Browsing Tag

producer

JANAYAH & Marcus Wiles brought euphoria to the dancefloor with their liberating EDM anthem, NOTHING TO LOSE

Posted on 6 November 2023

With their tantamount talent, the debut single, NOTHING TO LOSE, from the emerging vocalist and lyricist JANAYAH and EDM producer Marcus Wiles, who are both enrolled in the prestigious BRIT School in London studying music and production, respectively, is a radio-ready affirmation that whether they’re honing their collaborative chemistry or going solo, they’ll both have an illustrious career ahead of them.

The way the tension and emotion-fraught stabs of piano keys under JANAYAH’s stridently pitch-perfect vocals lead up to a mind-bendingly liberating drum n bass-drenched EDM crescendo signed, sealed, and delivered a promising future for the duo.

Their reverence for EDM and ability to emanate the same meticulous song-crafting flair as the likes of Calvin Harris, 3LAU, ChrisLake, Joel Corry, David Guetta, and Tiesto, will leave you on a knife edge as sharp as the hooks.

Once the monolithic momentum grips you, you’ll be at the mercy of the powerhouse duo. We can’t wait to hear the sophomore release after getting to grips with the transcendent debut, which could easily be considered the strongest EDM debut in 2023.

NOTHING TO LOSE is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The genre alchemist James Urquhart is set to unleash his progressively prodigious hit, The Tearz and the Pain

Posted on 4 November 2023

The genre alchemist and one of the top producers in the UK, James Urquhart, drifted through a melodic menagerie of style in his latest single, The Tearz and the Pain, which is locked, loaded, and ready to drop an atom bomb of ingenuity onto the airwaves.

With all the hooky body-rocking flavour of 90s boyband pop in the deliciously infectious vein of the hit that announced Backstreet’s Back after a mellow 80s RnB opening sequence that Seal fans will give the seal of approval, Tearz and the Pain reaches its high-octane peak in a euphoric intersection of drum n bass before winding the track right down again.

The progressive prodigy left us arrested with every aural transgression and convinced us that labels will be hammering down the door to his professional studio, which he uses to produce his and other people’s hits. Previously, his music has been distributed by Hed Kandi and Let There Be House; there’s no telling who will pick him up next.

Follow James Urquhart on SoundCloud and Instagram to be the first to know when The Tearz and the Pain drops; with the soul it sonically unleashes, it is more than worth the wait.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Gain a lesson in virtue with Cagri Raydemir’s Absence of Patience

Posted on 25 October 2023

Taken from the four-track EP, Absence, which extolls the virtues of patience, candour, courtesy and tolerance, the opening single, Absence of Patience, featuring Julian Hesse on trumpet, is some of the Munich-based singer-songwriter and producer, Cagri Raydemir’s finest work to date.

After teasing a post-punk atmosphere in the intro, exotic folk nuances begin to weave their way into the progressively avant-garde production before Cagri Raydemir’s vocals become a magnetic centrepiece in the sonic pool of beguile. Imagine Serj Tankian turning his talents to folkish prog rock, and you will get an idea of the organic alchemy caged within this exemplary feat of artistry.

12 LPs and 7 EPs down, it is safe to say the qualified recording engineer and artist has honed his sound and his ability to bring lyrical concepts which explore the human condition to life within his soundscapes. We can’t wait to hear what he conjures next.

The Absence EP was officially released on October 16th; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Zach Haselow brought purity to passion in his synth-pop hit, Rent Free

Posted on 1 September 2023

Get hooked on the reverb-heavy retrowave synth lines in the latest electro-pop hit, Rent Free, from the Alaskan icon in the making, Zach Haselow.

With a soundscape that finds the middle ground between the Weeknd and the Midnight, it is all too easy to get into the lush electronic grooves of Rent Free, which soulfully pays homage to the phenomenon of all-consuming romantic obsession while traversing the insecurities that desire can forcibly manifest.

The humbly sweet hit couldn’t be purer in its passion or more polished in its production; the melodies seem to effervesce around the funk-dripping basslines that will arrest your rhythmic pulses and refuse to let go until long after the fadeout. After spending over a decade perfecting the art of songwriting and producing, Zach Haselow has achieved a sonic signature that is as honed as it is distinctive.

Rent Free made its debut on August 18th; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Wrap yourself up in nasir mf.’s latest exhilaratingly illusory single, twine

Posted on 31 August 2023

After contorting genres to his creative whim and distorting soundscapes beyond previously conceived limits while still maintaining exhilarating earworm appeal, the Brooklyn-based independent artist and DJ, nasir mf., arrived at the epiphany that music is as boundless as the artist orchestrating it. His latest single, twine, is the ultimate manifestation of his limitlessness.

By evading the hallmarks of the perfect pop track and arriving at a far more decadently illusory sonic place via his experimentalism, nasir mf. created a portal of hyper-surreal escapism with twine. The chiptune-EDM-pop amalgam twists with every progressive turn to ensure your senses are electrifyingly heightened while you’re experiencing the ambient melodicism evolve into hardstyle momentum.

This is far from the first time we’ve found ourselves obsessed about the Brooklyn icon’s ingenuity, and something tells us he’s got plenty left in the tank to arrest us with.

twine hit the airwaves on August 22; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

UK producer, James Urquhart, delivered a transcendent EDM anthem with Fire on the Track

Posted on 23 August 2023
James Urquhart

While some artists and producers need an entire discography to demonstrate their versatility, the Chichester, UK-based electronica chameleon James Urquhart only needed one blazingly high-octane dance hit, Fire on the Track.

With grime and pop vocals adrenalizing the mix and enhancing the eclecticism of the EDM earworm that defies the laws of gravity with the transcendence it provides, you only need one hit of Fire on the Track before you’re obsessed with the progressively exhilarating groove-oriented mix that would make even the most rational crowd lose their mind on the dance floor.

Even though it has been a while since James Urquhart delivered his latest mix, as he has focused on honing his talents, he’s released on labels including Duffnote, Let There Be House, INK, and Soulful Evolution. He has also worked with everyone from Amanda Wilson to Amy Pearson to Everette Peters to Meshach Broderik. If Fire on the Track is anything to go by, his hard-hitting house production skills have been well and truly honed.

Fire on the Track hasn’t hit the airwaves yet; follow James Urquhart on SoundCloud and Instagram to be the first to know when it drops.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Izzy Trixx created a rhythmic firestorm of an introduction you’ll never forget with ‘Our Friend Manuela’

Posted on 19 August 2023

The Indonesian-Irish DJ and producer Izzy Trixx made no bones about shaking the EDM scene to its core by unleashing the vibrantly electrifying house mix, Our Friend Manuela.

With one of the most transcendent drops you will ever follow the descent of while the euphoria floods through your synapses and rhythmic pulses, Trixx lets it be known that there are few better producers equipped to lead you to a euphonic utopia. With over 7k monthly listeners after releasing her debut single, success isn’t just on the cards for Trixx, it is a given.

After spending ten years behind the decks, Trixx learned what it takes to make a crowd move; all her experience DJing everywhere from Singapore to New York, Jakarta to Germany was infused into her debut single that teased even greater things to come in her upcoming 5-track EP, But What If It All Goes Right. It is safe to say that there’s never been a better time to deliver hypnotically high-vibe sonic sanctity. For your own sake, get her on your radar.

Our Friend Manuela was officially released on July 21st; hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Wong Diane – Now Only Me: A Tenderly Triumphant Tour De Force

Posted on 13 August 2023

Wong Diane brought style to solemnity with her melodically eloquent composition, Now Only Me, taken from her 1st One Done EP.

With whispers of organ keys in the ethereal background to her minimalist piano-led score to create a luminous atmosphere for her lyrical melancholia to drift into, beguiling barely scratches the surface of this intimately raw exposition of loneliness.

Now Only Me could easily be classified as a tenderly triumphant Tour De Force from an artist who knows exactly how to lock horns with your emotional impulses with her Nils Frahm-esque piano melodies and delicate vocal lines.

As a music producer and composer, the Berklee College of Music and Hunter College graduate has contributed to a series of high-profile projects, including the Daily Podcast, Verizon Rewards and the Samsung Galaxy Watch Experience. She’s also garnered over a million Spotify streams on her most popular piece and performed at some of the most prestigious venues on the globe, but something tells us the best is yet to come from the only true emissary of soulfully diaphanous pop.

Now Only Me is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Andrew Ramey found the middle ground between ennui and euphoria in his indie trap pop single, just fine

Posted on 8 August 2023

With melodies that flow as mellifluously as Jack Johnson’s and Ray LaMontagne’s, the latest single, just fine, from the alt-pop songwriter Andrew Ramey, is a rhythmically arresting earworm that affirms its addictive propensities through the sticky-sweet trap-pop percussive fills and the assured ease of the effect-laden vocal harmonies.

Rather than add to the indie landfill of singles traversing visceral emotion, Ramey found the middle-ground between the extremes of euphoria and ennui to deliver a resonant and relatable hit that is an all too efficacious reminder that when you find moments of gratitude, even on the ordinary to the point of monotony days, you’ll realise that you’re just fine too.

The Birmingham, Alabama-hailing 100% DIY and independent artist and producer’s combination of melodic wordplay and hip-pop beats will undoubtedly see him go far in the industry. There’s no overstating how organically vibe-driven his playlist staple hits are. Find out for yourselves when just fine officially releases on August 8th; hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Feel the temperature drop to Absolute Magnitude’s artfully monochrome Drum and Bass single, Cold in November

Posted on 7 August 2023

Sonically signifying that even though the globe is hotting up our modern era of dystopia is growing ever colder in terms of connection, Absolute Magnitude’s latest cinematically monochrome Drum and bass hit, Cold in November, is an arresting sign of the ostracised times.

The magnetic resonance of the release is only matched by the disjointed glitchwavey artfulness of the release that traverses themes of all-encompassing loss that create wormhole-esque voids in our lives. With heartbreak underpinning the futuristic release, Cold in November reaches the pinnacle of visceral vulnerability.

Cold in November is just one of the tracks found on the forthcoming LP, Main Sequence, which is due for release on September 29; it efficaciously sets the tone for the emotionally and intellectually elevated singles that are set to follow in the footsteps of Bjork’s Army of Me Remix.

As you eagerly await the drop of the LP, stream the official music video for Cold in November on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast