Currently preparing her debut EP, Australian born and bred Pop/RnB artist, BELORA dishes up her debut single and the lead single from the EP, ‘Dear X’, a vibrant, groovy, R&B ode to that someone who is special in your life. It is about longing for someone or something, but that love was unrequited. The use of ‘X’ in the title evokes a sense of mystery and hope whilst enabling the listener to interpret the song and relate it to their own experiences.
Aiming to captivate the world with her delicate tone to create a distinctive sound all can relate to, the soulful newcomer is inspired by the groovy tunes of the Motown legends & sultry themes of Contemporary R&B such as Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye.
Belora is hoping to establish a firm fanbase, by building a meaningful connection with people with her emotive storytelling. ‘Dear X’ is a great introduction to what this artist is capable of and I have a feeling that her EP would be an absolute delight!
‘Dear X’ was released on Friday (19th November) on all digital music platforms. Check it out below…
Following her string of the pop covers earlier this year, which includes, Miley Cyrus’, ‘We Can’t Stop’ and Whitney Houston’s ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’, GENA PERALA circles back with another cover, this time taking on Britany Spears’ ‘Baby One More Time’
Recorded in her ‘home studio’ – only using a microphone and a laptop – Gena adds a smooth country twang to the 90’s pop classic, which pays homage to the #freebritney movement, a fan-led social media campaign which supports the Queen of Pop’s liberation from her conservatorship. Britany’s conservatorship was finally terminated last Friday (12th November), after 13 years under her father’s control.
Have a listen to Gena’s version of ‘Baby One More Time below…
UK trap artist ESSEO‘s single, ‘Bliss’ carries on the spacey ambient vibe from his full length project Neptunes, released February 2021. Reminiscent of artists like PARTYNEXTDOOR, Lil Uzi Vert and Bryson Tiller, yet driven by a UK aesthetic, his music makes perfect for long night time drives.
A member of the Nothing Was Easy collective, Esseo is no stranger to the music industry, previously releasing under the moniker Scorpio. Esseo’s early music was also endorsed by British DJ Trevor Nelson and Ewan Grant (Ministry of Sound).
Why not check out the official video for ‘Bliss’ below…
Ever since Toronto-based singer/songwriter, DENIM BLÙ came on my radar with single, ‘I’ll Die’, I was immediately captivated by his breath-taking storytelling along with the dramatic cinematic production. So when he released his debut album, ‘Blue’, I had to catch up him with about his inspiration behind the new eight-track set.
I really love what this guy stands for… and I hope you do too…
NLM: Hey, thank you for taking part in an interview with NEW LEASE MUSIC. How is 2021 treating you so far?
DB: Hey, New Lease Music, thanks for having me! 2021 has been treating me well – I know a lot of people hate 2021 because the pandemic has stopped them from living their life in the way they used to, but hey – because of the pandemic, I got to slow down and experience my life in different perspectives. It made me cherish my life more and I got to taste different flavours of my life. I have no complaints!
NLM: You released your album, ‘Blue’ last Wednesday (10th November), where you unveiled singles ‘Extraordinary Feel’, ‘I’ll Die’ (both featuring Lizzy Clarke) and ‘Burn (ft. Randy) ahead of its release. What is the public perception on the singles so far?
DB: I guess the public perception is good, hehe. My songs were played on the radio, featured on different media platforms, and I made lots of friends in the music industry. I just started my journey, and I was overwhelmed by the support I got from my supporters.
NLM: How would you describe the album’s sound to potential fans?
DB: My music is both compelling and complex, but infectious and accessible. Today’s youth want to get lost in music, but they demand narratives that reflect their experiences in a real way. Sonically I would describe my album’s sound as pure pop fantasy with emotional intrigue – sounds draw from blues, dance, electronica, and R&B elements, all while being unapologetically queer. However, it is the lyrical content making the connection with my audience: it speaks about love, loss, heartbreak, and lament. It gives you a sound that you can get lost in, but if you dive deeper, there’s a powerful story being told.
NLM: What inspired you to produce the album?
DB: Love – youthful love, volatile love, queer love, and my love for music. The concept for the album is centred around a relationship. It takes the listener on a journey from the exuberance and magic of falling in love (“Extraordinary Feel”), to deep and dark places of lament (“Blue”, “I’ll Die”, “I Miss You”), to coming to terms with love lost (“Young and Foolish”, “Burn”, “Again”). The album is the physical manifestation of my love for music. The whole process of making the album, from song-writing to producing, recording, mixing, and mastering, is me expressing my love for music. The sound of every sound, every foreshadowing, every push, every climax, and every reveal, is about my love of music.
NLM: What is/are your favourite single(s) from the album and why?
DB: My favorite song from the album is the last track – Again. I would describe this song as “an epic love ballad in the galaxy”. The songwriting is classic me – smooth melody, pop but dramatic. I produced the song in a way that reflects the songwriting, a way that corresponds to the development of the song. When listening to the song in the right sonic environment, you would see the galaxy evolving from nothing, to everything, and to nothing again – there is emergence, collapse, collision. It is an experience.
NLM: What message would you like the listeners to take away from your album?
DB: Never be afraid to love, because love is beautiful, love is an experience, love is the meaning of life. No matter where life goes, it always comes down to love.
NLM: If you had to feature one mainstream artist on the album, who would it be and why?
DB: Paloma Faith. She is from the UK, and I have been a fan for almost 1o years! She is not well-known in North America, but she is pretty big in Europe. She is so artistic, I love her visuals, her outfits, her artworks, not to mention her music is extremely amazing. So if I could have her on my album, that would be a dream come true! – Actually, going to her show is one of my dreams too :)
NLM: Do you have other project(s) for 2021?
DB: Well, there is only one month left for 2021, and I am not planning to release a Christmas song…but I do have some projects coming next year! I worked with some amazing Toronto artists on the remixes for Blue that I am going to release in 2022. Also the pandemic gave me time to slow down and see my life from different perspectives. I drew inspiration from those perspectives, sat down with my song-writing partner, exchanged our feelings, and we got to finish another album together. I am planning to work on these songs next year and release the album in summer 2023.
NLM: How can potential fans find you?
DB: That is also a question I want to ask – how can potential fans find me?! It is really hard to promote myself as an independent artist, so my next stop is to find an artist manager, A&R, or a record label. Hope that can happen soon!
NLM: Finally, any special thanks to those involved in the production of ‘Blue’?
DB: I have a lot of special thanks – I want to thank my lyricist Nick Ram for sharing his stories with me, and allowing me to tell his stories in my way. I want to thank my friend Lizzy Clarke, Randy Chang, Kristen Antunes, and Marshall Jacklin for being there and being my friend. It was really fun writing music together. I want to thank Jack Hughes, Julian Fatsound, Tyler Novak, and Eugene Hwang for their amazing musical performances on the album. I want to thank Elizabeth Petzold, Keshav Sharma, Eliot Britton, Issac Nemec for their remixes and friendships. I want to thank Francis TQ Hudson for bringing my mixes to life. I want to thank Fernando Nickolas and Jason Tenn for their photography and creation. I want to thank Zetong Liu for his amazing creative design with my album cover. Last but not least, I want to thank my family for believing in me and supporting me along the way. THANK YOU!
Led by last autumn’s ‘Whistles’ that helped her reach over half a million streams on Spotify, and her new single ‘Santiago’, which has been met with rave reviews and is being championed by KALTBLUT Magazine, Impose Magazine, IGGY Magazine and Ones To Watch, among others, to build on the recent support she has received from the likes of NPR, SXSW, RFB Magazine, and New York Foundation for the Arts, 22-year old New York City multimedia artist and songwriter ISA REYES unveils her long-awaited debut EP titled BELS.
Written and recorded by Isa Reyes, and co-produced by Gamal Abdu (Nyck Caution, Thutmose, Alex Mali) and Caine Casket, who comes backed by Complex, Office Magazine and Lyrical Lemonade, among others, with Reyes also collaborating with Julian Kaufman and Layla Ku from NYC collective MICHELLE on ‘Black Velvet’, the third song on the project, the 4-track BELS EP is music that connects, heals and empowers, driven by Isa Reyes’ enchanting vocals, atmospheric compositions, compelling songwriting, and alternative R&B / indie-pop sensibilities.
The record opens up with the intimate title track ‘Bels’, which is led by contrasting soft guitar arrangements and samba drums patterns, and sees Isa attempting to make peace with her childhood. The EP then flows into the hip-hop influenced ‘Whistles’, where Isa takes a self-reflective and appreciative look at the struggles on her journey so far, and the sassy sultry R&B ballad ‘Black Velvet’, over which she tries to reclaim her self-worth in a relationship, before culminating in the gripping pop-folk ballad ‘Santiago’, which serves to inspire others to navigate their path freely, and as a reminder to Isa that she still has so much more to offer to the world.
Speaking about the inspiration behind her BELS EP, Isa Reyes says, “Thematically, ‘BELS’ takes you on a journey of vulnerability, nostalgia, love, belonging, grief, depression, heritage, generational trauma, and coming to terms with the past. Each song is like a location and time in my life that I’m reflecting on or paying homage to. It is also an embodiment of processing for me. ‘BELS’ is the culmination of that journey, one that we are all on, one of the processes of self-growth and acceptance. For me, each track is a step into that process”.
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