Showing posts with label mokina. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mokina. Show all posts

Saturday, 31 May 2025

1Type (feat. Duke Al) - Veronica Fusaro - mokina - Blue Foundation (feat. Helena Gao)

1Type (feat. Duke Al) - Rise Up. 

The 1Type Band's debut song, Rise Up, isn't just a song; it's a powerful anthem raising awareness of autoimmune Type 1 Diabetes (aT1D). Rise Up aims to empower young people living with aT1D and help them feel less alone. 1Type is Sanofi’s newly formed girl band comprised of four talented teenage girls living with Type 1 diabetes: Ella, Lola-Belle, Finley, and Olivia. Hailing from across the UK and brought together through Stagecoach Performing Arts, with sponsorship from Sanofi, they are united by their shared experiences of the condition.

aT1D is an autoimmune, complex, and lifelong condition - and it can happen to anyone at any age even without family history. It can be a challenging disease with lifelong clinical, economic, and emotional unmet needs for patients and families. In the UK, there is a growing prevalence where approximately 400,000 people are living with the disease, including about 32,000 people 19 years of age and younger.

Sanofi & Stagecoach have partnered on this project. This unique partnership brings together Sanofi's commitment to the aT1D community and Stagecoach Performing Arts' dedication to empowering young talent, using the transformative power of music to drive awareness and empathy.

This project, the band and all assets associated with this band was initiated, organized, sponsored and funded by Sanofi. The song Rise Up was co-written by the band members, Studio Salamanca, and Duke Al Durham. Sanofi is licensing the song and will not make any profits from the song. By listening to Rise Up, you're directly supporting Digibete, a charity providing vital resources and support to young people, families, and communities managing aT1D as Sanofi will match the profits Studio Salamanca makes from the song with a donation to Digibete.


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Veronica Fusaro - No Rain No Tears.

Following the success of her single “Jealousy” and her recent inclusion in IMPALA’s 100 Artists to Watch 2025, Swiss indie pop artist Veronica Fusaro is back with “No Rain No Tears” a shimmering, soulful pop track that blends emotional depth with summery lightness. The song offers a glimpse into her upcoming album Looking for Connection (out October 24, 2025) and sets the tone for her European summer tour.

Is it just a feeling, or is our longing for summer stronger this year than ever before? With "No Rain No Tears," an indie-pop gem of the highest order, Swiss-Italian singer- songwriter Veronica Fusaro meets us right where the craving for warmth, freedom, and good company becomes almost unbearable. At just the right moment, she delivers the perfect soundtrack for stepping outside, slipping off your shoes, letting your hair down, and dancing across the sun-warmed asphalt into a blissful evening. Whether it happens in reality or only in your imagination makes no difference.

From the first note, the sun-drenched melody sweeps listeners into a dreamlike state where it’s impossible to tell whether the summer of your life is just beginning or reappearing as a vivid memory. Everything melts into a feeling of pure infatuation. While the song speaks of longing for a particular person, it also captures the universal desire to leave the gloom of everyday life behind and fully embrace beauty and connection. "It takes real courage to love — because you have to be willing to be seen, completely," says Veronica Fusaro about the emotional heart of "No Rain No Tears."

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Photo - Denize Eggers
mokina - taila.

Montreal-born mokina radiates joy with her gorgeous new single ‘taila.’ Radiant and playful, talia is a charming tribute to the delightful weirdness of true friendship. Written as a dedication to her friend of the same name, the track is a bouncing dose of indie-pop that blends shimmering synths flawlessly with bright guitar riffs.

Sharing more, the real talia explained: "This song has become the happy backdrop to my life, buoying me unexpectedly in quiet moments. I met mokina at a time when I was seeking some stability after years of living and working in unfamiliar places, but I inadvertently found a slough of new challenges that I navigated as well as I could. This song casts a generous glow over these times that were not always easy or graceful for me. I think the song can be a reminder that it’s important to be generous with ourselves when we reflect back on our learning curves."

Written with Jacopo Martini and produced with Jeremy Lachance near mokina’s home in Ferrel, Portugal, ‘talia’ is the follow up to recent EP release ‘mirage’ which arrived at the start of May.

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Blue Foundation (feat. Helena Gao) - Harsh Love.

Blue Foundation return with ‘Harsh Love’, a haunting, intimate new track added to their latest album ‘Close to the Knife’. Featuring the ethereal vocals of Helena Gao, the song captures the ache of emotional dissonance, the quiet collapse between two people trying to love through damage. Written during the same sessions that birthed ‘Close to the Knife’, ‘Harsh Love’ carries the same emotional weight: minimal yet lush, driven by ambient textures, fractured rhythms, and lyrical honesty. Helena Gao’s voice weaves through the track like a distant memory, fragile, questioning, unresolved.

“I guess I took it out on you,” the song begins, disarmed and direct. It’s a confession, not an apology. The kind of truth you whisper in the dark when everything else has already come undone.In the words of Blue Foundation’s Tobias Wilner: “It’s about the moment where you realize love has turned into something else, something harder, colder. But still, you’re reaching. You’re trying to hold on. Helena understood that from the inside.”

Helena Gao also appears on ‘Ecstasy in Space’ and ‘Voyage to the Stars’, but ‘Harsh Love’ stands apart in its stark emotional clarity. Sparse production, slow-burn synths, and whispered harmonies unfold like smoke. It’s not a song about closure. It’s a song about what happens when there isn’t any. The track features atmospheric guitar textures by Xie Yugang of Wang Wen and Jonas Munk (Manual, Causa Sui), whose layered work expands the sonic space, stretching tension into something strangely beautiful. Together, their guitars give ‘Harsh Love’ its cinematic weight, floating just above the wreckage.

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Sunday, 4 May 2025

mokina - Chambers DeLauriers - Miko Marks

Photo - Magda Benda
mokina - mirage (EP).

Montreal-born singer-songwriter and producer mokina reveals her gorgeous, new EP ‘mirage’. The five track display of gentle, dreamy, indie-folk arrives with three previously unheard tracks; title track mirage,  ‘heartbreaker’ and ‘dont wait por mim’. See below for

The record sees mokina dive into the complexities, illusions and delusions that often surround romantic connections. It sees them pull from her experiences of wxmanhood, pushing back against the constant critique and scrutiny wxman have come to accept as the norm.  Sharing more about the EP, mokina explained: As wxmen, we’re taught to carry shame for things that are simply human—desire, detachment, choosing ourselves. These songs are about normalizing those experiences and letting go of that inner guilt. They hold space for that emotional complexity, and say, ‘It’s okay—you’re allowed to feel this.'

The new EP acts as a flawless introduction to mokina’s heartfelt lyricism and evocative melodies. She co-produced the record with Jeremy Lachance, on the scenic Portuguese coast, near her home in Ferrel, with moments of English, French and Portuguese peppered throughout the record, paying homage to worldly experiences. The album’s raw and intimate sound is brought to life through the expert mixing of fellow Montrealer Niall Mutter.  

Two of mirage’s singles; ‘true’ and ‘sinner’ have already garnered critical acclaim, earning praise for their haunting beauty and captivating narratives. The visuals accompanying the project were filmed on location by Polish videographer Magda Benda, whose cinematic direction perfectly complements the music’s themes of love, lust and loss.



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Photo - Guy Brooksbank
Chambers DeLauriers - People Gonna Talk.  

Annika Chambers & Paul DesLauriers, aka the dynamic duo Chambers DeLauriers, are excited to announce the forthcoming release of their new album, Our Time To Ride, on August 22nd via Forty Below Records. They are also pleased to share their new single, "People Gonna Talk."

Our Time to Ride, was recorded at Studio MixArt in Montreal by producer Eric Corne (John Mayall, Sugaray Rayford, Joe Louis Walker), with further recording at Eric's Forty Below Studios in L.A. and Sound Arts in Houston, TX. It blends deep blues roots, soulful R&B melodies, and riff-driven rock with heartfelt storytelling, raw emotion, and dynamic musicianship. Rounding out their sound is their touring rhythm section, Gary Davenport on bass and Sly Coulombe on drums. Keyboard duties were handled by Sasha Smith and Jesse O'Brien, horns by Mark Pender and David Ralicke, and background vocals by Corne and Nicoya Polar.
 
The basic tracks were tracked live off the floor in Montreal, capturing the raw energy and chemistry of a Chambers DesLauriers performance. "Eric made sure we were all super comfortable, and things flowed," says Paul. "We had the luxury of feeling like we were just playing live." Once the foundation was laid, lead guitar, vocals, keyboards, horns, and background vocals were layered in. Annika recalls Paul recording most of the solos for the album in one night. "He was in the zone. They were asking him if he needed to take a break, and I said, 'No, just let him keep going, he's on a roll!'"

The new single, "People Gonna Talk," is an upbeat, groove-heavy mix of country, blues, and rock 'n Roll; this track is all about staying true to yourself. With a feel-good vibe that calls for line dancing, it reflects today's judgmental world and encourages listeners to let go of the noise. Imagine Mavis Staples meets The Rolling Stones - a blend of soulful grit and rock swagger that creates an anthem for living authentically.
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Miko Marks - Let The Music Get Down In Your Soul.

Miko Marks has released “Let The Music Get Down In Your Soul” via Redtone Records. The song, originally released in 1979 by gospel great Rance Allen of The Rance Allen Group, is one of Marks’ favorites. “When I was around 16 years old in Detroit, Michigan, I was lucky enough to perform with him in a gospel play called 'Mama Don’t,'” she recalls. “This was one of my rare stage performances at that time, and to be able to sing with one of the greats in gospel music is a priceless memory. It reminds me of how music has, and always will be, a healer. As we navigate uncertainty and these tumultuous times in our country, I hope this song can be a sweet respite for the listener to retreat and find a little joy."
 
“Let The Music Get Down In Your Soul” follows Marks’ January 20th release of “Peace of Mind (Live at Feldman’s),” another hope-filled, uplifting track. “‘Peace of Mind’ reminds me to pause for my peace as I navigate my life from day to day,” she explained. “Feelings of worry, fear, anxiety, and stress can really take me to dark places where I feel overwhelmed, and sometimes I'm unable to see my way out.

This song reminds me to take time to step away, to get a larger perspective. As the world hurries and worries itself along, we're part of something bigger and more constant than our struggles, our careers, our politics,” she continued. “Right now, we feel so divided and angry as a nation. Regardless of where we fall politically, we all need to find peace of mind in place of rage, blame, and despair. When I sing this song, I am always able to find the serenity and calm that I need, and I hope the listeners are able to tap into the same. Of all the songs in my live set, this is the one most likely to draw out some of my tears, and you can hear it in this live version,” she added. “They're tears of release and hope and of gratitude for the present and for days to come.”


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Splitsville - Amanda DeBoer Bartlett - Tooth Gore - Heavenly - At Baron Lane

Splitsville - Beth Steel. “They're burning down the empire, but the trains still run on time”: that's the brash opening couplet on ...