OLOFF emerged into the NEW LEASE MUSIC spotlight for the second time with his latest EP, Life’s Got You Riveted, released earlier this month.
Described as genre-bending by the Bristolian alternative emcee, the four-track set offers up some real slick vintage hip-hop which works in unison with the (respectfully) wayward delivery that’s very similar to Mike Skinner from The Streets. It’s worth a listen – check it out!
Must Listens: Plughole, Smart Kind Of Arsehole
After bursting onto the scene back in 2011, featuring as a guest vocalist on Wretch 32ʼs critically acclaimed hit Traktor and penning Loick Essienʼs No.2 smash How We Roll, L MARSHALL has since been plotting away silently. His latest record Yellow Chevy was a collaboration with Supadups (Drake’s ʻControlaʼ and ‘Too Good’) and gives a first glance at the singerʼs matured style ahead of the release of his debut album The Amazing Time Machine.
Born Thomas Griffith in London, L struggled with having to conform during school. He remembers. “I was so much trouble that my mum decided to send me to Nigeria to learn some discipline!”. He returned to London at 18 to study Sound Engineering. During this time, he continued to build on the songwriting he’d started as an 11 year-old. Choosing the name L Marshall both in honour of a character from the Manga series Death Note, and as a nod to his joint hometowns of London and Lagos, he began to work with new producers.
L’s debut mixtapes The Wait and Kiss the Fire displayed a singer able to rock any beat; from gritty grime to emotive R&B, he flips effortlessly between fully-sung vocals to rap-sung choruses. Inspired by everything from relationships, to paying the bills, to dealing with life’s various poisons, this already proven hit-creator is modest but ambitious about his future goals. “I talk a lot about becoming known worldwide but I just want to reach as many people as possible… To be recognised and appreciated for what I do is really all I hope for.”
Check out the video to Yellow Chevy…and if you’re feeling this upriser, head over to SoundCloud and download the track for FREE.
It’s only been a week since ADILSON EVORA graced this blog with his golden hip-hop treasure, Puppet Master. Now the dutch emcee couldn’t wait to slam his latest reggae/vintage hip-hop offering, Rotterdam Legend (A Committee Gunmen Tribute).
Don’t leave him hanging, check out the track like yesterday!!! If you’re feeling the four-minute slammer, head over SoundCloud and get your copy for FREE.
Rising electronic star AWIR LEON hypnotise us with his new single Sitting So High, released via French label Nowadays Records.
Best known as one-third of the Indie Shuffle-approved electro outfit UNNO (featured on NEW LEASE MUSIC with track Blue Leaf,) AWIR LEON conjures up charming R&B vocals, lo-fi production and a flurry of glitchy tones. Gently nodding in the post-dubstep direction of artists like James Blake and Jamie Isaac, it also finds a dark yet playful line between the spacious sounds of Airhead and the husky tones of Nicolas Jaar.
Following in the footsteps of recent Nowadays successes like Sekuoia, Clement Bazin and Jumo, Sitting So High introduces Leon as another prime example of the label’s cutting edge talent. An artist for whom mood and texture is just as important as substance, the engine behind his new track is the sheer nostalgia that it draws out, which is aptly reflected in its accompanying visuals.
The track will form the first episode of a three-part video series of Leon’s upcoming debut solo album Giants, set to drop next autumn. Self-directed and choreographed, the visuals signify the producer’s most personal work to date and depict him dancing around on top of a coal mountain in the North of France; his movements erratic and unpredictable, yet fluid and graceful. Shot next to the house where the French artist grew up, Leon describes the video as representing the “starting point of his life”.
Laced with rumbling bass lines, moody synths and smooth vocals that wander freely between provocative trip-hop and melancholy jazz, Sitting So High clearly sets him apart from his successes as a collaborator and band member. With his solo nuance of new-wave vibes and broody tones, he is surely well on his way to becoming Nowadays Records’ most exciting export of the year so far.
Sitting So High is now available for purchase here.
Following the release of their debut EP, Do You Feel Electric? in December, electronic-rock duo MISS are back into the spotlight – and let me tell you – this time around, they’re a force to be reckoned with.
Unlike for delicately dark compositions featured in their four-track set, the explosive offering makes way for the gritty, low-down funky guitar riffs, flirting with the wayward drums, which creates a too-cool-for-school, 70s vibe. If you have a moment, boost your day and listen to the London-based alternative rockers at work.
