Song of the Day: Rain – Shiraz

SHIRAZ makes a return to the blog’s hotspot for the second time with single ‘Rain’. The latest offering sees the teenage songstress exchange her neo soulful/pop trademark (featured in previous tracks, ‘Simmer Down’ and ‘Done The Dirty’) for an electronic/dance combo with strong nostalgic 80’s pop tones.

The release of ‘Rain’ is accompanied by a plethora of remixes from reputable producers, including clubland veterans TILT,  who co-wrote and single with the promising newcomer. It’s their driving beat and intense synths that, alongside the 17-year old singer-songwriter from Worcester, who’s vocals make this tune into an almighty earworm.

Check out the single ‘Rain’ below and the remixes below:

 

Song of the Day: For Ya Boy – Ninety7 (ft. James Brunnell)

After recognition from artists such as T2 , Nines & Aaron Unknown and blog features from Guap Mag , Blatantly Blunt and Hwing, North London’s very own NINETY7 is back and drops his latest single ‘Foryaboi’ featuring Jay Brunell, into today’s hotspot.

Inspired by artists such as Drake, Kendrick Lamar and Skepta, NINETY7 uses his influences to create a very catchy, high energy rap record. Known for his energetic performances at venues such as Ace Hotel, Concrete Shoreditch and Brixton Chip Shop, the Irish/Italian rapper is setting himself up to be the most exciting young artist coming out of London.

See if you agree…check him out below…

 

 

 

Song of the Day: U.F.O – Frazer

After dropping a snippet on Instagram that showed the making of his latest track ‘UFO’, the music world has come alive to revel in the producer-artist powers of FAZER.

Heading straight to the comments, some of the UK’s finest emcees including Octavian, Ghetts, LD, Frisco and Wretch 32 were quick to give their stamp of approval to the record and certify it as an icey cold joint, whilst others, including Bonkaz called for studio time ASAP, placing FAZER well and truly in the thick of the latest UK music wave.

Following a run of records that have seen him deliver creative, visionary music, something that he has always been famed for since his foundational N-Dubz days, ‘UFO’ is FAZER’s latest single. The trippy Trap instrumental lends on energetic grime flows and futuristic vibes that relate to the current sonics of current chart smashes yet it doesn’t get lost as it stands out from the crowd with its own style. Undoubtedly heating up to take the charts by storm alongside Dappy and Tulisa for the forthcoming N-Dubz releases, FAZER is working with no restraint as he takes his new music out of this world.

‘UFO’ is out now on all DSP’s. Check out the video release for the track on GRM Daily.

 

Song of the Day: The Hard Way – Swanes

Radio One-tipped Toronto duo, SWANES, comprising of brothers Michael and Stefan Bildy, share their butter-smooth new single, ‘The Hard Way’ onto today’s hotspot. The downtempo-R&B cut follows previous releases on French/Japanese label, Kitsuné (Parcels, Hot Chip, Simian Mobile Disco).

With its silky production, glittered with a compelling web of psychedelia, soul and R&B, ‘The Hard Way’ found inspiration, quite interestingly, from the brother’s somewhat infamous doomsaday-prepping relative, Bruce Beach. Beach owns one of the largest nuclear fallout shelters in Canada – The Ark Two – and after Stefan and Michael paid a visit to the shelter, ‘The Hard Way’ was coined, playing out as a concern with the rising threat of nuclear warfare.

Alongside tips from the likes of COLORS and Bandcamp Daily, as well as continued support from David Dean Burkhart’s esteemed YouTube channel, SWANES have found success on influential Spotify playlists such as ‘Indie All-Stars’ and ‘Fresh Finds’. The pair, who were recently highlighted by Australian electronic heavyweights, Future Classics (Flume, Jagwar Ma), have plans to tour North America extensively later in the year.

Check the funky smooth ‘The Hard Way’ below:

Song of the Day: Beast – Robin Taylor (ft. Lyndon Laveaux)

Inspired by the sounds of hip hop and pop, ROBIN TAYLOR blends her inspirations into one concoction that will turn heads – and volume dial up!

Originally from Fairfax, Virginia outside of Washington, D.C., Robin’s inspirations draw from the hip-hop sound hailing from DC as well as the pop obsession of suburban Northern Virginia. Working with notable producers from a young age, Robin’s first track ‘Kiss Me’ was a collaboration with songwriter/producer Mike “G” Guerriero (Billboard Dance Hit ‘Kiss The Sky’). Blending R&B/pop, the track quickly had thousands of plays upon uploading to YouTube. Soon after, she moved to New York City to further her music career where she quickly got to work honing her live performance skills as a solo artist performing in venues such as The Delancey, The Nuyorican Poets Cafe, Bowery Poetry Club, and more. Throughout that time, she was also in the studio with various NYC producers, honing her songwriting and recording skills.

Now based in Los Angeles, CA, Robin’s continued her work with notable producers, appearing on the track ‘Magic Kitty’ with Lyndon Laveaux, produced by The Track Burnaz (Future, Big Sean, Tory Lanez, DJ Khaled). The track quickly jumped to over 13k plays on Spotify and was picked up by The Kaliente Show on Dash Radio. Robin comes together with Lyndon Laveaux and producer group The Track Burnaz once again on this fiery new release ‘Beast.’ On the track Robin’s smooth pop/r&b vocals sing about keeping her self-confidence and living her dream as an artist despite life struggles. She delivers her story with catchy melodies that glide over the forward-moving hip hop production of the track, met with Lyndon Laveaux’s visceral flow and intricately personal rhymes. His change in rhyme signature and cadence aids him in being memorable on this track. Robin’s smooth voice and Lyndon’s dynamic energy complement each other in an organic way.

Over the past year and a half, Robin has been building her fan base through a form of social media called Live Streaming. Through live streaming singing shows, studio sessions, and her live performances, she’s built a loyal following on apps such as Live.me, Bigo Live, and Uplive. Since live streaming, Robin has performed on Live.me’s official channel, appeared in ads for various apps, and performed at Playlist Live, a convention for social media influencers, in March 2019. At this time, her and her artist friend Noel Beltran, who choreographed the routine, had a dance video go viral on the app Tik Tok, reaching 4 million views in its first 24 hours and garnering over 79k fans. The video now sits at over 8 million views and has been used in numerous ads for the app Tik Tok.

The past two years, Robin has been performing all over Los Angeles with a creative collective of her artist friends, putting their own events together called La Femme Pop. For these events Robin built a set design she calls her ‘stage cage’ which represents her encouraging people to break out of the ‘boxes’ of societal stereotypes. One notable performance was for an exclusive Let’s Link event on May 24, 2019 at a house party in LA where she and Lyndon Laveaux opened for Lil Xan with ‘Beast’ and ‘Magic Kitty’.

‘Beast’ was written over a year ago, during a studio session where Robin was live streaming to her fans. “Some of my fans remember this live stream in particular to this day, watching the process of ‘Beast’ being written and recorded in the studio. I actually had forgotten I live streamed the studio session until my fans told me they remembered the song!” “I wrote “Beast” about staying focused on my music despite life struggles and realizing my personal inner strength. That even though I’ve been through so much in my life, I’m still going to get up from defeat and be a ‘beast.’”

Check out Robin’s bad boy track below: