After grabbing the Song of the Day hotspot with latest single ‘Livin’ back in June, British songstress CILLA RAIE makes a sultry return with a brand new video for the single, produced by grime producer Treble Clef.
Blending in her delicate soulful vocals with the smoothest grime influences, ‘Livin’ is about embracing who you are and living your life to the fullest despite what people may say. The three-and-a-half production features Cilla in various photo sessions, living her life without a worry in the world.
‘Livin’ is out now across various music platforms…why not check out the video below…
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.
South African hip hop artist FLVME returns with second single, ‘Prayers Up’, following the major success of his first release ‘Let Me Down’.
From landing the top position on a coveted South African hip hop chart on 5FM’s 5 Nights, to a national press tour that included interviews on top local stations, features in all leading South African music publications as well as TV appearances, the release of ‘Let Me Down’ catapulted the South African rapper into a household name as he paves the way to the 9 September release of his full-length project Germander II.
‘Prayers Up’, a song that just exposes my faith, belief and relationship with God. Living in the world and how it is today, I just feel like it’s only right to stay prayed up. It’s also about embracing myself as a flawed human being and understanding that the future is never promised. So it’s just me trying to find balance between all the high and lows, staying ready for any outcome and more importantly, living in the moment,” he says.
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…
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.”
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