Melbourne-based rapper and producer Charchi goes hard at the club on his new single "GO". "The track is centred around a girl I'm infatuated with and the excessiveness that comes with a big night out," he says. His voice will have you nodding and humming along as he lays down the bars over metallic arps, kickin' bass and trap hats. Charchi will also be following up with a release called "Casino" that "marks the evolution of my sound, it led me to push my boundaries and stress my versatility as an artist". We look forward to hearing it!
Canadian indie band Fake Shark have just released their sophomore album "Walking Through A Fantasy". The fifth track "Smile" has an infectious groovy energy with funky distorted organs and vocals, a lovely melody in the bridge and dancey percussion and bass throughout. Frontman Kevvy wrote of the song: "Smile is a song about not trusting yourself romantically anymore because of your past, and so you are now cautious when you meet a new person. It's like a challenge to the new person you meet to live up to the version of themselves that they're portraying."
Scottish five-piece band Dancing on Tables' song "Colour Me Good" is filled with catchy melodies and positive indie pop energy, opening with a drum solo and showing off some lovely vocals. You can hear the Scottish accent coming through on the lines: "I know so much about you, but I want to know more. I can't get you off my mind". The lads are school mates who formed in the last year of school and they named themselves after arriving at a show and realising fans were well, dancing on tables. They wrote: "I think CMG is the most fun song we have written and brings out a new, less-serious side of us. The 'Space Race' EP tackles more serious and melancholy topics, but we thought this is the perfect track to encapsulate summer, and begin the release of our music."
We recently joined Indientry and a host of other great music bloggers to battle it out over which artist had the best album of 2018. Read all about it here.
LA-based producer NGHTMRE has teamed up with duo Big Gigantic on their new single "Like That". Big Gigantic formed in 2008 combining the talents of saxophonist/producer Dominic Lalli and drummer Jeremy Salken and creating their unique sound blending EDM with live instruments. Along with NGHTMRE they bring fantastic horns and style to this absolutely groovin' dance track. NGHTMRE wrote: "Looked up to the Big Gigantic guys for a long time! Honored to be able to write some music together. I'm really happy with how it turned out! Hope you guys enjoy this one."
UK-based songstress Gabrielle has released her first ever Christmas song covering Donny Hathaway's This Christmas, a favourite of hers. Her gorgeous voice is sure to bring smiles and warmth to you and your kin this Christmas as she faithfully and beautifully renders this 70's classic. Gabrielle has enjoyed a long and successful career after making an impressive debut in 1993, breaking the record for the highest chart debut by a female with her single "Dreams" which rose to the number 1 spot. And she sure has character with her rich textured voice and visually striking eyepatch. Later, multi-platinum artist Adele would reveal she used to wear an eyepatch as a child impersonating Gabrielle who was one of her favourite singers growing up. Gabrielle's passion for music has never ceased and she will be touring again in March-April next year. Before her tour in 2016 she said, "Im so grateful that after 23 years I still have the chance to perform and record, It's what I know and what I love, when i said Dreams can come true, I wasn't wrong!"
For more, check out this cool interview with Gabrielle in the Guardian recently.
Danish producer Fabian Mazur has teamed up with LA-based vocalist Zac Poor for their new single "Settle". The track has a fantastic electronic pop come R&B sound featuring lush synths, soulful vocals and lovely falsetto from Zac Poor. Poor burst onto the scene in 2010 with his EP "Let's Just Call It Heartbreak", a collaboration with Glee producer Adam Anders. Mazur has seen support for his tracks and remixes from the likes of Martin Garrix, Tiesto, Afrojack, and networks Trap Nation and Spinnin' Records. He's always been involved with music from a young age with his parents being career jazz musicians who tour to this day. Mazur has a number of releases planned for 2019 so keep an ear out!
Get lost amongst the Nordic mountains and fjords with Western Scandinavian indie band Sail By Summer's debut single "Low Tide Exit". Their music is inspired by the nature around them. Lovely folky guitar and vocals lead the song like a guiding light. It's perfect for relaxing on a Sunday afternoon. They've followed up with a shining (despite its name) new single too called "Facing Dullness" - check that out here. Free downloads are available on their SoundCloud.
After bursting onto the scene mid-way through the year with their double sided single featuring "Love Better" and "Let Go", and recently headlining the prestigious "It's A School Night" showcase in LA, indie rock duo KidEyes have followed up with another fantastic single called "Take Me Back In Time". The track has a wonderfully warm sunkissed and cinematic sound played by multi-instrumentalist Ben Epand underneath soaring, nostalgic vocals from Greg Cahn. Cahn said: "The song lyrically came from a day feeling a bit stale - A Day when you feel vulnerable to your situation, and waste the whole day pointing a finger and being nostalgic. It's kinda like a love letter to yourself (or someone close) that never gets sent. Ben and I had a session that day, and the song kinda wrote itself."
The day after releasing her first live album "Lady Powers Live At The Forum" recorded on tour, Sydney-based artist Vera Blue released a fantastic new pop single called "All The Pretty Girls". Her silvery vocals draw you in over smooth production and the song begs you to turn the volume up and sing along. She wrote the song with some friends while in LA and was eager to share it as soon as she got back to Australia.
"I'm always listening to a lot of Fleetwood Mac so the song was written [with] super Fleetwood Mac-y vibes," says Blue. "I feel like a lot of people can probably connect to it because it's kind of a self-protection song... It's a cheeky play on stereotypes, the whole idea of judging a book by its cover. It's kind of cruel and not really my vibe, but when you like someone or [are] attracted to someone you're like ooh, ok that person looks like they're a player-heartbreaker; makes all the girls cry. All the pretty girls meaning all girls in general because all girls are pretty." [...]