Bringing together intriguing conceptual stories and retro, catchy production and hooks, Emalyon captures a perfectly unique and stylish new sound, with the haunting themes, ambiances, and upbeat jams, of In The Forests of the Night.
Trip Hop
Lo-fi rhythms and hazy bass, clean keys and catchy melodies – a dreamy indie ambiance and dynamic vocals guide us into a deeply introspective, relatable and comforting realm. Jordi and Sophie Woodhouse join forces, for the blissful earworm Think Too Much.
Dark atmospheric rock with thick basslines and tumbling rhythms, alongside whispered to softly passionate female vocals, carving out a thoughtful, ambient and provocative space – not unlike the peak sound of Portishead from back in the day. KEE deliver an edgy alternative take that’s captivating, and fully immersive, for Sound.
Dark and cinematic production meets with intriguing vocals and piercing poetic statements. The energy builds, the ambience engulfs, and meanwhile, the song slowly but surely tightens its grip with vivid, unignorable imagery.
Italy’s OP reflects artistically on the emotional and societal weight of global turmoil – war, elite profit making, and the moral stance of the many.
Lush and hypnotic old-school trip hop vibes bring mellow ethereal mixing alongside organic guitar riffs and softly spoken melodies. Germany’s ATOMIC FRUIT capture a sense of alternative brilliance, in my view, with the humility and dark melodic stylings of Medicine.
Ambient post-punk escapism of short rhymes and tuneful refrains – Manchester’s Lucigenic bring through a dreamy and rather anthemic indie hit, for the mighty Shine On.
Indie music raising the bar as ever for the true and expressive creative freedom that drives things forward. Zuko Sian captures something cool and artistic, a sound rhythmically dancing between alt-folk festival vibes, hip hop, RnB and alternative pop or trip hop.
From the ambient and cinematic, to the lo-fi jazz café and smooth, soulful indie pop vibes – counterglow follow instinct and emotion, throughout the colourful highs and lows of the intimate, immersive and rather classic album echoes of self.
Just 18 years old and already capturing the hearts and attention of tens of thousands of listeners, Makaio Huizar has achieved a uniquely introspective and ambient original style with his music. That style appears to culminate for the end of a busy year, with the release of his honest and heart-breaking alternative Christmas song Merry … Continued
Svartsengi emerges at just the right time it seems, when it can often feel as if music has lost its way, lost its depth, lost its magic. OUTER and Arve Henriksen capture something profound and powerful with this composition and song. The subtle artistry is phenomenal. An easy highlight from the year.
Retro electronic production and deeply consuming ambiance, a gentle vocal paired with a colourful, confronting electronica aura – something like the dawn of electro pop and trip hop, with a twist of complex, contemporary lyrical wonder… Close to Monday take the wheel for modern electronic rock, with the enchanting depth and direction of Breakdown Simulations. … Continued
To coincide with the launch of one of this year’s most interesting, unusual and compelling original debuts, we sat down with songwriter, artist and performer Shereen Suleiman, to talk about the complexity and power of Ghareeb. Here’s how it went. * * * Hi Shereen – great to meet you, I’m so excited to talk … Continued