Song of the Day: Tedious – Xondra

Taken from her much anticipated EP, ‘Tedious & Brief’, released early this month. New York-based singer and songwriter XONDRA‘s single, Tedious’, is a fervent ballad about finding the strength to reclaim time, energy and love.

“It is a song for the people that love so much and so hard that they sometimes forget to save some for themselves; it is for those learning to step out of survival mode and really live in the present,” says Xondra. “’Tedious’ is me putting myself first. It is me allowing myself to to walk through the hard feelings I was having and still be hopeful that good times were coming down the road for me.”

Often blending elements of pop, rock, R&B and indie-pop, her music explores feminist themes with heartbreakingly honest delivery. Through the six-track EP, Xondra shares her experience of being a woman trying to survive in a man’s world. “I wrote this story for all of the people who have been hurt by the people who were supposed to love and keep you safe,” she says. “I wrote Tedious & Brief for all the people learning to speak up even if their voice trembles.”

Have a listen to ‘Tedious’ below…

Song of the Day: Closing In – Sumi

A Tokyo-based singer/songwriter with imaginative lyrics and genre-blending sound, SUMI combines contemporary western sounds with elements of her roots. While living in Los Angeles, she played in several bands and collaborated with artists and producers writing and recording songs that featured in network shows like Teen Titans Go, Naked and Afraid, and Ellen Degeneres Show. She has also recorded for “G’Day USA production “Honoring Liam Hemsworth and Helen Reddy, and performed at “An Evening of Wicked Fun: Honoring Stephen Schwartz” as a pianist.

Her debut single ‘Closing In,’ deals with the pressure of her personal expectations, as well as the expectations of others and society while surviving in the music industry. It exposes the struggles of the fear and anxiety constantly colliding in her head that made her doubt herself and become overwhelmed by insecurity. Sumi integrates her Japanese identity and instrumentation with western modern pop and future bass.

You’re about the go on one hell of a Journey…Check out ‘Closing In’ below…

Song of the Day: Leaving – Lee Paradise

Champion by the likes of Under the Radar Magazine, FLOOD, Exclaim, CBC Radio 3, Toronto’s Dan Lee, aka LEE PARADISE‘s ‘Leaving,’ finds him flipping the shadowy nihilism of his 2020 release, The Fink (supported at Pitchfork, Electronic Sound, FLOOD, Exclaim and more) upward into a sort of cybernetic universality. This is Dan Lee in producer mode, veering away from the pursuit of a singular musical direction rooted in personal vision, towards a process rich in collaboration, emotional expansion and tonal exploration.

Lee’s music is typically widescreen, indebted to polyrhythmic psychedelia that melts, bubbles, whirrs and clanks. ‘Leaving’ dials into this aesthetic once more welding clunky percussion with laser gun synths and a buoyant bed of electro-pop running underneath. His self-described cyborg-funk is on fine display once again as he muses, “Sunday comes so easy / Monday I just stay in bed” in a meditative, self-reflective manner before kicking into the gooey 80s-pop indebted chorus.

‘Leaving’ is lifted from Lee’s highly-collaborative album, Lee Paradise & Co. now out via Telephone Explosion Records.

Jessica Wilde Shares Deep Pop Single, ‘Kissing My Best Friend.’

London singer/rapper and producer JESSICA WILDE has had a huge 2022 pulling out all the stops on her acclaimed debut album ‘Sober,Wasted,Wasted,Sober’, released earlier in the year and heats things up again with a winter jam blaster entitled ‘Kissing My Best Friend’.

As Jess continues to embrace support from all the right quarters at Spotify and BBCRadio 1, Complex, Clash, 6 Music and 1Xtra among others she shows up again with an undeniable dance floor and bedroom bouncer which not only gets you moving but lyrically also gets you thinking about today’s gender norms, sexuality and other taboo’s as she keeps breaking down barriers through generously and openly sharing her deepest desires and thoughts in the most irresistible ways only a true pop legend in the making can.

Through her brutal honesty, sharp witted lyricism and evocative singing vocals, ‘Kissing My Best Friend’ is a journey into the depths of Wilde’s mind, holding us on the edge of our seat with a cinematic musical backdrop and South London grit as she’s… ‘Thinking of Kissing her best friend’. These are the kind of thoughts most wouldn’t dare to share or speak out loud, but Wilde’s bravery wants for nothing as she continually holds nothing back.

Of the single Jessica says, “This song is exciting for me as it’s my first self-produced release. As a female artist it feels really good to be seen not only as a voice but also as a producer. ‘Kissing My Best Friend’ is a very personal tune but hopefully my best riends won’t figure out which of them it’s about haha!”

Wilde is not only busy releasing groundbreaking music but also selling out shows at the Iconic Hootananny Brixton and Laylow with her rapidly expanding brand and event ‘PxSSY PWR’ in which she spotlights the most exciting female talent around! She also just landed an Ad Campaign with ADIDAS as the voice for a new women’s running trainer featuring all the top female athletes from around the world.

Wilde has collaborated with the likes of Rudimental and watch out for new tracks coming soon featuring Wilde from house legend Todd Terry and producer, DJ Carly Wilford…bur for now, have a listen to the racy single, ‘Kissing My Best Friend’…

OUT TODAY: Listen To Cherry Lena’s Heartfelt Single, ‘Toxic Woman’.

Montreal’s alternative Pop R&B singer-songwriter CHERRY LENA‘s new single, ‘Toxic Woman’ explores the idea that people should not see their pain as a weakness, but rather as an opportunity to grow into an elevated version of themselves.

Lena confides, “This song is a sort of letter to myself. I wrote it last summer, at a dark time of my life. Whenever I feel down, I have this strange sensation that I’m stuck in a web of eternal negativity. Losing my sense of time, It’s like my sadness overpowers every part of my being and I feel incapable of relating to others. Relying only on myself in these moments, this song kind of represents the interaction between myself and a past happier version of me.”

Written in producer Jay Lavigne’s home studio, Lena set about encapsulating her truly cathartic musical messages in her new single with passionate vocal energy, backed up by rising synthesisers and contagious melodies.

Hoping that listeners will find resonance amongst her rhythms, She continues, “I believe It’s only when we feel down that we really truthfully hear music’s messages. I think that applies to this song too. Anyone who’s experienced any sort of deep sorrow in their life will feel connected to this song. I’m hoping it’ll bring some sort of comfort.”

Having first captured the attention of audiences with her performances on The Voice Quebec in 2018, Cherry Lena continues to win over the hearts of listeners across the globe. Her cover of Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good” in collaboration with Apashe has received more than eight million views on YouTube alone.

‘Toxic Woman is out today (10th November) across various music platforms. Listen below…