Category: Indie Pop

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Liv Eli Shares Dramatic “Goodbye Innocence”

Liv Eli is an emerging, Norwegian artist, who cites David Bowie, Radiohead, The Smile, Massive Attack, Ane Brun and a list of others. Although she has songwriting experience in previous musical efforts, as solo artist songwriting not only reflects a rich tapestry of inspirations but a much deeper exploration of songwriting. “After so many years, I have finally allowed myself to immerse myself in this side of my life.”

Eli’s upcoming album The Struggle For Peace Of Mind thematically sees the Norwegian artist delving into the profound impact of life’s coincidences and conflicting choices on one’s quest for inner harmony and peace. The album’s latest single “Goodbye Innocence” is a cinematic and dramatic bit of synth pop built around glistening synth arpeggios, gated reverb-soaked percussion, twinkling keys paired with Eli’s expressive and melodic delivery. Seemingly indebted to Kate Bush, Tori Amos and Massive Attack, and sounding a bit like it could be on the soundtrack of a bildungsroman of a woman coming to terms with her decisions and their impact on her life, “Goodbye Innocence” tells a story about the grave consequences of a life-altering decision that shatters preconceived notions of goodness and justice to reveal a life overshadowed by insecurity and constant vigilance.

“When crafting ‘Goodbye Innocence,’ I envisioned it as a film,” the Norwegian artist explains. “Throughout the production, capturing the ideal atmosphere was of utmost importance. Collaborating with producer Kristoffer Lo, I believe we achieved my initial ambition to perfection.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: MERON, deathbypeanuts and an All-Star Band Team Up on Sultry “Cold As Usual”

deathbypeanuts is a mysterious and rising Berlin-based producer, who has collaborated with an eclectic array of acclaimed and rising artists including Kelvyn Colt, Chris James, Noah Slee, Beau Diako, JOVM mainstay Marie Dahlstrom, Sipprell, J. Lamotta, and a lengthy list of others. 

Earlier this year, I wrote about “Superspeed,” a slickly produced track featuring a simple yet eerie piano melody, trap beats and wobbling, tweeter and woofer railing low end paired with MERON‘s delivery which alternates between hip-hop swagger and aching yearning for the song’s verses. Much like Majid Jordan‘s work, deathbypeanuts’ latest single manages to mesh the sultriness of contemporary R&B with trap swagger and catchy, pop hooks.

Recently, the rising Berlin-based producer released a live version of his debut single “Cold As Usual,” his first collaboration with MERON. The live rendition features MERON backed by a talented crew of players that includes Krept Konan’s, Lady Leshurr’s and Lion Babe‘s Jay Cobain (drums); Moses Yofee Trio‘s and Peter Fox‘s Roman Klobe-Barangǎ (guitar); A Song For You’s Alyssa Grace (keys); and deathbypeanuts (bass). The live rendition is a sultry and slow-burning, neo-soul-like take built around an easygoing and understated arrangement of fluttering keys, a supple bass line, bursts of squiggly guitar and a skittering yet propulsive backbeat serving as lush bed for MERON’s silky and yearning delivery expressing confusion, longing and frustration.

“’Cold As Usual’ captures the honesty of a situation, rather than dressing it up with unnecessary sentiment or cliches,” MERON explains. “It’s about those moments when relationships get frosty, and I wanted it to resonate with anyone who’s ever felt that same emotional distance.”

Conceived by Cycles Studio, the live video features MERON and the incredibly talented live band in a minimalist back set, shot with spotlighting and silhouettes to create a dramatic, cinematic quality.

“The vision was to translate the smooth and effortless sound of deathbypeanuts into a visual world,” Cycles Studio explains. “A minimal set, creative lighting, and a gliding camera were the tools we used to bring the song and the image together into an artistic union.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Milla Shares Lush and Gorgeous “Courbes”

24 year-old, Martigny, Switzerland-based singer/songwriter and visual artist Milla Besson is an an emerging artist best known as the mononymic Milla. Beeson studied music at College of Saint-Maurice and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Geneva (HEAD), which she graduated in 2021. Since 2019, the young Swiss artist has also collaborated with Marc Aymon, Jérémie Kisling and Aliose.

Besson’s Frédéric Jalliard and Yann Arnaud-produced three-song EP is slated for a March 1, 2024 release. Recorded between Switzerland and Paris, the EP will feature “Courbes,” a gorgeous bit of folk/pop built around a lush arrangement of strummed acoustic guitar, atmospheric synths, gently padded drums, twinkling bursts of percussion paired with Milla’s gorgeous and expressive vocal, which manages to convey a maturity beyond her relative youth.

Directed by Loris Theurillat, the accompanying video for “Courbes” is set at a local boxing club and is shot in a dreamy and breathtakingly gorgeous black and white.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Godiva’s Cinematic “Lions and Mermaids”

Godiva is an emerging, 20-something Jacksonville, FL-based singer/songwriter. She can trace the origins of her career to when she was a child: The classically trained North Floridian started performing with the Jacksonville Children’s Chorus when she was eight. She then moved to pageantry and singing competitions.

Enjoying writing and performing her own original material, she began recording and releasing material while gigging at local restaurants and performing at private events. She admits that while she enjoys doing covers and writing custom songs for clients, her favorite aspect of her work is performing her own material.

Her latest single “Lions and Mermaids” pairs a cinematic, trip-hop-meets-alt-pop-like production and arrangement featuring twinkling keys, strummed acoustic guitar and hushed, skittering beats with the Jacksonville-based artist’s soulful, smoky croon. Sonically, “Lions and Mermaids” reminds me a bit of Goldfrapp’s gorgeous Tales of Us, thanks to a similar film noir-like quality.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Sun Moon Sky Shares Cinematic “Into The Light”

Sun Moon Sky is a British-Swedish duo — Jenny (vocals) and Joe (production) — that can trace their history back some time: They’ve worked together for years with each other and in other projects, including a project that ended up on a label, touring and with material on soundtracks, while landing a Top 10 hit before calling it a day after complications and drama.

For the British-Swedish duo, Sun Moon Sky is a creative reset, in which they craft music that they describe as sad-but-hopeful, cinematic-yet-intimate pop that’s a island of empathy and escapism for these complicated times — both for themselves and for listeners. Sonically, the duo creates epic soundscapes that sees them pairing analog synths, programmed arpeggios, live instrumentation, drum machines and Jenny’s blues-influenced vocals. They describe their sound as seemingly existing in the space between several different genres and styles, and note that some have dubbed their sound art pop, apocapop, alt rock, electronica, sci-fi blues and more. 

Late last year, I wrote about the swooning “State of Grace,” an intimate yet cinematic bit of pop featuring twinkling keys, buzzing power chords, skittering four-on-the-floor paired with Jenny’s expressive delivery and the duo’s penchant for crating rousingly anthemic hooks that at points seemingly nodded at Eurythmics “Here Comes The Rain Again” and “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),” and Michael Jackson‘s “Beat It.”

The duo begin 2024 with the slow-burning and dramatic “Into The Light.” Built around gated reverb-soaked drum beats, Jenny’s gently vocodered vocals, lush layers of atmospheric synths and bursts of bluesy guitar, “Into The Light,” continues a run of shimmering and cinematic material rooted in earnest, heart-worn-on-sleeve intimacy that recalls Kate Bush and others.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Toronto’s Mawzy Shares Hazy and Introspective “Better Man”

Toronto-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist Matthew Cooke is the creative mastermind behind the emerging indie pop project Mawzy. And with the project’s debut EP Escapism and full-length debut, last year’s Long View, Cooke quickly developed an approach that sees him penning lyrics that capture the “unnavigability” of life and romance in his hometown paired with lush synths and crafted melodies.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Georgia Reed Shares Slow-Burning and Atmospheric “Back In Time”

Georgia Reed is an Aussie-born, London-based singer/songwriter and pop artist, who relocated to the UK back in 2019. After relocating to the UK, Reed spent the next fiver years, making a home for herself and carving a niche as a songwriter with a penchant for dark, moody material paired with cryptic storytelling. Speaking on her decision to relocate, Reed says “’I’d always been influenced by UK bands and artists. It played a really big part for me.”

Late lsat year, Reed shared “Haunted,” her first bit of new material since she relocated to the UK, and the first of four singles slated for release over the next few months to build up buzz for her long-awaited debut EP scheduled for a March release. “Haunted” paired a relentlessly driving rhythm section punctuated with dramatic drumming, phased-out synths paired with Reed’s smoky and expressive vocal. To me, the song was a hook-driven anthem that sounded as though it could have been inspired by Stevie Nicks‘ early 80s output with nods to much more contemporary fare, like Lana Del Rey and others while being rooted in lived-in, deeply personal experience: in this song’s case, that feeling of suddenly having the rug pulled out from under you. 

“I wrote ‘Haunted’ many years ago, at a time when my whole life had changed suddenly,” Reed says. “I would play it acoustically at shows, but It wasn’t until we started recording it that I realised it was probably my favourite song I’ve ever written.” 

Reed begins 2024 with “Back in Time,” a slow-burning and melancholy pop ballad featuring reverb-drenched beats, glistening and atmospheric synths, fluttering bass synths, boom bap-like drumming serving as a lush bed for Reed’s smoky and expressive croon detailing the achingly Romantic longing for a long lost love and a past that you can’t ever get back. While sonically recalling Kate Bush and JOVM mainstays ACES, the song as Reed explains is “for everyone who has ever thought of what would have or could have been, even if they really were just rose-coloured glasses.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Don Turi’s Sultry Remix of Ornette’s “Such A Game”

Deriving her name as a tribute to the legendary jazz drummer Ornette Coleman, Paris-based Italian-French singer/songwriter, composer and pianist Ornette was initially known for playing piano for Alain Bashung and acting for Jacques Rivette. Ornette stepped out into the spotlight as a vocalist with 2012’s Crazy, which featured album title track “Crazy,'” a track went viral when electronic act Nôze remixed it.

Since then the Italian-French artist has collaborated with Mike Ladd, The Toxic Avenger, Joris Delacroix, Brigette, Make The Girl Dance, Fink, Julien Lourau, Arthur H. and Micky Green on material released through Get Physical, Discograph, Barclay, Tôt ou Tard, Polydor, Way of House and others. She also went on to release two more full-length records, 2019’s Ornette New Remixes and 2021’s Aishiteru.

2021’s Aishiteru featured “Such A Game,” a slow-burning and atmospheric trip-hop-meets-dream pop tune built around glistening keys, thumping boom bap-like beats, a sinuous bass line paired with the Italian-French artist’s expressive delivery. Recently Don Turi remixed “Such A Game,” turning the slow-burning pop into a sultry, Octo Octa-like deep techno/house banger that pairs the Italian-French artist’s expressive delivery with skittering, tweeter and roofer rattling thump, and glistening synth arpeggios.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Dance For Me Mary Shares Breezy and Nostalgia-Inducing “Karma”

Back in 2007, music teacher Mary Fawcett and her husband, trombone player, Jeffrey Fawcett had a dream of opening their own recording studio, where they would hire their talented friends as employees — and share their passion for music with others for the rest of their days. Tragically, before the couple could begin the project, they were faced with the unimaginable: Jeffrey was diagnosed with stage four bladder cancer and died two months later. He was 54.

After Jeffrey’s death, a heartbroken Mary Fawcett swore to herself that she would never play music again, and even considered quitting her job teaching at Frank Antonides Middle School in West Long Branch, NJ, where she taught for a decade. But there was one thing that kept her moving through the school’s hallways: the light and talents of two of her students, Juilliard-trained vocalist David Smolokoff and Monmouth University graduate Francesca Fuentes.

Almost 16 years later, a 68 year-old Fuentes recruited her two former students to join the disco-inspired outfit Dance For Me Mary. When Fawcett called Fuentes about a possible collaboration between them and Smolokoff, Fawcett was surprised to discover a parallel between her and Fuentes: Fuentes was in the middle of separating from her partner and producer Max Wolf. Although Fuentes agreed to join the project, there were initially questions on who would be producing. After multiple failed attempts, all of the collaborators agreed to enlist Wolf a a producer.

Before they all started working together, Wolf and Fuentes were reminded of an important agreement held between them: Even if they didn’t succeed as a couple, they would always be bound by their shared love and passion for music. The result is Dance For Me Mary’s latest single “Karma,” a hook-driven and breezy bit of disco funk that to my ears sounds like one-part The Doobie Brothers/Michael McDonald, one-part Cher, one-part Donna Summer and one-part Bee Gees — and they do so in a warmly nostalgic yet playfully anachronistic manner.

The collaborators explain that “Karma” tells the story of a manipulative control free, who lies for their own benefit — and fittingly, they see their well-deserved comeuppance.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Marta Vega Shares A Sultry, 80s-Inspired Anthem

Marta Vega is a Milan-born, London-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who taught herself how to play guitar as a teenager, and then started to write her own songs. Over the past several years, Vega has been playing gigs across London and Milan, developing an emotive, dark pop sound, influenced by PJ Harvey, Portishead, Massive Attack and The Cure. During that same period, she also has developed a reputation for a captivating stage presence that sees her accompanying herself on synth, guitar and electronic percussion.

Vega’s debut single “Underwater” was released back in 2021. She recently released her sophomore single, the Andrea Tripodi-produced “The Kill,” is a melodic and brooding bit of hook-driven, 80s inspired pop that sounds a bit like a sleek and seamless synthesis of Stevie Nicks‘ smash hit solo work of the early 80s, Garbage and The Kills with Vega’s haunting, pop goddess vocal floating over a pulsating synth bass line, staccato beats, buzzing power chords.

“The lyrics explore the internal battle between logic and passion, reason and impulse,” Vega explains. “It’s about being aware of self-destructive behaviours but not being able to escape them.”

Directed by Luke Shelley, the accompanying video for “The Kill” is shot in a gorgeously cinematic black and white, that capture the longing, lust, and the never-ending battle between reason and impulse that’s at the heart of the song.

Vega’s forthcoming debut EP is slated for release in 2024 and will feature a collection of material that she has been working on while splitting her time between the studio and work.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Sun Moon Sky is a British-Swedish duo — Jenny (vocals) and Joe (production) — that can trace their history back some time: They’ve worked together for years with each other and in other projects, including a project that ended up on a label, touring and on soundtracks while landing a Top 10 hit before calling it a day after complications and drama. For the duo, Sun Moon Sky is a creative reset, in which they craft music that they describe as sad-but-hopeful, cinematic-yet-intimate pop that’s a island of empathy and escapism for these complicated times — both for themselves and for listeners.

Sonically, the duo creates epic soundscapes that sees them pairing analog synths, programmed arpeggios, live instrumentation, drum machines and Jenny’s blues-influenced vocals. They describe their sound as seemingly existing in the space between several different genres and styles, and note that some have dubbed their sound art pop, apocapop, alt rock, electronica, sci-fi blues and more.

Clocking in at a little over 3:30, Sun Moon Sky’s latest single, the swooning “State of Grace” is an intimate yet cinematic bit of pop featuring twinkling keys, buzzing power chords, skittering four-on-the-floor paired with Jenny’s expressive delivery and the duo’s penchant for crating rousingly anthemic hooks.

Seemingly nodding at Eurythmics “Here Comes The Rain Again” and “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),” and Michael Jackson‘s “Beat It,” “State of Grace,” as the duo explains “is about finding light and strength even n the darkest of times.” They add that it’s also “about how important it is to stand for something, for yourself, refusing to give up.”