Hailing from a small town in Oxfordshire, TILLY VALENTINE starts the New Year with new single ‘Calendar Girl’.
Opening doors with her very own advent calendar counting down the days until release, the narrative of ‘Calendar Girl’ is about dreaming of a perfect future.
Valentine says of her latest release: “It’s easy to feel like other people are in love with perfect “calendar girls”, but by the next month they’re on to the next. ‘Calendar Girl’ is about commitment, longing for something long term.”
Earning its spot on New Music Friday, ‘Calendar Girl’ effortlessly reveals her trademark jazzy influences; an elegant vocal blended with retro alternative pop. The vintage inspired artwork hints at the underlying characteristics; wholesome, delicate and empowering.
So turn a new page for 2021 and watch the lyric video for ‘Calendar Girl’, available on your preferred music platform from 1st January.
Danish singer and producer MARIE DAHLSTROM teams up with London-based producer Dan Diggas and Canadian rapper Aligo for single, ‘Fall Down’.
The single represents the point in a relationship where a couple’s resolve is being tested. A delicate blend of hip hop, soul and R&B; soothing late-night R&B-flavoured production provides a luxurious base for Dahlstrom and Aligo’s considered vocal interplay.
‘Fall Down’ serves as the lead single of Marie’s EP,
The ‘4inARow’, out January 15th via JFH Records. ‘4inARow’ follows Marie Dahlstrom’s critically acclaimed debut album ‘Like Sand’ released in May earlier last year, and arrives hot on the heels of standalone single “Good Thing”, released in October – all released via Marie’s own label JFH Records – named after the block of flats where Marie, Dan and Aligo all live together.
Illustrator and experimental hip hop artist ASH SHAKUR‘s blissfully witty jam, ‘Anna’s Arcade’, takes you on a nostalgic trip down memory lane, via the arcade to play everyone’s favorite video games. Sonically, 8-bit game inspired sounds are woven into a boom bap beat produced by Masked Man, whilst Ash delivers playful bars based around his youth, unrequited love and his video games obsession. Listen out for lots of gamer references, as Ash uses video games as a metaphor for life’s obstacles, as he explains:
“The first verse explains a small part of the music game and how you have to watch out for those bowers! I wanted to draw parallels of life’s challenges to the levels on a video game”. The last verse highlights the theme of, how people play games ie: she’s playing hard to get – or he’s a player. I want Anna’s Arcade to be the place you think about having the most fun. Every time you listen, I want to bring you back to this feeling.”
The south Londoner is known for his leftfield take on hip hop, mixing witty storytelling with smooth melodies and catchy choruses his unorthodox style and flow has won fans across the globe. ‘Anna’s Arcade’ follows previous single Horror Flick’ which was supported by Adidas on Spotify and Indie Shuffle, whilst other tracks. ‘Lead The Way’ (released on Kitsuné Hot Stream), ‘Never Alone’, ‘Nokia’ and ‘Shine’ have courted wide spread media support from BBC 1Xtra, Noisey, Complex UK and Notion.
Ash is also the co-founder of Art Life Central, a collective that expresses creativity and freedom through music and fashion. He aims to inspire people through his vibrant visuals and incorporates this art direction across all of his musical content.
Check out Ash’s vibrant track below…may I take this opportunity to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas.
South London artist and producer AINA MORE could easily be described as one of UK rap’s best kept secrets, or perhaps one of the UK’s best new and emerging rap artists.
Having already been championed by tastemakers such as BBC Radio 1, The FADER, MTV and BBC 1Xtra, among others, and with The BRIT Awards featuring her on their BRITs compilation album a few years ago, the British Nigerian native should firmly be on your radar. On the off chance that she isn’t, Aina More is back in the frame to make sure of it!
She closes out 2020 with a fiery new track titled ‘Destiny’ and an equally fierce music video to go with it. Co-produced by Aina More herself and long-time collaborator Musiek Mambu, the track opens with an attention-grabbing sample of the Seun Kuti afrobeat classic ‘Bad Man Lighter’, before Aina More gets in her bag for two minutes straight, as she waxes lyrical in braggadocios fashion, about everything from her superior rap skills to decrying false prophets to the excellence of black women, while giving listeners an update on what she’s been up to this year.
Speaking about the inspiration behind ‘Destiny’, Aina More says, “With what I’ve been creating lately, there’s so much that I’m going to give of myself musically in the coming year, I have this unquenchable hunger to express myself freely, and ‘Destiny’ is the first part of that. Lyrically, I needed to remind everyone of just who Aina More is, and overall, I feel it represents my identity well, even down to the Oye 2.0-directed visuals – I’m very authentically Yoruba, but I’m also that girl that grew up in London, and sometimes I let my ego just do its own thing”.
With a fusion sound that can be described as a cross between Kendrick Lamar, Skepta and Fela Kuti, and a performance prowess that has seen her touring with Professor Green and opening for her idol Lauryn Hill, Aina More is typified by her unapologetic lyricism and cutting edge sonics, as highlighted as far back as her 2016 EP ‘For People With Short Attention Spans’ as well as subsequent tracks like ‘Girls Killing It’, ‘Afrikan Lady’ and ‘Healer’ that led to rave reviews and support from the likes of BBC Radio 1, The FADER, MTV and The BRIT Awards.
After the undeniable chemistry formed between R&B artists, Tyler Rivers, and Ty Rome, when they collaborated on their well-received single ‘Better Than My Ex’, the artists are now back as a duo under a brand new moniker that goes by LIKE TYE.
With creative energies taking a back foot for many artists during the pandemic lockdowns, the duo spent countless hours in the studio refining their sound and ultimately creating a uniquely vibrant brand. Their debut single ‘Be That Man’, is one bonafide R&B/pop tune fuelled with inspired and storytelling lyrics over an R&B throwback-inspired instrumental.
“We wrote this track from the perspective of a person in a relationship where they realise they need to step up before they lose what they have. The beat had that throwback vibe so we were inspired to write something that suited those early 2000’s R&B tracks.” – Like Tye.
‘Be That Man’ is now out on all download and streaming sites. Check it out below…
Hailing from a small town in Oxfordshire, TILLY VALENTINE starts the New Year with new single ‘Calendar Girl’.
New Lease Music 