Port Harcourt bred singer/songwriter, LT‘s his first body of work ‘Out The Trenches’ documents the past three years of his life. A seven track, soulful, groovy, synth-heavy, rhythmic project, intentionally put together to showcase the outer-worldly range and drive he possesses as an artist.
Creating the majority of the project from a headspace of gloom, self reflection, and hunger, LT had to channel all these emotions, igniting light out of a place of darkness, hence the title Out The Trenches. LT’s scintillating range in songwriting, performance and cadence shines through on every track, affirming a thematic expression that characterizes a phase personally and artistically. Alongside creating a delicate sonic world that incorporates elements of R&B/Soul, Afrobeats, Trap & Reggaeton, owed to an impressive list of production collaborators, from Killer Producer, Abel Lead Us, Mazi Spice, Trizzy Beatx to other session vocalists and instrumentalists who added to the depth of the project.
Released today (2nd June), LT’s debut ‘Out The Trenches’ is a strong first impression by an artist tipped to go the distance. Have a listen to his collection below…
‘7:05’ is a six-track project that gives a deeper insight to the person (Surulere Bankholemoh) who most have come to know as Nigerian artist and producer, 705.
Released last Friday (26th of May), the E.P starts off with a surreal but yet motivating track entitled ‘Daily Prayer’ which gives a real introduction to the artist, sharing insights on his beliefs, hometown and upbringing. With party tracks like Arabian nights & Spender ‘7:05’ paints a full picture of 705 as he grab life firmly by the horns and live it to the fullest and party! The dark, sombre contribution from tracks, ‘Pain’ and ‘Over’ paint a vivid picture of returning to the everyday reality he lives once the good times are over.
705 is a . Born in Lagos, 705 was raised by his grandmother before moving to London in 2001. Influenced by so many great artists such as King sunny Ade, Fela kuti, Michael Jackson, Tupac and 50 Cent, 705’s sound is a fusion of Afrobeats, R&B and Hip-Hop Music and 7:05 EP encompasses all the genres into a pleasurable listening experience. Check out the project below…
Danish, London based musician, producer and vocalist MARIE DAHLSTROM releases her highly anticipated second album ‘A Good Life’ via her own JFH Records label. The release of new album ‘A Good Life’ today arrives exactly three years to the day since the release of her debut album ‘Like Sand’ in 2020, and features collaborations with acts including Jay Prince, Kofi Stone, Cory McKenzie Tribbett and Delleile Ankrah.
Working with some of her closest musical allies across the album on its production, notably Young Poet/Ninja Tune signee Conor Albert and her partner Dan Diggas – who has previously lent his talents to the works of Mahalia and Central Cee; braiding together sun-kissed RnB, Nordic jazz, and resonant neo-soul, Dahlstrom strives to create a tapestry that presents life completely and truthfully, where leaning into moments of the dark and the light which make the days – and the music – all the richer.
Hers is a voice with the kind of divinity that could only be god-given. That sense of soulfulness – so hard to quantify but unmistakable to the ear – meant that Marie Dahlstrom went far beyond crafting sounds but rather singular worlds, where mood, ambience and emotion were instruments to be commanded like any other, pushing the parameters of what RnB is and can be.
Marie Dahlstrom contains multitudes, a thousand selves co-existing and contradicting at once. A singer-songwriter. A mother. A producer. A partner. “These different pockets of life also create friction,” she acknowledges.
The album is about dismantling the idea that your validity as an artist diminishes when it’s not the focal point of your life, that being a parent negates creativity. Marie went on to say:
“I’ve been figuring out where I belong, what I’m supposed to do and how I fit into all this – because I am so much more than an artist. When you have big dreams or goals and you see time being taken away from achieving them, and going towards something else – how do you make that a positive experience? There are always challenges, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good life. A Good Life is based on reflections from a few years of my life with many changes and adjustments. It’s an album about human interaction in all its complexity.”
The scope of Marie’s ambition not only for herself, but those she admires, was something she once could explore with abandon – but the arrival of her son meant that she had to recalibrate the woman she had been with the mother she had become.
‘A Good Life’ is a testament to her determination to embrace every dimension of who she is without limitation, to hold onto her passions even when they are no longer the most salient priority in her life. “I wanted to make sure I kept my essence for him,” she insists – and so A Good Life was nurtured in the spare evenings when she put her son to bed, written during a transitional period lived out of boxes between London and Copenhagen as she and her partner sought to renovate their permanent home.
From the introspective RnB-kissed duet of resilience that was lead single ‘Clouds’ featuring MiC LOWRY’s Delleile Ankrah, and the understated grooves of ‘Make It Up To You’ featuring Birmingham-hailing rapper Kofi Stone, to the nocturnal piano-led ‘Too Much To Ask’ and the shuffling beat of the Jay Prince-featuring ‘Let Me In’, Marie Dahlstrom’s spectacular second album ‘A Good Life’ is an instinctive, spontaneous and arrestingly honest depiction of an era of her life – a snapshot in time.
Marie Dahlstrom is supported and praised widely at press by the likes of Billboard, NPR, Complex, The Line Of Best Fit, Mixtape Madness, NYLON, New Wave Magazine, Wonderland Magazine and more, as well as being listed as a ‘Sleeper Pick’ by Joe Budden (twice) on The Joe Budden Podcast (the most influential podcast in R&B and hip-hop globally). Marie Dahlstrom has also received substantial radio airplay from BBC 1Xtra DJ’s Jamz Supernova, DJ Target, Toddla T and Rinse FM’s Jyoty.
‘A Good Life’ was released on Monday (22nd May) via Marie’s own JFH Records label…have a listen below…
Must Listens: A Good Life,The World Feels A Little Better,If I Belong (Freestyle), On My Own
Billy Paul Williams has proven to be one of the most talented and innovative EDM music producers of the modern era. What sets him apart from the rest of the crowd is his innate musical ability and knowledge of multiple genres, effortlessly switching from jazz to hip-hop, deep house to lo-fi – he’s confident and versatile, no matter the medium. Simply put, he’s just so much more musical than most of his contemporaries. Not only a great technician, BPW is a gifted musician who is flawless in his musical choices.
On one of his latest projects, under the guise of Modern Atomists, BPW takes some of the greatest disco hits of all time and reimagines them in the absolute chilliest of ways, bringing his special touch to create ‘Disco Chilled With A Twist.’ Volume 2 of the series features reworks of such deep disco classics as Goldie Alexander’s ‘Knocking Down Love,’ Luther Vandross’ ‘Never Too Much,’ Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes’ ‘The Love I Lost’ and many more vintage tunes from the genre’s golden years. As an added bonus, special remixes of a few tracks that appeared on Volume 1 are added, including an Avant Garde version of ‘Brandy,’ the O’Jays classic, alternative mixes of the Italo Disco hit ‘Love Is Gonna Be On Your Side’ and BPW’s version of Johnny Bristol’s ‘Hang On In There Baby.
Why not take a trip down memory lane with a modern twist below…
Must Listens: Love Won’t Let Me Wait, The Love I Lost
‘Harmonic Strain’ is an epic collaborative EP NEW LEASE MUSIC long-time staple FLY VON and producer Lil Kobes.
With Ili Kobes providing compelling futuristic wavery tones and a heavy dose of the bouncing bass introducing the mini set, which manifests to featherily soulful layers towards the end, and fly Von’s delivery easing into each arrangements, it’s hard to believe that the pair produced the EP in just a month.
Their burgeoning collaboration started when Fly Von did a freestyle lil Kobes’ track ‘Pull Up n We Flex’. Now the pair take circle back and combine their passion for melodic/lo-fi music through this five track set. Check it out below…
New Lease Music 