Vera Ellen - Jesse Roper - The Dollyrots - North Riding - Sofia Memphis - The Dibs

Vera Ellen - When It's Over (ft. Hemi Hemingway).

The second single from Vera Ellen's upcoming album Heaven Knows What Time is out! When It's Over features a brooding vocal performance from fellow Wellington musician Hemi Hemingway. The two had previously torn through a karaoke classic by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood, and the chemistry was undeniable. 

Mixed and produced by Vera's long-time collaborator Ben Lemi, Heaven Knows What Time is both a question and an answer — an expression of frustration and a surrender to what was never within her control. The new music video was directed by Daniel Fletcher, shot by Nick White, and made with the support of NZ on Air Music.

Named ‘Best Alternative Artist’ at the 2022 Aotearoa Music Awards, Wellington-based Vera Ellen is a rising star in Aotearoa's indie-rockscape. Vera is an expert when it comes to concise songwriting; every note and beat is exactly the required dose. Her albums are full of hooked-to-the-brim melodies, and guided by Vera’s clear, confident, and relaxed vocal presence.

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Artwork - Andrew McGranahan

Jesse Roper - Sweet Little Caroline.

Victoria, BC-based artist Jesse Roper returns with “Sweet Little Caroline,” an upbeat, infectious new single that blends blues swagger with a head-bobbing groove. Driven by feel-good energy and Roper’s signature guitar flair, the track transforms youthful memories and teenage romance into a catchy, knee-bouncing Americana anthem.

“I heard ‘Sweet Little Caroline’ as a stomp-clap blues boogie,” Roper explains. “While my producer Gus (van Go) heard it as a Beastie Boys inspired head-bob slowed down for the jeep people. We went all the way in that direction and I’m glad we did. Instead of just dancing to it with my arms, it gets to my knees and hips too.”

The story behind the song reaches back to Roper’s adolescence. Inspired by a relationship from that time, “Sweet little Caroline” captures the thrill of young love mixed with the awkward tension of parental disapproval. “I used to date this girl way back when I was a teenager,” he recalls. “Her dad thought I was no good whatsoever and he really went lengths to let me know. I’d get all excited to go pick her up for a night out and he’d put a damper on the excitement.”

While the relationship didn’t last, the memory stuck around long enough to spark the playful spirit of “Sweet Little Caroline.” The result is a song that pairs Roper’s blues-inflected Americana sound with a groove designed to get listeners moving. With its catchy rhythm, upbeat mood, and undeniable charm, the track captures the kind of feel-good momentum that defines Roper’s approach to songwriting.

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The Dollyrots - Attention Span.

Helmed by bassist/lead vocalist Kelly Ogden, guitarist/vocalist Luis  Cabezas, and touring drummer Simon Hancock, The Dollyrots are charging into spring with the release of their new single, “Attention Span,” via Wicked Cool Records. The track lands alongside the band’s Spring Break From Reality Tour, which launched March 12 in Minneapolis with Keep Flying supporting.

“Attention Span” continues The Dollyrots’ legacy of punchy, hook-driven pop-punk, pairing razor-sharp riffs with Ogden’s magnetic vocal delivery. The track balances grit and gloss with distorted guitars fueling the engine while melodies hit with sugar-rush velocity. 

"It’s easy to feel overwhelmed with the intensity and rate of information thrown our way every day in this modern life. Important connections with each other and the earth seem to get lost in the shuffle. ‘Attention Span’ is a happy-sounding song about the confusion we feel right now," shares Ogden.

Over the years, The Dollyrots have carved out a distinctive space in modern pop-punk with irresistible hooks, high-octane live shows, and a fiercely independent ethos. Their sound fuses classic punk attitude with choruses engineered for maximum crowd participation. 

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North Riding - Mustang.

North Riding's new single “Mustang” has just been released (13th March on Kycker). International award winning singer-songwriter Hayley Mckay and multi  instrumentalist/producer and singer songwriter David Neil Crabtree combine as ‘North Riding'. 

Following on from their 3 month USA tour - North Riding have played some of the biggest festivals in the North East of England, including main stage appearances at Hardwick Festival alongside the Pet Shop Boys and Olly Murs & Mouth of The Tyne Festival. They also performed two headline shows at Durham Fringe Festival and are performing at Lindisfarne festival this summer along with a UK tour later on in the year.

Legendary BBC presenter Bob Harris made North Riding his ‘New Horizon’ country artist of the week in October & played Frio River on BBC radio 2. A week earlier he had seen the band perform live at Rock N Raise in Newcastle alongside Kezia Gill & The Often Herd. 

North Riding’s debut single taken from their recent EP was inspired by the Frio River in Texas! So much so that they actually wrote the song in the Frio river itself. They found time for this between shows at Poodies Roadhouse (Owned by Willie Nelson’s manager) & a huge total eclipse party near Luckenbach Texas, held on a 3000 acre ranch which North Riding called home for several weeks. 

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Sofia Memphis - Goddess.

Sofia Memphis are a rhythm-driven rock band from Helsinki, Finland, built on tight interplay, the warmth of soul, and a strong sense of movement. Their songs carry the grit of garage rock and the touch of roots music. The heart is always in rhythm. Sofia Memphis draw influences freely from all directions and make them their own.

The debut single Goddess introduces the core of Sofia Memphis right away. It doesn’t stay in the background, it gets under your skin. There’s a kind of intensity and motion in the track that can raise goosebumps and pull you in before you even have time to think. The lyrics play with car imagery, while at the centre is a woman, a magnetic figure and a kind of motion that turns heads.

“Goddess is that day when you wake up feeling so incredible that buildings catch fire and people just collapse in front of you as you walk by. It’s a power song for those days when everything is right from the morning onwards, when the goddess is free, wild, irresistible and unbeatable,” says vocalist Foxy Trickster.

Behind the members’ stage names are familiar figures from Finland’s underground rock scene, the same people who have moved through clubs, bands and projects for well over twenty years, now finally in the same lane.

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The Dibs - Just for You (Album).

The five members of The Dibs have climbed many musical mountains and swam through numerous melodic waters, but they are young at heart. Although the band has been around since 2019, the current lineup is undoubtedly the definitive one, ready for musical happiness, success, fame, and a luxurious retirement! 

With their years of expertise and knowledge, they are the much-needed lifeblood and the heartwarming and hopeful seniors of the rhythm & blues, soul, and roots scene. With a drummer who has only just turned thirty, they can pack a punch like young lions!
 
No musical related style is foreign to them. Blues, soul, funky or jazzy grooves, gospel, a touch of country and a hint of blues rock. The album "Just For You" is full of it. Fifty minutes of pure organic music, made without electronics or artificial intelligence. Rhythm and Blues drenched in a hot soul sauce!

The Dibs · Just For You

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Lavinia Blackwall - The Subtheory - Red Telephone - Neev - Stay Lunar - Jesse Roper

Lavinia Blackwall - The Damage We Have Done.

Lavinia Blackwall’s work with prolific Glaswegian psych-folk outfit Trembling Bells has earnt her a reputation as one of the best voices in the scene, many critics have likened her singing prowess to that of Fairport Convention singer Sandy Denny. Along with Trembling Bells she has released seven full-length albums and performed as the backing band to folk legends Bonnie Prince Billy and The Incredible String Band’s Mike Herron. In 2020 she releases Muggington Lane End, her debut solo album released under her own name. In 2021, she and Laura J Martin released Wyndow, the debut self-titled album from their new psychedelic-pop project.

Now, Blackwall is releasing her new single ‘The Damage We Have Done’, a powerful dose of folk-rock and the sign of new things to come. Inspired by Percy Shelley’s ‘Ozymandias’, the single is about the brevity we have on this planet. “It’s about the fact that we can't take anything with us, hoping to leave behind something meaningful and the hope that one day we'll all meet again. The realisation that there is an environmental and spiritual consequence to the lives we choose to lead,” says Blackwall.

Recorded at ‘The Barn’, the studio Blackwall shares with her partner and producer Marco Rea at their home in Hardgate, Scotland. “We really went down the rabbit hole with this one,” says Blackwall, speaking of the recording process. “Strings, thumb piano, far too many guitar parts. I must have recorded the vocals about 60 times and was really struggling to get it right, but we got there eventually,” she says. “With the chord progressions and circular movement of the verses, the sound of it is very individual. I don't think it sounds like anything else out there right now”.

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The Subtheory - Cut To Black.

The Subtheory set out their stall early for a busy 2023 with an ethereal, atmospheric new single; Cut to Black.  Eerie piano leads you to floating, airy synths, jangling guitars laid upon a descending bass groove with Cate DeBu’s melancholy cautionary tale of a life spent playing the odds on both sides.  

There is an intriguing contrast between the sweet, dreamlike quality of the music and melodies juxtaposed with the harsh and slightly bitter tang of the lyrics. “There will be a certainty for those who like to bet..”

The Subtheory are building a head of steam as they springboard of a successful 2022 with a series of releases planned throughout Spring off the back of a number of live shows in the UK as well as mini European tour in early Summer. Cut to Black is available from today March 31st 2023 on their Bandcamp as well as Spotify, Amazon, Apple Music and more.

The Subtheory · The Subtheory - Cut To Black

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Red Telephone - Hollowing Out.

Hollowing Out, the debut album from Cardiff-based five-piece Red Telephone will be released on 31st March 2023. The dystopia-tinged album deals with themes of alienation, identity and monotony, as well as exploring contemporary social dilemmas such as the trappings of ambition in a saturated pop culture age, the pervasive nature of modern media and social media fatigue. Sonically, the band draw from an array of influences; ranging from Berlin-era Bowie, brooding synth-led film soundtracks such as Blade Runner and Uncut Gems, the art rock of Kate Bush and St Vincent, as well as modern electronic pop artists such as MGMT, Mitski and Tame Impala.

Speaking about the upcoming album, singer Declan Andrews said; While putting together ‘Hollowing Out’ we were really getting into synths; drawing quite a bit on brooding, synth-led film soundtracks like Blade Runner, Scarface and Uncut Gems. Part of this was out of necessity - it was the initial 2020 lockdown when I wrote most of the songs in my bedroom and I’d got my hands on emulations of classic synths which gave me free reign to really explore this territory of sounds. I also had the free time to watch and rewatch a lot of movies such as those just mentioned. All of this definitely crossed over with the band’s prior love of film, Bowie’s Berlin-era sound, his work with Iggy and albums like Little Dark Age by MGMT too.

Basically, those dystopian soundscapes that evoke a lot of mood and imagery. As a band we’ve been drawn to them for a while, especially since visiting Berlin and exploring Bowie’s stomping ground (quite run down and not very touristy areas) but also after playing Tallinn Music Week in 2019. The post-Soviet landscape was pretty striking in parts of Tallinn and we discovered bands like Molchat Doma for the first time, who were using synths and electronic elements in ways that got us excited and has definitely rubbed off on our approach since.

We really wanted to integrate these sounds and influences into a modern sounding record rather than just looking back though, so we spent a lot of time getting the bass and low end sounding as big and distinctive as possible - we were really influenced by the likes of Kendrick Lamar in this respect. Similarly, dystopian themes seem as relevant as ever; with the saturated and pervasive nature of modern media which the album explores lyrically, as well as topics like social media fatigue and alienation.

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Neev - The House.

Scottish indie-folk artist Neev has released new single ‘The House’ ahead of the release of her debut album, Katherine, on April 28th via Trapped Animal. Since the release of her debut single in 2019, Glaswegian artist Neev has built a reputation for discovering beauty in the small details. Katherine, a collection of intricate indie-folk songs that pack a lyrical punch. The album carries all of the trademark sounds of Neev’s previous releases; acoustic guitars, soaring string arrangements and layered backing vocals can be found throughout, but this time they’re bigger.

Every song on Katherine is tied to the idea of identity. “Each song explores the different facets of an individual,” explains Neev. “Them as someone’s child, someone’s sibling, someone’s partner. Someone as the gender (in my case, female) they identify as, someone as the job they do,” she continues.

New single, ‘The House’, was written from the point of view of someone who had big dreams but ignored those wants and now feels too old or past it to pursue them. The speaker finds themself trapped in a domestic setting - The House - and instead of feeling like it’s a place of comfort or joy, it's a place that traps her.

Of the single, Neev says: “When writing this song I certainly had in mind the stereotypical trope of a classic 50s housewife, stuck at home with a very prescribed set of tasks and interests they were allowed to explore. In this song, and in other songs on the album, I found myself exploring the woman’s relationship to art and their constraints within that. Historically, women with creative interests were often encouraged to explore those things as hobbies rather than occupations and I think this song touches on the idea that there existed a lot of women in history that weren’t able to explore who they truly were creatively due to societal constraints.”

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Stay Lunar - Distance.

Following on from earlier single, 'I Like It When You're around', Stay Lunar present their next in a long-line of fantastic singles, 'Distance'. It's been a long run to this point for Stay Lunar, but as the tracks keep coming out the sound gets tinges of a band nearing the fully formed and developed sound.

'Distance' has the sound they've carried so well through their career, the ever-so-present and versatile sonic that always feels like it could soundtrack a film, but there's something slightly more immediate and certainly more forthright about the band's latest offerings.

'Distance' is the launch pad of the band's much promised change in direction, not that it was needed, but chief writer in the band, Harry, has always intended to push the boundaries of the project and 'Distance' is the first real slice of Stay Lunar's take on the Are-These-Guys-Really-English sound.

Taking cues from their British contemporaries like Far Caspian & early stage SPINN, whilst nodding to the likes of Day Wave and The Drums further afield, Stay Lunar are offering a quintessentially British take on a much loved and revered sound. Of the track, singer Harry Leigh said: "Distance is a song about running away from your problems, and how it always catches up with you one way or another."

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Jesse Roper - Make It Work Out.

Based in Victoria, BC, Jesse Roper has amassed 11M+ streams on Spotify alone with his penchant for writing modern indie infused blues music and delivering bombastic live performances buoyed by his virtuosic guitar playing.

"Make It All Work Out" is the first of multiple energetic, fresh, soulful and r&b inspired tracks produced by famed JUNO-nominated producer Gus van Go. The forthcoming LP harkens the voices of JJ Cale, Leon Bridges, Alabama Shakes, while maintaining Roper's strong and unique expression in the genre.

The DNA of the new single is about how Roper recognizes that his life’s structure can make it difficult for someone to attach themselves to him in a way that feels like their dreams and goals are getting satisfied too.

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Alice Hubble - Big Little Lions - Jesse Roper - Gawain and the Green Knight - Rvrside - Lipstick Jodi

Alice Hubble - Power Play.

London-based synth-pop artist Alice Hubble has shared her comment on the #metoo movement in the form of new single ‘Power Play’ alongside news that her new album will be released later this year. Described as the work of ‘one lady at home with her enormous collection of synthesisers’, Alice Hubble mixes melancholic pop, layered vintage synths and elegant vocals, reminiscent of Ladytron, Ashra and Goldfrapp. 

Her debut album 'Polarlichter', inspired by the 70’s recordings of Tangerine Dream and Sally Oldfield was released in September 2019 to much critical acclaim. Earning the project support from the likes of BBC Radio 6 Music’s Lauren Laverne, Steve Lamacq and Gideon Coe as well as acts like Damo Suzuki, Advance Base, Pram and Beak> with whom she played live.

Where ‘Polarlichter’ offered a soundscape of pastoral solace, new single ‘Power Play’ is a much more direct offering. Written in March 2020, Alice found herself channeling a lot of anger into the single. “The track is my comment on what happens in a post #metoo world, once the worst offenders have been ‘cancelled’ and caught and the news stories have been had. Has something changed?  Does society move on and go to the next issue?” explains Alice. 

The song references the mass hex of Brock Turner, when witches around the world joined together to hex the Stanford swimmer convicted of sexual assault. “I am fascinated by this form of collective digital activism,” she says. “In honoring this, Power Play is the closest thing I’ve written to a protest song”. ‘Power Play’ wassout on 19th May on Happy Robots and is available to download and stream via all digital platforms, with a new album to follow this Autumn.

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Big Little Lions - Only A Friend Like You

Big Little Lions have been described as ‘a blissful marriage of new folk and sophisticated pop’. Prolific songwriting, infectious folk-pop style, and an offbeat, memorable live show. 

This award winning duo consists of Helen Austin and Paul Otten who, despite living thousands of miles apart, have found a way to connect and create music together. Despite being in two different countries, they have found common ground to share their message. Call it destiny, or call it fate, call it a necessary progression for these modern times. 

Helen lives in British Columbia, Canada and Paul lives in Cincinnati, OH. But the distance provides the necessity to create in a new way. Using technology as their ally and their differences as their strength.  Their monthy single releases are their way of getting through this pandemic while all the usual album cyle release plans don’t make sense anymore. Their music is jam-packed with emotion and tight harmonies, the sound of two people working side by side.

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Jesse Roper - Does Anybody Know.

Canadian rocker Jesse Roper continues to tease music from an upcoming album due later in 2021, dropping a serendipitous, Motown-infused new single, “Does Anybody Know” this week. Roper hit the studio earlier this year with JUNO nominated producer Gus Van Go (Arkells/Sam Roberts Band/The Stills) in Brooklyn, NY.

Discussing how the track came about Roper, notes, "It was kind of funny how the song came about. I’d been listening to a lot of Leon Bridges at the time and it was just a matter of time before I wrote something in that fashion. The song is about a guy who’s been dumped and is confused and looking for his ex all around town. I was in a relationship when I wrote it, so it had no particular meaning to me. But months later, after I got home from a long tour, my girlfriend met me at her door and informed me that she no longer wanted to be in a relationship with me. I was shocked and hurt and suffering from all those feelings. The song now felt like foreshadowing to my own future, and I was almost embarrassed to sing it.

But Gus loved it, and went straight to it. The song came together quickly and it was my introduction to his way of doing things,  which I immediately loved.  The tones were rich and the song ended up being really groovy. It was also the first song that Josh Dion played drums on. That guy is next level pro and my mind kind of blew watching him lay it down in one take.

It’s one of my favourites off the upcoming album. I’ve since played it to the girl who broke up with me. She loves it too. And now we’re actually back together. Maybe because she liked the song. I don’t know."

“Does Anybody Know” follows the March single “Horizons,” showcasing a new side to Roper's musicality with a focus on his powerhouse of a voice. Roper is quick to give credit to working with Van Go, who pushed him to explore new musical directions. “Recording with Gus helped take things to a whole new level. Everything was broken down to the finest details and nothing was allowed to sit at just ‘ok’. He really cared where the songs were headed and that they ended up just right. It was all about getting the vibe right.” And right it is.

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Gawain and the Green Knight - Fingers.

Leading up to the June 11th release of their new EP, A Sleeping Place, Gawain and the Green Knight have released the single, “Fingers.” Filled with allegory and inspired by literature and mythology, the duo calls their sound, “folk for people who like to listen to music while pacing mournfully yet poignantly through the streets, pretending they’re the protagonist in a very beautiful film.” 

“Fingers” is “a love song for my soon-to-be husband [bandmate Mike O’Malley], simple as that,” says singer/guitarist Alexia Antoniou, and one of her only auto-biographical songs. She found inspiration in an unusual place - on an airplane, when they were unable to get seats together. “I had been reading Madeline Miller’s Song of Achilles and finished it mid-flight and was just completely emotionally devastated. I wasn’t just teary-eyed, I was outright weeping- so much so that the woman next to me took one look at me and started turning up the volume on her little headrest TV,” Antoniou recalls. “I managed to make meaningful eye contact with Mike across the aisle, and with a few gestures of the head, he agreed to meet me near the airplane toilets so I could cry some more on him. ‘Fingers’ was inspired by that whispered conversation.”

O’Malley produced the song with that same intimate, hushed atmosphere. “I wanted to ride the line of all-the-way-in-love and all-the-way-scared. And I wanted Alexia to sound like she was alone in the dark with a torch,” he says. “Sparseness and reverb seemed the order of things - a little Rhodes piano here, a little bowed bass there.”

Inspired by the etymology of the Greek word for cemetery, which simply means “a sleeping place,” the EP sits comfortably in the deep, sometimes dark, parts of the subconscious, arranged in such a way that you remember why life can be so joyful in the first place, its tempo anything but sad. “I think of this EP as a love letter, full of desperate affection, to anyone who has ever been alive and been scared to die,” Antoniou states.

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Rvrside - Beautiful Life.

Indie-rock band, RVRSIDE, release their debut EP, Bullet With Butterfly Clips, today May 21, 2021.

Consisting of front-woman Jessica Vaughn, a songwriter and vocalist whose music has been heard on a variety of top networks, including Netflix, MTV, NBC, ABC and more, songwriter and producer Curtis Peoples, who has a storied musical past as a songwriter for artists like Pierce The Veil and Third Eye Blind, and producer Colin creeV, who has produced big names like Jez Dior, hot up-and-comers like Traces, and even Third Eye Blind (of which he is a band member), Rvrside came together over a love of grunge, pop, and dirty synths.

Taking inspiration from the spirit of the 90s, Bullet With Butterfly Clips welcomes listeners into RVRSIDE’s world, “a little dark but not too self-serious,” with a mix of originals and a few choice covers. Three new songs from RVRSIDE appear alongside hypnotic reimaginings of quintessential 90s hits. The next single, “Beautiful Life” (out 4/23), turns the Ace of Base bop into a sinister alternative pop anthem, while “Love Me Like The End Of The World,” is “a love song for the apocalypse.”

Rvrside · Beautiful Life

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Lipstick Jodi - Don't Wanna Know.

Lipstick Jodi, the Grand Rapids trio led by powerhouse non-binary songwriter, vocalist, guitarist Karli Morehouse, want you to know who they really are with their latest single, “Don’t Wanna Know.” Out now, the track is featured on More Like Me, Lipstick Jodi’s sophomore album due June 4 via Quite Scientific.

Discussing the single, Morehouse stated, “The first demo I made of ‘Don’t Wanna Know’ was the first spark of Lipstick Jodi's renewal for me. It seemed like the light at the end of a really long tunnel. I was feeling stuck in time in the eyes of the people around me; like I was being judged constantly for my past. I felt like no one wanted to know me past surface level, or know me for who I really was and who I would become.” 

With More Like Me Morehouse closes the books on everything that got them to this place. All the raw emotions and experiences of childhood, teenage complexity and early adulthood angst are explored and expressed in depth - soundtracked by adrenaline rush of synths, guitar-fuzz and propulsive drums. When Morehouse sings, they blast through the sounds in triump.

Listening to More Like Me is like thumbing through a journal of self-improvement, self-doubt, self-preservation, and self-celebration - words sometimes written in a steady hand and sometimes scrawled angrily on the page. Through their music Morehouse explores the deepest valleys of their mind, celebrating small victories, right after a big fight, or driving fast yelling out the car window on the treacherous road of trying to do better. While the songs contained are wildly infectious, Morehouse could not be more clear what this album means to them. A little more mature, a little wiser, a lot more confident about what they want from their music, what they want to say as a queer artist, and what they want from life. More Like Me is just that.

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Jesse Roper - Morcheeba - Aibai - FaB (Fitzsimon and Brogan)

Jesse Roper - Horizons.

Canadian rocker Jesse Roper is back with a charismatic, barn-burner of a single, “Horizons,” a first taste from recent sessions with JUNO nominated producer Gus Van Go (Arkells/Sam Roberts Band/The Stills) recorded at his Brooklyn, NY studio.

Van Go pushed Roper in new directions. Discussing he states, “Recording with Gus and Werner F was on a whole new level. They really cared where the songs were headed and that they ended up just right. Everything was broken down to the finest details and nothing was allowed to sit at just ‘ok’. It was all about getting the vibe right.” And right it is.

“Horizons” is an enigmatic track, inspired by a late night looking up at the stars. “I'd been sitting on it for about 3 years before I recorded it knowing I had a cool idea there but was really stuck with how to move forward with it,” Roper shares. “Sometimes these tunes don’t reveal themselves until they’re shouting back at you.”

At the heart of the track is Roper’s soulful, powerhouse vocals, propelled forward by pulsing percussion and undulating guitar. The layered production style lends to a mysterious, almost seductive, edge to Roper’s refrains; it tantalizes and charms, hooking the listener in.

The title of the track is no coincidence. It’s in reference to, “the endless expanse of something unexplained,” Roper explains. And it’s the perfect introduction to this new collection of songs in which Roper looks to stretch his musical legs and broaden his musical horizons.

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Morcheeba - The Moon.

Morcheeba share ‘The Moon’, the third single from upcoming studio album ‘Blackest Blue’ due May 14th 2021. Released on a full moon ‘The Moon’ follows on recently released singles ‘Oh Oh Yeah’ and ‘Sounds Of Blue’; the latter released alongside a striking video, while South London producer, composer and DJ Hector Plimmer took ‘Oh Oh Yeah’ for a deeper, chilled, electronic dive with his remix.

The Moon’ is a cover originally by Irena Žilić, a Croatian singer-songwriter. Ross fell in love with the song when they shared a bill in Zagreb with Irena and asked her permission to cover it. Skye added another verse to it and that is where the album title ‘Blackest Blue’ came from.

Talking about the track, Skye says; “it’s about following the light of the moon and tapping into its powerful luminous energy, harnessing it’s positivity to escape the depression and darkness.”

Pioneers of the British music scene, ‘Blackest Blue’ will be the band's 10th studio album in a discography that spans three decades. 2020 saw Morcheeba unable to tour or perform live, which gave Skye Edwards and Ross Godfrey “time to write songs and really get to hone them,” as Godfrey puts it. “There weren’t so many pressures so we could really take our time getting the songs right,” adds Edwards.

The result of this time is a refined 10 track album that fuses previous incarnations and sound of the band - such as downbeat, chill, electro-pop and soul - into one cohesive record that delves into the soul of the band’s genre-mashing musical heritage. As usual, the band didn’t approach the album with any pre-conceptions, and instead created an organic journey that represents everything great about Morcheeba.

Edwards’ lyrics are primarily focused on positivity and overcoming personal adversity that lies within. ‘Sounds Of Blue’, is a stunning cut that puts Skye Edward's sultry vocals to the forefront, floating high above an ethereal backdrop, and touches upon her recent free diving experience in Thailand and “my new found confidence and love of the ocean above and below,” says Edwards.

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Aibai - Aibai (E.P).

Aibai is a 23-year-old producer based in Minneapolis. Her songs are filled with ambient, cinematic soundscapes that create a daydream-like atmosphere. Originally focusing on making electronic music, the young musician has started to diversify her sound in her recent releases, exploring more of the alternative, indie and R&B realm. Inspired by electronic artists like Odesza and Flume, as well as indie/alt greats such as Clairo, Rex Orange County and Goth Babe, Aibai combines these two worlds, while giving it a unique flair of her own.

Aibai confides, “I decided to combine genres and make an indie electronic EP. This first single “Glow” is a perfect example of that. With the indie vocals of Des who goes by Swims, combined with my ambient music, I was able to produce the indietronica sound I was going for!” Sonically “Glow” is inspired by the outdoors and the feeling you get when you immerse yourself in nature. “Glow” features warm, laid-back vocals which shimmer atop the oscillating synths, while the layered harmonies resonate deep throughout your body. The chilled-out, slow-paced song emits an intoxicating, feel-good vibe that you can’t get enough of. Lyrically, the contemplative song talks about readjusting into single life and wondering what it will be like, now that your love has gone.

Gentle tugs on electric strings lay the mood and tempo, with incoming silky, cooling vocals from Colby Hansen in “More Than Friends”. The track has a laid-back, rippling essence of femininity with an indie/alt glow from the use of analog instruments. This track is a tad less electronic than the rest of the EP, but still contains an electro hint on the vocals and delicate production flutters, putting Aibai’s sonic stamp on it. The track narrates the fear of telling someone you like them more than friends, then suddenly realizing the hard-hitting, heart-breaking reality there is nothing more to the bond than being buddies.

“Feel Again” featuring Mønty C oozes a cinematic, indietronica aura. Along with ambient piano and soft claps are the looping electronic riffs and euphoric synths that enrich the intensity of the emotions. The song has lots of subtle builds, constantly uplifting you with vocal cries flooding the background of the soundscape in an affecting howl, dripping in feeling. The lyrical context written by Mønty C touches on regaining and rebuilding trust in a romantic relationship that is struggling to maintain its closeness.

“Open Up” is a gentle bubbling stream of warmth and radiance. Featuring breezy bass lines, an up-beat, gently bouncing beat, dancing, high vibe guitar and stunning dynamic pauses that carry much emotiveness. Swims opens up on the track about flowing through life, knowing it's ok to start over and that being vulnerable can bring much happiness. Each experience allows you to grow and build resilience, you will learn to understand that “all along you had the key.”

Overall, the EP is a delightful blissful experience. Aibai’s production on each track encompasses the beauty of raw instruments adding an electronic flame over the sound. Her soundscapes are dreamy, feminine and a beautiful escape into heavenly, soft, swirling sounds. The features across the EP all complement the delicacy of the instrumentation and it's clear that each track is emotionally charged and meticulously thought out to ensure the perfect yin and yang combo of indietronica.

Aibai · Aibai

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FaB (Fitzsimon and Brogan) - Dancing Partner.

With their latest album, "This Wicked Pantomime," the UK pop/rock duo of Neil Fitzsimon and Bee Brogan (FaB) have managed to hit the iTunes charts at home and abroad with no less than 3 singles. "A Toy For Juliette," released in late 2020 reached the top of the South Africa iTunes Rock songs chart, while second single, "Persuasion" hit the UK Top 50. With the release of a third single, "Dancing Partner," FaB have their highest charting UK hit at #17. The single features the talents of Elvis Costello's long-time drummer, Pete Thomas.

Neil Fitzsimon describes "Dancing Partner:" "The track is a tribute to all those New York bands like Blondie, The Ramones, and all those bands that played at the CBCG's back in the 1970s. It's about the rites of passage, that everyone goes through in the process of growing up, and that the dance floor can be one of the loneliest places in the world - a ritual that Bee and myself personally found terrifying!"

ABOUT FaB: At the crossroads where Bowie meets the Beatles and Elvis Costello meets The Smiths, you will find UK-based pop duo, FaB (Fitzsimon and Brogan.) Preferring to remain faceless in an industry that holds image in high regard, FaB have gone on to form a songwriting/production partnership that led to placement of their songs in Film and TV, including a USA Sci-Fi Feature Film. They also wrote a musical, Jack Dagger, which was showcased at the Greenwich Theatre, London for the Musical Futures Award. It was also showcased at the Bridewell and the Royal College of Music in London.

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