Following the release of her single, ‘Bright Lights’ last month, Los Angeles-based artist, AMAARA returns with another offering in the shape of single, ‘Still’ – a lush, ethereal pop piece that attempts to distill her experience of love into metaphor.
‘Still’ is one of AMAARA’s favourite songs from her debut LP, ‘Child of Venus’, which documents the journey of rediscovery, transition, and rebirth. The project also encourages the prospective listener to take time out for reflection and introspection.
AMAARA briefly explains the inspirations her debut LP: “I’ve been on a journey of looking into my own childhood conditioning, the notion of unbounded creative genius and where that gets lost in adolescence. It’s a reflective period marked by the question of who I was at the core of myself before I started to be shaped by my environment.”
A rock and trap-indebted singer-songwriter with the charm and bearing of a modern pop star, AUSTIN JAY is in many ways Los Angeles’s best-kept secret. Building on the success of previous singles, ‘Loving on You’ and ‘Things You’ll Never Know,’ he returns with his highly-anticipated self-titled debut EP, Austin Jay, out now across platforms.
Crafted with renowned producers Caleb Hulin (Avril Lavigne, Demi Lovato) and T Black (Hip Hop Atlanta, Marques Houston, and Pitbull), the EP fuses alternative pop/punk soundscapes with cutting-edge trap elements, showcasing the next evolution of Austin’s sound. He adds, “The EP is about not conforming to what society says you have to be and creating your own lane in life.”
The EP’s focus track, ‘Demented,’ blends captivating guitar stabs with Austin’s powerful vocals to provide a commentary on the heartlessness of modern relationships.
“‘Demented’ set the tone for the entire EP,” shares Austin. “It was the first song I worked on with my incredibly talented producer Caleb Hulin, and we connected right away, making the song in our very first session. It’s the song that really established and cemented my sound moving forward, with its mix of alternative pop/punk and modern trap music. I wrote it coming from a place of angst. I think modern-day romantic relationships are too casual, you know? I’m not a casual person. I’m a romantic at heart, and I miss the old-fashioned, dramatic, infatuated romance from old books and movies I love. Demented is about my problems with casual relationships and how so many people today are afraid or unwilling to truly commit and call it love.”
LA-based/Manhattan-born singer/rapper Austin Jay unapologetically combines 2000s Pop/Punk with modern Trap music. After going viral with covers of Khalid’s “Location” and Billie Eilish’s “Ocean Eyes,” Austin Jay has developed an 80k+ following on Instagram with his first original three single releases amassing over 350,000 streams on Spotify. He is also a dynamic live presence, earning a fanbase as the lead singer of the widely acclaimed band ‘Earth to Mars’ and touring nationally with his own band.
Austin Jay’s self-titled EP was released last Friday (9th June) across various music platforms. Have a listen below…
Must Listens: Fuck Ur Apology, Things You’ll Never Know, Hands Up.
Hong Kong raised, Los Angeles-based artist/producer DEB FAN releases her highly anticipated debut EP ‘Gemini Moon’.
The haunting six-track offering is centralized around duality in two parts; first being the search for control both internally and externally while grieving a heart-wrenching breakup, and second being the duality of Fan from a cultural perspective, as she continues to embrace expressivity while unlearning the social standards that were ingrained deep in her mind as a young girl in Hong Kong.
Written in the solace of her Los Angeles bedroom, the 24-year-old’s lush, ethereal vocals juxtaposed against brash, grungy production intentionally paint the polarity of her natural being, furthering the narrative of the vulnerable experience of searching for oneself post-breakup. In Asian culture, the moon serves as a symbol of feminine power, and Fan’s striking debut EP is a nod to this new chapter.
“Growing up in a traditional Chinese household, I didn’t know what expressivity meant because of how my culture views my gender,” Fan explains. “Moving to America was a huge step in understanding the essence of being a woman. I’ve learned to embrace the power of being hard and soft at the same time. This is captured in Gemini Moon. Because of my innate duality, this project was written from a place that is half realistic, and half delusion, Gemini Moon taking into account all perspectives.”
‘Gemini Moon’ is constructed around cinematic themes, each track detailing a specific feeling throughout her mourning process while listeners immerse themselves deeper into Fan’s world. From numbness (‘Run My Mind’), to lust and love (‘Rules’), depression (‘Pull My Hair’), delusion (‘Thru & Thru’), anger (‘Three Nights’), and passion (‘Rules – Acoustic Version’), ‘Gemini Moon’ tries to answer the unanswerable questions such as ‘why am I here,’ ‘why do I do this,’ and ‘what is my purpose here.’
In the early stages of her artist career, Fan has been championed by an impressive list of music tastemakers, including Billboard, Lyrical Lemonade, MTV, Earmilk and Early Rising to name a few. She has landed placements on Spotify Editorial Playlists including All New Indie, Ethereal, .ORG, Poses, Fresh Finds, Fresh Finds: R&B, Fresh Finds: Indie, Mood., Radar: Hong Kong, Simmering, +852 Rising as well as over 20 New Music Friday playlists.
Deb Fan’s debut EP Gemini Moon solidifies her position as the must-watch artist of 2023. Have a listen below…
Must Listens: Thru & Thru, Rules, Run My Mind, Three Nights
LYDIA RENÉ‘s single, ‘Leaving’ is a deeply emotional account of what it feels like to leave a relationship in turmoil. The piano and strings, along with Lydia’s increasingly soaring vocals, create an atmosphere that draws the listener into a very intimate space of heartbreak.
A Jersey native (currently residing in Los Angeles), René was recently featured on BET.com as an artist on the verge and she’s been seen and heard on Apple TV + , Amazon Prime (Man In the High Castle Final Season 4.4 million views on Youtube), Disney + (Lady And the Tramp Trailer 7.9 million views on Youtube) and many more. Lydia René has also recently worked/collaborated with Ledisi, Lukas Graham, Bobby Brown, Mike Posner and many others.
Always pushing boundaries, you can expect the unexpected from alternative-pop artist MAGGIE ANDREW. Her signature sound meshes dreamy, synth-laden melodies together with edgy lyrics.
Inspiration can come from the most unpredictable places, like maybe when you’re trying on your first grill at the jeweller’s! Maggie’s bold and upbeat song, ‘Biting Ice Cream,’ came from that icy, white image of wearing a grill and thinking about getting ice cream on a hot California afternoon.
The track is 75% attitude and 25% sexy with bouncy 808s and playful melodies. Check out the official ‘Biting Ice Cream’ music video below…
