Canadian newcomer ELEANOR‘s new single ‘Waste My Time’, was inspired by a friendship that was tiptoeing into a relationship. With the guitar plucks echoing into a mesmeric backdrop and Eleanor harmonic vocals, the cheeky and flirtatious single has an unexpected lyrical reference in the chorus to “Kiss The Girl” from Disney’s The Little Mermaid.
‘Waste My Time’ has helped the Ontario-based singer/songwriter to recognise that not every song she writes has to be deep and pensive, “I can write things that feel light,” Eleanor says.
‘Waste My Time’ follows her 2022 debut single ‘Make Sense’ – which claimed the blog’s Song of the Week title back in December – and forms part of her upcoming EP, ‘A Late Bloom’. Check out the single below…
VARNISH LA PISCINE‘s jazz-inflected new single ‘Nubian Farlow’, oozes a lush, sprawling instrumentation, where the young artist glides between smooth bars and vocals in this breezy introduction to the world of Varnish La Piscine.
As visually compelling a storyteller as he is sonically, the release of ‘Nubian Farlow’ is accompanied by a hypnotic visualiser focusing on a chef filleting a bowl of fish. The playful shot is taken from Varnish’s self-directed 4-part short film which is being released episodically in the lead up to his EP release this March.
Both an audio-visual and musical work, the four episodes are inspired by the absurd humour of the Coen brothers and the stylised intricacy of Wes Anderson and were shot over 8 days at a lakeside location with the help of the production company Dissidence. The plot revolves around the lake and its magical fish who, for better or worse, entrance the local population with Varnish himself playing the role of a young fisherman (as well as many other actors, including new-gen French rapper Rounhaa).
‘Nubian Farlow’ is joined on This Lake Is Successful by recent release ‘Ring Island’, with the 7-track project comprised of a form of refined pop made up of diverse influences: rap, bossa nova, electronic synth, surf music, reggae and underpinned by Varnish’s singing and rapping as well as three guest artists Makala, Rico TK and Snubnose Frankenstein.
In the six years since the rapper, producer and singer arrived on the scene, Varnish La Piscine (Jephté Mbisi) has crafted a brilliantly creative universe inspired by his love of the iconic rappers and producers of the 2000s and the decade’s swirling, colourful music videos. Growing up in Switzerland surrounded by a family of music lovers, the music at home swung between his parents’ Congolese beats alongside 90’s greats like Sade, Sting and Phil Collins. But it was his love of the 2000s that made Varnish the artist he is today. Admiration for his first musical hero Pharrell Williams imbued in him the importance of combining creative genius with visual flair and that to create something interesting, you need to be different.
With props from the likes of Tyler the Creator and Pharrell Williams himself; the future looks bright for Varnish La Piscine…have a listen to Nubian Farlow below…
Detail-focused producer FEVERKIN‘s latest single, ‘Element & Moderate’ released via the Deep Heads imprint. ‘Element & Moderate’, is the first single to be released from the record label’s new compilation, Cosmic Vibrations Vol. 4, which will be released on the 26th of May.
A composer and producer residing in Portland, Oregon, Feverkin is the musical alias of Adam Orfale. Feverkin crafts his sound by sampling, morphing, and arranging recordings of traditional instruments. Drawing inspiration from Trip Hop, Future Garage, Lofi, Jazz, and Classical music, Feverkin strikes a unique balance between melody and beat, resulting in instrumentally-driven downtempo music that is both organic, glitchy, and moody. He takes inspiration from Burial, Alaskan Tapes, and Synkro to create music in the same vein as Òlafur Arnalds, Phaeleh, and Nightmares On Wax.
The beat work of ‘Element & Moderate’ is precise and intricate. As one might expect from a Feverkin recording, an array of instruments are scattered around the production. Upright Piano and Cello are just some of the many live elements incorporated in this incredible piece, not to mention loads of floating frequencies in which to lose oneself.
Feverkin tells us about the song: “‘Element & Moderate’ is about being at a crossroads and knowing the difference between which path you want to take and which path you need to take. This song started with a nearly 10-year-old recording of my friend playing the drums in a warehouse/office space. I edited and looped a particular part that had a vibe and built the song with the beat being the focus.”
Following her critically acclaimed debut LP, ‘A Sky Without Stars’, British artist ELIZA follows up single, ‘Midnight Rose’.
Speaking about ‘Midnight Rose’, ELIZA says: “We made this song Midnight Rose whilst writing A Sky Without Stars but we didn’t finish it in time. I didn’t want to let it slip by without sharing it with you. We finally got it ready for you to hear, here it is. Keep your ears peeled as there’s more (almost) lost music to come.”
ELIZA has seen press support from NPR, i-D, CLASH, METAL Magazine, DUMMY, OkayPlayer, CRACK Magazine, and a plethora of others. After playing a run of sold-out record store shows in London to celebrate the vinyl release A Sky Without Stars on vinyl, ELIZA has featured on Grant Brydon’s podcast, ITV London News, and Radio Nova. Thus far in 2023 standout single ‘Dripping’ has reached #1 on FIP Radio, and she has recently curated an hour mix for BBC Sounds, as part of their ‘Focus Beats’ feature.
Montreal-based indie-pop / bedroom rock band FLEECE brings along a soulful funk reminder to all of us to stop overthinking – especially about certain expectations others might have of us – and make life more simple in brand new single ‘It’s The Life’ – so go forth and act like a child, be silly, queer it up and just live your best life!
The song originally started as a live jam in the four-piece act’s practice space that they posted to TikTok. The infectious melody and steel-drum-sounding guitar, provided by producer Gus Van Go, capture the song’s fun, live-jam energy.
Released yesterday (22and March), ‘It’s The Life’ has been a massive hit at their live show as its carefree vibes the energizes the crowd…now it’s time for you to let loose and hit the play button on ‘It’s The Life’ below…
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