New England’s AŽ (DJ Ažurely) dominates with a fresh take on contemporary, alternative pop for this single release.
Alt Pop
Pushing the creative boundaries all the more so with perhaps his most heartfelt and poetic release yet, Miami’s D.Tech blends engaging melodies with sublime imagery and a soundscape designed to melt away your anxieties.
Initially reminiscent of M83, an eighties aura soon emerges, blending warm synths with an overall comforting audio wash that softens every edge yet embraces the listener in an energizing, uplifting fashion.
Ben Stout fronts the deeply atmospheric, contemplative project Memory Sphere, offering up an album of original songs and compositions that prove powerfully immersive, emotive, and a pleasure to escape within.
Fusing the delicacy of a seductive guitar tone with a compressed beat at a comforting pace, Dylan proceeds to offer an intimate, up-close and personal vocal line, which meanders through a simple melody; leaning softly towards hip hop in consistently effortless ways.
Won’t Let Go is an unusual track, but it plays this card with confidence and style. There are sudden moments at which the beat falls away, laying bare a change in melody, a change in tone and passion, and these help elevate the song to greater plains.
Tipping its hat just slightly towards the likes of Audio Bullys, yet never leaning so far as to become overly energetic or loud, My Own Way breathes optimism and possibility into the room.
As it turns out, the Belle Sounds are aptly named, and I Lose Myself manages to sound both nostalgic and forward-looking whilst remaining very much its own entity.
Genre-busting in the way that only music with disparate influences can be, Optimist bears many repeat listens as you unwrap its sonic charms.
Contrasting big beats and a warm, synth-led soundscape, with the absolute delicacy of a higher-toned vocal lead, Las Olas proves as exotic and ambient as its title implies, and introduces Pariz Noir in a uniquely memorable way.
ALDEN GROVES drives with unstoppable creative passion on this latest project. Whatever you’ve heard from him before, Reality Check rightfully reignites a whole new vision of the artist at work.
This is still early days for Ramsey, but his voice has the tone and character to hit with unique impact, and the emotion he injects into every release offers a genuine moment of humanity and natural talent.