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| Photo - Dewi Veldhhuizen |
Acclaimed Dutch folk artist Gitta de Ridder released ‘Heroes For a Day’ on May 23rd, the final single taken from her upcoming record N(i)e(u)w Land due out on June 20th. Produced by Jonatan Backelie and released on her independent label Little Memories Records with an album launch at the Green Note the same month, ‘Heroes For a Day’ is an insight into the themes of self-acceptance, longing, grief and change on this personal yet universal collection of works.
Built around a gentle, fingerpicked guitar and delicately layered string arrangements, ‘Heroes For a Day’ offers a sparse yet emotionally resonant soundscape that merges folk-rooted storytelling with a pop-leaning lightness. Gitta’s double-tracked vocals bring an intimate immediacy, inviting listeners in: “It’s about the magic of everyday life, the beauty of sharing moments of joy and play, even amidst heavier feelings.... A commitment to always return to life's lighter side while also embracing the dark.”
Created in the midst of profound life changes - becoming a mother, grieving the passing of her father, and navigating a world in the aftermath of lockdown - N(i)e(u)w Land is a deeply introspective and healing body of work. Recorded in her home studio between feeds and first steps, it reflects both the fragility and resilience of life. “The songs speak of longing, of hope, of getting in touch with all of ourselves; our scars, our hurt, our joy and our playfulness,” says Gitta. “The light and the dark. The duality of life.”
While previous records were self-produced, acoustic and more traditionally folk, a new collaboration with Jonatan Bäckelie as producer sees Gitta skillfully crossing the boundaries from modern folk and new acoustics to pop while maintaining a distinctive and recognisable sound. Where poetic lyrics meet the honesty and rawness of folk music, she adds a lightness and pop edge without losing sight of meaning and authenticity.
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| Photo - Aabid Youssef |
Common Holly - Terrible hands.
Montreal-based singer-songwriter Brigitte Naggar (aka Common Holly) has announced her new album, Anything glass, set for release on June 13 via Keeled Scales and Paper Bag Records. Naggar describes the forthcoming record as "intimate, full of silence and space, warm, gentle, and sometimes spiky." The impressive range of genres and moods she explores on Anything glass showcases her masterful skill as a songwriter, musician, and storyteller.
Now, following the quietly powerful hum of “Aegean blue” and the playful vulnerability of “Enough,” Common Holly shares “Terrible hands,” a delicate, piano-driven jazz-pop fusion. The track features a twinkling piano melody played by Naggar herself, alongside her signature soft, layered vocals. Midway through, the song breaks into a repeated chorus “Are we made of plastic or of stone?” and “Are we still together on our own?”—before returning to a jazzier deep bass section, reminiscent of Norah Jones’ soulful sound.
The accompanying video, directed by experimental media artist and filmmaker Ana-Maria Trudel, plays with shadowy hand imagery and multimedia snapshots of Naggar from shifting perspectives and landscapes. On the video, Trudel explains, "I was thinking of the sun faded quality of an old newspaper left on the dashboard - images that get prettier when they are forgotten. I wanted this video to feel nostalgic and delicate like a private journal entry you never meant to show anyone. We ended up using a lot of the b-roll to stitch this video poem together which gave it an intimate fly on the wall feel."
Brigitte Naggar on the track, "One of my oldest songs on the record, Terrible hands is a reflection on our place as humans on a planet in decline, as part nature and part consumer, and on the ways we carry shame for choices we have made both knowingly and unknowingly. I always think of the bloodstained hands of Lady Macbeth. I loved working with Ana-Maria on a video that gives us this contrast between black and white brutalism and enjoying a nice day in the park."
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South London experimental soul artist McCabe returns this week with ‘Days Of Heaven,' the second single from his debut LP Sunset Boulevard. The track builds off of the momentum created by the April 11th release of ‘Vicious’, the first single on the genre-defying album.
Drenched in sunshine and soul, ‘Days of Heaven’ captures summer romance in musical form. Masterfully weaving rich Motown textures with contemporary pop sensibilities, McCabe sites Amy Winehouse’s ‘Valerie’ as the track’s architectural blueprint, a reference he reverently describes as "one of the great modern pop songs.” Driven by crisp percussion and uplifting melodies, the chorus soars with choir-like harmonies that spark joy and nostalgia, yet beneath its bright exterior lies a hint of melancholy, giving depth to its carefree vibe.
"I wanted to create a song with a world that was feel-good and summery as a form of escapism for the listener," McCabe explains. "Days Of Heaven is a summer holiday love story with a dreamy narrative. Lyrically it is a rarity for me because it has a story-like quality to it, like a novel. It is about love at first sight and the excitement and romance of it all, with a hint of the impending expiry of this feeling."
The track strikes a perfect balance between mainstream appeal and artistic vision, evoking George Michael and Anderson .Paak while McCabe's vocals channel elements of Justin Timberlake and Thee Sacred Souls. The spirit of Marvin Gaye resonates throughout, creating something fresh yet timeless. Working with acclaimed producer Patrick James Fitzroy (Sorry, Katy J Pearson, PVA), McCabe transformed the original concept. "We reworked the structure using Valerie as a reference. The final version turned out quite different from the demo," he explains – a creative evolution that birthed this irresistible summer anthem.
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It's been five years since we last featured Charlie Nieland, then with his band Lusterlit who we got very excited about. Now we have a solo offering ahead of a new EP, and based on the track Drown, we can get all excited again - this sounds very good! NYC-based producer indie music veteran Charlie Nieland presents his new single 'Drown', a stunning reverb-laced offering and the first taste of his forthcoming 'The Ocean Understands' EP, set for release on June 20. The expansive and visceral music video was directed by NYC-based multi-faceted artist Hypnodoll.
"The track 'Drown' was inspired by Monique Vescia's book 'Hole In The Sky', which I read for the Bushwick Book Club songwriter series in 2021. It depicts a dark world, where an authoritarian won the US presidential election of 2020. So I made this mythical tale from the past, told in the future, where all the stories are jumbled up - a celebration of destruction," says Charlie Nieland.
"Of course, it all feels quite prescient as we sift through our present wreckage, searching for grace in the violent forces underneath. It's a white-hot psychedelic siren song with an oceanic undertow."
It's been four years since Nieland released his 2021 widely acclaimed ‘Divisions’ with its sweeping melodies and restless rhythms. Renowned for tastefully blending post punk, dream pop and progressive rock, he has been writing, playing and producing music for decades, with a focus on the atmospheric and the imaginative.
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| Photo - Paris Williams |
Lloyd & The Leftovers are bringing a classic sound into the new age with ‘Tried It On Tuesday’, an indie folk song released yesterday Friday, May 23rd, influenced by the American folk revival.
A five-piece folk rock band from Walyalup (Western Australia), Lloyd & the Leftovers are set on bringing the sounds of indie-folk americana to Australian shores. With their performances at festivals like Nungarin Festival and the City of Fremantle Winter Festival, album and single features on radio station RTRFM, and their sold out headline shows at the Buffalo Club and Clancy's Fish Pub, it’s clear their fanbase is eager and growing, and with their electric, energetic live shows and character-packed DIY recordings, it’s clear why.
‘Tried It On Tuesday’ is the culmination of their creative nature: a hopeless romantic’s ode to their creative partner. With a fitting vocal twang and skilfully plucked guitar, the song conveys an atmosphere both wistful and hopeful. The clear, open vocals and perfectly balanced mixing let the lyrics of the song really shine, along with the story within them.
This song is a cathartic look into the challenges that can come with a relationship with a creative collaborator, and the phase where the collaboration stops flowing as easily as it used to. The song acknowledges that it’s something that might be hard, and might be more trouble than it’s worth, but that it’s something neither of them are willing to give up on, so the cycle begins anew, hanging onto the past while time marches on.
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