brooklyn-based, Italian-born alt-pop artist Birthh announces her cinematic, kaleidoscopic third studio album Moonlanded due out September 8 and available for pre-order now. Alongside the announcement, Birthh shares the sunny, lovestruck track and video “Jello” out everywhere now. On the latest feel-good track, Birthh dives headfirst into a sweeping new crush.
The forthcoming Odyssean LP Moonlanded invites listeners into Birthh’s world, where she revisits her childhood in the Tuscan countryside after unexpectedly starting a new life in Brooklyn. “When COVID hit it just felt like it was gonna be over in a couple months, I ended up not going back home for 2 and a half years. A lot of life happened in that timespan.” Over ten tracks, the rising alt-pop artist makes space for herself to begin to process the life-altering last three years, who she is now, and who she wishes to become. Birthh calls the project “warm, open, and ambitious” and adds, “This is my journey into what it feels like to be a sensitive human in their 20s in the 2020s, through all the pressure coming from within and from the world we were left with. Landing is finding a way to stay present and to love the process, it’s about creating space for ourselves and realizing that each of us is the protagonist in our own story.”
Moonlanded was written, recorded, and produced alongside collaborator London O’Connor in Birthh’s apartment studio, appropriately named The Moonbase. Never one to shy away from emotions, Birthh proudly wears her heart on her sleeve throughout the project, discovering what it means to truly be alive today. Birthh says, “We feel so much and so deeply. We feel the triumph of being alive as much as we feel the struggle that comes with it. All at once.” She adds, “This album is my mom. It’s my dad. It’s my love. It’s my home. It’s the grounding force of gravity and the dreams of escaping it.”
In her newest track, “Jello” out today, Birthh shares a groovy glimpse inside her heart. Eager to give love to all around her, and to her brand new, all-encompassing crush, Birthh says, “I want to show you that part of me, I want to show you what it feels like to grow up in a place like Tuscany and to carry it in your heart. That’s how I want to love you.” Sonically, Birthh adds, “The string section in this song is how you make me feel. Feeling like I’m cruising over Italy on a warm sunny day.”
Returning with an amorphous, shapeshifting new single – JO BARTLETT – is pleased to present “Floating Through”.
WATCH “FLOATING THROUGH” VIDEO HERE || STREAM ON SPOTIFY HERE
A dream-pop song all about insomnia, the new solo track from the It’s Jo & Danny and Green Man festival founder is one filled with paradoxes and peculiarities.
Written during the heatwave of last summer, “Floating Through” completes a trilogy of new releases from Bartlett, including “I Don’t Want To Hear Any More Music” and “I Waited A Year”; all of which were driven and inspired-by a bout of sleep deprivation. As Jo explains:
“My insomnia is something I wear like a badge of honour now. It started when Danny and I were starting the Green Man Festival – in those days it was along the lines of, sitting bolt upright at 4am going ‘Have we got enough toilets?!’. These days, it just comes along and pays me a visit seemingly for no apparent reason every now and again. Like an old friend who gets on your nerves a bit but you know them well and take an odd solace in their company… The lyrics for “Floating Through” were inspired when I asked someone I work with if they noticed I hadn’t been sleeping. She replied ‘Some days it did look like you weren’t all there.’”
Caribbean, London based, and West Yorkshire born multi-disciplinary artist Albertina releases her stand out EP Waiting 4 Life.
Combining heavily produced synths, harmonies, stunning vocal samples and distorted sounds Albertina effortlessly blends genres in a project influenced by classical, Garage and Grime. Produced by Albertina and Jacob Samuel, the five track EP also featuring remixes of “Angel” by Harry Rodger and “isitluv” by Chamber45 takes inspiration from the likes of Sampha and Burial. With emotive lyrics throughout on ‘Being’ Albertina sings “What if we’re not meant to be here what if I don’t know who we are” as she reflects on life and its purpose. Picking up the tempo ‘Living Without You’ fuses glitchy production with further reflective lyrics as Albertina’s honeyed vocals sing “And if it’s hard to find a path, turn to the past, its everlasting”. Continuing the raw and vulnerable mood of the EP, ‘Angel’ delves into her connection to those who have passed including her grandmother and late father (from the famous reggae band Black Slate). Throughout the EP Albertina beautifully reflects on loneliness, and escapism.
With an accompanying music video spanning across the entire EP, Albertina is seen in rural Scotland waiting at a bus stop and journeying naked across mountains, forests and beaches draped in nothing but a silk green cloak, hand sewn by her mother. Embodying Albertina’s personal journey through grief, domestic violence, and addiction Waiting 4 Life represents the cycle of life showcasing Scottish woodlands near her parents’ house that have since been cut down as well as her bereaved dog, Wolfie. Bringing together internationally acclaimed director Delphino,(Potter Payper,Nia Archives) Molly Daniels (Nilufer Yanya) and Alexandre De Oliveira, the visuals seamlessly marry the ethereal beauty of the natural world and the future of technology.
Talking on the EP as a whole Albertina tells us: “I wrote ‘Waiting 4 Life’ in the middle of lockdown, when I was stuck between a house share in Deptford and my mum and stepdad’s house in rural Scotland. The project is very personal to me, at points during that time I felt lifeless, and needed a connection to a higher power, so the music was a calling to spirits for guidance and protection. I was also heartbroken so love was on my mind, my wondering and overthinking are what created the layers to this imperfect creation. In contrast to me running naked through nature, for the end of the project we projected visuals next to Russell Square Station, it felt truly iconic. For me ultimately ‘Waiting 4 Life’ is a personal philosophical adventure, exploring our obvious and vulnerable connection to nature and technologies magic. I wanted to show a dystopian universe that is both enchantingly derived whilst being imperfect and natural, visually and sonically.”
FAKE A SMILE IMPRESS AGAIN ON ‘DON’T STOP’// WATCH THE VIDEO HERE
Having gained acclaim from areas such as The Line Of Best Fit, 10 Magazine, Fashionably Early and more on sunbleached debut single Prom Dress, rising Bouremouth based trio Fake A Smile once again stand out from the pack with attention grabbing second single, Don’t Stop. Taken from their upcoming debut EP Shoot Me To The Moon, the track sees them connect again with Mercury Award winning producer Gianluca Buccellati ( Arlo Parks,Biig Piig) on a grit-pop offering showcasing a more sombre tone than their summer ready debut. Speaking on the track, the band state:
“Don’t Stop” delves into the less breezy and more dark, grittier sound of our record collection. Topically current, the single channels new fangled cross-atlantic inspirations from the likes of early Verve and BRMC to the early aughts scenes of ‘meet me in the bathroom’.
Following their acclaimed 2021 debut album Black Light, Brooklyn, NYC’s Dakota Jones are set to release their follow up Heartbreakers Space Club on June 2nd, expanding on their established soulful sound.
While their previous full-length found itself in old school grooves and sensibilities, the new album from Dakota Jones has one foot firmly in the future. Interestingly, Heartbreakers Space Club acts as a return to the band’s roots, experimenting and genre-bending as was the journey across a string of EPs and singles released prior to Black Light. Nevertheless, the retro stylings remain present on the new record with slick rhythms and organ keys while allowing room for the band to add futuristic elements to their sound, complete as ever with the powerhouse vocals of Tristan Carter-Jones. On heavy rotation during recording were the iconic Ziggy Stardust album by David Bowie, as well as D’Angelo’s discography and early Prince, an intriguing mix of music providing inspiration that can be heard throughout the album, yet still delivering the unwavering and uncensored confidence as well as a whole lot of joy that comes solely from Dakota Jones.
‘Heartbreakers Space Club – doubling as both something celestial and a place that you hold for yourself, is where you lose yourself to find yourself, break yourself down to build back up into the most authentic version of you. One moment you’re sitting in a dark corner of the bar smoking a cigarette, gazing out of the window into a candy pink sky, the next moment all of the walls disappear and you’re floating in the middle of nothing, weightless and without a care. Let it take you there.’ – Tristan Carter-Jones
Kicking off this cosmic journey is the intense psychedelia of ‘Moon Song’, introducing this new guise of Dakota Jones on a wild ride to another planet, accompanied by scuzzy guitars that suddenly drop and make way for a spoken word outro. Then it’s onto recent single ‘Misbehave Me’, gently overflowing with charisma and sensuality. As described by the band, ‘If Moon Song is the landing, Misbehave Me is exiting the ship, a stranger in a strange and glorious land. It’s a moment of self-discovery and exploration in a world beyond your wildest imagination.’
Also within this flirtatious realm is lead single ‘Sugar Pie’, a slice of smooth funk that serves up a whole lot of fun with a raised eyebrow and crooked grin, celebrating the joy of love and ‘giving me sweet songs since day one’. ‘Feel Something’ raises the temperature higher, with Carter-Jones’ vocals soaring as the tune slinks along in a slow groove then explodes at the moment a saxophone enters the mix.
Emerging East London based singer KAE SERA blends modern day electro-pop with sounds from the 50’s and 60’s to create something which is both unique yet familiar. Originally from Liverpool, the artist grew up in a city rich in musical heritage, exposed to the nostalgic soundscapes of the bands that made the city famous. These sounds subliminally fed her musical appetite, giving her music a vintage haze and maturity. With a fascination for literature and poetry, her songs provide a captivating, storytelling experience, pulling you into her world.
Her latest single “Past Tense” documents the fading memories of a once cherished relationship, where one person is left with an overwhelming sense of inadequacy. Reflecting on how the love that was once shared gradually becomes mere words that describe a long lost state of being, and a distant past that can never be relived. The artist shares, “My music is often about weighing up contradictory emotions and holding the good and the bad together.”
“Past Tense” sees KAE SERA’s electronic approach evolve. Having started its conception in the Balearics, the artist found inspiration in the beat of chillout moments at sunset. Written in Ibiza, mixed and recorded in France and released from England, the song’s unique blend of influences from different cultures and locations emphasises the beauty in how music can create its own universal language.
Hot off the heels of their recent international Milk & Honey Tour, Canadian alt-rockers Rare Americans have announced their new studio album, Searching for Strawberries: The Story of Jongo Bongo. The album, which is set to be released in three parts — Act I on June 5th, Act II on June 19th, and Act III on July 7th — spotlights the band’s masterful storytelling as they share the transformative tale of their bass player Jongo Bongo where he ditches the typical 9-5 grind and evolves from corporate puppet to international rockstar.
Marking Rare American’s first release this year, Searching for Strawberries: The Story of Jongo Bongo takes listeners on a trip around the world, making them question their own life’s path as Jongo ditches the rat race of corporate life and exchanges it for a journey of self-discovery on the Santiago De Camino, a 500 mile expedition through Spain. The project highlights the band’s transcendent rhythms and captivating lyricism with a crooked narrative as they prove they are not afraid to show how they really feel, evident by their strong language and raw emotions. The album is available now for pre-sale here.
Since debuting in 2018, Rare Americans have released four full lengths including their sophomore album, Rare Americans 2, which landed them on Billboard’s Top 100 chart and features their JUNO-award winning song “Brittle Bones Nicky,” their most listened to track to date at over 131 million global streams. 2021’s Jamsey Boy and The Screw Loose Zoo features a collaboration with two-time GRAMMY nominee and Netflix’s Rhythm N’ Flow winner, D Smoke, on their track “Rhythm Kitchen” along with a variety of skits and demos on the album’s deluxe version, providing the band the opportunity to place a focus on more of their personality and natural talent. Elsewhere in their catalog, the Vancouver natives have released a string of singles including their original song “Back Up Plan” which can be heard on the Scoob! soundtrack alongside various contributions from Charlie Puth, Thomas Rhett, Jack Harlow, Kane Brown, Ava Max, and more.
Led by an intoxicating bass line, The Janitor is an exquisite teaser ahead of DEWEY’s new album ‘Worry Less’ which will follow on the 26th of May.
Born from reflecting from the inside out, the track is a reminder to practice self care and to keep looking forward. Sharing more DEWEY explained: Taking care of yourself and your dreams, like a factory, the inner workings of your soul, the process of creating something new and oiling your dreams to function. Not projecting onto others and depending on them to make you feel better, it’s up to you to go deeper. Learning to trust myself and my intuition beyond the thick smoke and loud machines.
The Janitor follows DEWEY’s latest, illuminating offering ‘Trees and Telephone Lines’ which we were treated to at the end of last year. Touching on the feeling of being the odd one out and feeling out of place Trees and Telephone Lines came as a soothing reminder that you’re not alone. Watch the video HERE & Listen HERE
‘Another Woman’ was DEWEY’s first release since 2021. Dropping in October last year, it was a gorgeous ode to unspoken connections that was accompanied by this captivating video Watch it HERE
With the last few years bringing immeasurable challenges, DEWEY has taken stock, evolved her craft and grown to new levels. Her new material is self produced and written in her home in Norfolk which brings another dimension to get to know from this exciting one of a kind solo artist.
With threads of DEWEY’s past in her new work, touching back to her two part album ‘Soller Pt. 1 (2020) & Soller pt.2 (2021) still remains a relevant body of work and a timeless display of her unfolding sound. Her early music saw her working with the likes of Speedy Wunderground’s Dan Carey, which has allowed for her to develop her ethereal sound, landing her on the cusp of fantasy and reality.
SPANISH LOVE SONGS, have revealed details on their upcoming new album ‘No Joy’ – the highly anticipated follow up to 2020’s critically acclaimed ‘Brave Faces Everyone’. ‘No Joy’ will be released on August 25, 2023 via Pure Noise Records.
Today, the band also release the first single and music video for “Haunted”, which can be seen on YouTube HERE. The track carries the saltwater-kissed vignetting of an Asbury Park summer, awash in Boss-inspired nostalgia and percussive acoustic guitar that build to some of the band’s biggest hooks yet. The video, directed by Hannah Hall, is a quirky view into a bar-band scene where everyone’s just looking for a good time.
“Haunted is a reintroduction of sorts for us,” explains vocalist and guitarist Dylan Slocum. “It lays out exactly the band we are at the moment, and after 9 months of writing and recording we knew it had to be the first to come out. We were ecstatic to bring it to life with Hannah”
YAOUNDÉBOXINGCLUB releases stunning collaboration with tmdistant // LISTEN HERE
Fresh off her debut EP I Thought I Knew You, Boy Was I Wrong which has received significant editorial support on Spotify— with “Carry Me Away (I Wanna Feel)” and “When the Movie Ends” being added to New Music Friday UK, Our Generation, Fresh Finds, Fresh Finds: UK & IE and an alternative future, singer-songwriter and producer YAOUNDÉBOXINGCLUB isn’t slowing down yet as she unveils her new single, “Did It My Way”, a stunning collaboration with Essex-based alternative artist tmdistant.
Built over an upbeat indie pop production by Song Higginson, the triumphant song explores the importance of self-worth.
“I guess I’m a nice person who always tries to help others out when I can and even when I can’t sometimes, and that really hasn’t worked out in my favour. People tend to take advantage of that and I know it. I used to let it slide, until recently, when I realised that I wouldn’t get where I want in life if I didn’t put myself first. This song is about that realisation.” — YAOUNDÉBOXINGCLUB.
Citing John Mayer, The 1975, Valley, SZA and Paramore as some of her influences, YAOUNDÉBOXINGCLUB’s emotionally-driven indie pop songs built over vibrant productions have amassed over a quarter of a million streams on Spotify alone since December 2019.
She is characterised by her wavy productions, poetic lyrics and warm voice. Based in both the UK and France, MJ (as some of her friends call her) defines herself by not defining herself and her music, letting her creativity flow and not limiting herself to a specific genre of music. Writing, producing and mixing all of her music, she wants her music to speak for herself and represent who she is: a free spirit.
Email: neill@outloudculture.com
