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Giovan has made a haunting debut with ‘Listen to My Demons’ featuring Aria Chablis King.

Posted on 25 June 2021

‘Listen to My Demons’ is the hauntingly introspective debut single from LA alt-indie artist Giovan. The tender ballad pulls in neo-classic nuances that run right alongside contemporary, artful styling that we hope will become synonymous with the Guatemalan-American singer-songwriter’s sound.

Listen to My Demons is easily the best duet released since Alex Cameron’s collaboration with Angel Olsen. Aria Chablis King’s quiescently vulnerable vocals bring an intense depth to the release. You won’t get much choice when it comes to falling into the pensive command of the release that is constructed with intricate piano progressions and layered vocals that conceptually never harmonise.

Giovan orchestrates music to help pull people through the hardest times in their lives; it is safe to say he succeeded in his debut. The way he brings beauty to the raw and alienating concept of your demons being your only friends amplifies the signal that you are never alone in your loneliness. Our superficial reality practically enforces it. Naturally, we can’t wait to hear what he has in store for his sophomore release.

Listen to My Demons will officially release on June 25th; you can check it out for yourselves via Spotify or Giovan’s official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jakliu – Frustration, stagnation, isolation, and loneliness with “CATSPIT”

Posted on 25 June 2021
Jakliu

Hot on the heels of his recent remix of Irish electropop artist Ae Mak’s ‘Jamie’ comes this, Jakliu’s debut single ‘CATSPIT’. Gentle, pulled-back vocals mixed with repeating drone notes and electronic drum loops, ‘CATSPIT’ is a mix of ambient, electropop, and electronica, taking in later Radiohead and Thom Yorke’s solo work, bits of the Aphex Twin, Dave Monolith, Caribou, Beatwife, Luke Vibert, and the whole gamut of Warp and Rephlex records stablemates.

It’s chilled and mellow yet challenging and forthright, inspired by themes of stagnation and isolation and Jakliu’s frustration at the mediocrity of everyday life and at the slow decline of creativity and arts in a world fixated on cheap, easy fame and fleeting Social Media celebrity.

You can check out Jakliu on SoundCloud and Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

Oli Morris takes us on a tour with the Acid Jazz-inspired ‘Bimal’

Posted on 24 June 2021
Oli Morris

It’s always a pleasure to review something a little bit out of the blue and unexpected, and when it’s from someone as accomplished as Oli Morris that holds doubly so. A saxophonist and composer originally born in Northridge, California but now living in Bristol, Oli studied music at the University of Chichester, but soon found himself an in-demand session player and live sideman, performing at Bestival and Glastonbury as well as decamping to Rockfield Studios with festival favourites Cut Capers.

Shortly before the world paused and ‘roadmap’ took on a new, Covid-related meaning, Morris returned from a month-long backpacking tour through India. The result, featuring a collective of Bristol’s up-and-coming music glitterati, is ‘Bimal’, a jazz-neo-soul fusion in two halves, featuring the stunning, silky-smooth vocals of Chrissie Huntley wrapped around Morris’ masterful saxophone, interspersed with Snazzback’s Eli Jitsuto’s deliciously restrained guitar parts and the oh-so-cool jazz-funk rhythm section of Sam Fox and Andee Liu. There’s some serious Rare Groove and Acid Jazz smoothness here, echoes of the Brand New Heavies and Incognito mixed with touches of Galliano’s ‘Joyful Noise Unto The Creator’ around Ruaridh Wilkinson’s Rhodes piano-work; it’s chilled, mellow, and it’s got some serious soul.

Check out Oli Morris here or on Facebook.

Review by Alex Holmes

Nikki Taylor Vibe gets deep and soulful on ‘Understated’

Posted on 24 June 2021

Nikki Taylor Vibe is a Long Island, New York, native with a background of stylistic crossover between hip hop, RnB, and Indie-pop. Her first single, ‘Wasted’, from her debut EP ‘Siren’ dropped in January last year, and since then she’s been named Power 98.5 Radio’s Breakout Artist of 2020, collaborating with Royce Da 59 and Young Ra on the single ‘Nother Level’.

Now, ‘Understated’ is Vibe’s new single, and understated it certainly is, classy, sultry, smooth, and sexy, pulled back, mellow and chilled all with Vibe’s laid-back vocal delivery overlaying old school 808 beats and deep soulful groove. It’s a killer track, showcasing without being showy, flash without being brash. It really IS understated.

Check out ‘Understated’ on Spotify; check out Nikki Taylor Vibe on Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

Christopher the Grey drops the follow-up to ‘Butterflies’ with new single ‘If I Didn’t Have You’

Posted on 24 June 2021

Elements of J Cole and B.o.B mix with old school hip hop on Christopher The Grey’s new single ‘If I didn’t Have You’, upbeat trap beats sitting tidily behind programmed synth parts and Christopher’s staccato, punchy lyrical flow.

The follow-up to last single ‘Butterflies’, and the 2020 album of the same name, ‘If I Didn’t Have You’ is bouncy, driving and upbeat, plaintive and searching, a cry to a lost love and a relationship gone south. There’s touches of T.I., Flo Rida, and Lil Wayne to it, plus some nicely modern-retro production in terms of the rising sequenced parts and the nicely gated hi hat beats.

You can hear ‘If I Didn’t Have You’ on Spotify; check out Christopher The Grey on Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

Fox Evades – soaring, spacious dreampop with ‘Someday’

Posted on 24 June 2021

Fox Evades is the solo project of Manchester-born singer songwriter and producer Jordan Mae. Following up the success of debut single ‘The Heart That Drowned’ and follow-up ‘Bira’, both of which garnered interest from BBC Introducing’s Hannah Fletcher, comes third single ‘Someday’.

A soaring, spacious three minutes of echoey dream-pop, reminiscent of Desperate Journalist, Belly, Slowdive, or The Cure, ‘Someday’ is deliciously gentle and atmospheric, tangibly breakable and ethereal, with a picked repeating guitar line that could have come straight from Three Imaginary Boys or Seventeen Seconds, and Mae’s haunting, delicate voice evocative of Tanya Donelly or Toni Halliday on vocal duties.

It’s truly excellent, and a beautiful, ephemeral taster for Fox Evades’ debut EP due out later this year. You can hear Someday on Spotify; follow Fox Evades on Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

The Start: Italian singer Luca calmly brushes off his demons to find that right path on ‘Yet/Still’

Posted on 24 June 2021
https://soundcloud.com/user-565946929/yet-still-1

After unnecessarily worrying about others drama-filled burdens and not following his own dreams, Luca starts his heart-enlightening chapter one to be truly happy in what he is pursuing with ‘Yet/Still‘.

Luca Nesciobelli aka Luca, is a deeply thoughtful The Netherlands-born, Germany-raised, Italian-bred indie RnB singer-songwriter. He has a clear picture of what he wants to portray to the world and prefers to let his music do the talking on his behalf.

”He‘s here on a mission. This mission is also not something to be spoken about greatly, he would much rather just take you by the hand and embark on a journey with you and anyone who will join him. Step on the ship, it‘s gonna be a long and great ride.” – Luca

You feel his dreamy-cool vocals simmer through like a smokey chimney, his kind mind is ready and just needs that final push to do whatever he wishes. His tremendous tone is backed organically by a breathless beat and calm piano, as he tackles his demons down like a perfect Paolo Maldini tackle to win in injury time. With some smartly edged raps too, this is so good to listen to, as you will want a second listen.

‘Yet/Still‘ from the soulfully joyful Italian indie RnB singer Luca, is his reflection on the struggle of aiming for the stars up above – but yet standing still for now at the same time – as he carefully works out how to achieve his greatest desires, You feel like he knows where the slippery key is, and just needs to search a bit more so that he may be free where it matters most. His beating heart awaits this moment of pulsating excitement, when he reaches that destination. This is just the beginning.

Hear this new single that shows his progression via Soundcloud and see more via his IG page.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Madness Has Me Trapped: Soulfully sweet Evok drop memorable debut single ‘Save Me’

Posted on 24 June 2021

Blending splendidly into our lucky speakers from their upcoming ‘Cards On The Table’ album, Evok look keenly for that elusive royal flush on their wonderfully authentic debut single called ‘Save Me‘.

Evok is an ear-pleasing soul/jazz/synth-pop duo formed by songwriter and production duo Vinzenz Benjamin and Ella Jean. They warmly make the type of ravishing music that is such a lovely blend of modern and 80’s, as they take us for a vintage ride with the top down.

”Austrian born bass player, producer and composer Vinzenz Benjamin, first met Canadian born vocalist Ella Jean, when they shared the stage doing gigs around the London club scene. At the start of the first 2020 lockdown they started collaborating
remotely, creating a collection of refreshingly different, ear-catching original songs.” – Evok

This is the endearing story that has your happy heart bouncing inside with so much delight, as nothing in this world is a given and you need that special person to help you through it all. The exciting night is still young and you need their hand to guide you though it all, as you think about them constantly and wish that you could be together always.

‘Save Me‘ from the stunningly creative and new soul/jazz/synth-pop duo Evok, shows us an engaging journey that has your curious ears perked up as you think about that sweet love. Your stomach knots up and you feel a bit sick inside, but also feel so happy somehow at the same time, as you gaze lovingly into their shining eyes. This is that catchy single that is perfect for those late-night house party vibes when its time to get groovy.

We are blessed to have a perfect summer track like this – to lift the mood as its introduced into our awaiting bodies – that just want to dance again. When the world is burning, music helps water out all fires that need extinguishing.

Stream this funky and fresh new track on Spotify and see more on their IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Through The Haze: Boston’s Eric Dwight asks for forgiveness as he finds the light again on ‘Baby These Are Dark Days’

Posted on 24 June 2021
Born Into Addiction by Eric Dwight

Taken off his highly personally and self-healing thirteen-track debut album that helped him get over the ultimate heartbreak, Eric Dwight bravely tells us the deeply sad story about how his beloved brother tragically died of an overdose and how this pain filtered into his other relationships as he was in so much pain inside on ‘Baby These Are Dark Days‘.

Eric Dwight is a Boston, Massachusetts-based indie-rock singer-songwriter. He has turned the page on the past as he knew it couldn’t continue, as he shares his story to help others who feel stuck inside and need that much-needed inspirational guidance.

”Everyone has a sad story to tell. Is mine different? Not these days because everyone is dying from opioids and substance abuse. My brother fell victim in 2014 but I didn’t write a note about it until last year. It was the final piece of the healing timeline for me, For what it’s worth to a casual listener I can say that music helped me finally move on… That’s worth something.” – Eric Dwight

With a catchy tone that is sung so passionately from a man on a mission to redemption, this is a rather remarkable effort that is a song you can’t help but admire. The mellow rock ambiance is a perfect antidote to a time that he wish he had back, as the signs were there but he ignored his gut. He knows who is important in his life now and performs with such a knowing attitude, as he moves on from those moments which could of taken him down too.

‘Baby These Are Dark Days‘ from the Boston-based indie singer-songwriter Eric Dwight, is one of the more emotional and most important songs you will hear all year. He sends his friends and loved ones an apology here, as he hasn’t been there for them but is back now. This moving song and terrifically created album has helped to open up his eyes again and live life healthily, apologizing is the only thing he can do as losing his brother really had him down for too long.

This is a highly courageous effort from a really honest man, who has turned his pain into a wonderful creative outlet to move on from the hurt. He has finally let go and hopes that they will forgive him for not being present, whilst he dealt with this tragic event that he refuses to define him. Music truly does heal all scars over time.

Stream this stunning single that will have you tearing up in disbelief on Bandcamp and see his journey via Facebook.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Sellah reworked Frank Ocean’s ‘Thinkin Bout You’ in his latest release.

Posted on 24 June 2021

For his latest single, the international artist Sellah (Whitney-Michael McCloud) reworked Frank Ocean’s iconic single, Thinkin Bout You; he well and truly made the soundscape his own while still keeping the soulfully alchemic appeal of the original burning right through the release.

With the darker and more reverberant beats paired with Sellah’s stunning vocal range and the sweet sentimentality that he brings to the single through his deep emotional connection to it, it’s impossible not to be drawn in.

The artist, brand manager and editor-in-chief for IMMO magazine has set his sights on becoming a household name. After hearing his Thinkin Bout You cover, it is safe to say that he is on the right trajectory.

The seriously stylistic official video that premiered on YouTube on June 11th has already amassed over 14,000 streams. Check it out for yourselves here.

Review by Amelia Vandergast