This latest round-up of the best in new music touches down in mostly familiar places but there is a rare stop in Brazil to look forward to and half of the artists are being featured for the first time. So without futher ado lets begin………
Kicking this week’s Adventures off in Helsinki with KATEA and the title track from her debut EP ‘Louder’. This tracks blends a soaring, euphoric pop sound with a soulful, powerful vocal to stirring effect – https://soundcloud.com/katea-official/01-louder-44k-16b. Next stop is Norway, starting with singer-songwriter Hanne Kolsto. ‘Someone Else’ is a simple combination of voice and piano that will make your spine tingle. It is a hauntingly beautiful song, its plaintive lyrics staying with you long after the song has finished – https://soundcloud.com/hanne-kolst/someone-else. Originally from Norway but currently based in Liverpool, Hege Nesset has a new track entitled ‘We Are’. This is a sublime, quietly powerful pop song, that builds inexorably, lifted by her warm, lush vocals that entice you along – https://soundcloud.com/hegenesset/hege-nesset-we-are. Our Norwegian trio is completed by another UK based artist, DAGNY. Her latest ‘Backbeat’ is a gleaming, golden nugget of a pop song, with hooks aplenty, a killer chorus and clever lyrics – https://soundcloud.com/dagnymusic/backbeat-1.
Canada next and to one of my favourite cities in the world Vancouver to find Hannah Georgas. Her latest ‘Don’t Go’ makes full use of her powerful voice in a song that swoops and climbs effortlessly without becoming over blown or bombastic – https://soundcloud.com/dine-alone-records/hannah-georgas-dont-go. Treading a very different musical path are Toronto based four-piece Weaves. ‘Candy’ has its roots in the same soil that gave us bands like The Pixies and Sleater-Kinney, but the band have added their own distinctive twist to proceedings and this tune will lodge itself firmly in your head and will have one hell of a party – https://soundcloud.com/weavesmusic/weaves-candy. Australia is home to the next two artists, beginning with Vanessa Elisha. Her new tune ‘Girls’ is a slice of seductive electro-r&b/soul, with laidback metallic beats and sharp synths – https://soundcloud.com/vanessaelisha/vanessa-elisha-girls-prodby-dave-luxe.Melbourne based electronic duo Kllo are up next. ‘Bolide’ is a warm, mellow-vibed piece of vocal electronica, with hints of UK garage and dubstep floating in the mix. Absolutely perfect for a lazy summer afternoon – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqZgO47SGEM. Next destination is Sorocaba in Brazil, home of producer Ex Machina. ‘Level One’ takes trip-hop, funk and electronica, puts them in a big bag, gives them a good old shake and comes out sounding like this. Which is lucky for us. This is trip-hop with a funked up swagger and its very very good – https://soundcloud.com/henrique-ataide-986105903/level-one.
Back to the UK for the next three tracks and first stop is London. New from Carmody is ‘Two Spoons’ and she delivers another gorgeous, dreamy tune that is like snuggling into a warm, welcoming bed – https://soundcloud.com/thisiscarmody/two-spoons-2. Also hailing from London is Semi Precious. ‘Purple Room’ is a blissed out, soulful slice of electro-pop, with an easy going, unhurried vibe that washes over you – https://soundcloud.com/semi_precious/purple-room-1. Down to Southampton for the latest from LAUREL, ‘San Francisco’. Delightfully different, this weaves a unique pattern and is bursting with invention and is completely beguiling – https://soundcloud.com/classiclaurel/san-francisco-1.
This week’s Adventures finish off in the USA though the first artist featured, Sara Hartman, is currently based in Berlin. ‘Satellite’ is a little piece of pop perfection, that bounces merrily along, propelled by sweet harmonies and a rousing chorus – https://soundcloud.com/sarahartmanmusic/satellite. Oakland, California is home to Kehlani and her latest track ’24/7′ is a bewitching blend of electro, r&b and soul that smashes it out of the park. If you want the future sound of r&b then it’s right here – https://soundcloud.com/kehlanimusic/24-7a. New from Ofelia K is ‘Bad Boys’ which is a dreamy, smart pop song with astute lyrics wrapped in its velvet smooth sounds – https://soundcloud.com/heyofelia/bad-boys. Brooklyn is home to REN and her new tune ‘Into The Unknown’ is a bold, uplifting pop number that’ll have your feet a-tapping and your head nodding in no time at all to its bright & breezy sounds – https://soundcloud.com/ren-0fficial/into-the-unknown. Detroit next and four-piece FAWNN. Their new tune ‘Galaxies’ is a delightfully melodic, fuzzy alt-rock number, that has a playful feel and the gorgeous alternating vocals and harmonies of Christian Doble and Alicia Gbur – https://soundcloud.com/wearefawnn/fawnn-galaxies. Back to New York for singer-songwriter Bri Tolani. Her latest ‘Body Chills’ is a stripped down acoustic number that is lyrically shrewd and has a crystal clear vocal performance – https://soundcloud.com/britolani/body-chills. Final port of call this week is the city of Philadelphia, home to Marian Hill. ‘I Know Why’ is a sinuous, sparse electro-pop number whose minimalist sounds allow room for the vocals to expand and breathe. It is quite simply starkly beautiful – https://soundcloud.com/marianhill/i-know-why.
So that’s all done for another week. As always hope there’s something here you like and I’ll be back next week for more Adventures In Music.
Playlist – https://soundcloud.com/tobyone-4/sets/adventures-in-music-01-05-16
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