Browsing Tag

Prince

ARCTISKY – My Relief: Romance & Raw Alt-Rock Ingenuity

With his latest single, My Relief, the soul conduit ARCTISKY orchestrated an alt-rock single that resonates with the romantic intensity of the 80s while pulsating with contemporary vitality and standing as a testament to his worthiness of the highest industry accolades.

From the Maldives to Melbourne, ARCTISKY channelled a voice so warm it could thaw the coldest souls into a sonic landscape which weaves swoon-worthy melodies that suspend in the air and pirouette through the world-class production.

My Relief is a flawless fusion, serenading listeners with vocals reminiscent of Bryan Adams, and orchestral crescendos that ensure your heartstrings are inseparably combined with each progression. To subvert the arcane accordance, a surprising shift comes with the middle eight; gruff, voicemail-esque tones akin to Tom Waits introduce a jarring yet brilliantly conceived contrast, showcasing ARCTISKY’s determination to boldly assert his sonic identity.

Safe to say, the track is one of 2024’s most emotionally impactful releases. If you want the burdens stripped for your soul, sink in.

My Relief debuted and salved the airwaves on September 6th; stream the single on SoundCloud and Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ami Leigh salved the souls of the romantically jaded with her pop-rock anthem, You’ll Find the One 

‘You’ll Find the One’ is undoubtedly an expression everyone has heard in their darkest hours of romantic despair; yet, with her latest single which carries that mantra, the chameleonic singer-songwriter Ami Leigh augmented the consolation with soul-infused, rock-licked conviction.

By carrying the same artful visceralism as The Last Dinner Party in the pop-rock crescendos which drench the anthem in 80s nostalgia and entwining the high-octane elements with tender echoes of introspective 90s indie pop, You’ll Find the One will leave your heartstrings in knots while liberating you from anxiety and assumption you will die alone without another soul to call home.

You’ll Find the One may be a sonic departure from the artist’s previous hits, but with the same sense of affecting soul running through the veins of the single, it is yet another attestation to Ami Leigh’s ability to unify and heal through sound.

You’ll Find the One hit the airwaves on August 23rd; stream the single on Spotify and YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

When Folk Meets Prince: Isiah & The New People’s Haunting Cover of ‘When Doves Cry’

Isiah & the New People

In their cover of Prince’s When Doves Cry, Isiah & The New People take the iconic track on a deeply personal journey, transforming it into something that resonates far beyond its original message. Following the success of their debut EP, Boxes, the Wisconsin-based collective has shown their ability to strip a song to its emotional core and rebuild it with raw, unfiltered candour.

The affecting exploration of loss, love, and the painful intersections between the two makes the intensity of the emotions palpable from the first note, as the vocals quiver under the weight of heartbreak. Isiah Driessen’s voice, laden with sorrow and yearning, delivers each line as if the wounds are still fresh, allowing listeners to step into his world and experience the pain of a love that could no longer survive in the wake of tragedy.

The instrumental arrangement further amplifies the track’s emotional depth. Gone are the synth-pop hooks that made the original so iconic; in their place is an expressive acoustic guitar that seems to echo the heartache embedded in the lyrics. The fretwork speaks alongside the vocals, visualising the fire that still burns, despite the devastation left in its wake.

The decision to cover When Doves Cry was clearly not taken lightly, and it shows in every carefully considered progression. This is music as catharsis, as a means of processing the unthinkable. With each strum and vocal tremor, Isiah & The New People invite listeners into their emotional landscape, offering a glimpse of the pain that led to this release, resulting in a track that challenges you to reconsider the original, now layered with the weight of lived experience.

When Doves Cry will be officially released on August 28th and available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Follow Isiah & the New People on Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Palace became heirs to the rock n roll dynasty in ‘Looking at You’

Just as royal blood ran in the veins of Prince and Queen, The Palace is just as imposingly majestic in their debut album, Rainbow Shades, which hit all major streaming platforms on June 9th.

The standout single, Looking at You, is a rapturous riot of Broadway-esque blues rock, with the shimmering Organ keys aiding the transcendence of the experience around the bluesy piano glissandos and the reverent rock electric guitar solos.

Star quality emanates from the natural charisma of the frontman, who utilises his soulfully profound dynamic vocal range to bring this stellar slice of rock n roll to visceral life. If your rock playlists are lacking serotonin, give them a potent fix by making Looking at You a staple.

To launch their debut LP, The Palace performed on the main stage at Indy Pride Festival, following a series of performances to capacity crowds throughout independent venues in Indianapolis.

Stream Looking at You on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Interview: Bella Moulden tells us all about her outstanding new single Wire

Chatting to us more about her striking new single Wire, Bella Moulden shows us all about her 80-synth-pop tone and her outstanding multi-instrumentalist lifestyle. Telling us more about her idols and watching proper MTV back in the day, this is a thrilling interview which will electrify and inspire many to reach their dreams.

Hello, there Bella. Please let us know where in the world you are from/based and how many instruments do you play?

I’m originally from Buffalo, NY and I currently live in Belmont, NC.

I play about 5 instruments—self-taught. Piano, Guitar, Bass, Ukulele, and Percussion. I have been playing piano and singing since I was 9.

Do you have any family members who got you involved in the music industry or how did you get the music bug?

I am the only one in my family that is involved with music. I am a strange anomaly. I can’t really tell you how I ended up involved with music, it really just happened. I think a lot of it could have been watching MTV when I was a kid, in the early 2000s they’d still play music videos and performances. I think that’s what inspired me really want to start doing music.

What inspired your retro style?

Sheesh, so many things. Austin Powers, Jimi Hendrix, Prince, Wendy, David Bowie and so many more. The 60s/70s/80s had the coolest fashion. It also helps that I have a natural afro.

Please tell us all about your new single Wire.

My new single, “Wire,” is about the electric feeling of falling in love. I wrote, produced, composed, and performed the song in its entirety. The sound was definitely inspired by the 80s, with the synth-pop and reverberated guitar solo.

What inspired you to use a 4/6 double-neck guitar for some parts of your shows and videos?

Before using a double-neck for some of my stuff, I would literally stack my guitars on top of each other, having two separate guitars hanging around my neck. It was ridiculously heavy and immobilizing. I wanted to transition over to different instruments at a faster rate, so at the time this seemed like the best option. It made me wonder if there was a double neck guitar with a bass, rather than a 12-string. A lot of searching and I found quite a few, it’s a rare design, but I immediately had to get one! It works great when I use my loop-station, as seen in many of my videos.

Please tell us all about SelfCare and the process behind it being well-known all over the world?

I wrote, “SelfCare,” back in 2021 in the car waiting for my mom in the grocery store. It was a tough time due to the pandemic. Between school, music, and working I was highly stressed out. I was burning out quite a lot. With that, I really wanted to hear a song that reminds me to take a break and that it’s okay to not be okay. I couldn’t find any at the time, though I’m sure there are tons! I ended up writing my own. When we got home from the store I immediately went into my room and started recording. On the ride home I already had the melody in my head. I wanted it to be simplistic. Something repetitive, similarly an affirmation. I wanted it to get stuck in my head.

It began to get traction on Tiktok a year later, earning over 50 million views and over 150 thousand videos. With that, it also is doing great on Spotify! I’m glad this song is doing well and that its point is getting across. Definitely, the perfect song to jam to in the morning while drinking coffee!

Last, is there anything, in particular, you wish to achieve in 2023?

This year, I wish to perform at more festivals!

Listen up on Spotify.

Interview by Llewelyn Screen

World renowned saxophonist legend Lil’ Maceo calms all anxiousness away into the sky on 2MRO

Taken from his upcoming album called Evolution, the much-respected Lil’ Maceo turns all worries away into the westerly wind with a breathtakingly memorable performance to treasure forever on 2MRO.

Lil’ Maceo aka Mr Funky Sax is an award-winning indie jazz saxophonist who is well-known all over the world and performs with masterful class.

Lil’ Maceo has shared the stage with a host of music giants including Prince, Cyndi Lauper, JT Taylor, Maceo Parker, Nick Colionne, Euge Groove, Marcus Johnson, Cyril Neville, Sinbad, and Gavin DeGraw.” ~ Lil’ Maceo

Projected so expertly and with that proficient energy which we mere mortals shall never fully comprehend, Lil’ Maceo is rather illuminating on 2MRO and shall galvanize the world into being a much better place to live.

2MRO from the award-winning jazz saxophonist Lil’ Maceo is a perfect way to spend 6 minutes and 31 seconds. Each note is rather splendidly intertwined deeply within our souls, to float our tired hearts away into a much better place in time. Furnished with a gloriously precise arrangement which will untangle those self-made nets of doom, calming all souls in the process and displaying the actual power of delightful music.

Listen up on SoundCloud. See more via on IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Zackwa is on his own experimental plateau in ‘All Praise and Glory’

With the fluid transitions between the Prince-Esque vocalised harmonies and the blazing rap bars that are just as convictive as RZA’s, Zackwa’s latest single, All Praise and Glory transcends the constrictive nature of genre boundaries. That is before you account for the experimental accordance in the ambient electronica meets new age hip hop instrumentals.

Zackwa strives to rise above the mundane energy of the world, and it’s safe to say he is not only in another league. He is operating from a new dynamic plateau, constructed by his autonomy and inclination to verse introspective gold into the strained atmosphere of the 21st century.

Check out the lyric video for All Praise and Glory on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Strays of the World gave dark-electro soul in his latest single, Hello

Strays of the World

Fusing the iconic guitars of Robert Smith with the signatory filthy production style of Trent Reznor, Strays of the World’s latest single, Hello is a stunningly dark convergence of alt-electronica, post-punk, and a little bit of soul-pop flavour through the Prince-esque vocals.

Once again, we definitively see that romanticism tinged with a touch of gothic inclination is a hypnotic sonic elixir, especially under the duress of Strays of the World with his affable vagabond soul. The LA-based artist easily conjured one of the most distinctive contortions of alt-electronica we’ve heard in recent years. It threw us right back to the collaboration between Bowie & Reznor while showing us the future of dark electro.

Check out Strays of the World via his official website, YouTube and Facebook. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The RnB-inclined fusionist, KaEl has released his alchemically intimate single, LondonTowne

‘LondonTowne’ is the standout seminal release from the RnB-inclined genre alchemist, KaEl. At the start of his career, the Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter committed to expressing his life, epiphanies, and afflictions through his music; he definitely came through in LondonTowne.

The low honeyed bass guitar and soft bluesy electric guitars create a stunning dynamic to the instrumentals that mellifluously flow under KaEl’s passionately demure classic-style RnB vocals. Any fans of Prince, Frank Ocean, Ye and Tyler, The Creator won’t want to miss out on this euphonically unforgettable release.

The official music video for LondonTowne is available to stream via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

OneNamedPeter explores the pleasure-pain connection in his artful cosmic pop single, Hurts

Ahead of the release of his fifth 100% DIY album, Hurts, the alt-indie British singer-songwriter, OneNamedPeter, has given us a teaser by letting us taste the cosmic pop textures in the bitter-sweet title single.

If you took Prince’s solos, Elliott Smith’s raw songwriting style, the dreamy chamber pop style of Daughter, the spacey gravity of Bowie and threw them into an aural cocktail with orchestral motifs to boot, it would pour just like the intoxicating soundscape, Hurts.

Nothing about the high-fidelity production feels less than professional. OneNamedPeter knows just how to conjure enough alchemy to wrap around his lyricism that explores the pleasure and pain connection.

Hurts is one of those tragically rare releases that you immediately know you’ll want to dive into time and time again. We’re stoked to hear how the LP ensues after the title-single set such a blissful and accordant tone.

Hurts will officially release on March 4th, 2022. You can check it out for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast