Tag: alternative music

Isa Reyes Goes On A Journey Of Self-Growth With Debut EP, ‘Bels’

Led by last autumn’s ‘Whistles’ that helped her reach over half a million streams on Spotify, and her new single ‘Santiago’, which has been met with rave reviews and is being championed by KALTBLUT Magazine, Impose Magazine, IGGY Magazine and Ones To Watch, among others, to build on the recent support she has received from the likes of NPR, SXSW, RFB Magazine, and New York Foundation for the Arts, 22-year old New York City multimedia artist and songwriter ISA REYES unveils her long-awaited debut EP titled BELS.

Written and recorded by Isa Reyes, and co-produced by Gamal Abdu (Nyck Caution, Thutmose, Alex Mali) and Caine Casket, who comes backed by Complex, Office Magazine and Lyrical Lemonade, among others, with Reyes also collaborating with Julian Kaufman and Layla Ku from NYC collective MICHELLE on ‘Black Velvet’, the third song on the project, the 4-track BELS EP is music that connects, heals and empowers, driven by Isa Reyes’ enchanting vocals, atmospheric compositions, compelling songwriting, and alternative R&B / indie-pop sensibilities.

The record opens up with the intimate title track ‘Bels’, which is led by contrasting soft guitar arrangements and samba drums patterns, and sees Isa attempting to make peace with her childhood. The EP then flows into the hip-hop influenced ‘Whistles’, where Isa takes a self-reflective and appreciative look at the struggles on her journey so far, and the sassy sultry R&B ballad ‘Black Velvet’, over which she tries to reclaim her self-worth in a relationship, before culminating in the gripping pop-folk ballad ‘Santiago’, which serves to inspire others to navigate their path freely, and as a reminder to Isa that she still has so much more to offer to the world.

Speaking about the inspiration behind her BELS EP, Isa Reyes says, “Thematically, ‘BELS’ takes you on a journey of vulnerability, nostalgia, love, belonging, grief, depression, heritage, generational trauma, and coming to terms with the past. Each song is like a location and time in my life that I’m reflecting on or paying homage to. It is also an embodiment of processing for me. ‘BELS’ is the culmination of that journey, one that we are all on, one of the processes of self-growth and acceptance. For me, each track is a step into that process”.

Check out Isa’s Soothing EP below…

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Album Review: Sameways – Oloff

OLOFF circles back to the limelight with second project of the year, ‘Sameways’, which sonically takes on a more sombre route than its predecessor, ‘Expat’, which carries an appeasing presence of retro soul and samples that’s associated with the Golden Hollywood era.

A downtempo, yet somewhat airy electronic drive dominates the ten track set momentarily interrupted by melodic chants (as heard in intro track, ‘Always’), 808/hip-hop beats (in ‘Bonce’ and ‘Half Open’).

Covering the themes of eternal recurrence, amphetamines, paranoia and circular living, ‘Sameways’ concludes with alternating sounds of industrial soundscapes, that can pierce through the coldest of souls, and hypnotic chants.

Sometimes, I wonder what goes through the mind of this indie rapper, who creatives extreme off-the-cuff material that somehow (I think) has potential widespread appeal. If you’re inquisitive enough to enter Oloff’s world, why not hit the button on the album below.

Must Listens: Bonce, Half Open, Ten

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J Appiah Finds Sanity After Chaos With Single, ‘Breathe’

With tastemaker sites such as Complex, Clash and Line of Best Fit all shouting about previous releases and picking up support across BBC 1Xtra and BBC Introducing, Hackney born singer songwriter J APPIAH returns with ‘Breathe’, out today (October 15th) via his own label 19fifty7.

Already staking out his corner of the industry as a highly sought-after vocalist working with the likes of Jess Glynne, Madonna, Michael Kiwanuka, Footsie and Stormzy, J Appiah continues on his genre-defying path, proving himself as a musician in his own right. Genre hopping, and constantly remaking himself artistically, all his work is the sense of an artist true to himself and his feelings. Melancholic and stoic in tone and inspired by an eclectic range of artists, from Bill Withers to Blur, Grime to Soul, Appiah’s music conveys to us what it is to feel alive and human in the world.

Eerie beautiful strings foreshadow the dark bass hook, ‘Breathe’ is minimalist – claustrophobic even – but driven along by its fierce tunnelling groove. J’s stacked vocals give the song much of its atmosphere, recalling the playful vocal production style of Kanye West’s work in its demonstration that the best instrument is the human voice. Lyrically, ‘Breathe’ outlines the struggle not to not fragment under the multitude of stresses that life brings. Through its slick writing and the raw emotiveness of J’s performance, ‘Breathe’ is Appiah pushing his singer/songwriter skillset.

Ever more timely at this stage in the pandemic, a track we can all find a connection too – a reminder to take a minute and Breathe. Check it out below…

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Song of the Day: Sparrow – Chin Injeti

Multi-Grammy and Juno award-winning alt-hip hop and RnB artist CHIN INJETI‘s single, Sparrow, is an ode to ‘letting go’ and ‘taking life as it comes,’

“‘Sparrow’ is my little ode to freedom,” Injeti continues. “It was the perfect ‘escape’ when I was held ‘prisoner’ in my basement, as I wrote it in my home studio while I was in quarantine.”

It was within those restricted confines of self-isolation that Injeti unearthed a refreshed sense of inspiration and a steady stream of new songwriting and production projects — including the release of new singles, “Falling,” featuring Esthero on vocals and Delhi 2 Dublin’s Tarun Nayer on tabla, ‘For the Love of Life,’ featuring Teon Gibbs, ‘Golden,’ featuring Thieves Like Us, and now ‘Sparrow.’

With over 500,000+ streams across platforms like Spotify, YouTube, and more, Chin Injeti’s presence on the scene pre-dates such platforms; he fronted the iconic ‘90s JUNO and Much Music Video Award-winning band Bass is Base, was awarded SOCAN’s Songwriter of the Year Award, and enjoyed years of producing, creating, collaborating, touring, and performing with the likes of DJ Khalil, The Fugees, The Roots, Jamiroquai, A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Esthero, Bedouin Soundclash, and more.

Injeti has also created and taught curriculum for Vancouver’s NIMBUS, discussed the healing properties of music as a featured speaker at TEDx, and been long recognized for his life’s work as an inspiration, teacher, mentor, leader, innovator, singer, multi-instrumentalist, writer, collaborator, student, and yes, icon, with a star on Vancouver’s prestigious Walk of Fame.

Check out the lyric video for Chin’s latest single below…

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Song of the Day: Loving You (So High) – Freddie Future

Rising dance-pop musician FREDDIE FUTURE‘s single, ‘Loving You (So High)’ released via Physical Presents is gently lifting, thanks to its ,melodic and shimmering style and caressing basslines, where the Toronto-based artist bathes his light vocals in fresh electronic tones.

Freddie Future says of the single: “’Loving You (So High)’ was the first track written for this new project, and instantly I knew there was something special here. The song is about being so consumed with a desire for someone that their love feels like the best drug you could ever have. It’s that ultimate state of euphoria you feel when you truly love that person. The song started with a few vibey chords but really came together once the catchy vocal hook was made. “I get so high off loving you. So high, so high, so high”.”

Over the years, Freddie Future has been supported by noteworthy publications, including CLASH Magazine, Exclaim!, Variance Magazine, Northern Transmission, Toronto Guardian and Canadian Beats. With over 2.6 million plays across platforms, the artist has been featured on the Youtube channel MrSuicideSheep numerous times as well as on Spotify’s New Music Friday Canada, Fresh Finds and Just Vibing, Outliers playlists.

Here’s your chance to check the video for the single below…

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