Browsing Tag

Florence and the Machine

Awakening to Bella Gate: ‘Sleepwalking’ Melds Classic and Contemporary with Masterful Artistry

Posted on 15 May 2024

If you’re still sleeping on the breakthrough UK singer-songwriter, Bella Gate, her revolutionary approach to power balladry exhibited in her latest single, Sleepwalking, will prise your heart and soul open to her immensely affecting artistry.

The classic songwriting style is enough to slip you back into the 70s before the Florence and the Machine artful touches pull you right back to modernity as Bella Gate’s vocals channel the spirituality of Stevie Nicks and the deep resonant timbre of Adele, with all the emotive authenticity to boot.

While looking back on chapters of teenage love and self-discovery, most will shudder at the naivety; Bella Gate is viscerally living through the torment within Sleepwalking; vicariously join her as the pop-rock piano keys dance beneath her endlessly ascending vocal register as they spill the agony in a retrospective call for clarity.

With plenty more singles in the pipeline for 2024, the 23-year-old Edinburgh/London residing artist is more than worth a spot on your radar. If she’s esteemed enough to have her debut LP mastered at Abbey Road Studios by Geoff Pesche, she, and her talent in bringing a fresh and innovative vibe to the industry, is one to watch.

Sleepwalking was officially released on April 26th; stream the single on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Meg Scane broke free from the shackles of throwaway culture in her folk pop single, Bottoms Up

Posted on 29 April 2024

Meg Scane’s latest single, Bottoms Up, is a striking testament to her unique ability to intertwine confessional candour with melodic ingenuity, ensuring that the rawness of heartache is as palatable as it is poignant. Wrapped in the artful echoes of chamber pop and infused with the intimacy of folk elements, Scane’s sound bears a thematic intensity reminiscent of Florence and the Machine, yet it thrives on a more personal scale.

This track breaks free from the shackles of today’s throwaway culture, challenging the transient nature of contemporary hits and relationships with its enduring message about the sweetness of lasting love. The fervent declaration that deep, abiding affections still hold a revered place in both music and life couldn’t be more convincing.

Scane’s journey from her debut album, Blind Trial, at just sixteen to her performances from The Midlands to Puglia, Italy, paints her as a dedicated artist fuelled by passion—a passion that also sustains her through the arduous hours spent mucking out horses to fund her studio time. Between her determination and her talent, she has everything it takes to become one of the most seminal indie pop artists of her generation.

Better Sides of You was officially released on March 8th; stream the single on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Dolly Mavies – I’m All Sugar: Get Your indie Anthem Fix

Posted on 24 March 2023

Oxford, UK singer-songwriter, Dolly Mavies, set the indie anthem bar impossibly high with her latest single, I’m All Sugar, which surges with the same rhythmic and vocal energy of Somebody to Love by Boogie Pimps in spite of the folky flavour.

Taken from her debut album, The Calm & The Storm, the stellar single from the artist who takes influence from the likes of Patti Smith, The National and Daughter, created a uniquely exhilarating listening experience that makes no bones about pulling you through an ardently visceral arrangement where a curveball lies on the edge of every progression.

If Dolly Mavies isn’t as big as Mumford & Sons by the end of the year, someone may as well scorch the earth of the music industry so we can start again. It’s punk as fuck, yet, Mavies still maintains that ever-addictive girl-next-door appeal.

I’m All Sugar will officially release on March 24th. Hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The London-based singer-songwriter Lilo has released her hypnotic hyper-synth-pop single, Everything I Ever Dreamed of.

Posted on 22 October 2021

London-based singer-songwriter, Lilo, is set to release her 80s synthpop anthem, Everything I Ever Dreamed Of, which brings hyper pop energy, sweet ABBA-Esque piano chords and artful vocal timbre that allows you to imagine how Florence and the Machine would have turned out as an 80s synth-pop outfit.

Under the lush layers of reverb, the dancey beats boast a hypnotic texture, making Everything I Ever Dreamed of the perfect multi-functional indie pop playlist staple.

I’ve heard my fair share of contemporary twists on the 80s sound in the last year; it is safe to say that none left me as enlivened by the ingenuity as Everything I Ever Dreamed of which is due for official release on October 22nd, 2021.

Check out Lilo on her official website, Instagram and SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Emma Hunter formidably extended the conversation around domestic violence with ‘Here I Go’

Posted on 13 February 2021

Singer-songwriter, Emma Hunter, has been the voice of popular Oxford-based bands such as AmberState and the Halycons, and since 2019, she’s worked alongside drummer, Tom Bruce, putting her own formidable spin on alt-indie-pop.

With vocals which pull you in with the same strength as Florence Welch’s or Marina and the Diamonds’ coalescing with instrumentals which veer from mainstream archetypes while retaining all of the commercial potential, it’s impossible not to become consumed by her viscerally poignant releases. The single which caught our attention and refused to let go was her latest single, ‘Here I Go’, which demonstrates how seriously Emma Hunter takes her responsibility of creating light from the dark.

Here I Go artfully extended the conversation around domestic violence by a perspective-shifting length. It exhibited the weakness of perpetrators compared to that of survivors who have been psychologically crushed or physically abused by ‘romantic’ partners. For the first time as I watched the nuanced video unfold, I contemplated the unlikelihood of abusers being able to endure what a victim does, concluding that intimidation through power is the ultimate form of weakness.

With lead guitar tones which insidiously creep throughout the soundscape, the trepidation leaves you transfixed from start to finish, it’s a track which keeps your breath bated until long after the prelude. I honestly couldn’t have more respect or admiration for Emma Hunter and her classy controversial sound.

The official video to Here I Go is available to stream via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Dennyiah have seared the airwaves with their fiery Indie Pop debut album “Human Aspect”

Posted on 15 November 2020

Indie Slovak-based Pop duo Dennyiah have released their lockdown-born debut album, Human Aspect. It would be no exaggeration to say it is one of the most viscerally pioneering albums to drop this year.

The authenticity is only matched by the artist’s ability to utterly consume your consciousness through the sheer intensity of the sound. If you’re anything like me, you’ll have found any discernible emotion hard to come by over recent months. I think I practically overdosed hitting play on Dennyiah’s debut album.

The potency of the emotion carried in the vocal notes is overwhelming from the start. There are some Florence Welch reminiscences within the high notes, but then raw vocal power which parallels the likes of Cyrus while emitting the same evocative magnetism as Sharon Van Etten kicks in. Don’t be surprised if you’re choking back the tears listening to these succinctly colossal singles run through.

With Grammy-award-winning artists such as violinist Adam Baldych joining the collective of instrumentalists who contributed to the track which was mastered by Dave McNair (Bowie, Springsteen, Hole and Maroon 5), it’s no great surprise that Human Aspect borders on the celestial while offering promising modernity.

You can check out Human Aspect for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Hannah Harper Whets Audiences Appetite

Posted on 17 November 2017

London based Hannah Harper seems to make music which wonderfully captures the city that she is based in. It is at once artistic and slick, pushes pop music into quirky, staccato dance realms, feels wonderfully urban, uptown, classy and shimmers with the pace and edgy energy of the city around her. At a time when pop music seems to have hit a formulaic, production line creative process, where most are content only to make music in the mould of what has already been successful, Hannah’s debut single marks a fascinating departure.

Already picked up by BBC movers and shakers, Appetite is the sound of things moving on, of barriers being pushed aside of new paths being beaten through previously unexplored territory. But the clever thing is that whilst offering something new, it isn’t too radical either. The beats and the structures are still familiar it is just the way they are put together is intriguing. It is, in fact, the best of both worlds, a new sound but one for which there is already a captive audience via popular radio and clubland playlists. It is safe to say that the evolution of pop music just took a very big stride forward.



Bermuda Angels Release Stunning Single ‘On The Run’

Posted on 21 September 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFYmgwsxOkY

Besides their enticing and enigmatic moniker, Bermuda Angels have a lot to offer to their audience. Their recent single, “On The Run”, is a perfect example of how they managed to create stunning, direct and inspiring sounds that blur the lines between various genres, including indie pop and electronic music.

One of the first elements in this mix that truly grabbed my attention was definitely the great drum machine sound. The tone of the beat feels really powerful and huge, but it never overpowers the mix. On the other hand, it feels balanced and direct, perfectly aligned with the song’s structure and acting as a great backdrop for all the other elements in the mix, including the masterfully executed vocals and the great synth sounds.

The song makes me think of the work of artists such as James Blake, Daughter or Florence and The Machine. The brooding textures and intricate beat patterns create a stunning musical contrast, as darkness and light chase each other in a stunning dance through sound.

A&R Factory Present: Leena Ojala

Posted on 6 May 2016

‘Poison Words’ is a call to arms for anyone who has been a victim of verbal abuse in some form or another.

Leena says of the track;

“Poison Words is a song about people who think it’s ok to verbally abuse someone close to you, apologise afterwards and then act like nothing happened. No, it’s not ok. Explaining that ‘I didn’t mean it’ and being ‘in a bad mood’ doesn’t cut it, the damage is done.”

 
Leena‘s recent video for Little Place (produced with Benbrick (Troye Sivan)) has received an astounding 35,000 plays in under a month, and Poison Words once again confirms that Leena‘s unique vocal capabilities and production techniques are a force to be reckoned with.
Leena was born in Germany to a Finnish father and English mother; her early years were spent in Germany, Hong Kong and Essex before Leena found herself in London aged 17. Influenced by the likes of London Grammar, Rae Morris and Florence and the Machine, Leena – an obsessive about her music – took her time experimenting with her sound, honing and tweaking. She was in no hurry. She knew what she was after.

Leena went to Berlin – a city renowned for its anarchic creativity – and spent months absorbing all it had to offer, using that as inspiration in her music and her lyrics. A final stint in a studio back in London, reworking bits here and there and she knew she’d finally nailed her sound. ‘EP1’ released in November 2015 was her first offering.

She now plans to release a single once a month until the end of the year. There are also plans for a second EP.