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Best Music Blog for New Artists

The NeS Transforms Turmoil into Transcendence with The Chase

Posted on 1 March 2025

 Berlin-based producer, writer, and performer The NeS proves there are no fixed boundaries in electronica with The Chase—a track that doesn’t just play with genre conventions but smashes through monocultural moulds with rhythmically awakening intensity.

Released on 21st November 2024 as part of an EP of the same name, The Chase pulls techno, trip-hop, soul, pop, and house into its gravitational force, creating an atmosphere that demands rhythmic surrender. The seductively mesmeric official music video is a fitting visual counterpart to the tribal energy surging through the track’s textured progressions. While the beats inject dramatic motifs, the instrumentals thread exotic mystery into the composition, offering a cathartic reprieve from life’s weight.

Lyrically, The Chase compassionately eviscerates the hauntings of a psyche desperate to move beyond the shadow and into the light. Resulting in an experience that speaks volumes of The NeS’ cerebral approach to soul-driven electronica—one that refuses to be confined by conventional genre constraints.

Channelling the chaos of modern existence into soundscapes that uplift rather than oppress, The NeS has crafted a track that reaches the epitome of resonance. If The Chase is a sign of what’s to come, his commitment to sonic wakefulness is going to leave eyes, souls and rhythmic pulses wide open.

The Chase is available to stream on all major platforms. For the full experience, stream the cinematic official music video on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Stephan Folkes Demands Authenticity in His Genre-Blurred Instant Hit, ‘Say It Like You Mean It’

Posted on 28 February 2025

Stephan Folkes isn’t interested in fitting the mould—he’s too busy blasting past the constricting contours. With his debut single Say It Like You Mean It, the London-based singer, songwriter, and producer channels the soul of the greats while making sure his name rings out on its own terms. The track is a sharp-edged lesson in self-worth, delivered with the kind of vocal command that makes empty words feel like an offence.

Raised on the sounds of Prince, George Michael, and Stevie Wonder, Folkes has been chasing musical excellence since he first stunned school audiences at 11. By 13, he was writing his own songs, sharpening his craft under the guidance of former UB40 backing singer Claude Alexander. Now, as a seasoned performer and sound engineer, he refuses to be boxed in—melding R&B, soul, pop, funk, and even trance into his own brand of sonic storytelling.

Say It Like You Mean It is a bold opening statement for his upcoming LP. Seraphic 80s tones hum in the background, while his voice carves through the mix with an urgency that demands attention. The track reflects on pale imitations of love with a vocal bite reminiscent of Prince, refusing to let wasted time go unnoticed. As “The Visionist” and self-proclaimed “King of Fantasy,” Folkes embodies self-investments

Stream Say It Like You Mean It on Spotify now.

Stay tuned for Stephan Folkes new releases on Instagram and TikTok.

Discover more ways to listen and connect with Stephan via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Noah Meadors Stakes His Claim with His Emotionally Raw, Euphonically Polished Earworm, ‘I Want It All’

Posted on 24 February 2025

I Want It All bleeds synth pop and R&B over a trap beat as Noah Meadors shape-shifts through his vocal delivery, slipping between honeyed low reverberant harmonies and pseudo-rap verses that slap just as hard as the beats cutting through the wavy, delay-saturated production. Lyrically, it’s a straight-from-the-soul confession—an unfiltered declaration of desire for a life and love without compromise. If one of the things Meadors wants is a revered career, this hypnotically aphrodisiacal track proves he’s already well on his way.

Born in Tennessee in 1998, Meadors has been writing songs since he was twelve. Releasing music under the moniker Only Lonely, he built a foundation before deciding to step into the spotlight under his given name, embracing a more personal and uninhibited creative approach. With I Want It All, he distils his most primal pop sensibilities into a release that leaves no doubt about his versatility as a singer, rapper, and producer.

The track pulses with urgency yet never loses its smooth magnetism; if this is your first introduction to Noah Meadors, it will be an unforgettable one.

I Want It All is now available on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lensky’s ‘Valentine’s Day’: A Bittersweet Serenade Straight From A Scorned Soul

Posted on 24 February 2025

With the intimacy of an overheard confession and the weight of a longing left to decay, Lensky delivers a serenade steeped in vulnerability with ‘Valentine’s Day’. His sophomore single, mixed and engineered by Montreal producer Chris Kengard with guidance from Grammy-winning sound engineer Richard King, drifts through jazz-tinged alternative rock, soaking up the influence of Jeff Buckley, Wilco, and Lana Del Rey. Yet, for all the ghosts of past inspirations, ‘Valentine’s Day’ is wholly his own—an ode to the aching disconnect between love and reality.

Lensky’s vocals resist unnecessary inflections, reverberating with the same contemplative stillness heard in Father John Misty’s quieter moments. Wrapped in the ambience of warm guitar tones from Antoine Tousignant, supported by a rhythm section that mirrors the pulse of a restless heart, the instrumental arrangement pulls listeners into a meditative quietude. The track moves from soft introspection to a stirring, full-bodied climax, capped with a guitar solo that burns like a last flicker of hope before the flame dies out.

‘Valentine’s Day’ is out on all major streaming platforms, including SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Intoku’s ‘the end beginning’ augments trip-hop to the epitome of intensity

Posted on 23 February 2025

Intoku wields intensity like a weapon in their latest single, ‘the end beginning’. The Bristol-based trio, known for their fusion of raw, emotive vocals, hybrid drumming, and synth-heavy atmospherics, channels leftfield intensity that transcends everything you’ve heard before.

Inspired by the weight of trip-hop’s pioneers but refusing to be bound by their blueprint, Intoku sculpts their own brand of unsettling visceralism—one that crashes into the senses with bone-rattling basslines and a rhythmic pulse that feels more like possession than percussion.

Sophie Griffin’s vocals drift through the shadows of the mix, their fragility balanced against production that builds with an almost cinematic volatility. An eerie pulse of reverb sets the stage before light fractures through the murk, and from there, every shift in momentum feels like a calculated shockwave. The progressive structure refuses to settle, keeping every new motif hypnotic enough to trap you in its current.

When the track reaches its peak, the intensity is relentless. Vulnerability is laced into every synth swell and drum strike, making it impossible to separate the human from the machine.

On record, Intoku leave a mark. Live, they’re the kind of act that would sear themselves into memory, dragging you under with them and leaving echoes of their sound reverberating for days.

‘the end beginning’ is out now on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Shadow of the Heart by Bear Beat: A Darkwave Descent Into the Haunted Spectres of the Soul

Posted on 19 February 2025
Bear Beat

After the tribal percussion lures you into Bear Beat’s latest single, Shadow of the Heart, the disquietness of the darkly ethereal instrumentation starts to breed around the old-school soul vocals, setting a tone of tension and anxiety that grips the soul with unflinching volition. There’s a palpable rawness in the production, becoming a conduit for the jarring emotions relayed through the darkwave mix. Refusing to lean too heavily into one genre, Bear Beat lets the hauntings of the psyche dictate the progressions within this cinematic tour de force, which transitions into strobing synths that reminisce with Arab Strap’s Turning of Our Bones.

Not one to fall in line with trends, the anonymous UK-based producer fuses house, EDM, techno, drum and bass, trance, hip-hop, pop, trap, and dubstep into his expansive sonic palette that shifts between hypnotic orchestrations and entrancingly unpredictable structures. Whether he’s underpinning his tracks with political commentary, comedy or intimate candour, you can always rest assured he’s going to make an affecting impact.

With support from Mystic Sons, RGM, Plastic Magazine, Flex, Fame Magazine, and airplay from BBC Introducing and Amazing Radio in both the UK and US, Bear Beat’s name is undoubtedly one you’ll hear for years to come.

Stream Shadow of the Heart on SoundCloud and Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Disco Lizards’ Life Lessons: A Post-Punk Bite with Anthemic Teeth

Posted on 19 February 2025

Disco Lizards’ latest single, Life Lessons, doesn’t hesitate before it goes straight for the jugular with an instant hook of augmented indie post-punk guitars. As the infectious onslaught of vocals rolls across the solid rhythm section, the track sears with sardonic wit. It hits with the bouncy, brashy glamour of Ramones and New York Dolls, while vocally, Disco Lizards land somewhere between The Fall and Half-Man Half-Biscuit, ensuring every syllable drips with a knowing smirk.

Founded by Matt Stolworthy in 2018, Disco Lizards started etching their legacy in the underground with their 2020 debut album Ride Ride Ride, followed by the 2022 EP Roll Over Red Rover. After reshuffling their lineup in 2024, with Mo El Shalakani, Jack Dunnigan, Nino Savoia, and Josephine Keller joining the ranks, they reignited their live reputation with three sold-out shows across London.

That raucous to the nth degree energy bleeds into Life Lessons, a track that bottles the chaos of city life, dating misadventures, and the grind of survival, all served with tongue-in-cheek cynicism. It gives you a taste for the live experience, but you won’t be fully sated until you’ve gorged on the real deal. And with a new album in the works, the appetite is only going to grow.

Life Lessons is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

‘Dead and Dried’ by mothshade – Mechanical Existentialism Meets Ethereal Transcendence

Posted on 18 February 2025

Some artists compose; others construct entire dimensions with their sound. With Dead and Dried, mothshade explored the uncharted intersections between industrial electronica and trip-hop, leaving breadcrumbs of visceral emotion and motifs that demand rhythmic surrender. As a debut under his new moniker, the single is a bold declaration that the distinction between artist and composer lies in how emotion is translated into sonic form.

From the first pulse of distortion, tension ripples through the meditative release, carrying an unmistakable Nine Inch Nails imprint. But rather than mere homage, mothshade bends discordance to his own will, forging a conduit for the immense turmoil that fractures the fragility of life. The mechanical existentialism at the track’s core is tempered by iridescent female vocals, their spectral presence illuminating the cavernous depths of his production.

Drawing from industrial, electronic, rock, and cinematic influences—ranging from Massive Attack to Tool and Hans Zimmer—mothshade thrives in the chaos of transformation and rebirth. The upcoming debut LP, LIMINAL, set for release on February 18, couldn’t be more promising. Dead and Dried proves that mothshade is far more than a seasoned composer—he is an architect of atmosphere, twisting electronic textures into something both punishing and transcendental.

Stream the official video for Dead and Dried on YouTube.

Keep up to date with mothshade’s latest releases on Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

A Sonic Rapture: AILEN Channels the Divine in Catharsis

Posted on 15 February 2025
Hummingbird by AILEN

Delivering everything it says on the titular tin through the sonorously enriching tones of every sonic spectre in the single, Catharsis demands your surrender, compels you to sink into the evocatively weighted production and allow the progressions to abstract the weight from your soul. With divinity oozing from the piano keys into the ethereal grace of her vocal lines, AILEN doesn’t just compose—she conjures.

Drawing influence from Pink Floyd, Queen, and Steven Wilson, the London-based alternative and progressive rock artist has made her mark alchemising hybrids of 70s prog, symphonic rock, and cinematic grandeur. Her thought-provoking lyricism and larger-than-life arrangements dissect existential loneliness, social corruption, and the fragile threads of human identity.

Catharsis is a consoling panorama in sound which artfully cuts above AILEN’s contemporaries. The prog rock inclinations wait until you’re off guard, finding the perfect time to cut a mournful electric guitar solo through the euphonic bliss of the single before a percussive build heightens the tension. AILEN’s vocals, which follow, are enough to bring you to the brink of tears, grounding the composition’s transcendence with raw, unwavering emotion.

Catharsis is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Agaaze Sends Synths Soaring with ‘Run Free’ – A Neon-Soaked Slice of Sonic Liberation

Posted on 13 February 2025

There’s no mistaking an Agaaze production when it lands—his signature sound carries the warmth of sun-scorched nostalgia while still pulsing with an electrified sense of the future. ‘Run Free’ is no exception. Built on staccato pseudo-reggae rhythms and synths torn straight from the neon-lit corridors of the 80s, the track doesn’t just stick in your head—it hijacks your psyche.

Even as the instrumental euphoria threatens to sweep you away entirely, the rhythmic cadence of his rolling vocal melodies keeps you hooked as they surf over the synthesised soundscape. Blasts of funk, nostalgia, and eccentricity make this track impossible to pin down, but that unpredictability is exactly where the ingenuity of the monolith of an infectious perennial pop earworm lies.

The Rochester-born artist, producer, and DJ has already gained recognition for his boundless creativity, and with a fearless approach to independent artistry, he’s proven that no sonic territory is off-limits.

With ‘Run Free’, Agaaze doesn’t just invite you into his world; he allows you to escape your own. Liberate yourself and hit play on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast