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- April 25, 2022
Featured Music of the Week: 04.25.2022
Check out our featured picks for this week!
“Naked,” by Kasi Opi, Nevve: This artist is a Brooklyn-based electronic artist and producer. His sound is best described as a hypnotizing genre-mash between pop, R&B, and electronic music. Starting off 2021 with a string of collaborations, he continues to develop his sound for his solo project, while also producing for other artists.
This track, featuring the likes of Nevve, induces a wave of calm with its soothing introduction as cool vocals pour into the soundscape. And the lyrics compliment the production further with its raw energy and vulnerable lyricism.
“The Dream State,” by RIIKI REID: Launching her new project, this artist, also known as Raquel Abolins-Reid, has begun a new chapter of electric pop and rock. The multi-facets of sound allows her to create in a range of genres. Her first project, released in 2019, quickly hooked fans with her powerhouse vocals and sugary, indie-pop sound.
This single is an electrifying furthering of her craft, birthed from a time of musical exploration throughout the pandemic. Channeling her love of the alternative, the track was inspired by the exploration of sleep, and the merge through reality and dream in a process of creativity.
Dreams and the brain are such an interesting thing to learn about, and it intrigues me how things can happen in the real world and that can send your brain to some weird places in your sleep. Sometimes our dreams might mean we’re feeling more stressed out than usual in our life.
I wrote this song after being woken up by thunder at 2am. I was in a deep sleep, but the sound sprung me awake and startled me to my core. Because I drifted off again quickly; my mind convinced myself in my dreams that the sound was a spaceship that had landed across from my house. I felt like there was an apocalypse about to happen.
~ RIIKI REID
“Two Sparks,” by Natalie Shay: Twenty-one year-old indie and pop-rock artist, hailing from North London, has won multiple awards as she establishes her presence in the industry. A loyal fanbase adds all the more to her reportedly electric live performances and viral-worthy anthems. Her upcoming EP, NAKED, is a five-track release delving into the everyday experiences in her current stage of life, detailing relationships and how she progresses as a young musician.
Released with a music video, this single introduces much of what her next chapter holds; depicting a series of intricately performed vocals, paired with an infectious beat and 80s inspired synths, the song is set to be a sure hit.
I love authentic 80s synth and drum sounds, but I also love modern pop vocal lines and effects. And of course lots of guitars. I try to include a flavor of each of those things in my music. It was very important to me that all of the songs had their own unique stamp and vibe but still all fitted and worked together under the same project.
~ Natalie Shay
“Star Child,” by Sisteria: This masterful artist builds on the intensely captivating story that is psychedelic rock. As the first single from them, we are wrapped in the warmth and variety of texture and potential this artist holds as the track builds and burns slowly throughout the production. Layered with electric guitars and a soulful vocal performance, their sound is only just getting started, and the song’s ending leaves us yearning for more.
This song is for the freaks and geeks of the universe. We all have those internal and external voices telling us we should be ashamed of who we are. Dimming our light to fit into society has become some kind of right of passage upon entering adulthood. “Star Child” reminds us where we come from and that there are no mistakes or misfits in the stratosphere. Don’t let those demons win that tell you you’re not good enough.
~ Sisteria
“Garbage Love,” by All Things Blue: A psychedelic indie-rock band based in Los Angeles, this project is led by non-conformist frontwoman, India Coombs; teamed up with bassist and producer, Jon Joseph. Together, the duo creates a combination of whatever strikes them in the moment. While sticking close to the band’s nature of alternative sound, they blend folk and softer rock elements throughout, as well.
Leading the release of their new EP, Nothing Special, this single grapples with one aspect of life too all-encompassing to understand through tangible logic or information. “It’s not real, these chemicals that we feel. Like suddenly I’m alright again, I don’t have time for that”, vocalist Coombs sings amidst lilting guitars, delicate synths and psych-imbued production.
Typically when I’m asked to decide between career and love life I choose career. I enjoy the time that working on projects fills and I love having the privilege to create art. However, nothing fully takes hold of my mind, barring me from the distressing thoughts of existential dread like the feeling of loving someone…
~ India Coombs
“For A Moment,” by Romina Von Mohr: This artist is a Mexican-born singer and songwriter based in Houston. Her obsession with lyrics has led her through a path of self discovery, expression and exploration.
Making her debut, this single showcases nearly a decade of introspection and self-imposed hesitation, and the process in breaking free and discovering herself as she truly is. It inspires all who listens in a gleeful show of vocals and blend of multiple genres in her instrumentalism. Acoustic elements blend with a steady beat as an electric guitar blares its own harmony in the background throughout the climax of the track.
“I Know What I Want,” by Onyda: Inspired by the vast concrete expanse of Stoke that they call home, Onyda, also known by their real name, Shae Rhiannon, has descended like a dystopian cowboy clad in jewel-hued velvet.
Ahead of their debut EP, Queen of Duality, this track addresses the artist’s desire to embrace chaos, and celebrates its seeming inevitability. In embracing who they are as an individual, they create their own sense of chaos in creating and taking in all their unique characteristics that would categorize them as an “other” in society’s typical standards. Paired with a uniquely crafted video, the release showcases the roam down the streets through a journey of self discovery, much like a Wild West film.
I portrayed myself as this dystopian cowboy roaming the streets because sometimes the act of being yourself feels like being in a standoff with the rest of the world – it feels that way to me most days actually. I’m inspired by the landscapes of Stoke and I love documenting them in my visuals.
~ Onyda
“The Old Me,” by Edie Carey: This Colorado Springs-based singer and songwriter has been working full time as a performer over the last twenty-two years. Having started her career after wanting to become a doctor, she fell in love with her true passion and began her pursuit. Since then, she has won awards throughout her various records.
This track, an acoustic masterpiece in itself, showcases a practiced set of vocals in the forefront of an array of beautifully mastered instrumentals. It is the second single to be released from the forthcoming album, The Veil, and was written with a songwriting group. While focusing on rebirth and renewal, the piece lingers over the sense of loss of the past while equally appreciating the present and the transitions that have come since.
What was your favorite track this week? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to check out the tracks in full on our very own playlist!
