Lost and Found - Astralix (EDM) We are blessed this week with another dance floor turner from Astralix, the sparkling “Lost and Found”. The track follows previous jam “The Rhythm Fills My Soul” to continue Astralix’s departure from their previous sound. This is one of those kick-forward tracks, with the thumping heartbeat of the record pushing everything along, including some dreamy synths, a delicate organ and of course some heavenly vocals. Where we said the prior single sounded like it was in the realm of Cher’s “Believe”, this track is much more Robyn “Call Your Girlfriend” and “Missing You”. Not only is it a standout pop/dance record in its own right, but we could see this getting a lot of love in DJ remixes.
Gianfranco GFN - Supernatural
Supernatural - Gianfranco GFN (Funk) We feature Gianfranco GFN this week with his latest track “Supernatural”, a song about the end of a relationship that had such potential at the start. We get funk vibes right out of the gate delivering a bittersweet sensation, with a great live band sound complete with funk organ, a pulsing percussion arrangement and a panned guitar lick that serves as some delicious earcandy. Gianfranco GFN’s voice has a mature husk to it, heavy with experience, conjuring images of a smokey jazz lounge. The change up in the chord progressions at the conclusion of the track elevate the tune, and we guarantee this is one you’d want to hear live in concert.
Diamond Blacc - REMEDY
REMEDY - Diamond Blacc (Rap) Creative pursuits have a way of exposing the real ones around you, and more importantly, the fake ones. That’s the message delivered in “REMEDY”, the latest from Diamond Blacc, who is clearing house of the those around him whose jealousy has surfaced to betray them. With warbling strings and a trap percussion, the track bumps, with crystal clear instrument separation and a cruising down the highway flow. There’s a 90s sensibility to it as well, and at times the brooding nature of the track and sonic landscape kind of reminded us of Coolio’s “Gangster’s Paradise” in a way we’re not sure we can explain. With a relatable message, especially for artists, and a knocking beat, this is one to ruminate on.
Best Lyric: “Haters talk a lot shit but I’m the one they wanna be.”
Kaiyah Mercedes - How To Get Over You
How To Get Over You - Kaiyah Mercedes (Pop) Kaiyah Mercedes comes to us with a heart wrenching and soulful piano ballad about the aftermath of a breakup. The production is understated in order to set Kaiyah’s mature, sullen and emotive voice as the main feature. Piano centers the instrumental with, when paired with the swelling strings, offers descending cadences that really pull you into the melancholy that the track paints. That’s not to say there isn’t a fair share of ear candy—audible teardrops and rolling thunder help add to the atmosphere and add a good dose of uniqueness to the record. Hats off the lyrics as well, it’s a well explored subject matter but Kaiyah’s lyrics are as memorable as they are fresh.
Best Lyric: “I misread the room, I spoke to soon.”
Jody Cooper - Isolation
Isolation - Jody Cooper (Pop) Jody Cooper brings us a moving piano ballad about the state of the world and our increasing solitude in the aptly named “Isolation.” The track is one of yearning, hoping to change a situation but feeling helpless to do so—knowing it would be for the best. Jody’s vocals are front and center here, utilizing a simple vocal production to focus on the words and emotion over effects and tricks. The song begins with just the piano, slowly rolling in drums and swelling strings to build through the verses, until finally we get a rock guitar taking this up to 11. By the end of the song, it feels like we’re in U2 or Coldplay territory with the the vocal layering and harmonies on top of the fully developed production.
Best Lyric: “Caught in the headlight.”
The Unusuals - Pressure
Pressure - The Unusuals (Rap) We’ve got a rap all star team with The Unusuals, comprised of Pacific Northwest duo Ninjaface and Xperience, bringing us their latest single “Pressure” along with a super expensive looking, vampire hunting, Tim Carpenter directed music video with fight coordination from the coordinator on “The Mandalorian”. We’ve got a Bone Thugs feeling chorus on this midtempo jam about life’s moral dilemmas, a layered melodic rap, with each of our rappers having a distinct timbre to their equally rapid flows in the verses. The instrumental serves merely to prop up the vocals, though provides for a bevy of ear candy and switch ups that keep the track engaging throughout, along with the diversity of sound from our rappers who prove the adage that something can be more than the sum of its parts. Overall, it’s a windows down cruising through the neighborhood jam reminding us of 90s West Coast hiphop.
Best Lyric: “I got devil’s on my 6, pray for me.”
Marcane - Blurring
Blurring - Marcane (Emo Rock) Marcane brings us his fourth release, “Blurring”, a track the artist describes as delivering a message about how a person’s emotions can be perceived by others. The record is imbued with danger—a punchy EDM beat with emo rock melodic sensibilities as Marcane sings his heart out in an echoing chamber. The track is driven by its distorted bass lead, accompanied by swirling synths and plenty of FX ear candy. The vocals feel almost choral in nature, building one on top of the other to a point where a heaviliy verbed sung chant is overlaid with a distorted spoken incantation as if Marcane’s performance is summoning spirits from another plane. Lush, large and full of tension, “Blurring” captures the soul.
Astralix - The Rhythm Fills My Soul
The Rhythm Fills My Soul - Astralix (EDM) Astralix arrives with a dancefloor burner in “The Rhythm Fills My Soul”, a self described “wild departure” from their well-known prior singles “Destiny Road” and “Never Give Up”. It’s a classic EDM dance cut imbued with 80s and 90s influences, from the retro analog splashy synths to the house style percussion—the thudding kick and crisp clap on the 1s and 2s providing the momentum for this classic 2-stepper. The track’s message is simple—the euphoric feeling of getting lost in the music, apt for a track that fills you up in the way “The Rhythm Fills My Soul” does. Put this on whatever playlist you include Cher’s “Believe”.
Dax - Catch The Rain
Catch The Rain - Dax (Rap) Our most prolific artist on the blog, who’s appeared more times than we can count and each time with an impeccably produced music video to match, Dax returns to form in latest effort “Catch The Rain.” The record is an ode to the internal storm brewing within that may not always be visible to those around us. In “Catch The Rain”, over a driving, anthemic pop chord progression and tight trap percussion, Dax tells us that he is more than meets the eye—his calm and introverted exterior masking roiling emotions that he suppresses until the weekend allows release, particularly using music and artistic expression as his therapy. As always, he relates to his audience, noting social media infatuation, liquor and women as other ways people numb their own emotions, creating another heartfelt record that speaks to a core element of the human condition—Dax’s musical sweet spot.
Best Lyric: “The cycle is a storm I chase.”
mia van de loo - open book
open book - mia van de loo (Folk) mia van de loo creeps into your ears with the heartfelt debut EP, “open book”. An up-and-coming singer-songwriter, mia combines her childlike optimism, relentless ambition and angelic voice to express tender emotion and emotion.
mia’s collection of songs were written as she “started to discovery [her] place in the world”, conveying the disappointment, hope, loneliness, frustration and reconciliation within that journey. Her goal—to impact her listeners, forge relationships and make new friends along the way. No better way to do that than opening your soul for others to experience, as mia has done in “open book.”
Vocally, mia’s performance is masterful. Her leads are very close, almost like an ASMR experience, a seductive whisper that conveys intimacy and vulnerability. She slips right into the ear, glossed with shimmering high end, as if planting a subliminal suggestion in the subconscious. The stylings border on spoken word poetry, with mia’s careful and patient delivery of her lyrics adding tension with their restraint. Apt with the title of the project, it feels as if mia is reading chapters from her own diary to a trusted friend.
The production is crisp and clear with pristine instrument separation in the mix, relying on the clarity of simplicity in the arrangements. Bongos patter like rain drops, the guitar strums twinkle in the ears and drive the tracks forward, an understated kick hits right in the chest like a heartbeat, and the bass enters to add weight to an otherwise lilting affair. Throughout, mia shows her prowess in song construction with each track featuring ever building movements that help keep the listener engaged throughout the project. Each track has a musical arc, which is quite the hat trick considering the lack of production bells and whistles—it is rather accomplished purely in the arrangement. Overall it leads to a quite mystical sound, evoking images of the woods at dusk, littered in fireflies as the fog rolls in and the remaining vestiges of the sun beams through thick foliage.
The album begins with tension. In “fairytale”, mia distrusts her lover’s words—sort of a meditation on love bombing—as she wonders whether her lover’s actions will meet the poetry of their words. The lyrics are delivered with curiosity and skepticism as mia fears fully opening to the experience, worried that things will not turn out as they seem. That tension propels the listener into the next song for release.
In “doll”, the fairytale imagery continues with metaphors of princes and princesses and the idea of a lover whispering a beloved pet name. But this is all revealed to be a dream, a desire to meet the person who will sweep in and change her world. It’s an interesting turn in point of view from the prior song’s theme—now she longs for the sweet nothings in fantasy that she seems to distrust when presented in real life. Relatable, for sure.
In the following “match”, mia picks up the tempo with a groovy tango of a track. Her innocence is on full display as she is swept up in the fire of new love, with absolutely gorgeous backing vocals sweeping her through the record, conjuring images of being whisked around the dancefloor of a masquerade ball.
With “goodbye friend” we move from the romantic to the platonic with an ode to the ending of friendships. Her trademark innocence on display, mia recognizes that she’s made the effort but ultimately is comfortable with accepting a setting sun.
Finally, the album concludes with a “lullaby”—a salve for the soul, soothing words of optimism and comfort. It’s an interesting followup to “goodbye friend”—in the prior she laments her unreturned efforts and departs, and now she shows just how valuable of a friend she is.
Sweet and sparkling, there’s a lot to love about “open book”, a project we recommend you get lost in the pages of.
vidpoet - Art Therapy, Pt. 3
Art Therapy, Pt. 3 - vidpoet (Hiphop) With a singular point of view, creative lyricism and unique sound, Vidpoet smashes it with his eclectic four track EP, “Art Therapy, Pt. 3”, which as definitely inspired us to go check out the prior two parts of this ongoing project. With the help of producer Steve Perry, vidpoet takes a core of retro hiphop sensibility and colors it with flavors of reggaeton, EDM and even ventures into the avante-garde, to create a trippy sonic soundscape to accompany a collection of thought provoking, expertly crafted rhymes. Before we dig into the tracks themselves, let’s address the project as a whole.
From his Spotify bio, we learn that vidpoet considers himself a proponent of “art rap”—a truly independent aesthetic with a focus on lyricism, devoid of the trope and cliche that he believes proliferates through mainstream offerings. Listening to “Art Therapy, Pt 3”, we can’t help but agree with the ways in which vidpoet stands apart from his contemporaries. The lyrics are the first to jump out at you—you can’t knock the man’s cleverness. From his off the wall references to his word choice to his juxtaposition, it is clear that vidpoet is an artist that truly appreciates the art of word craft, and his skill set in this area shines throughout, particularly in our favorite of the offering, “Mustache Blues.”
As to his delivery, it’s a rapid fire spit throughout, with the occasional breaking of the fourth wall to address the listener and describe what’s to come, or even deliver some smile inducing banter from within the booth. There’s an Eminem quality to his timbre at times, and specifically in “Present the Vid Humbly” we get a healthy dose of Wyclef Jean with vidpoet straddling rhyme and sung vocals. “Spacey” veers into the Kanye West “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” robot voice production. But throughout that melding of sounds delivers lyrics that would work just as well as spoken word poetry as they do song lyrics.
The production is steller, combining a classic hiphop drum core with Neptunes like strangeness of sparkling synths, particularly in “Spacey.” Intro “Microwave Burrito” sounds like something off an early Notorious B.I.G. record, while “Mustache Blues” is driven by a menacing analogue bass thrum that comes across quite hypnotic. “Present the Vid Humbly” gives us a Santana-esque guitar riff veering through a Caribbean/Reggaeton beat made for dancehall. Each track offers something different, each a distinct flavor from the other, and that helps keep the EP consistently engaging.
Our favorite track of the bunch is certainly “Mustache Blues.” The incessant bass permeates the track and vidpoet’s lyricism is in hyperdrive, evoking the great MCs of the 80s and 90s. And despite that retro appeal, it is certainly the most mainstream of the offerings, surely having a place on today’s charts. For pop crossover, we choose “Present the Vid Humbly,” a meld of hiphop and reggaeton that reminds us a bit of Lauryn Hill’s “Lost Ones.”
A clear student of hiphop with a devotion to his craft, get yourself acquainted with vidpoet’s trilogy.
Magdalia - Fault Lines
Fault Lines - Magdalia (Pop) Following “Great Expectations” and “Tunnel Vision”, Magdalia is back on our blog with her latest track “Fault Lines.” In “Fault Lines”, Magdalia brings us a piano driven ballad, whose first chords already pull on the heartstrings. The song is driving and rousing, setting Magdalia’s vocals front and center, as the miasma of an instrumental swirls behind her. We have come to expect a maturity in Magdalia’s work, from expert lyric composition to immaculate vocals, often dealing with deeply personal subject matter. This track is no different—you can feel her heart in this. With evocative and memorable lyrics and a swelling instrumental that fills the body, this is one you sing along to in the shower.
Best Lyric: “Nothing we could do but let it break.”
Yona Marie - Wade In The Water
Wade In The Water - Yona Marie (R&B) Yona Marie returns after our review of “The World All Around Me” with her take on classic spiritual—and one this author certainly remembers from middle school choir—”Wade In The Water”. Yona’s last track evoked the classic 90s/00s R&B sound, and this take on the classic choral song does the same, with an absolutely bumping production that takes us back to VH1 Soul days. We continue to hear our Faith Evans inspired vocals, strong and soulful, boosted by a thick bass line and old school hiphop drums. Inventive, inspired, heartfelt and a total groove, get this track on your neo soul playlist.
Natalie Clark - MIRACLE
MIRACLE - Natalie Clark (Pop) Natalie Clark is back for a fourth time on the blog, following “How High”, “Freedom” and “Mission”, this time coming hard with a power ballad in her latest single, “MIRACLE”. The song has all the ingredients of a top 40 anthem, from the driving bass to the punctuating claps and rousing chorus, this is quite a big song, beckoning for a sing along. But as well mixed as the track is, the true star of this epic number is Natalie’s mature vocals that oscillate from an airy vulnerability to a powerhouse belt. The former makes for some great ear candy layering, while the latter really punches you in the chest when she just goes for it. This is a “sing your lungs out in the car” kind of track.
Best Lyric: “Doing your best to stay alive but oh, all you need is a miracle.”
Amaya and the Echoes - Ghost Eyes
Ghost Eyes - Amaya and the Echoes (Emo Pop) Amaya and the Echoes pack in quite a few surprises in edgy new single “Ghost Eyes.” The song is deceptive at the start—dreamy and ethereal with a close and intimate vocal that lilts in the air with vulnerability. But expectations are swiftly subverted with the entry of a distorted bass lead and demonic vocal double, adding a new level of danger and unexpected tension to the track that makes for an extremely engaging listen. Amaya and the Echoes keep the vocals restrained throughout, which helps pull the listener into the song so that they can be lulled into that false sense of security, not realizing that they’ve been in a haunted house all along. Equal parts mystical, ethereal and dangerous, “Ghost Eyes” is quite the ride.
Keyyz Da Poet - ButterFly (ft Lehn Kessen)
ButterFly - Keyyz Da Poet (Hiphop) Keyyz Da Poet and Lehn Kessen are bringing the US/Europe collaboration in their latest R&B/Hiphop bop “ButterFly”. What we have here is a “drink in the air two stepper” kind of a track, with the punchy 808 and trap percussion making the perfect party jam where the artists hype their girls. The chorus is smooth and singalong able while the rap vocal keeps up the momentum, layered with some ear candy autotune. With “ButterFly”, we’re reminded of some Jamie Foxx tracks or even the T-Pain era—“I’m In Love With A Stripper” times. In fact, we think you should grease up your pole and take a swing to this track.
Best Lyric: “I be swimming, I be floating, I be dancing in her ocean.”