Browsing Tag

dance

Flow Too Cold: STEP1 move decisively over the snow and darkness with ‘Came Thru’

After unfortunately dealing with group members living far away from each other, STEP1 have recently found their feet together and have now been able to mesh their lives into the same space on ‘Came Thru‘.

STEP1 are a hip-hop influenced collective from Northern Virginia in the USA, who have beaten the odds to stay together as childhood friends, and make that thoughtfully eloquent real music that is about surviving this wild world, with your sense of humor firmly intact.

Sometimes in life the eyes light up when you see someone, or this could happen when they see you. This is all about keeping those amazing memories close, never thinking of tomorrow as you want to live for tonight and be young for a few hours, as this crazy world can age you quickly otherwise.

With a smartly meshed fusion of hip-hop, funk, soul, and dance elements, they expertly make that original type of music that you can’t compare them with, their unique style sets them apart from the rest with a bustling beat, that has you feeling inspired to reconnect with old friends and talk about the good old days.

Came Thru‘ from North Virginia’s underground group STEP1, makes you feel like there is hope out there if you look for it hard enough under the snow and with minimal light, as you bravely keep your electric energy alive while determinedly following your dreams for a better life.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Play All Day Dance All Night: Sensational Kansas City singer Olivia Sabates picks up the tempo on the terrific ‘Tengo’

With her team strong and her smile on tight, Olivia Sabates brings us a stunning new single all about how that first sight can lead to something so bright, on the breathtaking visuals for her smash-hit song called ‘Tengo‘.

Olivia Sabates is a highly motivated and supremely talented Kansas City indie-pop singer-songwriter with an intoxicating Latino flair, who makes that sweetly created music that is uptempo and sung with a classy grace always.

Influenced by legends such as Ariana Grande, Celine Dion, and Beyoncé, this young singer also played soccer, field hockey and gymnastics, whilst always wanting to be a world class musician who entertains the world with her stunning array of vocals. She believes in her abilities and this comes across in her music delivery.

This is the sweet story about meeting someone when you are out with friends who has that spark in their eyes that you like. You feel that they truly get you and this will be an experience with someone genuine, real and trustworthy, as you feel your heart beating quicker and want to be with them all night long.

Tengo‘ from the dazzling Kansas City indie-pop singer Olivia Sabates, is the kind of song that lifts you off your feet, as you get lost in her beautifully trained voice, you remember that life can be so pure and simple, if you really want it to be.

See this vibrant music video on YouTube and fellow her rise up on IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Highs and lows: Atul sings passionately about wanting to hold her close on ‘Love is Not My Cup of Tea’

Singing with a confident edge, Atul brings us the true story of people that can’t find love in this mysteriously complex world, full of trials and tribulations on ‘Not My Cup of Tea‘.

Atul is a vibrant Indian-born, Los Angeles-based indie-pop/dance singer-songwriter, who makes that entertaining music about romantic moments and life in the USA.

His sings with such self-belief that he wants to be friends and take it up a notch or two, but isn’t ready to commit with fully-fledged love right now. Perhaps that will come later down the line, but for now he is happy where he is and just wants to make genuine friends, who like him for who he is.

The vocals are exciting and lyrics catchy, the message is vividly clear as they try and pull you in closer. His way with words leaves you in no doubt of his intentions, as the mist of the day wears off, everything is much easier to see now. This is a man who is only focusing on his music, as he knows that serious relationships will come later down the line.

Not My Cup of Tea’ from the fast-rising talent of Indian/USA singer Atul, is a true story made for a movie, that shows his attitude toward love right now, as his heart still heals from past relationships, a man that is still finding his way to open up again and be happy with the right person.

Waiting for true love rather than being with someone you shouldn’t, is the sign of a wise soul after all.

Stream this catchy new song on Soundcloud and follow him on FB.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Simulated Youth bridges the gap between retro style and futuristic vision with ‘N.B.T.’ featuring Camoragi

Daft Punk may be no more, but entrancing EDM tracks are still hitting the airwaves as a curtsey of producers such as Phoenix, AZ-residing artist Simulated Youth.

With Camoragi’s seductive vocals sitting over a bed of complexly layered instrumentals which bridge the gap between retro styles and futuristic vision, their latest single N.B.T. (nice bass track), arrests you emotionally just as much as it takes control of your rhythmic pulses.

If the sonic experience itself isn’t enough to get you excited about Simulated Youth’s harsh bass-riding approach to electronica which hits just as hard as any industrial track with far more duality between the chaos and the breaks and the euphoria in the drops, the concept definitely will. In Simulated Youth’s own words, “The lyrics are about the song itself being in love with the artist, yet to the artist, the song is just his nice bass track.”

You can check it out for yourselves also via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Scott Cruz gives us ‘The Reason’ to be cheerful

Scott Cruz

You’d think that perhaps receiving five (five. Count ‘em!) prestigious Telly Awards for TV compositions including the Discovery Channel, the History Channel, and a bunch of independent films, alongside performing at that epicentre of cool the House of Blues and charting on Billboard’s Top 40 Indicator Chart with previous single ‘Rescue’ would be enough for US-based singer/songwriter/composer/producer Scott Cruz, but you’d be wrong. Very wrong. We’re not talking ‘resting on laurels’ here, we’re looking at an artist at the top of his game, and new single ‘The Reason’ absolutely demonstrates that.

Dance-oriented, electronic, swathed in synth-strings and upbeat as hell, ‘The Reason’ is a radio-friendly club-pop banger; it’s earnest, it’s open, and it’s all topped off by Cruz’s soulful voice – think Shawn Mendes, a touch of Calum Scott, some Calvin Harris, and a dash of Harry Styles. It’s pure, proper, uplifting dance pop, and it’s very, very likely to raise that bed of laurels Cruz has to rest on just a bit higher very, very soon.

Check out ‘The Reason’ on Apple Music; go to Scott Cruz’ website.

Review by Alex Holmes

Faith Louise – What I Need: K-Pop-tinged 90s Dance Pop

Faith Louise

When you’re fifteen and already produced by Ashea, with your second single debuting on BBC Introducing, you’re clearly doing something right. 1,000 Spotify streams in 48 hours, and 12,000 YouTube views in the official video’s first week of release is worth taking.

Now, Essex’s Faith Louise is back with new single ‘What I Need’, a delicious slice of K-Pop-tinged 90’s club/dance with a catchy little hook and a earworm of a chorus that sticks in your head and follows you round for days. Again produced by Ashea at SAFO music, ‘What I Need’ is a perfect little pop track – think Ariana Grande mixed with Little Mix – dancey, energetic, and catchily upbeat.

You can check out ‘What I Need’ on Faith Louise’s website or on Facebook.

Review by Alex Holmes

Don’t tip them off: Canada’s Alicia Lov shows her bad girl side on the dangerously exhilarating debut ‘Criminal’

Her mind going darker from this wild world around us, Alicia Lov sneaks in with her debut single full of flair and intrigue called ‘Criminal‘.

Alicia Lov is a young and supremely talented Canadian indie r&b/pop singer/dancer/violinist/cellist with Spanish roots, who is surely on the rise to the very top, with her tremendous voice that picks your pocket with a cheeky wink and somehow leaves you smiling at the same time.

We are drawn into the story of her alter-ego, the girl that does what she wants and won’t stop until she gets there. The taste is already in her blood flow and she can’t get enough, her claws are out and once she has her mind on something she won’t let go. The trap beat gets the pulsating feelings snapped into action, as you handcuff your ears to the speakers and let her take you away, on this hazardous journey to the back streets of the world.

With sensual vocals that lifts you into a pleasurable but anxious state, her wild nature seeps into your heart as you feel her dissatisfaction with her current predicament, as she ponders the dark side. Her voice is translucent and exciting, you feel the mystique and her young impressionable mindset is weighing up which road to embark on.

Criminal‘ from Edmonton, Canada’s future star Alicia Lov, is that catchy indie-pop dance track that is full of potentially risky decisions that have made her think from a different perspective, as she grapples with these feelings that will hopefully make her wiser as she matures naturally.

With a sumptuously elegant vocal delivery, she dazzles with a debut track you won’t easily forget.

Stream this rebel single here on Spotify and see more on her IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Eiffel 65’s cult hit got catchier with Artuga’s trancey remix ‘Blue (Da Be Dee)’

Hitting play on Eiffel 65’s 1999 cult hit ‘I’m Blue’ is a sure-fire way to get a sweetly potent shot of serotonin. That also goes for Netherlands-based artist and producer Artuga’s rework ‘Blue (Da Ba Dee)’.

20 years have passed since the original, that’s reflected in the artist’s mix which extracts the 90s pop elements and replaces them with harsh trancey layers which lacerate the iconic soundscape with lashings of reverberant biting bass. With plenty more reverb on the higher-energy vocals, there’s little separation between the vocals and the surrealist escapism-aiding beats which tear you away from reality and throw you into the reality of the blue alien we fell in love with when MTV still played music.

Artuga’s remix of Blue is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Moving on from the lies: Paul James Rooney courageously fights the pulsating pain of heartbreak on ‘Save My Soul’

With the painful memories still close to his heart, Paul James Rooney sings gloriously and with unwavering personal passion on the special ‘Save My Soul‘.

Paul James Rooney is a world-renowned Copenhagen, Denmark-based international ballet dancer/teacher, choreographer, rehearsal director and singer-songwriter from the UK.

He performs his majestic music intertwined closely with his love for dance and jazz, as he tells you about past memories that are entrenched in his soul and need to be soulfully expressed, so he can find true peace and move on from being lied to by his former lover.

‘Exploring issues of hurt, distress and verbal and psychological abuse in a past relationship, ‘Save My Soul’ brings up issues we rarely discuss. Sticks and Stones may break our bones but words cut even deeper.’- Paul James Rooney

With a stunningly pure voice, issues that are normally swept under the carpet are at the fore, on his music and dance combination that shows so much grace and skill.

Save My Soul‘ from UK singer and ballet legend Paul James Rooney, is a tale of what the past looks like as he asses the scars and find the strength to move on from the negativity-filled thoughts, to blossom fresh again. This experience has hurt deeply and comes with long-lasting scars, but the time to move on and be free again has arrived.

See this real video made with love on YouTube, hear more on Spotify and find out more on IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

MADHAPPY prove that pop, trap and electronica combined is the perfect formula for high-vibes with ‘Freethrow’

MADHAPPY is the electronic alt-pop project by bedroom producers, Adam Coe and Spencer Vann, with their influences combined, they’ve created the perfect formula for high-vibe EDM.

With nuances of pop, trap and punk grooving through their latest track, Freethrow, the earworm isn’t just fresh, it’s galvanising. After starting with muted staccato guitar chords, the track doesn’t hang around before revealing the infectious potency of the melodies. From there on out, the hooks will leave you ensnared until the dizzyingly  subversive breakdown.

When dancefloors are accessible, Freethrow will undoubtedly fill them. If this is the future of EDM pop, colour us excited for the electronica of tomorrow.

Check out MADHAPPY’s latest mix via Spotify

Review by Amelia Vandergast