Artist and rapper DarcyOwla is someone with a clear sense of original identity and purpose in modern music. The EP Destruction is uniquely distinct, both in its atmospheric, industrial production, and the varied flow and vulnerability of the voice. It’s a hazy mix, with cinematic nuance subtly adding dynamic throughout, and the lo-fi set-up and trap-variant rhythms all meet well with these often piercingly dark lyrical reflections.
Music
Brilliantly smooth production lights up an organic soul set-up and song. Rok Major introduces his 2025 album Never Too Late, with the old-school fluidity, charm, and smart bars of Love.
Creatively uninhibited, an artist with a clear sense of freedom at the helm, but whose intentions are deeply rooted in Faith. Jared Franco carves out a slick original lane in modern Christian hip hop and alternative pop, with the tribal rhythms, deep bass and soulful tones of Grace.
Capturing a moment through art and music – stylishly fusing genres and poetic images, for an instance designed to represent the seconds of divine glow experienced just before the sun sets. Heinrich Wood elevates a growing repertoire, with the catchy and immersive escapism of Golden Hour.
Gaming and music pioneers Play’n GO join forces with singer-songwriter Niamh Ni Mheara, for an ethereal to euphoric journey through delicacy and vastness.
The ever-creatively confrontational Ignatious C. Litroc takes things to scornful and stirring new levels, with the politely misleading title and impressively gripping alt-folk single Particles Of.
Former artillery soldier SamWaise explosively carves out a fresh new lane in modern EDM and production. His evocative and intoxicating fusion of metal and fiercely fast-paced dance makes for an impassioned and powerful introduction to the album Tragedies and Truths.
The crisp clarity of a finely-recorded acoustic guitar strum. A softly rising bassline, and beautifully vulnerable, honest vocals. Ferny G blends folk and pop with subtle nuance, for the deeply heartbroken I thought you were different.
Featuring an equally fuzzy set of visuals, representing the sheer joy and unity of the track, this is easily one of the most unorthodox but interesting and likeable new releases of the summer so far. J_basco rolls through the stages of the track with fearless attention to evolution and detail, but the opening moments far from depict that intention.
Stylish live-band urban pop music brings catchy grooves and soulful falsetto vocals. Lugo™ highlights the professional and smooth precision of his approach, with the uplifting seven-track EP Let Them Eat Cake.
Atmospheric progressive metal of extensive meandering soundscapes – an EP of genre-fusing takes both dissonant and harmonised, beginning with a nine-minute epic that feels like multiple tracks in one. Swedish composer and musician David Blomgren creates under the project name Valfreyja, and The Rose Of Rebirth is a multi-coloured, chaotic and conceptually profound look at the artistic freedom that drives his approach.
The dark-pop theatrics and haunting vocals of Stephan Folkes meet with boldly eclectic production and storytelling, as the UK songwriter and artist delivers his anticipated ten-track album Hazard.