On Valentine’s Day, Manchester’s rapper, songwriter and record label owner of Manchester Music Group, MR. JONES has dedicated his new single, ‘You’ to his significant other over a bed of heavenly tones that’s reminiscent of the golden hip-hop era of the late eighties/early nineties. The track features his label mate, Soul 31, who graces the chorus with his velvety smooth vocal performance.
Mr Jones hit the ground running with his debut album, ‘Long Running’ and follow-up project, ‘No Time To Waste’, which collectively received way over a million streams. Quickly becoming known for his witty bars and clever rhymes, this smooth wordsmith is currently working on his third album, coming out later this later.
Welsh Alternative Psych Rock band HOLY COVES have released their brand new music video for single ‘Grey’ via their ever growing new YouTube channel. ‘Grey’ is the third in a series of five music videos created by award winning Ukrainian Filmmaker ‘Taras Merenkov’. Merenkov’s hazy cinematic style of direction really emphasises the music and makes a formidable visual. ‘Grey’ is taken from the band’s acclaimed new album ‘Druids and Bards’ which is out now via Welsh label Yr Wyddfa Records.
2022 has been quite a year for Holy Coves. The quartet were championed by Gary Crowley on BBC Radio London, Steve Lamacq on BBC 6 Music, with BBC Radio Wales support from Huw Stephens and Adam Walton.
RLYBLONDE– the project of Brooklyn-based multidisciplinary artist Carina Allen – is making her musical debut with the release of her first single, ‘Fantasy,’ out on all streaming platforms today.
While this may be her debut as a singer-songwriter, rlyblonde is no stranger to the music industry. The New York-based twenty-something has long been the go-to photographer, videographer and creative director for numerous musicians. After years of supporting other artists and friends’ visions, she decided to put down the camera and pick up the guitar for a change.
rlyblonde’s well-established visual world is given new dimension with the launch of her music project. In addition to handling all of the songwriting and creative planning, she has also overseen the conception, production and direction of the music video (out February 17th), and collaborated with friends to plan out and shoot her own artwork and imagery.
Her introductory single, ‘Fantasy,’ flickers between gritty alt-rock and serene, melodic pop. Lyrically, the song echoes the familiar themes of heartbreak, identity and growth that can also be seen in her past self-portraiture and personal photography work.
“‘Fantasy’ is really about being frustrated with dating culture and the performances that women (especially women dating men) have to put on, almost out of necessity, until it hits a point where it all becomes too draining,” she explains. “At the same time, it’s also a song about the power of women, the power of illusion and seduction, the power of confidence, and the power of being anonymous.”
rlyblonde will be unveiling the ‘Fantasy’ music video at her debut performance at Heaven Can Wait in New York on 17th February…but for now, have a listen to the single below…
VANESSA MOOD (Vanessa Moodley) is a South African born singer, international award-winning songwriter, producer and entrepreneur. A newcomer to Canada, her music is soulful, passionate and often tells stories of intimacy that leaves one feeling less alone in this world.
Her sincere and heartfelt new song, ‘Work Things Out,’ is about forgiveness—for ourselves and those we love. Faced with a challenging situation, this one felt unique, as previously in other relationships that had reached this point, Vanessa was willing to walk away. But with this one, that was not an option.
Her life kicking off at the tail end of apartheid, Vanessa had no idea that a career in music was something that was available to someone of her skin colour or gender. It was only after completing a degree in music, which started as an escape from the pain of her father’s death, that she realized that she needed music. She hoped for more than her early learnings of jazz and began by exploring her love for pop music.
Have a listen to the stunning ‘Work Things Out’ below…
Released on EMK through Kartel Music Group, LIV EAST’s latest single ‘So Badly’, is a kaleidoscopic concoction of dance, alt pop, R&B and neo soul, which captures the vibrancy and diversity of her East London roots.
‘So Badly’ is Liv’s second solo release, and the first of many works with South London producer Lokes LDN. The track also features some of London’s best jazz musicians – Benedict Quinn on guitar and Callum Connell (Secret Night Gang) on Saxophone.
“So Badly was born out of a time when I knew I had met someone of importance but the timing just wasn’t right”, explains Liv, “I had to remind myself of the mantra ‘nothing real can truly be threatened’ and step back with grace. I felt parallels with many other situations in my life. We had just come out of a pandemic where we were all forced to surrender to redirection and hold our hands up to the universe. No matter how badly we want something, it won’t always (or rarely ever) pan out the way we want it to. So Badly, for me, is about the art of surrender but still keeping faith”.
For singer songwriter Liv East, allowing life to follow its natural flow is vital. It’s about bending and swerving with the punches and trusting the path that you’re on, confident that in the end, everything turns out exactly as it was supposed to.
Liv’s musical career started off in 2019, working alongside Hackney’s grassroots label Root 73 (also home to the Silhouettes project) with a collaborative hip -hop / neo-soul EP. Then later on that year came the soulful dance track ‘You’re My’ on Defected’s well known disco label Glitterbox – a balmy, summer day anthem that’s just soared past an impressive four million streams. Fast forward to the present day, where it continues to receive support from house music Dons such as Moodymann & Jayda G.
And then there’s ‘I Miss Having Someone To Talk To’ (2020), another dollop of buoyant grooves that’s elevated by Liv’s distinctly fluid delivery. Produced with Folamour and released on his FHUO label, the track currently sits at over seven million streams.
Since life has started to open back up again post pandemic, Liv released her first solo track ‘Kitchen’ which landed heavy support from BBC introducing. Followed by another epic dance collaboration ‘I Need You’ with hugely successful producer duo KOLIDESCOPES via Defected’s latest imprint, The Remedy Project.
New Lease Music 