Song of the Day: Suitable – Her Skin

HER SKIN‘s latest single, ‘Suitable’ is very personal song and is extra special as she wrote the song with her dad, who is also a musician. This is the third single taken from her forthcoming album ‘I Started A Garden’, that will be released later this year.

Her Skin says of her single: “’Suitable’ is a love song. I wrote it as a reminder that love should be something natural and spontaneous and not something that you can force. I just wanted to write a song that described this idea of love as something romantic, that transcends all distances, something that’s not really under your control.”

Originally from Modena, Italy, Her Skin – real name Sara Ammendolia – started writing songs when she was fifteen years old and always had a huge passion for music. The first song she ever liked was Le Freak by Chic and she now takes inspiration for her own music from many bands / artists including, Sibylle Baier, Vashti Bunyan, Mac DeMarco, Beirut, Joni Mitchell, Jay Malinowski, The Kinks, the Head and the Heart.

This year she has performed at numerous festivals including SXSW in Texas, The Great Escape in Brighton, Mondo in New York and Primavera in Barcelona. She has also done multiple tours around the world taking in Italy, France, Germany, Holland, Hungary, India and United States.

Have a listen to ‘Suitable’ below…

Song of the Day: Excuse Me – Zara Sykes (ft. Xtof)

With a sound that looks to pay homage to the smooth and romantic sound of 80s era R&B, emerging artist ZARA SYKES has shared her latest heartfelt swoon ‘Excuse Me’, featuring producer XTOF.

Lifted from XTOF’s latest compilation album ‘Damian’, ‘Excuse Me’ perfectly encapsulates the warm and breezy textures, elevated by Skyes’ stellar vocal performance.

Speaking about the release, “This track is an ode to and paying homage to Zapp and Roger’s ‘Computer Love’. Both of us are children of the 80s who grew up listening to songs such as this along with the 90s R&B and hip-hop. We wanted to take a track like ‘Computer Love’ with all its technological prowess for its time, and to put a contemporary feel to it.”

Rapping/singing since the age of just ten, Zara has worked with Grammy nominated producer formerly  known as Ecks music and has worked with various artists including  KID the Artist, Raju, Cassie Rowe, Soundmasters, Redstarr and Superbamz. She also supported Jay Z & Kanye West’s Watch the Throne (Birmingham LG Arena) Tour in 2012.

In 2014 Zara Sykes received her first official award ‘Inspiring Entertainment & Achievement  Award’ by Be Inspired Youth Award in association with Somewhereto and  AJN’s Annual Gala.

After cutting demo tracks which were used by likes of R&B group Immature, Xtof – real name Christof Jennings – started his indie label SMOKINGSFORCOOLPEOPLE this year, where he released first single ‘Excuse Me’ and his first compilation album release, ‘Damian’ this summer. Have a listen to the epic track below…

Follow Zara Banks via:
IG: https://www.instagram.com/zarasykes/

Follow Xtof via
IG: https://www.instagram.com/christofjennings/

Song of the Day: Better Days (Remix) – James Favron (ft. LTtheMonk)

Multi-talented singer and rapper JAMES FAVON currently finds himself thriving in the city of Hamilton, Ontario, where his love for hip-hop, street fashion, and dreaming big have been revived following years of personal hardships that needed to be endured and ultimately, overcame, in order to truly find himself as an artist.

Favron’s newest single remixes his track ‘Better Days,’ featuring a verse from fellow Hamiltonian LTtheMonk. The duo intentionally kept the musical backdrop as simple as possible, while giving it enough movement and build to not get boring. Keeping it to the same chord progression front-to-back gave them the opportunity to play with their lyrics in the verses and allow the words to move the listener along rather than the chords.

Watch the official video for ‘Better Days’ (Remix) below…

Song of the Day: Lil 5i5 – Cassie Marin

Los Angeles-based vocalist, producer and multi-instrumentalist CASSIE MARIN‘s single, ‘Lil 5i5’ is the final release from her much-anticipated album, also titled ‘Lil 5i5’, out from last Friday (12th August.)

‘Lil 5i5,’ was the first song Cassie wrote for the project and the one that would inspire the trajectory of the rest of the album. The song is a perfect encapsulation of the album, showcasing Cassie’s trademark saccharine vocals and infectious, glittery synth-pop production.

Cassie elaborates on the title track: “While writing ‘Lil 5i5’ I got to this place where I was more forgiving of my inherited and learned limiting beliefs. I was no longer beating myself up about them and I decided to have fun shedding all of this stuff that did not belong with my identity and values. I allowed myself to just let go and be honest, but also not take myself too seriously and have fun. I hope the listeners are able to feel that for themselves when they hear it.”

Constantly exploring new musical and visual dimensions, Cassie Marin has emerged as an avant-garde luminary in the left-of-center pop space. Her upcoming album, Lil 5i5, which will be out on August 12th, is a dynamic 19-track album that shows off Cassie ever-evolving musicality. Pairing the rhythms of dance music with emotive melodies and meaningful lyricism, Lil 5i5 sees Cassie at her strongest and most vulnerable yet. “I started pursuing music as a career because of what music did and still does for me; it saves me every day,” she says. “I want my music to be there for anyone and everyone who needs it the way that music was there for me.”

Have a listen to Cassie’s single below…

Song of the Day: Queen St – Jayd Ink

Toronto based, accomplished R&B songstress JAYD INK makes a welcome return with her smooth, meditative and self-reflective new single ‘Queen St’. Marking her first release since 2021’s ‘Way to Long’ with Snowk and following on from the huge success of ‘LowKey’ with fellow artist Full Crate, Jayd links up now with none other than SZA’s ‘Good Days’ producer Los Hendrix, to deliver a sentimental track enveloped in class, oozing with flair and dripping in complete and utter finesse.

Demonstrating yet again that she is an exciting contender in the realms of R&B royalty, ‘Queen St’ is quietly confident, intuitive and gorgeously understated. Reminiscent of the unmistakable sounds from the classic 90’s R&B era, Jayd manages to capture the essence of the greats all whilst weaving her own unique threads into the rich, vibrant tapestry of her music.

With more to it than initially meets the eye ‘Queen St’ was penned during the pandemic and became an outlet for Jayd to contemplate her internal, introspective narrative. The single found its name later on in the writing process and if you’re familiar with Toronto you may be well attuned to the place in which it pertains to, as Jayd explains:

“To clear my head, I like to go for a ride, play some music or just drive in silence. This record is about sitting with yourself and going for that late drive to unwind from the day. Queen Street is a popular street in Toronto, it’s where the majority of people do most of their shopping and hang out. During lockdown, it was deserted, so it was a perfect drive and I’d never seen it so empty. Whilst I was going for these rides I found myself exploring my city with fresh eyes, connecting with it in new ways and just learning to appreciate the memories that I’d had here and this particular street struck a chord and really stood out to me, like never before.”

With this newest offering it’s crystal clear that Jayd Ink has nothing to prove, carrying herself with the well earned knowledge that she has carved out her own exclusive path in the industry, in which she continues to bloom, flourish and grow at a pace defined by her. Prepare for a Summer of splendour as Jayd gets set to reveal her upcoming EP ‘Catching Red Lights’.

Check out the official video for Jayd Ink’s video below…