Since the release of single Warm last month, alternative pop princess BECKY HILL has raised quite a few eyebrows.
Premiered on Annie Mac’s BBC Radio show, the SHIFT K3Y-produced number was streamed over 1 million times, as well as receiving heavy airplay on Clara Amfo’s BBC radio 1 mid-morning show and Mistajam’s 1Xtra set….and now NEW LEASE MUSIC has given a seal of approval to Hill’s electronic-pop effort.
Go check it out…and if you’re feeling this track, BECKY HILL will be headlining a show at The Scala (London) on 5th April 2017. Tickets available now via Tickermaster.co.uk and Livemation.com
Having gained support from BBC Introducing, Q Magazine, and Time Out (Top 5 Rising Stars of 2015) over the past 12 months, London-based and classically trained singer-songwriter I.AM.WILLOW is all to set release for her highly anticipated single Satellite on 16th December.
In the almost four-minute production, the Malta-born musician utilises a cinematic-pop explosion of influences from Kate Bush and Tori Amos, highlighted by the contrasting subtlety and power of her vocals, melodic arrangements and evocative lyricism.
In 2009 I.AM. WILLOW was nominated and won ‘Best Songwriter’ and ‘Best Female Artist’ at the Malta Music Awards, prompting her decision to move to England. The opportunities followed; from recording sessions with Grammy Award winning producer Steve Orchard, to appearances at festivals and venues such as Jazz Café, Bush Hall, The Royal Festival Hall and The Great Escape. She signed her first publishing deal with Fairwood Music, in 2013.
Over the past year, Willow has scored two No.1 album cuts in Spain (Ghost Town by Auryn and Head For The Stars by Sweet California), No.5 in South Africa (Elizma Theron), features with two of the biggest selling recording artists in Japan and China (Koda Kumi and China Lin Kailun respectively) and several song placements used in film trailers in the UK, US, Canada, France, Germany and China, including US TV show Chasing Life, and French film Boomerang. WILLOW has also collected some famous fans along the way; legendary singer Annie Lennox offered her free studio time after hearing a private performance, and Sting booked her for his official after party during his Malta tour.
She now turns her focus to releasing new solo material with an EP to follow in 2017. Have a listen to her stunning single.
London-based electronic-pop artist SHAEFRI released a music video to her pulsating new single Pixelate.
The 22-year-old cuts her teeth on London’s scene over the last five years with gigs across the capital from The Roundhouse to The Borderline. Now, the elusive artist showcases her neatly refined electronic sound; a unique combination of influences derived from her mixed Irish-Egyptian heritage, offset with the pulse of the metropolis she calls home.
Recognised early on in Ireland, having been tipped as ‘number one new act to follow’ by Hot Press’, SHAEFRI has already secured coveted headline gigs in places such as Bush Hall, and Whelan’s. Now having developed her sultry siren songs, she spins tales of light and dark, tease and torture with a lengthy attack on the soft and lukewarm pads, combined with minimal drums, dry finger snaps and offbeat twinkling plucks from production duo, J. Harvey Jones. The track creates a hugely atmospheric and emotive setting for the listener. SHAEFRI’s crisp vocals provide a wonderful contrast to the carefully crafted instrumental; her vocal crescendos accentuated by a more forceful tone and clipped syllables with the eerie and reflective essence of the track being maintained through her Irish glissandos.
Pixelate, the title track from her forthcoming EP, set for release early 2017, is darker than her earlier work. The more mature sound provides the perfect platform for lyrics that confront the growing pains of love, lust, and letting go. Her lyrics hit hard with cutting imagery, intense emotion, and seductive hooks that linger in the mind as it wonders over nights gone by. This is music that is unapologetic, affronting, and affirmative. Strength surges through every beat with a lesson in each line from SHAEFRI, the ever dominant and enchanting narrator.
The release of the well-written and produced track coincides with an official video release, directed by Gundeep Anand, edited by prestigious production house, The Mill and supported by renowned Director of Photography, Tom Elliot (A$AP Rocky). Pixelate, the video, is unique in the sense that it was brought to life by 40 fans who wanted to create a visual aesthetic that’s equally as haunting as the music itself. The video’s concept is forward-thinking as it focuses on how ‘pixelating’ can be taken out of context to represent emotions and relationships. The core message to be taken from the video is that sometimes we need to take a leap of faith and break free from all of our constraints and everything we know in order to rebuild ourselves as an image that is actually complete.
Raekwon (Wu-Tang Clan) collaborator, LEO NAPIER releases debut single that’ll stick in your head for days.
The London-based singer emerged from the New York electronic music scene after contributing several songs to projects by pioneering DJ/producers Griz and Gramatik. His pop/soulful vocals and poignant lyrics were strong enough to capture the attention of Wu-Tang Clan’s, Raekwon, who appears alongside Napier on Gramatik’s most successful single to date, Native Son. Now he’s ready to step into the spotlight with the release of his debut single Dime released last Friday.
Dime is about the pursuit of the perfect woman. A concept that led to a collaboration with anonymous London-based artist, Pandemonia, a 7 ft tall latex-clad human who is the personification of celebrity and idealised femininity. This constructed figure is an archetype of pop myth and reality, the notion that lies behind ‘Dime’s’ killer music video directed by Dan Blake.
Influenced by the likes of Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and Bruno Mars, it is clear that the hallmark of Napier’s sound is the ability to stitch traditional R&B/Soul with modern production punctuated by his mischievous raspy voice and cheeky lyrics.
BELLA LOKA have been busy behind the cameras, as they released another visual to mystical/uplifting single, Rise Up, released last month via iTunes.
Tea Boothby describes the latest effort as, “a love story between the day and the night, the light and the dark. Having become separated ‘in the beginning’ the light and the dark are irresistibly drawn back together, with seemingly opposing chess pieces depicting how love can appear as a battle, until it’s won.”
As part of the production of the video, Tea stood motionless against the iconic London skyline on Primrose Hill for 5 hours from dawn as the sun came up to film time-lapse footage of herself against the rolling clouds and shifting shadows.
Take a few minutes out and watch the video for Rise Up.
New Lease Music 