Polish duo BORDER impress intensely with their recent single Fading. Something of a nostalgic pop-punk effort with more punk-rock and grit than anything purely pop-inspired, the track features an immense rock set-up of distorted guitars and explosive drums, but counters and contrasts this brilliantly from one moment to the next.

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I’ll Be Your Dog is a rather simple but stunning folk-country single, something like Micah P Hinson, but perhaps more joyful – a mellow groove, a colourful vibe, and a beautifully interesting voice. The single is self-defined as an ode to Bob Dylan’s Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid, and welcomes an Americana set-up that quickly transports you to the centre of the live performance.

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Taiwan’s sykii blends the atmospheric nostalgia of electronic trip-hop and lo-fi production, with mellow but sharp, smart bars, and a distinct vocal tone that naturally helps set the sound apart.

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Brilliantly confident, quiet but up-tempo, unforgiving and loaded with lyrical gems. Osaragi is an insanely good modern hip hop track, and is simple in set-up but immediately distinct. Lefistos! clearly brings something fearlessly original to the scene, and his intelligent writing style and modest vocal tone unite with seamless swagger and charm.

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Huge pop anthems of a live-band aura and catchy, evocative songwriting – MatteoM’s long-anticipated album What Is It All About? delivers an extensive exploration of the vagaries of love and the difficulties they present. It begins with the hugely vibrant pop-rock anthem Change Of Heart.

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To coincide with the release of the evocative and atmospheric modern single 22:22, we caught an interview with Chinese composer and artist CDA REVE, to find out more about his unique journey as both an artist and a lifelong dreamer and creative. Here’s the conversation in full. * * * Hi REVE, such a pleasure … Continued

Poetic songwriting is key, finding a new way of framing a somewhat familiar sentiment or introspection, and then building a story and song around that central idea. The Architect encapsulates the value of that approach, quite literally in fact, and while the style is nothing ground-breaking, it doesn’t need to be.

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