Based around a rip-roaring electric guitar riff, Australian country artist PHIL brings us the rock! You know what the world needs more of? Guitar solos. And this track doesn't disappoint, something that's even more impressive considering he only started learning and playing 3 years ago. His lyrics tell of heartbreak and trying to drown the sorrow, with only his guitar as his trusted partner. He plans to take his guitar on tour through Nashville after the release of his debut EP later this year.
Zine Yaala brings us a tense, sparse electronic track about "getting your revenge on your enemies and becoming 'the mean guy'". Co-produced with Iggy Jai, Yaala clevery switches out the typical finger-click percussion used in pop songs for something more aggressive that sounds like a fist hitting a palm. Although the production is quite minimal, it packs lot of power in its restraint, with a palpable feeling that something intense and bad could happen at only a moment's notice. This is particularly pronounced in the outro section that begins at 2:31. Yaala sings alongside SAME, their passionate vocals echoing over the dark soundscape.
The fashionable Yaala is Morroccan, Canadian, Vietnamese, speaks French (which you can hear him whisper seductively at the end of the track) and graduated from Abbey Road Studios in London. You might have also seen him on The Voice France 2018.
Our second album Fearless is now open for submissions! We're looking for artists around the world to be creative and let us know what Fearless means to them! To us, it's not the absence of fear, but the conquering of it. We want to hear exciting, forward-thinking sounds, particularly electronic tracks, as well as pop, alt pop, rap/hip hop, rock and a variety of other styles. We'd love to close out the album with a cinematic score!
Submissions are due by Feb 3rd 2020 and must be original, unreleased tracks. There's more information on our Releases page. Check it out and let us know if you'll be submitting so we can keep you in the loop!
Sam Reed charms us with his vocals and acoustic guitar skills on his new single "Short Guy". The track has a chill, lofi hip hop and bedroom pop vibe, written about: "rejecting the mainstream expectations of monetary wealth and physical beauty, while putting more weight on bettering oneself on a deeper level, through meaningful relationships and a drive to leave a positive mark on the world."
Reed has quite an environmental, socially conscious attitude which comes through in his songs and projects. In July he released "Honeydew Moon", showcasing some of his lovely raspy vocals over acoustic for a climate change focused short film by renowned nature cinematographer Roger Fishman - see more here. Check out Reed's Instagram for more.
Lonney Love's new single "Waiting 4 U" opens like a movie trailer soundtrack. It's a captivating, beautiful ballad with a melody and feel that would translate as a love song in any language. And over the music, the Jamaican born, Caymanian artist's soft vocals soar showing an impressive range and control. The track is the first single from his upcoming EP, stay tuned!
Love wrote of the song: "I believe that no matter the individual, we all understand that feeling of waiting and wishing for something. To me, true love is one of the greatest gifts to receive, especially when you feel like you’ve been waiting what seems like forever. The concept of this song came to me when I met my wife but has since evolved to mean so much more as we create our family and experience the ups and downs of life and its many journeys."
Working with Nicolosi & Mesto, Australian producer Throttle has released the dreamy second single from his upcoming debut EP "Where U Are", out Oct 11th. With warm synth textures and lovely vocals the track builds to a chilled drop over bouncy bass (he's from Melbourne after all!) He wrote on Facebook: "It is about the worlds within us and feeling lost in them." The talented producer has collaborated with Galantis and Oliver Heldens, performed at Tomorrowland and officially remixed Ed Sheeran, all before his 21st birthday. He's been touring constantly the past two years and next month he's set to play through four states in the U.S. Keep an ear out from him, he's on the rise!
Producers Misfit Massacre and Urbanstep have teamed up with rapper and fine weed junkie Peter Piffen to bring us their bangin' new dubstep single "Blowin' Smoke". The atmosphere is lit, the vocals are strong and the drop will kick you back in your seat. The trio hail from Germany, Latvia and the U.S. respectively. Misfit Massacre, a.k.a. Hannes Schütz, recently featured on albums by labels Interval Audio and Odio alongside the likes of Dala, Audioweapon and Ace Aura. He is also part of dubstep duo We Killed Hannah with Gerwin Kiesinger, and has a more chill side-project called Catch a Cold. Urbanstep has shared the stage with the likes of Pendulum, Feint and Muzzy, and if you'd like to hear sneak peaks of new music from him, check out his Facebook page.
Alt/hip hop/EDM artist Peter Piffen often produces music with Larry Ohh with whom he's part of the duo Loppside. Their track "Shots for Errbody" has seen almost a million streams on Spotify since its release in 2017. Piffen's popular recent previous collaboration with Urbanstep, "Take Apart The Sky", helped his solo project rise further into the spotlight this year. He also owns an alligator. Check out his Instagram for more!
Indie singer/songwriter Kira Alejandro sings to her boyfriend on "Oh Michael", the second track from her debut EP "Stone Cold Killer". The track has a sweet, well-crafted melody interspersed with dark-tinged flourishes reflecting her bittersweet vocals. Aside from her delightfully indie vocals, she also plays the piano and ukulele on the new EP. Speaking about the release on Facebook she wrote: "When I started this project, I never thought I'd finish it -- I have never been able to confidently release anything and feel that it was done justice before this." We're glad that she was able to get the EP to a place that she's happy with because we love it!
Duo FARR bring us a groovy new alt pop single called "Paranoid" led by soulful vocals over rich instrumentation including organ, sax and a sitar-like riff in the chorus. The duo have been working together since 2016 when they met during a studio session, and "Paranoid" is the first track in a string of new music from them that will feature on their forthcoming debut album due next year. Producer Linden Jay explains how the track came about on Facebook:
Vocalist Roméo elaborates further: "A couple years back Linden and I were in London around Glastonbury weekend. We hadn't seen each other in a few months and had a bunch of music to catch up on so we started a few new ideas. That same day my ex was going out with some of my friends for my best friend's birthday and I had this pit in my stomach that she was gonna try to sleep with one of them. I spent the whole night in the studio freaking out, checking my phone every five minutes, and Linden started playing this organ in his studio kitchen. We started going back and forth and ended up with 'Paranoid', which is essentially about my incessant day to day worrying. It's an anxiety anthem."
The vocals from lead singer Bilal Saab on boyband NorthKid's new break-up single "Done Fighting" shine brightly, showing off an impressive range. Underpinning the gorgeous vocals, the band have produced an uplifting, twinkling pop rock sound that builds to a big chorus. NorthKid actually earned the title: "the world's northern-most boyband" with their previous release, hailing from the town of Alta in Norway, close to the North Cape. Bilal wrote: "This is my favorite song so far in my career. It's about letting go of the relationship of your life even though you are not ready for it."