Creativity on top form – a song that masters the space between the comfortingly familiar and the outright unexpected. Artist and performer Lauralie drives with cascading layers of melody and mystique, throughout this revealing yet modest ode to an unnamed subject of admiration.
Singles
An impressively modest and melodically hypnotic debut from Paul McCartney’s son James – Primrose Hill speaks volumes on behalf of an artist who has clearly found the essence of escapism that is the joy of true and uninhibited songwriting.
Featuring a pristine intertwining of delicate synths, a choir of breathy vocal layers and modest organic rhythms, This Life feels like a near-euphoric ode to the atmospheric musicality of eras past – as well as an inspiring and uplifting celebration of life and the world itself.
Born and raised in the Philippines, Jesse Posis now resides in Dubai, and brings to modern music a unique level of cultural and stylistic variety. His debut single depicts a clear passion for the escapism and rhythm of music, presenting a colourful guitar arrangement and equally optimistic vocals in keeping with an organic and familiar overall groove.
Monsters blends story and style in a way that’s frankly unrivalled right now. We’re in the artistic territory of early 2000s triphop and dark dance – the melodic appeal, the depth and weight of distortion and design, the conceptual detail and subtle riffs. Genre feels like a secondary aspect of what is ultimately an artistic encapsulation of mood and scene.
Catchy synths reverberate for a disarming opening moment, before distorted warmth and rhythm present a wholly encompassing groove. Hannover’s Betweenzone always bring the professionalism and reliability to modern music.
Just seventeen years old and already carving out a classic but fresh sound as a modern producer. DJ Jan is set to close down this year’s Monster Energy Catalunya MotoGP Grand Prix, alongside a plethora of other noteworthy appearances to follow, and the sheer intensity and creative edge of TEC quite naturally highlights why.
Promising verses more focused than ever, a fast-paced outpouring of scenes that captivate, Trial is a song based around the Franz Kafka novel The Trial, and delivers a breathless encapsulation of that across less than a minute and a half of music.
Spanish flavours and gritty fragments of natural world sound unite amidst the tropical bounce of grant4ore’s Drought day riddem.
Taking Names offers a plethora of deeply poetic, metaphorical and impressive lyrics – the sharpness and intelligence of which permits the song the worthy status of requiring you to listen more than a couple of times to grasp every idea. There are depths to the music, and as such, each time you do revisit, the music and story hit with all the more impact.
Hailing from Garut in West Java, now creating out of Jakarta, long-time guitarist and songwriter Sonny brings a welcomed twist of humility and heart to alternative rock.
The familiar ache of desperation, of inescapable self-burden, resounds throughout the fearlessly honest lyrics of the song, and the contrast between these thoughtful, clearly informed verses, and the heavier resolve of the hook, helps the topic and feeling really connect.
It’s a simple but essential take on the matter, and the music sounds immense – hopefully Better Off Alive will reach the right people at just the right time.